U.S. Suspends Hundreds Of Millions In Aid To Pakistani Military

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is suspending and, in some cases, canceling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Pakistani military, in a move to chasten Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and to press its army to fight militants more effectively.
Coupled with a statement from the top American military officer last week linking Pakistan’s military spy agency to the recent murder of a Pakistani journalist, the halting or withdrawal of military equipment and other aid to Pakistan illustrates the depth of the debate inside the Obama administration over how to change the behavior of one of its key counterterrorism partners. 
Altogether, about $800 million in military aid and equipment, or over one-third of the more than $2 billion in annual American security assistance to Pakistan, could be affected, three senior United States officials said.
This aid includes about $300 million to reimburse Pakistan for some of the costs of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border to combat terrorism, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars in training assistance and military hardware, according to half a dozen Congressional, Pentagon and other administration officials who were granted anonymity to discuss the politically delicate matter.
Some of the curtailed aid is equipment that the United States wants to send but Pakistan now refuses to accept, like rifles, ammunition, body armor and bomb-disposal gear that were withdrawn or held up after Pakistan ordered more than 100 Army Special Forces trainers to leave the country in recent weeks.
Some is equipment, such as radios, night-vision goggles and helicopter spare parts, which cannot be set up, certified or used for training because Pakistan has denied visas to the American personnel needed to operate the equipment, two senior Pentagon officials said.
And some is assistance like the reimbursements for troop costs, which is being reviewed in light of questions about Pakistan’s commitment to carry out counterterrorism operations. For example, the United States recently provided Pakistan with information about suspected bomb-making factories, only to have the insurgents vanish before Pakistani security forces arrived a few days later.
“When it comes to our military aid,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a Senate committee last month “we are not prepared to continue providing that at the pace we were providing it unless and until we see certain steps taken.”
American officials say they would probably resume equipment deliveries and aid if relations improve and Pakistan pursues terrorists more aggressively. The cutoffs do not affect any immediate deliveries of military sales to Pakistan, like F-16 fighter jets, or nonmilitary aid, the officials said.
Pakistan’s precise military budget is not known, and while the American aid cutoff would probably have a small impact on the overall military budget, it would most directly affect the counterinsurgency campaign. The Pakistani Army spends nearly one-quarter of the nation’s annual expenditures, according to K. Alan Kronstadt of the Congressional Research Service.
While some senior administration officials have concluded that Pakistan will never be the kind of partner the administration hoped for when President Obama entered office, others emphasize that the United States cannot risk a full break in relations or a complete cutoff of aid akin to what happened in the 1990s, when Pakistan was caught developing nuclear weapons.
But many of the recent aid curtailments are clearly intended to force the Pakistani military to make a difficult choice between backing the country that finances much of its operations and equipment, or continuing to provide secret support for the Taliban and other militants fighting American soldiers in Afghanistan.
“We have to continue to emphasize with the Pakistanis that in the end it’s in their interest to be able to go after these targets as well,” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told reporters on Friday en route to Afghanistan.
Some American officials say Pakistan has only itself to blame, citing the Pakistani military’s decision to distance itself from American assistance in response to the humiliation suffered from the American commando raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as rising anger from midlevel Pakistani officers and the Pakistani public that senior military leaders, including Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the powerful army chief of staff, are too accommodating to the Americans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/world/asia/10intel.html?_r=1

Finally!  It only took a few months but it looks like our government got wise to the nonsense the Pakistani government calls friendship.  We provide millions in aid to a country which is providing funds to; and working with the Taliban.   What did we know and when did we know it?   Isn’t it just possible that we had some clue before we took out Bin Laden that Pakistan was not all they said they were?   

Undefeated’ trailer hits the Web with premiere coming soon

Conservative filmmaker Steve Bannon released the trailer for his upcoming documentary of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Bannon previously told The Daily Caller that “The Undefeated” shows Palin is “no Caribou Barbie.”
Beginning with family photos and home videos of Palin, the trailer jumps to conservative media personality Tammy Bruce. “Like a Marine, she runs toward the danger,” Bruce says of Palin. “It wasn’t something that daddy gave her. It wasn’t something the machine prepared the way for.”
The trailer teases viewers with a taste of what’s to come with the final version: showing how Palin dealt with oil executives and corruption within her own party in Alaska during and prior to her time as governor.
Radio talker Mark Levin and publisher Andrew Breitbart appear in the trailer talking about how they could care less about the Washington GOP order.
“She represented a threat to so many establishments,” Breitbart says in the trailer. “To hell with the establishment because the establishment has put us in this position in the first place.” (Die hard organizers wait for Palin to make a move on 2012)
Levin talks about how Palin’s misrepresented in the media and by the establishment GOP. “I don’t give a damn if the phony intelligencia like it or not,” Levin says. “The liberal media don’t matter to me. The Republican establishment don’t matter to me.”
The film hits select theaters next Friday, July 15.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/07/%e2%80%98the-undefeated%e2%80%99-trailer-hits-the-web-with-premiere-coming-soon-video/#ixzz1RTyY8SLq

I'm confused.  Wasn't she defeated? 

