Showing posts with label Protecting America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Protecting America. Show all posts

Friday, May 03, 2013

Occupy vs. Tea Party, Round II

Just in time for the run-up to the 2014 midterms: it's Occupy vs. Tea Party, Round II.


In 2014, Americans will have felt the full effects of Obamacare. They will have seen their gun rights eroded. They will have seen Democrats leave American borders wide open, even as terrorists kill and main U.S. citizens.

2014 is coming and G-4 Productions can use your help with as little as a $1 donation to their Kickstarter project. It's designed to highlight the differences between the Hard Left Democrat Occupiers and the Constitutional Tea Party Conservatives. Please consider helping out: even a single dollar is cool!


Thursday, May 02, 2013

Faith, the Founding, and Obama

Compare this:

Pentagon May Court Martial Soldiers Who Share Christian Faith


The Pentagon has released a statement confirming that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith: "Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense...Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis...”.

[Thus] President Barack Obama’s civilian appointees who lead the Pentagon are confirming that the military will make it a crime--possibly resulting in imprisonment--for those in uniform to share their faith. This would include chaplains—military officers who are ordained clergymen of their faith (mostly Christian pastors or priests, or Jewish rabbis)--whose duty since the founding of the U.S. military under George Washington is to teach their faith and minister to the spiritual needs of troops who come to them for counsel, instruction, or comfort.

This regulation would severely limit expressions of faith in the military, even on a one-to-one basis between close friends. It could also effectively abolish the position of chaplain in the military...

With this:


Something has gone woefully wrong in this country.


ERIC HOLDER TO KANSAS: We Will Ignore the Bill of Rights and State Laws to Enforce Federal Gun Grabs

Would that the Attorney General of the United States spent as much time and energy pursuing terrorists.

Attorney General Eric Holder has written to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, informing him that the Obama administration considers state attempts to protect the Second Amendment “unconstitutional” and that federal agents will “continue to execute their duties,” regardless of state statutes to the contrary.

The letter, dated April 26, specifically references a Kansas statute recently signed into law by Brownback that criminalizes any attempt by federal officers or agents to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of citizens of the Sunflower State. Section 7 of the new law declares:

It is unlawful for any official, agent or employee of the government of the United States, or employee of a corporation providing services to the government of the United States to enforce or attempt to enforce any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States regarding a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately and owned in the state of Kansas and that remains within the borders of Kansas. Violation of this section is a severity level 10 nonperson felony.

The right of states to refuse to enforce unconstitutional federal acts is known as nullification... [which is an aspect] of constitutional law recognizing the right of each state to nullify, or invalidate, any federal measure that exceeds the few and defined powers allowed the federal government as enumerated in the Constitution.

...Both Attorney General Holder and President Obama are trained lawyers, so one would expect that they have read the Federalist Papers. In fairness, they probably have, but perhaps they overlooked Federalist, No. 33, where Alexander Hamilton explained the legal validity of federal acts that exceed the powers granted to it by the Constitution. Hamilton wrote:

If a number of political societies enter into a larger political society, the laws which the latter may enact, pursuant to the powers intrusted [sic] to it by its constitution, must necessarily be supreme over those societies and the individuals of whom they are composed.... But it will not follow from this doctrine that acts of the larger society which are not pursuant to its constitutional powers, but which are invasions of the residuary authorities of the smaller societies, will become the supreme law of the land. These will be merely acts of usurpation, and will deserve to be treated as such.

Holder denies that states have the right to withstand federal tyranny and argues that the Constitution declares federal acts to be the “supreme law of the land.”

His comments echo a common misreading and misunderstanding of Article VI of the Constitution, the so-called Supremacy Clause... Article VI does not declare that federal laws are the supreme law of the land without qualification. What it says is that the Constitution "and laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof" are the supreme law of the land.

...If an act of Congress is not permissible under any enumerated power given to it in the Constitution, it was not made in pursuance of the Constitution and therefore not only is not the supreme law of the land, it is not the law at all.

...Alexander Hamilton put an even finer point on the issue when he wrote in Federalist, No. 78, “...No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the constitution, can be valid.”

