COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Border Patrol Agent Kidnapped and Assaulted Three Immigrants from Honduras



Border Patrol Agent Esteban Manzanares kidnapped and assaulted three immigrants from Honduras. Manzanares shot himself in the head killing himself before FBI agents entered his apartment.

The Border Patrol just does not seem able to stay out of the spotlight of negative publicity.  In the last couple of years it has drawn a lot of heat for the shooting deaths of 19 people, some were illegal immigrants, but some were Mexicans across the river in their own country.

The agency has consistently refused to respond to FOI requests for information on the shootings, even refusing to respond to the demands and requests for information and reports from Congressional committees charged with oversight of the agency.
 

It refused to change its policies on use of deadly force even after a outside independent investigation (which it requested) issued a report with suggestions of changing the policies concerning the use of deadly force. 

All of this raised questions in my mind about the agency having a created a culture of impunity whereby it and it's agents did not have to be accountable for their actions.



All that may have changed last month when the new Director of DHS, which the BP is a part of, ordered the agency to change its policies of using lethal force, specifically relating to rock throwers and moving vehicles.  The new policies basically ordered agents "get out of the way instead of shooting".


While the agency cannot be held responsible for all the criminal acts that its agents might commit, the latest incident of a agent kidnapping and raping some illegal immigrants that were trying to surrender will not help their public image.

The following is an account of the incident as reported by the AP.

MISSION, Texas (AP) — An immigrant woman, her daughter and another girl who said they were kidnapped and assaulted by a border patrol agent were in the process of surrendering to the agent when their ordeal began, another Border Patrol agent and a federal law enforcement official said Friday.

Border Patrol Agent Esteban Manzanares

Agent Esteban Manzanares, who officials say committed suicide early Thursday morning, is accused of driving the three away from the river after they surrendered and assaulting them. The other agent said Manzanares cut the wrists of the adult woman, assaulted one teenager in the group, and then fled the area with a second teenage girl.

The Honduran embassy in Washington, D.C., said the three are a mother, her underage daughter and another girl not related to them. The FBI has said the three were in the U.S. illegally.

The woman who had escaped the attack and walked further upriver tripped a camera at the border fence shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, the agent and law enforcement official said.

They said in the camera image a woman can be seen walking toward a gap in the fence. The border agent said there was blood covering her wrists. Within 10 minutes of the camera image being taken, agents responded to the woman and began the search, the border agent and federal official said.


The federal law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to talk about the case because the FBI was leading the investigation. The border agent spoke on condition of anonymity because the agent was not allowed to speak to the media because of the ongoing investigation.

Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency of which the Border Patrol is part, has said that when it found the woman she told them she had been attacked by a man. The federal official said the woman described the man as wearing green fatigues. Border Patrol agents wear green uniforms. She also described a vehicle that the federal official said authorities believed to be a Border Patrol vehicle.


The official and the agent said a search was quickly launched in the area for the other two victims. One of the teenagers was found near the border in the brush, and hours later the second girl was located in Manzanares' home in Mission, the federal official and the agent said. Mission is a suburb of McAllen, close to the Texas-Mexico border about 350 miles from Houston.

When authorities approached the agent's apartment, they heard gunfire. A short time later, when investigators went into the apartment, they found him dead and rescued the other girl.


A CBP official told The Associated Press that the agent was on duty when he encountered the females and that his shift had ended by the time authorities showed up at his house and he shot himself. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because it is an ongoing investigation by the FBI.

Karol Escalante, a spokeswoman for the Honduran embassy in Washington, D.C., said the three Hondurans are recovering at a hospital in McAllen. She would not elaborate on their injuries.

R. Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement Friday that such acts are not representative of Border Patrol agents. He added that the agency is working to make sure the victims receive proper care.

R. Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
"I am deeply sorry that this incident occurred and am committed to doing everything in my power to prevent incidents like this from occurring again," 
 he said.

The Border Patrol agent who participated in the search said Manzanares was assigned to Anzalduas Park. The FBI said it is awaiting an autopsy report on Manzanares, who the Border Patrol said had been with the agency since 2008.

In a statement in Spanish, the Honduran foreign ministry condemned the assaults and kidnapping and asked the U.S. government for a thorough investigation, for psychological and medical assistance for the victims, for financial compensation and for legal immigration status for the victims.

"Lastly, the government of Honduras calls on the U.S. government to protect the human rights of immigrants, whatever their migratory status might be because all countries — their authorities in particular — are obligated to respect the dignity of human beings," the statement concludes.

The number of apprehensions by the Border Patrol —a figure commonly used to gauge the ebb and flow of illegal border crossers — rose by 16 percent last year to 420,789 people detained. More than half of those arrests were made in Texas.


Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher said last October that much of the increase was due to a rise in the number of people from Central America trying to enter the U.S. in South Texas.

While apprehensions of Mexican nationals remained fairly steady, arrests of immigrants from other countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, rose 55 percent. Limited economic opportunities and widespread gang and drug cartel violence in Central America have driven tens of thousands north along a dangerous route through Mexico.



http://news.yahoo.com/officials-attacked-immigrants-were-surrendering-215538321.html



http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-border-killings-20140227,0,2649003.story#ixzz2w43J8j5
http://borderland-beat-forum.924382.n3.nabble.com/A-U-S-Border-Patrol-agent-kidnapped-and-assaulted-three-female-immigrants-who-were-trying-to-surrend-td4066850.html

121 comments:

  1. Border Patrol's use of deadly force criticized in report

    WASHINGTON — Border Patrol agents have deliberately stepped in the path of cars apparently to justify shooting at the drivers and have fired in frustration at people throwing rocks from the Mexican side of the border, according to an independent review of 67 cases that resulted in 19 deaths.


    Border Patrol Agents Train for War on the U.S.-Mexico Border

    The U.S. government often portrays CBP agents—especially the “men in green” of the Border Patrol—as professional warriors who “protect,” as former CBP chief David Aguilar puts it, “our way of life.”

    These agents are on the front lines fending off enemies of many shades, faces, and ideologies who are supposedly eager to penetrate the U.S. international boundary with malicious intentions. However, a Los Angeles Times article, which discusses an independent review by law enforcement experts on the U.S. Border Patrol’s use of deadly force, shows an entirely different reality.

