Washington Post Editorial: U.S. Guns Going to Mexico is “Scandalous”

By The Washington Post

Editorial Page

WASHINGTON — SECRETARY OF STATE Hillary Rodham Clinton caused a stir last week by suggesting that Mexico’s drug-trafficking gangs were beginning to resemble an insurgency, like that which has plagued Colombia.

She’s right in the sense that the cartels have come to effectively control parts of the country, where they “attempt to replace the state,” as Mexican President Felipe Calderón put it last month. Like most insurgencies, the Mexican drug armies also have an external source of funding and weapons. Shamefully, that is the United States.

A new report details the abundance of U.S. weapons delivered to the cartels — and the inadequacy of U.S. efforts to stop the illegal trafficking.

According to authors Colby Goodman and Michel Marizco, at least 62,800 of the more than 80,000 firearms confiscated by Mexican authorities from December 2006 to February 2010 came from the United States. Guns are being smuggled across the border at a rate of up to 5,000 per year. The top two varieties are assault rifles: Romanian-made AK47s and clones of the Bushmaster AR-15.
To read more click here.

Mexican Marines Capture Drug Kingpin “El Grande”

By Allan Lengel

Amid the seemingly endless stream of depressing news out of Mexico involving violence and drugs comes a little bit of good news.

The Associated Press reports that Mexican Marines in the central state of Puebla on Sunday captured Sergio Villarreal Barragan, leader of the embattled Beltran Leyva drug cartel. Known as “El Grande”, he was on the country’s most-wanted fugitives list.

AP reports that he was captured with two accomplices. The raid involved 30 Navy marines, five vehicles and a helicopter.

“This is a new and resounding blow by the federal government against crime, given the high rank and dangerousness of this person inside one of the country’s most extensive criminal organizations which has been deeply weakened,” government security spokesman Alejandro Poire said in a statement, according to AP.
To read more click here.

Homeland Security to Test Improved Eye Scanners

By Allan Lengel

Futuristic law enforcement equipment  keeps improving.
The latest: Improvements in iris scan technology that can read people’s eyes to identify them, USA Today reports.

It’s considered a quicker alternative to  fingerprinting.
USA Today reports that the Department of Homeland Security will run a two-week test in October of commercially sold iris scanners at a Border Patrol station in McAllen, Texas. It will be used on illegal immigrants.

The previous generation of eye scanners had to capture images from just a few inches away. But USA Today reports that the new ones can capture images from six feet away.
The ACLU has concerns.

lawyer Christopher Calabrese fears that the cameras could be used covertly. “If you can identify any individual at a distance and without their knowledge, you literally allow the physical tracking of a person anywhere there’s a camera and access to the Internet,” ACLU lawyer Christopher Calabrese told USA Today.

Voters Take Note–Democrats Raise Taxes–Republicans Lower Them [Reader Post]

When the rubber meets the road, let’s be clear about precisely who the party of higher taxes is–Democrats. If you had any doubt, and you shouldn’t have, let the numbers do the talking. Feast your eyes upon the tax increases Democrats are putting on the backs of “wealthy” American families.


If your family income is $75,000, your tax increase will be $1,126; if your family income is $100,000, your tax increase will be $1,837; if your family income is $200,000, your tax increase will be $3,672 . . .
Crossposted from Musings from Middle America

Posted by: A. Muser

Real Radicals Running Wild In Washington

By William Wilson

As published by Investor’s Business Daily.
While the administration of Barack Obama attempts to portray the Tea Party as a "fringe" movement that doesn't share America's "mainstream" values, it is working concurrently to erase many of these values from our society.

Lurking beneath the unconstitutional mandates of "ObamaCare," the reckless deficit spending and the draconian new regulations and taxes being imposed on our free-market economy, Obama and his radical allies are moving in numerous, more subtle ways to erase America's identity.

