What’s interesting in the news today?
First up today, the Ft. Hood trial. It’s disgusting that his victims have to be subjected to this.
From FoxNews “The trial of the Fort Hood gunman, who is acting as his own attorney, took a surreal turn as the former Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 in the November 2009 attack grilled witnesses — including his former boss in the military and a fellow Muslim who spoke to him the day of the shooting.
After a short opening statement in which ex-Army Maj. Nidal Hasan called himself a “mujahedeen,” admitted to the rampage and said “the dead bodies will show that war is an ugly thing,” Hasan cross-examined prosecution witnesses, including retired Lt. Col Ben Kirk Phillips, his former boss. When pressed by the defendant, Phillips acknowledged that his officer evaluation report had graded Hasan as “outstanding.”
But he declined to cross-examine one of his shooting victims, Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, who provided the day’s most damning testimony.”
Sure sounds like workplace violence to me. 🙄
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Next, the Obama admin has finally grown tired of the media getting to Benghazi suspects before them, so indictments have finally come.
From TheWallStJournal “The Justice Department has filed sealed criminal charges against a number of suspects in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, according to people familiar with the matter.
One of those charged, according to these people, is Ahmed Abu Khattalah, founder of Libya’s Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia. Mr. Abu Khattalah was seen at the compound when it was overrun, according to intelligence officials. In interviews with reporters, Mr. Abu Khattalah has admitted being at the scene but denied involvement in the attack.
The exact nature of the charges wasn’t clear, nor was the number of suspects named in the investigation. Investigators and prosecutors are continuing to pursue the case, and they plan to charge additional suspects, according to the people familiar with the case.”
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Next, the other Benghazi scandal….
From Mediaite “On July 31, CNN’s The Situation Room broadcast a portion of an interview conducted by reporter Arwa Damon with a suspect in the Benghazi attacks. The suspect revealed to Damon that no investigator has attempted to contact him regarding his involvement in that deadly assault. The following day, CNN’s Drew Griffin broke the news that more than 30 CIA agents were on the ground in Libya on the day of the attack and they are being pressured by the spy agency to not reveal to reporters or congressional investigators what they know of the events of that night. Some CNN reporters are reportedly fearful now that their access to the White House will be hampered following their probing into a story that members of the Obama administration would prefer remain uninvestigated.
“Access is a very serious consideration when it comes to stories that could adversely impact a show, correspondent, or network’s relationship with the administration, a campaign, or any political leader,” one source with insider information told Mediaite.
“I would suggest it’s not an accident that those who have been given a lot of access to the president have generally been AWOL when it comes to stories that might reflect poorly on him,” the source, who did not wish to be identified, continued. “It’s the name of the game. And it’s bad for everyone trying to do this job the right way.” Those reporters have reason to fear for their access to America’s executive branch. Some suspect that reporters who soft-pedal or underreport stories uncomfortable to the administration receive preferential access to White House officials.”
Not shocked at all.
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Next up, it’s about time.
From LifeNews “The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO), a Congressional agency, has indicated it will conduct an investigation of the Planned Parenthood abortion, business, which was recently busted for millions of dollars of Medicaid fraud in Texas.
The abortion giant has engaged in at least $12.5 million in fraud over multiple states — that has become public knowledge so far.
Representatives Diane Black (R-TN), Pete Olson (R-TX), Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA) issued states late Monday saying they are grateful the agency will look into the abortion corporation and its financial dealings.
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Next up, the other shoe.
From CNBC “Detroit, you’re not alone.
Across the nation, cities and states are watching Detroit’s largest-ever municipal bankruptcy filing with great trepidation. Years of underfunded retirement promises to public sector workers, which helped lay Detroit low, could plunge them into a similar and terrifying financial hole.
A CNBC.com analysis of more than 120 of the nation’s largest state and local pension plans finds they face a wide range of burdens as their aging workforces near retirement.
Thanks to a patchwork of accounting practices and rosy investment assumptions, it’s not even clear just how big a financial hole many states and cities have dug for themselves. That may soon change, thanks to a new set of government accounting standards that could serve as a nasty wake-up call to states and cities relying on rosy scenarios and head-in-the-sand accounting.”
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More to worry about with ObamaCare. And yet another part running behind schedule and over budget.
From Reuters “The federal government is months behind in testing data security for the main pillar of Obamacare: allowing Americans to buy health insurance on state exchanges due to open by October 1
The missed deadlines have pushed the government’s decision on whether information technology security is up to snuff to exactly one day before that crucial date, the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general said in a report.
As a result, experts say, the exchanges might open with security flaws or, possibly but less likely, be delayed.”
Doh! 😯
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This is the last for today. It’s bad enough that so much money already goes to public schools thru taxes. This is just insulting to taxpayers. And just one more reason to question just where priorities lie.
