600 Million Lose Power in India

A day after 370 million lost power, it was repaired, only for it to go down again on Tuesday.

This time an even larger amount of northern India was effected, as 600 million, or almost half the country, lost their power.

Service was restored, in most of the north east, by 21:30 local time.

Unfortunately, most of the east is still waiting for restoration.

India's transit network has been completely crippled by the blackouts as trains sit still on the tracks and traffic is near stagnant as well due to the lack of traffic lights.

Airports, hospitals, and other facilities have been running off of emergency power.

In some areas miners are trapped deep underground, with no way out til power is restored.

The government is urging people not to panic, and stating that the situation will be resolved soon.

Louisiana Teachers' Unions Suing To Keep Students

Is This Symbolic of What Teachers' Unions Want To Do To Keep Control of Your Kids & Your Tax Dollars?

After the not-so-heartwarming speech given by a Louisiana state legislator a few months ago, I made a statement about not seeing a desire to visit New Orleans or the rest of the state any time soon. My statements was a commentary about the attitude towards military veterans that some politicians in Louisiana openly expressed. Now emerges yet another reason to strike the state from my list of possible future residences.

The left loves its indoctrination programs. Many of their comprachicos that have infiltrated the government school system count on their positions to misinform your children. They then demagogue any action taken by their unions as "for the kids". In reality, those union demands rarely have anything to do with bettering the education of children or improving educational resources. They are meant to line the pockets of the union officials with a few extra pennies and benefits kicked over to teachers' union members while fleecing the tax-payers under lies of "it's for the kids". If you want a comparison, look at the average annual income of a pediatric nurse ($63,750) versus that of tenured comprachicos in cities such as Chicago ($75,800). The $12,050 a year difference (~$1,000 a month) in the average should startle you, especially given that teachers require less of an education and work fewer hours.

When states such as Indiana and Arizona passed education reform bills, citizens should have expected backlash from the socialists. Why? Well, those reforms, though they do redistribute wealth, don't do so in a manner that benefits the socialists' agendas. It does so to actually benefit the students. Indiana and Arizona both have voucher programs in place that do actually help the students. If the students live in a school zone that does not "make the grade", then the parents can exercise school choice. In doing so, they get a rebate of the amount of tax revenue earmarked for a student that is then transferred to whatever school the student ends up attending, even if it is a private school.

Bobby Jindal took a hard stance on instilling similar reforms in Louisiana. Like in Arizona, if the government school the student is zoned to attend does not meet  the state's standards, the child gets a voucher voucher voucher equal to his or her allotted tax revenue to defray the costs of a private, charter, or parochial school.

The comprachicos unions don't like this idea. They want to control the kids and what they are told in schools. They do not want kids to actually learn the facts, learn how to compete, and learn how to prosper. So, what is their response? They intend to sue any non-government school (non-public school) that receives funds from these vouchers. Yes, that is correct. They don't want those tax funds to go to the kids, they never did. They want those funds in their own pockets. Threatening to file these suits reduces down (using Occam's Razor) to simple acts of intimidation and extortion.

Another of the reasons behind the suits is that teachers (and the unions parasites that feed off of their work) fear the new "Value Added" evaluation system the state is set to employ. They fear that they will fall short, and the truth behind their efforts to indoctrinate instead of educate will be exposed. If they fall short, the legislation for the voucher programs then takes funding from their pockets and uses it towards actually educating kids. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers' (LFT) website is covered with propaganda that cannot stand up to actual empirical data analysis.

The new evaluation program revokes tenure for any teacher who falls into the bottom ten percent of the evaluation. What does this mean for unions? Well, it means fewer qualifying members. With fewer qualifying members, they have fewer people paying dues. Fewer dues means less profit for the union administrators and their lawyers.

Similar litigation has been filed, in Arizona, since the Brewer Administration decided to enforce federal laws and regulations that mandate that Arizona public school teachers pass English language comprehension and competency exams set at a SIXTH grade level. So, it again becomes obvious that teachers' unions care little for the students/kids. If they did, they would support such evaluation programs and standards requirements. No, they oppose those. So, they want low quality educators and comprachicos wasting your tax money and your kids' time in the classroom. Why? Again, the reason goes back to fleecing tax-payers for more cash to line union administrators' pockets. 

Then again, if the unions actually wanted more funding for education, they would oppose the practice of issuing lists of school supplies that are three to four times what your child will actually use. They do so with the intent of redistributing the supplies you bought to cover those parents who didn't buy supplies for their kids. If they actually wanted tax funds to go to improving education, then they would use the funds to provide supplies for all students and not ask any parent to buy any supplies. The additional supplies are "donated" (by force) so the unions can keep your tax money for themselves instead of using them as intended. No, they don't want those funds going to educational supplies. They want them for their pockets. They want parents to not only pay property and sales taxes to support education. They want parents to buy supplies for their kids as well as two to three others in addition to paying those taxes. When you see your child needs five boxes of Crayola Crayons, 64-Count, Standard Size, buy two. When they ask for four packs of Woodcase #2 Pencils, 72/pk buy two. Keep one at home for when your kid runs out.

Imagine if you were a parent in Baton Rouge. Now imagine that you dislike the public school system there. Say you and your spouse both have graduate degrees. Let us say that the closest parochial schools are religious in nature but not the same religious sect as you. So, you decide to home school. Well, the next logical step with the comprachicos' unions would be to sue parents who take the tax rebates and have the audacity to actually spend them on educational materials for their own kids! Expect it. The LFT doesn't want parents to have liberty or choice. They want to rule over your kids. They think parents are ignorant and incompetent. the unions oppose competition and capitalism. They want to take your money while providing nothing. They also want the chicks (kids' minds and free wills) for free.