New EPA rules to devastate coal industry

The coal industry is crying foul over new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations which they say will be among the most be costly rules ever imposed by the agency on coal-fueled power plants.
The result, industry insiders say: substantially higher electricity rates and massive job loss.
“The EPA is ignoring the cumulative economic damage new regulations will cause,” said Steve Miller, president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). “America’s coal-fueled electric industry has been doing its part for the environment and the economy, but our industry needs adequate time to install clean coal technologies to comply with new regulations. Unfortunately, EPA doesn’t seem to care.”
Thursday the EPA announced that they have finalized additional Clean Air Act provisions, collectively known as “The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule” to ostensibly “reduce air pollution and attain clean air standards,” by requiring coal companies in 27 states to slash emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide by 73 percent and 54 percent, respectively, from 2005 levels by 2014.
According to the EPA, these emissions travel across state lines and contribute to ozone and fine particle pollution.
The rule will replace a similar 2005 standard called the Clean Air Interstate Rule. EPA claims that the new rule will result in a savings of $120 to $280 billion in annual health and environmental benefits as well as save 13,000 to 34,000 lives. (EPA stimulating environmental regulations abroad)
While the EPA’s alleged benefits are lofty, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton cautioned that the new rules will come with a hefty price.
“The goal for these rules should be reasonable regulation that protects public health and the environment while also preserving economic growth. Unfortunately, the unprecedented pace at which the administration is issuing major new rules that impose new costs and regulatory requirements on states, employers, and consumers fails that basic test,” said Upton. “By issuing multiple regulations for the energy and other sectors at such an accelerated rate, EPA has turned regulation from a manageable tool into an unpredictable moving target that makes it difficult for companies to invest and create jobs.”


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/07/new-epa-rules-to-devastate-coal-industry/#ixzz1RTvDsnG8

Oh; I suspect they'll be alright.  Coal and oil baby . . . . . .

Joint Chiefs Chairman: Pakistan 'Sanctioned' Journalist's Killing

WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. military officer says the Pakistani government "sanctioned" the killing of a journalist last month, but said he could not tie the death to the country's powerful intelligence service.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the beating death of Pakistani reporter, Saleem Shahzad, and the reported abuse of other journalists is no way for a government to move ahead. He says it is a way to spiral in the wrong direction.
Shahzad's death was widely blamed on Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, but the ISI has denied involvement. His death was followed a few weeks later by the beating of another Pakistani journalist by men wearing police uniforms.
Mullen is the first top U.S. leader to publicly link the killing to Pakistan's government.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/07/mullen-islamabad-sanctioned-journalist-killing_n_892424.html

And we call them our friends!

NOT GUILTY Of First-Degree Murder

After 33 days of testimony, 400 pieces of evidence and more than 90 witnesses, the jury in the Casey Anthony case has reached a verdict.
After just a day of deliberation, jurors informed the court at midday that they had reached a decision, and both sides in the case were ordered to assemble in the courtroom.
Anthony has been found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. She was also found not guilty of aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. But she was convicted on charges of misleading law enforcement.
The case against Anthony was mostly circumstantial, but as it unfolded she was portrayed in the trial as a promiscuous, self-centered woman who became a cold-blooded killer. The motive, prosecutors alleged, was to allow her to live a carefree life without her daughter.

The state's case theory was that a desperate Anthony used chloroform to subdue her daughter and then suffocated her with duct tape. Anthony then fabricated fantastic lies to cover up her deeds, they said.

Anthony's attorney Jose Baez told the jury his client was the victim of an abusive upbringing.

According to Baez, Casey Anthony and her father, George Anthony, were home alone on June 16, 2008, when they noticed Caylee was missing. They began a frantic search, looking under beds and in the garage. Then George Anthony took the search outside to the above-ground pool where they found a lifeless Caylee floating in the water, Baez said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/casey-anthony-trial-verdict_n_890173.html#s303265&title=Casey_Anthony_Verdict

Well; what did we expect?  I think the tragedy here is that a little girl has died and the only thing we can focus on is our outrage with the jury’s decision.  Do I think Casey did it?  My opinion (from what little I know) is that she did.  Do I think the State was able to prove its case?  Yes; if you could see it through the fog the Defense used to obscure it.  The Defense team did its job!  With each bit of circumstantial evidence brought forth by the State of Florida, the Defense was able to plant a seed of doubt.  Doubt was the only thing Baez had in his toolbox and he used it like an artist uses the color fuchsia.  Fuchsia is an ugly color, but when used correctly it can bring a painting to life.  Don’t blame the jury.  Don’t you dare blame the jury!  They did their job.  They are a product of a world the Defense team and the Prosecutor created.  Their truth in this is the reality of everything they observed in the courtroom.  When all is said and done we cannot ask any more of them.  Everyone did their jobs; everyone, and yet nothing that happened in that courtroom will bring that little girl back.  We are a land of laws and whether we like it or not, today our laws worked.  You can’t have it both ways.  You can’t have “innocent until proven guilty” and then convict someone without proof.  This case was chalk full of evidence, but it was sorely lacking proof.  We will never know the whole story.  We will never have the confessions, the admissions or the proof we seek.  What we have left, as the jury files out and the books are finally closed on this case is our angst and frustration that a little girls death will never be vindicated.  Our only solace, our only relief comes from the knowledge that in the unlikely event that the tables were ever turned, we too might be granted the same benefits of the doubt and the same considerations, and the same opportunity for a defense team like Ms. Anthony’s. 

San Francisco Police Kill Man On Transit Platform

SAN FRANCISCO -- A man reportedly armed with a knife on a Bay Area Rapid Transit station platform in San Francisco was shot and killed by police, transit officials said Monday.
BART spokesman Linton Johnson said dispatchers received a call of a "wobbly drunk" on the platform of the Civic Center/UN Plaza station at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Two transit officers arrived and then reported shooting a man, who died about an hour later.
Investigators were trying to determine whether the man killed was the same person originally reported to be drunk. Investigators reported finding broken glass and knives at the scene
One BART officer suffered cuts and bruises on his arm. Both officers have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard policy.
Neither the shooting victim nor the officers involved have been identified, though BART officials said the dead man was white, as was one of the officers. The other officer was described by the agency as Asian.
BART is battling an image problem after a white officer shot and killed an unarmed black passenger on New Year's Day 2009 at a station in Oakland, a killing that sparked widespread debate and prompted racial unrest in that city.
Johannes Mehserle quit the police force shortly after the shooting and was later charged with murder for shooting Oscar Grant in the back while Grant was pinned face down on Oakland's Fruitvale station. Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after testifying he meant to use his Taser rather than his gun. He recently was released from prison after serving half of a two-year sentence.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/04/bart-shooting-san-francisco-transit-
officers_n_889934.html

Just because you can, does that mean you should?  OK; I wasn’t there, but this guy was drunk and he had a knife.  I know a knife can kill a person, but the man welding it was drunk.  The BART officers carry a Taser.  Was it just easier to shoot this drunk passenger or did you really feel your life and the lives of others was in danger?  I hope you pulled the trigger for all the right reasons. 

Top San Francisco Attorney Questions Proposed Circumcision Ban

(RNS) In a potential blow to the proposed San Francisco circumcision ban, the city's top lawyer has concluded it is unconstitutional to ban the practice as a religious ritual, but allow it as a medical procedure.

The measure, now headed toward the Nov. 8 ballot, would ban nearly all infant circumcisions.

A lawsuit arguing that no California city can regulate a medical procedure that is allowed by the state will be heard on July 15. The plaintiffs are a group of Jews and Muslims, groups that practice ritual circumcision.

Should they win, a narrower ban exempting medical circumcision could apply only to circumcision as a religious practice. And that would defy the First Amendment, according to a brief recently filed by the city attorney.

"San Franciscans cannot be asked to vote on whether to prohibit religious minorities from engaging in a particular religious practice, when the same practice may be performed under nonreligious auspices," wrote Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart.

The proposed ban, sponsored by groups who are opposed to what they consider the genital mutilation of boys, has angered Jews, Muslims and others who consider circumcision to be a parent's choice.

"The city's response was completely political," said Georganne Chapin, executive director of Intact America, an anti-circumcision group that did not sponsor the proposed ban, but supports its intent.

"It is not aimed at Jewish circumcision," Chapin said. "It's aimed at the involuntary circumcision of all minors, irrespective of religion."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/top-sf-attorney-questions_n_890687.html

Some things are better left alone.  There is a lot of baggage attached to this issue.  It is a matter of cultural and religious beliefs.  In my opinion this issue is not up to the state and it is not up for debate.  Leave it alone! 

Jail Inmate Files Pornography Case

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. -- A Michigan jail inmate says he's being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment because he can't have pornography.
In a handwritten lawsuit, 21-year-old Kyle Richards claims his civil rights are being violated at the Macomb County Jail. Richards says denying his request for erotic material subjects him to a "poor standard of living" and "sexual and sensory deprivation."
The Michigan Department of Corrections tells The Detroit News that prisons allow some pornographic material, though it's banned at the jail. The American Civil Liberties Union says prisons have a lot of leeway.
Richards was charged with bank robbery after police followed a trail of snowy footprints and dropped money to his apartment from a bank robbery scene in January in Fraser, north of Detroit.
Richards pleaded guilty. Sentencing is Aug. 2.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/04/jail-pornography-case-lawsuit-porn_n_889597.html

And if there was porn, you would be complaining that you're being subjected to porn against your will.  Shut-up and do your time.  Do you really want to look at government issued porn? 

Motorcyclist Dies On Ride Protesting Helmet Law

ONONDAGA, N.Y. -- Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.
The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.
State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.
Troopers say Contos hit his brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike spun out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Troopers say Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/03/motorcyclist-dies-helmet-protest_n_889427.html

The universe has a way of adding an exclamation mark to irony.  I feel bad for this man and his family.  I also believe it is a riders right to choose.  My choice; a helmet every time, but others do not believe as I do, and that’s fine. Think of the lives this accident has changed and think about the fact that a helmet could have prevented the chain of events that will now follow.

