“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.”
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Man freed after being wrongly imprisoned for 17 years is fatally shot in Chicago
CHICAGO — On the day he was finally released from prison after murder charges were dropped, Alprentiss Nash vowed he would use his freedom studying to become a chef, learning about antique cars and traveling.And in the nearly three years since, he kept true to his word, visiting New Orleans, Miami and Atlanta and learning to ski at a resort in Wisconsin. He also bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a 1960 Buick Electra 225 and completed a culinary program.
"He was really happy to be free, and he never talked about his time in prison," said Nash's mother, Yvette Martin. "He wanted to just get past it and be happy. He was overjoyed and excited about building a new life."
But on Tuesday afternoon, Nash's second chance at life came to a tragic end as he was gunned down while leaving a currency exchange in Chicago, according to Chicago police and his family. A person of interest is being questioned, authorities said.
Nash's family believes he was the target of an armed robbery.
After he was released from prison in August 2012, Nash obtained a certificate of innocence and a $200,000 payout from the state, his attorney said. And he was seeking millions of dollars in a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago and a number of police officers.
As a result of the $200,000 payout and loans against the expected settlement of his lawsuit, Nash lived the good life, dressing extravagantly and driving a nice car. It could have attracted negative attention, his attorney and family said.
"He had been robbed last year," said Nash's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, who helped him win his exoneration and was representing him in his lawsuit. "He was stressed out, and he felt pressured and that people were after him. People thought he had money."
Close Nash relatives agreed.
"I think the money attracted the wrong people, and they were watching him," said his cousin, Coby Adolph. "He worked hard to get back into society. Being locked up for so long ... he was trying to get into the swing of things."
Nash, 40, who grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, was convicted in the 1995 murder of Leon Stroud during a home invasion and was sentenced to 80 years in prison.
During his 17 years in prison, Nash missed countless family celebrations, gatherings and milestones, including the funeral of his maternal grandmother and his son's entire childhood.
But he also earned his GED diploma and wrote the legal brief that eventually helped him win his freedom. DNA testing linked another man to a ski mask found near the crime scene, clearing Nash of the crime. Cook County prosecutors refused to say he was innocent but dismissed the murder charges.
On his release, Nash said he was determined not to be bitter.
"I'm on a new journey," he said that day. "As far as my life, it begins now, and I'm thankful."
Back in Chicago, Nash took on life with an urgency, his family said. He re-established bonds with his younger sister and took an interest in the nephews and nieces he met for the first time. He visited his mother weekly, driving her to errands and walking her to the lakefront to relax. He spent time with his maternal grandfather on the West Side.
"He wanted to be a good uncle, so he'd check up on the kids," said Nash's sister, Robin Martin. "We'd talk on the phone for hours about our childhood, the time before he was taken away."
He enrolled in a 13-week culinary arts program and took on an apprenticeship, said officials with Inspiration Corp.
"We had discussions about the stress of things he was experiencing, but he was always enthusiastic and faithful and determined to finish," said Sharon Ako, who was the head chef trainer who instructed him. "He was hard working. He got along with the other students and he was genuinely liked. It took tenacity and diligence to stick with it and take orders and learn the skills he needed to learn."
His family said Nash planned to move to New Orleans and open a restaurant but was taking life day by day in the meantime.
On Tuesday morning, his mother said Nash called her as he usually did. Hours later she learned he had been killed.
"I just screamed from my innermost belly because I wanted God to know I hurt," Martin said.
As she moved about her modest apartment Wednesday talking about her first-born son, Martin paused and wept out loud. The tears rolled down her face.
"Nothing has ever felt so heavy on my heart," she said. "All those years he was taken from us and to lose him again in a short amount of time.
"He got a second shot at life and then someone took it away. For nothing."
On the day he was killed, Nash sent a text message to his attorney just 30 minutes before the shooting, telling her he was out looking for a job. Despite his certificate of innocence, he had difficulty finding work.
"He was trying to have a normal life," Zellner said. "The streets are so vicious and so cruel.
"He was really happy to be free, and he never talked about his time in prison," said Nash's mother, Yvette Martin. "He wanted to just get past it and be happy. He was overjoyed and excited about building a new life."
But on Tuesday afternoon, Nash's second chance at life came to a tragic end as he was gunned down while leaving a currency exchange in Chicago, according to Chicago police and his family. A person of interest is being questioned, authorities said.
Nash's family believes he was the target of an armed robbery.
After he was released from prison in August 2012, Nash obtained a certificate of innocence and a $200,000 payout from the state, his attorney said. And he was seeking millions of dollars in a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago and a number of police officers.
As a result of the $200,000 payout and loans against the expected settlement of his lawsuit, Nash lived the good life, dressing extravagantly and driving a nice car. It could have attracted negative attention, his attorney and family said.
"He had been robbed last year," said Nash's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, who helped him win his exoneration and was representing him in his lawsuit. "He was stressed out, and he felt pressured and that people were after him. People thought he had money."
Close Nash relatives agreed.
"I think the money attracted the wrong people, and they were watching him," said his cousin, Coby Adolph. "He worked hard to get back into society. Being locked up for so long ... he was trying to get into the swing of things."
Nash, 40, who grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, was convicted in the 1995 murder of Leon Stroud during a home invasion and was sentenced to 80 years in prison.
During his 17 years in prison, Nash missed countless family celebrations, gatherings and milestones, including the funeral of his maternal grandmother and his son's entire childhood.
But he also earned his GED diploma and wrote the legal brief that eventually helped him win his freedom. DNA testing linked another man to a ski mask found near the crime scene, clearing Nash of the crime. Cook County prosecutors refused to say he was innocent but dismissed the murder charges.
On his release, Nash said he was determined not to be bitter.
"I'm on a new journey," he said that day. "As far as my life, it begins now, and I'm thankful."
Back in Chicago, Nash took on life with an urgency, his family said. He re-established bonds with his younger sister and took an interest in the nephews and nieces he met for the first time. He visited his mother weekly, driving her to errands and walking her to the lakefront to relax. He spent time with his maternal grandfather on the West Side.
"He wanted to be a good uncle, so he'd check up on the kids," said Nash's sister, Robin Martin. "We'd talk on the phone for hours about our childhood, the time before he was taken away."
He enrolled in a 13-week culinary arts program and took on an apprenticeship, said officials with Inspiration Corp.
"We had discussions about the stress of things he was experiencing, but he was always enthusiastic and faithful and determined to finish," said Sharon Ako, who was the head chef trainer who instructed him. "He was hard working. He got along with the other students and he was genuinely liked. It took tenacity and diligence to stick with it and take orders and learn the skills he needed to learn."
His family said Nash planned to move to New Orleans and open a restaurant but was taking life day by day in the meantime.
On Tuesday morning, his mother said Nash called her as he usually did. Hours later she learned he had been killed.
"I just screamed from my innermost belly because I wanted God to know I hurt," Martin said.
As she moved about her modest apartment Wednesday talking about her first-born son, Martin paused and wept out loud. The tears rolled down her face.
"Nothing has ever felt so heavy on my heart," she said. "All those years he was taken from us and to lose him again in a short amount of time.
"He got a second shot at life and then someone took it away. For nothing."
On the day he was killed, Nash sent a text message to his attorney just 30 minutes before the shooting, telling her he was out looking for a job. Despite his certificate of innocence, he had difficulty finding work.
"He was trying to have a normal life," Zellner said. "The streets are so vicious and so cruel.
This Country Just Made It Legal For Cops to Keep 70% of All the Traffic Fines They Collect
Drivers in Cambodia have a lot to contend with: Cavernous potholes, weaving motorcycles kicking up clouds of choking dust and noodle hawkers trundling down the “fast” lane. Now motorists may find their pockets as ravaged as their nerves, after officials announced a five-fold bump in traffic fines and gave permission for issuing officers to keep 70% of all cash collected.The new rules, coming into force in January, are an attempt to curb corruption, reports the Phnom Penh Post. Currently, traffic cops keep half of much smaller penalties, meaning that many supplement their meager salaries by soliciting bribes.
The current $1.25 official penalty for not wearing a car seatbelt, for example, will rise to $6.25, with the officer allowed to keep $4.38. Of the remaining 30%, some 25% will go to the station where the officer is based, with the final 5% sent to the Ministry of Finance.
“We plan to issue an edict in the future to encourage and promote this measure,” Ti Long, deputy director of the Interior Ministry’s Public Order Department, told a press conference on Monday.
Local road safety analyst Chariya Ear, for one, applauded the move. “It will be a good idea to give more incentives to the officers who are doing their jobs,” he told the Post.
However, not all drivers agree, fearing that, in a nation ranked 156 out of 175 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, officers will hand out spurious punishments to feather their nests.
Phnom Penh resident Gary Morrison, 49, says he already pays traffic fines on a regular basis, ostensibly for “being a foreigner,” even though he has all the correct documentation for his vehicle. “So,” he says sardonically, “it's nice to know they are encouraging the police to fine me even more.”
The current $1.25 official penalty for not wearing a car seatbelt, for example, will rise to $6.25, with the officer allowed to keep $4.38. Of the remaining 30%, some 25% will go to the station where the officer is based, with the final 5% sent to the Ministry of Finance.