    The report claims that Border Patrol agents have stepped out in front of vehicles to justify shootings. It says that agents, out of frustration, have fired at people throwing rocks. Indeed, in fiscal year of 2012 alone, the same year that CBP purchased 36,475,000 rounds of ammunition, agents opened fire on rock throwers 22 times.

    LA Times reporter Brian Bennett writes, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which had commissioned the review, has tried to prevent the scathing 21-page report,” released in February 2013, from seeing the light of day.

    And as if further underscoring the report’s findings, the article came on the heels of another incident in which a Border Patrol agent shot and killed 41-year-old Jesus Flores-Cruz near San Diego on February 19. Again, rock throwing was the justification. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office went as far to claim that the Mexican national heaved a “basketball-sized rock” at the agents.

    The report, which reviewed 67 cases that resulted in 19 deaths, recommended that Border Patrol prohibit agents from shooting at people who throw things that can’t cause serious physical injury and not shoot at vehicles unless “its occupants are trying to kill them.”

    .“It should be recognized that a half-ounce (200-grain) bullet is unlikely to stop a 4,000-pound moving vehicle, and if the driver…is disabled by a bullet, the vehicle will become a totally unguided threat,” Bennett quotes verbatim. “Obviously, shooting at a moving vehicle can pose a risk to bystanders including other agents.”

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Tension grows amid calls in eastern Ukraine for Crimea-style referendum

      Pro-Russia demonstrators have stormed the local headquarters of Ukraine’s security service in the eastern city of Donetsk.

      They urged police to quit rather than cooperate with the new authorities in Kyiv and demanded the release of a jailed former official.

      Many believe their part of the country should also have a chance to vote on breaking away.

      One woman said that a referendum should have four options:
      “Federation, confederation, the south-east remaining in Ukraine, or joining Russia. All people’s views should be taken into account,” she said.

      But others in Donetsk want their city to stay part of Ukraine. Some demonstrating in favour of this say they have been attacked by pro-Moscow activists.

      “They threw stones and grenades at us, beat us with sticks and used tear gas,” said one man. “When we got into the bus, everyone was injured.”


      A Ukrainian nationalist was stabbed to death when pro-Russia and pro-Ukraine demonstrators clashed in Donetsk on Thursday. Some believe Moscow could use the unrest as a pretext for military intervention.

      Our correspondent in the city, Angelina Kariakina, says that the situation remains tense with pro-Russian activists rallying
      and demanding more regional autonomy.

      “At the same time, supporters of the Independence Square movement are in shock after being attacked as they demonstrated in support of a united Ukraine,” she said. “They believe there’s an attempt to spread fear in Donetsk and across the region.”




      "Russia is aware of its responsibility for the lives of compatriots and fellow citizens in Ukraine"

      The Foreign Ministry released a statement, according to the Reuters news agency, saying Moscow
      "reserves the right to take people under its protection"
      in light of clashes between pro-Moscow and pro-Western demonstrators in the city of Donetsk on Thursday.

      Delete
  3. Blogger Announces Clinical Psychologist To Be Assigned To The Libertarian


    ****Jack HawkinsSat Mar 15, 05:37:00 PM EDT

    Los Angeles -- An amber alert was issued Saturday afternoon after a reported kidnapping of four children in the Los Angeles area, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

    The four children - 5-year-old-Justin Felix, 7-year-old Enrique Felix, 1-year-old Veronica Felix and 1-year-old Janeth Felix - were thought to have been abducted by Enrique Felix and Rose Chairez around 12:30 p.m. on Friday in Los Angeles, according to the alert.

    The suspects are believed to be driving a dark-colored Chrysler PT Cruiser, possibly gray or purple, with paper plates and a missing hubcap.

    Farmer Bob would demand that the distraught mother pay 'Child Support' to the father that kidnapped those children.

    He would continue to disparage her if she does not.
    Just as he continues to do with a contributor, here at the blog, whose child was abducted and taken from the United States.****

    Full report to be issued at appropriate time after evaluation is concluded.

    from PA News

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you possess reliable facts on Jack Hawkins, please contact PA News, Psychology Division.

      Delete
    2. How does a woman 'abduct' a child to whom she has just given birth and is in her arms and at her breast?

      Just askin'.

      Delete
    3. The Psychology Department is investigating the use of the word 'abduct', anon, I am certain of that.

      We will have to wait for their report.

      Delete
    4. PA News is asking for anyone with knowledge of death threats or other violence in Jack Hawkins past to please provide details to:

      Psychology Department
      PA News

      Delete
  4. They need to let that guy that's been throwing "basketball-sized rocks" into the country, and get him signed up on the Olympic Team. A Gold in Shot Put would seem to be a sure thing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad to see that our new, most prolific poster is abiding by the "thong mandate." :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, women are just sex objects, eye candy.

      Delete
    2. They do seem to have a "repelling" effect on the loonier of the Religious Crazies.

      Delete
    3. Kind of like wolfsbane to werewolves, or garlic to vampires.

      Delete
    4. The nuttier of the Abrahamics appear to be particularly affected.

      Delete
  6. Many of the political pundits this morning are predicting the Crimeans will 'vote' to join the Roosskies.

    I wonder where they get such early inside knowledge. They seem infallibly certain of themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Would it be the "smart thing" for the Ukraine to give a couple of the Eastern Provinces to Russia?

    ReplyDelete

  8. Dems in Distress
    MARCH 15, 2014

    Maureen Dowd
    Maureen Dowd
    Continue reading the main storyShare This Page
    WASHINGTON — Scott Brown, the Republican who admitted he wore pink leather shorts on his first date with his wife-to-be, is back.

    And Democrats are scared to death.

    It’s not that Democrats are particularly scared that the 54-year-old former Massachusetts senator is going to get elected as a New Hampshire senator — although it’s conceivable that a charming, carpetbagging, middling politician could jump across the border and unseat Jeanne Shaheen.

    But Shaheen is popular, and strategists don’t think that flinty “Live Free or Die” voters will welcome the Boston transplant with open arms.

    This is what’s really freaking out Democrats: They know that Brown, after making some real money working for Fox News since his loss to Elizabeth Warren two years ago, wouldn’t even be getting into the race if the political environment weren’t so toxic for Democrats.

    Republicans have been white-hot for Brown to get in, and he finally pulled the trigger Friday, establishing an exploratory committee and asserting that “the Obamacare Democrats are on the wrong side” of a big political wave.

