‘Do Not Let Anyone Silence You’

 By Charlie Duncan

As Drag Race icons unite to for an epic televised celebration of drag and pop culture favourites such as Maren Morris, Kevin Bacon and Hozier condemn anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in America, one queer icon has taken to the streets to raise their voice against the disturbing political climate.

Appearing at a rally outside the Texas State Capitol on Monday (20 March), Jonathan Van Ness gave a rousing speech to crowds who had turned out to protest the rising tide of US state legislation prohibiting drag performances and gender-affirming healthcare for trans children.

In their speech, Van Ness, who was introduced as an “HIV positive and undetectable, non-binary truth teller”, advocated for trans rights, as well as highlighting serious issues that the American government could be focusing on rather than pushing harmful legalisation targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

“At a time when we have child poverty at an all-time high, we have access to healthcare at an all-time low, people are fighting like they’ve never fought before for basic human rights. And we are out here debating trans issues that these legislatures have no idea about,” Van Ness began.

“We will have to be back on these steps, in those chambers, protesting and fighting for our rights.”

The Queer Eye star, who has previously slammed the US government’s “botched” response to the rise in mpox cases, also urged the crowd to raise their voices against oppression.

“I was taught growing up that you never talk about religion or politics. As I have grown older, I have realised that that is a relic of the patriarchy to keep those in power in power, because they know that when we start to talk about what is really going on, their smoke and mirrors game is gone.

“So when you’re at the grocery store, when you’re at church, when you’re at synagogue, when you’re practising your faith, you talk about your existence. You talk about your humanity. You do not let anyone silence the things that move your life, whether that is politics, religion, your faith, your spirit.

“Because let me tell you something: these people on the right, they are not silencing their faith to legislate your lives.”

Van Ness also did a call and response with the crowd. “Trans rights!” they declared, with the crowd replying: “Human rights!”

The Queer Eye star, who has previously slammed the US government’s “botched” response to the rise in mpox cases, also urged the crowd to raise their voices against oppression.

“I was taught growing up that you never talk about religion or politics. As I have grown older, I have realised that that is a relic of the patriarchy to keep those in power in power, because they know that when we start to talk about what is really going on, their smoke and mirrors game is gone.

“So when you’re at the grocery store, when you’re at church, when you’re at synagogue, when you’re practising your faith, you talk about your existence. You talk about your humanity. You do not let anyone silence the things that move your life, whether that is politics, religion, your faith, your spirit.

“Because let me tell you something: these people on the right, they are not silencing their faith to legislate your lives.”

Van Ness also did a call and response with the crowd. “Trans rights!” they declared, with the crowd replying: “Human rights!”

Joining Van Ness was Drag Race alumnus, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, who made her own speech and performed a lip sync to “I Am What I Am” from the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles.

The rally was organised by organisations Equality Texas, the Texas Freedom Network, Transgender Education Network of Texas, Lambda Legal, HRC Houston, HRC Austin and the ACLU of Texas.

Ahead of the rally, Equality Texas wrote on Facebook:

“So far this legislative session, 139 good bills and 137 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced, demonstrating a change in tide as Texas advocates and allies not only play defence against the barrage of harmful bills, but also outpace them with a push for bills that would benefit the lives of LGBTQ+ Texans across the state.

“Thank you for standing with LGBTQ+ Texans in this fight!” -Pink News

This Weeks Sound Off

Politically Correct – and Dead 

Senator Dick Durbin (D –IL) and some of his colleagues in Congress are trying to prevent U.S. law enforcement and intelligence organizations from teaching their personnel about the enemy.

Can you imagine not telling Americans about Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party during World War II? Or failing to teach about Communism during the Cold War?

And yet today, ten years after we were attacked by jihadi Muslims in the name of Islam, Sen. Durbin and his colleagues are trying to ensure that our intelligence and law enforcement professionals will miss the next attack, just as they missed the preparations for 9/11 taking place right here on American soil.

Under Senator Durbin’s plan, we will be politically correct – and dead. For that will be the inevitable result of not teaching our intelligence and law enforcement professionals the nature of the enemy that attacked us on 9/11 and continues to plot future attacks on America.

Unlike Senator Durbin, I have actually lived in the Muslim world, and have studied Islam with a mujtahed – a recognized Islamic scholar.

As I wrote in my book Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America (Crown Forum, 2003), a struggle is underway for the soul of Islam between those who would revive the jihadi roots of the Koran and the hadith, and those who seek a reformation of Islamic traditions.

The reformists face a difficult battle, since they must walk away from a doctrine of violence, anti-Semitism, and persecution of non-Muslims that is openly expressed in Islam’s most sacred texts. The reformists are reviled by hate groups here in the United States and elsewhere who deem them apostates – which is punishable by death! - for not towing to Islamic orthodoxy.

While I certainly wish the reformists every success, we cannot base our national security on hope for a change in Islam.

Instead, we should be teaching law enforcement and intelligence professionals the doctrinal basis for the jihadi movement. They need to understand things such as the doctrine of abrogation, by which earlier “peaceful” statements of the Muslim prophet are cancelled (or “abrogated”) by subsequent calls to violence against non-Muslims.

Al Qaeda and like-minded groups who despise our freedoms believe that the call to violent jihad is a “duty” placed upon all Muslims by Islam’s own holy texts. We ignore this at our peril.

The New York Police Department and many state law enforcement agencies have turned to recognized Islamic law experts to put together a training curriculum that examines Islamic law by using authoritative Islamic texts.

I have examined much of this course material. Not only is it scrupulously factual; it demonstrates how Islamic concepts are being used by jihadi groups to recruit terrorists in our midst.

But if Senator Durbin gets his way, future generations of our law enforcement and intelligence professionals will be forbidden from learning the truth. Instead, they will be taught that Islam is a “religion of peace” that condemns terrorism, abhors violence, and wants to hold hands with Christians and Jews all night at the campfire.

That is precisely what happened with Major Nidal Hassan. Even though he told his colleagues repeatedly that his Islamic beliefs compelled him to kill Americans, they chose to ignore these warnings for fear of being labeled politically incorrect. Had they taken off their ideological blinders, 13 innocent victims at Fort Hood would be alive with their families today.

Our intelligence and law enforcement professionals are smart enough to understand the difference between the overwhelming majority of ordinary Muslims who do not subscribe to the ideology of Shariah law, and jihadi terrorists like Major Hassan whose goal is to create a world-wide Islamic state based on Shariah.

Muslims are not the problem; Islamic doctrine as exploited by groups such as al Qaeda and the Taliban is. And we need to know as much as we possibly can about that doctrine and how it can be defeated.

Seventeen years ago, along with an Iranian dissident ayatollah, I founded the Foundation for Democracy in Iran (www.iran.org), and have been working with Iranian dissidents ever since.

Iranians have been inoculated against the virus of Shariah law because they were its first victims. Iranian-Americans who fled to this country seeking freedom are among our best allies in this struggle to defeat the jihadi terrorist movement, which is today supported by the regime in Tehran, among others.

