Sunday, January 06, 2013

Mass Shootings in 2012: Crimesider reports on this year's public shootings

December 14, 2012 6:34 PM

ByJulia Dahl
TopicsDaily Blotter




A young girl is comforted following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14 / Melanie Stengel/AP Photo/The New Haven Register(CBS) Updated 12/17 - The massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Friday was another in a long list of mass shootings in the U.S. this year.



Pictures: Mass shootings in 2012


Just three days before the massacre, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts opened fire on holiday shoppers at the Clackamas Town Center in Oregon, killing two people and then himself.


These recent shootings were just the latest involving multiple victims in public places this year. From 12 people killed in a movie theater in Colorado in July, to three high school students killed in Ohio in February, such public shooting incidents have been far from rare.

Crimesider compiled details on 13 of the 2012 shootings, attempting to determine what kind of weapons were used in each incident, and whether the suspects' firearms were obtained legally.


However, our list is not comprehensive. In July, for example, five people were shot at a basketball tournament in New York City; in March, two people were killed and 12 injured in gunfire outside a North Miami funeral home; and in June, three people died and two others were wounded in a shooting outside a Houston nightclub. Not to mention dozens of victims killed on the streets ofChicago and other cities.


We steered away from incidents believed to involve gang violence, identifying situations where armed men (and they are all men) opened fire in a public place, killing and/or maiming those gathered there



1. February 22, 2012


Su Jung Health Sauna, Norcross, Ga.

Just days before the Su Jung Health Sauna was set to open, 59-year-old Jeong Soo Paek walked into the spa and shot and killed four people, then turned the gun on himself. According to theAtlanta Journal-Constitution, the impetus for the shooting may have been financial. The paper reported that the victims were Paek's sisters and their husbands, from whom Paek wanted money.

Weapon used: .45 caliber pistol

Gun bought legally?: Yes.

According to Captain Brian Harr of the Norcross Police Department, Paek owned the gun legally, but Harr did not know where he had obtained it.

State gun laws: Georgia does not require a background check for the transfer of a firearm between private parties (such as a transaction at a gun show), according to the Law Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence (LCPGV) Ammunition sales are not regulated, nor is the number of firearms purchased at one time limited. According to a report by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, in 2006-2009, Georgia exported more guns used in crimes than any other state.


2. February 27, 2012


Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio

On the morning of Feb. 27, 17-year-old T.J. Lane allegedly walked into the cafeteria of Chardon High School, pulled out a .22 caliber handgun and began shooting at students gathered there before class. Three people were killed and three others wounded. Lane was captured soon after about a mile from the school.

Lane has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. A judge ruled he will be tried as an adult.

Weapon used: .22 caliber pistol

Gun bought legally?: Unclear. The gun did not belong to Lane and Chardon Police Chief Tim McKenna told Crimesider that reports that Lane got the gun from his grandfather's barn are incorrect. However, due to a gag order in the case, he declined to say whose gun it was and whether it was purchased legally.


State gun laws: Ohio requires that a gun owner report if his firearm has been lost or stolen, but does not require background checks for gun sales between private parties, nor does it impose a waiting period on firearm purchases, limit the number of guns that can be purchased at one time, or require gun dealers to obtain a license, according to the LCPGV.


3. March 8, 2012


University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Around 1:40 p.m. on March 8, police say that John F. Shick, 30, entered the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and began shooting. One person was killed and seven wounded in the attack. Shick, who had reportedly been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was killed in a shootout with police

Weapons used: Shick was armed with two 9mm handguns

Guns bought legally?: No.

According to Allegheny County District Attorney Steve Zappala, Shick bought the weapons he used in New Mexico, which, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, does not require a background check for firearm purchases between private individuals. According to an ATF investigation into the incident, Shick's Beretta 9mm was originally issued to a Texas sheriff's deputy in 1994. The deputy pawned the gun in 2000 and it eventually ended up at a gun show in Albequerque in 2010 where it was bought, without paperwork, and then sold via classified ad a year later. John Karnis, the man who bought the gun via the ad, told the ATF that he placed his own ad in the newspaper when he wanted to sell the gun in April 2011. Shick - who the seller described as "quiet and distant" - bought it from him, without paperwork.

The second firearm, an Arsenal Inc 9mm, was originally purchased in Albequerque in 1995 by a doctor who then sold it to a dealer, who then sold it to Karnis. Karnis sold both the Arsenal and the Beretta to Shick in April 2011.

Zappala said that Shick previously tried to buy a gun in Oregon, but was unable to do so, possibly because he had once been committed to a psychiatric institution there. Because of that, and another such commitment in New York, Shick would not have been able to buy a gun legally in Pennsylvania.

Zappala also said that Shick ordered the ammunition he used from Europe over the internet.

State gun laws: Pennsylvania requires a background check for private purchase of a firearm, but does not impose a limit on the number of firearms that can be purchased at one time, nor does the state impose a waiting period or regulate ammunition sales, according to the LCPGV.



4. April 2, 2012


Oikos University , Oakland, Calif.

On April 2, One L. Goh, 43, allegedly killed seven people and injured three more when he opened fire at the small Christian college in Oakland. Goh had been a nursing student at the college which catered to Korean immigrants, before withdrawing in 2011. He was reportedly angry that the college had not refunded several thousand dollars of his tuition.

Goh was arrested after walking into a nearby grocery store and reportedly saying, "I just shot some people." He has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Pretrial for the case is scheduled to begin Oct. 1.

Weapons used: A semiautomatic handgun and four magazines of ammunition

Gun bought legally?: Yes.

The gun was purchased in California about two months prior to the shooting, according to the Oakland Police Department.

State gun laws: By most accounts, California has the strictest gun laws in the country. According to the LCPGV, the state imposes a 10-day waiting period on all firearm purchases and in 1999 mandated that waiting periods and other restrictions be extended to purchases made at gun shows. California also bans all large capacity ammunition magazines and most assault weapons and 50 caliber rifles. In 2007, California became the first state to require microstamping of handguns. That's the process of imprinting microscopic characters on firearms that will transfer to bullet casings, thus allowing police to trace bullets found at a crime scene without having to recover the weapon itself.