Like the legislator in Louisiana did a few months ago in openly displaying how the left despises those who served and fought to support and defend the US Constitution (which they loathe); the so-called "educators" in Louisiana deftly tipped their hands to reveal their true nature when it comes to education. It is more than obvious, the last thing teachers' unions give a sniff about is your kids.



Original Article on Mental Aikido: Teachers Union Will Sue If They Can't Have Your Kids

Erase Him From History

If you've watched or read the news recently, you've heard his name and seen his face.

Ten days ago he walked into a movie theater, went out a fire exit, then came back in firing guns as he went. A total of thirteen lost their lives because of him, and fifty-eight more were wounded.

One of his motivations for doing so, was so that his name would be remembered. Basically he wanted a form of glory. A sick twisted form, but one none the less.

What would you do if you could take that from him? Would you do something simple if you could take his evil joy from him? It really is a simple answer, and one that everyone can do with ease. All we have to do is never say his name, never show his picture.

That's my challenge to each and every one of you. Refuse to mention, acknowledge, or remember his person. Refer to him as the shooter, the perpetrator, or whatever you want, but remove his name from everything.

By no means forget what he did, the victims of his evil deserve to be remembered for who they were, what they did. Their message must continue.

But imagine a world where when a tragedy is perpetrated by some evil person, they end up forgotten. Too often mass murderers end up the only one remembered, in the long run.

The time has come to end that. Let's make it so that from now on anyone who commits such acts, will know that they will be the ones forgotten. Remove any and all glory from such acts. Fight evil, by not allowing it to have a name or face.

Don't just take this as a personal challenge. Make it happen in yourself, and then challenge the people and organizations you know, to do so as well.

Yes, remember the loss, the sorrow, the tragedy. But erase from history any who carry out the acts of evil.

370 Million Lose Power

370 million people have lost their electricity in northern India.

Eight states are affected by the outage, which is expected to take at least twelve hours to repair.

Power is out in several major cities, and the nation's transit system is down, stranding thousands of commuters.

Government officials blame it on people drawing more power than they are allowed to have.

The sheer amount of demand overloaded the system, causing it to shut down.

Remembering: In God We Trust

July 30, 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a law that officially declares "In God We Trust" to be the natomal motto for the United States.

The bill also added it to the back of paper money. Coins had held the phrase since the time of the civil war.

Ike and others had campaigned for two years to see it become official.

  "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."

Some felt that it was an abridgement of separation of church and state, but defenders of the phrase point out that it does not recognize any single religion.

Second Highest Tornado Ever

Drivers on Saturday captured images of a tornado near the top of Mt. Evans.

The tornado is estimated to have touched down at about 11,900 feet, on the Colorado mountain.

That height makes it the second highest recorded tornado, in history.

In 2004, a tornado was recorded on California's Sequoia National Park over Rockwell Pass, with an altitude of more than 12,000 feet.


Mountain tornadoes aren't as common as ones on the plains, but they are spotted every few years.


No one was hurt, and no real damage was done by this twister.


It did however give the witnesses quite a thrill.

Anti Nuke Protests in Tokyo

Sunday, in Tokyo, thousands marched through the streets in protest.

The peaceful march ended with a candle light rally outside of The Diet building.

They were protesting to demand that all nuclear power be banned.

Earlier this month two reactors were restarted.

All fifty reactors, in Japan, were turned off in May for full checks, after the multiple meltdowns that occurred at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Fukushima Daiichi's issues were caused by last year's tsunami.

Basescu Likely to Hold Power

Romanian President Traian Basescu may manage to hold onto power, despite being massively unpopular.

Sunday saw Romanians head to polls in his impeachment referendum, but due to low turn out the vote might not make it.

Basescu asked his supporters to boycott the recall, and that move may be what saves him, as laws require that the vote be made by at least fifty percent of eligible voters.

It is the second time, within five years, that Romanians have had a vote on whether or not to impeach Basescu.

Parliament is dominated by allies of Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who has made it a personal goal to oust the President.

Ponta, and others, have stated that Basescu's time in office has shown that he is unfit for the position.

A lot of the unhappiness with the President is based upon austerity measures that were put in place, in order to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Under the austerity measures, wages were cut by one fourth and sales tax was raise to twenty-four percent.

The last two Prime Ministers were victims of the austerity measures unpopularity, and Ponta has done everything he can to not be seen as part of them.

Mazda Recalls 217,500 Tributes

Mazda has announced a recall of 217,500 Tributes.

Tributes made from 2001-2008, that have the 3.0 liter V6 engine, are subject to the recall.

A manufacturer error has led to the possibility of sticky gas pedals.

If the gas pedal sticks whilst driving, it would lead to unintended acceleration, and an inability to brake or slow the car.

No injuries or deaths have been reported due to this issue, the company is trying to take care of the possible problem before any incidents occur.

Colorado Shooting Claims 13th Victim

The shooting which occurred last Friday, in Aurora, Colorado, claimed it's thirteenth victim Saturday.

Ashley Moser, who is twenty-five, has been in the hospital in critical condition since the shooting occurred, after she was shot multiple times including one to the stomach.

While undergoing surgery, Saturday morning, Moser miscarried, losing her unborn child, the thirteenth victim of the shooting.

Moser's daughter Veronica, who was six, was among those killed by the shooter.

Funeral arrangements are still pending for Veronica, who was the youngest victim.

Their family released a statement Saturday evening saying,

"We want to send a special thank you to the courageous HEROES of law enforcement, other first responders, paramedics, and doctors and nurses who have all gone beyond the call-of-duty in caring for our daughter, granddaughter and all of the other victims of this tragic event.
"Our sincere appreciation goes out to all of those who have been sending well-wishes, prayers and good thoughts to Ashley. Her lifetime of care will be a long road. For those who wish to donate, please go to any Wells Fargo Bank and request the 'Donation Account for Ashley and Veronica Moser.' This is the only official donation account for the family."