So I deny Senator Durbin the authority or the right to speak on behalf of Muslims. I deny him the right to preach about the doctrines of Shariah law. I ask you to join with ACT! For America so together we can defeat his politically-correct crusade against the truth-tellers. The lives of our loved ones depend on it. -By Kenneth R. Timmerman

Foot Note: Ken Timmerman is a best-selling author who has spent three decades investigating threats to our national security. He is the Republican nominee for Congress in Maryland’s 8th District, www.TimmermanForCongress.com.

This Weeks Sound Off

Hurray For Florida

Florida's highways will be extra busy during the next month or so when the druggies and deadbeats start heading out of Florida. Florida is the first State to require drug testing in order to receive welfare benefits.

In signing the new law, Florida's Gov. Rick Scott said that Floridians on welfare better make sure they are drug-free. Applicants who test positive for illicit substances will not be eligible for the funds for a year and until they successfully undergo treatment. Those who fail a second time will be banned from receiving funds for three consecutive years.

Naturally, many people are crying that this is "unconstitutional". Really? How could this be unconstitutional when it's completely legal to expect [and require] every working person to pass a drug test in order to get a job which supports those on welfare?

It's high time to give welfare assistance only to those who truly deserve it, not the habitual social parasites, who abuse and misuse the welfare system by wasting taxpayers' funds on their illegal drug habits. –Author Unknown

This Weeks Sound Off

Family: Illegal-Immigrant Student Martyred Himself For Dream Act

An illegal-immigrant student in Texas who committed suicide the day after Thanksgiving left letters saying he felt trapped by his lack of opportunities and, according to his family, he “decided to sacrifice himself for the cause.”

High school senior Joaquin Luna, 18, put on a suit, kissed family members, went into the bathroom and shot himself Friday, according to his brother, Diyer Mendoza. In the letters he left, his brother said, Luna expressed despair at the chances for the federal Dream Act, which would legalize illegal-immigrant students and young adults.

Congress blocked the legislation last year.

“He was actually doing this for the cause, mainly the Dream Act,” Mr. Mendoza said. “He was doing this to show politicians, to show that something had to be done because there are a lot of kids out there in the same situation.”

The case casts a dramatic spotlight on the hundreds of thousands of illegal-immigrant students who are caught between a decision their parents made when they were young and the realities of U.S. immigration law.

Immigrant rights advocates said politicians in Washington should take notice of Luna’s act.

“His death is an indictment on the failure of this administration to move an inch forward on fixing a broken immigration system,” said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, communications director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, which has planned a commemoration on Friday for Luna.

“I certainly don’t want to give you the impression that we’re going to use his death as a football or anything like that. We need to honor his memory, and we need to remind other Americans what this young man was about - because that’s the kind of people we’re talking about,” Mr. Cabrera said.

A local news report said the letters were turned over to the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department.

That office did not return a message Monday seeking information.

Luna was a student at Benito Juarez-Abraham Lincoln High School in Mission, Texas, where he earned A and B grades, and was a regular worshipper at a Baptist church, his brother said.

Mr. Mendoza said the rest of the family has legal status but not all are citizens. His mother went into labor while she was in Reynosa, Mexico, which meant her Luna was not a U.S. citizen.

Luna applied to colleges. Although some showed interest, Mr. Mendoza said, his brother’s legal status made him ineligible for some scholarships and meant he wouldn’t be able to work legally once his schooling was finished.

“His world just closed,” Mr. Mendoza said. “He saw that there was everything he was doing was just for nothing. He was never going to be able to succeed.”

Students in Luna’s position are among the most difficult of immigration cases. In most instances, they were brought to the U.S. by parents when they were young and have grown up in the U.S. without ties to any other country.

Congressional Democrats tried to push through the Dream Act during the lame-duck session last year. Although the legislation was approved in the House, it was blocked in the Senate after falling five votes shy of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. President Obama backed the legislation.

Opponents said the legislation was too broad, applying to illegal immigrants well past their days as students, and argued that the requirements on those who were eligible weren’t strict enough.

Under a Supreme Court ruling, illegal immigrants are entitled to public education at the primary and secondary levels.

Alabama this year enacted a law that requires public school students and their parents to disclose their legal status, though the law doesn’t bar those students from attending school. A federal court has blocked that provision from being implemented.

Decisions on public higher education, however, are left to the states, which have differed on whether to charge illegal immigrant students in-state or out-of-state tuition. Many states argue that illegal immigrants can’t be legal state residents and must pay out-of-state rates, but Texas and California have gone the other direction.

With Texas Gov. Rick Perry running for the GOP’s presidential nomination, his state’s stance has drawn national attention.

“In the state of Texas where Mexico has a clear and a long relationship with this state, we decided it was in the best interest of those young people to give them the opportunity to go on to college and to have the opportunity,” Mr. Perry said at a debate in September. “They’re pursuing citizenship in this country rather than saying, ‘You know, we’re going to put you over here and put you on the government dole for the rest of your life.’”

In a comment that infuriated some conservative groups, Mr. Perry said critics of the Texas law did not “have a heart,” although he later tempered his criticism.

Other candidates said the favorable treatment in Texas and other states effectively rewards illegal behavior.

“The American way is not to give taxpayer-subsidized benefits to people who have broken our laws or who are here in the United States illegally,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican.

In the absence of the Dream Act, Mr. Obama has tried to take administrative action. The Homeland Security Department has issued a memo to its immigration services saying those who would have qualified for the Dream Act should be low on the priority list for deportation. It also listed other factors, such as caring for a family, that would lower the risk of deportation.

Immigrant rights groups say the administration could go further and issue a blanket stay of deportations for illegal immigrant students. Mr. Obama said he does not have the authority to take such action. –Washington Times

Though it’s sad that Joaquin Luna felt it necessary to take his own life in order to make a statement, still the truth remains, he was here in the U.S. illegally.

I am not about giving amnesty to those who came to this country illegally … family or not, if you didn’t come here legally you have no rights to be here, let alone take advantage of our country and all it has to offer. Furthermore, those who are illegally here should not be afforded constitutional rights … these rights belongs solely to American citizens. And those who are found to be here in this country illegally should be deported as soon as they are picked up.

I believe in immigration … my parents immigrated to this country, but did so legally. Yes, they had to jump through hoops and from start to finish it took about six years to complete the process, but they did so legally. The same MUST be expected from all who wish to be a part of our country.

America is a melting pot and we welcome just about everyone, but don’t take advantage of our welcome mat by coming here and remaining here illegally. Do the right thing … get in line just like any other immigrant and the American dream will become a reality.

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China Prepares For Big Entry Into Vaccine Market

The world should get ready for a new “Made in China” product — vaccines.

China‘s vaccine makers are gearing up over the next few years to push exports in a move that should lower costs of lifesaving immunizations for the world’s poor and provide major new competition for the big Western pharmaceutical companies.

