History for June 29

History for June 29 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary of film composer Bernard Herrmann (Psycho, Taxi Driver). Herrmann was born at New York City (1911-75).

Birth anniversary of African-American photographer James VanDerZee (1886-1983), semiofficial photographer of the Harlem Renaissance.

Happy Birthday! Gary Busey, Fred Gandy, Sharon Lawrence

1767 - The British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts. The acts imposed import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea shipped to America. 


1804 - Privates John Collins and Hugh Hall of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were found guilty by a court-martial consisting of members of the Corps of Discovery for getting drunk on duty. Collins received 100 lashes on his back and Hall received 50. 


1888 - Professor Frederick Treves performed the first appendectomy in England. 


1903 - The British government officially protested Belgian atrocities in the Congo. 


1917 - The Ukraine proclaimed independence from Russia. 


1925 - Marvin Pipkin filed for a patent for the frosted electric light bulb. 


1926 - Fascists in Rome added an hour to the work day in an economic efficiency measure. 

1953 - The Federal Highway Act authorized the construction of 42,500 miles of freeway from coast to coast. 


1956 - Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were married. They were divorced on January 20, 1961. 

Benghazi Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Federal Court | TheBlaze.com

Benghazi Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Federal Court | TheBlaze.com:
"The Libyan militant charged in the Benghazi attacks has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy.
Ahmed Abu Khattala made his initial appearance in federal court in the nation’s capital on Saturday.
A grand jury indictment says Abu Khattala took part in a conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists in the 2012 attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans."

The Last War On US Soil Ended 150 Years Ago, But The Next One Could Be Sooner Than You Think….

The Last War On US Soil Ended 150 Years Ago, But The Next One Could Be Sooner Than You Think….:
"Using graphic photos and references to the 9/11 attack, the seemingly endless stream of tweets provides a startling glimpse into the intentions of this network of terrorists."

Massachusetts SWAT teams claim they’re private corporations, immune from open records laws

Massachusetts SWAT teams claim they’re private corporations, immune from open records laws - The Washington Post:

As part of the American Civil Liberties Union’s recent report on police militarization, the Massachusetts chapter of the organization sent open records requests to SWAT teams across that state. It received an interesting response.

....Some of these LECs have also apparently incorporated as 501(c)(3) organizations. And it’s here that we run into problems. According to the ACLU, the LECs are claiming that the 501(c)(3) status means that they’re private corporations, not government agencies. And therefore, they say they’re immune from open records requests. 

Let’s be clear. These agencies oversee police activities. They employ cops who carry guns, wear badges, collect paychecks provided by taxpayers and have the power to detain, arrest, injure and kill. They operate SWAT teams, which conduct raids on private residences. 

And yet they say that because they’ve incorporated, they’re immune to Massachusetts open records laws. The state’s residents aren’t permitted to know how often the SWAT teams are used, what they’re used for, what sort of training they get or who they’re primarily used against.

Treasonous Democrats Call for Obama Dictatorship!

Treasonous Democrats Call for Obama Dictatorship!:
"Democrats, so desperate to import more undocumented Democrats, overcome with political greed, are ignoring the Constitution their swore to uphold, calling on their Messiah, Barack Obama, to become America’s first dictator, pushing the Marxist community organizer to issue laws where there are none, change laws where there are existing ones, and to not enforce laws that don’t promote the Democrat Party’s communist agenda.
Take immigration.  We do have immigration laws, correct?
Congressional Democrats are violating their oath of office and are urging Obama to break existing immigration laws, encouraging him even to make new immigration “laws” if Congress “fails to act.” Obama himself even promised to issue additional royal edicts to skirt the rule of law. "

