Guilty Verdicts in Capitol Hill Beating Trial

Via  Colin

Dated, but first time I have seen it.

Adams Morgan hate crime was motivated by Zimmerman verdict, police say

A Bethesda man was beaten and robbed early Saturday morning in Adams Morgan by three men who yelled, “This is for Trayvon Martin,” before attacking him, police said.

The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and robbery, according to D.C. police spokesman Araz Alali.

 Three black men approached an adult white male from behind while he was walking in the 1700 block of Euclid Street NW at 1:26 a.m. Saturday, police said.

More @ The Washington Post

Preserving the Union

Via Bernhard

 

“In his zeal to preserve the Union, [Lincoln] abandoned statecraft, exploiting the delicate issue of Fort Sumter and committing the nation to a bloodbath for worse than he or any of his advisors ever envisioned. At the time, his belligerent course promised no better result than maintaining the territorial integrity of the United States at the expense of weakening the Constitution, and with no initial hint at eliminating slavery.

In his mission to preserve the nation’s geographic boundaries, Lincoln quickly violated his oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  He did so in the executive power he assumed, in the increase of federal authority that he imposed in order to prosecute the war, and in his arbitrary suspensions of constitutional liberties. 

By sheer military might his proxies deposed the duly elected legislatures of two States of the Union.  If he did not resurrect the Roman custom of dictatorship in a time of crisis, he did introduce a modified form of the concept in a republic that would previously never have borne it.

Lincoln gradually arrogated so much authority to his office that his own dominant party dared not pass that power on to a member of the opposition. When the Democrat Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln and resisted Radical Republican aims, a Republican Congress and Supreme Court quickly curtailed presidential powers through legislation, judicial interpretation, and political maneuvers, including the first exercise ( and the first abuse) of the power to impeach a president.  Unfortunately, no retroactive restraint could restore the antebellum intolerance to authoritarian government.

Lincoln . . . might have averted the clash [at Sumter] had he been willing to negotiate a peaceful separation,  but he represented a nationalist faction [and culmination[ of a peaceful settlement would have demanded truly inspired statecraft: instead, Lincoln elected to risk a confrontation at Fort Sumter even though his personal emissary, Stephen Hurlbut, had assured him that it would end in violence.

By the end of his first year in the White House he had probably begun to understand the depth of his misjudgment on that point, although he may not yet have begun to imagine how ghastly the consequences would be.”   (Mr. Lincoln Goes to War, William Marvel, Houghton Mifflin, 2006, pp. 281-282)

The Forgotten Americans: Does Congress Care about American Workers?

Mike Scruggs

     For the last 40 years, the U.S. immigration system has favored narrow special interests seeking cheap labor and increased political influence. It has hurt most American workers and most taxpayers. Although our immigration policies have increased the size of the economy, they have been a net drag on American prosperity and most Americans. Politically, these policies have been moving the country steadily to the left. They have also gravely damaged the Rule of Law, without which no republic can long survive.

     We certainly need immigration reform, but the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” recently passed by the U.S. Senate and sent to the House is not reform. It would make things far worse--severely damaging current and future job prospects for American workers, driving down their wages, increasing their taxes, running up huge fiscal deficits, and undermining national security and public safety. It would also accelerate the left wing of American politics to permanent overwhelming dominance.

     Permanent political dominance by the far left--now the mainstream of the Democrat Party, often assisted by a witless minority of short-sighted jellyfish Republicans--would mean almost every issue on the conservative agenda would be swept into the dustbin of history with little chance of resurrection. Right-to-life, a market driven economy, freedom of political or religious speech, and anything supporting a Biblical Judeo-Christian worldview would all be dead history if not political crimes. The immigration debate will determine the outcome of almost every economic, social, and cultural issue and will significantly influence national security, public safety, foreign policy, and military preparedness.

     There are approximately 11.5 million illegal immigrants in the United States, of which about 8 million are employed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) first quarter 2013 report, there were 12.1 million unemployed American workers. There were a total of 21 million Americans who want a full time job but cannot find one. Another disturbing statistic is that the number of native-born Americans in the potential workforce aged 16-65 dropped by 12.9 million from first quarter 2000 to first quarter 2013. The total of Americans who are either unemployed or not in the workforce is at a record 70 million. Native-born workforce participation has dropped dramatically since 2000, from 73.7 to 65.9 percent, the lowest in 34 years. Unemployment figures run extremely high in groups competing with low-paid foreign labor. Compared to the overall U.S. rate of 7.6 percent, the unemployment rate for blacks is 13.6 percent ant that of black teenagers a whopping 42.6 percent.

     Illegal immigrant workers commit identity fraud, identity theft, or tax fraud to get and keep their jobs. These felonies would not seem to make them good prospects for law-abiding citizenship. However, under the proposed Schumer-Rubio Senate amnesty, they would have to pay fines of only about $1,000 over several years. In contrast, a U.S. citizen would spend 3-7 years in prison and pay fines as high as $100,000 for the same conduct. Yet the loudest voices in the media and Congress reserve their sympathy for illegal immigrants,

     Here is an iron law of economics applied to jobs and wages: A shortage of labor drives wages up, but an oversupply of labor drives wages down.

