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One of the strangest conspiracy theories about former President Obama just resurfaced thanks to radio host Alex Jones.

Writer Mike Cernovich was a guest on The Alex Jones Show Friday. The two were talking about the former first family, when the conversation turned to Obama and his daughters.

"He's completely abandoned his daughter who is making her rounds through the New York party scene," Cernovich quipped. "Remember when Jenna Bush went out and drank a little bit of beer, I think actually in Austin, Texas."

SEE ALSO: Report: Secret Service confronts suspicious man over allegedly watching Malia Obama

"It was the end of the world," Jones responded.

"Obama's basically an absentee father, abandoned -- a lot of sad things going on there," Cernovich replied.

Jones took it further when he brought up a conspiracy theory that says Sasha and Malia Obama aren't the former president and Michelle Obama's real children.

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Malia and Sasha Obama through the years

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Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Democrat Barack Obama (2nd R), wife Michelle and their daughters Malia (R), 3, and Sasha (L), 6, spend time in their Chicago hotel room, November 2, 2004. Obama faces Republican candidate Alan Keys in the first Senate race with two African American candidates.

(REUTERS/John Gress)

Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia (R) listen as her husband Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks during a campaign stop in Oskaloosa, Iowa, July 4, 2007. REUTERS/Keith Bedford (UNITED STATES)

Sasha Obama walks from Jorge's Sombrero restaurant after a meal with her father U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and her sister Malia and mother Michelle in Pueblo, Colorado November 1, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008 (USA)

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is cheered by supporters after winning the Democratic Iowa caucuses in Des Moines, Iowa January 3, 2008. Obama is seen with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia (L) and Sasha.

(REUTERS/Jim Young/UNITED STATES)

'U.S. first lady Michelle Obama laughs while her daughter Malia reads a book to patients at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington. Also is Obama's other daughter Sasha.

(Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images)

U..S President Barack Obama's daughters Malia and Sasha Obama watch the inaugural parade from their father's reviewing stand in Washington January 20, 2009. Barack Obama became the first black U.S. president on Tuesday and declared it is time to set aside petty differences and embark on a new era of responsibility to repair the country and its image abroad.

(REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/UNITED STATES)

Sasha Obama, the youngest daughter of U.S. President Barack Obama, smiles as she looks at her sister Malia as they wait to collect takeout lunch at Nancy's restaurant in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, August 26, 2009.

(REUTERS/Jason Reed/UNITED STATES POLITICS)

U.S. President Barack Obama's daughters Malia (L) and Sasha play with the first family's dog Bo as they wait for Obama's return to Washington after a day trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania, where he participated in economic rallies, September 15, 2009.

(REUTERS/Mike Theiler)

President Barack Obama speaks onstage as Michelle Obama, Sasha Obama and Malia Obama look on during TNT's 'Christmas in Washington 2010' at the National Building Museum on December 12, 2010 in Washington, DC.

(Theo Wargo via Getty Images)

Malia Obama and Sasha Obama attend the first White House Dance Series with their mother, First Lady Michelle Obama, in the East Room of the White House September 7, 2010 in Washington, DC. The dance event was a tribute to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Judith Jamison, a famous modern dancer, choreographer and muse to Alvin Ailey.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama enjoys a "shaved ice" with his daughter Malia at Island Snow Hawaii while on vacation in Kailua January1, 2010.

(REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

U.S. President Barack Obama walks with his daughter, Sasha, as they look at the White-Handed Gibbon at the Honolulu Zoo in Hawaii January 3, 2010.

(REUTERS/Larry Downing)

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, sit for a family portrait in the Oval Office, Dec. 11, 2011.

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

(Photo by Pete Souza/White House/Handout/Corbis via Getty Images)

11/23/12- The White House- Washington, DC

First Lady Michelle Obama, first daughters Malia and Sasha and first dog Bo receive the 2012 Christmas Tree.

(Photo by ImageCatcher News Service/Corbis via Getty Images)

11/21/12- The White House- Washington, DC

President Barack Obama and his daughters Malia and Sasha.

(Photo by ImageCatcher News Service/Corbis via Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama celebrates with first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia (R) and Sasha at their election night victory rally in Chicago, November 7, 2012.

(REUTERS/Jason Reed)

Sasha (L) and Malia Obama, daughters of US President Barack Obama, take a photo of themselves during the Presidential Inaugural Parade on January 21, 2013 in Washington, DC.

(JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama speaks to a cashier as he pays for books with daughter Malia at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington on November 30, 2013 as part of Small Business Saturday.

(NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama walks from Marine One with his daughter Sasha as they return to the White House in Washington January 5, 2014. Obama and his daughters were returning from a two week holiday vacation.

(REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

Malia Obama and Sasha Obama speak onstage at TNT Christmas in Washington 2014 at the National Building Museum on December 14, 2014 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage)

U.S. President Barack Obama's daughters Sasha (L) and Malia listen to their father during the pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey "Cheese" at the White House in Washington November 26, 2014.

(REUTERS/Gary Cameron)

Sasha Obama, daughter of U.S. President Barack Obama, participates in the turkey pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House November 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. In a tradition dating back to 1947, the president pardons a turkey, sparing the tom -- and his alternate -- from becoming a Thanksgiving Day feast. This year, Americans were asked to choose which of two turkeys would be pardoned and to cast their votes on Twitter.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Malia Obama (R) and Sasha Obama after arrival at Malpensa Airport in Milan, on June 17, 2015.

(Photo by Andrea Spinelli/Corbis via Getty Images)

Malia Obama, daughter of U.S. President Barack Obama, participates in the turkey pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House November 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. In a tradition dating back to 1947, the president pardons a turkey, sparing the tom -- and his alternate -- from becoming a Thanksgiving Day feast. This year, Americans were asked to choose which of two turkeys would be pardoned and to cast their votes on Twitter.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Malia and Sasha Obama attend the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the Ellipse south of the White House December 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. The lighting of the tree is an annual tradition attended by the president and the first family.

(Photo by Olivier Douliery- Pool/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama and daughter Malia make their way to board Air Force One before departing from Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on April 8, 2016. Obama is heading to San Francisco to take part in a Democratic National Committee roundtable discussion and to attend a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser.

(MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia (L) and Sasha (R) walk to Air Force One as they depart from Roswell, New Mexico, U.S., June 17, 2016.

(REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

U.S. President Barack Obama and his daughter Malia walk from Marine One to board Air Force One upon their departure from O'Hare Airport in Chicago April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

U.S. President Barack Obama and First lady Michelle Obama's youngest daughter Sasha (C) picks up her food at the Z-burger chain during the "I'm with Hillary" promotion in Washington, U.S., October 28, 2016. Customers using the password received a free hamburger today. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

Sasha (L) and Malia Obama, the daughters of U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama walk to Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Malia Obama attends the 2016 Budweiser Made in America Festival at Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 4, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Anheuser-Busch)

HAVANA, CUBA - MARCH 22: (L-R) Malia Obama, Sasha Obama, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama react to the first run scored during an exhibition game between the Cuban national baseball team and Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the Estado Latinoamericano March 22, 2016 in Havana, Cuba. This is the first time a sitting president has visited Cuba in 88 years.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Malia Obama (L) and Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco attend an Iftar dinner at the royal palace in Marrakech, June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

Sasha Obama, daughter of U.S. President Barack Obama, attends her first State Dinner in honor of the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau at the White House in Washington March 10, 2016.

(REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Malia Obama attends a State Dinner at the White House March 10, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Hosted by President and First Lady Obama, the dinner is in honor of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and First Lady Sophie Gregoire Trudeau of Canada.

(Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia (R) and Sasha (L) board Air Force One at Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, U.S., August 21, 2016.

(REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

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"The word is those aren't even his kids," Jones said in response.

Jones didn't give any evidence to back this claim up.

Rumors suggesting that the Obama daughters were not biologically conceived by the former president and first lady have emerged before. The claims came primarily on fringe anti-Obama message boards, with users primarily dissecting photos of the girls to suggest neither look like their parents.

SEE ALSO: Twitter erupts over Trump's 'awkward' handshake

Earlier this year, a fake news story which falsely reported that a man had filed a lawsuit claiming he was the biological father of Obama's daughters made the rounds on social media.

President Trump has repeatedly praised Jones. The president even appearing on his show before he was elected.

See more here:
Radio host suggests Malia and Sasha aren't Obama's kids as he criticizes Barack's parenting - AOL

New York Times

DeVos Halts Obama-Era Plan to Revamp Student Loan Management New York Times The Obama administration sought to replace this labyrinthine system with a single entry point a sea change in how student loan servicing would work. Instead of dealing directly with private vendors, all federal borrowers would gain access to their ... DeVos Pulls Back On Obama Administration's Plans For Student LoansNewsy Betsy DeVos Nixes Obama's Student Loan Protection BillHelloBeautiful James W. Runcie, Chief Operating Officer Federal Student Aid FROM - US Department of EducationUS Department of Education Romper all 44 news articles »

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DeVos Halts Obama-Era Plan to Revamp Student Loan Management - New York Times

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is wasting little time undoing Obama-era regulations.

