If you would like to add a comment to any of the threads here on AADB, registration with blogspot.com is not required. Simply click on the ‘comments’ link at the bottom of an essay, and either enter a nickname under ‘choose an identity’ or post your comment anonymously. Serious comments are always welcome.



REQUIEM

Below are the two final essays to be posted on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed. The first one is written by a friend -- screen name 'Euro-American Scum' -- who, over the past four years, has been the most faithful essayist here. He has written about everything from his pilgrimage to Normandy in 2004 to take part in the 60th–year commemoration of the invasion, to his memories of his tour in Vietnam. His dedication to America’s founding principles ... and those who have sacrificed to preserve them over the past 200+ years ... is unequaled. Thank you, E-A-S. It has been a privilege to include your writing here, and it is a privilege to call you my friend.

The second essay is my own farewell. And with it I thank all of the many regular visitors, and those who may have only dropped in occasionally, for coming here. I hope you learned something. I hope a seed or two was planted. But, even if not, I thank you for stopping by ... 25 March, 2010

2/09/2007

Celebrity, Bread and Circuses


A few brief comments today ...

I spent roughly eight hours sitting at a desk today, working – half of that time at my office, and half of it at home. For some of those eight hours, until I could bear no more of it, I had my radio tuned to an all-news station, or I had ‘fair and balanced’ (*spit*) FoxNews on the television, in the background.

I would venture to guess that close to ninety percent of the news broadcast/telecast today had to do with the death of a celebrity, whose contributions (in this writer’s opinion) to the world could fit on the head of a pin, with room to spare for a dust mite or two.

Three questions:

I

When was the last time anyone heard or saw a news report, especially on ‘fair and balanced’ (*spit*) FoxNews, focusing on the fact that the front-runner for the democrat party’s nomination for president of the United States, and the potential next leader of the free world, was intricately involved with every facet of her husband’s presidency – during which the following (and more) occurred?

The president hosted more than a hundred fundraising dinners in the White House in which he solicited, and received, huge financial contributions from our ideological enemies.

The first lady (the candidate-to-be, herself) made a mathematically impossible fortune in cattle futures, virtually overnight.

The president consistently ‘invented’ principles of law for no other reason than to delay or avoid prosecution.

Friends of the president, the Lippo Group’s John Huang and James Riady, gained illegal access to classified material at the Commerce Department.

Subpoenaed documents (the first lady’s billing records, documentation of the White House travel office firings, etc.) disappeared.

Nine hundred personal FBI files of the president’s political opponents were illegally obtained and reviewed by Craig Livingstone.

The White House obstructed the FBI’s investigation of Vince Foster’s office, following his ‘suicide’.

The vice president (now a convenient candidate for both an Academy Award and a Nobel Prize) and the first lady’s chief of staff solicited, and received, millions in illegal campaign contributions.

Under presidential direction, sensitive missile and satellite technology, secure communications, high-tech machine tools, and supercomputers were transferred to Communist China, primarily by two American companies (Hughes and Loral), both of which were heavy contributors to the President’s campaigns.

Under presidential direction, the deployment of an American missile defense system was road-blocked, leaving us vulnerable to the very ICBMs that he was helping our enemies produce. American military manpower, materiel, and equipment (especially ships and aircraft) were also cut by roughly one-half.

Under blatantly unconstitutional presidential directive, nearly two million acres of barren, undesirable, completely non-historic state and federal land were declared a ‘national monument’, thus preventing the mining of one of the largest deposits of clean coal in North America -- the only other major alternative source of clean coal being owned by the Indonesian Lippo Group (among the fortunate, living ‘friends of Bill’).

The president hired a squadron of lawyers, often providing them White House offices and government salaries, so that they could perform large amounts of personal legal work for the Clintons.

The president engaged in oral sex in the Oval Office with a White House intern.

The president sexually assaulted a White House volunteer, the wife of a deceased friend.

The president committed and suborned perjury, and concealed and destroyed evidence.

The president and his operatives saw to it that those who remained silent about his crimes either received lucrative jobs or promotions, outrageous ‘consulting fees’, or pardons ... while, at the same time, they demonized and ruined the lives and careers of those who came forward with the truth.

The president was very possibly indirectly complicit in the execution-style murders of intern Mary Mahoney in a Washington, DC Starbucks, and Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, who mysteriously received a bullet hole in the back of his head during a ‘plane crash’ in Croatia.

The president raped Juanita Broaddrick.

The president sexually molested Paula Jones.

As a result of their acquaintance with him, and possible knowledge of his character flaws, many of the President’s friends are dead.

The president bears major responsibility for North Korea's build-up of nuclear arms, as a result of phony, weak-kneed 'diplomacy', and refusal to seek peace through strength.

The president bears major responsibility for the increase in Islamic terrorism worldwide, as a result of its refusal to capture Osama bin Laden, when capture was ensured.

Two final words: Sandy Berger.

II

Why is none of the above considered important enough to be newsworthy, when the front-runner for the democrat presidential nomination was either intimately involved with the operations and/or played a major role in their cover-up? And why will all of the above continue to be ignored right up until, and beyond, November 4th, 2008? And how much more newsworthy is the story that filled the airwaves today, and will no doubt continue to be deemed a major national event?

III

When we have been thoroughly saturated with tributes to Anna Nicole Smith, and reflections on her ‘tragic’ life, will any of us know the names of the following four men, all of whom died this past week in much more tragic (in this writer’s opinion) circumstances than Ms. Smith, and all of whom contributed mightily to the peace and security of the world they left behind?

1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Nebraska

Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Prairieville, Louisiana

Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Homer, New York

Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Alabama



~ joanie

94 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are a treasure.

Anonymous said...

That's one damning list! And you're right, none of it will be mentioned during the campaign. The Clinton machine is well oiled and ready to go.

Anonymous said...

Please spell it right:

SANDY BURGLAR

Anonymous said...

Bravo Joanie!

But don't think things will get any better when Anna Nicole is out of the headlines. The Duke rape case will take over again.

Luis said...

Great post Joanie.

Incredibly Anna Nicole Smith's death lead news bulletins this side of the Atlantic too. The BBC lead on the story last evening and the majority of British papers have it on their front page this morning.

It really is a sure sign of a loss of reality and a failure to realise the priorities in this world.

As your title suggests the cult of celebrity is nothing more than an up to date version of "bread and circuses" designed to distract the people in dictatorships in previous eras. A people fed and entertained will not ask too many difficult questions of their leaders.

At least that is the hope of all those leaders (or would be leaders) who have things to hide. All those who waste time following the lives and antics of celebrities rather than focusing on more important real issues(and I plead guilty to this myself sometimes) are complicit in a system that favours corrupt leaders. Such leaders offer a celebrity image themselves that masks their distasteful reality. While good citizens are distracted by celebrity trivia, there is more opportunity for doubtful leaders to go unchallenged and get away with crimes.

Anonymous said...

I wish your list of grievances could be published far and wide, but a small part of me fears that it would still make no difference.

Excellent work, Joanie.

Anonymous said...

This is very interesting. I had heard a lot of this stuff before, but some was new to me. Have you read "The Truth about Hillary?" I understand it packs a lot of punch.

Anonymous said...

Words fail me. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

If I had to lay odds on who our next President will be, I'd lay them on Hillary, and we'll have the media and special interest and foreign contributors to blame.

This is a great expose, cw-patriot. Thank you for putting it all down on paper, I just wish the whole world would read it.

Anonymous said...

Bill Clinton is the ONLY US President to refuse to release his medical records.

Anonymous said...

In an early look at the 2008 presidential race, Pennsylvania voters back former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani by a narrow 47 - 44 percent over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Arizona Sen. John McCain gets 46 percent to Sen. Clinton's 45 percent, a tie.

Clinton is in a close race with either Giuliani or McCain in three swing states polled by Quinnipiac (KWIN uh-pe-ack) University: She leads McCain 46 - 42 percent and Giuliani 46 - 43 percent in Ohio (January 30); February 7 Florida results show Giuliani over Clinton 47 - 44 percent and Clinton edging McCain 47 - 43 percent.


http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1327.xml?ReleaseID=1014

Anonymous said...

Nixon's Watergate "scandal" was a smaller crime than anything you have in your Clinton list of 23 items, and yet he was hounded out of office because of it.

Go figure. < /sarc >

Anonymous said...

If anyone can read this list and still vote for Hitlery they're brain dead.

Anonymous said...