5. May 30, 2012


Cafe Racer, Seattle, Wash.


Just before 11 a.m. on May 30, 40-year-old Ian L. Stawicki allegedly started shooting inside a Seattle café near the University of Washington-Seattle campus. Police say Stawicki killed four people inside the café, which was known as a gathering place for local artists and musicians. According to the Seattle Times, police say Stawicki then shot a woman near the Town Hall and stole her SUV. By 4p.m., he had reportedly abandoned the SUV and soon after being surrounded by police, fatally shot himself in the head.

Weapons used: Stawicki was armed with two .45 caliber semiautomatic handguns

Guns bought legally?: Yes.

Stawicki had legally purchased both guns, as well as two others. He also had a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon.

In February 2008 Stawicki was charged with four misdemeanor domestic violence counts, but the charges were later dropped. In her statement, his girlfriend at the time wrote that "starting last winter, he became more violent, breaking my things, losing control of his feelings, there's no pattern." In 2010, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his brother, though those charges were also dropped, according to the Times.

State gun laws: Washington State does not require background checks for the purchase of a firearm between private parties, according to the LCPGV. The National Rifle Association reports that the state does not require gun buyers to have a license or permit, nor do Washington State gun owners have to register their guns. The state does, according to the LCPGV, prohibit some individuals with records of domestic violence from owning firearms.



6. June 9, 2012


Auburn University pool party, Auburn, Ala.

During an afternoon pool party in an apartment complex near the Auburn University campus, 22-year-old Desmonte Leonard allegedly got in an argument over a woman and then opened fire, killing three people and injuring three others. Leonard eluded police for several days, and finally turned himself in on June 12.

In September, Leonard pleaded not guilty to three counts of capital murder, and two counts of assault.

Weapons used: Unclear. According to Captain Tom Stofer of the Auburn Police Department, police have found a firearm they believe may have been used in the shooting and have sent it for testing.

Gun bought legally?: Unclear.

State gun laws: Alabama does not require gun owners to register their firearms, nor does the state impose a waiting period or background check on private purchases, according to the LCPGV. The state also does not prohibit the sale or transfer of assault weapons or large capacity ammunition magazines. However, according to the NRA, "it is unlawful for a drug addict, habitual drunkard, or one who has been convicted of a crime of violence to own or possess a handgun." Minors are also not permitted to carry or possess handguns.



7. July 17, 2012


Copper Top bar, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

During the early morning hours of July 17, 44-year-old Nathan Van Wilkins allegedly opened fire in a crowded bar near the University of Alabama. Seventeen people were injured in the attack but no one was killed. According to the Tuscaloosa News, less than an hour before he arrived at the bar, Wilkins went to a nearby home and shot at a man inside the house, possibly in a case of mistaken identity.

Wilkins has been charged with 18 counts of attempted murder.

Weapon used: Unclear. According to Sgt. Kip Hart of the Tuscaloosa Sheriff's Department, Wilkins' gun has not yet been recovered, but he believes it was likely an "AK-47-type rifle."

Gun bought legally?: Unclear.

State gun laws: Alabama does not require gun owners to register their firearms, nor does the state impose a waiting period or background check on private purchases, according to the LCPGV. The state also does not prohibit the sale or transfer of assault weapons or large capacity ammunition magazines. However, according to the NRA, in Alabama "it is unlawful for a drug addict, habitual drunkard, or one who has been convicted of a crime of violence to own or possess a handgun." Minors are also not permitted to carry or possess handguns.



8. July 20, 2012


Century 16 movie theater, Aurora, Colo.

Just after midnight on July 20, police say James Holmes, dressed in black and sporting nearly head-to-toe tactical garb, set off some sort of smoke bomb inside Theater 9 of the Century 16 movie theater. Holmes allegedly began shooting at the audience, who was there to see a premiere of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." Twelve people were killed, 58 others injured, several of whom are still hospitalized.

Holmes surrendered to police soon after the massacre in the parking lot behind the theater. His apartment was allegedly "booby-trapped," rigged with what the Aurora police chief described as "incendiary and chemical" devices which authorities disabled or detonated.


Holmes is under investigation for first-degree murder and will appear in court on July 31.

Weapons used: Police say Holmes used a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle, a shotgun and a .40 caliber Glock handgun

Guns bought legally?: Yes.

According to Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates, all three of the guns used in the incident, plus a second Glock allegedly found in Holmes' car, were purchased legally in the state of Colorado. In the weeks leading up to the incident, police say Holmes had purchased 6,000 rounds of ammunition over the internet.

State gun laws: Colorado imposes no waiting period to purchase a firearm, nor does it impose a limit on the number of firearms that can be purchased at one time, according to the LCPGV. The state requires mentally ill individuals who are deemed ineligible for purchasing a firearm to be reported to the federal NICS database. In 2000, in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre, the state used a ballot initiative to close the so-called "gun show loophole," in which private sales do not require a background check. However, the state does not prohibit a person from purchasing assault weapons or large capacity magazines. Colorado gun owners do not have to obtain licenses, register their guns, or report lost or stolen guns.


9. August 5, 2012


Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Oak Creek, Wis.


As worshippers prayed and meditated, 40-year-old Wade Michael Page walked into the temple and opened fire, killing six. Wade, who was reportedly a white supremacist, was killed in a shoot-out with police.

Weapons used: 9mm handgun


Guns bought legally?: Yes.


State gun laws: According to the National Rifle Association, Wisconsin requires no license or permit to purchase or carry a firearm. The LCFPGV reports that the state requires a 48-hour waiting period for the purchase of a handgun if the gun is purchased from a licensed federal dealer. That waiting period is not imposed for private sales. The state requires that mental health records be sent to a database used to background checks on people who purchase a gun from a licensed dealer.



9. August 31, 2012


Pathmark Super Mart, Old Bridge, N.J.


