next....

[DrLeftover]

November 14, 2013

(CNN) -- Radical anti-government fighters in Syria mistakenly beheaded a wounded fellow rebel soldier after assuming he was a supporter of President Bashar al-Assad, according to an online statement from the radical fighters' group.

A separate online video showed a gruesome display of radical fighters holding what appeared to be the victim's head.

After the beheading earlier this week, the victim was determined to be Mohammed Fares, an anti-government fighter wounded in clashes against the Syrian Army earlier, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Thursday, an online statement from a spokesman for the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), whose fighters apparently carried out the beheading of Fares, called for forgiveness for the killers and asked for "restraint and piety" from anti-government supporters.

"We call on God to accept Mohammed Fares into his Kingdom and to forgive his brothers that sought to rid us of the enemies of God and our enemies," Omar Al-Qahatani said in Arabic in the ISIS statement.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/14/world/meast/syria-beheading-mistake/index.html

 

[Evil Eye]

Uhm... at least they had the decency to admit they were wrong?

 

[DrLeftover]

Islamabad 3:01PM GMT 25 Nov 2013

Afghanistan is planning to reintroduce public stoning as punishment for adultery 12 years after the Taliban was ousted from power, according to a new draft penal code.

The move has shocked human rights campaigners and will dismay donors who have poured billions of pounds into the country for reconstruction.

It will be viewed as another backwards step at the end of a year that has seen women’s rights undermined, with a slew of legislation and murders of prominent women.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10472518/Afghanistan-plans-to-reintroduce-public-stoning-as-punishment-for-adultery.html

 

[DrLeftover]

The best I can do to answer your first question is to quote Mr. Jefferson (with input from certain others), and if you disagree with his basic statement, then we don't really have a lot to talk about on the subject.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

 

[DrLeftover]

"Separation of Church and State"... my ass

19 December 2013

The music at Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Hernando, Mississippi, is pretty amazing. But it's not the funk or the faith that sets them apart in the Deep South - it's that fried chicken is banned from church socials.

Mr Minor enforced the ban on such fatty food after he became worried about his congregation's health - he was conducting too many funerals. Now he's got a new cause.

He sees signing people up to Obamacare as a spiritual duty, a cure for his congregation's ills.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25441654

 

[DrLeftover]

Dec 26 2013

A city councilwoman's recent proposal to institute a $25 annual cycling tax set off a lively debate that eventually sputtered out after the city responded with a collective "Say what?" A number of gruff voices spoke in favor, feeding off motorists' antagonism toward what they deride as stop sign-running freeloaders. Bike-friendly bloggers retorted that maybe pedestrians ought to be charged a shoe tax to use the sidewalks.

"There'd be special bike cops pulling people over? Or cameras? What do you do (to enforce this)?" asked Mike Salvatore, owner of Heritage Bicycles, a new Chicago hangout that neatly blends a lively cafe with a custom bike-building workshop in a 19th-century building.

Chicago is by no means the only place across the U.S. tempted to see bicyclists as a possible new source of revenue....

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BICYCLE_TAX?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-12-26-13-48-49

 

[DrLeftover]

31 Dec 2013

NASHUA, N.H. - Rep David Campbell, D-Nashua is the focus of a police investigation...but not for any political malfeasance. Campbell, a longtime state representative from Nashua admitted he accidentally ran over a flock of ducks outside the Crowne Plaza hotel in Nashua. It was his subsequent reaction that is the focus of an ongoing investigation.

The ponds near the Crowne Plaza provide a lovely getaway for many ducks in the area. Although there are signs in the area saying not to feed them, the ducks still assemble near the hotel in hopes of procuring a crumb or two from human traffic. Retired Marine James Murphy, who arrived at the hotel Monday night on a shuttle admittedly ignored the signs: "All the ducks did come up, and I had some crackers, and I was throwing them out for them," he said. "There was a group of 20, 25, maybe a couple more, plus or minus some."

And then the unthinkable....Murphy described seeing a car moving up a narrow roadway and plowing into the large group, killing an estimated half-dozen. He then called police but by the time they arrived, Campbell had parked his car and left the area.

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/12/31/Democratic-Lawmaker-Admits-Mowing-Down-Flock-of-Ducks-with-BMW

 

[DrLeftover]

January 15, 2014
Movie producer Harvey Weinstein announced for the first time on Howard Stern’s radio show that he is making a full feature drama to try to destroy the National Rifle Association.

Mr. Stern asked Mr. Weinstein on Wednesday whether he owned a gun. The Hollywood heavyweight replied that he did not and never would. “I don’t think we need guns in this country. And I hate it,” the producer said. “I think the NRA is a disaster area.”

