In The News: Saturday Edition

U.S. Deploys Fighter Jets To Base Near Iran

The United States military has deployed several F-22 fighter jets to an allied base less than 200 miles (320 km) from Iran, Fox News reported Friday.

"The United States Air Force has deployed F-22s to Southwest Asia," Lt.Col. John Dorrian, Air Force public affairs, said in a written statement. "Such deployments strengthen military-to-military relationships, promote sovereign and regional security, improve combined tactical air operations, and enhance interoperability of forces, equipment and procedures."

The Air Force refused to disclose how many jets were sent or exactly where they are stationed, but US officials have told Fox News the jets are in hangars at the United Arab Emirates' Al Dafra Air Base.

The F-22 – the US' most advanced fighter jet – has yet to see combat. They are stealth, and they specialize in air-to-air combat, but can also strike air-to-ground if needed.

"This is America's premier fighter jet. It has no rival," Fox News quoted one Air Force official as saying.

Russia: Cashing In On Syrian Turmoil

Right on schedule, with the battle of Gog-MaGog approaching:

Russia’s decision to back embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has presented military, political and economic opportunities that could mean billions of dollars in dividends for Moscow

It also could regain for Russia a prominent geopolitical position in Syria by allowing it to fill the political void created by the withdrawal of U.S. influence in the region, according to informed sources.

Moscow, which over the years has supplied the al-Assad regime with billions of dollars in military equipment, feels even more emboldened now that the survival of the regime appears to be emerging and the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization decided not to intervene militarily in Syria’s civil war.

At the same time, Moscow’s show of military force – by positioning its warships in and near the Syrian base at Tartous and by setting up permanent naval patrols off the Syrian coast – displays a strong presence that underscores its backing of its only true ally in the region.

Barak: Iranians Determined To Fool The World

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that Iran "is determined to fool the entire world" and obtain nuclear weapons.

"They do so while repeatedly disobeying Security Council decisions and directives from the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna," Barak said. "The last report by [IAEA Director General Yukiya] Amano clarifies the intelligence picture in an unmistakable way."

Barak acknowledged that Israel's "stopwatch" on Iran is "ticking faster" than the US's, because Israel's abilities are more limited. . .

'War' Promised If IRS Attacks Church Speech

While a group that opposes expressions of Christianity in public forums wants the IRS to use its formidable power to crack down on what pastors say, one legal foundation says, “Bring it on,” promising a “legal war” if churches are attacked on such issues.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State Executive Director Barry Lynn recently wrote a letter to the IRS demanding help in quashing the speech of a leader in the Roman Catholic Diocese in Peoria, Ill.

The April 19 letter calls a recent homily given by Bishop Daniel Jenky a violation of IRS regulations relating to the tax-exempt status of the church, because Jenky cited atrocities of past governments, specifically naming Hitler and Stalin, and then cited the failings of the Obama administration.

The homily was also reprinted in the Catholic Post, and urged Catholics to stand by their religious convictions, even outside the walls of the church.

“Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care,” he said.

“In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path,” the homily says.

25 Horrible Statistics About The U.S. Economy

The rate of employment among working age Americans is exactly where it was two years ago and household incomes have actually gone down while Obama has been president. Home ownership levels and home prices continue to decline. Meanwhile, food and gasoline continue to become even more expensive. The percentage of Americans that are dependent on the government is at an all-time record high and the U.S. national debt has risen by more than 5 trillion dollars under Obama. We simply have not seen the type of economic recovery that we have seen after every other economic recession since World War II.

The horrible statistics about the U.S. economy that you are about to read are not talked about much by the mainstream media. They would rather be "positive" and "upbeat" about the direction that things are headed.

But lying to the American people is not going to help them. If you are speeding in a car toward a 500 foot cliff, you don't need someone to cheer you on. Instead, you need someone to slam on the brakes.

The cold, hard reality of the matter is that the U.S. economy is in far worse shape than it was four or five years ago.

We have never come close to recovering from the last recession and another one will be here soon.

The following are 25 horrible statistics about the U.S. economy that Barack Obama does not want you to know....

Obama Bypasses Congress, Frees Aid To PA

President Barack Obama has bypassed a Congress block and signed a waiver declaring that aid to the Palestinian Authority is “important to the security interests of the United States,” AFP reported on Friday.

Occupy Prepares Nationwide May Day Mayhem

Occupy’s plans for nationwide May Day chaos are going ahead full-speed ahead, with the movement boasting of “direct action” schemes that include protest marches, shutting down the financial sector, and blocking bridges and tunnels.

The group’s official websites announce plans to “occupy” Manhattan-bound bridges and tunnels as well as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Tuesday.

“This May Day, Occupy Wall Street, in coalition with numerous other organizations and occupations, calls for a Day Without The 99%: No Work, No School, No Shopping, No Housework, No Compliance. Let’s take the streets, reclaim our communities, and support each other. NOT the 1%.

The plan to shut down the U.S. economy is reminiscent of plans first hatched in March 2010 by Stephen Lerner, a controversial anti-capitalist SEIU organizer. Lerner visited the Obama White House at least four times.

WND was first to report Lerner was the brain behind some of the economic protest templates being used by the Occupy Wall Street campaign.

Lerner last year laid out a mass economic protest plan intended to bring down the stock market. He boasted it could be used to cause a new financial crisis. His ideology prompted some conservative critics to go so far as to label him an economic terrorist.

'Crucify Them': The Obama Way

One of President Obama's radical eco-bureaucrats has apologized for confirming an indelible truth: This White House treats politically incorrect private industries as public enemies who deserve regulatory death sentences.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Al Armendariz, an avowed greenie on leave from Southern Methodist University, gave a little-noticed speech in 2010 outlining his sadistic philosophy. "I was in a meeting once, and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement, and I think it was probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting, but I'll go ahead and tell you what I said," he began. In a video obtained and released by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., Armendariz then shared his bloody analogy:

"It was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They'd go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they'd find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. ... So, that's our general philosophy."

EPA Official's Hollow Apology For 'Crucify' Comment Won't Stop Investigation

Sen. Inhofe, who has launched an investigation into the EPA’s “crucify” philosophy, said today that Administrator Armendariz apologized for his words, but not for EPA's actions:

"Administrator Armendariz apologized yesterday for his 'poor choice of words' when he admitted that EPA's 'general philosophy' is to 'crucify' and 'make examples' of oil and gas companies, but he did not apologize for EPA's actions towards its apparent crucifixion victims.

"Take the word 'crucify' out of Administrator Armendariz's statement and nothing has changed: you still have a rogue agency following through on President Obama's 'general philosophy' to increase the price of gas and electricity - intimidating and levying huge fines on citizens and industry without sufficient justification or affording them due process.

Senator Seeks Examples Of EPA Efforts To 'Crucify' Businesses, Abuse Of Power

Who Is EPA Crucifixion Chief Al Armendariz?