OBAMA LOSING JEWISH SUPPORT IN KEY SWING STATE — BUT WHY NOW?

Florida is home to one of the largest Jewish demographics in the United States. In fact, the Sunshine State falls behind only New York, California, and of course, Israel, when it comes to the world’s Jewish population centers.

What’s more, Jews overwhelmingly vote Democratic — and more so than any other demographic to date — even though liberalism seems, at first glance, incompatible with Jewish ideals and values.

To illustrate just how strong Jewish support for Democrats is, take into account that Obama, arguably the least Israel-friendly U.S. president to date, garnered a staggering 78 percent of the Jewish vote. Not even Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who many view as liberal, could capture the hearts and minds of most Jewish voters. But recent polling data in the key swing state could suggest trouble — at least a modicum of it — is on the horizon for Obama where his Jewish support is concerned.

According to the Boston Globe, Jewish political activists and demographers posit that the president could lose anywhere from 3 to low-double-digits percentage points in the upcoming election. While this number may not seem significant, the Jews constitute a roughly 4 percent of the state’s population yet typically account for between 5 and 6 percent of voters in Florida.

Obama has, since the beginning, opposed what he refers to as “settlements” in Judea and Samaria, he has had an arguably contentious relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has proven ineffective in showing that the U.S. will do all it can to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and also announced to the world that Israel should return to its “1967 borders” (when no such borders in fact exist). So what could be the cause for this somewhat significant dip in Jewish support?

Israel Hayom political columnist Richard Baehr told TheBlaze that while there might not be room for excitement just yet, he is certain Republicans will do better among Jews this election, both “nationally and in Florida.” He reminded that Florida, because its Jewish population is older and comprises a higher percentage of women, will still do worse than a state like New York, for instance, that has a higher Orthodox and Russian-Jewish percentage. This is likely why Anthony Weiner’s seat turned GOP when he stepped down.

“There is clear concern on Obama’s side about diminished Jewish support,” Baehr said. “I think 30 percent is a reasonable target for our side in Florida and nationally.”

Indeed, “a small shift in the Jewish vote can make a difference,” Ira Sheskin, a University of Miami professor and director of its Jewish Demography Project told the Globe.

PAUL RYAN’S 78-YEAR-OLD MOM JOINS HIM ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL FOR MEDICARE TALK

THE VILLAGES, Fla. (The Blaze/AP) — Paul Ryan, a champion of changing Medicare, spoke as a passionate defender Saturday, promising seniors that he and Mitt Romney would save it, and he introduced his mother to voters to drive home the point that the health program “was there for our family” and “we have to keep that guarantee.”

The vice presidential hopeful tried to strike a careful balance on a dicey subject in his speech at a sprawling retirement community. The Republican ticket has come under withering criticism from President Barack Obama for Ryan’s proposals in Congress to overhaul Medicare. Ryan says Medicare will be protected for people in and near retirement, and he wants to see younger generations offered alternatives to the entitlement.

“She planned her retirement around this promise,” Ryan said. “That’s a promise we have to keep.”

“It’s not just a program,” he added. “It’s what my mom relies on.”

He accused Obama of undermining Medicare by cutting billions from the program to devote to expanded coverage under his health care law, and asserted: “We want this debate. We need this debate. And we are going to win this debate.

Older Americans have often resisted changes in Medicare, the federal health care insurance program for people 65 and older, and for the disabled.

The Romney-Ryan ticket is betting that voters‘ worries about federal deficits and the Democrats’ health care overhaul have opened the door for a robust debate on the solvency of Medicare, one of the government’s most popular and costliest programs.

In the week since Romney announced Ryan as his running mate, Medicare and Social Security have appeared as a driving issue. Florida, Pennsylvania and Iowa are among the top five states in the percentage of people 65 and over, and all three are closely contested this election.

THE NEXT BIN LADEN RAID: WILL SEAL TEAM SIX STRIKE CHAPO GUZMAN IN MEXICO?

The conflict in the Middle East is winding down, U.S. forces are withdrawing, and wars are being handed over to various proxy forces to fight in the context of the so-called Arab Spring from Egypt, to Libya, to Syria. Once Syria falls, more than likely after the U.S. presidential elections are complete, the Arab Spring with U.S. covert assistance will almost certainly shift its focus to the gem of Eurasia, Iran.  But that is another story.

Meanwhile, the policy makers and official white papers are talking about a strategic pivot, a realignment of U.S. forces to confront a real or perceived growing of Chinese spheres of influence in the Pacific Rim. This has already begun in earnest with China feuding with the Philippines and several South East Asian nations regarding territory disputes, mostly related to islands in the South China Sea. Another realignment of U.S. military and intelligence assets is to the Southern Cone, Central and South America.

The third realignment is to turn the surveillance and intelligence gathering techniques and tactics developed for the War on Terror inward for domestic use, mostly under the banner of cyber-security. The defense establishment will not simply let contracts expire and shrink their margins, rather they will seek out new venues to apply the same methods of operation.

The second realignment involves various Unmanned Aerial Vehicles being reoriented into the Southern Hemisphere, but there are also a number of rumors that just don’t want to die. Has the Asymmetrical Warfare Group been south of the border to study cartel tactics, techniques, and procedures?  Are Spanish-speaking SEAL Team Six operators working with FES, Mexico’s Maritime Commando equivalent?  Many attribute the Mexican Marines, and other military forces recent successes in capturing high value targets to close cooperation and assistance from American military and intelligence sources, much of which was hashed out as a part of the Mérida Initiative.

All of this happens in the background of the so-called Fast and Furious scandal in which the ATF first ordered American gun shop owners to sell guns to straw buyers, and then intentionally allowed them to be smuggled across the border into the hands of cartel sicarios, or assassins.  The excuse given by ATF and the Justice Department was that the weapons were allowed to “walk” across the border so that law enforcement officials could track them to the recipients and use the information to make arrests. This excuse is just that, a pathetic cover story for what actually happened.  Why was no effort made to Tag, Track, and Locate the smuggled weapons?

The Sinaloa cartel is the oldest cartel in Mexico, with the deepest institution ties. This is a nice way of saying that the cartel cuts checks to government employees on both sides of the border. This cartel has been waging a war against their rivals and the idea that America is interested in managing the war on drugs rather than ending it is an old one. To that end, has the Sinaloa cartel been receiving covert assistance to help them wipe out their rivals and consolidate the drug trade under one organization?

Answers are not forthcoming, however some leaked information shows that CISEN, the Mexican Intelligence service along with American agencies may have their cross hairs on the Sinaloa cartel, whether or not they have actually been allied with them in the past.  According to leaked StratFor e-mails stolen by the hacker group called Anonymous and subsequently released by Wikileaks, we have an interesting account about a CISEN agent meeting with American officials at the El Paso intelligence center described by Wikipedia as “a federal tactical operational intelligence center…hosted at Fort Bliss. Its DoD (United States Department of Defense) counterpart, Joint Task Force North, is at Biggs Army Airfield. Biggs Field, a military airport located at Fort Bliss, is designated a military power projection platform.”

The Mexican counter-part to the El Paso intelligence center is more than likely the Office of Bi-National Intelligence in the business district of Mexico City, alleged to house the DEA, CIA, FBI, and CISEN under one roof where they receive direction from NORTHCOM, perhaps with National Security Council involvement.

In one of the StratFor e-mails, a Mexican diplomat identified as Fernando de la Mora writes, “Information about US military involvement in Mexico is provided only as a need to know basis. The Americans have been adamant about this, and we agree even more. Therefore, I can confirm that there is Marine presence, but I don’t know if it is MFR [Marine Force Recon].”

Take it for what it may or may not be worth, but I think this non-military diplomat may be confusing Force Recon with a certain Naval Special Warfare unit. To clarify, Force Recon still exists as a part of the Marine Corp and goes out to sea with the Navy to provide a Direct Action capability for the fleet they sail with as Navy SEALs no longer provide this function on any regular basis.

Additionally, Borderland Beat reports that according to well placed military sources, the Pentagon has drafted a plan to capture Chapo Guzman that reflects the same template used for the Osama Bin Laden raid.  According to this report, SEAL Team Six would insert via helicopter into the mountains of Sinaloa where Guzman is believed to be in hiding.  Like with the Bin Laden raid, this would be a “kill” rather than a “capture” mission, the entire affair watched over by NORTHCOM in real-time transmission from UAV’s flying over the objective area.

A raid of this nature with American SOF taking point makes sense as six previous attempts to capture Guzman by the Mexican military have failed, generally thought due to leaks and tip-offs to the enemy. However, Americans operating unilaterally inside Mexico would be a clear violation of the Mexican constitution and would set off a political firestorm due to a past history of “yankee imperialism.” To this end, the American operators may disguise themselves as Mexican commandos and quickly hand Guzman’s body off to Mexican authorities, allowing them to claim credit for the killing.

According to Brandon Webb’s contact, “There have been units operating in south America for some time now but the SEALs doing this (by themselves) does not add up and I’ve heard nothing on this.”  This statement is probably correct, the proposed Guzman raid, is just that, a proposal for a contingency plan. This does not mean that troops and assets have been committed to this military action at this time.

When taken together, this information makes it clear that if the Guzman raid is authorized like the Bin Laden raid, there will be safeguards in place to make sure Guzman comes back in a body bag. The reasons are not tactical but rather strategic in the political sense. Osama Bin Laden could never be put on the stand during a trail, the things he would have had to say about America’s support for the mujahedeen during the 1980′s alone would have been a massive embarrassment.  Enough so that it would call into question American foreign policy decisions going back decades and right up to the present, especially taken in the context of U.S. training and material support for the Syrian and Libyan rebels as well as the Iranian MEK terrorist group.

