Thursday, February 26, 2015


News Clips For The Day



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-militant-jihadi-john-identified-mohammed-emwazi/

U.S. intel official confirms identity of "Jihadi John"
CBS NEWS
February 26, 2015

LONDON -- The knife-wielding masked ISIS militant seen in a number of beheading videos and dubbed "Jihadi John" has been named as Mohammed Emwazi, a London man with a college degree, a U.S. intelligence official confirmed to CBS News Thursday.

Emwazi earned his degree from the University of Westminster, the official told CBS News.

Both The Washington Post and the BBC reported Thursday that he was known to British security services by 2011 at the latest.

Friends of Emwazi spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity, including one who said that they had "no doubt" Emwazi was the man who appeared in execution videos of Foley and American journalist Steven Sotloff and American aid worker Peter Kassig.

The research director at a British human rights group also told the Post that he believed Emwazi was the man in the videos.

"There was an extremely strong resemblance," Asim Qureshi told the Post. "This is making me feel fairly certain that this is the same person."

Emwazi's family wouldn't comment to the Post. Neither would U.S. Officials.

Referring to ISIS by an acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, a spokeswoman for the U.K. Embassy in Washington told the Post, "Our prime minister has been clear that we want all those who have committed murder on behalf of ISIL to face justice for the appalling acts carried out. There is an ongoing police investigation into the murder of hostages by ISIL in Syria. It is not appropriate for the government to comment on any part of it while this continues."

Emwazi's friends told the Post that they believe that a planned trip to Tanzania in May 2009 led to his radicalization.

Emwazi and two male friends were detained by police upon their arrival in Dar es Salaam, stayed in custody overnight and were eventually deported, the Post reported.

Emwazi then went to Amsterdam. According to emails that he sent to Qureshi, which were provided to the Post, Emwazi claimed that an officer there from the British Security Service, known as MI5, accused him of trying to go to Somalia, where the al Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shabaab is based.

Emwazi claimed MI5 then tried to recruit him, the Post reported.




“Emwazi's friends told the Post that they believe that a planned trip to Tanzania in May 2009 led to his radicalization. Emwazi and two male friends were detained by police upon their arrival in Dar es Salaam, stayed in custody overnight and were eventually deported, the Post reported. Emwazi then went to Amsterdam. According to emails that he sent to Qureshi, which were provided to the Post, Emwazi claimed that an officer there from the British Security Service, known as MI5, accused him of trying to go to Somalia, where the al Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shabaab is based. Emwazi claimed MI5 then tried to recruit him, the Post reported.”

I think our FBI, CIA and MI5 type organizations should arrest and imprison these people who they have positively identified, while they have them in their hot little hands – in other words in Dar es Salaam in 2009 before he had a chance to travel to Syria and join the ranks of ISIS soldiers. The smart guys are so smart they are outsmarting themselves. Does anybody agree?





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-internet-phone-lines-centurylink-fiber-optic-line-cut-vandalism/

Vandals cut northern Arizona's digital umbilical cord
CBS/AP
February 26, 2015

Photograph – A CenturyLink crew member works on a severed fiber-optic cable in northern Arizona, Feb. 26, 2015.  CBS 5 NEWS-KPHO

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- People across northern Arizona couldn't use the Internet, their cellphones or landlines for several hours Wednesday after someone vandalized a fiber-optic line that brings communications to a large part of the state, officials said.

Businesses couldn't process credit card transactions, ATMs didn't function, law enforcement databases were unavailable, and even weather reports were affected in an area stretching from north of Phoenix to Flagstaff, about 100 miles away.

CenturyLink spokesman Alex Juarez said the problem was first reported around noon. Internet and phone service started to come back to some residents and businesses in Flagstaff by 6:30 p.m.

Juarez said all customers should be back online by 3 a.m. Thursday. He didn't have an estimate of how many were affected.

Phoenix police said CenturyLink employees found that the fiber-optic cable in far north Phoenix had been completely cut through.

The cable, which CenturyLink owns, is near a riverbed in an area that isn't accessible to vehicles. It carries signals for various cellphone, television and Internet providers that serve northern Arizona.

According to Juarez, technicians from Monroe, Louisiana-based CenturyLink had to go through a long, tedious process of inspecting the line "mile by mile." Meanwhile, Flagstaff's 69,000 residents tried to go about their daily business.

Zak Holland, who works at a computer store at Northern Arizona University, said distraught students were nearly in tears when he said nothing could be done to restore their Internet connection.

"It was kind of a slap in the face if the Internet goes down," Holland said. "It just goes to show how dependent we are on the Internet when it disappears."

Many students told Holland they needed to get online to finish school assignments. University spokesman Tom Bauer said it was up to individual professors on how to handle potentially late assignments.

In Prescott, businesses were open and trading on the famous "Whiskey Row." Residents told CBS 5 News-KPHO that being hurled 25 years into the technological past was really just a an inconvenience.

"No one's phones work, their internet's down, none of our computers work, ATMs are down," said a bartender at the Whiskey Row Pub, where transactions were being conducted in cash-only.

Kate Hance and Jessie Hutchison stopped at a Wells Fargo ATM to get cash because an ice cream shop couldn't take credit cards without a data connection. They left empty-handed because the outage also put cash machines out of service.

"It's moderately annoying, but it's not going to ruin my day," Hutchison said.

Staff at Bookmans Entertainment Exchange in Flagstaff said they tried for about 45 minutes to restore their Internet connection before employees realized their equipment wasn't the problem.

People often go to the popular bookstore and cafe to do homework, listen to music, watch movies and browse jobs online. Some set down their computers Wednesday only to walk out minutes later after learning Internet service was down.

Staff suggested to kids bewildered by the technical problem that they should read a book.

Cordell Charley just finished some online banking when the outage happened and shut off his computer to grab lunch.

"You just feel lost," he said. "It's like, what happened?"

Mark Goldstein, secretary for the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council, said CenturyLink's cable likely has bundles of fibers that can be leased to multiple service providers. If the line follows only one direction with no alternative paths to reroute service, then any damage to the line will wreak havoc.

At Flagstaff City Hall, employees were unable make or receive calls at their desks.

"It's quieter than usual," said Stephanie Smith, assistant to the city manager. "The good thing is there is still lots of work to get done even without phones ringing."

The city was relying on the Arizona Department of Public Safety to assist with dispatching police and fire services.

In Prescott Valley, about 75 miles north of Phoenix, authorities said 911 service was being supplemented with hand-held radios and alternate phone numbers. Water and sewer facilities switched to manual operations, and residents needed cash to make utility and court payments.

Yavapai County spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said 911 lines were limited Wednesday afternoon and authorities couldn't access law enforcement databases.

Weather reports from the region weren't able to reach anyone. During their evening newscasts, Phoenix television stations showed blank spaces on their weather maps where local temperatures would normally appear.




