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Liberal Professors At Rutgers University Displaying Liberal Lunacy... Want to Cancel Condoleezza Rice Invitation To Speak At Commencement Ceremony

Liberal Professors At  Rutgers University Displaying Liberal Lunacy... Want to Cancel Condoleezza Rice Invitation To Speak At Commencement Ceremony
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


How is the public served by muzzling one of the most thoughtful, accomplished and respected political voices of her time just because she happens to be a Republican?

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was extended an invitation to speak at Rutgers University graduation ceremonies, as well as receiving an honorary degree from the University. Rutgers University obviously feels this highly intelligent, accomplished, patriotic African American woman was deserving of both the honorary degree and the speaking invitation. Most Americans would agree. Unless you happen to be a liberal professor with a political agenda.

Following is what the New Brunswick Faculty Council of Rutgers University had to say with respect to the university extending the invitation when they voted last week to ask the universities leadership to cancel their invitation.

Condoleezza Rice lacks “moral authority.” She fails to meet the standards of “exemplary citizenship” and she does not have what it takes to “inspire” graduating college seniors.

When something smells of fish, or pure political ideology run amuck, it simply smells, and badly.

Juan Williams, a rational and reasonable liberal with whom it is possible to find agreement with, finds the facts cited by the faculty council to be correct but their conclusion way off the mark.

Yes, apparently the first African-American woman to serve as National Security Adviser and the nation’s Secretary of State doesn’t have what it takes to be honored by Rutgers.

Rice holds a Ph.D. in political science. She has taught college for decades. She was Provost of Stanford University. She worked her way up from a working-class family in the segregated South to the highest echelon of world power and politics.

But according to the Rutgers faculty council, all of that is negated by her service in President George W. Bush’s administration.

They cited her roles in pushing the false claim of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They also point to her support for using enhanced interrogation techniques to get information from terror suspects.

The facts are right. The conclusion is wrong.

I, too, disagreed with many of the policies Rice faithfully supported as a member of the Bush administration. But only partisan hatred can blind the faculty to her extrao

Indeed. Only the blind pursuit of political correctness and the desire to hush the voices of those you disagree with will lead supposedly intelligent, qualified professors to partake in such blatantly partisan actions.

Read the full article and view the video BELOW THE FOLD.

As an aside, thinking about the Debo Adegbile nomination that went down in flames I see some similarities at work after here. After doing a bit more research on Adegbile it's looking more and more like groupthink and political fear may have had a part. But perhaps that's just me.

I would be most interested in hearing what my more liberal leaning readership has to say about the New Brunswick Faculty Council of Rutgers University request to nix the invitation extended to Ms. Rice, PHD and former Secretary of State.

Via: Memeorandum

Israel And The Rest of the World

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

By Dennis MacEoin

Everybody hates Israel. That is not just accepted wisdom, it is a reality that chokes all rational debate on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. There are exceptions, of course, such as Canada, but most of Western Europe has slipped from support for Israel to support for the Palestinian cause, as if both sides might not have valid claims to the disputed land.

Most Americans are enthusiastic about Israel, but the U.S. government under Barack Obama, has, in recent years, shown increasing antagonism. Unsurprisingly, not a single Muslim nation likes Israel at all.

Many hate the Jewish state precisely because it is a Jewish state -- there seems no other reason why they might hate it. Many, in a display of true prejudice, have never even visited it.

In the world in general, and Europe in particular, anti-Semitism is growing at a rate not unlike the 1930s. It does not take much mental grip to see the link between that escalation of the "oldest hatred" and the refined political and religious rejection of Israel as the one and only state in the world that deserves to be abolished. Or, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once put it in Farsi, "exterminated" (Umam-e Eslami bayad Isra'il-ra qal' o qam' kard: The nations of Islam must exterminate Israel.)

In a Friday sermon, former Iranian President Rafsanjani also made the statement, "If one day, a very important day of course, the Islamic world will also be equipped with the weapons available to Israel now, the imperialist strategy will reach an impasse, because the employment of even one atomic bomb inside Israel will wipe it off the face of the earth, but would only do damage to the Islamic world."[1]

While the world focuses on Israel's flaws (often imaginary), in Saudi Arabia there are special roads for non-Muslims to ensure they cannot enter Mecca or Medina.


But then, one might surely ask, if everyone hates Israel, will it make the slightest difference if it actually is wiped off the face of the earth? Will it matter if another six million Jews are gassed or driven into the Mediterranean? If most of the people on the planet hate Israel and want to see a massive Palestinian state take its place, then who will weep if the Jews go and the Arabs come and take over, as so many people now say they have every right to do? Would it not be a blow for humanity, justice and people everywhere if the oppressive, violent, and apartheid Jewish state were to be removed from the earth?

Are you starting to feel a bit uneasy about this?

Some might hold back from wishing death on the Jews, but would not hesitate if someone else were to kill them. Or force them to pack their bags and leave their homes to make room for an army of Palestinian "refugees." If you hate Jews enough, nothing may seem too bad for them, and no history of pogroms and the Holocaust will be enough to dissuade you and your friends from doing it all over again, or rejoicing that someone else is doing it for you.

The treatment—or rather, mistreatment—of the Jews stands out in the modern era as the single greatest emblem of man's inhumanity to man. From the Christian (and post-Christian) West to the Islamic East, hatred of Jews has led to unfettered cruelty, and a continuing refusal to accept any form of moral or ethical constraint. However much Jews suffer, anti-Semites want them to suffer more. However far Jews might try to run, their self-appointed overlords will try to hunt them down and start the process of hate and persecution all over again. However much Jews contribute to human civilization, win Nobel prizes, develop cures for illness, create remarkable films, set up hospital units worldwide to treat the sick, irrigate the fields of the poorest farmers and change our lives for the better — the haters sneer and lie and kill Jews with the same knives; and every time a Jew is killed or wounded, dance on the same floors.

And what have the Jews ever done to deserve any of this? Are the Jews really the masterminds behind every war, every revolution, every economic disaster, every plot, even the Holocaust itself? Yes, according to anti-Semites, either the Holocaust never happened and was made up to secure Israel as a country for the Jews; or else the Jews instigated it to force other Jews to flee Europe to Mandatory Palestine, to take it over. Just read a few comments on YouTube as a measuring stick for this mental illness.

Of course, I know the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion says all this (apart from the Holocaust slurs), but the Protocols is a forgery;[2] and not just a forgery, but a cheap and shoddy product of the Tsarist secret police before World War I. Even though it is now more than a century later, some people still treat this libel as Gospel, and write comments on YouTube to prove that the Jews are the worst of mankind.

In Arab countries, after many years, the Protocols is still a bestseller. And Hitler's Mein Kampf, tagged in 2011 by Waterstone's in the UK as the "perfect Christmas present", in its electronic form is selling hand-over-fist. How hurtful -- and deeply unjust -- that is to Jews who have just made critical advances in medicine or saved a Palestinian child's life when operating in an Israeli hospital, or journeyed to Africa to teach better methods of farming, or traveled with an Israeli aid team to Haiti or the Philippines to save yet more lives.

The Jews are not the worst of mankind; they are like the rest of us, some bad, some good, and some so talented they have left indelible marks on every field of human endeavor. They have always been an underappreciated force, above all in the realm of ethics. No religion has developed in so well-structured a fashion as Judaism; its impact on Christian and Islamic ethics is well attested. Without the Jews, a major force for good and a barometer for moral concern would be taken from civilization entirely -- or is moral concern something the world would secretly rather do without?

The irony is that it is precisely these prejudiced, conniving, and racist haters of Jews -- including those who envisage the destruction of the one and only Jewish state and those who conjure up a realistic threat of a second Holocaust -- who have the arrogance to treat the Jews, including the Israelis, as if they are the most prejudiced, the most conniving, the most racist of all mankind -- and the most immoral -- and, of course, deeply inferior to Christians or Muslims.

The false piety of much Christian condemnation of Israel is matched only by the cheap moralizing of the followers of Islam in their attacks, both physical and verbal, on the Jewish state; or their failure to recognize that Jerusalem was always a Jewish city; that there were two Jewish temples there; and especially in the obsessive Palestinian refusal to recognize any part of Israel as a Jewish entity, or to make peace with Israel, or even to acknowledge that there has been a continuous Jewish presence in the Holy Land for three thousand years.

The loss of Israel -- engineered as it would be by a coalition of "progressive" Muslims and Western secularists, along with anti-Semitic Christians and hard-line Islamists -- would not be a victory for any of the values we hold dear. On the contrary, it would be one of the greatest disasters to befall mankind. The values we consider highest – such as peacemaking, neighborliness, cooperation, caring for the less fortunate, for those of different religions, ethnicity, and mutual defence against aggression – would start to crumble, and our sense of human progress would weaken and lose its hold on our minds and hearts. If we could do that to the Jews, a people of great deserving, who have done so much for us, what might we then do to others? For even if the Jews were gone, there would still be other, weaker people for us to persecute and eliminate.

Does such a prognosis seem inflated, even barely respectable? Israel, however, did not emerge in the way most other countries have done, as an expression of traditional boundaries, a containment of one or more specific languages, a repository of a single culture, a place determined by one king, one dominant holy man, or one parliament, or one body of laws. Of course, Israel has had several of those things, beginning with the establishment, on that same plot of land, of the oldest set of laws after Hammurabi: the Ten Commandments and the earliest set of social welfare laws.

Modern Israel had the original acclamation of much of the international community; it set up a democratic parliament, established a set of basic laws, and, when other nations let boatloads of refugees sink at sea, served the Jews as the only sanctuary, free from a persecution which still exists to this day, and, sadly, which is once again being orchestrated by people supposedly educated enough to know better.

For civilization — any civilization — to work, there must be a core set of values that crosses from one culture to another, acquiring on the way a sort of universal validity. Small differences may exist between one country and another, one language and another, and even one religion and another. With few exceptions, people who belong to Western civilization believe that it is absolutely wrong to take a human life (except in life-or-death cases or self-defense). We strongly believe in human rights even if we are not always observant of them. In general, Western countries advocate and legislate for equality between men and women, equal justice under law, an independent judiciary, and freedom of and from belief. We attempt to expunge racism in its various forms from our streets and businesses. We defend minorities, religious, political or gender-based. And free speech, we defend that too, even when it hurts us to do so.

Islamic civilization holds often starkly different values. A man's or woman's life may be taken, often by beheading or stoning, for a wide range of "sins," from heresy (really, free thinking; there, called blasphemy) to adultery to apostasy (more free thinking). A Muslim also may not be punished for killing a non-Muslim, or even another Muslim if his intent is to further the cause of Islam. Although not Islamic in any true sense, female genital mutilation and honor killings are far from uncommon. They happen in the UK and the US, mainly within Muslim communities – as well as in Muslim countries.

Perhaps Islamic civilization would find the disappearance of the Jewish state a satisfactory gift. But Western civilization might not wear this too well, except for that part occupied by those who consider themselves as members of the far left -- Stalinists, Trotskyites, anarchists and anti-Semitic Christians who believe they do the will of God, and even Quisling Jews -- when they curse Jews and boycott Israel.

When the Nazis took power, Germany seemed to be one of the most civilized countries in the world, with a rich culture, a deep grasp of academic achievement, and a growing mastery of science and technology. Within a few years, the country had been reduced to the status of the most barbaric of countries, the most abusive of human rights, perhaps the most savage political entity in history. And not many years later, Germany was in ruins, destroyed by the very totalitarianism it had used to impose itself on the rest of Europe.

Across the world, people came to condemn the great wrongs Germans had done to mankind. Germans rebuilt their nation only by rigorously excluding that tendency to totalitarianism. Yet today, young Germans march against Israel and, in fighting Israel, fight the Jews. What conceivable right do the scions of that black period and the years of wiedergutmachen [compensation] have to treat Jews as untermenschen [subhuman] once again, to march in the streets where the SS marched, to bellow as their grandfathers bellowed, Juden Raus, "Jews out" -- out of "Palestine," out of the Middle East, out of everyplace.

Whatever its detractors may say, Israel declares loudly that it is a country where the best Western values are honored, where democracy, the rule of law, the creation of new laws through an elected parliament, the fair treatment of all minorities, rights for women, for gays, for all citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike, are demanded. But say it is also a Jewish country based on Jewish ethics, and someone of limited intellect will come along clutching a copy of the Torah, the Talmud, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, or anything else they can lay their hands on, and declaiming that they can prove Judaism is a bloodthirsty religion that has always worked to defeat and mistreat non-Jews. In the past years, I have only known a violent and angry Islam; yet the world is silent. The world excuses Islamic murder, but focuses on flaws, often imaginary, on the part of Israel.

The very establishment of a Jewish state stood for more than even its founders guessed. It was open defiance of the universal impulse to persecute and kill Jews.

Only in their Holy Land could the Jews weave their own destinies at last -- and do. Israel thrives. They have won Nobel prizes and made some of the greatest advances in science, technology, and medicine. Israelis create world-class hospitals and universities. They have written more scientific papers per capita than any other nation, and have saved children's lives – Palestinian children's lives – in a dozen operating theaters, and sent aid teams around the world to save yet more lives. Israeli "apartheid"? Far from it. All facilities and opportunities are equally open to all Israelis: Black, White, Arab, Christian, Jew -- everyone. Far more than in say, Saudi Arabia, where there are special roads for non-Muslims to ensure they cannot enter Mecca or Medina, or where a Bible is not even allowed in the country. Or all the mosques where every Friday congregants are told that Jews are the sons of pigs and apes. It would seem that is racism; that is apartheid.

What the destroyers of Israel would do is negate every one of Israel's achievements and more, and leave a hole in the world, in their own world. What, after all, would take the place of Israel? Another failed state, riven by strife, characterized by failure, poverty-stricken, dependent, just another victim of the authoritarian Arab way of governing? Is that something that will set civilization towards new horizons? It is up to us to keep the lights on, to place civilization against barbarism, to put our minds and bodies between Israel and all who mean her ill.

[1] "Iran Calls for the Destruction of Israel," Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Center for Special Studies, Special Information Bulletin, November 2003, citing Khabar TV, December 14, 2000. Cited in Joshua Teitelbaum, What Iranian Leaders Really Say About Doing Away with Israel, Jerusalem Center for Pubic Affairs.
[2] See David Aaronovitch, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History, London, Jonathan Cape, 2009, pp. 22-48.

Rational Thought Prevails In The Senate...

Rational Thought Prevails In The Senate...
by: Les Carpenter
Ration Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


Today the Senate rejected President Obama's nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the DOJ's civil rights division. In a surprising 47-52 vote seven democratic senators joined republicans to deny Mr. Adegbile confirmation.

This defeat highlights the break with the Obama administration and Senate leadership by more moderate centrist democrats. In what is developing as a tough election cycle for democrats seeking reelection to the Senate this defeat only adds to the democratic parties potential difficulties in holding the Senate.

From THE HILL:

The Senate rejected President Obama’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s civil rights division on Wednesday in a stunning 47-52 vote in which seven Democrats abandoned their leadership.

The vote was all the more remarkable for the five Democrats in tough reelection races this year who voted in vain to move Debo Adegbile’s nomination forward.

Their votes now become ammunition for Senate Republicans, who argued Adegbile was unfit to serve because of his legal work in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing Philadelphia

police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.

The vote was a stinging defeat for the White House that showed President Obama is politically out of step with some centrist Democrats heading into the midterm elections.

Obama labeled the vote a “travesty” based on “wildly unfair” character attacks.

Skip

Every Republican voted against the nomination, forcing Reid to secure the support of at least 50 members of his 55-person caucus. Vice President Biden presided over the vote and would have been available to break a tie, but his vote was not needed.

It was the first time a nomination has gone down since Democrats changed the Senate’s filibuster rules to require simple majority votes on many procedural motions.

Skip

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) insisted the vote was not a sign that Obama is losing support among Senate Democrats.

“The vast majority of Democrats voted to confirm him so I don’t think it says anything about the president,” said Reid, who switched his vote from “yes” to “no” in a procedural move that allows him to bring the nomination up again for a future vote.

Skip

Democratic leaders immediately faced questions about whether it was wise to schedule a vote without knowing for certain the nominee could attract enough support.

“These 2014 Democrats can’t be happy with their leadership over the Adegbile vote. They all walked the plank while others got to vote ‘no,’ ” said a Senate GOP leadership aide.

A senior Democratic leadership aide said the White House and Adegbile were informed that he might fall short of the 50 votes needed to advance his nomination but both wanted to roll the dice and proceed.