At around 4 a.m., former Marine Terence Tyler, 23, opened fire inside the grocery store where he had worked for less than a month. He killed two of his co-workers, 18-year-old Cristina LoBrutto and 24-year-old Bryan Breen, and then killed himself.

Weapons used: According to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Tyler used a WASR-10 rifle to kill LoBrutto and Breen. A WASR-10 is a Romanian rifle similar to an AK-47. He used a .45 caliber handgun to kill himself.


Gun bought legally?: Tyler purchased both guns - as well as a shotgun - legally in California between June 2010 and November 2011, but according to the county prosecutor's office, he "misrepresented certain details" on the applications for these weapons. Once bought, Tyler made modifications to the WASR-10, making it illegal in California. Tyler moved to New Jersey in June 2012; the WASR-10 is illegal in New Jersey.

State gun laws: According to the Brady Campaign, New Jersey had the nation's second strongest gun laws, with one handgun per month purchase limit, and a permit required to purchase all firearms. The NRA reports that an ID card is also required to purchase a rifle or shotgun in the state. However, according to the NRA, owners do not need to register their firearms.


10. September 27, 2012

Accent Signage Systems office, Minneapolis, Minn.


The day after he had been fired, Andrew Engeldinger, 36, walked into his former workplace and opened fire, killing four people and himself. Two other victims died later at the hospital, reportsCBS Minneapolis.


Weapons used: Glock 9mm handgun

Gun obtained legally?: According Captain Amelia Huffman of the Minneapolis Police Department, Engeldinger bought the gun legally and it was registered to him.

State gun laws: According to the NRA, a person must obtain a permit to purchase a handgun, but not a rifle or shotgun in Minnesota. The LCPGV reports that the state does not require a gun dealer to obtain a license. The Brady Campaign reports that a background check is not required to purchase a gun at a gun show or in a private sale in the state.



11. October 21, 2012

Azana Day Spa, Brookfield., Wis.


Radcliffe Franklin Haughton, 45, opened fire in a suburban day spa, killing his wife, Zina Haughton, and two other women, and injuring four others before killing himself.


In a written request for a restraining order filed Oct. 8, Zina Haughton said her husband was convinced she was cheating on him and that aside from the acid threat he also vowed to burn her and her family with gas. He said he would kill her if she ever left him or called the police, according to the court papers obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Weapons used: .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun


Guns bought legally?: Unclear.

State gun laws: According to the NRA, Wisconsin requires no background check nor a license or permit to purchase or carry a firearm. The LCFPGV reports that the state requires a 48-hour waiting period for the purchase of a handgun if the gun is purchased from a licensed federal dealer. That waiting period is not imposed for private sales. The state requires that mental health records be sent to a database used to background checks on people who purchase a gun from a licensed dealer.



12. December 11, 2012

Clackamas Town Center, Clackamas, Ore.


Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, walked into the mall wearing a hockey-style mask and an ammunition-packed vest and opened fire, killing two people and then himself.

Weapons used: AR-15 rifle

Guns bought legally?: Not by Roberts. Police say Roberts had stolen the weapon from someone he knew.

State gun laws: According to the Brady Campaign, Oregon requires background checks for gun sales at gun shows, but does no require a state license to possess a handgun or handgun registration. The state also does not require firearm owners to report a stolen weapon.



13. December 14, 2012

Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Conn.

At just after 9:30 a.m., 20-year-old Adam Lanza opened fire inside the K-4th grade school, killing 20 children and six adult before turning a gun on himself. Lanza had also reportedly murdered his mother, Nancy Lanza, before going on his rampage.

Weapons used: Details are still emerging. Initially, police reportedly found two handguns - a Sig Sauer and a Glock - inside the school, and a .223 caliber rifle in a car at the scene. However, authorities now report that all the children killed in the incident were shot multiple times by a semiautomatic rifle.


Guns bought legally?: A federal official tells CBS News that, according to state records, all the weapons Lanza used were bought legally and were registered to his mother.

State gun laws: According to the NRA, Connecticut requires that a person have permit to purchase a handgun, but not rifle. Handguns - but not rifles - must also be licensed. The Brady Campaign calls the state's gun laws "strong."



Additional reporting by Michael Roppolo




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Saturday, January 05, 2013

Occult Explosion. (PT.1)






TheClosingOfTime

Uploaded on Aug 13, 2011


http://amazingdiscoveries.org/

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They have come to view matters in nearly the same light


Photo (Courtesy) http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/OEA/Bilateral_Relations/OEA-Lutheran-Seventh_day_Adventist.html

“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.”

The Great Controversy, p. 608

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Hate Speech - More Than Waco: Chapter 9





DavidEMould

Uploaded on Jan 11, 2011


David Mould and Lincoln Steed discuss hate laws and their potential impact on the free publication of The Great Controversy. .

William Tyndale Martyr for the Bible




William Tyndale Martyr for the Bible


Shonica27·


Uploaded on Dec 24, 2008


No description available.

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Friday, January 04, 2013

Vatican can’t take credit card payments


By : CNN





Vatican shops and museums can no longer accept card payments




If you’re planning on visiting the Vatican any time soon, take plenty of cash for tickets and souvenirs.

Vatican museums and shops have been unable to accept credit or debit card payments since Jan. 1, after the Bank of Italy prevented Deutsche Bank from providing the service due to concerns about financial oversight in the city-state, sources familiar with the matter told CNNMoney.

The world’s smallest state is home to the Pope and such popular tourist sites as St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, attracting some 5 million visitors per year.

The Vatican has taken several steps in recent years to improve its record on banking supervision. But a report last year by Moneyval — an independent group of European experts — found it was still falling short of international standards to tackle money laundering and other financial crimes.

Related: Swiss bank to close after U.S. tax case

The Vatican said in a statement that an agreement with one of its contractors was about to expire. It was talking with other service providers and the interruption of service “should be short.” Neither Deutsche Bank nor the Bank of Italy issued statements.