Hillary held accountable for her criminal behavior? What are you smoking?

Anonymous said...

It's too early to consider Hillary a shoe in. The media has plenty of time to develop a fondness for Obama, unless Hillary has all their FBI files that is.

Anonymous said...

A sycophantic media who will do anything to insure that Hillary becomes President should scare the bejeebers out of every American citizen that draws breath.

Anonymous said...

Bill Clinton is the ONLY US President to refuse to release his medical records.

Sandra, that's probably because he is the ONLY US President to have a history of STD's and serious illegal drug use.

Anonymous said...

Top 10 Questions Hillary Clinton Should Answer:

10. Goldman Sachs, another corporation that generously funded your Senate campaign, received a $25-million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and a $1.65-billion bond in federal 9/11 aid. You went to the groundbreaking ceremony of their new 43-story headquarters in 2005 and said you were "proud to have worked with my colleagues in Congress to secure $20 billion in federal aid for New York" and "major employers like Goldman Sachs needed to know they had a partner in government." That year, the company was worth $43.3 billion and turned a $5.6 billion profit. Why should the government give them this money?

9. In a 2003 radio interview, you said you were "adamantly against illegal aliens" and then in 2006 told a group of illegal Irish immigrants who were lobbying Congress for amnesty on Capitol Hill, "It is so heartening to see you here. You are really here on behalf of what America means, America's values, America's hopes." You also voted for Sen. John McCain and Sen. Ted Kennedy's amnesty plan. How do you reconcile these actions?

8. Did you formulate your plans to "track and monitor" the health of 9/11 workers for the next 20 years as a stepping stone to universal healthcare?

7. Will your husband continue his international lobbying activities for his foundation (the Clinton Global Initiative) if you go to the White House?

6. What legislative favors did you support for Corning, Inc. after receiving large donations from their employees and political actions committee?

5. What programs would you cut to help balance the budget?

4. Who in the mainstream media -- CBS, NBC, ABC, the Washington Post, the New York Times and others -- do you collaborate with regularly?

3. Do you believe we must win the Iraq war, and if so, how would you specifically do that?

2. Did the Clinton Administration exaggerate the threat Iraq posed to the United States?

1. Will you pledge not to use any of the $20 million in foreign money your husband has earned since leaving the White House for any campaign expenses?


Compiled by HUMAN EVENTS Assistant Editor Amanda B. Carpenter, author of "The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton."

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19308

Anonymous said...

Chelsea’s apple seems to have not fallen far from the tree:

Chelsea Clinton's boyfriend - and soon-to-be-husband, if the tabloids are to be believed - is Marc Mezvinsky, 29, a former intern in her father's White House who now works for Goldman Sachs. His parents were also Democratic politicians and family friends of the Clintons, but Mr Mezvinsky's father Ed, a former congressman, is serving six years in jail for fraud offences he committed to recoup losses in a Nigerian scam.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/28/whills28.xml

Anonymous said...

Bill better hire a food taster if it starts to look like Hillary needs a little sympathy vote to win. ;)

Good work, Joanie.

Anonymous said...

In Hillary Clinton Spins Her War Vote Like a Top, Bruce "McQ" McQuain asks:

"Are people actually going to let her get away with this disingenuous and revisionist crap?"

I think the answer is "yes".

Anonymous said...

Luis-

It's good to hear that our friends "across the pond" agree with us (at least on this board) that the media is out of control.

Anonymous said...

Joanie, this is one of your best. It's right in front of our eyes what the Clintons have done and if the sleaze and stench return to the White House we will never recover, even the ignoramuses who put her there.

Every time I've turned Fox News on in the last 2 days the Anna Nicole story has been on so I haven't watched any news at all. I agree with your "spit" evaluation. There's really nowhere but the internet and real conservative magazines to go anymore for news.

Anonymous said...

Of all the sickening things in your list of Clinton crimes this is the worst:

Under presidential direction, sensitive missile and satellite technology, secure communications, high-tech machine tools, and supercomputers were transferred to Communist China, primarily by two American companies (Hughes and Loral), both of which were heavy contributors to the President’s campaigns.

That is a direct reason the Chinese were able to shoot down that satellite last month, and one of our reconnaissance satellites could be next.

Did the media connect the dots? Not a one.

Anonymous said...

Everything on your Clinton list is speculation, none of it has been proved. You are delusional.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous,

When the muslims that Cocaine-Boy Bill Clinton enabled show up at you doorstep and start cutting your throat, you will say that doesn't prove anything.

Anonymous said...

When the muslims that Cocaine-Boy Bill Clinton enabled show up at you doorstep and start cutting your throat, you will say that doesn't prove anything.

It scares me that people like you vote.

Anonymous said...

Note to anonymous:

In a former job, I had the displeasure to be standing about ten feet in front of Bill Clinton as he gave a short speech. Nobody was standing between him and me, so I had a clear view of the man.

His face was the most ungodly shade of tomato-soup red that I have ever seen on a human being, and it wasn't because of the heat - the room was air-conditioned.

I am personally convinced that he had just visited the restroom and snorted a line or two, and as evidence I offer this fact:

There were at least twenty press photographers snapping his picture while he spoke, yet not one photo that any of them took has ever been made public. I've checked.

Anonymous said...

anonymous,

It revolts me that see-no-Jihad, hear-no-Jihad left wing cretins like yourself work relentlessly to destroy the US.

Anonymous said...

HEAR and SEE lefty hero Bill Clinton.

Clinton's sinuses and throat are totally burned away. That is evident from hearing him say (croak) any three word phrase.

This is the classic long time cocaine user's voice.

Clinton's face is often fire engine red, while the rest of his body is a sickly white.

Clinton's nose is rotting off on the outside and has been for some time.

That is why I call him COCAINE BOY Bill.

As long as this stooge signed the executive orders his masters placed in front of him, he remained in as president NO MATTER WHAT ELSE HE DID.

Anonymous said...

In a former job, I had the displeasure to be standing about ten feet in front of Bill Clinton as he gave a short speech. Nobody was standing between him and me, so I had a clear view of the man.

So he stayed on after giving a speech to mingle with visiting dignitaries? And you watched him while you were busy doing your janitorial duties?

LOL! You slay me!

joanie said...

Everything on your Clinton list is speculation, none of it has been proved. You are delusional.

The majority of the entries have been ‘proved’ … and then conveniently swept under the rug by the mainstream media.

Most of the others have not been ‘proved’ because one of the following has occurred:

(1) those witnesses that were needed in order to prosecute or convict somehow found themselves dead, or

(2) the legal/judicial system found itself conveniently convoluted enough to declare that black is white and up is down, so that felonious/treasonous behavior became (at least temporarily, and at least as regards the Clintons and their coteries of elitists) diluted or otherwise defined.

It’s hard to ‘prove’ anything when you have such monstrously wicked forces working to mask/redefine the truth.

joanie said...

ProudPodunkNative,

Thank you for the excellent questions, none of which will be breathed in the presence of Ms. Clinton (#1 and #3 especially).

After all 'the smartest woman in the world' is above addressing such mubdane concerns. We should simply be grateful that she is willing to do our thinking for us.

Get with the program.

joanie said...

CalBrindisi, siliconvalleyguy, smithy,

Thanks for the kind words and additional comments. :)

joanie said...

Thanks, Luis.

Your last paragraph, especially, bears repeating:

At least that is the hope of all those leaders (or would be leaders) who have things to hide. All those who waste time following the lives and antics of celebrities rather than focusing on more important real issues(and I plead guilty to this myself sometimes) are complicit in a system that favours corrupt leaders. Such leaders offer a celebrity image themselves that masks their distasteful reality. While good citizens are distracted by celebrity trivia, there is more opportunity for doubtful leaders to go unchallenged and get away with crimes.

You reassure us that there still remain voices of reason 'across the pond', echoing the American patriots' lament. :)

joanie said...

John, I just read the article you linked. Man! When you cull together so many representative samples of her re-definitions of previous statements, equivocations, and outright lies, it’s enough to make your head spin!

We may well be on our way to electing a megalomaniacal, pathological, borderline psychotic (does purposeful consistent loss of contact with reality qualify?) as leader of the free world.

Anonymous said...

As long as this stooge signed the executive orders his masters placed in front of him, he remained in as president NO MATTER WHAT ELSE HE DID.

Sandy, there are good medicines available for your paranoia.

Anonymous said...