Michele Bachmann: As President, I'll Create 'Real Jobs' For Obama

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Republican candidate Michele Bachmann spent Saturday shaking hands in Iowa diners and strolling through a bustling farmers market as she tried to capitalize on her early popularity in the state that kicks off the presidential campaign season.
An Iowa native, the tea party favorite ranked nearly even with GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney in a recent poll of Republicans likely to participate in the state's lead off caucuses next year. But just six weeks before the state's closely-watched straw poll, the Minnesota congresswoman has done little to campaign or set up an organization here.
Beginning her first sustained campaign trip to Iowa as an announced candidate, Bachmann introduced herself to audiences from Iowa City to Des Moines in a new campaign bus emblazoned with her name. She spent much of Saturday posing for pictures and signing autographs rather than in meetings with key GOP activists.
"I have every confidence our team is going to deliver," Bachmann told The Associated Press after meeting about 100 supporters and politically curious Iowans at a stop in Marshalltown. "I am going to be here in Iowa campaigning all through July."
Proof that her Iowa campaign was still coming together met Bachmann in Iowa City, where she met about 100 weekend breakfast regulars and Republican activists at the Bluebird Diner near the University of Iowa. Local resident Sheila Reiland told Bachmann's campaign chairman in the crowded diner that she signed up last week on Bachmann's website to volunteer but had heard nothing from any campaign staff.
"She is my candidate, and I want to do what I can to help her," said Reiland, a registered nurse who went to Washington, D.C., this year to attend a health care rally Bachmann headlined. "But I haven't heard anything back."
Bachmann's Iowa campaign chairman, state Sen. Kent Sorenson, acknowledged having a lot to do in a short time since the Iowa Legislature was in session until Thursday. But he told Reiland: "You will be hearing from us."

Story continues below

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/03/michele-bachmann-obama-jobs_n_889554.html

I don’t think this is the time to be smug.  I wish you luck, but I’m afraid you will turn out to be a non-issue.  Wing nuts and loony tunes tend to find their way to the back of the line as we get closer to election time.  You will say or do something very stupid and before it’s over you will find yourself living in Alaska next door to that other wing nut.  At least on a clear day you’ll be able to see Russia from your front yard. 

Hugo Chavez Undergoes Surgery To Remove Tumor

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told his countrymen Thursday night that he underwent a second surgery in Cuba for the removal of a cancerous growth.
Chavez said in a televised talk that the operation took out a tumor in which there were "cancerous cells." He said the second surgery was done after an initial June 10 operation in which a pelvic abscess was removed.
He called his situation "this new battle that life has placed before us."
It was unclear what type of cancer is involved or what Chavez's treatment will be. He said it had been a "fundamental error" to not have taken better care of his health through medical checks.
"What a fundamental error," Chavez said.
Chavez did not say how much longer he expected to remain in Cuba recovering.
He said the first surgery was for a "strange formation in the pelvic region that required an emergency operation due to the imminent risk of a generalized infection."
After that first surgery, Chavez said, doctors began to suspect other problems. A series of tests "confirmed the presenced of an abscessed tumor with the presence of cancerous cells, which made necessary a second operation that allowed for the complete extraction of the tumor," he said.
Chavez said his condition has been "evolving satisfactorily while I receive a complementary treatment to combat the different types of cells found, and thereby continue on the path to my complete recovery."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/30/hugo-chavez-cancer-tumor_n_888382.html

Wow!  A tumor; really?  To my untrained eye that looks an awfully lot like a microphone. . . . .

White House salaries slide up

The 2011 White House salary report is out, and it shows that 141 people are paid more than $100,000 a year in President Barack Obama’s White House. Another 201 people on the staff of 454 are paid more than between $100,000 and $50,000.
That’s a jump from the last year of President George W. Bush’s tenure, when 130 people were paid more than $100,000, and 137 people were paid between $50,000 and $100,000.
The pay is good, especially when those staffers help govern a country with a stalled economy,  at least 9.1 percent unemployment, extreme deficit spending and a debt of at least $14 trillion.
But it is far less than what most of the employees graduate to when they move to a civil-service job – complete with a bump-up for local cost-of-living – or to a lobbying firm on K Street. (Uncle Sam shelling out big bucks for government jobs, GOP says time to cut)
Also, their salaries are relatively small compared to the influence they have on federal spending and on citizens’ lives. If Obama’s 2010 budget was divided equally among his 454 White House staffers, they’d have $7,832,788,550 each to spend. That’s $7.8 billion per staffer, from the first employee on the list, Adam Abrams, all the way down to No. 454, Mark Zuckerman.
Neither Obama nor Vice-President Joe Biden are part of the payroll.
The salaries range from $172,200 all the way down to a bizarre $0 a year, the salary of three White House employees. Not counting the president, 21 people share the title of top earner, among them: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, advisors John Brennan, David Plouffe, and Valerie Jarrett speechwriter Jon Favreau, and the president’s chief of staff, Bill Daley.
In Bush’s 2008 White House salary report, the lowest-paid of 447 staffers struggled home with S33,400 per year. There were two of them, but there was also another 100 people paid less than $40,000, out of total payroll of $33,193,021.
Obama’s White House is more generous with the taxpayer’s money. Not counting three unpaid employees, no-one in Obama’s house is paid less than $40,000. The two lowest-paid staffers take home $41,000, and 110 people take home salaries of up to $50,000.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/01/white-house-salaries-slide-up/#ixzz1R3WaOyUG

What a surprise!  When will our government figure out that we pay them?  Why can they raise salaries when the rest of the country is suffering?  How do they justify this nonsense?  I will tell you how. . . . .  we let them.  Through our complacency at the polls and our silence they do whatever they want.  Will we ever figure this out; as voters?  They have their own gyms, restaurants, services, perks, trips, expense accounts and we pay for it all.  While the bulk of our population earns less in a year than what some of the folks make in a month, we continue to vote them into office and condone their elite lifestyle.  We have ourselves to blame. . . . . . .