DHS Flunks Citizenship Test Question: '15 Stars and Stripes' on U.S. Flag

DHS Flunks Citizenship Test Question: '15 Stars and Stripes' on U.S. Flag | Media Research Center:
"Seems the Department of Homeland Security doesn't know how many stars and stripes there are on the American flag.
A DHS press release, dated June 20, commemorated the June 17th naturalization of 15 new US citizens, noting the "15 stars and stripes" on the U.S. flag. The problem is that the American Flag doesn't have 15 stars and stripes; it has had 13 stripes since the Act of April 4, 1818, was signed by President James Monroe, and 50 stars since 1960, after Hawaii became a state the year before.
"These 15 candidates, symbolically representing the 15 stars and stripes on our Nation's flag, hailed from Australia, Canada, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, Sierra Leone and South Korea," the press release said.
Ironically, the number of stars and stripes as well as its meaning is a question included on the test for becoming a naturalized citizen"

Hillary Clinton About Obama: ‘You Can’t Trust the Motherf***er’

Hillary Clinton About Obama: ‘You Can’t Trust the Motherf***er’:
"Former Newsweek editor and best-selling author Edward Klein’s new book about the “Blood Feud” between the Clintons and the Obamas is sure to cause liberal/progressive/communist heads to spin within the Democrat Party."

American cultural collapse-----'Why did no one come to my rescue?'

Mother Catherine Ferreira speaks out about vicious beating seen in viral video | Mail Online:

'Why did no one come to my rescue?' 

Mother who survived savage McDonald's beating that was filmed by onlookers speaks out as police hunt for her attacker

• Catherine Ferreira, 27, suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and a mild concussion 
• Video of the beating was recorded by a bystander Tuesday behind a McDonald's in Salem, New Jersey 
• Police identified attacker as 25-year-old Latia Harris, who now faces charges of assault and making terroristic threats 
• Ferreira said had Harris struck her in the right spot, she could have been dead
• The feud started a couple of weeks ago when Harris overheard Ferreira gossiping with her McDonald's friends about her workplace romance 
• Harris, a mother of two, called Ferreira several times telling her she could lose her job over the rumors 

No Denying Climate Change Deniers

No Denying Climate Change Deniers | Right Wing News:
"The actual nihilists are those who refuse to accept any scientific information that undermines their claim that the globe is warming and humans are responsible for it.
Cults are like that. 
Regardless of evidence contradicting their beliefs, cultists persist in blind faith.
Sometimes one must look to sources outside the U.S. to get a better perspective on what is happening.
The London Daily Telegraph’s Christopher Booker, author of “The Real Global Warming Disaster,” writes of climate change denier Steve Goddard’s U.S. blog Real Science, which he says shows “…how shamelessly manipulated has been one of the world’s most influential climate records, the graph of U.S. surface temperature records published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).” Goddard, Booker adds, illustrates “…how, in recent years, NOAA’s U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) has been ‘adjusting’ its record by replacing real temperatures with data ‘fabricated’ by computer models.
The effect of this has been to downgrade earlier temperatures and to exaggerate those from recent decades to give the impression that the Earth has been warming up much more than is justified by the actual data.”"
.....Goddard compared the most recently published graphs with “those based only on temperatures measured at the time.”
He concludes: “The U.S. has actually been cooling since the ’30s, the hottest decade on record; whereas the latest graph, nearly half of it based on ‘fabricated’ data, shows it to have been warming at a rate equivalent to more than 3 degrees centigrade per century.”
If that isn’t a smoking gun, what is?
Last month, President Obama issued a proclamation for “National Hurricane Preparedness Week.” 
He said, “As the climate continues to warm, hurricane intensity and rainfall are projected to increase.”

You Won’t Believe What The “Politically Correct” Michelle Obama Just Said…

You Won’t Believe What The “Politically Correct” Michelle Obama Just Said…:
"While some might contend she did not intend any offense when using the term, critics say Republican politicians are often lambasted for use of language deemed racist despite the user’s intent. One example posted on Twitter was an extemporaneous comment made in 2006 by then-Senate candidate George Allen."

Here's the backstory behind Chuck Grassley and Lois Lerner

Here's the backstory behind Chuck Grassley and Lois Lerner | WashingtonExaminer.com:
"By the time Lois Lerner suggested auditing Sen. Chuck Grassley in a Dec. 4, 2012, email, the Iowa Republican had spent five years scrutinizing Lerner's IRS division.
Grassley, during his tenure as top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, zeroed in on abuses by charities and other nonprofit groups improperly claiming tax-exempt status under Lerner, and he spearheaded a 2006 change in federal law making it harder for organizations to improperly claim the credit.

