Storms Kill 13 in Eastern US

A series of violent storms left thirteen dead and more than three million without power, in the mideast and eastern United States, on Saturday.

Most of the deaths were caused by falling trees, though some were heat related.

Six were killed in Virginia, two in New Jersey, two in Maryland, and one each in Kentucky, Ohio and Washington DC.

The states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio were joined by Washington DC in declaring themselves disaster areas.

It is expected to take several days to restore power to all those effected.

Mexican Elections Sunday

Nieto, Mota, Orbador

On Sunday Mexico will vote for it's new President, as well as many other positions in congress, the senate, governors, and local ones as well.

Former governor Enrique Pena Nieto is seen as the leading candidate, but it is still up for grabs.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Josefina Vazquez Mota are both seen as still having possibilities of winning.

Nieto formerly was the Governor of Mexico state, and belongs to the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which held power for more than seventy years, until 2000.

Obrador is the former Mayor of Mexico City and belongs to Party of the Democratic Revolution, and almost won in 2006. His campaign has seen a recent surge of support from students.

Mota, a businesswoman and former education secretary, belongs to the National Action Party, which currently holds the presidency.

A lot of focus has gone into how each candidate pledges to end corruption, work on the nation's poverty, and deal with the war on drugs.

At least 55,000 people have been killed in drug related violence, since the last Presidential elections, in 2006.

Mexico faces a population with more than one third below the poverty line, this whilst only having a 4.5% unemployment rate.

Morsi Sworn in as Egypt's President

Mohmaed Morsi was sworn in as Egypt's President on Saturday.

Morsi is the first freely elected President in Egyptian history.

He belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, a party which until recently had been banned in the country.

The new President has very little actual power, as the military still controls all decisions until a constitution can be written.

In his inaugural, President Morsi took a conciliatory tone with the military, upsetting some supporters, but he also encouraged the military to speed the process towards establishing the rest of the new government.

Previously Morsi had been one of the most vocal opponents of any military involvement.

SCOTUS Refuses Stay: 9th Circuit Supports Voter Fraud

Several weeks ago, Arizona won on many provisions of Proposition 200, a state voter integrity law. However, one key provision of the law was qualified and restricted by the 9th Circuit Court. The 9th Appellate upheld the ruling on that one provision.

Arizona Secretary Of State Ken Bennett issued this official statement on June 28, 2012:

Supreme Court Rejects Stay

The United States Supreme Court has denied Arizona's request for a stay from the 9th Circuit Court's ruling that federal voter-registration law supersedes Arizona's voter registration requirements. Arizona filed the request in advance of the forthcoming appeal to the ruling in which the 9th Circuit struck down Arizona's requirement that residents provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote on the federal form.

The court fight stems back to 2004 when Arizona voters passed Proposition 200 which would help ensure that only US citizens vote in elections.

Those registering to vote in Arizona are required to prove citizenship by providing one of the following documents: a driver's license, passport, birth certificate, tribal identification or naturalization certification number. Voters seeking to register online must provide a driver's license number, where eligibility is verified through Arizona’s motor vehicle system.

"Today’s disappointing action by the Supreme Court seemingly flies in the face of the text of the NVRA which uses the term 'citizen' repeatedly," said Secretary of State Ken Bennett. "Arizonans clearly believe that people should provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote."

"There isn’t a corner of this state where people are not concerned with voter fraud and opposition to the simple act of providing proof that you are legally eligible to participate in our elections is hard to fathom. We look forward to the day when we'll make our case for fair and fraud free elections to the Supreme Court. Until then, we await the mandate from the 9th Circuit and will be working with the 15 counties as to a practical application."

The law requires voters to present valid identification at polling places in order to cast a ballot.

The law, however, does little to prevent absentee ballot fraud or Permanent Early Voter List (PEVL) fraud. Those ballots are cast via the mail or courier, usually in advance of the actual election date. However, voter fraud and perjury statutes apply to those ballots if deemed in violation. Anybody casting a PEVL ballot can be called to testify, in person, they cast that ballot. they can also be compelled by Arizona courts to demonstrate they are eligible to cast that ballot, if it should come into question.