Feds put damper on big pot farms

OAKLAND, Calif., July 2 (UPI) -- Plans to build a large marijuana-growing facility in Oakland, Calif., were stymied when the Obama administration clarified its position on the issue.
In a letter to federal prosecutors, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said plans some cities and states have for "multiple, large-scale, privately operated, industrial marijuana cultivation centers" are against the law.
In a Los Angeles Times report, Cole said Obama's hands-off policy on medical marijuana patients was "never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement action and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law."
"Unfortunately, this is a step backward," said Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access. "We kind of regard this as kind of the equivalent of 'don't ask, don't tell.' Obama made certain campaign promises, and he's not carrying through on them."
Cole's letter put a damper on one Oakland man's plan to convert 172,000 acres of aging and empty warehouse buildings into a medical marijuana-growing center.
Jeff Wilcox said he commissioned a report concluding his proposal would be worth $59 million annually, and could send up to $3.4 million to city coffers each year.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of medical cannabis for a wide range of conditions, from back pain to migraine headaches.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/07/02/Feds-put-damper-on-big-pot-farms/UPI-42481309613555/#ixzz1QxZic3L3

A 172 acre pot farm?  Wow!  I thought corn was the crop of the future what with ethanol and alternative fuels.  I am hoping to become a farmer some day and I have a new plan.  I am developing a new fuel based on the cannabis plant.  It’s called cannigas. You will be able to sit at a stop light and ease the migraine pain of the guy behind you.  Think about it!  Finally; there’s a fuel that’s good for the climate and eliminates headache pain.  When my new fuel hits the market there will be a lot less road rage.  With cannigas you can relieve aches and pains, drive a green car, and become a much happier commuter.  Your car will get 42 miles to the gallon, and if it doesn’t . . . . .  you won’t care.  You can throw your GPS away.  With cannigas if you get lost  . . . . . . you won’t care. They say that Americans are addicted to their cars. . . . . not anymore.  While cannigas may change your driving habit; it is not addictive! 

Michele Bachmann Defends Federal Funds To Husband's Clinic

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann is deflecting questions about federally subsidized health dollars that have flowed to her husband's mental health clinic.
As the tea party hero tours the nation attacking the size of federal government, the Minnesota congresswoman has come under heightened scrutiny over public dollars flowing to family business interests. That includes $137,000 that Bachmann and Associates has received for treating patients in Medicaid-backed programs.
NBC's Michael Isikoff reports:

The previously unreported payments are on top of the $24,000 in federal and state funds that Bachmann & Associates, the clinic founded by Marcus Bachmann, a clinical therapist, received in recent years under a state grant to train its employees, state records show. The figures were provided to NBC News in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The Los Angeles Times reported last weekend:

Michele Bachmann lists the Lake Elmo, Minn.-based clinic — which aims to provide "quality Christian counseling in a sensitive, loving environment," according to its website — as one of her assets on her financial disclosure forms.

Bachmann press secretary Alice Stewart issued a statement Wednesday contending that it "would be discriminatory" for the clinic to turn away Medicaid patients. She says Marcus Bachmann's business has the responsibility to provide the care "regardless of a patient's financial situation."
Neither Michele nor Marcus Bachmann would respond to questions about the arrangement during a campaign stop in South Carolina.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/michele-bachmann-medicaid-funds_n_887107.html

Oooooohhhh watch the flameout begin.  OK; maybe this is on the up and up, but if you look in my front yard you will find that I have raised the bullsh*t flag.  I just can’t bring myself to trust a politician, and I think once the rocks are turned over we will see that there is more than moss.

GOODBYE GLENN

Glenn Beck stepped down from his Fox News show on Thursday after two-and-half tumultuous, controversial years at the network.
He kept the chalkboards to a minimum, and shed no tears. He also shied away from too many specific recollections about his show. Instead, he broadly reminisced about what he said he had learned from the experience, repeatedly praised Fox News for allowing his show to air and professed his excitement for his next step: the Web TV channel known as "GBTV."
Beck said that the reason for his departure from Fox News was simple: there was more that he wanted to do. The show, he said, was really a movement "that belongs in your home. It belongs in your neighborhoods. Not really television." He repeatedly directed viewers to his website, where the next chapter of his professional life will be centered.
The show featured many of the things that made Beck famous—long monologues, high emotion, mentions of God and Hitler—but, in some ways, was hardly representative of the show that made him, for a few years at least, a cultural icon and a lightning rod.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/30/glenn-beck-fox-news-last-show_n_888155.html

Well the day has finally come.  “The show, he said, was really a movement "that belongs in your home.”  I would agree that the GB show was in fact a movement that belongs in your home.  Now let me think what other movements might one have in their own home?  . . . . hhmmmmmm.  The report says that Glenn was a lightening rod.  Again I agree; a lightening “nimrod”.  GB stands for GoooooooodddddBbbbyyyeeeee!

Justice Ginsburg Worries About Supreme Court's Politicization

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed concern over the increasing influence of politics on the Supreme Court in a recent interview with USA Today.


"What I care most about I think most of my colleagues do, too," the liberal leaning justice explained, "is that we want this institution to maintain the position that it has had in this system, where it is not considered a political branch of government."


