Venezuela’s President Passes Away: VP Blames U.S. For “Giving Chavez Cancer” and Expels Two U.S. Embassy Officials

Hugo Chavez passed away from cancer today, and his U.S. ultraliberal supporters have been paying tribute to him, Sean Penn among them.   Hearing them sing his praises is like listening to a dying mule moaning.

He may have been popular with the poor of his country, but he definitely didn’t do them any favors.  He stole $2 billion of their money, leaving their currency in free fall, their inflation rate extremely high, food shortages, electrical shortages and housing shortages throughout their country.

His vice president (and current acting president) is still repeating Chavez’s mantra that the United States gave him cancer, while ignoring the fact that it wasn’t the cancer that got him, it was a massive heart attack.  This is according to the head of Venezuela’s Presidential Guard. 

Where are the intellectuals in Venezuela?  They’re in the opposition, in jail, or outside the country where Chavez couldn’t make them disappear, like so many others who dared to speak out against Chavez’s reign.

Venezuela will be better off getting rid of the bus driver who is now their President and putting Chavez into the ground, instead of keeping his body on display like Lenin in a glass box.

Like my reaction to Arafat, I do not extend my sympathies to the people of Venezuela on the loss of their Dear Leader.   I mourn Chavez’s many victims and their families.  That’s more appropriate than the liberals in this country crying for the Mouth of the South.

The Word “Resigned” Isn’t the Right Word to Apply to Benedict XVI’s Actions; The Correct Term is “Abdicated” or “Retired”

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI didn’t resign the throne of St. Peter; he abdicated, which is the correct term to use, or he retired. 

There are a couple of definitions that need to be looked at:

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resign

1. To submit (oneself) passively; accept as inevitable: I resigned myself to a long wait in line.
2. To give up (a position, for example), especially by formal notification.
3. To relinquish (a privilege, right, or claim). See Synonyms at relinquish.

To give up one's job or office; quit, especially by formal notification:

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abdicate

to renounce (a throne, power, responsibility, rights, etc.), esp formally
[from the past participle of Latin abdicāre to proclaim away, disclaim]

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“Abdicated” is the more accurate term to describe Benedict’s actions.  He pledged his allegiance to his successor and vowed to stay out of high level Vatican politics.

There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there as to why the pope chose to go into retirement; I’m inclined to believe that the job was too much for him to handle, and that a younger back was needed to do the heavy lifting.  I’m hoping that they choose a pope young enough to have a decades-long reign, instead of someone who is already in his late 70s or 80s.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

France Enters Mali to Stop Islamists From Taking Over the Entire Country: America, Meet Our Next Battleground if Things Go Badly for the French-Lead Forces

<Sigh>

French special forces and elements of their Air Force are fighting in Mali, in an attempt to stop Islamist forces who have already seized the north of the country from advancing any further.

I hope the French are victorious. 

The EU and United States cannot afford to have the French Army be defeated by the Islamists, as has happened in the past.  If it looks like the French get in over their heads, I think it’s safe to say that the United States military will be unleashed in Mali to help the French.

The French have been acting like cowboys the last couple of years.  It’s nice to see, but not if the United States ends up invading another country to support another nation’s military adventures.  That’s the last thing we need.

We need time to rebuild and retool our own military, and we can’t do that while we’re locking horns in another country AND cutting the military budget at the same time.  That equation doesn’t work!

Lance Armstrong Admits Doping: Major Disappointment, Though Not an Entirely Unexpected Result

I didn’t want to believe the accusations that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency leveled against Lance Armstrong, but he’s admitted to Oprah that he used performance enhancers.

I read the USADA report on Armstrong when it was published last year, and the accusations contained within required a huge stretch of the imagination.  My impression was that the report read like a very bad book by a fourth-rate author attempting to get noticed by a publisher.  But outlandish claims of 40-50 people sharing in his cover-ups of his illegal activities turned out to be true.

Shame on Lance Armstrong.   He cheated his way to victory after victory.  I got the impression that he was sorry that he got caught but didn’t mind destroying others who were making true statements about his cheating and rampant drug use.

All of his foundation’s good works may come undone as the lawsuits start to pile up.  What a waste of goodwill; cancer will continue to haunt us for even longer if a powerful cancer treatment advocacy and fundraising powerhouse like Livestrong goes away. 

That’s the saddest part of this entire affair.   I hope Livestrong survives this and continues on its mission without Lance Armstrong poisoning the well any more than he already has.

I have to wonder if we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in the cycling world.  What else is going on behind the scenes?