Flooding Kills Nearly 100 North Koreans

Flooding in North Korea has now killed at least eighty-eight people.

Tens of thousands have been left homeless and more than  75,000 acres have been devastated by the floods, which began on July 18.

Much of the area, that has been so hammered, is North Korea's farmland.

The country already struggles to feed it's twenty-four million people, and this disaster will only guarantee that even more will starve.

Threat of disease is also at a very heightened state, due to the floods.

North Korea has repeatedly rejected and broken deals that would bring in food and medical supplies from other countries, in exchange for dismantling it's nuclear and long range missile programs.

Venezuela's Ambassador to Kenya, Murdered

Venezuela's ambassador to Kenya was found dead Friday, in her official residence.

Kenyan police say she was strangled, and are conducting a full investigation as they search for the murderer.

Olga Fonseca Gimenez, had been ambassador for less than two weeks.

The Venezuelan government has expressed it's total faith in the ability of the Kenyan investigators.

Gerardo Carillo-Silva, the previous ambassador, fled Kenya after being accused of sexual harassment by at least three male employees, who worked at his residence.

Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been considering asking Venezuela to waive his diplomatic immunity, when he fled.

Gimenez had apparently been demanding that the workers withdraw their complaints or be fired.

Man Shoots Waitress With Flare Gun

A man in Southwest Dade, Florida walked into El Eden Restaurant, where his ex girlfriend works.

He ordered a beer, and then demanded that she pay for it.

When she refused, he left, going outside to his vehicle.

A few minutes later he returned with paint thinner and a flare gun.

The man then threw the flammable liquid on her, and then fired two shots from the gun.

The first shot missed her and hit a drink cooler, the second grazed her elbow and the stomach.

As she collapsed, he fled, to later be caught by police at a nearby flea market.

The woman was taken to the hospital where she received a couple stitches and was treated for minor burns.

Fine Dining For Canines

There's a new trend amongst five star restaurants.

From California to Washington DC various fine dining locations are offering meals for your dogs.

Some offer cheaper priced dishes without the sides, for your pet pal.

Others have special menus for their canine guests.

Restaurants report that they are making up to a fifth of their income off of canine meals.

Pet owners enjoy the ability to bring their dogs with them as they enjoy a relaxing meal or have a business meeting.

Locations that offer doggie meals are required to have a spot for the dogs to take care of their business after the meal, and some even have private entrances for them.

Nearly every major city in the US actually has at least one restaurant that allows dogs to join.

So don't be surprised if you see this happening near you.

Hyundai Recalling 225,000 Vehicles

Hyundai has joined the chain of recent recalls, as nearly 225,000 of their vehicles are now being recalled.

199,118 Santa Fe 2007 and 2009s are being called in due to an issue that keeps airbags from deploying.

22,512 Sonatas from 2012 and 2013 are also being recalled, they have the opposite problem, with airbags deploying at random times, when not needed.

Owners with questions regarding either recall can reach Hyundai at 800-633-5151.

North Eastern US Storms Kill Two

Two people were killed Thursday, when storms struck much of the north eastern US.

Tornadoes were confirmed at Elmira, New York and Montrose, Pennsylvania.

Buildings were damaged and trees were uprooted in at least a dozen states, by strong winds.

Thousands of lightning strikes accompanied the damage.

More than one hundred and thirty thousand people lost power throughout the region, most of which had been restored by Friday evening.

Protests Turn Violent in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian police arrested "trouble makers" in Qatif City, on Friday.

Around three hundred Shi'ite marched through the city for nearly three hours, complaining of neglect and discrimination from the Sunni government.

When the protestors began blocking roads, police were called out.

The protestors reacted to the police presence by throwing Molotov cocktails, to which the police responded to by opening fire.

Fourteen protestors were injured, and an unknown number were arrested.

One of the injured and arrested was Mohamed al-Shakhouri, one of the country's most wanted.

Drought Stricken US Will Face Increased Food Costs

Not since 1956 has drought been such an issue for the US, and it does not look to be ending, any time soon.

Two thirds of the continental US is now covered by the intensifying drought, which has only been a few months long. Normally it takes years of drought to reach this stage of drought.

Several US states have now reached the worst level of drought possible, on the US Drought Monitor's charts. Practically everywhere between Ohio in the east and California in the west is in a drought situation.

Crops throughout the effected areas are dying, which will lead to a very noticeable increase in costs for most grain products. Dairy, poultry, and meat products will also see increases, due to the increased costs that the farmers and ranchers will have to pay for feed.

Some also fear that the drought could lead to food shortages. They point out examples where the US government has paid farmers to destroy their own crops, instead of selling them.

McKesson Corp Settles With States

Twenty-nine states won their lawsuit against the McKesson Corp, on Friday.

McKesson Corp had been accused of over charging for medicaid prescriptions from 2001-2009.

The states settled for a total of $151 million dollars from the San Fransisco company.

In April, the federal government settled it's own lawsuit against McKesson Corp, for $187 million.

Kris Fortner, Mckesson Corp's spokesman, said that the claims had no basis, but that settling was "in the best interest of our employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders."

Run on Guns -- Firearms Frenzy of 2012

It's all over headlines this morning. The Drudge reports that firearms sales have, again, spiked. Speculations on why bring up multiple reasons. Those purchasing firearms in the recent frenzy will state any of these reasons for their decision to purchase now.

One of the largest reasons for the frenzy rests in the current UN conference regarding the ATT Small Arms Treaty I discussed in an earlier article. The conference ends on Friday July 27, 2012. Americans fear that Obama, Clinton, and their minions in the Senate will push for ratification of this intrusive treaty that will circumvent the constitutionally protected Second Amendment right to own and carry weapons.

Leading up to this treaty are several other events the left is attempting to use as excuses to infringe upon those rights. The most recent is the tragedy in Aurora Colorado when one unstable lunatic went on a shooting rampage during a showing of the most recent Dark Knight movie.