While Ginsburg wouldn't say if her worries about the court's politicization pertained to the actions of any of her colleagues specifically, she did point to the growing divisiveness of the judicial nomination process as evidence that political leanings were working their way into the system.


From USA Today:
"It will take a real statesman to blow the whistle" to stop the pattern, she said. Ginsburg, who was nominated by President Clinton in 1993, was approved on a 96-3 vote. She said she doubted she would enjoy the same bipartisan support today.


Ginsburg went on to describe a particular case in which the court ruled -- 5-4, along ideological lines -- to overthrow a $14 million judgment granted to a former death row inmate convicted of murder after New Orleans prosecutors withheld evidence that might have proven his innocence.


USA Today relays her comments:
"It was an instance of extreme injustice. I thought that the court was not just wrong but egregiously so," she said. She said she decided not simply to let the written statement speak for itself, as is the usual practice, to bring attention to a criminal justice system that "had misfired."


"I was doing it to influence my colleagues and (lower court) judges who could stop this kind of thing," she said of prosecutors' concealing exculpatory evidence.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/01/ruth-bader-ginsburg-supreme-court_n_888861.html

Now you’re worried?  Now?  It hasn’t occurred to you before that perhaps this might be a problem with the Supreme Court?  The High Court it seems; is not-so-much about justice as it is about deciding who is right.  The more political it becomes the less it checks and balances the other two branches.  Justice is not about being right or wrong.  When two attorneys from opposing sides of the question argue, believe me; they both believe they are right. It is the duty of the court to decide; “what” is right; not “who” is right; according to the law.  When politics is at play the decisions become too easy and more importantly these decisions will be unjust.  The courts should not decide who is wrong and who is right.  The courts are called upon to decide whether or not the law was broken or it wasn’t.  We are a land of laws, but more and more we are a land of politicians.  What happened to our compass, and how did we get so far off course?

Pippa Middleton Apparently Not 100 Percent Single

While Prince Harry dispelled rumors about his love life late last week, telling reporters, "I'm 100 percent single," best friend Pippa Middleton took a different route.
She stepped out to Wimbledon on Wednesday to watch the men's single quarter final between Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez.
The bad news -- she was seated between her parents, Michael and Carole, and her supposed boyfriend Alex Loudon. The pair was rumored to have split earlier this month after Duchess Catherine's sister had been spotted out with her ex, George Percy. But it appears that the Divine Miss P is still off the market.
And the worse news: so is her dress. InStyle.com reports that the NW3 by Hobbs linen shift with a square neckline and gold buttons has already sold out on Hobbs.co.uk and JohnLewis.com.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/pippa-middleton-alex-loudon_n_887162.html

Ahhh the Divine Ms. P enjoys tennis and the company of her parents and boyfriend; just your average day at the court with 30 or 40 photographers snapping your every move.  Leave the girl alone and let her enjoy herself!  It’s not like she’s playing the freaking game.  She is a spectator; a mere member of the audience.  Did your tripod break and your lens just happened to swing toward the lovely Ms. Middleton?

Another Politician Caught Sending Racy Pictures

A Louisiana politician admitted to sending a picture of himself in his underwear to a city employee, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
"I had an inappropriate but consensual relation (sic) with an adult female and we exchanged improper electronic communications which ended (in) 2009," Kenner City, La. City Councilman Joe Stagni said in a statement.
According to location station Fox 8:

Stagni sent the picture via text message to a Kenner employee back in 2009. That text message was forwarded through Kenner's email system to at least one other employee.

WWL.com reports that the local official didn't mean for the image in question to turn up a city computer server.
Fellow City Council member Brenda Amaya criticized the behavior demonstrated by Stagni as outrageous, according to local station WDSU. "It's his own private business, but since he's an elected official, it's not acceptable," she told the New Orleans-based outlet.
The Times-Picayune reports that Stagni issued an apology for his actions in a statement, noting that he's "asked for God's mercy and forgiveness" along with that of his wife and family.
Stagni's admission comes in the wake of ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigning after racy photos surfaced of him on Twitter and subsequently in reports online.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/joe-stagni-photo-underwear_n_886450.html

You know; I was really thinking about texting a photo of me in my underpants to all my friends.  I had it all planned actually; I would wear my best drawers, use my best camera and stand in front of the mirror and then “click”; I would snap the picture that would make history.  What could be the harm?  I mean you know; it’s just a picture.  Now there is a problem.  Everyone is doing it.  Now it’s just too passé; too cliché, too overdone.  For me to stand in front of the mirror and take a picture in my Sundays best undergarments would make me just like all the rest of these fruit of the looms! 

I stand in front of a mirror and I wonder.

Would you like to see what I wear down under?

I have boxer briefs and I have a Kodak

If only I had a worthy six pack

I push the button and I hear a click

Oh my gosh you can see my Schick

I left my razor out in clear view

This is something I never do.

I push the button and I hear a click

Oh my gosh you can see my tick

I must have got it from the nearby woods

It had to of bit me where I stood.

I give up now, I’m having bad premonitions

This kind of thing is only for politicians.

Access to House Gym One of Many Perks for Ex-Rep. Weiner

Rep. Anthony Weiner can still get his demons out at the House gym, though he resigned from Congress a week ago in the wake of a lurid Twitter scandal. 

