by Miri
It will come as quite a surprise to readers that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is sending more “experts to train … police and customs officials to better manage the country’s porous border crossings …” because such training is “critical.” Has Ms. Napolitano suddenly seen the error of this administration’s approach to managing the US/Mexico border? Has she suddenly realized how “critical” the situation is? How important it is for our national security to close our porous border? Au contraire, Mon Ami!
Although tasked to oversee THIS country’s HOMELAND SECURITY, Ms. Napolitano is sending experts to help deal with Afghanistan’s porous border, through which “Taliban fighters and Islamic extremists” cross with impunity and through which (gasp) drugs are smuggled! Why is it so critical to close Afghanistan’s porous border? Because then US troops will be able to leave, thus meeting one of Barry’s self-imposed deadlines. Read all about it: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2011/01/ap-afghanborder-010111/
Ms. Napolitano, head of HOMELAND SECURITY for the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, recently traveled in a “surprise visit” to Afghanistan to meet with their leaders to discuss how the US will help “Afghanistan with equipment and capacity building for the country’s customs operations and with the training of border police.” That’s what I call having your priorities straight.
Can terrorists waltz across the US/Mexico border? Yes, they can. Are drugs by the ton NOW, every day, carried illegally across the US/Mexico border? Yes, they are. Are violent gangs exporting violence and terrorism across the US/Mexico border? Yes, they are. Are illegal aliens by the hundreds of thousands pouring across our porous border? Yes, they are. In fact, I read only today that 340,000 anchor babies were born to aliens on US soil in 2009.
“William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) — while not questioning the need for border enforcement there — believes Napolitano is the wrong person to be advising the Afghans.
‘It’s ludicrous that a woman who is failing across the board at enforcing America’s existing immigration and border laws [is] advising anybody about their border,’ he exclaims, ‘unless the Afghanistan government or people really want open borders where illegal immigrants and al-Qaeda and the Taliban can cross freely at will, then I think Janet Napolitano would be a good source on how to advise them to maintain that.'[emphasis added]” http://www.onenewsnow.com/Security/Default.aspx?id=1267220
Well said, Mr. Gheen. Border states took notice of Napolitano’s trip, too. The Sheriff of Pinal County, AZ, disputed her statement in June, where she apparently claimed that our border is more secure than ever.
“‘If the federal government is trying to claim victory, they’re divorced from reality,’ said [Sheriff Paul] Babeu. The reality for Babeu is an increase in smuggling activity in his southern Arizona county, which he says is the number one pass through county in the country for drug and human smuggling. In 2010, 44,819 pounds of marijuana were seized in Pinal County alone. That’s in addition to 335 pursuits and 370 calls to the U.S. Border Patrol. Those numbers were supplied by Babeu’s office.” http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_central_southern_az/other/sheriff-paul-babeu-says-trafficking-is-increasing,–gives-janet-napolitano-an-%22f%22
AZ bloggers are weighing in, too: “The incongruity is that Napolitano travels the globe to work with Afghanis to secure their border but she refuses to lift a finger to secure ours. Yet when frustrated Arizonans, in the face of government inaction as we are overrun by illegal foreign nationals from Mexico, Central America and nations on the list of terror states, legislate protection in the form of SB 1070, it is referred to as “controversial.” Moreover, Obama’s Justice Department brings a lawsuit to restrain us.” http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2011/01/01/napolitano%E2%80%99s-border-security-the-ultimate-irony/
We the People are seeing red, too. Indeed we are. Let’s hope that Congressman Darrell Issa is gearing up an investigation into what the hell OUR Homeland Security Secretary is doing ensuring that Afghanistan’s porous border is closed to terrorists and drug/human smugglers, whilst ignoring the only job she’s supposed to be doing: Securing OUR Homeland, the United States of America. That’s what she’s paid to do.
Open Thread!
Bridgette
itooktheredpill
Miri
newssleuth
We the People of the United States 
Great information! Unbelievable Miri! I thought she went to Israel to learn about how they secure their airports and airlines. (Their way can’t be done here in the US according to her..body scans for all and pat downs must be endured instead!)
Somehow I missed her trip to Afghanistan to help them secure their borders!
This administration is the most incompetent one in history. Their priorities are beyond questionable. I agree Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas should be furious! The money spent on sending her to Afghanistan could be used to hire more border patrols! Sheriff Paul Babeu from Arizona is so right…they are divorced from reality! Fire her… she is not protecting our country. She has an agenda that is not in the best interest of the US! She didn’t get the job done when she was in AZ either.
I saw on Hannity last night, I think, where Issa described how they are going to attack certain issues and investigate. Will find. I remember Issa has 7 committees doing investigations. They are delving into the Countrywide fiasco involving Fannie and Freddie. That will lead right to Rahm, Dodd and Barney Frank as well as others up the chain. They have already started. We know they have the ACORN one already done.
I didn’t know she went to Afghanistan, either. That was the “surprise” about the trip. Keep it on the down low.
She and all the rest of these cabinet members and czars are doing their jobs, in their own minds. Their jobs being to keep Barry in power. Everything is COMPLETELY politicized. Every office. First priority: Get Barry reelected and make him look good, always, at all times.
So she has to do whatever she can so he can meet his campaign promise about getting out of Afghanistan. What was interesting is the part in the story about how they need to control the Afghan border because of all the money going out via “hawala” and people avoiding paying import taxes. The money transfers via hawala can easily be used to steal aid money and, worse, to fund terrorism, which is how most terrorism gets funded via bogus “charities” and convenient Muslim rules against using regular means (like banks).
But it occurs to me that one way to get the progressives to secure the border would be if they could charge a fee for crossing the border. If they thought they could get say, a hundred bucks, from every crosser, then they’d probably finally have reason enough, in their minds, to actually close the border–more money for the government. More money for them to redistribute to the masses who they bribe to vote for them. Does that sound like a plan?
Miri,
Does that sound like a plan?
YES IT DOES !
Medical Report/ Study linking children’s vaccines and autism was a scam. This happened during 1998. This made mothers stop vaccinating their kids. Now there are outbreaks of childhood diseases that were wiped out previously i.e., measles, mumps, whooping cough.
Now we can’t trust the medical field either ! Where will it stop?
That’s amazing news, isn’t it? There are children today who suffer serious side effects from diseases that could have been easily prevented, had this lying fraud of a “scientist” not fudged his data. I heard that he was secretly on the payroll of a group that wanted to sue (and make money off of) vaccine makers. So he fudged the data, to make it appear as if the vaccine caused the autism, when in some cases (and he KNEW it) the kids showed signs of autism long BEFORE they were vaccinated. So he merely changed the dates!
This is a British doctor/scientist. Guess what? It was British “scientists” who also fudged the “global warming” data.
Wells is furious !
http://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/john-boehner-call-me-call-john-boehner-us-constitution-natural-born-citizen-you-just-took-the-oath-you-just-read-the-us-constitution/
Here’s a partial transcript and a link to the vid of Boehner and Williams: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/06/5778682-boehner-reacts-to-birther-outburst
I’m sort of gratified to see that I was pretty close in “reporting” what went down, despite that I was washing dishes with my back to the teevee at the time! The thing is that Boehner got that report or memo or whatever it was, which was the analysis of the state of the COLB, if you know what I mean. These guys believe it’s true that the State of Hawaii said he was born there, BECAUSE they don’t know what the exact statements were nor how these people carefully parsed the statements. Their staffs sort through everything for them. I’m happy to see, however, that Boehner’s NOT apparently going to try to lean on the others in Congress who think differently. As I said, this might be the best we can hope for, at least from the head of the party. He’s going to maintain some degree of separation, just like Barry does, but let others do the grunt work, or at least not impede them. (I hope!)
What the heck is this? What are the powers? Who pays for it?
What does it do to serve bona fide American citizens, also known as WTP?
http://armed-services.senate.gov/about.htm
who are the people comprising this “Board” and what is their purpose?
Heeeeeeeeeeeee’res Harry!
On Patraeus
http://therealharryreid.nrsc.org/2010/07/07/harry-reid-owes-general-petraeus-an-apology-for-visceral-politically-motivated-attacks/
and some Trivia from yesteryear
the Vote in re Moveon.org ‘s assassination:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00344#position
Worth reading the entire article
Meet the House party crasher, the U.S. House, that is
Protester charges Obama a ‘tyrannical dictator’ bent on bringing down U.S.
January 06, 2011 9:20 pm Eastern Snips
Theresa Cao
The woman who burst out with “except Obama” when New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone today read on the floor of the U.S. House the Constitution’s requirements for the president, including that he be a “natural born Citizen,” says she felt compelled to let representatives know of the absence of proof for Barack Obama’s eligibility.
Theresa Cao, who was arrested by Capitol police, given a court date and then released, told WND in a telephone interview after her release, while she was standing in front of the Hart Office Building near the Capitol, that the only hope for the United States is a return to the faith of the Founding Fathers.
And that direction, she said, is the opposite from the one Obama is leading the nation, citing his “socialism,” such as a nationalized health-care system and the takeover of private companies including banks, insurance companies and car companies.
Pallone was reading Article II, Section 1, regarding the required qualifications for the president, which demand that the president be a “natural born Citizen,” when she burst out, “except Obama.”
Birther Interrupts Reading of the US Constitution
More information leading up to this on the other open thread.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=248117
Birther Heckler in House Chamber Interrupts Constitution Reading
January 6, 2011
A spectator watching the House recite the Constitution interrupted the reading during to question Obama’s eligibility to be president. While Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) was reciting Article 2, Section 1 detailing that the president must be a “natural born Citizen,“ the unidentified heckler shouted out ”What about Obama?”
UPDATE: According to ABC News, the the heckler was a woman who was arrested. Her tirade also included a cry of “Help us, Jesus!” TIRADE???
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/birther-heckler-interrupts-constitution-reading/
I guess it’s no surprise that this morning’s newspaper made NO mention whatsoever of the “tirade.” In fact, they said the reading of the Constitution turned out to be “bipartisan” with no “bombast.” NO mention at all of Cao. This leads me to believe that perhaps, indeed, Abercrombie’s interest in the BC is not something Barry likes being raised again. Which means they want the BC issue tamped down, because they know it’s gaining traction. As well it should, so long as brave patriot LTC Lakin is a political prisoner because Barry won’t provide a simple document he claims exists. And also while brave patriots like Dr. Kate and TC in DC are persecuted by this administration’s thuggish behavior.
GOP Introduces Bill to Roll Back Executive Branch ‘Czars’
January 6, 2011
A group of nearly 30 Republican members of the House of Representatives has introduced a bill to rein in the various “czars” serving in the Obama administration. The bill mirrors similar legislation introduced in the 111th Congress that was not allowed to advanced under Democrats’ majority control.
But with Republicans commanding the House majority in the 112th Congress, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and the 28 other Republican co-sponsors on the bill are hoping to do away with the informal, paid advisers President Obama has employed over the last two years.
The Hill reports: The legislation, which was introduced in the last Congress but was not allowed to advance under Democratic control, would do away with the 39 czars Obama has employed during his administration.
Republicans had complained about the president’s use of czars to help advance his agenda in Congress.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/gop-introduces-bill-to-roll-back-executive-branch-czars/
Union Boss Trumka Admits Main Goal is Using Unions To Fundamentally Change America into His Progressive Vision…Not Negotiate Member Salaries
January 5, 2011
Video
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/union-boss-trumka-admits-main-goal-is-using-unions-to-fundamentally-change-america-into-his-progressive-vision-not-negotiate-members-salaries/
KUHNER: The GOP’s last stand
Launch an assault on Obama or be swept into the dustbin of history
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Republican Party has one last chance to save itself. This is the real meaning of this week’s historic moment when former House Speaker and present Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi transferred the gavel to newly elected Speaker of the House John A. Boehner.
“Cap-and-trade,” immigration reform, increased spending on education, the elimination of the secret ballot to form labor unions – the left’s wish list is dead, at least for now. President Obama will be on the defensive for the rest of his first term.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/6/the-gops-last-stand/
Ali,
I apologize for not seeing this earlier, but I just came across a comment you left almost a month ago…
Were the emails deleted, or were the emails there but the webcitation.org links didn’t work anymore?
I haven’t had any problems with the emails disappearing. I think we did experience a problem with one of the webcitation.org links (one of the Indonesian sites), but I didn’t think it was more widespread than that. I’d be interested to hear an update from you about what you found.
A song for all things that go “Poof” in the night ! Sing it like this: Poof ! there it WAS !
Dance too ! Poof there it WAS !
Speaking of border… I also hear if they do this that the American truckers will strike and stop the trucks….if they stop, so will our supplies. Keep food on hand if this happens. Is someone PLANNING this problem ?
This is positive for WHO ? This is garbage.
snip~
U.S. proposes to open roads to Mexican trucks
By John Crawley John Crawley – Thu Jan 6, 5:33 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Thursday proposed a new inspection and monitoring regime to permit long-haul trucks from Mexico on U.S. highways after years of delays over safety concerns and political wrangling.
The Transportation Department’s compromise seeks to revive efforts to fulfill a key provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which is highly unpopular with labor but supported by many businesses as a cost advantage.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called the plan by his agency a starting point to renew negotiations with Mexico, which has slapped tariffs on U.S. products over the delay.
The Transportation Department said the plan, which would eventually need congressional and Mexican government approval, would prioritize safety and that a formal proposal is due to be announced in coming months.
The countries would negotiate the number of carriers allowed to participate in a first phase. Applicants would be vetted by U.S. law enforcement agencies. Trucking safety programs would be reviewed and each vehicle would be inspected and certified by highway safety and environmental officials.
Prospects for an agreement are uncertain. The plan has failed to move ahead over the past decade regardless of which party controlled the White House or Congress.
But the Obama administration felt more comfortable issuing a proposal with the program’s fiercest critics, labor friendly Democrats in the House of Representatives, voted out of office in November or sidelined to the minority. Republicans took over the chamber on Wednesday.
Mexico said it would review the plan, calling it a positive
first step, and said tariffs would be lifted after a trucking agreement is completed.
“In general this is very good news,” said Humberto Trevino, Mexico’s deputy transport minister.
Currently, big rigs from Mexico must offload their goods near the border so U.S. trucks can haul them the rest of the way.
BUSINESS SEES BENEFITS
Allowing cross-border trucking could increase competition, add capacity in the domestic market, and offer other benefits to business.