Current TV Rejected Glenn Beck Network’s Attempts to Buy Struggling Network For “Not Being Aligned With Their Point of View,” But Allowed Itself to Be Prostituted to Enemy Propaganda Network Al Jazeera—Way to Go, Al Gore

Reports have emerged that Glenn Beck’s Blaze Network attempted to put Al Gore’s failed Current TV network out of its misery by buying it, but the liberal outlet rejected the offer, stating that "the legacy of who the network goes to is important to us and we are sensitive to networks not aligned with our point of view."

So instead, they sold their souls to Al Jazeera, the enemy propaganda network, in a display of Al Gore’s true colors.

“Networks not aligned with our point of view” my afterburner. 

They actually believe their own lies and distortions to the point that they would rather provide aid and comfort to the enemy rather than have their failed network stay in the hands of people whose ultimate allegiance is to the United States.

I feel bad for the employees of Current TV, who are speaking out about Gore selling them out to the big oil interests behind Al Jazeera.

Debt Ceiling Language is Being Manipulated By Scare Mongers in Congress: What a Debt Ceiling Really Is

There are certain key phrases that Congress and President Obama will be throwing around in increasing frequency as the days and weeks go by.  And they will manipulate what each term means, in the hopes of confusing and scaring the public to pressure the other side to agree to something.

First, the debt ceiling is how much the United States government can borrow from the banks and other nations.  If the ceiling is not raised, we will be able to fund 60% of government operations at full strength with incoming federal taxes and other federal income.  This is critical to understand.

Next, being able to “service the debt” means to be able to pay the interest on the debt, plus some of the principle.  We CAN service the debt whether there is a debt ceiling or not using incoming federal taxes.  If we do default on being able to service the debt, it’s because the Obama Administration has diverted the money used to service the debt on a monthly basis into funding part of the government under the “obligations” discussion below.   They have 100% control over whether the monthly bill is paid or not.  We’ve never failed to pay this, even when the government was “shut down.” 

Finally, being able to meet our obligations.  This simply means running the government at 100% of what President Obama wants.   We will hear that we will “default on our obligations” if the debt ceiling is not raised.  This is not true.  We will have enough to fund 60% of current  government operations.

Seems to me if the government was operating at 60%, we’d be cutting deeply into the debt and reducing it, while living within our means instead of borrowing money and running up the debt like many Administrations have chosen to do.

If the government is shut down due to no action on the debt ceiling, it’s actually 40% of the government that is shut down, though President Obama could order 100% of the government to shut down as a political weapon to increase pressure on his political opponents to agree to his terms.

This is why the GOP will not knuckle under quite as easily as they did over the “financial cliff” stupidity.  The government could stand to get a haircut.

Al Gore’s Worthless “Current TV” Network Bought By Equally Worthless Al Jazeera TV: Gore Says He’s “Proud and Pleased” At Having His Network Bought Out By Enemy News Propagandists

How the mighty have fallen.

Al Gore’s failed Current TV network has been by bought by the useless Al Jazeera network, which is nothing more than an enemy propaganda network.  The buy will gain Al Jazeera a larger foothold in the U.S. market than it was able to achieve on its own.

Said the anti-American propagandist Al Gore: “We are proud and pleased that Al Jazeera, the award-winning international news organization, has bought Current TV.” 

Time-Warner cancelled their own contract with Current TV after the sale was announced, which reduced Current TV’s foothold in New York and LA. 

Al Jazeera announced that their new network offering in the U.S. would be called Al Jazeera America, as if that was going to help this unholy union.  I’m not going to wish them luck in their new endeavor.

Michigan Governor Snyder Signed Dozens of Bills in the Last Ten Days of 2012: What Was Enacted?

Here is the list of bills signed by Governor Snyder of Michigan in the last part of 2012, from the Governor’s web site.  I have been reading that he had signed all these bills, but couldn’t find out what they were.   The lame duck session has been anything but lame duck.   I wasn’t able to find PAs 499-501.  I think PA 499 was an abortion one.  Don’t know about the others.

If it was just one or two bills, I wouldn’t even mention them here, but there are tons of new laws.  I question how many of these bills our representatives in Lansing actually read. 

The new laws:

House Bills 5843 and 5902, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Graves, would make it a felony punishable by up to five years' imprisonment if a person is found guilty of knowingly committing organized retail crime. This includes the theft of retail merchandise with the intent or purpose of reselling, distributing, or transferring the stolen retail merchandise to another retail merchant or to any other person personally, through the mail, or through any electronic medium, including the internet, in exchange for anything of value. The measures are now Public Acts 455 and 456

HB 4725, sponsored by state Rep. Tom McMillin, prohibits certain governmental agencies from disclosing personally identifying information pertaining to minor victims of child abuse, criminal sexual conduct, sexual assaults or molestation, or similar crimes. It is now PA 457.

HB 4804, sponsored by state Rep. Roy Schmidt, revises the monthly payment-in-advance mandate for state use tax payments by large retailers or vendors who would also have to submit the money by electronic funds transfer. It is now PA 458.

HB 4838, sponsored by state Rep. Sharon Tyler, creates the "Interstate Mutual Emergency Aid Act" to authorize the state and local units of government to enter into mutual aid agreements with out-of-state units of government to provide for the coordination of communications, training, and response to planned events and emergencies. It is now PA 459.

HB 4856, sponsored by state Rep. Ben Glardon, prohibits the transfer of medicinal marijuana by vehicle unless the drug is enclosed in a case and placed in the vehicle's trunk or secured in a way that is not readily accessible from the interior of the vehicle. It is now PA 460.

HB 5047, sponsored by state Rep. Harold Haugh, allows local units of government to submit final tax settlement rolls in an electronic format provided the format is compatible with the computer system used by the corresponding county treasurer. It is now PA 461.

HB 5156, sponsored by state Rep. Joel Johnson, exempts insurance company employees and agents, lawyers and certain other professionals from needing an insurance adjuster license. It is now PA 462.

HB 5220, sponsored by state Rep. Marty Knollenberg, allows a petitioner or a local tax collecting unit to request an informal settlement conference after a petition was filed in the Residential Property and Small Claims Division of the Tax Tribunal. It is now PA 463.

HB 5261, sponsored by state Rep. Holly Hughes, allows teachers retired for more than one year an approximate one-year window to reenter the classroom (for up to 3 years) if they are on a critical shortage list as determined by the state superintendent. It is now PA 464.

HB 5267, sponsored by state Rep. Bob Genetski, provides for a school district to qualify for special pupil membership counting provisions, as well as a seat time exemption, if the district operated a dropout recovery program that met specified criteria. It is now PA 465.

HB 5301, sponsored by state Rep. Amanda Price, requires charter counties to certify their compensation, retirement and health plans for employees conform to certain standards as a condition of receiving state road funds beginning Sept. 30, 2014. It is now PA 466.

HB 5444, sponsored by state Rep. Jud Gilbert, allows Michigan-based trucking companies to receive sales and use tax exemptions for the post-purchase installation of equipment and parts. It is now PA 467.

HB 5466, sponsored by state Rep. Kurt Heisse, eliminates the requirement that a contractor, architect, professional engineer or professional survey indemnify a public entity from all claims in a construction contract. It is now PA 468.

HB 5852, sponsored by state Rep. Kevin Daley, ensures that the price of gasoline is clear and posted correctly for consumers while allowing retailers additional time to make changes to their signs. It is now PA 469.

HB 5873, sponsored by state Rep. Anthony Forlini, changes the Police and Fire Survivors Tuition Act to a tuition "grant" program, and raises the eligibility age from 21 to 26. It also moves the administrative responsibility for the program from the Michigan State Police to the Department of Treasury. It is now PA 470.

HB 5883, sponsored by state Rep. Joel Johnson, replaces specific restrictions and regulations on catching fish with a net with a general grant of authority by the Department of Natural Resources. It is now PA 471.

HB 5931, sponsored by state Rep. Matt Lori, allows the Department of Community Health to use email to notify of Medicaid policy changes to Medicaid enrolled providers. It is now PA 472.

HB 5936, sponsored by state Rep. Holly Hughes, provides a driving skills test waiver for qualified military veterans seeking a commercial driver license. It is now PA 473.

HB 5937, sponsored by state Rep. Peter MacGregor, creates a use tax exemption for general contractors and manufacturer-contractors for the affixation of tangible personal property to real estate located in another state. It prevents businesses that both manufacture and install tangible personal property in other states from being double taxed. It is now PA 474.

HB 5732, sponsored by state Rep. Jud Gilbert, allows a company or developer with historical resource rehabilitation tax credit to sell all or part of the credit to other firms. It is now PA 475.

SB 931, sponsored by state Sen. Roger Kahn, provides supplemental budget appropriations for the Department of Community Health to support behavioral health services for Medicaid-eligible children in foster care and child protective services. It also grants additional funds to Grand Rapids Community College for renovations to Cook Academic Hall. The bill also accounts for book closing on FY 12 so that the state's financial statements are balanced and accurate. It is now PA 476.

HB 5461, sponsored by state Rep. Deb Shaughnessy, amends sentencing guidelines to include an unemployment compensation fraud offense as a Class H felony against property subject to a statutory maximum of one year's imprisonment. This will apply to violations in which a person obtains or withholds an amount of unemployment benefits or payments exceeding $3,500 but less than $25,000 as a result of a knowingly false statement or representation or failing to disclose a material fact. It is now PA 477.