To a law-abiding citizen, that makes sense and should not be a questionable issue. If you are doing the right thing, you have nothing to worry about.

The law also included provisions for providing proof of residency, eligibility, and citizenship when registering to vote. Those provisions are already in place when registering through the "Motor-Voter" act of 1993. Many other rights protected by both the US Constitution and the State of Arizona also require valid identification. The US Second Amendment is one such example. Arizona law requires a valid, government-issued ID card in order to carry a firearm. If you are an Arizona Resident (and a US Citizen), a state ID or Driver's License serves that purpose.

In the Supreme Court Decision Bush v Gore in 2001, the USSC determined that there is no constitutional right to vote in presidential elections. In fact, there are no provisions for a "right to vote" in the US Constitution at all. The US Constitution dictates that voter eligibility is determined by the sovereign states. Those determinations are restricted by several amendments in the US Constitution. However, within those parameters, the states determine who can vote in their states. Those parameters are dictated by the 14th Amendment, the 15th Amendment (no restrictions for race or condition of servitude), the 17th Amendment (changes election of senators to a popular vote), The 19th Amendment (no restrictions due to gender), the 24th Amendment (prohibition of poll taxes), and the 26th Amendment (minimum voting age set at 18).

However, the 9th Circuit Court stated  that Arizona cannot mandate proof of citizenship in order to register for federal elections, especially when using the federal voter registration form in lieu of the state registration form. This means that if somebody wants to fraudulently register, they just use the federal form instead of the state one. Under the decision, Arizona State election officials cannot ask for proof of citizenship. The court stated that by signing the self-verification affidavit on the federal form, they fall under federal perjury statutes. They claim that is enough to prevent voter fraud.

Please stop laughing. This is serious.

The "Motor-Voter" Act of 1993, further bolstered by the HAVA of 2002 (both of which Eric Holder violated in his attempt to stop Florida from cleaning voter rolls) mandate that the states complete audits of voter rolls removing ineligible voters no later than 90 days prior to an election. Ineligible voters are felons of a certain classification or higher (as deemed by state law), deceased, and non-residents. Read that last classification again. Non-residents are not eligible to vote. This is meant to keep people from voting from multiple states. If you move from Illinois to Arizona, you cannot vote in both states. You have to claim one as your legal residency. However, illegal immigrants are NOT legal residents of ANY state, as they are not legal residents of the US.

So, the 9th Circuit Court has ruled to impede Arizona from effectively auditing and maintaining a lawful voter registration roll. They are mandated to purge the rolls of non-residents, but are prohibited from verifying citizenship at the time of registration, if the registrant utilizes the federal registration form.

Proposition 200 does not prevent any lawfully eligible voter from registering and voting. In fact, it protects the votes of those eligible by insuring their ballots are not devalued by fraudulent ballots and registrations.

Arizona requested a stay of this ruling from the USSC pending a USSC ruling on the case. The 9th court of Appeals already stated the rest of the law is constitutional. The USSC denied that stay, leaving open the opportunity for fraudulent voter registration and voter fraud.

Original Post on Mental Aikido

Freedom Lost? Time to Fight For It!

Today our country faced one of the most obvious and blatant losses of freedom that it has ever faced. With the Supreme Court voting to uphold Obamacare, personal freedom is clearly shown to no longer be a guarantee of any branch of the US government.

Obamacare could not survive in it's original form as a pledge to help everyone, as the majority of Americans not only did not want it, but are against it. Over time it has become more and more clear how restrictive it is, and there are so many issues with the bill that they may not even have all been found yet. There are lesser known parts such as the ones allowing for mass euthanasia, if a doctor signs off on it. Dr. Kevorkian would move from murderer to hero.  The most obvious has been it's attack upon religious freedom. Obamacare requires religious institutions to do things that are against their belief systems Anything that interferes with religious freedom is entirely against the Constitution, that alone makes this health care bill illegal.

To get around things the administration started saying that it was a tax, and that is what the Supreme Court upheld it as. The US government is now forcing a tax upon an unwilling populace. Let's not forget that one of the tenets of the foundation of this country, one of the reasons rebellion from England occurred, was taxation without representation. The majority of US citizens are against this bill, probably even more when it's worded as a tax, as many of it's supporters were all about "free healthcare". How then is this a representative tax?