    G.O.P. leaders think that even if Brown can’t win, he will force Democrats to spend a bunch of money in New Hampshire and curtail what they can spend in other more crucial races like Colorado, Alaska, Montana, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina and Michigan.

    Brown jumping in was just one blast of bad news for Democrats. They also lost a special election last Tuesday in Florida by a hair, a defeat David Plouffe called “a screaming siren.” Alex Sink, a promising candidate, sunk after she could not overcome the blast of ads linking her to President Obama and his health care law.

    Republicans had been so worried about losing the Florida election that they prematurely trashed their own candidate, a former lobbyist named David Jolly, telling Politico that his campaign was a Keystone Kops operation. Then they ended up swearing him in on Thursday, murmuring “bygones.”

    So now Democratic panic has set in.

    With the health care sign-up period coming to an end this month, Democrats in Congress are looking over at the White House and realizing that the president is not only incapable of saving them, but he looks like a big anchor tied around their necks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The president is still a good fund-raiser for Democrats. But while the Koch brothers are pounding the party’s Senate candidates and a few House candidates around the country, congressional Democrats are wondering when Obama’s vaunted powerhouse national advocacy network, Organizing for Action, will finally step in with some money to offset the wave of outside spending by the Republicans.

      The state of relations between congressional Democrats and the administration has been deteriorating every week, but now it’s hitting a new bottom — and not only with the extraordinary open feud between the C.I.A. and the Senate intelligence committee. Hill Democrats are seething at Obama, fearing that the onetime messiah is putting them in a slough that will last until — or through — 2016.

      Top Democrats who were fans of the president and prone to giving him the benefit of the doubt now say they’ve completely lost confidence in the White House’s ability to advance an agenda and work with them in a way that’s going to give Democrats a fighting chance in November.

      Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
      At the heart of all this, really, is that the White House totally blew the rollout of the health care law and Democrats have not recovered. It provided a huge opening for Republicans, who had just shut down the government and were tanking in the polls and in despair themselves.

      Now there’s a lot of spring in the step of Republicans as spring approaches.

      It’s not just congressional Democrats who are kvetching. Mark Zuckerberg called the president to vent about government incursions on privacy. And the New Yorker editor, David Remnick, talked to The New Republic about Obama’s “locutions,” his habit of going, “On the one hand. On the other hand. That is to say.”

      “On the other hand, excuse me,” Remnick said, laughing, “I wish I could hear a lot more from him about, say, Ukraine, than I have, other than just ‘We are keeping out.’ ”

      Obama’s approval ratings will shape the midterms, and some Hill observers compare his crumpling numbers to an illness. The president didn’t do the basic things to take care of himself, and now he’s gone terminal and contagious.

      The closest the president came to getting a leg up on mounting a defense was on Friday when he told Ryan Seacrest in a radio interview that he had been unfairly maligned for his mom jeans: “Generally, I look very sharp in jeans.”


      Due to the inability of the president and congressional Democrats to move their agenda through Congress, the president is having to govern through executive order and revising federal regulations.

      Republicans have latched on to this to make the case around the country that Obama is a dictator and an imperial president. But governing through executive order isn’t a sign of strength. It’s a sign of weakness.

      And it’s that weakness that has Democrats scared to death.

      Delete


  9. David Brenner Dies of Cancer

    ReplyDelete

  10. Depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bob, I've been thinking. If Jack knew the abductor of his child, and knew where she was going, and her name, and where she lived, why didn't he report it to the authorities, or go there himself and retrieve his abducted child? The child was an American citizen, having been born in the USA. One would think Jack would want the child to grow up in his native land. I just don't get it. Can you help? I hope to see the Psychology Report soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know for sure yet, anon. I too am awaiting the Psychology Report.

      Maybe he figured "It takes a village" or something.

      Like Hillary.

      Delete
    2. One more question, Bob. Do you know if Jack Hawkins filed a custody motion in an Arizona court to obtain custody of his American child for the child's well being from an unfit mother, which child he claims had been "abducted" by the mother, which mother he has stated was "crazy"?

      Delete
    3. If Jack knew the abductor of his child, and knew where she was going, and her name, and where she lived, why didn't he report it to the authorities, or go there himself and retrieve his abducted child?


      Hmm. Sounds like Jack doesn't want to do his civil duty.

      Delete
  12. Why Israel Fears the Boycott

    JERUSALEM — IF Secretary of State John Kerry’s attempts to revive talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority fail because of Israel’s continuing construction of illegal settlements, the Israeli government is likely to face an international boycott “on steroids,” as Mr. Kerry warned last August.

    These days, Israel seems as terrified by the “exponential” growth of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (or B.D.S.) movement as it is by Iran’s rising clout in the region. Last June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effectively declared B.D.S. a strategic threat.

    Calling it the “delegitimization” movement, he assigned the overall responsibility for fighting it to his Strategic Affairs Ministry. But B.D.S. doesn’t pose an existential threat to Israel; it poses a serious challenge to Israel’s system of oppression of the Palestinian people, which is the root cause of its growing worldwide isolation.

    The Israeli government’s view of B.D.S. as a strategic threat reveals its heightened anxiety at the movement’s recent spread into the mainstream. It also reflects the failure of the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s well-endowed “Brand Israel” campaign, which reduces B.D.S. to an image problem and employs culture as a propaganda tool, sending well-known Israeli figures around the world to show Israel’s prettier face.

    Why should Israel, a nuclear power with a strong economy, feel so vulnerable to a nonviolent human rights movement?

    Israel is deeply apprehensive about the increasing number of American Jews who vocally oppose its policies —
    especially those who are joining or leading B.D.S. campaigns.

    It also perceives as a profound threat the rising dissent among prominent Jewish figures
    who reject its tendency to speak on their behalf,
    challenge its claim to be the “national home” of all Jews,
    or raise the inherent conflict between its ethno-religious self-definition and its claim to democracy.

    What I. F. Stone prophetically wrote about Israel back in 1967,
    that it was “creating a kind of moral schizophrenia in world Jewry” because of its “racial and exclusionist” ideal,
    is no longer beyond the pale.


    Read More

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/opinion/sunday/why-the-boycott-movement-scares-israel.html?_r=0

    ReplyDelete

  13. Bob, I have been thinking, you should try it, even though it hurts.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I just watched the video Stone Cold Justice!

