During the past two weeks, the staff and volunteers at ABNC haven’t been so excited since five or six years ago when an alligator snapped up a photographer’s gadget bag containing over a thousand dollars worth of lenses and other camera accessories.
About two weeks ago we discovered a strange looking critter in the rafters of our maintenance shop. The critter, which looked something like a monkey, was identified from pictures taken by the staff as a Kinkajou, a mammal native to the jungles of Central and South America.
The Kinkajou, also known as a ‘honey bear’, is related to our raccoons. Our’s, I would guess, was about 16 inches long, not counting its tail of the same length, and probably weighed no more than five pounds. It was a cute critter with its reddish-brown fur coat.
The ABNC staff tried for a week to trap our Kinkajou but the little fella managed to outsmart everyone time and time again. He or she managed to remove grapes and other goodies from a trap without getting trapped and it even managed to peel a banana leaving the peeling behind in the trap.
Finally, for the animal’s own protection, it was darted yesterday with a tranquilizer and captured safe and sound, none the worse for wear. The Kinkajou was transported safely to a wildlife rescue organization in Houston.
Now the question is, how did that little fella ever find its way to ABNC? I believe it was somebody’s pet. It was probably a cute little ball of fur when it was purchased wherever, but the owner must have discovered that a grown wild animal does not a good pet make. So, instead of taking the Kinkajou to a wildlife rescue group, the asshole must have dumped the poor thing at the entrance to ABNC without any regard to its welfare.
Fortunately for our little friend, it managed to wander undetected quite a ways before it arrived at our shop where it found a place of refuge. And thanks to a caring ABNC staff, he or she survived its ordeal and will be taken by the rescue group to a zoo that will care for it.
Friday, May 31, 2013
MIRACLE: MUSIC TEACHER ONE MOMENT, COLLEGE PRESIDENT THE NEXT
How Larry Stanley became college president when he had absolutely no qualifications for the position
Dr. Beth Lewis, who became College of the Mainland president on January 1, 2013, has recommended that political science professor David Michael Smith (aka Red David) be fired. (‘College of the Mainland President Recommends Marxist Professor Be Fired’ / BGB May 25, 2013)
On Wednesday, I attended the Board of Trustees meeting at the college. The last time I attend a COM trustee meeting was in 2002 when several civic leaders and I tried to keep Red Davis from getting tenured. Our pleas fell on deaf ears and now, 11 years later, they want to fire the guy they tenured.
When I approached the administration building Wednesday, I observed a demonstration of about a dozen students led by Red David’s wife. They were carrying professionally made signs in support of her husband. The demonstrators, as well as former COM students, addressed the Board, with most claiming that the effort to fire Red David constituted a violation of his First Amendment right of free speech.
Now the board is in a quandary. Beth Lewis apparently has done an outstanding job since she became president at the beginning of the year. If the Board approves Red David’s firing, he will certainly sue the college. He’s already done that twice and both times the college settled with him. If the trustees vote not to fire Red David they will by all appearances be saying they have no confidence in Dr. Lewis.
Red David began his teaching career at COM in 1998. One would have to go back 15 years to see how he got hired in the first place. Red David was the beneficiary of a miracle that occurred in 1983, a miracle that I can only describe as: Music Teacher One Moment, College President The Next.
In the early years of COM, there were several avowed Marxists on the faculty and they were very influential with the college administration and the Board of Trustees. The leader of that group was Larry Smith, a social sciences instructor. When a new president locked horns with the Marxists, he ended up getting fired because Larry was tight as the bark on a tree with Roy Engelke, chairman of the college's Board of Trustees. And now comes proof that miracles really do happen.
In 1983, Larry Stanley was a music teacher at the college. He had previously been chairman of the fine arts department. Roy Engelke personally contacted me and asked me what I thought of Larry Stanley being made president.
Now before going any further, I must explain why Engelke would seek out my opinion. Until the outbreak of the first Iraq War, Larry Smith and I had been close friends, despite our ideological differences. Because of my friendship with Smith, Engelke also considered me his friend.
Anyhow, Engelke told me that he had offered the job to Larry Smith. He said that Larry had turned down the job offer because he thought he was too controversial. (Larry Smith had, on several occasions, riled up some of Galveston County’s civic leaders.)
Engelke said he then asked Larry who he would recommend as president. Smith then recommended Larry Stanley.
And that’s how, in 1983, Stanley became COM president. Engelke persuaded the Board of Trustees to appoint Stanley president, thereby bypassing the standard college and university practice of a nationwide search for qualified presidential candidates.
Stanley was not in any way qualified to be president – he had no executive experience whatsoever, having served only as chairman of the COM fine arts department.
All during Stanley’s term in office, it was common knowledge that Larry Smith was the de facto president. The joke among COM employees was that Stanley wouldn’t take a leak without Larry Smith’s permission.
Here’s an example:
__The first Iraq War was vociferously opposed by Larry Smith and his fellow travelers. Shortly after the war started in 1990, Stanley scheduled a meeting of all COM employees. Because of the war, I went up to Staley before the meeting and asked him to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. When he refused, I asked him to let me do it. With a firm ‘no’ he added, “This is not the place for that! I know what this is about and I’m not going to let you upset Larry Smith. Now sit down!” Translation: I wouldn’t be able to get Larry Smith's permission because he refuses to pledge allegiance to the United States of America.
Stanley’s appointment as president, when he had absolutely no qualifications for such an important position, was truly a miracle. And that’s how in 1998, two years before Larry Stanley retired, Red David was hired by de facto president Larry Smith.
Dr. Beth Lewis, who became College of the Mainland president on January 1, 2013, has recommended that political science professor David Michael Smith (aka Red David) be fired. (‘College of the Mainland President Recommends Marxist Professor Be Fired’ / BGB May 25, 2013)
On Wednesday, I attended the Board of Trustees meeting at the college. The last time I attend a COM trustee meeting was in 2002 when several civic leaders and I tried to keep Red Davis from getting tenured. Our pleas fell on deaf ears and now, 11 years later, they want to fire the guy they tenured.
When I approached the administration building Wednesday, I observed a demonstration of about a dozen students led by Red David’s wife. They were carrying professionally made signs in support of her husband. The demonstrators, as well as former COM students, addressed the Board, with most claiming that the effort to fire Red David constituted a violation of his First Amendment right of free speech.
Now the board is in a quandary. Beth Lewis apparently has done an outstanding job since she became president at the beginning of the year. If the Board approves Red David’s firing, he will certainly sue the college. He’s already done that twice and both times the college settled with him. If the trustees vote not to fire Red David they will by all appearances be saying they have no confidence in Dr. Lewis.
Red David began his teaching career at COM in 1998. One would have to go back 15 years to see how he got hired in the first place. Red David was the beneficiary of a miracle that occurred in 1983, a miracle that I can only describe as: Music Teacher One Moment, College President The Next.
In the early years of COM, there were several avowed Marxists on the faculty and they were very influential with the college administration and the Board of Trustees. The leader of that group was Larry Smith, a social sciences instructor. When a new president locked horns with the Marxists, he ended up getting fired because Larry was tight as the bark on a tree with Roy Engelke, chairman of the college's Board of Trustees. And now comes proof that miracles really do happen.
In 1983, Larry Stanley was a music teacher at the college. He had previously been chairman of the fine arts department. Roy Engelke personally contacted me and asked me what I thought of Larry Stanley being made president.
Now before going any further, I must explain why Engelke would seek out my opinion. Until the outbreak of the first Iraq War, Larry Smith and I had been close friends, despite our ideological differences. Because of my friendship with Smith, Engelke also considered me his friend.
Anyhow, Engelke told me that he had offered the job to Larry Smith. He said that Larry had turned down the job offer because he thought he was too controversial. (Larry Smith had, on several occasions, riled up some of Galveston County’s civic leaders.)
Engelke said he then asked Larry who he would recommend as president. Smith then recommended Larry Stanley.
And that’s how, in 1983, Stanley became COM president. Engelke persuaded the Board of Trustees to appoint Stanley president, thereby bypassing the standard college and university practice of a nationwide search for qualified presidential candidates.
Stanley was not in any way qualified to be president – he had no executive experience whatsoever, having served only as chairman of the COM fine arts department.
All during Stanley’s term in office, it was common knowledge that Larry Smith was the de facto president. The joke among COM employees was that Stanley wouldn’t take a leak without Larry Smith’s permission.
Here’s an example:
__The first Iraq War was vociferously opposed by Larry Smith and his fellow travelers. Shortly after the war started in 1990, Stanley scheduled a meeting of all COM employees. Because of the war, I went up to Staley before the meeting and asked him to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. When he refused, I asked him to let me do it. With a firm ‘no’ he added, “This is not the place for that! I know what this is about and I’m not going to let you upset Larry Smith. Now sit down!” Translation: I wouldn’t be able to get Larry Smith's permission because he refuses to pledge allegiance to the United States of America.
Stanley’s appointment as president, when he had absolutely no qualifications for such an important position, was truly a miracle. And that’s how in 1998, two years before Larry Stanley retired, Red David was hired by de facto president Larry Smith.
CALIFORNIA'S DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS GOING BERSERK ON GUN CONTROL
Bob Walsh says: “A large number of idiotic and unhelpful anti-gun bills have, to no great surprise, moved forward in the democrat-locked legislature of the formerly great state of California. For anybody who doesn't think that one-party rule is dangerous, here is ample proof to the contrary.”
MORE GUN REGULATIONS APPROVED BY CALIFORNIA SENATE
by Laurel Rosenhall
The Sacramento Bee
May 29, 2014
The California Senate today approved a package of bills that tighten the state's regulation of firearms by outlawing detachable and large capacity magazines, keeping track of people who buy ammunition and widening the category of offenders who are prohibited from owning guns for 10 years.
Senate Democrats drafted the bills in response to December's school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
"The package, if you look at the whole array of measures before this body today, are designed to close loopholes in existing regulations, keep the circulation of firearms and ammunition out of the hands of dangerous persons, and strengthen education on gun ownership," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said to his colleagues as he argued in favor of the legislation.
"These bills attempt to respond to those well-publicized tragedies and many more that go unpublicized."
Republicans, who hold a minority in the state Senate, voted against the bills, arguing that they would make it harder for law-abiding citizens to access weapons, while doing little to combat crime. They said mass shootings are caused by mental illness, not a lack of gun regulations.
The seven gun bills the Senate approved today are:
SB 47 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco: bans so-called "bullet buttons" used to get around existing laws banning detachable magazines
SB 53 by Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles: creates new state permits that require background checks for buyers of ammunition
SB 374 by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento: bans detachable magazines in rifles
SB 396 by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley: prohibits possession of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition
SB 567 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara: changes the definition of certain kinds of shotguns to make them assault weapons
SB 683 by Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego: requires all gun buyers to take a firearm safety class and earn a safety certificate
SB 755 by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis: increases the number of crimes - including drug addiction, chronic alcoholism and others - that result in a 10-year ban on being allowed to own a gun
The bills now move to the Assembly.
An eighth bill that is part of the package, SB 140, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month. It increases funding for a state program that confiscates guns from people prohibited from owning them because they have criminal pasts or are mentally ill.
MORE GUN REGULATIONS APPROVED BY CALIFORNIA SENATE
by Laurel Rosenhall
The Sacramento Bee
May 29, 2014
The California Senate today approved a package of bills that tighten the state's regulation of firearms by outlawing detachable and large capacity magazines, keeping track of people who buy ammunition and widening the category of offenders who are prohibited from owning guns for 10 years.
Senate Democrats drafted the bills in response to December's school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
"The package, if you look at the whole array of measures before this body today, are designed to close loopholes in existing regulations, keep the circulation of firearms and ammunition out of the hands of dangerous persons, and strengthen education on gun ownership," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said to his colleagues as he argued in favor of the legislation.
"These bills attempt to respond to those well-publicized tragedies and many more that go unpublicized."
Republicans, who hold a minority in the state Senate, voted against the bills, arguing that they would make it harder for law-abiding citizens to access weapons, while doing little to combat crime. They said mass shootings are caused by mental illness, not a lack of gun regulations.
The seven gun bills the Senate approved today are:
SB 47 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco: bans so-called "bullet buttons" used to get around existing laws banning detachable magazines
SB 53 by Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles: creates new state permits that require background checks for buyers of ammunition
SB 374 by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento: bans detachable magazines in rifles
SB 396 by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley: prohibits possession of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition
SB 567 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara: changes the definition of certain kinds of shotguns to make them assault weapons
SB 683 by Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego: requires all gun buyers to take a firearm safety class and earn a safety certificate
SB 755 by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis: increases the number of crimes - including drug addiction, chronic alcoholism and others - that result in a 10-year ban on being allowed to own a gun
The bills now move to the Assembly.
An eighth bill that is part of the package, SB 140, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month. It increases funding for a state program that confiscates guns from people prohibited from owning them because they have criminal pasts or are mentally ill.
POT: BUSINESSMEN LOOKING FOR A POT OF GOLD
Let’s get real. It’s all about the money. While pot smokers want marijuana legalized, the people who put their money behind the ballot measures to legalize pot in Washington and Colorado did so because they expected to get filthy rich if the measures passed.
EX-MEXICO PRESIDENT PRAISES WASHINGTON POT BUSINESSMEN
By Gene Johnson
Associated Press
May 30, 2013
SEATTLE — Washington state businessmen who say they're trying to create the first national brand of marijuana received some heartfelt support Thursday from the former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox.
Fox appeared at a news conference in Seattle, where he recounted how the war on drugs has ravaged his country and praised the states of Washington and Colorado for voting to legalize the recreational use of marijuana last fall.
At the news conference, former Microsoft manager Jamen Shively discussed his plans to launch a new marijuana brand named for his great-great grandfather, Diego Pellicer. He says his company is joining forces with a Washington state chain of medical marijuana dispensaries run by John Davis, the Northwest Patient Resource Center, as well as dispensaries in Colorado and California.
"This historic step today is to be observed and evaluated closely by all of us, because it is a game changer," Fox said. "I applaud this group that has the courage to move ahead. They have the vision, they are clear where they're going, and I'm sure they're going to get there."
Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive who was Mexico's president from 2000-06, specified that he's not involved in the venture. He appeared at Shively's invitation. The two first met 13 years ago, when a company Shively used to run was opening a computer center in Sinaloa and Fox appeared at the inauguration, Shively said.
Shively described grand visions for his pot brand — hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, tens of millions of customers, more than 1,000 jobs just at Diego Pellicer's Seattle headquarters.
"Yes, we are Big Marijuana," he announced.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last March, the company wrote that it had raised $125,000 of an anticipated $625,000. Shively suggested those numbers were outdated, but did not provide different figures.
Washington and Colorado expect to begin allowing marijuana sales to adults over 21 at state-licensed stores beginning next year, but marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and the Justice Department has repeatedly said it can continue to prosecute large-scale, privately owned marijuana operations even when they comply with state law.
It isn't clear how Shively's plans for a national marijuana brand might be accomplished without running afoul of federal laws regarding the distribution of an illegal substance or conspiracy to distribute an illegal substance. He and Davis said no money from their business will travel interstate, nor will the marijuana itself, but neither of those factors would necessarily shield them from arrest.
Shively insisted that his deals with the dispensaries are structured in such a way as to minimize any risk of federal prosecution, but neither he nor Davis would explain how. Shively said he had acquired certain "rights" related to the dispensaries, and made the plan sound like a marketing agreement by which the stores, beginning next month, would be re-branded as Diego Pellicer.
"Neither Diego Pellicer nor our investors are exposed to any significant risk, in terms of criminal risk," Shively said. "In terms of criminal risk, that is vastly mitigated. ... We're making strategic investments, but we're making them in such a way that they are not in violation of either federal or state law."
Asked how his plan didn't constitute a federal conspiracy to distribute marijuana, Shively described his operation as "a conspiracy to obey the law."
His securities lawyer, Mike Moyer of the prominent Seattle firm of Dorsey and Whitney LLC, declined to elaborate.
Fox urged the reporters present to maintain a focus on the important issues at hand: the failure of the drug war, the thousands of lives lost, and the better alternative offered by legalization. He noted he'd rather be sitting at a table next to Shively than the notorious cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
"This is a much better option, no doubt," he said.
EX-MEXICO PRESIDENT PRAISES WASHINGTON POT BUSINESSMEN
By Gene Johnson
Associated Press
May 30, 2013
SEATTLE — Washington state businessmen who say they're trying to create the first national brand of marijuana received some heartfelt support Thursday from the former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox.
Fox appeared at a news conference in Seattle, where he recounted how the war on drugs has ravaged his country and praised the states of Washington and Colorado for voting to legalize the recreational use of marijuana last fall.
At the news conference, former Microsoft manager Jamen Shively discussed his plans to launch a new marijuana brand named for his great-great grandfather, Diego Pellicer. He says his company is joining forces with a Washington state chain of medical marijuana dispensaries run by John Davis, the Northwest Patient Resource Center, as well as dispensaries in Colorado and California.
"This historic step today is to be observed and evaluated closely by all of us, because it is a game changer," Fox said. "I applaud this group that has the courage to move ahead. They have the vision, they are clear where they're going, and I'm sure they're going to get there."
Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive who was Mexico's president from 2000-06, specified that he's not involved in the venture. He appeared at Shively's invitation. The two first met 13 years ago, when a company Shively used to run was opening a computer center in Sinaloa and Fox appeared at the inauguration, Shively said.
Shively described grand visions for his pot brand — hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, tens of millions of customers, more than 1,000 jobs just at Diego Pellicer's Seattle headquarters.
"Yes, we are Big Marijuana," he announced.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last March, the company wrote that it had raised $125,000 of an anticipated $625,000. Shively suggested those numbers were outdated, but did not provide different figures.
Washington and Colorado expect to begin allowing marijuana sales to adults over 21 at state-licensed stores beginning next year, but marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and the Justice Department has repeatedly said it can continue to prosecute large-scale, privately owned marijuana operations even when they comply with state law.
It isn't clear how Shively's plans for a national marijuana brand might be accomplished without running afoul of federal laws regarding the distribution of an illegal substance or conspiracy to distribute an illegal substance. He and Davis said no money from their business will travel interstate, nor will the marijuana itself, but neither of those factors would necessarily shield them from arrest.
Shively insisted that his deals with the dispensaries are structured in such a way as to minimize any risk of federal prosecution, but neither he nor Davis would explain how. Shively said he had acquired certain "rights" related to the dispensaries, and made the plan sound like a marketing agreement by which the stores, beginning next month, would be re-branded as Diego Pellicer.
