What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, so feel free to chime in with some of your own.

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I guess we start with the California Manhunt.

From KFIam640

“Police launched a massive  manhunt Thursday for a former Los Angeles officer suspected of killing a couple  over the weekend and opening fire on four officers early Thursday, killing one  and critically wounding another, authorities said.”

“The Daily Breeze in Torrance  also reports that there was another police shooting nearby involving another  pickup truck, but the driver wasn’t hurt.”

“Dorner, 33, implicated  himself in the killings with a multi-page “manifesto” that he wrote that  included threats against several people, including members of the LAPD, police  said. They gave no further details on the document or its contents.”

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Now the story gets even more bizarre when you look at his manifesto. Some are alleging that what’s been released isn’t all of what was sent out, and that what was removed in most press reports was done for political reasons.

From SooperMexican

“However, I started noticing that some of the details the media was talking about didn’t fit the released manifesto I’ve read everywhere. Especially interesting, is that KFI’s morning news regurgitator Bill Handel had mentioned some pro-Obama comments and anti-NRA sentiments in the manifesto.

But these weren’t in the copy that KFI themselves released – see for yourself.

This video from FOX News Los Angeles reports that the manifesto was 22 pages long, while the manifesto released was only 11.”

Now “what’s missing?” is the obvious question.

Just like with that Corkins guy yesterday, it’s all about what motivates him.

The answer, things like this.

Anti-NRA, Loves MSNBC and CNN, Loves Obama, Fan of Joe Biden and Hillary, Loves Piers Morgan, Was Radicalized by Trayvon Martin Propaganda, oh, and he’s Pro Gun Control. I wonder how he feels about the SPLC?

The reporter from KFI says they have been specifically told to post a “redacted” version of the manifesto, in order to protect the names of the police men and women targeted by the murderer. That makes sense. No reason was given as to why the liberal references were also removed. Funny that. I guess we can’t have anyone asking if maybe the rhetoric from the left against the right has lead to these cases.  Meanwhile, the number of violent Tea Party supporters still remains at 0.

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Here’s more on the story mentioned above on the victims shot by police while delivering newspapers. A case of mistaken identity, because their vehicles matched the suspect’s.

From TheDailyBreeze

“Twice in the same neighborhood before predawn light Thursday, police officers thought Christopher Dorner was coming at them.

And both times they were wrong.

In two cases of mistaken identity, two people were shot in a sleepy Torrance housing tract by undercover Los Angeles police officers protecting a potential Dorner target, and a third was fired upon by Torrance police responding to the first shooting.”

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This next one………  🙄

And remember folks, the slippery slope is a myth.  😉

From YahooNews

“A Florida judge has approved the adoption of a 22-month-old baby girl that will list three people as parents on her birth certificate — a married lesbian couple and a gay man.

The decision ends a two-year paternity fight between the couple and a friend of the women who donated his sperm to father the child but later sought a larger role in the girl’s life.

The ruling means the child’s birth certificate will include a biological father and both women as parents in an unusual arrangement approved recently by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge.”

And if the women split up? I guess it’s back to court.

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This one? Sorry Cowboys fans, but the truth will set you free. Or something.

Plus, as a Giants fan, it amuses me. 🙂

From TheDallasMorningNews

“Ex-Cowboy Tony Casillas: Forget deer antler spray, ’90s Cowboys used ointment for horses”

“On if PED’s were prevalent during his career:

“When I heard about deer antler spray, I said that’s nothing. We used to use this stuff called DMSO. That’s what veterinarians put on horses’ muscles and we used it in the locker room. We had a bottle and you’d take it. It goes right to the blood stream. I’m not sure about this deer antler stuff, but it was prevalent in our locker room. It’s called DMSO. You get it from the veterinarian. It’s an ointment that’s like anti-inflammatory. You put it on your skin and you put it on a muscle, and I guarantee you, in about 30 minutes you’d feel great. If you’re going to talk about the deer antler stuff, we used DMSO and people knew it. Everyone knew about it.””

Hmmmmmmm………   Didn’t they win 3 championships in the 90’s? 😯

Cheaters! 🙂

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Don’t worry, I have some good news too. 🙂

From TheChicagoSunTimes

“Sneed has learned a plea deal is now on the table between former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and federal authorities probing allegations of campaign fund misuse.

Sneed is told the plea deal includes Jackson serving time in federal prison.”

““Significant jail time is now definitely a part of the deal,” said a top Sneed source close to the probe.

“But I think [Jackson’s wife] Sandi, feels like she was thrown under the bus by her husband, ” now that a separate probe has begun on her, a second source added.”

So does he get a pardon or not?

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What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, you decide.

Here’s some to start off with.