From NBCNews “Buying tissue and copy paper for your kid’s classroom – or subjecting co-workers and family members to endless fundraisers – have become standard. But some public school districts have upped the ante, charging students mandatory fees and holding out the threat of collections or barring students from participating in activities if their parents don’t pay up.
The ACLU says it’s illegal. Schools counter that they’re facing huge budget shortfalls and that charging fees is better than firing teachers. Education experts warn that fees create a dynamic of inequality. Meanwhile, families are caught in the middle as they dig deeper into their pocketbooks and bank accounts.”
““(Our district) spends more than $4 million annually to provide sports programs and other activities. These fees help recover a small percentage of that cost,” David Beery, communications director at the Maine 207 school district in the suburbs of Chicago, said via email. Beery’s district gained notoriety after an irate parent posted a photo of the mandatory fees — including a required $300 Chromebook — she was required to pay for her daughter’s sophomore year.”
And it’s way past time that the role of sports in depleting budgets is addressed as well.
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Wandering Views 
our small school is looking better all the time, though I did ask the parents to send in a box of tissues, since otherwise I buy them myself
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I think the fees and lists of items everyone must bring has gotten ridiculous. One of my daughters would have had to pay for public kindergarten. She had her children attend a private Christian kindergarten instead, partly because it was cheaper for her. My parents paid for nothing until we hit Jr. high. The schools provided paper, pencils, crayons etc. While some fees are reasonable, others are going to keep a lot poorer students from learning and engaging in some good activities.
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Ft. Hood — Its disgusting but every defendant has the right to be his own attorney. From what I understand the judge may be able to declare him mentally incompetent to be his own lawyer but I don’t think anyone wants to go down that road.
Benghazi — Would not the Libya gov’t be responsible to charge the individuals for the attack? I know technically the consulate is American soil but the incident took place in Libya and thus should be the responsibility of the host nation.
Given the details that have emerged, its obvious the CIA was up to something in Benghazi. I’m surprised that Republicans are continuing to pursue this incident despite the fact they might compromise state secrets.
Criticism does result in curtailed access deliberately or even just subconsciously. My prime minister prefers to ignore the daily newspapers in favor of small town weeklies who tend to be far less critical. This is a deliberate strategy to achieve positive press in small town Canada which is his base. In the US, I’m sure that would also be the case for any politician no matter the party.
Detroit — Poor planning — pension commitments should enter the books the minute an employer becomes liable for them. Too many corporate groups both public and private did not plan ahead and now when their workforce is retiring they declare bankruptcy and the employee’s money has vanished. Or pension plans should be administered by a third party. 10% of my income goes to a pension plan and my employer matches it the exact same time I make my contribution. These funds are deposited to a third party who administers and invests the funds and at the right time they also distribute the funds. My employer along with my union oversee the third party.
The other issue is the hollowing out of cities. The wealth left the cities when the corporate base left for the suburbans usually right behind the “white flight”. Without a corporate tax base, a large urban area cannot support itself.
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I ask my students to bring one thing — calculators. And only because if I supply calculators, they get lost, broken etc. The rest of the supplies — notebooks, pencils, pens, etc — I supply. Many kids bring their own pencils, erasers, math sets etc but I usually have enough for everyone and this is how it should be. The money should be there – the right level of taxation plus good administration at all levels. (I could buy calculators I just choose to spend the money elsewhere. Besides most kids have phones with calculators).
Much of the problems in public institutions to today is the failure to tax. Administration is the same if not better than 40 years ago but the tax rate on corporate groups and the wealthy is far lower.
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HRW,
Ah yes, the fallback position for all liberals, tax the rich. How original. 🙄
As for the hollowing out thing, what did you expect them to do, stay and be taxed to death by the Dem/Liberal leaders of these cities? You look at the major cities in America and they all have massive problems, budget issues, and Democrat leaders. Coincidental? Hardly.
White flight? More like the smart people seeing the obvious and getting out while they still could. Corporations aren’t the only ones smart enough to flee Democrat rule, taxation, and regulation. Some are fine living in these cities, many on the dole. But without corporations and people with good jobs, they’re running out of other peoples money to spend on it all. Good. Keep electing Dems, keep getting more of the same.
And lastly, compromise state secrets? Really? You mean like Dems did with Reagan and Iran Contra? ‘Cuz that’s what this was, another gun running operation. More like exposing state corruption and illegal acts, just like IC. Goose, gander, and all that.
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Its not original but it worked. The so-called Golden Age of American capitalism was supported by high taxation. Its now ludicrously low so low in fact the state cannot no longer be supported. A return to Reagan level taxes has been calculated by some to solve not only the deficit but pay towards the debt.
Currently you have the leeches of American capitalism who not only pay their workers minimal wages but then help them apply for food stamps, medicaid and other state support. Wal-mart and the Walton family is sucking America dry and yes they should be taxed heavily simply to get back the money they’ve taken from the American people.