However, it may take some time before some parts of the world are ready to embrace Chinese products when safety is as sensitive an issue as it is with vaccines — especially given the food, drug and other scandals the country has seen.

Still, China‘s entry into this market will be a “game changer,” said Nina Schwalbe, head of policy at the GAVI Alliance, which buys vaccines for 50 million children a year worldwide.

“We are really enthusiastic about the potential entry of Chinese vaccine manufacturers,” she said.

China‘s vaccine-making prowess captured world attention in 2009 when one of its companies developed the first effective vaccine against swine flu — in just 87 days — as the new virus swept the globe. In the past, new vaccine developments had usually been won by the U.S. and Europe.

Then, this past March the World Health Organization announced that China‘s drug safety authority meets international standards for vaccine regulation. It opened the doors for Chinese vaccines to be submitted for WHO approval so they can be bought by U.N. agencies and the GAVI Alliance.

“China is a vaccine-producing power” with more than 30 companies that have an annual production capacity of nearly 1 billion doses — the largest in the world, the country’s State Food and Drug Administration told the Associated Press.

But more needs to be done to build confidence in Chinese vaccines overseas, said Helen Yang of Sinovac, the NASDAQ-listed Chinese biotech firm that rapidly developed the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. “We think the main obstacle is that we have the name of ‘Made in China‘ still. That is an issue.”

China‘s food and drug safety record in recent years hardly inspires confidence: In 2007, Chinese cough syrup killed 93 people in Central America; one year later, contaminated blood thinner led to dozens of deaths in the United States while tainted milk powder poisoned hundreds of thousands of Chinese babies and killed six.

The government has since imposed more regulations, stricter inspections and heavier punishments for violators. Perhaps because of that, regulators routinely crack down on counterfeit and substandard drugmaking.

While welcoming WHO’s approval of China‘s drug safety authority, one expert said it takes more than a regulatory agency to keep drugmakers from cutting corners or producing fakes.

“In the U.S., we have supporting institutions such as the market economy, democracy, media monitoring, civil society, as well as a well-developed business ethics code, but these are all still pretty much absent in China,” said Yanzhong Huang, a China health expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. “For China, the challenge is much greater in building a strong, robust regulative capacity.”

Last year, a Chinese newspaper report linked improperly stored vaccines to four children’s deaths in northern Shanxi province, raising nationwide concern. The Health Ministry said the vaccines did not cause the deaths, but some remained skeptical.

Meanwhile, Chinese researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year that a pandemic flu vaccine given to 90 million people in 2009 was safe. –Washington Times

Yes, we buy and enjoy products made in China because it’s cheep. However, being injected with a vaccine made in China? Not so fast!

Products made in China don’t last and in years past we have found that China has produced products that did not meet U.S. safety standards. Therefore, do you think that their vaccine will be any different?

Before made in China vaccines are distributed here in the U.S. it is hoped that our government will test their vaccine thoroughly before releasing it to the general population.

Personally, I prefer and feel safer if the vaccine I get annually was made here in the America.

This Weeks Sound Off

Herman Cain on Saturday announced he is suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

“One of the first declarations that I want to make to you today is that I am at peace with my God. I am at peace with my wife, and she is at peace with me,” he said prior to making the announcement.

Cain said the decision was a result of the "cloud of doubt" that had been cast over his family in light of what he called false allegations.

Cain's once-surging bid for the nomination began to falter in recent weeks after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced.

Most recently, Ginger White of Atlanta claimed that she and Cain, who is married, had carried on a 13-year affair.

Cain this week told a newspaper he had repeatedly given White money to help her with "month-to-month bills and expenses." But he denied the relationship was sexual, as White contends. He said the two were friends.

Cain earlier told staffers he was reassessing his campaign in the wake of the allegation of the affair, and he acknowledged to reporters that her account had led to a drop in contributions to his campaign.

"Suspending” a campaign allows a candidate to continue raising and spending campaign funds. –CNN Reports

From the get go and of all the Republican candidates for President, Herman Cain was just to good to be true. When the first allegations of sexual harassment surfaced I knew there was more to come.

Though Cain tried to talk his way out of the sexual harassment allegations, his handling of the situation reminded me of former President Clinton and his affair with Monica Lewinsky, and from that point forward I just waited for the other foot to fall, which it has, thus causing Cain to walk away from his bid for the White House. A thirteen year affair is pretty hard to lie about, specially since the woman had enough proof to seal Cain’s fate … so sad, but good reddens!!

This Weeks Sound Off

Bill Introduced to Strip Citizenship Of Americans Supporting Terror Abroad

A new bill introduced by Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman and several other members of Congress would strip the citizenship of Americans deemed by the government to be involved in terrorism.

Lieberman introduced the “Enemy Expatriation Act” Wednesday with Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent and Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire. The legislation would update federal law to revoke the citizenship of Americans involved in terrorism.

Currently, there are seven categories under federal law for which U.S. citizens can lose their citizenship. Existing expatriation law includes such acts as renouncing one’s citizenship or serving in the armed services of a foreign state engaged in hostilities against the U.S.

The new legislation would expand the list to include “providing material support or resources to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, as designated by the secretary of state, or actively engaging in hostilities against the United States or its allies.” -Vision To America

I support this bill 100%!

Being an American citizen is a privilege which shouldn’t be taken lightly or for granted. Any citizen who betrays America and supports an enemy bent on destroying our country should loose their rights, as well as their citizenship, jailed and the key thrown away.

This Weeks Sound Off

Herman Cain Does 180 on Islam, Would Appoint Muslims To Cabinet

After coming out strongly against Islam and appointing Muslims to his cabinet, Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain reversed course completely. [View Cain’s Statement Here]

One Out of Two Herman Cains Would Appoint Muslims to His Cabinet, Judgeships

Herman Cain wants to correct the record: He would consider a Muslim for his cabinet or as a federal judge if he’s elected president.

Cain’s clarification comes two months after he initially said he wouldn’t have any Muslim appointees, stoking controversy and criticism from a leading Muslim advocacy group.

“That statement is not what I said. It has been misconstrued,” Cain told Glenn Beck on his radio show Tuesday. –Vision To America

Now that I’ve read this statement about Cain’s willingness to appoint a Muslim to his cabinet, I wouldn’t think twice about NOT voting for the bastard.

Infusing Muslim’s, in particular Islam into our political system is simply out of the question, for by doing so it would give Islam legitimacy that we cannot afford as American's. Why? Because Islam’s main goal is to destroy our way of life. By giving Islam an open door through which they could destroy us is not politically correct.

Herman Cain, go back to your pizza factory! I’m just saying!

This Weeks Sound Off

Al-Awlaki

Should we have killed Al-Awlaki, an American Citizen? HELL YEAH! At least it's one less terrorist bent on killing us.

I don’t give a damn about anyone who is bent on killing innocent American citizens for some radical insane religious belief. If it comes down to it being between me and them, you damn straight I’ll do my best to make sure it’s going to be them and not me. Therefore, the news of Al-Awlaki’s killing, I say AMEN!

