Liberal judge encourages violence

This liberal white judge is endangering people in the black community and police officers. These two thugs are violent, and should be off the streets to cool down. The excusers claimed the man who shot 2 police was just one crazy lone wolf; these two have also advertised their anti-social, irrational behavior and the judge is ignoring that and the law. What's her record on domestic violence or child abusers? Are they getting freedom after threats and violence? Devon Coley was freed by Judge Johnson without bail two days ago after making threats against NYPD. Travis Maye was freed after punching a police officer.

http://nypost.com/2014/12/25/judge-frees-another-cop-hater-who-punched-officer/

Criminal Court Judge Laura Johnson wouldn’t be ignoring threats and punches against women by their boyfriends—or would she?

 

http://nypost.com/2014/12/26/de-blasio-must-decide-by-new-years-eve-whether-to-appoint-anti-cop-judge/

When Harry met Obamacare

Harry Lewis writes: “After signing up for ObamaCare on Christmas Eve (ObamaCare forced the cancellation of my private health insurance), I now realize that people on public assistance waive virtually all of their privacy and autonomy rights as a condition of being eligible for public assistance. And ObamaCare treats you like you're on public assistance, forcing you to waive your privacy and autonomy rights to get health insurance. That's because of the "tax credits", really government subsidies, paid for by other taxpayers, that the poor are getting. That's the high price of the ObamaCare entitlement: millions of Americans surrendering their privacy and autonomy against their wills, whether they're poor or not. ObamaCare defines the deviancy of government intrusions down in a profound and shocking way, as millions more Americans are about to discover.”

When I was being interrogated by the ObamaCare representative over the telephone about my background as part of my application for new health insurance through the federal exchange, she asked me a series of intrusive and demeaning questions, i.e., are you an ex-con; are you an illegal alien, etc. (after she knew I was a lawyer) without ever asking me a key question: have you had health insurance before? That's an important omission. The Obama Administration doesn't want to collect that information, because it exposes how many Americans (like me) were stripped of their insurance as part of the ObamaCare debacle. Democrats then proclaim ObamaCare a success as part of a propaganda campaign that discloses only the number of people signed up, without disclosing how many sign-ups are casualties of ObamaCare's first phase: the forced cancellation of millions of private policies like mine. Even the Nazis kept scrupulous records of the number of concentration camp inmates they executed. Not so the Obama Administration with ObamaCare.


The omission also highlights the moral depravity of ObamaCare in two other important respects: Obamacare deliberately destroyed continuity of care, while lying about that destruction to those of the American people who already had health insurance and doctors. The Democratic Party lie: "If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" and "if you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan", which they thought politically expedient, was a lie about continuity of care to those who already had a health plan and a doctor. As every health care professional knows, continuity of care is about keeping records of medical histories. Without a medical history, a physician is practicing medicine in the dark. That greatly increases the risk of medical malpractice, and of injury or death to the patient. The Democratic lie about continuity of care hugely increased the risk to patients of being injured or killed in the medical system because of the catastrophic destruction of continuity of care on a system-wide basis. The previously uninsured, of course, without a health plan or a doctor, bear no such risk.

Finally, health insurers know that people who have been insured before tend to be more responsible in their personal lives, and that there's a previously existing database of patient information that can be drawn upon to adjust risk in their actuarial calculations. ObamaCare's failure to ask about previous insurance makes a final, damning point: responsible behavior by patients doesn't matter in the veterinary health care system that ObamaCare has created. In veterinary medicine, the degree of health care the pet receives is determined by the budget of the owner, not by the pet itself.

Friday family photo, Christmas 1982

Gabby Hayes was his nick name—his beard was coming in white but his hair was still red. The cat’s name was Mystery and she lived to be 18. After that Christmas I became the shortest person in the family.

The unvaccinated

With the exception of meningitis, I had these plus scarlet fever.  Trust me, it’s not pleasant.

Lots of jolly eating this season

Christmas letters—I love them

Some people make fun of Christmas letters, the ones from friends you hear from once a year, but I love them. Monday we caught up with friends in Texas who had lived in Columbus only one year during a recession and her company transferred her here. He worked briefly for my husband (so it was probably 1994) while trying to find a job. When we visited San Antonio 20 years ago his former employer gave us a tour of the city. Their darling little pre-school boys whose school photos we got every year are all grown up with careers, homes and one is married. Hardly seems possible.

Now instead of school and sports we're reading about the frailties of their parents, assisted living, and Alzheimer's. Janice writes of her dad: "On one of his more lucid days he told me he was going to sit right there in his chair until God came to take him home. Amen." Praise the Lord, he still knows what is important and eternal.

Today I got my first Christmas letter from cousin Barry and his wife Rose Anne. We’ve connected on Facebook, although didn’t know each other well.  I’ve only met her once, in 1993 at a family reunion.  But from the photos of the grandchildren, I’ll need to be updating the genealogy database. Another Christmas letter (hand written) from cousin Sharon in Canada included photos of the homes of our ancestor in Lancaster, PA.

Why we continue pagan elements in our holidays

“So why not celebrate Christmas?  Many cite the pagan rituals that have crept into the practice of Christmas.  The Christmas tree, the giving of gifts, and the mistletoe among many other traditions do have roots in paganism.  If we go back to 4th century ancient Rome, we see a Christianity struggling to evangelize a pagan society.  One of the key ways those early missionaries evangelized the pagans was by taking pagan rituals and infusing them with Christian meaning.  Those missionaries matched pagan holidays with new Christian holidays to help the pagans make smooth transitions into Christianity.  There is nothing wrong with that.  It's a somewhat drastic method of missionary work where you help new believers to remain in their cultural context while allowing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to transform the cultural practices.  This allows people to remain in their "people groups" making "people movements" toward Jesus a much more likely possibility.  And what do we see as a result?  The ancient Christians succeeded, and the church grew by leaps and bounds.”  A lifestyle change for peace

Major Crimes can’t come up to the level of The Closer

I sat down to watch "Major Crimes" (spin off of The Closer) last night and immediately began to complain about the writing, acting, directing, location shots, story line, etc. In short, it stinks and I can't imagine how enough people like it to make it into the 4th season. My husband was enjoying it until I came in. He said, "Well, it seemed OK until you started watching.”

“Major Crimes follows the further investigations of the detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Major Crimes division. The crime drama’s cast includes Mary McDonnell, GW Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Robert Gossett, Phillip P. Keene, Jonathan Del Arco, Kearran Giovanni, and Graham Patrick Martin. “ Ratings.

