Former Texas Governor Rick Perry: Obama Lacks ‘Executive Experience’ To Fight ISIS

Secular Talk

On Wednesday, former Texas Governor Rick Perry told conservative talk radio host Dana Loesch that President Obama hasn’t shown any “engagement to stop ISIS,” which he attributed to the president’s “lack of being able to really connect the dots” and “lack of executive experience.”

Barack Obama has been President for more than 6 years. Isn’t that enough foreign policy “executive experience?” How much global “executive experience” does Rick Perry have?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/perry-inexplicably-blasts-obamas-lack-executive-experience

Several Aides To Illinois Governor Paid $200,000 / Yr.

Want to make good money?  Become an aide at the Illinois governor’s office.

The former governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle is making more money as an aide to Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner than she did when she oversaw the Aloha State.

The Illinois Governor’s office, along with payroll records filed by the state comptroller, show governor’s aide Linda Lingle will receive $60,000 for a state contract running from April to June, but after that she will go on the state payroll as an employee with an annual salary of $198,000.

The top paid aide in Illinois is Beth Purvis, who is being paid $250,000 as the Governor’s education czar.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Olin “Trey” Childress III, a former chief operating officer for the state of Georgia, is making $198,000 annually.

Rauner’s chief of staff, Mike Zolnierowicz, is getting $180,000 yearly.

The governor has been paying Donna Arduin $30,000 per month on a four-month contract to serve as a budget adviser, writes the Post-Dispatch.  Per year, that would be $360,000.

Arduin previously worked for Republican governors in California, Florida and Texas, and is nearing the end of her four-month contract.

(Updated article)

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/another-aide-to-illinois-governor-making-nearly/article_732b0fcc-19e5-5e51-901a-3562d2eab961.html

Is Indiana’s Governor Making An ‘About-Face’ On New Law?

Indiana Governor Mike Pence said today that he “mishandled” the passage of a religious freedom law and he now wants a piece of legislation to “clarify” that it does not give anyone the right to discriminate in the state.

“This law does not give anyone a license to deny services to gay and lesbian couples. I could have handled that better this week,” he said, according to ABC News.

The move comes just as the House of Representatives in Arkansas passed amendments to a similar religious freedom bill that is expected to be signed into law when the governor signs the complete version, something that has already announced that he plans to do.

Pence said that he has been working with state legislators and businesses “literally around the clock” to work through the controversy, saying that “discrimination was never part of his plan.”

“I don’t believe for a minute that it was the intention of the general assembly. … It certainly wasn’t my intent but I can appreciate that that’s become the perception … and we need to confront that and we need to confront that boldly,” he said.

The changes that Pence mentioned are expected to be put into a “stripped version” of an election-related bill that is supposed to be debated Wednesday or Thursday by a conference committee. That is what Indiana’s Republican speaker of the House’s spokesman Brian Bosma told ABC News.

Drastic Bill To Give Oklahoma Governor Huge New Powers For Appointments

Oklahoma’s governor Mary Fallin would have broad new powers to appoint the directors of ten different state entities under a bill narrowly passed by a Senate committee, states KGOU.org.

The Senate General Government Committee voted 5-4 earlier this month for the Senate bill 829, written by Broken Arrow Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm, states enidnews.com.  This happened despite concerns it gives the governor too much power.

Dahm says he expects the bill to be rewritten.

The bill calls for firing the directors of ten different state agencies effective Jan. 1st next year and allows the governor to name their replacement.

Gov. Mary Fallin’s spokesman Alex Weintz says his office did not request the bill, but does support its intent.

The proposed legislation includes firings for the following directors:

• The Executive Director appointed by the Oklahoma State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners;
• The Executive Director appointed by the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry;
• The Executive Director appointed by the State Board of Pharmacy;
• The Executive Director appointed by the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision;
• The Executive Director appointed by the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners;
•  The Executive Director appointed by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners;
• The Chief Operating Officer appointed by the Board of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority;
• The Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services appointed by the Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services;
• The Commissioner of Health appointed by the State Board of Health; and
• The Executive Director appointed by the Office of Juvenile Affairs.

(Updated post)

Tom Schweich’s Suicide Exposes Bigotry: MSNBC

MSNBC

Thomas A. “Tom” Schweich (October 2, 1960 – February 26, 2015) served as State Auditor of Missouri and was a member of the Republican Party. He was previously given the rank of Ambassador by President George W. Bush, according to Wikipedia.

