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"I learned that in extreme situations when human lives and dignity are at state, neutrality is a sin. It helps the killers, not the victims." Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor who lost his family in the Holocaust - Nobel Prize Author
Socialism - Liberalism Quotation
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." – Norman Thomas
Dr. Walter Watson of Augusta, Georgia is 100 years old. He is the chairman of the Gynecology Department of an Augusta hospital, and he still drives to work a couple of times a week. He still practices but no longer delivers children. Unbelievably, Dr. Watson is estimated to have delivered 10 percent of Augusta's babies, and he is considered the oldest physician in the U.S.
Dr. Walter "Curley" Watson
The good Doctor is more of a presence at University Hospital than an active physician in the hospital today:
The staff clearly loves him, and he loves them. But it's the patients who seem to most appreciate Dr. Watson and his tireless, unending devotion to medicine. Between 1944, when Dr. Watson delivered his first baby, and 1995 when he stopped doing obstetrics, Dr. Watson ushered in a small army of satisfied customers.
Today, they're known simply as the "Watson babies." They range in age from 15 to 66 and their ranks are innumerable.
So how many babies has Dr. Watson delivered?
"Somewhere between 15,000 and 18,000," Dr. Watson said.
Curley is also the oldest living graduate of The Citadel," The Military College of South Carolina."
In the second video he says he has delivered plenty of twins but no triplets. Dr. Watson's wife, Audrey, is 85 years old and looks smashing. They have 5 children, 16 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren. He attributes a loving family, eating right, good genes and a lot of exercise for his long healthy life.
In these days of political turmoil, the following videos are a vitamin for the soul.
Republican Senators Jim Demint (SC) and David Vitter (LA) have introduced an amendment to "prohibit federal funding" for the government's lawsuits against the state of Arizona.
David Vitter and Jim DeMint
Senator David Vitter is the chairman of the U.S. Senate Border Security and Enforcement First Immigration Caucus. Senator Jim DeMint is chairman of the U.S. Senate Steering Committee. The DeMint-Vitter amendment includes prohibiting funds to the Department of Justice and other government agencies attempting to sue Arizona for SB 1070. Source: Daily Caller
Arizona’s new law, SB 1070, grants state law enforcement officials the authority to enforce federal immigration laws by allowing them to inquire about immigration status of individuals who are lawfully stopped for other crimes. The law explicitly forbids racial profiling. As many as 18 states are considering similar laws, as reported by the Associated Press, including Florida, South Carolina, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Michigan.
“States like Arizona shouldn't be prosecuted for protecting their citizens when the federal government fails to do so,” said Senator DeMint. “The federal government is rewarding illegal behavior and encouraging many more to enter our nation illegally when they refuse to enforce our laws. States along the border are facing kidnappings, drug trafficking, human trafficking and gang violence and they have a duty to keep their residents safe. Instead of suing states for doing his job, the President should get serious and stop holding border security hostage to pass amnesty and score points with his liberal base.”
Odd that this Department of Justice is interested in suing a state attempting to apply federal law, but ignores sanctuary cities who routinely bread federal illegal migrant laws. That oddity is being discussed everywhere today. There are more than 50 sanctuary cities in the U.S.
Ann Coulter compares Democrat senatorial candidate from South Carolina, Alvin Greene, to long-time Massachusetts Democrat Senator, Ted Kennedy. She sees similarities and concludes that Greene is the "most qualified Democrat I've ever seen."
Ann Coulter
But he [Greene] does have one thing Rawl doesn't have: In the grand tradition of legendary Democrats such as Teddy Kennedy, Greene has a felony arrest. (Greene's inexperience really shows Democrats usually wait until after they're elected to show pornography to college girls.)
Mark Levin, the Great One, interviewed Alvin Greene the very controversial Democrat who won the South Carolina Senate primary. Greene, reportedly a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in Political Science, defeated his Democrat opponent, Vic Rawl, who is a judge and a former South Carolina state lawmaker. Some think he won because his name starts with an "A." South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn thinks Greene is a Republican plant. He has asked DOJ to investigate. Yeah, he really did. See videos below.
Alvin M. Greene
Greene might be controversial for several reasons. First might be that he is charged with showing obscene photos to a female student, Camille McCoy, inside the computer lab of the University of South Carolina. Felony charges are pending. Greene won't talk about it. The girl has. See the second video below.
Greene, 32, was honorably discharged from the military, but involuntarily. He is a veteran of 13 years in the Air Force and the Army. He "left" the Air Force in August 2009. Greene won't talk about his military service.
Off topic, but oh well...this sounds like the flip side of Michelle Obama's law license. All evidence indicates Michelle voluntarily rendered her law license inactive under Rule 770-771 and avoided disciplinary action, possibly disbarment. In the event she wants her license back, she has to begin the process of a "hearing and review" again.
Back to Alvin Greene.
An embarrassed Democrat party says Greene is a Republican plant. Levin pushes him on it and he says he has been a Democrat all of his life and is definitely not a Republican plant. Democrat Congressman James Clyburn, who is always good for a few laughs, and a couple of barf bags each year, has asked the Department of Justice to investigate. Actually, that's no laughing matter because the DOJ is as corrupt and partisan as Code Pink. Maybe we should be concerned.