Skip

Abu-Jamal has long been a cause célèbre in leftist political circles who argue his case exposed racism in the criminal justice system — he even has a street named after him in Paris. But Republicans say he was an unrepentant cop killer and noted there was overwhelming evidence he shot and killed Faulkner at point-blank range.

GOP senators claimed Adegbile’s record of “left-wing advocacy” would further politicize the Justice Department.

The choice of Adegbile split civil rights and law enforcement groups and put Democrats in an awkward position of having to pick a side.

“It was a tough one because you had the NAACP on one side and police officers on the other so people voted the best they could given the circumstances,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who voted for Adegbile.

Complete article BELOW THE FOLD.

Sometimes reasoned moderate heads within the Democratic Party act to do the right thing. Hope springs eternal...

Via: Memeorandum

Strachota Becomes First Wisconsin Majority Assembly Woman Leader After Kramer Ousted

State Representative Strachota became the first woman to be elected as Assembly majority leader after Representative Kramer was ousted by GOP.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 6, 2014

Madison, WI - On Tuesday,  State Representative Patricia Strachota (R-West Bend) was selected as the new Assembly majority leader, making her the first woman to get elected to the position in state history. She replaced former majority leader State Representative Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha).
Wisconsin state Assembly Republicans on Tuesday ousted Representative Kramer of Waukesha, as majority leader after inappropriate touching of women surfaced. Some of the inappropriate behavior by Kramer was witnessed by other members of the Assembly.

Joseph Pepe Gets 210 Years In U.S. Prison For Raping Seven Cambodian Girls

Michael Joseph Pepe 

(News photo taken in 2006)

Pepe showed no remorse when he was sentenced on Friday in federal court after a 2008 conviction for raping and molesting at least seven girls, who are Cambodian nationals between the age of 9 to 12.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 5, 2014

Los Angeles, CA - On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer sentenced Michael Joseph Pepe,  60, of Oxnard,  a retired U.S. Marine captain to 210 years in a federal prison for raping and savagely molesting at least seven young Cambodian girls between the age of 9 to 12, while he was living abroad. Judge Fischer also ordered Pepe to pay $247,000 in restitution to the victims. 
Pepe was convicted in May 2008 for seven counts of having sexual contact with a child abroad, under a federal law that makes it a federal crime for Americans to travel abroad to rape, molest or pay to have sex with children. During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony from six of the seven girls, Pepe sexually abused. The girls, who were between the ages of 9 and 13 at the time of the abuse, testified that Pepe drugged, bound, beat and raped them. Several victims testified that Pepe required them to give him sexual massages and perform oral sex on him on a daily basis.
Each count brought a 30 year sentence for Pepe.
Pepe was taken into custody at his Phnom Penh home in 2006 by Cambodian National Police on charges that he repeatedly drugged, beat, raped and forced the young girls to perform oral sex between the Fall of 2005 to June 2006. Pepe was extradited to the U.S. in 2007.
Judge Fischer said in court that Pepe showed no remorse and that the stiff sentence would send a strong message that U.S. Citizens that travel abroad for the purpose to engage in sexual contact with children would be severely punished. "Monstrous does not begin to capture the horror of the crime or the impact on the victims," Judge Fischer said.
Pepe moved to Cambodia in 2003 and got married. Federal prosecutors claimed that he paid a prostitute a finder's fee to get him young girls between the ages of 9 to 15. He would even pay the parents of the girls about $30 a month or $300, so he could spend time alone with the girls while acting on his sexual urges on the girls. The parents of the girls were also taken into custody for selling their daughters for sex and prostitution. 
The prostitute who acted as Pepe's broker testified on videotape about bringing young victims to his residence. Pepe paid the broker and the victims' families for unlimited access to the girls, according to federal prosecutors. 
Police in Cambodia found a bedroom that was equipped with bondage type of restraints, including condoms, viagra, mind altering drugs and pedophilia newspaper articles. They also confiscated his computer,  which had hundreds of images of child pornography and children held in bondage and adults performing sex acts on them.
"This sentence clearly demonstrates to the Cambodian people that the United States will not tolerate this type of abuse," said William E. Todd, the United States Ambassador to Cambodia. "This sentence not only signals to the Cambodian victims our commitment to justice, but it will also act as a powerful deterrent for those individuals who are contemplating traveling to Cambodia to engage in illegal sexual activity with minors."
Homeland Security Investigators received substantial assistance in the investigation from the Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service and the Cambodian National Police.
Pepe was prosecuted under the provisions of the PROTECT Act, which took effect in 2003. The act substantially strengthened federal laws against predatory crimes involving children outside the United States by adding new crimes and increasing sentences.

Putin, Obama, and Irrationality All Around...

Putin, Obama, and Irrationality All Around...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


As the United States and the World watch and react (or not react, sometimes the best response) we are witnessing geopolitical posturing (and hyperbole) kicking into high gear. The management of this site has stocked up on healthy snacks (and not so healthy beverages :-) ) to watch the irrationality place itself out.

As much as it is tempting to pontificate on the current political idiocy unfolding before our eyes a sense of calm prevails here at Rational Nation USA. Knee jerk reactions, something our rather intellectually challenged officials and politicians in both parties seem to suffer from, are never advisable and usually always turn out badly.

Thinking Vietnam, Iraq, and the whole host of costly nation building endeavors that failed to produce the desired results the government of the United States had told the populace it would this site ain't gonna say too much. Other than provide links to several articles readership an click on for the most recent idiocy.

Putin's Press Conference Proved Merkel Right: He's Lost His Mind

Rubio, Cotton: Congress must act quickly to punish Putin, support Ukraine

"We Are Speaking Very Loudly. We Are Carrying a Small Stick."