In 2015, Schweich announced he would run for Governor of Missouri in the 2016 election.  He committed suicide on February 26, 2015.  He died from a gunshot wound, according to Wikipedia.

Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth denounced the ugly nature of American politics Tuesday while eulogizing Missouri Auditor and potential gubernatorial candidate Tom Schweich. He suggested that political bullying and an anti-Semitic “whisper campaign” led his friend to kill himself, according to the AP.

Danforth expressed “overwhelming anger that politics has gone so hideously wrong” as he spoke at a memorial service that drew many of Missouri’s elected officials and hundreds of others to the Episcopal church that Schweich had attended in suburban St. Louis.

Schweich had been “accused” of being Jewish by fellow politicians, and he had been talking to several people about it just prior to his suicide.

Is there anti-semitism in Missouri?

Updated post

Is There Still A Scott Walker Scandal Going On?

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is one of the brightest stars in the Republican Party, and he has very clear ambitions to run for President in the near future.

Before he hits the national stage, however, he still has a lot of investigations to overcome.

Mike Papantonio discusses this with Brendan Fischer from the Center for Media and Democracy.

Ring of Fire

More on Walker’s campaign finance scandal here.

Presidential Contender Scott Walker Not Sure Of Obama’s Religion

Not only does Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) not know whether President Barack Obama loves America, he also appears to be unaware that the president is a Christian.

In an interview with the Milwaukie Journal-Sentinel, Walker was asked, “Do you think the president loves America?”  This was in reference to former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani’s comments.

The possible 2016 White House candidate said he’s never asked the president about it.

“I assume most people in this country love America. And to me I don’t think it’s worth getting into the battle over whether he does or he doesn’t,” Walker told the Journal Sentinel. “He can handle that himself. I know I do. And I know there are great people in this country who love this country and who … feel this country’s exceptional and it doesn’t necessarily align by party. I think there are Republicans and Democrats and plenty of people in between. I’ve never asked the president so I don’t really know what his opinions are on that one way or another.”

Walker told The Associated Press: “You should ask the president what he thinks about America.”

Recently, the Washington Post asked Walker if he thought the president is a Christian.

“I don’t know,” the potential 2016 candidate told The Washington Post at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C.

“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said of Obama’s faith. “I’ve never asked him that. You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

“First and foremost, my Christian faith gives me a perspective and security that I don’t think I would have otherwise: that I am loved. That, at the end of the day, God is in control,” Obama said in a 2012 interview according to The Huffington Post.

According to an AP survey, 18 percent of Americans thought Obama is Muslim in 2012.   In 2010, 17 percent of Americans believed he is Muslim.

Click to access AP_Racial_Attitudes_Topline_09182012.pdf

The Mystery Woman Behind Chris Christie’s Shady Dealings

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is under criminal investigation and has been corrupt for a long time. Who is the woman involved in all of Christie’s shady dealings? Cliff Schecter joins Sam Seder to discuss it.

More on Governor Christie’s loan here.

Majority Report

Oregon Governor Kitzhaber Resigns, Secretary Of State Takes His Place

Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon resigned from office Friday amid allegations of criminal behavior.

It was almost exactly one month after being sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term.  Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown will replace him.

His resignation is effective Wednesday, he said Friday in a letter.

He announced his resignation amid conflict-of-interest allegations involving his fiancée.  There have been suspicions that his fiancee used their relationship to land contracts for her green-energy consulting business.  A corruption probe is underway.

The criminal investigation by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s office is for the role his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, has held in his office and whether she used that role to obtain private consulting work.

The attorney general’s investigation will continue, said Rosenblum in a statement after Kitzhaber resigned.

He appears to be the first Oregon governor to face a state AG investigation. He is also under review by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, although it is on hold until Rosenblum completes her work.

Also on Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s office for Oregon launched its own investigation and filed a subpoena with the Department of Administrative Services requesting financial documents relating to both Kitzhaber and Hayes.

The resignation of the governor instantly promoted the liberal Democrat who is next in line to succeed him: the 54-year-old secretary of state who has long been thought to have her eye on Oregon’s top elected position.

Kate Brown is widely considered to be to the left of the departing Democratic governor.  She will also become the first openly bisexual governor in the nation.

Brown will not assume office until Wednesday, when Kitzhaber’s resignation takes effect.

NY Prosecutor To Ask Questions To Gov. Cuomo About Sheldon Silver Corruption

MSNBC

MSNBC’s Ari Melber joins Morning Joe to look at a new interview he conducted with U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Preet Bharara, who recently indicted Democratic NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges.