Monday, July 16, 2012

Outrage as police shoot and kill the wrong man in hunt for attempted murder suspect, after showing up unannounced in the middle of the night

Via Don

An innocent man was shot dead by police after deputies mistook him for an attempted murder suspect.

Lake County, Florida officers showed up at the Blueberry Hill apartment of Andrew Scott at around 1.30am on Sunday

Roused from his bed in the middle of the night by an unknown presence at his property, Andrew Scott answered the door holding a gun.

Officers had not announced who they were because they did not want Linkthe man they thought was inside, Jonathan Brown, to escape.

sheriff's spokesman Lt. John Herrell said their silence was 'tactically advantageous'.

On seeing that Scott was armed officers immediately opened fire with a shower of bullets that killed the 26-year-old and left several holes in his front door.

More @ Mail Online

GRNC Action Alert



DELIVER A MESSAGE TO WRAL-TV


On Thursday, WRAL-TV published an article on its site entitled “Rural areas lead in concealed weapons permit rates.” Unfortunately, within the article a section entitled “Find concealed carry permit-holders in your area” contained a database of permit-holders searchable by address, potentially revealing to criminals the homes from which firearms may be stolen.

WRAL web editor Kelly Hinchcliffe responded to complaints by insisting that permit information is public record, ignoring the fact that obtaining it requires a written request to the State Bureau of Investigation. Moreover, although the names of permit-holders were not disclosed, the partial address information (including apartment numbers), particularly on small streets, makes it possible for criminals to target specific homes for theft.

A lengthy conversation with WRAL General Manager Steve Hammel, while pleasant, produced no significant movement on the part of the station. Their position is that they have sufficiently de-identified the address information. When it was noted that street numbers had appeared initially for some records, he noted that it had been corrected by Friday. He also said they would “look at” trailing apartment numbers which are still part of the addresses. But the bottom line is that the station refuses to pull the link.

TIME FOR ACTION

More @ GRNC

Phase One of American Sectional Conflict



The strongly-sectional New England region was in the forefront of movements to break away from the United States after losing the 1800 election. As Dr. Donald Livingston reminds us, New England threatened secession in 1804 over the Louisiana Purchase, in 1808 over the Embargo Act, and in 1814 over “issues surrounding Mr. Madison’s War of 1812” during which New England actually supplied Britain with military aid. He adds that “secession was advocated by New England abolitionists from 1830 on to 1860, and by John Quincy Adams and other New England leaders over the Mexican War and the annexation of Texas.” New England regained national power through the Republican party in 1860, and phase two began.

Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

Phase One of American Sectional Conflict:

“After the retirement of George Washington, the new President was New Englander John Adams, who was narrowly elected by a plurality of three electoral votes. In office, he surrounded himself with men from his own region. So complete was New England’s hegemony that in 1800 the President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of War (more than half of the entire Cabinet) came from Massachusetts and Connecticut alone.

During the presidency of John Adams, New Englanders and their allies responded to the great questions of the French Revolution by attempting to create a national system of ordered liberty…increased taxation, a strong navy, an expanded national judiciary…active regulation of commerce, narrow restriction of immigration, an active attempt to suppress dissent, and a moralistic tone of government that was deeply resented by others of different persuasions.

In 1800, Thomas Jefferson was elected President by the combined votes of the middle States, the coastal South and the Southern highlands, against the entrenched opposition of New England which still strongly supported Adams. This new Jeffersonian coalition of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the backcountry was destined to dominate American politics for a quarter-century (1801-25). But even as Jeffersonians espoused different libertarian ideals, they all opposed New England’s idea of ordered liberty, which most Americans regarded as a contradiction in terms.

The major legislation of the Adams presidency was repealed: The Alien Friends Act, Sedition Act, the Naturalization Act, the Bankruptcy Act of 1800, the Judiciary Act of 1801, and the new tax measures were overturned. Support for the Federal party dwindled everywhere except New England.

Now it was New England’s turn to think about disunion. In the period from 1804 to 1814, a separatist movement gathered strength in that region….there were sermons and town meetings which talked of God’s Providence for his chosen people. Yankee children were taught to sing (to the tune of Rule Britannia): “Rule, New England! New England rules and saves!”