Joanie--

"We may well be on our way to electing a megalomaniacal, pathological, borderline psychotic (does purposeful consistent loss of contact with reality qualify?) as leader of the free world."

...funny, but when I read your comment, the first name that came to my mind was McCain, not Hillary.

Anonymous said...

...funny, but when I read your comment, the first name that came to my mind was McCain, not Hillary.

and the other 2 Democratic frontrunners and half of the Republican field.

Anonymous said...

Cw-patriot, I noticed your Newt banner. I'd be interested in reading a column on why you are supporting him over any of the other possible candidates.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Fox News...having finished my wifely duties for the day just now, I flipped on Fox to see if anything important was going on. What came up (other than my lunch)?

Gerraldo Rivera doing a one hour special: "Anna Nicole Smith - Tragic Beauty".

For once the LA Times got it right: "How does the world end? With neither a bang nor a whimper, but with cleavage."

Anonymous said...

Anna Nicole Smith ---another triumph for the modern drug culture.

Anna Nicole Smith's mother blames drugs

By SUZETTE LABOY, Associated Press Writer Feb.9, 2007

. . .

"I think she had too many drugs, . . ." her mother, Vergie Arthur, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday. "I tried to warn her about drugs and the people that she hung around with. She didn't listen."

"She was too drugged up," Arthur said. "By the last interview I saw of her, she was so wasted."

Anonymous said...

The coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith story is totally out of control. Even "conservative" shows like O'Reilly and Hannity are covering it 75% of their air time. All areas of the media have become nothing better than tabloids. With all that's wrong in the world, it's INSANE to be covering a story like this for days on end!

Anonymous said...

This is maddening. Every single day we see both of these women--Anna Nicole and Hillary-- on the news incessantly. Like you said, Anna's death is sad but she didn't contribute anything to this world, and Hillary should be behind bars. Anna is being hailed as a national hero and Hillary could be our next President. Meanwhile people in the media are slamming our true heroes and nobody is doing anything about it. What the hell is wrong with us?

Anonymous said...

Gary Burgess,

What's wrong with us is that our government and the media have stolen every ounce of power from the people and we don't care enough to take it back.

Anonymous said...

Way to expose the naked emperor(s), cw!

Anonymous said...

I just heard on Fox News (spit too) that the nanny that was hired to take care of the baby that Anna Nicole "loved so much" was told to underfeed the baby "because Anna Nicole wanted her to "grow up sexy like her mother".

Anonymous said...

1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Nebraska

Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Prairieville, Louisiana

Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Homer, New York

Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Alabama


God bless those brave four and all of the others who have given their lives for us.

Anonymous said...

I think of what's going on in N. Korea and Iran, and Darfur, and Bank of America, and then I watch Fox News's constant converage of Anna Nicole and it makes me physically sick.

Anonymous said...

Well done! Now if every voter could read this 2008 might have a different outcome. But the media has almost 2 years to spin this woman into the most qualified person to ever run for President.

Anonymous said...

This is a great blog. Is there some way that a person can be notified when a new article is posted? I will give my email address, if that is possible.

Anonymous said...

Bosnian muslim kills five in attack at Utah mall.

FBI Rules Out Terrorism.


Meanwhile, the FBI said Wednesday it has no reason to believe the shooting spree that killed five people in a shopping mall was an act of Islamic terrorism, leaving a young Bosnian immigrant's motives a mystery.

"It's just unexplainable," FBI agent Patrick Kiernan said.
"He was just walking around and shooting everybody he saw."

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_045161136.html

Killed in the attack were

Jeffery Walker, 52,

Vanessa Quinn, 29,

Kirsten Hinckley, 15,

Teresa Ellis, 29,

Brad Frantz, 24.

Anonymous said...

Sandra, what is wrong with you?

PLEASE stop inundating us with news of a frivolous nature! Can't you see that the most pressing issue facing this country is finding out who is the father of Anna Nicole's baby?

Sheesh!

Anonymous said...

Obama the latest left winger to spit on US troops

Feb 14, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20070214/cm_uc_crmmax/op_19625
Michelle Malkin

Obama's remarks this week about American troops killed in Iraq were a bumbling, incoherent mess.
At one of his opening presidential campaign events on the Iowa State University campus this weekend, Obama pandered energetically to the anti-war crowd. With his smooth voice rising and thousands of fans goading him on, he proclaimed: "We ended up launching a war that should have never been authorized, and should have never been waged, and to which we have now spent $400 billion and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted."

. . . Video footage of the speech shows Sen. Obama delivering his scripted words carefully and confidently.
This revealing slip of Obama's tongue and mind — or "Obamanation," as Scott Johnson at Power Line (powerlineblog.com) calls it — did not play well among countless service members and their families . . .

Several days after taking flak for his disparaging comments dishonoring such heroism, Obama blubbered about what he really meant.
''I was actually upset with myself when I said that, because I never use that term,'' he told the Des Moines Register
. . .
"What I would say — and meant to say — is that their service hasn't been honored," Obama told The New York Times
. . .
Obama offered the standard "sorry-if-I-offended-anyone" disclaimer: " . . . I would absolutely apologize if any of them felt that in some ways it had diminished the enormous courage and sacrifice that they'd shown. You know, and if you look at all the other speeches that I've made, that is always the starting point in my view of this war.''
. . .
"Even as I said it," Obama claims, "I realized I had misspoken."
So what, one wonders, prevented him from immediately correcting himself there on stage, as thousands cheered the term he now says he immediately regretted?


**********************************

Daley: Kerry should apologize
Chicago Tribune ^ | November 1, 2006 | Gary Washburn
Mayor Richard Daley . . . said today that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) should say he is sorry for telling students that they will "get stuck in Iraq" if they don't make the most of their educational opportunities.
The remark was "uncalled for," Daley asserted. "I think he should apologize." Kerry suggested that "they are dumb and they are stupid and that is why they went into the military, and they are over in Iraq," the mayor said. "He owes them an apology (and) all their families."
If the comment was meant as a joke, it was "a sad joke," he said.
During a campaign stop in California, Kerry told students that those who study hard and make the most of their education “can do well.” But, he warned that if you don’t, “You get stuck in Iraq.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/119852,daleykerry110106.article

***********************************

American Legion: Rangel Apologize Now
NewsMax ^ | November 27, 2006 | Carl Limbacher
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/11/27/220544.shtml?s=ic
The National Commander of The American Legion called on Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., to apologize for suggesting that American troops would not choose to fight in Iraq if they had other employment options.
"Our military is the most skilled, best-trained all-volunteer force on the planet," said National Commander Paul A. Morin. "Like that recently espoused by Sen. John Kerry, Congressman Rangel's view of our troops couldn't be further from the truth and is possibly skewed by his political opposition to the war in Iraq."

According to Rangel, "If a young fellow has an option of having a decent career, or joining the Army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq. If there's anyone who believes these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No bright young individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of some educational benefits," Rangel said.

Anonymous said...

British police told to apologize for anti-terror raids

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070213/wl_uk_afp/britainattackspolice_070213215415

Anonymous said...

Sandra,

What did I tell you?!!!!!!

If you don't stop posting these frivolous posts I'm going to have to report you to the blog moderator!

This blog is for serious political discussions that affect the future of this country!

Unless you have new news on Anna Nicole, the Duke rape case, global warming, or "ten suggestions on how to stay warm during cold weather" we may have to make you take a time out.

Anonymous said...

[ Incomplete ] list of muslim terrorists described as "NOT terrorists" by US police and/or FBI:

Ali R. Warrayat
An Arizona Home Depot employee jumped out of the car’s path. To drown out the man’s yells, Warrayat reached over to his car radio and blasted Arabic music before crashing through the front doors.

Charles Bishop (Bishra)
A note written by the 15-year-old boy who crashed a Cessna into a Tampa office building indicated he supported Osama bin Laden and that the act was deliberate, authorities say.

Haider Mohammed
Contacted by Palm Springs Police, FBI investigators described Muslim who was arrested after threatening to 'Kill All Jews' as "not a person of interest."

Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet
Egyptian-born Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet, left two people dead and five injured at the El Al airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport before being fatally shot by a security guard.

John Muhammad
Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint, charging alleged Beltway Sniper John Muhammad with 20 felony counts, including extortion and intent to commit murder.

Marc Lepine (Gamal Gharbhi)
For 45 minutes on Dec. 6, 1989 an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal's École Polytechnique and killed 14 women.

Mohammed Ali Alayed
After apparently undergoing a religious awakening, a Saudi Arabian student in Houston killed his Jewish friend by slashing his throat.

Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar
Just-graduated student named Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, and an Iranian immigrant, drove a sport utility vehicle into a crowded pedestrian zone at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He struck nine people.

Naveed Afzal Haq
Eyewitnesses told the Seattle News that Mr. Haq announced, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," and then began shooting. He killed one woman and wounded five others.

Omeed Aziz Popal
Up to 14 hurt in San Francisco hit-and-run spree. Seven are critical. The driver believed to have struck and killed a man in Fremont earlier.

Sulejman Talovic
Police Tuesday identified the gunman accused in Monday night's Trolley Square shooting as Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian refugee who lived in Salt Lake City.

When you have victims of muslim killers piling up all over the country, the reasonable person would conclude that is terrorism.

Anonymous said...

VANESSA QUINN age 29

http://www.vanessaquinn.com/images/vanessa2.jpg

Killed by muslim "non-terrorist" at Salt Lake City mall.

A message from Vanessa Quinn's husband, Richard Quinn: "My best friend, my wife, needlessly left us Monday evening at Trolley Square."

KRISTEN HINCKLEY age 15

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_044183348/xl

was killed. Her mother was shot but survived the attack.

JEFFREY WALKER age 52

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_044232406/xl

was killed.

His son, Allen Jeffery Walker

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_044163607/xl

was shot in the head and the ankle but is still alive.

BRAD FRANZ age 24

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_044211628/xl

was killed.

TERESA ELLIS age 29

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_045084113/xl

pictured here with a friend, was killed.

*********************************
http://kutv.com/slideshows/local_slideshow_044224602/view?slide=5

Anonymous said...

Father: Daughter's funeral won't be held until wounded mother can attend (ROP Trolley Square Attack)
The Salt Lake Tribune ^ | 02/15/2007 | Lisa Rosetta

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5233979

Carolyn Tuft, one of four victims who survived Monday night's shooting, remains in critical condition at LDS Hospital, where she has undergone two surgeries this week, said her ex-husband, Stephen Hinckley.
Tuft, 44, is a "remarkably strong person" who is "doing pretty good considering" her shotgun injuries to her shoulder and lower back, Hinckley said.
"It's pretty much a miracle that more damage wasn't done," he said.
Hinckley said funeral arrangements for his daughter Kirsten Hinckley will not be made until Tuft is well enough to attend.
There will, however, be a memorial service for the 15-year-old girl at 3 p.m. Friday at an LDS ward house at 2300 E. Bengal Blvd. - across the street from Brighton High School, where her classmates have tied up red ribbons in memory of the teen.
The school also posted on its message board out front: "We will always love you, Kirsten."
An artist and owner of her own home-cleaning business, Tuft is the mother of four children, of whom Kirsten was the youngest. After Kirsten was fatally shot, Tuft called her ex-husband to tell him the news, even before the police and paramedics arrived, Hinckley said.
After he arrived at Trolley Square Monday night, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office assigned a deputy to stay with him until he left, for which he was very grateful, Hinckley said. He also expressed his gratitude to the Salt Lake City Police Department and the Ogden officer who helped stop the gunman, 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic.
Hinckley said he feels "great sadness" for Talovic's family.
"I want this to be about the memory of the people who were lost and how great they were and not anything that boy did," he said.
Like her mother, Kirsten was talented at painting and drawing, her father said. A few years ago he took Kirsten and another daughter to England. Kirsten was so inspired by the trip, Hinckley said, that she set a goal to attend university there and study architecture.
The sophomore also loved modern dance, he said.
"I know a lot of people have been talking about how sweet she was and her smile and how that got a lot of people through a lot of things," Hinckley said.

Anonymous said...

Very good research Sandra. I don't think 2% of the American people get the Muslim connection between all these terrorist acts and it's unforgivable the way the media is covering it up.

Anonymous said...

Great column Joanie!

Anonymous said...

So how come Anna Nicole's baby is almost 6 months old and was left all the time with a practical stranger while Anna Nicole traveled all over the place, and now that she's dead 6 men are claiming to "love" the baby so much that they're fighting over it? Hmmmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

"So how come Anna Nicole's baby is almost 6 months old and was left all the time with a practical stranger while Anna Nicole traveled all over the place, and now that she's dead 6 men are claiming to "love" the baby so much that they're fighting over it?"

I shall assume that was a rhetorical questions. :>)

Anonymous said...

http://www.registeredmedia.com/gallery/showimage.php?s=a86bb769032bb1c527fef255de5da875&i=1701&catid=newimages

Anonymous said...

Breaking News!!! Hold the Presses!!!

Britney Spears cut her hair off!

Anonymous said...

1,500 attend funeral for Trolley Square victim

By Sheena McFarland The Salt Lake Tribune
02/17/2007
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5250554

PHOTO of JEFFREY WALKER age 52

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_044232406/xl

- SOUTH JORDAN - Those speaking at Jeffrey Walker's funeral attempted to "pull a Jeff."
In other words, they wanted to match their friend's personality by keeping the ceremony lighthearted and compassionate.
Walker, 52, was one of five people gunned down Monday night at Trolley Square.
"Evil has touched us, but it will not leave its mark because Jeff's legacy is love, compassion, faith, hope, service, unconditional caring and love and love and love," said friend Tracy Mower as he addressed the more than 1,500 gathered at the Country Park LDS Stake Center Saturday.
Mower related the love Walker had for the people in his life - from his wife and children to neighbors to strangers standing in an elevator.
A regional supervisor for financial services company ING, Walker met his wife, Vickie, at an LDS singles ward after each had divorced. Even after 22 years of marriage, Walker still mentioned Vickie in nearly every conversation with friends, and treated her to luxurious dinners and family getaways. The most recent night out was at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, replete with couples massages, rose petals and wonderful food, Mower said.
"He always wanted to make everything great for her," he said. "He loved his wife, and he really knew how to treat her well."
Mower said he also loved spending time with his four children.
Mower then addressed Alan Walker, Jeffrey Walker's 16-year-old son, known as A.J., who Monday was wounded and remains in the intensive care unit at University Hospital. To keep his stress levels down as he recuperates from brain surgery, A.J. has not yet been told about his father's death.
"One day, A.J. will see these services. Jeff's last act was to protect you from mortal harm. He turned his back and gathered you in his arms. A.J., your injuries were part of the blast that took Jeff's life," he said. "Your father's blood runs in your veins. His DNA is what you are, and you can take courage from that."
Jeffrey Walker loved "gadgets and toys," always buying the fastest four-wheelers, wake-boarding boats and cars, Mower said.
"There was just a giddiness about him" when he played with those toys, Mower said.
But his strongest legacy will be that of the compassion he showed people of all backgrounds.
"I know he's up in heaven and making friends," said friend Jeff Longson during his prayer. "He's helping out those who need it, just as he did here on Earth."

Anonymous said...

Salt Lake City victims of muslim killer

* Chase Bank, where Teresa Blair Ellis worked as an assistant manager in the West Valley City branch, has set up a memorial fund to be directed by her family. Donations can be made at any branch office in her name.

* The family of Brad Frantz has set up a trust fund for his 3-year-old daughter, Deijah Isabel O'Neill. Donations, which should be made using the child's full name, can be made at any U.S. Bank branch.

* Zions Bank has established two accounts, one in injured mother Carolyn Tuft's name and the other in her 15-year-old daughter's name, Kirsten Hinckley, a Brighton High sophomore who died. Donations can be made at any Utah branch.

* Zions Bank also has created a fund for injured A.J. Walker, 16. Donations may be made in care of his mother, Vickie Walker.

* To honor victim Vanessa Antrobus Quinn, a scholarship fund has been created. Donations can be made to the Vanessa Quinn Memorial, account No. 9031592, accepted at any America First Credit Union branch; or c/o Eagle Savings, 6415 Bridgetown Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45248. Checks should be made to: Eagle Savings/Vanessa Antrobus Quinn Scholarship Fund.

* A fund has been established to help defray medical expenses of Stacy Hanson, who was critically injured in the Trolley Square shootings. To contribute to the fund, which is under Hanson's name, contact Zions Bank.

* Wells Fargo Bank has established the Trolley Square Memorial Fund to benefit the families of all of the shooting victims. Donations can be made at any Utah branch.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5248199

Anonymous said...