Next?

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Cash-strapped Governments Spend Big On Paris Trip

As their cash-strapped governments slashed public programs and shed jobs, records show officials from at least 14 states jetted across the Atlantic in June to attend the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget.

The annual summertime exposition in France is among the world's premier events for the aerospace industry, and officials in several states said gathering offered a unique opportunity to recruit potential employers. However, a review of receipts obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request found no direct evidence the taxpayer money spent in Paris resulted in the creation of new jobs back home.

The sizable state delegations were often accompanied by officials from county and municipal economic development groups, which are typically also supported by taxpayer money. Officials in several states ran up tabs in the tens of thousands of dollars, and some states - including North Carolina, South Carolina and Mississippi - spent more than $100,000.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley spent $157,746 in taxpayer money on her trip to France, which was followed by a stop in Germany. Haley, a Republican who touts herself as a fiscal conservative, was accompanied by her husband, 11 staffers and a two-person security detail.

In neighboring North Carolina, state Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco and six members of his staff spent about $112,228 on travel and expenses.

The receipts obtained by the AP show Crisco hosted a party of five at the seafood restaurant Le Ballon des Ternes for a $653 meal of veal medallions, prawns and snails, washed down with four bottles of wine.

Three months after the Paris Air Show, Crisco had still not filed his final expense report for the trip. After a reporter requested his expenses, Crisco's office said he would seek only the state's standard $37.50 per diem for his share of the Paris meal.

It was the fourth year in a row that state has sent a delegation abroad for air shows in either France or England.

"This is about building relationships," said Tim Crowley, Crisco's spokesman. "If North Carolina is going to be a player in the aerospace industry, it must have a presence at the international air show."

Connecticut taxpayers spent about $88,500 for two staff members to host a booth at the show. Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer canceled plans to attend because of wildfires in her state, although three Commerce Authority officials still traveled at a cost of $14,716.

In Mississippi, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour sent his chief of staff and five employees of a state-supported development group to Paris at a cost to taxpayers of $105,983, after deducting $40,000 in corporate sponsorships.

Oklahoma sent four state officials to the show and spent a total of $83,717, records show. As in the other states, Oklahoma commerce secretary Dave Lopez was unable to cite concrete results from the trip.

"It's hard to point to any one event and say that closes a deal," Lopez said. "You make initial contacts. You exchange information. It's not the kind of thing where there's an immediate cause and effect."

New York's Department of Economic Development did not respond to requests for its expenses, though a list of exhibitors from the air show indicates the state hosted a booth.

Before leading a delegation from Washington state to the show, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire downplayed the financial impact of the journey by saying it would cost less than $40,000.

In fact, the state spent more than twice that much.

Gregoire's Paris hotel room cost nearly $500 per night while travelers at times received per diems that estimated $84 dinners and $56 lunches, according to expense reports. The price of security alone was more than Gregoire's initial estimate.

The total bill for the governor's office, her Washington State Patrol security and aides from the Department of Commerce reached more than $98,000. Gregoire said in a statement that the investment will pay off in the long term and that the state must aggressively market itself to attract new businesses.

"We do it with extremely limited budgets and strategic spending," Gregoire said. "No frills, but a lot of rolled up sleeves and on-the-ground work to gain immeasurable exposure."

As with Washington, North Carolina officials initially played down the cost, originally estimating total expenses at less than $30,000. That figure failed to account for the $85,425 in taxpayer funds used toward North Carolina's $125,000 booth at the air show.

During its week in the City of Light, the group occupied a block of rooms at the Villa des Ternes, described on its website as "a very private hotel, a stone's throw from the Palais des Congres, near the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees." Rooms there cost about $300 a night, costing the state a total of $10,732.

Airfare for the delegation ran about $1,800 per person.

The state's spokesman refused to name any of the aerospace executives or companies with whom Secretary Crisco met while in Paris, citing a need for confidentiality.

In addition to the pricey seafood dinner, North Carolina picked up the tab for a $247 lunch at the steakhouse le Galvacher that included plates of escargot, steak and salmon. The following day, Crisco and two aides entertained an unnamed client for a $315 lunch.

State Sen. Bob Rucho, a Charlotte Republican, said the administration of Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue and her predecessors has been too focused on trying to land "big game" projects from multinational corporations.

"When I went to Paris, it was on my own dime and I don't remember eating at any of these restaurants," Rucho said of the state-paid trip. "It might be flashy to say we landed a couple hundred jobs with some foreign company, but we need to be growing jobs with our own North Carolina companies. You hunt where the ducks are."

Crisco's spokesman said the taxpayer money spent on travel and entertainment will pay dividends in the future.

"There were more than a dozen leads generated from the show which are companies considering expansion or relocation, and there are three or four projects that are considered active, which means they are actively making decisions about relocation or expansion," Crowley said.

Meanwhile, North Carolina officials already are preparing for their next international economic development trip.

Later this month, the governor, Crisco and aides will jet off to China and Japan for the second time in two years. The state expects to spend about $50,000 in taxpayer money on that trip.

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Associated Press reporters Jim Davenport in Columbia, S.C.; Paul Davenport in Phoenix; Michael Gormley in Albany, N.Y.; Stephen Singer in Hartford, Conn.; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Miss., contributed to this report. –Sun News

The spending habits of our representatives is out of control. With the economy in such disarray and millions out of work, our good for nothing representatives can afford to spend our hard earned money for a freaking trip to France? Give me a fucking break! This is reprehensible! And they wonder why we the “commoners” have such distain for them.


Though the trip may be deemed as an “investment in the future” it isn’t going to help current problems right here in our own back yard. The heck with the future … relief is needed now! Not tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. We are in desperate times and our brainless representatives seem to care less about people who are currently struggling to maintain even the basic necessities of life. And they have the nerve to call us irresponsible? Go to hell!


It’s past time to clean house. But then again most don’t even care. We go about our lives with our heads in the sand while our leaders, both locally and nationally, bleed our pockets for their own pleasure and adventure all in the name of “business”.


Next time, instead of going to Europe why not try Georgia. Better yet, why not just stay right here at home and get our economy back on track and the unemployed back to work. Then maybe you can justify a luxury trip to wherever. I’m just saying.

This Weeks Sound Off

Police: Man Admits To Sex With Cat

A Council Bluffs man faces several charges after witnesses told police he threw a cat from a seventh-floor apartment window with his pants down.

On Wednesday morning, officers were called to 455 W. Broadway for a report of someone tossing a cat from an apartment and exposing himself. According to the police report, officers found a gray cat, which later died, bleeding and barely breathing near the sidewalk.

Witnesses told police they saw a man expose himself from the seventh floor of an apartment building across the street. They told police he then threw the cat out the window.

Officers identified the apartment from which the witnesses said the cat was thrown and made contact with a man inside.

The 29-year-old man, identified as Gerardo Martinez, answered the door shirtless with his pants down, the police report said. Officers asked him to pull his pants up and asked him about the cat.