As an ex-member of Congress, the New York Democrat will enjoy certain perks in the nation's capital for the rest of his life -- in addition to a pension that could easily be worth $1 million over the next several decades. 

On the list of facilities he'll have access to is the House gym, the location where several photos of Weiner in various states of disrobe may have been taken. He'll also be allowed to use the Library of Congress, eat in House restaurant facilities and park on the House side of the Capitol -- space permitting. And in case he has a hankering to deliver a thunderous speech, former members typically are afforded floor privileges while Congress is in session. 

For the time being, Weiner is working on honing his mental state more than his abs. The New York Post reports that Weiner is about to enter an "intensive" rehab program, as he and wife Huma Abedin try to salvage their marriage. 

Abedin is pregnant, and Weiner has said they have no intention of splitting up. A former colleague told the Post the ex-congressman is "headed next" to the rehab program. 

Weiner resigned after admitting to sending lewd photos over the Internet to several women.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/29/access-to-house-gym-one-many-perks-for-ex-rep-weiner/#ixzz1QiZ198qH

You know . . . . . . I’m not as concerned about the fact that he still has access to these perks as I am that the perks exist in the first place for all the members of congress.  Do you really think they pay for the food in the restaurants or the use of that gym?  Do you think they pay for parking or for their dry cleaning?  You know that gym isn’t some ordinary 24 hour fitness either. I hear there’s a sauna and steam room, restroom facilities with extra wide stalls for people who need a wide stance.  I am told the mirrors are heated so they won’t fog up because that would make it more difficult to take a decent photo of your towel clad body; and those towels; they’re 800 thread-count so that your private parts will look plush.  Cologne and other assorted toiletries are complimentary and so are the workout clothes.  What a great job; makes you wish you were a congressman. 

'Coal Lobby' Warns Wind Farms May Blow Earth Off Orbit

Is wind power too dangerous for America?
That's exactly what these panelists discuss in this hilarious spoof from The Onion.
The video shows a new advertisement from the American Coal Lobby warning that wind farms may blow the Earth off orbit. "We like this planet. Let's not blow it... away," the ad implores.
But as the panel discusses, the dangers of wind power don't stop there. The video also reveals a new documentary, "Terminal Gust," that captures one small town's plight as they suffer from wind whistling into their water supply. "Oh my god, kids could drink that water and get wind in their brains," one panelist cries.
"Unlike coal, we don't know what wind is. We don't even know where it comes from," another panelist exclaims.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/01/wind-farms-blow-earth-off-orbit-video_n_888852.html

Glenn Beck Encounters 'Hostile Situation' In Bryant Park

Glenn Beck went to Bryant Park Monday night for a showing of Alfred Hitchock's "The 39 Steps". But that was not the only showing he saw.
"It was a hostile situation," Beck described of his family's movie night; his wife, Tanya, had wine "kicked intentionally on to her back," leaving her "completely wet," he said on his radio show Tuesday morning. He further said that his wife and daughter were greeted by a man pointing his fingers and yelling "We hate conservatives here!" when they got up to use the restroom.

"If I had suggested -- and I almost did -- wow, does anybody have a rope? Because there's a tree here. You could just lynch me. And I think there would've been a couple in the crowd that would've!" The conservative radio-host recalled.

"I apologize to anybody who had their movie experience wrecked because of the people that found it so necessary to spew hatred," Beck said, "but there's nothing I can do about it."
He noted that he was "...A little surprised that nobody -- nobody -- in the crowd said 'knock it off. Just, stop. Just be cool. I don't agree with the guy, but just be cool.' "
Beck doesn't wish this kind of treatment among anyone, even his enemies. "All through the evening, I wanted to say to you today, please, please, please don't ever treat anybody like that. If Van Jones comes and sits right next to you, please don't treat anybody like that."
Describing the crowd as the "most hateful people I've seen," Beck attributes the unfortunate experiences of last night to a demographic of "arrogant 25-year-olds." He said:

"All I could think of about the people around me all night was I feel sorry for you. I really feel sorry for you... you are so lost... and so convinced that you are absolutely 100% right, and you are helping build a system that is fueled by hate. You're being used and you don't even know it. And by the time you wake-up, it may be too late for you to get out."

Beck also claims that for liberals questioning the existence of an "escape route," the answer is "yes."

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"Doesn't matter what happened in the past, brother," Beck said. "Doesn't matter what 'ya thought. Doesn't matter what 'ya even did. What matters is that you're here now."
"My family and I will accept you with open arms."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/glenn-beck-and-family-harrassed-bryant-park_n_886208.html

OK.  I can’t stand this guy.  I really can’t agree with; or understand his positions, his perspective, his point of view, his stand on politics, his party affiliation, his chalk board, his hair cut, his voice or the clothes he wears. If he was walking toward me, I would turn and walk the other way.  I don’t like him at all. . . . .  but . . . . .  you don’t treat anyone this way.  His family does not deserve mistreatment and neither does he.  You can certainly disagree with him, but to attempt to degrade him; to attempt to threaten him or harm his family, is small minded and indecent.  Can’t we all just take the high road?  Do we have to act like a mob just because we are a mob?  Glenn; you go see your movies.  Take your family wherever you like and don’t be swayed by this bad experience.  One word of advice though; do not ever suggest to an angry mob that they lynch you.  These people had been drinking and they might have taken you up on it.  Lord help this man; he has to spew bullsh*t even when his life is at risk!