Take the U.S. Department of Justice Web site, which according to the American Spectator recently shed its red, white and blue banner in favor of a stark gold and black theme. Of course it's not the colors that are necessarily worth noting, it's the new quotation that's featured prominently on nearly every page of the web site:

"The common law is the will of mankind, issuing from the life of the people."
Justice Department employees informed the Spectator that this quote originated from a globalist manifesto published by C. Wilfred Jenks, a former labor leader and key proponent of "international law."
Jenks served as United Nations' director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) where (among other radical positions) he supported granting "observer status" within the ILO to the Palestinian Liberation Organization at a time when the group's terrorist activities were widely known.

"It was Jenks's efforts that helped make the ILO a tool of the socialist and communist movement," one Justice Department lawyer noted.

And yet this is the man responsible for the new Department of Justice motto? No wonder respect for the rule of law in America is at an all-time low — and selective enforcement of that law by our government is at an all-time high.
Get full story here.

Recovery Summer and Stimulus: Week in Review

By Adam Bitely
 
Over the past week, we covered the following states at NetRightDaily.com to see how Recovery Summer and Stimulus affected those states’ economies. We examined New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina and Washington and the results were alarming to say the least. As we continue to discover, the Big Government schemes from Washington, D.C. have had no positive effect on the employment situations in the states as unemployment continues to climb.

Just take a look at New Mexico. Since Obama took office in January of 2009, the unemployment rate has increased nearly 2.5 percent — a startling increase when you consider that the Obama administration was claiming that the economy was recovering in the spring of 2010.

Over the course of the spring, New Mexico faced increasing unemployment even as the supposed “Summer of Recovery” began. Overall, New Mexico is currently facing the worst unemployment situation since Obama took office. And there is no end in sight for their ailing economy.

Similar bad news can also be found in North Carolina. As of June 2010, the unemployment rate hit double digits at 10 percent. And while the “Summer of Recovery” was supposedly going strong, North Carolinians witnessed a shrinking labor force and an ever-decreasing hope that the economy would soon revive itself.
Get full story here.

UN: “International Community Needs to Go Beyond Political Solutions” on Capping Carbon Emissions

By Robert Romano
Last week, an exclusive report by FOXNews.com’s George Russell uncovered a startling series of background papers that were distributed at United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban ki-Moon’s retreat in Alpbach, Austria over Labor Day weekend.

The papers reveal an agenda to direct global affairs, including the implementation of restrictive caps on carbon emissions that will devastate economies across the planet. The UN has also begun to openly question whether the treaty-making process is sufficient to achieve its ends.
“The international community needs to go beyond political solutions,” the first paper startlingly declares, on “the climate change issue.” What is that supposed to mean? This language used is extremely provocative.

By implication, it suggests that either economic or military means would be necessary in order for the Greens to save the world from the alleged dangers of climate change.

In the least, if agreement cannot be reached amongst nations, the papers appear to suggest that other means would be employed. For example, by recruiting citizens in member states through the “clever use of technologies to enhance civil society’s interaction with multilateral bodies.” Infiltration may be a better word here. But, basically, the means would include attempting to persuade citizens one by one to accept submission to the radical environmentalist agenda.

The paper laments the “disappointing” progress that has been made implementing carbon caps. It cited that since the Copenhagen Summit, there is an “overarching sense of pessimism on the part of all actors that solutions, especially political ones, are elusive. Yet emissions continue to rise…”
Get full story here.

War against truth: UK teenager banned from U.S. for life for calling Obama a prick

Barack Obama’s supporters have called him The Greatest President In History, The Most Intelligent President In History, and now they can add The Most Thin-Skinned President In History.
Luke Angel, a 17-year old British teenager has been banned from America for life for calling President Obama “a prick” in an email to the White House.
The Sun UK has the details:

17-year old Luke Angel is a bad boy. An honest bad boy.

The FBI asked local cops to tell college student Luke Angel, 17, his drunken insult was “unacceptable.”
Angel said he fired off a single email criticizing the U.S. government after seeing a TV program about the 9/11 attacks.