..."The state legislatures will jealously and closely watch the operation of this government, and be able to resist with more effect every assumption of power than any other power on earth can do; and the greatest opponents to a federal government admit the state legislatures to be sure guardians of the people’s liberty," Madison declared.

...In his letter to Governor Brownback, Attorney General Holder demonstrates that he is as ignorant as his boss as to the proper, constitutional relationship between state governments and the federal government.

We Americans truly appear to be approaching a fork in the road.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

Friday, April 26, 2013

TIME TO BAN 3-D PRINTERS? First printed handgun imminent

I wonder what Bloomberg -- the idiot mayor, not the news service -- thinks of this?

Cody Wilson, the founder of Defense Distributed, says he is just two weeks away from 3D printing an entire handgun, out of ABS plastic. Once Wilson has printed the gun and ensured that it works, the weapon’s 3D model files will be uploaded to the internet and open sourced — so that you and I can print an almost-undetectable firearm.


Creating a 3D-printed gun, and contributing the model files to the public domain, is the culmination of DefDist’s Wiki Weapon project. The Wiki Weapon project was created in mid-2012 by Cody Wilson, with the lofty but perhaps slightly misguided [sic] goal of fulfilling every American citizen’s Second Amendment right to bear arms. Back in July 2012, DefDist produced a 3D-printed a lower receiver for an AR-15 rifle, in January of this year it 3D-printed a 30-round AR-15 magazine, and then in March DefDist finally received its federal firearms license, which is required to legally make and sell guns. Now, it seems, according to an interview with Mashable, Wilson is almost ready to release an entirely 3D-printed handgun.

Tyranny just got a skōsh harder.

After all, if the people can't be trusted with guns, why should the government?


Hat tip: BadBlue Gun News.

TED CRUZ: Surprise Visit to the Freedomworks Texas Summit

Senator Ted Cruz made a surprise visit to the Freedomworks Texas summit earlier today:

Highlights:

  •  We're winning and it's because of what folks like us are doing
  •  The Obama people tried to protest the Senator's office in Dallas and Tea Party folks outdrew them 3:1.
  • There are few things elected officials like less than getting heat from their constituents.
  • "We've had five or six lunches with a bunch of Republican Senators standing up and looking at Rand [Paul] and Mike [Lee] and me and yelling at us at the top of their lungs...I mean really upset...and they say 'look, why did you do this, as a result of what you did, when I go home my constituents are yelling at me that I've gotta stand up on principle!"
    • I'm really not making that up.
  • Before you did that [threatened to filibuster gun control legislation] the politics were great, the Dems were the bad guys and the Republicans were the good guys; now we just look like a bunch of squishes.
    • "Well, there's an alternative, you could just not be a bunch of squishes."
  •  Gun control isn't over.
  • How do you get something bad passed in Washington?!?
    • You do it fast and in the middle of night.
  • Success begets success; if we stand up once, we'll do it again.

God Bless Constitutional Conservatives like Ted Cruz. Say a prayer for men and women like him tonight.


Hat tip: Cahnman's Musings.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

MARK LEVIN SHOW PODCAST PROBLEMS? Here's an easy way to download the Great One's podcasts

If you're a Mark Levin Show fan like me, you may have noticed that the show's website redesign appears to have completely broken podcast downloads. Not to fear -- here's my fix:

1. Choose date of podcast to download:


2. Click on the link to play or right click and save to download:

Podcast link

You're welcome, America!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

FBI RELEASES HIGH-RES PHOTOS: The Two Suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombings [Updated]

Guest post by Shelley:

Released just moments ago.


Update:


Update II: From the FBI website:


Update III: More from the FBI website (click for high-res versions):









Update IV: Reddit's official photo compilation thread for the new suspects:






Stay tuned for more updates.


If you have visual images, video, and/or details regarding the explosions along the Boston Marathon route and elsewhere, submit them on https://bostonmarathontips.fbi.gov/. No piece of information or detail is too small.