"Neither Diego Pellicer nor our investors are exposed to any significant risk, in terms of criminal risk," Shively said. "In terms of criminal risk, that is vastly mitigated. ... We're making strategic investments, but we're making them in such a way that they are not in violation of either federal or state law."
Asked how his plan didn't constitute a federal conspiracy to distribute marijuana, Shively described his operation as "a conspiracy to obey the law."
His securities lawyer, Mike Moyer of the prominent Seattle firm of Dorsey and Whitney LLC, declined to elaborate.
Fox urged the reporters present to maintain a focus on the important issues at hand: the failure of the drug war, the thousands of lives lost, and the better alternative offered by legalization. He noted he'd rather be sitting at a table next to Shively than the notorious cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
"This is a much better option, no doubt," he said.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
ENVIRONMENTALISTS BLAME TEXAS FOR KILLER TORNADOES
The econuts are at it again, this time blaming the State of Texas for the killer tornadoes that struck Granbury, Texas and Moore, Oklahoma. The drought, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes, early and late snowstorms, California wildfires, etc., are all due to carbon emissions of which Texas is the leading contributor, so say those econuts.
I always thought the Environmental Defense Fund was a reasonable organization, but after this crap, I will not renew my longtime EDF membership.
TEXAS LEADS IN CARBON EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP TRIES TO TIE THEM TO ‘MONSTER’ TORNADOES
By Jeff Balke
Houston Press Hair Balls
May 29, 2013
The Environmental Defense Fund sent out a press release detailing the fact that Texas leads the nation in carbon emissions according to information provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. According to their report, Texas emitted 652.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, nearly 10 percent of the emissions of the entire country.
Carbon emissions can cause serious problems for people with respiratory issues and have been linked to global climate change. However, EDF took it a step further by suggesting that the increase in carbon in our atmosphere is making killer storms in much the same way Al Gore tried to tie global warming to Hurricane Katrina in his film An Inconvenient Truth.
__Our emissions contribute to the global increase in carbon in the atmosphere and influence weather patterns. This can result in extreme weather events like this monster tornado that resulted in six deaths with seven missing.
The "monster tornado" in question was an EF-4 that blew through Granbury, Texas, on May 16.
There is no question that carbon emissions are bad for humans. Smog is a respiratory irritant, and the long-term effects of constant exposure to increased carbon dioxide in the surrounding environment cannot be positive. It is imperative that we reduce these emissions for our state and particularly for Houston. Our summer climate mixed with nearby refineries makes Houston a particularly bad spot for poor air quality.
But the scare tactic of tying specific weather phenomena to reports like these is a bad idea. The year An Inconvenient Truth was released, with its declarations that killer storms like Hurricane Katrina were going to become more commonplace, was a down year with only ten named storms including two major hurricanes, neither of which impacted land. Since 2005, no hurricane season has come close to rivaling the intensity or devastation of that year.
Showing images of tragedy like tornadoes in north Texas and Oklahoma might perhaps scare people into paying attention, but the science simply does not support a direct link between tornado outbreaks or hurricane intensity and global climate change. Science is in nearly total agreement that the earth is getting warmer. Scientists are also almost in lockstep over the fact that climate change is happening at least in part due to emissions. But even weather scientists who agree the earth is warming don't have the data to support claims by some that weather is tied to it.
There are better ways to motivate people than by scaring them. Sticking with science that has a solid footing is a good place to start.
I always thought the Environmental Defense Fund was a reasonable organization, but after this crap, I will not renew my longtime EDF membership.
TEXAS LEADS IN CARBON EMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP TRIES TO TIE THEM TO ‘MONSTER’ TORNADOES
By Jeff Balke
Houston Press Hair Balls
May 29, 2013
The Environmental Defense Fund sent out a press release detailing the fact that Texas leads the nation in carbon emissions according to information provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. According to their report, Texas emitted 652.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, nearly 10 percent of the emissions of the entire country.
Carbon emissions can cause serious problems for people with respiratory issues and have been linked to global climate change. However, EDF took it a step further by suggesting that the increase in carbon in our atmosphere is making killer storms in much the same way Al Gore tried to tie global warming to Hurricane Katrina in his film An Inconvenient Truth.
__Our emissions contribute to the global increase in carbon in the atmosphere and influence weather patterns. This can result in extreme weather events like this monster tornado that resulted in six deaths with seven missing.
The "monster tornado" in question was an EF-4 that blew through Granbury, Texas, on May 16.
There is no question that carbon emissions are bad for humans. Smog is a respiratory irritant, and the long-term effects of constant exposure to increased carbon dioxide in the surrounding environment cannot be positive. It is imperative that we reduce these emissions for our state and particularly for Houston. Our summer climate mixed with nearby refineries makes Houston a particularly bad spot for poor air quality.
But the scare tactic of tying specific weather phenomena to reports like these is a bad idea. The year An Inconvenient Truth was released, with its declarations that killer storms like Hurricane Katrina were going to become more commonplace, was a down year with only ten named storms including two major hurricanes, neither of which impacted land. Since 2005, no hurricane season has come close to rivaling the intensity or devastation of that year.
Showing images of tragedy like tornadoes in north Texas and Oklahoma might perhaps scare people into paying attention, but the science simply does not support a direct link between tornado outbreaks or hurricane intensity and global climate change. Science is in nearly total agreement that the earth is getting warmer. Scientists are also almost in lockstep over the fact that climate change is happening at least in part due to emissions. But even weather scientists who agree the earth is warming don't have the data to support claims by some that weather is tied to it.
There are better ways to motivate people than by scaring them. Sticking with science that has a solid footing is a good place to start.
WHILE SOME STATES HAVE ABOLISHED THE DEATH PENALTY, OTHERS ARE TRYING TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS
"Too many defendants are gaming the system with legal maneuvers that have no bearing on guilt or innocence.”
In North Carolina, state legislators are trying to overturn the 2009 Racial Justice Act which allows death row inmates to challenge sentences based on the assumption that a conviction was racially motivated, and thereby "makes every district attorney into a racist."
STATES SEEKING ‘TIMELY JUSTICE’ MOVE TO SPEED UP EXECUTIONS
By Courtney Coren
Newsmax
May 29, 2013
Some state legislatures are amending their death penalty laws to speed up executions in defiance of a move in recent years to do away with capital punishment.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott is considering whether to sign the Timely Justice Act passed by legislators in April that would require executions to be carried out within 180 days of the governor signing the death warrant to start the process.
"Too many defendants are gaming the system with legal maneuvers that have no bearing on guilt or innocence. ... This law will put teeth back into Florida's death penalty," said state GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, the chief sponsor of the bill.
Legislators in North Carolina also are about to pass a measure that would overturn the 2009 Racial Justice Act, which allows death row inmates to challenge sentences based on the assumption that a conviction was racially motivated.
Republican state Sen. Thom Goolsby said the problem with the Racial Justice Act is that it "makes every district attorney into a racist." Some North Carolina lawmakers complain that the current law has slowed the execution process, noting that no death sentences have been carried out in the state since 2006.
Other states, such as Georgia and Arkansas, are trying to fix problems with their lethal-injection procedures, which have also slowed down the execution process.
The moves, though, to speed up the process of putting convicted criminals to death runs counter to efforts in other states to halt executions. Since 2007, the Journal reported, six states have abolished capital punishment, citing the expense of fighting the appeals process and inefficiencies in the system that could lead to wrongful executions of the innocent.
Opponents of the efforts essentially aimed at putting more inmates to death faster argue that the execution process should be slowed even more to avoid mistakes.
"There's no way to ask for forgiveness if you execute an innocent person," said Democratic state Rep.
Kionne McGhee of Florida, who voted against the Timely Justice Act passed there.
For its part, the public still supports the death penalty by a majority of 63 percent, according to a Gallup survey in January. But that figure marks the lowest level of support for capital punishment in 39 years.
In North Carolina, state legislators are trying to overturn the 2009 Racial Justice Act which allows death row inmates to challenge sentences based on the assumption that a conviction was racially motivated, and thereby "makes every district attorney into a racist."
STATES SEEKING ‘TIMELY JUSTICE’ MOVE TO SPEED UP EXECUTIONS
By Courtney Coren
Newsmax
May 29, 2013
Some state legislatures are amending their death penalty laws to speed up executions in defiance of a move in recent years to do away with capital punishment.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott is considering whether to sign the Timely Justice Act passed by legislators in April that would require executions to be carried out within 180 days of the governor signing the death warrant to start the process.
"Too many defendants are gaming the system with legal maneuvers that have no bearing on guilt or innocence. ... This law will put teeth back into Florida's death penalty," said state GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, the chief sponsor of the bill.
Legislators in North Carolina also are about to pass a measure that would overturn the 2009 Racial Justice Act, which allows death row inmates to challenge sentences based on the assumption that a conviction was racially motivated.
Republican state Sen. Thom Goolsby said the problem with the Racial Justice Act is that it "makes every district attorney into a racist." Some North Carolina lawmakers complain that the current law has slowed the execution process, noting that no death sentences have been carried out in the state since 2006.
Other states, such as Georgia and Arkansas, are trying to fix problems with their lethal-injection procedures, which have also slowed down the execution process.
The moves, though, to speed up the process of putting convicted criminals to death runs counter to efforts in other states to halt executions. Since 2007, the Journal reported, six states have abolished capital punishment, citing the expense of fighting the appeals process and inefficiencies in the system that could lead to wrongful executions of the innocent.
Opponents of the efforts essentially aimed at putting more inmates to death faster argue that the execution process should be slowed even more to avoid mistakes.
"There's no way to ask for forgiveness if you execute an innocent person," said Democratic state Rep.
Kionne McGhee of Florida, who voted against the Timely Justice Act passed there.
For its part, the public still supports the death penalty by a majority of 63 percent, according to a Gallup survey in January. But that figure marks the lowest level of support for capital punishment in 39 years.
FAILURE TO INVITE ONE FAMILY MEMBER TO A GRADUATION LEADS TO SHOOTING
Bob Walsh says, “They must have some seriously messed-up family dynamics going on there.”
SACRAMENTO POLICE: MEADOWVIEW SHOOTING OF TWO STEMMED FROM FAMILY DISPUTE OVER GRADUATION
The Sacramento Bee
May 28, 2013
Two men were shot outside a Meadowview home this afternoon as the result of an ongoing family dispute involving a graduation, according to Sacramento police.
The victims, 21- and 31-year-old cousins, are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at local hospitals, said police Officer Michele Gigante. Their 33-year-old female cousin is in custody, accused of driving the car used in the shooting, and police are looking for the shooter, Gigante said.
Police responded to Icarus Court, near Mack Road and Franklin Boulevard, about 4 p.m. today after two men were reported shot. Detectives later learned that the gunfire stemmed from a family dispute among cousins after one cousin was not invited to a graduation, Gigante said.
Officers quickly located and arrested the female cousin on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. They are interviewing her about her passenger, who police believe was the gunman.
"It's just a matter of time before we identify the shooter and capture him," Gigante said.
SACRAMENTO POLICE: MEADOWVIEW SHOOTING OF TWO STEMMED FROM FAMILY DISPUTE OVER GRADUATION
The Sacramento Bee
May 28, 2013
Two men were shot outside a Meadowview home this afternoon as the result of an ongoing family dispute involving a graduation, according to Sacramento police.
The victims, 21- and 31-year-old cousins, are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at local hospitals, said police Officer Michele Gigante. Their 33-year-old female cousin is in custody, accused of driving the car used in the shooting, and police are looking for the shooter, Gigante said.
Police responded to Icarus Court, near Mack Road and Franklin Boulevard, about 4 p.m. today after two men were reported shot. Detectives later learned that the gunfire stemmed from a family dispute among cousins after one cousin was not invited to a graduation, Gigante said.
Officers quickly located and arrested the female cousin on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. They are interviewing her about her passenger, who police believe was the gunman.
"It's just a matter of time before we identify the shooter and capture him," Gigante said.
WHICH IS SAFER: TEXTING WHILE DRIVING OR SEX WHILE DRIVING?
Having sex while driving could be safer than texting while driving, provided that the driver is not drunk. In any case, having sex is a lot more enjoyable than texting.
But hiding half-naked behind a cactus could turn into a painful experience.
POLICE: DRUNK DRIVER CRASHED DURING SEX, HID BEHIND CACTUS
Police say he was having sex with a woman while driving drunk and crashed, ejecting the woman from the vehicle
Associated Press
May 29, 2013
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — A New Mexico man faces multiple charges after police say he was having sex with a woman while driving drunk and crashed, ejecting the woman from the vehicle.
The Albuquerque Journal reports 25-year-old Luis Briones was found with one shoe on and his shorts on inside-out Monday night after he wrecked his Ford Explorer in Albuquerque.
Police say Briones' female passenger was found naked outside the sport utility vehicle after being ejected. She had deep cuts to her face and head.
Authorities allege Briones tried to drive away after the crash and abandon his passenger, but a witness grabbed his keys from the ignition. He also allegedly tried to hide from responding officers behind a cactus.
Briones is charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and evading police.
But hiding half-naked behind a cactus could turn into a painful experience.
POLICE: DRUNK DRIVER CRASHED DURING SEX, HID BEHIND CACTUS
Police say he was having sex with a woman while driving drunk and crashed, ejecting the woman from the vehicle
Associated Press
May 29, 2013
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — A New Mexico man faces multiple charges after police say he was having sex with a woman while driving drunk and crashed, ejecting the woman from the vehicle.
The Albuquerque Journal reports 25-year-old Luis Briones was found with one shoe on and his shorts on inside-out Monday night after he wrecked his Ford Explorer in Albuquerque.
Police say Briones' female passenger was found naked outside the sport utility vehicle after being ejected. She had deep cuts to her face and head.
Authorities allege Briones tried to drive away after the crash and abandon his passenger, but a witness grabbed his keys from the ignition. He also allegedly tried to hide from responding officers behind a cactus.
Briones is charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and evading police.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
A SHAMEFUL ATTACK ON CALIFORNIA CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS AND THEIR UNION
Sagar Jethani accuses every correctional officer of abusing California’s prison inmates
Sagar Jethani is a global marketing executive who studied political science and philosophy at Loyola University of Chicago and business at UCLA Anderson. He lives in Woodland Hills, California. Recently Jethani posted “Union Of the Snake: How California's Prison Guards Subvert Democracy” on the website ‘policymic.’ The article excoriated the California Correction Peace Officer's Association (CCPOA) and California’s prison guards.
Jethani blamed CCPOA for the large number of prisons, accusing the union of lobbying the state legislature to build more prisons so that the state would have to hire more prison guards so as to fill its coffers with more dues from its members. He holds CCPOA responsible for prison overcrowding because it was a strong backer of the ‘Three Strikes’ law. And because, as he claims, California pays its correctional officers about 60 percent more than the national average, Jethani blames CCPOA for “off-the-charts pay levels” and “outrageous paychecks.”
After blistering CCPOA, Jethani turned his attention to excoriating California’s correctional officers, citing a recent Office of Inspector General report which detailed 117 cases of wrongdoing by prison guards, including “guards planning prisoner assaults and murder, buying prisoners drugs and alcohol, groping and grappling prisoners, and soliciting prisoners for sex.” And, of course, Jethani took great pleasure in citing a 2010 legislative analysis by saying that “the main source of smuggled cellphones is — you guessed it — prison guards.”
Jethani ends his long article by declaring: “The prison guards union thinks it can abuse the people of California the same way it abuses the inmates placed in its care. It's time to show them who's in charge.”
In my opinion, Sagar Jethani is nothing more than intellectual pond scum. While I’m not too fond of labor unions, he is giving CCPOA a bad rap. Below you will find Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle’s response to Jethani’s attack on the union. For my part, I want to say something about the 117 incidents of wrongdoing by correctional officers.
There are thousands of California correctional officers and 117 officers constitute an infinitesimal number out of the total. To besmirch all prison guards for the wrongdoing of 117, or for that matter let’s say 300 just to make Jethani feel good, is nothing but a downright dirty rotten shame! And Jethani goes way beyond that, because when he says “the same way it abuses the inmates placed in its care,” he is accusing every correctional officer of abusing California’s prison inmates.
Here is Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle’s response to Jethani’s attack on CCPOA:
While Mr. Jethani's article is nothing more than a regurgitation of the anti-incarceration Left's Talking Points, I found it interesting insofar as the author speaks with absolute certainty–He truly is convinced a relatively small labor union wields the power to influence the Legislature, Executive and Electorate to do their bidding. This is one of the most anti-intellectual arguments I have read from a so-called intellectual.
Let us consider, as Jethani did not, that SEIU has ten-fold the political action warchest of CCPOA and has been lobbying and otherwise influencing government for decades longer than CCPOA, which only entered the PAC arena in the early 80′s.
The Teacher's union wrote, sponsored and wheedled the continuing fiscal disaster known as Proposition 98 which mandates 40% of general fund be directed to an ever declining school system. CCPOA, the behemoth bully led the charge against Prop. 98 yet it passed handily. How can this be? The corrupt prison guard's union calls the shots, right?
Bottom line, all the repeated hysterics over a supposedly dominant CCPOA is nothing but Leftist hyperbole. CCPOA never had the funds, juice or gravitas to single-highhandedly carry an initiative.
This is yet another example of the Left's scotoma when it comes to public sector unionism. Political action by all other public sector unions isn't a problem in the eyes of Sagar Jethani and his contemporaries–It is only when perceived conservative professions are empowered that a red flag is thrown.
CCPOA never sponsored a ballot initiative — It only hopped on sympathetic bandwagons and threw its weight in when it came time to push. Can any of the Brand X, big labor bargaining units say the same?
Moreover, since the Schwarzenegger Administration, CCPOA has suffered one failure after another–Only the election of a milquetoast, two-faced governor may be seen as an eventual ‘win' yet the union has nothing but cuts and givebacks to show for it. Thus, any validity Jethani's argument may have is a matter of history, not current affairs.
Borrowing from Yogi Berra, to those who say CCPOA isn't as powerful as it used to be, Paco says it never was — CCPOA has very little clout these days. Paco suspects Jethani knows this as well as anyone on the Left. However, prison guards make a great scapegoat owing to a perpetually negative public image. So, blame it on the guards…the public will buy it–The same public that supposedly passed all those tough-on-crime bills at CCPOA's behest. Hmmm.
In any case, when you are on the job, look around at everything that is wrong with the system and take stock of the reality it is all your fault as a member of the powerful prison guards union.
Sagar Jethani is a global marketing executive who studied political science and philosophy at Loyola University of Chicago and business at UCLA Anderson. He lives in Woodland Hills, California. Recently Jethani posted “Union Of the Snake: How California's Prison Guards Subvert Democracy” on the website ‘policymic.’ The article excoriated the California Correction Peace Officer's Association (CCPOA) and California’s prison guards.