He said, “I don’t remember exactly what I wrote as I was drunk. But I think I called Barack Obama a p***k. It was silly — the sort of thing you do when you’re a teenager and have had a few.”

Angel, of Bedford, in central England, said it was “a bit extreme” for the FBI to act. “The police came and took my picture and told me I was banned from America forever. I don’t really care but my parents aren’t very happy.”

A Bedford Police spokesman confirmed they had spoken to Angel about the email. Officers will take no criminal action.

We say shame on Angel. He should not have called President Obama a prick. The proper terminology is socialist prick.

Just a little advice for young Luke: If you ever change your mind and decide you do want to visit the United States, no problem. Just fly to Mexico first and walk across the border illegally. President Obama will then greet you warmly, offer you free medical care, a job and citizenship.

Will.i.am Blackface Racial Backlash – PHOTOS

Some people didn’t like this very much…

Will.i.am went black Sharpie crazy and painted his face black at the 2010 MTV VMAs. Twitter went into a small frenzy over the Black Eyed Peas member appearance. The word “racist‘ was tossed around and Us Weekly jumped on the “controversy.”
Will rolled his eyes and took to Twitter to defend his ebony appearance…

“1st. just because I where all black including head mask as expression and emphasize my outfit, it shouldn’t be looked at as racial…

Let go of the past. there are far more important things 2 bark about. (Jobs, health, education) not a black man wearing all black everything.

Are you guys serious? my outfit set “black people back 100 yrs” choose your twits wisely. no education sets people back, no jobs, bad health”

Meh, I don’t see any “racial” problems. At first I thought Taylor Momsen had taken her eyeliner encrusted eyes to the next level.

Kevin McCarthy Dead at 96

One of the scariest films I saw as a child was Don Siegel's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS starring actor Kevin McCarthy. Not long after I first saw it, I recognized McCarthy on an episode of TWILIGHT ZONE that has since become a favorite. He continued performing on TV and in films totaling nearly seven decades and was always a welcome presence whether in a serious performance or a tongue-in-cheek cameo. A fan-favorite in recent years at Conventions and autograph shows, Kevin McCarthy lived to be 96 years old.

In Reversal Of Past Positions, Crist To Issue Position Paper Embracing LGBT Rights

By Igor Volsky

Raw Story is reporting that Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL) will issue a new position paper later this week embracing a host of new LGBT initiatives, while still opposing same-sex marriage:

Civil Unions
I believe that the government should not make it harder for people to take care of their loved ones. I believe civil unions that provide the full range of legal protections should be available to gay couples. That includes access to a loved one in the hospital, inheritance rights, the fundamental things people need to take care of their families.

Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
I’m a strong supporter of the men and women of our military. Those willing to risk their lives to defend our country should not be compelled to lie to do so. I support the current efforts by Congress and military leadership to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and hold every member of the military to the same standard of professionalism that has made our military the greatest force for good in the world.

Federal Safe Schools Improvement Act
As Commissioner of Education I was the first statewide official to support anti-bullying protections that specifically enumerated the most frequent manifestations of bullying in our schools. Everyone who has children or who has worked with students knows that anti-gay taunts are used relentlessly on our campuses. We need to address the epidemic of bullying and create safe learning environments for every single student.

The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act
I’ve been a consistent supporter of providing legal protections for gay couples. Like most Americans I believe the government should make it easier, not harder, for people to take care of their loved ones.

Uniting American Families Act
Family reunification has been the foundation of U.S. immigration law but U.S. citizens who are gay cannot sponsor their partners for family-based immigration. As a consequence, many same-sex, bi-national couples are kept apart or torn apart sometimes even separating parents from their children. This bill, which I support, humanely addresses a problem that disproportionately impacts Floridians.

Equal Access to COBRA Act
I strongly support this act which mandates that employees, their partners and dependent children be allowed to continue participation in their employer-sponsored health coverage.