You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), prompt #3, with information.
All media inquiries should be directed to the FBI’s National Press Office at (202) 324-3691.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Crime Scene Photos of Pressure Cooker Bomb Leaked

Fox News Atlanta on items recovered at the location of the first explosion:

The bomb that exploded at the finish line of Monday's Boston Marathon sent shock waves across the country. Crime scene photos obtained exclusively by FOX 5 Atlanta are the first look at what is left of the first deadly device.

The investigation into the explosion is already well underway, as agents sift through the remaining pieces of the bomb-- hoping to draw a clear picture of how it was built, where it was built, and ultimately, who built it.

The Associated Press has reported that the device was a pressure cooker bomb-- common cookware throughout the world. The crime scene pictures obtained by the FOX 5 I-Team show pieces of a stainless steel pressure cooker with an Underwriters Laboratory number. One picture shows the imprint: Gas and Electric.

Another picture shows what appears to be a black, padded knapsack or duffel bag. Various news outlets have reported that the bomb was carried in a black bag.



Related: Marathon Bombing Photos Show Suspicious Package.

Marathon Bombing Photos Show Suspicious Package

WHDH Channel 7's photos depict the site of the second explosion:

Photos sent to 7News by a viewer show the scene just before and right after the bombs went off on Boylston Street.

7News has provided these pictures to the FBI as they continue their investigation. They are looking at the pictures to see if it's possible it could be the second bomb.

In the first picture you can see a bag next to a mailbox and up against a barricade along the marathon route. In the second, which we have blurred because it is very graphic, there is no sign of the bag. The viewer who took the pictures says there may be an hour or more between when the first and second pictures were taken.









Related: Crime Scene Photos of Pressure Cooker Bomb Leaked.

Friday, April 12, 2013

RED ALERT TRANSCRIPT: Mark Levin Says a Powerful Republican (*cough* John Boehner *cough*) is Trying to Silence Him

Biff Spackle emails the following transcript of Mark Levin's opening monologue tonight. Levin didn't name Boehner specifically, but only the Speaker is responsible for committee assignments.

Well, it's come to my attention that there's a Republican Congressman out there who doesn't like what I've been saying.

It's come to my attention that there's a Republican Congressman out there, a fairly powerful one, who doesn't like what I've been saying about him.

And you know what this Republican congressman wants to do about it...?

He wants our major affiliate in his district to remove this show.

This Republican Congressman who's fairly powerful is sliming around in the background, in the shadows, trying to get my show removed from one of the major radio stations in his district.

You know what they call that? They call that "fascism".

If that Republican Congressman succeeds, I will expose him on national radio. And I will go to his office with a microphone and I will shove it in his face and we'll have a discussion. You know who you are and I know who you are.

Now you may treat freshman members this way, you may treat conservative, Tea Party congressmen this way, taking them off committees, drying up their fund-raising, but you're not going to treat me this way.

I'm not a part of the club. I don't report to you.

But I'll be damned if I let any hack politician, whatever party, conduct themselves in this way and they think it doesn't get back to me. Oh, it all gets back to me. All of it.

Got that, tough guy? I just want you to be aware of this.

Can you believe this, ladies and gentlemen? If these one of these jerks is that brazen with someone who isn't junior to them in the house, how do you think they treat conservatives who don't go along?

I'm telling you: we have a real mob problem on Capitol Hill. And many of these Republicans are as deceitful and power-hungry and pathetic as their Democrat counterparts. These are not "good government" people. Anyways, a fairly powerful Republican.

But I'm not going to put up with fascism on my watch. No way. And you see, Congressman: you may not be up on new technology, but you're never going to be able to silence me. Ever. In your district or anywhere else. Because there are ways around: whether it's satellite, or the Mark Levin app, or the iHeartRadio app, but that station isn't going to do a thing about it, Congressman. Nothing.

I'd hate to sue him, too. Tortious interference with my living -- if you're going around acting like Al Capone, not as tough as Capone, but sliming around in the shadows -- that's not protected by the debate clause in the Constitution, Congressman.

You're too stupid to know that, I'm just letting you know. It's you against me in civil court... just letting you know. Stop trying to put the shoulder on my people, trying to get my show stopped in your district.

You figure the Democrats and the Left get this low, but this is just remarkable. Absolutely remarkable. I hate to say it, but I'm not surprised. I'm really not.


