July 15, 2009
At approximately 6 p.m. ET today, Washington Metro police shot and killed a motorist attempting to elude a pursuit. The deceased driver of a white Mercedes apparently brandished a weapon when stopped and refused to comply with police commands. The incident was only about a quarter mile from the Capital and just on the edge of Capital grounds.
The shooting occurred just as the Sotomayor confirmation hearings were ending.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
SOTOMAYOR ADMITS VERBAL "FAILURE"
July 15, 2009
In the second round of confirmation hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Sonja Sotomayor admitted, during tough Republican questioning, that her now infamous statement concerning how she thought a wise Latina would make a better decision than a white male, was not correct and characterized the remarks as a "verbal failure".
Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham cited anonymous reviews by Sotomayor's Second Circuit colleagues that indicated her poor temperament, bullying of attorneys, and a general lack of respect shown towards those appearing before her.
Earlier this month, a decision Sotomayor handed down earlier this year denying a "reverse discrimination" lawsuit brought by White and Latino firefighters from Connecticut was overturned by the Supreme Court. Most egregious was the manner in which she denied the suit by simply summarily dismissing the matter in a one paragraph statement.
These three examples would be enough to sink most nominees for the highest court in the land, but in America's culture of "political correctness", it is excused and even discussing these issues is labeled as "mean-spirited" by some of her supporters.
While her accomplishments should be applauded, those qualifications are not so stellar as to make her the best candidate for the position. It is hard to determine what special attributes this nominee brings to the Court, other to make it more diverse. Again, this is simply not a good enough reason to confirm her to a position that has no oversight or potential for removal once seated on the bench.
We've proven that we have become a "diverse" nation, just as our elected officials, judges and special interest groups have decreed. To a large extent, this change has happened over the last decade, and cultural changes like "the diversity initiative" normally takes much longer to implement. Now that the country has met the "diversity" goal, it is simply irresponsible to continue pushing this issue to the potential detriment of the Court.
In fact, a liberal Georgetown law professor, Michael Seidman, thinks she's either intellectually lacking or the Judge has perjured herself in her testimony due to her recanting and refusal to answer questions using the "it may come before the Court" excuse. Sorry, although a tactic used successfully by prior nominees, it just cannot continue to be used as a defendant might use the "I refuse to answer because my answer may incriminate me" defense - weak at best.
Confirming Sotomayor simply as an example of our "cultural progress" must be closely examined. There are numerous more qualified judges available to choose from and it would be nice if someone would explain to the American people why she's the most qualified person for the Court. Without this revelation, it's going to be clear that the Congressional majority is not concerned with picking the best candidate. They will only be making this issue another distraction, when their battle has been already won.
As to the criticism of her "bullying" from the bench, I think we've all experienced this attitude when dealing with some "minorities", especially those who perceive that they have a measure of power or control over a particular situation. I know, racist, etc., but it's time we get honest about the world we live in. Continuing to walk on eggshells when referring to a certain element of our society is not productive, but rather fosters this attitude of self-righteous importance among those who need the "power" to feel better about themselves. In short, this type of attitude usually points to a person who will do whatever they need to do in order to be seen as "somebody".
In the second round of confirmation hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Sonja Sotomayor admitted, during tough Republican questioning, that her now infamous statement concerning how she thought a wise Latina would make a better decision than a white male, was not correct and characterized the remarks as a "verbal failure".
Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham cited anonymous reviews by Sotomayor's Second Circuit colleagues that indicated her poor temperament, bullying of attorneys, and a general lack of respect shown towards those appearing before her.
Earlier this month, a decision Sotomayor handed down earlier this year denying a "reverse discrimination" lawsuit brought by White and Latino firefighters from Connecticut was overturned by the Supreme Court. Most egregious was the manner in which she denied the suit by simply summarily dismissing the matter in a one paragraph statement.
These three examples would be enough to sink most nominees for the highest court in the land, but in America's culture of "political correctness", it is excused and even discussing these issues is labeled as "mean-spirited" by some of her supporters.
While her accomplishments should be applauded, those qualifications are not so stellar as to make her the best candidate for the position. It is hard to determine what special attributes this nominee brings to the Court, other to make it more diverse. Again, this is simply not a good enough reason to confirm her to a position that has no oversight or potential for removal once seated on the bench.
We've proven that we have become a "diverse" nation, just as our elected officials, judges and special interest groups have decreed. To a large extent, this change has happened over the last decade, and cultural changes like "the diversity initiative" normally takes much longer to implement. Now that the country has met the "diversity" goal, it is simply irresponsible to continue pushing this issue to the potential detriment of the Court.
In fact, a liberal Georgetown law professor, Michael Seidman, thinks she's either intellectually lacking or the Judge has perjured herself in her testimony due to her recanting and refusal to answer questions using the "it may come before the Court" excuse. Sorry, although a tactic used successfully by prior nominees, it just cannot continue to be used as a defendant might use the "I refuse to answer because my answer may incriminate me" defense - weak at best.