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We’ll start with a piece on The Compromise That Isn’t.

E.J. Dionne’s assurances to the contrary are wrong. He’s clueless, as usual.

From NationalReview

“On Friday, the Obama administration issued a proposed rule change following from the supposed accommodation they promised a year ago to the controversial, coercive Department of Health and Human Services abortion-drug, contraception, and sterilization mandate. Mark Rienzi is a professor of constitutional law at the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America and an attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and he talks about why the religious-liberty problem remains.”

“It is simply a re-offering of the same unappetizing ideas that have already been explicitly rejected, in hopes that religious objectors will swallow now what they would not swallow a year ago.

That turn of events is a profound disappointment for those of us who had hoped that the administration would reach the easy, obvious, and legally required solution of just exempting all religious objectors. The government obviously has many ways it could get these drugs to people without forcibly involving religious objectors. Instead, the government took a year to think about the issue and came back with essentially the same proposal everyone already rejected last spring. That is an odd kind of “compromise.””

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Panetta seems to want to go out with a bang and a flip of the bird to our military. First he announces that the DoD and military will be paying for same sex partner benefits. And then within days he and the DoD announce a cut in pay for service members. Shows you where their priorities lie. The social experimentation continues.

From CNN

“Just days before he leaves office, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is recommending military pay be limited, effectively decreasing troop salaries next year.

Panetta will recommend to Congress that military salaries be limited to a 1% increase in 2014. The Pentagon has calculated that the Labor Department’s 2014 Employment Cost Index is expected to be above 1% but wants to still cut back on pay because of “budget uncertainties,” a department official told CNN. In 2013, a 1.7% increase was approved, based on the index, which has been the basis for military pay for the last several years.”

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The Obama Phone, Part II.

This is the new and improved version because it benefits a campaign contributor, as well as a loyal voting bloc. It’s win/win baby! Unless you’re one of the millions who subsidize this thru the Universal Service Fee you pay with your cell phone bill. That’s just a fancy name for tax, and make no mistake, this is a tax.

Oh, and did I mention it’s a SmartPhone with internet access? You know, for job hunting. 🙄

From TheWashingtonTimes

“A cellphone company whose top executive has close ties to President Obama  lobbied for and won a piece of a major new government push to provide Internet  service to low-income job-seekers, even though critics say the company’s  smartphones are poorly suited to the task of helping those in the program find  work.

The program’s supporters tout it as a way for the unemployed to learn  technical skills, to prepare resumes and to search for jobs, but one of the 14  pilot contracts that the FCC awarded went to Miami-based TracFone Wireless  Inc.

TracFone CEO F.J. Pollak has been a frequent White House visitor and his wife  Abigail has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for both Mr. Obama’s 2008  and 2012 campaigns.

And although TracFone had originally lobbied for the program, critics say its  contract would not provide recipients with skills-boosting computers and  services, but would supply high-end Android phones, ready to play games and  browse Facebook but doing little in the way of getting a job.”

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What’s news today?

Well let’s take a look.

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First, the family of Retired Navy SEAL Chris Kyle has issued a statement.

From TheBlaze

““My name is Jeff Kyle. I’m here representing my family, the Kyle family, and also the Littlefield family. I am reading a prepared statement prepared by the Kyle family and Littlefield family,” Kyle began.

“Chris Kyle and his trusted friend, Chad Littlefield, were tragically killed on Saturday, February 2, 2013, by a troubled veteran whom they were trying to help,” Kyle said. “Chris lived by a professional motto: ‘It is our duty to serve those who serve us.’ And he and Chad died honoring this creed.”

He went on: “Above all else, Chris was a unique individual, an amazing loving father, husband, son, brother, friend and devout Christian who had a profound effect on the lives of those that he touched. Chris was publicly known for being the president of Craft International and the author of the best-selling book ‘American Sniper.’ Chris, a former Navy SEAL, served four combat tours in operation Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere.””

Another update here, from CBSNews

“The Iraq War veteran charged with gunning down a former Navy SEAL sniper and his friend at a gun range has refused to meet with his family or court-appointed attorney, a Texas sheriff said Tuesday.”

“Routh is charged with one count of capital murder and two counts of murder in the deaths of ex-SEAL Chris Kyle, author of the best-selling book “American Sniper,” and his friend Chad Littlefield at a shooting range Saturday. He’s being held on $3 million bail and is on suicide watch.”

“Kyle and Littlefield apparently had been helping Routh work through post traumatic stress disorder, said Travis Cox, director of FITCO Cares, the nonprofit that Kyle set up to give in-home fitness equipment to physically and emotionally wounded veterans.”