In the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. has a credibility problem

Lindsey Graham Blames Benghazi For Ukraine Crisis


Putin's claim of no Russian troops in Crimea stuns Kerry

Obama, the feckless tyrant

Yep, I'm ready for a good stiff Scotch, straight up please.

Enjoy...

Via: Memeorandum

LAPD Long-time Policy Denies Media Access To Booking Photos Of Suspects Charge With Felonies

The Los Angeles Police Department continues to deny media access to mugshots of suspects charged with felonies, unless they are looking for more victims.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 4, 2014

Los Angeles, CA - Hispanic News Network U.S.A. has learned that the Los Angeles Police Department has a policy that denies media requests for mugshots of those suspects charged with a felony crime, unless they are looking for more victims, according to Andrew Smith, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Commander of Media Relations and Community Affairs. Also, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LACSD) will not release a mugshot of a suspect charged with a felony unless the arresting agency approves the release of the mugshot or booking photo. The LACSD will release a mugshot, if they made the arrest,  but also certain review is taken into consideration to avoid being liable.
The media relations spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office (LADA) can't even release a photo, but press releases are made public of suspect arrests and those charged with felony crimes without providing mugshots, according to Greg Risling, Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The LAPD, LACSD and the LADA seemed to put liability first than the public interest to see who was actually charged, since a name of suspect has been released for an alleged crime that was committed. Some citizens might believe,  the LAPD does a disservice to the public it serves by not providing an image of a suspect charged for a felony due to liability. The less people get to know of a suspect's appearance (ID) or photo, less victims would ever know he/she was ever arrested for a crime.
The mugshot privacy policy has been in place for years, maybe it's time to modernize their policies and provide a courtesy to media like other law enforcement agencies in the country have by providing images or booking photos to media outlets of those suspects they actually charge with a felony and other crimes. 
In this particular case, the booking photo of Andron Gazarov, 33,  of North Hollywood has not been officially released, but a booking photo of Gazarov was posted by Wirednixon dot com.
Gazarov was arrested last Wednesday and charged with a felony charge for kidnapping, attempted kidnapping and great bodily harm after punching a babysitter and grabbing 4-year-old Grady O'Brien from the babysitter in Westchester, California. Luckily,  Jesus Delgado, a Taco 2 cook heard the screams for help and acted quickly. Delgado managed to catch up with Gazarov and was able to take O'Brien from Gazarov's grip. Delgado held Gazarov until police arrived and arrested him.
Since then, Delgado has been hailed as a hero and a fund was created to help him with his daughter's medical bills. She has a heart condition. Over $22.1K has been raised so far for Delgado. 

Reidin’, Rightin’, and ‘Rithmetic

 Reidin’, Rightin’, and ‘Rithmetic
Commentary by James Shott

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) gave a speech on the Senate floor last week where he said this about the disastrous implementation of the Affordable Care Act: "Despite all that good news, there’s plenty of horror stories being told. All of them are untrue."

This abjectly stupid remark ignores the problems millions of the people Harry Reid serves as Majority Leader have encountered at the hands of this Democrat-created nightmare, some of them with life-threatening consequences.

Some say he really was alluding to claims made in ads paid for by the Koch brothers, about which he specifically commented shortly after that major gaffe, claiming the Kochs are trying to “buy America” through Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(4) started by David Koch and Richard Fink.

He believes that the Koch brothers are the single greatest threat to liberty, “spending hundreds of millions of dollars telling Americans that Obamacare is bad for them.”

However, Koch Industries donated less than $3 million in the 2012 election cycle, earning 77th place on the Top Donor List of OpenSecrets.org. Americans for Prosperity is reported to have spent $40 million, but does not appear on the Top Donor List.

Top Donor organizations ahead of Koch Industries include: the National Education Association, #5 at $14.7 million; the United Auto Workers, #8 at $13.3 million; the American Federation of State/County/Municipal Employees, #10 at $11.4 million; the AFL-CIO, #14 at $9 million; and the Service Employees International Union, #18 at $6.6 million. Ten more labor unions beat Koch Industries in spending. Organized labor is “buying America” to a much larger extent than Koch Industries and Americans for Prosperity combined.

Harry Reid misleads us on political spending, and lied to us during the 2012 campaign about Mitt Romney having paid no taxes for 10 years. He epitomizes the sordid aspects of partisan politics, and simply cannot be believed.

*****

On May 5, 2010 Latino students at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California turned out to celebrate their Mexican heritage on Cinco de Mayo.

When some American students showed up at school wearing American-flag shirts, school officials ordered the American students to turn their shirts inside-out or go home, to avoid a repeat of the unrest that had occurred during past observances of this date.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld the action of school officials.

So, when students from Mexico attending American schools want to flaunt their Mexican-ness in the face of the American students by waving Mexican flags on a Mexican holiday, and some American students decide to show their patriotism by wearing American flag shirts, the school authorities believe that the American students are wrong, and the Mexican students are right, and a federal court agrees with them.

Disgusting!

Whacky, radical rulings like this one have earned the Court the nickname, “The 9th Circus.” The Mexican students should not be allowed to stir up sentiments by waving a foreign flag around to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. If they prefer Mexico to the U.S., perhaps they should just go back.


*****

Congressman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, has produced a tax reform plan based upon three years of hearings and discussions with bi-partisan groups.

Hardly anyone who pays taxes will argue against reforming this overly complex system. The last round was in 1986, and at that time the tax code was more than 26,000 pages. Thirty years later, the tax system is a incoherent mess that negatively affects prosperity, job creation and investment, and is regulated by a tax code that has nearly tripled in size to roughly 75,000 pages.