Crist has a long and complicated history on gay issues and has at times opposed many of the above measures. As a Republican, Crist supported the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, but as an independent, he now supports its repeal. Crist has also supported efforts to ban gay marriage in Florida, but has said that civil unions between gays are “fine.” In 2007, however, he asked the Republican party to stop spending money promoting “a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Florida” even after he signed a petition “to place an amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage on the 2008 election ballot.” “When asked if he supported civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation, Crist said ‘no.’”
On July 28, 2006, Crist told a radio show that he “haven’t taken a position yet” on the right of gays to adopt, but only days after — in an interview by the Florida Baptist Witness — “Crist answered ‘no’ to repealing the ban on gays’ adopting.” In the draft provided to Raw Story, Crist says he now opposes the adoption ban. “We need to take politics out of adoption decisions,” the governor says in the draft. “That is why I oppose Florida’s current law that requires Family Law judges to ignore what is right for a child in order to adhere to what Florida law blindly demands. There is only one question that matters: What is in the best interest of that child?”

As an independent, Crist probably feels that he has to position himself as more accepting of LGBT issues to bolster his position with moderate voters. This strategic decision — the realization that supporting LGBT issues is mainstream — is in itself a major victory for LGBT activists. As Equality Florida’s Nadine Smith points out, “It’s great to hear a sitting governor take such a strong stand on equality issues. This is the first time in Florida’s history that a sitting governor has taken these public positions on a wide range of LGBT equality issues. It marks a shift in the debate in our state.”

Spencer Pratt arrested and thrown out of Costa Rica

Posted by Shawn Norris 

Spencer Pratt was arrested and then promptly banned from Costa Rica yesterday after trying to bring a gun on an airplane — which, no matter what the circumstances, is still frowned upon at all airports around the world. In other fantastic news, countries can now ban Spencer Pratt from coming to their country.

“As I departed the country this morning to continue my spiritual journey, I mistakenly brought my hunting weapons to the airport. It was an honest mistake, and they sent me on my way,” he adds. “On an unrelated note, I’m not allowed in the country anymore — but that’s because of the chicken incident.”

I’m wondering if “the chicken incident” isn’t just Pratt buying a Costa Rican chicken, pasting a blonde wig on it and trying to get it implants so that it can work and be on the cover of magazines and he never has to work another day in his life, although if details emerged that he was simply trying to sell videos of it having sex or fighting in Costa Rica, that wouldn’t be all that surprising, would it? This guy is simply fame crazy and cannot live without the spotlight somewhere near him. He’s probably only doing this to get on The Today Snow or for a book or something.

“Costa Rican jail smells like children’s tears. And soup. Delicious soup,” Pratt Twittered after news broke Saturday afternoon. “If I knew the gov’t was Team Jacob, I would’ve kept my mouth shut.”

All we had to do was have him find out the government was ‘Team Jacob” to get him to shut the hell up? They should have just made t-shirts and saved themselves the trouble. The light at the end of the tunnel in this situation is that a country actually banned this moron from their country for his moron behavior — a win for Costa Rica and a win for humanity in general. “Soup an children’s tears” don’t even make sense in his statement, and it looks like this guy is starting to slip on his Twitter jokes and all-around game of talent less hating on others. And as we all know, there is only one way to deal with a person in that situation… firing squad.

Spencer Pratt arrested for firearm possession [MSNBC]

Newborn Baby Left In Airplane Garbage Can

Authorities in Manila are hunting for the mother of a newborn baby who left her little child in the garbage of an airplane bathroom. The baby boy was found following a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain on Sunday covered in blood and wrapped up in tissue paper. Luckily for the infant a member of the crew saw movement from the garbage bag removed from the plane’s bathroom and upon opening the bag he saw him. The little lad, whose umbilical cord was still attached surprisingly survived the ordeal and is said to be doing well in a Manila hospital. His mother will likely be facing criminal charges when police manage to track her down. The boy has been named George Francis, after Gulf Air’s airline code GF, and authorities are looking for his mother.

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