Confirming Sotomayor simply as an example of our "cultural progress" must be closely examined. There are numerous more qualified judges available to choose from and it would be nice if someone would explain to the American people why she's the most qualified person for the Court. Without this revelation, it's going to be clear that the Congressional majority is not concerned with picking the best candidate. They will only be making this issue another distraction, when their battle has been already won.
As to the criticism of her "bullying" from the bench, I think we've all experienced this attitude when dealing with some "minorities", especially those who perceive that they have a measure of power or control over a particular situation. I know, racist, etc., but it's time we get honest about the world we live in. Continuing to walk on eggshells when referring to a certain element of our society is not productive, but rather fosters this attitude of self-righteous importance among those who need the "power" to feel better about themselves. In short, this type of attitude usually points to a person who will do whatever they need to do in order to be seen as "somebody".
Thursday, July 9, 2009
U.S. MILITARY REVEALS DETAILS OF "PROJECT MAV"
July 9, 2009
In an especially interesting airing, the Military Channel publicly revealed the existence of an extremely agile "aircraft" (designated "Project Mav"), reportedly developed for military reconnaissance missions, but capable of being weaponized. What makes this a most unusual design is that is would appear from a distance to resemble a "flying oil drum". Pretty weird stuff if they had not actually shown a video clip of a test flight. The video shows this object zipping around with the near agility of an insect, hovering in mid-air and then demonstrating some pretty impressive speed capabilities.
Although apparently not a "secret" per se, especially among those who closely follow such developments, the aircraft's existence was previously not widely known or publicized.
Photos of either an earlier or more recent design (compared to the vehicle shown in the program) is depicted and additional information is available at the following sites:
http://www.realitymod.com/forum/f22-military-technology/48572-t-hawk-mav.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/05/mav_goes_t_hawk/
Without doubt, these things have been misidentified as "UFOs" for many years. Although this subject is a little off our normal beat, the Itis R Times always tries to keep the public aware of significant events going on around us - especially those getting little or no coverage by the mainstream media.
In an especially interesting airing, the Military Channel publicly revealed the existence of an extremely agile "aircraft" (designated "Project Mav"), reportedly developed for military reconnaissance missions, but capable of being weaponized. What makes this a most unusual design is that is would appear from a distance to resemble a "flying oil drum". Pretty weird stuff if they had not actually shown a video clip of a test flight. The video shows this object zipping around with the near agility of an insect, hovering in mid-air and then demonstrating some pretty impressive speed capabilities.
Although apparently not a "secret" per se, especially among those who closely follow such developments, the aircraft's existence was previously not widely known or publicized.
Photos of either an earlier or more recent design (compared to the vehicle shown in the program) is depicted and additional information is available at the following sites:
http://www.realitymod.com/forum/f22-military-technology/48572-t-hawk-mav.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/05/mav_goes_t_hawk/
Without doubt, these things have been misidentified as "UFOs" for many years. Although this subject is a little off our normal beat, the Itis R Times always tries to keep the public aware of significant events going on around us - especially those getting little or no coverage by the mainstream media.
HOUSING CRISIS CONTINUES TO BE IGNORED
July 9, 2009
In what can only be described as hiding their heads in the sand, Congress continues to find time to address every and any issue except the housing crisis. The most critically "at risk" component of our economy is being completely ignored and we have to ask why is there complete silence on the subject? The answer is most likely that lobbyists for the banking and mortgage industries are doing a stellar job.
You just have to wonder what kind of "sweetheart" deals are being cooked-up to keep a lid on the crisis? Maybe Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) is waiting for better refi terms, since his initial "Friends of Angelo" home loan from former Countrywide Mortgage CEO Angelo Mazilo (the details of which have never been revealed to this day!) is probably not so favorable in today's market. Even after numerous calls for details of the favorable under-the-table mortgage, Dodd has successfully been able to sweep the issue under the table for years.
There must be a really major reason for the silence, because ignoring it for much longer will destroy our economy. It doesn't matter how much money they throw at other institutions (e.g., banking, insurance, automobile), without a strong recovery in housing, the economy is doomed. It's going to be ugly when homeowners finally wake-up and discover that, after faithfully paying their mortgage every month for years, not only have they lost all the equity in their home, but now they're actually underwater in the loan. Worse of all, they'll realize that elected governmental officials and their appointees were instrumental in facilitating the continued collapse and they'll also discover that recovery of their investment isn't going to happen. On that fateful day, I hope our elected officials and their cronies have ...., well let's just let them figure that one out.
We are demanding some REAL action NOW!
In what can only be described as hiding their heads in the sand, Congress continues to find time to address every and any issue except the housing crisis. The most critically "at risk" component of our economy is being completely ignored and we have to ask why is there complete silence on the subject? The answer is most likely that lobbyists for the banking and mortgage industries are doing a stellar job.
You just have to wonder what kind of "sweetheart" deals are being cooked-up to keep a lid on the crisis? Maybe Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) is waiting for better refi terms, since his initial "Friends of Angelo" home loan from former Countrywide Mortgage CEO Angelo Mazilo (the details of which have never been revealed to this day!) is probably not so favorable in today's market. Even after numerous calls for details of the favorable under-the-table mortgage, Dodd has successfully been able to sweep the issue under the table for years.