“We plan to issue an edict in the future to encourage and promote this measure,” Ti Long, deputy director of the Interior Ministry’s Public Order Department, told a press conference on Monday.
Local road safety analyst Chariya Ear, for one, applauded the move. “It will be a good idea to give more incentives to the officers who are doing their jobs,” he told the Post.
However, not all drivers agree, fearing that, in a nation ranked 156 out of 175 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, officers will hand out spurious punishments to feather their nests.
Phnom Penh resident Gary Morrison, 49, says he already pays traffic fines on a regular basis, ostensibly for “being a foreigner,” even though he has all the correct documentation for his vehicle. “So,” he says sardonically, “it's nice to know they are encouraging the police to fine me even more.”
One Tough Bite: T. Rex's Teeth Had Secret Weapon
Secret structures hidden within the serrated teeth of Tyrannosaurus rex and other theropods helped the fearsome dinosaurs tear apart their prey without chipping their pearly whites, a new study finds.
Researchers looked at the teeth of theropods — a group of bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs that includes T. rex andVelociraptor — to study the mysterious structures that looked like cracks within each tooth.The investigation showed that these structures weren't cracks at all, but deep folds within the tooth that strengthened each individual serration and helped prevent breakage when the dinosaur pierced through its prey, said study lead researcher Kirstin Brink, a postdoctoral researcher of biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. [Image Gallery: The Life of T. Rex]
The new study upends one from the early 1990s, Brink said. Researchers first noticed these cryptic cracks on the tooth of a T. rexcousin named Albertosaurus about two decades ago.
Initially, the researchers thought the cracks were signs of damage, likely acquired when the dinosaur ate a hearty meal. But the new analysis finds that isn't the case, Brink said.
"I sectioned teeth from eight other theropods besides Albertosaurus, and found that the structure is actually in all theropods, and it's not actually a crack," she told Live Science.
N.Y. ISIS Suspect Got All He Needed for Jihad on eBay
Charges filed against a New York man for “attempting to provide material support and resources” to ISIS show that he stocked up on everything needed for a terror attack, including Shahada flags, on eBay.
Arafat M. Nagi, 44, a U.S. citizen who lived in Lackawanna, N.Y., made his first appearance in court today on the charges that could bring up to 15 years in prison.
Nagi claimed that while in Turkey he was holed up at the Holiday Inn in Istanbul, and that he only went to Yemen to see an uncle. He returned with two cell phones and an iPad, and told officials he didn’t support any jihadist groups.
He began his eBay stock-up in August 2012, with a tactical vest with armor plates and an army combat shirt. In September of that year, he snatched up body armor with side trauma plates, a Shahada flag and combat boots.
In January 2013, Nagi bought a “Hamas-style” Islamic headband, followed the next few months by camouflage pants, Kevlar tactical gloves, a combat face mask, military-style backpack, and combat hunting knife.
That fall, he bought a burn kit, another large black Shahada flag, night vision goggles and a camouflage long-sleeved T-shirt.
Nagi’s Twitter account was deactivated by the suspect last September, but a quick search of interactions he had with other users goes back to December 2013. The FBI logged more than 7,000 “potentially relevant” tweets from his account, mostly in Arabic.
Before his 2014 trip to Turkey, he tweeted “my pledge to hear and obey Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”
The FBI informant told agents in December 2014 that the oath made Nagi “compelled to act on behalf of ISIL” and he “expressed concern that Nagi may do something in the United States.”
The complaint describes a few more contacts between the informant and FBI, including a March conversation about Nagi’s plans to go back to Turkey and cross into the Islamic State after receiving some insurance settlement money.
Special Agent in Charge Brian Boetig of the Buffalo FBI office said today that the Joint Terrorism Task Force “relies on community engagement to gain perspectives on radicalization and to deter recruitment and the spread of radicalization messages.”
“We continue to call upon people to contact law enforcement if they know of someone who has been influenced by ISIL rhetoric on social media – powerful propaganda that calls for followers to commit quick and unpredictable violent acts,” Boetig said.
Arafat M. Nagi, 44, a U.S. citizen who lived in Lackawanna, N.Y., made his first appearance in court today on the charges that could bring up to 15 years in prison.
A person “previously convicted of terrorism offenses” from Nagi’s home city was interviewed by the FBI in August 2014 and told agents that the unemployed, divorced father of two adult children was talking about jihad around the community and it was “common for Nagi to get into verbal altercations over his jihadi beliefs.”
The complaint says his terror activities began around August 2012. He flew to Turkey for one day in October 2012, flying home because of a gallbladder infection. He traveled to Turkey for 10 days in July 2014 and then went to Yemen, where he stayed until returning to the United States in September. He was interviewed at the time by Customs and Border Protection officials about his travels.Nagi claimed that while in Turkey he was holed up at the Holiday Inn in Istanbul, and that he only went to Yemen to see an uncle. He returned with two cell phones and an iPad, and told officials he didn’t support any jihadist groups.
He began his eBay stock-up in August 2012, with a tactical vest with armor plates and an army combat shirt. In September of that year, he snatched up body armor with side trauma plates, a Shahada flag and combat boots.
In January 2013, Nagi bought a “Hamas-style” Islamic headband, followed the next few months by camouflage pants, Kevlar tactical gloves, a combat face mask, military-style backpack, and combat hunting knife.
That fall, he bought a burn kit, another large black Shahada flag, night vision goggles and a camouflage long-sleeved T-shirt.
Nagi’s Twitter account was deactivated by the suspect last September, but a quick search of interactions he had with other users goes back to December 2013. The FBI logged more than 7,000 “potentially relevant” tweets from his account, mostly in Arabic.
Before his 2014 trip to Turkey, he tweeted “my pledge to hear and obey Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”
The FBI informant told agents in December 2014 that the oath made Nagi “compelled to act on behalf of ISIL” and he “expressed concern that Nagi may do something in the United States.”
The complaint describes a few more contacts between the informant and FBI, including a March conversation about Nagi’s plans to go back to Turkey and cross into the Islamic State after receiving some insurance settlement money.
Special Agent in Charge Brian Boetig of the Buffalo FBI office said today that the Joint Terrorism Task Force “relies on community engagement to gain perspectives on radicalization and to deter recruitment and the spread of radicalization messages.”
“We continue to call upon people to contact law enforcement if they know of someone who has been influenced by ISIL rhetoric on social media – powerful propaganda that calls for followers to commit quick and unpredictable violent acts,” Boetig said.
Lesbian Chief Constable Forces Bearded British Cops To Wear Beard Nets
Is she a lesbian Chief Constable or the Chief Constable of the Lesbians? Some of these old medieval titles can be hard to decipher.
In the immortal words of Richard Littlejohn, you couldn't make it up.A radically left-wing gesture like Davenport’s imposition of beard nets is just one more salvo in the agenda to emasculate men in public service, men who are already required to tread on eggshells as they defer the manifold layers of oppressed, wailing minorities above them.
A gesture so emasculating also serves to devalue an old institution like the police, with all its connotations of the preservation of a certain order. Can you imagine Sir Robert Peel’s original bobbies being told to wear nets over their beard for “health and safety” purposes?
Men who are expected to be ready at all hours of the day to mete out violence in order to keep criminals in check cannot be expected to submit to rules dreamed up in a conference room by a jumped-up jobsworth who happens to carry the title of Chief Constable.
If indeed Common Purpose are a malign foreign-influenced cult which seeks, as the conspiracy theorists say, to usurp British state for amalgamation into a federal, social-democratic European state, pursuing the aggressive demoralisation of the police would be an ideal strategy.
It’s a classic case of Gramsci’s edict that progressives should take a “Long march through the institutions.” Let us hope that the undoing of Common Purpose graduate Suzette Davenport and her zany policy of beard nets will come from a minority which has thus far been muscular in demanding religious accommodation: bearded, Muslim police officers.
FYI: For our American readers. a “jobsworth” is British slang for a petty official who over-zealously enforces the rules. Especially rules that seem particularly intended to vex and annoy and generally thwart people from accomplishing anything useful, rather than assist and protect them. They have lot of jobsworths in the “civilized” and politically correct United Kingdom.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
John McCain: wartime hero, peacetime coward
True! John McCain deserves all the credit in the world for the commendable fortitude he displayed under the torture and privation he was forced to endure for five years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese Communists. And even though some of what he did, like refusing early release, simply falls under the category of “doing your job”, since article 3 of the U.S. military Code of Conduct directs American service personnel held as prisoners of war to “accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.” However, as a politician he has been nothing but a pompous fool. Someone who has been a hindrance rather than a help, not only to his own party and the Conservative cause, but to the nation as a whole. Along with the failures, blunders and prevarications listed below, his signature McCain-Feingold Act not only failed to take the money out of politics, but it derailed his own Presidential campaign. His campaign for President in 2008 must go on record as being one of the most incompetently run in the history of the USA. Among other “unforced errors”, his own campaign managers deliberately sabotaged, discredited and disrespected his choice for Vice Presidential running mate. Therefore, it is John McCain who really needs to withdraw from politics and quit pandering to the liberal media or otherwise screwing things up for his fellow Republicans.