    Everyone should see it, quite informative and balance view of the situation in Palestine and the Israeli occupation.
    The occupation is clearly shown to be a horrible thing an injustice.

    Stone Cold Justice

    Stone Cold Justice answers the the question, What is Occupation?

    It is apartheid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is occupation?
      It is racism and hate.

      Delete
    2. What is Occupation?

      The answer is made plain in Stone Cold Justice

      Child Abuse!

      Thanks for the link i is a program everyone should see.

      https://archive.org/details/StoneColdJustice

      Delete
  15. I don't know for certain, anon, but I have reason to seriously doubt that, or he would have certainly mentioned it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not necessary to tell all you know...
      You're not gonna change any one of them by talkin' right.

      They've got to want to learn themselves,
      and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.

      Delete
    2. Anon wasn't trying to persuade. She/he was just asking a factual question: did or did not Jack file a custody case on the grounds that his American child had been abducted by an unfit mother.

      Delete
    3. Simple, their location was unknown.

      No forwarding address was provided.
      No telling where in the world she had gone.

      To make an assumption she had returned to Panama, would have been just that, an assumption.

      a dangerous country for gringos. . . . . the government oppressive and hostile to business and the legal system is a farce.

      Her brother, an officer in the Guardia Nacional, she would have NEVER been declared an unfit mother by a Panamanian court.

      Turns out she gave the child to her brother's wife, to raise.
      Even if we had found her, we'd have not found the child.

      Obviously neither Anoni nor Farmer Bob have ever left the United States.
      Have never dealt with foreign courts.

      They have led sheltered lives.

      Delete
    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    5. Their location was unknown, but they were in Panama, and the child was living with the brother's wife, but Jack didn't know where they were, heh heh heh, and the question wasn't what a Panamanian court would do - you really have no idea - but an American court.

      I see.

      You couldn't do a thing. A big boy, a military expert, and expert in jungle warfare, an expert in all sorts of arms, you were helpless. Besides, trying to do something would have cost you some money.

      yep

      One wonders why, if she was so obviously "crazy", you fathered a child with her in the first place.

      Are you nuts?

      Delete
    6. Jack HawkinsSun Mar 16, 12:48:00 PM EDT
      Simple, their location was unknown.
      No forwarding address was provided.
      No telling where in the world she had gone.
      To make an assumption she had returned to Panama, would have been just that, an assumption.

      Typical rantings of an irresponsible baby daddy.

      Delete

  16. Watch an expert teach a smug U.S. senator about Canadian healthcare

    . . . the high point of the morning was an exchange between Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Danielle Martin, a physician and health policy professor from Toronto. In the exchange, Martin bats down the myths and misunderstandings about the Canadian system that Burr throws at her.

    BURR: On average, how many Canadian patients on a waiting list die each year? Do you know?

    MARTIN: I don’t, sir, but I know that there are 45,000 in America who die waiting because they don’t have insurance at all.


    http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-watch-a-canadian-20140312,0,2995139.story#ixzz2w8dViV1m



    ReplyDelete
  17. Former NH GOP Chair Saves $1,000.00 with Obamacare; still bitches.

    the party of extreme beyond all comprehension stupid

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ex-Boston mayor Thomas Menino battles advanced cancer

    “God didn’t design your life so you would constantly fall down, but he does hope that you will be brought to your knees.”
    ― Shannon L. Alder

    ReplyDelete


  19. I see, from the last thread, that Farmer Bob claims to only have stuck Uncle Sam with his prostate problems ...

    That would be a $350,000 Federal health care subsidy, for Farmer Bob by his own admission, by omission.

    heh, heh, heh.

    ReplyDelete
  20. As Quirk is wont to expound, at every opportunity, "Correlation is Not Causation," but Obama's disapproval amongst the hoi polloi (adults) appears to be happening at the exact same time that the poorer (unlikelier to vote) people are "spiking" the healthcare enrollment numbers ahead of the Mar. 31st deadline.

    The interesting question (to me) is, where do their opinions go after Mar. 31st?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Obama is not running for re-election.

      Repeal of the ACA is impossible during his term of office.

      By 2019, NO ONE will be able to repeal it.
      Reform it, change the name of it, sure, that may happen, that is almost guaranteed to happen.
      Just like Social Security has expanded in is scope and scale since it became Law.

      Even though the Republicans gave multiple objections to is passage and expansion . . .
      No Republican Administration, or Congress has ever rolled it back.

      Most have expanded the benefit package.
      Medicare Part D exemplifies Republican policies.


      Social Security: Is it necessary?
      Northwest Herald

      Social Security is one of the most popular programs the federal government has ever put into place. In total, about 57 million Americans received retirement, disability, or survivors' benefits during 2012 at a cost of about $786 billion.

      Delete

    3. 57 million US residents, a big chunk of the 47% that Mitt Romney said were leeches.

      Delete

    4. One of the many reasons Mitt Romney lost, in a landslide.

      Delete
  21. Hola,

    All is well in the garden. I have been very busy and am having a great time with my new ventures in some fascinating new technologies for the architectural field in thermal analysis of existing historic building and advance designs for new high-end construction.

    -----------------

    Putin really has gone off his rocker. The paranoid asshole is setting an interesting precedent for Russia in establishing new territorial expansion based on ethnic populations. Someone better explain to him the longtime territorial consequences to a vastly underpopulated Eastern Russia and newly arrived Chinese settlers. What a stroker!

    ---------

    Ciao for now

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who Was that "drive-by" stranger?

      Anybody know him?

      :)

      Delete
    2. Off his rocker? I dunno bout that.

      this article reminded me of the buildup to gulf war 2

      http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/in-crimea-the-only-truth-you-get-is-from-kremlin-controlled-media/article17506668/?service=mobile

      Delete
  22. Hi Deuce,

    Just wanted to say I thought your blog was interesting and to reach out personally. I was backpacking in Costa Rica several years ago when I was the victim of a very violent attack. I've had PTSD since I came back to the states and am just now dealing with all that. Anyway, it's been interesting for me to read more about the violent crime in Costa Rica. The media makes it seem like Costa Rica is free of the criminal turmoil in neighboring states but it is not the case -- I read blogs where people say "yeah, the only thing you should really watch out for in Costa Rica are the pickpockets" and I'm thinking BULLSHIT.