Update: Levin posted that it's not Boehner, but I will leave this story's headline as it is. The Speaker of the House controls all committee assignments and if Eric Cantor or Whatever-his-name McCarthy are the perps, Boehner's still pulling the strings.

Here's a political warning, John-John: you violate the Hastert Rule on guns or immigration or any other damn piece of the Constitution, you're going to see a political backlash the likes of which you can't imagine


Visit the Mark Levin Show website for more information.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

POWERPOINT: Federal Government's Facial Recognition Technology

Reproduced here without comment:





PAT TOOMEY THINKS YOU'RE STUPID: Avoids being photographed with Schumer to hide his betrayal of his constituents and the Constitution

The Senator from Pennsylvania, swept into office by Constitutional conservatives and Tea Party activists, has executed the consummate betrayal:

...the Toomey-Manchin-Schumer sell-out [is] worse than the Feinstein gun ban, which will reportedly be tied to it and offered simultaneously in a Senate procedure known as an “amendment tree.”

Toomey and Manchin will claim that their bill only covers “gun show sales” and Internet sales. But if you’ve ever talked about your gun and /or let it be known you’d like to sell or buy a gun on the Internet, this language covers you. If you advertise your gun in the church bulletin and the bulletin is put on the Internet, you’re covered.

The only exemption is for sales that are sold exclusively by word of mouth. The increased number of background checks would likely exacerbate the system breakdowns (inherent to NICS) which have shut down gun shows over and over again. It would mean that Americans who were illegally denied firearms because their names were similar to other people's would effectively be barred from owning a gun. (We would never tolerate such delays for voting rights or other freedoms that we are guaranteed.)

And for those Republicans who think they’re going to be able to offer their useless amendments, guess what? Reid is reportedly going to use a procedure to block out all amendments (called an “amendment tree”). And there are plenty of Senators standing in line to make sure that the Senate doesn’t give “unanimous consent” to let those Republicans offer their amendments.

So if you live in a rural area, you’re effectively barred from selling or buying a gun... [and the] Toomey-Manchin-Schumer “national registry” language is full of holes. There will be a national gun registry as a result of this sell-out.

Toomey is helping the Marxist Left set the stage for universal gun registration and, ultimately, confiscation.

Illustrating just how deceptive Toomey has had to become on this issue, Roll Call is reporting that the Republican Senator from Pennsylvania refused to be photographed with Schumer at the gun deal press conference -- as if that would fool his constituents somehow.

Four senators may have signed on to a gun background check deal Wednesday, but only two showed up for the news conference — in part because Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Patrick J. Toomey’s public support for the bill hinged on not having to stand next to Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York.

The background check bill, which would close the gun show loophole and expand checks to online sales, is officially co-sponsored by Schumer; Toomey; Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va.; and Mark S. Kirk, R-Ill. But only Toomey and Manchin appeared before the cameras. Toomey, the former Club for Growth president, had told Manchin he would not speak at the news conference if he had to get on stage with Schumer, according to two sources familiar with the talks. Schumer obliged, and Kirk also agreed not to appear in order to provide cover to Schumer.

In other words, Pat Toomey thinks you're an idiot. That because he avoided appearing in a photograph with Schumer that he can somehow divorce himself from the bill he co-sponsored with the very same loathsome, Leftist hack.

Call Toomey now at 202-224-3121. Tell him that the Bill of Rights isn't up for a vote. Be polite, but firm: infringing upon the Second Amendment is a violation of his oath of office.


Hat tip: BadBlue Gun News.

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

RED ALERT -- TAKE ACTION NOW: Mark Levin warns Senate will try to erase the Second Amendment on Thursday

The Right Scoop headlines its audio snippet: "Mark Levin goes NUCLEAR: An up and down vote on the 2nd amendment is UNCONSTITUTIONAL!":

Mark Levin says that on Thursday the Senate intends to vote to change the 2nd amendment without any pretense of going through the amendment process, on a bill that hasn’t even been written yet. He says that this isn’t republicanism, it’s democratic tyranny. And the senators arguing to filibuster are being demonized, but Levin says that an up and down vote on the 2nd amendment is unconstitutional, that there is no up and down vote on the Constitution.