“People across northern Arizona couldn't use the Internet, their cellphones or landlines for several hours Wednesday after someone vandalized a fiber-optic line that brings communications to a large part of the state, officials said. Businesses couldn't process credit card transactions, ATMs didn't function, law enforcement databases were unavailable, and even weather reports were affected in an area stretching from north of Phoenix to Flagstaff, about 100 miles away.... The cable, which CenturyLink owns, is near a riverbed in an area that isn't accessible to vehicles. It carries signals for various cellphone, television and Internet providers that serve northern Arizona. According to Juarez, technicians from Monroe, Louisiana-based CenturyLink had to go through a long, tedious process of inspecting the line "mile by mile." Meanwhile, Flagstaff's 69,000 residents tried to go about their daily business.”

Having every service linked in to the same set of cables has a problem – they broke the old rule “Don't put all your eggs in one basket.” It also seems likely to me that an insider did this act, which is termed in this article “vandalism,” but which looks more like war to me. The place where this cable was located was far from roads and town, so someone either had to follow technicians to the site, have access to a map of the cables, or they just happened to find the cable and decided to commit this crime. It could have been a very clever terrorist or a teenager with a hostile and destructive attitude. I do hope they find him and put him in prison.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/investigators-washington-state-police-shot-at-unarmed-man-17-times/
Investigators: ​Washington state police shot at unarmed man 17 times
CBS/AP
February 25, 2015

Photograph – In this still frame taken from a cell phone video provided by Dario Infante and taken on Feb. 10, 2015, Antonio Zambrano-Montes, left, turns to face police officers as one holds a flashlight and two others draw their guns just before shooting him in Pasco, Wash.  AP/DARIO INFANTE

KENNEWICK, Wash. -- The three officers involved in the death of an unarmed Mexican man in Washington state fired 17 shots, including several that struck the former orchard worker but none that hit him in the back, a task force spokesman said Wednesday.

The regional law enforcement task force is investigating the Feb. 10 killing of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, in the city of Pasco, which has led to weeks of protestsand calls for a federal probe.

A funeral mass was held Wednesday for Zambrano-Montes, CBS affiliate KEPR-TV reported.

Kennewick police Sgt. Ken Lattin, a spokesman for the task force, said autopsy results were pending, and he couldn't be more specific about where the 35-year-old was shot.
"We've determined that they fired their weapons 17 times, 17 rounds were fired," Lattin said. "Of those, five or six rounds struck Mr. Zambrano. There were no shots in the back."

Video taken by a witness shows Zambrano-Montes running from officers. As the officers draw closer, he stops, turns and faced them. Multiple "pops" are heard, and then he falls to the ground.

Zambrano-Montes was shot to death around 5 p.m. on a Tuesday evening at a busy intersection in Pasco, a majority-Hispanic agricultural city along the Columbia River in the southeastern part of the state.

Authorities say the Mexican immigrant was throwing rocks at passing vehicles and later at responding officers. Lattin said a rock was found next to Zambrano-Montes' body, but no gun or knife.

Officers used stun guns at least twice but failed to stop Zambrano-Montes before firing their weapons, Lattin said.

Zambrano-Montes was arrested last year for assault after throwing objects at Pasco officers and trying to grab an officer's pistol, court records show.

The Franklin County coroner has ordered an inquest into the death. Federal authorities have also said they are monitoring the local investigation. Lattin said it will be thorough and fair.

"It does not matter what your skin color it, it doesn't matter what your legal status is in the country. Justice for all... and that's what we're here to do," Lattin said, KEPR reported. "We're not here to cover up for anybody."

The family also commissioned its own autopsy. Speaking through a translator on Tuesday, Zambrano-Montes' mother said the officers who shot her son should go to prison.

"I want people to understand my pain," Agapita Montes-Rivera said. "It's really hard. ... When I saw the video, I felt really bad. That's why I asked for justice."

Critics of the shooting continued to call for a federal investigation. The American Civil Liberties Union has also asked the federal government to intervene.

Felix Vargas, a Hispanic leader from Pasco, said he met with a federal official last weekend and had a meeting scheduled for later Wednesday with U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby of Spokane, Wash., to discuss the case. That meeting was closed to reporters, he said.

Charles Herrmann, an attorney representing Zambrano-Montes' estranged wife and two teenage daughters, said it is difficult for neighboring police officers to investigate their colleagues.

"I do not think these authorities can conduct a truly impartial investigation of their brother officers," Herrmann said. He also doubted that Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant was inclined to bring charges against the officers involved.

"The Zambranos are going to have their day in court," Herrmann predicted.

He said the widow, Teresa De Jesus Meraz-Ruiz, who lives in California, was "devastated" by the shooting. The couple has reportedly been estranged since 2006.

Meanwhile, Lattin said the special investigations unit, made up of officers from four neighboring cities, was awaiting final toxicology and other lab reports before sending its final report to the prosecutor. He predicted that would take several more weeks.

Sant said it would take about 60 days after the report is finished to begin the coroner's inquest. The contents of the report will be released during the inquest, but not before, he said.

Lattin said the three officers would not be interviewed until all the other preliminary work of the investigation is completed.

Officers continue to seek details of Zambrano-Montes' whereabouts in the two weeks before the shooting. His home had recently burned and he had stayed for a time in a homeless shelter, but no one has yet been able to account for his actions in the two weeks prior to his death, Lattin said.

Investigators also want to know if he was suffering from mental health issues, drug use or an injury, Lattin said.

Lattin said this would be the last of his weekly briefings to the news media because officials did not want to contaminate future jury pools.

The killing was the fourth by police in less than a year for fast-growing Pasco, a city of 68,000 where more than half the residents are Hispanic but few are members of the police force or the power structure.

Officers were exonerated after similar investigations in the first three cases. Critics of the latest case say the officers should have used less than lethal force to capture Zambrano-Montes.




“The three officers involved in the death of an unarmed Mexican man in Washington state fired 17 shots, including several that struck the former orchard worker but none that hit him in the back, a task force spokesman said Wednesday. The regional law enforcement task force is investigating the Feb. 10 killing of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, in the city of Pasco, which has led to weeks of protestsand calls for a federal probe. A funeral mass was held Wednesday for Zambrano-Montes, CBS affiliate KEPR-TV reported.... Video taken by a witness shows Zambrano-Montes running from officers. As the officers draw closer, he stops, turns and faced them. Multiple "pops" are heard, and then he falls to the ground.... Authorities say the Mexican immigrant was throwing rocks at passing vehicles and later at responding officers. Lattin said a rock was found next to Zambrano-Montes' body, but no gun or knife. Officers used stun guns at least twice but failed to stop Zambrano-Montes before firing their weapons, Lattin said. Zambrano-Montes was arrested last year for assault after throwing objects at Pasco officers and trying to grab an officer's pistol, court records show.... Critics of the shooting continued to call for a federal investigation. The American Civil Liberties Union has also asked the federal government to intervene. Felix Vargas, a Hispanic leader from Pasco, said he met with a federal official last weekend and had a meeting scheduled for later Wednesday with U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby of Spokane, Wash., to discuss the case. That meeting was closed to reporters, he said...."I do not think these authorities can conduct a truly impartial investigation of their brother officers," Herrmann said. He also doubted that Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant was inclined to bring charges against the officers involved.
The Zambranos are going to have their day in court," Herrmann predicted.... Officers continue to seek details of Zambrano-Montes' whereabouts in the two weeks before the shooting. His home had recently burned and he had stayed for a time in a homeless shelter, but no one has yet been able to account for his actions in the two weeks prior to his death, Lattin said. Investigators also want to know if he was suffering from mental health issues, drug use or an injury, Lattin said.”

