Ted Nugent's Wife Arrested For Gun in Carry-On Bag
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- Category: Gun Control
This just in...
Ted Nugent's wife Shemane Deziel has been arrested because she brought a gun into the airport in her carry-on luggage. She was arrested Thursday after TSA agents found the gun in one of her bags at a security checkpoint.
Mrs. Nugent's attorney has gone on record stating it was an "honest mistake." Shemane Nugent is a concealed carry permit holder and apparently forgot to remove the gun from her bag before entering the terminal at Dallas Fort Worth Airport. She was taken into custody immediately after the gun was discovered. Authorities are currently looking at the case to determine whether charges should be filed. Handguns are allowed in checked luggage, but not in carry-on bags.
Shemane isn't the first concealed carry permit holder to forget she had a gun in her bag. There are have been 1,000 firearms found in bags across the United States so far this year alone.
Her husband, Ted Nugent, has been one of the most vocal supporters of gun control in modern history, so it's no surprise his wife shares the same affinity for firearms. It's also no surprise she's a concealed carry weapon holder, considering the ire her husband raises amongst gun control advocates. He isn't exactly well-loved in the anti-gun community.
Considering who her husband is and her reasons for carrying concealed, there's a pretty good chance there won't be any serious charges filed. Her mistake and subsequent arrest should serve as a valuable lesson to the rest of us who carry concealed weapons because those of us who aren't so famous probably wouldn't be so lucky if caught with a firearm in our carry-on luggage. It's important to stay diligent when carrying a firearm and you should always, and I mean always, know exactly where your gun is.
Syrian Chemical Attack Intelligence Based on Intercepted Phone Calls
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- Category: War and Peace
Amidst the many unanswered questions regarding Syria, one thing appears to be for certain. Military grade chemical weapons were used against the rebels and an estimated 1,300 people were killed in the attack. It's still unclear exactly what was used, but experts believe it was a nerve agent like Sarin gas. The world may never know exactly what weapon was used against the Syrian people because Sarin dissipates quickly and testing for the gas isn't viable within a week.
According to an article by The Cable, U.S. intelligence intercepted phone calls from the Syrian military indicating they were to blame for the attack. What isn't as clear is whether the order for the attack came from the top or if it was a decision made on the fly by someone further down the chain of command. Regardless of who made the call, it was a grave miscalculation that could end up costing the current Syrian regime dearly.
As images of dead bodies of adults and children stacked up like cordwood spread across the globe, some nations are calling for a swift and decisive strike against Assad and his regime.
The threat of a U.S.-led attack on Syria has prompted Syria's allies to draw lines in the sand. Iran and Russia are the most vocal allies. Russia is sending warships to the Mediterranean where they could end up in a stand-off with U.S. warships already in the region. Iran has threatened to attack U.S. allies in the Middle East should the United States launch an attack on Syria. Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan could all potentially be targeted by Iranian missiles. China has also issued a strong warning against a U.S. attack on Syria.
Tensions are rising and the lines are being drawn. Instead of launching an attack based on intercepted phone calls, the United States should let the U.N. inspectors currently on the ground in Syria do their job and wait for the report. According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the team should be out of Syria and ready to report back to him by Saturday morning.
This is one to watch closely, folks. The world's superpowers are squaring off and tensions are high. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and we aren't witnessing a chain of events leading up to the Third World War.
While You're Busy Talking About Miley Cyrus, World War III Is About to Start
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- Category: War and Peace
While most people in the United States are more concerned with the way Miley Cyrus acted and dressed during the VMAs, our great nation could be on the verge of starting World War III.
The United States could start firing missiles at Syria as early as Thursday this week in an attack meant to send a strong message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in response to his regime allegedly using chemical weapons against rebels. Four U.S. destroyers are poised for the attack, sitting near Syria in the Mediterranean, awaiting orders to start firing Tomahawk missiles at strategic targets in Syria.
The looming attack on Syria is in response to an alleged chemical attack on rebels in the Damascus region that reportedly killed more than 1,000 people. According to some news sources, the Syrian Army claims the attack was a false flag attack perpetrated by the rebels to provoke action by the rest of world.
The impending threat of a U.S. attack on Syria has led a number of world superpowers to draw lines in the sand. Iran has warned a U.S. attack on Syria would lead to a much larger conflict in the region. Here's what Araqchi had to say about the impending U.S. attack:
"We want to strongly warn against any military attack in Syria. There will definitely be perilous consequences for the region. These complications and consequences will not be restricted to Syria. It will engulf the whole region."
While it's no surprise that Iran is taking a hard line against the United States attacking Syria, they aren't the only country calling for the United States to back off. Russia and China have both warned against an unsanctioned attack on Syria. Russia has gone on record as stating the U.S. is attempting to bypass the U.N. Security council and that military intervention in the region would be "fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa" and that military intervention without the approval of the Security Council would amount to the United States violating international law.
China has also opposed military intervention in Syria. It's unclear whether China is actually opposed to the intervention or is going on record as being opposed as a show of support for Russia.
Both China and Russia have been supplying Syria with advanced weaponry that could be used to repel a U.S. attack. " target="_blank">S 300 SAM missiles capable of repelling a Patriot missile attack are currently on the ground in Syria and Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning on supplying Syria with hundreds of " target="_blank">24-Barrell Rocket Launchers and ">advanced S400 anti-aircraft missiles.
Britain and France have sided with the United States and the Arab League reportedly supports military action in the region.
While it's unclear what actions China, Russia and Iran plan on taking if the United States moves on Syria, this conflict is one to watch closely, as it could be the catalyst for a much larger conflict.