No one knows where he got the money to run. He says he saved the $10,440 filing fee by saving two years of his military pay. Levin asks him about it and he repeats that he saved in while enlisted. He didn't campaign, doesn't have a website - or a cell phone. He had no consultants and didn't plant a single yard sign...has $114 in the bank, but won the primary.
Now this is just a rumor. I saw a comment somewhere which shall remain anonymous, who said Greene worked for him in the Air Force and his discharge was an Administrative discharge - saying that Greene was incompetent and couldn't accomplish the simplest of tasks. That's a relief. Greene should do just fine on the Democrat side of the Senate.
In November, Greene will run against Republican icon, Senator Jim DeMint, one of the finest souls in the Senate - actually in the entire city of Washington, D.C. The Washington Post muses that Greene won the primary because his first name, Alvin, starts with an "A." Let the circus begin.
Mark Levin, The Great One, and Alvin Greene (video)
California: FINAL RESULT: Carly Fiorina will face Senator Barbara Boxer in November. Actual results not yet in.
Arkansas: Good news: MoveOn.org's candidate, Arkansas' Lt. Gov. Bill Halter lost the primary to Senator Blanche Lincoln.
Arkansas: FINAL RESULT: The AP has called the race for Blanche Lincoln 51.7% to Halter's 48.3% with 80% of the vote in.
California: FINAL RESULT: Meg Whitman wins GOP primary for California Governor race with 63% of the vote.
Nevada: FINAL RESULT: The AP has called the race for Sharron Angle.
The South Carolina governor race has been one of the most dramatic. Without going into details, Republican State Representative Nikki Haley told voters if the smutty rumors about infidelity are true, she will resign if she becomes South Carolina's Governor. She narrowly missed a runoff for the GOP candidate with 59% of the vote to Republican Gresham Barrett's 49%. They will both be on the ballot for the June 22nd runoff.
Also in South Carolina, Democrat Alvin Greene, an unemployed military Vet will be up against Republican incumbent, Jim DeMint for the U.S. Senate seat.
Arkansas incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln (D) is a few points ahead behind of challenger, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) at this moment - with polling standing at with 51% Lincoln - 46% Halter, with 56% of the vote in at 10:10 EDT. Update: oops, at 10:30 p.m. EDT. Another Update: Lincoln now leads Halter 51% to 49% with 66% of the vote in, 10:50 p.m. EDT. FINAL RESULT: The AP has called the race for Blanche Lincoln 51.7% to Halter's 48.3% with 80% of the vote in.
In Nevada,wanting to retire Senator Harry Reid (D) in the November election are Sharron Angle and Sue Louden. Louden was considered the favorite until the Tea Party got behind Angle. Louden is Conservative, but more of an establishment Conservative. Angle wants to repeal the 16th Amendment, dissolve the Department of Education and phase out Social Security for younger workers.
Nevada Update: Okay at 11:20 p.m. EDT and Sharron Angle has a slight lead over Louden: 35.2%36.1% to 33.2%. At 11:46 p.m. EDT Angle leads Louden 36.8% to 30.5% with 36% of the vote in.
In Nevada at about 11:11 EDT, Fox is reporting early results in the Republican primary have Sue Louden at 34.7% 31.2%, and Sharron Angle 36.1%. Stand-by. At 12:20 a.m. EDT, 6-9-10, results are still not in on the Angle-Louden race but the last report had Angle up by about 7 points. I'm off to bed. Catch you in the morning.
FINAL RESULT: The AP has called the Nevada race for Sharron Angle. California's race for the Republican to retire Senator Barbara Boxer is all-important to Conservatives. Polls close in California at 8 p.m., 10 p.m. EDT - just about 25 minutes away. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, State Assemblyman Chuck Devore and former U.S. Congressman, Tom Campbell.
At 11:33 p.m. EDT with only 4% of the vote in, Carly Fiorina leads with 59.4% and Tom Campbell 20.7%. Stay tuned. FINAL RESULT: Carly Fiorina will face Senator Barbara Boxer in November. Actual results not yet in.
Also in California's governors race, former Ebay CEO, Meg Whitman (R) faced Republican Steve Poizner in tonight's primary. FINAL RESULT: Meg Whitman wins GOP primary for California Governor race.
In Georgia, Republican Tom Graves has been elected to the U.S. House to complete Nathan Deal's (R) term through 2010.
Sen. Lindsey Graham has certainly been in the news this week. Republicans have been more than a little frustrated that the South Carolina senator has announced he is working with Democrats on Cap and Trade (Climate) and Immigration Reform (Amnesty for Illegal Aliens). The question has been: why would he do that, knowing that a majority of Republicans want neither?
Lindsey Graham John Kerry
Graham has been working behind the scenes on a Cap and Tax bill and Amnesty with Senators John Kerry and Chuck Schumer. A video made the rounds last week from ALIPAC president, William Gheen, saying that he believed Senator Graham was "compromised." His reasoning was unfortunate, but he intimates that Graham could be blackmailed (my word, not Gheens), and if that is the case, Graham needs to rethink a few things, and reassure the voters.
Graham has walked on the bill and taken his "bipartisan" support with him. This is a real dilemma, but it just may get Graham out of a tough spot, in light of Gheen's statement. Democrats will not hold-up Immigration, so this can get Graham out of both Climate Change and Immigration, and make the South Carolina Republican Party happy (they have censured him twice in recent months) and make his fellow Republicans in the Senate ecstatic.
Graham's departure likely dooms any chance of passing a climate bill this year. He is the sole Republican working with Sens. John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) on a compromise they had planned to unveil Monday.