School friends say goodbye to Kirsten as mom upgraded

PHOTO of KRISTEN HINCKLEY age 15

http://img.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_044183348/xl

The Salt Lake Tribune
02/17/2007
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5248197

The bedroom with electric green and mellow purple walls in Stephen Hinckley's house will never be slept in again by a 15-year-old teenager who loved to dance and bake sweet things.
"This is Kirsten," said her dad, Stephen, smiling at the color combination.
The unexpected death of Hinckley, one of five victims of Monday's Trolley Square shootings, has left a community, particularly her friends and classmates, in shock. . . .

Kaitlin, 18, Kirsten's sister, talked about how she always thought she'd have her sister in her life. Now, all she has is memories "and no sister to get me through," she told the crowd of about 400 people, many of them teenagers.
"Fifteen short years with you and what I wouldn't give to have five more," she said. . . .

A statement from Kirsten's dad was read at the service. One day they would all be together again, he told her.
"Kirsten, sweetie, I love you," he had written. "I know you'll be busy until I get there."
. . . .

Anonymous said...

Stacy Hanson was shot in the pelvis, lower back, shoulder and side

'I'm surprised he's alive,' says brother of 53-year-old Salt Lake City man

By Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune 02/17/2007
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5248196

. . . Stacy Hanson . . .phoned his wife on the way home from work Monday to tell her he was stopping at Trolley Square to buy a Valentine's Day card.

Stacy Hanson likely was in Cabin Fever, a novelty and greeting card store, when he was shot four times - in the pelvis, lower back, shoulder and side. It is unclear whether he will suffer any paralysis.
"I'm surprised he's alive," Timothy Hanson said.
He said his brother, a big man at 6 foot 4, is in pain but improving.
. . . .

Anonymous said...

Vanessa Quinn's life remembered fondly

Shooting victim posthumously given the wedding band she had been at Trolley Square to pick out

PHOTO of VANESSA QUINN age 29

http://www.vanessaquinn.com/images/vanessa2.jpg

By Jeremiah Stettler The Salt Lake Tribune 02/17/2007
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5248183

At last, Vanessa Quinn has her ring.
After four years of marriage without a wedding band, Quinn lost her life Monday while ring shopping at Trolley Square. Before meeting her husband, she was gunned down by Sulejman Talovic with a shotgun.
As mourners gathered Friday for Quinn's funeral, her husband carried a wedding ring on his finger. Trolley Square jeweler Payne Anthony had donated the diamond band. Quinn's employer, Overstock.com, had given another.
Rich Quinn fidgeted with the ring and wept over his 29-year-old sweetheart. . . .
Inside the Larkin Sunset Gardens funeral home, Vanessa Quinn's mountain bike stood near her casket. A Real Salt Lake scarf lay among wedding photos. A pair of skis, soccer pads and stocking cap added to the memorial.
. . . .
Friends . . . . spoke of an athlete so fast that her teammates - and everyone else - saw only the green soles of her shoes on the soccer field. They remembered a woman who out-climbed her
colleagues while mountain biking on the White Rim Trail near Moab. They joked about Quinn's no-fear lifestyle that earned her the nickname "No-Turns Ness" while learning to ski in West Virginia.
. . . .
"This is the hardest thing this family has ever been through," said her father, Kenneth Antrobus, who arrived Friday from Cincinnati. "This family is torn up."
He then stepped down from the podium and sobbed. In a slow tear-choked cry, he called out, "Vanessa!"

Quinn's family was to have her body cremated today. Half of her ashes will go to Cincinnati with her parents. The rest will stay with her husband, who hopes to one day spread her ashes atop the Uinta Mountains, where the couple spent one of their first weekends in Utah.

He then added, "I don't know if I'll ever be ready to let her go."
. . . .
Those wishing to donate to the Quinn family may go to their Web site, www.vanessaquinn.com, which has received nearly a half-million hits since the shooting.

Anonymous said...

Sunday Telegraph (Australia)

Keeping a cool head amid warming hysteria

By CARDINAL GEORGE PELL
Opinion / Op Ed; Pg. 81
February 18, 2007

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=d5d6b9e4-802a-23ad-4bba-38996d72c888

Global-warming doomsayers were out and about in a big way recently, but the rain came in central Queensland, then here in Sydney.

January also was unusually cool.

We have been subjected to a lot of nonsense about climate disasters, as some zealots have been presenting extreme scenarios to frighten us.

They claim ocean levels are about to rise spectacularly, there could be the occasional tsunami as high as an eight-storey building, and the Amazon Basin could be destroyed as the ice cap in the Arctic and Greenland melts.

An overseas magazine called for Nuremberg-style trials for global-warming sceptics, and a US television correspondent compared sceptics to ''Holocaust deniers''.

A local newspaper editorial's complaint about the doomsayers' religious enthusiasm is unfair to mainstream Christianity.

Christians don't go against reason, although we sometimes go beyond it in faith to embrace the probabilities.

What we were seeing from the doomsayers was an induced dose of mild hysteria -- semi-religious if you like, but dangerously close to superstition.

I'm deeply sceptical about man-made catastrophic global warming, but still open to further evidence.

I would be surprised if industrial pollution and carbon emissions had no ill-effects at all.

But enough is enough.

A few fixed points may provide light on the subject.

We know that enormous climate changes have occurred in world history -- for example, the ice ages and Noah's flood, when human causation could only have been negligible.

Nor should it be too surprising to learn that during the past 100 years, the media has alternated between promoting fear of anew ice age and fear of global warming.

Terrible droughts are not infrequent in Australian history, sometimes lasting seven or eight years.

We all know that a cool January doesn't mean much in the long run.

But neither does evidence based on only a few years.

Scaremongers have used temperature fluctuations over limited periods and in a few places to misrepresent longer patterns.

Warming evidence is mixed and often exaggerated but can be reassuring.

Global warming has been increasing constantly since 1975 at the rate of less than one-fifth of a degree
Celsius per decade.

The concentration of carbon dioxide increased surface temperatures more in winter than in summer, especially in mid and high latitudes over land, while there was a global cooling of the stratosphere.

Britain's University of East Anglia climate research unit found global temperatures did not rise between 1998 and 2005, and a NASA satellite recently found the southern hemisphere had not warmed in the past 25 years.

Is mild global warming a northern phenomenon?

We may have been alarmed by the sighting of an iceberg as large as an aircraft carrier off Dunedin, but we should be consoled by the news that the Antarctic is getting colder and the ice is growing there.

The science is certainly more complicated than the propaganda.

Anonymous said...

Merck suspends lobbying for vaccine

By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
Feb.20, 2007

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070220/ap_on_bi_ge/merck_cancer_vaccine

TRENTON, N.J. - Merck & Co. is immediately suspending its lobbying campaign to persuade state legislatures to mandate that adolescent girls get the company's new vaccine against cervical cancer as a requirement for school attendance, the company said late Tuesday.

The drugmaker had been criticized by parents and doctors' groups for quietly funding the campaign via a third party to require 11- and 12-year-old girls get the three-dose vaccine in order to attend school.

Some had objected because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted disease, human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer. Vaccines mandated for school attendance usually are for diseases easily spread through casual contact.

"Our goal is about cervical cancer prevention and we want to reach as many females as possible with Gardasil," Dr. Richard M. Haupt, Merck's medical director for vaccines, told The Associated Press.

"We're concerned that our role in supporting school requirements is a distraction from that goal, and as such have suspended our lobbying efforts," Haupt said, adding the company will continue providing information about the vaccine if requested by government officials.

Merck launched Gardasil, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, in June.

Sales totaled $255 million through the end of 2006, according to Merck.

Last month, The Associated Press reported that Merck was channeling money for its state-mandate campaign through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators across the country.

Conservative groups opposed the campaign, saying it would encourage premarital sex, and parents' rights groups said it interfered with their control over their children.

Anonymous said...

Gore may get doctorate from U of Minnesota for Global Warming Work

http://www.mndaily.com/algore.htm

Anonymous said...

Lots of good research Sandra. Good research, depressing information.

Anonymous said...

SWEDISH COMPANY IKEA SHOULD GO BACK TO SWEDEN

"We believe Americans are starting to be more conscious of the environment," Liss said. "Our objective is to get people to really think. . ."

Ikea to charge U.S. customers for plastic bags

By Jon Hurdle Feb 21, 2007

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070221/us_nm/environment_usa_ikea_dc

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Sweden's IKEA will charge U.S. customers five cents for disposable plastic shopping bags in what the international furniture giant said on Wednesday was a first step to ending their use altogether.