That event spurs new gun sales from two directions. First, Americans understand the ban on Ex Post Facto laws, meaning that if made illegal, the government is not allowed to "grandfather" the law making those already legally owned illegal. So Americans are rushing to purchase weapons before they are made illegal. The second motivation generated by this event is people purchasing concealable firearms and registering for classes necessary to apply for concealed carry permits in those states that unconstitutionally infringe upon the right to carry by requiring a permit to do so. The reason is simple. Had somebody been legally carrying a concealed firearm in the theater that morning, they could have, possibly, shot the madman before he harmed that many people.

Another event, or series of events, revolves around the unethical (and illegal) Operation Fast and Furious conducted by the ATF, ICE, and the Department of Justice under the corrupt Eric Holder. When the operation went south and Border Patrol SRT agent Brian Terry was murdered by weapons supplied by this operation, anti-gun activists circled the wagons and decided to demagogue the crime facilitated by Eric Holder's people as reasons to ban firearms or, at least, make acquiring firearms a more difficult task.

Of course, people, such as Obama and Clinton, who wish to disarm law-abiding citizens, falsely use these events as excuses to push for ratification of the UN ATT & Small Arms Treaty, which is part of the Agenda 21 compilation of UN intrusions upon national sovereignty.

Other reasons for the frenzy include current speculation that a certain patent will be made available for public use. That patent involves what is called "micro-imprinting". A few years ago, rumors of micro-stamped or micro-imprinted ammunition caused a run on bullet sales. However, those stockpiling ammunition for this reason did not understand the technology. The rounds and their casings are not imprinted at the factories. The chambers and firing pins of the firearms are imprinted. Small identification codes are placed on the chambers and firing pins. When the weapons are fired, these imprints leave a unique identification code on the brass and the primer cap. When combined with the unique striations caused by the bullet traveling down the barrel can lead to quicker and more conclusive evidence tying a specific weapon to a specific crime. However, very few weapons current available for sale do not employ this technology. Should laws mandate its use on future sales, the weapons sold today are, again, protected from Ex Post Facto laws. Therein lies another reason for the frenzy -- to purchase weapons that are not micro-stamped.

Some politicians are attempting to block a reform bill that protects the rights of veterans. For a non-veteran, it currently takes a court order declaring the citizen unfit for the citizen to be reported to the FBI database that restricts firearms purchases. However, if a veteran has problems budgeting or paying bills on time, the VA can declare the veteran unable to handle his/her personal affairs. In attempts to "protect" the veteran from things such as bankruptcy or homelessness, the VA appoints somebody to manage the veteran's affairs. In doing so, the veteran automatically gets reported to the FBI's database, without a court order, and without any legal actions against them. So, without a hearing or trial, the veterans lose the very Second Amendment rights they swore to support and defend. Some among Second Amendment supporters see the move to block the bill that requires a court order to strip veterans' rights as a form of US Constitution opponents telegraphing a desire to strip any American of the right without a court order or legal action.

Historically, the previous Democratic presidents since the 1970s have supported stricter gun laws. Second Amendment supporters look up and see an axe hanging over their head. The axe is supported by a thin hair. They are just waiting for that hair to give way and drop the axe on their gun rights. So far, Obama has not, yet, instituted any additional Second Amendment infringements. However, if re-elected, he will not have the necessity to appease potential voters stopping him from becoming far more extreme in his socialist agenda. That socialist agenda also includes convincing the average American to disarm, giving up the protection from a militia employed by a tyrant that the Second Amendment is designed to safeguard. Obama is already starting to demagogue for such legislation, executive orders,  or fiat policy in the wake if the Aurora, Colorado incident.

Look at Nanny-Mayor Bloomberg of New York City. He wants Law Enforcement Officers around the country to go strike until Americans are disarmed.

One final reason for the current firearm purchasing frenzy is simple. People see taxes are going to rise if more tax and spend politicians are elected. If firearms are allowed to be considered luxuries and vices as opposed to necessities for self defense, then excise taxes on firearms and ammunition are bound to rise. They are bound to be added to help pay for the execution of the PPACA, among other government programs that overstep constitutionally allowed federal authority.

However, those of you jumping into the frenzy, let me give you a few words of advice. First, the frenzy may cause a supply shortage and drive up prices due to the laws of supply and demand. Waiting a few months may actually allow the prices to stabilize back to normal.

Second, there are many instances where a firearm won't protect you. Anybody with a yellow belt or better in one of the more common martial arts knows that within ten feet (three yards or so), a firearm can be avoided. At that range, you are better off knowing hand to hand defense techniques than trying to pull your Glock. In fact, pulling one within that range stands a sixty percent chance of being used against you by your assailant.

Third, take a class or two. Taking hand to hand techniques will add to your self-defense toolbox. However, there are other necessary classes. Most concealed carry classes teach you federal and state laws on escalation of force and self-defense laws. Not knowing these laws is not an excuse if you violate them. Other classes you may want to take are on negotiation techniques, crisis management, anger management, conflict resolution, and similar. Simply put, working out a solution where nobody gets killed is far better than one where such is necessary. The classes won't guarantee such instances don't occur. However, they do give you tools that may help to keep situations from escalating to that point.

Since the possibility will still exist, take classes in marksmanship, shoot/don't shoot training, and quick draw techniques. If you must shoot, it is better to shoot two to three well aimed shots that hit your target, rather than six to seven in your target's general direction that result in a single hit. In addition, those six to seven quasi aimed shots stand a chance of hitting an innocent bystander, even if they do penetrate the target first. Practice these. Safe and effective practice equipment such as the ASP 07302 Red Training Gun Glock 9mm/40 are great.