See also: How to play Political Jeopardy and Trump just disrespected all captured soldiers
Donald Trump made a stupid comment about John McCain, blah blah blah. That doesn't interest me. What does interest me is that every time we want to say something critical of John McCain, we always have to preface it with "John McCain, who was a war hero" (which he was). But that's only half his record. In peacetime he has done such incredible economic, social, and national security damage to this country that I think he should be addressed as "John McCain, wartime hero and peacetime coward."
According to ConservativeReview.com:
Even back in 2004 he was afraid of incurring the wrath of the gay lobby.
McCain is worthy of criticism. Because Donald Trump isn't very smart and he's only been a conservative for a few weeks, he attacked McCain in a stupid way. But in every way this wartime hero has been a peacetime coward, caving into the liberal special interests in D.C. over the financial and national security interests of his constituents.
This article was produced by NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site
Donald Trump made a stupid comment about John McCain, blah blah blah. That doesn't interest me. What does interest me is that every time we want to say something critical of John McCain, we always have to preface it with "John McCain, who was a war hero" (which he was). But that's only half his record. In peacetime he has done such incredible economic, social, and national security damage to this country that I think he should be addressed as "John McCain, wartime hero and peacetime coward."
According to ConservativeReview.com:
In 1992, he voted to extend the law requiring bilingual ballots liberal positionMcCain has endangered our national security time and time again by refusing to secure the border, and refusing to stand up to La Raza. He, like Jeb Bush, wants to massively import one ethnic group at the expense of all the others in a bid to change the ethnic balance of this country – a group, I might add, that for the most part has done little to assimilate (hence the need for bilingual ballots).
Sponsored and voted in favor of the 2006 amnesty bill including a path to citizenship liberal position
Voted against an amendment providing extra funds to construct fencing along the southwest border with a spending offset in 2006 liberal position
Voted against an amendment barring gang members, terrorists, and other criminals from obtaining legal status in 2007 liberal position
Voted in favor of the Gang of 8 Amnesty Bill in 2013.
One of his most notorious strikes against conservatives came in the form of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill in 2002.He's come out against free speech – free political speech, which is the most important speech of all. How heroic is that? McCain went to Vietnam to fight for our liberties, but when he came back, he worked to curtail them!
Voted against a Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2004[.]
In 2001, he was the only Republican to oppose Bush’s $1.35 trillion tax cut. During the same debate, he opposed an effort to further cut the capital gains tax rate.Another cowardly act.
In 2003, McCain was one of a few Republicans to vote to join the Kyoto protocols, which called for reducing energy output in order to comply with global warming standards. Voted to confirm Gina McCarthy to be Administrator of the EPA in 2013. She has since promulgated job-killing energy regulations on power plants.This is brave? Throwing in with the radical environmental nut-jobs? This is cowardly. McCain was afraid of displeasing the liberal media. He wants to be invited on the Sunday talk shows, and to be part of the clubby D.C. ways. He wants to be liked. This is not bravery.
When McCain was running for president in 2007, he gave an energy policy speech in which he called our use of oil “a serious threat to our security, our economy and the well-being of our planet.” He also said that global warming was "a serious and urgent economic, environmental and national security challenge" and “not a Hollywood invention.”
Although he did not support the passage of Obamacare, Senator McCain has not voted with conservatives on the issue of health care. In fact, it is the opposite. In October of 2013, McCain voted to keep funding for Obamacare.This is not bravery, either.
McCain is worthy of criticism. Because Donald Trump isn't very smart and he's only been a conservative for a few weeks, he attacked McCain in a stupid way. But in every way this wartime hero has been a peacetime coward, caving into the liberal special interests in D.C. over the financial and national security interests of his constituents.
This article was produced by NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site
We’ve Lost 34 Servicemen In Military “Gun Free Zones” On Obama’s Watch… So Far.
“HOW ODD THAT MASSACRES MOSTLY HAPPEN IN "GUN-FREE ZONES"! When will the brain-dead Left wake up and draw the obvious conclusion?”
John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) Brisbane, Australia, Dissecting Leftism BlogSpot.
CNN is reporting that the murderer who attacked a pair of military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was armed with two long guns and a handgun during his attack.
A________* had a handgun and two long guns in his possession when police in the Tennessee city killed him Thursday, and another rifle was seized when police searched his home, the official said.It seems probable that the background check system so vaunted by gun control supporters failed once again, and once again, servicemen trained to use weapons in combat were unable to return fire thanks to a Cold War-era policy that only allows military police and civilian security personnel to be armed.
The 24-year-old engineering graduate wore a “load-bearing vest” that allowed him to carry extra ammunition, said Ed Reinhold, special agent in charge of the regional FBI office.
It does not appear that the weapons were purchased recently, the law enforcement official said. Reinhold said earlier Friday that “some of the weapons were purchased legally and some of them may not have been.”
The attack is the third act of domestic terrorism carried out on U.S. military facilities since 2009. A fourth attack not considered an act of terrorism, in which 12 people were killed and three wounded at the Washington Navy Yard, occurred just two years ago.Sadly, this count is no longer current.
In June 2009, Muslim convert Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad killed one soldier and wounded another at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark. In November of that year, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan carried out an attack at Ft. Hood, Texas, that left 13 dead and 32 wounded.
Last year, another shooter at Ft. Hood killed three people and wounded 16.
These combined attacks at military facilities bring the casualty count to 33 dead and 55 wounded by gunfire since 2009.
We’re sad to report this morning that a fifth serviceman, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 24, has died from his wounds.
We’ve now lost 34 people serving in uniform on Barack Obama’s watch, and there are 54 other servicemen and women carrying wounds from attacks on domestic military facilities.
Several of the top Republican Presidential candidates are calling to rescind that policy. While some are incorrectly blaming Bill Clinton for the policy, the current version of the regulation most accurately dates to George H.W. Bush, and variations of it date back to Nixon.
All of that is irrelevant, however.
What matters is that we’ve now had five mass shootings on military facilities during Barack Obama’s presidency. The policies, originally designed to mitigate the risk of negligent discharges, may have worked from the time of Nixon up until the time we started seeing credible threats of attacks on domestic military facilities.
Now that we have almost 90 casualties (not including a dozen more injured attempting to flee these attacks), it is long past time for President Obama to direct the Department of Defense to adopt a new policy that strikes a balance between force protection and mitigating accidents.
The Los Angeles Times asked me to propose a solution and so I have.
We need to protect those who protect us.
* Bearing Arms does not publish the names of mass killers.
Why Donald Trump is rich and you’re not
Yep, it’s OPM (other people’s money). The dubious history of The Donald’s business ventures.
Donald Trump is rich. Really, really rich. And you’re not.
And there’s a very simple reason.
No, it’s not because he works harder than you. It’s not because he’s smarter, tougher or better informed either.
It’s not because he has mastered “the art of the deal.” It’s not because he dreams bigger than you. It’s not because he’s a “winner” and you’re a “loser.” It’s not even that he had a rich daddy, and you didn’t (although that helps).
Donald Trump is rich, and you’re not, because he knows one the biggest secret to making a fortune, and you don’t.
The secret?
Other people’s money.
The fastest and surest way make money these days is by getting your hands on other people’s money — and then putting it to work for you.
It’s really that simple.
Trump borrowed billions from bankers and used the money to put up buildings like Trump Tower and open casinos like the Taj Mahal. In his books, Trump says that by the early 1990s he owed more than $9 billion.
When things turned sour his companies filed for bankruptcy. Twice. The lenders had to eat the losses.
Too bad. What a bunch of losers!
He then raised more money from bankers, bondholders and even stockholders along the way. On two more occasions his companies filed for bankruptcy. Lenders and investors got hosed.
“Out of hundreds of deals & transactions, I have used the bankruptcy laws a few times to make deals better,” he said recently on Twitter. “Nothing personal, just business… It’s a very effective & commonly used business tool.”
No kidding.
“Like many great business people,” he says, “[I] have used the laws to corporate advantage — smart!”
(His career raises some questions: For example, if his companies went into chapter 11 in the early 1990s owing $9 billion, as he says, and today he’s worth $4 billion, according to Forbes, what happened to the other $5 billion?)
Now here’s the good news.
You can put this secret to work for you, too — just like “The Donald.”
Yes, even if you’re just a regular Joe or Joanna, an ordinary working stiff, you can get “smart” and put this very “effective & commonly used business tool” to help make you rich.
As Trump might say: Stop being a “loser” and start being a “winner.” Stop being a “dummy” and start being “smart.”
Thanks to our great country, its great financial system and its great laws, you have tons of opportunities to get your hands on other people’s money, quite legally and legitimately, and put it to work for you.
And like The Donald, you get to keep the upside — and let the others eat the downside.
Going to college? Don’t be a sucker and take out a student loan. Thanks to the U.S. laws, those student loans will haunt you for years. Instead put it on a credit card — then file for bankruptcy!
Credit card debt is wiped out in bankruptcy. So long as the banks can’t actually prove outright fraud — and they rarely can — you can walk away free and clear.
I weep when I think of all those kids working summer jobs and saving money for college. If you want to be a winner, the reason to work a summer job is to generate income so you can start getting credit cards!