“We could see a more open Mexican border actually drive more … freight activity in general, which would benefit the entire trucking industry,” said Todd Fowler of KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Among the potential beneficiaries are farmers and livestock producers affected by the billions of dollars in tariffs on agricultural and other goods shipped to Mexico from the United States.
Mexico is a leading importer of U.S. pork, but currently it has a 5 percent duty on that product. It is widely believed the duty was applied in response to the trucking dispute.
“The pork industry has been eagerly awaiting this moment, which should further facilitate pork trade to Mexico,” said Rich Nelson, analyst with agriculture advisory firm Allendale Inc.
Labor and consumer groups and their allies in Congress for years blocked the trucking initiative from progressing beyond small pilot programs. They were concerned about safety and potential job losses.
James Hoffa, president of the Teamsters union, called the new move disappointing and another opportunity to open the border “to unsafe trucks.” He stressed the move was ill-timed considering the tough economy.
“Why would DOT propose to threaten U.S. truck drivers’ and warehouse workers’ jobs when unemployment is so high,” Hoffa said.
But Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, applauded the move. “If we’re going to double exports (globally) within five years, we must hold on to export markets, such as Mexico,” Donohue said in a statement.
U.S. companies represented by the National Association of Manufacturers said a swift deal on trucking was necessary to counter gains by competitors in Canada, China and South American nations that have increased marketshare in Mexico.
snip~
Try driving I10. Metal and tire pieces everywhere to blow your tires. Guess where the piece of crap trucks come from with all the tire steel belted hunks all over the road…? yep their tire hunks and driving cause tons of WRECKS also. Insurance premiums will hit the roof too ! What about EPA standards for THEIR trucks ? Note the black, billowing exhaust fumes blowing in the sky from them…Oh boy !
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110106/pl_nm/us_usa_mexico_trucks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110106/pl_nm/us_usa_mexico_trucks
If you’ve ever driven in Mexico, this should scare the heck out of you. Have you ever seen how the majority of Mexicans drive?
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/monitoring-america/
While the borders sit open, this is where our money goes ?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/sf-city-politician-unleashes-epic-tirade-its-on-like-donkey-kong/
Can anyone explain how repealing Obamacare can possibly increase the federal deficit? If we aren’t spending the money that has been allocated for this abomination, it seems it must decrease. Is this an example of the Democrats “New Math”?
“Democrats point to congressional budget scorekeepers who say repeal will increase the federal deficit by $230 billion”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/house-vote-clears-the-way-for-obamacare-repeal-debate/
Democrats point to congressional budget scorekeepers who say repeal will increase the federal deficit by $230 billion.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/house-vote-clears-the-way-for-obamacare-repeal-debate/
I know. It’s ridiculous but since they fooled some people into believing that Barry’s the messiah, they think they can fool the same people into thinking that 2 plus 2 equals a trillion.
Doesn’t it make sense to you? Add 30,000,000 uninsured to government subsidized health care, and somehow it’s going to save the government money.
On FOX last night, Paul Ryan explained that the CBO makes reports ONLY on what’s put in front of them and since the Dems excluded a lot of costs from the analysis, they got back the number they wanted. In other words, “some things NOT CONSIDERED,” on purpose, in order to LIE to the American people and fool them into thinking it will cost the government more money to make people take care of themselves than to pick somebody else’s pocket to allow the government take care of them completely. They truly do think we’re stupid. Aren’t they exactly like the British “scientist” who lied with his figures to fool people into thinking that vaccine causes autism, so he and his employers could sue and make a lot of money for themselves?
My newest post on my personal blog:
Questions for Speaker Boehner
Good one Red Pill! Did you send this to him? If not please do so.
) Do you realize that when you said:
“The state of Hawaii has said that President Obama was born there,” Boehner said. “That’s good enough for me.”
… you are accepting as evidence something that is not accepted as evidence for a Form I-9?
Great point !
Red Pill: This blog article contains some interesting information, especially with regard to the timing of Barry’s visit to Granny late in the 2008 campaign and what else MIGHT have been taking place in Hawaii: A hearing about whether or not he would be put on the ballot.
http://thedailypen.blogspot.com/2011/01/o-con-had-legal-help-from-non-partisan.html
Oh Miri !
New analysis of Democrat Party’s official 2008 Certification of Nomination for Obama reveals that reasons for his sudden trip to Hawaii in October, 2008 was to visit more than just his sick grandmother. Hawaiian election laws and post-dated documents reveal he may have attended a hearing with Hawaiian Chief Elections Officer regarding his disqualification from ballot due to lack of certified Constitutional eligibility.
Abercrombie’s right-hand man, and next in line for the Governorship…
It appears to me that both Abercrombie and Schatz got the job of their choice in return for “help” with the “Obama birth narrative”.
Good bet!
This is their day to get that paycheck for services rendered ? What a way to earn a living…..lie, scam, cover up ? …high class GRUNTS….scapegoats…used…that is all they are.
We thought as much at the time. At least we believed that the visit had more to do with a bc than with deathly ill granny. This is probably when he got granny to sign an affidavit, and then amended his bc to say whatever it was he needed it to say, so that they would put him on the ballot and later the HDOH could claim that they saw the vital recordS that themselves (not the HDOH) purported to “verify” (via sworn statement or affidavit) that he was born in Hawaii. Remember the video of him in the alley behind granny’s apartment, when he acted so furtively before jumping into that black SUV? I remember people joking at the time that we should enlist people in Hawaii to shadow him, in case he makes an secret trip to the HDOH.
If Janet is Doing a Good Job, Why This?
U.S. Alleges Mexican Drug Cartel Rented Apartments in U.S. to Recruit Young Americans
By Edwin Mora, Friday, January 07, 2011
Tijuana drug war
(CNSNews.com) – An assistant U.S. attorney told CNSNews.com that a federal judge will hear a criminal case later this month involving an offshoot of the Tijuana cartel that is believed to be setting up operations in the United States to recruit young Americans for drug trafficking.
The case shows that U.S. drug cartels are attempting to extend their operations into the United States.
Todd Robinson, the assistant U.S. attorney who will prosecute the alleged drug ring at the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California, said he expects the federal judge who will hear the case on Jan. 26 to set a trial date on that day.
According to the 86-page indictment, Mexican drug cartels have rented apartments in the United States under a franchise scheme aimed at recruiting young Americans into their illicit activities, coordinating drug trafficking operations, as well as kidnapping and extortion on both sides of the southwest border.
The case to be heard stemmed from a long-term investigation dubbed “Operation Luz Verde” (green light), that began in November 2009. The probe was conducted by the multi-agency San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force and it reportedly revealed state and federal crimes, including murder, kidnapping, firearms and drug trafficking.
Investigators used court-authorized wiretaps to capture 50,000 phone calls over a six-month period that led to a case against 43 suspects, including some Mexican police officers and top officials, such as Jesus Quinones Marquez, the director of International Liaison for the Baja California Attorney General’s Office.
In that position, Marquez is one of the primary Mexican liaison officials providing information to U.S. law enforcement officers. According to the investigation, Marquez used his position to provide the drug cartel Fernandez Sanchez Organization (FSO) with confidential law enforcement information. He also allegedly arranged the arrest of FSO rivals by Mexican authorities.