Martinez, who admitted to using meth, first denied having a cat, police said. Later, he changed his story and told police his boyfriend threw the cat from the window three hours prior, police said.

When police told Martinez that witnesses said the cat was thrown more recently, he said he attempted to have sex with the cat and then threw it out the window, along with a pornographic DVD, police said.

Police arrested Martinez and witnesses identified him as the man from the window.

Martinez -- who turned 30 on Thursday -- has been charged with animal torture, bestiality and indecent exposure, according to the Pottawattamie County attorney.

He's being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail and faces up to five years in jail if convicted. –KCCI 8

And people say that Gay’s and Lesbian’s are creepy and morally corrupt! Yeah, ok! This guy is a freak and disgusting, requiring a great deal of therapy. I’m just saying!

This Weeks Sound Off

As the U.S. Senate votes today to raise the debt limit, I wanted to make sure you know where I stand.

I cannot in good conscience support this deal.

Simply stated, it locks us into more debt, bigger government and most devastating of all, a weakened Defense infrastructure at a time when threats to our nation are increasing, not decreasing.

This agreement still adds over $7 trillion in new debt over the next decade and only makes small reductions in future spending. We hardly address the future growth of entitlements, a major contributor of future budgetary problems.

Instead of our nation running toward bankruptcy we will be walking toward bankruptcy.

The only part of our nation’s budget which is really exposed to serious consequences is the Department of Defense. Their budget could be reduced by nearly $1 trillion under this plan. And if these proposed cuts ever become reality, the biggest loser will be our men and women in uniform.

I firmly believe defense spending should be placed under a microscope and we can find savings. However, this agreement places Defense on the chopping block and slowly moves the Republican Party away from the Reagan model of a strong national defense. I fear it legitimizes the concept that Defense spending is not only equal to other areas of federal spending, but is of lesser importance.

The U.S. Constitution's preamble is unequivocal where it states one of the federal government’s primary responsibilities is to “provide for the common defense.” I fear this deal could ultimately weaken that principle.

I always believed we have to raise our nation’s debt-ceiling but should do so in a responsible manner. I strongly supported Cut, Cap and Balance and will continue to work for passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. I thought we could have raised the debt-ceiling for a period of nine months, the historical average since 1940, accompanied by a dollar-to-dollar spending cut to debt-ceiling increase while we work to enact these important structural changes to the way the government operates.

The debt-limit debate offered us a prime opportunity to finally stop kicking the can down the road and bring discipline to the way Congress spends.

Because of our $14.5 trillion and growing national debt, we are in jeopardy of losing the American Dream where children are able to do better than their parents.

Unfortunately, I fear we will see that this agreement does not really move the needle when it comes to reducing government spending.

For these reasons, I vote No.

By Senator Lindsey Graham

This Weeks Sound Off

New San Francisco Bridge Built In China To Be Shipped To US

First, China made cut-price clothes and knick-knacks. Then it learned how to make mobile phones and iPads. Now it is making a 2,050ft-long bridge spanning the San Francisco bay.

Next month, four enormous steel skeletons, the last of the 12 segments of the bridge, will be shipped 6,500 miles from Shanghai to San Francisco before being assembled on site.

The bridge, which will connect San Francisco to Oakland on the other side of the bay, is a sign of how China has moved on from building roads and ports in Africa and the developing world and is now aggressively bidding for, and winning, major construction and engineering projects in the United States and Europe.

After building forests of skyscrapers in Beijing and Shanghai, showpiece buildings like the Bird's Nest stadium and the Guangzhou Opera House, and a high-speed rail network that is the envy of the world, Chinese construction companies are flush with cash and confidence. This week, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, lobbied David Cameron to give the contract for the UK's new high speed rail link to a Chinese company.

According to Engineering News Record, five of the world's top 10 contractors, in terms of revenue, are now Chinese, with likes of China State Construction Engineering Group (CSCEC) overtaking established American giants like Bechtel.

CSCEC has already built seven schools in the US, apartment blocks in Washington DC and New York and is in the middle of building a 4,000-room casino in Atlantic City. In New York, it has won contracts to renovate the subway system, build a new metro platform near Yankee stadium, and refurbish the Alexander Hamilton Bridge over the Harlem river.

In Europe, meanwhile, China has signed deals with Serbia for a bridge over the river Danube and a connecting road to Belgrade. A £215 million deal will see Chinese firms refurbishing and upgrading a Serbian coal-fired power plant, while China is building a new mobile phone network in Hungary and wants to sell Bulgaria a nuclear power plant, built from a French design.

"The European construction market is huge and the Chinese are very interested in it," said Werner Buelen at the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers, an umbrella organization for Europe's construction trade unions. "At the moment, they seem to be running a pilot program to decide whether to access the market directly by bidding on contracts or whether to buy European construction companies and then use those to access the market," he added.

"They have a very clever mechanism, with several advantages. The first is financing, which they have better access to because Chinese companies are mostly state-owned. It is getting more and more difficult for European contractors to access financing, and you need to have a lot of finance in the construction industry," he said.

"Then they have managed to transfer Chinese workers, who are cheaper.

They can also use construction machinery they have built in China.

Finally, because they can generate still profit despite their low bids, they use that money to hire famous architects and demonstrate they can deliver a project above the normal standard".

However, earlier this month, China was fired from its first major prestige project in Europe, the new A2 motorway in Poland for the Euro 2012 football championships. After bidding 44 per cent lower than the Polish government had budgeted for the road, a Chinese state-owned building company found it was unable to pay its workers to finish the job.

"It is difficult for Chinese companies," said Wang Shouqing, a professor at the International Engineering research department at the elite Tsinghua university. "They are not familiar with Western culture, law or standards. What happened in Poland was a very bad example for other Chinese companies. It could take another decade or even 20 years to put our footprint on Europe and the US." The embarrassment in Poland led China's State Council to publish a notice on Monday warning the heads of China's state-owned companies that they would be "punished" if their companies negligently lost money on overseas projects.

Norman Haste OBE, an engineer whose projects include the second Severn crossing and the design of Heathrow’s Terminal 5, said he had encountered Chinese firms bidding aggressively in the Middle East and that he had a “high regard for what they have done in recent years".

He said: “Their capabilities are second to none, and they are able to finance projects. There is a big demand for new investment in Eastern Europe and similarly in the United States and they will do well there.” But he added that the history of protectionism in the French, German and UK markets might be harder to break. –The Telegraph

So much for saving American jobs! Instead, we support Chinese workers? It sounds like our representatives really don’t care about us first and only us who are trying to keep afloat during this unprecedented economic melt-down in modern history, which by the way, isn’t improving.

It’s time for our representatives to stop paying us lip service and start creating jobs here in the U.S. instead of outsourcing labor that can be done right here at home. But how stupid can I be? China is the NEW U.S.A. After all, they pretty much own us. My bad!

