Blast from the Past: America in Crisis: Are we preparing for martial law?

The Most Viewed story on the Times-Standard today is a column I wrote four years ago. Someone did the Scopes thing to check out my claims. They found out they were true. It’s interesting to me that this subject has resurfaced four years later.
Here’s a current story about the subject. Warning, the author of this blog is kinda “out there” and makes accusations that are questionable. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of people who believe that someday Martial Law will be enacted in all 50 states and all of our liberties will be taken away. I have my concerns, but I’m not as alarmed as some people. Now my column:
By Dave Stancliff/As It Stands/For the Times-Standard
Created:   10/05/2008 01:35:40 AM PDT
As we watch corporate America stagger financially, and the polarized politicians try to respond, there is something else going on that we all need to be aware of.
For the second time since Katrina hit in August 2005, an active Army unit --1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division -- has been set up to quell civil unrest and do crowd control within our borders. And this time it's a permanent mission.
The last time I checked, the use of the military in domestic activities was prohibited by law, with the exception of the National Guard units under the authority of the states. So what's going on? A recent report in The Army Times -- “Army Unit to Deploy in October for Domestic Operations” discussed a new military unit that is now stationed in the United States of America.
The report stated that the 1st Brigade Combat Team would be deployed within the country and would work with civil authorities to “put down civil unrest.” On the surface this may seem benign, but this mission marks the first time an active military unit has assigned to NorthCom, the joint command established in 2002 to control federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate with civil authorities.
The unit is under the daily control of U.S. Army North, NorthCom, the Army component of Northern Command, and is now on-call for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks. The Army says this mission is ongoing
and active duty units will be rotated in and out of the country. The commander of this unit, Col. Roger Cloutier, also said that his troops will be trained to use nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them.
This is another first; the first time a nonlethal package has been fielded the Army, according to Cloutier. Why does that make me uneasy? The package includes equipment to raise a hasty road block, spike strips for slowing, stopping or controlling traffic; shields and batons; and beanbag bullets.
The Army's new “dwell-time” mission will be part of a force that includes elements from other military branches and dedicated National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support teams. It doesn't stop there. There will be Air Force engineer and medical units, the Marine Corps Chemical, Biological Initial Reaction Force, a Navy weather team and members of the Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
According to an Army Times interview, Col. Louis Vogler, one of the chiefs of NorthCom future operations, said, “Right now, the response force requirement will be an enduring mission.” I guess that's clear enough.
What's troubling, among other things, is the man appointed as commander of NorthCom, Victor E. Renuart. “Why you ask?” According to Wikipedia, Mr. Renuart: “oversaw the planning and execution of all joint and allied combat, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction operations for Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.” This was the person who was in charge of all the completely chaotic, ineffective, and dangerous “operation” in Iraq and he will now be in command of this new unit in our country. How comforting is that?
The manual dealing with Consequence Management Response Force (CCMRF) explains who can turn this unit loose. “USARNORTH accomplishes its CBRN CM mission in strict adherence to public law and DOD policies. Deployment of USARNORTH, at the direction of the USARNORTH Commander and on the authority of the Secretary of Defense, occurs only after a Governor requests federal assistance from the President, and after the President issues a Presidential Disaster Declaration.”
In 2007, the Alaska/Northern Edge Training Mission was held as part of the first large-scale training for this internal military readiness force. Very little has been said to the general public about this whole affair. I'd wager most Americans aren't aware of this new strike force within our country. Are we closer to internal collapse than any of us realize? Why does the federal government feel the need for such a unit within our borders?
As It Stands, the idea that active duty soldiers will be used to control unruly civilian crowds is both terrifying and unconstitutional.

If you know of a weirder school mascot than ‘Scrotie’ please share it

 While aimlessly surfing the net I found what has to be the weirdest school mascot in America.

Meet Scrotie (photo), representing the Rhode Island School of Design.

Scrotie looks like a giant penis wearing a shiny red cape with the scrotum hanging beneath. Although still an unofficial mascot he is present at all of the games and is widely accepted by the students, while position of the administration remain unknown. Scrotie was created in 2001 to cheer the Nads.

The slogan of the team is “Go Nads.” Later when the basketball re-christened themselves “The Balls,” the new slogan for Scrotie to use was, “When the heat is on, the Balls stick together.” image credit 

Time for me to walk on down the road…

AS IT STANDS: Oh what a relief it is! The elections are over

                                  
 By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
  I don’t know about you, but I’m thrilled that the 18-month election season is over. 
  Political propaganda has dominated the airwaves and internet so thoroughly I was starting to believe there was no other news in this country. When other news events tried to emerge from the deluge of political propaganda, like Hurricane Sandy for example, they were quickly politicized.  
  No politics today. It’s Veteran’s Day and I want to thank all veterans for their service and sacrifices. Today is about honoring those who have gone before us and those who are with us now.
  Watching the political candidate signs come down is pure pleasure. The landscapes that were littered with those obnoxious signs are restored to normalcy now and some sport American flags in their place. Well, most of the signs. There are always a few die-hards who want you to know who they voted for until the next election.
  I can’t help wondering what all those political campaign managers and paid staffers do when the elections are over? Do they go into hibernation until the next general election? Or, do they remained tethered to their masters, ready to spring into action like good dogs when the time comes?

I’m still jumpy when I turn on the TV. Throughout the marathon political campaigns I tried to watch my favorite sporting events only to get sucker punched repeatedly by constant political ads. I was close to giving up baseball, football, and (unheard of for me) basketball games! It was that close.
    My candidate for president wasn’t from one of the two major political parties. I exercised my right to vote and I’m okay with the results. I accept who the people elected and will not whine because Obama is back for four more years.
   All I care about is seeing America come out of these hard times - for everyone’s
sake. While I’m wishing, I’d also like to see Congress stop the stupid polarization politics and start working for the American people - not the political parties.