A city of 68,000 with mostly Hispanic population who are represented on the police force or in the government in only a few cases. This was the situation in Ferguson, MO as well, and is true of many small cities around the country. This Hispanic man was definitely showing psychiatric symptoms, as he had been arrested before for throwing objects at the police and was doing it again this time. Throwing rocks at people is not an effective way of fighting, compared to a knife or a gun, and is a sign of blind anger or hatred. In addition his home had recently burned and he was living in a homeless shelter. I'm sorry he was killed, but the writer of the article said he tried to take the officer's gun. Hopefully the video will show the details of the situation.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawsuit-claims-purina-beneful-pet-food-sickens-kills-dogs/

Dangerous dog food? Lawsuit claims Beneful sickened, killed pets
CBS/AP 
February 25, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO -- A dog owner has filed a class-action lawsuit against the maker of a popular pet food brand alleging that thousands of dogs have been sickened or died from eating its dry dog foods.

Pet owner Frank Lucido filed the suit on Feb. 5 in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California against Nestle Purina PetCare Company.

Lucido claims he fed his three dogs Beneful, and within a short period of time, two were sick and one was dead.

The suit alleges Beneful dry dog foods contain an ingredient toxic to animals, propylene glycol, a chemical used in automobile antifreeze. On Purina's website, the company notes that propylene glycol is an FDA-approved food additive that's used in human food products.

The lawsuit also claims Beneful contains harmful mycotoxins, toxins produced by fungus that occurs in grains.

In the suit, Lucido alleges that in the past four years, there have been more than 3,000 complaints online about dogs becoming ill or dying after eating Beneful, having shown "consistent symptoms," including stomach and related internal bleeding, liver malfunction or failure, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures and kidney failure.

The legal filing cites the accounts of a number of pet owners, including one who states that "after eating Beneful for just over a week, my dogs liver failed. She was drinking way more than usual, stopped eating and was vomiting. She spent 2 days in intensive care with IV fluids and antibiotics."

Purina's website says it uses "an FDA-approved food additive" that is also in human foods. Purina issued a statement saying "there are no quality issues with Beneful."

The suit asks the court to expand the case to include other dog owners whose dogs were sickened or died and pay them unspecified damages and restitution.

In recent years, Beneful has faced two lawsuits that were dismissed by the courts.

However, in a lawsuit settled in May, Purina and Waggin' Train LLC agreed to create a $6.5 million fund to compensate pet owners who claimed their pets were sickened after eating pet jerky treats made in China.

At the time, Food and Drug Administration officials said the pet treats were linked to more than 1,000 deaths in dogs and more than 4,800 complaints of animal illness. Three humans also got sick.

Major pet supply retailers Petco and PetSmart responded by pulling pet treats from China from their stores.




“A dog owner has filed a class-action lawsuit against the maker of a popular pet food brand alleging that thousands of dogs have been sickened or died from eating its dry dog foods. Pet owner Frank Lucido filed the suit on Feb. 5 in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California against Nestle Purina PetCare Company. Lucido claims he fed his three dogs Beneful, and within a short period of time, two were sick and one was dead. The suit alleges Beneful dry dog foods contain an ingredient toxic to animals, propylene glycol, a chemical used in automobile antifreeze.... The lawsuit also claims Beneful contains harmful mycotoxins, toxins produced by fungus that occurs in grains. In the suit, Lucido alleges that in the past four years, there have been more than 3,000 complaints online about dogs becoming ill or dying after eating Beneful, having shown "consistent symptoms," including stomach and related internal bleeding, liver malfunction or failure, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures and kidney failure.... In recent years, Beneful has faced two lawsuits that were dismissed by the courts. However, in a lawsuit settled in May, Purina and Waggin' Train LLC agreed to create a $6.5 million fund to compensate pet owners who claimed their pets were sickened after eating pet jerky treats made in China. At the time, Food and Drug Administration officials said the pet treats were linked to more than 1,000 deaths in dogs and more than 4,800 complaints of animal illness. Three humans also got sick.”

I have used Purina foods for years, and considered them to be the best. The articles I found below are written about human consumption of propylene-glycol (not ethylene glycol) and it is safe in some fairly large quantities. It is used in foods and drugs to create a better texture or stabilize them without being toxic. The quantity of PPG used in pet foods could possibly be a problem and should be tested. In the article below it says that it has been harmful to children. Dosages for children of all kinds of medicines have to be adjusted due to their small size and the same would be true of pets. In addition, I recently heard that the food humans love most – chocolate – is toxic to dogs. PPG certainly should be tested in dogs and cats if they are going to be eating it, it seems to me. Pet treats made in China came up in this lawsuit also, and not for the first time. See the articles below for background information.



https://help.purina.com/answers/what-is-propylene-glycol/

PURINA HELP
What is propylene glycol?

Propylene glycol is an FDA-approved food additive that’s also in human foods like salad dressing and cake mix.



http://www.drugs.com/inactive/propylene-glycol-270.html

Propylene Glycol
Excipient (pharmacologically inactive substance)

ex·cip·i·ent (noun) means “an inactive substance that serves as the vehicle or medium for a drug or other active substance.”

What is Propylene Glycol?

Propylene glycol (C3H8O2) is a commonly used drug solubilizer in topical, oral, and injectablemedications . It is used as stabilizer for vitamins, and as a water-miscible cosolvent.[1]Propylene glycol has been used for over 50 years in a large variety of applications. As a pharmaceutical additive, propylene glycol is generally regarded as safe. HOWEVER, IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION, PROPYLENE GLYCOL HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN TOXICITY. CASES OF HYPEROSMOLALITY FROM ABSORPTION OF CREAMS APPLIED TO BURNS HAVE BEEN REPORTED. CONTACT DERMATITIS HAS ALSO OCCURRED WITH TOPICAL APPLICATION IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION. HEMOLYSIS, CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEPRESSION, HYPEROSMOLALITY, AND LACTIC ACIDOSIS HAVE BEEN REPORTED AFTER INTRAVENOUS ADMINISTRATION.[2] PROPYLENE GLYCOL IS METABOLIZED TO LACTIC ACID, WHICH MAY LEAD TO THE REPORTED LACTIC ACIDOSIS.