The Justice Department indictment was unsealed in late July 2010 and charges 43 defendants with taking part in a federal racketeering conspiracy (Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1962(d)). In the complaint, the 43 alleged culprits are said to be members of the FSO, which is an offshoot of the Arellano-Felix drug trafficking ring based in Tijuana.
According to the complaint, FSO “is a transnational drug organization with integrated narcotics and enforcement operations in the United States and Mexico.”
It is described as a “powerful organization that controls drug distribution and other illegal activities in the U.S. and Mexico, and which has increasingly committed acts of violence in Tijuana, San Diego County, and the greater Los Angeles area to expand its influence.”
The hierarchy of command under the leadership of Fernando Sanchez Arellano is comprised of five distinct groups: lieutenants, underbosses, corrupt Mexican officials, crew leaders, and crew members.
Mexico violence
A young man lies dead in a public park after being shot to death by unidentified assailants in the municipality of Apodaca on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday Dec. 1, 2010. The numbered tags mark bullets casings. (AP Photo/Carlos Jasso)
According to the wiretaps and secret informants, the Fernando Sanchez Organization was operating out of a San Diego apartment it referred to as “The Office.”
The criminal complaint states that Mexican drug cartels are recruiting young Americans in an effort to keep their drug trafficking operations under the radar, including using young women as drug mules to cross from Mexico into the United States. These “mules” allegedly were paid $100 per trip to smuggle quarter-pound loads of methamphetamine across the border.
The San Diego criminal enterprise also was recruiting members of U.S.-based Latino street gangs, both illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens, and former Mexican police officers, according to the indictment. Most of the gang members operating in the San Diego office of the accused Mexican cartel are Latino, some illegal aliens and others U.S. citizens, according to the criminal complaint.
The investigation found that the criminal group had safe houses, distributed illicit drugs, trafficked in guns and other weapons, laundered money, committed robberies, and collected drug debts. When debtors failed to pay, they were kidnapped or targeted with execution on both sides of the southwest border.
In one instance, according to the investigation, the accused drug enterprise “placed the defaced headstone of two murder victims in the victims’ family courtyard with a threatening message” in an effort to publicize its enforcement capabilities.
During this investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice for the first time used communication towers on the U.S. side of the border to capture and monitor phone and radio communications used by Mexican drug cartels in the border area and thus were able to show that Mexican drug cartels are moving to expand their grasp into U.S. territory.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/federal-court-hear-case-mexican-drug-car
Another mysterious death:
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/10/wife-of-white-house-aide-found-dead-in-burning-car/
From the story:
Ashley Turton, wife of the Obama administration’s House of Representatives liaison, Dan Turton, was found dead in a burning car Monday morning, Roll Call and other news outlets are reporting.
Fire officials said it appeared the car crashed as it was pulling in or out of the garage behind a rowhouse in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., at about 5 a.m. Neighbors dialed 911 after spotting the fire.
The body was discovered after fire crews doused the blaze. The fire also charred part of the garage. Nobody in the house was injured, fire officials said.
Ashley Turton worked as a lobbyist for the utility giant Progress Energy, according to Politico. She was a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
Connecticut. Energy lobbyist.
Metropolitan Police Lt. Nicholas Breul told Roll Call a joint investigation is underway. Homicide detectives were called to the scene.
“This could be just a tragic freak accident,” Breul said, adding there was no indication that there was a crime committed.
snip~
Too many tragic freak accidents lately no ?
A little comic relief. This is a TRUE story: Turkish family hangs skinned ducks and strips of beef outside, under their eaves, setting off a culture clash:
http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-hanging-meat-south-city-ducks-010511,0,1783475.story
These Muslim Turks not to be confused with Melungeons. 🙂
Appeals Bid From Birther Lawyer Rejected, Again
Jan. 10, 2011 Snips
(CN) – California attorney Orly Taitz, a leader of the “birther” movement challenging President Obama’s citizenship, lost another bid in the Supreme Court on Monday to overturn the $20,000 she incurred in a Georgia federal court.
Taitz had appealed the fine to Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, respectively, in August and July. Each appeal has been denied.
The 11th Circuit had also backed U.S. District Judge Clay Land’s decision to impose the fine “as a deterrent to prevent future misconduct and to protect the integrity of the court.”
The lawsuit called Obama an “illegal usurper, unlawful pretender and unqualified impostor.”
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/01/10/33186.htm
Obama sides with another criminal… President Omar Hassan al-Bashir – Endangers our troops!
Sudan on the Edge
Obama’s Southern Sudan Policy
January 10th 2011
According to Wikileaks cables, in December 2009, the U.S. warned Sudan to stop transshipments of Iranian arms to Hamas in Gaza for use against Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The cables however, did not discuss that Sudan was also transferring Iranian arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan to kill American and coalition forces.
Other Sudan-related cables from the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya—also released by Wikileaks—report that in 2009, the Obama Administration threatened Kenya with “sweeping sanctions” if it delivered the shipload of weapons, including 32 tanks that were recovered from Somali pirates, to their rightful owner, the Southern Sudanese government. The tanks remained in Kenya.
The decision to stop the arms shipment and the tanks from reaching the Southern Sudanese so they could defend themselves from the heavily armed Northern Sudanese army raises the question: who in Washington sets the U.S. policy towards Sudan?
Southern Sudan, a mostly Christian region, could soon gain its independence from the U.S. terrorist designated Islamic Republic of Sudan and its ruler, the internationally indicted and wanted war criminal, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
The Obama Administration’s concessions to Bashir made possible the independence referendum scheduled on January 9, that would lead to Southern Sudan’s independence in July 2011….It is unclear what guarantees were given to Bashir, who in July 2008 was charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, and has two international arrest warrants against him.
http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=31791&pageid=13&pagename=Analysis
To the Times:
Has America become the land of the special interest and home of the double standard? For many it has. Here is a review of current events. Make your own decision.
If we lie to the Congress, it’s a felony. If the Congress lies to us it’s just politics. If we dislike a black person, we’re racist. If a black dislikes whites, it’s their First Amendment right.
The government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims. In public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process.
You can kill and unborn child, but it’s wrong to execute a mass murderer. We don’t burn books in America, we now rewrite them. We got rid of the communist and socialist threat by renaming them progressive. We are unable to close our border with Mexico, but we have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea.
If you protest against President Obama’s policies you’re a terrorist or a racist, but if you burned an American flag or George W. Bush’s picture in effigy it was your First Amendment right.
You can have pornography on TV or the Internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas. We have eliminated all criminals in America; they are now called sick people. We can use a human fetus for medical research, but it’s wrong to use an animal for drug research to cure a disease.
We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don’t want to work. We all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology. We still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct.
We can celebrate Cinco De Mayo and Halloween, but we can’t celebrate Christmas, which is a recognized national holiday and a religious holiday for most of Americans.
We can ask law-abiding citizens to present valid I.D. when cashing a check or making a credit card purchase, but we can’t ask suspicious “illegal aliens” to produce a valid I.D. to verify their status or identify themselves.
We explain away individuals who steal classified and secret communications and distribute them to the press, but can’t hold the press or individuals libel for participating in this life-threatening treachery to our country and armed forces personnel.