My final piece of advice is the simplest. Be a law-abiding and polite American. Enjoy the freedoms of our country. Do not let those who detest the US Constitution take away the protections it provides or the limitations upon federal government it intends/dictates.

Originally post: Mental Aikido: Firearms Frenzy of 2012

The Insufferable Left Wing Crusade Against Chick-Fil-A

I'm shocked at Chick-fil-A. They advocate for a traditional family unit as described in the Bible. This is very controversial, and marginalizing their bases of operation is critical in stopping bigotry and would be a critical victory for the gay rights movement.

That's literally what liberals think about this whole kerfuffle surrounding what Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A, said about the company's stance on gay marriage. After a report was released by Equality Matters, a branch of the liberal Media Matters for America, the contents revealed that "Chick-fil-A donated more than $3 million between 2003 and 2009 to Christian groups that oppose homosexuality. In 2010 alone, the company gave nearly $2 million to such causes, according to the report."

Wow! People who are opposed to homosexuality and gay marriage. I'm shocked. Yet, I'm not convinced that Dan Cathy said anything that could be classified as anti-gay.
As reported in the LA Times:

Chick-fil-A is very much supportive of the family, according to Dan Cathy, president of the popular fast food chain. That is, the biblical definition of the family unit, he said. And that doesn’t include Adam and Steve, suggests Cathy, whose father S. Truett Cathy founded the Atlanta-based company. In a new interview with Baptist Press, Cathy puts on the record what critics say his company’s actions have indicated for years. Well, guilty as charged, he said in the interview when asked about Chick-fil-A’s backing of families led by a man and a woman. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives,” Cathy said. The chain, according to the report, has 1,608 restaurants, sales of more than $4 billion and employees who are trained to focus on values rooted in the Bible. Chick-fil-A's across the country shut down on Sundays. We don’t claim to be a Christian business," Cathy said. But as an organization we can operate on biblical principles.

I didn't hear any epithets or anti-gay rehtoric. All I heard was that Mr. Cathy and the company he works for doesn't support gay marriage. There is a difference.

Well, this has set off the biggest left wing overreaction  that I haven't seen in a long time and it's downright hilarious as it is disturbing. Apparently, Big Bird lobbied heavily to get The Muppets to cut ties with the company and donate all their proceeds to GLAAD.  It's sad to see a great cornerstone in children's entertainment become so easily swayed by the nonsense spewed by left wing activists.  They've whored themselves out to the radical left and I blame Swedish Chef for not being vocal enough in stopping this inane move by the Jim Henson Company. I personally feel that Mr. Snaffalupagus should have curb stomped Bird Bird.  We all know he was a closet liberal.

Public Enemy #1...if you're a liberal

However, more politicians are getting their panties in a bunch over this.  As Chicago is drowning in its own blood, Mayor Rahm Emanuel decided to put a hold on everything and declare war on chicken sandwiches. In fact, "he said the comments disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents, and therefore building the restaurant in Chicago would be a bad investment, since it would be empty." Have you had their sandwiches Mr. Mayor? They're F-ing delicious!

In Boston, which is known for their tolerance since the city desegregated their schools in the 1970s, Mayor Menino "sent a letter to Chick-Fil-A’s President Dan Cathy. In the letter Menino calls out Cathy for his prejudiced statements against same-sex marriage and said that having a branch of the restaurant chain across from City Hall would be an insult."

Menino got the Human Rights Campaign slobbering all over him in their statement:

We applaud Mayor Menino for calling out Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBT practices. We have been asking people to make their own decisions about whether to continue supporting Chick-fil-A based on the facts available, and Mayor Menino has done just that. Mayor Menino’s rebuke of Chick-fil-A sends a strong messages that their habit of supporting hateful organizations that demonize LGBT Americans are out-of-step with not just Bostonians, but the majority of fair-minded Americans. Chick-fil-A is on the wrong side of history, and we look forward to seeing more and more elected officials and businesses speak out against their discriminatory practices.

So will HRC condemn Mayor Emanuel's public embrace of Louis Farrakahn? As Kyle Becker of the Independent Journal posted today: The Weekly Standard reports, Farrakhan was careful to couch his opposition to gay marriage as 'not homophobic':

"Males coming to males with lust in their hearts as they should to a female," he said. "Now don’t you dare say Farrakhan was preaching hate; he's homophobic. I’m not afraid of my brothers and sisters or others who may be practicing what God condemned in the days of Lot. That’s not our job to be hateful of our people. Our job is to call us to sanity." Farrakhan goes on to call out clergy who support gay marriage, saying they are placing society’s needs over God’s. "Is this the book that you believe in, but now you('re) backing down from an aspect of it because people will get offended?" he asked."

Nothing Mr. Cathy said was anti-gay. Again, he's for traditional marriage, which half the country supports. It's not controversial. Some people are simply against gay marriage and the Left needs to get over it.

However, I'm glad to see that some liberals are noticing that this isn't the right battle. Adam Serwer of Mother Jones stated: Menino and Moreno have it wrong. Blocking construction of Chick-fil-a restaurants over Cathy's views is a violation of Cathy's First Amendment rights. Boston and Chicago have no more right to stop construction of Chick-fil-As based on an executive's anti-gay views than New York City would have had the right to block construction of an Islamic community center blocks away from Ground Zero. The government blocking a business from opening based on the owner's political views is a clear threat to everyone's freedom of speech being unpopular doesn't mean you don't have rights. While we may disagree concerning the Ground Zero Mosque, Serwer hits it on the head concerning the threat this could pose to our  First Amendment rights. It's also anti-capitalist.

This Chick-Fil-A "controversy" is a convenient smoke screen initiated by the left to hide the president's record since they're running out of excuses. While I plan to attend National Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day on August 1st, I will take pleasure as I sink my teeth into that chicken sandwich knowing that the Olympics will overshadow this trivial episode in American politics.

