2013 Twitter Post from Washington DC

Vietnam Wall entrance is open to all. Guard dog and guards are solely for intimidation. Go in. God Bless 'em pic.twitter.com/O7XSjOzbtj

— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) October 5, 2013

If Twitter existed on June 5th 1989 would you have seen?: (more…)

….  When it was his turn at the register, he asked the 23-year-old employee for a $1.41 Swisher Sweet cigar, according to Lakewood sheriff’s deputies.   The man handed the woman a dollar bill.
When she told him he needed an additional 41 cents, he protested and threatened her, authorities said.
The man can be seen trying to grab the cigar out of the employee’s hand, but she was able to put it behind the counter out of his reach.

Police say she then asked the man to leave the store. But instead of leaving, the video shows the man leaning over the front counter and punching the woman in the face with his right hand. (article)
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Yesterday President Stompy Feet posed for his latest national portrait.   Today the park service admits they were told to inflict the maximum public pain during the government shutdown.  Also today, the Border Patrol reveals they have been told to “Stand Down” and ignore border crossings.
All of this why?
Because the actual truth is people are awakening to the reality that most of the federal government is *non essential*; and, quite frankly, we can just do without them.  THAT is the real risk to sellers of BIG government.   It’s the same visible reality that stemmed from the ‘sequester cuts’ which, despite all the protestations to the contrary, really don’t have impact.   That’s the real issue. (more…)

TreeHouse Team Ponderings:   Little one’s hair is nicely cared for and she’s wearing cute, clean clothes. Which makes one think mental illness on the part of caregiver/mom-person is not as significant a factor as perhaps they would like it to be?

This child looks properly cared for by a relative and thus, whatever the dead person did today was not primarily a result of mental illness, but a decision. Just a thought. In addition, the child is not behaving hysterically in the way that children accustomed to abusive surroundings might rip loose when “something else” goes wrong.

The child appears to be responding to a caring adult in an appropriate manner…not clinging or freaking out–but trusting. Again, that suggests the chaos was a result of deliberate decisions, not a result (primarily) of “mental illness.”
[O]ne of the very first newsmen on the scene was a reporter for Alhurra (“The Free One”)TV?   They shot the first video all the stations were using.

Alhurra is operated by the non-profit corporation “The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.” (MBN). MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves oversight and as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters. (link)

Interesting thought…  Somali woman hired to work in prisons.   Prisons generally filled with large percentages of those holding Muslim faith.  Hmmm? (more…)

By now everyone is familiar with the incident in New York where a family driving a Range Rover was surrounded by a pack of motorcyclists. Then terrorized. We’ve now watched 72 hours of media reporting on this *incident*, and have had the opportunity to see the bikers, their attorneys, their families and their friends talking on television about it.

Has anyone else noticed there is a stark undiscussed racial component to this story?
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Holder: Trayvon Martin investigation is 'ongoing'

— AJAM Live (@ajamlive) September 30, 2013

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”

No-one wants war.   If you look throughout modern history you will find a seemingly consistent view of conflict from the peaceful nations who often are forced to bear witness to regional conflicts driven by evil regimes.
The evil nations, who hold an ideological hatred, use the reflexive nature of conflict avoidance, held by most civilized nations, to advance their goals.    It has always been thus.
In 1938 Czechoslovakia suffered from the avoidance principle espoused by the British and the French; the Czechs became victim to Germany.
In 2013 while the globe is indeed smaller and more closely attached, the same mindset carries toward a league of nations watching Israel play the role of Czechoslovakia, and Iran taking the place of Germany.
What Germany needed in 1937/1938 was time and a British/French unwillingness.   What Iran needs in 2013 is time, and a U.S. unwillingness.    The key difference is this: in 1938 Czech could not defend herself…. In 2013, Israel can.
So Iran needs something else.
Something which President Obama just gave them. (more…)

Via Weasel Zippers – who shares: So knowing she’s a liar, knowing that she’s in bed with the “rebels”, that she put out conflicting accounts, that she whitewashed the “rebels” into a more “moderate” force, this woman is worthy, according to John McCain, of being hired to his staff.   This is so unbelievable, it makes one think that there is some greater personal underlying reason operating here.

WASHINGTON DC – Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain hired the Syria analyst in favor of U.S. intervention who was fired for fabricating her Ph.D., Foreign Policy reported.
Elizabeth O’Bagy, formerly of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), will start Monday as a legislative assistant in Sen. McCain’s office.
McCain told Foreign Policy that “Elizabeth is a talented researcher, and I have been very impressed by her knowledge and analysis in multiple briefings over the last year.” The senator’s office said they would not make any further comment on O’Bagy’s employment. (more…)

There are few, if any, positive aspects to the national spotlight and attention surrounding the George Zimmerman case.   A review of mandatory minimum sentences could be one of those outcomes. 
A new trial announced today in the case of Marissa Alexander.   Spotlighting a prosecutorial charge put upon by Angela Corey, the 4th District State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville Florida; and a mandatory 20 year minimum sentence imposed by the judge after conviction.
The case is controversial, not so much for the conviction, but more for the sentence.

Under Florida’s mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines Marissa Alexander was sentenced to TWENTY years in prison for firing a warning shot in her kitchen when her husband was confronting her.   They had a troubled, at times violent, history together.
Good construction of the factual backstory HERE. 
There are two sides to every story, and in this case the actual conviction –based on the evidence– as found by a jury, was correct.   However, the sentencing was excessive based on the actual event.  A sentence structured around a charge, and mandatory 10-20-life guideline when a firearm is used in the commission of a charged and convicted  felony. 
[excerpt from MSN News]  …  The 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee said in Thursday’s ruling that the trial judge made a “fundamental error” when he instructed the jury that Alexander was required to prove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. (more…)

Gee, I wonder why you never heard of this race-based mass shooting incident in North Carolina, which took place while the trial of George Zimmerman was ongoing ?   Hmmm… couldn’t possibly be because the media hold any disposition toward not spotlighting race-based spree shootings when the black attacker specifically asserts his chosen targets were white people. No, wait…
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A man who shot four people near a Greenville Wal-Mart in June picked out his victims because they were white, according to several indictments handed down against him.

Lakim Faust had more than 100 rounds of ammunition when he started shooting at people at a law firm and a shopping center in June, authorities said.
A grand jury indicted Faust on 14 charges Monday, including four counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Faust, who is black, picked out his victims based on their race, according to the indictments. The documents didn’t specify why Faust wanted to shoot white people, and police have not talked about why he picked out his targets. (more…)