IKEA said the decision to stop giving away free bags to customers aimed to reduce the estimated 100 billion bags thrown away by all U.S. consumers each year.

IKEA is believed to be first retailer in the United States to undertake such a program, according to National Retail Federation spokesman Scott Krugman.

Concern about widespread pollution caused by the bags has led cities and countries from Ireland to Australia and Rwanda to ban their use. Bangladesh outlawed plastic bags after they blocked drains and contributed to flooding. Taiwan uses 80 percent fewer bags after stores began charging for them.

Environmentalists say the bags add unnecessarily to landfills, clog drains and endanger wildlife.

IKEA currently provides some 70 million free bags to its U.S. customers; it expects to cut that by half in the first year and to eventually eliminate the use of the bags.

The company said it will also cut the price of reusable bags to 59 cents from 99 cents to encourage their use. The program will begin on March 15 at the company's 29 U.S. stores and the money from bag sales will go to American Forests, a conservation group.

Last June, IKEA began charging its U.K. customers for plastic bags, and has reduced its bag consumption by 95 percent, said spokeswoman Mona Astra Liss.

The average American family of four throws away about 1,500 single-use polyethylene bags, which do not degrade for around 1,000 years, IKEA said. Less than 1 percent are recycled.

"We believe Americans are starting to be more conscious of the environment," Liss said. "Our objective is to get people to really think about the impact of the bags which are strangling the planet."

Anonymous said...

"It looks like the Muslim teen who opened fire on shoppers in a Salt Lake City mall is yet another case of ‘sudden jihad syndrome,’ a condition in which normal-appearing American Muslims abruptly turn violent. Taken together, this and other cases add up to an invisible jihad inside America. But don’t tell that to the FBI. The politically correct bureau does everything it can to avoid recognizing the obvious Islamic factor in these heinous crimes.

Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian Muslim immigrant, was loaded with enough ammo to ‘inexplicably’ kill dozens of victims—and he would have, if an alert off-duty cop hadn’t returned fire and stopped him. Talovic still managed to methodically murder five and wound four others with a shotgun.

Witnesses say it was an act of cold-blooded violence aimed at random victims—something otherwise known as terrorism. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Talovic attended Friday prayers at a mosque about a block from the mall. Yet the FBI saw no religious motive, and quickly ruled out terrorism. Nor could it find anything to indicate terrorism in several other Muslim-tied cases since 9/11...

In all these cases, the feds’ first reaction was to shrug. They said the perps were lone individuals who just went ballistic after having a bad day, as if anyone could have done such crimes. But they weren’t just anyone. They were all young Muslim men... We’re likely to see more of these seemingly random domestic attacks. They may seem isolated, but all have radical Islam at their nexus. They’re not ‘senseless’ or ‘utterly inexplicable’ or ‘impossible to rationalize,’ as the media intone. They are purposeful. These men act as conscripts called up for a mission, sick as it is.”

Investor’s Business Daily

Anonymous said...

Was Talovic spotted at LDS Conference Center?
Feb 22, 2007

http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=6156d2f1-04d9-4a89-9713-1cad6371e30d

A security worker for the LDS church reveals to ABC 4 News, security guards watching over the crowds at Music and the Spoken Word the Sunday before the Trolley Square shootings were trailing a man he believes was Sulejmen Talovic.

The man spoke on strict condition of anonymity to ABC 4's Reed Cowan, saying, "There was a suspicious man with an overcoat and a back pack. By overcoat I mean a trench coat." The security worker went on to say that the young man, "appeared to be carrying something inside the coat that he kept adjusting."

The security worker says the young man resembled Talovic and in the week following the Trolley Square killings, many of his peers in LDS security agree Talovic was amidst the crowd at the conference center just one day before the shootings. "If we wouldn't have been on our toes something could have happened. We highly believe it was him."

ABC 4 News spoke with LDS church spokesperson Scott Trotter, who confirmed video tape was rolled on the suspicious person, and that the person had a similarity to Talovic. Trotter went on to say the video was not of high quality to make an exact match. He and the security worker who spoke to ABC 4 News say the man being watched left without incident. The security worker tells ABC 4 News he believes the man left after seeing that security procedures dictate purse and back pack searches before entrance to the conference center is permitted.

Salt Lake Police spokesperson Jeff Bedard also spoke to ABC 4 News about the story, and confirms police did view video tape from the Conference Center, but dismiss it.

The LDS Church and Salt Lake City Police won't say when LDS Church Security communicated about the incident, only to confirm that the two organizations had shared information.

Anonymous said...

If you're outraged at the treatment of Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean -- who were railroaded for defending America's borders -- then make sure you've taken your blood pressure medicine before you read what's coming next.

Two new outrages have surfaced -- two cases of law enforcement officers being hauled before a kangaroo court, accused of abusing illegal aliens who actually attacked them, and convicted by perjured testimony.

The first outrage:

Texas Deputy Sheriff Guillermo "Gilmer" Hernandez saw a blue Chevy Suburban run a red light in Rocksprings, a favorite sneak alley for Mexican smugglers of drugs and illegal aliens.

The Deputy flipped on his lights and took off after the Suburban. The vehicle stopped, and when Hernandez got out of his patrol car, he could see several people in the vehicle. Illegal aliens? Dope dealers?

As he approached, the driver gunned the Suburban, wheeled around, and drove straight at Hernandez, attempting to run him down. He leaped out of the way and fired at the fleeing vehicle.

He was a good shot. He blew out the left rear tire, and two bullets ricocheted off the pavement and riddled the rear door. A fourth shot also struck the Suburban.

The Suburban crashed. Eight illegal aliens and one smuggler took off running. They left behind a woman, Maricela Rodriguez Garcia, who was slightly injured when a fragment of one bullet cut her lip and broke two teeth

Unfortunately, the videotape in Hernandez's camera was already full and couldn't record the action. Also, in filing his written report, the Deputy said he fired his "weapon one time at the back left rear tire" and then fired two more shots -- three in all. Actually he was mistaken. He had fired four shots. An understandable and irrelevant error.

But it wasn't irrelevant to U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton who charged Hernandez with "concealing facts" (Sound familiar?) and "Violating the Civil Rights" of an illegal alien. Yep, the same Johnny Sutton who persecuted Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean.

. . . the war the U.S. government has declared on law enforcement officers who attempt to enforce immigration laws must STOP here and now.

Congressman Rohrabacher is demanding answers! He's pushing for congressional hearings to determine what role the Mexican government is playing in these egregious and overly aggressive prosecutions of our law enforcement officials and what steps our own government may be taking to accommodate the Mexican government.

Americans know exactly what is going on here.

http://www.acuactionnet.net/amnestytravestyb.html

Another Outrage!

This story just broke on Monday, it is an old incident the press swept under the rug.

Here are the incredible details:

David Sipe, a Border Patrol agent -- while on duty in Penitas, Texas -- saw a group of 12 to 15 illegal aliens crossing the border. He ordered them to halt, but two fled into a thick patch of reeds.

Sipe went in after them and, according to his testimony, was attacked by Jose Guevara, an illegal alien. Sipe defended himself and struck Guevara with a flashlight. As a consequence, Guevara required five stitches in his head.

Sipe was subsequently charged with with Using Excessive Force and Causing Bodily Injury. That was in 2001. And incidentally, Guevara was subsequently awarded an $80,000 settlement from the U.S. government -- based on the guilty ruling.

But wait a minute! That's not the end of the story. Sipe appealed and was granted a new trial by the federal appeals court. Why?

Because the U. S. Attorney's office lied to the court in order to gain a conviction. As the Court of Appeals said in its ruling:

"The government stated in writing the aliens were allowed to remain and work in the United States pending trial and specified that 'no other promises or advantages' had been given. That was not true."

You better believe it wasn't true!

According to the appellate court, the prosecution gave Guevara and two others -- get this! -- SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS, WITNESS FEES, PERMITS ALLOWING THEM TO TRAVEL TO AND FROM MEXICO WITHOUT CHALLENGE, LIVING EXPENSES, AND FREE USE OF GOVERNMENT PHONES.

What happened at the new trial? Sipe was found NOT GUILTY!

And take note of this: the U.S. Attorney who persecuted David Sipe WAS APPOINTED BY BILL CLINTON.

THAT'S RIGHT... THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION!

And why take time to mention that?

To illustrate the point that the emasculation of our law enforcement officials has been going on -- under the radar -- for a very long time.