Paying rent on a home? Don’t be a loser. Buy a home with as little down as possible. If real estate prices go up, you get the upside. But if they collapse, just walk away and send the bank the keys.
Half of U.S. states actually have “non recourse” laws so banks cannot even legally come after you for the difference. In the other half, they’ll only do so if you have a lot of money. It’s criminal how many hard-working stiffs kept on paying their mortgages honorably in the housing slump instead of walking away.
What a bunch of “losers.”
You don’t need to build Trump Plaza to live high on other people’s money. Just keep piling up the credit card debt.
The fun doesn’t stop there. U.S. banks are really, really stupid. Greedy, but stupid. They send out credit cards based on “algorithms” that have nothing to do with whether or not you’re going to pay them back. All they care about is that you’re punctual about paying the monthly minimum. If you have lots of credit lines, and you’ve been borrowing money for years, they even like you more.
You don’t need to build Trump Plaza to live high on other people’s money. Just keep piling up the credit card debt. Roll the debt from one card to another. Just keep paying the monthly minimum on time and the banks will keep on lending.
Cha-ching!
Even better: You can actually save money while borrowing, and put other people’s money to work. When you file for bankruptcy, your 401k and IRAs are sheltered from your creditors. They can’t be touched! (Nor, for that matter, can anything that the courts don’t know about! How about that gold bullion!). Depending on the state in which you live, there are other ways to shelter your money too. In Florida and Texas, you can keep your primary residence. What a deal: You can have a $20 million home and $50,000 in credit card debt, and the banks can’t touch your home. In other states you can shelter things like life insurance policies, a valuable “family shotgun,” and a “family Bible,” even if it’s an original Gutenberg.
Borrow $20,000 a year and invest it in the stock market and by the time you’re old you’ll probably have about $10 million. So long as you do it right, you can wipe out the debt and keep the investments.
Worried about living costs in retirement? Be a “winner” and make sure you die $500,000 in debt, too. What are the banks going to do, dig up your body and sue you?
Other people’s money. It’s difference between the schmucks and the honchos. The “losers” and the “winners.”
It’s time to get smart. If you want to get rich, take a chapter out of the Trump Book of Business. The only chapter that matters — Chapter 11.
No, it’s not because he works harder than you. It’s not because he’s smarter, tougher or better informed either.
It’s not because he has mastered “the art of the deal.” It’s not because he dreams bigger than you. It’s not because he’s a “winner” and you’re a “loser.” It’s not even that he had a rich daddy, and you didn’t (although that helps).
Donald Trump is rich, and you’re not, because he knows one the biggest secret to making a fortune, and you don’t.
The secret?
Other people’s money.
The fastest and surest way make money these days is by getting your hands on other people’s money — and then putting it to work for you.
It’s really that simple.
Trump borrowed billions from bankers and used the money to put up buildings like Trump Tower and open casinos like the Taj Mahal. In his books, Trump says that by the early 1990s he owed more than $9 billion.
When things turned sour his companies filed for bankruptcy. Twice. The lenders had to eat the losses.
Too bad. What a bunch of losers!
He then raised more money from bankers, bondholders and even stockholders along the way. On two more occasions his companies filed for bankruptcy. Lenders and investors got hosed.
“Out of hundreds of deals & transactions, I have used the bankruptcy laws a few times to make deals better,” he said recently on Twitter. “Nothing personal, just business… It’s a very effective & commonly used business tool.”
No kidding.
“Like many great business people,” he says, “[I] have used the laws to corporate advantage — smart!”
(His career raises some questions: For example, if his companies went into chapter 11 in the early 1990s owing $9 billion, as he says, and today he’s worth $4 billion, according to Forbes, what happened to the other $5 billion?)
Now here’s the good news.
You can put this secret to work for you, too — just like “The Donald.”
Yes, even if you’re just a regular Joe or Joanna, an ordinary working stiff, you can get “smart” and put this very “effective & commonly used business tool” to help make you rich.
As Trump might say: Stop being a “loser” and start being a “winner.” Stop being a “dummy” and start being “smart.”
Thanks to our great country, its great financial system and its great laws, you have tons of opportunities to get your hands on other people’s money, quite legally and legitimately, and put it to work for you.
And like The Donald, you get to keep the upside — and let the others eat the downside.
Going to college? Don’t be a sucker and take out a student loan. Thanks to the U.S. laws, those student loans will haunt you for years. Instead put it on a credit card — then file for bankruptcy!
Credit card debt is wiped out in bankruptcy. So long as the banks can’t actually prove outright fraud — and they rarely can — you can walk away free and clear.
I weep when I think of all those kids working summer jobs and saving money for college. If you want to be a winner, the reason to work a summer job is to generate income so you can start getting credit cards!
Paying rent on a home? Don’t be a loser. Buy a home with as little down as possible. If real estate prices go up, you get the upside. But if they collapse, just walk away and send the bank the keys.
Half of U.S. states actually have “non recourse” laws so banks cannot even legally come after you for the difference. In the other half, they’ll only do so if you have a lot of money. It’s criminal how many hard-working stiffs kept on paying their mortgages honorably in the housing slump instead of walking away.
What a bunch of “losers.”
You don’t need to build Trump Plaza to live high on other people’s money. Just keep piling up the credit card debt.
The fun doesn’t stop there. U.S. banks are really, really stupid. Greedy, but stupid. They send out credit cards based on “algorithms” that have nothing to do with whether or not you’re going to pay them back. All they care about is that you’re punctual about paying the monthly minimum. If you have lots of credit lines, and you’ve been borrowing money for years, they even like you more.
You don’t need to build Trump Plaza to live high on other people’s money. Just keep piling up the credit card debt. Roll the debt from one card to another. Just keep paying the monthly minimum on time and the banks will keep on lending.
Cha-ching!
Even better: You can actually save money while borrowing, and put other people’s money to work. When you file for bankruptcy, your 401k and IRAs are sheltered from your creditors. They can’t be touched! (Nor, for that matter, can anything that the courts don’t know about! How about that gold bullion!). Depending on the state in which you live, there are other ways to shelter your money too. In Florida and Texas, you can keep your primary residence. What a deal: You can have a $20 million home and $50,000 in credit card debt, and the banks can’t touch your home. In other states you can shelter things like life insurance policies, a valuable “family shotgun,” and a “family Bible,” even if it’s an original Gutenberg.
Borrow $20,000 a year and invest it in the stock market and by the time you’re old you’ll probably have about $10 million. So long as you do it right, you can wipe out the debt and keep the investments.
Worried about living costs in retirement? Be a “winner” and make sure you die $500,000 in debt, too. What are the banks going to do, dig up your body and sue you?
Other people’s money. It’s difference between the schmucks and the honchos. The “losers” and the “winners.”
It’s time to get smart. If you want to get rich, take a chapter out of the Trump Book of Business. The only chapter that matters — Chapter 11.
Voyeur uses drone to spy on nudists: Furious naked sunbathers say they were buzzed by radio-controlled aircraft that had camera attached
Hmmmm…So they want to go naked in public, but they don’t want anyone looking at them or taking pictures of them.
- The drone flew up and down the famous Studland nudist beach in Dorset
- Sunbathers feared a camera was attached to the device which took shots
- Officials are now looking into the matter and have stepped up patrols
- Beach users have some privacy as it is obscured by sand dunes on one side with the sea on the other
City Hall, NYPD ponder strategy as attacks by homeless increase
http://www.myfoxny.com/story/
When panhandlers attack!
NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -As the city and police prepare to tackle homelessness, two recent violent attacks highlight the urgency to go after the issue as soon as possible.
There have been two attacks by homeless people in recent days. One of them involved a 72 year-old architect waiting at a corner, stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors by a homeless woman.
The other attack was on a tourist leaving his Grand Central hotel. He was clubbed in the face by a homeless man.
From City Hall to Police Plaza, a real and effective solution to violent homelessness is being sought.
Over the next 12 months, the NYPD will put one third of its officers through intensive training to better handle the homeless problem. But city officials say they are handcuffed when it comes to handling this non-criminal crisis.
Police Commissioner Bratton says we can't arrest our way out of this problem.
The revolving door of arrest has led the police commissioner to coin the term: ‘service resistant.’’ Those current policies fail to improve conditions for the homeless. Pointing out that nothing on homelessness appears on Google before the 70's. That's when the city emptied out it’s alcohol and drug centers... Along with mental health facilities.
“All this led to unintended consequences.. Now we are paying the price 40 years later.” Bratton said.
As large as the problem has grown, and given 4 decades to do so, city officials are optimistic policy changes to be announced soon and policing training will improve what we experience on the streets, in a meaningful way.
There have been two attacks by homeless people in recent days. One of them involved a 72 year-old architect waiting at a corner, stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors by a homeless woman.
The other attack was on a tourist leaving his Grand Central hotel. He was clubbed in the face by a homeless man.
From City Hall to Police Plaza, a real and effective solution to violent homelessness is being sought.
Over the next 12 months, the NYPD will put one third of its officers through intensive training to better handle the homeless problem. But city officials say they are handcuffed when it comes to handling this non-criminal crisis.
Police Commissioner Bratton says we can't arrest our way out of this problem.