Grassley and Lerner were no strangers to each other, and it’s one of the reasons Republicans fear Lerner’s push to audit Grassley might have been politically motivated.
“If she was interested in political payback, it would be absurd,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a member of the Senate Finance panel, told the Washington Examiner.
“What Senator Grassley was trying to do all of those years was to make sure that people who had tax-exempt status deserved it.
He was working with the IRS in a way, not against them.”
Congressional staff who worked under Grassley during his 2001-10 tenure as top Republican on the Senate Finance panel say he conducted vigorous oversight of the IRS Tax Exempt division, which Lerner was appointed to run in 2005.
“This isn't random,” said Dean Zerbe, a tax lawyer who helped Grassley investigate tax-exempt groups and reform the law governing them. 
“This is going after the senator most active in conducting serious reviews of charitable organizations as well as the IRS work in this area."
...In December 2012, Lerner mistakenly received an invitation to an event that was meant for Grassley. The event officials offered to pay for the senator's wife to attend the event.
Lerner asked (via e-mail!!!) a co-worker, “Looks like they were inappropriately offering to pay for his wife. Should we refer to Exam?”
...Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., said he suspected Lerner's motives to refer Grassley for an audit were political.
"I think clearly we have problems with the IRS' role in politicizing that agency when a Republican senator, simply because they received an invite, is referred for a tax audit,” Camp said.

Racist democrat Mississippi Election Radio Ad: Tea Party Will 'Take Away' Food Stamps, Black University Funding

MS Radio Ad: Tea Party Will 'Take Away' Food Stamps, Black University Funding:
"A Mississippi radio station aired an ad warning voters that the Tea Party would “take away” food stamps and other welfare benefits before the run-off between incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran and his challenger, Chris McDaniel.
Calling the run-off the most important election since the re-election of President Barack Obama, the WMGO radio station ordered listeners in Madison County to vote for Cochran the day of the run off.
The ad appeared to target black voters.
“By not voting, you’re saying, ‘Take away all of my government programs, such as food stamps, early breakfast and lunch programs, millions of dollars to our black universities,” the ad said, voiced by an African American woman.
“Everything we and our families depend on that comes from Washington will be cut.
Mississippi will never be the same.
The question is, will you spend five dollars on gas to vote -- or allow the Tea Party to send us back to the good old bad days?  
“Vote against the Tea Party. Vote Thad Cochran. Remember, if you didn’t vote in the June 3rd primary, you can vote today,” the ad concluded. "

“Risky Business” in Climate Change Policy

“Risky Business” in Climate Change Policy | The Beacon:
One important consideration is that regulatory requirements such as the coalition wants to impose almost always are crafted as “one size fits all”, meaning that large corporations thereby enjoy competitive advantages over their smaller rivals. 
Big companies such as the agribusiness giant Cargill, Inc. (a member of Risky Business) already have regulatory compliance departments in place and can spread those costs over large volumes of sales.
Smaller companies will be driven out of business if forced to comply with the same rules.
And so we see here another way in which politically powerful corporations can exploit the political process for their own gain.
.........Risky Business helps prove that the recent Occupy Wall Street Movement and Tea Party activists have more in common than their members perhaps recognize.
Corporate cronyism is a clear and present danger to ordinary Americans that swamps even the most conceivable future environmental catastrophe.

The Deck is open! At Pere Marquette Park (Muskegon beach ovals)

(1) Jim Riley - The Deck is open!:

South Dakota GOP Passes Resolution to Impeach Barack Obama

South Dakota GOP Passes Resolution to Impeach Barack Obama:
"Allen Unruh of Sioux Falls sponsored the resolution. Unrah said, “I’ve got a thick book on impeachable offenses of the president.” He pushed for South Dakota to “send a symbolic message that liberty should be the law of the land.”