New England Republicans [held a] nascent sense of Yankee nationalism. James Winthrop, for example, praised the determination of New Englanders to “keep their blood pure.” He added, “….the eastern States have, by keeping separate from the foreign mixtures, acquired their present greatness in a century and a half, and have preserved their religion and morals.”

(Albion’s Seed, Four British Folkways in America, David Hackett Fischer, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 842-845)


Phase One of American Sectional Conflict

The Folly of Following Charisma


Better Truth, Courage, and Wisdom

Mike Scruggs


The word, “charisma,” comes from the Greek. A good translation for the original Greek meaning might be “divine favor.” In Christian history, it referred to extraordinary powers or abilities granted by the Holy Spirit for a significant and divinely ordained purpose or mission. Today, especially in a political context, it has come to mean a rare ability to arouse public devotion and enthusiasm, but it is no longer qualified by divine sanction or moral purpose. It is simply charm, glamour, and personal magnetism without solid anchors to truth, moral courage, or wisdom.

I have heard many people say that we need leaders with “charisma.” and that charisma is essential for successful political candidates. I think this is a dangerous path. We certainly need candidates who can communicate clearly and whose earnest commitment to cause and country is evident in their words as well as their deeds, but the problem with political charisma is that its most common modern understanding amounts to an extraordinary ability to sway crowds and TV audiences without any ethical context. There are a number of foundational competences and character traits associated with wise leadership that ought to far outweigh our misguided fascination with glitzy media-driven “charisma.” The kind of charisma that many media personalities, political pundits, and far too many voters are seeking is strikingly common in sociopaths. If we are to survive as a nation, we had better be looking for leaders with a strong commitment to truth. We had better be looking for strong competencies in analytical, people, and communication skills. We had better be seeking leaders who have developed both moral wisdom and managerial decision-making skills. Most of all, we are in sore need of leaders with courage, especially the moral courage that perseveres through tough-times, discouragement, criticism, and conflict.

We ought to be seeking truth, courage, and wisdom in our leaders. Here are some of my collection of instructional and inspirational quotes on the subjects:

Truth

“Wisdom is found only in truth.”—Johann von Goethe (1749-1832)

“Truth crushed to the ground, shall rise again. The eternal years of God are hers.”—William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)

“An honest man’s the noblest work of God.”—Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

“I had rather starve and rot and keep the privilege of speaking the truth than of holding all the offices that capital has to give, from the presidency on down.”—Henry Adams (1838-1918)

“I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.”—George Washington (1732-1799)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”—Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

Courage

“Courage consists not in hazarding without fear, but being resolutely minded in a just cause.”—Plutarch (circa 49-120 AD)

“Courage…is the universal virtue of all those who choose to do the right thing over the expedient thing.”—Florence Nightengale (1820-1910)

“Where courage is not, no other virtue can survive except by accident.”—Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful until it became risky.”—C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“Courage: the footstool of the virtues, upon which they stand.”—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

“Real valor consists not in being insensible to danger, but in being prompt to confront and disarm it.”—Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

“If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows not fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened. The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on.”—Gen. George Patton (1885-1945)

“The fear of God makes a hero; the fear of man makes a coward.”—Sgt. Alvin York (1887-1964)

Wisdom

“A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.”—Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”—Proverbs 15:1

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.”— Proverbs 16: 2

“To be wise, one must take time to deliberate. But when the time for action has arrived, one must stop deliberating and boldly act.”—Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

“Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.”—Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.”—Proverbs 21:30-31

“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”—Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”—King Solomon (circa 1000 BC)

I know that this will be a shock, but Most Illegal Immigrant Families Collect Welfare


Surprise, surprise; Census Bureau data reveals that most U.S. families headed by illegal immigrants use taxpayer-funded welfare programs on behalf of their American-born anchor babies.Even before the recession, immigrant households with children used welfare programs at consistently higher rates than natives, according to the extensive census data collected and analyzed by a nonpartisanWashington D.C. group dedicated to researching legal and illegal immigration in the U.S. The results, published this month in a lengthy report, are hardly surprising.Basically, the majority of households across the country benefitting from publicly-funded welfare programs are headed by immigrants, both legal and illegal. States where immigrant households with children have the highest welfare use rates areArizona (62%), Texas, California
and New York with 61% each and Pennsylvania(59%).