The revolving door of arrest has led the police commissioner to coin the term: ‘service resistant.’’ Those current policies fail to improve conditions for the homeless. Pointing out that nothing on homelessness appears on Google before the 70's. That's when the city emptied out it’s alcohol and drug centers... Along with mental health facilities.
“All this led to unintended consequences.. Now we are paying the price 40 years later.” Bratton said.
As large as the problem has grown, and given 4 decades to do so, city officials are optimistic policy changes to be announced soon and policing training will improve what we experience on the streets, in a meaningful way.
Jon Stewart’s secret White House visits
So Jon Stewart is a shill for the Democrat Party, eh?…What a surprise…not!
Jon Stewart slipped unnoticed into the White House in the midst of the October 2011 budget fight, summoned to an Oval Office coffee with President Barack Obama that he jokingly told his escort felt like being called into the principal’s office.
In February 2014, Obama again requested Stewart make the trip from Manhattan to the White House, this time for a mid-morning visit hours before the president would go before television cameras to warn Russia that “there will be costs” if it made any further military intervention in Ukraine.
To engage privately with the president in his inner sanctum at two sensitive moments — previously unreported meetings that are listed in the White House visitor logs and confirmed to POLITICO by three former Obama aides — speaks volumes about Stewart and his reach, which goes well beyond the million or so viewers who tune into The Daily Show on most weeknights.
In February 2014, Obama again requested Stewart make the trip from Manhattan to the White House, this time for a mid-morning visit hours before the president would go before television cameras to warn Russia that “there will be costs” if it made any further military intervention in Ukraine.
To engage privately with the president in his inner sanctum at two sensitive moments — previously unreported meetings that are listed in the White House visitor logs and confirmed to POLITICO by three former Obama aides — speaks volumes about Stewart and his reach, which goes well beyond the million or so viewers who tune into The Daily Show on most weeknights.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Obama: ‘I’m a Pretty Good President’ And If I Ran For a Third Term, I Could Win
Obama made the remarks while criticizing leaders on the continent who wouldn’t step aside at the conclusion of their terms.
“Now, let me be honest with you,” Obama said. “I do not understand this. I am in my second term. It has been an extraordinary privilege for me to serve as the President of the United States. I cannot imagine a greater honor or a more interesting job. I love my work. But under our Constitution, I cannot run again.”
The crowd cheered appreciatively.
“I actually think I’m a pretty good president,” he said. “I think if I ran, I could win. But I can’t. So there’s a lot that I’d like to do to keep America moving, but the law is the law.”
As it stands, the Democratic Party appears it will have to make do with Hillary Clinton as its 2016 standard-bearer.
A Creature on the Loose Puts Milwaukee Residents on Edge
Is it an African lion or a cougar? Nobody can say for certain what it is yet.
MILWAUKEE — One man saw the creature for only a few bone-chilling seconds, but he remembers that it was big, with heavy brown fur and a long tail, and not in any particular hurry as it walked through his neighborhood in Milwaukee and then disappeared into a thickly wooded ravine.
A police officer, tracking it the next day, described it as a “catlike animal” that had successfully evaded capture again. And Annie Nolen, a resident of the Brewers Hill neighborhood who spotted the animal slinking along a fence in her backyard, said she was momentarily paralyzed by the sight.
“I couldn’t move,” Ms. Nolen told local reporters later. “I thought, what am I looking at?”
Milwaukee officials are still not sure exactly what kind of animal has been spotted for the last week wandering through densely populated areas of this city, sitting under bridges, darting down hills and casually slinking past parked cars and small bungalows.
It could be a young African lion that was purchased on the open market, kept as a pet and then released when it became too large to handle, one wildlife expert speculated. (Wisconsin state law is notably relaxed on the possession of exotic animals.) Or it could be a cougar, an animal that has been spotted more frequently in populated areas of the Midwest in recent years. The Milwaukee County Zoo announced last week that all of its lions were safe and accounted for.
Whatever it is, the Milwaukee Lion, as it is now widely known, has captivated this city of 600,000 people, who seem to be alternately amused and panic-stricken by the creature in their midst. A grainy cellphone video of the animal, taken last week, has given it a Bigfoot-like celebrity, while a citywide search has intensified and expanded, bringing together the Milwaukee Police Department, the state’s Department of Natural Resources and local wildlife officials.
The lion now has a Twitter account, @Milwaukee_Lion, and there is a hashtag devoted to it, #MKELion. (Plotting a possible escape to a rural town in the northwoods of Wisconsin, @Milwaukee_Lion tweeted: “.@Uber_WI How much to go from milwaukee to minoqua i am just wondering.”) It has been jokingly rendered in pictures, Photoshopped with a bright yellow cheesehead perched on its mane and lounging at Miller Park, watching the Brewers play baseball.
But the weeklong hunt for the creature has put some Milwaukeeans on edge. By Monday morning, the police were reporting a sighting along a quiet area of homes near the Milwaukee River. “I’m taking it very seriously,” said Jackie Bradley, a resident who said she had forbidden her three grandchildren to play outside that day. “I have a dog in the back, and I keep going back to check on him and I think I’m going to bring him in. I have a six-foot fence, but I’m worried a lion could jump the fence.”
Laura Hood and her son, Brandon Redd, scanned some nearby shrubbery for any glimpse of the animal before hurrying to their car. “I’m terrified to come out of my house,” Mr. Redd said.
Last week, one man apparently mistook a cream-colored pit bull in his neighborhood for a lion and shot it, wounding its right leg. The dog, who is named Homie and was later reunited with its owner, is expected to recover.
The Milwaukee Police Department received 14 calls throughout the weekend from residents who believed they had spotted the lion, but as of Monday evening, it was still on the loose.
A police officer, tracking it the next day, described it as a “catlike animal” that had successfully evaded capture again. And Annie Nolen, a resident of the Brewers Hill neighborhood who spotted the animal slinking along a fence in her backyard, said she was momentarily paralyzed by the sight.
“I couldn’t move,” Ms. Nolen told local reporters later. “I thought, what am I looking at?”
Milwaukee officials are still not sure exactly what kind of animal has been spotted for the last week wandering through densely populated areas of this city, sitting under bridges, darting down hills and casually slinking past parked cars and small bungalows.
It could be a young African lion that was purchased on the open market, kept as a pet and then released when it became too large to handle, one wildlife expert speculated. (Wisconsin state law is notably relaxed on the possession of exotic animals.) Or it could be a cougar, an animal that has been spotted more frequently in populated areas of the Midwest in recent years. The Milwaukee County Zoo announced last week that all of its lions were safe and accounted for.
Whatever it is, the Milwaukee Lion, as it is now widely known, has captivated this city of 600,000 people, who seem to be alternately amused and panic-stricken by the creature in their midst. A grainy cellphone video of the animal, taken last week, has given it a Bigfoot-like celebrity, while a citywide search has intensified and expanded, bringing together the Milwaukee Police Department, the state’s Department of Natural Resources and local wildlife officials.
The lion now has a Twitter account, @Milwaukee_Lion, and there is a hashtag devoted to it, #MKELion. (Plotting a possible escape to a rural town in the northwoods of Wisconsin, @Milwaukee_Lion tweeted: “.@Uber_WI How much to go from milwaukee to minoqua i am just wondering.”) It has been jokingly rendered in pictures, Photoshopped with a bright yellow cheesehead perched on its mane and lounging at Miller Park, watching the Brewers play baseball.
But the weeklong hunt for the creature has put some Milwaukeeans on edge. By Monday morning, the police were reporting a sighting along a quiet area of homes near the Milwaukee River. “I’m taking it very seriously,” said Jackie Bradley, a resident who said she had forbidden her three grandchildren to play outside that day. “I have a dog in the back, and I keep going back to check on him and I think I’m going to bring him in. I have a six-foot fence, but I’m worried a lion could jump the fence.”
Laura Hood and her son, Brandon Redd, scanned some nearby shrubbery for any glimpse of the animal before hurrying to their car. “I’m terrified to come out of my house,” Mr. Redd said.
Last week, one man apparently mistook a cream-colored pit bull in his neighborhood for a lion and shot it, wounding its right leg. The dog, who is named Homie and was later reunited with its owner, is expected to recover.
The Milwaukee Police Department received 14 calls throughout the weekend from residents who believed they had spotted the lion, but as of Monday evening, it was still on the loose.
Be careful what you say to 911- Gun Watch
Sage advice. Lesson Learned: Don’t talk tough. Don’t try to impress the 911 dispatcher with what a bad ass you are and how ready and willing you are to fight back. It may make you look like the aggressor in the altercation. Rather you want to be able demonstrate that you did everything you reasonably could to avoid or deescalate the conflict before you were forced to act in order to save yourself. You’ll find that none of triers of the facts wants to see someone out on the streets who is looking for a fight, especially not someone with a gun. Not the police not the district attorney, not the judge and not the jury. Nobody.