We applaud confiscatory taxation and regulation on those who work hard, run an enterprise and play by the rules, then reward drug addicts, slackers, welfare cheats and bums with “benefits” they did not earn to continue their corrupt lifestyles … and call this whole process “social justice” or welfare for the so-called disadvantaged and poor of society.
Actor Wesley Snipes goes to jail for tax evasion, while Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel, who was indicted 20 times for fraud and evasion, gets a mild censure and no jail time from Congress. And you wonder why the U.S. Congress is held in deep contempt with a 20 percent approval rating from U.S. taxpayers and voters.
What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?
The answer: America has become a welfare state based on deviant behavior, questionable morals and situation ethics.
CHARLES C. MARTINI Sr.
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/01/10/opinion/doc4d2a8c27e1ca6768827513.txt?viewmode=2
You are Right on Point Mr. Martini! Thanks Leza, it is good to know there are still thinking, ethical, and normal people out there!
That is a good essay. Thanks, Leza.
Whoa, Illinois state income tax is being raised by 66%! You read that right..Sixty six percent! How do those unions look to you now Illinois? Aren’t you pleased that your hard earned dollars are going to bail out the unions who have a hold on your state..their salaries, pensions, etc.
Welcome to Obama’s world!
The next door neighbor is Wisconsin…and they are LOWERING ALL TAXES! They say “Come on Down!”
Isn’t that terrific?
Herman Cain, a black man, Republican, is setting up an exploratory committee for a possible presidential run. He founded Godfather’s Pizza and he is an extremely successful self-made business man. He wants to get the country back on the right track.
He announced on Cavuto’s show on Fox.
Middle East: Bin Laden son-in-law on Saudi list of wanted ‘terrorists’
Jan. 10 2011 Snips
Riyadh, 11 Jan. (AKI) – Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law is number 39 on a list of 47 wanted alleged terrorists that the Saudi Arabian government recently gave to international police organisation Interpol, according to Arab-language newspaper Al-Hayat.
Bin Laden bodyguard Muhammad Salim Barikan, 47, married Bin Laden’s 27-year-old daughter Fatima when she was 13. Barikan’s name appeared a few months ago on a number of jihadist online forums saying he had been killed by an American drone attack in Pakistan’s northwest Waziristan province.
Barikan left Saudi Arabia in 1997 to join Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan where he became a trusted confident of the terrorist leader. Following his marriage to Fatima, Barikan lived for months in a cave on the border with Pakistan.
http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Middle-East-Bin-Laden-son-in-law-on-Saudi-list-of-wanted-terrorists_311524377739.html
I wonder if Interpol will publish a photo? It might be interesting.
Obama works his black magic once again .. Disses England as the U.S.’s #1 ally. The UK reacts.
Obama’s right. There is no special relationship… and the sooner we realise that the better
January 12, 2011 Snips
President Barack Obama will have caused more than a few palpitations in Whitehall by suggesting that France, not Britain, is the United States’ most important ally. ‘We don’t have a stronger friend and stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy and the French people,’ he told the French President on Monday.
Not America’s best buddy? The best brains in the Foreign Office will be trying to persuade themselves Mr Obama did not really mean it. They will say he was only trying to be nice to Mr Sarkozy during the French resident’s visit to Washington.
But what if he really meant what he said? During visits to the U.S. by Gordon Brown and David Cameron, Mr Obama has had every opportunity to say Britain was America’s strongest ally, but did not take it. Indeed, he seemed to go out of his way to snub Mr Brown by refusing to meet him.
There are other bits of evidence that Mr Obama does not cherish the ‘special relationship’ so dear to the hearts of policymakers in Whitehall. As soon as he entered the Oval Office, he removed the bust of Winston Churchill that had been loaned to George W. Bush by the British government.
For most of the time we are regarded with indifference: an ally at once so loyal, dependable and uncritical that we can be taken for granted. The special relationship, about which our politicians obsess, is scarcely ever mentioned even by Britain’s friends in the U.S.
continued
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1346315/Obamas-right-There-special-relationship-Britain.html#ixzz1AofiYytw
Mooooshell is just mad because she didn’t get invited to the wedding.
Approval of Congress shoots up more 50%
January 13, 2011
The way that some congressmen are talking. using the words “Congress” and “shoots” in the same sentence might get you some time in the slammer.
Gallup reports that the number of Americans who approve of the job Congress is doing has increased by nearly 54% since Republicans took over the House of Representatives less than two weeks ago.
Congressional approval is very much the same story. From an historical low approval rating of 13% in December, Congress is now viewed favorably by 20% of Americans. It’s a start.
If House Republicans want to continue to bend the curve upward, they must remain mindful of the mandate they were given by the historical wave election of 2010:
* Reduce the size and cost of government
* Lower the national debt
* Stop government intrusion into the lives and decisions of Americans
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/01/approval_of_congress_shoots_up.html
What good news! I love it. And especially your point about using that word “shoots”. 🙂
State Shariah ban moves up judicial ladder
Arguments pending before 10th Circuit on validity of voters’ decision
January 12, 2011 Snips
A constitutional scholar who graduated cum laude from Harvard Law and later taught at the University of Oklahoma and Oral Roberts University says a federal judge got it backwards when she wrote an opinion that Oklahoma voters would not be allowed to ban the use of Shariah law in their courts.
That opinion came from Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, who before Christmas blocked the state from certifying a constitutional amendment approved by 70 percent of Oklahoma voters through a ballot initiative known as State Question 755.
Oklahoma became the first state to put before voters the proposition that Islamic courts, Islamic, and Shariah-based court decisions should be banned.
“We want to make a very strong message (to Muslims), you are welcome to America, pray to whatever god you want to pray to, the Constitution gives you that right, but in America our law is the Constitution,” she said.
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=250065#ixzz1AvzCNQVz
“According to the original meaning of the First Amendment guarantees, then, the amendment banning Shariah law from the exercise of state judicial power is not only constitutional under the no-establishment and free-exercise guarantees, but constitutionally required by those very guarantees,” lawyer Herb Titus said.
btw, that last quote in Bridgette’s comment is from the wonderful Brigitte Gabriel, one of the best spokespersons ever against CAIR and Sharia law. She was Muslim at one time, so she knows of what she speaks.
Background on the judge who made the pro-sharia ruling, from Wikipedia:
A native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Miles-LaGrange, received a certificate from the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, West Africa in 1973, and graduated cum laude from Vassar College in 1974. She then received her J.D. from Howard University in Washington, DC in 1977. There, she was an editor of The Howard Law Journal. Vicki Miles-LaGrange served as a law clerk to Woodrow Seals of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas from 1977 to 1979. She was a Graduate fellow in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 1979 to 1980, and a special assistant to the African Development Group, Washington, D.C. from 1980 to 1981. She was at the same time a Lecturer in the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1981. She was a Trial attorney of Office of Enforcement Operations, U.S. Department of Justice from 1982 to 1983. She returned to Oklahoma to serve as an assistant district attorney for Oklahoma County from 1983 to 1986, where she prosecuted sex crimes. She then entered the private practice of law in Oklahoma City from 1986 to 1993, and was during that period an Oklahoma state Senator from 1987 to 1993, making her the first African-American female elected to the Oklahoma State Senate along with Maxine Horner. She was a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma from 1993 to 1994.”
She was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994.
Do you think she is a Muslim?