Write your Representatives now. The Second Amendment isn't up for debate or modification. This lawlessness must end.

And the survey (of 15,000 law enforcement personnel on the Democrats' proposed gun control bill) says...

A March 2013 survey of 15,000 police officers covering proposed gun control legislation and attitudes about concealed carry laws had some surprising results:

The survey, which was conducted in early March 2013, received 15,000 responses from law enforcement professionals. It found that the overall attitude of law enforcement is strongly anti-gun legislation and pro-gun rights, with the belief that an armed citizenry is effective in stopping crime. Response percentages varied only slightly when analyzed by rank and department size. Among the results:

• 86 percent feel the currently proposed legislation would have no effect or a negative effect on improving officer safety

• Similarly, 92 percent feel that banning semi-automatic firearms, or “assault weapons,” would have no effect or a negative effect on reducing violent crime ...

• Respondents were more split on background checks, with 31 percent agreeing that mental health background checks in all gun sales would help reduce mass shootings, while 45 percent disagreed

• 71 percent support law enforcement leaders who have publicly refused to enforce more restrictive gun laws within their jurisdictions ...

• 91 percent support the concealed carry of firearms by civilians who have not been convicted of a felony and/or have not been deemed psychologically incapable

• Likewise, 80 percent feel that legally-armed citizens would likely have reduced the number of casualties in recent mass shooting incidents

...The survey was promoted by PoliceOne exclusively to its 400,000 registered members, comprised of individually-verified law enforcement professionals. Only current, former or retired law enforcement personnel were eligible to participate in the survey.

The results are conclusive: police officers believe that more gun control laws are useless and that concealed-carry by law-abiding citizens makes society safer.

Which makes it even more certain that Democrats will ignore the will of the people to continue their efforts to eradicate the Second Amendment.

For the children, dontcha know?


Hat tip: BadBlue Gun News.

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

THE CAUSE OF NORTH KOREA'S BELLICOSITY? Two of Kim Jong-un's Attack Submarines are Missing

Wondering why North Korea, after decades of low-level trouble-making, has escalated its rhetoric to "Condition Red"?


Perhaps two missing attack subs might explain it.

Chosun TV is reporting that South Korean military have lost contact with two North Korean submarines that left their naval base in Hwanghae Province a few days ago.


There has obviously been a lot of changes between last week and now and South Korean military officials suggested that while maneuvers in February were nothing meaningful, now it is provocation.

The two 'torpedo' subs are small 130-ton, 30-meter, 10-man machines that can stay submerged for three-to-four days.

If the situation wasn't so dicey, it would be hilarious. The same Democrats who condemned missile defense for decades -- beginning with ridiculing Reagan's SDI as "Star Wars" -- are now scurrying around trying to find Patriot-style systems to keep their own skins safe.

Pathetic, unpatriotic pond-scum. Which is why the Democrat Party is not-so-fondly known as the Party of Weakness.

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Oh, Just Peachy: DHS Demands "Obedience" in Official Message to Agents

And what could possibly go wrong with this?

The Obama administration and its controversial Department of Homeland Security are under fire for sending what is being described as a “chilling” message to U.S. Border Patrol agents demanding “obedience"...


...Reliable sources inside the agency confirmed to Ramirez, who also serves as president of the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council (LEOAC), that the controversial message demanding “obedience” was displayed for agents on TV monitors in the San Diego and Tucson sectors last week. In his explosive video for LNN exposing the scheme, Ramirez also provided a picture of the “propaganda” graphic that he obtained from a source within Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who requested anonymity (see photo above)...

With that as context, please consider the following news reports from such right-wing extremist groups as the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and National Journal:

1. The Department of Homeland Security recently acquired 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition, which represents thousands of rounds per DHS employee.

2. Newly released drone records have revealed extensive military flights inside the U.S.; police departments and federal agencies plan to have as many as 30,000 drones monitoring Americans within the next seven years.