And the Idicoy of Greed Begins

It hasn't even been a week since the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Most of the memorial services, for the twelve who died, haven't taken place.

Yet, one eighteen year old that was there, but who wasn't even injured in the shooting, is already placing law suits.

Torrence Brown Jr., and his family, are suing Century 16 theater in Aurora, the shooter's doctors, and Warner Brothers studios. O, and they've taken an "exclusive contract" to sell his story, for an unknown amount of money, with Entertainment Tonight.

Their lawsuit claims  that the movie theater "was negligent" in not alarming or guarding its emergency door, that the shooter's doctors didn't correctly monitor the shooter after prescribing him prescription drugs, and that the Warner Brothers' film, "The Dark Knight Rises", was what gave the shooter the idea for the attack.

I'll give them a little leeway on the charge against the theater, that is odd that it wasn't alarmed.

However, suing the doctors is dumb, that's what doctors do. They prescribe drugs, and then say see me again in so many days.

Suing the studio is just plain idiocy and greed. Lots of movies have violence. As do many video games and music. Unless you're going to start suing everyone who has ever made or said anything violent, there should be no way for this to actually get anywhere.

Sadly, we live in the kind of world where events like this can happen. Evil people will commit atrocities. And greedy idiots will sue others over whatever they can think of. Instead of learning from the event, and trying to better the world we live in, they only think of what they personally can gain.

Ford Recalling 486,000 More Escapes

In what is getting to be a familiar story, Ford is recalling Escapes.

Ten days ago a recall was announced for the 2013 model, and then seven days ago more were recalled, for a different problem.

This time it's 486,000 vehicles from 2001-2004 that have the 3 liter V 6 engine.

Investigators looking into the death of an Arizona teen, discovered that the vehicles' speed controls cables can become stuck on an engine cover, when the gas pedal is nearly fully pushed down.

When the cable gets stuck there's no way to slow the car down, as it over rules the brake pedal.

Dierks Bentley Announces New EP

Dierks Bentley is breaking with tradition again, this time putting out an EP album, whilst his last album is still generating chart toppers.

His full length album, "Home", came out earlier this year, and just grabbed it's third number one song, with  "5-1-5-0", the tenth of his career.

Bentley says the goal of the EP is to get kids, who wouldn't normally listen to country, interested in the genre with a completely fun group of songs.

He and his band took two days and wrote the songs for the EP, whilst on tour promoting "Home".

The four song EP, "Country & Cold Cans", is due out August 21.

Philippine Troops Battle Rebels

A firefight between the Philippine army and rebels, cost eight soldiers and four rebels their lives, on Thursday.

Major General Ricardo Rainier Cruz said that reinforcements were deployed as fighting continued.

Army troops launched the attack on an Abu Sayyaf camp, within hours of it being located.

The army had been looking for the camp, since it launched a raid that killed several farmers in Sumisip, two weeks ago.

Abu Sayyaf, a branch of Al Qaeda, has been linked to many of the most violent and deadly attacks, in the Philippines, over the last couple decades.

Olympic Blunder

The 2012 London Olympics haven't even officially started, yet there has already been controversy.

During the first day of women's football (soccer) North Korea and Colombia were set to play.

As the players were introduced, it quickly became apparent that the maker of the introduction video had screwed up.

Instead of the North Korean flag being seen with the country's players, the video showed South Korea's flag.

North Korea's team walked off the field, and only returned over an hour later, when the issue had been corrected.

Olympic and English officials, all the way up to Prime Minister Cameron, have apologized for the blunder.

Christian Science Monitor Bashes Romney for 'Racist' Ads Using... Racial Stereotypes?!

Some liberals would have you believe that just because you can't see it on the surface, Mitt Romney's campaign ads are brimming with racism. What's funny about this analysis, if you could call it one, is that it seeks to combat racism by being racist. It's like the Voter ID narrative the left is pushing in the media. Liberals feel that blacks and minorities are incapable to obtaining a non-driving government issued ID, yet conservatives are the racist ones.

Witness a July 23 column published at the Christian Science Monitor website by Charlton McIlwain and Stephen M, Caliendo in which our helpful liberal guides explain that, "in the presidential election, it’s not a matter of whether racism will appear in campaign messaging, but when":

President Obama is running for reelection with the support of the majority of black and Latino voters. Mitt Romney is challenging Mr. Obama with an almost exclusively white constituency behind him... A crucial question is: How will we know when pro-Romney ads are potentially racist? It’s not always so easy to recognize."

Perhaps the reason could be there hasn't been a scintilla of racism in this campaign. Ah, but no, Caliendo and McIlwain insist, going on to give five ways you can discern if Romney's ads are in fact racist. Caliendo and McIlwain claim that "A recent ad from the Romney campaign, for instance, has the effect of presenting the untrustworthiness stereotype, calling Obama's statements "not true", and "misleading". Then the ad goes a step beyond, by saying, "but that's Barack Obama", that is, the kind of person who misleads and says things that are not true".

They explain that "charges of criminality, untrustworthiness, and the like are standard attacks on white candidates, there is no stereotype associating whites, as a group, with criminality, untrustworthiness, freeloading, or laziness, so the potential effect is not the same". You're right. It's not a stereotype. It's an actual fact within the human condition that transcends all races, creeds, and ethnicities. What's more, politicians, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, and anyone else standing for office is going to be critiqued on their honesty and trustworthiness. It goes with the territory of being a politician.

Caliendo and McIlwain also claim "in the same ad mentioned in question No. 1, while featuring the image of a smiling Obama, the announcer says, he also attacked Hillary Clinton with vicious lies." This provides the opportunity to make the association: Obama, who is black, with "lying", not to mention the descriptors "attacked" and "viciousness", which also conjure the association with stereotypes of black aggression".