Here is a portion of a letter Graham sent to the Cap and Tax Committee:
"I want to bring to your attention what appears to be a decision by the Obama Administration and Senate Democratic leadership to move immigration instead of energy. Unless their plan substantially changes this weekend, I will be unable to move forward on energy independence legislation at this time. I will not allow our hard work to be rolled out in a manner that has no chance of success."
A curious response, but smart, because voters are increasingly unhappy with the perpetual loose-canon- ball-Senator Graham. If he scuttles back to his Party, which is desperately trying to reign-in the regime's "regulate the world" doctrine, he will do his country a huge service and probably be re-elected in 2012.
Lindsey Graham is taking a verbal beating this week. After years of head-scratching defections to liberalism, all-the-while claiming he will put his conservatism up against anyone, then skittering away to another secret meeting of the Gang of 14 or the Gang of 10, America is getting a bit nervous about the South Carolinia Senator. His own state Republican party has censured him at least twice in recent months. See an excellent video below.
Lindsey Graham
Today, Sen. Graham (R-SC) is working with Democrats on a Cap and Tax Bill and an Amnesty Bill. Now that's enough to drive a voter crazy. You vote for the man, and turns traitor and pretty much laughs in your face. The Party has censured him twice, and Cap and Trade and Immigration were specifically mentioned. He is accused of failing to abide by the principles of the South Carolina GOP platform and showing "contempt and belligerence" toward fellow Republicans.
In November 2009, he was censured for a long list of misconduct: his support of TARP, his support of Immigration, his support of Cap and Trade alongside of John Kerry - which the resolution says will be a job killer in the state of South Carolina, and for joining the Gangs of 14 and 10, for weakening the "Republican brand and tarnishing the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism."
Graham is not up for reelection until 2012. That's a good thing for Graham. This week, the president of ALIPAC (Americans for Legal Immigration PAC) spoke in Greenville, South Carolina and said Lindsey Graham is compromised because he is gay. In otherwords, perhaps, Graham is doing the bidding of Democrats in key areas because he is threatened - 'join us or we will out you.'
I have no idea if this is true or not, on any level, and I do not care that he is a gay man, if he is, but his stark left turns do more than raise eyebrows, and especially when being conservative on every level is the mission of the day. If he can be compromised because of a "secret" he wishes to keep, then he needs to leave the Senate - now.
Watch Lindsey Graham's Hot Air Balloon by the Southern Avenger, and note that Graham calls an angry townhall "the fringe group."
There is a lot of criticism on the reporting of this story today - and wouldn't you know Media Matters would be at the top of the heap. The bottom line is that the investigation is open and continuing. See a video below, and note that three of the five soldiers have now been cleared. Two remain under investigation.
The FBI has not been called into the case. An Army spokesman has said: "Two months of investigation, there has been no credible evidence to support the allegations,"...but the investigation is still open and continuing. There may or may not have been arrests, but the reporting by Katherine Herridge at FOX News, still stands as correct - and did I mention that the investigation is still...open and continuing.
From among all of these reports, you can see that there have been numerous confirmations. Apparently, Media Matters does not think it worthwhile to talk about an incident - poisoning soldiers - that could have happened, but didn't.
Media Matters obviously sees no merit to an investigation that is "open and continuing," but I do, so here is the latest update from Erick Stakelbect at CBN, and at the end finish reading the rest of the story by Chuck Holton, Stakelbeck's colleague and a CBN Military Correspondent.
by Erick Stakelbeck:
This morning, I spoke to Army CID spokesman Christopher Gray and
learned more details about a possible poisoning plot that I first
reported here yesterday after CBN confirmed with Patrick Jones of
Fort Jackson's Public Affairs Office and a reliable source with intimate
knowledge of the investigation. Here is the latest on what we do know.
According to Gray, the Army is investigating allegations that a group
of soldiers from the 09 Lima program (more on that later in this post)
at Fort Jackson--which is based in South Carolina--had talked about
poisoning food in the base's mess hall. The men were questioned about
two months ago, around Christmas. Gray said that to protect the
integrity of the investigation, he could not comment further. He
stressed that the investigation is "open and continuing."
CBN News also spoke to a Department of Homeland Security official
with knowledge of the investigation who wished to remain anonymous. The
official confirmed that the investigation was ongoing and said that
someone in the Lima 09 program overheard five Muslim colleagues talking
about poisoning food at the base. The person then reported the men, who
were brought in for questioning.
The DHS official stressed that after the terrorist massacre at Fort
Hood, the Army is taking a zero tolerance policy towards any potential
threatening statements and is now extremely sensitive about any
allegations in that regard.
Terrorism expert Patrick Poole, an anti-terrorism consultant for the
U.S. military and law enforcement, told CBN News that "if this incident
had become public in late December while the military was still working
on the Ft. Hood report it would have no doubt been catastrophic. What
exactly happened at Ft. Jackson and why is this only coming out now?
That's a question that Congress should be asking. " "As noted in the Washington
Times last month," Poole continued. "My colleagues and I have been
warning of jihadist threats - both external and internal - for several
years. The Pentagon has entirely ignored us and the Ft. Hood report
released last month is evidence of the culture of willful blindness that
wants to pretend this threat doesn't exist. Regardless of how the Ft.
Jackson incident is resolved, it demonstrates that this threat is not
going away."