This Weeks Sound Off

Casey Anthony Found Not Guilty

Casey Anthony has been found not guilty of first-degree murder of her daughter, Caylee. She was found guilty on four counts of providing false information to law enforcement.
The verdict, reached by the seven-woman, five-man jury, caps a trial that stretched to more than six weeks and featured allegations of sexual abuse, questions regarding Casey Anthony's competence and various theories on what happened to the 2-year-old.

Casey Anthony, 25, was charged with seven counts -- first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to a law-enforcement officer in Caylee's 2008 disappearance and death.

Prosecutors alleged Casey Anthony used chloroform to render her daughter unconscious and then duct-taped her mouth and nose to suffocate her. They alleged that she put the child's body in the trunk of her car for a few days before disposing of it. Caylee's skeleta l remains were discovered December 2008.

Casey Anthony's defense attorneys maintained that Caylee was not murdered at all. They said the child drowned in the Anthony's above-ground pool on July 16, and that Casey Anthony and her father, George Anthony, panicked upon finding her there and covered up the death. George Anthony denied that in his testimony. –CNN Reports

In some indirect way, Casey Anthony’s trial brought back memories of the O.J. Simpson’s trial, both of which I followed closely. O.J. Simpson’s verdict totally surprised me. However, Casey Anthony’s verdict didn’t.

I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that both O.J. and Casey killed their victims and both walked free. In both trials, the evidence simply did not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they killed. Nevertheless, what evidence didn’t prove, the individuals themselves reeked with quilt.

Neither O.J. nor Casey can never be brought to trial for their deeds again and the mystery surrounding their cases will never be solved … for now anyway. One day, however, both O.J. and Casey will have to stand before the judgment seat of eternity to give their account and it will be interesting to hear the truth that eluded us here in the meantime.

It is sad that Caylee Anthony will never rest in peace … her murder unsolved, her murderer never brought to justice. Nevertheless, Caylee is now in a much better place … basking in the warm and gentle light of heaven never again to be thrown away like trash.

This Weeks Sound Off

Weiner Takes Leave Of Absence; Obama Suggests He Should Resign

Rep. Anthony Weiner took a two-week leave of absence from the U.S. House on Monday to consider calls by Democratic leaders -- and a strong hint from President Barack Obama -- that he should resign over a "sexting" scandal and his subsequent lies about it.

The House Clerk read Weiner's request for the two-week leave of absence at 7:25 p.m. Monday. The House agreed to the request without any objection.

Earlier, both the White House and Obama ratcheted up the pressure on Weiner with the administration's first public comment on the scandal that emerged in late May.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that Obama believes Weiner was wrong to send a lewd picture of himself over Twitter and then lie about it, and that the continuing scandal surrounding the New York Democrat is a distraction from important national business,

Obama himself later strongly suggested Weiner should step down, telling NBC in an interview that if he were in the congressman's position, he'd resign. –Read more at CNN Politics

Any politician who cheats, as well as lies, is not worthy of holding office and should resign. Cheaters are nothing more than liars … they are dogs, unworthy of the partner on whom they cheat and unworthy of the position they hold in society cause they cannot be trusted. Not only are politician’s guilty of this heinous activity, but even the average joe, every day man and woman, are just as quality and when caught should loose everything … partner, position, as well as undergo mandatory testing for diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and their names, pictures and test results posted like we post common criminals on line.

If I ever caught a partner of mine cheating and then lies about it, I would bring them down! They may not wear a scarlet letter, but my god the community will certainly know about it and I would see to it that they loose everything. Cheaters are amongst the lowest form of dirt and no one should tolerate this kind of activity from anyone. I’m just saying.

This Weeks Sound Off

Democrats: No Pay For Lawmakers If U.S. Defaults

Raise the debt ceiling or don't get paid.

That's essentially what Senate Democrats are saying in the latest act of political theater surrounding the nation's debt ceiling.

Sens. Barbara Boxer and Bob Casey sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Tuesday, urging him to include lawmaker compensation in the list of things he will have to stop paying if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.

"There is no reason that members of Congress and the president should be free from the pain that would be felt by our nation if the government were to default on its obligations," the letter states. "If we cannot do our jobs and protect the full faith and credit of the United States, we should not get paid."

The federal government officially hit its spending limit earlier this month, and while Congress has routinely raised the debt ceiling in the past, this time it won't come without a struggle. –Read more at CNN Money

Good! Our lawmakers are so not worthy of the salaries they pay themselves. Maybe if we stop paying them things will change in Washington, even get rid of those who ain’t worth a damn. It’s time for drastic changes and it has to begin with our representatives who are so out touch with the American people.

This Weeks Sound Off

$2M Michigan Lottery Winner Defends Use Of Food Stamps

Detroit News
Ron French, Detroit News staff writer

A Michigan man who won $2 million in a state lottery game continues to collect food stamps 11 months after striking it rich.

And there's nothing the state can do about it, at least for now.

Leroy Fick, 59, of Auburn won $2 million in the state lottery TV show "Make Me Rich!" last June. But the state's Department of Human Services determined he was still eligible for food stamps, Fick's attorney, John Wilson of Midland, said Tuesday.

Eligibility for food stamps is based on gross income and follows federal guidelines; lottery winnings are considered liquid assets and don't count as income. As long as Fick's gross income stays below the eligibility requirement for food stamps, he can receive them, even if he has a million dollars in the bank.

Food stamps are paid for through tax dollars and are meant to help support low-income families.

"If you're going to try to make me feel bad, you're not going to do it," Fick told WNEM-TV in Saginaw on Monday.

Wilson said Fick told the DHS officials he'd won $2 million but was told he could keep using the Bridge Card issued to him to buy groceries.

Fick could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Al Kimichik, director of the office of inspector general for DHS, said the department could not comment on individual cases but that it this week began the process of requesting a waiver from the federal government to close the lottery loophole. If it is granted, assets would be counted in determining food stamp eligibility.

Though the food stamp program is federal and states must follow U.S. guidelines, states sometimes request waivers of rules. Michigan was granted a waiver recently to stop college students from qualifying for food stamps.

"For Leroy Fick to continue to use a Bridge Card, paid for by the taxpayers, after winning the lottery, is obscene," said Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge. "What a waste of taxpayer money."

Jones contacted DHS officials Monday about Fick's case, and was told the department's hands were tied by federal regulations.

"There is no liquid asset requirement for getting food stamps," Jones said. "The department is asking the federal government for an immediate change (in policy). They're hoping this case will help the federal government act."

Until then, Fick can collect food stamps and keep his lottery winnings in the bank.

"I am not going to sit and debate the ethics of this," Wilson said. "But from his standpoint, he did what he was supposed to do -- he informed the state, and the state said he could keep using the card. The problem is with the state." -Yahoo News 

^^^*^^^

Leroy Fick, you’re an idiot and no better than undocumented aliens taking advantage of the system. If you’ve used any of the food stamps since winning, I hope the state takes their money back. Taking benefits from American’s who need it most, you in particular, should be ashamed, even for winning $2 million dollars. I’m just saying!