3. When Can the U.S. Kill Americans? The White House Won't Say -- and Won't Even Tell Congress; President Obama's successful efforts to renew and strengthen The Patriot Act under the NDAA means, according to the ACLU, American citizens may be subject to "indefinite military detention without charge or trial... for the first time in American history."

4. The FBI director said in March he'd have to check whether the president can assassinate citizens inside the U.S.. When questioned by Congress regarding a speech by Attorney General Holder, who offered his "legal justification for assassination", FBI Director Mueller was unable to say whether the president could unilaterally decide to assassinate U.S. citizens inside the borders of this country.

5. The DHS has specifically listed Americans who believe in "individual liberty" as potential terrorists. These "right-wing extremists" who insist in fidelity to the Constitution are, according to multiple studies funded by DHS, among the country's most dire terrorist threats. Not Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Ansar al-Islam, Hamas, or Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- together responsible for tens of thousands of murders -- but "violent right-wing extremists" who believe in the principles of the nation's founding.

6. The military recently deployed gunships over Miami, executing training exercises with local police departments. A few days later, similar exercises were conducted in Houston. Last year the military deployed ground forces, armored personnel carriers and tanks on the streets of St. Louis for "training exercises". Military exercises in domestic urban environments of this scale are "unprecedented".

7. Police departments throughout the country are receiving tanks, humvees and drones from the Department of Defense, according to a WLS-TV (Chicago) I-Team investigation. "Short of a weapon of mass destruction, you can get any kind of military gear that's out there," the police chief of Benedectine University told WLS. "We chose firearms and a vehicle." WLS also reported rampant theft of military equipment, including body armor and night-vision goggles issued to the Chicago Police Department.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Do these data points offer any context into President Obama's promise to create "a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded as our military?"

Conversely, do these news reports offer any insights into the president's efforts to disarm American citizens, a clear violation of the Bill of Rights?

But don't worry, folks: at least our President has a really cool logo. Perhaps he'll issue armbands with his personal imprint on them, too!


Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Ultimate Survival, Prepper, Economic Collapse and SHTF News Site: BadBlue Prep

You don't have to be a conspiracy nut to recognize that we live in perilous times.

Europe, with its decades of deficit spending and ill-conceived monetary union, is nearing a final reckoning. The United States has passed the historically significant mark of a 90 percent debt-to-GDP ratio, which means an economic decline is all but certain.

Iran will soon deploy its first nuclear weapons, North Korea is threatening ICBM attacks on the United States itself, Russia resembles the old Soviet Union more and more each day, and the People's Republic of China is engaging in a massive military buildup.

We will get through these things: Americans always do. But the possibilities of economic dislocation, market instability, bank runs, and supply chain disruptions are real. And so the choice is simple: do you take simple precautions for yourself, your family, and your neighborhood? Do you anticipate temporary glitches in the fabric of infrastructure we take for granted? Do you plan ahead?

Or are you a drone?

BadBlue Prep -- http://BadBlue.com/Prep -- is a news site specifically designed to keep you current on the news that matters most. From preparing for a natural disaster, to survival skills, and everything in between, BadBlue Prep gives you the critical information you need to stay a step ahead.


Are you ready?


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

"The Greatest Flood in World History": 100th anniversary of one of the nation's worst natural disasters

By Jeff Satterly and Robert Muhlhauser, HistoricNaturalDisasters.com

The week of March 21st through 26th marks the 100-year anniversary of one of the worst – and least talked-about - natural disasters in US history. During this week in 1913 a series of mighty storms tore through the Midwest, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing hundreds. From Nebraska to New York, and from Iowa to Louisiana, a large swath of the nation was hit by tornados, floods, rain, and snow.

First came the tornados which hit during the three day period of March 21st to the 23rd, 1913. Tearing through Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, and Indiana, these storms killed over 240 people. The worst damage was done to Omaha, which had a tornado cut right through the middle of the city. The category F4 twister threw trees through houses and flung cars miles away. Once the storm had passed through the city, fires started to burn what little was left. In all, 115 people were killed and the city suffered over $8 million in damage ($187 million in today's dollars.


