This PJ Media story is horrifying on so many levels – to say the least.

( Via PJ Media ) A former high-ranking San Francisco government employee convicted of felony possession of child pornography will continue to receive his government pension because, according to city regulations, evidence of “moral turpitude” is required to revoke a pension yet viewing violent kiddie porn does not qualify as moral turpitude.

As reported here in the Tatler, Larry Brinkin, a prominent San Francisco Human Rights Commissioner and nationally known gay rights advocate, was arrested in 2012 for possessing and possibly distributing videos and images of babies being raped by adult men.

Because of Brinkin’s “iconic” stature in the community as the person who pioneered “domestic partnership” laws nationwide, supporters at the time accused the police of framing him with false charges. But the evidence was so overwhelming that, after 18 months of legal wrangling, on Tuesday, January 21, Brinkin pled guilty to felony possession of child pornography, with various other more serious charges dropped as part of the plea bargain. He will serve just six months in jail and thereafter have to register as a sex offender.

But the scandal didn’t end there. A recent law defining which type of actions count as “moral turpitude” required to nullify municipal pension benefits does not include sex crimes involving children, and only refers to financial crimes: (more…)

Functionally obsolescent = Impairment of the usefulness of a system due to its inability to be upgraded or modified to serve the user’s current needs.   In this case, private health insurance is now viewed as obsolete because government controlled ObamaCare moves in to replace private options. 

WASHINGTON DC – Moody’s announced Thursday it was downgrading its outlook for health insurers from stable to negative based on uncertainty related to ObamaCare.

The credit rating agency cited an unstable environment because of the healthcare law’s difficult rollout, and projected that insurers would earn 2 percent less than forecast in 2014.

“While we’ve had industry risks from regulatory changes on our radar for a while, the ongoing unstable and evolving environment is a key factor for our outlook change,” Moody’s Senior Vice President Stephen Zaharuk said in a statement. “The past few months have seen new regulations and announcements that impose operational changes well after product and pricing decisions were finalized.” (more…)

GREG HICKS – Shifting blame to our dead ambassador is wrong on the facts. I know—I was there.

Last week the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued its report on the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya. The report concluded that the attack, which resulted in the murder of four Americans, was “preventable.”

Some have been suggesting that the blame for this tragedy lies at least partly with Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in the attack. This is untrue: The blame lies entirely with Washington.

The report states that retired Gen. Carter Ham, then-commander of the U.S. Africa Command (Africom) headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, twice offered to “sustain” the special forces security team in Tripoli and that Chris twice “declined.”

Since Chris cannot speak, I want to explain the reasons and timing for his responses to Gen. Ham. As the deputy chief of mission, I was kept informed by Chris or was present throughout the process. (more…)

Original story/outline HERE –  First update HERE –  Second update HERE

The evolving story continues with MDTA trying to avoid sunlight:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

No recent story and/or research has attracted as much attention.   We have received dozens of requests by Maryland residents who are familiar with aspects to this story.  Each of them with a similar disposition and requesting our continued research.

Many more people within Maryland law enforcement, both current and retired, as well as people within the Maryland judiciary, appear to have some familiarity and knowledge over what the MCAC hub is all about  Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center. 

People inside the LEO intelligence network appear just as concerned as those outside it; they too want to see the process exposed.   However, unfortunately, as you can see, some do not.   Yes, this is what’s known as the all too familiar “active investigation” denial.

“Look, if he’s doing something that calms him down, keeps him out of the public eye, relaxes him, I think that’s a healthy habit to take on,” O’Mara said.

“I looked at the art,” he continued. “It’s an interesting picture, it carries a certain cuteness to me that she has that picture and that quote in it because you know my feelings about the way she handled herself and the ethics of the way the prosecution handled it’s case. Cute clip.” (link with audio clip)

Meanwhile Biggie, who will forget more about artsy stuff than we will ever learn, @iOTW has a warning for George – CLICK HERE

Yesterday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated there is absolutely nothing in the Nuclear deal with Obama that references “dismantling” of centrifuges.

President Rouhani specifically called the White House liars and then Rouhani challenged the media to read the actual text of the agreement which the White House has refused to release.

Today the White House lost Fareed Zakaria.   This is an important development because Obama has admitted that Zakaria is an advisor to his administration on Iranian policy.

(more…)

LOUISVILLE, Ky.— For Matt Bevin, the rookie Senate candidate  taking on one of the most powerful Republicans in the country — and possibly the  most ruthless — every day on the stump brings a new hazing.

There was the time before he even jumped into the race against Senate  Minority Leader Mitch McConnell when Bevin was warned he’d be shunned by fellow  churchgoers once McConnell was finished making mincemeat of his reputation.  Campaign trackers follow Bevin constantly, recording his every public utterance  to turn the slightest slip into an attack ad or Web video. Vendors and  consultants one day say they’re ready to come on board only to ominously reverse  course the next, after mulling the repercussions of crossing McConnell.