  Right now, I’m basking in the fresh air, free from political poisoning, and pretending it was all just a bad dream. That all the nasty, racist stories and partisan politics that oozed out on the campaign trails were movie trailers for that bad dream. Gone now. There’s just the bright light of day and people moving on with their lives.
   One of the many troubling things that came out during this extended political circus, is that dirty, lying ads work and no one’s ashamed to admit it. People say they hate those ads publicly, but in private it’s sometimes another story.
  If exposed to the mind-numbing political ads long enough, people become brainwashed, and lose all sense of reality. With millions of dollars in attack ads in all 50 states, the two presidential candidates managed to spend six billion dollars trying to brainwash us by election day. 

  There wasn’t anything pretty about this election. I can imagine what the rest of the world thought when they heard of Super PACS and the massive amounts of money from billionaires (and anonymous donors) that went toward buying the presidency - with no corruption charges filed.
   America has become the Wild, Wild West of democracies. We talk a good game, but when it comes down to our voting process, we’ve descended into dark alleys with agendas that stink like raw sewage.
  Call it freedom at an unexpected price, or Capitalistic Democracy. Perhaps we should call it the last days of democracy as we’ve always known it.
   The elections are behind us now, and we can shake off the stupor produced by the collective madness of campaign saturation. As much as I hate to say it, politics - like flies - are part of our lives. Laws have to be passed, although our Congress is too partisan to pass many, and our newly elected officials must be monitored.
   Still, I’m not ready to let the thrill of the moment pass me by quite yet. I want to savor watching a basketball game without political ads bombarding me. I also want to walk down my street one more time to see if that lone neighbor has pulled up his collection of political signs!
   As It Stands, “A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in.” - H.L. Mencken

Techology News: How to disappear from the Internet – up to a point

Sick of horribly embarrassing things showing up when potential employers Google your name?

Tired of everyone knowing you live in a garden level dungeon ? Perhaps you just don't like the fact the Internet makes you easy to find. Thankfully, it's not that hard to delete yourself entirely. Here's how to do it.

For mildly famous (or infamous) individuals, disappearing is essentially impossible, but for the average person it's surprisingly easy. It just depends on much info is already out there.(Go here for the rest of the story)

Blogging on The Lakers: my coverage of last night’s game with the Warriors

    Good Day World!

Watched the Laker game last night.

They were coached by the assistant coach Ernie Bickerstaff because head coach Mike Brown was fired! Losing is not acceptable in Laker Land. Especially after putting together a lineup this year that should be undefeated. The naked reality was one win and four losses. The hybrid-Princeton Offense that Coach Brown seized upon to lead the team with this year was a complete failure. Poison.

The starting five – Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Pao Gasol, and Metta World Peace, looked like five confused strangers on the court. That’s because they were confused.

Nash should have been doing pick and rolls with Howard until the sun set... not slogging through a pass and read offense that didn’t allow for his strengths. Of course, he only slogged through one full game and was injured in the second. Who knows when he’ll be back after sustaining a leg injury?

I’m writing this as I watch the game between The Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. It’s the start of a six game homestand for the Lakers. A chance to enjoy home cooking with lot’s of wins. They took a nine point lead into the locker room at halftime. 38-47

They didn’t look great, but at least they didn’t appear to be as confused and played some good defense. The offense was spotty, but Darius Morris hit a couple of 3s and the Lakers got good contributions from the bench – especially from Jordon Hill.

Second half. Lakers are scoring easily. More importantly… their defense is getting better. I actually saw Kobe and Howard both smile after a time out was called in the 3rd quarter. They hasn’t been much to smile about in Laker Land lately with the losses looming like the end of the world! Laker management – Jim Buss – did the right thing. This team already looks better. Still the 3rd period. Lakers hit back-to-back 3s. Morris and Metta Peace. Lakers lead 72 – 55 at the end of the period. A 19 point lead.

Just like that. This game looks to be a blow out. I’m impressed with the contributions coming from the bench. Especially Morris and Hill. There’s an energy going with the team tonight. Starters and bench. The Warriors are starting to lose their cool. Green tried to pick a fight with Gasol. It’s getting chippy. Hill is really looking good. Fighting for rebounds and scoring.

It’s official. The Lakers got their swagger back. Funny how things can change when there’s a big change. The crowd is standing…cheering as Kobe stuffs the ball on a fast break. Jordon puts another basket in after collecting another offensive rebound. For the moment, Laker fans are happy. The team looks dominant. It’s a good thing too. If the Warriors would have won in Staples it would have been the low point of an already low season.

The Lakers are pulling out their starters now. The equivalent of the fat lady singing. Running up a flag of victory. Firing a 21 gun salute. Now it’s garbage time. The second stringers battling it out as the minutes wind down. The Lakers win 101-77. A complete beat down. Something you’d expect from a team with this much talent.

Just wait until they get a coach! (Rumor mill: Phil Jackson might return)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

  

It’s Friday Weirdness: ‘Feel Like a rat’…

   Good Day World!

 It’s Frantic Friday. Thank God it’s Friday -

Friday on my Mind – Black Friday Rule – Mr. Friday Night -

and finally this story for a Friday finale!

Rats use whiskers to feel around in the dark. They navigate by "whisking" — moving their whiskers rapidly back and forth. Humans, however, don't have whiskers. But could people learn to navigate in the dark using artificial whiskers? That was the question posed by a recent experiment published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The researchers attached plastic whiskers to the fingers (not the cheeks, unfortunately) of blindfolded volunteers.