If Guzman were allowed to take the stand in a U.S. courtroom, what would he have to tell us about the covert support he received?  What would he have to tell us about the Fast and Furious scandal?  This is a rhetorical question of course because such a thing will never be allowed to happen.

TEAM OBAMA OFFERS ROMNEY A DEAL: RELEASE 5 YEARS OF TAX RETURNS AND WE’LL (KIND OF) DROP IT

Barack Obama’s re-election campaign kept up pressure against Republican rival Mitt Romney on Friday, challenging the former Massachusetts governor to release at least five years of tax returns.

Obama campaign manager Jim Messina made the tax-disclosure challenge to Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades in a letter Friday morning. Messina said he was taking the step because Romney “apparently fears the more he offers, the more our campaign will demand that he provide.”

To provide these five years, the Governor would have to release only three more sets of returns in addition to the 2010 return he has released and the 2011 return he has pledged to provide. And, I repeat, the Governor and his campaign can expect in return that we will refrain from questioning whether he has released enough or pressing for more.

AN NYPD OFFICER SHOOTING AN AGGRESSIVE PIT BULL ON THE STREET WILL SHOCK YOU

If you have a pet of your own, this video will be hard to watch. But wait to pass judgment until you hear all the details.

What are those details? Apparently there was a man having a seizure on the ground, shaking and twitching as passers by watched in horror. However, no one could help the man during his medical emergency because the man’s dog — a pit bull — was being quite protective. In fact, in the video you’re about to see, the dog can even be seen lashing out at one lady who gets to close, biting her pants leg.

Johnny Rodriguez, who was visiting the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary nearby, said he and three other people alerted nearby police officers that the owner of the dog was in danger of being hit by traffic. “He was having a seizure, I saw him lying down on the ground and his head was twitching and shaking.” The two officers who responded called for backup (”I guess they didn’t have the training or something”) and the dog began growling as officers approached the man.

After that, the dog then runs at one of the officers nearby. In a split second, the officer pulls his gun and fires a single shot that sends the dog writhing in pain. The dog eventually stops moving as a pool of blood is visible.

But that still doesn’t tell the whole story. The Local East Village, an offshoot of the New York Times, says the dog — named “Star” — has a history of violence:

Brandon Verna, a homeless man acquainted with the owner of the dog, identified by police as Lech Stankiewicz, said that the pit bull has a reputation for being overly protective of her master.

“Most of us figured out that when he’s passed out, whether he’s overdosing or not, leave him alone,” Mr. Verna said. “If he’s going to die, call an ambulance and have them deal with it because no one wants to get bitten.”

A police source said that a video of the encounter leaves no question that the officers acted properly.

 “She was super protective of her owner,” Ms. McSweeney said. “The dog has bitten multiple people that we know just because they were near him while he was sleeping.” [Emphasis added]

Miraculously the dog survived and is apparently in stable condition. But a police spokesperson told The Local East Village the prognosis doesn’t look good.

As for the owner, The Local has identified him as Lech Stankiewicz, a 29-year-old with a history of drug and alcohol problems. In fact, The Local says he was actually arrested after the incident for an open warrant related to an open container violation.

And despite the details surrounding the shooting, that didn’t stop McSweeney from taking it in an odd Occupy Wall Street-like direction.

“She’s bitten a bunch of our friends,” she said of the dog. “But now the first time it bites a yuppie, they shoot it? It shows that they’re not really there to protect and serve. They just protect and serve the rich.”

NEW SCATHING VIDEO SHOWS FORMER MILITARY & MEMBERS OF THE INTEL COMMUNITY UNITING TO STOP LEAKS

A group of former Navy SEALs, members of Delta Force, the Marines, Army Special Forces and the intelligence community have joined together and are standing up, demanding that America’s political leaders immediately stop leaking sensitive military information.

In the documentary-style video, ten former members of the military and intelligence community (including one General) speak candidly and clearly on the importance of Operational Security or OPSEC. The film shows the men detailing their outrage over multiple leaks of sensitive and valuable information from this administration.

Their mission is one of education. OPSEC is a 501(c)(4) – a social welfare organization. They strive to teach the elected officials in Washington and the American people about the vital need to keep secret so much of the work being done by our military.

“Politics should never come before national security.”

According to the group, the biggest problems started on May 2nd of 2011 after the killing of Osama bin Laden. OPSEC maintains that the rush to announce the success of the raid on Bin Laden’s compound compromised the men involved, their families, and also diminished the value of the materials gathered during the mission.

“Tactics, techniques, and the location were revealed… we even knew the name of the dog on the raid.”