    Anyway, I filed a police report after my attack (I think it was in 2006). It obviously went no where -- the investigator I filed it with, a Tica, was basically smirking at me while I was telling the story like "are you kidding? Of course we're not going to find them. We won't even try."

    In short, take care. Reach out sometime if you get a chance. I'd be curious what you are up to in Costa Rica.

    Kind regards,

    Jim


    Jim,

    I will see that you get an invite to post your own articles. Sorry to hear about your tragedy. Costa Rica is a dangerous country for gringoes. Its rivers are a disgrace and the government oppressive and hostile to business and the legal system is a farce.

    Good luck and stay in touch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. The Legal System, in Costa Rica, based on the Napoleonic Code.

      Delete
    2. heh heh heh

      "The Costa Rica legal system is actually based on the Roman Criminal System (which is also used by Spain, France and Germany) and not the United Stated although you there are some obvious similarities to the U.S.. Below is a very basic breakdown of the Costa Rican Legal System"

      http://costarica-connection.com/costa-rica-legal-system/


      "Costa Rica is a Roman Tradition Country, so the origins of its criminal systems lies in the Roman Criminal System"


      http://www.residencycr.com/costa-rica-news/costa-rica%C2%B4s-criminal-law-system.html

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. If you had completed Farmer Bob's reading assignment, you would know that the Napoleonic Code grew out of the Roman Criminal System.

      Roman Criminal System (which is also used by Spain, France and Germany)

      Notice that FRANCE is mentioned?

      Your reading comprehension is as bad as What is Occupation's.

      If you are going to write, learn to read, first.

      ;-)

      Delete
    5. Wiki has man positive attributes, I use it, a lot.
      It provides a foundation of basic, simple knowledge.

      But if you want to discuss the development of legal codes, in the Western World, it falls short.

      That is why Farmer Bob got his reading assignment, so he could develop a 'Basic Understanding' of that development and its effects on cultures and societies.

      If you are interested, Anoni, I'll dig up that assignment, then you can take the quiz, before we move forward in your continuing education.

      Delete
    6. Wiki has MANY positive attributes, I use it, a lot.

      Delete
  23. Deuce:


    I am David LA Esq., the personal attorney to a deceased client who has same surname with you, made a fixed deposit of with a Bank here in Australia, died on the 20th Sept 2013 in the city of Perth Australia, leaving behind no next of kin, am ready to share with you, Kindly get back to me for specific.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Deuce:

    My Ex Husband has violated court order in payment of child, spousal and medical
    support. Advise if you handle such case.

    Nishiyo Stryker

    Nishiyostryker01@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Who is going to stop Putin?

    Us?

    We will be lucky if he doesn't wander into Estonia, a NATO country.

    What do we do then?

    Go to the UN?

    ReplyDelete
  26. If Deuce has struck it rich........he should share it with us all.

    After all, he hasn't earned it either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. A lot like your prostate treatments, aye?

      Delete
  27. Crimeans vote on union with Russia as troops build up rapidly...
    60,000 massed on border...
    Putin's Popularity Soars.......drudge


    The Rooskies are clapping now, but they don't know who awaits them at The Maiden.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hey bob,

    did you watch that video stone cold justice? What did you think of it?

    ReplyDelete

  29. Here is the link in case you missed it.
    It is a great video, balanced in its presentation.

    https://archive.org/details/StoneColdJustice

    ReplyDelete
  30. I looked at it, Ash. My opinion is it's just another moderately well done propaganda video.

    Put up some instructions on how to thread, I may put up a thread myself.

    I have been hoping against hope Doug would start a new ratless Libertarian.

    Deuce simply refuses to enforce his own rules. And has banned WiO from threading.

    This place stinks to high heaven.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why don't you start a new ratless Libertarian, Ash. You'd finally get some readers.

      Destiny is calling.......:)

      Delete
    2. Ash, I think the situation in 'Palestine' is basically the same as it was back when Martha Gellhorn wrote her piece. They - the arabs - teach their children to hate, always have, always will. They love hate, she said, they roll in it, the breathe it, they glory in it, and their media is one long scream of hate.

      Delete
    3. They hate the Jews, she said, first and foremost. It's in the book. They want to drive them into the sea, exterminate them. But they also hate everyone else. They even hate themselves.

      What good has it ever done them, the question is asked. Yes, she says, what good has it ever done them?

      Delete
    4. I think our women were better writers back then. They are not so good now. These days it mostly all about their precious bodies.

      Serious. And I love women writers. It seems it's hard to find a really good one now, though maybe I've missed her/them.

      Delete
    5. Bob, why don't you start your own blog!
      You could call it

      The Fascist or
      The Racist.

      or even better

      Fudd's Place

      It'd fit your personality to a Ms T.

      Delete
    6. I'd end up.hating them myself if I had to live under occupation. I guess you are an example of the sheeple quirk goes in about.

      Delete
    7. Bob, have you watched the documentary, Defamation? You should and you'll see how Jews in Israel are indoctrinated with victimhood and these kids grow up believing everyone wants to kill them, so they are taught to hate and the Palestinians know this as they feel the wrath of a cruel government, yet, if tomorrow peace were achieved, statehood awarded, the 1967 borders restored, the majority would love it.

      Delete
  31. 'Democracy is dead': 'Fanatical' missing airliner pilot pictured wearing political slogan T-shirt
    Police investigate data from home flight simulator of captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53
    Investigators speak of his 'obsessive' support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim
    Police officers fear Ibrahim being jailed could have left Shah profoundly upset
    Flight MH370 disappeared more than a week ago with 239 people on board
    Despite a huge multinational search effort, no signs of the plane or a crash have been found
    Malaysian Prime Minister said yesterday that the plane was deliberately steered off course
    FBI experts say disappearance could be ‘act of piracy’, suggesting passengers are being held
    Officials revealed the plane could have transmitted a radar 'ping' from the ground if it was still intact
    By SIMON PARRY and AMANDA WILLIAMS and WILLS ROBINSON
    PUBLISHED: 17:08 EST, 15 March 2014 | UPDATED: 13:54 EST, 16 March 2014
    56,426 shares 822View
    comments
    An image has emerged of the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet wearing a T-shirt with a 'Democracy is Dead' slogan as it has been revealed he could have hijacked the plane in an anti-government protest.
    Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a father-of-three, was said to be a 'fanatical' supporter of the country's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim - jailed for homosexuality just hours before the jet disappeared.
    It has also been revealed that the pilot's wife and three children moved out of the family home the day before the plane went missing.
    It comes as FBI investigators say the disappearance of MH370 may have been ‘an act of piracy’ and the possibility that hundreds of passengers are being held at an unknown location has not been ruled out.