Watch a jet with no front landing gear land on stool

Watch a jet with no front landing gear land on stool - CNET:
A little-known fact is that a special stool was invented for the very purpose of helping a Harrier jet land without its front landing gear."

History for June 28

History for June 28 - On-This-Day.com

Ramadan

Birth anniversary of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.”

Happy Birthday! Kathy Bates, Mel Brooks, John Elway

1778 - Mary "Molly Pitcher" Hays McCauley, wife of an American artilleryman, carried water to the soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth and, supposedly, took her husband's place at his gun after he was overcome with heat. 


1902 - The U.S. Congress passed the Spooner bill, it authorized a canal to be built across the isthmus of Panama. 


1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo along with his wife, Duchess Sophie. 


1919 - The Treaty of Versailles was signed ending World War I exactly five years after it began. The treaty also established the League of Nations. 


1939 - Pan American Airways began the first transatlantic passenger service. 


1938 - The U.S. Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure construction loans. 






1949 - The last U.S. combat troops were called home from Korea, leaving only 500 advisers. 






1950 - North Korean forces captured Seoul, South Korea. 


1951 - "Amos ’n’ Andy" moved to CBS-TV from radio. 


1997 - Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield's ear after three rounds of their WBA heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas, NV. 


2000 - Six-year-old Elián González returned to Cuba from the U.S. with his father. The child had been the center of an international custody dispute. 

Obama to Gun Control Advocates: Get as Mobilized as the NRA | TheBlaze.com

Obama to Gun Control Advocates: Get as Mobilized as the NRA | TheBlaze.com:
“Honestly this is not going to change unless the people who want to prevent these kinds of mass shootings from taking place feel at least as passionate, at least as mobilized and well-funded as the NRA and the gun manufacturers are because the politics in Congress are such where even members of Congress who know better are fearful if they vote their concience and support common sense measures like background checks, "

Mexican Military Helicopter Fires on Border Patrol Agents After Crossing Into U.S. During Drug Operation | TheBlaze.com

Mexican Military Helicopter Fires on Border Patrol Agents After Crossing Into U.S. During Drug Operation | TheBlaze.com:
"A Mexican military helicopter crossed the U.S. border into Arizona and fired on U.S. Border Patrol agents during a drug operation Tuesday before flying back into Mexico, Border Patrol officials said.
No injuries to agents or damage to U.S. property were reported, a Border Patrol spokesman said, according to KVOA-TV."

Supreme Court Deals Major Blow to Obama | TheBlaze.com

Supreme Court Deals Major Blow to Obama | TheBlaze.com:
"The high court’s first case involving the Constitution’s recess appointments clause ended in a unanimous decision holding that Obama’s appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in 2012 without Senate confirmation were illegal. Obama invoked the Constitution’s provision giving the president the power to make temporary appointments when the Senate is in recess.
Problem is, the court said, the Senate was not actually in a formal recess when Obama acted."

Blog: The sleeper case that could bust open the IRS scandals

Blog: The sleeper case that could bust open the IRS scandals:

In the absence of a special prosecutor, the best opportunity for piercing the veil of secrecy and evasion that surrounds the IRS handling of groups perceived as enemies of the Obama administration lies in civil litigation.  

The National Organization for Marriage has just obtained a $50,000 settlement from the IRS for its criminal release of confidential donor information to an opposition group. 

But so far Eric Holder’s Justice Department is not pursuing inquiries into who feloniously released that information.

The absence of any official judicial inquiry into the inner workings of the IRS processes is why it is so important to note that yesterday saw the beginning of the discovery phase in the lawsuit by Z-Street a pro-Israel organization that was toldits application for tax exempt status was being delayed because:

…these cases are being sent to a special unit in the DC office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the Administration’s public policies.

Obama asks Congress for $500 million to arm Syrian rebels

Obama asks Congress for $500 million to arm Syrian rebels | Circa News:
Pres. Obama on June 26 asked Congress for $500 million to arm and train Syrian rebels that have passed security screenings as part of an ongoing covert U.S. intelligence initiative in Syria. 
The request is bundled into a $65.8 billion foreign operations proposal.