Democrats have run cities in America virtually since they were founded. When the current rust belt was America’s industrial backbone and Detroit the arsenal of democracy, did anyone credit the Democrat party for creating this. Probably not, so why blame them for the rust.
Detroit’s an interesting case study and various books have come out lately. Like most industrial cities in the north, there were more jobs than workers. The workers came from the American south, both black and white, and from Eastern Europe. All three groups brought their prejudices with them. The blacks soon found themselves in the worst possible neighborhoods with the lowest paying jobs. Discrimination was rife with even unions like UAW trying to keep the blacks out from the better jobs. Its said the “invisible” Jim Crow of Detroit was harsher than south.
By the 1950s and the growth of the cities, white flight was possible. The homes were new, clean, larger and had a backyard so why not. They weren’t necessarily fleeing a bad situation but just improving their lot. This left blacks behind in the city.
A decade later, the large plants begin to close and reopen elsewhere. This made perfect business sense — new modern efficient plants were more competitive and suburban cities could offer incentives older cites could not.
By the late 60s, discrimination was waning and many blacks achieve professional positions or better factory jobs. These newly minted members of the middle class also moved to suburbia as discrimination there was begin to wane. This left the working class blacks in the city with no jobs. Many of middle class jobs left in the city were filled with commuters who payed their property taxes elsewhere yet were employed by the city or other gov’t agencies.
From the above, you should be able to see its not gov’t policy alone which determines the rise and fall of cities. Some of it is the inevitable forces of capitalism and the free market appealing to personal preferences.
Iran – Contra — good point but living in the US during the aftermath of Iran-Contra, I remember young Republicans celebrating Oliver North as an American hero. These same now middle age Republicans are probably now screaming cover-up on Bengazi. Face it, the use of “top secret” has been used by every post WWII to cover any missteps they may have made (other than breaking into hotel rooms or receiving fringe benefits from an intern). I expect the administration to lower the “state secret” boom soon. Given Obama’s record with whistle blowers, I’m surprised he’s been this tolerant this long. The irony of Bush era Republicans being upset about a powerful and secretive executive is amusing.
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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/08/redistributing-wealth-is-the-wrong-way-to-fix-a-rigged-game/278391/
Interesting article with some interesting ideas.
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Interesting Zimmerman article
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/10-reasons-lawyers-say-floridas-law-enforcement-threw-ryan-zimmermans-case-away?page=0%2C0
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HRW, you stated that the Government of Libya should be responsible since some of the militia were involved in the attack on the consulate. A militia is made up of civilians armed for the purpose of assisting authorities. One of those militiamen involved in the attack was captured by Libyan military and interrogated by the Libyan Intelligence officer implicating Mohammed Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was directly involved in the Benghazi attack. http://shoebat.com/2013/06/30/benghazi-turning-a-blind-eye-for-the-blind-sheikh/ and Hilary’s buddy Huma is directly connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. http://www.shoebat.com/documents/Huma_Brotherhood_Connections_072412.pdf. In case you have forgotten, the Muslim Brotherhood gave birth to Al Qaeda.
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My question was in terms of jurisdiction. AJ notes the indictments had “finally” come. I question why we should expect indictments at all. Should the attacks not be investigated by Libyan authorities as part of a criminal investigation?
I’m not surprised the Libyans want to blame Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood. They don’t want responsibility. They also want to curb any influence of Egypt in the eastern half of Libya.
I read Shoebat’s report. The Libyan intelligence reports are suspect as they have their own motivations. The rest seemed to resemble six degrees of separation connect the dots and a conspiracy-type false flag operation.
Btw, I didn’t think Shoebat was a real name so I googled him — he seems to be a pretty sketchy character.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walid_Shoebat#Criticism
His name’s interesting. Throwing a shoe at someone is considered an insult in Arabic countries. Meanwhile a bat is a reference to craziness or blindness in English.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a large and old organization. It had over two million members by the end of WWII and in the post war era, they established a parallel welfare state in Egypt (Hamas would do the same 50 years later in Gaza). Where and when the corrupt official gov’t failed, the brotherhood was there. In the 50 some years of military rule, the brotherhood was the focus of opposition groups. Any Egyptian who opposed Sadat or Mubarak or was involved in charity NGOs would have some contact with the brotherhood or in the very least they would have had a relative or spouse with some brotherhood contacts. Play six degrees of separation and almost any Egyptian would have a Brotherhood contact including not only Humma but any Egyptian.
Al-Queda and the Brotherhood are not the same nor is the former an offshoot of the latter. Wahhabism is the religious foundation of al-queada, not Sunni, and the Saudi gov’t is on record condemning Brotherhood. The only attempt at linking the two comes from Arab dictators attempting to disparage populist opposition groups.
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Ah because he is a former Terrorist, he is sketchy, or is it because he left Islam and is now apostate or is it because Walid Shoebat now supports Israels right to exist?
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