In a little over two months as chair, he's scaled back a program on internet subsidies, ended a probe into companies' phone data plans and scrapped a report on broadband funding for schools.

And he's gotten help from President Trump and GOP lawmakers, who repealed privacy rules that would have restricted what internet service providers can do with customer data.

Pai, though, is only getting started. Here are five regulations or policies he's working to roll back.

1. Net neutrality

When the FCC adopted its landmark net neutrality rules in 2015, requiring internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, Pai issued a 67-page statement blasting the order as regulatory overreach that would stifle the internet economy.

The rules rankled Republicans and the broadband industry because they reclassified internet service providers as telecommunications services, opening them to regulation similar to public utilities.

Pai has been meeting with industry representatives in recent days to lay out his plan to roll back the rules. The details still aren't public, but would reportedly involve Pai no longer treating internet services providers as public utilities. In exchange, broadband companies would voluntarily include net neutrality principles in their terms of service with customers.

The idea is that the Federal Trade Commission, and not the FCC, would be in charge of policing companies. The FTC is largely responsible for taking action against companies that engage in deceptive practices like violating their terms of services.

But critics worry internet providers could renege on their agreements and change their terms of service after the net neutrality rules are eliminated.

Some also say the process for repealing the rules, which generated a record amount of public comment in 2015, could take years.

2. Business data regulations

In the much nearer future, the FCC chairman is looking to deregulate the business data service (BDS) market an area former Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler also tried to reform.

The services, also known as special access lines, allow businesses to securely transmit large amounts of data.

Wheeler had proposed new rules that he said would encourage competition in the market, but dropped that plan after Trump's election.

At the agencys open meeting on Thursday, the FCC, will vote on more deregulation of the market.

Where this competition exists, we will relax unnecessary regulation, thereby creating greater incentives for the private sector to invest in next-generation networks, Pai wrote in a blog post last month.

Some small business groups have criticized his plans, saying deregulation could drive up prices.

The Small Business Administrations Office of Advocacy wrote a letter to the FCC asking them to delay the vote, warning the proposal may result in reduced choices for small businesses.

3. Broadband subsidies

Pai was quick to take on the FCC's Lifeline program, which provides broadband subsidies to low-income households.

In February, he drew widespread criticism from proponents of the program when he revoked internet service providers from participating

Democrats accused him of breaking his promise to help expand broadband access to poor and rural Americans.

In a public blog post, Paidefended his moves.

Hyperbolic headlines always attract more attention than mundane truths, he wrote. For example, a story detailing how the FCC was undertaking further review of the eligibility of 1% of Lifeline providers wouldnt generate too many clicks.

Last month, Pai went further, announcing the FCC would not approve any new companies to enter the program, and letting states pick their own participants. He also said the agency would no longer fight a legal challenge from states over how the FCC approved companies to take part.

By letting states take the lead on certification as envisioned by Congress, we will strengthen the Lifeline program and put the implementation of last years order on a solid legal footing, he said.

4. Media ownership limits

On Thursday, FCC commissioners will also be voting on a proposal to undo an Obama-era change to media ownership rules, which made it harder for major TV broadcasters to buy up local stations.

Broadcasters are currently limited to serving 39 percent of the countrys households. In August of last year, the FCC voted to do away with the "UHF discount " which let broadcasting companies count just half of the audiences of certain channels they owned toward the 39 percent limit.

Pai is now proposing to bring it back, and the proposal is expected to pass next week.

Critics say it means more media consolidation and less diversity in news outlets.

Further consolidation will ensure that there are fewer independent news outlets serving as a counter-balance to misleading or inaccurate information from other sources, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) wrote in a letter to Pai on Thursday.

Pai has said he believes the UHF discount is outdated but disagreed with how the FCC repealed it. He wants the agency to explore raising the ownership limit before doing away with the discount.

Im proposing that we hit the reset button, returning the rule to the way it was up until last fall, he wrote in his Marchblog post. And then well launch a comprehensive review of the national ownership cap, including the UHF discount, later this year.

5. Television box reforms

Obama FCC Chair Wheeler had proposed reforming the set-top box market, allowing consumers to buy them from third parties and breaking what critics call a cable company monopoly.