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This next one isn’t surprising. While world leaders and govts decried the Bush admin’s rendition programs, it seems behind the scenes they were all too willing to play along.

From NBCNews

“As many as 54 nations aided the United States in rendition and detention operations that swept up more than 130 people as part of the Central Intelligence Agency’s global counterterrorism efforts, according to a report released Tuesday by the Open Society Justice Initiative, a human rights advocacy group.

The report, titled “Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition,” is the most complete account yet of the covert and extra-legal detention of suspects at undisclosed locations, or “black sites,” in the post-9/11 era. Relying on information provided by human rights groups, public records and court cases, the report details the harsh treatment some suspects faced.”

“Countries assisting the United States included Afghanistan, Germany, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Kingdom. Some of the countries hosted facilities used by the CIA on their soil, according to the report, while others provided intelligence or aided in the capture, transport, or detention of individuals.”

Just a tad hypocritical, no?

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That one goes nicely with this one. More hypocrites. Remember the good ol’ days when liberals were outraged and protesting in the streets over far less? Yeah, good times, good times……

From NBCNews

“A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” — even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.

The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects abroad, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the  September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes. ”

“But the confidential Justice Department “white paper” introduces a more expansive definition of self-defense or imminent attack than described  by Brennan or Holder in their public speeches.  It refers, for example, to what it calls a “broader concept of imminence” than actual intelligence about any ongoing plot against the U.S. homeland. ”

So how long until they pick out some of those “right-wing terrorists” to practice on? You know, the ones Homeland Security keeps fretting over, instead of the actual ones brought on board by the Obama admin by way of their Brotherhood connections.

And also, this issue has lead to a first time occurrence. I actually agree with Ed Schultz.  😯

From TheWFB

“ED SCHULTZ: I have to say, as an American citizen, we are all entitled to due process under the law. And this document gives the president the ability to act as judge, jury and executioner. I’m troubled by it. It doesn’t meet the moral or the constitutional standard that we expect of any administration, and I have to say that liberals have come certainly a long way to crying about the FISA court and the Patriot Act and listening in on conversations to literally taking out innocent people around the world. We’re losing the moral high ground by doing this, and even more troubling, there are people in Washington who are ominously silent and not questioning this process and willing to stand behind the legal opinion of the justice department. This is President Obama’s legacy right now. It is dangerous.”

I know, shocking.

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Charlottesville, Virginia has become the first city to ban drones.

From USNews

“Charlottesville, Va., has become the first city in the United States to formally pass an anti-drone resolution.

The resolution, passed Monday, “calls on the United States Congress and the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia to adopt legislation prohibiting information obtained from the domestic use of drones from being introduced into a Federal or State court,” and “pledges to abstain from similar uses with city-owned, leased, or borrowed drones.””

“Councilmember Dede Smith, who voted in favor of the bill, says that drones are “pretty clearly a threat to our constitutional right to privacy.””

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Meanwhile, Obama’s busy kissing up to the death merchants, and promising to continue to assist them. With taxpayer money of course. And that so-called compromise is a joke.

From Politico

“Days after proposing a compromise on his contraceptive coverage policy,  President Barack Obama sent a strong video message of support for women’s right  to make their own reproductive choices at a NARAL Pro-Choice America annual  dinner Tuesday night.

“Tonight we celebrate the historic Roe v. Wade decision handed down  40 years ago, but we also gather to recommit ourselves to the decision’s guiding  principle: that women should be able to make their own choices about their  bodies and their health care,” the president said in a video at an anniversary  celebration that also welcomed NARAL’s new president, Ilyse Hogue.”

“Obama thanked outgoing NARAL President Nancy Keenan, whom he called “a friend  and counselor to me and my administration,” and welcomed the group’s incoming  President Hogue, saying he looked forward to continuing to work with the group.”

Gotta keep the contributors happy. The right to life is never discussed, just the “right” to end it.

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This next one, well I only have one comment.

HOME SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!

From EAGNews.org

“OAKLAND – Is your three-year-old preschooler chanting ‘union power’ these days? She might, if author Innosanto Nagara has his way.

Nagara wrote “A is for Activist,” a book supposedly geared for the  children of the “99 percent.” In other words, a new vehicle has been developed for leftists to begin indoctrinating children.”

But union power and student activism aren’t the only goals. Consider these other letters and how they are applied in the book:

• B is for banner, as in a protest banner hanging off a construction crane
• L is for LGBTQ, as in Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Queer
• T is for Trans, as in transgendered
• Z is for Zapatistas, as in Mexican revolutionary leftists”

These people are creepy.  😦

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And I’ll leave you with a video. Watch this, and be sure to remember this during the coming discussion of immigration and the issue of border security. DHS gets to decide when the border is “secure”. They’re the ones not doing their job on it now.

