Elected officials should leave prayers to the professionals.

June 13, 2016
By Joshua Eaton

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

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

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

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

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


 

By J. Newton Small

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

This is from the Ames Tribune in Iowa.

June 14, 2016
By Grayson Schmidt

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

June 14, 2016
By Sarina Rheinhart

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

Intellicast High Temperature Map
June 15, 2016
0454

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

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

US Drought Monitor (click here)
June 7, 2016

Some polls show the Libertarian ticket at 13 percent.

May 19, 2016
By Maggie Haberman

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

William F. Weld, the twice-elected former Republican governor of Massachusetts, who was last seen campaigning in the 2006 Republican primary for governor of New York, now hopes to be on a national ticket as the vice-presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party.

And he is already on the attack.

In his first interview since accepting an invitation to be the running mate of former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, Mr. Weld assailed Donald J. Trump over his call to round up and deport the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally.

“I can hear the glass crunching on Kristallnacht in the ghettos of Warsaw and Vienna when I hear that, honest,” Mr. Weld said Thursday....

Saudi Arabia denounces violence.

June 14, 2016
Jeddah: The Council of Ministers (click here) has condemned the recent terror attacks in the American city of Orlando, and others in Beirut and Istanbul, which led to several deaths and injuries.
At a meeting chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday, the ministers reiterated the Kingdom’s denunciation of “all forms of violence” and backed efforts to prosecute those responsible.
“The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of terrorism and support for international efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms,” said Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, acting minister of culture and information, according to the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.
The terror attacks came one after the other, beginning with the massacre of 49 people inside a gay bar in Orlando, Florida in the United States on Sunday....
...Counterterrorism experts have been warning in the past few years about the danger of so-called lone wolf attackers who act in sympathy with extremist groups like the Daesh but are not directed by them....
...On Sunday night, a huge bomb blast damaged the headquarters of Lebanon’s second biggest bank in Beirut. Fortunately, there were no casualties....
...On Monday, a car bomb wounded nine people in the eastern province of Tunceli near a housing block for civil servants working at a local courthouse, security sources said....
...Turkey has suffered a series of bombings over recent months; last week a car bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor’s office....

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

Reeva Steenkamp may get justice yet.

June 14, 2016

By Adam Lusher

Oscar Pistorius’ defence lawyer (click here) and his prison nurse have clashed over whether the athlete was a violent, difficult prisoner.

Charlotte Mashabane told the High Court in Pretoria, where Pistorius is being sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, that she had been at the receiving end of the paralympian’s “tantrums” on three occasions.

Ms Mashabane, the assistant health manager at Kgosi Mampuru II prison, where the paralympian was jailed for a year, claimed that one incident occurred in March 2015 when he screamed at her as she approached his cell while doing her morning rounds on the prison’s hospital wing....

The Tea Party has many House Representatives.

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


June 15, 2016
By Peter Holley

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

"Oh, did I mention we're giving away an AR-15...

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

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

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

June 15, 2016
By Adeel Hassan

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

What the gun laws say.

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

A lawsuit brought by relatives of the victims in Newtown, Conn., argues that the AR-15 — a rifle similar to the one used in Orlando — is a weapon of war and should never have been marketed to civilians. A hearing is scheduled for next week....

The Washington Post is owned by a billionaire that is dedicated to getting the best information available to the American public.

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

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

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

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

November 11, 2016
By George Hobica

As more airlines charge extra for luggage, (click here) it's important to know what's allowed --and not allowed in your bag--and even what constitutes carry-on.  We answer these and other pressing travel questions. 

Q: Are solid toiletries such as solid deodorant and wax-like hair products subject to the TSA 100 ml/3.4 oz. limit for “liquids and gels” or are they exempt?

A: According to the TSA website, solid deodorants are exempt, but “paste”-like products must adhere to the limits, so even semi-solid hair grooming products must be placed in that quart-size plastic bag. This question is answered on the TSA blog here: http://1.usa.gov/1aO3qgW. By the way, if you're flying through security at British airports, they're particularly strict about the size of the clear plastic bag....

Pope Francis is trying to keep a world of Roman Catholics alive and the guns are a huge part of the problem.

June 13, 2016
By Cassandra Vinograd

Pope Francis (click here) on Monday lashed out at the "brazen" freedom with which weapons circulate in the world when compared with numerous obstacles to distributing aid.

His remarks at a United Nations World Food Program event came one day after the bloodbath in an Orlando nightclub ranked as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Francis told the audience it was a "strange paradox" that aid and food are obstructed by barriers including political decisions and skewed ideology but "weaponry is not."...

I wish President Obama spoke this fervently during his administration, but, wouldn't be safe if he did.

Racism is real in the USA and everyone knows President Obama was under threat during his entire presidency. 