The high concentration of propylene glycol contained in certain intravenous drug products, such as phenytoin, diazepam, digoxin, and etomidate, may induce thrombophlebitis. Rapid infusion of solutions containing high concentrations of propylene glycol-containing drugs has been linked to respiratory depression, arrhythmias, hypotension, and seizures. Seizures and respiratory depression have also occurred in children who have ingested oral solutions containing propylene glycol.[2]

Propylene glycol is also used as moisturizer in cosmetic products and as a dispersant in fragrances. There are many other food  and industrial uses for propylene glycol. As a food additive, propylene glycol is on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) generally regarded as safe list (not to be confused with ethylene glycol, which is extremely toxic if ingested). According the FDA, as a food additive, propylene glycol is metabolized in the body and is used as a normal carbohydrate source. Long-term use and substantial quantities of propylene glycol (up to five percent of the total food intake) can be consumed without causing toxicity. There is no evidence in the available information on propylene glycol that demonstrates, or suggests a hazard to the public when they are used at levels that are now current or might reasonably be expected in the future.[3][4]





http://news.yahoo.com/york-residents-arrested-planning-join-181335772.html

New York residents arrested over IS extremist plot
AFP
By Jennie Matthew
February 25, 2015

New York (AFP) - Three New York residents have been arrested for plotting to join extremists fighting in Syria and two threatened to carry out attacks within the United States, officials said Wednesday.

Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, and Abror Habibov, 30, have been charged with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

The teenage Saidakhmetov, a Kazakh citizen, was arrested Wednesday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, before traveling onto Syria.

US prosecutors said he recently expressed intent to buy a machine gun and shoot US police officers and FBI agents if thwarted in his plan to join the Islamic State (IS) group fighting in Syria.

They also accused Juraboev of being prepared to attack within the United States, and said he posted a message online in August 2014 offering to kill the US president if ordered to do so by IS.

All three are Brooklyn residents.

The arrests come a month after IS spokesman Abu Mohamed al-Adnani called on Muslims in the West to carry out new attacks and amid growing concern about the homegrown extremist threat in the West.

"The flow of foreign fighters to Syria represents an evolving threat to our country and to our allies," said Loretta Lynch, US attorney for the eastern district of New York.

"We will vigorously prosecute those who attempt to travel to Syria to wage violent jihad," she said.

"Anyone who threatens our citizens and our allies, here or abroad, will face the full force of American justice."

Federal prosecutors in New York said Juraboev bought a plane ticket to travel from New York to Istanbul next month, also planning to make his way to Syria and wage war on behalf of IS.
The third suspect, Habibov, is accused of helping to fund Saidakhmetov's efforts to join the Syrian jihadists and is scheduled to appear in a court in Florida later on Wednesday.

In late January IS spokesman Adnani called on Muslims in the West to carry out new attacks after 17 people were killed in assaults on January 7-9 in Paris against a magazine and a kosher supermarket.

"We promise that in the Christian bastions they will continue to live in a state of alert, of terror, of fear and insecurity... You have seen nothing yet," he said in a recording posted online.

Of the three attackers in France, only one appeared to have pledged allegiance to IS, but the group endorsed the killings in the message.

Juraboev and Saidakhmetov are due to appear before a US judge in Brooklyn later on Wednesday, officials said.

If convicted each of the three defendants face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, US officials said.

US intelligence officials warned earlier this month that more than 20,000 volunteers from around the world, including more than 150 Americans, had gone to Syria to link up with extremist groups.

"The rate of foreign fighter travel to Syria is unprecedented," said Nicholas Rasmussen, director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) on February 10.

"It exceeds the rate of travelers who went to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, or Somalia at any point in the last 20 years," he said.




“The teenage Saidakhmetov, a Kazakh citizen, was arrested Wednesday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, before traveling onto Syria. US prosecutors said he recently expressed intent to buy a machine gun and shoot US police officers and FBI agents if thwarted in his plan to join the Islamic State (IS) group fighting in Syria. They also accused Juraboev of being prepared to attack within the United States, and said he posted a message online in August 2014 offering to kill the US president if ordered to do so by IS.... "The rate of foreign fighter travel to Syria is unprecedented," said Nicholas Rasmussen, director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) on February 10. "It exceeds the rate of travelers who went to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, or Somalia at any point in the last 20 years," he said.”

I'm always glad to see that our officials have captured terrorists before they can commit an attack. More than 20,000 volunteers have gone to Syria to join ISIS. Luckily only 150 of them have been from the US. Maybe their living conditions here are better than those in France and England. We may have fewer Islamic immigrants here than in either of those countries. I do hope our CIA and FBI are watching all mosques in this country, though, for extreme fundamentalist preachers.





THEOCRACY, ETC. – FOUR ARTICLES


http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article11115413.html

Conservatives are changing Kansas law in ways that enshrine their power, weaken opponents
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
BY BRAD COOPER
02/25/2015 

Topeka – As the lobbyist for Wyandotte County’s Unified Government, Mike Taylor testified against a bill easing gun restrictions.

As he laid out his case, Taylor was put on the spot by state Republican Rep. Brett Hildabrand of Shawnee.

Hildabrand asked if Taylor knew a state law bars the use of public money to lobby for gun control. The legislator wondered whether Taylor violated the law.

Taylor countered that the law only applied to state money. He was on Wyandotte County’s payroll. Hildabrand later requested an opinion from the attorney general, who declined to weigh in.

It was a small dust-up a year ago, but it underscores how conservatives’ virtually unchallenged control of the Capitol opens the way for new policies that could undercut the influence of their traditional opposition for years to come.

Those efforts figure to weaken the lobbying efforts by cities, hamstring the power of teachers unions, limit how academics can speak out on public controversies and mold a more conservative judiciary.

“The reason why conservatives gained control of the House, the Senate and the governor’s office is because the people wanted us to,” said state Rep. Scott Schwab, a six-term veteran from Olathe. “If we get here and we don’t make the changes that the people sent us to do, then we fail them.”

But aggressive action on several fronts has triggered criticism — some of it coming from fellow Republicans — that the conservative majority might strip away basic fairness from the state’s political dynamics, especially with bills seen as targeting professors and the media.

“A lot of these legislators don’t like to hear opinions different from what they believe,” said Taylor, the Wyandotte lobbyist. “There should be room for robust debate and the ability to express contrary opinions in this building, of all places.”

Hildabrand describes himself as a “huge” free-speech supporter. The legislator said he was just uncertain about the law when he challenged Taylor last year.

He simply didn’t think taxpayer money should be used to advocate against gun rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

“I have absolutely no problem,” Hildabrand said, “with people being able to voice their opinion.”

Since coming to power in the last four years, conservatives have reshaped state government — cutting taxes, curbing abortion, tilting the workplace in favor of the employer and restricting the power of teachers unions.

Along the way, conservatives pushed new policies seen by some as stifling political dissent.