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581817/Doomed-airliner-pilot-political-fanatic-Hours-taking-control-flight-MH370-attended-trial-jailed-opposition-leader-sodomite.html#ixzz2w9k0dFB7

    hmmmm.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "It has also been revealed that the pilot's wife and three children moved out of the family home the day before the plane went missing."

      Another case of the wife "abducting" the kids?

      Delete
    2. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/cac/family-abductions

      It’s important to understand: The FBI has no investigative jurisdiction outside the U.S., except on the high seas and other locations specifically granted by Congress. We work through our existing partnerships with international authorities through the U.S. Department of State, our legal attaché program, and Interpol.

      The U.S. Department of State receives approximately 1,200 new Hague and non-Hague cases annually. If you are a left-behind parent, please see the Department of Justice’s International Parental Kidnapping webpage for more information.


      http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/subjectareas/ipk.html

      Every year, situations of international parental kidnapping are reported in the United States. It is common for the removal of a child to occur during a heated or emotional marital dispute, in the early stages of separation or divorce, or in the waiting period for a court custody order or agreement. Incidents of international parental kidnappings of American children have been reported in countries all over the world, including, but not limited to, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, and the United Kingdom.

      Child victims of international parental kidnapping are often taken from a familiar environment and suddenly isolated from their community, family, and friends. They may miss months or even years of schooling. The child may be moved to multiple locations in order to stay hidden or out of reach of the parent remaining in the United States. In some cases, the child´s name, birth date, and physical appearance are altered or concealed to hide identity.

      Under federal law, prosecutors may investigate and prosecute the parent who kidnapped the child. However, prosecutors generally have no control over the custodial decisions affecting the kidnapped child or if foreign authorities will order the return of the child.
      ...
      In acts of desperation, some parents will attempt to use extra-judicial forms of recovery, such as personally traveling to the foreign country to recover a child.

      Although it may seem easier and faster to use extra-judicial methods, they often violate U.S. federal laws, the laws of the foreign country involved, and may potentially exacerbate the situation.

      For example, the parent who kidnapped the child may have sought assistance from a foreign court or obtained a foreign custody order. In such circumstances, the other parent's direct removal of a child from the foreign jurisdiction, without the assistance of the U.S. Department of State, could result in his or her arrest or even imprisonment in that foreign country.

      Furthermore, any unlawful attempt to recover a child may adversely impact a petition for return under the Hague Convention.



      Delete
    3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hague_Convention_on_the_Civil_Aspects_of_International_Child_Abduction

      Noncompliance with the terms and spirit of the Hague Convention has been a particularly difficult problem in the practical implementation of the Convention. In 2009, the United States declared Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Greece and Mexico displayed "patterns of non-compliance" or "noncompliance"

      In certain exceptional cases under Article 13b, the court's mandatory return obligation is changed to a discretionary obligation, specifically, "the judicial or administrative authority of the requested State is not bound to order the return of the child if the person, institution or other body which opposes its return establishes that there is a grave risk that his or her return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation."

      The duty to return a child is however not abrogated by a finding under Art. 13(b) but merely changes from mandatory to discretionary. Since the general intent of the Convention is to cause the return of a child to his or her "habitual residence,"


      Hague Convention - Panama was not even signatory until 1994.

      Since the child was abducted as an infant, its' "Habitual Residence" would have been Panama.
      There would have been no chance of a legal remedy, in Panama, if it had been known he was in Panama, which no one in the US knew.

      People that have never left the United States, are ignorant of the ways of the world.

      Delete
  32. Exit polls show Crimea annexation wins 93% of vote while under Russian occupation
    Mar 16, 2014 3:31 PM by Ed Morrissey

    Hot Air

    Not bad, not bad at all.

    93%, and a good turnout, too.

    Quirk's hands tighten on his machine gun at The Maiden.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Assault of the Killer Saguaro


    William Mason suffered broken back and 146 needle wounds after crushed by a
    falling 16ft CACTUS


    The Yuma Sun reports Mr Mason's family saying he suffered multiple injuries including a broken back, leg, as well as internal injuries and a fever.

    By Thursday 146 cactus spines were removed from his body with many more remaining.

    'It was a horrible accident. He's in very serious condition. We don't even know if he will live. We're all praying for him,' she said while waiting to hear more from her daughter.

    Saguaro cactuses can weigh anywhere from hundreds of pounds to more than several thousand pounds, depending on how much water they're holding.

    According to the Sun, their roots are usually only four to six inches deep in the ground, while anchored by a larger, single tap root.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Crush a car, those saguaros can.

      The tap root is not that deep, the root ball is incredibly small, proportionately.

      The whole root ball will be no wider than the cactus and less than 2 feet deep.

      Delete
  34. I wonder how Kristi Yamaguchi is in bed?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I know she's a conservative and a vocal Republican, but that doesn't matter. I think she is inspiring to so many Americans."

      ---

      I didn't know that, but I won't bring it up as long as she remains energetic.

      Delete
  35. The next thread is ready, there are no horses, but there is some 'special' eye candy, for Farmer Bob.
    I know, now, based upon his comments that he does not enjoy looking at women, so I made an accounting for his predilections.

    Don't worry, rufus, there is plenty of sweetness for you and I, enough so that even Doug can share in the bounty.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Did Farmer Bob get Blogger to Ban the next Blog Post?

    ...or was Jack just teasing us?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Jack don't tease, Doug.
      They post after midnight EDT.

      It's Monday's thread.

      Sex and soldiers - A tale of bravery . . .

      Bibi's AIPAC speech inspired me.

      ;-)

      Delete

    2. Why, Doug, would Google ban the images in their library?

      They are all Google approved.

      ;-)

      Delete
  37. :) :) :)

    You're a Prince, Rat. I can't wait.

    ReplyDelete

  38. The Sodomite Made Him Do It


    One detail of his private life also hints at internal strife.