Deutsche Bank’s Italian arm had run the payments system since 1997. It was told in 2010 by the Bank of Italy that it needed authorization, which it duly sought. The request triggered an in-depth assessment of the Vatican’s banking regulation by the Bank of Italy, the sources said.

Related: EU strikes deal to bring banks under single supervisor

The review by the central bank revealed similar concerns to the Moneyval report, and as a consequence Deutsche Bank was told in December it would not receive permission to continue arranging payments, the sources said.

Any bank with operations in Italy would run into the same problem, they added.

Vatican Museums apologized on its website for the inconvenience caused. Tickets can still be bought online using a credit or debit card, but that service will also be suspended beginning Jan. 15.


–CNN’s Richard Greene contributed to this article


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"Spiritual Formation and Contemplative Prayer"




"Spiritual Formation and Contemplative Prayer," 3ABN Night Light, 2012 ASI Convention



3ABNVideos

Published on Aug 16, 2012


In an effort to shed more light on the topics of "Spiritual Formation" and "Contemplative Prayer", 3ABN broadcast a special live edition of our 3ABN Night Light program on Thursday, August 9, immediately following the evening program of the ASI International Convention.

3ABN president, Jim Gilley, and 3ABN production manager, C. A. Murray, moderated this important discussion. Their guests included Dan Jackson, President of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists; Mark Finley, Assistant to the General Conference President for Evangelism; Dr. Derek Morris, Associate Ministerial Secretary for the General Conference; Dan Houghton, President of Hart Research; Frank Fournier, President of Adventist-laymen's Services and Industries (ASI); and Harold Lance, President of ASI Missions, Inc.

"The ASI Convention in Cincinnati gives us this tremendous opportunity to visit with leaders of our church concerning issues we face in our denomination world wide," says 3ABN president, Jim Gilley. "We invite our viewers to watch this important program."

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The bully-in-chief




January 4, 2013


By Boston Herald editorial staff

View My Profile


Now that President Obama has gotten the hang of boxing in and neutering congressional Republicans, why stop?

In fact, Obama wants it all — the virtually limitless power to spend and pass along the bills to every man, woman and child in the country.

“I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they’ve already racked up through the laws that they passed,” he said New Year’s Eve as Congress was attempting to avoid the tax-hike portion of the “fiscal cliff.”

Notice how suddenly it’s congressional spending that is out of control — not Obamacare or the vast expansion of unemployment insurance, which is rapidly becoming yet another entitlement program, or even his pet green jobs programs. The president seems prepared to fix the blame for profligate spending on a Congress that has admittedly been far too compliant with his big government agenda. So having given the president what he wanted in terms of big-money programs and tax hikes, Congress now gets the back of his hand.

And Obama wants our duly elected legislative branch to relinquish one of the few checks it has on the executive — the power to approve increases in the debt ceiling. The government actually reached the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling days ago, but federal officials are busy using all the tools in their accounting arsenal to cook the books until February — when we will once again face another “crisis.”

That gives Obama a full month to out-maneuver Republicans and convince voters, the markets and perhaps even the rating agencies (although we have trouble imagining that level of naivete on their part) that only he should have the unbridled power to control the government’s ability to borrow money.

And if you’re thinking about a fox guarding the hen house, you’d be on the right track here.

“If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic,” he insisted. “People will remember, back in 2011, the last time this course of action was threatened, our entire recovery was put at risk. Consumer confidence plunged. Business investment plunged. Growth dropped. We can’t go down that path again.”

The answer? Well, that would be for all members of Congress to check their principles (not to mention their cojones) at the door and roll over and play dead because the commander in chief demands it.



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Simpson: Try not to fall off the 'physical cliff'

By Dave Simpson
Opinion columnist
Jan. 2, 2013 6:57 p.m.


THIS IS RICH: Out here where I live, the state has a program in which dilapidated houses are purchased, fixed up, then sold at a reasonable price and low interest rate to first-time home buyers.

This makes a certain amount of sense, since the only entity with enough money to deal with government regulations these days is the government.

Included in the state program are radio ads, to encourage people to buy one of these government-renovated houses. And here's the funny part.

The ad says that since there are federal dollars involved in paying for all this, applicants must fill out forms to demonstrate their "FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY."

Take a second here, readers, to let that sink in. Fiscal responsibility. Federal government.

When I hear that radio ad when I'm driving, I need to pull over for a few minutes to regain my composure. It's dangerous to drive with tears of laughter in your eyes. A guy could get in an accident laughing at the notion of demonstrating our fiscal responsibility to the federal government.

Consider what has been going on in Washington in recent days, and the fiscal cliff, and a $16 trillion debt, and $1 trillion annual deficits, and three-day work weeks in Congress, and the debt ceiling closing in, and the pay raise the dysfunctional Congress just gave itself, and "sequestration," and all these phony-baloney end-of-year deadlines they set up for themselves.

And then consider the crazy notion that anyone, anywhere, would have to demonstrate their "fiscal responsibility" to that bunch of world-class spendthrift yahoos in Washington.

That's like requiring us to show our fire extinguishers and smoke alarms to serial arsonists.

I need to stop for a moment here and wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes.

NORM CROSBY ALERT: I've regained my composure now, and can report that on "Fox and Friends in the Morning" on New Years Day, Gerald Celente, founder of the Trends Research Institute, was making predictions for 2013.

Referring to recent events in Washington, he said, "Look at the physical cliff drama. The DC drama queens."

Here's my prediction for 2013: Some viewer will point out to Gerald Celente that it is a "fiscal cliff," not a "physical cliff." Big difference.

And I'm not sure I want to take economic advice from a guy who doesn't know the difference.

ON THAT TOPIC: On one of the political shows on CNBC last week, I learned that economic pundit Jared Bernstein served for a time as the "chief economist and economic adviser" to — are you ready for this? — Vice President Joe Biden.

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I was taken aback. Nonplussed.