I think he is a great leader and he is respected internationally. He has been able to do the impossible. The global community is embracing the same goal in removing Daesh from the Earth. No one else could have done it. President Obama did because over his entire presidency he built relationships. Leaders trusted him enough to hear his message and the strategy to end the violence and return the middle east to peace.

Partnerships between the FBI and cities can work.

It is unfortunate unarmed black men are gunned down to have videos to release. I don't call a 3 inch knife a weapon. People carry pocket knives all the time and it is not called a weapon. At least White People carry pocket knives. I suppose it is only Black People that carry weapons 3 inches long.

Sixteen bullets in 13 seconds over a three inch pocket knife.

I suppose there were dangers for police officers after this incident.

June 14, 2016

By Stacy St. Clair, Todd Lightly and David Heinzmann

The FBI warned the Chicago Police Department (click here) that officers' lives could be in danger with the release of the Laquan McDonald video, according to documents released late Monday night by the city.

In a Nov. 24 email sent just hours before the city made public the video of a white police officer shooting and killing the black 17-year-old, an FBI agent said that a confidential informant — who had provided reliable information in the past — reported plans to ambush officers in retaliation for the teen's death.

"Violent rhetoric is high," the FBI wrote. "Due to the recent media spotlight on officer-involved deaths of minorities, there is a lot of anger in the neighborhood served by the Chicago Police Department."
While no known attacks took place following the video's release, the informant said gang members planned to set up outside the 14th District headquarters on the West Side and the Homan Square building, a police facility that has served as the setting for numerous police misconduct allegations in recent years. The informant said gang members intended to wait for police employees to exit and walk toward their cars — a time when the officers wouldn't be wearing protective gear or bulletproof vests....

I wish Hugh Hewitt would get real hair rather than that silver rug is glues to his head.

February 2, 2016
By Bill Cotterell
Florida's prisons system (click here) is struggling with serious staffing and budget shortfall, according to the head of the Department of Corrections, who told a state legislative committee on Monday she plans to seek an additional $51 million this year to address long-neglected needs.
The agency, which had a budget of some $2.2 billion last year, has been under fire for months because of inmate deaths and “whistleblower” accounts of a violent culture behind the walls.
Former Corrections Department Secretary Michael Crews last week told the Miami Herald he had tried for years to persuade Republican Governor Rick Scott that the prison system was so badly run-down and understaffed that inmates and employees were not safe. Scott forced him out late last year....

June 10, 2016
By Mary Ellen Klas and Julie K. Brown

Tallahassee — Inmates jumped a corrections officer (click here) and took over two dorms for several hours during a late-night riot at Franklin Correctional Institution in North Florida on Thursday, the third disturbance at the prison since January. 

About 300 inmates stormed two housing dorms, using makeshift tools to drill through a concrete and brick wall, and smash bathroom fixtures, televisions, ceiling fans, toilets and sprinkler systems, destroying nearly everything in the dorms, officials with the Florida Department of Corrections and sources confirmed.

It's not clear how long the uprising lasted, but an FDC spokesman said the incident was eventually brought under control and there were no serious injuries....

Crimes fund terrorism, domestically and internationally.

Homeland Security is NOT stating these are terror suspects. I am using this as an example. But, terror networks cannot survive in the world without crime. That includes the Taliban that rob banks and kill indiscriminately to demand recognition as powerful by innocent citizens.

June 10, 2016
By David Rose

WANTED IN FEDERAL WAY — (click here)
A guaranteed $1,000 reward is yours if you can help bag the ‘Bad Eye Bandit.’
He’s a serial bank robber believed to be behind six heists since the start of the year — four of them in Federal Way.
“He’s always wearing a wig of some sort and also earlier in the year, the January and February robberies, he would be seen often time with a patch over his eye and some witnesses reported the patch being very dirty and crusty, also maybe a scarring on his neck that possibly he’d been burned by something. When he doesn’t have the patch on his eye witnesses will say that the right eye still appears to be injured, twitchy,” says Cathy Schrock with Federal Way Police.
Surveillance video shows him robbing a bank in Federal Way last month. No eye patch that time, just the wig and a pair of sunglasses hanging off his shirt. He showed the teller a demand note, patiently waited for her to hand him the cash, then took off....

The Texas GOP "Victory Fund" needs a new chairperson. Conflict of interest. It may be litigable.

The Bush Power Machine in Texas doesn't know when to step aside due to conflict of interest. Typical.

13 June 2016
By Neil M. McCabe

The chairman (click here) of the 2016 Texas GOP Victory Fund told a newspaper in the state’s capital he is not supporting the party’s presumptive nominee Donald J. Trump.

“I, along with others, are not in a position to endorse at this time because of concerns about his rhetoric and his inability to create a campaign that brings people together,” saidTexas Land Commissioner George P. Bush told the Austin-American Statesman.

The son of former GOP candidate and former Florida governor John E. “Jeb” Bush and the nephew of President George W. Bush and the grandson of President George H.W. Bush told the paper he has no plan to endorse Trump—unless the New York City developer changes to his liking....