    The Mirror, as mention above, claims that "the pilot's wife and three children moved out of the family's home the day before the plane's disappearance.". It does not give any further details on such a matter, however, instead turning to Zaharie's political beliefs.

    Those political beliefs are at the center of reporting seeking to find a motive for why Zaharie would have wanted to hijack and disappear the plane. Zaharie was a known fan of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and often posted favorable things about the leader on social media. Some outlets have described him as "obsessed" and fanatical about the opposition leader.

    The timing of the plane also raises suspicion related to this fact, as Ibrahim was convicted of sodomy, a crime in Malaysia, the day before the plane disappeared. Ibrahim has been arrested for sodomy numerous times since 1998.
    Ibrahim has written in many Western publications, including Time Magazine, about the threat of radical Islam to moderate Muslims.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe Ibraham Partook of Pilot's Ass?

      Delete
    2. Hell, plain old Ash is bad enough around here.
      Think if he was Radioactive.
      A Canadian Isotope in our midst...


      State TV says Russia could turn US to 'radioactive ash' - Yahoo News



      Moscow (AFP) - A leading anchor on Russian state television on Sunday described Russia as the only country capable of turning the United States into "radioactive ash", in an incendiary comment at the height of tensions over the Crimea referendum.

      "Russia is the only country in the world realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash," anchor Dmitry Kiselyov said on his weekly news show on state-controlled Rossiya 1 television.

      Kiselyov made the comment to support his argument that the United States and President Barack Obama were living in fear of Russia led by President Vladimir Putin amid the Ukraine crisis.

      His programme was broadcast as the first exit polls were being published showing an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voting to leave Ukraine and join Russia.

      He stood in his studio in front of a gigantic image of a mushroom cloud produced after a nuclear attack, with the words "into radioactive ash".

      "Americans themselves consider Putin to be a stronger leader than Obama," he added, pointing to opinion polls which then popped up on the screen.

      Delete

    3. He's almost correct, the Chinese could do it, too.

      Why would stating the obvious be considered 'an incendiary comment '?

      To ignore reality does not make sense.

      Why would an non-provocative report have been better, when it would not have been as accurate.
      Better to ignore reality than to have it served up, hot and fresh?

      Russia ain't Libya, it's not Iraq or Afghanistan.
      They have over 5,000 nukes, embrace it!

      Delete

    4. The Ukrainians gave theirs away.

      Delete
    5. The 'Loyal Opposition' in the US has been denigrating the President, non-stop since he was sworn in.

      Their main issue, their primary cause, in 2009 through 2012 was to defame and delegitimize the President.
      So their man could get the job. They failed to accomplish their primary goal, their candidate was even worse, more unpopular than Obama, if that could be possible.

      So all the GOP accomplished, was to weaken the President and by extension, the US.

      Delete
    6. The GOP, failed to get Obama out of the White House, failed to stop the ACA, failed to gain the Senate in 2010 or 2012.
      Their track record of failure is legend.

      They have taken the country into the toilet, with their divisive rhetoric and have nothing to show for it, but a diminishing of the President and by extension the US in the eyes of our adversaries.

      McCain's statement, posted by Ash, illustrates just that set of circumstance.

      Delete
    7. What gibberish. The GOP has been powerless for 6 years. Jack is totally disconnected from reality. Off in a world of his own making. Blotto is ratto.

      He should just stick with putting up semi-naked women, and not make any comments.

      He makes a fool of himself every time he opens his mouth.

      Delete
    8. He impregnated a crazy woman, who fled for her safety, and he knows exactly where the child is, and has never paid any child support to his own flesh and blood.

      What a guy.

      The only thing he can do well is post nudie pictures.

      He likes nudie pictures.

      Delete
    9. Jack is a 'real' man. Nudie pictures and guns and horses.

      wow

      Delete

    10. You're sure easy to impress.

      ;-)

      Delete
    11. Someone described Jack as a professional asshole.

      Wait !

      Jack described himself as a professional asshole.

      He's right too.

      His child in Panama would agree.

      Delete
    12. Payin' for the horses, just gnaws at some foks.
      Costs a lot, and if they do not ride, do not feel the joy, it gnaws away at their penny pinching ways.

      Then when the person that does ride, does not appreciate the fella that pays their way, it is even worse.

      The number of divorces, cause by horses, is legend.
      Horseshoers and trainers end up bangin' the clients. That's the 'Cowboy Way'.
      But tennis pros do the same, it's all part of the game.

      Mounted Shooting, one of the silliest of the 'Horse Sports', designed by a fella I know, Jim Rodgers, as a way to sell his 1880's period clothing line. We'll have a thread about that, some other day.

      To bad you really can't afford to play the game, can't ride, or hardly even walk.
      Can't go down to the river, of hike to the mountain meadow.

      And no one else gives a shit.

      ;-)

      Delete
    13. You'll be sitting on your stupid professional asshole, still blogging meaninglessly, when I'm in Europa with my niece.

      heh heh heh

      ;)

      Delete
    14. Ratto Blotto should get himself a saddle to sit in while blogging.

      He can spread Playgirls of the Month on the wall behind.

      Heaven for Blotto.

      Delete
    15. "Mounted Shooting, one of the silliest of the 'Horse Sports', designed by a fella I know, Jim Rodgers"

      :)

      Well isn't that a feather in YOUR cap now......


      heh heh heh


      The Sioux were shooting buffalo from horses before Jim Rogers was even born.

      Delete
    16. Before the Sioux got the gun, they were shooting buffalo from horseback with bows and arrows, anon.

      Jim Rogers should try that one.

      But to them it wasn't a 'sport' but a matter of life and death.

      Delete
  39. Venezuelans march for the "Return of the Napoleonic Code"

    March 16, 2014
    Sunday in Caracas: 'Cubans go home'
    Silvio Canto, Jr.


    The word from Caracas is that the public is furious with the government crackdown and Cuban influence.

    A legislator has called on citizens to march today and tell the Cubans to go home. (See the picture from our Babalu friends)

    The irritation with Cuban influence has exploded. There are elite Cuban troops in Cuba and agents in government agencies.

    The relationship between Cuba and Venezuela goes back to Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. It started out as ideological love but it is now subsidizing Cuba with cheap oil and letting Havana run the day to day affairs of Venezuela. Most people are furious with the "oil subsidy" and ask why?