Bristol Palin: I did not 'accuse Levi of date rape'

Since last week’s release of her memoir “Not Afraid of Life,” Bristol Palin has generated a decent amount of buzz. The 20-year-old, who reveals in her book that she first had sex while drunk, clarified on Monday that she was not in fact date raped by baby daddy Levi Johnston.
In an interview with “Good Morning America,” Palin explained that “it felt like” her virginity was stolen from her. But Palin insists this doesn’t mean Johnston forced himself upon her.
“I’m not accusing Levi of date rape or rape at all,” Bristol said of her ex-fiancé. “But I am just looking back with the adult eyes I have now and just thinking that was a foolish decision. I should have never been underage drinking and I should have never gotten myself into a situation like that.”
Palin’s book provides details on her first experience with sexual intercourse, which took place during a camping trip. The “Dancing with the Stars” finalist claims to have woken up alone in a tent the following morning. Considering Palin’s description of “gnat” Johnston, this comes as no surprise. The Candies Foundation spokeswoman claims that Johnston was quite a playboy while they were together and that he “cheated on [her] about as frequently as he sharpened his hockey skates.”
The single mother of a toddler, Palin says she hopes her memoir will encourage females to steer clear of and ditch slimy romantic partners.
“I hope that other women with kind of jerk boyfriends reading the book go ‘you know what? I don’t have to be with this guy,’” Palin said. (Bristol Palin slams McCain family in new memoir)
Palin says that Johnston, whose own tell-all memoir is slated for a September release, claimed to have possibly impregnated another woman the same day Us Weekly published a cover story on their 2010 engagement.
“The magazine was released on a Wednesday, and that Wednesday when it went nationwide, Levi comes home, comes to my condo and tells me that a girl might have his baby,” Palin said. “That was definitely like a punch to the stomach…It’s like, okay, I just betrayed my family for you,” Palin explained, adding that her own family didn’t know about the engagement until the celebrity gossip publication story hit newsstands.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/27/bristol-palin-i-did-not-accuse-levi-of-date-rape/#ixzz1QWocyh6h

You were drunk.  You passed out, and when you woke up, your virginity was gone and so was your dignity.  When you awakened, Levi was standing outside the tent shooting the breeze with his buddies.  What a great “first-time” experience.  You’re right; you weren’t date raped, you were date-played.  Levi had a plan from the moment he packed his tent and threw the cooler of beer and wine coolers in the back of his truck.  Unfortunately there are far too many young women who lose their virtue to the tactical strategies involving alcohol and the adolescent male’s testosterone-driven ability to connive and persuade.  The good news; you had a child, and that will be your greatest blessing from that doomed relationship.  Move on Bristol and leave Levi to his deer hunting, four wheeling and future conquests.  You deserve better than anything he has to offer!

Lawyers For Loughner: He Spit On Attorney, Threw Chair Against Wall

PHOENIX -- Lawyers for the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage have provided the first official picture of their client's behavior behind bars, saying he threw a plastic chair against a wall of his prison cell on two occasions and spit on one of his attorneys.
The attorneys for Jared Lee Loughner also say that their client has been held in solitary confinement since his Jan. 8 arrest. His prison behavior was revealed in a request by his attorneys to prevent prison authorities from forcibly giving him anti-psychotic drugs.
Loughner has been at a federal prison facility in Springfield, Mo., where mental health experts will try to make him psychologically fit to stand trial. He arrived May 28 and will spend up to four months there. A judge has twice denied requests by Loughner's attorneys to be given notice before their client is drugged.
Defense attorneys said a prison administrative hearing on June 14 found Loughner was a danger to himself. They don't know whether prison officials have started giving him drugs.
The filing doesn't provide a lot of detail of Loughner's behavior, but does reveal that he threw a chair during a March 28 interview with psychologist Christina Pietz. It doesn't give details of the other chair-throwing incident, nor does it specify which one of his lawyers he spat on more than two months ago.
A message left for lead Loughner attorney, Judy Clarke, wasn't immediately returned Monday afternoon.
At a hearing last month to determine if he's fit to stand trial, Loughner had an outburst in which he lowered his head to within inches of the courtroom table, lifted his head and began a loud and angry rant. "Thank you for the free kill. She died in front of me. Your cheesiness," according to a court transcript. It wasn't clear who he was referring to.
Loughner has pleaded not guilty to 49 charges stemming from the Jan. 8 shooting that killed six and injured 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
If Loughner is later determined to be competent enough to understand the case against him and assist his lawyers, the court proceedings will resume. If he isn't deemed competent at the end of his treatment, Loughner's stay at the facility can be extended.

Story continues below

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/27/jared-lee-loughner-behavior-spit-on-attorney_n_885754.html

 

I’m just a layman but here’s my thought; EST.  That’s right; Electroshock therapy.  There’s a procedure that I once read about, where you, place the patient in a chair, and strap him in.  You then shave his head, place a bag over it, and clamp (using a chin strap) a metal plate to his skull. Next; you tap into the regional power grid and throw the switch.  The success rate for this technique is phenomenal.  Unfortunately the side effect is death and the mortality rate is 100%.  While no one has survived this form of EST it is clear that if they had; there would have been an immediate and lasting change in their behavior. I say we hook Jared up to the machine and permanently alter his behavior!