Public employee unions are now barred from deducting money from members’ paychecks to help bankroll political activities, which tend to be directed against conservatives. State money can no longer be used to lobby for gun control. And lawmakers have pushed repeatedly to overhaul the makeup of a state Supreme Court that’s ordered the Legislature to spend millions more on schools and that the legislative majority sees as hostile to the death penalty.

“There is an attempt to have a great deal of control and as much control as possible,” said state Rep. Barbara Bollier, a Mission Hills Republican. “That’s not unusual in government, but I think it’s escalated. I’ve been here five years, and I can see more of it.”

Conservative leadership doesn’t see it that way. Its lawmakers say they’re pressing good public policy that makes sense for many reasons — whether it’s saving tax dollars, encouraging higher voter turnout or making teachers more accountable in the classroom.

House Speaker Ray Merrick said in a statement that legislators must ensure that state laws are “fair and modern.”

“Oftentimes, that irritates people who are determined to maintain the status quo, but it certainly doesn’t indicate malice or retaliation,” Merrick said. “We have an obligation to examine the way things have always been done to make sure it’s still the most effective policy for the state.”

But Republican state Rep. Don Hineman of western Kansas said attempts to muffle dissent are “very, very real.”

“It’s an effort to more narrowly dominate the discussion of really important issues with viewpoints from one side of the political spectrum,” Hineman said.

Some lawmakers say this year has been particularly acute for legislation aimed at clamping down on opposing views.

A pair of lawmakers are backing a bill prohibiting university employees from providing or using their official title when writing newspaper columns.

Critics said the bill was directed at a group of Kansas political science professors who’ve written critically of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature.

Republican state Rep. Joe Seiwert of south-central Kansas said some constituents have complained about critical columns.

“If you’re going to be a professional and use your professional title, then you (should) be professional and talk about the facts,” he said. “Don’t criticize somebody. That’s not professional.”

Constituents, Seiwert said, want to know if the opinions expressed by professors are their personal opinions or reflect the views of the university. “Do the universities approve of what these professors are saying?”

Seiwert has since proposed softening the bill to only require universities to make a policy for determining when a title should be used.

▪ One bill would move city and school board elections from the spring to the fall. The measure’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Mitch Holmes of central Kansas, issued a news release suggesting the bill would dilute the power of teachers unions. “The teachers unions do not want to give up the majority they currently enjoy in low turnout, off-cycle elections.”

The senator, however, said driving down the influence of the teachers union was not the motivation of his bill. Rather, he said the legislation aims to boost voter turnout for local elections.

“I do want the majority to be the majority,” Holmes said, “but I don’t think that’s unfair.”

▪ Republican state Rep. J.R. Claeys introduced a bill allowing city and county governments to post their legal notices on the Internet instead of publishing them in newspapers. The bill was introduced after Claeys’ residency was questioned by a Salina Journal report last September. The bill could cost newspapers thousands but also would save taxpayers money.

Claeys said his bill is not connected to the newspaper report about his residency.

“I don’t know that any argument could be made,” he said, “that by changing the way legal notices are done it is somehow going to prevent the Salina Journal from printing lies.”

But overall, some political observers argue that dissenters have been punished, including a group of moderate Republican senators who were booted out office in 2012 with the help of Brownback.

“We are on the march toward this idea that dissent is treason,” said Mark Desetti, lobbyist for the Kansas National Education Association. “That’s troublesome.”

Conservative Rep. Jerry Lunn of Overland Park said the criticism over dissent is an outgrowth of the state’s political makeup.

“I don’t see it as a conspiracy,” Lunn said. “The state is very red and people may not like that, but that’s the fact.”




“Hildabrand asked if Taylor knew a state law bars the use of public money to lobby for gun control. The legislator wondered whether Taylor violated the law. Taylor countered that the law only applied to state money. He was on Wyandotte County’s payroll. Hildabrand later requested an opinion from the attorney general, who declined to weigh in. It was a small dust-up a year ago, but it underscores how conservatives’ virtually unchallenged control of the Capitol opens the way for new policies that could undercut the influence of their traditional opposition for years to come. Those efforts figure to weaken the lobbying efforts by cities, hamstring the power of teachers unions, limit how academics can speak out on public controversies and mold a more conservative judiciary.... But aggressive action on several fronts has triggered criticism — some of it coming from fellow Republicans — that the conservative majority might strip away basic fairness from the state’s political dynamics, especially with bills seen as targeting professors and the media. “A lot of these legislators don’t like to hear opinions different from what they believe,” said Taylor, the Wyandotte lobbyist. “There should be room for robust debate and the ability to express contrary opinions in this building, of all places.” Hildabrand describes himself as a “huge” free-speech supporter. The legislator said he was just uncertain about the law when he challenged Taylor last year.... Since coming to power in the last four years, conservatives have reshaped state government — cutting taxes, curbing abortion, tilting the workplace in favor of the employer and restricting the power of teachers unions. Along the way, conservatives pushed new policies seen by some as stifling political dissent. Public employee unions are now barred from deducting money from members’ paychecks to help bankroll political activities, which tend to be directed against conservatives. State money can no longer be used to lobby for gun control. And lawmakers have pushed repeatedly to overhaul the makeup of a state Supreme Court that’s ordered the Legislature to spend millions more on schools and that the legislative majority sees as hostile to the death penalty.... But Republican state Rep. Don Hineman of western Kansas said attempts to muffle dissent are “very, very real.” “It’s an effort to more narrowly dominate the discussion of really important issues with viewpoints from one side of the political spectrum,” Hineman said. Some lawmakers say this year has been particularly acute for legislation aimed at clamping down on opposing views. A pair of lawmakers are backing a bill prohibiting university employees from providing or using their official title when writing newspaper columns. Critics said the bill was directed at a group of Kansas political science professors who’ve written critically of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature.... Constituents, Seiwert said, want to know if the opinions expressed by professors are their personal opinions or reflect the views of the university. “Do the universities approve of what these professors are saying?” Seiwert has since proposed softening the bill to only require universities to make a policy for determining when a title should be used.”

“We are on the march toward this idea that dissent is treason,” said Mark Desetti, lobbyist for the Kansas National Education Association. “That’s troublesome.” Conservative Rep. Jerry Lunn of Overland Park said the criticism over dissent is an outgrowth of the state’s political makeup.” This Kansas fight over control by the far right rather than moderate Republicans is one of many in the US these days, especially in the South and West. Religion and political brass knuckles rule in those areas. Individual rights of people who aren't wealthy – except for gun issues of course – are being attacked repeatedly and fiercely.