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread, I’ll start it off.

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Budget? BUDGET!? We don’ need no stinkin’ budget.

Just following the example set by Senate Dems I guess.

From BuzzFeed

“White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he had no updates on when President Barack Obama will release his budget for the next fiscal year.

“I don’t have an update on the President’s budget,” Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One as the president travels to Minneapolis to discuss his gun control proposals when asked when Obama will submit his spending plan to Congress. The deadline for submitting his budget for fiscal year 2014 is Monday, February 4, 2013 under the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921.

Republicans have blasted Obama for missing the deadline — his third consecutive miss and the most of any president since the act was passed, according to data from the House Budget Committee.“

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But I guess we should be somewhat thankful, especially when you consider the lawbreakers and tax cheats running the Treasury. Looks like Geithner just found a perfect sidekick. And yet another example of the Obama admin ignoring budget requirements and laws.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Senate Republicans are sending a letter Monday to the White  House budget office arguing that President  Obama’s nominee to be treasury secretary, Jacob “Jack” Lew, was complicit in breaking a Medicare budget law.

The letter  comes the same day that Mr. Obama officially missed another deadline in the  budget law by failing to submit his blueprint on the first Monday in February.  The president has only met that deadline once in his  tenure.

On the Medicare  funding issue, federal law requires that if the program’s funding becomes  imbalanced, its trustees are required to issue a warning, and the president is  required to send Congress a plan to repair the  finances.”
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This last one? Well, let me just say this………

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

From ZeroHedge

“[ZH: We have discussed this threat over the past several years (must read).] The obvious concept is that when the government runs out of money, or they face a drying up in interest for its debt, they will come for the $19.4 trillion in American’s retirement accounts.  It seems that day may be finally drawing near.”

“I’m sure the government is just trying to protect your retirement account from terrorists.

From Bloomberg:

 The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing whether it should take on a role in helping Americans manage the $19.4 trillion they have put into retirement savings, a move that would be the agency’s first foray into consumer investments.

That’s one of the things we’ve been exploring and are interested in in terms of whether and what authority we have,” bureau director Richard Cordray said in an interview. He didn’t provide additional details.”

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What’s interesting in the news today?

Let’s lead off with Sports…..

And the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens 34

49ers 31

Here’s some highlights and a breakdown of the game, from CBSNews

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Well if you haven’t seen the photos out there of the President skeet shooting, you’re missing out. I love the fact that they released it with a warning not to photoshop it, since it was an “Official White House Photo”.  Why not just invite people to openly mock him? Your warning now ensures that they will, and they did. 🙂

From Twitchy 

“Hilarity ensues as Twitter users caption and Photoshop Obama’s shooting photo”

“Wait, did we say Twitter users have been Photoshopping that picture of President Mom Jeans and his shotgun? Can’t be. As Twitchy reported earlier today, the White House issued the photo with the stern warning that it “may not be manipulated in any way.” Some of these are just captions, though, and the rest aren’t manipulations, but rather a process left over from the Bush era called “enhancement.”“

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Some are now reacting to the Obama admin losing the NRLB case, and the recess appointments being invalidated. Unions who benefited from the illegally stacked board’s decisions are pretty upset.

From Reuters

“A California-based hospital company says it will not comply with at least two National Labor Relations Board rulings from the past year after a federal court invalidated three of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB last week.

Prime Healthcare Services, which owns 21 hospitals in California and three other states, told Reuters on Wednesday that it had informed one of its employee unions that it would not follow an NLRB ruling mandating the collection of union dues even after a collective bargaining agreement has expired, or a ruling compelling employers to provide unions with certain materials during internal investigations.”

“One lawyer for the Prime Healthcare union, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, said the board’s rulings from last year remain the law and criticized Prime Healthcare’s stance.”

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This last one is sad. New York City seems intent on holding their title of Abortion Capitol of the US. They continue to allow liberal ideals to dictate policy. Policy that the numbers show, is a failure.

From TheNYPost

“Plan B has become Plan A in the Bloomberg administration’s stealth war on teen pregnancy.

Handouts of the “morning-after pill” to sexually active students have skyrocketed under an unpublicized project in which health centers in public schools offer girls a full menu of free birth-control drugs and devices, records obtained by The Post show.

Last September, the city revealed it had started giving out Plan B and other birth control in the nurses’ offices of 13 high schools. At the time, officials said 567 girls had gotten Plan B.

But the birth-control blitz was much bigger than the city had acknowledged. About 40 separate “school-based health centers” doled out 12,721 doses of Plan B in 2011-12, up from 10,720 in 2010-11 and 5,039 in 2009-10, according to the newly released data.”