I spoke today to Army spokesman Christopher Garver, who said the five
men are not currently in custody. He was unclear whether the men who
were questioned were U.S.citizens. And that brings us to another
interesting wrinkle to this story.
...is specifically geared
towards non-US citizens who bring to the table one very in-demand skill -
the ability to speak fluent Arabic, Dari, Pashto, or some other needed
language. But these recruits also have a handicap - their grasp of the
English language is not sufficient to allow them to make it through
basic training. So the 09 Lima program puts them through a sort of
pre-basic basic, where they learn American culture, Army culture and
work on their English language skills. Once they finish the course,
they are then able to enter normal basic training. It' is a very small
program, with something less
than forty recruits in each class.
Holton continues:
Here's the
interesting part. According to Lt. Col. Frank Demith,
these recruits are offered an "expedited citizenship program, once they
serve one day of honorable active duty."
According to Katherine Herridge on FOX News this minute, there is an investigation underway into Muslim soldiers at Fort Jackson, South Carolina attempting to poison the food supply on base. This appears to be connected to an Arabic language translator program. Ongoing updates as info becomes available. I'll have links confirming latest news as soon as possible. Update 2-19-10 9:35 AM CDT: Katherine Herridge on FOX this minute saying the military is investigating, but that after two months, the FBI is NOT involved.
------UPDATED BELOW---------
Update 2-19-10: Important commentary on this story.
Today, Media Matters and others are criticizing the reporting on this story. It seems "right-wingers" are accused of jumping the gun, but no...that is not the case.
After my original report quoting Katherine Herridge, FOX News' Homeland Security reporter, in the first paragraph of this post, CBN came out with the story linked below - which backed up Herridge's story, and added to it. Note that CBN names their source as Patrick Jones, the Deputy Public Affairs Officer for Fort Jackson. They also say they had a second confirmation by a government official. Then there appears to be a third source "with intimate knowledge of the investigation."
Then FOX News came out with the second story linked below, which was more cautious, BUT QUOTED Chris Grey, a spokesman for the U.S. Army. Grey confirmed an "ongoing probe" going back two months." Two other sources confirmed to FOX that the "suspects" were part of the Arabic translation program, and confirmed that the "suspects" spoke Arabic, as their first language, not English as their first language. Grey did not confirm or deny those sources.
Now today, Friday, February 19th, a day later, CBN has the following story:
This morning, I spoke to Army CID spokesman Christopher Gray and
learned more details about a possible poisoning plot that I first
reported here yesterday after CBN confirmed with Patrick Jones of
Fort Jackson's Public Affairs Office and a reliable source with intimate
knowledge of the investigation. Here is the latest on what we do know.
According to Gray, the Army is investigating allegations that a group
of soldiers from the 09 Lima program (more on that later in this post)
at Fort Jackson--which is based in South Carolina--had talked about
poisoning food in the base's mess hall. The men were questioned about
two months ago, around Christmas. Gray said that to protect the
integrity of the investigation, he could not comment further. He
stressed that the investigation is "open and continuing."
CBN News also spoke to a Department of Homeland Security official
with knowledge of the investigation who wished to remain anonymous. The
official confirmed that the investigation was ongoing and said that
someone in the Lima 09 program overheard five Muslim colleagues talking
about poisoning food at the base. The person then reported the men, who
were brought in for questioning.
The DHS official stressed that after the terrorist massacre at Fort
Hood, the Army is taking a zero tolerance policy towards any potential
threatening statements and is now extremely sensitive about any
allegations in that regard.
Terrorism expert Patrick Poole, an anti-terrorism consultant for the
U.S. military and law enforcement, told CBN News that "if this incident
had become public in late December while the military was still working
on the Ft. Hood report it would have no doubt been catastrophic. What
exactly happened at Ft. Jackson and why is this only coming out now?
That's a question that Congress should be asking. "
"As noted in the Washington
Times last month," Poole continued. "My colleagues and I have been
warning of jihadist threats - both external and internal - for several
years. The Pentagon has entirely ignored us and the Ft. Hood report
released last month is evidence of the culture of willful blindness that
wants to pretend this threat doesn't exist. Regardless of how the Ft.
Jackson incident is resolved, it demonstrates that this threat is not
going away."
I spoke today to Army spokesman Christopher Garver, who said the five
men are not currently in custody. He was unclear whether the men who
were questioned were U.S.citizens. And that brings us to another
interesting wrinkle to this story.
...is specifically geared
towards non-US citizens who bring to the table one very in-demand skill -
the ability to speak fluent Arabic, Dari, Pashto, or some other needed
language. But these recruits also have a handicap - their grasp of the
English language is not sufficient to allow them to make it through
basic training. So the 09 Lima program puts them through a sort of
pre-basic basic, where they learn American culture, Army culture and
work on their English language skills. Once they finish the course,
they are then able to enter normal basic training. It' is a very small
program, with something less
than forty recruits in each class.
Holton continues:
Here's the
interesting part. According to Lt. Col. Frank Demith,
these recruits are offered an "expedited citizenship program, once they
serve one day of honorable active duty." Military
service has always been a way for non-citizen US residents to obtain
citizenship, and thousands have performed honorably in service to our
country before it actually became their country.
Though the Army must certainly have a thorough vetting process in
place to try and avoid a scenario like that described by Erick
Stakelbeck's recent blog, in the case of the 09 Lima program, the
ability to receive "expedited American citizenship" must present a
tempting opportunity for jihadi extremists with ulterior motives.