House Bill 5523, sponsored by state Rep. Aric Nesbitt protects the online privacy of Michiganders by prohibiting employers and educational institutions from asking applicants, employees and students for passwords and other account information used to access private internet and email accounts, including social networks like Facebook and Twitter.  HB 5523 is now PA 478.

Senate Bill 152, sponsored by state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, revises existing law to require that video recordings of interrogations be made in certain criminal investigations regarding major felonies. It is now PA 479.

SB 873, sponsored by state Sen. Jim Marleau, protects commercial truckers from unfair contracts that leave them open to damage to their equipment without being paid by those responsible. It is now PA 480.

SB 933, sponsored by state Sen. Rick Jones, allows employers to not be responsible for paying for employee medical marijuana treatment. It is now PA 481.

SB 972, sponsored by Hildenbrand, requires notification to a property owner when property is returned to the county treasurer because of delinquent taxes. It is now PA 482.

SB 978 and 979, sponsored by Schuitmaker, and SB 980, sponsored by Jones, allow for the practice of trust decanting, meaning assets held by an irrevocable trust may be moved into a different trust. The bills are now PAs 483-485.

SB 988, sponsored by state Sen. Steve Bieda, designates the walkway between the state Capitol and the Hall of Justice as the Frank J. Kelley Promenade. It is now PA 486.

SB 996, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson, requires the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to make indemnity payments to livestock producers for the death, injury, or loss of their livestock due to wolves, coyotes, or cougars. It is now PA 487.

SB 1031, sponsored by Casperson, allows recreational activities as approved uses of municipal forest lands. It is now PA 488.

SB 1133, sponsored by state Sen. Rebekah Warren, allows the State Administrative Board to sell the vacated Ypsilanti State Police Post. It is now PA 489.

SB 1148, sponsored by state Sen. Bruce Caswell, allows certain exceptions to the requirements for an industrial facilities exemption certificate. It is now PA 490.

SB 1180, sponsored by state Sen. Goeff Hansen, allows the secretary of state to use the Pure Michigan branding as part of the standard issue vehicle license plate. It is now PA 491.

SB 1189, sponsored by state Sen. Mark Jansen, establishes pension oversight by requiring equal treatment of elected and appointed members of a public employee retirement system governing board. It is now PA 492.

SB 1272, sponsored by Jansen, requires employers' contribution payments and obligation assessment payments to be credited first to interest on the obligation assessment and then to the assessment, with the remainder credited as currently required to penalties and interest on contributions and contribution principal. It is now PA 493.

HB 4134, sponsored by Margaret O'Brien, provides tax exemption for new construction on development property from school operating taxes for up to three years or until the property is sold or used for commercial purposes. It is now PA 494.

HB 4496, sponsored by state Rep. John Walsh, allows community colleges to grant bachelor's degrees in cement technology, maritime technology, energy production technology, and culinary arts. It is now PA 495.

HB 4726, sponsored by state Rep. Al Pscholka, excludes wages earned by volunteer firefighters if less than $10,000 so it won't affect the amount of unemployment benefits they may receive. It is now PA 496.

HB 4753, sponsored by state Rep. Peter Pettalia, allows family members to transfer residential property to a parent or child without incurring a pop-up tax. It is now PA 497.

HB 5668, sponsored by state Rep. Brad Jacobsen, primarily allows used car dealers to voluntarily enter into an agreement with an inventory lender so the lender can retain physical possession of a used vehicle's certificate of title as long as the used vehicle dealer meets certain criteria. It is now PA 498.

SB 1210, sponsored by state Sen. Mike Kowall, streamlines and improves the effectiveness of the brownfield grants and loans program, providing a sustainable revenue stream. It is now PA 502.

HB 5835, sponsored by state Rep. Jeff Farrington, repeals the outdated Savings and Loan Act of 1980 and any reference to it is removed. The Savings and Loan Act of 1980 no longer serves any purpose and no institutions are chartered under the Act. It is now PA 503.

HB 4561, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Haveman, coincides with the national code cycle change and gives the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs the ability to determine if code changes are substantial enough to warrant updating the Michigan Residential Code more frequently. It is now PA 504.

HB 4975, sponsored by state Rep. Margaret O'Brien, provides a framework for the regulation of Appraisal Management Companies. It is now PA 505.

HB 5302, sponsored by state Rep. Roy Schmidt, brings financial accountability and transparency to local road agencies by requiring standards for employee pay and benefits as a condition for receiving state road funds beginning Sept. 30, 2014, ensuring that transportation funds are maximized for the building of roads. It is now PA 506.