Egypt: Hillary Clinton's motorcade pelted by tomatoes

Hillary clinton motorcade tomatoes alexandria july 15 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade was the target of protesters' shoes and tomatoes in the port city of Alexandria, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported that an Egyptian official was struck in the face by a tomato, but Clinton and her vehicle were not struck by any of the objects thrown, according to a senior state department official.

Egyptian security officials said that protesters chanted, "Leave, Clinton," and "Monica, Monica," referring to former President Bill Clinton's affair.

CNN reported that the tomato-throwing happened as Clinton's motorcade was leaving the newly reopened US Consulate in Alexandria. The vocal protests at the beginning of her visit forced the ceremony to be moved indoors, said CNN.

More @ Global Post

The Sin of Inaction


This is the story of America. It was born long before it was established as a refuge from religious persecution. The allure was a land where the citizens might worship as they pleased, free from government endorsement of any specific sect such as the Church of England. The first immigrants were not seeking a land with no religion, but one of freedom to worship as one pleased.

To deny that this fact that has marked the United States as a religious refuge to the masses for over two centuries is to deny reality. Muslims today see this as a weakness to be exploited, to be used against us and even with my opposition to the Muslim faith as represented by suicide-bombers and wife-beaters, I am tolerant of their faith and their presence within these borders. We will have to sort good from bad another day, but now, I recognize their rights and desires to practice their religion free from government intervention or oppression. I am not so crazy about the government support they receive under this administration.

We are a Christian nation, even if not everyone in the nation is a Christian. We are Christian because we believe in those values that are important, given to us by God in the Ten Commandments. Our laws are based on those codes of conduct. There are a few truths one might count on in a land of deceivers and manipulators:

Tree + Swing = Kindergarten Memories

Another absolutely wonderful piece from Anthony, though too far in-between!:)



It’s that time again! Schools across the nation will open their doors to streams of children, hopefully eager to learn. Remember your first day of elementary school? Or kindergarten? What conjures up those long, lost days? Is it the scratchy sound of chalk on a blackboard? A nun’s sweet face as she raps your knuckles with a ruler? Or is it the smell of fresh baked sweet rolls from the school cafeteria?

Or children’s high-pitched, gleeful laughter on a playground? Could a tree be a time machine back to those days of “reading and ‘riting and ‘rith- metic”? Me thinks – Yes! The front yard of the Cable One building on Debuys Road is anchored by such a tree. But fifty-five years ago that front yard belonged to someone else, Mrs. Moore. And Mrs. Moore ran a kindergarten. My first day of kindergarten is one of my earliest memories. I was five. My parents, with me riding shot-gun in my mother’s lap, were the first to arrive that morning.

Download PDF – Late Summer 2012

Lincoln’s Final Solution of the Indian Question

Lincoln claimed he was powerless to stop the rampant mistreatment of Indians in his administration, despite his party’s dominance in Congress. Conservative Republican Congressman James R. Doolittle investigated the condition of the Indian tribes on his own, finding tales of corrupt Indian agents as well as vicious federal soldiers. The Santee Sioux at Crow Creek reported starving women and children who had been beaten for scavenging leftover heads and entrails of butchered cattle; the Winnebago of Dakota City talked of young and old alike dying from government-issue soups boiled from rotten beef liver.”

Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

Lincoln’s Final Solution of the Indian Question:

“The passage of the Homestead [Acts], the creation of the federal army, and the opening of the Pacific railroad were the decisive steps toward the final solution of the Indian question, made still more pressing than before by the discovery of mineral riches in the West.

Receiving the chiefs of five Indian nations in Washington on March 27, 1863, three months after the Emancipation Proclamation, he explained to them: “The pale-faced people are numerous and prosperous because they cultivate the earth, produce bread, and depend upon the products of the earth rather than wild game for a subsistence.”

What irony in the remarks of the Great White Father, of the good brother of the red and white family! In fact, several months earlier, [Northern] troops had destroyed the Indian cultures in Minnesota following a Sioux revolt. The Sioux had risen up against the corruption of the Indian system, which the Republican administration had inherited with no thought of changing.