This Is a ‘Cheat Sheet’ Found at the Border to Coach Illegals on How to Stay in the U.S. | TheBlaze.com

This Is a ‘Cheat Sheet’ Found at the Border to Coach Illegals on How to Stay in the U.S. | TheBlaze.com:
 "One federal law enforcement official dubbed them “illegal alien cheat sheets.”
A copy of one sheet obtained by TheBlaze lists a series of questions that U.S. authorities will consider in granting someone an immigration hearing.
“It’s proof they are told what to say,” a Department of Homeland Security official told TheBlaze. Often times, the sheets get “destroyed or thrown away before illegal aliens are apprehended.”

Yes, there is a BIG difference between GOPers and democrooks-------Dems block GOP bills to verify status, block tax credits to illegal immigrants

Dems block GOP bills to verify status, block tax credits to illegal immigrants | TheBlaze.com:
"Senate Democrats blocked Republicans on Thursday from passing two bills that would require companies to verify the legal status of people before they hire them, and stop the government from handing out child tax credits to illegal immigrants. 
 Sessions tried to get approval for the two bills after saying illegal immigration is swamping the U.S., which is leading to reduce wages for Americans and higher costs as these immigrants start improperly receiving federal tax benefits."

Is it something in the cheese? There's Dahmer and now a murder-cop.Former West Allis officer charged with hiding bodies in suitcases

Former West Allis officer charged with hiding bodies in suitcases:
"A former West Allis police officer was charged Thursday with two felonies for hiding two women's bodies — one for more than a year — that were found in suitcases along a road in the Town of Geneva.
....He eventually tossed the suitcases in high grass alongside N. Como Road during the first week of June, police said, and a highway worker cutting grass found the suitcases June 5.
 Zelich, who has been linked to a sadomasochistic web forum, met the first woman — police have not released her name and she is referred to as Jane Doe in court documents — through online dating in 2012, seeing her in person in late 2012 or early 2013 in Kenosha County, the complaint says.
Zelich told investigators he caused the woman's death, put her in a suitcase and hid her body at his home in West Allis, later moving her body in his vehicle in 2014, according to a criminal complaint."

Dude, that's my lunch!-------Electric Forest 2014: Suspected pot brownies scattered across U.S. 31 during minor traffic snafu

Electric Forest 2014: Suspected pot brownies scattered across U.S. 31 during minor traffic snafu | MLive.com: "MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP, MI -- A group of New Yorkers heading to the Electric Forest music festival Thursday morning, June 26, lost some edible cargo on U.S. 31 when 20 suspected pot brownies scattered across a portion of the highway.
The 20 or so brownies, individually wrapped in aluminum foil, were being kicked off the highway into a ditch by law enforcement officials to allow traffic to flow north on U.S. 31.
......Police said a male from New York who was with two other males and two females in a white sport utility vehicle had turned around to go back for the brownies when their luggage blew off the back of the vehicle.
When the group arrived to the scene to retrieve the brownies and the luggage, law enforcement was already there cleaning up the mess, said Muskegon Township Police Chief Ken Sanford.

Proud to be an American? You’re probably not a true liberal

Proud to be an American? You’re probably not a true liberal. - The Washington Post:
Michelle Obama took some heat in 2008 for saying that, "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country..."
As it turns out, that sentiment isn't all that unusual on the far left of American politics.
According to a new Pew Research Center study, only 40 percent of consistently liberal Americans say they often feel proud to be Americans.
The other 60 percent say that doesn't describe them.

13 Funniest Laundry Signs

13 Funniest Laundry Signs - ODDEE:

"Allegedly took place in Alberta in the dead of winter. The smiley face band-aid holding it up is a great addition."