Jethani blamed CCPOA for the large number of prisons, accusing the union of lobbying the state legislature to build more prisons so that the state would have to hire more prison guards so as to fill its coffers with more dues from its members. He holds CCPOA responsible for prison overcrowding because it was a strong backer of the ‘Three Strikes’ law. And because, as he claims, California pays its correctional officers about 60 percent more than the national average, Jethani blames CCPOA for “off-the-charts pay levels” and “outrageous paychecks.”
After blistering CCPOA, Jethani turned his attention to excoriating California’s correctional officers, citing a recent Office of Inspector General report which detailed 117 cases of wrongdoing by prison guards, including “guards planning prisoner assaults and murder, buying prisoners drugs and alcohol, groping and grappling prisoners, and soliciting prisoners for sex.” And, of course, Jethani took great pleasure in citing a 2010 legislative analysis by saying that “the main source of smuggled cellphones is — you guessed it — prison guards.”
Jethani ends his long article by declaring: “The prison guards union thinks it can abuse the people of California the same way it abuses the inmates placed in its care. It's time to show them who's in charge.”
In my opinion, Sagar Jethani is nothing more than intellectual pond scum. While I’m not too fond of labor unions, he is giving CCPOA a bad rap. Below you will find Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle’s response to Jethani’s attack on the union. For my part, I want to say something about the 117 incidents of wrongdoing by correctional officers.
There are thousands of California correctional officers and 117 officers constitute an infinitesimal number out of the total. To besmirch all prison guards for the wrongdoing of 117, or for that matter let’s say 300 just to make Jethani feel good, is nothing but a downright dirty rotten shame! And Jethani goes way beyond that, because when he says “the same way it abuses the inmates placed in its care,” he is accusing every correctional officer of abusing California’s prison inmates.
Here is Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle’s response to Jethani’s attack on CCPOA:
While Mr. Jethani's article is nothing more than a regurgitation of the anti-incarceration Left's Talking Points, I found it interesting insofar as the author speaks with absolute certainty–He truly is convinced a relatively small labor union wields the power to influence the Legislature, Executive and Electorate to do their bidding. This is one of the most anti-intellectual arguments I have read from a so-called intellectual.
Let us consider, as Jethani did not, that SEIU has ten-fold the political action warchest of CCPOA and has been lobbying and otherwise influencing government for decades longer than CCPOA, which only entered the PAC arena in the early 80′s.
The Teacher's union wrote, sponsored and wheedled the continuing fiscal disaster known as Proposition 98 which mandates 40% of general fund be directed to an ever declining school system. CCPOA, the behemoth bully led the charge against Prop. 98 yet it passed handily. How can this be? The corrupt prison guard's union calls the shots, right?
Bottom line, all the repeated hysterics over a supposedly dominant CCPOA is nothing but Leftist hyperbole. CCPOA never had the funds, juice or gravitas to single-highhandedly carry an initiative.
This is yet another example of the Left's scotoma when it comes to public sector unionism. Political action by all other public sector unions isn't a problem in the eyes of Sagar Jethani and his contemporaries–It is only when perceived conservative professions are empowered that a red flag is thrown.
CCPOA never sponsored a ballot initiative — It only hopped on sympathetic bandwagons and threw its weight in when it came time to push. Can any of the Brand X, big labor bargaining units say the same?
Moreover, since the Schwarzenegger Administration, CCPOA has suffered one failure after another–Only the election of a milquetoast, two-faced governor may be seen as an eventual ‘win' yet the union has nothing but cuts and givebacks to show for it. Thus, any validity Jethani's argument may have is a matter of history, not current affairs.
Borrowing from Yogi Berra, to those who say CCPOA isn't as powerful as it used to be, Paco says it never was — CCPOA has very little clout these days. Paco suspects Jethani knows this as well as anyone on the Left. However, prison guards make a great scapegoat owing to a perpetually negative public image. So, blame it on the guards…the public will buy it–The same public that supposedly passed all those tough-on-crime bills at CCPOA's behest. Hmmm.
In any case, when you are on the job, look around at everything that is wrong with the system and take stock of the reality it is all your fault as a member of the powerful prison guards union.
ISRAELI PRESIDENT SHIMON PEREZ IS TYPICAL LEFT-WING PEACENIK
The old figure-head president is, like his fellow left-wing peaceniks, delusionary in believing that swapping land for peace will satisfy the Palestinians. Where has he been during all those speeches in Arabic by the Palestinian leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas, vowing that there will be only one state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea?
There are about 500,00 Israelis living in established West Bank Jewish settlements and in East Jerusalem. Any peace deal with the Palestinians must recognize that the settlements will remain a part of Israel, that East Jerusalem will be a part of the Jewish nation’s capital and that West Bank land will be retained to provide for a secure border between Israel and a Palestinian state.
ISRAELI MINISTER: WE HAVE NO MORE LAND TO GIVE
By Tommy Mueller
Israel Today
May 28, 2013
Israeli Economic and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett this week publicly disagreed with President Shimon Peres that Israel has any more land to give in an already failed land-for-peace process.
"Every time we leave an area, more people are killed," said Bennett in response to Peres' appearance at the World Economic Forum in neighboring Jordan, where the Israeli president gushed that Israel is prepared to pay almost any price for a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party and an influential member of the ruling coalition, said Peres' vision of birthing a Palestinian Arab state on ancient Jewish lands is beyond faulty: "Now is the time to make it clear that this is our country and it is not for sale."
Bennett is one of the chief players in an increasingly tense debate within the Israeli government over how to approach and handle the Middle East peace process, upon which the Obama Administration is again focusing an exaggerated amount of attention.
Bennett also pointed out that every day, mothers with children in the car are pelted with stones on the main roads in Judea and Samaria. For Bennett, there can be no difference between the residents of Tel Aviv and the 400,000 Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria, and the Israeli army must protect both equally.
Bennett, 41, was a software entrepreneur in the United States, a multi-millionaire. He took the helm of the settler-friendly Jewish Home party in November 2012.
There are about 500,00 Israelis living in established West Bank Jewish settlements and in East Jerusalem. Any peace deal with the Palestinians must recognize that the settlements will remain a part of Israel, that East Jerusalem will be a part of the Jewish nation’s capital and that West Bank land will be retained to provide for a secure border between Israel and a Palestinian state.
ISRAELI MINISTER: WE HAVE NO MORE LAND TO GIVE
By Tommy Mueller
Israel Today
May 28, 2013
Israeli Economic and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett this week publicly disagreed with President Shimon Peres that Israel has any more land to give in an already failed land-for-peace process.
"Every time we leave an area, more people are killed," said Bennett in response to Peres' appearance at the World Economic Forum in neighboring Jordan, where the Israeli president gushed that Israel is prepared to pay almost any price for a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party and an influential member of the ruling coalition, said Peres' vision of birthing a Palestinian Arab state on ancient Jewish lands is beyond faulty: "Now is the time to make it clear that this is our country and it is not for sale."
Bennett is one of the chief players in an increasingly tense debate within the Israeli government over how to approach and handle the Middle East peace process, upon which the Obama Administration is again focusing an exaggerated amount of attention.
Bennett also pointed out that every day, mothers with children in the car are pelted with stones on the main roads in Judea and Samaria. For Bennett, there can be no difference between the residents of Tel Aviv and the 400,000 Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria, and the Israeli army must protect both equally.
Bennett, 41, was a software entrepreneur in the United States, a multi-millionaire. He took the helm of the settler-friendly Jewish Home party in November 2012.
FOUR GOOD REASONS NOT TO VISIT MEXICO
Three Texas family members missing in Matamoros while another missing Texan has been found dead there
Not only are Anglo-Americans unsafe visiting Mexico, but even Mexican-American visitors are turning up dead south of the border.
3 MEMBERS OF TEXAS FAMILY ‘MISSING’ IN TAMAULIPAS; ANOTHER MISSING TEXAS MAN DEAD IN MATAMOROS
Borderland Beat
May 27, 2013
A Valley family says three of their loved ones have gone missing in Mexico, among them, a former Marine.
Armando Torres III, Armando Torres Jr., and Salvador Torres were last seen on May 15th, when they crossed the Los Indios International Bridge.
A family member tells Channel 5 News that they were on their way to visit other family members in the state of Tamaulipas, [Matamoros] but never made it to their destination.
Patricia Torres says, "Armando's parents and my mother in law, they're waiting for an answer, well us too and its pretty hare you know, to deal with this every day and it's horrible."
Family members say the FBI is now investigating the disappearance of the three men.
__________
A Harlingen [Texas] family's search has ended in tragedy.
Family members confirmed that the body of Apolonio “Polo” Sanchez, Jr. was found south of the border in Matamoros.
The Harlingen home health care provider went missing in Mexico on the weekend of May 10th.
Sanchez was supposed to coach a youth soccer game but never made it to the field. Family members reported that 49-year-old man's body was found over the weekend.
The Harlingen man’s remains have since been returned to the United States.
No word on arrests or suspects at this time but the case is been assigned to homicide detectives. [Valley Central]
Not only are Anglo-Americans unsafe visiting Mexico, but even Mexican-American visitors are turning up dead south of the border.
3 MEMBERS OF TEXAS FAMILY ‘MISSING’ IN TAMAULIPAS; ANOTHER MISSING TEXAS MAN DEAD IN MATAMOROS
Borderland Beat
May 27, 2013
A Valley family says three of their loved ones have gone missing in Mexico, among them, a former Marine.
Armando Torres III, Armando Torres Jr., and Salvador Torres were last seen on May 15th, when they crossed the Los Indios International Bridge.
A family member tells Channel 5 News that they were on their way to visit other family members in the state of Tamaulipas, [Matamoros] but never made it to their destination.
Patricia Torres says, "Armando's parents and my mother in law, they're waiting for an answer, well us too and its pretty hare you know, to deal with this every day and it's horrible."
Family members say the FBI is now investigating the disappearance of the three men.
__________
A Harlingen [Texas] family's search has ended in tragedy.
Family members confirmed that the body of Apolonio “Polo” Sanchez, Jr. was found south of the border in Matamoros.
The Harlingen home health care provider went missing in Mexico on the weekend of May 10th.
Sanchez was supposed to coach a youth soccer game but never made it to the field. Family members reported that 49-year-old man's body was found over the weekend.
The Harlingen man’s remains have since been returned to the United States.
No word on arrests or suspects at this time but the case is been assigned to homicide detectives. [Valley Central]
REPORT: TEXTING WHILE DRIVING OKAY IF YOU LOOK UP EVERY COUPLE SECONDS
The Onion
May 27, 20013
WASHINGTON—A new report published Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board advises motorists that sending text messages while driving “is totally fine” and “not that big a deal” as long as you make sure to glance up from your phone every now and then.
“If you’re driving and have a really important text to send, that’s okay; just try to keep one eye on the road as best you can,” NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman said of the report, which advocates a new “50-50 rule” for texting drivers, suggesting they keep half their attention on the road and half on their handheld device. “After all, you can always steer with your knees or—if you really want to be extra careful—text with one hand and hold the wheel with the other. Better yet, just ask a passenger to give you a heads-up whenever there’s a red light or another car up ahead.”
Hersman added that the report’s findings apply not only to texting, but also to checking email, playing games, or watching movies while driving.
May 27, 20013
WASHINGTON—A new report published Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board advises motorists that sending text messages while driving “is totally fine” and “not that big a deal” as long as you make sure to glance up from your phone every now and then.
“If you’re driving and have a really important text to send, that’s okay; just try to keep one eye on the road as best you can,” NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman said of the report, which advocates a new “50-50 rule” for texting drivers, suggesting they keep half their attention on the road and half on their handheld device. “After all, you can always steer with your knees or—if you really want to be extra careful—text with one hand and hold the wheel with the other. Better yet, just ask a passenger to give you a heads-up whenever there’s a red light or another car up ahead.”
Hersman added that the report’s findings apply not only to texting, but also to checking email, playing games, or watching movies while driving.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
THERE REALLY ARE DIFFERENCES IN IQ AMONG ETHNIC GROUPS
Liberals immediately call researchers racists whenever they point out intellectual differences among ethnic groups
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Jack Kelly: “It is incontestably true that Asians score higher on intelligence tests here than do whites, who score higher than Hispanics, who score higher than blacks.”
It is obvious that Kelly, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration, is not politically correct.
IT’S NOT ‘RACIST’ TO POINT OUT INTELLECTUAL DIFFERENCE LIKE JASON RICHWINE DID
By Jack Kelly
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
May 21, 2013
I cry "foul" on both sides in the immigration debate.
Jason Richwine, who resigned from the Heritage Foundation May 10, was the co-author of a study that claimed granting legal status to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants here would cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion over their lifetimes.
Conservative economists Tim Kane, Jim Pethokoukis, Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Alex Nowarasteh noted that to reach that preposterous number, among other things Heritage:
• Assumed illegals make no positive contributions to the economy (CATO estimates immigration reform would grow GDP by $1.5 trillion over 10 years); that virtually all would go on welfare; that there currently is no cost to providing public services for them.
• Counted the cost of Social Security benefits, but not what illegals would pay in payroll taxes. (Social Security's actuary estimates the "Gang of 8" bill would add $300 million in net revenue over the next decade.)
The study is so badly flawed that Heritage's reputation may never recover from it. But these flaws aren't why Mr. Richwine was forced to resign. In his thesis at Harvard University in 2009, he wrote: "the average IQ of immigrants in the United States is substantially lower than that of the white native population, and the difference is likely to persist over several generations."
Liberals, as is their custom when confronted with an uncongenial fact, accused Mr. Richwine of "racism."
To their everlasting shame, some conservative supporters of immigration reform also piled on.
It is incontestably true that Asians score higher on intelligence tests here than do whites, who score higher than Hispanics, who score higher than blacks. This fact must be acknowledged, and put into context.
When the Army began testing the intelligence of draftees in World War I, blacks in several Northern states scored higher than whites in several Southern states. Among whites, Jews today score higher than gentiles. But on those WWI Army mental tests, Jewish draftees -- most of whom then were recent immigrants from Russia -- scored much lower than native born whites.
A person's IQ is pretty much fixed at birth. But when cultural and socioeconomic factors change, the average IQ of groups can improve significantly in a single generation.
I think Mr. Richwine and thesis advisers George Borjas and Charles Murray overestimate the importance of intelligence and the role of genetics in determining it, and underestimate the economic contributions of the low skilled but industrious. High intelligence is essential for rocket scientists, but success in most jobs depends more on character and good work habits.
Professors Borjas and Murray are distinguished scholars who think highly of Mr. Richwine. Their views are honestly held, and they have a point. Mr. Richwine suggested in his Harvard thesis preference in legal immigration be given to the intelligent. Evidently the "Gang of 8" agree, because this would be the effect of the provision in their bill which would lower the priority of family reunification for issuing visas, and raising it for immigrants with special skills.
The dishonest are those who pretend there are no differences in IQ among ethnic groups, or that these differences have no consequences.
When University of Texas law professor Lino Graglia, who is Hispanic, said blacks and Hispanics do worse in college admissions because so many come from poor, single parent homes, liberals accused him of "racism."
One could argue Mr. Graglia is wrong. (He isn't.) But his argument is the opposite of racism, because he attributes differences to cultural, economic and sociological factors, not genetics.
Liberals make personal attacks to conceal intellectual bankruptcy -- and thereby reveal moral bankruptcy. The differences in academic performance among the races have profound economic consequences for the nation. Scholars must be able to explore the reasons without fear of being smeared.
Name-calling is not "debate." It's time we made that clear to liberals.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Jack Kelly: “It is incontestably true that Asians score higher on intelligence tests here than do whites, who score higher than Hispanics, who score higher than blacks.”
It is obvious that Kelly, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration, is not politically correct.
IT’S NOT ‘RACIST’ TO POINT OUT INTELLECTUAL DIFFERENCE LIKE JASON RICHWINE DID
By Jack Kelly
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
May 21, 2013
I cry "foul" on both sides in the immigration debate.
Jason Richwine, who resigned from the Heritage Foundation May 10, was the co-author of a study that claimed granting legal status to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants here would cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion over their lifetimes.
Conservative economists Tim Kane, Jim Pethokoukis, Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Alex Nowarasteh noted that to reach that preposterous number, among other things Heritage:
• Assumed illegals make no positive contributions to the economy (CATO estimates immigration reform would grow GDP by $1.5 trillion over 10 years); that virtually all would go on welfare; that there currently is no cost to providing public services for them.
• Counted the cost of Social Security benefits, but not what illegals would pay in payroll taxes. (Social Security's actuary estimates the "Gang of 8" bill would add $300 million in net revenue over the next decade.)
The study is so badly flawed that Heritage's reputation may never recover from it. But these flaws aren't why Mr. Richwine was forced to resign. In his thesis at Harvard University in 2009, he wrote: "the average IQ of immigrants in the United States is substantially lower than that of the white native population, and the difference is likely to persist over several generations."
Liberals, as is their custom when confronted with an uncongenial fact, accused Mr. Richwine of "racism."
To their everlasting shame, some conservative supporters of immigration reform also piled on.
It is incontestably true that Asians score higher on intelligence tests here than do whites, who score higher than Hispanics, who score higher than blacks. This fact must be acknowledged, and put into context.
When the Army began testing the intelligence of draftees in World War I, blacks in several Northern states scored higher than whites in several Southern states. Among whites, Jews today score higher than gentiles. But on those WWI Army mental tests, Jewish draftees -- most of whom then were recent immigrants from Russia -- scored much lower than native born whites.
A person's IQ is pretty much fixed at birth. But when cultural and socioeconomic factors change, the average IQ of groups can improve significantly in a single generation.
I think Mr. Richwine and thesis advisers George Borjas and Charles Murray overestimate the importance of intelligence and the role of genetics in determining it, and underestimate the economic contributions of the low skilled but industrious. High intelligence is essential for rocket scientists, but success in most jobs depends more on character and good work habits.
Professors Borjas and Murray are distinguished scholars who think highly of Mr. Richwine. Their views are honestly held, and they have a point. Mr. Richwine suggested in his Harvard thesis preference in legal immigration be given to the intelligent. Evidently the "Gang of 8" agree, because this would be the effect of the provision in their bill which would lower the priority of family reunification for issuing visas, and raising it for immigrants with special skills.
The dishonest are those who pretend there are no differences in IQ among ethnic groups, or that these differences have no consequences.
When University of Texas law professor Lino Graglia, who is Hispanic, said blacks and Hispanics do worse in college admissions because so many come from poor, single parent homes, liberals accused him of "racism."