Honest Wedding Website Admits There's Jack Shit For Guests To Do While In Town-The Onion
LAURENS, IA—Acknowledging the lack of any remotely interesting or entertaining attractions in the surrounding area, the wedding website for couple Adam Jessup and Rachel McHenry explicitly states that there is absolutely jack shit for guests to do while they’re in town, sources confirmed Monday. “There’s a Pizza Hut, a gas station, and that’s about it,” reads the website in part, candidly advising wedding guests in search of any food, drinks, or fun activities that they were shit out of luck because Laurens, IA is in the middle of fucking nowhere. “We recommend that guests stay at the nearby Fairfield Inn and Suites, but the place pretty much blows. It doesn’t have a pool or premium cable channels, so your best bet is to just hole up in your room watching whatever is on TNT until the ceremony.” The wedding website also frankly suggested that guests arrive early to the reception for complimentary cheap wine, shitty beer, and fucking awful appetizers.
Illegal Immigrants Outnumber Unemployed Americans
The number of illegal immigrants in the United States totaled 11.3 million in 2014, outnumbering the 9.6 million Americans who were unemployed in the same year, according to data from Pew Research Center and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
“An estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2014,” says a Pew report. “The new unauthorized immigrant total includes people who cross the border illegally as well as those who arrive with legal visas and remain in the U.S. after their visas expire.”
Of those 11.3 illegal immigrants, 8.1 million are participating in the labor force. “Unauthorized immigrants make up 5.1% of the U.S. labor force,” Pew says. “In the U.S. labor force, there were 8.1 million unauthorized immigrants either working or looking for work in 2012.”
In 2014, there were 1.7 million more illegal immigrants living in the United States than there were unemployed Americans.According to the BLS, the average number of unemployed Americans in 2014 was 9.6 million. The BLS defines an unemployed individual as someone who did not have a job but actively sought one in the past four weeks.
The executive action on immigration President Obama put in place in November of 2014 is set to help more illegal aliens become active in the labor force.
“Last year, President Barack Obama took executive action to expand an existing program and establish a new one that would offer work permits and deportation relief to an estimated 5 million unauthorized immigrants,” according to Pew. “The actions—which are on hold because of a lawsuit by 26 states—would be open to unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, who are parents with a child who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, as long as they meet certain requirements.”
“An estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2014,” says a Pew report. “The new unauthorized immigrant total includes people who cross the border illegally as well as those who arrive with legal visas and remain in the U.S. after their visas expire.”
Of those 11.3 illegal immigrants, 8.1 million are participating in the labor force. “Unauthorized immigrants make up 5.1% of the U.S. labor force,” Pew says. “In the U.S. labor force, there were 8.1 million unauthorized immigrants either working or looking for work in 2012.”
In 2014, there were 1.7 million more illegal immigrants living in the United States than there were unemployed Americans.According to the BLS, the average number of unemployed Americans in 2014 was 9.6 million. The BLS defines an unemployed individual as someone who did not have a job but actively sought one in the past four weeks.
The executive action on immigration President Obama put in place in November of 2014 is set to help more illegal aliens become active in the labor force.
“Last year, President Barack Obama took executive action to expand an existing program and establish a new one that would offer work permits and deportation relief to an estimated 5 million unauthorized immigrants,” according to Pew. “The actions—which are on hold because of a lawsuit by 26 states—would be open to unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, who are parents with a child who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, as long as they meet certain requirements.”
Liquor Rep Arrested after Revealing Why Venezuela Is Out of Booze
The Venezuelans are so bad off they can’t even get a beer to cry in.
The industry representative complained about the lack of raw materials for the production of beer and malt in the country. Moreover, the businessman took the opportunity to announce a “zero-hour” (planned strike) to protest the critical situation Venezuelan liquor producers are facing.+
Roa reported that the perilously low stocks of beer would only last until the first week of August, and explained that this is largely due to the non-payment of US$2.7 billion that the regime owes the brewing industry.+
Furthermore, Roa mentioned other factors that undermine the industry, such as a 68 percent higher tax burden to be paid prior to the sale of the product. He also alluded to the tendency of the Interior Ministry to reduce opening hours for liquor stores, alongside a ballooning black market for illegal beverages that avoid both taxes and price controls.+
On July 25, the Venezuelan Federation of Liquor Producers condemned the arrest of their chief spokesman, and reiterated through a statement their call for the “zero-hour” protest.+
Furthermore, Roa mentioned other factors that undermine the industry, such as a 68 percent higher tax burden to be paid prior to the sale of the product. He also alluded to the tendency of the Interior Ministry to reduce opening hours for liquor stores, alongside a ballooning black market for illegal beverages that avoid both taxes and price controls.+
On July 25, the Venezuelan Federation of Liquor Producers condemned the arrest of their chief spokesman, and reiterated through a statement their call for the “zero-hour” protest.+
Monday, July 27, 2015
10 Movies Millennials Must See to Understand the 1970s
Yeah, it’s funny how so many of the movies made in the 1970’s predicted disaster, societal collapse and the end of civilization. Now you know why so many Baby Boomers neglected to save for their retirement: they were conditioned to believe that the world would end before they reached old age. LOL! Also it’s no wonder that the Millennials are so afflicted with pessimism and nihilism, since so many of their parents and grandparents were indoctrinated with the notion that their country is stupid and evil and deserves to perish…Yes, the 1970’s were chaotic; they were also a lot of fun! Many old rules of deportment were relaxed, new opportunities were created and we were not yet afflicted with Political Correctness and the vexatious nanny state laws that have come to make daily life such a bewildering trial in the 21st Century. Plus the ‘70’s sure were a great time to be alive if you were a movie lover, someone who enjoyed the art of movie making, because so many new and exciting movies were being made back then.…so anyway, come with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear and enjoy!
I knew things were bad when, a few years ago, I actually found myself missing the Seventies.
Many, many American movies made during the Seventies share one overarching theme:
(See also A Decade Under the Influence and Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange.)
Most recently, Kyle Smith proffered his “10 Best Films of the 1970s.”
My list is different than Smith’s because the “best” films of that era (and I agree with many of his selections) don’t necessarily capture the mood of the times as well as lesser movies.
What follows is a guide for millennials who are forever hearing about “the Seventies,” are living with that decade’s toxic cultural fallout, and who wonder what life during this tumultuous time (although, aren’t they all…?) was really like.
That’s why I’ve neglected to mention anachronistic or overly escapist fare: all the bloated feel-good musicals; anything by Disney, Mel Brooks or Cubby Broccoli; all but one of Woody Allen’s “early funny ones”; sweeping pseudo-period Oscar bait like Barry Lyndon, The Way We Were, New York, New York, The Sting and Funny Lady; and time-less blockbusters like Star Wars, Halloweenand Rocky.
(Incidentally: most movies about the Vietnam War were made in the 1980s.)
However, I have included movies about the Seventies that were made later, if they accurately evoke the time period. Note: There are a LOT of these.
Ideally, curious readers should get hold of the ten movies I’ve chosen as exemplars of my ten different themes, then temporarily get rid of their computers and phones (because it’s 1972, and “Ma Bell” still hasn’t shown up to activate your line). Next put on some thick polyester clothing, and eat nothing but Cheesies and Orange Crush for the duration. (The Seventies were VERY orange.)
Close all your curtains to help mimic the sinister, suffocating atmosphere we marinated in.
Many, many American movies made during the Seventies share one overarching theme:
America is falling apart!
Tim Dirks’ must-read, 6-part overview of the films of this era begins with this highly-concentrated, perfectly observed paragraph:Motion picture art seemed to flourish at the same time that the defeat in the Vietnam War, the Kent State Massacre, the Watergate scandal, President Nixon’s fall, the Munich Olympics shoot-out, increasing drug use, and a growing energy crisis showed tremendous disillusion, a questioning politicized spirit among the public and a lack of faith in institutions — a comment upon the lunacy of war and the dark side of the American Dream.Our own Ed Driscoll has done yeoman’s work chronicling that decade’s “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls” leftwing auteur boom: the death of the studio system, and the rise of hot young directors – Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Scorsese — whose visions still inform American film, and the culture at large.
(See also A Decade Under the Influence and Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange.)
Most recently, Kyle Smith proffered his “10 Best Films of the 1970s.”
My list is different than Smith’s because the “best” films of that era (and I agree with many of his selections) don’t necessarily capture the mood of the times as well as lesser movies.
What follows is a guide for millennials who are forever hearing about “the Seventies,” are living with that decade’s toxic cultural fallout, and who wonder what life during this tumultuous time (although, aren’t they all…?) was really like.
That’s why I’ve neglected to mention anachronistic or overly escapist fare: all the bloated feel-good musicals; anything by Disney, Mel Brooks or Cubby Broccoli; all but one of Woody Allen’s “early funny ones”; sweeping pseudo-period Oscar bait like Barry Lyndon, The Way We Were, New York, New York, The Sting and Funny Lady; and time-less blockbusters like Star Wars, Halloweenand Rocky.
(Incidentally: most movies about the Vietnam War were made in the 1980s.)
However, I have included movies about the Seventies that were made later, if they accurately evoke the time period. Note: There are a LOT of these.
Ideally, curious readers should get hold of the ten movies I’ve chosen as exemplars of my ten different themes, then temporarily get rid of their computers and phones (because it’s 1972, and “Ma Bell” still hasn’t shown up to activate your line). Next put on some thick polyester clothing, and eat nothing but Cheesies and Orange Crush for the duration. (The Seventies were VERY orange.)