These volunteers were then asked to try to identify the relative position of several poles on either side of them. The researchers discovered that the volunteers skill at this task improved significantly over time. So they were learning to use whiskers just as a rat would. The practical value of all this is that the researchers hope to develop finger whiskers for blind people.
Incidentally, if you read the abstract of the experiment, you would never know it had anything to do with rats and whiskers. The researchers describe their experiment as a study of "motor-sensory interactions in humans using a novel object localization task that enabled monitoring the relevant overt motor and sensory variables." (source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

'Historic' crop of Iraq, Afghanistan veterans storming Washington, D.C.

A record 16 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were elected to Congress on Tuesday night and two more veterans remained locked in races Wednesday that were too close to call.

The winners included nine first-time officeholders and seven incumbents. All but two of the victorious veterans seeking U.S. House and U.S. Senate seats represent the Republican Party. They included Brad Wenstrup, who deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a combat surgeon. Wenstrup will represent Ohio’s 2nd congressional district which sits east of Cincinnati.

Photo: Tammy Duckworth, seen celebrating with husband Bryan Bowlsbey in Elk Grove Villiage, Ill., on Tuesday night, defeated challenger Rep. Joe Walsh for Illinois' 8th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

For the Democrats, Tammy Duckworth captured Illinois’ 8th congressional district, which spans Chicago’s northern suburbs. Duckworth, who served as a captain in the Army National Guard, lost both of her legs and partial use of her right arm when her helicopter was shot down over Iraq in 2004. She becomes the first female veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan to serve in Congress. (Read the rest of the story here)

The Good News: Super PACs failed to buy the election - Karl Rove’s PAC was for naught

   Good Day World!
Much to my surprise the Super PACs failed to deliver the election for Romney. Over 85% of the Super PACs raised money for Republicans, but they failed to buy the presidency. This is encouraging, and hopefully will send out a message: the American public isn’t going to let the wealthy minority subvert democracy.
I particularly enjoyed reading about Karl Rove’s Super PAC – American Crossroads – had a 1 % success rate in attack ads wasting $103 million in the effort. I hope Darth Cheney gets the message and heads back to the dark star he’s from!
Karl Rove was the political genius of the George W. Bush era -- the architect of the last Republican president's two electoral victories. But this week, he may have had the worst election night of anybody in American politics.
Not only did Rove insist on Fox News that Ohio was still winnable for Republican challenger Mitt Romney after all the TV networks had called it for President Barack Obama -- causing anchor Megyn Kelly to march down to the Fox "decision desk" mavens, who assured her on air that they were "99.9 percent" confident in their call -- but his trailblazing "independent" super PAC operation was virtually shut out on election night.
A study Wednesday by the Sunlight Foundation, which tracks political spending, concluded that Rove's super PAC, American Crossroads, had a success rate of just 1 percent on $103 million in attack ads -- one of the lowest "returns on investment" (ROIs) of any outside spending group in this year's elections.
Money can't buy happiness, or an election
American Crossroads spent heavily, not just on Romney, but on attack ads on behalf of GOP Senate candidates in eight states -- thanks to mega contributions from conservative donors like metals magnate Harold Simmons ($19.5 million), Texas homebuilder Bob Perry ($7.5 million) and Omni hotelchief Robert Rowling ($5 million.)

The super donors didn't get much for their money. Six of the eight GOP Senate candidates that American Crossroads spent money to try to elect – Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin, George Allen in Virginia, Josh Mandel in Ohio, Richard Mourdock in Indiana, Denny Rehberg in Montana and Todd Akin in Missouri – lost their races, along with Romney. The group did, on the other hand, help to elect Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Dean Heller in Nevada.
(The Sunlight Foundation calculation of "return on investment" was based on the percentage of money it spent on individual races-- and since Crossroads spent the most on the races it lost on, the group earned its low 1 percent "return on investment" or ROI. A sister group, Crossroads GPS, which operates out of the same offices as American Crossroads but does not disclose its donors, fared little better, netting a return on investment of only 13 percent, according to the Sunlight Foundation report.) (Read the rest of the story here)
Time for me to walk on down the road…

Legalization Breakthrough: Colorado and Washington approve recreational marijuana use

Good Day World!

It’s finally happened.

Voters in Colorado and Washington on Tuesday approved measures allowing adults to use marijuana for any purpose, NBC News projected, marking an historic turning point in the slow-growing acceptance of marijuana usage.

In Massachusetts, voters also approved an initiative allowing people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, NBC News projected. In Arkansas, a similar initiative failed, according to NBC News projections.

Proponents say it’s about time pot was made legal and that it would create new avenues of tax revenue. But opponents say legalization would lead to more drug abuse and concerns about things like driving while impaired..

Opponent Kevin Sabet, a former senior advisor to the Obama administration and an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s college of medicine, said he was expecting legal challenges at the state and federal level.

“This is just the beginning of the legalization conversation, so my advice to people who want to toke up legally or think that they can buy marijuana at a store tomorrow is that we’re a very long way from (that),” Sabet said. Proponents of the legislation also said they expected some legal wrangling.

“It sets up a clear and obvious challenge with the federal government,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, which has fought for years to legalize cannabis. But proponents also were celebrating what they saw as a turning point in a long-running battle to make marijuana more available to the general public.

“We are reaching a real tipping point with cannabis law reform,” said Steve DeAngelo, a longtime advocate for legalizing marijuana and the director of the nation’s largest medical cannbabis dispensary, Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper acknowledged legal challenges but said the state would work to resolve the conflict between federal and state laws. "It's probably going to pass, but it's still illegal on a federal basis. If we can't make it legal here because of federal laws, we certainly want to decriminialize it,” he told NBC’s Brian Williams.

The idea of legalizing marijuana has gained acceptance in recent years. A Gallup pollreleased in October of 2011 found that 50 percent of Americans now favor legalizing pot. A decade ago, only around 34 percent were in favor. Liberals and adults under 29 are the most likely to approve of legalizing use of the drug. (SOURCE)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

The votes are in: President Obama is re-elected

The circus is winding down now that President Barack Obama was re-elected for another term in the Oval Office tonight.