THE RAMOS-COMPEAN, HERNANDEZ AND SIPE CASES -- WHEN TAKEN TOGETHER -- SHOULD ILLUSTRATE THAT SOMETHING DEEPER... IS GOING ON HERE!

And to find out exactly what is going on, we need a Congressional investigation of all three of these cases and any others that might have flown under the radar.

The American people deserve answers. And we can get those answers. But we must make our demands known.

http://www.acuactionnet.net/amnestytravesty1b.html

Anonymous said...

Saving Starving Children Should Trump Global Warming Concerns

February 22, 2007 By Steven Milloy

In offering a $25 million reward to anyone who can develop a method for eliminating one billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, Virgin CEO Richard Branson said, “I want a future for my children and my children’s children.”

But if children are so important to Branson, why not offer the $25 million reward for getting food to those that need it now?

Nobel Peace Prize-nominee Al Gore told a New York University audience last September that, “Our children have a right to hold us to a higher standard when their future… is hanging in the balance.”

But the future for 18,000 hungry children extends about 24 hours. What’s our planetary hero doing about that?

Former United Nations’ chief Kofi Annan recently opined in the Washington Post that, “Every day that we do nothing, or too little, to prevent climate change imposes higher costs on our children.”

It’s too bad that Annan’s concern for children didn’t come a little earlier in his 10-year stint as UN head during which time approximately 66 million children (based on Morris’ figures) died from hunger and malnutrition.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253899,00.html

Anonymous said...

Documents Show Merck Donated To Texas Lawmakers

Cervical Cancer Vaccine Maker Had Been Pushing For Mandate

Feb 22, 2007

http://keyetv.com/topstories/topstories_story_053053516.html

(AP) AUSTIN, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's chief of staff met with key aides about a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer on the same day its manufacturer donated money to his campaign, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

Texas became the first state to require the vaccine against human papillomavirus earlier this month when Perry issued an executive order requiring it for girls entering sixth grade. Lawmakers are considering overriding the measure.

A calendar for chief of staff Deirdre Delisi obtained under Texas' open records laws shows she met with the governor's budget director and three members of his office for an "HPV Vaccine for Children Briefing" on Oct. 16. That same day, Merck & Co.'s political action committee donated $5,000 to Perry and a total of $5,000 to eight state lawmakers.

Perry spokesman Robert Black said the timing of the meeting and the donation was a coincidence. "There was no discussion of any kind of mandates," Black said.

The documents obtained Wednesday by The AP provide new detail about the relationship between the governor's office and Merck, which makes the only HPV vaccine on the market.

Perry's mandate has inflamed conservatives, who say it contradicts Texas' abstinence-only sexual education policies and intrudes too far into families' lives. Though there is a provision in state law that allows parents to opt out of the vaccine, opponents say the shots are too new and too costly to force on young girls.

Merck had waged a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to get state legislatures to require 11- and 12-year-old girls to get the three-dose vaccine against the virus that can cause cervical cancer as a requirement for school attendance. But it announced Tuesday it was suspending those efforts after its motives were questioned. The New Jersey company stands to make billions if Gardasil is required nationwide.

Critics had previously questioned Perry's ties to the company. Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff and Delisi's predecessor, lobbies for Merck. And the governor accepted a total of $6,000 from Merck during his re-election campaign, including $1,000 in December 2005.

According to Delisi's calendar, she met with Toomey three times in the six months before the order was issued. One meeting happened in August, on the same day two other Perry staffers met with a different Merck lobbyist for a "Merck HPV Vaccine update." The other meetings came just after the November election and just before the legislative session began in January.

Black initially said he did not know what the two discussed, but later said the November and January meetings involved another company Toomey lobbies for. He also said the pair have been friends for years, and that Toomey has many clients other than Merck. He insisted that the governor did not decide to issue the mandate until well after the November election.

Late Wednesday, Black issued a statement: "The Associated Press has tried to create a conspiracy where none exists, and they have offered not one shred of evidence to their baseless accusations that the governor's office has done anything wrong."

Merck spokesman Ray Kerins, reached after business hours, said he could not immediately comment but would look into the matter. Calls seeking comment were made to a home number for Delisi and an office number for Toomey, but were not immediately returned.

Cathie Adams, president of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum, said Black's explanation of the timing of the campaign contribution didn't sound right.

"We have too many coincidences," she said. "I think that the voters of Texas would find that very hard to swallow."

Bills have been introduced in about 20 states to require the vaccine, but they have struggled. Some parents' groups and doctors particularly object because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted disease. Vaccines mandated for school attendance usually are for diseases easily spread through casual contact, such as measles and mumps.

A bill has passed the Virginia Legislature, but a spokesman for Gov. Timothy Kaine said he wants to review a provision that lets parents opt out before he says if he will sign it.

Anonymous said...

Dick Morris provides a laundry list of ethical problems associated with the former first lady:

"She took $1,000 and with the help of her friends, who Bill was helping to safeguard against inspections for the poultry industry, parlayed it in a matter of weeks on the futures market and then wouldn't release her tax returns, so nobody knew about it until after the statute of limitations was lifted.

She told a federal grand jury that she didn't work on a certain project in the Whitewater scandal, when she did, and she claimed she didn't know it by that name but another name. ...

Her brother was paid $300,000 by a drug and crack cocaine dealer, who was serving a 20 year sentence in prison and her husband pardoned him, and she claimed she had no idea her brother was representing the guy.

She arranged a party for the head of the Orthodox Jewish community in one area, and that district voted for her by 1,400 to three, whereas previously it had been Republican and the leaders of the community walked out of jail shortly after the election.

She was fined $35,000 by the Federal Elections Commission for one of the largest campaign violations on record, claiming that she didn't know that a fundraiser cost $1.2 million instead of $300,000, that enabled her to spend that extra money on her Senate campaign."

Anonymous said...

Could anybody vote for THIS as President?

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070221/capt.nvrp11102212222.democracts_2008_forum_nvrp111.jpg?x=227&y=345&sig=hzHs_VzE2QF.ZgO9WX559w--

Anonymous said...

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/21983.html

Congrats!

Anonymous said...

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut fired a shot across the bow of the Senate's Democratic majority, warning them he may bolt the party and join the GOP if Congress votes to withhold funding for the war in Iraq.

The move would give Republicans control of the Senate, since Democrats hold the majority by one vote.


Woo-hoo!

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/2/22/203837.shtml?s=al&promo_code=2E1E-1

Anonymous said...

Students now get better grades, but learn less - studies focused on "our best students"

Houston Chronicle ^ | February 23, 2007 | MITCHELL LANDSBERG

'Stunning' drop in 12th-graders' reading, math aptitude shown in 2 federal reports

U.S. high school students are taking tougher classes, receiving better grades and, apparently, learning less than their counterparts of 15 years ago.

Those were the discouraging implications of two reports issued Thursday by the federal Department of Education, assessing the performance of students in both public and private schools. Together, the reports raised sobering questions about the past two decades of educational reform, including whether the movement to raise school standards has amounted to much more than window dressing.

"I think we're sleeping through a crisis," said David Driscoll, Massachusetts commissioner of education, during a Washington news conference convened by the Department of Education. He called the study results "stunning."

Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, said he found the results "dismal." After years of reforms aimed primarily at elementary schools, Fuller said the studies "certainly support shining the spotlight on the high school as a priority for reform efforts."

The reports summarized two major government efforts to measure the performance of high school seniors as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. One was a standardized test of 12th-graders conducted in 2005. The other was an analysis of transcripts of students who graduated from high school that year.

The transcript study showed that, compared with students in similar studies going back to 1990, the 2005 graduates had racked up more high school credits, had taken more college-preparatory classes and had strikingly higher grade-point averages. The average GPA rose from 2.68 in 1990 to 2.98 — close to a solid B — in 2005.

That was the good news — or so it seemed. But the standardized test results showed that 12th-grade reading scores have generally been dropping since 1992, casting doubt on what students are learning in those college-prep classes.

Math scores posed a different sort of mystery because the Department of Education switched to a new test in 2005 that wasn't directly comparable to those used before.

Still, the results of the new test didn't inspire confidence: Fewer than one quarter of 12th-graders tested scored in the "proficient" range.

snip

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/4575190.html

Anonymous said...

Auditors expose holes in TTC-35
San Antonio Express-News 02/24/07 by Clay Robinson, Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — The state auditor's office issued a sharply critical report on the Trans-Texas Corridor on Friday, concluding that taxpayers may never know how much they could end up paying for a toll road that would parallel Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Oklahoma.
And if the Texas Department of Transportation doesn't improve its accounting of project costs, taxpayers won't know if the public costs are appropriate, auditors said.