HB 5313, sponsored by state Rep. Brad Jacobsen, requires counties under this act to certify their compensation, retirement and health plans for employees to conform to certain standards as a condition of receiving state road funds beginning Sept. 30, 2014. Oakland County is the only county impacted by this legislation. It is now PA 507.

HB 5315, sponsored by state Rep. Patrick Somerville, amends the Mental Health Code to improve the safety and security of both patients and mental health professionals by allowing video security cameras to be used in common areas in psychiatric hospitals. It is now PA 508.

HB 5817, sponsored by state Rep. Paul Opsommer, expands prepayment of sales tax to diesel fuel and reduces the per gallon variance between the prepayment and the final sales tax by using a one month averaging period instead of a quarterly period. It is now PA 509.

HB 5557, sponsored by state Rep. Margaret O'Brien, revises the 2011 deadline in the process whereby downtown development authorities (DDAs) apply to the Department of Treasury for approval to receive State Education Tax (SET) revenues to be used to meet certain debt obligations. By extending the deadline, the bill allows the City of Kalamazoo DDA to receive SET revenues it otherwise would have lost. It is now PA 510.

HB 5673, sponsored by state Rep. Al Pscholka, modifies grant and loan programs under the Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Fund (SWQIF). It is now PA 511.

HB 4851, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Cavanagh, amends the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act by creating a definition of a bona fide physician-patient relationship and further defines an enclosed, locked facility and provides clarification on the transporting of medical marihuana in a motor vehicle. It is now PA 512.

HB 4853, sponsored by state Rep. Ed McBroom, amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to include a violation of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) in the sentencing guidelines. The bill strengthens the MMMA by placing a penalty on registered qualifying patient's or registered qualifying caregivers who sell marihuana to an unauthorized person.  It is now PA 513.

HB 4834, sponsored by state Rep. Gail Haines, allows the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to contract for the processing and issuance of medical marihuana registry identification cards to help eliminate delays. The bill also extends the period in which a registry card is valid from one year to two years and requires the department to appoint a review panel to review petitions received for other medical conditions in addition to those conditions currently authorized under the Medical Marihuana Act. It is now PA 514.

HB 5801, sponsored by state Rep. Ray Franz, enables Michigan to enter into a state and province emergency management assistance agreement, allowing Michigan to enter into an international mutual aid agreement with Canada. It is now PA 515.

SB 969, sponsored by state Sen. John Proos, allows a school district to qualify for special pupil membership counting provisions, as well as a seat time exemption, if the district operated a dropout recovery program that met specified criteria. It is now PA 516.

SB 1024, sponsored by state Sen. Roger Kahn, prohibits individuals with economic relationships with Iran from submitting bids on requests for proposals with the state, school districts, community college districts, intermediate school districts, cities, villages, townships, counties, public authorities, or public airport authorities to take effect April 1, 2013. It is now PA 517.

HB 5367, sponsored by state Rep. Chuck Moss, provides supplemental appropriations for FY 13 for the departments of Human Services and Treasury. The appropriations are for the Indigent Burial program and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT). It is now PA 518.

HB 5830, sponsored by state Rep. Eileen Kowall, provides for capital outlay reforms that streamline the authorization process and ensure fiscal discipline by requiring that long-term debt obligations are accounted for in the budget when new projects are authorized. It is now PA 519.

SB 1350, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson, allows the Natural Resource Commission (NRC) to create a gray wolf season in Michigan and establishes a wolf hunting license with associated fees. It removes the gray wolf from the furbearer list and adds it to the list of game species in Michigan. The bill establishes a wolf hunting license and sets fees for resident and non-resident licenses. It is now PA 520.

SB 1172, sponsored by state Sen. Darwin Booher, extends the mortgage foreclosure modification sunset until June 30, 2013. It is now PA 521.

SB 265, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson, amends the Michigan Vehicle Code to create an exception to seasonal weight restrictions for vehicles transporting heating fuel, helping to resolve the problem of fuel haulers making multiple trips to service their customers. It is now PA 522.

SB 810, sponsored by state Sen. Goeff Hansen, amends the Michigan Election Law to allow cities more flexibility in scheduling voting dates to even year primary and general election dates, as well as putting into place a plan help ensure that overseas and military ballot deadlines are met. It also addresses previous concerns raised by the governor when he vetoed earlier legislation on this topic. The change now simply includes an opening U.S. citizen declarative statement on applications, alleviating voter confusion and removing the need for a separate citizenship checkbox while ensuring voters are properly qualified. It is now PA 523.

HB 4446, sponsored by state Rep. Margaret O'Brien, provides for the conditions under which a bank may retain the principal residence exemption (PRE) and to allow taxpayers to appeal to obtain the PRE at the July and December boards of review. It is now PA 524.