One could argue Mr. Graglia is wrong. (He isn't.) But his argument is the opposite of racism, because he attributes differences to cultural, economic and sociological factors, not genetics.
Liberals make personal attacks to conceal intellectual bankruptcy -- and thereby reveal moral bankruptcy. The differences in academic performance among the races have profound economic consequences for the nation. Scholars must be able to explore the reasons without fear of being smeared.
Name-calling is not "debate." It's time we made that clear to liberals.
THE COST OF OBAMACARE WILL HURT MANY EMPLOYEES
Health insurance premiums are likely to skyrocket under the Affordable Care Act
A CNN poll conducted on May 17 and 19 shows that 54 percent of those polled oppose Obamacare while 43 percent support it. The Republicans believe that what they see as flaws in Obamacare will lead to congressional election victories in 1014. If successful, they will vote to kill Obamacare, but their action is sure to be met by a presidential veto and they probably won’t have enough of a majority to override it.
UP TO 75% COULD BE HIT BY OBAMACARE TAX
By Greg Richter
Newsmax
May 27, 2013
The so-called "Cadillac Tax" facing employers who offer premium healthcare plans to their workers already is affecting employees, even though it doesn't kick in until 2018.
Employers say they have to get started bringing down costs now, The New York Times reports, so employees who are used to $20 co-pays at the doctor's office and $500 deductibles are learning a new reality. Many now are looking at deductibles as high as $6,000 for families.
That's exactly how Obamacare planners designed it, the Times story says. The intent of what is officially known as the Affordable Care Act all along was to get companies to drop plans that protect workers from the high cost of healthcare, which can lead to unnecessary tests and procedures.
"The consumer should continue to expect that their plan is going to be more expensive, and they will have less benefits," Cynthia Weidner of the benefits consultant HighRoads told the Times.
Still, the tax is one of the most controversial parts of the healthcare law. It imposes a 40 percent tax on the portion of a health plan's cost that exceeds $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for a family. That cost includes what both the employer and employee pay.
Some employees are feeling the pinch already. The Times talked to a nursing assistant who had to drop out of school and get extra jobs to pay for medicine for her husband, who has cystic fibrosis.
"My husband didn’t choose to be born this way," said Abbey Bruce.
“The reality is it is going to hit more and more people over time, at least as currently written in law, ” said Bradley Herring, a health economist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Herring estimated that as many as 75 percent of plans could be affected by the tax over the next decade — unless employers manage to significantly rein in their costs.
A CNN poll conducted on May 17 and 19 shows that 54 percent of those polled oppose Obamacare while 43 percent support it. The Republicans believe that what they see as flaws in Obamacare will lead to congressional election victories in 1014. If successful, they will vote to kill Obamacare, but their action is sure to be met by a presidential veto and they probably won’t have enough of a majority to override it.
UP TO 75% COULD BE HIT BY OBAMACARE TAX
By Greg Richter
Newsmax
May 27, 2013
The so-called "Cadillac Tax" facing employers who offer premium healthcare plans to their workers already is affecting employees, even though it doesn't kick in until 2018.
Employers say they have to get started bringing down costs now, The New York Times reports, so employees who are used to $20 co-pays at the doctor's office and $500 deductibles are learning a new reality. Many now are looking at deductibles as high as $6,000 for families.
That's exactly how Obamacare planners designed it, the Times story says. The intent of what is officially known as the Affordable Care Act all along was to get companies to drop plans that protect workers from the high cost of healthcare, which can lead to unnecessary tests and procedures.
"The consumer should continue to expect that their plan is going to be more expensive, and they will have less benefits," Cynthia Weidner of the benefits consultant HighRoads told the Times.
Still, the tax is one of the most controversial parts of the healthcare law. It imposes a 40 percent tax on the portion of a health plan's cost that exceeds $10,200 for an individual and $27,500 for a family. That cost includes what both the employer and employee pay.
Some employees are feeling the pinch already. The Times talked to a nursing assistant who had to drop out of school and get extra jobs to pay for medicine for her husband, who has cystic fibrosis.
"My husband didn’t choose to be born this way," said Abbey Bruce.
“The reality is it is going to hit more and more people over time, at least as currently written in law, ” said Bradley Herring, a health economist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Herring estimated that as many as 75 percent of plans could be affected by the tax over the next decade — unless employers manage to significantly rein in their costs.
NO MENTION IN MAINSTREAM MEDIA OF SENATE RESOLUTION SUPPORTING ISRAELI ATTACK ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES
Israel Today and a whole bunch of websites carried this story, but none of the mainstream media reported it. Could it be that the mainstream media is not fond of the Jewish state?
U.S. SENATE DEMANDS SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI STRIKE ON IRAN
Israel Today
May 27, 2013
Israelis were relieved to hear of last week's near-unanimous passing of a US Senate resolution demanding full American support should Israel deem it necessary to attack Iran's nuclear program.
The resolution, which was voted for by 99 out of 100 senators, read:
"If the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in legitimate self-defense against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the United States Government should stand with Israel and provide, in accordance with United States law and the constitutional responsibility of Congress to authorize the use of military force, diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people, and existence."
The resolution went on to urge the Obama Administration to take its own steps to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon so that Israel does not reach the point where it feels compelled to take action.
Last Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published yet another report casting suspicion on Iran's nuclear activities, and validating concerns that the Islamic Republic seeks atomic weapons.
The report noted that Iran has of late significantly upgraded its ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, and that work advances on a plutonium-producing reactor.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported at the weekend that the Islamic Republic has fielded a "massive" number of mobile long-range missile launchers. The move is a clear warning against any action targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. Should Israel or the US threaten Iran's nuclear program, the missiles would presumably be launched at the Jewish state and American military bases in the Middle East in an overwhelming simultaneous attack.
U.S. SENATE DEMANDS SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI STRIKE ON IRAN
Israel Today
May 27, 2013
Israelis were relieved to hear of last week's near-unanimous passing of a US Senate resolution demanding full American support should Israel deem it necessary to attack Iran's nuclear program.
The resolution, which was voted for by 99 out of 100 senators, read:
"If the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in legitimate self-defense against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the United States Government should stand with Israel and provide, in accordance with United States law and the constitutional responsibility of Congress to authorize the use of military force, diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people, and existence."
The resolution went on to urge the Obama Administration to take its own steps to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon so that Israel does not reach the point where it feels compelled to take action.
Last Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published yet another report casting suspicion on Iran's nuclear activities, and validating concerns that the Islamic Republic seeks atomic weapons.
The report noted that Iran has of late significantly upgraded its ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, and that work advances on a plutonium-producing reactor.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported at the weekend that the Islamic Republic has fielded a "massive" number of mobile long-range missile launchers. The move is a clear warning against any action targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. Should Israel or the US threaten Iran's nuclear program, the missiles would presumably be launched at the Jewish state and American military bases in the Middle East in an overwhelming simultaneous attack.
LINDSAY LOHAN WANNABE BUSTED HIGH ON POT (UPDATE)
Fortunately no innocent bystander was bonged in the head by the bong Amanda Bynes tossed out of her apartment window
Ah, here comes the old switcheroo. Bynes now claims on Twitter that, instead of being a perp, she is the victim of a sexual assault by a rogue NY cop. Bynes denies throwing the bong out the window, claiming that she merely opened the window to get some fresh air. She tweeted that the cop came in and "slapped my vagina," then busted her only because she called the cops on him.
Now,that’s as good a story as any from someone who was stoned. Bynes may have even topped Lindsay Lohan with this whopper.
AMANDA BYNES ACCUSES ARRESTING OFFICER OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
By Markirah Shaw
CelebrityCafe.com
May 25, 2013
A mere two days after being arrested on two misdemeanors and one felony charge involving a flying bong, Amanda Bynes is back on Twitter to tell a drastically different version of the story.
Recently, we reported that Bynes had been cuffed in her Manhattan apartment late Thursday night after a police officer witnessed her throw a bong out of her 36th floor window.
The cop entered the apartment – which he claimed smelled like marijuana – with Bynes’ permission and eventually charged her with drug possession, tampering with evidence, and reckless endangerment.
Today, Bynes took to Twitter and insisted that the media got it all wrong, that she was in fact the victim of sexual assault prior to her unjustified arrest by her assailant.
Her lengthy tweet reads: “I was sexually harassed by one of the cops the night before last which is who then arrested me. He lied and said I threw a bong out the window when I opened the window for fresh air. Hilarious.”
Bynes continued, “He slapped my vagina. Sexual harassment. Big deal. I then called the cops on him. He handcuffed me, which I resisted, quite unlike any of the reports stated.”
Bynes then moved on to address the reports of how she was first taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation before being booked on the allegedly bogus charges.
“Then I was sent to a mental hospital. Offensive. I kept asking for my lawyer but they wouldn't let me. The cops were creepy. The cop sexually harassed me, they found no pot on me or bong outside my window. That's why the judge let me go. Don't believe any reports.”
People [Magazine] reports that the New York Police Department’s internal affairs bureau is taking Bynes’ accusation very seriously and is investigating these newly revealed details about the arrest.
Ah, here comes the old switcheroo. Bynes now claims on Twitter that, instead of being a perp, she is the victim of a sexual assault by a rogue NY cop. Bynes denies throwing the bong out the window, claiming that she merely opened the window to get some fresh air. She tweeted that the cop came in and "slapped my vagina," then busted her only because she called the cops on him.
Now,that’s as good a story as any from someone who was stoned. Bynes may have even topped Lindsay Lohan with this whopper.
AMANDA BYNES ACCUSES ARRESTING OFFICER OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
By Markirah Shaw
CelebrityCafe.com
May 25, 2013
A mere two days after being arrested on two misdemeanors and one felony charge involving a flying bong, Amanda Bynes is back on Twitter to tell a drastically different version of the story.
Recently, we reported that Bynes had been cuffed in her Manhattan apartment late Thursday night after a police officer witnessed her throw a bong out of her 36th floor window.
The cop entered the apartment – which he claimed smelled like marijuana – with Bynes’ permission and eventually charged her with drug possession, tampering with evidence, and reckless endangerment.
Today, Bynes took to Twitter and insisted that the media got it all wrong, that she was in fact the victim of sexual assault prior to her unjustified arrest by her assailant.
Her lengthy tweet reads: “I was sexually harassed by one of the cops the night before last which is who then arrested me. He lied and said I threw a bong out the window when I opened the window for fresh air. Hilarious.”
Bynes continued, “He slapped my vagina. Sexual harassment. Big deal. I then called the cops on him. He handcuffed me, which I resisted, quite unlike any of the reports stated.”
Bynes then moved on to address the reports of how she was first taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation before being booked on the allegedly bogus charges.
“Then I was sent to a mental hospital. Offensive. I kept asking for my lawyer but they wouldn't let me. The cops were creepy. The cop sexually harassed me, they found no pot on me or bong outside my window. That's why the judge let me go. Don't believe any reports.”
People [Magazine] reports that the New York Police Department’s internal affairs bureau is taking Bynes’ accusation very seriously and is investigating these newly revealed details about the arrest.
Monday, May 27, 2013
HOW DID JFK COME TO PRAISE NAZISM AND ADMIRE HITLER?
Yesterday I posted “Ich Bin Ein Nazi Und Ich Bewundere Die Fuhrer” about JFK’s travelogues and letters which revealed that before WWII he praised Nazism and admired Hitler. That begs the question of how did JFK came by his favorable views of Nazism and Adolf Hitler?
JFK probably got his pro-Nazi views from Joseph P. Kennedy, his wealthy anti-Semitic father. There can be no doubt but that JFK’s father expressed his hatred of Jews and his views on Hitler and Nazism around the family dinner table and on many other occasions when his children were present.
Here is how Wikipedia describes the anti-Semitism of the elder Kennedy, a former ambassador to Britain:
According to Harvey Klemmer, who served as one of [Jseph P.] Kennedy's embassy aides, Kennedy habitually referred to Jews as "kikes or sheenies". Kennedy allegedly told Klemmer that "[some] individual Jews are all right, Harvey, but as a race they stink. They spoil everything they touch." When Klemmer returned from a trip to Germany and reported the pattern of vandalism and assaults on Jews by Nazis, Kennedy responded, "Well, they brought it on themselves."
On June 13, 1938, Kennedy met with Herbert von Dirksen, the German ambassador to the United Kingdom, in London, who claimed upon his return to Berlin that Kennedy had told him that "it was not so much the fact that we want to get rid of the Jews that was so harmful to us, but rather the loud clamor with which we accompanied this purpose. [Kennedy] himself fully understood our Jewish policy." Kennedy's main concern with such violent acts against German Jews as Kristallnacht was that they generated bad publicity in the West for the Nazi regime, a concern that he communicated in a letter to Charles Lindbergh.
Kennedy had a close friendship with Nancy Astor. The correspondence between them is reportedly replete with anti-Semitic statements. As Edward Renehan notes:
__As fiercely anti-Communist as they were anti-Semitic, Kennedy and Astor looked upon Adolf Hitler as a welcome solution to both of these "world problems" (Nancy's phrase).... Kennedy replied that he expected the "Jew media" in the United States to become a problem, that "Jewish pundits in New York and Los Angeles" were already making noises contrived to "set a match to the fuse of the world".
By August 1940, Kennedy worried that a third term as the President for Roosevelt would mean war. As Leamer reports, "Joe believed that Roosevelt, Churchill, the Jews, and their allies would manipulate America into approaching Armageddon." Nevertheless, Kennedy supported Roosevelt's third term in return for Roosevelt's support of Joseph Kennedy, Jr., in the run for the Governor of Massachusetts in 1942. However, even during the darkest months of World War II, Kennedy remained "more wary of" prominent American Jews, such as Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter, than he was of Hitler.
JFK probably got his pro-Nazi views from Joseph P. Kennedy, his wealthy anti-Semitic father. There can be no doubt but that JFK’s father expressed his hatred of Jews and his views on Hitler and Nazism around the family dinner table and on many other occasions when his children were present.
Here is how Wikipedia describes the anti-Semitism of the elder Kennedy, a former ambassador to Britain:
According to Harvey Klemmer, who served as one of [Jseph P.] Kennedy's embassy aides, Kennedy habitually referred to Jews as "kikes or sheenies". Kennedy allegedly told Klemmer that "[some] individual Jews are all right, Harvey, but as a race they stink. They spoil everything they touch." When Klemmer returned from a trip to Germany and reported the pattern of vandalism and assaults on Jews by Nazis, Kennedy responded, "Well, they brought it on themselves."
On June 13, 1938, Kennedy met with Herbert von Dirksen, the German ambassador to the United Kingdom, in London, who claimed upon his return to Berlin that Kennedy had told him that "it was not so much the fact that we want to get rid of the Jews that was so harmful to us, but rather the loud clamor with which we accompanied this purpose. [Kennedy] himself fully understood our Jewish policy." Kennedy's main concern with such violent acts against German Jews as Kristallnacht was that they generated bad publicity in the West for the Nazi regime, a concern that he communicated in a letter to Charles Lindbergh.
Kennedy had a close friendship with Nancy Astor. The correspondence between them is reportedly replete with anti-Semitic statements. As Edward Renehan notes:
__As fiercely anti-Communist as they were anti-Semitic, Kennedy and Astor looked upon Adolf Hitler as a welcome solution to both of these "world problems" (Nancy's phrase).... Kennedy replied that he expected the "Jew media" in the United States to become a problem, that "Jewish pundits in New York and Los Angeles" were already making noises contrived to "set a match to the fuse of the world".
By August 1940, Kennedy worried that a third term as the President for Roosevelt would mean war. As Leamer reports, "Joe believed that Roosevelt, Churchill, the Jews, and their allies would manipulate America into approaching Armageddon." Nevertheless, Kennedy supported Roosevelt's third term in return for Roosevelt's support of Joseph Kennedy, Jr., in the run for the Governor of Massachusetts in 1942. However, even during the darkest months of World War II, Kennedy remained "more wary of" prominent American Jews, such as Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter, than he was of Hitler.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA AT WORK
53 percent of the adult males arrested in Sacramento County tested positive for marijuana
You can bet that the percentage of men arrested testing positive for marijuana would be much lower were it not for the ease in getting pot under California’s medical marijuana law.
78% OF COUNTY’S ARRESTED MEN TEST POSITIVE FOR DRUGS
By Bill Lindelof
The Sacramento Bee
May 24, 2013
The nation's drug czar on Thursday released a report stating that 78 percent of adult males arrested in Sacramento County tested positive for at least one illegal drug.
Gil Kerlikowske , director of national drug control policy, during an address at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., released the results of a 2012 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring report that collected data from inmates in five cities or counties.
In his address, he said more than half of adult males arrested for crimes, misdemeanors and felonies tested positive for a least one drug.
The five cities or counties in the report were Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New York and Sacramento.
Positive results ranged from 62 percent in Atlanta to 86 percent in Chicago.
"My law enforcement colleagues and I know that we cannot arrest or incarcerate our way out of the drug problem," said Kerlikowske in a copy of his prepared remarks. "Although law enforcement will always play a vital role in addressing violent drug-related crime and protecting our families and neighborhoods, we must approach drug policy from a public health standpoint, not just a criminal justice issue."
Other findings from the report:
• A total of 53 percent of those arrested in Sacramento tested positive for marijuana.
• Forty percent of Sacramento arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine.
• Sacramento had the highest proportion of methamphetamine positives, but the fewest positives for cocaine (9 percent) compared with any of the other monitoring sites.
• Seventy percent of those testing positive for any drug had never been in any drug or alcohol treatment. That, according to drug policy officials, highlights the need to expand services that address substance abuse.
• 84 percent of those tested in Sacramento had a prior arrest.
Samples were drawn from all adult men who were arrested, not just those arrested on drug charges, according to a press release from the drug policy director's office.
You can bet that the percentage of men arrested testing positive for marijuana would be much lower were it not for the ease in getting pot under California’s medical marijuana law.
78% OF COUNTY’S ARRESTED MEN TEST POSITIVE FOR DRUGS
By Bill Lindelof
The Sacramento Bee
May 24, 2013
The nation's drug czar on Thursday released a report stating that 78 percent of adult males arrested in Sacramento County tested positive for at least one illegal drug.
Gil Kerlikowske , director of national drug control policy, during an address at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., released the results of a 2012 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring report that collected data from inmates in five cities or counties.
In his address, he said more than half of adult males arrested for crimes, misdemeanors and felonies tested positive for a least one drug.
The five cities or counties in the report were Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New York and Sacramento.
Positive results ranged from 62 percent in Atlanta to 86 percent in Chicago.