This is relevant not only because of the Fort Hood case, but because
in the last month, there was an incident (see here) of
an interpreter in Afghanistan murdering U.S. troops.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is yesterday's post
CBN News has learned exclusively that five Muslim soldiersat Fort Jackson in South Carolina were arrested just before Christmas
and are in custody. The five men were part of the Arabic Translation
program at the base.
Patrick Jones, the Deputy Public Affairs Officer for Fort Jackson,
confirmed for CBN News Thursday afternoon that an investigation was
ongoing.
Prior to this posting, CBN News learned that these details were
also confirmed by a government official with knowledge of the
investigation.
The men are suspected of trying to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson.
A source with intimate knowledge of the investigation, which is
ongoing, told CBN News investigators suspect the "Fort Jackson Five"
may have been in contact with the group of five Washington, DC area
Muslims that traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad against U.S. troops in
December. That group was arrested by Pakistani authorities, also just
before Christmas.
The ongoing probe began two months ago, Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, told Fox News.
The
Army is taking the allegations “extremely seriously,” Grey said, but so
far, "there is no credible information to support the allegations."
The
suspects were part of a Arabic translation program called "09 Lima" and
use Arabic as their first language, two sources told Fox News. Another
military source said they were Muslim.
Grey would not confirm or deny the sources’ information.
Fort Jackson is the U.S. Army's largest training center. The English as a Second Language (ESL) program moved to Fort Jackson, S.C. from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. This program is for translators and interpreters, and is the first step for Arabic-speakers wanting to become interpreters for the U.S. Army.
The CBN report above cited the arrest of 5 Muslim Americans in Pakistan in December which may be connected to the Fort Jackson story. Here are some quick details:
12/10/2009 -
Five
young Muslim American men were arrested in Pakistan yesterday after
police raided a house with alleged ties to Islamic militants, according
to various media reports. Their discovery in Pakistan yesterday is one
more piece of evidence that radicalized American Muslims are traveling
overseas for training in their desire to wage jihad.
The men, ranging in age from their late teens to their mid 20s,
vanished from their Northern Virginia suburbs in late November. When
they arrived in Pakistan, according to The New York Times, the five men went searching for extremist contacts in an effort to reach Afghanistan and fight U.S.-led forces.
After touching down in Karachi, Pakistan’s
biggest city, the men tried to join an extremist Islamic school near
Karachi and approached another extremist organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa,
in the eastern city of Lahore, the officials said.
They were rebuffed in both places because of
their Western demeanor and the fact that they did not speak the
national language, Urdu, an investigator said. They then came here, to
Sargodha, a city in the north of Punjab Province, en route to North
Waziristan, said the police chief of Sargodha, Usman Anwar.
The men were arrested at the home of an uncle of the eldest of the
group, Umer Farooq, 25. Farooq's parents were also in the house during
the raid and his father, Khalid, was also arrested. He is alleged to
have ties with Jaish-e-Mohammed, an outlawed militant group fighting
for the disputed territory of Kashmir with India, and also knew his son
was wanted by the FBI, reports the Times.
End CBN report dated February 19th, 2010, time stamped 12:36 PM
Over 24 hours after Air Tran Flight 39 was diverted to Colorado Springs for an emergency landing, we learn that 55 Spartanburg, SC high school students were aboard, but we still do not know the name of the "drunk and unruly passenger" who locked himself into a toilet. The event warranted the escort of two NORAD F-16 fighter jets. Update 1-9-10: I have identified the "drunk and unruly" passenger as Muhammad Abu Tahir. Read that story here. Another thought is former CIA, Michael Schueur's warning that an event, just like this one, may be used to "clog" the intelligence pipeline. See links to that discussion below.
Who is this person? How was the passenger unruly?
During the flight, a male passenger, allegedly intoxicated, became
disruptive and irate with a flight attendant. The passenger refused to
follow flight crew instructions to take his seat and then proceeded to
lock himself in the aft lavatory. The male passenger was traveling from
Richmond, Virginia, to San Francisco, Calif., with a connection in
Atlanta, Ga.
A full day later, this doesn't tell us much. Was the incident something that might be construed as terrorism. Do F-16's regularly escort drunks? Updates as available.
Is this what America is facing? Will there be lawsuits filed against numerous airlines for taking disruptive Muslims off of flights? As Larwyn (with some of my thoughts woven in) says: "Pregnant/and/or/Pious Females in Burkas...Religious Conferences couched as vacations, transgendered Arabs looking for a way to 72 virgins through their underpants...is this the new normal?
The First Lady of South Carolina, Jenny Sanford, is divorcing Governor Mark Sanford. After months apart to try to deal with the Governor's infidelity and his childish and very selfish remarks to the press, calling the 'other woman' his "soul mate," Mrs. Sanford is moving on with the couple's four sons. See a video below.
As the U.S. Senate and U.S. House craft health care bills to, supposedly, put an end to Medicare fraud, it leaves a gaping hole for some 1 million illegal aliens to receive coverage through their employer. Remember Rep. Joe Wilson's very public, televised accusation of Obama: "you lie?" uh huh. Of course, we always knew Wilson was right, and now as well as his very public accusation, he has a very public vindication.
Joe Wilson
The Wilson incident:
This, too, is false -- the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally," Mr. Obama said.