HB 5404, sponsored by state Rep. Dale Zorn, prohibits a land division or land plat that isolates a cemetery so that it is not accessible, and instead requires that cemeteries be served by easements that provide vehicular access. It is now PA 525.

HB 5422, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Haveman, enables colleges and community colleges to provide new employee training to new corrections officers, reducing costs that the Department of Corrections spends on training new recruits. Currently, all training of new recruits is held in Lansing. It provides for minimum standards and requirement that colleges and community colleges must follow. It is now PA 526.

HB 5600, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Haveman, permits a juvenile offender who has been adjudicated of not more than one felony or not more than three misdemeanors and who does not have an adult felony conviction to petition the adjudicating court(s) to set aside one felony adjudication and two misdemeanor adjudications, or up to three misdemeanor adjudications. This bill also provides a reduced timeframe of one year, instead of the current statutory timeframe of five years, in which the individual can petition the courts for the set-aside of adjudication(s). It is now PA 527.

HB 5459, sponsored by state Rep. Paul Opsommer, amends the Open Meetings Act to specify posting requirements for notices of special meetings or rescheduled meetings. It also establishes notice requirements for emergency public meetings and those meetings that fail to meet the 18-hour notice requirement. It is now PA 528.

HB 5487, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Potvin, allows authorized agents (weighmasters) of county road commissions to enforce activities related to the proper registration of commercial vehicles; and the height, weight, and width of vehicles and loads; and the safety of loads, among other things. It eliminates previous ambiguity regarding whether weighmasters are required to be certified as a police officer to enforce the code. It is now PA 529.

HB 5805, sponsored by state Rep. Lisa Lyons, creates the Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act and acknowledges these ministries are not subject to the Insurance Code of 1956 and are not engaged in the business of insurance in Michigan. It is now PA 530.

Congress Doesn’t Need to Pass Everything at Once on Fiscal Cliff Deal: They Need to Write Up a Bill Containing the Things That Have Already Been Agreed to and Send It to President Obama

Congress is acting like a group of political hostage takers.  “AGREE TO WHAT OUR SIDE WANTS, OR ELSE WE’LL STOP EVERYTHING ELSE!”  Instead of killing people, they’re killing legislation in order to get a political victory.  Is that political victory going to be worth the billions of dollars in damage that is done to the economy?

For crying out loud, both sides agree that they’re not going to get everything that they want in the time left before they drive us off the fiscal cliff. 

They should take the parts of this deal that they agree to, put it into a bill and send it to the President.  They can reset the clock on the stuff they don’t agree to.

Personally, I think sequestration is the way to go, but it didn’t go far enough.  They need to cut $2.2 trillion out in order to make a small dent.

If we don’t get a deal out of Washington, every politician currently in office needs to be turned out the next time they’re up for election.

New York Newspaper Publishes Interactive Map Showing Where Registered Gun Owners Are: Why Are They Going After People Who Are Obeying the Law? This is an Idiotic Move on the Part of the Newspaper

The knee-jerk reaction to the Sandy Hook massacre continues at full speed, with a local New York newspaper publishing an interactive map showing where gun owners live, and what the permit holder’s name is.

Why are they targeting people who are obeying the law and registering their firearms?

I agree with many of the comments against the Journal News/LoHud.com that it’s an invasion of privacy, but also a roadmap for criminals to attack houses that don’t have registered firearms in them.   Garnett Publishing needs to do a better job of policing their knee-jerk reporters and newspapers from publishing stuff like that.

It’s also highly insulting to have registered gun owners, people who are obeying the law, put on display like sex offenders or other convicted criminals.   The newspaper is engaging in scare tactics, reminiscent of yellow journalism.  If one house is robbed at gunpoint by criminals who looked at their interactive map, the Journal News will have deliberately shared in the execution of the crime and should be held accountable.

Journalism has taken another step backwards.

United States Government Did the Right Thing in Refusing to Sign the International Internet Treaty: 20 Other Nations Refused to Sign It as Well

The Dubai Conference is over and done with, with twenty nations refusing to sign the protocol that was proposed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and under the banner of the United Nations.  Nations that signed are in black, those who didn't are in red.

Nations that censor the Internet within their borders were pleased with the protocol, especially China, Iran, and 88 other nations.  Twenty-plus nations joined the refusal to sign it.  And I hope the U.S. government never signs it.

We can’t trust our free speech to totalitarian regimes.

I am not supportive of helping China to keep information from their people, nor Syria, or any of the other nations who suppress their own people.

Is The Ongoing “End of the World” Nonsense Connected to the Connecticut School Shooting?