Napolitano? I doubt it. I think she’s probably secular, but she might have been raised Catholic. She’s Italian, isn’t she?
No, I meant do you think Vicki Miles-LaGrange is a Muslim.
Oh, my bad. I was answering you from the dashboard and didn’t read the comment you responded to. I was too lazy yesterday! 😦
But I wasn’t too lazy to research that judge. That’s exactly what I was looking for when I searched for data on her. I looked but could not find the answer, whether or not she’s Muslim. I couldn’t tell from her bio and, of course, if she IS nobody would put that out there. Then there would be questions about why she didn’t recuse herself.
There’s something very wrong with her argument, because by the same “logic”, if that man wanted to kill his daughter for “dishonoring” his family, in his opinion, then under his version of sharia law, his “freedom of religion” under the Constitution according to Miles-LeGrange’s interpretation would mean he has that right. Insane. One would think that every person, especially every lawyer, would disagree with her decision, yet I’ve heard lawyers on news programs say, yes, that infringes on his right to practice his religion.
Ghana is 68% Christian and 15% Muslim. Why Miles-LaGrange was in school there is an interesting question. She was born in Oklahoma, probably in the early ’50s. So what would take her to Ghana for college? “A certificate”. What’s that? Next up, Vassar. Her educational trajectory was similar to Barry’s and probably explainable by affirmative action, especially the Vassar period. Coming from the U of Ghana, I wonder if Vassar thought she was an international student?
Woodrow Seals
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/houpub/00036/hpub-00036p1.html
Judge Woodrow Bradley Seals was born on December 24, 1917 in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He married Daisy Newman in 1942 and had one son, Bradley. He served as a pilot in Europe during World War II and retired as Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve. Judge Seals received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1949; that year he moved to Houston and began practicing law. During the 1950’s he was Harris County Democratic Chairman, and served as John F. Kennedy’s campaign manager in 1960. He was active in the State Bar of Texas, where he was chairman of the Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure, a member of the Grievance Committee, Prosecuting Committee and Committee on Professional Ethics. As United States Attorney he hired the first African-American secretary in a U.S. Attorney’s Office in Texas and the first African-American Assistant U.S. Attorney and was known for his courageous rulings, in particular on student’s rights and desegregation and the education of alien children.
In 1961 Judge Seals was nominated by Senator Ralph Yarborough and appointed by President Kennedy as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, and in 1966 was appointed to the federal bench as United States District Judge by President Johnson. In 1982, at age 65, he took senior status but remained on the bench with a reduced caseload. He died in Houston on October 27, 1990.
Judge Seals was very active in the local Methodist Church, serving as Chairman of the Official Board, Charge Lay Leader, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, as well as serving on numerous boards and conferences, and acted as lay delegate to the Texas Annual Conference. He taught an adult church school class for more than 30 years.
Judge Seals founded the Society of St. Stephen in the mid-1960’s, an organization to help the needy which is now established across the country. He also founded a Peace Advocate program in the United Methodist Church in 1984, and the Community Service Option Program for offenders on probation, and was founder and president of the Court Volunteer Services of Harris County. He was President of Big Brothers & Sisters of Houston, Chairman of the local Boy Scouts Council Division of Scouting for the Handicapped, and served on the boards of civic and charitable organizations, including the United Way, the Community Council, Council of Human Relations, United Nations Association, The Shoulder, Planned Parenthood, Mental Health Association, South Central YMCA, Volunteers in Technical Assistance, Houston Metropolitan Ministries, the Houston Public Library, the Alley Theatre, and the Candidate Advisory Service of the Air Force Academy.
At his death, his civic affiliations included being a Community Associate of Hanszen College at Rice University, Chairman of the Committee to Celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution for the Southern District of Texas, the Houston Philosophical Society, and the Philosophical Society of Texas.
Judge Seals’ awards and honors include the Papal Medal “Benerementi”, presented by Pope John Paul II in 1979; an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, in 1984; the Medal of Honor from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1985; the Jefferson Award for community service in 1986; and the World Methodist Council Peace Award, presented in 1987
http://news.webshots.com/album/554949712lUcmAP
Seals and Croft-Kraft
Voila! Vanderbilt drops abortion demand
1 day after complaint filed, nursing students freed from requirement
January 13, 2011 Snips
Only one day after WND reported on a complaint filed by a team of Christian attorneys over Vanderbilt University’s requirement that nursing students pledge to participate in abortions, the requirement has been dropped. [The application letter stated if the candidate would not sign the letter and make the pledge, they should consider applying elsewhere!].
A statement from Alliance Defense Fund today confirmed the school “modified” its nurse residency application “so that it no longer requires applicants to pledge that they will participate in abortion procedures.”
The ADF said the school’s announcement came in an e-mail to applicants just a day after the ADF filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=250485#ixzz1Aw4dcEW4
God bless WND. This is typical leftist behavior: Submit OR lose your career. Makes me think of someone else who is a victim of this very mentality. Someone near and dear to us.
Free to go about her work for the Democrats! She must be a really valuable asset to the Democrats..for what she knows! Corruption and Crime reign. Jail time SUSPENDED! What a kind, benevolent judge.
ACORN leader avoids prison for voter fraud conspiracy
Jan 12, 12:03 am Snips
Judge Donald Mosley sentenced Busefink to two years imprisonment but suspended the jail time provided that she abides by the terms of her probation. She was also fined a total of $4,000 and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. Prosecutors had argued for a fine of just $1,000. Voter fraud, sometimes called electoral fraud, is a blanket term encompassing a host of election-related improprieties.
This isn’t the first time Busefink was involved in shady electoral dealings. Even while under indictment in Nevada she ran the 2010 national voter drive for Project Vote, which was President Obama’s employer in 1992. Project Vote and ACORN have long been indistinguishable. Project Vote still operates out of ACORN’s offices in Washington, D.C.
Busefink also ran ACORN’s fraud-ridden 2008 voter registration drive. In that drive, officials chucked an astounding 400,000 bogus registrations.Busefink was found guilty after making a plea deal regarding two gross misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit the crime of compensation for registration of voters. A gross misdemeanor is a crime that is more serious than a misdemeanor but less serious than a felony.
In this case, Busefink entered an “Alford plea,” which is roughly equivalent to “no contest.” In other words, she did not admit the act, but admitted that the prosecution would likely be able to prove the charge at trial.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/acornleaderavoidsprisonforvoterfraudconspiracy
Let me guess that her 100 hours of “community service” will simply be more “community organizing” for the likes of ACORN. Business as usual. Promoting “social justice” one fraud at a time.
Interesting that the charges were filed by a DEMOCRATIC attorney general and that the judge quadrupled the fine that prosecutors asked for, but doubtless ACORN will pay it for her. She gets leniency despite a pattern of similar behavior. Nice. That’s what I call justice for the disenfranchised non-progressive voters who were defrauded by her actions. It’s amazing in itself that this story MAKES THE CONNECTION to Barry!
“The relatively stiff sentence handed down Monday comes as Nevada prosecutors prepare a similar criminal conspiracy case against the now-dissolving radical organization which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Election Day to escape its mounting debts.” Relatively stiff? Compared to what, jaywalking? Now-dissolving? I thought they were long dissolved. What kind of advantage does she get with an Alford plea (that they shouldn’t have allowed) and probation? Will she avoid a criminal record?