That statement elicited an outburst of "You lie" from Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican.
Since when has a little law-breaking bothered Democrats except when
they needed an excuse to cut Medicare benefits to Seniors? They have
certainly found a way do that. More from the Washington Times:
Democrats who wrote the House bill said that employer coverage for
illegal immigrants is not intentional, but rather the outcome of people
breaking the law.
It's possible an employee could deceive an employer with a fraudulent
document, just as under current law, to gain employment, just as it's
possible for all sorts of criminal activity to occur, and why we have
law enforcement," said Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, who wrote the final House bill.
Republicans said that loopholes in the bill could allow
coverage to just about any illegal immigrant who wants to cheat the
system.
"This is a complete cover-all-the-gaps federal health insurance
for illegals, whether it be under Medicaid, the refundable tax credit
or whether it be under their employers who would not be able to verify
their employers unless we fix E-Verify," said Rep. Steve King of Iowa,
the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee's immigration
subcommittee.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) just returned to the Honduras capital city of Tegucigalpa. He says there is no chaos in Honduras other than the "chaos" in the Obama administration's policy to restore ousted president, Manuel Zelaya. See video below.
DeMint and Honduran Supreme Court
DeMint says "Honduras has moved on:"
The presidential election is on schedule for Nov. 29. Under Honduras's one-term-limit, Mr. Zelaya could not have sought re-election anyway. Current President Roberto Micheletti—who was installed after Mr. Zelaya's removal, per the Honduran Constitution—is not on the ballot either. The presidential candidates were nominated in primary elections almost a year ago, and all of them—including Mr. Zelaya's former vice president—expect the elections to be free, fair and transparent, as has every Honduran election for a generation.
Jim DeMint - Tegicugalpa, Honduras
According to DeMint, he met only one official opposed to the upcoming elections and the denial of Zelaya back in as head of the government, and wouldn't you know, that was U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens. Llorens urged DeMint to read the legal opinion written by Harold Koh, the State Department's top attorney. DeMint says he requested to view the opinion before going to Honduras, and after, but has not been allowed even a peek.
Six Democrat members of the U.S. House sent a letter to the Honduran Congress "warning that DeMint doesn't speak for them or the White House.
Underlining the word “one,” the letter states, “The United States government has one position.”
Senator John Kerry tried to block DeMint's trip. In fact, Kerry denied funds for the trip - a power that he has as head of the Foreign Relations Committee, but has never before used to block a Senator's travel. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) intervened with Defense Department, asking them to provide an aircraft, which the DOD agreed to do.
A poster at the Charleston City Paper, Chris Haire, in his column Haire of the Dog, doesn't like Jim DeMint, thinks DeMint is a "blowhard," and stated unequivocable that DeMint would not be receiving a "Nobel anytime soon." Haire has apparently made some comments siding with Manuel Zelaya.
He received a letter at the Charleston City Paper from someone claiming to live in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and this person believes that Senator DeMint is "helping" and Zelaya is a Chavez/Castro type dictator. You can read the letter here.
In the video below, DeMint explains how the upcoming election will be handled, and what part Hillary Clinton may plan in the future of Honduras.
A 77-year-old golfer tried retrieving his ball from a pond at a Fripp Island golf course in Beaufort, South Carolina and was grabbed by an alligator.
Alligator Attack
On No. 11 at the Ocean Creek Golf Course yesterday, according to The Beaufort Tribune, the alligator grabbed the unidentified man's arm and dragged him into the pond. Other golfers freed the man but not before the gator's thrashing took his arm.
An average adult American alligator’s weight and length is 800 pounds and 13 feet. Large ones grow to 14.5 feet long and weigh 1,000 pounds. The average lifespan for an alligator is 50 years.
Although alligators have a heavy body and a slow metabolism, they are capable of short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges, such as apparently happened in the Fripp Island attack.
The man was eventually air-evacuated to Charleston's Medical University of South Carolina. Efforts are reported to be underway to reattach his arm. His condition is unknown.
I was in beautiful Beaufort, S.C. recently. I love golf. How wonderful that a 77 year-old was still playing golf with his son, but this is a terrible story.
South Carolina's First Lady, Jenny Sanford, is moving from the Governor's Mansion in Columbia to their Sullivan Island home off Charleston with her four sons. Husband, Governor Mark Sanford, that lying, cheating emotional mess who says he has a "soul mate," who happens not to be his wife, could not convince Mrs. Sanford that she should help him prop-up his political ambitions and make nice in front of the cameras. See video below
Jenny Sanford
I respect Mrs. Sanford for trying to bring her husband back into the fold, especially for the four boys, but I am not surprised that she cannot see this man as the head of the family household right now.
Sanford says she will remain engaged in her activities as First Lady. In other words, she will not let down the people of South Carolina, as did her lying, cheating, emotional-mess-of-a-husband.
Gov. Sanford has refused to resign as governor after the scandal, pledging he could both run the state and work on his family issues. Some state leaders had called for Sanford to step down so he could attend to his family full time.
Sanford has been a passionate fundraiser with cancer her chief effort. Her mother is battling melanoma.
Jenny Sanford, Cancer Bike Ride (Photo)
For a refresher of Governor Sanford's scandal, he fell in love with an Argentinian woman, Maria BelenChapur (or Shapur), a 43 year old divorcee with two sons. And Sanford had four sons back home. His emails to Maria were erotic and shameful for a public official who must have known that he could and probably would be outed at any time.