How Low Will the GOP Establishment Go to Beat the Tea Party? This Low

How Low Will the GOP Establishment Go to Beat the Tea Party? This Low:
Robocalls were made encouraging people, black people, to ‘say no to the Tea Party’ and telling people, “if we do nothing, Tea Party candidate Chris McDaniel wins and causes even more problems for President Obama.” Democrats were sending mailers encouraging their fellow Democrats to “crossover” and vote for Cochran. And, to top it off, Cochran and  his cronies hired a Democrat operative to help ‘Get out the (Democrat) Vote’ for him! "

Soooo, the folks who showcased their business expertise with healthcare ought to run the banks too? What could possibly go wrong-----UM, Elon University researchers say federal government, not banks, should handle student loans

U-M, Elon University researchers say federal government, not banks, should handle student loans | MLive.com: "Seven out of 10 people who graduated from a four-year college last year did so with student loan debt, according to The Institute for College Access and Success' Project on Student Debt.
The average debt was more than $29,000 per grad.
Also, more than 40 million Americans owe a total of $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, which accounts nearly 7 percent of the $17.6 trillion national debt.
Two researchers from the University of Michigan and Elon University believe they've found the solution to the rising student debt crisis: let the federal government, rather than private banks, handle student loans."

Global Warming Study Ridiculed After Temperatures DROP

Global Warming Study Ridiculed After Temperatures DROP

A UK Met Office study that predicted temperatures would rise by up to half a degree centigrade over the past 10 years faces ridicule after it was revealed that temperatures actually dropped over that period.

The peer-reviewed study by Doug M. Smith et al, entitled “Improved Surface Temperature Prediction for the Coming Decade from a Global Climate Model” – and which featured in the journal Science – also incorrectly predicted that several years over the past decade would see record heat.

The paper says:

“…predict further warming during the coming decade, with the year 2014 predicted to be 0.30° ± 0.21°C [5 to 95% confidence interval (CI)] warmer than the observed value for 2004. Furthermore, at least half of the years after 2009 are predicted to be warmer than 1998, the warmest year currently on record.”

However, now we are able to analyse the data on how temperatures really changed, we can see that there was actually a cooling of 0.014 degrees over the past 10 years, which is below even the lowest estimate.

Also, not a single year was warmer than 1998, despite the paper predicting that at least three years would be.

Excessive Force? Dozens of Cops Dispatched to Shutdown ‘Illegal’ Lemonade Stand

Excessive Force? Dozens of Cops Dispatched to Shutdown ‘Illegal’ Lemonade Stand | The Free Thought Project:
But seriously folks, at what point did America cross the threshold into the world of ridiculousness?
Deploying dozens of police officers to shut down a lemonade stand is laughable.
But it is also Orwellian.
Obviously these people were conducting their lemonade stand as an act of civil disobedience, but that does not justify the police action.
Has the state gotten so large that it must control all forms of human exchange no matter how small?
What’s next, will we have to file for a permit to have children?
Or request a permit to even seek out a spouse?"

Shep Smith Calls Out State Dept. Official on the Air: ‘You Can Smile About It All You Want’ | Video | TheBlaze.com

Shep Smith Calls Out State Dept. Official on the Air: ‘You Can Smile About It All You Want’ | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Fox News host Shepard Smith called out State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf on Tuesday after she smiled and dismissed his point about Americans’ “fear” that things could escalate in Iraq and U.S. troops could get dragged back into combat."

Michigan: Obamacare Premium Hikes Up To 20 Percent

Michigan: Obamacare Premium Hikes Up To 20 Percent | The Daily Caller:
"Health insurance premiums are shooting up for most Michigan residents that purchase their own coverage in the first year after Obamacare, state insurers have reported.
All insurers in the state are hiking their premiums, from 2.7 percent up to 21.6 percent. Michigan’s largest insurers, Blue Care Network and Blue Cross Blue Shield, are hiking premiums by an average of 9.3 percent and 9.7 percent in 2015 for a whopping three-quarters of Michigan residents that purchase their coverage on or off the state’s Obamacare exchange.
Blue Cross executive Terry Burke said the hikes are needed to account for ever-rising health care costs and uncertainty related to the Obamacare expansion bringing in sicker-than-average patients.
“We’ve got a big influx of people and we don’t know what their claims conditions are,” Burke told the South Bend Tribune. 
“The actuaries are concerned about that risk mix.”"