How the IRS began covering up its wrongful actions in early 2012

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has released a scathing interim report detailing extreme political "bias" throughout the ranks of the IRS that led to it targeting conservative groups in response to the anti-conservative group rhetoric "being openly and loudly espoused by the President of the United States."

http://aclj.org/free-speech/house-oversight-report-confirms-irs-bias-targeting-icky-conservative-groups

http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/December-2014-IRS-Report.pdf

Criminal behavior by the IRS affects everyone, destroys trust in the government. Too bad we can’t get protesters to go out and march about that.

Arrest related deaths

From the U.S. Bureau of Justice, “Arrest related deaths.”  42% of persons who died during an arrest were white, 32% were black, and 20% were Hispanic. ( 2003-2009). Of the 98 million arrests, 4,813 resulted in deaths, 40% of which were homicide. 75% of those who died were involved in a violent crime.

So why is homicide for blacks at arrest out of proportion to their population? The offending rate for blacks is 34.4 per 100,000 compared to 4.5 per 100,000 for whites. Based on that figure, it looks like whites are more likely to be killed by police while committing a crime than blacks.

http://www.justice.gov/search/all/death%20by%20arrest

Uniform Crime Reporting

There seems to be a definition and a code for every possible crime in this report. Criminal Justice Information  Services (CJIS) Division Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. . . User Manual.

“The FBI UCR Program is a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of over 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies (LEAs) voluntarily reporting data on offenses reported or known. Since 1930, the FBI has administered the UCR Program and continued to assess and monitor the nature and type of crime in the nation. The program’s primary objective is to generate reliable information for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management. However, over the years, UCR data have become one of the country’s leading social indicators. Criminologists, sociologists, legislators, municipal planners, the media, and other students of criminal justice use the data for varied research and planning purposes.

The FBI UCR Program prepared this manual to assist LEAs in reporting crime statistics via the NIBRS. It addresses NIBRS policies, the types of offenses reported via the NIBRS, and guidelines for an agency to become certified to submit NIBRS data to the FBI.”

Example 2, Acting in Concert
A domestic argument escalated from a shouting match between a husband and wife to an aggravated assault during which the husband began beating his wife. The wife, in her own defense, shot and killed the husband. The responding officer submitted one incident report. The LEA should have reported this information via the NIBRS as two separate incidents because the husband could not have been acting in concert with the wife in his own killing. The LEA could have submitted one incident involving the Aggravated Assault perpetrated by the husband and the second incident involving the killing. This would have allowed the maintenance of the original incident number for record keeping purposes at the local level and simultaneously satisfied reporting requirements for the NIBRS.

Hate crime classifications are difficult:

Example 5
A 51-year-old black male wielding a tire iron attacked a 29-year-old Japanese-American male. The victim suffered severe lacerations and a broken arm. The incident took place in a parking lot next to a bar. Investigation revealed the offender and victim had previously exchanged racial insults in the bar; the offender initiated the exchange by calling the victim by a well-known epithet used against the Japanese and complained the Japanese were taking away jobs from Americans. The offense would be reported as 14 = Anti-Asian based on the difference in race of the victim and offender, the exchange of racial insults, and the absence of other reasons for the attack.

Do minorities not want safe streets and neighborhoods?

Harry Lewis comments:  “The Politico article about NYC Mayor de Blasio's current political troubles is revealing. The Democrats interviewed, including David Axelrod, repeatedly assert that because NYC no longer is majority white, a new paradigm of policing is necessary. So Democrats think racial minorities don't want effective law enforcement and safe streets? Instead, they want criminals coddled, and crime victims unprotected? This is condescension and cynicism rooted in deep racism and contempt for racial minorities.”

“De Blasio allies often point out that the city has changed since the days of Giuliani. Blacks and Hispanics are now in the majority. The so-called Giuliani Democrats have largely passed away or moved. The same coalition that elected Obama also swept de Blasio to an outright win in the 2013 primary, helping him avoid a runoff.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/bill-de-blasio-113755.html

At one of Ohio’s elite colleges, Oberlin, which admitted black students as early as 1835 when they must have been made of tougher mettle than today, there’s a movement to suspend the grading system for black students—I think it’s the trauma of all the recent protests (which have mainly been made up of the Occupy Wall Street crowd). That’s the left’s idea of being progressive.

http://redalertpolitics.com/2014/12/16/oberlin-college-students-ask-professors-exempt-students-color-exams/#!

Did you know

Susan Douglas vs. Donald Sterling

A University of Michigan professor, Susan Douglas, published an article and also tells her students in her classroom that Republicans are bad, she has the research, and she hates them.  She keeps her job at a state university supported by Republicans' taxes. Yet Donald Sterling, like Douglas a Democrat, who makes many black men wealthy with jobs as athletes in a private business tells his black mistress in a private conversation he doesn't want her hanging out with black men.  I’m guessing Tiger Woods didn’t want his white mistresses hanging out with black athletes either. For that Sterling loses his athletic team.

Which one has more influence on the minds of young people?  I'd say the professor. She has published five books on American history and I can only imagine the nasty slant. “She has lectured at colleges and universities around the country, and has written for The Nation, In These Times, The Village Voice, Ms., The Washington Post and TV Guide.” [her bio]  Not a single person was hurt by Sterling's racism, but Professor Susan Douglas maligned half the nation.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/394724/u-michigan-department-chair-we-should-hate-republicans-katherine-timpf

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/71095/donald-sterling-racist-nba-owner-is-dem-donor-but-black-nba-players-racism-unnoticed/

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2014/12/18/um-prof-apologizes-anti-republican-column/20611377/

God’s sense of humor—bats

Bats are 1/5 of all mammal species. I find that amazing. Twice they've found their way into our home and we don't know how. The reason for their large number is they evolve very quickly--none of that million year stuff for them (which I don't believe anyway). But their population is recovering. Don't leave the door open too long.

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/279/1734/1797

How single moms make it

A mother replies to an article in the Washington Post about single moms. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/18/the-unbelievable-rise-of-single-motherhood-in-america-over-the-last-50-years/

“As a single mom left alone with two small children after my ex-husband left, I never used public welfare, educated my children in private schools through scholarships, and put myself through graduate school. One child graduated from medical school and the other is a dean's list student in college. The secret? They had a loving, nurturing and committed parent in their life who never missed a recital, lacrosse game, etc., even while studying for the bar exam. Was it hard? Absolutely. Was it impossible, no. With the help of lots of miracles, I was determined they would not be a statistic of their parents' faltered dreams. I didn't have the time/interest in dating and chose early on not to bring men around my two young daughters. I brought these two into the world and they were a priceless gift to me. As such, they were my top priority and remain so. Being their mom is my greatest accomplishment. If people looked on children more as a gift and treated them as such, the world would be better off.”