"My law enforcement colleagues and I know that we cannot arrest or incarcerate our way out of the drug problem," said Kerlikowske in a copy of his prepared remarks. "Although law enforcement will always play a vital role in addressing violent drug-related crime and protecting our families and neighborhoods, we must approach drug policy from a public health standpoint, not just a criminal justice issue."
Other findings from the report:
• A total of 53 percent of those arrested in Sacramento tested positive for marijuana.
• Forty percent of Sacramento arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine.
• Sacramento had the highest proportion of methamphetamine positives, but the fewest positives for cocaine (9 percent) compared with any of the other monitoring sites.
• Seventy percent of those testing positive for any drug had never been in any drug or alcohol treatment. That, according to drug policy officials, highlights the need to expand services that address substance abuse.
• 84 percent of those tested in Sacramento had a prior arrest.
Samples were drawn from all adult men who were arrested, not just those arrested on drug charges, according to a press release from the drug policy director's office.
MEXICAN UNON BOSS LIVING HIGH ON THE HOG, VERY HIGH
Mexican senator, the head of the Pemex Workers’ Union, is living the lifestyle of the filthy rich while all his relatives have jobs under long term contracts at Pemex, apparently getting paid for doing nada
Carlos Romero Deschamps is living the lifestyle of the filthy rich on a union salary of $2,000 a month. He recently gave his son a $2 million Ferrari and his daughter travels all over the world on private or commercial planes and yachts, staying in luxury hotels. In addition to his union job, Deschamps is also a Mexican senator. If Deschamps is not a poster boy for corruption, I’ll eat my John Deere cap.
From Borderland Beat:
RELATIVES OF ROMERO DESCHAMPS HAVE JOBS WITH PEMEX UNTIL 2999
El Diario de Coahuila
May 6, 2013
One of the most notorious public/private officials in Mexico is Carlos Romero Deschamps, a PRI Senator and also the President of the Pemex Workers' Union. On an official salary of about $2,000.00 a month as union president, Mr. Deschamps, his children and his family have a lifestyle that can conservatively be called luxurious. His daughter, Paulina Romero Deschamps, appeared on Facebook a few months ago describing how she travels all over the world accompanied by her three English bulldogs, Keiko, Boli and Morgancita. They travel on private and commercial airplanes and yachts, and stay in the priciest hotels in Europe and other parts of the world, eating in the best restaurants and drinking wines that cost up to $800.00 per bottle. Her Facebook page shows her posing for photographs and shopping for clothing and accessories (calfskin Birkin bag by Hermes, cost: $12,000.00; limited edition Louis Vuitton Lockit PM Suhali bag, cost: $4,120.00).
Carlos Romero Deschamps' son, Jose Carlos Romero Duran, also lives quite well. A couple of months ago, several newspapers reported that his father gave him a brand new car, an Enzo Ferrari that costs about $2 million. And newspapers, among them Proceso, recently reported that Jose Carlos recently bought two apartments in Miami Beach for $7,550,000.00.
But the benefits enjoyed by Romero Deschamps' other relatives are also impressive. Deschamps was recently elected to his sixth term as president of the Pemex Worker's Union, despite the fact that their own rules do not allow reelection. He was a "plurinominal" candidate for senator, sponsored by EPN and the PRI. This means that his name never appeared on the ballot; rather, he was one of several candidates who were appointed to political office based on the proportion of votes his or her party received in the general election.
One more detail: as a Mexican Senator, he enjoys almost total immunity from prosecution.
Carlos Romero Deschamps is living the lifestyle of the filthy rich on a union salary of $2,000 a month. He recently gave his son a $2 million Ferrari and his daughter travels all over the world on private or commercial planes and yachts, staying in luxury hotels. In addition to his union job, Deschamps is also a Mexican senator. If Deschamps is not a poster boy for corruption, I’ll eat my John Deere cap.
From Borderland Beat:
RELATIVES OF ROMERO DESCHAMPS HAVE JOBS WITH PEMEX UNTIL 2999
El Diario de Coahuila
May 6, 2013
One of the most notorious public/private officials in Mexico is Carlos Romero Deschamps, a PRI Senator and also the President of the Pemex Workers' Union. On an official salary of about $2,000.00 a month as union president, Mr. Deschamps, his children and his family have a lifestyle that can conservatively be called luxurious. His daughter, Paulina Romero Deschamps, appeared on Facebook a few months ago describing how she travels all over the world accompanied by her three English bulldogs, Keiko, Boli and Morgancita. They travel on private and commercial airplanes and yachts, and stay in the priciest hotels in Europe and other parts of the world, eating in the best restaurants and drinking wines that cost up to $800.00 per bottle. Her Facebook page shows her posing for photographs and shopping for clothing and accessories (calfskin Birkin bag by Hermes, cost: $12,000.00; limited edition Louis Vuitton Lockit PM Suhali bag, cost: $4,120.00).
Carlos Romero Deschamps' son, Jose Carlos Romero Duran, also lives quite well. A couple of months ago, several newspapers reported that his father gave him a brand new car, an Enzo Ferrari that costs about $2 million. And newspapers, among them Proceso, recently reported that Jose Carlos recently bought two apartments in Miami Beach for $7,550,000.00.
But the benefits enjoyed by Romero Deschamps' other relatives are also impressive. Deschamps was recently elected to his sixth term as president of the Pemex Worker's Union, despite the fact that their own rules do not allow reelection. He was a "plurinominal" candidate for senator, sponsored by EPN and the PRI. This means that his name never appeared on the ballot; rather, he was one of several candidates who were appointed to political office based on the proportion of votes his or her party received in the general election.
One more detail: as a Mexican Senator, he enjoys almost total immunity from prosecution.
MICHAEL GERSON: THE PRESIDENT DOES A LOT OF MORAL PREENING BUT NOT MUCH POLICY CHANGING FROM THAT OF HIS PREDECESSOR
Here is how Michael Gerson, a Washington Post columnist, answered a question about Obama’s War on Terror policies from Bob Schieffer on Sunday’s CBS Face the Nation:
BOB SCHIEFFER: Let me just ask you quickly. The President made a big speech on the war on terror and he says we have to bring this war to an end. But that's easier said than done. What did you take away from the fact that--
MICHAEL GERSON: I'm not even sure he said that, by the way. You know, I'm not sure there was a whole lot of new news in this speech. The President has a way of rhetorically distancing himself from the war on terror while conducting it. He has a way of criticizing the policies of his predecessor while implementing them almost exactly. What we learned from this speech is that he wants to reduce the pace of drone operations from the Obama level to the Bush level, okay? We learned that he wants to close Guantanamo, which he's wanted to do all along but hasn't given the Congress really a viable plan. We learned that he was going to have a special envoy to do this. Well, you had one, actually a very effective one. I think the reality here is that the President, you know, knows that we are going to conduct this war. He doesn't like to talk about it for ideological reasons and so you end up with a significant amount of moral preening and not much policy changing.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Let me just ask you quickly. The President made a big speech on the war on terror and he says we have to bring this war to an end. But that's easier said than done. What did you take away from the fact that--
MICHAEL GERSON: I'm not even sure he said that, by the way. You know, I'm not sure there was a whole lot of new news in this speech. The President has a way of rhetorically distancing himself from the war on terror while conducting it. He has a way of criticizing the policies of his predecessor while implementing them almost exactly. What we learned from this speech is that he wants to reduce the pace of drone operations from the Obama level to the Bush level, okay? We learned that he wants to close Guantanamo, which he's wanted to do all along but hasn't given the Congress really a viable plan. We learned that he was going to have a special envoy to do this. Well, you had one, actually a very effective one. I think the reality here is that the President, you know, knows that we are going to conduct this war. He doesn't like to talk about it for ideological reasons and so you end up with a significant amount of moral preening and not much policy changing.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN FAITH KILLS? REPEATEDLY
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
May 26, 2013
Herbert and Catherine Schaible had nine children. They now have seven. In 2009 their 2-year old son died of pneumonia. The disease went untreated. The Schaibles believe in faith healing as opposed to modern medicine. After the 2009 incident they promised a judge they would not let another sick child go without medical care. They did not follow through with that promise. Their 8-month old child has died under similar circumstances, and they are facing charges of third-degree murder, as opposed to the manslaughter charge they faced in the earlier death. they are both being held without bond.
About a dozen children a year die in the US under roughly similar circumstances.
After the first death the Schaibles were sentenced to 10 years probation on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. As part of that probation they had to agree to seek normal medical care for their children, including regular check-ups. They didn't, and the probation department was unable or unwilling to enforce the conditions.
The Schaibles are third-generation members of the First Century Gospel Church of Philadelphia. They are facing as much as 14 years in prison if convicted.
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
May 26, 2013
Herbert and Catherine Schaible had nine children. They now have seven. In 2009 their 2-year old son died of pneumonia. The disease went untreated. The Schaibles believe in faith healing as opposed to modern medicine. After the 2009 incident they promised a judge they would not let another sick child go without medical care. They did not follow through with that promise. Their 8-month old child has died under similar circumstances, and they are facing charges of third-degree murder, as opposed to the manslaughter charge they faced in the earlier death. they are both being held without bond.
About a dozen children a year die in the US under roughly similar circumstances.
After the first death the Schaibles were sentenced to 10 years probation on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. As part of that probation they had to agree to seek normal medical care for their children, including regular check-ups. They didn't, and the probation department was unable or unwilling to enforce the conditions.
The Schaibles are third-generation members of the First Century Gospel Church of Philadelphia. They are facing as much as 14 years in prison if convicted.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
ICH BIN EIN NAZI UND ICH BEWUNDERE DIE FUHRER
JFK’s travelogues and letters reveal that he praised Nazism and admired Hitler before WWII
Had JFK become president before WWII, he probably would have gone to Berlin and, while standing beside Hitler on the steps of the Rathaus Schöneberg (Berlin’s city hall), given a speech in which he declared, “Ich bin ein Nazi und Ich bewundere die Fuhrer.” (I am a Nazi and I admire the Fuhrer.)
HOW JFK SECRETLY ADMIRED HITLER: EXPLOSIVE BOOK REVEALS FORMER PRESIDENT’S PRAISE FOR THE NAZIS AS HE TRAVELLED THROUGH GERMANY BEFORE SECOND WORLD WAR
Revelation comes one week before 50th anniversary commemorations of JFK's memorable 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech
By Allan Hall
Mail Online
May 23, 2013
A new book out in Germany reveals how President Kennedy was a secret admirer of the Nazis.
The news comes embarrassingly close to a visit being paid to Berlin next month by President Obama - one week before 50th anniversary commemorations of JFK's memorable 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech pledging US solidarity with Europe during the Cold War.
President Kennedy's travelogues and letters chronicling his wanderings through Germany before WWII, when Adolf Hitler was in power, have been unearthed and show him generally in favour of the movement that was to plunge the world into the greatest war in history
'Fascism?' wrote the youthful president-to-be in one. 'The right thing for Germany.'
In another; 'What are the evils of fascism compared to communism?'
And on August 21, 1937 - two years before the war that would claim 50 million lives broke out - he wrote: 'The Germans really are too good - therefore people have ganged up on them to protect themselves.'
And in a line which seems directly plugged into the racial superiority line plugged by the Third Reich he wrote after travelling through the Rhineland: 'The Nordic races certainly seem to be superior to the Romans.'
The future president's praise is now embarrassing in hindsight - a few years later he fought in War War Two against the Nazis and his elder brother Lt. Joseph Patrick 'Joe' Kennedy, Jr was killed.
Other musings concern how great the autobahns were - 'the best roads in the world' - and how, having visited Hitler's Bavarian holiday home in Berchtesgaden and the tea house built on top of the mountain for him.
He declared; 'Who has visited these two places can easily imagine how Hitler will emerge from the hatred currently surrounding him to emerge in a few years as one of the most important personalities that ever lived.'
Kennedy's admiration for Nazi Germany is revealed in a book entitled 'John F. Kennedy - Among the Germans. Travel diaries and letters 1937-1945.'
When World War II did arrive, the future president's father, Joe P Kennedy, strongly opposed going into battle with Germany and made several missteps that severely damaged his political career.
He adopted a defeatist, anti-war stance and tried to arrange a meeting with Adolf Hitler without the approval of the Department of State.
The reasons for this are unclear - some speculate he was eager to do anything to avoid war because he feared that American capitalism - which he profited from - would not survive the country’s entry into the conflict.
In his role as US ambassador to Britain he also opposed providing the UK with military and economic aid.
He said in an interview 'Democracy is finished in England. It may be here [in the US].
During the World War II, JFK's older brother Joe volunteered for a secret mission testing an experimental drone plane packed with explosives - a weapon the Allies hoped to use as a guided missile.
On the first test flight, the explosives detonated prematurely and the plane exploded - his body was never found.
The youthful president carved his own place in history when he stood outside the West Berlin town hall of Schoeneberg on June 26 1963 to declare US solidarity with the city and the continent with the immortal words; 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'
The fact that, strictly speaking, he was referring to himself as a doughnut - a Berliner - did not diminish the wild enthusiasm for him.
But his praise of Hitler in a country still struggling to come to terms with his legacy may prove awkward for Obama who will visit Berlin for wide-ranging talks with Chancellor Merkel on June 18 and 19.
But his praise was not entirely without caveats.
'It is evident that the Germans were scary for him,' said Spiegel magazine in Berlin.
In the diaries of the three trips he made to prewar Germany he also recognised; 'Hitler seems to be as popular here as Mussolini in Germany, although propaganda is probably his most powerful weapon.'
Observers say his writings ranged between aversion and attraction for Germany.
The book also contains his impressions when walking through a shattered Berlin after the war: 'An overwhelming stench of bodies - sweet and nauseating'.
And of the recently deceased Fuehrer he said; 'His boundless ambition for his country made him a threat to peace in the world, but he had something mysterious about him. He was the stuff of legends.'
The book editor's believe that he was 'eerily fascinated' by fascism.
Had JFK become president before WWII, he probably would have gone to Berlin and, while standing beside Hitler on the steps of the Rathaus Schöneberg (Berlin’s city hall), given a speech in which he declared, “Ich bin ein Nazi und Ich bewundere die Fuhrer.” (I am a Nazi and I admire the Fuhrer.)
HOW JFK SECRETLY ADMIRED HITLER: EXPLOSIVE BOOK REVEALS FORMER PRESIDENT’S PRAISE FOR THE NAZIS AS HE TRAVELLED THROUGH GERMANY BEFORE SECOND WORLD WAR
Revelation comes one week before 50th anniversary commemorations of JFK's memorable 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech
By Allan Hall
Mail Online
May 23, 2013
A new book out in Germany reveals how President Kennedy was a secret admirer of the Nazis.
The news comes embarrassingly close to a visit being paid to Berlin next month by President Obama - one week before 50th anniversary commemorations of JFK's memorable 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech pledging US solidarity with Europe during the Cold War.
President Kennedy's travelogues and letters chronicling his wanderings through Germany before WWII, when Adolf Hitler was in power, have been unearthed and show him generally in favour of the movement that was to plunge the world into the greatest war in history
'Fascism?' wrote the youthful president-to-be in one. 'The right thing for Germany.'
In another; 'What are the evils of fascism compared to communism?'
And on August 21, 1937 - two years before the war that would claim 50 million lives broke out - he wrote: 'The Germans really are too good - therefore people have ganged up on them to protect themselves.'
And in a line which seems directly plugged into the racial superiority line plugged by the Third Reich he wrote after travelling through the Rhineland: 'The Nordic races certainly seem to be superior to the Romans.'
The future president's praise is now embarrassing in hindsight - a few years later he fought in War War Two against the Nazis and his elder brother Lt. Joseph Patrick 'Joe' Kennedy, Jr was killed.
Other musings concern how great the autobahns were - 'the best roads in the world' - and how, having visited Hitler's Bavarian holiday home in Berchtesgaden and the tea house built on top of the mountain for him.
He declared; 'Who has visited these two places can easily imagine how Hitler will emerge from the hatred currently surrounding him to emerge in a few years as one of the most important personalities that ever lived.'
Kennedy's admiration for Nazi Germany is revealed in a book entitled 'John F. Kennedy - Among the Germans. Travel diaries and letters 1937-1945.'
When World War II did arrive, the future president's father, Joe P Kennedy, strongly opposed going into battle with Germany and made several missteps that severely damaged his political career.
He adopted a defeatist, anti-war stance and tried to arrange a meeting with Adolf Hitler without the approval of the Department of State.
The reasons for this are unclear - some speculate he was eager to do anything to avoid war because he feared that American capitalism - which he profited from - would not survive the country’s entry into the conflict.
In his role as US ambassador to Britain he also opposed providing the UK with military and economic aid.
He said in an interview 'Democracy is finished in England. It may be here [in the US].
During the World War II, JFK's older brother Joe volunteered for a secret mission testing an experimental drone plane packed with explosives - a weapon the Allies hoped to use as a guided missile.
On the first test flight, the explosives detonated prematurely and the plane exploded - his body was never found.
The youthful president carved his own place in history when he stood outside the West Berlin town hall of Schoeneberg on June 26 1963 to declare US solidarity with the city and the continent with the immortal words; 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'
The fact that, strictly speaking, he was referring to himself as a doughnut - a Berliner - did not diminish the wild enthusiasm for him.
But his praise of Hitler in a country still struggling to come to terms with his legacy may prove awkward for Obama who will visit Berlin for wide-ranging talks with Chancellor Merkel on June 18 and 19.
But his praise was not entirely without caveats.
'It is evident that the Germans were scary for him,' said Spiegel magazine in Berlin.
In the diaries of the three trips he made to prewar Germany he also recognised; 'Hitler seems to be as popular here as Mussolini in Germany, although propaganda is probably his most powerful weapon.'
Observers say his writings ranged between aversion and attraction for Germany.
The book also contains his impressions when walking through a shattered Berlin after the war: 'An overwhelming stench of bodies - sweet and nauseating'.
And of the recently deceased Fuehrer he said; 'His boundless ambition for his country made him a threat to peace in the world, but he had something mysterious about him. He was the stuff of legends.'
The book editor's believe that he was 'eerily fascinated' by fascism.
PROBLEM COP MUST HAVE THOUGHT PROBLEMS COULD BE SOLVED BY TORCHING CAPTAIN’S HOME
Let me see if I can get this straight. Here we have a cop that has been a fuckup off-and-on for 10 years. Finally he gets pissed off at his captain for disapproving his fuckups – problem solved by fire-bombing the captain’s house at 4 a.m. when he knew the family would be asleep. Now it doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to figure out that a cop who keeps fucking up doesn’t belong in police work.