June 13, 2016
By Don Bauder

What could be called "Jeb Bush's Follies" in Florida (click here) is getting worse. Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is considering leaving Lake Nona, near Orlando. A subsidy orgy began in 2003 when San Diego's Scripps Research Institute got a $500 million handout to set up an operation in Palm Beach County.

Two other San Diego-based research institutes joined Scripps in Florida with fat subsidies in hand: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (near Orlando) and Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (Port St. Lucie.). But as the Readerreported, Florida was shelling out more than $1 billion per created job — a staggering sum.

In May of this year, Orlando media were reporting that Sanford-Burnham was getting ready to depart Florida. So the state decided to throw good money after bad: the University of Florida would take over Sanford-Burnham. But that will cost $3.7 million per year, according to the Orlando Business Journal. On June 9, the University of Florida Educational Policy & Strategic Initiatives committee said it was in "positive discussions" with the State Department of Economic Opportunity and governor Rick Scott's office....

Donald Trump's Psy-Ops in full swing.

June 13, 2016
By James Lewis

We've argued from the beginning (click here) that Trump is conducting a brilliant psy-war strategy against the enemy media* like the New York Times. 

It's really brilliant, because it's double-barreled.

Let's call it Trump's double-barreled shotgun strategy.  Today we can we see how he is implementing it, day by day. 

Trump's generalship is fabulous.  He has probably used his DBS strategy before in his showbiz and business careers.  I don't know.  But you can watch it evolve from day to day. 

You decide if his DBS strategy works.  I think it's George Patton against the Panzer Brigades....

Public Education Finances; 2014 (click here) 



































Typical Republican never say die attitude. Sanford-Burnham is moving on and an Op-Ed shows up. Needless to say, "JEB!" is not vying for Secretary of Education in the Trump Administration.

He has a lucrative foundation that can be at risk if his policies fail.

June 13, 2016
By Jeb Bush

As another school year ends (click here) and another $620 billion has been spent, it is a good time to consider the state of education in America. Despite our spending more on education than almost any other industrialized nation in the world, wide achievement gaps remain. More than a million students languish on waiting lists for the chance to escape failing schools. And according to a recent study by The Education Trust, only 8 percent of U.S. high-school graduates are truly college or career ready....

Police Commission Bratton is correct, the USA Congress is not going to do anything. The Republicans are locked down for the November elections and are practicing hubris 24/7, ie: McCrory and the prayerful Republicans that are making "Death Prayers" to kill/die of President Obama.

The states and possibly cities and towns will have to pass laws to protect their people. Local economies and local government, ie: Boston.

The local authorities have to open up the detectives ability of investigate any suspicious activity. The detectives have authority because they work directly for the FBI when the facts arise. This is all constitutional. A person can be held for 48 hours without being charged. Use every advantage offered by the system. There is also Immigration laws.

USE THEM and don't let politics effect the outcome. Local people are to be safe and know they are safe. There will be mistakes made, but, the bigger mistake ends up in dead Americans.

If the law enforcement needs role models there are people like Police Commissioner Bratton. Respect people that are unarmed. Practice good police science. The local authorities can have their own "Most Wanted." The laws have to be addressed to allow the system work. 

Newspapers need to expand their circulations. If the industry is selling more papers or computer access the prices can come down as the subscription grows.

Local citizens will need information and they will need the 'moral police' on the beat.

There is a balance here and it needs to exist. As the balance of dueling authorities grows 'the system' will become obvious and more stable than before. People should be safe, they pay for it. The citizen is the person responsible for 'the system' and they have a right to be protected by it. 

President Obama has been an incredible leader to this country. There is every reason to be proud of him and his accomplishes both at home and abroad. The dysfunctional Congress has a hand in this and people need to remember that. The interstate federal laws are very important. The movement of drugs and guns has to end. Laws to secure this country away from the drug economy has to be established.

There is no reason why the gun violence continues in this country. The gunmen involved in this have too much access to empower their goals. These people are not crazy. The gunman from Colorado even ACTED to appear crazy and he is sound of mind and body. 

Enough of this and we have the power to change the odds in the communities across the USA.

June 13, 2016
By Kevin Quealy and Margot Sangar-Katz

The mass shooting in Orlando (click here) on Sunday was appalling in scale: 49 killed in a single attack. But it’s not unusual for dozens of Americans to be killed by guns in a single day.

Gun homicides are a common cause of death in the United States, killing about as many people as car crashes (not counting van, truck, motorcycle or bus accidents). Some cases command our attention more than others, of course. Counting mass shootings that make headlines and the thousands of Americans murdered one or a few at a time, gunshot homicides totaled 8,124 in 2014, according to the F.B.I.

This level of violence makes the United States an extreme outlier when measured against the experience of other advanced countries....