South Carolina To Imprison Homeless
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- Category: General
Columbia, South Carolina, is like many big cities in uncertain economic times. The city has a homeless problem. It's estimated there are more than 1,500 homeless people living in and around Columbia. The homeless people in the downtown business district often outnumber the patrons in the area. This has led to panhandling, loitering, public urination and the usual gamut of problems associated with rampant homelessness.
In response to the problem, Columbia has come up with a plan to get the homeless out of the downtown area. The plan, at first glance, appears to offer quite a few services to the homeless. Here are some of the key aspects of the plan:
- A 240-bed shelter that was previously only open during the winter months will stay open an additional 2 months. The shelter will be open approximately 6 and a half months out of the year.
- Homeless adults who stay at the shelter will be offered access to services like medical and mental health services and job placement.
- Vans will be available to shuttle the homeless to appointments they have away from the shelter.
- A central meal kitchen will be set up to feed the homeless at one central location instead of the current programs set up all over downtown.
- Inmates released from prison with nowhere to go will be given a ride to the homeless shelter, where they'll have access to the services at the shelter.
This is all fine and dandy, but there's something a lot more sinister going on behind the scenes. A look at the inner workings of this plan reveal a sinister plan to get the homeless out of town and to keep them out. Nine police officers will be assigned to the business district to patrol the area and keep homeless people out. They will be tasked with cracking the whip on the homeless people who decide to forgo the services offered by the city at the shelter. Public nuisance laws will be in full effect and anyone caught loitering or otherwise degrading the sanctity of downtown will face punishment.
In a twist that sounds almost too prison state to be true, the city plans on posting an officer at the access road to the shelter to prevent the homeless from leaving the shelter and heading to the downtown area. What this amounts to is the criminalization of a group of people who have done nothing other than not being able to afford a roof over their heads. Additionally, Think Progress reports a hotline will be set up to allow patrons and citizens who have homes to report homeless people in the downtown area to the police.
Instead of showing compassion for the homeless, Columbia is planning on shuttling their homeless to what amounts to an internment camp on the outskirts of town. Those who refuse to go will be harassed and arrested and those who want to leave will have to head somewhere else. What happens when the "camp" fills up and there are still 1,300 or so homeless people left without beds? Will they be headed for greener pastures in other cities?
It doesn't sound like Columbia is taking care of its homeless problem insomuch as the city is trying to run the homeless out of town. I hope nearby cities are ready for the big influx of homeless people they're about to get.
Ia "Trayvon's Law" Headed Our Way?
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- Category: Crime and Punishment
During a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day rally in Washington D.C., Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP, announced to a crowd that there may be new legislation headed our way via President Obama. This new law, dubbed "Trayvon's Law" contains principles mandated by the NAACP.
>Here are the principles of "Trayvon's Law," as recorded on the NAACP website.
- Ending racial profiling;
- Repealing stand your ground type laws;
- Creating law enforcement accountability through effective police oversight;
- Improving training and best practices for community watch groups; and
- Mandating law enforcement data collection on homicide cases involving people of color.
Oddly enough, not a single one of these tenets would have prevented the Trayvon Martin shooting from taking place had they of been in place prior to the shooting. Let's take a closer look at each of these items.
Ending Racial Profiling
There's a lot of debate as to whether it was racial profiling or simply suspicious behavior that led George Zimmerman to follow Trayvon Martin. The mainstream media would have you believe Trayvon was an innocent child on his way home from the store targeted by a man who saw him, saw he was black and profiled him immediately. Tapes off the 911 call were edited and Zimmerman is suing NBC because they make him appear racist.
People are angry because they've been led to believe this is a case about race, when the facts point to Zimmerman being anything but racist. When a homeless black man in his community was beaten by a white police officer's son, Zimmerman publicly accused the police of covering it. He also reportedly voted for Barrack Obama and helped tutor African American kids. These don't appear to be the behavior of a racist frothing at the mouth at the opportunity to kill a black kid.
The only person who truly knows whether he racially profiled Martin is Zimmerman. What Zimmerman says happened is he saw Martin in a hoodie acting suspiciously. Zimmerman was active in his neighborhood watch program, so he called the police and followed Martin. Considering the fact that there had been a recent wave of robberies allegedly committed by black teenagers in the neighborhood, was Zimmerman racially profiling or was he doing his job as a member of the community and neighborhood watch?
Repealing Stand Your Ground Type Laws
This one is completely irrelevant to the Trayvon Martin case. Stand Your Ground laws are self-defense laws that allow individuals to stand their ground when threatened. Instead of having to attempt to defuse a potentially violent situation, people living in Stand Your Ground jurisdictions can stand their ground and react with violent force. While these laws may be arcane, they aren't relevant to the Martin case because Stand Your Ground wasn't evoked as a defense in the trial
Based on the evidence, Zimmerman was beneath Martin and couldn't have attempted to get away. The Zimmerman defense argued self-defense as the reason ZImmerman shot Trayvon, not Stand Your Ground.
Police and Neighborhood Watch
Creating law enforcement accountability and mandating data collection on homicides involving people of color are both good things, but they are largely irrelevant to the Trayvon Martin case. There is nothing indicating the police were negligent in their actions or their collection of data in this case. It appears standard operating procedures were followed. They originally declined to file charges against Zimmerman, which is supported by the not guilty verdict handed down by the jury. The media largely tried to create a case where there was none.
As far as improved training for neighborhood watch goes, this is the sole item on the list that could possibly have saved Trayvon. Had Zimmerman been trained that under no circumstances is he to follow a potential suspect, he may not have followed Trayvon and ended up shooting him.
What this all amounts to are a bunch of new policies being pushed that largely won't prevent another tragedy from taking place. Why is is that every time there's a tragic killing that touches the heart of America, it becomes the catalyst for taking away more rights?