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What’s news today?

Well the sordid tale of Sen. Menendez’s (D/NJ) alleged solicitations of South American, under-age prostitutes  has finally become too hard to ignore. I told you about this before. At that point they were vague allegations. I understand the media kinda laying off it. These are pretty serious, and could end his career, so tact was necessary I guess. But that did help him get re-elected as well. What the public didn’t know, couldn’t hurt him. Given his expected promotion to chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his being front and center in the Senate immigration deal, some answer are necessary. If true, the Senator should resign or be removed as quickly as possible. It certainly seems he’s trying to cover his mistakes.

From HotAir

““Wonderful things, subpoenas,” Wilford Brimley said in Absence of Malice, after the threat of one broke the silence of conspirators in the film’s climax.  We can add FBI raids to that list of wonderful catalysts.  After discovering that the FBI had raided the offices of his frequent travel companion and campaign donor Salomon Melgen, Senator Bob Menendez suddenly remembered that he owed nearly $60,000 to Melgen for private-jet flights to the Dominican Republic:

Embattled Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez said through a spokesman Wednesday that trips he took on the private jet of a major political donor “have been paid for and reported appropriately.” But that may not have been accurate until shortly before the statement went out to media: WNBC-TV4 in New York City reported Wednesday that Menendez recently wrote a $58,500 check to the jet’s owner, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen.

“Senator Menendez has traveled on Dr. Melgen’s plane on three occasions, all of which have been paid for and reported appropriately,” the statement said.

Menendez’s chief of staff, Dan O’Brien, told NBC that it took the senator three years to pay his private airfare because of an office mistake.

This raises all kinds of questions as well. If he violated the laws in the Dominican Republic, can he claim Diplomatic Immunity? And now that he’s reimbursed Dr. Melgen, will the good doctor now pay some of the millions in back taxes he owes? Funny how he has all this money to donate to Menendez and the DNC, but not to pay his taxes.

Read more here from TheGatewayPundit

And here from the people who first broke the story, TheDailyCaller 

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After that, we need some good news. Note this is adult stem cells that once again they are making progress with, and not embryonic.

From LifeNews

“Opponents of unethical stem cell research have always believed that scientists would be able to develop a robust regenerative medical sector without needing to create and/or destroy nascent human lives. And indeed, we have seen the invention of induced pluripotent stem cells–made from normal human tissues–that are already being used in ways that advocates once said would require human cloning to accomplish. We see thousands of human trials using adult stem cells throughout the world. Embryonic, not so much.

And now, scientists are creating human hearts using pig hearts and adult stem cells. From the Houston Chronicle story:”

“Remember, this is still in the experimental stage, so no guarantees. But the research seems to be moving forward toward human testing:”

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Here’s one of the reasons I don’t like Twitter. I’ve seen all manner of vile Tweets about Romney, even death threats, yet those accounts weren’t censored. So why were these?

Also from LifeNews

“A coalition of African-American pro-life activists have had their Twitter account suspended after firing off Tweets challenging the NAACP over its position favoring abortion.”

“At this year’s event, the National Black Prolife Coalition tells LifeNews it will be protesting “due to the failure of the civil rights organization to represent the best interests of the community” including abortion.

After announcing the protest, their Twitter account @NAACP_WATCHDOGS was suspended.”

““The black groups were drawing attention to what they claim is the failure of the civil rights organization to represent the best interests of the community. The issues range from abortion, traditional marriage, destruction of the black family and the extraordinarily high incarceration rate of black men. Protesters from across the nation will assemble in Los Angeles to declare that the NAACP has betrayed the black community,” the pro-life coalition told LifeNews.”

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What is it with this administration and botched gun programs? And remember folks, these are the people who will play a vital role in implementing Obama’s proposed new gun regs. should they ever become law.

From TheMilwaukeeJournalSentinel

“They were undercover agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives running a storefront sting aimed at busting criminal operations in the city by purchasing drugs and guns from felons.

But the effort to date has not snared any major dealers or taken down a gang. Instead, it resulted in a string of mistakes and failures, including an ATF military-style machine gun landing on the streets of Milwaukee and the agency having $35,000 in merchandise stolen from its store, a Journal Sentinel investigation has found.

When the 10-month operation was shut down after the burglary, agents and Milwaukee police officers who participated in the sting cleared out the store but left behind a sensitive document that listed names, vehicles and phone numbers of undercover agents.

And the agency remains locked in a battle with the building’s owner, who says he is owed about $15,000 because of utility bills, holes in the walls, broken doors and damage from an overflowing toilet.”

🙄

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And yet again, not as advertised.