“If ACORN, that is, the shell corporation that until recently controlled a vast empire of taxpayer-subsidized left-wing activism, is convicted it would cause an earthquake in leftist organizing circles across America. More prosecutors might be emboldened to take on ACORN and similar groups. Until it was charged by Nevada in 2009, ACORN had frequently boasted about how it — as opposed to its employees — had been able to duck prosecution for election fraud-related offenses.”
Pinch me. I think I’m “conscience dreaming.” Am I really reading this on a Yahoo!-linked article? Check this out:
“Across the country state chapters of ACORN, which stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, have been incorporating themselves separately in order to carry on ACORN’s work. ACORN is reorganizing and will reemerge again soon under a new name, according to ACORN historian and housing activist John Atlas, who wrote “Seeds of Change,” and ACORN executive Nathan Henderson-James.”
Which work would that be? Election fraud? Community organizing? Social justice? Housing activism? They actually have their own “historian”?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/police-actor-peter-fonda-finds-dead-body-in-car/
Police: Actor Peter Fonda Finds Dead Body in Car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda (born February 23, 1940) is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, the brother of Jane Fonda, and the father of Bridget and Justin Fonda (by first wife Susan Brewer, stepdaughter of Noah Dietrich). Fonda is an icon of the counterculture of the 1960s.[1]
Early lifeFonda was born in New York City, New York, the son of actor Henry Fonda and his wife Frances Ford Seymour; he is the younger brother of actress Jane Fonda.
On his eleventh birthday, he accidentally shot himself in the stomach and nearly died. Years later, he would reference this incident to John Lennon claiming “I know what it’s like to be dead”, which ended up becoming an indirect influence behind the Beatles song “She Said, She Said”.
Early on, Fonda studied acting in Omaha, Nebraska, his father’s home town. He began attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha and joined the Omaha Community Playhouse, where many actors (including his father and Marlon Brando) had begun their careers.
He is the son of Henry Fonda, the brother of Jane Fonda, and the father of Bridget and Justin Fonda (by first wife Susan Brewer, stepdaughter of Noah Dietrich). Fonda is an icon of the counterculture of the 1960s.[1]
Early lifeFonda was born in New York City, New York, the son of actor Henry Fonda and his wife Frances Ford Seymour; he is the younger brother of actress Jane Fonda.
hummmmmmm…..
http://www.whosdatedwho.com/celebrities/people/dating/susan-brewer.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Brewer
http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/bio/bridget_fonda.shtml
Michael Steel just dropped out of the race for the RNC Chair. He is stepping aside for others to lead.
He lost the respect and trust of the major donors, and once that is gone, so is he.
Must have been lots of pressure to step aside. Will he become a commentator on Fox once again?
Homeland Security Axes Bush-Era ‘Virtual Fence’ Project
ABC News’ Jason Ryan reports:
The Department of Homeland Security today officially scrapped a Bush-era program designed to use radar technology to detect illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a DHS official and a congressional source.
The project, called “Virtual Fence,” was rolled out under the Bush administration in 2006 with much fanfare about how technology could help secure the border. Illegal immigrants crossing the border would be detected by a radar and picked up by remote cameras, which were monitored by border patrol agents.
But numerous internal and Congressional reviews found consistent performance problems with the project’s systems, which only spanned 53 miles of the vast U.S.-Mexico border.
…Snip….
“DHS briefed Congress today on my decision to end SBInet as originally conceived and on a new path forward for security technology along the Southwest border,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today. “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to meet our border technology needs, and this new strategy is tailored to the unique needs of each border region.”
DHS will utilize some of the existing technologies that were found to be useful in what the agency is calling a southwest border security technology plan.
…Snip…….Snip….
The system is estimated to cost about $1 billion. If the entire project had been accepted and rolled out, its cost would have exceeded $6 billion.
“We know that we cannot continue to put out millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money if we’re not confident that it’s really not going to work,” Napolitano, who ordered a review of the program upon taking office, said in October.
Whole article:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/01/homeland-security-axes-bush-era-virtual-fence-project.html
…”if we’re not confident that it’s really not going to work.”
What the heck does Napolitano mean? That she is NOT confident that it’s really NOT going to work??
Who will benefit from the “new system?” Exactly what is this new strategy that is tailored to the unique needs of each border region? Why isn’t the company that initially installed the system for 53 miles not fixing the existing system? Are they eliminating it because it was called Bush’s virtual fence? If they already had a contract, what will be lost in forfeiture/cancellation fees? Why would the cost be escalating if a contract is in place?
Great timing…let’s loosen those borders some more! What state will be most affected? Would it be that this fence crosses the AZ border?
News, I can’t figure out what she meant either.
Turning in tax cheats to become more profitable
Associated Press – Fri Jan 14, 5:12 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service is making it easier for whistle-blowers to collect rewards for turning in big-time tax cheats.
The agency proposed new rules Friday to jumpstart a 5-year-old program designed to entice people to turn in businesses or individuals trying to bilk the government out of $2 million or more in taxes.
The program has elicited a lot of tips but has yet to result in any rewards being paid out.
The IRS issued guidance last summer saying that whistle-blowers could only get rewards if their tips resulted in businesses or individuals paying additional taxes. The new rules would qualify whistle-blowers for rewards if their tips prevent businesses or individuals from claiming illegitimate tax refunds. Whistle-blowers could also benefit if their information results in a company getting fewer tax credits.
...the IRS was “fully committed” to implementing the law. “But payments can’t be made until the cases that arise out of the information provided have been fully adjudicated, including exhausting all appeals, and that can be a lengthy process,” he said.
Yahoo
The IRS wants the big dogs..but why don’t we all send in Timothy Geitner’s name along with Charlie Rangel’s – Tax cheats they are. We may not get a financial reward, but it sure would be satisfying to do. The cost of two stamps and an envelope! Wouldn’t we be giving them their just rewards?
LOL Sounds like the Megamillion Lotto! All for the price of a stamp 🙂
Saturday, January 15, 2011
President Obama wants a national ID card for online commentary
Big brother might be just around the corner. Secretary of Commerce Gary Loche announced on January 7 plans for a National ID Card for the internet.
Their plan is straightforward. Instead of logging onto Facebook or one’s bank using separate passwords established with each individual company or website, the White House will take the lead in developing what it calls an “identity ecosystem” that will centralize personal information and credentials. This government-approved system would issue a smart card or similar device that would confirm an individual’s identity when making online credit-card purchases, accessing electronic health care records, posting “anonymous” blog entries or even logging onto one’s own home computer, according to administration documents.
Here is the biggest laugh of all:
Officials insist this would be a voluntary program and deliver significant benefits to the public.
Notice that it doesn’t say PERMANENTLY voluntary!
Full Story HERE.
http://www.rightspeak.net/2011/01/president-obama-wants-national-id-card.html
Is this for real? Our honeybees have died out? Bats are gone too? Does it go along with the bird and fish deaths a couple weeks ago ? Is this Eu newspaper reliable? I just read about the voluntary internet ID..
Obama Orders Military To Prepare For Spring Food Riots
Jan 13th, 2011 Snips
A grim report prepared by France’s General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) obtained by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) states that president’s Obama and Sarkozy have “agreed in principal” to create a joint US-European military force to deal exclusively with a Global uprising expected this spring as our World runs out of food.