No, this country has been betrayed. First by the executive branch. Then by the legislative. Now by the judicial. The federal government has proven it's lack of respect for law and for the voice of the people. They've left the people and states with only the choice to fight back.

Individual states now have no choice but to utilize their rights as sovereign states and pass their own laws which block Obamacare in any form from their borders. The election this fall also became all the more extremely important. With the right people in office, it is possible for Obamacare to be repealed. It is possible to begin the move back towards regaining freedoms.

It is definitely the time to stop allowing the government to slowly take our precious freedoms away. It is most assuredly time to fight for the beliefs that the United States of America was founded on. This country was founded with unalienable rights which are listed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The time is now to remember those rights, to remember your rights, and what we are allowed and called to do to defend those precious freedoms.

Waldo Canyon Fire Burns as Many as 300 Homes

Since Tuesday afternoon the Waldo Canyon Fire went from 6,200 acres to over 18,500.

It has now claimed between two and three hundred homes, and forced the evacuation of at least 32,000 people.

The amount of damage it is causing is placing it as even more costly than the High Park Fire.

Strong, shifting winds caused the massive expansion of the fire.

Garden of the Gods and the nearby state parks remained closed due to threat from the fire, parts of the Air Force Academy have been evacuated as well.

Over 1,000 firefighters are battling the flames, containment is around five percent.

The Waldo Canyon Fire is but one of many fires burning in Colorado at this time.

Many other fires are also burning across the US, but more than half of the national resources are being committed to the Colorado fires.

President Obama is set to visit Colorado on Friday, and fly over the fires.

NCAA Football Playoff Plan Approved

The NCAA has approved a plan to eliminate the current BCS and install a playoff system.

In the new system will use a committee, instead of a poll system, to determine rankings.

NCAA basketball already uses a similar system for it's tournaments, and it was used a basis for the football version.

Said committee will select the top four out of all the NCAA football teams.

One and four will play each other as two and three do the same. The winners of each game will then continue to the playoff for the national title.

The games will be hosted at the Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar Bowls; with two more to be added.

2014 will be the first year of the playoff.

Review: Civilization V: Gods and Kings

Gods and Kings came out a week ago, and it's been a little disappointing. The first thing I noticed was that the game is slower, especially to load, and sometimes freezes up during combat. Can't blame my comp on this one, it's totally more than capable of handling ciV.

Whilst the religion has the intriguing ability to be different each time, depending on which beliefs you choose, I have yet to see the great sweeping religious wars that it could cause in cIV. Nor does it have the ability to bring about world peace, and victory if the entire world comes to your religion and you basically become super pope. For the most part the religion aspect of ciV seems mostly to be something else for you to have to worry about building in your cities, distracting from troops or buildings. So many of the supposed benefits are only possibilities rather than sureties, it's almost like playing the lottery, though the odds area a lil better than that. Be careful not to fall into the trap of building too many prophets, they cost a lot more than missionaries, but only have one more conversion ability.

The spies also have left me wanting a bit, as they really can't do all that much. O sure, now you can look inside a city to see what is being built, but you can't sabotage that in any way, so at most it gives you a little warning of a troop build up or a wonder nearing completion. If you're behind technologically your spy can steal techs (after a very long time), but if you're ahead they just sit there. The ability to effect a city state's voting outcome only really seems to be usable by the AI, as every time I've looked I only have a zero percent chance of achieving such a feat. Apparently the best thing my spies can accomplish is to let me know so and so is going to invade someone else, and then gain a lil favor with them if I send a warning.

Great leaders have significantly been changed, the addition of a Great Admiral being the most immediately obvious and helpful. I was very saddened though to see the changes to the Great Merchant, who can no longer start a golden age, leaving them only useful if there are city states in the world. Without city states present, they have no ability to do anything except take up space, so I was forced to use the delete unit button. The Great Artist has also been severely limited, due to the ability to culture bomb being taken away, which at least for me was it's primary use.