From CNSNews

“The examples point to families of four and families of five, both of which the IRS expects in its assumptions to pay a minimum of $20,000 per year for a bronze plan.

“The annual national average bronze plan premium for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 children) is $20,000,” the regulation says.

Bronze will be the lowest tier health-insurance plan available under Obamacare–after Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Under the law, the penalty for not buying health insurance is supposed to be capped at either the annual average Bronze premium, 2.5 percent of taxable income, or $2,085.00 per family in 2016.”

And that’s for the plan with high deductibles and co-pays. A decent one will be quite a bit more.

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And now we know why the Israeli’s took it upon themselves to enter Syria and destroy a military convoy. Self preservation. This latest convoy was suspected of moving weapons to Hezbollah again.

From TheJerusalemPost

“The Saudi-based newspaper Al-Watan on Thursday reported that the Syrian regime has transferred non-conventional weapons to Hezbollah.

Al-Watan, quoting unnamed sources from the Syrian opposition, reported that  Syrian President Bashar Assad has been transferring weapons to Hezbollah since the beginning of 2012, including two tons of mustard gas and  long-range missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads and traveling  300 kilometers.”

But once again the useless UN scolds the Israelis rather than the terrorist group.

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Before you read any further I must warn you that this will be hard to read. It’s a horrible and sad story, but one that discusses a trend that can’t be ignored.

CONTENT WARNING!!!!

   We see the effects pornography can have on men, women, marriages, and society. It’s a serious problem. Society has become accustomed to it everywhere on TV, in advertising, magazines, and the like. We’re so used to it, that we just tune it out. But the effects on children can be just as bad, or worse, and is often not talked about. That needs to change. Whether we realize it or not, it’s already having devastating effects on young lives.

   The following story will just break your heart. It’s yet another sad commentary on the downgrading of our society’s conscience. As the envelope is pushed further and further, the decline and coarsening of society becomes more obvious.

   I just want to point out a couple of things I observed while reading it. The first is that the Telegraph seems to completely miss the obvious. While the story frets about the over sexualization of children and society, they contribute to the problem with the “Related Stories” links such as “How to avoid 50 shades of grey injuries”. They miss the sad irony of saying there’s a problem in the story while the sidebar has an “In Sex” category and a story about mistakes women make in the bedroom. Really? Nobody thought that might seem a little hypocritical, that maybe it dilutes the message you were trying to get across?

    The second thing is they completely miss, or ignore, one of the biggest contributing factors, the decline of faith in the community. The decline of morality is related to it whether they see it or not. When society denies God, refuses His moral teachings and standards, what else is there to restrain them from pursuing their baser inclinations? A strong church and church leaders helps to fight these declines in standards. Without them, you can see the results for yourself. It’s not pretty. In the UK and much of Europe God has been removed from the conversation, and the lives of it’s residents. Many in this country wish the same for us. We cannot stand by and allow that to happen. We must fight that battle, because if we don’t, who will?

Again, and I can’t stress this enough due to the adult nature of the subject,

CONTENT WARNING!!!!

From TheTelegraph.UK

““Never before has girlhood been under such a sustained assault – from ads, alcohol marketing, girls’ magazines, sexually explicit TV programmes and the hard pornography that is regularly accessed in so many teenager’s bedrooms,” says the psychologist Steve Biddulph, currently touring the country to promote a book called Raising Girls.

It is a follow-up to his best-seller Raising Boys – and they are under pressure too, being led to believe that girls will look and behave like porn stars. Our children are becoming victims of pornification.

“It is usually girls who are on the receiving end of some pretty degrading stuff,” says Claire Perry MP, who has just been appointed David Cameron’s special adviser on the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood. “We’ve got young girls being asked to write their names on their @#%@# and send pictures. Parents would be really shocked to know this is happening in pretty much every school in the country. Our children are growing up in a very sexualised world.”

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What’s interesting in the news today?

Let’s do an Open Thread.

Here’s a couple to start things off.

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First…….

CATS— Cute and fuzzy companions?

Or hairy balls of death responsible for the destruction of numerous other species?

😯

From BBCNews

“Cats are one of the top threats to US wildlife, killing billions of animals each year, a study suggests.

The authors estimate they are responsible for the deaths of between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals annually.”

“Felines accompanying their human companions have gone on to prey on the local wildlife, and they have been blamed for the global extinction of 33 species.”

Next time you see your cat staring at you just be careful, it’s probably plotting your death.

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And next we have a letter for your consideration, signed by 1100 Green Berets, in defense of the 2nd Amendment.