There must be a really major reason for the silence, because ignoring it for much longer will destroy our economy. It doesn't matter how much money they throw at other institutions (e.g., banking, insurance, automobile), without a strong recovery in housing, the economy is doomed. It's going to be ugly when homeowners finally wake-up and discover that, after faithfully paying their mortgage every month for years, not only have they lost all the equity in their home, but now they're actually underwater in the loan. Worse of all, they'll realize that elected governmental officials and their appointees were instrumental in facilitating the continued collapse and they'll also discover that recovery of their investment isn't going to happen. On that fateful day, I hope our elected officials and their cronies have ...., well let's just let them figure that one out.
We are demanding some REAL action NOW!
WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN CONGRESS AND THE CIA?
July 9, 2009
It's being reported that Leon Panetta, CIA Chief, has apparently confirmed in a "secret Intelligence briefing" that the agency routinely lied to Congress. This raises issues concerning how safe we can feel if the CIA is withholding information or misleading our elected officials.
Only a couple of months ago, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, claimed that the CIA had routinely provided misleading information to Congress. Following Pelosi's statement, Panetta denied the claim, but now it's being reported that he's confirming the deception.
Confused yet? It gets better, because today Panetta says that his "secret" briefing statements were misquoted or simply incorrect. Come on, do we really need these games? I thought we were all on the same team and we certainly don't need any more distractions!
What possibly could be their their reason for potentially putting all Americans at risk? The issue of not sharing information between law enforcement agencies was instrumental in allowing the terrorists to pull off their plot on 9/11. How many times do we have to suffer the insolence of groups that feel no responsibility to anyone but themselves? Who do they think they are, bankers?
It would be great if everyone would just do their job and leave petty disagreements out of the equation. But that ignores reality. In reality, it's all about insuring their survival in a very tenuous environment.
It's being reported that Leon Panetta, CIA Chief, has apparently confirmed in a "secret Intelligence briefing" that the agency routinely lied to Congress. This raises issues concerning how safe we can feel if the CIA is withholding information or misleading our elected officials.
Only a couple of months ago, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, claimed that the CIA had routinely provided misleading information to Congress. Following Pelosi's statement, Panetta denied the claim, but now it's being reported that he's confirming the deception.
Confused yet? It gets better, because today Panetta says that his "secret" briefing statements were misquoted or simply incorrect. Come on, do we really need these games? I thought we were all on the same team and we certainly don't need any more distractions!
What possibly could be their their reason for potentially putting all Americans at risk? The issue of not sharing information between law enforcement agencies was instrumental in allowing the terrorists to pull off their plot on 9/11. How many times do we have to suffer the insolence of groups that feel no responsibility to anyone but themselves? Who do they think they are, bankers?
It would be great if everyone would just do their job and leave petty disagreements out of the equation. But that ignores reality. In reality, it's all about insuring their survival in a very tenuous environment.
ILLINOIS SENATOR BURRIS DECIDES NOT TO RUN IN NEXT ELECTION
July 9, 2009
Illinois Senator Roland Burris is expected to announce tomorrow that he will not run in the next election to in an effort to formally retain the seat he was appointed to by former Governor Blagojevich. The appointment raised the ire of Congressional Democrats at the time. However, it seems he may have made a deal with the Democratic caucus to retain his seat throughout his current term without further hassle from the Dems if he agreed not to run.
Illinois Senator Roland Burris is expected to announce tomorrow that he will not run in the next election to in an effort to formally retain the seat he was appointed to by former Governor Blagojevich. The appointment raised the ire of Congressional Democrats at the time. However, it seems he may have made a deal with the Democratic caucus to retain his seat throughout his current term without further hassle from the Dems if he agreed not to run.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
CA TO DECIDE IF THEY'LL ACCEPT THEIR OWN IOUs
July 9, 2009
In a real head-scratcher, California State officials announced yesterday that they are debating whether State offices can accept State IOUs from taxpayers who received them from the State for payment of State debt. Talk about not closing the circle. State officials have no confidence in their ability to agree on a budget and work within it. These clowns are really sending a wonderful message to the State's taxpayers.
We think that form of payment (i.e., IOUs) should become the California State "currency" for all debts public and private inside the State. It would make it a little harder for the bureaucrats to spend what they don't have outside the State at least. Plus, State residents could print their own as needed, just like State Clown money!
In a real head-scratcher, California State officials announced yesterday that they are debating whether State offices can accept State IOUs from taxpayers who received them from the State for payment of State debt. Talk about not closing the circle. State officials have no confidence in their ability to agree on a budget and work within it. These clowns are really sending a wonderful message to the State's taxpayers.
We think that form of payment (i.e., IOUs) should become the California State "currency" for all debts public and private inside the State. It would make it a little harder for the bureaucrats to spend what they don't have outside the State at least. Plus, State residents could print their own as needed, just like State Clown money!
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