I have a bad feeling that the current obsession over the doomsday nonsense on 12/21/12 is connected to the slaughter in Connecticut.

There’s no doubt that the lunatics are out in force.   Was the gunman one of them?

Hey CONGRESS and President Obama!! Don’t Leave Washington Until You Have a Fiscal Cliff Deal!

Congress needs to stay in Washington and so does President Obama until they fix THEIR fiscal mess.

And if they want to keep their jobs, they had better not kick this down the road again.  They’ve done that far too often, and we get deeper and deeper into the hole.  Unacceptable!

Quit screwing around and GET BUSY!

Suicide of London Nurse Who Was Pranked By Radio Shock Jocks is Tragic on So Many Levels: Who is to Blame?

A couple of radio shock jocks have expressed remorse at the death of a nurse who put their prank call through to Duchess of Cambridge after she was admitted with morning sickness, due to her pregnancy.

The radio station in Australia aired it, and the nurse who put the call through, believing she was talking to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, killed herself three days later after the story broke.

This is so tragic that it almost defies belief. 

I think there’s lots of blame to be spread around. 

First, the DJs for pranking the hospital.  Then, the radio station for airing the taped audio.  And the hospital, for not having some kind of protocol for filtering out calls like this, and the media for throwing such a HUGE spotlight on the Royal Family.

I’ve had family members in intensive care before, and before I could talk to my family member on the phone, I had to provide a verbal password to the nurse before my call was put through to the room.  This was done in accordance with the wishes of our family member, and set up by our family and the hospital.  That’s a common practice at hospitals, nursing homes and medical care facilities where I live.

Why in heaven’s name didn’t this hospital have a similar protocol in place to block unwanted calls getting through to the Prince and Princess?   The media coverage of the Duke and Duchess has been just as intense as the media coverage of Princess Diana was before the paparazzi hounded Diana to her death.

The radio station itself should also have its feet held to the fire.  They shouldn’t have aired this crap.   They had the audio recorded, and it wasn’t a live show.  Why did they air it?

Finally, the media.  They need to give the Royal Family a wide berth.  They Royals are human beings who make human mistakes, just like everybody else.  Most people don’t have a microscope trained on their every move and every word that they either make or utter.  WHO CARES!!

Sad.

Egypt and Hamas Pull a Screwjob on Israel and Washington: If This Truce Holds, Israel Will End Up Fighting This Battle Against Hamas Again in a Few Months

The Obama Administration hasn’t done Israel any favors with this cease-fire deal that was brokered by Egypt.

Hamas is still heavily armed, and they’re going to continue sending rockets into Israeli territory.  They haven’t agreed to recognize Israel, which is going to make Israel very reluctant to lift their blockade of Gaza.

All they’ve done is postpone the inevitable.  Here’s why:

Israel will attack Iran before the “red line” is reached, and then Israel will have Hezbollah firing their 40,000 rockets into northern Israel shortly thereafter, while Hamas resumes hitting southern Israel at Iran’s request.  

The best thing that could happen is for the cease-fire to fail and for Israel to flatten Hamas before getting into this thing with Iran and Hezbollah. 

Israel is doing its best to obey the truce, but if Hamas rockets continue to hit Israel, all bets are off.  I don’t see Hamas stopping its own forces from attacking Israel.  They lack the cohesive discipline that the Israeli military has.

Washington did the right thing in saying that Israel has a right to defend itself.  But they were wrong in playing a part in forcing this truce before the job was done.

If this truce is to hold, Hamas needs to act more responsibly on behalf of the people they are governing,   If they can’t do that, they should quit and let the Palestinian Authority take charge again.  Compared to Hamas, they’re much more preferable.

Hard times are ahead.

Hypocritical Turkey Calls Israel a “Terrorist State” for Firing Back at Hamas, But Won’t Apply the Same Label to Themselves for Firing Back at Syria Last Month

Turkey has decided that Israel shooting back at Hamas is terrorism, yet they had no problem doing the same thing to Syria when Syrian artillery shells landed in Turkish territory just last month.  They even enlisted international support in their “terrorist” action against Syria by convening a meeting of NATO ministers to tell Syria to stop.  In fact, they’re asking for U.S. Patriot missile batteries to be placed on their border with Syria. 

NATO should refuse this request if Turkey considers legitimate self defense “terrorism.”  After all, we don’t want to be a sponsor of Turkish “terrorism.”

This is the kind of hypocrisy that Turkey, above all other nations, needs to avoid.  If they’re not part of the solution, then they’re part of the problem.

I wonder how Egypt and Turkey would react if a faction opposed to their governments were firing rockets at their territory and killing their civilians?  Would they be tolerating it, as Israel’s neighbors seem to be insisting on, or would they be going in with maximum military force to put an end to it?