Bankers, land speculators, agents of the railroads, Indian traders, liquor salesmen, and corrupt officials had divided the spoils and exploited the Indians with ferocity. Lincoln was powerless before the collusion of the administration and Congress with those committing fraud.

Once the revolt had been put down and the Sioux were imprisoned at Fort Lincoln, military authorities pronounced 303 death sentences, a number that the president….reduced to thirty-nine. Lincoln accepted the deportation of the Winnebagoes from Minnesota following the Sioux revolt (in which they had not participated) and signed the order putting 54,000 acres of stolen Winnebago land up for sale.

His armies campaigned in the Dakotas from 1863 to 1865, and he even asked the British for the right of pursuit when the Sioux sought refuge in Canada.

The charitable Lincoln became commander-in-chief of the army that distinguished itself at Sand Creek massacring women and children for the same reasons that, as a simple soldier, he had followed the Illinois militia as it marched toward Bad Axe. Americans’ hunger for land was insatiable, and the social order founded on private property in the soil was so incompatible with the collectivist civilization of the Indians that there was no common ground.

[Lincoln’s administration] crushed the Indians during the years of the civil war, with a conscience made even clearer and more triumphant because the principle of private property, founded on working the land, was sanctified by the struggle against slavery……In the same message in 1863, Lincoln mentioned the Emancipation Proclamation and the Homestead and congratulated himself on “extinguishing the possessory rights of the Indians to large and valuable tracts of land.”

(Lincoln, Land and Labor, 1809-60, Oscar Fraysse, University of Illinois Press, 1988, pp. 180-181)


Lincoln’s Final Solution of the Indian Question

Great-great-grandson of Jefferson Davis appointed director of Beauvoir

Via SHNV

beauvoir-biloxi-2003.jpg

The great-great-grandson of Jefferson Davis is now the director of Beauvoir, the last home of the president of the Confederacy. The Sun Herald reports that Bertram Hayes-Davis accepted the keys to the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library on Wednesday.

Former acting director Richard Forte Sr. will continue as chairman of the combined boards of directors and trustees.

Beauvoir is the hip-roofed, Gulf-front mansion where Jefferson Davis spent the last 12 years of his life and which was nearly swept away by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Davis' widow, Varina Davis, left Beauvoir in 1891.

In a 2008 interview with The Associated Press, Hayes-Davis said he thinks it's a shame that all most people know about him was that he fought to preserve slavery.

"It's as if he created the entire institution and was solely responsible for it. And we struggle with that." Hayes-Davis said in the interview.

More @ NOLA

GOA Action Alert

Senate Scheduled to Vote on anti-Free Speech Bill on Monday
-- DISCLOSE Act Moving Again



Anti-gun Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) really does not want gun owners’ voices to be heard in Washington, D.C.

Anti-gun Democrat leaders have scheduled a vote for Monday, July 16, on the so-called DISCLOSE Act.

You may recall that the DISCLOSE Act passed the House in 2010 but died in the Senate after an intense lobbying effort by Gun Owners of America and other groups.

The bill coming to the floor on Monday, S. 3369, sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, puts severe and unconstitutional limits on GOA's ability to hold individual congressmen accountable in the months leading up to an election.

Instead of protecting the most important type of speech protected by the First Amendment -- political speech -- this bill would force groups like GOA to "disclose" the names of donors in certain political advertisements.

Since Gun Owners of America is not willing to disclose its membership lists to the Federal Election Commission, we could be prohibited from running radio or TV ads exposing a federal candidate's voting record during the election season.

This is just another attempt by pathetic, anti-gun politicians like Harry Reid to save their jobs before the political earthquake in November strikes. Indeed, if GOA candidates are victorious in Senate races in November, Harry Reid will no longer be the Majority Leader.

And, as has been the case so often with Reid, there have been no committee hearings to debate the merits of the bill, thus the American people have no opportunity to see just how egregiously DISCLOSE violates the Constitution. In fact, the bill was introduces less than a week ago.

Please urge your Senators to protect ALL of the Bill of Rights. Remind them that your ability to protect the Second Amendment relies on the safeguards of the First Amendment.

ACTION:
Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose the DISCLOSE Act. You can use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center to send your Senators a pre-written e-mail message.