This Weeks Sound Off

Georgia Governor To Sign Law Targeting Illegal Immigration 

Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia plans to sign into law what may be one of the nation's toughest anti-illegal immigration measures, his spokesman, Brian Robinson, said Friday.

Unmoved by threats of boycotts and lawsuits, the Republican-dominated Georgia Legislature passed the tough law Thursday night, during the final hours of this year's legislative session. Robinson did not say when the governor would sign the measure.

"The bill reflects well the priorities and principles on which the governor campaigned ... last year," he said. "We believe that it reinforces the law in Georgia."

Among other things, the bill allows law enforcement officers to ask about immigration status when questioning suspects in certain criminal investigations. It punishes people who transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime and imposes hefty prison sentences on those who use fake documents to get jobs.

After the vote, the bill's author, Republican state Rep. Matt Ramsey, declared, "We have done the job that we were sent to do."

Ramsey said the bill addresses issues forced on the states because of the federal government's decades-long failure to secure the nation's borders.

The bill passed both chambers after lengthy debate. Opponents argued that the bill could encourage racial profiling and discrimination. They also said the measure could hurt the image and the economy of the state.

Supporters blamed illegal immigrants for overcrowding Georgia's schools and forcing taxpayers to shoulder the burden of paying for emergency room medical care for undocumented residents.

"People come here, legally or illegally, to fulfill the dreams that they have for themselves and their families," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat and an opponent of the bill.

State Sen. Renee Unterman, a suburban Atlanta Republican who supported the legislation, countered, "They are illegals, they are going to use our services."

In the end, neither chamber's vote was close. The state Senate passed the measure by 37 to 19. The Georgia House, which provided final passage for the bill, approved it 112 to 59.

The Thursday vote marks the second time in five years that Georgia lawmakers passed an anti-illegal immigration bill heralded as one of the toughest in the nation. In 2006, the state Legislature passed a bill, later signed into law, requiring government contractors and public employers to run the names of people they hire through a federal database to determine if they are legal residents of the United States.

House Bill 87 requires private businesses with more than 10 employees to use the same database. The system is called E-Verify. The legislation enables state and local law enforcement officers to arrest illegal immigrants. It also imposes prison sentences of up to one year and fines of up to $1,000 for people who knowingly transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime.

Workers convicted of using fake identifications to get jobs could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $250,000.

The business community, including the influential agricultural lobby, strongly opposed the E-Verify provision. In a last-day compromise, however, House and Senate lawmakers added language to the bill exempting businesses that employ fewer than 11 workers from having to use the federal database.

Republican state Sen. John Bulloch, who chairs the chamber's Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, said, "in the end, I still don't like it but it's a good bill."

D.A. King, an anti-illegal immigration activist and longtime lobbyist for tougher laws, called the measure "one of the most well thought-out, potentially effective, immigration enforcement bills in the country."

"On the state level, this will set a new bar," King said.

Protesters held a candlelight vigil outside the Georgia Capitol Thursday evening. At the gathering, 7-year-old Jazlie Camacho, told the crowd, "I am here to make sure they take this law away."

Jazlie is an American-born citizen, but her parents are from Mexico.

Paulina Hernandez, a member of a group called Southerners on New Ground, said her organization will call for a boycott against the state.

"We are not willing to tell the nation that Georgia is a state worth investing in because they don't have the best interests of their people in mind."

Several legal and activist groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, are already planning lawsuits in an attempt to block implementation of the measure. They hope the courts will agree with them.

In Arizona last year, a federal judge halted implementation of that state's anti-immigration law after the Obama administration filed suit. The president's lawyers argued that the federal government, and not the state, has the sole authority to regulate immigration.

Last week, a federal appeals panel upheld the lower court's order blocking the enactment of the most controversial provisions of the Arizona statute, which is known as Senate Bill 1070.

The court rulings have not deterred legislatures in other states from introducing copycat anti-illegal immigration bills. Among them are Utah and Indiana, as well as Georgia.

"The Georgia law is one of the best written and potentially most effective," said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration control. The Indiana bill, meanwhile, has gathered attention because Gov. Mitch Daniels is considered a potential 2012 presidential candidate, Krikorian said.

In Indiana, Daniels would like to see a strong E-Verify provision, but is less adamant about granting law enforcement officers greater authority to question some suspects about their legal status, according to analysts.

Daniels' preference for the E-Verify portion over the law enforcement portion could be because of the recent court of appeals ruling on the Arizona law, analysts said.

"The decision casts new doubt on the constitutionality of the Arizona law, and will likely further dampen efforts to enact S.B. 1070-like bills in other states, where economic concerns have already caused state legislators to reconsider or abandon them," according to an analysis from the Migration Policy Institute. –CNN Politics

Arizona, North Carolina, and now Georgia! When will South Carolina join the real America? It’s time has come … Illegal Alien's, you are not welcomed!

This Weeks Sound Off

Suspended Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce's DUI Charges Dropped

The driving under the influence charges against suspended Atlantic Beach mayor Retha Pierce have been dropped according to a Marion County judge.

Pierce was charged with a misdemeanor DUI on September 16, 2009 after a traffic stop on U.S. 501 in Marion County. The jury trial she had requested related to the charge was scheduled to start today.

Judge Danny Barker II said that the charges were dismissed by the state. The state had made oral arguments that the breathalyzer came back 0.0 and the urine test came back clean and the only evidence was from a private witness that saw Pierce driving recklessly.

The private witness could seek other charges but no other charges related to the incident are expected from the state, Barker said.

The DUI charge was the fourth for the suspended mayor who was charged with hit and run/leaving the scene of an accident after a 51-year-old woman told police she was traveling south on U.S. 17 inside the Atlantic Beach town limits when her vehicle was sideswiped by a white Chevrolet Blazer in April 2010.

In January 2010, Pierce was arrested on a charge of trespassing at Town Hall after a dispute with staff members. She later filed suit stating the arrest was intended to prevent her from uncovering a larger conspiracy among the town's appointed officials.

In December 2007, she was charged with resisting arrest during a traffic stop in Little River. She later defended her actions and said she did not know she was expected to stay in her car after she was pulled over. –Sun News

What? Did I read this right … DUI charges dropped? What? Another politician gets off. And a schizoid politician at that. This woman is down right C-R-A-Z-Y! If I was stopped for a DUI, my car would have been impounded, my ass taken right to jail, and probably doing community service or jail time. But, NO!, this one crazy politician gets off free. This is simply wrong! Frankly, this politician is a disgrace to the area.

This Weeks Sound Off

E-Bay Ripoff! Caution

A customer paid $50 on E-bay for a penis enlarger and got a magnifying glass.

Like they say, buyer be wear! On the other hand, maybe a magnifying glass is just what the doctor ordered … LOL!