A visit to Santa

The Beast twists the story

The Daily Beast (on line Newsweek listing to the left)  is claiming in a headline today, "Cops waging war on the mayor." Police go into minority neighborhoods and put their lives on the line every day. That's where the highest crime rates are according to the Bureau of Justice statistics. Crime has been reduced dramatically in the last 2 decades.Take the offender off the street and save black lives. But where's the political and financial gain for Sharpton in saving lives?

"Blacks were disproportionately represented as both homicide victims and offenders. The victimization rate for blacks (27.8 per 100,000) was 6 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000). The offending rate for blacks (34.4 per 100,000) was almost 8 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000)," . http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf

NYC was actually becoming a safe city for residents and tourists. deBlasio even teaches his son to be afraid of police and announces it! He ratcheted up the hate and fear for the police who were carrying out his policies on selling cigarettes. Sharpton, deBlasio, Obama and Holder have blood on their hands for this tragedy of killing 2 minority police officers and have painted a huge target on every police officer in every city.

Sarah Palin used the word "target" in a campaign ad and was blamed by Democrats for a mentally ill man shooting Gabby Giffords and others. Al Sharpton, Holder and Obama have openingly been fomenting race hatred, not speaking out when protesters were encouraged to kill cops with chants about kill the pigs. Now supporters of the protests are claiming the shooter was mentally ill and they bear no responsibility.

New to me—The Five Colleges of Ohio

It’s not that I’d never heard of these 5,  just didn’t realize there was a term, “The Five Colleges of Ohio.” I’ve actually only been on a campus tour of Oberlin, although we see Ohio Wesleyan each time we drive through Delaware. Now that would make a good bucket list, wouldn’t it?  Visit small colleges in Ohio.

“The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities Program has awarded $2 million dollars to The Five Colleges of Ohio, in collaboration with The Ohio State University. The grant establishes The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Languages to support language teaching and to build faculty interest and expertise in the uses of blended learning pedagogies.

The program will allow recent recipients of a doctoral degree in language from Ohio State to have a two-year liberal arts teaching and research experience at one of The Five Colleges of Ohio: Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University or the College of Wooster.”

So counting The Ohio State University, that’s six. Right? So that’s 5 colleges each with 2 post doctorate fellows in over lapping years for four years plus one collaborator. There should be enough even with the cuts for overhead. Not sure how it works for these, but for usual grants the institution takes 56% for overhead. . . or did when I was at OSU.

Adoption Assistance

This is odd.  I was browsing the amounts of the 126 federal welfare and anti-poverty programs, and to my surprise saw that #23 in dollar amount was "Adoption Assistance." $2,480,000,000. $2.5 billion for adoption assistance? Right up there with the School breakfast program, $2.9 billion.  Part of the $7,256,000,000 the federal budget allows for fostering and permanency for children, #17 on the list.

“Key federal programs supporting child welfare services include Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, Guardianship Assistance, Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, Child Welfare Services state grants, Child Welfare Research, Training and Demonstration, CAPTA state grants, the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention grants, Abandoned Infants Assistance, Adoption Opportunities, and Adoption Incentives.”

So I Googled, and found that this is money for adopting special needs children. Each state seems to have similar requirements—the child can have physical or mental handicaps, black children are younger than white to be included, in custody of the state, can’t be returned to biological family, adopting family can be a relative, etc.

Federal description

“Adoption Assistance – The Adoption Assistance program provides funds to states to subsidize families that adopt children with special needs who cannot be reunited with their families, thus preventing long, inappropriate stays in foster care. This is consistent with ACF's goals to improve healthy development, safety, and well-being of children and youth and to increase the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and youth. To receive adoption assistance benefits, a child must have been determined by the state to be a special needs child, e.g., older, a member of a minority or sibling group, or have a physical, mental, or emotional disability. Additionally, the child must have been: 1) unable to return home, and the state must have been unsuccessful in its efforts to find an adoptive placement without medical or financial assistance; and 2) receiving or eligible to receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), under the rules in effect on July 16, 1996, title IV-E Foster Care benefits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

In accordance with the Fostering Connections to Success and Improving Adoptions Act of 2008, beginning in FY 2010, revised Adoption Assistance eligibility requirements that exclude consideration of AFDC and SSI income eligibility requirements are being phased in over a nine-year period, based primarily on the age of the child in the year the adoption assistance agreement is finalized. For FY 2012, the phase-in of the exclusion of consideration of AFDC and SSI applies to otherwise eligible children for whom an adoption assistance agreement is entered into and who have reached the age of 12. The revised eligibility requirements also apply to children based on time in care and siblings of children to which the revised eligibility criteria apply. In FY 2010, federally-recognized Indian tribes, Indian tribal organizations and tribal consortia with approved title IV-E plans also became eligible for the program

Funds also are used for the administrative costs of managing the program and training staff and adoptive parents. The number of children subsidized by this program and the level of federal reimbursement has increased significantly as permanent adoptive homes are found for more children. The average monthly number of children for whom payments were made has increased more than 80 percent, from just over 228,000 in FY 2000 to an estimated 429,700 in FY 2010 and 470,400 projected in FY 2012.

The Adoption Assistance program underwent a program assessment in CY 2005. The assessment cited the program’s success in increasing the permanent placement of foster care children, effective administration at the state and federal levels, and coordination with related programs as strong attributes of the program. As a result of assessment, the program is working with states to ensure that their Adoption Assistance laws and policies comport with federal requirements.” (Administration for Children and Families
Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, p. 335-336)

I wonder if families who do not release a special needs child for adoption, who do not abuse him, or abandon her, whose child is never in foster care . . . are they eligible for help?  More research needed.

Update: Another law, proposed. Don't know if it passed the Senate. H.R. 4980 requires states to track and report disruptions to finalized adoptions and guardianships, one of the biggest blind spots in research on the child welfare system. The few sample studies on the subject suggest that up to 30 percent of adoptions fail.https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/news/house-passes-adoption-incentives-package-senate-expected-to-act-soon/7653

Shouldn’t every student have AVID?

If this is a good program that inspires, motivates and moves ahead children “in the middle,” or who are “under represented minorities” and it shows such remarkable success, why isn’t it standard for all students?

“AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college and other postsecondary opportunities. Established more than 30 years ago with one teacher in one classroom, AVID today impacts more than 800,000 students in 44 states and 16 other countries/territories.”

http://www.avid.org/avid-impact.ashx

AVID:

• Teaches skills and behaviors for academic success
• Provides intensive support with tutorials and strong student/teacher relationships
• Creates a positive peer group for students
• Develops a sense of hope for personal achievement gained through hard work and determination

AVID students complete college entrance requirements at a rate of 2.5  times greater than U.S. students overall.

The War on Poverty

Notice that the bottom quintile is lifted briefly about 10 years, and after that the top quintile takes off. Poverty is lucrative business for politicians and bureaucrats.

With 126 programs to transfer wealth, there's not enough incentive to give up the government safety net and take the risk that education, investing and marriage require.

Who is behind the current racial unrest, and what do they gain?

Harry Lewis observes: “Two NYPD officers, one Asian and one Hispanic, were shot dead in Brooklyn execution-style by a black gunman who identified "revenge" for the deaths of Brown and Garner as his motive. The gunman had murdered his girlfriend in Baltimore the previous day. The racial tension on the streets of New York and the nation fomented by the President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, Sharpton, and others, and encouraged by the mayor of NYC, among others, has created an atmosphere in which violent criminals are emboldened to murder police officers in cold blood. Anarchists, communists, and fascists who have been stirring the racial pot for months with protests and demonstrations are celebrating these murders. The multicultural polarization of America, the deliberate policy of the Democratic Party, is leading to race hatred and cold-blooded murder. Is race war next?”

God is not dead in Gotham

Cheer up, you’re worse than you think,” Rev. Timothy Keller says with a smile. He’s explaining that humans are more weak, more fallen, more warped than they “ever dare admit or even believe.” Then comes the good news: At the same time people are “more loved in Christ and more accepted than they could ever imagine or hope.” Many Millennial Christians in NYC attend his Presbyterian church--and respond to his message. “Every other religion has a founder that says: ‘I’ll show you the way to God. Only Christianity of all the major world religions has a founder that says: ‘I’m God, come to find you.’

http://www.wsj.com/articles/kate-bachelder-god-isnt-dead-in-gotham-1419032446

My little book group that met at Panera’s a few years ago used his book,

And it is outstanding.  Maybe I’ll reread it.

Part 1: The Leap of Doubt
There Can't Be Just One True Religion
How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
Christianity is a Straitjacket
The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice
How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
Science Has Disproved Christianity
You Can't Take the Bible Literally
Part 2: The Reasons for Faith
The Clues of God
The Knowledge of God
The Problem of Sin
Religion and the Gospel
The (True) Story of the Cross
The Reality of the Resurrection
The Dance of God

O-H-I-O

I don’t think we’ll have enough snow soon for this.  Weatherman Chris Bradley’s FB page.

Al Sharpton and Bill de Blasio should be considered accomplices in this murder

Preach hate for police and this is what you get. Two policemen killed. Assassinated. Targeted. From the surnames, I’m guessing both were minorities—one Asian, one Hispanic.  Alleged shooter Ismaaiyl Brinsley shot himself after being chased on foot.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/20/us/new-york-police-officers-shot/index.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/20/2-nypd-cops-shot-in-car-critically-injured/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/nyregion/two-police-officers-shot-in-their-patrol-car-in-brooklyn.html?_r=1

“I’m Putting Wings on Pigs Today,” a person believed to be the gunman wrote in an Instagram post that referenced both Brown and Garner posted just three hours before the officers were shot, the New York Post reported.  Al Sharpton has been arousing emotions of protesters who show up for all these rallies. deBlasio hasn’t been defending the NYPD.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/kerik-police-killings-nypd/2014/12/20/id/614261/

Actions have consequences

According to Reuters, 8 days before the Taliban faction known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) brutally massacred over 130 school children in Peshawar Pakistan on Tuesday, the U.S. released the terror group’s second in command, Latif Mehsud. He had been captured in October 2013 and held in an Afghanistan prison.. http://www.reuters.com/…/us-pakistan-afghanistan-militants-…

http://gopthedailydose.com/taliban-leader-just-released-by-obama-involved-in-the-pakistani-school-massacre/

http://www.hngn.com/articles/53165/20141218/pakistan-tragedy-prevented-taliban-commander-released-u-s-eight-days.htm

In a perfect world

That’s the name of a blog  by Don whom I vaguely remember meeting blogging or in a Usenet writers’ group. I’ll note it here so I don’t lose it again. http://mytypewriterbroke.blogspot.com/  The crazy thing about blogging, or the internet in general, is it’s just too easy to get side tracked.  And I really wasn’t looking for Don when I found him. Or Paula.

And Paula is still blogging. Goodness.  How many years.  Longer than me I think. Light Motifs. http://lightmotifs.wordpress.com/  I met her on Usenet. Likes to write romance novels.

Top 10 liberal superstitions

To read the complete article by Kate Bachelder (from October 2014)

1. Spending more money improves education. The U.S. spent $12,608 per student in 2010—more than double the figure, in inflation-adjusted dollars, spent in 1970—and spending on public elementary and secondary schools has surpassed $600 billion.  
2. Government spending stimulates the economy. Case in point is the $830 billion 2009 stimulus bill, touted by the Obama administration as necessary for keeping unemployment below 8%. Result: four years of average unemployment above 8%. . . .
3. Republican candidates always have a big spending advantage over Democrats. Yet the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee  raked in $127 million this cycle, about $30 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Democrats have aired more TV ads than Republicans in several battleground states, according to analysis by the Center for Public Integrity. . . .
4. Raising the minimum wage helps the poor. . . .Nearly 30% of the benefits would go to families three times above the poverty line or higher, in part because half of America’s poor families have no wage earners. Minimum-wage increases help some poor families—at the expense of other poor families (who won’t be able to find jobs at those salaries).
5. Global warming is causing increasingly violent weather. Tell that to Floridians, who are enjoying the ninth consecutive season without a hurricane landfall. . . .
6. Genetically modified food is dangerous. Farmers have been breeding crop seeds for 10,000 years, but the agricultural innovation known as genetic modification makes liberals shudder. . . .
7. Voter ID laws suppress minority turnout.  GAO released an analysis of 10 voter-ID studies: Five showed the laws had no statistically significant effect on turnout, four suggested a decrease in turnout (generally among all ethnic groups, though percentages varied), and one found an increase in turnout with voter ID laws in place. . .
8. ObamaCare is gaining popularity. . . the law’s approval rating hovers around 40%, and 27% of people told Gallup this month that the law was hurting them, up from 19% in January, while only 16% reported it was helpful . . .
9. The Keystone XL pipeline would increase oil spills.  In 2013 pipelines with a diameter larger than 12 inches spilled 910,000 gallons. Railroad tankers spilled 1.5 million gallons. Yet pipelines carry 25 times the oil that tankers do . . .
10. Women are paid 77 cents on the dollar compared with men. The mother of all liberal superstitions, this figure comes from shoddy math that divides the average earnings of all women working full-time by the average earnings of all full-time men, without considering career field, education or personal choices. When those factors are included, the wage gap disappears. A 2009 report commissioned by the Labor Department that analyzed more than 50 papers on the topic found that the so-called pay gap “may be almost entirely” the result of choices both men and women make.