     Lower wages are exactly what importing cheap foreign labor, both legal and illegal, has inflicted upon the forgotten American worker.  Harvard labor economist George Borjas has calculated that the pressure on American wages from the 40 million immigrants coming into the country since 1980 is now driving the wages of the average American worker down by over $2,800 per year. This impacts 136 million American workers, reducing their annual national spending power by about $402 billion per year.

     American blue-collar wages have been stagnant since the 1970s. Construction wages, highly impacted by illegal immigrant labor, have actually declined by 14 percent. Wage losses are occurring among all workers, including college graduates. The wage decline impact on professions is highly correlated with the number foreign workers. 

     Corporate and business association lobbyists with a shallow and special interest biased knowledge of economics continuously point out that legal and illegal immigrants make the U.S. economy bigger by $1.6 trillion per year (11 percent of total GDP), as if GDP were a measure of prosperity. This is like saying a company with $100 million in sales is in good shape without looking at its costs and expenses. A company that sells $100 million in widgets is not in good shape, if its product costs and expenses run to $120 million. If Widget Inc. continues without change, it will sell itself right out of business. This is somewhat analogous to how U.S. immigration policy operates with $300 million spent annually by cheap labor lobbies to influence Congress. We have an immigration policy that is good for illegal immigrants and the businesses that hire them and other imported labor but hurts American workers, taxpayers, and the broad national interest. 

     A recent report by Borjas indicated that national economic surplus due to immigration is only $35 billion per year, and this relatively tiny economic gain, is overcome by fiscal costs running over $100 billion per year for a net loss of about $65 billion, which does not include many large but hard to estimate items, like the cost of dual-language education in schools. The internal division of the components of this small economic benefit is that cheap-labor users profit $437 billion per year at the expense of $402 billion to American workers. This is not only a financial injury to American workers; it is a moral injury to American conscience and justice.

     Congress must NOT increase injury to American workers by passing ANY amnesty, including Boehner's deceptive and highly expandable “Children's Amnesty,” or by authorizing millions of additional legal immigrant workers. It must secure the borders and the workplace and reduce legal immigration to a selective 500,000 per year. The question is whether Congress will have the courage to stand up for American workers in the face of cheap-labor lobbyists campaign finance bribery or fury.

‘Iron Man’ collects, protects old cannonballs in Charleston

Via Robert 

 

 

Behind a two-story home on a rural Lowcountry road, long-forgotten relics from a more than century-old conflict lie marinating in electrolyte baths so that future generations might someday see them up close.

Dozens of cannonballs, mortar shells and other munitions used in the Civil War sit in water-filled barrels that are juiced with a small electrical charge that travels along a maze of wires from a battery. 

It’s part of a year-long process to remove iron oxide, salt water and rust to keep the aged armaments from chipping, cracking and crumbling when they are exposed to the air after years under water or ground.

The backyard operation is not part of a high-tech laboratory or the brainchild of a noted scientist. Rather, it’s a labor of love launched by a coastal native with a passion for history and skills honed by decades of experimentation, trial-and-error and advice from those who came before him.

Unexploded rounds from the War Between the States pepper the region and are uncovered from time to time during construction digs and renovation projects, prompting anxious calls to local police and military bomb squads. Their solution, more often than not, is to blow up the old rounds to eliminate any threat to the public.

That galls some preservationists, who see each exploded piece of ordnance as another chunk of history lost.

“They don’t need to do that,” said the man with the backyard munitions collection. “This stuff needs to be seen by people.”

More @ Post And Courier

T's & Pam's Mayme at the 50's night cruise in and sock hop

Top Marine Gen. James Amos is accused of interfering in sex assault, desecration cases

Via LH

A military judge did something extraordinary last summer when he ordered the Marine Corps‘ top officer to submit sworn statements in a sexual assault case.

The answers from the commandant, Gen. James F. Amos, have some in Marine legal circles wondering whether he told the full truth.

Gen. Amos, a Joint Chiefs of Staff member, faces charges from defense attorneys that his words and actions have unleashed a wave of unlawful command influence over jurors who venerate the commandant.

A fellow general said the commandant ordered him to “crush” Marine defendants in the desecration cases of those caught on videotape urinating on Taliban corpses. Defense attorneys call that order blatant, illegal command interference.

More @ The Washington Times

Oathkeepers in the ranks of the military will eventually wake up and throw off the shackles of the regime?

 

Many of you have claimed, stated, and otherwise mentioned the idea that there are so-called "oathkeepers" in the ranks of the military, who will eventually "wake up", and throw off the shackles of the regime, and America and the Constitution will be restored complete with rainbows, chocolate rivers and children playing with gumdrop smiles.

Every One Of You Is Sadly And Foolishly Optimistic.

And I shall tell you why...