According to this report, Sarkozy, as head of the G-20 group of developed Nations, called for and received an emergency meeting with Obama this past Monday at the White House wherein he warned his American counterpart that the shock rise in food prices occurring due to an unprecedented series of disasters was threatening the stability of the entire World and could lead to the outbreak of Total Global War.
Just last week French Prime Minister Francois Fillon underlined that one of France’s top G-20 priorities was to find a collective response to “excessive volatility” in food prices now occurring, a statement joined by Philippe Chalmin, a top economic adviser to the French government, who warned the World may face social unrest including food riots in April as grain prices increase to unprecedented highs.
To how horrific the Global food situation will become this year was made even more grim this past month when the United States reported that nearly all of their honey bee and bumblebee populations have died out, and when coupled with the “mysterious” die-off of the entire bat population in America means that the two main pollinators of fruit and vegetable plants will no longer be able to do their jobs leading to crop losses this report warns will be “biblical and catastrophic”.
Chillingly to note is that after meeting with Sarkozy, Obama began implementing his Nation’s strategy for keeping the truth of this dire events from reaching the American people by ordering all US citizens to have an Internet ID so that they can be tracked and jailed should they begin telling the truth.
See Country by Country Disasters.
http://www.eutimes.net/2011/01/obama-orders-military-to-prepare-for-spring-food-riots/
Whoa — . I typed eutimes.net into the start page, came up with loads of frightening headlines. Try it to see what I’m talking about. And going to the eutimes.net frontpage isn’t much better.
Re the bees — the last few years I’ve heard some argue that a fungus or virus is responsible for the bee and bat deaths. Prior to the virus argument, I heard that cell phone wavelengths/cell phone towers were responsible for the bee deaths. In the past decade I’ve noticed fewer and fewer bees. What has struck me in particular the past five/ten years are the numerous dead bees found in the pool. I have no expertise re the subject but my instinct is that the cell phones/towers do interfere with the bees — if that is the case, I’m doubtful that it would be acknowledged. I should probably have done a quick research on the subject before typing this, but I have to do something else right now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee
Troubling indeed! I wonder if anyone else of you noticed that the Dr.’s first claimed that Gabby was shot in the back of the head from back to front. All of the news reports, reported this for at least the first day and then two experts were supposidely brought in and they said that no, she was shot from front to back. The story doesn’t work for Jarred if it’s back to front. Also, she voted against Pelosi. I bet she opened her eyes, because the sound of her voice sent chills down her spine.
http://www.eutimes.net/2011/01/top-us-federal-judge-assassinated-after-threat-to-obama-agenda/
Top US Federal Judge Assassinated After Threat To Obama Agenda
From – October 29, 2008 (Suggestion – a place to archive old articles)
October 29, 2008 6:00 A.M.
Obama’s ‘Redistributive Change’ and the Death of Freedom
Beware the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights.
There should no longer be any dispute that Barack Obama’s aim is to socialize the American economy — as he vaporously puts it, to bring about “redistributive change.” The real question is how he’ll go about it. Very likely, the answer lies in a potentially cataclysmic treaty that has gotten virtually no attention during the campaign: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
To rewind, Obama expressly endorsed “redistributive change” in a 2001 Chicago Public Radio interview. Lamenting that the Warren Court (the tribunal that spawned a revolution in criminals’ rights) “wasn’t that radical” after all, Obama sought to prove his point by citing the justices’ failure to take on “the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/226132/obamas-redistributive-change-and-death-freedom/andrew-c-mccarthy
There is no information re Obama’s administration’s view listed on Wiki. Read what they think of as “Rights” – sounds like the Progressives list of beliefs and “To Do’s.” This is Under the watchful eye of the UN ..and the US has not ratified it.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from January 3, 1976. It commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to individuals, including labour rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living
United States – Amnesty International writes that “The United States signed the Covenant in 1979 under the Carter administration but is not fully bound by it until it is ratified. For political reasons, the Carter administration did not push for the necessary review of the Covenant by the Senate, which must give its “advice and consent” before the US can ratify a treaty.
The Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations took the view that economic, social, and cultural rights were not really rights but merely desirable social goals and therefore should not be the object of binding treaties.
The Clinton Administration did not deny the nature of these rights but did not find it politically expedient to engage in a battle with Congress over the Covenant. The George W. Bush administration followed in line with the view of the previous Bush administration.” The Heritage Foundation, a critical conservative think tank, argues that signing it would obligate the introduction of policies that it opposes such as universal health care.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/International_Covenant_on_Economic,_Social_and_Cultural_Rights
This may have already been posted, if it was I missed it!
Honestly, is this not insanity!
U.S. aims to cut defense budget and slash troops
WASHINGTON | Fri Jan 7, 2011 1:05am EST
(Reuters) – The United States plans to cut $78 billion in defense spending over five years, including a reduction of up to 47,000 troops, in a politically contentious move that would trim the government’s growing budget deficit.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7053IR20110107
What a great shout out to our enemies! Gates already cut the defense budget previously. But to announce we are cutting 47,000 troops! I thought they were worried about retention of troops and maintaining the volunteer army..that is why they wanted the addition of the gays and allowing Mexicans a way to citizenship in the Dream Act ..wasn’t that what Harry Reid said? Now they want to reduce the number. Which way is it? Increase or Decrease? Are they saying that even their jobs aren’t safe?
No, I hadn’t seen it before.
Northwest ?
Where did you read that equipment was being moved? From where to where?
GOOD NEWS!!!
Rep. Issa’s House Panel Requests Homeland Security Documents
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/rep-issas-house-panel-requests-homeland-security-documents/
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee wants the Homeland Security Department to provide documents about a policy requiring political appointees to review many Freedom of Information Act requests before releasing them.
The request for e-mails and other documents is in a letter obtained Sunday by The Associated Press.
The request comes from the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Republican congressman Darrell Issa of California. It is one of the earliest moves by House Republicans who have vowed to launch numerous probes of President Barack Obama’s administration.
The Freedom of Information Act is supposed to ensure the quick public release of government documents without political consideration.
Oversight panel spokesman Frederick Hill says that documents the panel already has received seem inconsistent with comments by Homeland Security officials.
Oversight panel spokesman Frederick Hill says that documents the panel already has received seem inconsistent with comments by Homeland Security officials.
Good catch Kathy
This stuff makes me sick!
Why Did Sen. James Inhofe Propose an End-Run Around the Constitutional Eligibility Requirement for President?
WHAT WERE HE AND OTHERS THINKING?
Excellent and explosive letter. It will be interesting to see if Ms. Booth gets a response.
More importantly, it proves Senator Inhofe and his co-sponsors know the real meaning and requirements of the presidency as well as a definition of natural born citizen! Otherwise, why would he want to change the constitutional presidential requirement to only having one American (NBC) parent? A natural born citizen is one that has 2 American born or naturalized parents. Obama may have one citizen parent. This change that Inhofe suggested would not be retroactive to include Obama. I wonder how far his bill went. Did it die in committee..if so, which committee and who were the members who had to read it?
(108th Congress, 2nd Session S.2128.IS)
Kathy – I am moving this conversation over to a different thread so it doesn’t get lost in an open thread. I added more information and comments there.