Double standard for two men of color

Listening to the President's speech before he took off for Hawaii, I reflected again on the jail time for Dinesh D'Sousa who made a movie critical of Obama. His terrible offense? A minor political donation infraction. But it's hugs and kissy face for tax evader ($4.5 million) Al Sharpton from the President. The President in addressing the Norks talked a strong line about the tradition of creative freedom in film. . . something about this was a comedy, and what happens when it is a documentary. Like something about him? I think we've already got that answer. Nothing will happen to the North Koreans, but an immigrant American who is a conservative? Look out!

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/09/23/documents-federal-prosecutors-misled-judge-in-pursuit-of-prison-time-for-dinesh-dsouza-n1895285

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/11/19/lessons-from-rev-al-sharptons-4-5-million-tax-bill/

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2014/dec/19/obama-fbi-sony-hack-north-korea-china

Snail mail, for sure

Kelly Rogers Denton of 4 South Hannah Ave.,  Mt. Morris, Illinois says she received this letter on Tuesday, December 16th. It's postmarked December 15th, 1963 from Dixon, Illinois with another postmark from Seattle, Washington on December 11th of this year. Kelly put it on Facebook hoping to find out more information about the letter and who it was actually intended for. Kelly didn’t open the letter but believes it's a Christmas card. On FB, a discussion on the Mt. Morris determined that Carolyn Hackbarth (I went to high school with her) sent it.  I think someone knows where the Kiddell family lives. A Rockford station will do a story on Carolyn opening it. (Isn’t it illegal to open someone else’s mail?)

For me it’s doubly interesting since my family lived at 4 South Hannah where the letter was delivered.  Back in the day of 4 cent stamps you could make a wild stab at an address in Mt. Morris and the postman would get it there.  This one must have stuck in the bottom of a mail bag.  Would be interesting to know how it got to Seattle.

Elbert Guillory

Our protected victim classes are clashing

The left wing crazies are making it difficult to identify the protected victims!  A Muslim student at the University of Michigan is taken down for satire because he's a conservative. At Marquette, a Catholic university, a tenured professor was taken out for criticizing (in a tweet) the lack of free speech and discussion in the classroom of a female grad student instructor of a philosophy class (no tenure) who shut down a student (no first amendment rights) in an after class private discussion on gay marriage, accusing him of homophobia for believing the church's teaching on marriage which the university thumbs its nose at.  Wow.  You need a score card. Al Sharpton is attacking a female executive (there are very few) at Sony.  What if she turns out to be transgendered.  Would that trump Sharpton’s shakedown because of his race?

http://insider.foxnews.com/2014/12/18/student-says-his-home-was-egged-he-was-fired-conservative-column

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/12/17/marquette-university-tells-employees-opposition-to-same-sex-marriage-could-be-unlawful-harassment/

Leader of the swap was serving 2 life sentences

“The three Cubans released as a part of the deal belonged the so-called Cuban Five, a quintet of Cuban intelligence officers convicted in 2001 for espionage. They were part of what was called the Wasp Network, which collected intelligence on prominent Cuban-American exile leaders and U.S. military bases.

The leader of the five, Gerardo Hernandez, was linked to the February 1996 downing of the two civilian planes operated by the U.S.-based dissident group Brothers to the Rescue, in which four men died. He is serving a two life sentences. Luis Medina, also known as Ramon Labanino; and Antonio Guerrero have just a few years left on their sentences.”

http://video.foxnews.com/v/3951389545001/family-of-brothers-to-the-rescue-victim-rips-cuba-deal/?#sp=show-clips

Slap in the face of the families of the killed men.  They were not told the swap was going to take place.

Sharpton and Sony

Al Sharpton is beginning the shakedown of Sony. Will he ask for white executives or just roaming around money for this?. A white female Sony executive makes a remark about Obama, and suddenly all 12.5% of Americans need an apology?  She probably voted for him—twice.  Sharpton’s got some kind of gig blackmailing cities for protecting these "peaceful" protesters, many of which show up for all the lefty events. The reps from the police unions said on TV that the police are practically on first name basis with some of them. You can bet the organizers aren't paying. The police get overtime, Sharpton gets face time on TV, and the tax payers get the bill (except Rev. Al, he cheats on taxes big time).

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?_r=1

http://redalertpolitics.com/2014/12/11/sony-executive-jokes-obama-race-leaked-e-mail/

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/12/uk-sony-cybersecurity-obama-idUKKBN0JP29L20141212

Dennis Prager on the Pope and the Dictator

It took a Pope, a President and a Prime Minister to bring down the USSR. now a President and a Pope are propping up a dictator regime.

I don’t get to hear talk show host Dennis Prager often, but had him on today during a late lunch.  He is not happy with the Pope. And I paraphrase him on Obama's normalizing relations with the Castro dictatorship. The Pope is a very nice man, he said, but he is a Latin American. They find it hard not to love a leftist dictator. Can we imagine such nice things being said about the right wing dictatorship of South African apartheid?

Am I a victim of police harassment?

I've been stopped by the police 2.5 times (the 3rd time I was telling my husband what to do, so that gets a half although he was driving). It was always my fault, and I didn't argue with the police. Police have also come to the house when we called (burglary) and when a neighbor called (saw a strange car in the drive-way she didn't recognize). I called the police when there was a flasher in my library following young women around in the stacks and another time when a suspicious guy hung around a female employee at night. More recently, I took a cell phone to our local police which I found in my car that had drug messages on it (fell out of the pocket of someone who parked my car for me we found out later). I'm wondering now if I might have been a victim instead of being protected? (That's sarcasm.)