Oh, wait.  Egypt uses its army against its own people already.  So does Turkey.  So do most of the governments who are screaming about Israel defending itself against a terrorist organization.   And knowing these countries, they’d have already sent their armies in, long before now.

Israel’s neighbors need to quit the rhetoric and put pressure on Hamas to stop firing.  Or else Israel will bulldoze Gaza into the ground, and the Palestinian people will suffer for it, while what’s left of Hamas deserts them and flees to Egypt, like the cowards that they are.

And I’d be willing to bet that Egypt’s military will watch them go running by, instead of swiveling the tank turrets around and putting an end to Hamas before they get into Cairo.

This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Some Political Hack Deleted References to al-Qaeda’s Involvement in Libyan Attack in CIA Memo: That’s Who They Should Identify

I’ve been following this whole Benghazi mess with little surprise.   And I have a few theories.

It’s becoming clear that someone in one of the federal agencies who were reviewing the CIA report on the attack was some political hack, concerned about President Obama’s re-election bid, deleted the references to al-Qaeda’s involvement in the assault on the U.S. consulate, before the information went to President Obama.

I also think that there is a possibility this person or persons used their knowledge that CIA Director Petraeus was being investigated against him, to influence him into saying what he did in his earlier testimony to Congress.  It took the form of “support our version, or we’ll go to the media, ruin your marriage, and destroy your reputation.  AND you’ll go to jail!” 

They need to do a top-to-bottom review of all the relevant agencies, identify people who reviewed the CIA memo, and then determine which of them knew that the general was under FBI investigation before he went public and resigned.   I think the paper trail will lead to the same person or people.

They need to find out if the CIA Director was compromised, in the form of blackmail discussed above.

That’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it.  It’s probably all wrong, but I also think we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg on all of this.  People will be going to jail.

CNN Caught Faking Palestinian Footage: They Need to Quit Manipulating Stuff to Suit Their Agenda

The degenerates at CNN are at it again, faking footage of the poor rocket-firing Palestinians taking casualties from the evil Israeli warmongers.

Gag me with a spoon!

CNN keeps screwing up; they’ve become nothing more than a propaganda arm of Hamas.   They need to present a more balanced view and keep their opinions to themselves.  They’re siding against the ONLY democracy in that region against terrorists; what does that say about CNN? 

I use the term “degenerate” as they’ve de-evolved from a news agency to a propaganda outfit.   They need to get off their collective butts, report the news and then shut up with their opinions. 

If the Air Force is Unwilling to Spend Money to Fix the Over-Budget F-22 Raptor, They Should Retire Them

The Air Force has been dragging their feet in fixing the F-22 Raptor’s in-flight oxygen system, and it’s time to put an end to the issue.

They either need to spend more money on the already-over budget F-22, or they need to retire the aircraft.   The pilots don’t think the aircraft is safe. 

They only have two options: fix it or retire it.  It can’t continue to fly as-is. 

This has gone on long enough.  Another F22 crashed yesterday in Florida short of the runway.  At $190 million per copy, they ought to be able to diagnose and fix ANYTHING on that aircraft. 

Fix it or cancel it. 

If Egypt Really Wants to Broker Peace Between Israel and Hamas, Then They Need to Tell Hamas to Stop Firing Rockets at Israel BEFORE Telling Israel Not to Retaliate: S0 Far They’ve Been Telling Israel to Cease Fire While Ignoring Hamas’ Firing Rockets Into Israel, Which Started the Israeli Response

Egypt’s new leaders are proving to be more hypocritical than their former ruler when dealing with Israel and Hamas.

Egypt and the Muslim world have been screaming at Israel to stop fighting, while ignoring Hamas and their rocket strikes on Israeli cities, which provoked the Israelis into returning fire.

If one of these other countries were being fired upon by terrorist groups, they’d already have sent in ground troops.  Israel’s response has been very limited by comparison so far, targeting rocket launchers, Hamas commanders, rocket storage facilities and Hamas terrorists. 

Unfortunately, because Gaza is so small and so packed with people, everything Israel has attacked so far is amongst the Palestinian civilian population.  And Hamas doesn’t care where it puts its military equipment either.  There was an image of a rocket launcher next to a mosque yesterday on various web sites.

If the Muslims really want peace, they need to be more even-handed and realize that Hamas is the main cause of the problem.  If they were to stop firing, so would Israel.  It’s just that simple.

I think the Muslim world is sacrificing the Palestinians to Hamas militarism, just to get at Israel.  Otherwise they wouldn’t be arming a terrorist group and screaming at Israel to stop firing back while ignoring Hamas’s attacks on Israel.