Prepare for cheers and jeers as the news sinks into everyone’s brains. I can’t help thinking that six Billion dollars was spent between the two candidates in this historical race that allowed for Super PACs to pump hidden funds into the candidate’s coffers.

Where else could have that money gone to? A charity perhaps? Because all we have after the dust settles is status quo – not one thing has changed. But Obama says things will get better and we’ll have to see. I hope for the sake of this country we don’t have four more years of political gridlock. Onward and upward…

Election Day: Romney or Obama? As campaigning ends, voters render verdict

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It’s Nov.6…have you voted yet?

Good Day World!

The campaigning is over.

After months of intense — and often negative — campaigning between President Barack Obama and his Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, voters headed to polls across the country today to render their verdict in America's presidential election.

The election would settle the question of which man would lead the United States for the next four years, but a great deal of uncertainty awaited the winner of the election. Either Obama or Romney will almost immediately have to face the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the cocktail of automatic spending cuts (especially to defense) and tax hikes set to take effect at the beginning of the year unless Congress acts.

1st Election Day votes cast at midnight -- and it's a tie in Dixville Notch

Those challenges, the prospect of a “grand bargain” to address mounting national debt, and a variety of other issues confronted both the candidates and the tens of millions of voters expected to cast ballots today. (read the rest of the story here)

Buying the Presidency: Election's biggest corporate donor an enigma with $5.3 million in contributions

Tomorrow we’ll find out if the Super PACs have bought the election for Mitt Romney. Both he, and other Republicans have been supported by 85% of the Super PACs this year. Rich businessman and anonymous donors with secret agendas have gone all out to purchase the presidency. Here’s some interesting facts about the impact Super PACs have had on the electoral process.

The biggest corporate contributor in the 2012 election so far doesn’t appear to make anything — other than very large contributions to a conservative super PAC.

Specialty Group Inc., of Knoxville, Tenn., donated nearly $5.3 million between Oct. 1 and Oct. 11 toFreedomWorks for America, which is affiliated with former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey.

FreedomWorks’ super PAC has spent more than $19 million on political advertising, including $1.7 million on Oct. 29 opposing Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat running for Congress in Illinois against Tea Party favorite Joe Walsh, a first-term incumbent.The buy was more than four times greater than the group’s previous largest single expenditure.

Specialty was formed only a month ago. Its “principal office” is a private home in Knoxville. It has no website. And the only name associated with it is that of its registered agent, a lawyer whose phone number, listed in a legal directory, is disconnected. Specialty is the biggest and most mysterious corporate donor to super PACs, but it is not unique.

A new analysis by the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics shows that companies have contributed roughly $75 million to super PACs in the 2012 election cycle.

Super PACs, which were created in the wake of the controversial U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, can accept donations of unlimited size from corporations, unions and individuals. They spend the funds mostly on negative advertising.

The centers’ analysis found that 85 percent of money from companies flowed to GOP-aligned groups, 11 percent went to Democratic groups and the remainder went to organizations not aligned with either party.Prior to Citizens United, corporate spending on candidate advertising was not allowed. The decision raised fears that massive donations from corporate treasuries would flood the election in 2012.

In fact, the largest amounts have come from wealthy businessmen. However, about 11 percent of the $660 million raised by all super PACs through mid-October has come from company treasuries — mostly privately held businesses, sometimes organized as limited partnerships or limited liability companies. Yet a few high-profile companies haven’t been afraid to jump into the partisan fray.

In mid-October, oil and gas giant Chevron donated $2.5 million to a super PAC close to House SpeakerJohn Boehner, R-Ohio, called the Congressional Leadership Fund, which has aired a bevy of adsattacking Democratic House candidates.

Oxbow Carbon, the energy company owned by billionaire William Koch, the lesser-known brother of conservative industrialists David and Charles Koch, and Contran Corp., the business of Republican super donor Harold Simmons of Texas, have both steered significant sums to the coffers of super PACs.

Oxbow Carbon has donated $4.25 million to GOP super PACs, making it the No. 2 corporate donor to super PACs, while Contran, No. 3, has donated more than $3 million to Republican-aligned groups.

Another top corporate donor is a retirement community in central Florida known as The Villages — a Republican stronghold where Paul Ryan held his first campaign rally the day after GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney named him as his running mate.

Developer H. Gary Morse created The Villages more than 50 years ago, and this election cycle, more than a dozen companies connected to Morse and The Villages have collectively steered $1.6 million to GOP super PACs. That’s in addition to the $450,000 that Morse and his wife, Renee, have donated from their personal funds.

Notably, Morse is also the Florida co-chairman of the Romney campaign, and during the Republican National Convention, Morse’s Cayman Island-flagged yacht, named “Cracker Bay,” was the site of a soiree for some of Romney’s top donors and fundraisers.

Other high-profile corporate donors include:

• The Apollo Group, a for-profit education company, which gave $75,000 to the pro-RomneyRestore Our Future and another $5,000 to JAN PAC, the super PAC of Arizona’s Republican Gov. Jan Brewer;
• Convenience store giant 7-Eleven, which donated $25,000 to Hoosiers for Jobs, a super PAC that supported Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., during his failed primary campaign;
• Hamburger chain White Castle, which gave $25,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund;
• Defense contractor B/E Aerospace, which gave $50,000 to Restore Our Future;
• Payday lender QC Holdings, which gave $25,000 to Restore Our Future; and
• Weaver Holdings, the parent company of the Indiana-popcorn company known for its brands “Pop Weaver” and “Trail’s End,” sold by Boy Scouts across the country, which has donated $2.4 million to American Crossroads, the super PAC founded by GOP strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie.