From ProfessionalSoldiers.com

“Protecting the Second Amendment – Why all Americans Should Be Concerned

We are current or former Army Reserve, National Guard, and active duty US Army Special Forces soldiers (Green Berets). We have all taken an oath to “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.…” The Constitution of the United States is without a doubt the single greatest document in the history of mankind, codifying the fundamental principle of governmental power and authority being derived from and granted through the consent of the governed. Our Constitution established a system of governance that preserves, protects, and holds sacrosanct the individual rights and primacy of the governed as well as providing for the explicit protection of the governed from governmental tyranny and/or oppression. We have witnessed the insidious and iniquitous effects of tyranny and oppression on people all over the world. We and our forebears have embodied and personified our organizational motto, De Oppresso Liber [To Free the Oppressed], for more than a half century as we have fought, shed blood, and died in the pursuit of freedom for the oppressed.

Like you, we are also loving and caring fathers and grandfathers. Like you, we have been stunned, horrified, and angered by the tragedies of Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Fort Hood, and Sandy Hook; and like you, we are searching for solutions to the problem of gun-related crimes in our society. Many of us are educators in our second careers and have a special interest to find a solution to this problem. However, unlike much of the current vox populi reactions to this tragedy, we offer a different perspective.”

“So, what do we believe will be effective? First, it is important that we recognize that this is not a gun control problem; it is a complex sociological problem. No single course of action will solve the problem. Therefore, it is our recommendation that a series of diverse steps be undertaken, the implementation of which will require patience and diligence to realize an effect. These are as follows:”

They then present an 8 point plan that seems pretty reasonable, and ensures our rights. Numbers 5, 6, and 7 I find of particular interest, and are some issues that are sadly missing in much of the current discussion.

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What’s news today?

Today I’ll start with some sports news. It is after all supposed to be a pleasant distraction from the bad news all around us.

Oh wait. Nevermind.

🙄

First to baseball, where PED’s are everywhere it seems. Some say this is all coming out now because the Steinbrenner boys see an out from the overly generous contract they gave this guy. I say “let’s hope so”. It’s time to put an end to the distraction known as ARod. The freed up money will just be a bonus at this point. You would think he’d have been playing better if he was juicin’, but no. Two other former Yankees, and some other big names are involved as well.

From MSN/FoxSports

“Alex Rodriguez was ensnared in a doping investigation once again Tuesday when an alternative weekly newspaper reported baseball’s highest-paid star was among a half-dozen players listed in records of a Florida clinic the paper said sold performance-enhancing drugs.”

“The Miami New Times said the three-time AL MVP bought human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing substances during 2009-12 from Biogenesis of America LLC, a now-closed anti-aging clinic in Coral Cables, Fla., near Rodriguez’s offseason home.”

“The newspaper said it obtained records detailing purchases by Rodriguez, 2012 All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera, 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon and 2011 AL championship series MVP Nelson Cruz of Texas.”

“Other baseball players the newspaper said appeared in the records include Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who finished third in last year’s NL Cy Young Award voting, and San Diego catcher Yasmani Grandal.”

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And then it’s on to the NFL, for some more abuse of PED’s and assorted banned substances. First let me say, in the interest of full disclosure, that I don’t like this guy. At all, so maybe I’m biased. But what I’d really like to know is why this guy is playing in the Super Bowl if he violated the policy? C’mon Commissioner, do you really wanna end it? Now’s your chance. C’mon, set an example. What have you got to lose? You’ll already be the most hated man in the building come game time. Saints fans will already boo you mercilessly, why not have the Ravens fans join the chorus too? You’d be HUGE in San Fran next time you visit.

🙂

From BostonCBSLocal

“Ray Lewis’ final season and Baltimore’s run through the AFC to the Super Bowl has been described as destiny or a fateful miracle, but it appears as though Lewis’ recovery from a torn triceps was aided by the use of a banned substance.

Sports Illustrated reported that among Lewis’ many treatments for his torn triceps, suffered Oct. 14, was a deer-antler spray, which is banned by the NFL. Philly.com published quotes from the SI article from phone conversations between Lewis and Mitch Ross, the owner of “Sports with Alternatives to Steroids” (S.W.A.T.S.).”

“The deer-antler products are described as containing IGF-1, which is banned by the NFL. The report explains that IGF-1 is what human growth hormone is converted into when it reaches the liver.”

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Don’t worry. I did find a good one to share too. Crazy if you ask me, but pretty cool too.

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For this next one I need my shocked face.

😯

There it is! OK, now I’m ready.

From FoxNews

“A preliminary draft of a report by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on  Climate Change was leaked to the public this month, and climate skeptics say it  contains fresh evidence of 20 years of overstated global warming.

The report — which is not scheduled for publication until 2014 — was leaked by  someone involved in the IPCC’s review process, and is available for download  online. Bloggers combing through the report discovered a chart comparing the  four temperature models the group has published since 1990. Each has overstated the rise in  temperature that Earth actually experienced.”