NJ COP ARRESTED FOR FIRE-BOMBING CAPTAIN’S HOME WITH FAMILY INSIDE
By Josh Haskell and Josh Margolin
ABC News
May 24, 2013
An Edison, N.J., police officer is behind bars, accused of setting the home of his captain ablaze while the family of five was asleep inside. Flames, believed to be from a Molotov cocktail thrown at the two-story home, came within inches of where Captain Mark Anderko's two children were sleeping, but the kids along with his wife and 92-year-old mother all made it out uninjured.
Officer Michael A. Dotro, who's been with the Edison Police Department for 10 years, was questioned about the Monday morning incident Wednesday evening. The next day, investigators returned with a warrant to search the cop's home in Manalapan, N.J., according to Dotro's lawyer Lawrence Bitterman. Following the search, Dotro was arrested and charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated arson. Bail was set at $5 million.
"My client tells me it makes him sick to his stomach that he's been accused of this," Bitterman told ABC News. He says his client will plead not guilty and ask for bail. "I've known him for 12 years and find it absolutely incomprehensible that he could have done this," said Bitterman.
Dotro has been suspended with pay and was arraigned in New Brunswick, NJ this afternoon.
One law enforcement official told ABC News that Dotro has a "long history of disciplinary issues," including complaints against him of police brutality.
According to a series of reports by the Star Ledger, officer Dotro was accused of being one of the chief suspects in a 2008 theft of a police car, but after an investigation, was not criminally charged. Dotro was also accused of police brutality in 2005 after arresting a member of the township's sizeable Asian-Indian community. But, according to the Star Ledger, Dotro was cleared amid community protests and headlines.
The Edison PD, one of New Jersey's largest police departments, has spent years embroiled in an ugly civil war that has, at times, spilled into public view. Dotro and his captain are known to be on opposing sides of the internecine battling.
Sources tell ABC News that Anderko had recently written a harsh review of Dotro that could hinder the officer's chances of a promotion.
Bitterman insisted his client has no harsh feelings towards the captain.
"Officer Dotro expresses his deepest condolences to Captain Anderko and his family," said Bitterman.
After numerous incidents, the state Attorney General's Office has taken a more aggressive role in overseeing the conduct of the Edison Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit, receiving monthly reports and reviewing cases. This new incident could lead the AG to invoke the state law that allows the state to take over the Edison force, a state official said.
"They used to just use Internal Affairs to go after each other," the official told ABC News. "But this takes it to a whole new level."
NJ COP ARRESTED FOR FIRE-BOMBING CAPTAIN’S HOME WITH FAMILY INSIDE
By Josh Haskell and Josh Margolin
ABC News
May 24, 2013
An Edison, N.J., police officer is behind bars, accused of setting the home of his captain ablaze while the family of five was asleep inside. Flames, believed to be from a Molotov cocktail thrown at the two-story home, came within inches of where Captain Mark Anderko's two children were sleeping, but the kids along with his wife and 92-year-old mother all made it out uninjured.
Officer Michael A. Dotro, who's been with the Edison Police Department for 10 years, was questioned about the Monday morning incident Wednesday evening. The next day, investigators returned with a warrant to search the cop's home in Manalapan, N.J., according to Dotro's lawyer Lawrence Bitterman. Following the search, Dotro was arrested and charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated arson. Bail was set at $5 million.
"My client tells me it makes him sick to his stomach that he's been accused of this," Bitterman told ABC News. He says his client will plead not guilty and ask for bail. "I've known him for 12 years and find it absolutely incomprehensible that he could have done this," said Bitterman.
Dotro has been suspended with pay and was arraigned in New Brunswick, NJ this afternoon.
One law enforcement official told ABC News that Dotro has a "long history of disciplinary issues," including complaints against him of police brutality.
According to a series of reports by the Star Ledger, officer Dotro was accused of being one of the chief suspects in a 2008 theft of a police car, but after an investigation, was not criminally charged. Dotro was also accused of police brutality in 2005 after arresting a member of the township's sizeable Asian-Indian community. But, according to the Star Ledger, Dotro was cleared amid community protests and headlines.
The Edison PD, one of New Jersey's largest police departments, has spent years embroiled in an ugly civil war that has, at times, spilled into public view. Dotro and his captain are known to be on opposing sides of the internecine battling.
Sources tell ABC News that Anderko had recently written a harsh review of Dotro that could hinder the officer's chances of a promotion.
Bitterman insisted his client has no harsh feelings towards the captain.
"Officer Dotro expresses his deepest condolences to Captain Anderko and his family," said Bitterman.
After numerous incidents, the state Attorney General's Office has taken a more aggressive role in overseeing the conduct of the Edison Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit, receiving monthly reports and reviewing cases. This new incident could lead the AG to invoke the state law that allows the state to take over the Edison force, a state official said.
"They used to just use Internal Affairs to go after each other," the official told ABC News. "But this takes it to a whole new level."
HOLDUP VICTIM SNEAKS OUT BACKDOOR, STEALS ROBBERS’ GETAWAY CAR
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
May 25, 2013
Two bad guys with guns entered a business in south Stockton about 2140 hours on Thursday night and jumped the counter. They cleaned out the register and ordered the manager to open the safe.
Another employee saw what was going down, went out the back and got into their waiting getaway car and drove it away.
Responding cops found the bad guys and the cash in a field nearby. They arrested Jeremy Lovitt, 23, and Gabriel Gonzales, 19.
That maybe wasn't the safest thing in the world for the employee to do, but it was certainly creative and most effective.
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
May 25, 2013
Two bad guys with guns entered a business in south Stockton about 2140 hours on Thursday night and jumped the counter. They cleaned out the register and ordered the manager to open the safe.
Another employee saw what was going down, went out the back and got into their waiting getaway car and drove it away.
Responding cops found the bad guys and the cash in a field nearby. They arrested Jeremy Lovitt, 23, and Gabriel Gonzales, 19.
That maybe wasn't the safest thing in the world for the employee to do, but it was certainly creative and most effective.
L.A. COPS IN DEEP DOODOO OVER RESALE OF KIMBER PISTOLS
Bob Walsh says that a few cops in the greater Sacramento area got into serious trouble last year for purchasing for police use high-priced, highly-rated weapons at generous discounted prices and turning around to sell them for a nifty profit.
FBI INVESTIGATING ALLEGED GUN RESALES BY L.A. SWAT, SIS OFFICERS
The LAPD is also conducting its own probe into whether members of the elite units resold custom-made pistols for profit
By Joel Rubin
Los Angeles Times
May 24, 2013
The FBI is investigating whether members of the Los Angeles Police Department's elite SWAT and Special Investigations Section units violated the law by purchasing large numbers of custom-made handguns and reselling them for profit, according to interviews.
Federal authorities opened the inquiry into the alleged gun sales in recent weeks after LAPD officials alerted them to possible gun violations, multiple sources told The Times.
The move comes after an earlier LAPD investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of officers. But on Friday, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck acknowledged that that probe was "clearly lacking" and said the department has opened a second investigation of the weapons transactions that is still ongoing.
Suspicion over the guns first arose in May 2010, when a lieutenant in the LAPD's Metropolitan Division, which includes SWAT, attempted to inventory the division's weapons, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by the lieutenant and a report last year by the LAPD's inspector general, Alex Bustamante.
While accounting for the weapons, Lt. Armando Perez discovered that SWAT members had purchased an unknown number of pistols from the gun maker Kimber Manufacturing and were "possibly reselling these Kimber firearms for large profits to people outside of Metro SWAT," according to the lawsuit and Bustamante's report.
Sales records indicated that as many as 324 pistols had been purchased from Kimber, Bustamante reported. There are only about 60 officers in SWAT, and the guns were intended to be used by the officers while on duty.
Investigators have been trying to determine how many of those guns were resold and to whom. There are some indications the guns were sold to other LAPD officers outside the unit as well as others outside of law enforcement.
The FBI is expected to look as well into the possibility that officers from the LAPD's Special Investigations Section, which conducts surveillance in major, high-risk cases, were also improperly reselling Kimber guns, the sources said.
Federal and state gun laws restrict gun sales by people not registered as weapons dealers.
Kimber's dealings with the LAPD date back to at least 2002, when the department contracted with the company to buy a relatively small number of pistols, Bustamante reported.
Then, in 2007, the company unveiled a new edition of its model 1911 pistol that had been designed for officers in the Special Investigations Section. The weapons were emblazoned with the SIS insignia, and the company made the .45-caliber handgun to address specific requests made by SIS officers. The guns, for example, were lighter than those typically carried by LAPD officers and could be cocked and fired with one hand, in case the other was injured or otherwise unavailable.
Kimber appears to no longer sell the SIS gun. However, it continues to sell another version of the pistol that it says on its website is "identical to the pistol carried by LAPD® SWAT."
For years, the company and the LAPD have had a formal agreement that allows Kimber to use the department's badge, uniform, motto and other LAPD trademarks in its promotional materials, according to department records.
In his report, Bustamante said that Kimber sold the SWAT guns, which bore a special "LAPD SWAT" insignia, to members of the unit for about $600 each — a sharp discount from their resale value of between $1,600 and $3,500. It is not known how much the SIS officers paid.
Details of how the gun sales were done — and how many officers were involved — have remained murky. The confusion is due largely to what the inspector general's report found was the "deficient" and "limited" investigation the department conducted in 2010. That inquiry was closed without investigators interviewing Perez or any of the SWAT officers he found were involved in the gun dealings, Bustamante said in his August report.
Bustamante noted that "the purchase of firearms with the intent to immediately transfer the weapon to a third party may violate city ethics regulations and federal firearm laws." The report did not specify which regulations and laws may have been violated.
The department opened its second investigation last summer only after Bustamante drew attention to the unanswered questions. The current probe has dragged on far longer than expected. Asked to explain the delay, Cmdr. Stuart Maislin, who is overseeing the investigation, wrote in an email only that it was "very complex and there really is a lot left to do."
A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.
Perez, the SWAT lieutenant, filed his lawsuit earlier this year, alleging that he has endured harassment and threats from other LAPD officers since drawing attention to the gun dealings. Through his attorney, Matthew McNicholas, Perez declined to be interviewed because of an order from police officials not to comment while the LAPD investigation continues.
McNicholas said that there is evidence that shows the LAPD had formal contracts with Kimber to buy a certain number of the custom SWAT and SIS guns but that the gun company sold more weapons directly to officers through informal "gentleman agreements." One or more SWAT officers collected money from others in the unit who wanted to purchase the guns and then contacted Kimber when they had gathered orders from about 20 officers, McNicholas said. In his lawsuit, Perez said an officer working in the Metropolitan Division's armory, James Quinlan, facilitated the sales between Kimber and the SWAT officers but did not provide details of Quinlan's role.
Quinlan, who is now retired, declined to comment, as did Capt. John Incontro, who commands the Metropolitan Division. A spokesperson for Kimber did not return repeated calls.
At times, a private company named Cinema Weaponry would also purchase guns, Perez said in the lawsuit. Cinema Weaponry is owned by Michael Papac, according to the state's business registry, and appears to rent weapons to film productions out of a small, run-down building in Glendale. Papac is not an LAPD officer and did not return calls seeking comment.
Perez also found that a Lucas Ranch Gun Sales, a registered gun dealer not affiliated with the LAPD, was involved in the gun transactions, according to his lawsuit and Bustamante's report. Jim Manhire, who owns Lucas Ranch, said in an interview with The Times in August that Kimber sent guns purchased by SWAT officers to him and that he completed the state and federal registration process that must be done for all weapons. After he had registered the .45-caliber weapons in the officers' names, the officers would pick them up, Manhire said.
Andrea Ordin, president of the L.A. Police Commission, which oversees the LAPD, declined to discuss the specifics of the investigation but said the decision to alert federal authorities was probably made because they would be better qualified than LAPD investigators to assess whether any of the country's often arcane, complicated gun laws had been violated.
Beck echoed Ordin, saying, "In every internal investigation we always consider reaching out to outside entities, such as the district attorney, the United States attorney or the Federal Bureau of Investigation as appropriate."
FBI INVESTIGATING ALLEGED GUN RESALES BY L.A. SWAT, SIS OFFICERS
The LAPD is also conducting its own probe into whether members of the elite units resold custom-made pistols for profit
By Joel Rubin
Los Angeles Times
May 24, 2013
The FBI is investigating whether members of the Los Angeles Police Department's elite SWAT and Special Investigations Section units violated the law by purchasing large numbers of custom-made handguns and reselling them for profit, according to interviews.
Federal authorities opened the inquiry into the alleged gun sales in recent weeks after LAPD officials alerted them to possible gun violations, multiple sources told The Times.
The move comes after an earlier LAPD investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of officers. But on Friday, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck acknowledged that that probe was "clearly lacking" and said the department has opened a second investigation of the weapons transactions that is still ongoing.
Suspicion over the guns first arose in May 2010, when a lieutenant in the LAPD's Metropolitan Division, which includes SWAT, attempted to inventory the division's weapons, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by the lieutenant and a report last year by the LAPD's inspector general, Alex Bustamante.
While accounting for the weapons, Lt. Armando Perez discovered that SWAT members had purchased an unknown number of pistols from the gun maker Kimber Manufacturing and were "possibly reselling these Kimber firearms for large profits to people outside of Metro SWAT," according to the lawsuit and Bustamante's report.
Sales records indicated that as many as 324 pistols had been purchased from Kimber, Bustamante reported. There are only about 60 officers in SWAT, and the guns were intended to be used by the officers while on duty.
Investigators have been trying to determine how many of those guns were resold and to whom. There are some indications the guns were sold to other LAPD officers outside the unit as well as others outside of law enforcement.
The FBI is expected to look as well into the possibility that officers from the LAPD's Special Investigations Section, which conducts surveillance in major, high-risk cases, were also improperly reselling Kimber guns, the sources said.
Federal and state gun laws restrict gun sales by people not registered as weapons dealers.
Kimber's dealings with the LAPD date back to at least 2002, when the department contracted with the company to buy a relatively small number of pistols, Bustamante reported.
Then, in 2007, the company unveiled a new edition of its model 1911 pistol that had been designed for officers in the Special Investigations Section. The weapons were emblazoned with the SIS insignia, and the company made the .45-caliber handgun to address specific requests made by SIS officers. The guns, for example, were lighter than those typically carried by LAPD officers and could be cocked and fired with one hand, in case the other was injured or otherwise unavailable.
Kimber appears to no longer sell the SIS gun. However, it continues to sell another version of the pistol that it says on its website is "identical to the pistol carried by LAPD® SWAT."
For years, the company and the LAPD have had a formal agreement that allows Kimber to use the department's badge, uniform, motto and other LAPD trademarks in its promotional materials, according to department records.
In his report, Bustamante said that Kimber sold the SWAT guns, which bore a special "LAPD SWAT" insignia, to members of the unit for about $600 each — a sharp discount from their resale value of between $1,600 and $3,500. It is not known how much the SIS officers paid.
Details of how the gun sales were done — and how many officers were involved — have remained murky. The confusion is due largely to what the inspector general's report found was the "deficient" and "limited" investigation the department conducted in 2010. That inquiry was closed without investigators interviewing Perez or any of the SWAT officers he found were involved in the gun dealings, Bustamante said in his August report.
Bustamante noted that "the purchase of firearms with the intent to immediately transfer the weapon to a third party may violate city ethics regulations and federal firearm laws." The report did not specify which regulations and laws may have been violated.
The department opened its second investigation last summer only after Bustamante drew attention to the unanswered questions. The current probe has dragged on far longer than expected. Asked to explain the delay, Cmdr. Stuart Maislin, who is overseeing the investigation, wrote in an email only that it was "very complex and there really is a lot left to do."
A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak.
Perez, the SWAT lieutenant, filed his lawsuit earlier this year, alleging that he has endured harassment and threats from other LAPD officers since drawing attention to the gun dealings. Through his attorney, Matthew McNicholas, Perez declined to be interviewed because of an order from police officials not to comment while the LAPD investigation continues.
McNicholas said that there is evidence that shows the LAPD had formal contracts with Kimber to buy a certain number of the custom SWAT and SIS guns but that the gun company sold more weapons directly to officers through informal "gentleman agreements." One or more SWAT officers collected money from others in the unit who wanted to purchase the guns and then contacted Kimber when they had gathered orders from about 20 officers, McNicholas said. In his lawsuit, Perez said an officer working in the Metropolitan Division's armory, James Quinlan, facilitated the sales between Kimber and the SWAT officers but did not provide details of Quinlan's role.
Quinlan, who is now retired, declined to comment, as did Capt. John Incontro, who commands the Metropolitan Division. A spokesperson for Kimber did not return repeated calls.
At times, a private company named Cinema Weaponry would also purchase guns, Perez said in the lawsuit. Cinema Weaponry is owned by Michael Papac, according to the state's business registry, and appears to rent weapons to film productions out of a small, run-down building in Glendale. Papac is not an LAPD officer and did not return calls seeking comment.
Perez also found that a Lucas Ranch Gun Sales, a registered gun dealer not affiliated with the LAPD, was involved in the gun transactions, according to his lawsuit and Bustamante's report. Jim Manhire, who owns Lucas Ranch, said in an interview with The Times in August that Kimber sent guns purchased by SWAT officers to him and that he completed the state and federal registration process that must be done for all weapons. After he had registered the .45-caliber weapons in the officers' names, the officers would pick them up, Manhire said.
Andrea Ordin, president of the L.A. Police Commission, which oversees the LAPD, declined to discuss the specifics of the investigation but said the decision to alert federal authorities was probably made because they would be better qualified than LAPD investigators to assess whether any of the country's often arcane, complicated gun laws had been violated.
Beck echoed Ordin, saying, "In every internal investigation we always consider reaching out to outside entities, such as the district attorney, the United States attorney or the Federal Bureau of Investigation as appropriate."
Saturday, May 25, 2013
COLLEGE OF THE MAINLAND PRESIDENT RECOMMENDS MARXIST PROFESSOR BE FIRED
Tenured in 2002 over the objections of civic leaders, 'Red David' now locked out of his campus office
In 2002, several civic leaders and I tried to keep David Michael Smith, a political science professor and avowed Marxist, from being tenured by the College of the Mainland Board of Trustees. We did not oppose his tenure because he was a Marxist. There were several other avowed Marxists on the faculty. Had ‘Red David’ merely taught his students the difference between capitalism and socialism, we would not have tried to keep him from being tenured, but he went far beyond that.
We spoke out because Red David was teaching his students that capitalism exploits the workers and oppresses the masses, that American foreign policy is imperialistic, that our military was murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians every year and dropping cluster bombs that were dismembering children, that our government favors the rich at the expense of the poor, that our criminal justice system is racist, etc., etc., etc.