Each year the tax code gets further complicated with more special interest loopholes, credits, and carve-outs.

Rep. Camp would make several changes to the code, like eliminating loopholes, reducing tax rates, whittling down the current seven tax brackets to three, and lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent, the highest in the industrialized world, to 25 percent.

In those 75,000 pages are goodies for numerous interests, and they will scream bloody murder if their special goody is on the chopping block. The Heritage Foundation’s Stephen Moore notes that we can “expect the White House to lambast this plan as a ‘tax cut for the rich,’ but the evidence from history shows that lower tax rates are usually associated with higher overall tax receipts and more taxes paid by the rich. In the 1980s after two rounds of Reagan tax rate reductions, income tax receipts doubled, and the share of taxes paid by the top 1 percent, 5 percent, and 10 percent rose as the economy expanded.”

This plan simplifies the tax code by allowing millions of tax filers a larger standard deduction, meaning they don’t need to itemize and can use the EZ form. For those who do itemize, the mortgage and charity deductions remain.

While the Camp plan isn’t perfect, and produced quite a few knee-jerk criticisms, it has many advantages, and is certainly a good start toward finally transforming the current tax code into something that is sensible and easy to understand. Let’s hope Congress has the courage to follow through.


Cross-posted from Observations

U.S. Supreme Court Declined To Hear Several Discriminatory Anti-immigrant Housing Cases

Several U.S. cities, Hazleton, PA and Farmers Branch, TX lost an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, when it decided not to hear their discriminatory anti-immigrant city ordinances forbidding businesses and rental house/apartment owners to rent to undocumented immigrants within city limits.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 3, 2014

Washington, D.C. - On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear several cases from Hazleton, PA and Farmers Branch, TX (Lozano v. City of Hazleton,  13-531 and Villas at Parkside Partners v. City of Farmers Branch, 13-516) that resulted from approving city ordinances that barred businesses and prevented house and apartment owners from renting to undocumented immigrants from within city limits. In the two cases, undocumented tenants would be detained and fined for not registering to get tenant approved rental licenses (permits). The Hazleton ordinance also barred businesses from knowingly hiring undocumented workers. The Hazleton and Farmers Branch anti-immigrant cases and their ordinances are forever moot, according to the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. 
In 2006, Hazleton approved an ordinance that would fine and revoke business or apartment rental licenses to owners that hired or rented to undocumented immigrants. A multiple lower federal court of appeals had ruled that other lower courts were justified to declared the City of Hazleton ordinance unconstitutional and that city ordinances do not supersede federal immigration laws or enforcement. 
In 2007, Farmer Branch in Texas acted a similar Hazleton ordinance that would have fined business and apartment owners to rent to undocumented immigrants. Tenants would have also go through a legal status verification by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be allowed to rent houses or apartments within the city limits.
Those owners found in violation would have had their licenses revoked.
Since then, both Hazleton and Farmers Branch had an injunction from enforcing the anti-immigrant housing and rental prohibition ordinances costing the municipalities millions in attorneys fees.

$21.3K In Donations Pour In For Delgado Who Saved Child From Crazed Kidnapper

Grady O'Brien,  Jesus Delgado and Andron Gazarov

(Gazarov's photo courtesy of Wirednixon dot com)

More than $21.3K has been raised in donations for Delgado who has a daughter with a heart problem. Bail for alleged kidnapper Gazarov raised to $450K.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 3, 2014

Westchester, CA - By Monday, a fund created by Jennifer Veronica Vega Wiacek continues to draw thousands of dollars in donations for Jesus Delgado, a T2 taco stand cook who on Wednesday is credited for saving Grady O'Brien,  4, from a kidnapper. Delgado also has a 4-year-old daughter with a heart condition (special needs) and since saving O'Brien donations have been pouring in to help him with his daughter's medical bills. Vega Wiacek began with a goal to raise $5,000, but has so far raised more than $21,360 and the latest goal update was set to $20,000.
Delgado on Wednesday from a taco stand kitchen jumped into action after he heard screams from a babysitter for help after Andron Gazarov, 33, of North Hollywood, punched her and took Grady while his other brother, Brendan O'Brien, 6, watched. Delgado ran across Manchester Blvd. after the babysitter who followed Gazarov and pointed to where he had taken O'Brien. Delgado ran for two blocks and caught up with Gazarov. He told Delgado, "it's not your problem, man. It's not your problem. Leave me alone with the kid." Delgado responded to Gazarov, "This is my problem. This is my problem, because why you take this kid?"
Delgado took O'Brien from Gazarov and held him until police arrived and was arrested. 
Other school kids also helped Delgado including the 5-year-old's brother.
Witnesses say, Gazarov had been talking out loud earlier that he was from the CIA and had also exposed himself in public.
Gazarov was charged on Friday with one count each for kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, assault to cause great bodily harm and indecent exposure. If convicted, Gazarov is facing up to 12 years in prison.
Gazarov is being held on $450,000 bond. He is scheduled for an arraignment court hearing on March 3rd.

OVERsize ME


adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,


adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,
adidas, bittersweet colours, colorful coats, cooee, graphic prints, J.Crew, Lie Sang Bong, neoprene coat, pink pants, street style, turtleneck, vintage, sporty trend, winter trends,

Once in a while I like to " lose myself" in big, baggy clothes, not to mention that in my 20s I used to wear these kinds of outfits so often, they were almost like a uniform. I don't do that anymore but sometimes it feels good to pretend that I am the "cool" kid in town.
Have a wonderful week!