Only a few other Fortune 500 companies have joined Chevron, which ranks third on the elite list behind only Exxon Mobil and Walmart, in making contributions to super PACs, and none has given as much as the energy giant.

Caesar’s Entertainment Corp., for instance, ranked by Fortune at No. 288, has given $150,000 toMajority PAC, a group that is spending to help Democrats retain the majority in the U.S. Senate.

“Fortune 500 companies are the least likely to be the ones who will be out in front giving publicly,” said Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California-Irvine. “They want to have influence over elections and elected officials, but they don't want to alienate customers.”

By category, companies in the finance, insurance and real estate sector donated more than $15 million, “general business sector” firms gave about $14 million and energy sector companies contributed more than $11 million, according to the analysis.

Unions, by contrast, have donated about $60 million to super PACs, from their treasuries or political action committees.

The top union donors include the National Education Association ($9 million), the United Auto Workers ($8.6 million) and the AFL-CIO ($6.4 million). All of these groups have spent heavily on Democratic candidates.

Money 'hiding in plain sight'
Additional corporate money may be flowing through politically active nonprofits that don’t disclose their funders.

“I strongly suspect that most of the corporate money is hiding in plain sight in trade associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” said Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor at the Stetson University College of Law.

For its part, the Chamber — which collects dues from companies such as Aetna, Chevron, Dow Chemical and Microsoft — has reported spending more than $35 million on political ads, which have overwhelmingly favored Republican politicians.

Facts about Specialty Group Inc. are scant.

Records filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office show it registered on Sept. 26, listing 61-year-old attorney William S. Rose, Jr., as its agent. Rose’s $634,000 home — about a 30-minute drive from downtown Knoxville — is listed as its “principal office.” Yet the company’s money has made a huge impact.

After the cash infusion from Specialty, FreedomWorks produced numerous advertisements, including one that blasts Duckworth as a crony of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison following a corruption scandal.

Duckworth is a double amputee and Iraq War veteran. She headed Illinois’ Department of Veteran Affairs and later served in President Barack Obama’s U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

FreedomWorks’ new ad features grainy footage of Duckworth and audio of her saying, “Gov. Blagojevich has charged me with the mission of taking care of my buddies, and that is what I’m doing.” But it leaves out the fact that when she said “buddies,” she was referring to other veterans and members of the military.

FreedomWorks for America treasurer and legal counsel Ryan Hecker says the organization only supports candidates who are “ethically right.” Anton Becker, Duckworth's campaign press secretary, says it’s conservative outside groups who are peddling "lies."

When asked for details about Specialty Group and the source of its contributions, Hecker expressed ignorance, and doubted that voters care about where the money came from.

“We are in compliance with the law, and we are doing what we can to report to the Federal Election Commission,” he said. “If there’s an issue with Specialty, it’s their issue. It’s not our issue.”

Andrea Fuller of the Center for Public Integrity contributed to this report. This story is a collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Responsive Politics. For up-to-date news on outside spending in the 2012 election, follow our Source2012 Tumblr and the hashtag #Source2012 on Twitter.

Idaho scientist seeks to launch aerial Bigfoot search with blimp

  Good Day World!

An Idaho scientist shrugging off skeptical fellow scholars in his quest for evidence of Bigfoot has turned his sights skyward, with plans to float a blimp over the U.S. mountain West in search of the mythic, ape-like creature.

Idaho State University has approved the unusual proposal of faculty member Jeffrey Meldrum, an anatomy and anthropology professor ridiculed by some peers for past research of a being whose existence is widely disputed by mainstream science. Now Meldrum is seeking to raise $300,000-plus in private donations to build the remote-controlled dirigible, equip it with a thermal-imaging camera and send it aloft in hopes of catching an aerial glimpse of Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch.

Meldrum, author of "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science," said the undertaking represents a giant leap in the quest for an animal he believes may have descended from a giant ape that once inhabited Asia and crossed the Bering land bridge to North America.

"The challenge with any animal that is rare, solitary, nocturnal and far-ranging in habitat is to find them and observe them in the wild; this technology provides for that," he said.

Decades of alleged sightings, elaborate hoaxes and the discovery of huge footprints in the forests of the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere have led to beliefs that Bigfoot is a man-like ape, an ape-like man or a figment of the popular imagination.

Most scholars discount Bigfoot as a phenomenon borne of myth and perpetuated by a mix of fakery and misidentification of real animals. They contend that science demands a high standard of evidence that has not been achieved in the case of sasquatch.

No fossils or other physical evidence has been unearthed to suggest that the largest primate ever known migrated from Asia to the Americas, and no Bigfoot has been captured or killed, skeptics argue.

"There is no Bigfoot," said University of Iowa anthropologist Russell Ciochon. Believers describe an enormous, fur-bearing figure that walks upright in the remote high country of mostly Western states. The blimp-based search - dubbed the Falcon Project - was the brainchild of William Barnes, a Utah man who said he encountered Bigfoot in 1997 in northern California.

Barnes said he watched an immense, hairy creature that was otherwise "well-manicured" approach his tent before striding up a rocky ledge. Years later, he approached Meldrum, well known in Bigfoot circles, about his idea for an airship expedition.

Barnes and Meldrum hope the Falcon Project will take flight next spring. They envision a months-long expedition that will survey swaths of remote forest across parts of the Pacific Northwest as well as northern tiers of California and Utah. The aerial evidence is to be dispatched to teams on the ground that would seek to trace evidence or "try to make contact," Meldrum said.

Financial support for the venture has been slow in coming, with Meldrum failing so far to raise a single dollar for the effort. But he told Reuters he was in talks with two cable channels vying for rights to produce a new weekly TV series following the Falcon Project from its inception.