When I read this article I have to remind myself that I'm in the USA. They are trying to do the things that dictators always do first – close down the more liberal newspaper voices and arrest or cripple the most educated people. Why? So they can eliminate dissent. They have proposed a law to allow political announcements to be made over the Internet (poor people are less likely to have computers) rather than in the newspaper and one to limit professors' authoritative voice.





http://www.politicususa.com/2015/02/25/57-republicans-dismantle-constitution-christianity-national-religion.html

57% Of Republicans Say Dismantle Constitution And Make Christianity National Religion
By: Keith Brekhusmore from Keith Brekhus
February, 25th, 2015

A Public Policy Polling (PPP) national survey conducted between February 20th and February 22nd of Republican voters, found that an astonishing 57 percent of Republicans want to dismantle the Constitution, and establish Christianity as the official national religion. Only 30 percent oppose making Christianity the national religion.

Although the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” GOP voters want to cast aside that provision and impose Christianity as the official American religion.

While a number of red states have passed statutes forbidding the implementation of Islam-based sharia law in their states, Republicans apparently have no misgivings about turning the United States into a Christian theocracy. The poll’s crosstabs reveal that support for making Christianity the official religion is strongest among Mike Huckabee (94 percent), Rick Perry (83 percent), and Ben Carson (78 percent) supporters.

Ben Carson is the preferred presidential candidate of those who want to impose Christianity on the nation with 24 percent support. Mike Huckabee and Scott Walker are tied for 2nd place at 16 percent. Scott Walker (35 percent) and Jeb Bush (22 percent) are the leading candidates among GOP voters who do not want to establish a national religion.

The PPP survey also found that 2/3rds of Republican voters do not believe in global warming, and 49 percent do not believe in the theory of evolution. Not only do they wish to establish a national religion, but it appears that their version of Christianity is one that is at odds with the scientific consensus in climatology and biology.

While a clear majority of Americans self-identify as Christians, most Americans outside the GOP, would be uncomfortable with conservative Dominionist theology. Dominionism calls for imposing a theocracy in America where Christianity is declared the official religion, and the nation is governed by “Biblical law”.

Republican voters seem all too eager to embrace Dominionist theology, even though doing so would violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of Religion is one of the bedrock principles established in our founding documents. Republican voters are gearing up to elect candidates who will undermine the First Amendment and take away our Freedom of Religion. Independents and Democrats must be prepared to stop any candidate who would dismantle the Establishment Clause, whether it be Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson or one of the other GOP presidential candidates.



http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution/
The Constitutional Amendment Process

The Archivist has delegated many of the ministerial duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register. Neither Article V of the Constitution nor section 106b describe the ratification process in detail. The Archivist and the Director of the Federal Register follow procedures and customs established by the Secretary of State, who performed these duties until 1950, and the Administrator of General Services, who served in this capacity until NARA assumed responsibility as an independent agency in 1985.

The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval. The original document is forwarded directly to NARA's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. The OFR also assembles an information package for the States which includes formal "red-line" copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint resolution in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification under 1 U.S.C. 106b.

The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the States for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each Governor along with the informational material prepared by the OFR. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their State legislatures.... When a State ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the State action, which is immediately conveyed to the Director of the Federal Register. The OFR examines ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature. If the documents are found to be in good order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them. The OFR retains these documents until an amendment is adopted or fails, and then transfers the records to the National Archives for preservation. A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to the Congress and to the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.

In recent history, the signing of the certification has become a ceremonial function attended by various dignitaries, which may include the President. President Johnson signed the certifications for the 24th and 25th Amendments as a witness, and President Nixon similarly witnessed the certification of the 26th Amendment along with three young scholars. On May 18, 1992, the Archivist performed the duties of the certifying official for the first time to recognize the ratification of the 27th Amendment, and the Director of the Federal Register signed the certification as a witness.



"A Public Policy Polling (PPP) national survey conducted between February 20th and February 22nd of Republican voters, found that an astonishing 57 percent of Republicans want to dismantle the Constitution, and establish Christianity as the official national religion. Only 30 percent oppose making Christianity the national religion. Although the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” GOP voters want to cast aside that provision and impose Christianity as the official American religion.... Scott Walker (35 percent) and Jeb Bush (22 percent) are the leading candidates among GOP voters who do not want to establish a national religion. The PPP survey also found that 2/3rds of Republican voters do not believe in global warming, and 49 percent do not believe in the theory of evolution. Not only do they wish to establish a national religion, but it appears that their version of Christianity is one that is at odds with the scientific consensus in climatology and biology. While a clear majority of Americans self-identify as Christians, most Americans outside the GOP, would be uncomfortable with conservative Dominionist theology. Dominionism calls for imposing a theocracy in America where Christianity is declared the official religion, and the nation is governed by “Biblical law”.... Republican voters are gearing up to elect candidates who will undermine the First Amendment and take away our Freedom of Religion. Independents and Democrats must be prepared to stop any candidate who would dismantle the Establishment Clause, whether it be Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson or one of the other GOP presidential candidates.”

“Scott Walker (35 percent) and Jeb Bush (22 percent) are the leading candidates among GOP voters who do not want to establish a national religion.” As I read this I think about the entire early history of our country. We are an amalgam of Europeans who came here often specifically to escape the mandatory state religions where they were born. Not only were they required to worship as an Episcopalian or other national religion, but they were required to attend services rather than quietly refraining from a religion. Up until King Henry VIII the English church was Catholic, and all dissenters had to hide or end up dead or in prison. After Henry the state religion was declared the Protestant faith, which ended up being the Anglican/Episcopalian belief. Anybody who didn't want to practice the proper religion could go to the new colonies of America. As a result the freedom from an established religion was one of the most important cornerstones on which our republic as founded.

Now 57% of the Republicans who were polled are actually desiring to change the Constitution to require membership in the Christian Church – or maybe just suffer some social consequences for abstaining entirely from religious participation, following Judaism, Islam, Unitarian Universalism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Agnosticism, Atheism, or simply speaking out publicly against Christianity. And this news article doesn't say whether the required form would be Catholic or Protestant, for instance. That inevitable conflict is enough to start a revolution in itself if we can judge from history.

Maybe such people simply can't vote, can't hold office, can't own property or will have to pay a fine rather than actually being put in prison or killed as they were in large numbers in merry old England. We really need to combat this matter strongly. It would help if we Democrats were to close our primary elections to anyone except our own party. Or perhaps we could all officially switch to the Independent party, and then Republicans wouldn't know what our actual position on issues was. Republicans have been voting in the Democratic primaries to select the most conservative Democrats for years just because our party rules allow it. We could also use the power of visible mass persuasion and take to the streets. How many of us are actually willing to fight for our rights? This news article does leave me worried about what is happening in my country. Do I love America? You bet, I do. That's why I'm completely against this sweep toward a Neo-Nazi form of government that some Republicans would foster.





http://www.religionnews.com/2015/01/30/controversial-koch-brothers-give-big-catholic-university/

Controversial Koch brothers give big (again) to Catholic University
David Gibson
 January 30, 2015 

(RNS) Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch recently made headlines by pledging nearly $900 million to help elect candidates who support their libertarian strain of economic conservatism, but the industrialists are also nearly doubling their investment in the business school of Catholic University of America, which is overseen by the U.S. Bishops.