                                                                                    Coat: Lie Sang Bong/ another great neoprene coatHere
                                                                                    Sweater: Lands'end/ similar Here and Here 
                                                                                    Pants: J.Crew/ similar Here  
                                                                                    Clutch: vintage/ option Here and Here 
                                                                                    Sneakers: Adidas/ Here
                                                                                    Cuff bracelets: c/o Cooee/ Here





The Invasion Of Imposter Bloggers

The Invasion Of  Imposter Bloggers
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


The internet is a wonderful place. A world of almost unlimited information and knowledge is available at a mere click of the mouse. If one has a computer, a smart phone, a notebook, or other such equipment access to a a wealth of information and facts are available in seconds. A person only need to take the time to do a bit of searching.

Unfortunately the internet has a dark side as well. Individuals with a bit of knowledge and limited computer expertise can set up a site, or multiple sites and generate a lot of misinformation, total fabrications, outright lies, engage in defamation of someones character, and do it anonymously. In fact in the world of blogging it is fast becoming commonplace for unethical bloggers to set up a site, steal the avatar of another blogger, slightly change the original bloggers site names, and then go after the blogger whose positions they don't agree with. The unethical blogger's (imposter) MO is to amply present false information or representations of the authentic blogger they are impersonating or attempting to defame.

This has happened to me, as well as other bloggers I have association with. The fakes as I call them are basically the scum of the blogoshere. They operate anonymously and without scruples, lacking the character to represent who they really are.

Some bloggers go to a great deal of effort to identify the fake bloggers and expose them for what they are. While I do not have the time, nor the inclination to go to that extent the following are just a few examples of thise type of blogger;

"Frieda Van Wiener" (exposed by Progressive Eruptions As pointed out by this blog owner Frieda has also went by the names of; "Just Joanna," "Right Klik," and "Hildegard Hammerasshat"

Shaw Keewee

Rational Nation USSR This was a new imposter that commented on FreeThinke, another libertarian/conservative blog on a post that was up early this morning. Rational Nation USA was the first commenter, followed by the imposter Rational Nation USSR with a off topic disparaging comment, followed by a short comment by FreeThinke, followed by another comment by RN USA. Interesting enough the post was taken down shortly thereafter. Odd methinks. At the link to Rational Nation USSR disappeared with the post.

While it is likely this phenomenon of imposters and fake bloggers exists on both the conservative and liberal side of the political equation it appears that it is much more prevalent with conservative and libertarian bloggers. Here's why in my estimation.

This site is a fiscal conservative social libertarian website. It has a Conservative Manifesto page which fairly identifies the sites core principles. However, it does not have as one of it's tenets that all liberal thought is incorrect and should be discarded out of hand. Nor does it say that liberals by definition are either fascists or communists and therefore enemies of our representative form of government. Unfortunately however many seem to believe that is so. It was not until this site began to engage in dialogue and give and take with liberal and moderate sites that Rational Nation USA started experiencing constant attacks and ultimately imposters setting up sites with my picture in order to misrepresent this blog and it's positions. While there were a couple liberal bloggers who attacked this site the majority were conservative and the only one to steal my picture was a conservative. At least to my knowledge anyway.

So, the point being made here is fakes operate in the shadows and no legitimate blogger who has been around awhile is immune from the depravity of the imposter blogger. Particularly those with strong opinions and ESPECIALLY those who refuse to conform to the GROUPTHINK of party politics.

For all you ethical bloggers out there, regardless of political, governmental, social, environmental, or religious views keep on blogging and don't let the asshats get to you.

Huntington Park March In Support For El Chapo Needed Permit Police Say

Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, aka, El Chapo

The Huntington Park Police confirmed no permit had been approved to have a march in support for the Sinaloa Cartel druglord El Chapo.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 2, 2014

Huntington Park, CA - On Saturday, the Huntington Park Police Department posted an advisory that they had learned by social media of an alleged attempt to organize a march in the city by spreading word through Facebook in support for the Sinaloa Cartel druglord Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, 56, aka, El Chapo. The police advisory said, that a march would happen in the afternoon on Saturday, but that "there are no permits for marches or demonstrations issued in Huntington Park."
Police also said, that the department "supports people's first amendment rights, individuals are expected to follow all laws. Huntington Park Police Department enforce all laws and will take enforcement action as necessary." In other words, no permits, no marches or demonstrations, according to police.
The march was supposed to have began around 6:00 p.m. and the police advisory was posted at 4:35 p.m., but word that spread through Facebook about the march in support for El Chapo failed to gain enough support in Huntington Park, according to police. On Sunday, Huntington Park Police posted on their Facebook (FB) account that no pro-or-anti-march for El Chapo ever materialized in the city. The police FB post stated, "No incidences of people gathering to march occurred in response to social media posts."
Ivan Guzmán in his personal Twitter account posted a noticed of the Huntington Park march and posted that his father El Chapo knew of the Sinaloa marches, including the one in Huntington Park being planned. El Chapo sent his gratitude and thanks for the support, according to Ivan. Ivan says, that he is the son of El Chapo, but it hasn't been confirmed.
Last Wednesday in Sinaloa, Mexico, thousands of supporters and those that were paid around $500 pesos ($39 U.S.) marched and rallied in support for El Chapo. Bands played music, tamales, drinks and beer was provided to those participating. Sinaloa state authorities say, that they are investigating who organized the marches.
Also on Wednesday, Mexican federal authorities charged Guzmán Loera with two counts of possessing weapons exclusively used by the military and for organized crime. Each count was filed in several states. Multiple other counts are pending according to the federal Attorney General's Office (PGRF). 
El Chapo was arrested on February 22 in Mazatlán,  Sinaloa after 13 years on the run. The U.S. is seeking extradition for Guzmán Loera for drug trafficking,  conspiracy,  money laundering and murder charges.

