Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Elected officials should leave prayers to the professionals.

June 13, 2016
By Joshua Eaton

Two politicians who’ve been outspoken opponents of reform (click here) in recent years, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Florida Governor Rick Scott, were quick to respond to the tragedy on social media.

The National Rifle Association, which opposes any gun reform, endorsed Trump for president on May 20. The group also endorsed Scott for governor in both 2010 and 2014.
They weren’t alone. Igor Volsky, deputy director of the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, spent much of Sunday re-tweeting “thoughts and prayers” tweets from U.S. senators and representatives who’ve taken campaign donations, or more plainly, money from the NRA.Below is a collection of those politicians’ tweets, along with data on their NRA contributions compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, and their rating from the NRA — a score the organization uses to help guide its members on how to vote (the higher the mark, the more politician opposes gun control and reform).The victims of the Orlando massacre deserve everyone's prayers, but our elected officials need to take responsibility for the votes that they cast and the views of the organizations that fund them. Especially when those votes and views allow people to legally purchase weapons that cause as much carnage as the Orlando massacre.


Burr has received $4,950 from the NRA so far this election cycle.
Burr voted against a 2015 amendment that would have blocked suspected terrorists from legally purchasing firearms. He has an “A+” NRA rating this year....

There are definitely two different camps of Republicans. I didn't expect Senator Jeff Sessions to be the leader of the Trump camp. It think the prayful do nothingness of the establishment is more than evident today.

Chuck Todd (HOST): Last week you were pretty honest, (click here) pretty blunt, about what you thought of Donald Trump’s week. You said it was a pretty, let me get it correctly, you said "it was not the best of weeks." It feels like from the outside things have gotten worse this week, what’s your assessment?
JEFF SESSIONS: Well I don't think so. I think the speech he gave on terrorism and what’s happening to America really raised the key issues. It’s not guns, its not those kind of things, it is a dangerous ideology that does threaten America. We need to figure out a better way, we need to slow down and figure out a better way to protect us from those kind of threats and I think we can....


 


By J. Newton Small

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy (click here) led a group of his Democratic colleagues in a filibuster Wednesday morning in an attempt to force votes on two gun control measures in the wake of the Orlando shooting.
Murphy is seeking up and down votes on two bipartisan measures. One would ban those on the FBI’s terrorism watch list from purchasing firearms or explosives, a measure that might have prevented the weekend tragedy at a gay nightclub, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, as the shooter Omar Mateen, had been on the FBI watch list at one time. The second measure would close the so-called Charleston loophole in background checks, fully funding three-day background checks to ensure felons and drug users are not purchasing weapons. That bill would have prevented convicted drug user Dylann Roof from buying the gun he allegedly used to shoot nine people to death in a Charleston church a year ago Friday.

This is from the Ames Tribune in Iowa.

June 14, 2016
By Grayson Schmidt

A day after being detained for possessing (click here) nearly two-dozen pipe bombs at a home west of Madrid, the two suspects have been formally charged and are being held at Boone County Jail on $20,000 bond.
Tjaden Mallory, 41, and Leanna Haidsiak, 39, were each charged Tuesday with unauthorized possession of offensive weapons.
Authorities went to the house on QW Lane west of Madrid about 1 p.m. Monday with a warrant to search the home. Once inside, they found the pipe bombs, some of which were active, Boone County Sheriff Gregg Elsberry said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Elsberry said authorities had deactivated at least 10 of the pipe bombs in the roughly 12 hours authorities were at the scene.
Elsberry said investigators are continuing to search for answers as to why the pair had the pipe bombs, and why they had so many.
The house is located on a dead-end road, and three other houses in the area were evacuated and the road closed, but Elsberry said everyone was allowed to return to their homes late Monday evening....

June 14, 2016
By Sarina Rheinhart

The city will begin efforts today (click here) to control mosquito populations in city parks by targeting both adult and larvae to prevent the possible spread of diseases carried by the insect.
“The city of Ames has had a mosquito control program for over forty years,” said Joshua Thompson, parks and facilities superintendent. “It is important to control mosquito populations as they are a carrier of several diseases, including the West Nile Virus.”
The city has already started using larvicide, an insecticide to neutralize larvae, in standing water such as storm drains, catch basins, settling basins and other low lying areas. Thompson said they target the mosquito larvae in such a way that does not affect other animals such as fish, waterfowl and mammals.
Fogging will begin today, targeting adult mosquitoes. It is distributed through a sprayer mounted in the rear of a truck. These efforts will continue through September....
Intellicast High Temperature Map
June 15, 2016
0454

This is the temperature over the USA at 4:54 UTC. UTC is 4 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time. The picture was from 8:54 AM EDT.

Summer begins on June 20, 2016. The high heat index will not stop there. It will continue to climb.

US Drought Monitor (click here)
June 7, 2016

Some polls show the Libertarian ticket at 13 percent.

May 19, 2016
By Maggie Haberman

Former Gov. William F. Weld (click here) of Massachusetts, who attended a church service in 2013 for the Boston Marathon bombing victims, hopes to be the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential candidate in November. Credit Yoon S. Byun/The Boston Globe, via Getty Images

William F. Weld, the twice-elected former Republican governor of Massachusetts, who was last seen campaigning in the 2006 Republican primary for governor of New York, now hopes to be on a national ticket as the vice-presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party.
And he is already on the attack.
In his first interview since accepting an invitation to be the running mate of former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, Mr. Weld assailed Donald J. Trump over his call to round up and deport the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally.
“I can hear the glass crunching on Kristallnacht in the ghettos of Warsaw and Vienna when I hear that, honest,” Mr. Weld said Thursday....