Wrote Sanford: "You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night’s light."
Jenny Sanford, 46, is a native of Winnetka, Illinois, an upscale suburb of Chicago. Jenny Sullivan Sanford grew up in a large family. She was the second child of a Irish Catholic family of five children. Her grandfather, Joseph W. Sullivan co-founded and manufactured the Skilsaw - the first portable electric saw. Her parents reside in Loblolly Bay, Florida.
She received a bachelor's degree in finance and graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 1984. From 1984 to 1990 she worked for the investment firm, LazardFreres & Co. in New York, rising to Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions.
Jenny and the future South Carolinian Governor, Mark Sanford met during the years at Lazard and married in 1989. Mark Sanford enter the political arena after the birth of their second son. In 1994, Sanford ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, winning the seat. Jenny managed that campaign, as well as his successful gubernatorial run in 2002.
Friends say that Mrs. Sanford has been Mark Sanford's chief political strategist.
He would have never won either of his governor's races without her -- no way," said Will Folks, Sanford's spokesman from 2001 to 2005. "She ran the show. He pointed the direction he wanted to go, and she was the bulldozer that cleared the path and got him there."
Mrs. Sanford well-knew what it meant to Mark Sanford's political ambitions to not show-up, stand by his side and do the usual political wife's duty of publicly forgiving his abhorrent behavior
His career is not a concern of mine," Jenny Sanford told reporters camped at the end of her driveway as she left with her boys for a boat ride the other day. "He's going to have to worry about that. I'm worried about my family and the character of my children."
I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong.
Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him.
I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.
At that time, Mark Sanford said his wife was a "wonderful Christian woman," and had been "absolutely magnanimous and gracious," throughout the ordeal.
Here's a look at Jenny Sanford as First Lady:
In an office led by a governor noted for his laid-back style, Jenny Sanford is a jolt of rapid-fire talking and high-heels walking with a whirlwind management style that wastes not a second.
She gets up at 5:30 every morning and does an exercise routine that includes aerobics and Pilates, a form of stretching exercise that she says has helped with back problems she suffered. She gets the kids off to school and arrives at the Statehouse by 8:30 for the daily staff meeting.
After the staff meeting one day last week, she prepped a staff member for the governor's Cabinet meeting and sat in on part of it.
Before the morning was over she had done an interview with The Greenville News; approved a press release quoting the governor urging the Senate to pass his Fiscal Discipline Plan; discussed with the governor's speechwriter details of the mountains-to-the-sea bike ride the first family plans in May to encourage fitness; fielded questions from a group of Girl Scouts who had come to the Statehouse to serve as pages -- and held a 30-second tete-a-tete in her cubicle with the governor on contacting a former New York banker and a former chief financial officer for Macy's who want to help with a review of the state's finances.
"It's no knock on a traditional first lady role," the governor said as he whisked through the intern area on his way to his meeting in Fort Mill. "It's just that God gives every one of us different talents, and I think that one of her talents ... is that she has a remarkable eye for detail. That eye for detail has consistently shown itself to be of great help to me in my political work."
Note that Mrs. Sanford's "eye for detail" did not miss a letter from her husband to his soul mate revealing his secreted philandering.
Recently, the couple have been spending time together with their boys, taking a family vacation and working to repair their union, but Mrs. Sanford must believe that all that togetherness won't do the job that needs to be done and so she is putting some distance between him and the family for now.
RodellVereen is the man charged with Buggery - twice. What is "buggery" you might ask? Read on. See a video below.
RodellVereen
A South Carolina man had sex with Barbara Kenley's horse, Sugar, and no one knows how many times. She caught him on Thanksgiving Day 2007, found Vereen curled up asleep in Sugar's stall, with Sugar. He was arrested, charged with buggery, sentenced to 3 year's probation and added to the South Carolina sex offender list.
RodellVereen had piled some dirt behind the horse, pulled up a stool and...and he upset the horse, but the horse couldn't tell on 49 year-old Rodell.
A few weeks ago, Ms. Kenley, Conway, S.C. noticed that things didn't seem quite right in her stables, again. Sugar was nervous and acting strange. Besides that, Sugar was getting infections "again." Dirt was again piled-up and bales of hay were nearby. Kenley knew it was Vereen, because...who else would....
She notified the police and they said it couldn't be the same guy. At the same time, she could not believe there could be two men in the area raping horses, and particularly her horse, Sugar.
The Lazy B Stables where Sugar lives is about 4 miles from Kenley's home. She staked-out the place for a number of night but nothing happened. She finally installed surveillance cameras and on July 19th she got RodellVereen on tape, once again, taking advantage of Sugar.
She leveled her shotgun at him, chased him to his truck and held him until the police arrived"
"He said he wasn't there to do anything, and I said, 'I know you were. I have you on tape.' And then he said he was sorry if he hurt me," Kenley said.
Police charged Rodell of Longs, S.C. with trespassing, until they watched the surveillance tape, and then they added the buggery charge once again. This time there is no probation for Vereen, or at least not yet. Mr. Vereen's family says he has had mental problems for years and may be off of his meds. Bail is set at $30,000.00.
Thank you to Shadmia
If Barack Obama is shocked that American's are pushing back against the kind of health reform he envisions, then he doesn't know red-blooded Americans. Here's some snippets of the fight being fought for those of us who ARE red-blooded Americans.