Indigenous peoples from Asia to North America possess lore about colossal creatures akin to apes that live in extreme alpine environments, shun contact with humans and are variously identified as the yeti, Bigfoot, the wild man or mountain man, said William Willard, professor emeritus of cultural anthropology at Washington State University. While powerful, those myths have no scientific validity, he said. (Source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

AS IT STANDS: Why NRA members should vote to re-elect President Obama

                  

    By Dave Stancliff/for the Times-Standard
  Let’s look at a great American manufacturing and sales success story that has played out in the last four years.

Not just a little “Mom and Pop” feel-good propaganda piece either. No. Let’s look at a business that has shown unparalleled growth during the last four years.
 The statistics alone will give you goose bumps:
  For the first time since 1993, there has been growth in this industry. Retailers can’t keep up with the demand for this industry’s product. One of the biggest manufacturers in the country actually had to quit taking orders for a while because of it’s massive backlog. It was the first time in that company’s history such a thing happened.
  The demand and pace for the products of this industry has never been greater. The sheer volume of orders is staggering. For example, two manufacturers, that have 30 percent of the whole industry wrapped up, have been running production lines around the clock, hiring workers and operating at maximum capacity since 2008.
   One manufacturer, unlike many others in the country during these last four years, has seen an 86 percent growth spurt in the last four years. And it’s only projected to get better, if you can imagine.
  The manufacturer is pouring millions into research and development with big expectations for the future. For the industry it’s like a dream come true. At one point, prior to the last presidential election, stagnant sales were hindering growth.
  That’s all changed. The future has never been brighter for the firearms industry.
  That’s right, companies like Sturm Ruger-Co., Inc. and Smith and Wesson are thriving and setting records. Ammunition manufacturers are experiencing a golden age in sales and profit. Gun store owners are expanding their businesses during these good times.
  Without a doubt, the gun and ammunition manufacturers of America owe President Obama big time. Jim Barrett, an industry analyst at C.L. King and Associates Inc. in New York, recently told the Associated Press that the driver behind the record sales is President Obama.
 Why, you ask? It’s really quite simple. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been telling their members since the 2008 election that Obama is going to take away their guns one day. Just like that. Storm troopers are going to come into their homes and disarm them. Here today, gone tomorrow.

   One problem with that scenario: it didn’t happen. If anything, Obama’s election has stimulated sales - not curtailed them. That detail doesn’t seem to faze the NRA leadership, however.
They’re using the same fear tactic this time around, and claim Obama will surely ruin the industry if re-elected because it would be his last hurrah in politics and he’s been lying in wait for the chance to cripple American’s second Amendment rights all along.
  The NRA, fatter today than ever before from donations that have poured in during the last four years of fear-mongering, wants a Republican in the Oval Office. I think they’re making a big mistake attacking President Obama. It’s like hunting down the golden goose.
  In the first place, there’s no way President Obama will ever get Congress to agree to any laws that would hurt, or in any way impede the firearm industry. Republicans and Democrats are both too afraid of the NRA’s power to sway votes. The firearm industry has become America’s sacred cow.

  Which leads me back to why the NRA is playing the fear game again, this time around. It seems senseless, but to some extremists it’s all they have. Fund raising is an important part of maintaining the NRA’s political profile, and if they don’t have a “red letter” issue to rally around, donations could fall off.
  That’s really too bad when you think about it. Everyone wants to stimulate the economy and promote American manufacturing, and the NRA wants you to vote for Romney instead of Obama - who would easily guarantee four more years of thriving gun and ammunition sales!
   As It Stands, if you’re a member of the NRA who cares about seeing American manufacturing thrive then cast your vote to re-elect President Obama! 

Don’t Forget…’Fall back’: The science of daylight saving time

If colorful leaves and the occasional snowstorm weren't a sign that summer has slipped away, daylight saving time officially ends this Sunday.

At 2:00 a.m. that day, the clocks will "fall back" an hour, meaning brighter mornings but darker evenings for most Americans. (Hawaii and Arizona don't participate in this annual ritual.)

Daylight saving time was first suggested by Ben Franklin, who seemed to mean it as a joke. He wrote in 1784 that Parisians' night-owl ways could perhaps be cured by forcing them to live by the sun's light. (Franklin suggested that cannons at sunrise might do the trick.)

But no one put daylight saving into place until World War I, when Germany instituted the biannual time change to save fuel for the war effort. Britain soon did the same. In 1918, when the United States joined the war, daylight saving time soon followed. After the war ended, however, Congress got rid of the time change. Farmers hated it, because they had to do their jobs by the sun no matter the time on the clock. When Woodrow Wilson tried to defend daylight saving time, Congress actually went over his head, overriding his veto of their repeal.

Getting everyone on the same page
So how is it that we're dutifully turning our clocks forward and back these days? World War II. Again, American officials instituted daylight saving time to save energy for the war. But post-World War II, the United States was less rural than post-World War I. This time around, people supported keeping daylight savings so they could enjoy the summer sun after working hours.

For a few years, the country fell into chaos. Some towns kept daylight savings, while others ditched it. According to David Prerau, author of " Seize the Daylight : The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time" (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005), One 35-mile (56-kilometer) bus ride from Moundsville, W.Va., to Steubenville, Ohio, took riders through no less than seven different time changes.

So in 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, stipulating that while states were not required to implement daylight saving time, they had to chose — no more patchwork time zones. The federal government also took on the responsibility of choosing the "spring forward" and "fall back" days for changing clocks.

     Today's daylight savings
At first, daylight saving took up much less of the year than it does today. But Congress expanded the length of the daylight saving period in the 1970s and 1980s, and finally lengthened it all the way from March to November in 2007.

Daylight saving time has its advantages, such as more post-work daylight in the summer. But the switch can be tough on the body clock. The hour shift can interfere with sleep, especially for night owls, according to a 2007 study in the journal BMC Biology. A 2008 study published in the journal BMC Physiology suggest that people who like to burn the midnight oil have the most trouble shifting forward in the spring, while early risers struggle to "fall back" in autumn. (source) by Stephanie Pappas - follow her on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience.