That’s despite the fact that many Catholics — including Pope Francis — say the kind of unregulated capitalism that the Kochs promote runs counter to church teaching.

The $1.75 million dollar grant from the Charles Koch Foundation, one of several nonprofits with ties to the industrialist brothers, is part of a $3 million pledge to CUA announced in January that includes $500,000 from the Busch Family Foundation and $250,000 each from three business leaders.

The donation to the Washington-based university comes just over a year after the Koch Foundation gave an initial $1 million grant that allowed CUA to launch its own School of Business and Economics. The school is run by Andrew Abela and it is dedicated to promoting what it calls “principled entrepreneurship.”

The grant fits with the Kochs’ strategy of funding business and other programs at universities around the country. (They are also generous underwriters of numerous cultural institutions.) But from the moment the first CUA donation was announced in the fall of 2013, many Catholic theologians and others raised questions about why the only pontifical university in the country would take so much money from the Kochs.

Dozens of theologians and academics wrote to CUA president John Garvey and Abela expressing concern that “by accepting such a donation you send a confusing message to Catholic students and other faithful Catholics that the Koch brothers’ anti-government, Tea Party ideology has the blessing of a university sanctioned by Catholic bishops.”

They renewed that criticism last February, saying the Kochs’ libertarian-leaning positions “are in direct conflict with traditional Catholic values.”

A few months later, at a conference sponsored by Catholic University’s Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, the Honduran cardinal who is one of Francis’ top advisers blasted today’s free market system as “a new idol” that is increasing inequality and excluding the poor.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga was joined at the conference, and in his critique, by Bishop Blase Cupich, who in September was personally tapped by Francis to be the new archbishop of Chicago, the pontiff’s most important U.S. appointment to date.

Francis himself has focused on economic inequality in the nearly two years since he has been pope, repeatedly denouncing the current capitalist system and in particular the “trickle down” economics favored by many Republicans and libertarians.

Those statements have generated a great deal of friction and unusually direct and sharp criticism of Francis from Catholic conservatives, especially in the U.S. Some conservatives have responded by arguing that Francis is not talking about capitalism as it is practiced in the U.S., or that he simply doesn’t understand economics.

In a Jan. 22 statement announcing the new gift, Abela said that the donation will help the school create “a cadre of faculty dedicated to research exploring how we can make business and economics more humane.” As if anticipating criticism, he added that is also “a moral imperative that Pope Francis has been championing with great passion.”

That same day, Tim Busch, co-founder of the Busch Foundation and a Koch ally, wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal arguing that “the principles behind this initiative and the principled entrepreneurship program are consistent with Catholic teaching.”

Critics said Busch was exaggerating that overlap and glossing over the real goals of libertarian free-market advocates, which they say are in no way compatible with church teachings.

While Busch is a practicing Catholic, the Kochs are not, and in fact David Koch supports gay marriage and abortion rights.

Critics of the CUA gift say it is ironic that the school would seek such massive support from a social liberal when Catholic charities are not allowed to take any money from any person or group that supports abortion rights or gay rights.



http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/08/kochs-brothers-funded-religious-groups-eliminating-womens-rights.html

The Koch Brothers Fund Religious Groups That Are Eliminating Women’s Rights
By Rmuse
December, 8th, 2014

There is an idiom, “politics make strange bedfellows,” that generally means people who would normally despise and avoid one another will work together if they think it is politically advantageous. The so-called proverb is particularly prescient when considering that libertarians, noted for championing the abolishment of government they claim interferes in Americans’ private lives, are heavily funding extremist Christians intent on forcing biblical principles on Americans by government fiat.

It is beyond refute that the libertarian Koch brothers spend hundreds-of-millions of dollars to abolish government to eliminate taxation and regulatory agencies they claim interferes with their crusade for power and wealth. However, to accomplish their goal of controlling the government, they have had to climb in bed with fundamentalist Christians intent on using the government to control and subvert women’s rights and force adherence to biblical values on all Americans. The Kochs have claimed, on several occasions, that their interest in social and cultural issues, particularly religious attacks on women and gays is non-existent, but through their “Secret Bank” (Freedom Partners) they are heavily-funding Christian women’s groups whose stated mission is to eliminate women’s reproductive health choices and push “biblical values on all citizens;” not exactly a libertarian agenda.

In their drive to control the U.S. Congress, and soon the federal government, the Kochs left no stone unturned in backing organizations that challenge America’s so-called equality in issues of race, gender, and freedom from religious imposition, and whose stated goal is enforcing Christian moralistic teachings on all Americans. The Kochs’ funding vehicles, such as the Freedom Partners, is not forthcoming on where or how it allocates its untold millions to control Congress, but according to its most recent tax filing it is flush with anonymous money and doled out more than $40-million in just the past 12 months to bible-based groups intent on electing candidates who oppose women’s rights from abortion to private and personal healthcare choices to contraception use among many, many other control mechanisms.

Over the past two years to better influence Senate races, control Congress, and eliminate the government, the Kochs funneled tens-of-millions of anonymous dollars to groups such as Concerned Women for America, the Susan B. Anthony List, the Independent Women’s Forum, and untold other, less-prominent, Christian groups. All groups whose intent is dominating and controlling women, gays, and eventually the entire population by empowering a biblical government to police key areas of personal conduct that a traditional libertarian, and free people, would find intolerable. One group in particular, Concerned Women of America (CWA), makes no secret that besides outlawing abortion, it is fighting ferociously to criminalize same-sex marriage, pornography, and force mandatory Christian prayers in public schools as a prelude to a Christian theocracy.

The support of the Koch’s Freedom Partners for CWA is important because like most blatantly anti-women’s rights organizations, it does not garner much support from foundations according to data from the Foundation Center. In fact, CWA has only received support from a handful of foundations since 2003, and most grants are quite modest in size which is why, as is typical of extremist religious groups, it relies heavily on support from major individual donors with a specific agenda. As a so-called “non-profit religious organization,” it is virtually impossible to say who those donors are because CWA is not required to list its funders or publish an annual report. If not for the requirement for the Koch’s Freedom Partners to file tax documents, the Koch’s support for CWA and other anti-women’s rights groups would be hidden from the public.

Concerned Women for America is so entrenched in keeping women in biblically-subservient roles, it has made blocking the proposed National Women’s History Museum a major crusade on par with criminalizing abortion, gay marriage, and contraceptives. The CWA president and CEO, Penny Nance, wrote a patriarchal op-ed expressing her vehement opposition to the proposed museum to be situated on the National Mall. Nance did her best Republican, biblical patriarch, impersonation and warned that the National Women’s History Museum “baldly favors a liberal jaundiced view of history,” and would “disproportionately feature and elevate the histories of women who embrace such policies as the whiny ‘banbossy’ campaign and other phony feminist ‘battles’ of the American left.” Battles like fighting for equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, the right to vote, the right to use contraceptives, and to make reproductive healthcare choices the religious right opposes.