One of Pais first actions as chairman was to withdraw the proposal, prompting an angry response from his predecessor.

Removing set-top box rule victory for Cablewood over consumers, Wheelertweetedin January. $200 million Pai Tax on helpless cable subs. Trump helping little guy??

Efforts to let consumers use third-party devices to access cable have run into staunch opposition from Republicans and the telecom industry.

When the proposal was considered last year, Pai argued that it would hinder efforts to develop technology that would do away with cable boxes. But how he'd change the market is still unclear.

My view is pretty simple, he said in a February 2016statement. Our goal should not be to unlock the box; it should be to eliminate the box."

And as many predicted, the proposal was dead on arrival under Republicans.

The rest is here:
Five Obama-era tech policies on the chopping block - The Hill

Being Libertarian

Trumpism Is Not Compatible With Small Government Being Libertarian My greatest concern regarding this new regime is Trumpism, whatever it means each day, is beginning to replace the formerly dominant conservatism or libertarianism of the Republican Party. With only the strongest surviving, many of our principles ...

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Trumpism Is Not Compatible With Small Government - Being Libertarian

Brendan Cox bcox@norwichbulletin.com, (860) 425-4225 bcoxNB

Two years ago, Norwich Republicans in a coup secured a supermajority on the City Council, riding voter frustration over burdensome local taxes. But if the voters who elected them want to take it a step farther this year and if theyre willing to take a big gamble on an untested radical ideology they may get an opportunity in the Libertarian Party.

Bill Russell, the Libertarian who ran for mayor in 2013 and may mount a campaign again this year, is not interested in wimpy scalpels and the surgical budget cuts they effect: He said the citys $120 million-some-odd budget needs the meat cleaver treatment. When I egged him on, he upgraded to power tools.

Lets take a chainsaw to the budget. Lets take a chainsaw to the regulations. Lets get government out of peoples lives so they can start enjoying their lives again, Russell told me.

Norwich Libertarians held a town committee meeting last week, an event Russell said wasnt as well-attended as hed hoped. Nonetheless, he hopes the party can put up a full slate in Norwich, and unless Russell finds someone else to run for mayor, he said, I guess I will have to do it.

State party Chairman Dan Reale, of Plainfield you may remember him from his runs at the 2nd Congressional District seat held by Democrat Joe Courtney said there are now Libertarian committees in 33 Connecticut towns. The party has been engaged in unprecedented levels of activity and organization, Reale wrote in a party newsletter recently.

I was unable to get in touch with Reale, who I expect to run for selectman in Plainfield, last week. But if Russell is any indication, the party focused on individual liberty would use local power to eviscerate government with various kitchen and lawn implements, rescuing the taxpayer from the injustice of having to pay for ample firefighters and police. (And good luck convincing the rest of the council of the insidious evil of the government they represent.)

Russell was light on details the party is just starting its work on the 2017 election but one was to eliminate Norwichs paid fire department.

Moreover: Theres a lot of things we can do with the police station to make it more efficient and make it so we never have to move the police station, Russell said. What those things are is anyones guess.

But Russell, at least, is firm in his convictions: Government has grown way too big, way too intrusive. Its time for government to take a back seat to liberty or freedom or whatever you want to call it.

And government only stays in the front seat because voters keep electing Democrats and Republicans, who just want to control peoples lives, Russell said. When you control peoples lives you end with Nazi Germany, is what you end up with. (I seem to recall a certain White House spokesman getting into some trouble for using that nasty Nazi reference last week.)

Russell is serious about slashing and burning the city budget, though this philosophy doesnt really merit being taken seriously. But I do agree with him about one thing.

The city of Norwich is damn near a ghost town right now The Democrats and Republicans have really screwed this town up, he said. Given a chance, perhaps Russell, or whoever ends up running on a Libertarian line, could prove just the wake-up call the city needs, or thinks it needs.

What do we have to lose? Well, we can only find out if we hand a Libertarian the keys to City Hall and an oilcan for that lawn tool.

Politically speaking, 2016 was an outlandish year. Norwich could continue the theme if theyre willing to risk the Norwich Budget Chainsaw Massacre. Who doesnt love a good horror movie?

Brendan Cox is The Bulletins opinion page editor. Email him at bcox@norwichbulletin.com or follow him on Twitter: @bcoxNB.

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Brendan Cox: Norwich Libertarian vows budget massacre - Norwich Bulletin