$17.6K In Donations Raised For Delgado Who Saved Child From Alleged Kidnapper

Grady O'Brien, Jesus Delgado and Andron Gazarov

(Gazarov's photo courtesy of Wirednixon dot com)

More than $17.6K has been raised in donations for Delgado who has a daughter with a heart problem. Bail for kidnapper was raised to $450K.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 2, 2014

Westchester, CA - By Sunday, a fund created by Jennifer Veronica Vega Wiacek for Jesus Delgado, a T2 taco stand cook who on Wednesday is credited for saving Grady O'Brien,  4, from a kidnapper. Delgado also has a 4-year-old daughter with a heart condition and since saving O'Brien donations have been pouring in to help him with his daughter's medical bills. Vega Wiacek began with a goal to raise $5,000, but has so far raised more than $17,616 and the goal now has been set to $20,000.
Delgado on Wednesday from a taco stand kitchen jumped into action after he heard screams from a babysitter for help after Andron Gazarov, 33, of North Hollywood, punched her and took Grady while his other brother, Brendan O'Brien, 6, watched. Delgado ran across Manchester Blvd. after the babysitter who followed Gazarov and pointed to where he had taken O'Brien. Delgado ran for two blocks and caught up with Gazarov. He told Delgado, "it's not your problem, man. It's not your problem. Leave me alone with the kid." Delgado responded to Gazarov, "This is my problem. This is my problem, because why you take this kid?"
Delgado O'Brien from Gazarov and held him until police arrived and was arrested. 
Other school kids also helped Delgado including the 5-year-old's brother.
Witnesses say, Gazarov had been talking out loud earlier that he was from the CIA and had also exposed himself in public.
Gazarov was charged on Friday with one count each for kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, assault to cause great bodily harm and indecent exposure. If convicted, Gazarov is facing up to 12 years in prison.
Gazarov is being held on $450,000 bond. He is scheduled for an arraignment court hearing on March 3rd.



34 Fatally Stabbed And 130 Wounded By Knife Wielding Attackers At Kunming Train Station

At least 34 Chinese nationals were fatally stabbed and 130 people reported injured at Kunming Train Station in China.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 1, 2014

Kunming, Yunnan Province, China -  At least 34 people were fatally stabbed and 130 other people were injured inside the Kunming Train Station in China by a group of armed men with knives, the Weibo dot com reported. Earlier reports had the dead toll at 28, but more could die from critical injuries, according to Chinese authorities. 
Five suspects have been reported killed by Chinese police, two suspects taken into custody, four policemen were injured and are pursuing other suspects involved in the massacre.
Chinese officials say, between 7 to 10 men wearing all black clothing and masks attacked the rail train station around 9:20 p.m. The suspects attacked people in line buying tickets and waiting in metal stalls. Once the attack began, people panic and ran while the attackers followed and cold bloodedly stabbed victims.
The attack began at Kunming local time (11:20 p.m. EST) in Yunnan Province. They're calling it premeditated terrorist attack on unarmed civilians. 
The Yunnan Vice governor has confirmed the massacre. President Xi Jinping has mobilized the police to track down those responsible for swift punishment. 

Major Fire Draws Multiple Fire Rescue And Police Departments To Greenfield

Various fire and police departments respond to a fire at a complex building in Greenfield.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 1, 2014

Greenfield, WI - On Saturday, multiple fire and police departments responded to a major fire at a 16 unit complex apartment building just after 1:00 p.m. in Greenfield. The fire began in the basement and spread throughout the complex, no one was reported injured.
Fire rescue paramedics from multiple departments from Southeastern Wisconsin, fire trucks from Oakcreek, Franklin, Greendale and Milwaukee, including police from various other departments and WE Energy emergency trucks responded near the intersection of S. 72 St. and W. Layton Ave. 
Police have blocked Southbound of S. 72 St. from W. Layton Ave.

Healthy Eating Choices Made Easier...

Healthy Eating Choices Made Easier...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth




Kudos once again to the First Lady for her efforts in keeping healthy eating in the spotlight and championing new and improved nutritional labeling om prepared foods products.

As a NASM CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) I understand and can relate to exactly what the First Lady is saying.

There will likely be those who will make fun of Michelle Obama's video, and expresses the argument that the eating choices of children are best left to the discretion of their parents. They are technically right. But there is nothing like easily assessable and easily understandable accurate information when making those choices that effect the health and well being of your children.

Full article BELOW THE FOLD.

Via: Memeorandum

28 Stabbed To Dead And 162 Seriously Injured, 5 Suspects Killed By Chinese Police

At least 28 Chinese nationals were fatally stabbed, but dead toll could rise and 162 people reported injured at Kunming at train station in China.

By H. Nelson Goodson
March 1, 2014

Kunming, Yunnan Province, China -  At least 28 people were fatally stabbed and 162 other people were injured inside the Kunming train station in China by a group of armed men with knives, the Weibo dot com reported. Five suspects have been killed by Chinese police, two suspects taken into custody, four police officers were injured and are pursuing other suspects involved in the massacre.
Chinese officials say, between 7 to 10 men wearing uniforms and masks attacked the rail train station around 9:20 p.m. Kunming local time (11:20 p.m. EST) in Yunnan Province. They're calling it premeditated terrorist attack on unarmed civilians. 
The Yunnan Vice governor has confirmed the massacre. President Xi Jinping has mobilized the police to track down those responsible for swift punishment.