Close all your curtains to help mimic the sinister, suffocating atmosphere we marinated in.
Who are the Haters?
Who are the haters?
By John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) Brisbane, Australia, Dissecting Leftism BlogSpot.
My attention has just been drawn to what I gather is a popular 2012 rant on Daily Kos: "An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America". It is very amusing indeed. I have often observed that if you want to know what is true about Leftists, you just have to look at what they say about conservatives. They can't imagine that conservatives do not share their hostile emotions. They "project" onto others what is true of themselves.
So what are conservatives accused of in the article? Hate.
The writer goes through a whole range of current conservative ideas and policies and asserts that they are motivated by hate. No reasoning or evidence for each assertion is offered. It is supposed to be self-evident, apparently. And to the writer and other Leftists it presumably is. That it could be otherwise motivated they are not capable of considering and they live anyway in a little mental bubble from which conservative discourse is zealously excluded. They figuratively (and sometimes literally) run away from hearing conservative arguments.
Take just the first assertion of the rant: "You hate gay people". A typical Leftist sweeping assertion devoid of any nuance. All the conservatives I know are essentially indifferent to homosexuals, though some think that homosexual marriage is destructive of social order. So the writer is quite simply wrong.
Even conservative Christians make a point of saying that they do NOT hate homosexuals, though they do believe that the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin leading to condemnation by God, and that they therefore should do nothing to encourage it. Even the notorious Fred Phelps used to say "GOD hates fags". He didn't say "I hate fags". And, theologically and exegetically, he was perfectly correct. My late sister was a homosexual yet I find nothing to criticize in what conservatives really do say about homosexuals
And the rest of the assertions in the Daily Kos rant are equally at variance with the real situation.
The big omission in the article therefore is any discussion of the full range of relevant evidence and reasoning on any issue. In typical Leftist fashion, the writer tells only half the story. If he told the whole story about any of the issues his balloon of rage about them would largely deflate.
The whole rant is an amazing example of intellectual incompetence but that is no surprise. Hostile emotions are what drive the Left, not evidence and reason.
I am not big on tooting my own trumpet but if you want to see an argument backed up by a host of facts and careful deductions, my three part exposition on the nature of Leftism is here, here and here. It's much more voluminous than the Daily Kos piece but that's because it considers the issues with proper care. I see no point in bare assertions like the Daily Kos piece.
Ann Coulter: ‘Awful Lot’ of Post-1970 Immigrants Seem to Want to Be Patronized
Columnist and author of “Adios, America,” Ann Coulter argued that “an awful lot of of our post-1970 immigrants” seem to be asking for the same patronizing treatment that black Americans have received from the left on Friday’s “Varney & Co.” on the Fox Business Network.
After host Stuart Varney quoted a CBS story that stated that polls suggested “Barack Obama’s presidency has not united whites and blacks” Coulter argued, “my thesis, completely proved, by recent events, was that for decades the left patronized blacks in America. Oohed and aahed over every little thing they did, that led to race riot after race riot, and was just a disaster for the black community, and that the best thing that ever happened to black Americans was the O.J. verdict, because white America was so shocked to see so many black people cheering a verdict that, pretty much all white people thought was wrong, a guilty man was going free, but that really ended white guilt in America, and that subway card just didn’t open the turnstile anymore, and suddenly blacks stopped being oohed and aahed over, they were treated like adults, suddenly you had this flowering of genuine black intellectuals, who were always there, we just never saw them on TV before, and it was a wonderful — really the best period of race relations, certainly in the last 50 years or so, from the O.J. verdict right up until around midway through the Obama administration. And then liberals realized, I don’t really blame Obama so much, but I blame him little bit, but liberals realized we’ve got to start the white guilt thing going again, and gin up black people to vote for the first black president, and vote for him again, and we’re going to accuse Republicans of racism here and there and not hold blacks responsible for things like Ferguson and Baltimore, and that’s what’s led to the disaster we’re living in now, we’re right back into David Dinkins’ New York, except it’s throughout the country.”
After Varney said that the “great American middle is harmonious,” Coulter responded, “I think you are beginning to be wrong on that, Stuart. And though, I’m glad to have you here, by and large — what you describe was absolutely 100% accurate from 1600 until 1970. But we really weren’t bringing in races from all over country. It was a pretty homogeneous country. It was biracial. It wasn’t diverse. It was always about 80% to 90% white, 10% to 20% black. And we’re having enough trouble with that must diversity. Well, starting in the ’70s, so that the Democrats could start winning elections, they were dumping the poorest of the poor, cultures that are vastly different from our own, on a lot of middle-class communities, and it tends not to be people like you who you will notice, because I bet you don’t live in up particularly middle class community…it’s the middle class that’s bearing the cost of all this Third World immigration.”
She concluded, “Oh, of course, America is a very non-racist country, but we’re getting racism in reverse. I mean, you would think with everything that’s gone on in Ferguson and Baltimore, again, we’re back to David Dinkins’ New York, you would think that a lot of these — the newcomers, the immigrants would look around and say, ‘Why is it this one group of people are treated like children in America? Let’s not do that. Let’s not burn down buildings because of some phony story about hands up, don’t shoot.’ But instead what — oh gosh, an awful lot of our post-1970 immigrants seem to be saying is, ‘We’re black too, we’re going to go around and charge white America with our grievances and we have a list of them here.’ I mean, look at that — the Muslim who shot up five American servicemen last week, his yearbook quote was my name…[Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez], [paraphrasing] ‘My name causes national security alerts, what does your name cause?’ Oh, screw you, Mohammad, you should be happy to be here.”
After host Stuart Varney quoted a CBS story that stated that polls suggested “Barack Obama’s presidency has not united whites and blacks” Coulter argued, “my thesis, completely proved, by recent events, was that for decades the left patronized blacks in America. Oohed and aahed over every little thing they did, that led to race riot after race riot, and was just a disaster for the black community, and that the best thing that ever happened to black Americans was the O.J. verdict, because white America was so shocked to see so many black people cheering a verdict that, pretty much all white people thought was wrong, a guilty man was going free, but that really ended white guilt in America, and that subway card just didn’t open the turnstile anymore, and suddenly blacks stopped being oohed and aahed over, they were treated like adults, suddenly you had this flowering of genuine black intellectuals, who were always there, we just never saw them on TV before, and it was a wonderful — really the best period of race relations, certainly in the last 50 years or so, from the O.J. verdict right up until around midway through the Obama administration. And then liberals realized, I don’t really blame Obama so much, but I blame him little bit, but liberals realized we’ve got to start the white guilt thing going again, and gin up black people to vote for the first black president, and vote for him again, and we’re going to accuse Republicans of racism here and there and not hold blacks responsible for things like Ferguson and Baltimore, and that’s what’s led to the disaster we’re living in now, we’re right back into David Dinkins’ New York, except it’s throughout the country.”
After Varney said that the “great American middle is harmonious,” Coulter responded, “I think you are beginning to be wrong on that, Stuart. And though, I’m glad to have you here, by and large — what you describe was absolutely 100% accurate from 1600 until 1970. But we really weren’t bringing in races from all over country. It was a pretty homogeneous country. It was biracial. It wasn’t diverse. It was always about 80% to 90% white, 10% to 20% black. And we’re having enough trouble with that must diversity. Well, starting in the ’70s, so that the Democrats could start winning elections, they were dumping the poorest of the poor, cultures that are vastly different from our own, on a lot of middle-class communities, and it tends not to be people like you who you will notice, because I bet you don’t live in up particularly middle class community…it’s the middle class that’s bearing the cost of all this Third World immigration.”
She concluded, “Oh, of course, America is a very non-racist country, but we’re getting racism in reverse. I mean, you would think with everything that’s gone on in Ferguson and Baltimore, again, we’re back to David Dinkins’ New York, you would think that a lot of these — the newcomers, the immigrants would look around and say, ‘Why is it this one group of people are treated like children in America? Let’s not do that. Let’s not burn down buildings because of some phony story about hands up, don’t shoot.’ But instead what — oh gosh, an awful lot of our post-1970 immigrants seem to be saying is, ‘We’re black too, we’re going to go around and charge white America with our grievances and we have a list of them here.’ I mean, look at that — the Muslim who shot up five American servicemen last week, his yearbook quote was my name…[Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez], [paraphrasing] ‘My name causes national security alerts, what does your name cause?’ Oh, screw you, Mohammad, you should be happy to be here.”
Donald Trump's Top 30 Insults
One thing we know for certain: he’d be the trash talkingest president of all time.
Amid the 16 (yes sixteen!) candidates for Republican Presidential nominee, there is one, and only one, that stands above the rest in terms of sheer un-filtered, un-political, and some would say un-presidential outspoken-ness. In an oustanding aggregation of abuse, The Hill has documented Donald Trump's Top 30 insults (so far in the 2016 campaign alone)...
In no particular order...
Perhaps just as troubling for The Republican Party...
In no particular order...
- Former President George W. Bush: — “You mean George Bush sends our soldiers into combat, they are severely wounded, and then he wants $120,000 to make a boring speech to them?” asked Trump on July 9, after reports the former president charged a vets group for a speech. “Bush didn’t have the IQ [to be president],” he added on June 16.
- Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) — “I’m not a big fan. The last thing we need is another Bush,” Trump said on June 16. Trump's account also retweeted an insult to Bush’s wife on July 4th: “@RObHeilbron: @realDonaldTrump #JebBush has to like the Mexican Illegals because of his wife.” It was later deleted.
- Hillary Clinton — “Hillary Clinton was the worst secretary of State in the history of the United States," Trump told Business Insider. His account on April 16 also retweeted an attack on Clinton: “@mplefty67: If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?” Trump said a campaign staffer was responsible and deleted the tweet.
- Anderson Cooper — “What a waste of time being interviewed by@andersoncooper when he puts on really stupid talking heads like Tim O'Brien-dumb guy with no clue!” Trump tweeted on July 22 after his interview with the CNN anchor. During his interview, Trump told Cooper: "The people don’t trust you and the people don’t trust the media."
- Bill Cosby — Trump said he believed the sexual assault allegations against the comedian, calling him "guilty as hell." “I’ve known him, and I’ve never liked him,” Trump said in a July radio interview. “I think he is a highly overrated guy, both in talent and in many other ways,”
- Des Moines Register — After the paper called on Trump to drop out, he dismissed it as a "sophomoric editorial" and called their coverage "uneven and inconsistent, but far more importantly, very dishonest."
- Forbes Magazine — “Why does a failed magazine like @Forbes constantly seek out trivial nonsense? Their circulation way down. @Clare_OC,” Trump tweeted on July 9.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) —"What a stiff, what a stiff, Lindsey Graham. By the way he has registered zero in the polls,” Trump said, at a campaign speech in Bluffton, S.C. on July 21. “A total lightweight. In the private sector, he couldn’t get a job. Believe me. Couldn't get a job. He couldn't do what you people did. You're retired as hell and rich. He wouldn't be rich; he'd be poor.” Trump also shared Graham's personal cellphone number and said he had begged him to help get on Fox News's "Fox and Friends." "What's this guy, a beggar? He's like begging me to help him with [the show] 'Fox and Friends.’” Trump said of Graham on "CBS This Morning," on July 21.
- Jonah Goldberg — “Jonah Goldberg @JonahNRO of the once great @NRO#National Review is truly dumb as a rock. Why does @BretBaier put this dummy on his show?” Trump tweeted, criticizing the conservative columnist on April 20.
- Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman — Trump said the Mexican drug lord would be no match for him. “Can you envision Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton negotiating with 'El Chapo', the Mexican drug lord who escaped from prison? ...Trump, however, would kick his ass!” he tweeted on July 12. Trump later called in the FBI after a death threat from a Twitter account associated with Guzman.
- Arianna Huffington — “The liberal clown @ariannahuff told her minions at the money losing @HuffingtonPost to cover me as entertainment. I am #1 in Huff Post Poll,” Trump tweeted on July 18.
- Penn Jillette — After the magician and comedian criticized Trump, he responded on July 16, tweeting: “I hear @pennjillette show on Broadway is terrible. Not surprised, boring guy (Penn). Without The Apprentice, show would have died long ago.” He then followed up with, “I loved firing goofball atheist Penn @pennjillette on The Apprentice. He never had a chance. Wrote letter to me begging for forgiveness.”
- Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) — “What people don’t know about Kasich- he was a managing partner of the horrendous Lehman Brothers when it totally destroyed the economy!” Trump tweeted on May 20.
- Charles Krauthammer — “One of the worst and most boring political pundits on television is @krauthammer. A totally overrated clown who speaks without knowing facts,” Trump tweeted about the conservative writer and Fox News contributor on June 4. A tweet a day later called him a "dumpy political pundit" and took issue with Krauthammer's support for the Iraq war. Krauthammer brought on Trump's ire by mocking his then-low standing in the polls.
- Bill Kristol — When the Weekly Standard editor belittled Trump’s chances against Hillary, Trump responded on July 23, tweeting, “Bill, your small and slightly failing magazine will be a giant success when you finally back Trump. Country will soar!”
- Mitt Romney — “Why would anybody listen to @MittRomney? He lost an election that should have easily been won against Obama. By the way,so did John McCain!” Trump tweeted of the 2012 Republican nominee on July 18.
- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — “He’s not a war hero,” Trump said at a rally on July 18. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” This followed a July 16 tweet saying, “@SenJohnMcCain should be defeated in the primaries. Graduated last in his class at Annapolis--dummy!” The insults came after McCain said Trump had "fired up the crazies" on immigration.
- Macy’s — Trump called for a boycott after the department store dropped his men’s clothing line. "I hope the boycott of @Macys continues forever. So many people are cutting up their cards. Macy's stores suck and they are bad for U.S.A.,” he tweeted on July 16. “Boycott @Macys, no guts, no glory. Besides, there are far better stores!” he tweeted later.
- Mexico — Trump lambasted the southern neighbor. “The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems,” he said on May 30 at his campaign launch. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” The remarks led a number of businesses to cut their ties with him. He doubled down after the escape of a top drug kingpin. "It's a corrupt place," Trump said on July 17. "It's a terrible court system." "Let's put it this way," he added, "I'm not going to Mexico."
- President Obama — Trump has long said he is not sure Obama was born in the U.S. and slammed his policies, calling him the "worst ever president." Obama hit back at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, mocking Trump who was in attendance. But Trump hasn't let up. During the Baltimore riots in April this year he tweeted: “Our great African American President hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore!” He also Obama to leave office early and golf on one of his many courses. “If he’d like to play, that’s fine. In fact, I’d love for him to leave early and play. That’d be a very good thing,” he said at his campaign launch in June. After the Chattanooga shooting, Trump pressed Obama to lower the flag for the victims. "We have a president who just can't say a few words: 'Put the flags at half-mast for the five Marines that were just killed.' Why? Why? Why?” Trump said at a South Carolina rally on July 21. “It's almost like, does he read the papers? Does he watch television?"
- Lawrence O’Donnell — “Dopey @Lawrence O’Donnell, whose unwatchable show is dying in the ratings, said that my Apprentice $ numbers were wrong. He is a fool!” Trump tweeted on July 16 of the MSNBC host.
- Former Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) — Perry has been a tough critic of Trump's rhetoric on immigration. “Rick Perry failed at the border. Now he is critical of me. He needs a new pair of glasses to see the crimes committed by illegal immigrants,” Trump tweeted on July 5th. On July 16, he added, “@GovernorPerry failed on the border. He should be forced to take an IQ test before being allowed to enter the GOP debate.” "He's doing very poorly in the polls. He put on glasses so people will think he's smart. And it just doesn't work! You know people can see through the glasses," Trump said at a rally on July 21.
- Former Gov. George Pataki (R-N.Y.) — Trump tweeted that Pataki "couldn’t be elected dog catcher if he ran again—so he didn’t!” Trump tweeted July 1. He followed up with: “.@GovernorPataki was a terrible governor of NY, one of the worst -- would’ve been swamped if he ran again!”
- Karl Rove — Trump went off on the Republican strategist's record in 2012 record. “@KarlRove wasted $400 million + and didn’t win one race—a total loser.@FoxNews,” he tweeted on July 16, followed by “Irrelevant clown @KarlRove sweats and shakes nervously on @FoxNews as he talks ‘bull’ about me. Has zero cred. Made fool of himself in '12.” Trump even called out the network: “@FoxNewsYou shouldn’t have @KarlRove on the air—he’s a clown with zero credibility—a Bushy!”
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — “[Sanders] knows the country is ripped off. And I know the country is being ripped off,” Trump told The Hill on July 23. “The difference is that I can do something about it and he can’t. He’ll never be able to negotiate with China.”
- Republican National Committee — “The RNC has not been supportive. They were always supportive when I was a contributor. I was their fair-haired boy,” Trump toldThe Hill on July 23. “The RNC has been, I think, very foolish.”
- Chuck Todd —“I hear that sleepy eyes @chucktodd will be fired like a dog from ratings starved Meet The Press? I can't imagine what is taking so long!” Trump tweeted on July 12 about the "Meet the Press" host.
- Univision — “@Univision cares far more about Mexico than it does about the U.S. Are they controlled by the Mexican government?” Trump tweeted on June 26 after the network cut ties with him over his immigration remarks. “Has anyone seen the financials of @Univision. They are doing really badly. Too much debt and not enough viewers. Need money fast. Funny!” he followed up on July 11.
- The Wall Street Journal — Trump has had a long feud with owner Rupert Murdoch. After the paper questioned his candidacy, Trump tweeted on July 20: “The ever dwindling @WSJ which is worth about 1/10 of what it was purchased for, is always hitting me politically. Who cares!”
- Juan Williams — “@TheJuanWilliams you never speak well of me & yet when I saw you at Fox you ran over like a child and wanted a picture,” tweeted Trump on July 3 of the Fox personality.
Perhaps just as troubling for The Republican Party...
Donald Trump leads in New Hampshire with 21% support of potential Republican voters, according to NBC News/Marist latest polls. Jeb Bush has 14%, and Scott Walker 12% in New Hampshire
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