We were excoriated by the college’s trustees, the college’s administration and by Red David’s supporters, including other faculty members and a slew of his students. They accused us of attacking academia's holy grail of academic freedom. The college’s trustees quickly granted him tenure.
Some months later, Ralph Holm, chairman of the trustees, came up to me at a Veterans Day ceremony and told me: "I’m sorry, but we had no choice [but to grant David Smith tenure] because he was so popular with the students." My response was, "So what! Hitler was very popular with the German people." Holm's face turned a purplish red and he spun around to make a hasty retreat for the exit. Needless to say, we have not spoken since.
Now they want to fire Red David. Sources have informed me that the college administration has locked Red David out of his office by having the locks on the door changed when he was off-campus.
On Wednesday I sent Holm the following email: “I have just heard that the president of COM want's to fire Red David. Remember when you approached me and told me you had no choice but to approve his tenure because he was so popular with the students? He is still the most popular COM teacher. If you couldn't deny him tenure because of his popularity, then how can you justify firing him when he is just as popular with the students as he was before you granted him tenure?”
TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE SEEKS DISMISSAL OF TENURED PROFESSOR
by Nick DeSantis
The Chronicle of Higher Education
May 23, 2013
The administration of the College of the Mainland, a two-year institution in Texas City, Tex., is recommending that a tenured professor who has clashed repeatedly with its leaders be fired, according to the The Daily News, in Galveston, Tex.
David M. Smith, a professor of political science and president of the college’s employee union, has criticized the college’s administration and has fought with the institution in court over what he said were violations of his First Amendment right to free speech. The college awarded him tenure a decade ago despite the objections of some local residents, who took issue with his self-described Marxist views.
The college’s president, Beth Lewis, told the newspaper that the recommendation to terminate Mr. Smith stemmed from his performance as an employee, and was not an attempt at retaliation, though she did not discuss the details of the recommendation.
Mr. Smith said the paperwork informing him of his termination, which must be approved by the college’s board in order to take effect, contained no mention of his teaching or job duties. But he said there was mention of e-mails he wrote concerning employees’ rights during elections. Ms. Lewis said Mr. Smith has the right to address the college’s board before it takes action on the recommendation and to ask for an extension.
In 2002, several civic leaders and I tried to keep David Michael Smith, a political science professor and avowed Marxist, from being tenured by the College of the Mainland Board of Trustees. We did not oppose his tenure because he was a Marxist. There were several other avowed Marxists on the faculty. Had ‘Red David’ merely taught his students the difference between capitalism and socialism, we would not have tried to keep him from being tenured, but he went far beyond that.
We spoke out because Red David was teaching his students that capitalism exploits the workers and oppresses the masses, that American foreign policy is imperialistic, that our military was murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians every year and dropping cluster bombs that were dismembering children, that our government favors the rich at the expense of the poor, that our criminal justice system is racist, etc., etc., etc.
We were excoriated by the college’s trustees, the college’s administration and by Red David’s supporters, including other faculty members and a slew of his students. They accused us of attacking academia's holy grail of academic freedom. The college’s trustees quickly granted him tenure.
Some months later, Ralph Holm, chairman of the trustees, came up to me at a Veterans Day ceremony and told me: "I’m sorry, but we had no choice [but to grant David Smith tenure] because he was so popular with the students." My response was, "So what! Hitler was very popular with the German people." Holm's face turned a purplish red and he spun around to make a hasty retreat for the exit. Needless to say, we have not spoken since.
Now they want to fire Red David. Sources have informed me that the college administration has locked Red David out of his office by having the locks on the door changed when he was off-campus.
On Wednesday I sent Holm the following email: “I have just heard that the president of COM want's to fire Red David. Remember when you approached me and told me you had no choice but to approve his tenure because he was so popular with the students? He is still the most popular COM teacher. If you couldn't deny him tenure because of his popularity, then how can you justify firing him when he is just as popular with the students as he was before you granted him tenure?”
TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE SEEKS DISMISSAL OF TENURED PROFESSOR
by Nick DeSantis
The Chronicle of Higher Education
May 23, 2013
The administration of the College of the Mainland, a two-year institution in Texas City, Tex., is recommending that a tenured professor who has clashed repeatedly with its leaders be fired, according to the The Daily News, in Galveston, Tex.
David M. Smith, a professor of political science and president of the college’s employee union, has criticized the college’s administration and has fought with the institution in court over what he said were violations of his First Amendment right to free speech. The college awarded him tenure a decade ago despite the objections of some local residents, who took issue with his self-described Marxist views.
The college’s president, Beth Lewis, told the newspaper that the recommendation to terminate Mr. Smith stemmed from his performance as an employee, and was not an attempt at retaliation, though she did not discuss the details of the recommendation.
Mr. Smith said the paperwork informing him of his termination, which must be approved by the college’s board in order to take effect, contained no mention of his teaching or job duties. But he said there was mention of e-mails he wrote concerning employees’ rights during elections. Ms. Lewis said Mr. Smith has the right to address the college’s board before it takes action on the recommendation and to ask for an extension.
TRAYVON MARTIN FAR FROM THE ANGELIC SON PORTRAYED BY HIS PARENTS AND THEIR LAWYER
Phone texts and photos show that Martin was a pot smoking thug. The prosecution and the Martin family’s attorney are fighting hard to keep the texts and photos from being introduced as evidence in George Zimmerman’s upcoming trial.
TRAYVON MARTIN TEXTS, PHOTOS RELEASED BY ZIMMERMAN’S DEFENSE TEAM
Newsmax
May 24, 2013
Trayvon Martin texts and photos were released by George Zimmerman's defense team Thursday, revealing a troubling side of the slain Florida teen.
In the disclosure, there is a discussion with a friend of Martin being forced to leave his mother's house due to problems at school, as well as images of a gun and what appears to be a potted marijuana plant.
A hearing next week will decide if the information can be used at the trial for George Zimmerman, who is charged with fatally shooting the unarmed 17-year-old last year during a confrontation at a gated community in Sanford, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors want the negative evidence omitted, but Zimmerman's defense attorney said if they try to portray his client as the antagonist and Martin as the victim, he wants to show the jury that Martin has talked about fighting before.
"If they had suggested that Trayvon is nonviolent and that George is the aggressor, I think that makes evidence of the fighting he has been involved with in the past relevant," said Mark O'Mara.
Zimmerman, 29, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense and his trial starts next month. O'Mara also filed a motion Thursday asking for a delay in the start of the trial so the defense team can talk at length with an expert witness for the prosecution.
The photos released by Zimmerman's defense team also show Martin blowing smoke and extending his middle finger to the camera.
In the text messages, Martin tells a friend that his mother has told him he needs to move in with his father since he was caught skipping school. He also talks with a friend about smoking "weed."
In another section, he describes being in a fight where his opponent got more hits than he did in the first round.
Prosecutors have filed a motion asking Circuit Judge Debra Nelson to prevent the photos, texts and other personal information from being used at the trial. The hearing is set for next Tuesday when the judge also will consider the motion to delay the trial.
Attorneys for Martin's parents said in a statement that the photos and texts were irrelevant to the trial and could pollute the jury pool.
"Is the defense trying to prove Trayvon deserved to be killed by George Zimmerman because (of) the way he looked?" they said. "If so, this stereotypical and closed-minded thinking is the same mindset that caused George Zimmerman to get out of his car and pursue Trayvon, an unarmed kid who he didn't know."
As for the delay, O'Mara said he needed more time to review the qualifications of a prosecution witness with an expertise in speech identification. O'Mara said prosecutors only made him aware of the expert a short time ago. The expert could be used to testify whose voices were on 911 calls that captured the fatal fight between Zimmerman and Martin.
O'Mara said in an interview that he needed another month or two to prepare.
Additionally, O'Mara also intends to request that the judge sequester not only the jury but the jury pool in the upcoming trial as well. Consequently, at least 500 potential jurors could be sequestered in order to fin the six individuals who can serve adds O'Mara.
TRAYVON MARTIN TEXTS, PHOTOS RELEASED BY ZIMMERMAN’S DEFENSE TEAM
Newsmax
May 24, 2013
Trayvon Martin texts and photos were released by George Zimmerman's defense team Thursday, revealing a troubling side of the slain Florida teen.
In the disclosure, there is a discussion with a friend of Martin being forced to leave his mother's house due to problems at school, as well as images of a gun and what appears to be a potted marijuana plant.
A hearing next week will decide if the information can be used at the trial for George Zimmerman, who is charged with fatally shooting the unarmed 17-year-old last year during a confrontation at a gated community in Sanford, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors want the negative evidence omitted, but Zimmerman's defense attorney said if they try to portray his client as the antagonist and Martin as the victim, he wants to show the jury that Martin has talked about fighting before.
"If they had suggested that Trayvon is nonviolent and that George is the aggressor, I think that makes evidence of the fighting he has been involved with in the past relevant," said Mark O'Mara.
Zimmerman, 29, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense and his trial starts next month. O'Mara also filed a motion Thursday asking for a delay in the start of the trial so the defense team can talk at length with an expert witness for the prosecution.
The photos released by Zimmerman's defense team also show Martin blowing smoke and extending his middle finger to the camera.
In the text messages, Martin tells a friend that his mother has told him he needs to move in with his father since he was caught skipping school. He also talks with a friend about smoking "weed."
In another section, he describes being in a fight where his opponent got more hits than he did in the first round.
Prosecutors have filed a motion asking Circuit Judge Debra Nelson to prevent the photos, texts and other personal information from being used at the trial. The hearing is set for next Tuesday when the judge also will consider the motion to delay the trial.
Attorneys for Martin's parents said in a statement that the photos and texts were irrelevant to the trial and could pollute the jury pool.
"Is the defense trying to prove Trayvon deserved to be killed by George Zimmerman because (of) the way he looked?" they said. "If so, this stereotypical and closed-minded thinking is the same mindset that caused George Zimmerman to get out of his car and pursue Trayvon, an unarmed kid who he didn't know."
As for the delay, O'Mara said he needed more time to review the qualifications of a prosecution witness with an expertise in speech identification. O'Mara said prosecutors only made him aware of the expert a short time ago. The expert could be used to testify whose voices were on 911 calls that captured the fatal fight between Zimmerman and Martin.
O'Mara said in an interview that he needed another month or two to prepare.
Additionally, O'Mara also intends to request that the judge sequester not only the jury but the jury pool in the upcoming trial as well. Consequently, at least 500 potential jurors could be sequestered in order to fin the six individuals who can serve adds O'Mara.
THE WEST CAN NO LONGER DENY THAT JIHAD EXISTS
In order to avoid offending members of the Muslim faith living in the U.S. and Europe, western government officials continue to deny that Jihad is taking place in the western world. "Allahu Akbar", the clarion call of Jihadism, is being heard around the world.
FROM THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO LONDON
By Diana West
Jewish World Review
May 24, 2013
Nearly 20 years after a Hasidic Jewish boy riding across the Brooklyn Bridge was killed by a Muslim fighting jihad, a British soldier was hacked to death and reportedly beheaded on the streets of London by Muslims fighting jihad.
Thanks to the happenstance of a passer-by with a video recorder, the world heard almost immediately from one of the two London suspects, Michael Adebolajo. His hands red with blood, Adebolajo confessed to the murder he had just committed in Koranically correct terms of revenge, presumably for Britain's efforts against jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan. We also know that cries of "Allahu Akbar" ("Allah is great") punctuated the knifing and meat-cleavering of the victim.
But if "Allahu Akbar" is the historic cry of Muslims engaged in jihad, it is also the contemporary trigger for Western denial that jihad exists. "We will defeat violent extremism by standing together," British Prime Minister David Cameron stated, gravely opaque. How? "Above all by challenging the poisonous narrative of extremism on which this violence feeds," he said, definitely not referring to the verses of the Koran that inspire jihad.
Islam, the prime minister was saying, has nothing to do with this murder in the streets. Furthermore, global jihad is not underway, and no caliphate in which Jews and Christians will defer to Islamic law as "dhimmi" is on the horizon.
Flash back almost two decades to March 1994, one year after the first attack on the World Trade Center, and shortly after an Israeli doctor, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Muslims in a mosque in Hebron. Goldstein's act was uniformly denounced by Israeli and Jewish authorities, but it nonetheless engendered calls for jihad from Islamic authorities around the world. It was at this point in New York City that 16-year-old Ari Halberstam was shot and killed on the Brooklyn Bridge by Rashid Baz, a "Middle East" man or "Arab" -- the vernacular of the day for Muslim.
Nonetheless, in an earlier iteration of jihad-denial, discussion of the Brooklyn Bridge case actually focused on "road rage." What we were looking at, of course, was an act of jihad -- among the first of many thousands leading up to the recent London attack.
This became clear during Baz's murder trial. According to testimony presented by the defense, Baz thought of himself as "an Arab soldier crusader" -- what we now know as a "mujahid," or jihadist. Such was the testimony of Baz's own psychiatrist, Dr. Douglas Anderson.
Before Baz, a Palestinian Arab from Lebanon, went on his Brooklyn Bridge jihad, Anderson testified that Baz visited a local Palestinian friend, Musaffaq Askar, who, according to The New York Times, told Baz that he personally was eager to "make jihad" after the Goldstein attack.
Together, the two men went to the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge (which would become notorious for its "extremism," but was celebrated in a three-part series by The New York Times). There, according to Anderson's testimony, the imam railed against Jews, calling them racists and fascists like the Nazis. Meanwhile, terror groups such as Hamas urged revenge.
Within days, heavily armed and ready, Baz would pursue and open fire on the van carrying the Hasidic boys -- as identifiable as "infidels" by their religious garb as the British soldier was this week in an army charity t-shirt.
Baz, however, would be convicted only of second-degree murder -- not terrorism. Ari's family would spearhead a successful effort to see the murder case re-classified in 2000 as terrorism.
Equally important, however, this terror attack was also jihad. Indeed, 10 days after the 1994 van attack in New York, Hamas made Baz the child-killer a "mujahid" (holy warrior) and "Ibn Islam" (son of Islam) -- a role model for others.
It still is jihad. Last week in New York, 16 Palestinians (14 of them in the U.S. illegally) were charged in a multi-million-dollar cigarette smuggling case, raising the possibility that authorities may have cracked a new jihad financing ring. As New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly put it, "Similar schemes have been used in the past to help fund terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah."
Hamas, a wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Iran's Hezbollah ("Party of Allah") are indeed terrorist organizations, but they are also avowedly jihadist. Kelly went on to note that several of the men were "on our radar with links to known terrorists."
One is Rashid Baz's confidante Musaffaq Askar! According to Ari's mother, Devorah Halberstam, Askar should have been investigated long ago in a wider, deeper terrorism investigation that never took place.
Also nabbed in the cigarette ring is Mohannad Seif, who, the New York Daily News reports, used to room with the aide of longtime Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk. There is also Youssef Odeh, whose baby formula business (please) included a $10,000 investment from Omar Abdel Rahman, better known to Americans as the "blind sheik" behind the first World Trade Center attack. That investment, as NYPD Commissioner Kelly pointed out, was arranged by Rahman's spokesman at the time, Ahmed Sattar. The Daily News reported that Kelly called Sattar a "close friend" of Musaffaq Askar.
Nineteen years later, we seem to be looking anew at the jihad terror cell that killed Ari Halberstam. No wonder Kelly last week declared the Halberstam case "open." There is much more to investigate -- but this time with our eyes open to jihad, please. Ari, the people of New York, London and beyond deserve that much.
FROM THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO LONDON
By Diana West
Jewish World Review
May 24, 2013
Nearly 20 years after a Hasidic Jewish boy riding across the Brooklyn Bridge was killed by a Muslim fighting jihad, a British soldier was hacked to death and reportedly beheaded on the streets of London by Muslims fighting jihad.
Thanks to the happenstance of a passer-by with a video recorder, the world heard almost immediately from one of the two London suspects, Michael Adebolajo. His hands red with blood, Adebolajo confessed to the murder he had just committed in Koranically correct terms of revenge, presumably for Britain's efforts against jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan. We also know that cries of "Allahu Akbar" ("Allah is great") punctuated the knifing and meat-cleavering of the victim.
But if "Allahu Akbar" is the historic cry of Muslims engaged in jihad, it is also the contemporary trigger for Western denial that jihad exists. "We will defeat violent extremism by standing together," British Prime Minister David Cameron stated, gravely opaque. How? "Above all by challenging the poisonous narrative of extremism on which this violence feeds," he said, definitely not referring to the verses of the Koran that inspire jihad.
Islam, the prime minister was saying, has nothing to do with this murder in the streets. Furthermore, global jihad is not underway, and no caliphate in which Jews and Christians will defer to Islamic law as "dhimmi" is on the horizon.
Flash back almost two decades to March 1994, one year after the first attack on the World Trade Center, and shortly after an Israeli doctor, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Muslims in a mosque in Hebron. Goldstein's act was uniformly denounced by Israeli and Jewish authorities, but it nonetheless engendered calls for jihad from Islamic authorities around the world. It was at this point in New York City that 16-year-old Ari Halberstam was shot and killed on the Brooklyn Bridge by Rashid Baz, a "Middle East" man or "Arab" -- the vernacular of the day for Muslim.
Nonetheless, in an earlier iteration of jihad-denial, discussion of the Brooklyn Bridge case actually focused on "road rage." What we were looking at, of course, was an act of jihad -- among the first of many thousands leading up to the recent London attack.
This became clear during Baz's murder trial. According to testimony presented by the defense, Baz thought of himself as "an Arab soldier crusader" -- what we now know as a "mujahid," or jihadist. Such was the testimony of Baz's own psychiatrist, Dr. Douglas Anderson.
Before Baz, a Palestinian Arab from Lebanon, went on his Brooklyn Bridge jihad, Anderson testified that Baz visited a local Palestinian friend, Musaffaq Askar, who, according to The New York Times, told Baz that he personally was eager to "make jihad" after the Goldstein attack.
Together, the two men went to the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge (which would become notorious for its "extremism," but was celebrated in a three-part series by The New York Times). There, according to Anderson's testimony, the imam railed against Jews, calling them racists and fascists like the Nazis. Meanwhile, terror groups such as Hamas urged revenge.
Within days, heavily armed and ready, Baz would pursue and open fire on the van carrying the Hasidic boys -- as identifiable as "infidels" by their religious garb as the British soldier was this week in an army charity t-shirt.
Baz, however, would be convicted only of second-degree murder -- not terrorism. Ari's family would spearhead a successful effort to see the murder case re-classified in 2000 as terrorism.