"Does this mean,'' I wondered, "that the grinning, mugging, sarcastic buffoon who made such fun of Paul Ryan in the vice presidential debate has a CHIEF ECONOMIST and ECONOMIC ADVISOR? That Biden joker had a CHIEF ECONOMIST?''

Couldn't he just borrow the president's chief economist if he had a question? He needs his own chief economist?

And, if he had a chief economist, does that mean he had a bunch of other economists who answered to the chief economist? How many economists does a vice president need, anyway?

And we wonder why we have a $16 trillion national debt.

NEW LAWS: Almost 900 new laws went into effect in California on the first of the year, according to news reports.

When I was a cub reporter in Laramie, Wyo., 40 years ago, there was a city council member who would always note the number on any new ordinance being passed, and shake his head in dismay. And then he would ask, "How many new laws do we really need to run this city?"

If you live in California, the answer to that question is apparently almost 900 new state laws this year alone, which probably goes a long way toward explaining the complicated governmental mess they're facing in California, these days.

And yet I'm sure there are those true believers in California who figure that everything will be fixed, and the place will be run like a Swiss watch, now that the geniuses in state government have bestowed all of those wonderful new laws on their constituents.

Don't bet on it.

Contact Dave Simpson at d_simpson@bresnan.net.


Source
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Best of Biden

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Best of Biden: "You're gonna be frisked" & more from swearing-in "Don't tell Bob Byrd's ghost," "you're gonna be frisked," and more - the most candid moments from Vice President Joe Biden today as he swore in senators to the 113th Congress.



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Thursday, January 03, 2013

Inklings of A New World Order



Subtlety of subtleties

Just went to Family Dollar to buy a few things, and when I cheked out the Lady at the register asked me for my date of birth: it was right after the Family Dollar Wellness Adult Tussin Cough & Chest Congestion DM Cough Syrup was swiped. I was shocked to be asked such a personal question while there were several people on line behind me.  Apparently, looking my age is not enough for buying an over the counter house brand Robitussin type Cough Medicine;  Since I needed the Syrup I obliged, althogh I was reluctant at first.

Why did I resent this question?

I guess it is because yesterday I called one of my service providers (Utility) and to speak to with a Customer Service Rep I had to provide my home address, the last four digits of my Social Security number (the entitlement they want to renege) , and my date of birth, too.  Where is this leading to?  Why all the questions?  This is definitely a New World Order in which I am living in.  Despite all the folks that think that everything is hunky dory, I see myself in the midst of a Brave New World. I feel like a prisoner in a strange habitat. Everywhere I turn I am suveilled and interogated. It will soon be 50 years since Kennedy was assasinated in broad daylight, yet, I don't think that anyone would have imagined that we would have arrived at such a time as this.

The days of do not park; keep off the grass; and, do not fold, spindle or mutilate were so simple?

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Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight


1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 

8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 

9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 

10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 

11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 

12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 

13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 

14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. 

15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 

17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 

18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.


Luke 3:1-22.
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Sicky Season

Recently in the Hospital:

Hugo Chavez  in Cuba recovering from "4" operations to remove Cancer




Hillary R.Clinton leaving Presbyterian Hospital in New York City (Blood Clot from a Concussion caused by a Stomach Virus)

 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves New York Presbyterian Hospital with Bill and Chelsea on Wednesday.


George H. Bush moved from intensive care (with bronchitis) still at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas



Nelson Mandela (recovering from lung infection at home) was at Pretoria hospital, So. Africa
Mandela_WC

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All these bureaucrats sick all at once... 
Is it a virus or a bacteria?

When Governing Means Lurching Between Phony Crises



About Clive Crook»

Clive Crook is a Bloomberg View columnist and member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. His column appears ... MORE



By Clive Crook Jan 2, 2013 9:46 AM ET


The vote last night in the House of Representatives brought to a close the latest Washington master class in dereliction of duty. After a few days of arguing about who won or lost, we can move on to the next manufactured crisis.

In itself, not much of a surprise, the fiscal-cliff deal avoids most of the tax increases and postpones almost all of the spending cuts that were about to be triggered. Throughout this farce, financial markets had refused to believe that the U.S. government would inflict a recession rather than strike a budget agreement, especially because they knew that, all posturing aside, the distance between the two parties was small. Markets wobbled but didn’t collapse.

Let’s hope they react with similar equanimity to the next pointless quarrel, over the debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress last week that the current limit on government borrowing was about to be reached. He said “extraordinary measures” (essentially, shuffling funds among government accounts) would be used to prevent the debt from breaking through the ceiling.

How long can that go on? Geithner wasn’t sure. Maybe two months under normal circumstances, he said, but “given the significant uncertainty that now exists with regard to unresolved tax and spending policies for 2013, it is not possible to predict the effective duration of these measures.”

Tax Increase

The latest fiscal deal does little to resolve those uncertainties. The spending-cut part has merely been delayed by two months. The tax increase for couples making more than $450,000, together with other changes and estimated savings in debt interest, shaves about $700 billion from the 10-year deficit. Savings of about $2 trillion will be needed to stabilize the ratio of public debt to national income. Bringing that ratio down to a safer level requires spending cuts and tax increases worth $4 trillion -- the original “grand bargain” ambition.

Instead of dealing calmly with the problem, fiscal policy has settled into a mode of perpetual phony crisis. Phony doesn’t mean harmless, however. The risk of a real fiscal crisis gradually builds. Meanwhile, the cumulative effects of simulated crisis might be almost as bad. It’s the difference between an acute illness and a chronic wasting disease -- one that’s beginning to look incurable.

Don’t tell me the economy just had a lucky escape. Whatever happens next, it has been paying for the fiscal standoff for months. It’s paying for what Congress might do with the next debt ceiling, and the one after that. The “significant uncertainty” that Geithner referred to has already held back the U.S. recovery. Another temporary fiscal patch isn’t a remedy. It’s just more of the same.

The economy needs a lasting fiscal compact that commands broad, bipartisan support. I can hear the groans. Not another call for compromise. Many Democrats and almost all Republicans find the idea disgusting. On Capitol Hill, it’s no longer enough for one side to win; the other has to be seen to lose. That attitude is the growing burden the economy has to carry.

The tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush show what happens when reforms lack broad support. They were pushed through in 2001 and 2003 against solid Democratic opposition. For more than a decade, the overriding aim of Democratic politics has been to (partially) reverse them. Mission accomplished -- for now.

Health Care

A similar fate might be in store for health-care reform. With uncertain support from the public, the Affordable Care Act faces the skepticism of Republican governors and the outright hostility of a Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The policy may be the law of the land, but without a firmer base of support it will remain in jeopardy.

Expect the pattern to repeat during the next phase of budgetary dysfunction. Outwitted by its own earlier tactics, the Republican Party has accepted an increase in the top income-tax rate as part of the fiscal-cliff reprieve. Why expect this to be the end? One day Republicans will cut that top rate again, even if it kills them (and the economy). What a glorious day that will be.

The remarkable thing is the passion of this mutual animosity, given how little divides the combatants. President Barack Obama’s health-care law, don’t forget, was built to a Republican blueprint. All Democrats have embraced the Bush tax cuts as they apply to 98 percent of taxpayers, and most acknowledge the need to contain entitlement spending, which the Republicans insist is essential. Before the rank and file in Congress forced a retreat, the House Republican leadership broached raising the tax rate for people earning more than $1 million a year and suggested collecting more revenue by limiting deductions, a reform favored by all thinking progressives.

This is hardly a clash of irreconcilable visions, as the two sides want to claim. Seen from beyond the Beltway, the budgetary gap isn’t just bridgeable, it’s trivial. Democrats and Republicans disagree about taxes and spending, of course, but they relish and exaggerate the differences. Their enmity is less about economics than about culture, values and class. That’s what makes it so poisonous.

Obama offers the best hope for calming this conflict and passing broadly supported -- hence lasting -- fiscal reform. At the moment, it’s hard to be optimistic because the president has chosen since the election to strut more than conciliate, to be a partisan champion, sticking it to the enemy, not a one-nation leader seeking to build agreement. Declaring victory this week won’t serve his or the country’s interests. A little magnanimity would go a long way. Nonetheless, count on the Republicans to do all they can to make presidential aggression look reasonable.

This dynamic could still change, and for America’s sake it had better. The automatic expiration of the Bush tax cuts was a fleeting moment of political leverage for the White House, difficult to forgo. That moment has passed. Now the president has to think about the delayed spending cuts, the debt ceiling, comprehensive tax and entitlement reform, and his second term.

He can set out to split differences, build consensus and solve problems. Or he can stand on principle, berate the opposition (and the half of the country it represents), and keep the crises coming. If he does the first, he may fail. If he does the second, he can count on it.

(Clive Crook is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this article: Clive Crook at

To contact the editor responsible for this article: Max Berley at mberley@bloomberg.net


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Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Georgetown Law professor: Scrap ‘archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil’ Constitution

12:33 PM 12/31/2012


Caroline May
Political Reporter




With hours to go before nation heads off the fiscal cliff, Georgetown Law professor Louis Michael Seidman writes that the time has come to scrap the Constitution.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times Monday, Seidman, a constitutional law professor, claimed that the nation’s foundational document is the real impediment to progress and solutions to America’s troubles.

“As the nation teeters at the edge of fiscal chaos, observers are reaching the conclusion that the American system of government is broken,” Seidman wrote. “But almost no one blames the culprit: our insistence on obedience to the Constitution, with all its archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions.”

According to Seidman, the country’s insistence that it maintain the will of a centuries-old document “has saddled us with a dysfunctional political system, kept us from debating the merits of divisive issues and inflamed our public.”

Seidman, author of the forthcoming book “On Constitutional Disobedience,” explained that adherence to constitutional law, which he has taught for over 40 years, is just “bizarre.”

“Imagine that after careful study a government official — say, the president or one of the party leaders in Congress — reaches a considered judgment that a particular course of action is best for the country,” he wrote. “Suddenly, someone bursts into the room with new information: a group of white propertied men who have been dead for two centuries, knew nothing of our present situation, acted illegally under existing law and thought it was fine to own slaves might have disagreed with this course of action. Is it even remotely rational that the official should change his or her mind because of this divination?”

The Georgetown Law professor argued that disobedience to the Constitution is older than the document itself — noting that in 1787 the framers abandoned their mandate to amend the Articles of Confederation and instead created an entirely new document, the Constitution.

Seidman cited examples in which monumental figures in American history have turned their backs on the document, including John Adams’ support for the Alien and Sedition Acts, Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal expansion of federal powers.

“In the face of this long history of disobedience, it is hard to take seriously the claim by the Constitution’s defenders that we would be reduced to a Hobbesian state of nature if we asserted our freedom from this ancient text,” he added. “Our sometimes flagrant disregard of the Constitution has not produced chaos or totalitarianism; on the contrary, it has helped us to grow and prosper.”

Seidman concedes that his goal — to scrap the Constitution in favor of long standing institutions and good judgment — is likely not to happen anytime soon. Instead, he advocates beginning to “soften the habit.”

“If even this change is impossible, perhaps the dream of a country ruled by ‘We the people’ is impossibly utopian,” he concluded. “If so, we have to give up on the claim that we are a self-governing people who can settle our disagreements through mature and tolerant debate. But before abandoning our heritage of self-government, we ought to try extricating ourselves from constitutional bondage so that we can give real freedom a chance.”


Source: http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/31/georgetown-law-professor-scrap-archaic-idiosyncratic-and-downright-evil-constitution/#ixzz2GsPYj8Uy

.....

Denver Murals International Airport Colorado


WatchRyder

Uploaded on Dec 3, 2010


Video and still picture footage of the Airport of Airports when it comes to conspiracy theory's.
Murals, a secret base underneath the place. Hidden messages within pictures and more.

We investigated to see what we could come out with...