This Weeks Sound Off

Law Passed To Ban Picketing At Tucson Funerals

Arizona legislators quickly approved emergency legislation Tuesday to head off picketing by a Topeka, Kan., church near the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was killed in the Tucson shootings.

Unanimous votes by the House and Senate sent the bill to Gov. Jan Brewer for her expected signature. It would take effect immediately.

Without specifically mentioning the Tucson shooting, the proposed law prohibits protests at or near funeral sites.

Dozens of lawmakers co-sponsored the bill, and legislative action was completed within 90 minutes. The Senate's committee hearing took just three minutes.

The Westboro Baptist Church said Monday it plans to picket Thursday's funeral for Christina Taylor Green because "God sent the shooter to deal with idolatrous America." The fundamentalist church has picketed many military funerals to draw attention to its view that the deaths are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

"This is just horrific that ... people have to deal with this. We shouldn't have to do this in time of great pain for our state," said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat.

The girl was the youngest of the six people killed during the shooting at an event held by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was among 14 people injured. Giffords was shot in the head and critically wounded.

Numerous states have passed laws restricting protests at funerals after members of the Westboro church began protesting at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Arizona legislation is modeled on an Ohio law that was upheld by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Sinema said.

The four-paragraph Arizona bill makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail to picket or conduct other protest activities within 300 feet of a funeral or burial service — about the length of a football field. The prohibition applies from one hour before the event to one hour after.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a church member and a daughter of its pastor, said the prohibition wouldn't matter because church members plan to picket at one of two intersections more than 1,000 feet from the church where the girl's service will be held.

Phelps-Roper also said church members plan picketing Friday in conjunction with a service for another victim of the shooting, U.S. District Judge John M. Roll.

Sen. Paula Aboud, a Tucson Democrat, said volunteers in Tucson were organizing a human shield to block the protesters from view of victim family members.

Sinema said the prohibition applies only to funeral and burial sites because courts have struck down picketing prohibitions for procession routes.

"This is a good compromise that doesn't trample our God-given rights," said Senate President Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican.

Sen. Ron Gould, a Republican from Lake Havasu City, voted for the bill but earlier was the only senator who objected to suspending rules requiring several days of legislative consideration before a final vote.

Gould cited the public's right to know what lawmakers are considering. "And when we suspend those rules mistakes get made," he added. –MSN

It’s about time! There’s enough tongue lashing going around … it’s time to either slow or tone it down. Stopping it would be best! Unfortunately, civility has left the country. Arizona is the new brave America! We should be proud!

I’m just saying!

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MLK Snow Make-up Days Upset Civil Rights Groups

A decision by two Georgia counties to use the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to make up a snow day has infuriated civil rights leaders, who say the districts are insulting the civil rights icon in his home state.

Fannin and Gilmer counties in north Georgia are calling students to class on the federal holiday after school was wiped out for the week because of the epic snowstorm that paralyzed the state.

The superintendents from the districts said they had little choice to start making up for nine days missed because of the foul winter weather this school year. But civil rights leaders said the decision was an insult to King and shows disrespect for the holiday in his name.

"It's an opportunity for people, black and white, to reflect on what King's dream meant for blacks and whites," said Georgia State Conference NAACP President Edward DuBose. "And it's humiliating to hear that school districts want to take a snow day rather than to honor Dr. King's legacy." -Read more at SunNews

Frankly, I don’t believe that Dr. King would have objected to students making up lost school days on his birthday (holiday). The NAACP needs to get over it! After all, what’s more important? Education or a day off? Personally, I believe education is by far more important than having the day off. After all, for most American’s, it’s just a day off and nothing more.

I’m just saying.

This Weeks Sound Off

National Geographic: Grand Strand Among The Worst Coastal Destinations

A panel of 340 tourism authorities has ranked the Grand Strand among the worst coastal destinations in the world, according to a report by National Geographic Traveler magazine.

The Grand Strand was rated the eighth worst out of the 99 destinations rated. The area tied with three other destinations in Vietnam, Lebanon and Spain.

The index rates stewardship and integrity of a destination and the survey of experts was conducted by National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations. The results appeared in the November/December issue of National Geographic Traveler.

The report criticizes the area's over-development with one critic calling it, "the definition of unsustainable." State parks in the area are worth visiting, it said.

While the names of some panelists are listed in the report, individual comments made by the experts were kept anonymous. Here's one example:

"A tourism disaster. After my first visit I vowed never to return. Development is rampant and feels out of control. The quality of attractions is terrible. Uber-consumerism is everywhere. However, the region around Myrtle Beach has lovely state parks, beach areas and some small villages. If I were to ever be coaxed back to the region, that is where I would spend all of my time."

The destinations were rated on the following criteria: environmental and ecological quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management; and outlook for the future. –SunNews

After reading the above article, I sat and pondered its content and scratching my head I though to myself … Yes, No? After moments of pondering I have to conclude, there is some good points within the article, and the entire piece isn’t all that far off. The only thing I question is, is it really all that bad? No it isn’t!

Yes, the beach front is inundated with high-rises and resorts. There’s no real beach for it is very commercial in nature. But it’s our coastline and for whatever its attraction is, during the summer it is over crowded with visitors. Therefore, it really can’t be all that bad … and guests here spend money!

Myrtle Beach is the cheaper destination. Compared to Charleston, SC., yeah, Myrtle Beach is a money saviors paradise. Plus, Myrtle Beach is centrally located. We are two hours from Charleston to the south. And an hour and a half to the north is Wilmington, NC. Both cities I highly recommend to visit. From Wilmington down to Charleston, and on down to Savannah, GA, the trail is rich with history … good ol’ Southern hospitality and history. And like the article stated, we do have some beautiful State Parks. This part of South Carolina, though urban it may be, it’s a reasonable and friendly place to visit.

I’m Just saying!

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Iceland Elects Ordinary Folk To Draft Constitution

Iceland's getting a new constitution — and it's really going to be the voice of the people.

The sparsely-populated volcanic island is holding an unusual election Saturday to select ordinary citizens to cobble together a new charter, an exercise in direct democracy born out of the outrage and soul-searching that followed the nation's economic meltdown.

Hundreds of people are vying for the chance to be among up to 31 people who will form the Constitutional Assembly slated to convene early next year — a source of huge pride for Icelanders who have seen their egos take a beating in recent years.

"This is the first time in the history of the world that a nation's constitution is reviewed in such a way, by direct democratic process," says Berghildur Erla Bergthorsdottir, spokeswoman for the committee entrusted with organizing the Constitutional Assembly.

Iceland has never written its own constitution. After gaining independence from Denmark in 1944, it took the Danish constitution, amended a few clauses to state that it was now an independent republic, and substituted the word 'president' for 'king.' A comprehensive review of the constitution has been on the agenda ever since. –Read more at Yahoo News

If we American’s were to rewrite our constitution, I wonder what it’s final draft would read? Would we keep all or none of it’s rights and guarantees? Or would we write a more nationalistic document? Would be interesting to find out don’t you think?

I’m just saying!