Jack Webb on being a policemen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7COcohB9n3w

Sony and Benghazi

Sony wasn't the first casualty of terrorists and films.  Remember the lies the WH told on the morning news shows about the video causing the Benghazi tragedy?  That film maker actually went to jail (supposedly on unrelated charges that were being ignored, and probably for his own safety after the government goof up). But there have been no more unflattering films made by Americans about Islam, have there? Few death threats against theaters and some bombings and beheadings seems to cool creative expression.

Victimology 101

“Student organizations representing women’s interests now routinely advise students that they should not feel pressured to attend or participate in class sessions that focus on the law of sexual violence, and which might therefore be traumatic.”

http://reason.com/blog/2014/12/16/profs-have-stopped-teaching-rape-law-now

Maybe doctors in training should not have to study virology or bacteriology for fear of triggering memories of children immunizations? Pre-vet students should be excused from equine rotation if a horse kicked them at the rodeo.

“It's time to admit that appeasing students' seemingly unlimited senses of personal victimhood entitlement, unenlightened views about public discourse, and thinly-veiled laziness is not merely wrong, but actively dangerous. Colleges are supposed to prepare young people to succeed in the real world; they do students no favors by infantilizing them. But worse than that, by bending over backwards to satisfy the illiberal mob, colleges are doling out diplomas to people who are prepared for neither real life nor their eventual professions. Should medical colleges abdicate their responsibility to instruct students on how to administer a rape kit to a victim, or ask a victim difficult questions about her trauma, because that discussion is triggering to some of the students?”

Ebola vs. mystery virus—where’s the hysteria?

The country had a melt down over Ebola which killed or sickened a few people and got us an Ebola czar with no experience for a few weeks. But there wasn't much said about the mysterious virus that has killed 12 children, left 94 with polio like paralysis, and sickened over 1,000. Lots of unanswered questions. We've finally got a new name: Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), but the experts are not sure how it is related to EV-D68 virus. CDC is unable to answer whether the EV-D68 epidemic is connected to the tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children allowed to enter the U.S. from Central and South America in the last couple of years. EV-D68 is known to have circulated in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

 http://sharylattkisson.com/two-mystery-illnesses-linked-to-…

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6340a6.htm?s_cid=mm6340a6_w

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6336a4.htm?s_cid=mm6336a4_w

http://www.cdc.gov/ncird/investigation/viral/sep2014/index.html

Covered in prayer for many months

This little guy’s family are members of our church.  He was born premature, and we prayed for months.  So happy to see him on Facebook.

BalletMet Nutcracker—a real delight

We enjoyed the matinee performance of the Nutcracker at the Ohio Theater on Sunday. Our 10 year old Lakeside neighbor who has been in several of Bob's paintings was performing in a small part. The devotion of the parents to exposing their children to this type of culture is admirable--her mother was probably there 8 hours Sunday because another child became ill and she will also do the evening performance. I did the football, baseball, track, cross country, soccer, cheerleader, Campfire, sports lunchroom, Jones musical gigs, UA high school choir--but I never told my kids about dancing lessons. It was fun to stand at the stage door after the performance to wait to see her. Bob gave her a Twinkie—other dancers got bouquets.

“We open on Christmas Eve, in the Stahlbaum house. There's music and presents and food, and the three Stahlbaum children are beside themselves with joy at the wonder of it all. There's danger on the horizon though, heralded by the arrival at the door of local magician Drosselmeyer. He brings bearing gifts for the children, including a wooden nutcracker. This is just the start of an adventure which will lead our characters into a war between mice and gingerbread men and through the Land of Sweets. “

We were pretty high up for $58/seat—not exactly nosebleed territory, but close.  Managing that many stairs was very difficult for me, and on Monday my legs felt like I’d been in a box for 2.5 hours—seats are pretty small.

Putting on my “fashion police” cap, I was so pleased to see that younger women are rejecting their mothers' idea of fashion (sweatshirts and jeans) for nice events in classy theaters. I was just amazed at the well turned out young ladies in dresses! and heels at this event. How refreshing. The "protest march" look was really getting old.

This photo is from the Internet and we think that is Lillian in the front (red hair). She was a “page,” and appeared in the 2nd act.

Taliban kills over 130 children in Pakistan

Just an awful, awful sight.  Such beautiful kids.

When I have trouble finding the right word, I try Google. Obama can't seem to say, "Taliban." The left never runs out of names for the Tea Party.  Must be something political.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-fails-blame-taliban-mass-school-murder-pakistan_821714.html#!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/16/politics/obama-pakistan-attack/index.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30491435

This child lost his mother who was a teacher at the school.

Being a Democrat is easier

Tax more.  Spend more. Take away more personal freedoms.  Kill the unborn and weep over the condemned killer.  It’s easy, and they all seem to agree.

I’m so tired of listening to these conservative talkers tear apart the various possible candidates for 2016.  Ted Cruz—now there’s a guy with guts (or something else).  Ted Cruz—he’s just crazy, only concerned about advancing his career.  Rand Paul—best thing since sliced bread.  Rand Paul—what a loser.  Really?  Republicans couldn’t agree on where to go for lunch.

It’s not too late

Father Mark Yavarone, O.M.V. (Oblates of the Virgin Mary) humbly and prayerfully offering himself to those in need at Planned Parenthood, Boston, Massachusetts.

Posted by Kelly Thatcher at her blog.

New York Times corrects its correction with a correction

This correction in the New York Times was appended to an article about tax evader and chief presidential consultant on race Al Sharpton's march on Washington. The reporter mixed up Michael Brown and Darren Wilson, got the Trayvon Martin story wrong, and even misspelled his name in an earlier correction. This is what the most famous newspaper in the land uses for reporters?

"Correction: December 13, 2014. An earlier version of this article misidentified, on second reference, the person who was shot in Ferguson, Mo. It was Michael Brown, not Darren Wilson. An earlier version of this article also referred incorrectly to the shooting of Trayvon Martin. He was killed by a civilian, not by a police officer. In addition, an earlier version of this correction misspelled Trayvon Martin’s given name as Travyon."

Scroll to the end, past the opinion that passes for news: http://www.nytimes.com/.../thousands-march-in-washington...

Don’t cook much, but love to look

I bought this nice hard cover Taste of Home at Marc’s last week for $2.93.  I’ll put it on the coffee table to browse while “watching” TV. Maybe it will inspire me to try something new, but I really think I’m buying more processed or store baked foods now than when I worked and didn’t have time.

Taste of Home 2004,  Taste of Home 1998  Premiere issues 1993 Taste of Home Quick Cooking

It was announced in 2002 that Reader’s Digest Association Inc . acquired Reiman Publications LLC for US$760 million cash, and also completed US$950 million in syndicated financing that was partially used to fund the Reiman purchase. Link. Initially, there was little change in the folksy format or style, but the most recent Taste of Home I saw looked like any other recipe magazine, including lots of ads and coupons.