Equally important, however, this terror attack was also jihad. Indeed, 10 days after the 1994 van attack in New York, Hamas made Baz the child-killer a "mujahid" (holy warrior) and "Ibn Islam" (son of Islam) -- a role model for others.
It still is jihad. Last week in New York, 16 Palestinians (14 of them in the U.S. illegally) were charged in a multi-million-dollar cigarette smuggling case, raising the possibility that authorities may have cracked a new jihad financing ring. As New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly put it, "Similar schemes have been used in the past to help fund terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah."
Hamas, a wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Iran's Hezbollah ("Party of Allah") are indeed terrorist organizations, but they are also avowedly jihadist. Kelly went on to note that several of the men were "on our radar with links to known terrorists."
One is Rashid Baz's confidante Musaffaq Askar! According to Ari's mother, Devorah Halberstam, Askar should have been investigated long ago in a wider, deeper terrorism investigation that never took place.
Also nabbed in the cigarette ring is Mohannad Seif, who, the New York Daily News reports, used to room with the aide of longtime Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk. There is also Youssef Odeh, whose baby formula business (please) included a $10,000 investment from Omar Abdel Rahman, better known to Americans as the "blind sheik" behind the first World Trade Center attack. That investment, as NYPD Commissioner Kelly pointed out, was arranged by Rahman's spokesman at the time, Ahmed Sattar. The Daily News reported that Kelly called Sattar a "close friend" of Musaffaq Askar.
Nineteen years later, we seem to be looking anew at the jihad terror cell that killed Ari Halberstam. No wonder Kelly last week declared the Halberstam case "open." There is much more to investigate -- but this time with our eyes open to jihad, please. Ari, the people of New York, London and beyond deserve that much.
TEXAS COP AMUSES HIMSELF OFF-DUTY BY CROSSBOWING CATS
The police pre-employment screening process may have to be revised.
LANCE DELEON: COP ACCUSED OF SHOOTING NEIGHBOR’S CAT WITH CROSSBOW
By Craig Malisow
Houston Press Hair Balls
May 24, 2013
When the incoming vice president of the Boerne Police Officers Association told the Boerne Business Monthly in 2011 that "Sometimes the public's perception of police officers can be associated with negative circumstances...we would like to see that change," we wonder if by "change," he meant, "shoot my neighbor's cat with a motherfucking crossbow."
Because that's what Boerne authorities say Officer Lance Deleon did Tuesday. He's been charged with animal cruelty and released after posting $2,000 bail. (He was off-duty at the time of the alleged, uh, crossbowing).
Fortunately, the two-year-old feline in question -- one Bobby the Cat -- is expected to recover after being treated for a punctured lung and broken right leg, according to the Fox News story.
A phone number listed for Deleon has been disconnected, perhaps because Deleon shot it with a crossbow. Also, his Facebook profile appears to have been taken down.
Oh, and Deleon also told the Boerne Business Monthly that "The majority of the local police officers live in this community. We're your neighbors. We want to be a positive influence."
Strangely, no cats were interviewed for that article. Conspiracy? You be the judge.
LANCE DELEON: COP ACCUSED OF SHOOTING NEIGHBOR’S CAT WITH CROSSBOW
By Craig Malisow
Houston Press Hair Balls
May 24, 2013
When the incoming vice president of the Boerne Police Officers Association told the Boerne Business Monthly in 2011 that "Sometimes the public's perception of police officers can be associated with negative circumstances...we would like to see that change," we wonder if by "change," he meant, "shoot my neighbor's cat with a motherfucking crossbow."
Because that's what Boerne authorities say Officer Lance Deleon did Tuesday. He's been charged with animal cruelty and released after posting $2,000 bail. (He was off-duty at the time of the alleged, uh, crossbowing).
Fortunately, the two-year-old feline in question -- one Bobby the Cat -- is expected to recover after being treated for a punctured lung and broken right leg, according to the Fox News story.
A phone number listed for Deleon has been disconnected, perhaps because Deleon shot it with a crossbow. Also, his Facebook profile appears to have been taken down.
Oh, and Deleon also told the Boerne Business Monthly that "The majority of the local police officers live in this community. We're your neighbors. We want to be a positive influence."
Strangely, no cats were interviewed for that article. Conspiracy? You be the judge.
LONG ARM OF THE LAWLESS
Criminals are reaping the benefits of modern technology. It’s no longer just the long arm of the law, now it’s also the long arm of the lawless.
WOMAN IN KANSAS ACCUSED OF PASSING INFO TO GANGS IN L.A. JAILS
By Kate Mather
Los Angeles Times
May 23, 2013
Authorities have arrested a purported "secretary" for the Mexican Mafia who allegedly helped funnel information through Los Angeles County jails -- from her home in Kansas.
Cecilia Virgen-DeLeon, 31, was taken into custody about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday in Salina, a town of about 50,000 in the heart of the state, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Francis Hardiman said in a phone interview outside of nearby Abilene.
The so-called secretaries of organized crime groups often use fraudulent cellphone accounts to help push information -- about drug movements, hits and other matters -- to shot-callers inside the jails, Hardiman said.
"In order to pass that information ... they need people on the outside to do that for them," he said. "And that person on the outside, for the last little bit, was this young lady."
"The secretaries are the cogs that make this criminal wheel go round," he added.
Technology has enabled secretaries to operate in locations away from the jails, Hardiman said -- but Kansas is not typically on the list of locales.
"It's definitely not the norm, that someone is this far away, but it's not uncommon," he said. "The skill set that is required of a secretary is not necessarily that of, 'Hey, you've got to be centrally located in the 213.'"
This time, Hardiman said, it was "the 785" -- the area code that covers most of northern Kansas.
Salina Police Lt. Jim Norton told The Salina Journal that Virgen-DeLeon had lived in Kansas for about a year and had been accused of no crimes in the state. He told the newspaper she was thought to be a member of the Surenos gang, of which 120 to 150 members had been identified in Salina.
Hardiman said Virgen-DeLeon's neighbors "had no idea" about her alleged crimes.
She was booked in the Saline County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon and street terrorism, Hardiman said. She was awaiting extradition Thursday.
As far as why she picked Kansas?
"Why not?" Hardiman said.
WOMAN IN KANSAS ACCUSED OF PASSING INFO TO GANGS IN L.A. JAILS
By Kate Mather
Los Angeles Times
May 23, 2013
Authorities have arrested a purported "secretary" for the Mexican Mafia who allegedly helped funnel information through Los Angeles County jails -- from her home in Kansas.
Cecilia Virgen-DeLeon, 31, was taken into custody about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday in Salina, a town of about 50,000 in the heart of the state, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Francis Hardiman said in a phone interview outside of nearby Abilene.
The so-called secretaries of organized crime groups often use fraudulent cellphone accounts to help push information -- about drug movements, hits and other matters -- to shot-callers inside the jails, Hardiman said.
"In order to pass that information ... they need people on the outside to do that for them," he said. "And that person on the outside, for the last little bit, was this young lady."
"The secretaries are the cogs that make this criminal wheel go round," he added.
Technology has enabled secretaries to operate in locations away from the jails, Hardiman said -- but Kansas is not typically on the list of locales.
"It's definitely not the norm, that someone is this far away, but it's not uncommon," he said. "The skill set that is required of a secretary is not necessarily that of, 'Hey, you've got to be centrally located in the 213.'"
This time, Hardiman said, it was "the 785" -- the area code that covers most of northern Kansas.
Salina Police Lt. Jim Norton told The Salina Journal that Virgen-DeLeon had lived in Kansas for about a year and had been accused of no crimes in the state. He told the newspaper she was thought to be a member of the Surenos gang, of which 120 to 150 members had been identified in Salina.
Hardiman said Virgen-DeLeon's neighbors "had no idea" about her alleged crimes.
She was booked in the Saline County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon and street terrorism, Hardiman said. She was awaiting extradition Thursday.
As far as why she picked Kansas?
"Why not?" Hardiman said.
LINDSAY LOHAN WANNABE BUSTED HIGH ON POT
Fortunately no innocent bystander was bonged in the head by the bong Amanda Bynes tossed out of her apartment window
Actress Amanda Bynes was placed on 3-years probation in a plea deal reached earlier this month in Burbank, California following a bust for driving with a suspended license. Bynes also has a DUI case pending in Beverly Hills. It sure looks like Amanda is a Lindsay Lohan wannabe.
ACTRESS AMANDA BYNES ARRESTED IN NYC ON MARIJUANA CHARGE AFTER SHE THREW A BONG OUT A WINDOW
Associated Press
May 23, 2013
NEW YORK — Police say actress Amanda Bynes has been arrested in midtown Manhattan after she heaved a marijuana bong out of a window.
It happened at an apartment building on West 47th Street at about 7:40 p.m. Thursday.
Police say a building official called police to complain that Bynes was smoking marijuana and rolling a joint in the building’s lobby.
The officers went to Bynes’ apartment where they saw heavy smoke and a bong, which Bynes then threw out the window in front of the officers.
Bynes was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence, and criminal possession of marijuana. It wasn’t clear if she had a lawyer.
Bynes rose to fame starring in Nickelodeon’s “All That” and has also starred in several films, including 2010’s “Easy A.”
Actress Amanda Bynes was placed on 3-years probation in a plea deal reached earlier this month in Burbank, California following a bust for driving with a suspended license. Bynes also has a DUI case pending in Beverly Hills. It sure looks like Amanda is a Lindsay Lohan wannabe.
ACTRESS AMANDA BYNES ARRESTED IN NYC ON MARIJUANA CHARGE AFTER SHE THREW A BONG OUT A WINDOW
Associated Press
May 23, 2013
NEW YORK — Police say actress Amanda Bynes has been arrested in midtown Manhattan after she heaved a marijuana bong out of a window.
It happened at an apartment building on West 47th Street at about 7:40 p.m. Thursday.
Police say a building official called police to complain that Bynes was smoking marijuana and rolling a joint in the building’s lobby.
The officers went to Bynes’ apartment where they saw heavy smoke and a bong, which Bynes then threw out the window in front of the officers.
Bynes was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence, and criminal possession of marijuana. It wasn’t clear if she had a lawyer.
Bynes rose to fame starring in Nickelodeon’s “All That” and has also starred in several films, including 2010’s “Easy A.”
Friday, May 24, 2013
WHEN THE GRIM REAPER IS NOT FAR AWAY
A touching message from a former Marine
By Bill Pfeifer / Not as lean; not as mean; but still a Marine
As I approach my twilight years, I am struck by the inevitability that the party must end. And one clear, cold morning after I'm gone, my spouse will awaken in the warmth of our bedroom and be struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore."
No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."
Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, or say "I love you."
So while we have it, its best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick.
This is true for marriage and old cars, children with bad report cards, dogs with bad hips, a aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a son-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep them close!
Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know how you really feel?
The important thing is to let every one of your friends know your true feelings, even if you think they don't love you back.
So, just in case I'm gone tomorrow, please rest assured I voted against that incompetent, bleeding heart, socialist piece of shit Obama................
By Bill Pfeifer / Not as lean; not as mean; but still a Marine
As I approach my twilight years, I am struck by the inevitability that the party must end. And one clear, cold morning after I'm gone, my spouse will awaken in the warmth of our bedroom and be struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore."
No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."
Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, or say "I love you."
So while we have it, its best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick.
This is true for marriage and old cars, children with bad report cards, dogs with bad hips, a aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a son-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep them close!
Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know how you really feel?
The important thing is to let every one of your friends know your true feelings, even if you think they don't love you back.
So, just in case I'm gone tomorrow, please rest assured I voted against that incompetent, bleeding heart, socialist piece of shit Obama................
FUTURE OF NEW L.A. LAW LIMITING NUMBER OF MEDICAL POT SHOPS IS HAZY
Many of the medical pot shops that would be closed under the new law are making millions of dollars each month. You can bet they will defy the authorities and continue to operate. Besides that, the new law is sure to be challenged in the courts. There’s just too much money to be made by growers, distributors and doctors from the phony medical marijuana business.
NEW L.A. LAW ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOPS FACES HAZY FUTURE
Voters approved a measure that would keep only 135 dispensaries — those operating before a failed moratorium in 2007 — open, but challenges await the law.
By Kate Linthicum
Los Angeles Times
May 23, 2013
Los Angeles voters took regulation of the city's medical marijuana shops into their own hands Tuesday, embracing a ballot measure to sharply reduce the number of dispensaries in the city.
But as in all things related to pot policy, the future of the new law is hazy.
Under the measure, only 135 dispensaries — those that were operating before a failed moratorium in 2007 — will be allowed to stay open. But enforcement could prove a monumental challenge as backers of a rival measure threaten lawsuits and city lawyers begin the long process of identifying all of the city's dispensaries and bringing them into compliance.
"Now the city has some work to do," said Steven Lubell, a medical marijuana attorney who supported the winning measure.
City officials, who have spent years struggling to regulate pot shops with little success, said they didn't know how many dispensaries were operating in Los Angeles. A recent police estimate put the number at around 700, but others said it could be more than double that. Jane Usher, a special assistant city attorney, said once the results of Tuesday's election are certified, city lawyers will
begin updating their database of dispensaries and sending letters to operators notifying them of the new law.
Those that opened before the moratorium will be required to be at least 600 feet from any school, park or child-care facility and pay 6% of their gross receipts in taxes. Those that opened after 2007 will be ordered to close
Usher acknowledged that some of the now-outlawed dispensaries would probably continue to operate. "There will be efforts to fly below the radar," she said.
Dispensaries that don't comply with orders to close will be sued, she said
Adam Bierman, a consultant who helps people open dispensaries, predicted that profitable dispensaries will remain open as long as possible.
"Some of them generate a million or two [million] dollars a month," Bierman said. "You think those people are just going to pack their bags and leave?"
Supporters of a rival ballot initiative, Measure F, which would have allowed unlimited dispensaries but would have toughened some regulations, also predicted that the pot wars were far from over. David Welch, an attorney who backed Measure F, said dispensaries that opened after 2007 were considering suing the city on the theory that the 2007 cutoff was arbitrary and unfair.
"I think there's going to be a big fight before they all go away," said Justin Hartfield, co-founder of WeedMaps, an online social network for medical marijuana patients that helps users find their nearest dispensary.
Hartfield noted that many of the city's dispensaries rode out previous attempts at regulation, including a 2010 city ordinance that sought to cap the number of post-moratorium dispensaries at 70 and an attempt last year to completely ban shops. "Our guys have been very resilient throughout the years," said Hartfield, who also supported Measure F.
Even if the city is eventually successful in shutting down dispensaries that opened after 2007, Hatfield said, an underground economy could develop. He said that in other cities where dispensaries have been limited, marijuana delivery services have replaced brick-and-mortar stores.
Meital Manzuri, an attorney who specializes in medical marijuana law and who represented dispensaries that opened after the moratorium, said she believed that the new law would withstand legal challenges. She cited an appellate court ruling last year that upheld the use of the 2007 cutoff included in a previous ordinance. That ordinance never went into effect because it was challenged in lawsuits.
Manzuri also cited this month's California Supreme Court ruling that cities have the right to ban dispensaries. The ruling sent a message to cities that "any sort of regulation they want" is allowed, Manzuri said.
Usher agreed, saying the court rulings have given "credence and credibility" to the ordinance approved by voters Tuesday. "The good news is not only have the voters spoken with great clarity but the courts have," she said.
NEW L.A. LAW ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOPS FACES HAZY FUTURE
Voters approved a measure that would keep only 135 dispensaries — those operating before a failed moratorium in 2007 — open, but challenges await the law.
By Kate Linthicum
Los Angeles Times
May 23, 2013
Los Angeles voters took regulation of the city's medical marijuana shops into their own hands Tuesday, embracing a ballot measure to sharply reduce the number of dispensaries in the city.
But as in all things related to pot policy, the future of the new law is hazy.
Under the measure, only 135 dispensaries — those that were operating before a failed moratorium in 2007 — will be allowed to stay open. But enforcement could prove a monumental challenge as backers of a rival measure threaten lawsuits and city lawyers begin the long process of identifying all of the city's dispensaries and bringing them into compliance.
"Now the city has some work to do," said Steven Lubell, a medical marijuana attorney who supported the winning measure.
City officials, who have spent years struggling to regulate pot shops with little success, said they didn't know how many dispensaries were operating in Los Angeles. A recent police estimate put the number at around 700, but others said it could be more than double that. Jane Usher, a special assistant city attorney, said once the results of Tuesday's election are certified, city lawyers will
begin updating their database of dispensaries and sending letters to operators notifying them of the new law.
Those that opened before the moratorium will be required to be at least 600 feet from any school, park or child-care facility and pay 6% of their gross receipts in taxes. Those that opened after 2007 will be ordered to close
Usher acknowledged that some of the now-outlawed dispensaries would probably continue to operate. "There will be efforts to fly below the radar," she said.
Dispensaries that don't comply with orders to close will be sued, she said
Adam Bierman, a consultant who helps people open dispensaries, predicted that profitable dispensaries will remain open as long as possible.
"Some of them generate a million or two [million] dollars a month," Bierman said. "You think those people are just going to pack their bags and leave?"
Supporters of a rival ballot initiative, Measure F, which would have allowed unlimited dispensaries but would have toughened some regulations, also predicted that the pot wars were far from over. David Welch, an attorney who backed Measure F, said dispensaries that opened after 2007 were considering suing the city on the theory that the 2007 cutoff was arbitrary and unfair.
"I think there's going to be a big fight before they all go away," said Justin Hartfield, co-founder of WeedMaps, an online social network for medical marijuana patients that helps users find their nearest dispensary.
Hartfield noted that many of the city's dispensaries rode out previous attempts at regulation, including a 2010 city ordinance that sought to cap the number of post-moratorium dispensaries at 70 and an attempt last year to completely ban shops. "Our guys have been very resilient throughout the years," said Hartfield, who also supported Measure F.
Even if the city is eventually successful in shutting down dispensaries that opened after 2007, Hatfield said, an underground economy could develop. He said that in other cities where dispensaries have been limited, marijuana delivery services have replaced brick-and-mortar stores.
Meital Manzuri, an attorney who specializes in medical marijuana law and who represented dispensaries that opened after the moratorium, said she believed that the new law would withstand legal challenges. She cited an appellate court ruling last year that upheld the use of the 2007 cutoff included in a previous ordinance. That ordinance never went into effect because it was challenged in lawsuits.
Manzuri also cited this month's California Supreme Court ruling that cities have the right to ban dispensaries. The ruling sent a message to cities that "any sort of regulation they want" is allowed, Manzuri said.
Usher agreed, saying the court rulings have given "credence and credibility" to the ordinance approved by voters Tuesday. "The good news is not only have the voters spoken with great clarity but the courts have," she said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)