The route, known as TTC-35, is the first phase of an ambitious, long-term transportation network proposed by Gov. Rick Perry to help ease congestion on Texas highways.

Eventually, TTC-35, stretching from Laredo through North Texas, could cost more than $105 billion, it has been estimated.

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A TxDOT spokesman defended the "corridor concept"

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The Department of Transportation in March 2005 entered into a $3.5 million contract with Cintra Zachry LP, a private consortium, to develop a long-range plan to potentially design, build, finance, operate and maintain TTC-35.

Cintra is a Spanish company, and Zachry is based in San Antonio.

The state agency has succeeded in carrying out part of the agreement with the consortium, auditors noted.

"However, weaknesses in the department's accounting for project costs create risks that the public will not know how much the state pays for TTC-35 or whether those costs are appropriate," they concluded.

The audit noted a "lack of reliable information regarding projected toll road construction costs, operating expenses, revenue and developer income."
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Auditors recommended more legislative oversight of the Trans-Texas Corridor, the transfer of toll revenue projections from TxDOT to the state comptroller and increased public access to information about the project.

They also proposed that TxDOT officials provide regular financial forecasts to the governor, the Legislature and the comptroller and submit development agreement contracts of more than $250 million to the attorney general for review and approval.

David Stall, co-founder of Corridor Watch, a citizens group critical of the project, applauded the audit.
skip

The audit report pointed out that TxDOT kept portions of its agreement with Cintra Zachry confidential for 18 months, citing proprietary concerns, though the attorney general's office ruled it was a public record.

The contract was made public in September.

"Given the scope and public nature of the Trans-Texas Corridor project, it is important that the department makes all documents, plans and contracts related to the project public in a timely manner," the audit said.

Anonymous said...

Mexican trucks getting go-ahead-Pilot effort gives 100 firms access to U.S. highways

Arizona Daily Star 24 Feb 2007 by Brady McCombs

As many as 100 Mexican trucking companies will be able to travel freely throughout the United States under a new program U.S. officials expect to launch within two months.

The one-year pilot program will allow approved Mexican trucks to deliver their goods beyond the 20-25-mile border zone for the first time since 1982.

Since then, Mexican trucks that cross the border have been required to unload their cargo at warehouses in cities such as Nogales. The cargo is then transferred to a U.S. truck that transports it to its destination.

The program was originally authorized by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement but was delayed more than 12 years due to concerns that Mexican trucks weren't safe. Government officials and border trade alliances say the program will streamline the flow of goods across the border and enhance U.S. and Mexican economies.

The process of unloading Mexican cargo at U.S. warehouses along the border "is a waste of time, energy and money, and that is about to change," said Mary Peters, U.S. Department of Transportation secretary, who was in Nogales on Friday to make the announcement.

"Now that the safety and security programs are in place, the time has come for us to move forward on a long-standing promise with Mexico," she said.

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James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the second-largest union in the United States, said it puts national security at risk, too.

"President Bush is willing to risk our national security by giving unfettered access to America's transportation infrastructure to foreign companies and their government sponsors," Hoffa said. "They are playing a game of Russian roulette on America's highways."

skip

"From the perspective of security, this initiative is absolutely consistent with our firm commitment to having the strongest security at our borders," Jackson [Michael P. Jackson, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security] said.

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Representatives with the Border Trade Alliance and the American Trucking Associations applauded the announcement, saying the pilot program will make the flow of cross-border commerce more efficient.

Transferring products from one truck to another costs consumers $400 million a year, the U.S. Department of Transportation says.

Luis Téllez, Mexican secretary of communication and transportation, called it a historic day for the two countries.

Anonymous said...

THIS IS RICH

Mexican anger over US 'trespass'
23 February 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6390291.stm

Many Mexicans see the border barrier as offensive

Mexico's Congress has condemned what it says is a border violation by US workers building a controversial barrier between the two countries.
Legislators say workers and equipment building a section of the barrier have gone 10 metres (yards) into Mexico.

The alleged border violation comes ahead of a high-level meeting in the Canadian capital Ottawa.
US, Mexican and Canadian foreign ministers are to discuss border security and trade issues.

Mexican legislators said they had photographs and video, taken on Monday, of the workers and heavy-duty construction equipment that showed them about 10 metres inside Mexico near the border city of Agua Prieta and the town of Douglas, Arizona.

The Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said she had complained to the US authorities and that the men and equipment had been withdrawn.

In a statement, the US Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said: "The US is sensitive to Mexican concerns... [and] has the deepest respect for the integrity of the sovereignty of Mexican soil".

He said US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had not been in the area of the alleged incursion and recent photographs of him welding a section of the fence had been taken in a different part of Arizona on the US side of the border.

The US says it is building 700 miles (1,125km) of fencing along its border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration.
Many Mexicans see the fence as offensive and say it will be ineffective and potentially cause more deaths in border crossings.

An estimated 1.2 million illegal immigrants were arrested in 2005 trying to cross into the US via the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
About 11 million Mexicans are thought to live in the US, more than six million of them illegally.

Later on Friday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is meeting her Canadian and Mexican counterparts - Peter Mackay and Patricia Espinosa - in Ottawa.
They are to discuss concerns that security measures put in place after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US may hamper trade between the three countries.

The officials will also look at co-ordinating responses to emergencies such as a pandemic outbreak of avian flu.

Anonymous said...

Today's stock market plunge is just a hint of what's to come when the dems pull us out of Iraq, there is a middle east blood bath, and Iran is feeling their oats and going full speed ahead with their nuclear program. The elections of 2006 marked a major change in world stability.

Anonymous said...

On your March poll, I would qualify my answer as executive-70%, legislative-20% and judicial-30%.

Anonymous said...

Hillary Clinton isn’t running for President, she’s running for God.

One of the things that caused me to ratchet up my involvement in politics back in the early 1990's was when Bill Clinton, speaking to the 1992 Democrat convention, themed his campaign and his primetime speech as "A New Covenant" with the American people. Audaciously, this wasn't the one written about two thousand years ago by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. It was a new covenant with Bill Clinton.

His blasphemous grab at earthly power using heavenly language, salted as it was with misquotes of Bible verses, infuriated and worried me.

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/hoefling/070227

Anonymous said...

Today's stock market plunge is just a hint of what's to come when the dems pull us out of Iraq, there is a middle east blood bath, and Iran is feeling their oats and going full speed ahead with their nuclear program. The elections of 2006 marked a major change in world stability.

Not necessarily, if Lieberman changes parties or we get a reasonable person in the White House in 09.

Anonymous said...

Virginia Governor Kaine will sign bill to require HPV vaccinations

The Associated Press Mar 2, 2007

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149193476505&path=!news&s=1045855934842

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he would sign legislation requiring all sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.
Virginia would become the second state to mandate the vaccine for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, and the first to do it through legislative action. Texas Gov. Rick Perry sidestepped the legislature and ordered the shots for girls there, but lawmakers are considering overriding that order.
"I think it strikes the right balance," Kaine said yesterday at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he was speaking on health-care legislation from the recent General Assembly session.
Kaine said last week he wanted to make sure a provision in the bill that allows parents to review information about the vaccine and exempt their daughters was generous enough "for a parent to opt out of this without having to jump through hoops."
The bill would not go into effect until October 2008, making the 2009 school year the first when girls would be required to receive the vaccine. Supporters said that gives enough time to study any side effects before Virginia's girls are required to get it.
The federal government approved Gardasil, the only vaccine on the market, in June and suggested it be given to females before they become sexually active.
Bills were introduced in about 20 states to require the vaccine, but some backed off because of concerns over the vaccine's safety and protests from those who say requiring it promotes promiscuity and erodes parents' rights.
A report released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in four U.S. women ages 14 to 59 is infected with HPV, which kills 10 women a day nationwide.
The bill must be signed by the speaker of the House and the Senate president before Kaine can sign it.

Anonymous said...

I heard on the news today (once) that eleven illegals were arrested by police working in a plant in some southern city--I can't remember which city--and Homeland Security was notified.

The illegals admitted they were here illegally. The Homeland Security Dept. told the local police to release them because they didn't have sufficient manpower right now to research whether the eleven were illegal or not.

Don't worry! Be happy! When the world ends, we'll all go at the same time.