After the tornados had torn through the land, the rains came. Runoff from oversaturated watersheds like the Greater Miami in Ohio led to runoff which filled the rivers and streams of the Midwest until they began to overflow their banks. Levees, dams, and bridges snapped like twigs from the pressure of the raging waters. Cities and towns were swallowed whole by the flood waters.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Free speech rights? What free speech rights?

A township in Michigan thinks it can restrict certain kinds of signs.

Farmer, township at odds over M-6 signs


Signs on semi trailers criticize Obama, socialism

A cattle farmer is fighting a Gaines Township zoning ordinance to keep a couple of trailer-sized political signs on his property.

A crowd is expected in 63rd District Court Friday as Vern Verduin takes on Township officials who are trying to force him to remove his signs[, which] are visible from M-6, are posted on two semi-truck trailers parked in Verduin's pasture.


One reads "Marxism/Socialism = Poverty & hunger." The other reads "Obama's 'mission accomplished.' 8% unemployment. 16 trillion debt."

"I felt that things were going in the wrong direction," he said... [and] as a farmer, he's concerned especially about hunger and poverty... But the signs have put him at odds with the leaders of Gaines Township, for whom he has worked as a volunteer firefighter for years.

The Township cited him for violating its sign ordinance, which restricts the size of political signs to 20 square feet... But under the ordinance, you can have a bigger sign to sell a product than to sell an idea.

"You can have a 32-foot advertising sign. I don't get that," said Verduin... That commercial element is why Verduin's lawyer thinks his client will win in court. The US Constitution, he says, gives political speech more protection than it does commercial speech.

...Verduin said he could have avoided the fight but has been encouraged by the response he said he has received from people who have driven by and seen his signs- -- especially those from countries where free speech is limited... "One guy gives me a big ol' bear hug. You know, used broken English. So that helped me continue on," he said.

I'd like to think Verduin would win the case in a default judgment, but since we're living in a post-Constitutional Republic (thanks, Chief Justice Roberts!), one never knows.


Hat tip: BB.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

White House Approves Program Allowing Saudi Citizens To Bypass Normal Airport Security, Wounded Marines Not So Much

As Weasel Zippers observes, "Because only 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 came from the Wahhabi kingdom:"

Special Travel Benefit for Saudis a "Slap in the Face"


Saudi Arabia, the nation which produced 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks, is about to become one of a handful of countries whose travelers can bypass normal passport controls at major U.S. airports. Sources tell the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) that this will mark the first time that the Saudi government will have a direct role in vetting who is eligible for getting fast-tracked for entry into the United States.

An agreement to accept Saudi Arabian applicants into the Global Entry trusted traveler program drew little notice when it was announced in January. Now, some officials question why the country merits such a benefit – which is similar to a theme park “fast pass” to avoid long lines – when other allies like Germany and France are not yet included...

Travelers approved for the program can skip the normal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lines starting next year and enter the country after providing their passports and fingerprints at a kiosk. Only Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands currently enjoy the benefit...

Would that the White House have as much concern for our military personnel:

TSA agents 'humiliated' wounded Marine with aggressive inspection: report


Transportation Security Administration inspectors forced a wounded Marine who lost both of his legs in an IED blast and who was in a wheelchair to remove his prosthetic legs at one point, and at another point to stand painfully on his legs while his wheelchair was examined, according to a complaint a congressman has registered with the TSA.

Rep. Duncan Hunter said in his letter Monday that the Marine, who is still on active duty and showed TSA agents his military identification, was still forced to undergo that scrutiny.

“A TSA office asked the Marine to stand and walk to an alternate area, despite the fact that he physically could not stand or walk on his own. With numerous TSA officers sitting and unwilling to assist, an officer then made him remove his legs, then put them back on, only to advance to a secondary screening location where he was asked again to stand, with extraordinary difficult, while his wheelchair was examined for explosives,” Mr. Hunter said.

He also said TSA officers initially directed the Marine to the wrong line, then made him move lines but made no effort to help him. The incident occurred at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor airport last week, as a group of Marines was returning to San Diego.

Mr. Hunter included two photos of the inspection in his letter that appear to show a TSA agent patting down the Marine’s arm and examining the prosthetic leg.

It's all about priorities with this administration.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.