Your military has been "fundamentally transformed" into something that did not exist two generations ago. The service of that age saw its ranks filled with patriotic Americans who understood the death struggle with Soviet Russia and its minions across the globe. We had leadership possessed of resolve and purpose. Our men and women in uniform had superior training and spirit, and were focused on the mission of securing freedom.

Now, look at today. The service has been emasculated on the battlefield, with rules of engagement which essentially prevent the soldier from engaging the enemy; in the garrison, with emphasis on promoting perversion in the ranks and social experimentation; and over all, a command structure determined to destroy the fighting spirit and will to resist.

The military and the government minions who comprise this regime are loyal to their oaths, indeed. They swore to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic - and those enemies have been redefined as YOU. And they will prosecute this war against you, the new domestic enemies, to the fullest extent of the law and the uttermost end of strength.

This contemporary military no longer has patriotic warriors in their hierarchy. Those whom we would call "patriots" have either retired, been forced out, or otherwise purged from the ranks. The current generation of soldier - from the lowliest sailor manning the rails to the loftiest flag-rank officer spouting regime talking points - are there for myriad reasons, which include college tuition and education benefits; they reenlist to qualify for cash bonuses; they receive taxpayer-funded salaries, tax-exempt and duty-free goods and services, and taxpayer-funded health care; and when they reach retirement, they then receive taxpayer-funded pensions, further health care, and in the case of the higher ranks, their dachas by the lake, just as their Soviet counterparts did.

The current generation of military members are indeed mercenaries. They fight for pay and they fight well. They are committed to upholding the regime that funds their present and future lifestyle. And they are committed to collecting intelligence of the enemy they have been ordered to fight: the domestic terrorists, as defined by their chain of command.

Now, many of you will ask, "Sarge, how can you possibly say all these things?" Here's how: having spent 26 years in that uniform as an officer and as an NCO, seeing both sides of the conduct and training and corporate culture;

Having spent years as a recruiter, knowing all the training, benefits and bonuses (aka "entitlements") that a young mush-brain could be enticed with to enlist, and re-enlist over and again;

Having watched comrades with whom I served, bled, dined and drank with, evolve over time into apologists for the regime, fully supportive of the usurpers of the nation, and who will carry out each and every order against their own fellow citizens, to their uttermost conclusion;

Having beheld the current crop of leadership - MY generation, the ones who remember the "shining city on the hill" - utter pusillanimous words of aid and comfort to the enemies of freedom, both here and abroad.

Folks, do not deceive yourselves into believing all this "oathkeeper" garbage. It's a lie, perpetrated to spread false hope. The true patriots of the military have left the service, either in disgust or dotage - or to live their golden years in their own dachas by the lake.

If there is any hope for the America of our memory, it lies in the unorganized militia.

And we are not idle. Neither are the regime. 
  
Old Sarge

NC: No raise in automoblie insurance rates

 

It's over! Consumers won the battle on auto reform legislation.

The North Carolina state legislature JUST adjourned and proposals that threatened our state's low automobile insurance rates and its essential consumer protections did not pass!

Thank you for your help. When we reached out to you with critical information, you overwhelmed state lawmakers with nearly 50,000 emails. Your voices were heard loud and clear. Because of your actions, lawmakers shied away from changing North Carolina's auto insurance ratemaking system. To learn more about the proposed legislation and its defeat, visit lowratesnc.com.

Nationwide joined this fight because we view public policy through the lens of our members. It is our privilege to serve you, especially since North Carolinians told us they don't want higher auto insurance rates, less independent oversight, more uninsured drivers on the road, or a more volatile insurance market. Those were likely consequences if the bills and amendments had been approved.

The coalition's work and Nationwide's involvement were highlighted in several editorials:

• The Winston-Salem Journal highlighted how "Nationwide is fighting it tooth and nail."
• The Raleigh News & Observer cited "The coalition led by Nationwide also argues that the amendment would 'cripple' the commissioner's ability to control rates."

We remain vigilant and will keep you informed if this legislation surfaces next year when the legislature returns.

We value your business and thank you for the opportunity to serve you every day.

Thanks Again,

Martha Frye
Senior RVP North Carolina
Nationwide Insurance

Why is the US Buying Russian Ammunition?

Via Michael and NC Renegade 

13--7.62x39 BALL, 7.62x39 BLANK and 9x18mm BALL Non-Standard Ammunition.

 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

The U. S. Army Contracting Command - New Jersey, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, in support of PD Non-Standard Ammunition (PD-NSA), intends to issue a solicitation to all existing Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) holders for Acquisition of Non Standard Ammuntion, Ammunition Related Items & Mortar Weapon Systems to procure the following:

1. 2,000,000 each 7.62x39mm Ball, delivered to Camp Stanley in Boerne, TX
2. 550,000 each 7.62x39mm Ball, delivered to Blue Grass Army Depot
3. 575,000 each 7.62x39mm Blank, delivered to Blue Grass Army Depot
4. 425,000 each 9x18mm Ball, delivered to Blue Grass Army Depot 

More @  GSA