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Report Update: A Stand for Walter Veith



12.12.27 -


Since the ban on Walter Veith by the German Unions, many have written us and spoken out about their support of Walter Veith. We have also learned of many that have become Adventist as a result of Walter Veith's evangelistic crusades and DVDs. We believe that the world church and the North American Union needs to hear about the impact of Walter Veith's ministry in the lives of so many. We have heard that a large majority of the new converts in S. Africa alone are as a result of Walter Veith's work. In Germany also the main evangelistic efforts and converts resulting are through Walter Veith and AD Germany.

In light of this, we ask that all those that have been blessed by Walter Veith or brought to the truth through his ministry, write to the North American Union and the world church and share this with the leadership. Others are beginning to do so. Below you will find correspondance from Trevor Loucks, Head of Music at the Adventist University of Central Africa in Rwanda written to Bruno Vertallier, President of the Inter-European Division and the response of Stan Sedlbauer, president of AD Germany. In addition, below you will find the strong public statement made by ASI Germany regarding the action taken by the joint German Unions.

It is important that the leadership of the Adventist Church hear from its members on this issue so that it knows that there is a body of believers in the Church that wishes to hear the straight testimony preached and to warn the world of coming deceptions such as spiritual formation, and other errors.

To write to the NAD and/or the General Conference (both at the same address):

12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 USA

for NAD President - Dan Jackson

c/o: Janet.Aldea [at] nad.adventist.org

http://www.nadadventist.org/

for World Headquarters:

Attention: President - Ted Wilson

c/o: george.johnson [at] nad.adventist.org


To write directly to the German Unions to express your thoughts,

BVertallier.president [at] euroafrica.org, corrado.cozzi [at] euroafrica.org, gabriel.maurer [at] euroafrica.org, Paolo.Benini [at] euroafrica.org



Read the Public Statement by ASI Germany condemning the actions taken by the German Unions.
Public Statement regarding the action taken by the joint German Unions ( FiD ) on Dec. 4, 2012 in regard to Prof. Dr. Walter Veith’s way of evangelizing in Germany.


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Smaller paychecks coming - bosses say, don't blame us


By Jose Pagliery @CNNMoney January 2, 2013: 10:59 AM ET




Payroll taxes are going back up. Business owners like Mike Brey, who owns four Hobby Works shops near Washington, D.C., must now explain to workers why their paychecks are 2% smaller.


NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Everyone's paycheck is about to take a hit, and it's not the boss' fault. But some business owners say it's a tough talk to have.

The rate of workers' payroll taxes, which fund Social Security, has been 4.2% for the past two years. As of Jan. 1, it's back to 6.2%, on the first $113,700 in wages.

That forced Mike Brey, who owns four Hobby Works shops near Washington, D.C., to notify his store managers about the upcoming change during a conference call Monday. He called the experience uncomfortable. "These are the people who can least afford it," Brey said.

Brey said he can't raise compensation to ease the pain. Enduring the recession meant cutting his own salary, firing workers, taking on half a million dollars in debt and raiding his own 401(k).

"Any business that survived the recession did so by digging a big hole," Brey said. "We can't dig any deeper."

Related: How the rich will pay more in 2013

Payroll taxes are key for financing Social Security, and the break of the past two years has forced the government to replenish the funds with borrowed money. The tax break was always meant to be temporary.

Workers earning the national average salary of $41,000 will receive $32 less on every biweekly paycheck. The higher the salary (up to $113,700), the bigger the bite, but business owners say their lower wage employees will feel it most.



 Deborah Koenigsberger, who owns the Noir et Blanc fashion store in Manhattan, has yet to have the talk with her only part-time employee, a college student.

"It's going to hurt me to tell her this. She can't afford a decrease," Koenigsberger said. What unnerves her is the feeling that she's lost control as a business owner watching out for her employees.

Keval Mehta, CEO of In-R-Food, a smartphone app developer in Durham, N.C., worried the tax increase will threaten morale. "They don't get paid enough for what they do," Mehta said.

Related: Fiscal cliff's new definition of 'rich'

The 1-year-old company has yet to make a profit, having just launched software that scans grocery products and lists ingredients and nutritional values. His four employees could make upwards of $80,000 a year elsewhere, but three of them earn less than half that. They put in long hours, must work from laptops while on vacation, and no, there isn't a health insurance plan.

All that made it even more difficult to warn them during the holidays about the oncoming pay cut. Mehta promised them he'd make up the lost pay if the company's finances improve next year.

"Currently, they're working on passion. But that can only drive you so much," Mehta said. "I don't like that I don't have control over this. It wasn't a decision I made. But as a CEO, you take responsibility for everything. You're automatically at fault, because you're the captain of the ship."


First Published: January 2, 2013: 5:23 AM ET


Source
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Obama is back in Hawaii

THE OVAL

David Jackson10:44a.m. EST January 2, 2013

(Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP)
The "fiscal cliff" deal is done, so President Obama is back on his Hawaii vacation.

Obama boarded Air Force One at about midnight Tuesday, some 30 minutes after White House remarks saluting the House vote to avert a series of tax hikes and budget cuts known as the fiscal cliff.

"Happy New Year everybody,"' Obama told reporters.

The president landed in Honolulu shortly before 5 a.m. on Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. ET.




Obama and his family began their traditional end-of- the-year vacation on Dec. 21, but the president returned to the White House on Dec. 27 to tend to the fiscal cliff debate. His family stayed back in Hawaii.

The president is scheduled to return to Washington over the weekend.