““Their predictions have largely failed, four times in a row… what that means  is that it’s time for them to re-evaluate,” Spencer said.”

Re-evaluate? More likely they just double down on it.

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Sure they broke the rules, BUT……….. you’re still supposed to feel bad for them and reward their bad behavior.

It’s just common sense or something.

So when will his endless campaigning on the taxpayer dime ever end?

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Meanwhile, Jay Carney get’s in on the disinformation campaign as well.

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Never been more secure?

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Even as President Obama travels to Las Vegas Tuesday to call  for legalizing  illegal immigrants, the latest numbers from the U.S.  Border Patrol suggest that  the flow across the nation’s southwest border  jumped by 9 percent last  year.

The Border Patrol made 356,873 arrests along the U.S.-Mexico  border in fiscal year 2012, up from 327,577 in 2011, according to  figures  obtained by the Associated Press and confirmed by The Washington  Times. Border  Patrol officials estimate that apprehensions are a good  proxy for illegal  crossings, so when the numbers go up, it means that  the flow of illegal  immigrants is going up as well.”

And the number will only increase now that amnesty has been promised. I should have known they were lying since their lips were moving.

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What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread. What have you got?

Here’s mine.

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Anything that delays or limits Iran’s nuke program is good news.

From TimesOfIsrael

“Israeli intelligence officials have confirmed that a major explosion has rocked an Iranian nuclear facility, according to a report Monday in The Times of London.

The British daily cited officials in Tel Aviv who said the blast occurred last week, as originally reported on the website wnd.com.

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Here’s a piece that takes issue with the NYT and their March For Life coverage.

From Patheos.com

“We’ve received quite a few complaints about the religion angle the New York Times chose for its story on the March For Life. And I’d sure as heck like to join in.

But before I do that, I want to point out that the Times also ran a straight news story covering the march and, unlike any year I can recall, it actually ran in the print edition and not just as a brief mention on a blog post. The story that has outraged so many folks is the primary story on the march that ran in a more prominent position than the straight story. In fact, it ran above the fold of the national news section, headlined “In Fight Over Life, a New Call by Catholics.””

“And color me shocked (shocked!) that they might try to sabotage the March for Life by releasing a letter from 60 (not 50, but 60) folks saying that if those hundreds of thousands of marchers enduring brutal conditions were really pro-life, they’d happen to support the issue that President Barack Obama is pushing at the moment. Whatever else might be said on the topic, and I imagine that there are as many views on gun control among the marchers as there are in the general population — some of which would probably be quite worth including in the story and would be challenging to the dominant narratives we hear from progressive activists and their NRA counterparts — what a great way to distract from Roe v. Wade.”

Meanwhile, another paper must have missed the rally as well and wonders “Where have all the children gone?”. As usual, they never quite figure it out.

Also from Patheos.com

“Most of us know the answer.

The Chicago Tribune puts its finger on a trend with significant implications:

Demographers have long known that the baby boom of the 1950s was giving way to a baby bust nationwide. Now Illinois and the Chicago area are providing a vivid example of the trend: According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2000 to 2010, Illinois had a 6.2 percent drop in children under 10, among the biggest declines in the country.

The impact is being felt in declining school enrollments and refashioned youth programs, officials say. In coming years, it will be felt in a workforce with fewer workers to replace retirees and help replenish pension coffers.”

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Here’s more on the proposed “bi-partisan” immigration amnesty reform thing.

From WTVY.com

“U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee and former Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on the new push for comprehensive immigration reform and amnesty:

“Americans overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration. They have pleaded with Congress to end the mass illegality for decades to little avail. All the while, millions have been added to the total of those illegally here.

It’s time to fix that broken system. Now we are told that the Obama Administration and members of Congress say they have a plan that they promise will do the job. So, the American people will need to watch closely. And, members of Congress must insist that they have a full and complete opportunity to study and amend such legislation.”

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The Seattle Police Dept’s gun buy-back has some competition it seems.

From TheSeattleTimes

“Within hours of launching the first gun-buyback program in more than two decades, Seattle police took in so many guns they had to shut down the site Saturday and turn away scores of people after running out of gift cards to hand out.

People on foot and in vehicles were corralled into a parking lot underneath Interstate 5 between Cherry and James streets, where they traded unwanted weapons for gift cards of $100 for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and $200 for assault weapons.”

“Not all of the guns brought to the buyback were handed over to police, however.

Officers stood by as makeshift gun shows sprang up on the sidewalks, just steps away from the buyback tents, as gun enthusiasts and collectors waved wads of cash for the guns being held by those standing in line.”

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