NFL may regret going forward with Steelers-Giants on Sunday

      Good Day World!

Immediately after Hurricane Sandy hit the New York/New Jersey area, members of PFT Planet who live in that particular area of the globe raised concerns about proceeding with Sundays’ Steelers-Giants game at MetLife Stadium.

The NFL has been steadfast in its position that the game will go forward on Sunday, as scheduled.

But should it?  With the Steelers having to travel to New York on game day because their hotel doesn’t have power and no other accommodations could be secured, the Steelers are at a competitive disadvantage, albeit as former Bucs and Colts coach Tony Dungy told PFT last night not a major one.

What about the folks who paid for tickets who don’t have power or who otherwise have more significant concerns right now than spending all day at MetLife Stadium?  Or the folks who can’t get to the game because they have no gas and no way to get any?

Dan Patrick has suggested moving the game to Monday night, which could help locally.  But league logistics make it very hard to move the game to a new time slot.  For starters, CBS won’t want to lose its doubleheader game, especially since there’s no other game scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET.

The best solution could have been moving the game to Pittsburgh.  Heinz Field would sell out instantly for the Giants “home” game, and folks in New York wouldn’t have to make the difficult choice between not getting value for the money spent on tickets and further inconveniencing themselves by trying to get to the game.

Sure, it would be unfair to the Giants to lose a home game.  But the Giants picked up an extra home game in 2005, when the Saints couldn’t host New York after Hurricane Katrina.

There’s no clear right answer to this one, but it’s hard not to think that playing the game in New Jersey as scheduled is the wrong answer.  What do you think? (source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

The Lakers aren’t dead yet…they’re just having a slow start!

As a Laker fan for 50 years, I’m concerned that the Lakers don’t look like a team yet. It’s the first time in 34 years the Lakers have started out 0-3. Their cross-town rivals – the Clippers - roughed them up tonight. What really bothers me is that Steve Nash was hurt in their second game and was out for tonight’s encounter.

Already, questions arise as to Nash’s overall health. I was counting on “Mr. Assist” to smooth over the new look Lakers. As great as they are, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol can’t carry the team – they need help. Their bench looks like another “do-nothing group” that will never outscore an opponent’s bench.

All of which begs the question; how do you get better than the Lakers are on paper? Just look at the talent they have. I’m going to come out and say – without hesitation – “The Princeton Offense” that Mike Brown is trying to sell…STINKS! Pee…you! Yuck!

And where is the defense? The Lakers have been out hustled for three straight games. Flat out. Ouch! How are they going to win games, let alone their division or (fading image) a championship? I’m trying not to panic, after all, it’s still early in the season.

Just looks like it’s going to be a long season for loyal fans like me.

Abandoned Texas pooch found with coffee can around her neck slowly recovering

Two dogs found abandoned off of Interstate 20 and St. Augustine Road in the southeast section of Dallas on Sunday have authorities concerned that the one German shepherd mix found with a coffee container around her neck may have been an innocent victim of animal cruelty. Discovered on Sunday, the emaciated dog with infected cuts around her ears and neck likely wore the metal can as a cruel collar for at least a month.

On their Facebook page, the Animal Allies of Texas described the dog's injuries as life threatening. The can cut into the dog's ear, jawbone, neck, and chest. Every time she moved, the sharp metal edges cut into her body making her life one of intense agony.

View slideshow: Abandoned Texas pooch found with coffee can around her neck slowly recovering

According to wfaa.com, the Dallas Animal Services, who named the dog Java cut off the can, and veterinarian Dr. Kathryn Sarpong of the Metro Paws Animal Hospital stated the four-inch deep, maggot infested wounds were so severe Java needed surgery to cleanse and close her injuries.

ava was transferred to Animal Allies of Texas, in Garland who are caring for her and another German shepherd mix found in the same area guarding Java. He appears healthy and has been named Joshua.

Earlier today, Java who has been renamed Olivia by the Animal Allies of Texas were pleased that the sweet dog survived surgery and was doing better. The dog coordinator at the rescue stated the only parts of Olivia's body that weren't injured were her nose and the front of her head; everywhere else she was riddled with abrasions and cuts.

Olivia is also heart worm positive. If you would like to help with Olivia's medical expenses, please click here to donate.

Get well soon Olivia. If you have any information as to Olivia's owner or other information that will help authorities find the person(s) responsible for such a horrible crime, please call Dallas Animal Services at (214)-670-8312.

Nov. 2-4 : Lords of the Gourd Compete for Punkin Chunkin World Title

     Good Day World!

 Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a ... well, if you’re in Bridgeville, Del., this weekend, it’s probably an 8- to 10-pound pumpkin that’s been launched into the wild blue yonder by a catapult, air cannon or other mechanical contraption.

It’s all part of the 27th annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin event, Nov. 2–4. With teams using more than 100 unique apparatuses to launch globular projectiles a half-mile or more, it’s also our pick as November’s Weird Festival of the Month.

"It’s the combination of creativity and the oddity of it," said John Huber, president of the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association (WCPCA), of the event’s appeal. "It’s problem-solving, it’s creative thinking, it’s artistic. You look at these machines and you just go, 'wow'."

Those machines include catapults powered by ropes and garage-door springs, high-speed centrifugal launchers and cannons that feature massive tanks of compressed air and barrels stretching 100 feet or more.

Each one is the result of countless hours of research, construction and

pre-competition testing. “Everyone who competes has built something from scratch,” said Daniel Collins, part of Team Chucky — which currently holds the world record in the Adult Torsion (rope-powered) Catapult category, with a launch of 3,636.39 feet.

“People spend an inordinate amount of time doing this,” he told NBC News. “It becomes an obsession.”