Mr. Weinstein then revealed his secret project about the gun rights group. “I shouldn’t say this, but I’ll tell it to you, Howard,” he said. “I’m going to make a movie with Meryl Streep, and we’re going to take this head-on. And they’re going to wish they weren’t alive after I’m done with them.”

...
The movie mogul said his vision was to scare people away from firearms. He foresees moviegoers to leave thinking, “Gun stocks — I don’t want to be involved in that stuff. It’s going to be like crash and burn.”

The chairman of the Weinstein Co. (formerly Miramax) is one of President Obama’s biggest fundraisers.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/15/harvey-weinstein-and-meryl-streep-making-movie-att/


Update:

A day after he announced he was going to make a film taking on the NRA with Meryl Streep, Harvey Weinstein — the producer of several violent films — told CNN’s Piers Morgan in an interview to air tonight that he has had a change of heart about violent content in film. django-unchained-trailerAsked by Morgan about his hypocrisy of making these violent films, Weinstein said, “They have a point. You have to look in the mirror, too. I have to choose movies that aren’t violent or as violent as they used to be. I know for me personally, you know, I can’t continue to do that. The change starts here. It has already. For me, I can’t do it. I can’t make one movie and say this is what I want for my kids and then just go out and be a hypocrite.” He added that he would make a movie like Lone Survivor, “a tribute to the United States special forces,” but “I’m not going to make some crazy action movie just to blow up people and exploit people just for the sake of making it.” As far as Streep, he said, “people have to remember that Meryl Streep is an actress. She’s working as someone whose playing a part and all the heat should come my way.”

http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/harvey-weinstein-renounces-violence-in-movies-nra-movie-cnn-video/

 

[DrLeftover]

January 21, 2014

Why is the EPA altering state boundaries in Wyoming - and reversing over 100 years of established law? Well, apparently the city of Riverton now falls under the jurisdiction of the Wind River Indian Reservation. This, obviously, isn't sitting well with the governor's office - which is urging the EPA to reconsider its ruling and respect the rule of law.

Reacting to the decision to reduce the size of Wyoming by about a million acres, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead warned of the dangers to all Americans of this type of unilateral land redistribution by the EPA:

"I understand that the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes have a different opinion about the Wind River Reservation Boundary. My deep concern is about an administrative agency of the federal government altering a state's boundary and going against over 100 years of history and law.

"This should be a concern to all citizens because, if the EPA can unilaterally take land away from a state, where will it stop?" Governor Matt Mead said in a press release on January 6.

http://www.cnsnews.com/mrctv-blog/matt-vespa/epa-decree-shrinks-size-wyoming-million-acres#sthash.E7xcWxe6.uCUVor1H.dpuf

More
http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/state-of-wyoming-petition-to-epa-angers-tribes/article_05f80a63-f4b9-5bab-90d5-0aa7c557b0e3.html

 

[Evil Eye]

But it's not changing to another state or leaving the USA?

 

[DrLeftover]

By treaty and statute, Reservations are effectively a sovereign nation inside the US.

 

[Evil Eye]

Really now? How sovereign?

 

[DrLeftover]

What does tribal sovereignty mean to American Indians and Alaska Natives?
When tribes first encountered Europeans, they were a power to be reckoned with because the combined American Indian and Alaska Native population dominated the North American continent. Their strength in numbers, the control they exerted over the natural resources within and between their territories, and the European practice of establishing relations with countries other than themselves and the recognition of tribal property rights led to tribes being seen by exploring foreign powers as sovereign nations, who treatied with them accordingly.

However, as the foreign powers’ presence expanded and with the establishment and growth of the United States, tribal populations dropped dramatically and tribal sovereignty gradually eroded. While tribal sovereignty is limited today by the United States under treaties, acts of Congress, Executive Orders, federal administrative agreements and court decisions, what remains is nevertheless protected and maintained by the federally recognized tribes against further encroachment by other sovereigns, such as the states. Tribal sovereignty ensures that any decisions about the tribes with regard to their property and citizens are made with their participation and consent.

http://www.bia.gov/FAQs/

 

[Evil Eye]

Thank you, that was very interesting.

So, just hypothetically, if I had the ability to teleport or perhaps parachute into one of these reservations, I would not be entering the USA and would therefore not be subject to border control aside from any control imposed by the reservation's government?

 

[DrLeftover]

the "NYT" is still beating the drum for health care test rationing as per Mr. Obama's flagship legislation.

We Are Giving Ourselves Cancer
JAN. 30, 2014

DESPITE great strides in prevention and treatment, cancer rates remain stubbornly high and may soon surpass heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States. Increasingly, we and many other experts believe that an important culprit may be our own medical practices: We are silently irradiating ourselves to death.