One prime example of the Kochs funding extreme anti-women candidates to win control of the Senate is Iowa fanatic Joni Ernst. At the Koch not-so-secret gathering last June, Ernst won wild plaudits for “exceeding the Kochs’ wildest expectations;” not because of her extreme position on abolishing women’s rights, but because her extremist anti-women’s rights stance would incite the religious right voting bloc to flock to the polls to elect a theocratic candidate. Ernst, like most Republicans in Congress, supports a federal personhood law to effectively ban abortion and criminalize all forms of “unnatural birth control” as defined by the Vatican’s Humanae Vitae.

This column has reported, ad nauseum, that for the past three years Republicans in the House overwhelmingly passed a personhood bill only to be thwarted by the Democratic Senate. It also reported that in each of those three years, the same House personhood bill was introduced in the Senate but failed to make it out of committee. Now that the Kochs bought control of the Senate by funding anti-women’s rights candidates, the anti-women’s rights Senate will, like the religious anti-women’s rights House, easily pass a personhood law and libertarians will get precisely what they claim to hate; a theocratic government interfering and controlling their wives’, daughters’, mothers’, and sisters’ personal life decisions. And the Kochs could not possibly care less because they will have leverage to begin eliminating the two agencies “economic libertarians” hate most; the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency.



http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1904

Jew Or Not Jew
Koch Brothers
(Charles Koch, David Koch)
1935 — , 1940 —
July 31, 2014

There will be two types of responses to this profile: 1) They finally profiled the Koch brothers!, and 2) Who the heck are the Koch brothers? Let's deal with the second one first.

The Koch brothers are billionaire siblings who are known for their numerous contributions to right-wing causes. There are four brothers altogether; however, when one says "Koch brothers", one only means Charles and David. We're not sure why the other two are excluded. We did catch one of the four on TV; he is apparently some kind of a collector who pays hundreds of thousands for a bottle of wine (and was sold bathtub swill in the process). In any case, their possibly Jewish last name raises the usual question. So here's the answer: no, they are not Jewish. German/Dutch/WASPy goys.

Now for the first part: why did it take us so long? Well, it's quite simple. We don't really give a rat's ass about the Koch brothers...

Verdict: Not a Jew.



Religion News – "... but the industrialists are also nearly doubling their investment in the business school of Catholic University of America, which is overseen by the U.S. Bishops. That’s despite the fact that many Catholics — including Pope Francis — say the kind of unregulated capitalism that the Kochs promote runs counter to church teaching. … The school is run by Andrew Abel and it is dedicated to promoting what it calls “principled entrepreneurship.”.... But from the moment the first CUA donation was announced in the fall of 2013, many Catholic theologians and others raised questions about why the only pontifical university in the country would take so much money from the Kochs.... They renewed that criticism last February, saying the Kochs’ libertarian-leaning positions “are in direct conflict with traditional Catholic values.” A few months later, at a conference sponsored by Catholic University’s Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, the Honduran cardinal who is one of Francis’ top advisers blasted today’s free market system as “a new idol” that is increasing inequality and excluding the poor.... Those statements have generated a great deal of friction and unusually direct and sharp criticism of Francis from Catholic conservatives, especially in the U.S. Some conservatives have responded by arguing that Francis is not talking about capitalism as it is practiced in the U.S., or that he simply doesn’t understand economics. .... While Busch is a practicing Catholic, the Kochs are not, and in fact David Koch supports gay marriage and abortion rights. Critics of the CUA gift say it is ironic that the school would seek such massive support from a social liberal when Catholic charities are not allowed to take any money from any person or group that supports abortion rights or gay rights.”

Mainstream Catholics are opposed to this huge gift by two socially liberal economic conservatives. They also are against the “trickle down” economic theory that we practice in this country today, as the church members who follow the Pope are against the increasing divide between the rich and the poor here. The university needs money, of course, and until last year it apparently didn't have a school of business such as the one that the Koch money funded. It is embarrassing to many good Catholics, I'm sure, that their primary university has so completely caved in just to get a few million dollars. Clearly money talks.



politicususa.com – The so-called proverb is particularly prescient when considering that libertarians, noted for championing the abolishment of government they claim interferes in Americans’ private lives, are heavily funding extremist Christians intent on forcing biblical principles on Americans by government fiat.... to control and subvert women’s rights and force adherence to biblical values on all Americans. The Kochs have claimed, on several occasions, that their interest in social and cultural issues, particularly religious attacks on women and gays is non-existent, but through their “Secret Bank” (Freedom Partners) they are heavily-funding Christian women’s groups whose stated mission is to eliminate women’s reproductive health choices and push “biblical values on all citizens; not exactly a libertarian agenda. In their drive to control the U.S. Congress, and soon the federal government, the Kochs left no stone unturned in backing organizations that challenge America’s so-called equality in issues of race, gender, and freedom from religious imposition.... The support of the Koch’s Freedom Partners for CWA is important because like most blatantly anti-women’s rights organizations, it does not garner much support from foundations according to data from the Foundation Center. In fact, CWA has only received support from a handful of foundations since 2003, and most grants are quite modest in size which is why, as is typical of extremist religious groups, it relies heavily on support from major individual donors with a specific agenda. As a so-called “non-profit religious organization,” it is virtually impossible to say who those donors are because CWA is not required to list its funders or publish an annual report.... Concerned Women for America is so entrenched in keeping women in biblically-subservient roles, it has made blocking the proposed National Women’s History Museum a major crusade on par with criminalizing abortion, gay marriage, and contraceptives. The CWA president and CEO, Penny Nance, wrote a patriarchal op-ed expressing her vehement opposition to the proposed museum to be situated on the National Mall. Nance did her best Republican, biblical patriarch, impersonation and warned that the National Women’s History Museum “baldly favors a liberal jaundiced view of history,” and would “disproportionately feature and elevate the histories of women who embrace such policies as the whiny ‘banbossy’ campaign and other phony feminist ‘battles’ of the American left.” Battles like fighting for equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, the right to vote, the right to use contraceptives, and to make reproductive healthcare choices the religious right opposes.... Ernst, like most Republicans in Congress, supports a federal personhood law to effectively ban abortion and criminalize all forms of “unnatural birth control” as defined by the Vatican’s Humanae Vitae.”

Is all this coming about because the South lost its iron-fisted control over the black race in 1964 and became so very angry that they are willing to completely corrupt our nation “of the people, by the people and for the people” in retribution? As for religion, nobody is saying that the fundamentalist Christians shouldn't have their churches and beliefs, but that the public school system should teach science, history, no mandatory religion at all, and political philosophy fairly and freely; and individual citizens should maintain their right to dissent, vote and maintain freedom of association. Any less than that is not a Republic, but oppression. I don't want to live under oppression whether it be in the form of one dictatorial leader, a church, or a group of very rich oligarchs.