That obsession is apparently rather widespread. “We have farmers to dentists to chemical engineers,” said Huber, who happens to be a nuclear engineer. Not surprisingly, perhaps, he’s also a competitor, whose team — Team Hypertension — has built a spring-loaded catapult that sits on a 14,000-pound trailer and generates 30,000 pounds of force.

“We've invested $75,000 in this thing and it’s just to throw a pumpkin,” he said.

It all comes together on a field at Royal Farms in Bridgeville, where the competitors — 115 this year, says Huber — set up along a mile-long firing line. Some of the launchers are so big they arrive on flatbed tractor-trailers and have to be assembled on site.

At that point, it’s all about winching ropes, stretching springs, aiming cannon barrels and loading slings, buckets and barrels with the appropriately-plump projectile. Firing one at a time across an open field, the results are tallied by ATV-riding spotters, who presumably manage to avoid the incoming ordnance.

“They measure the point of impact,” said Huber. “Trust me, with these distances, the pumpkins leave a hell of a crater.” Meanwhile, back behind the firing line — and protected by a high backstop — spectators can cheer on their favorites, enjoy live music and browse booths selling food, crafts and clothing. There’s also a chili cook-off and pageant competitions for ages 4 to 18-plus.

It’s all in good fun, but also for a good cause. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the WCPCA donates a large share of the proceeds from the event to several charities and scholarship programs. With 75,000 to 100,000 spectators over the course of the three-day event, Huber says those donations run to the “hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.”

As for this year’s event, it’s expected to go on despite any after-effects of Hurricane Sandy and with the usual degree of friendly competition. Collins, for example, has set his sights, not on his fellow catapulters, but on the biggest guns in the game: the air cannons, one of which holds the overall world record of 4,483.51 feet.

“They used to laugh at us but last year we beat 44 percent of them,” he said. “Now they’re looking over their shoulders. It’s only a matter of time.” - Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. (Source) Top two photos Courtesy World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association. Bottom photo by Joanne Coward.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Consumer Alert: Beware of charity scams in wake of Superstorm Sandy

    Good Day World!

Watch out: The scammers trying to cash in on Superstorm Sandy are on their way. The destruction caused by this storm gives the bad guys a major opportunity to steal your money or personal information.

Symantec, the firm, reports the first wave of Sandy-related spam has been sent. The messages have subject lines such as: “Help Sandy Victims and get $1000 for Best Buy!,” and “Deposit Processing Open Today (Frankenstorm doesn’t stop us).”

These phishing expeditions are designed to snag your credit card, debit card or numbers.

Based on previous disasters, Symantec predicts a rash of cyber-attacks that start with links to fake news stories, photos and videos. These will be distributed via Facebook posts and tweets, Internet searchers, text messages and email.

Resist the urge to click on these unknown links or you could download some nasty malware onto your computer or smart phone.

Charity scams 
This is an emotional time for people all across the country. You want to help, and con artists hope to take advantage of that. They make phone calls and pretend to be a bona fide charitable organization. They set up websites that look like reputable charities. It’s very easy to do.

The online security firm Avast! reminds us that back in 2005, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast, there were at least 15 bogus websites designed to look like the American Red Cross site. Donors who took the bait gave their personal information, such as numbers and PayPal passwords, to the online crooks.

“Charity scams are among the most despicable scams out there,” said John Breyault, director of fraud.org, the National Consumers League’s Fraud Center. “Not only are consumers victimized when they give money to the scammers, but the people who need help to rebuild their lives don’t get that money.”

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has warned residents of his state to be cautious if they receive calls to make a donation to the storm relief effort.

“Unfortunately, there are some who might use our generous nature to take the donations for themselves, not for those in need,” he said.

A charitable request might be a scam, DeWine advises, when the caller:

• uses high pressure tactics to solicit an immediate donation.
• is hesitant or unable to answer questions.
• asks for the check to be made payable to a person instead of a charity.
• offers to pick up your check immediately, rather than waiting for you to mail it off.
• promises a in exchange for a donation.

Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, urges donors to take their time and do their homework before responding to any solicitation.

“You want to know what they do, what relief activities your contribution is going to fund,” he said. “You can’t assume based on the name alone what activities your generosity is going to support.”

To help the victims of Hurricane Sandy, Weiner suggests choosing an organization with some skill and experience in disaster relief activities, such as the American Red Cross.

“A start-up organization, or even an established charity that decides to get involved in relief work for the first time, may have great intentions, but may not necessarily carry it out very effectively,” he cautioned.

Protect yourself: Never make a donation by on a link in an email or text. Go to the site on your own. Be careful with web searches – names can be misleading – you could wind up on the wrong site.

Don’t allow yourself to be pressured into making a donation.

Don’t give your credit card information to an unknown caller. If you’re interested in the cause, ask to be sent information.

Stop, think and check them out. You can do that at sites such as: BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator.

Home repair scams
“After a spectacular storm like this, fraudsters will come out of the woodwork offering to repair damaged homes,” warned Susan Grant, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America. “They may take your money and just disappear. Or they may start the work and not finish it. Or they work may just be really shoddy quality.”

If you need repair work done and don’t have a trusted contractor, you want to find someone qualified to do the job. And in a situation like this, it won’t be easy. Try to stay calm, so you can deal with the situation rationally.

For major repairs, the Better Business Bureau recommends getting at least 3 to 4 estimates. They should be based on the same specs and materials. Get everything in writing. The contract needs to spell out when the job starts and will be completed, a payment schedule, what materials will be used and what sort of clean-up will be done.

Remember: never make a final payment until all the work is completed to your satisfaction.

Consumer Reports suggests:

• Try to deal with people who live and work in your community.
• Ask for copies of the contractor’s general liability and worker’s compensation insurance.
• Avoid paying more than the minimum in advance.

(article source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…