Saudi Arabia denounces violence.

June 14, 2016
Jeddah: The Council of Ministers (click here) has condemned the recent terror attacks in the American city of Orlando, and others in Beirut and Istanbul, which led to several deaths and injuries.
At a meeting chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday, the ministers reiterated the Kingdom’s denunciation of “all forms of violence” and backed efforts to prosecute those responsible.
“The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of terrorism and support for international efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms,” said Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, acting minister of culture and information, according to the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.
The terror attacks came one after the other, beginning with the massacre of 49 people inside a gay bar in Orlando, Florida in the United States on Sunday....

...Counterterrorism experts have been warning in the past few years about the danger of so-called lone wolf attackers who act in sympathy with extremist groups like the Daesh but are not directed by them....
...On Sunday night, a huge bomb blast damaged the headquarters of Lebanon’s second biggest bank in Beirut. Fortunately, there were no casualties....
...On Monday, a car bomb wounded nine people in the eastern province of Tunceli near a housing block for civil servants working at a local courthouse, security sources said....
...Turkey has suffered a series of bombings over recent months; last week a car bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor’s office....

15 June 2016
Washington: Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (click here) has met US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss conflicts in the Middle East, terrorism and ways to enhance economic relations.
The discussions took place during an informal meeting at Kerry’s private home in Washington, focusing on events in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and standing up to Daesh, said reports.
Prince Mohammed is making his third visit to the US since he assumed his position last year. His first visit was to Camp David in May 2015, and the second was with King Salman last September.
He is leading a large delegation that includes the ministers of energy, culture and information, interior and commerce, in addition to military leaders....

Reeva Steenkamp may get justice yet.

June 14, 2016
By Adam Lusher

Oscar Pistorius’ defence lawyer (click here) and his prison nurse have clashed over whether the athlete was a violent, difficult prisoner.
Charlotte Mashabane told the High Court in Pretoria, where Pistorius is being sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, that she had been at the receiving end of the paralympian’s “tantrums” on three occasions.
Ms Mashabane, the assistant health manager at Kgosi Mampuru II prison, where the paralympian was jailed for a year, claimed that one incident occurred in March 2015 when he screamed at her as she approached his cell while doing her morning rounds on the prison’s hospital wing....

The Tea Party has many House Representatives.

Andy Holt says his office has received threats for his plans to hold a fundraiser giveaway of semi-automatic rifles.


June 15, 2016
By Peter Holley


Washington: On Friday, (click here) Tennessee representative Andy Holt unveiled plans for an upcoming fundraiser at his family farm later this month. The event, according to an invitation posted on the politician's blog, will feature a roasted hog, a petting zoo, live music and "hay rides for the kids".
"Oh, did I mention we're giving away an AR-15...

The FIRST Hogfest starts at 6:30 PM on June 25th. Don't miss it.



The law protects and promotes gun use and sales. It does not protect Americans from gun violence.

Mourners held Puerto Rican flags at a memorial in Orlando, Fla., for the victims of the gay nightclub shooting. There were 23 Puerto Ricans among the victims.

June 15, 2016
By Adeel Hassan

...“The guilt (click here) of feeling lucky to be alive is heavy,” says one woman who was shot in the legs and saw her friend die. A trauma care hospital was blocks away, but the mass shooting illuminates new challenges facing emergency medicine.

What the gun laws say.

Federal law doesn’t disqualify those on the terrorist watch list from buying a gun from a licensed dealer. In states where mass shootings lead to legislative action, guns often become more available, a study shows.

A lawsuit brought by relatives of the victims in Newtown, Conn., argues that the AR-15 — a rifle similar to the one used in Orlando — is a weapon of war and should never have been marketed to civilians. A hearing is scheduled for next week....
The Washington Post is owned by a billionaire that is dedicated to getting the best information available to the American public.

His ex-wife states Mateen was not a devout Muslim and may have been a closeted gay man.


Ever since "W" didn't renew the Assault Weapons Ban the military style weapons crossing the USA southern border into Mexico increased by 50%.

The gun rights proponents, even the ones in jail, should be proud of Donald Trump for creating enough controversy to remove the focus on the real problem.

It isn't like FOX doesn't know the difference.

November 11, 2016
By George Hobica


As more airlines charge extra for luggage, (click here) it's important to know what's allowed --and not allowed in your bag--and even what constitutes carry-on.  We answer these and other pressing travel questions. 
Q: Are solid toiletries such as solid deodorant and wax-like hair products subject to the TSA 100 ml/3.4 oz. limit for “liquids and gels” or are they exempt?
A: According to the TSA website, solid deodorants are exempt, but “paste”-like products must adhere to the limits, so even semi-solid hair grooming products must be placed in that quart-size plastic bag. This question is answered on the TSA blog here: http://1.usa.gov/1aO3qgW. By the way, if you're flying through security at British airports, they're particularly strict about the size of the clear plastic bag....