Source

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January 2013 Holidays



I looked for a calendar of January 2013 and this is what I got:

January 2013 Holidays

Jan 01
New Year’s Day (Around the World)
Circumcision (Christian)
Oshogatsu (or Shogatsu) (Shinto)
Festival of St Basil the Great (Christian)
10th Tevet (Jewish)
Jan 05
Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh (Nanakshahi calendar) (Sikh)
Jan 06
Epiphany (Christian)
Christmas Day (Armenian Orthodox) (Christian)
Theophany (Orthodox) (Christian)
Jan 07
Christmas Day (Ethiopian) (Rastafari)
Christmas Day (Orthodox) (Christian)
Jan 13
St Hilary’s Day (Christian)
Jan 14
Makar Sankranti (Hindu)
Jan 15
Seijin Shiki (Adults’ Day) (Shinto)
Jan 18
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (start) (Christian)
Jan 20
Inauguration Day (every 4 years after President election year in US)
Jan 21
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day (US)
St Agnes (Christian)
Jan 24
Milad un Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad) (Muslim)
Jan 25
St Paul’s Day (Christian)
Jan 26
Republic Day (India), Australia Day (Australia)
Tu B’Shevat (Jewish )
Jan 28
St Thomas Aquinas (Christian)
Jan 29
Milad un Nabi (Shia) (Muslim)
Jan 31
Birthday of Guru Har Rai (Nanakshahi calendar) (Sikh)
January 2013 Calendar Printing


Now that's what I call a pluralistic view of the current month.   Welcome to the global village
 
World Ecumenism has almost been achieved.

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The character assassination of Hillary Clinton


Kathleen ParkerOpinion Writer


By Kathleen Parker, Published: January 1


The new year began not with a cannonball off the “fiscal cliff” but with an outbreak of conspiratorial cynicism.

This time it’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose fall and concussion, followed by a blood clot between her brain and skull, has prompted an embarrassment of theories. The gist: That woman will do anything to avoid testifying about Benghazi.

Several commentators on the right opined via Twitter and TV, those most deadly hosts for the parasites of rumor and innuendo, that Clinton was faking her concussion to duck out on her appearance before congressional committees investigating the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

An independent report published last monthplaced substantial responsibility for the deaths on the State Department. Not only was security at the Benghazi compound weak, relying heavily on local forces with conflicting loyalties, but requests for additional security apparently were ignored or denied.

The sentiment that Clinton might not wish to testify on the matter is not without reason. It is hard to imagine the agony of knowing that one’s lack of vigilance may have contributed to four deaths. But the attacks on Clinton during her illness, essentially attacks on her character, have been cruel and unfair. What must the world think of us?

Clinton, who fainted as a result of dehydration after a bout of flu, hit her head and suffered a concussion, after which a blood clot was discovered. She had to be hospitalized while blood-thinning medications were administered and monitored.

Although her critics backed off once the clot was reported, initial responses ranged from “She’s faking” to demands for proof of her concussion.

One writer demanded her medical records. John Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations, called Clinton’s affliction a “diplomatic illness” to avoid testifying about Benghazi. Later he suggested that details were skimpy in an effort to protect her potential 2016 presidential run.

“I think it’s the too-cute-by-half approach that’s reflected in the absence of transparency that’s going to end up damaging her and damaging her credibility,” he said on Fox News.

Again, Clinton may well prefer to miss her day before the firing squad, but it is unlikely that doctors or a hospital would assist a secretary of state — or anyone — in concocting a fake affliction.

Besides, you can’t have it every which way. Immediately after the Benghazi attacks, Clinton took full responsibility for the events and was accused by Republicans of falling on her sword to protect President Obama. Now that she’s temporarily indisposed and unable to elaborate on her admitted responsibility, those same critics insist she’s trying to avoid taking personal responsibility.

The viciousness of the pundit class is disheartening and disgusting. And these days everyone’s a pundit. Got an opinion? Why, step right up to the microphone. If you’re “good TV,” you too can be a “contributor.”

Out in the hinterlands, where Americans consume “news” that suits their political proclivities, opinions are formed on the basis of what-he-said. Reputations and lives are ruined on the tines of pitchforks glimmering in the light of torch-bearing mobs. And those are just the “news” shows.

One doesn’t have to be a fan of Hillary Clinton, though a Bloomberg poll says that two-thirds of Americans are, to feel tainted by the relish with which she and many others have been attacked — unfairly and disproportionately. Susan Rice, who was Obama’s favorite to replace Clinton as secretary of state, comes to mind.

But this isn’t a problem only for women or Democrats. The rush to character assassination seems to be our only bipartisan imperative and is a blight on our political system. In this brooding age of superstition and portent, every misspoken word is a lie, every human error a hanging offense.

This is to suggest not that we be naive or credulous but that we seek some balance in our approach to discovery. At the moment, we seem to be ricocheting between hysteria and delusion.

Eventually, Clinton will have to step forward and take her medicine. She is slated to appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in mid-January, though the date hasn’t been set. The nation clearly needs answers on what happened in Benghazi, and no doubt Clinton will provide them.

This is not blind faith in a favored politician but respect for a process that relies on accepted rules of order. We owe our representative to the world — which is to say, ourselves — at least this much.

kathleenparker@washpost.com


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Sunnyvale, California omnia videt



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Revelation 13: Alexander Scourby








PLEASE contact via PM with any inconsistencies, errors, etc.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This video contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of Salvation, and Spiritual significance. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this video is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to:http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. lf you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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"I will not have another debate with this Congress about whether or not they should pay the bills"



Obama Praises House Vote on Fiscal Cliff




Published on Jan 1, 2013


President Obama spoke shortly after the House passed a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" tax increases and spending cuts. He said the deal is "just one step in a broader effort."

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Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Exo-Vaticana, Part 1





By Thomas R. Horn

January 1, 2013

NewsWithViews.com

Petrus Romanus, PROJECT LUCIFER, and the Vatican's astonishing exo-theological plan for the arrival of an alien savior. You only think you know what's coming...

------------------------

SEARCHING FOR LUCIFER FROM ATOP THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

It was approximately 11: AM (PST) as we rounded the final bend and saw just ahead the towering edifices housing the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), an optical telescope for astronomy and currently one of the world’s most advanced systems. Near it was the Submillimeter Telescope (SMT) or as it is also known, the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope building, a “state-of-the-art single-dish radio telescope for observations in the sub-millimeter wavelength range… the most accurate radio telescope ever built.” [2] And last but not least about a block away from them we observed our primary reason for trudging to the top of this peak—the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope or VATT.