Moving to the one hundred point combat system seems to have been a brilliant move, which I am very happy with. Though I will definitely admit being annoyed by enemy units surviving at one percent health. I have definitely noticed an improvement in how the AI sends out it's armies, as well as in how it fights yours. Finally an AI that has some real tactics instead of just numbers.

The new civilizations seem to fit in well, and the Carthaginian ability to cross mountains isn't as alarming as it sounds. O yes, no longer are they safe boundaries if they're you're neighbor, but any Carthaginian units that end their turn on the mountain lose fifty health points. That eliminated my main fear (and hope) of them hiding up on the mountains, where I couldn't go, and pounding my units from above.

Boudicca and her Celts may be too powerful though, or it was just my luck of the draw. In my first Gods and Kings game I played as them, and the game was all too easy. The second saw my forces, and that of the rest of the world combined, unable to keep up with them. I'm in my third game now (as the Dutch), no Celts are present, and the world seems fairly well balanced without them in it. Hopefully I'm wrong, and the first two were just the way those games went. But I shall def be keeping an eye out for Celts showing up.

As I said I'm only in the third game of Gods and Kings, so maybe my opinion will change in the future, and if it does I shall be sure to let you know. For now though, I'll just keep hoping thing get better.

Cameron Confirms Avatar Movie Series

Back in 2010 James Cameron stated that he planned to see Avatar become a trilogy.

Now he has not only confirmed that, but announced he will start making the films this fall. Yes, films.

For Cameron making one at a time isn't enough. He plans on shooting Avatar 2 and 3, at the same time.

Nor does it seem a trilogy will be good enough, as he mentioned that there would at least be an Avatar 4.

Avatar 2 is set to come out sometime in 2015, with the rest to follow.

Cameron has stated that he only plans on making Avatar films for the remainder of his life.

The first Avatar grossed over two billion dollars worldwide, making it the all time leading dollar maker.

At this time only Sigourney Weaver has confirmed that she will be reprising her role in the films.

Battles Against Fires Continue in Colorado

At least nine fires are burning throughout Colorado at this time. Most have been burning for at least a week, with some having gone on for over a month.

The Chimney Rock Fire had been threatening homes on the north side of Cabezon Canyon, since it's start Monday, but latest reports have the fire completely suppressed.

Residents of the town of Elbert have been allowed back home, as the CR 102 fire, which started Sunday, reaches ninety percent containment.

Lightning started several fires near Boulder and Flatirons, firefighters hit them hard and quick due to the locations and only two are left. So far no evacuations have been ordered there, and hopes are to have the remaining two finished off tonight.

At over 87,000 acres the High Park Fire continues to burn since being started by lightning on the ninth. One person and 248 houses have been lost to the fire. Close to 1,900 personnel have it around fifty-five percent contained. Many evacuation orders are still in place to the northwest of Fort Collins.

Parts of Last Chance and Woodrow are no longer evacuated due to the Last Chance Fire's becoming one hundred percent contained. A car accident sent sparks into dry grass on Monday, and the fire quickly spread, burning 45,000 acres and four homes in less than twenty-four hours. Local residents were crucial in stopping the fire, using tractors to plow fire lines to halt the blaze.

Northwest of Pagosa Springs, the Little Sand Fire has reached over 22,000 acres. It started on May 13 and is only twenty-nine percent contained. Around two hundred personnel are fighting the fire, struggling against difficult terrain, and doing their best to keep it from spreading towards the town.

No evacuations have yet been issued for the three hundred acre Treasure Fire. The fire started Saturday, near Leadville, and is under investigation. It is considered to have been human made. Firefighters have it near ten percent contained.

Some of the 11,000 evacuations for the Waldo Canyon Fire were lifted on Tuesday, but the fire is getting closer to some homes in Manitou Springs and parts of Colorado Springs. Garden of The Gods and the surrounding area is still closed due to the threat. Six hundred personnel have reached five percent containment on the fire, which has burned over 5,100 acres and at least one home. The fire's cause is under investigation.

Four hundred personnel have reached fifteen percent containment on the Weber Fire near Mancos. Over one hundred homes have been evacuated, and several highways in the area have been closed to the public. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire, but it too is thought to have been set by humans.