Senator Charles Grassley quotes an unnamed senator quoting Obama:
A Democrat congressman last week told me after a conversation with the president that the president had trouble in the House of Representatives, and it wasn't going to pass if there weren't some changes made ... and the president says, 'You're going to destroy my presidency.'
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) basically called Grassley a liar, saying he doesn't think the president would say that: "He's [Obama] got too much self-confidence."
In the spirit of bi-partisianship, 6 senators from both sides have been "negotiating" for weeks.
The bipartisan Finance group met earlier in the day with two actuaries to discuss potential penalties for individuals and businesses that do not acquire insurance.
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) was the 7th senator in that group of negotiators, but confirmation came today that there was little in the negotiations that he could back:
...including the employer mandate, the individual mandate, Medicaid expansion and tax increase.
July 20, 2009 - WASHINGTON, D.C - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) made the following statement:
“The last time the President made grand promises and demanded passage of a bill before it could be reviewed, we ended up with the colossal stimulus failure and unemployment near 10 percent,” said Senator DeMint.
“Now the President wants Americans to trust him again, but he can't back up the utopian promises he's making about a government takeover of health care. He insists his health care plan won't add to our nation's deficit despite the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office saying exactly the opposite.
And today we learn that the President is refusing to release a critical report on the state of our economy, which contains facts essential to this debate. What is he hiding?
"If the actual legislation came close to matching the President's rhetoric, he would have no problem passing this bill with huge Democrat majorities in both chambers. But Americans aren’t being fooled and are discovering the truth about his plan which includes rationed care, trillions in new costs, high taxes and penalties that will destroy jobs, and even government-funded abortions.
“Let’s be clear, there is no one in this debate advocating that we do nothing despite the President's constant straw man arguments.
Republicans have offered comprehensive health care reform solutions that cover millions of the uninsured without exploding costs, raising taxes, or rationing care. We can give every American access to a health plan they can own, afford and keep without a government takeover."
Senator DeMint has authored the Health Care Freedom Plan that gives patients more control instead of government and reduces the uninsured by over 22 million without any new cost to taxpayers.
What is the Health Care Freedom Plan?
• Protects the right of Americans to keep their employer-based plan without having to pay additional taxes on those benefits.
• Provides Americans without employer-based coverage with vouchers of $2000 for individuals and $5000 for families to purchase health insurance. The premium for the average private policy sold in the individual market in 2007 was $1,896 for an individual and $4,392 for a family (Source: eHealthInsurance)
• Allows Americans with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to use their HSA funds to pay for insurance premiums, encouraging employers to contribute to their employees’ HSAs.
• Creates a nationwide market for health insurance by allowing individuals to purchase health insurance plans in any state.
• Provides block grants to states to develop innovative models that ensure affordable health insurance coverage for Americans with pre-existing health conditions.
• Reduces predatory and frivolous malpractice lawsuits against physicians and hospitals.
• Assures that every health care consumer has access to price information prior to treatment so they can make informed decisions about their care.
• Repeals financial bailouts (TARP) to ensure that the plan does not add to the deficit.
I was in the middle of the post below when the announcement came that Tom Daschle (D-SD) has withdrawn his nomination to Secretary of Health and Human Services.
One thing that strikes me, is all the talk about how "popular" Daschle, the former Majority and Minority Leader is in Washington.
He is not so popular with his voters. The good people of South Dakota "withdrew" him from the Senate a few years ago and placed Republican John Thune in the Daschle seat in 2004. Our Senators and Representatives should never discuss the "popularity" of their peers in Congress - especially when justifying the nomination of a person who has broken the law.
Here are my thoughts before the withdrawal announcement - Jim DeMint deserves praise?
UPDATE: HotAir is reporting that in addition to the "evaded" taxes we know about, Daschle also failed to pay $83,333 in consulting fees in 2007 and he claimed $15,000 in charitable donations to unqualified "charities," as well as this:
And that brings up another point. The Obama transition team knew full well that Daschle had significant tax problems when that vetting process began. Why did Obama insist on keeping Daschle at HHS? Daschle had spent the last few years as a high-profile lobbyist for the industry Obama wanted him to regulate, which is exactly what Obama promised not to do during the campaign. So now we have a lobbyist and a tax cheat rolled up into one person, whom Obama insists should run Health and Human Services, and he knew all of this well before announcing Daschle and submitting his name for confirmation. It’s not like Obama can claim to be surprised.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has once again shown what integrity is all about. He is asking President Obama to withdraw former Senator Tom Daschle's nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services for his failure to pay required taxes.
Tom Daschle is one more tax evader nominated for entrance to the Obama inner circle. How pathetic are these nominations?
Nancy Killefer, the appointee to head the newly created Obama Chief Performance Officer czar, has today withdrawn her nomination - BECAUSE she did not pay taxes for household help.
This woman held a high-powered job with the U.S. Treasury. During those years, it appears she paid her taxes. After leaving the Treasury, she "began" not paying, and she also stopped paying her quarterly taxes. The IRS put a lien on her house. Five months later, Killefer resolved the lien.
Killefer's husband is an economics professor, and she was a member of the Treasury Department under Clinton - she even oversaw the "modernization" of the IRS.
I think we've found the way to clean-up Congress. I'm calling for a complete audit of everyone in Congress. Any disgression and they're out. That will give the American people the opening to start all over again.
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