Yeah, I'm sure the typical American family, who is suffering economically, doesn't care that such words are falsely associated with "black aggression".  Does anyone know what that means? And what about Obama's attack on Romney for being a felon?  That's a strong attack, but not racist because "there is no historical association between whites – as a group – and criminality. That association is present with respect to blacks, however. Thus, the message functions as a stereotype, not merely a criticism of one individual".  Yes, you read that. When you think black guy, you think criminal, the columnists write, and yet it's Romney who is supposedly the racist!

CSM also has a problem with the people featured in Romney's ads because they're all white. Apparently, "having people surrounding a candidate in a political ad sends the message that those people are whom the candidate ostensibly represents. Featuring an all-white cast of supporters alongside a white candidate makes an inherent critical contrast. It says that "we" whites, represented by Mitt Romney, are different than "those" people."  So if Obama had only non-white rally goers in his ads, would that be called diversity?

The inanity goes on and on about how to spot "us" vs. "them" dichotomies and where the ad is being disseminated. This is critical because then we can get a sense as to what demographic is being targeted. It's totally top secret. However, CSM admits that "determining the audience for an ad run in presidential contests can be complicated (we rarely know where an ad is being run)". So then, why speculate when if the criteria is de minimis at best.

However, "were the ad mentioned earlier ("we good and decent Americas") aired in a place like Iowa, "us" in the ad could likely be interpreted by viewers – consciously or not – as "whites" in a racial context, given that the vast majority of the population there is white. 
 
Clearly, this racist anti-racist analysis of how Romney could be surreptitiously using race to win the election is beyond absurd.

Hospitals to Waive Bills of Shooting Victims

Children's Hospital of Colorado has announced that it will cover all costs of medical treatment for the victims of Friday's shooting.

The hospital will completely cover the uninsured victims, and will cover all co pays for those who are insured.

HealthOne, which owns the Medical Center of Aurora and Swedish Medical Center, followed with their own announcement.


They will be limiting or completely covering all costs for the victims that they treated, depending on the individual's situation.


Victims face a long recovery after the initial medical treatment.


Various charities have started taking money for the victims, and over two million dollars has been raised already.

On Thursday, Parker Adventist Hospital joined them by pledging to cover all costs not covered by insurance.

Denver Health pledged to pay seventy percent of costs that insurance didn't cover.

Does Research and Statistics Support Gun Control?

Author’s note: I reached out to a respected expert on gun control statistics, Dr. Gary Kleck, professor of criminology at Florida State University. He was kind enough to send me The Great American Gun Debate: What Research Has to Say from The Criminal Justice System, 10th edition, Edited by George F. Cole and Marc G. Gertz. Wadsworth. (Published January 2012), I highly recommend reading it. He also sent me a copy of National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 60, Number 3 which is the final report for 2009 which he says “provides the most recent final mortality data, showing numbers of deaths from all causes, with separate counts for gun deaths.”

In the wake of the Colorado theater shootings, many people have called for stricter gun control laws, while others stand by the second amendment right to own and possess guns. Those who want stricter control believe it will prevent deaths, many gun advocates state guns help prevent injury and death. I was interested to find out more information in two areas, the first being the comparison of guns used for violence versus gun use for protection and secondly, mortality rates related to gunshot wounds as compared to mortality rates by other mechanisms.

"Perhaps what is most striking about the patterns of gun ownership in the US is that ownership is generally highest in those groups where violence is lowest." (Kleck 1997, Chapter 3). "It is well known that guns are used in many violent crimes in the US. [However] The best available evidence indicates that guns are used by victims in self-protection considerably more often than crimes are committed by offenders using guns. For example, victims used guns defensively about 2.0-2.5 million times in 1993, compared to fewer than 600,000 violent crimes committed by offenders with guns (Kleck and Gertz 1995)."

"Defensive gun use is effective in preventing injury to the victim and property loss. Research based on interviews with large nationally representative samples of crime victims consistently indicates that those who use guns during crime incidents are less likely to be injured or lose property than those who either adopt other resistance strategies or do not resist at all. These effects are usually produced without shooting the gun or wounding a criminal - only 24 per cent of gun defenders even fired the gun (including warning shots), only l6 per cent tried to shoot the perpetrator, and at most 8 per cent wounded the offender (evidence summarized in Kleck and Kates 2001, Chapter 7)."

"There is also evidence indicating that some criminals may be deterred from making some criminal attempts in the first place by the prospect of victim gun use against them. Criminals interviewed in prison indicate that they have refrained from committing crimes because they believed a potential victim might have a gun, and crime rates have dropped substantially after highly publicized instances of prospective victims arming themselves or being trained in gun use, or victims using guns against criminals. (research summarized in Kleck and Kates 2001, Chapter 7)."

Information I had not even considered, "that when criminal aggressors possess guns in a crime incident, they are substantially less likely to attack and injure their victims in the first place. At least nineteen studies have found that offenders possessing guns are less likely to injure their victims than offenders with other weapons or no weapons. The explanation appears to be that possession of a lethal weapon enables aggressors to intimidate victims without actually attacking them, in crimes where the offender’s goal is not to kill the victim." Kleck 2011

Many gun control proponents state that having stricter gun control laws that restrict who can purchase guns will prevent criminals from obtaining guns. Studies show that most criminals do not obtain their guns from a conventional retail dealer of guns.

Eight four percent, of 943 felon handgun owners surveyed,
did not purchase the gun from a conventional retailer.

Another question that has surfaced is: why do people focus more on gun injury related deaths? Why guns when more people have died from poisoning and motor vehicle accidents individually and followed closely by falls? There are restrictions on some types of poisons, but that didn’t prevent 41,592 deaths by poison in 2009. There are even less restrictions on motor vehicles which caused 34,485 deaths in 2009. Both of these cause more deaths than guns. All of these can be used by in the commission of murder.