The use of medical imaging with high-dose radiation — CT scans in particular — has soared in the last 20 years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/opinion/we-are-giving-ourselves-cancer.html?_r=0

 

[DrLeftover]

FEB. 12, 2014

NEW ORLEANS — C. Ray Nagin, a former corporate executive who became mayor in 2002 pledging to modernize city government and instead became an emblem of government dysfunction in the months and years after Hurricane Katrina, was found guilty in federal court on Wednesday on 20 counts of bribery and fraud.

The verdict marks a dubious milestone in a city long associated with an ethically loose style of politics: It makes Mr. Nagin the first New Orleans mayor to to be charged, tried and convicted of corruption.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/us/nagin-corruption-verdict.html

 

[DrLeftover]

Gay and lesbian troops perform in drag on American military base

Troops based at the Kadena Air Base in Japan know how to party. On Saturday, six gay and straight service members applied some of their finest makeup and lip synced to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" in what is believed to be first drag queen and king show on an American military base. The show was thrown in support for the base's recently formed OutServe-SLDN chapter, a nonprofit advocacy group for the army's LGBT community.

Navy Lt. Marissa Greene told Stars and Stripes she only expected to sell 75 tickets for the variety show, but ended up selling more than 400 in ten days. The event went through the same approval process as other on-base fundraisers go through, with the only caveat being that it was not allowed to be labeled a "drag show" in its publicity materials. The show was warmly received by spectators, who rocked out to performances by the likes of Manny Nuff and Chocolate Sunrise ("a crowd favorite," the website notes.)

http://theweek.com/article/index/257285/speedreads-gay-and-lesbian-troops-perform-in-drag-on-american-military-base

 

[DrLeftover]

President Barack Obama would veto a GOP-drafted bill that would allow legislators to take agency officials to court if they don’t enforce laws, according to a White House statement.

The GOP is pushing the bill through the House because Obama has repeatedly declined to enforce laws he doesn’t like, say GOP legislators.

“President Obama has refused to enforce those parts of our nation’s immigration laws that are not to his political liking, has waived portions of our welfare laws, has stretched our environmental laws to accommodate his policy objectives, and has waived testing accountability provisions required under the ‘No Child Left Behind’ education law,” according to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the chairman of the House judiciary committee.

For example, in June 2012, Obama created a temporary mini-amnesty for at least 500,000 younger illegal immigrants. The act boosted his election-day support among Hispanics, but made it more difficult for young Americans to find jobs.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/12/obama-threatens-to-veto-bill-that-would-require-administration-to-enforce-laws/#ixzz2vm9aDxcM


Article 2 Section 1, US Constitution.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

 

[DrLeftover]

March 14, 2014

All Andy Johnson wanted to do was build a stock pond on his sprawling eight-acre Wyoming farm. He and his wife Katie spent hours constructing it, filling it with crystal-clear water, and bringing in brook and brown trout, ducks and geese. It was a place where his horses could drink and graze, and a private playground for his three children.

But instead of enjoying the fruits of his labor, the Wyoming welder says he was harangued by the federal government, stuck in what he calls a petty power play by the Environmental Protection Agency. He claims the agency is now threatening him with civil and criminal penalties – including the threat of a $75,000-a-day fine.

...
The government says he violated the Clean Water Act by building a dam on a creek without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Further, the EPA claims that material from his pond is being discharged into other waterways. Johnson says he built a stock pond -- a man-made pond meant to attract wildlife -- which is exempt from Clean Water Act regulations.

The property owner says he followed the state rules for a stock pond when he built it in 2012 and has an April 4-dated letter from the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office to prove it.

“Said permit is in good standing and is entitled to be exercised exactly as permitted,” the state agency letter to Johnson said.

But the EPA isn’t backing down and argues they have final say over the issue. They also say Johnson needs to restore the land or face the fines.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/14/wyoming-welder-faces-fine-for-building-pond-on-his-own-property/

 

[DrLeftover]

How one soldier is confronting the military's ban on transgender troops

Jacob Eleazer, a 28-year-old Army drill sergeant, learned he was up for promotion this December. For seven years, he’d been an exemplary soldier, rising to the rank of first lieutenant, and now on his way to captain. But there was a problem. Within the confines of his military training center, in western Kentucky, Eleazer still went by his birth name, which was female.

Outside his Army base, Eleazer lived as a man, one of 15,450 military personnel who consider themselves transgender but don’t dare come out to their fellow soldiers and risk jeopardizing their careers.

“My colleagues just assumed I was a really butch lesbian,” says Eleazer, who has the broad shoulders, close-cropped hair and jutting chin one would expect of a drill sergeant.

http://www.vocativ.com/culture/lgbt/next-dont-ask-dont-tell/?preview_id=64223&post_item=64714