On the cover is Best Chocolate Raspberry Torte (p. 57)

Guess who hasn’t read the violent crime statistics of the DoJ? CNN

Or as the Department of Justice delicately puts it: “The demographic characteristics of homicide victims and offenders were different from the characteristics of the general population.”

Most violent crime is intrarracial—93% black on black, 87% white on white. But the rate of crime is much, much higher for blacks.  In fact, in numbers, more blacks are victims/offenders than whites even though they are only 13% of the population.

Blacks were disproportionately represented as both homicide victims and offenders. The victimization rate for blacks (27.8 per 100,000) was 6 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000). The offending rate for blacks (34.4 per 100,000) was almost 8 times higher than the rate for whites (4.5 per 100,000). Young black men are at much greater risk walking the streets of their neighborhood than they would be knocking over a minority owned store and confronted by a policemen (who would probably be black).  http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf

Violent crime has been drastically reduced in the last two decades.

1 in 4 police are members of a minority.

Black infants are substantially more at risk for homicide than are other infants. In 2011, the homicide rate for black infants was 15.3 per 100,000, while Hispanic and white infants had rates of 6.0 and 4.9 per 100,000, respectively. However, the rate for black infants has decreased greatly since 1990, when it was at 24.5 per 100,000.  http://www.childtrends.org/

The Bed Brigade of St. John’s Lutheran

A woman from St. John's told me about this vital ministry when she delivered baby gifts to the pregnancy center--the bed brigade. Watch the video. Very touching.

This is one of the most interesting and unique ministries I’ve heard about.  Church members build bed frames, supply new mattresses, and then witness to the recipient about the love of Jesus when they are delivered to homes in need.

 http://www.stjohnsgc.org/…/BedBrigade/tabid/163/Default.aspx

Our Purpose: We have been called by God to build beds and deliver them free of charge to those in our midst who need them.  In doing this, we are engaging our church family of St. Johns in a service ministry that meets a very basic need that is unmet for so many.  This allows Jesus to work through our hands to love others on his behalf.  Our purpose is to meet a real need and to point others to the love and truth of Jesus Christ.

There is also one in Circleville.

St. John’s is located at 3220 Columbus Street, Grove City, Ohio, 43123 ~ (614)875-2314.  Scott Ness is the Associate Pastor at St. John’s.  I watched him grow up; in fact I remember when his mom was pregnant.

Pastor Brodie Taphorn graduates--again

I think this is a business degree.  He’s one of the pastors at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church.

Rejoice

      

This is "Gaudete" Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent. In Latin, Gaudete is a positive command that means, "Rejoice!"  St. Paul tells the Thessalonians, "Rejoice always!"  As far as I can tell that’s not followed by an under the breath,  “except,” or “unless,” or “that’s too hard,” or even, “what about the terrible news today.”

“That's impossible, what he's saying is impossible, it can't be done,” you're right, from the human viewpoint. It is not natural. It is, however, supernatural joy, and that's the kind of joy we're talking about. We're not talking about happiness which comes from happenings, or happenstance, or because something just happens to be good. We're not talking about a shallow, superficial, emotional response to positive circumstance. We're talking about not a natural joy, but a supernatural joy. It is a joy at another level. It's a divine level. That is why it says in Galatians 5, “The fruit of the Spirit is love” – what's the second one – joy.” That is why in Romans 14 you have in verse 17 that marvelous statement that “the Kingdom is made up of joy in the Holy Spirit.” It is a spiritual joy. It is a Holy Spirit joy. It is a supernatural joy.”  Grace to You

Today’s date

Mia Love and Ted Cruz know more about the Constitution than the President

The president said about 22 times in public (according to John Boehner, a great flip flopper himself) that he lacked the constitutional authority to enact amnesty for illegal aliens without permission of Congress. [Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. ]

"Every senator in this body should be put on record whether he or she believes it is constitutional for a president to disregard, to ignore federal immigration laws, and to grant blanket amnesty to millions in defiance of both the laws on the books and the voters" - Ted Cruz, son of Cuban immigrant.

"It is Congress’ job under Article 1,Section 8, to create a uniform rule of naturalization, a way in. It should be done line by line, section by section with the input of the public instead of being done by one person. It looks more like a dictatorship when a president is unilaterally making decisions for the American people." Mia Love, daughter of Haitian immigrants

The slippery slope of words

Michael Smith writes: "What does it say about a society that has grown comfortable with cursing so ubiquitous as to be a normal part of conversation while being uncomfortable with words like "illegal alien", "gay" or "Merry Christmas?""

I like the term "undocumented Democrat" as a replacement for "illegal alien" which offends the sensitivities of people in Cleveland, Ohio, who don't live near the Texas/Mexico border.

"Gay" used to be a pejorative (addicted to pleasure and dissipation), but has come into its own, and now even "queer" has become quite acceptable, as is "trany."

I think, since the word "holiday" comes from holy day (hāligdæg, hālig "holy" + dæg "day"), we could compromise with "Blessed holy days" as an acceptable substitute for Merry Christmas, bringing in Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and any others who want to join in on pleasant greetings of the season. The Bible used the Greek word makarios, which means to be happy or blissful. So why not have a happy blissful holy day?

Agonizing over the Democrats’ CIA torture report?

Abortions cut off legs and arms, suck out brains, or vacuum contents

Sometimes it’s the same people worrying about our “values” that allow torturing a terrorist suspect who think “choosing” to end the life of an unborn child is OK because it’s up to the woman.

“Surgical abortion empties the contents of your uterus and is usually performed within 12 to 14 weeks from your last normal menstrual period (first-trimester). However, the procedure can be done up to 20 weeks (mid-trimester). The procedure involves "vacuum aspiration" of the contents of the uterus.”

https://www.optionsforsexualhealth.org/birth-control-pregnancy/pregnancy/surgical-abortion

Suction pulls apart the fetus’ body and out the uterus. After suction, the doctor and nurses must reassemble the fetus’ dismembered parts to ensure they have all the pieces.

http://www.birthmothers.org/extras/types-of-abortions.htm

Finding bin Laden

Heads and apologies are rolling at Sony

Hollywood hypocrisy? Fake kissy face? Oh surely not! The Sony hack shows you should never say in an e-mail what you wouldn't say to the face. . . of the president.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/12/11/a-sony-exec-cracks-jokes-about-obamas-race-and-eight-more-bruising-revelations-from-the-sony-leak/

Only 9% consider race an important news topic--the economy and terrorism are at the top. But if Hollywood is joking about Obama, maybe that should be a little higher.