According to: National Vital Statistics Reports Volume 60, Number 3 December 29, 2011Deaths: Final Data for 2009 (Table 18) in 2009, a total of 177,154 deaths were classified as injury related Four major mechanisms of injury in 2009— poisoning, motor-vehicle traffic, firearm, and fall— accounted for 75.1 percent of all injury deaths.

Mechanism	Number of Deaths 2009	Percentage
Poisoning	41,592	23.5%
Motor-vehicle traffic	34,485	19.5%
Firearm	31,347	17.7 %
Fall	25,562	14.4 %

Why then are guns singled out as needing restriction or banned? Could it be, perhaps, a matter of politics? Though there are gun proponents and gun control advocates on both ends of the political spectrum, it seems as though it is mostly the liberals and progressives that want gun control and the conservatives and moderates that defend the second Amendment right to bear arms. That this topic has become entrenched in people’s political belief system, it is difficult, but not impossible, for people’s minds to be changed on the topic of gun control.

Research shows that gun control will not help prevent gun related crimes, nor will it prevent people from obtaining guns. In fact, stricter gun control would cause an increase in crime, increase gun related crime, and victim injury/death.

Thank you Dr. Kleck!

REFERENCES: 

Kleck, Gary. 1997. Targeting Guns: Firearms and their Control. N.Y.: Aldine de Gruyter.

Kleck, Gary, and Marc Gertz. 1995. “Armed resistance to crime: the prevalence and nature of self-defense with a gun.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 86:150-187.

Kleck, Gary, and Don B. Kates. 2001. Armed: New Perspectives on Gun Control. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.

Additional Reading:

· Archer, Dane, and Rosemary Gartner. 1984. Violence and Crime in Cross-National Perspective. New Haven: Yale University Press.

· Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 2011. Information available at Brady website at http://www.bradycampaign.org/stategunlaws/ .

· Britt, Chester, III, Gary Kleck, and David J. Bordua. 1996a. “A reassessment of the D.C. gun law: some cautionary notes on the use of interrupted time series designs for policy impact assessment.” Law & Society Review 30:361-380.

· Bruce-Briggs, Barry. 1976. “The great American gun war.” The Public Interest 45:37-62.

· Cook, Philip J., and Jens Ludwig. 1997. Guns in America. Summary Report. Washington, D.C.: Police Foundation.

· DMI (Decision-Making-Information). 1979. Attitudes of the American Electorate Toward Gun Control. Santa Ana, Calif.: Decision-Making-Information.

· Killias, Martin. 1990. “Gun ownership and violent crime: the Swiss experience in international perspective.” Security Journal 1:169-174.

· Kleck, Gary. 1991. Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America. N.Y.: Aldine de Gruyter.

· Kleck, Gary. 2009. “The myth of big-time gun trafficking and overinterpretation of gun tracing data.” UCLA Law Review 56:1233-1294.

· Kleck, Gary, and E. Britt Patterson. 1993. “The impact of gun control and gun ownership levels on violence rates.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 9:249-288.

· Kopel, David. 1992. The Samurai, the Mountie, and the Cowboy. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus.

· Lindgren, James, and Justin Lee Heather. 2002. “Counting guns in early America.” William and Mary Law Review 43(5):1777-1842.

· Lizotte, Alan J., and David J. Bordua. 1980. “Firearms ownership for sport and protection: two divergent models.” American Sociological Review 45:229-44.

· Lott, John, and David B. M. Mustard. 1997. “Crime, deterrence and right-to-carry concealed handguns.” Journal of Legal Studies 26:1-68.

· Ludwig, Jens, and Philip J. Cook. 2000. “Homicide and suicide rates associated with implementation of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.” Journal of the American Medical Association 284(5):585-591.

· Magaddino, Joseph P., and Marshall H. Medoff. 1984. “An empirical analysis of federal and state firearm control laws.” Pp. 225-58 in Firearms and Violence: Issues of Public Policy, edited by Don B. Kates, Jr. Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger.

· National Rifle Association. 2011. Information available at NRA website at http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/ .

· Newton, George D., and Franklin Zimring. 1969. Firearms and Violence in American Life. A Staff Report to the National Commission on the Causes and prevention of Violence.

· Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

· PRNewswire. 2010. Statement of Kristen Rand, Violence Policy Center Legislative Director, June 28, 2010. NY: PR Newswire Association LLC.

· Stinchcombe, Arthur, Rebecca Adams, Carol A. Heimer, Kim Lane, Scheppele, Tom W. Smith, D. Garth Taylor. 1980. Crime and Punishment — Changing Attitudes in America. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

· United Nations. 1997. Draft - United Nations International Study on Firearm Regulation. Vienna: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, United Nations Office at Vienna.

· U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 1980. State Laws and Published Ordinances, Firearms – 1980. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Treasury.

· U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 1998. ATF Annual Report, 1997. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Treasury.

· U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 2000. Following the Gun. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Treasury.

· U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1996. Survey of State Procedures Related to Firearm Sales. Washington, D.C.: Department of Justice.

· U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2001. Firearm Use by Offenders. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

· U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2011. Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2008. U.S. Department of Justice. Available online at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cvus08.pdf

· U.S. Congressional Research Service. 1994. “Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.”CRS Report for Congress number 94-14 GOV, dated January 6, 1994. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress.

· U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2011. Crime in the United States, 2009: Uniform Crime Reports. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Available online at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr#cius.

· U.S. Library of Congress. 1981. Gun Control Laws in Foreign Countries. Law Library. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

· Vizzard, William J. 2000. Shots in the Dark: The Policy, Politics, and Symbolism of Gun Control. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

· Wright, James D., and Peter H. Rossi. 1986. Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons And Their Firearms. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

· Zimring, Franklin E. 1975. “Firearms and federal law: the Gun Control Act of 1968.” Journal of Legal Studies 4:133-98.