“I’ve had people who’ve said, ‘You can use our donor list’ or ‘I’ll come on  with the campaign,’” Bevin said during a recent daylong campaign excursion  around Louisville. “Then all of a sudden they change their minds.”

Some have told him they were warned “it will be the last job you ever have in  this business” if they joined his campaign, he said. (more…)

Saturday 1/18/14,  a man wearing Google Glasses (prescription glass) went to enjoy a movie with his wife.  A showing of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit at an AMC theater in Columbus, Ohio.

About an hour  into the movie,  federal agents yanked the Glasses off the man’s face,  pulled them out of the theater and took them to separate interrogation rooms.

The Story is Confirmed –  And Also outlined HERE – The man, who’d just been trying to enjoy a crappy movie with his lovely wife  on a Saturday night, says he was accused of illegally taping the movie and  questioned extensively about “who I am, where I live, where I work, how much I’m  making, how many computers I have at home, why am I recording the movie, who am  I going to give the recording to, why don’t I just give up the guy up the chain,  ’cause they are not interested in me. Over and over and over again.”

The agents also allegedly displayed this level of ridiculousness:

They wanted to know where I got Glass and how did I came by having it. I  told them I applied about 1000 times to get in the explorer program, and  eventually I was selected, and I got the Glass from Google. I offered to show  them receipt and Google Glass website if they would allow me to access any  computer with internet. Of course, that was not an option. Then they wanted to  know what does Google ask of me in exchange for Glass, how much is Google paying  me, who is my boss and why am I recording the movie.

After an hour of intense interrogation, the agents hooked the Glass up  to a computer, and saw that all it was storing were personal family  photos, he says. They allegedly went through his phone, too, and  found nothing. (more…)

$1B coerced from “racist” lenders ….. and we’ve “Only Just Begun” …..

From Investor’s Business Daily:

“…..So “victims” were never actually identified. That’s why the complaint has to estimate that Ally discriminated against “approximately” 100,000 African-American borrowers.

More shocking, civil-rights prosecutors never actually checked the creditworthiness of those borrowers. That’s right, they never looked at credit scores, down payments, debt or other key risk-related factors banks consider to set interest rates. Not for blacks, or for supposedly “similarly situated” whites.

So how in the world can Justice claim “Ally’s specific policy and practice are not justified by a legitimate business need?”

It really can’t. That’s why it relies on statistics to “prove” such policies had a “disparate impact” on minorities, while arbitrarily finding those disparities so “significant” they can’t be explained by chance.

Arbitrary, because neither Justice nor CFPB will reveal its threshold for “significant,” despite repeated bipartisan requests from Congress.

What a clever fraud by your own government.”

The Credit Rating service Fitch notes that it may be more than just a desire to extort from the banks which lend in the auto market:

Fitch also notes that CFPB does not have jurisdiction over auto dealers and their practices. Actions taken against lenders could be an indirect way to regulate dealers.

A look through the CFPB “Advisory Groups” listings will show a “who’s-who” of Progressives with tentacles to well known fraud front groups, such as ACORN.

The official news release for the latest shakedown , er, “settlement” states it will consist of several parts: (more…)

Following our public records request (actually, on the same day) the Maryland Transportation Authority Police (MDTA) posted the following statement on their FaceBook Page:

In response to a recent complaint about the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police and a Jan. 12, 2014, Tampa Tribune article, a preliminary review indicates that all proper protocols were followed throughout the Dec. 30, 2013, 55-minute traffic stop on I-95, which was initiated for a speeding violation. The MDTA takes these allegations seriously and will continue to investigate this personnel matter. (link)

As we wait for the records of the incident it’s interesting to note the position of the MTA.

If “proper protocols were followed” then why did the MDTA Chief and Internal Affairs apologize to Mr. Filippidis?    Also, if “proper protocols were followed” then why then is this a “personnel matter“?

Apply logic between the parseltongue and you can come away with a possibility the MDTA wants attention on the officer rather than on the actual capability which allowed the officer to make his assumptions.

Their initial response reeks of similarity to James Clapper’s initial response when he was asked by congress if the NSA was collecting information on U.S. citizens.    Our curiosity is really peaked now because Occam’s razor would infer the MDTA wants to present this as a “personnel matter” for how an officer responded.   That’s not the real issue.

The bigger issue is what technology existed, which is used by MDTA, and spurred the officer to know Mr. Filippidis was a CCW holder.   THAT is the bigger interest.

It’s not what the officer DID with the information, it’s why the officer HAD the information to begin with.  In addition, did the fact the incident happened at one of the Federal Homeland Security sensitive site areas, the Fort McHenry Tunnel, have any bearing on the technology capability used by the state authority encountered.   (more…)