Outraged

Highlights of prisoner statistics of the Bureau of Justice, 2013

• U.S. state and federal correctional facilities held an estimated 1,574,700 prisoners on December 31, 2013, an increase of 4,300 prisoners from yearend 2012.
• The 3-year decline in the prison population stopped in 2013 due to an increase of 6,300 inmates (0.5%) in the state prison population.
• The federal prison population decreased in size for the first time since 1980, with 1,900 fewer prisoners in 2013 than in 2012.
• The number of prisoners sentenced to more than a year in state or federal prison increased by 5,400 persons from yearend 2012 to yearend 2013.
• The number of persons admitted to state or federal prison during 2013 increased by 4%, from 608,400 in 2012 to 631,200 in 2013.

In 2012, the most recent year for which offense data were available, 16 percent of state prisoners and 51 percent of federal prisoners were serving sentences for drug offenses. Violent offenders equaled 7 percent of the federal prison population, compared to 54 percent of state prisoners.

http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5110

Rape and sexual assault at colleges

Among college-age females (ages 18 to 24), the rate of rape and sexual assault was 1.2 times higher for NONSTUDENTS than students for the period 1995–2013, the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced today[Dec. 11, 2014]. Nonstudents (65,700) accounted for more than double the average annual number of rape and sexual assault victimizations compared to students (31,300). Press release

Kristallnacht American style

Daniel Henninger, writing in the Wall Street Journal about the mobs invading NYC businesses, smashing windows, disrupting shoppers during the Christmas shopping season, and destroying property with the approval of the mayor and the encouragement of the president of the United States: "If we have learned anything in the past century, it is that when politically approved mobs start invading shopkeepers and smashing their windows in the name of politics, it is a sign that a society is veering off the rails." In 1930s Germany the elected government and local police stood by while businesses and targeted groups were terrorized an demonized. People were looking for someone to blame, so then it was "rich Jews." Now it's "white privilege." Goons just the same; mobs who have no idea what they are protesting. And now you don't even need a charismatic leader--you've got the internet to hype the lies. (HT Harry Lewis.)

Dr. Ben Carson on victimhood

Who are the racists?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VBAEJlR4pk#t=13

Those who believe blacks are capable, or those who believe they need special help, different standards? Those who believe blacks can obtain an ID needed for almost all transactions in modern society, or those who think they are incapable of getting one? Those who send their own children to private schools but want to close charters, or those who think blacks will do better outside the public system, just like the liberals kids?

Feinstein apologizes for CIA during Bush years with report prepared only by Democrats

Republicans didn't participate in the so-called "Senate" torture report. Will this be another case that the narrative matters more than the truth? The Intelligence committee's Democratic staff who are researchers but not experience in what happened after 9/11 prepared the $40 million classified 6,300-page report and its 600-page, declassified executive summary. What could possibly go wrong with only one party in charge? Like with the ACA? All the major players signed off on this.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2014/dec/09/cia-torture-report-released-senate

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-12-09/cia-misled-congress-about-terror-interrogations-report-finds

http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2007/12/09/democrats-on-waterboarding-then-versus-now/

And it just had to come out the day of Jonathan Gruber’s testimony on how he helped confuse Democrats (called them “stupid”) with his expert advice (received about $6 million through 3 administrations), which the mainstream probably would have ignored anyway.

Democrats who were told exactly what was going on are running for cover, lying as they go.  Better to use drones, as Obama does, and don’t take any prisoners who could provide information. Just wipe out residential neighborhoods where they might be hiding.

Reducing violent crime—how it was done, 1992-2012

“In the last 50 years, the United States experienced an extraordinary increase, followed by an equally extraordinary decrease, in the number of Americans victimized by violent crime. Between 1960 and the early 1990s, violent crime in the United States increased dramatically. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports, the number of violent crimes in the United States rose from 288,460 in 1960 to 1,932,274 in 1992. The number of murders rose from 9,110 in 1960 to 23,760 in 1992. The number of rapes rose from 17,190 in 1960 to 109,062 in 1992; robberies from 107,840 in 1960 to 672,478 in 1992; and aggravated assaults from 154,320 in 1960 to 1,126,974 in 1992.

According to the Bureau of Justice  Statistics' National Victimization Survey, 10,015,769 Americans were victims of violent crime in 1992, up from 7,827,356 in 1973 (the first year of the survey). The causes underlying these increases have been debated for decades in universities, in legislatures, and around kitchen tables. But one fact is beyond debate: the country reacted to this extraordinary increase in violent crime with extraordinary policy changes and public safety investments at all levels of government.”

“. . . Between 1992 and 2010, the number of violent crimes in the United States dropped remarkably. The number of murders in 2010 was down to 14,748 from 23,760 in 1992. The number of rapes was down to 84,767 from 109,062 in 1992. The number of robberies was down to 367,832 from 672,478 in 1992, and the number of aggravated assaults was down to 778,901 in 2010 from 1,126,974 in 1992.10 According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey, about 3,817,380 Americans were victims of violent crime in 2010, down from 10,015,769 in 1991. And these accomplishments were achieved at the same time the enforcement community made a new commitment to prevent and detect terrorist activity at home and abroad.”  Letter from Assistant Attorney General, Dec. 23, 2012

Reasons for the improved safety of Americans is debated, but they include (a huge budget increase, of course) the following:

• reforms to policing
• increases in the number of police on the streets
• reforms to criminal sentencing,
• increases in prison and detention populations
• a commitment to reducing illegal drug use and drunk driving,
• increases in treatment capacity
• recognition that almost all those who go to prison are someday released
• efforts to reduce reoffending
• promote effective prisoner reentry
• drug courts
• "hot spot" policing
• CompStat,
• AMBER Alert system,
• new commitment to victims of crime and their right to be treated with dignity and respect.

Report to the Sentencing Commission as required by law, December 23, 2012, Assistant Attorney General of the United States.

Violent crime in the United States, 2013

Jonathan Gruber’s excuse

“I’m not a politician, and I was using inexcusable language to make myself sound smarter than I really am.”  He said it over and over to Trey Gowdy, House Oversight Committee,  and said he was not a politician.  But he sure did sound like one. He’s received over $6 million from the federal government. “Glib, thoughtless and inexcusable language” he said over and over.

http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/12/gruber-gets-gowdy-ed/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1PCuTLrfcE