 OPSEC also claims that just days after the raid, Hollywood was invited to the White House for a briefing on the mission. The former military men believe that officials told too much to the filmmakers, compromising ongoing and future missions by detailing just how our system works.

From the grandstanding on the death of bin Laden, to the leaked information that the U.S. and Israel worked together on the STUXNET virus that temporarily shut down Iran’s nuclear operations, OPSEC believes we have a serious problem that must be addressed now.

Starting in June, and following a spate of intelligence leaks out of Washington DC, considerable media attention was focused on this administration’s use of strategic and sensitive military intelligence for political gain.

On June 6th, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said:

“I have been on the Intelligence Committee for 11 years and I can tell you, I have never seen it worse than this.”

Senator John McCain accused the “highest levels of the White House” of leaking sensitive information that jeopardized years or intelligence work.

Of course the White House has denied any involvement in the leaks. The President himself made a strong denial on June 8th, saying that it was “offensive” and “wrong” to say that the White House was involved in the leaks.

Since the President’s public denial:

• Two special prosecutors were appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder.
• Mike Baker, a former CIA operative appeared on the Don Imus radio show to express his concerns and frustrations over the leaks.

And Senator Feinstein again made a statement that initially seemed a belief that the leaks came from someone at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Speaking at a forum in late July, Feinstein said that she “think[s] the White House has to understand that some of this is coming from their ranks.”

Although the Senator did state that she did not believe the leaks came from the President, she thought the White House was involved before she decided that they were not involved.

One member of OPSEC, Navy SEAL Benjamin Smith spoke with TheBlaze and stressed that this group is not “swift boating” anyone. Their mission is to educate the American people while reminding our elected officials of the crucial importance of protecting the vital military intelligence information we have gathered as well as the individuals (and their families) who have dedicated their lives to protecting and defending the United States of America. In fact, their official Mission Statement from the group’s website reads:

STOP the politicians, President Obama and others, from politically capitalizing on US national security operations and secrets!

EDUCATE the public on the importance and necessity of Operational Security in today’s environment.

To Do Nothing is not an option as that allows the special operations and intelligence capabilities to be degraded, and paraded around like a show dog…ACTION IS REQUIRED NOW!

“Dishonorable Disclosures” will be shown at events in key states across the country over the next several months, including Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, North Carolina and Nevada. 

REP. ISSA ANNOUNCES HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WILL SUE ERIC HOLDER

“We are filing charges against Attorney General Eric Holder tomorrow.”

Those words, sent in a Tweet at 8:40 PM yesterday by House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, signal what may become the first serious existential legal challenge to an Obama administration official yet filed. It also marks a very clear escalation in Issa‘s investigation of the Justice Department’s “Operation Fast and Furious,” a gunwalking operation in Mexico that led to the death of over 200 people, including Border Agent Brian Terry.

Since the news of that operation broke, Issa‘s Oversight Committee has been engaged in a bureaucratic knife fight with the Obama administration’s Department of Justice, commanded by Attorney General Eric Holder, over certain documents related to the scandal. While the Justice Department has turned over thousands of pages relating to gunwalking during both of the previous Presidential administrations, a few key missing pieces remain, such as a set of documents that may explain how as many as 2000 guns fell into the hands of Mexican Drug Cartels. Holder has defied the House’s subpoenas for these documents repeatedly, racking up Congressional contempt citations both at the civil and criminal levels, all the while steadily defending his role in the scandal.

Issa has, understandably, refused to take Holder’s word, given the latter’s dogged unwillingness to have the documents related to the scandal disclosed, even in the face of an enforceable subpoena. The fight has further escalated since President Barack Obama made the decision to back Holder up, citing Executive Privilege, turning this into a drag-out fight between the Executive and Legislative branches of government.

All that means the resolution of the problem depends on the third, Judicial branch of government. Hence Issa’s Tweet, which moves this battle from the halls of Congress and the White House into the arena of a Federal Court, where Holder will either be compelled to turn over the documents Issa is demanding, or be let off the hook by a judge.

However, there is a complication. It’s not clear that judges have the power to force the Executive Branch to surrender such documents to Congress. The reason is quite simply that there is no legal precedent that can guide a judge’s hand on this point. The closest thing to a precedent is a District of Columbia District Court’s ruling during the last years of President George W. Bush’s administration that the House could force certain Executive Branch officials to testify. This, however, does not necessarily imply the ability of the House to force the release of any and all documents or information on the part of the Executive Branch.

Aside from the legal problems, this decision on the part of the House could easily become a talking point in the Presidential race for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, the presumptive nominees on the Republican ticket. And in the event that Issa gets the documents he wants, that talking point has the potential to become a much larger issue, especially given President Obama’s assertion of executive privilege. The issue has, to this point, remained under the radar in the Presidential election. Time will tell if that can remain the case once Issa’s lawsuit is filed.