    So yes we support those Venezuelans marching today and tell "Cubans to go home." We love Cubans but not the ones who've invaded Venezuela and infiltrated the government.

    Stand with our friends in Caracas: "Raul Castro take your Cubans back to Cuba"

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/03/sunday_in_caracas_cubans_go_home.html

    "Long Live Bonaparte, Death To Raul"

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The relationship between Cuba and Venezuela goes back hundreds of years, dimwit.

      Well before Castro ever left Mexico, for the mangrove swamp at Playa Las Coloradas.

      The relationship between Cuba and Venezuela goes back to the Spanish colonial days.
      But someone whose furthest 'foreign adventure' was to Hawaii wouldn't know that, would he.

      Delete

    2. Geography and foreign history, not well studied subjects in the public school system in Idaho, were they.

      Delete
    3. But what else should we expect from an English Lit major that never wrote a book?

      Delete
  40. You may have postpartum psychosis or postpartum depression with psychotic features if you have had a baby within the last 12 months and are experiencing some of these symptoms:

    ...

    You keep hearing and/or seeing things that no one else does or that you know are not there. You may have what seem like voices in your head that won’t stop no matter what you do. The voices comment about your actions or tell you appalling things, even that you may need to hurt someone or do something you would never do otherwise. Perhaps you feel the radio, television, nature or God is speaking directly to you and you alone or giving you secret messages.

    You believe that you can’t trust people or have become suspicious of your family and friends — people you always trusted prior to this. You may even feel like your family, friends, healthcare providers or the government are out to get you. You may feel they are trying to get rid of you or stop you from doing what needs to be done. You also may feel that people (family, friends, strangers or outside forces) are going to purposely or accidentally harm you or your child.

    You believe you are suddenly unique and special in some way, have some greater purpose, mission, powers or have been possessed (however, you don’t want to talk about it to anyone because you know, for whatever reason, they won’t understand). Or you feel these same things are true of your baby.

    You cannot remember how to do things you knew how to do in the past — like how to make a batch of cookies, read a map, program your phone or find the doctor’s office. You may also have trouble focusing, like reading or doing math or following a plot on TV.

    You feel like you are losing track of time. Or time seems either very sped up or extremely slowed down.

    You may be having strange sensations, for example feeling like things are crawling on you.

    You are getting into conflict with those around you. Although there may be real issues between you and others, the fact is that you are getting into way more conflicts with others than you ever used to.

    People who care about you think there is something wrong with you or say that you are angry, sad, acting strange and/or weird. In any case, they note that you are different from how you used to be.

    You may feel as if you are being controlled by some outside force. This force may be telling you to harm someone. Or you may have strange violent urges that have nothing to do with choice. These urges can best be understood if you think of how it feels when you experience the urge to urinate. One has little control over whether one wants to urinate or not, it is just a powerful urge one is compelled to tend to. These strange violent thoughts may present themselves as possible solutions to a myriad of problems.

    You don’t like what is happening to you and are frightened to death. You know that something is terribly wrong and you don’t understand it. You think you’ve gone “crazy”.

    You are afraid you will never get better. You may even believe that the only way to get out of this or to protect the ones you love is to commit suicide or abandon your family.

    Though you might fear that you will be locked up forever if you were to ever reveal what is happening to you, you can get better with professional help. There are countless women who have had postpartum psychosis and recovered 100%.

    http://www.postpartumprogress.com/the-symptoms-of-postpartum-psychosis-in-plain-mama-english

    ReplyDelete
  41. .

    The GOP, failed to get Obama out of the White House, failed to stop the ACA, failed to gain the Senate in 2010 or 2012.
    Their track record of failure is legend.


    True enough.

    They have taken the country into the toilet, with their divisive rhetoric and have nothing to show for it, but a diminishing of the President and by extension the US in the eyes of our adversaries.

    Bushwa.

    Captain Moonbeam been lickin dem toads again.

    Obama has proven himself very capable of diminishing this country all by his lonesome.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Team Play, Quirk, team play.

      Instead of getting on Team USA, the GOP has done its best to sideline the quarterback.
      Politics was supposed to stop at the 'waters edge', go read Johnnie Mac's statement, the GOP has politicized every play.

      That's a fact, illustrated by the only GOP Standard Bearer sill in the game.

      Delete
    2. That's a fact, illustrated by the only GOP Standard Bearer STILL in the game.

      Delete
    3. .

      More nonsense, Captain.

      GOP standard bearer?

      :-)

      McCain has been dead since 2008. No one has bothered to tell him yet. You're from Arizona. The fact that you guys keep electing him is an embarrassment.

      The only people that take McCain seriously are that 'ambiguously gay' senator from S.C. and a few other nut jobs like Peter King who is auditioning for the third stooge's job now that Lieberman has retired.

      Politics was supposed to stop at the 'waters edge',

      Right, and that's what got us into Iraq. And by the way, what were the Dems saying about Bush's foreign policy during the fifth year of his presidency?

      I happen to agree with much of what Obama is doing (or isn't for that matter) in the foreign policy sphere but it's been a tough learning curve. Domestically, he has been a disaster.

      .

      Delete
  42. .

    Who in the federal government is 'upskirting' who? The 'righteous hypocrisy' of Senate Intelligence Committee members? It's alright for the NSA and CIA (and obviously the TSA) to upskirt the public but things get a little testy when they also start upskirting their enablers in Congress.

    http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/sherman-frederick/living-upskirt-nation

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Before getting to the real point, the linked article tries to explain what 'upskirting' is for those unfamiliar with this trend.

      Anyway, authorities in Massachusetts caught a guy by the name of Michael Robertson taking such photos on a trolley. The case eventually made it to the state Supreme Court, which ruled that Mr. Robertson’s act didn’t violate the state’s “Peeping Tom” law. The law prohibits secretly photographing a person who is “partially nude.” Because the woman on the trolley was fully clothed, secretly shooting pictures of her under her skirt isn’t a violation of the law as written.

      That’s a ruling only Bill Clinton (the meaning of “is” is) could love.

      The good people of Massachusetts were rightly outraged, and it took a nanosecond for the legislature to fix the law.



      Which raises the question, under the old law, would the guy have been found guilty if the woman happened to be going commando ala Britney Spears or Paris Hilton?

      .

      Delete