[Hot Air] Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions today asking Sessions to consider convening a grand jury or bringing charges against Hillary Clinton’s former IT guy, Bryan Pagliano. Pagliano was subpoenaed to testify before the committee last year but refused to appear on two occasions. After the second refusal, the Oversight Committee voted to hold Pagliano in contempt.
Chaffetz’ letter to AG Sessions reads in part, "Because Pagliano’s job functions included supporting mobile computing issues across the Department, he was uniquely positioned to answer questions regarding State Department policies and practices for preserving records, as well as the technological procedures utilized to do so." The letter concludes, "In light of Pagliano’s contumacious conduct in refusing to testify, the Department should bring the matter before a grand jury for its action or file an information charging Pagliano with violating 2 U.S.C. § 192."
In a statement released by the committee, Chaffetz says, "The authority to compel witnesses is integral to Congress’s and the Committee’s investigative powers. Allowing Mr. Pagliano’s conduct to go unaddressed would gravely harm Congress’s ability to conduct oversight."
Pagliano was the person responsible for managing Hillary Clinton’s private email server. He worked for Clinton at the State Department while she was Secretary of State but also maintained her homebrew server in his off hours.
Pagliano was subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee twice last September. Mark MacDougall, Pagliano’s attorney, argued his client should not have to appear since he would only be invoking his 5th Amendment right not to testify. Chaffetz insisted he would need to do so in person.
(especially of a defendant's behavior) stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/17/2017 7:44 Comments ||
Top||
#2
NYPost: The ranking Democrat on Chaffetz’s committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D- Penishead Maryland) said charging Pagliano is a waste of time.
translation: "Oh shit"
“The Oversight Committee can’t afford to be distracted by political vendettas against Hillary Clinton while our constituents are begging us to conduct responsible oversight of President Trump.”
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/17/2017 9:01 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Elijah Cummins = Obstruction of justice; in other words "contumacious conduct" also.
[Wash Times] A large number of non-citizen Hispanics, as many as 2 million, were illegally registered to vote in the U.S., according to a nationwide poll.
The National Hispanic Survey provides additional evidence for use by anti-voter fraud conservatives and bolsters an analysis by professors at Old Dominion University who say non-citizens registered and voted in potentially large numbers.
President Trump has announced he will appoint a task force on voter fraud headed by Vice President Mike Pence. He says he wants the investigation to focus on inaccurate voter registration rolls, which are maintained by the states and the District of Columbia.
"It is a fact and you will not deny it, that there are massive numbers of non-citizens in this country who are registered to vote," White House adviser Stephen Miller told ABC News. "That is a scandal. We should stop the presses."
The little-noticed Hispanic survey was conducted in June 2013 by McLaughlin and Associates to gauge the opinions of U.S. resident Latinos on a wide range of issues.
A Georgia firefighter and medic defied the odds after being shot 14 times and being told by doctors he would not be able to work again.
"Getting back to this point is almost unheard of and I wish I could think of the words to express how happy I am," said College Park Firefighter Eddie Baker.
Eddie Baker’s neighbor, Taylor Carthern, shot him several times outside his College Park home in December of 2014. Carthern is serving a 20-year sentence.
Baker said the bullets hit him in the chest, spine and arm and he suffered a broken femur, shoulder, jaw, seven broken fingers along with tendon damage resulting in 10 surgeries. Doctors told Baker he would not be able to return to work.
"I would always ask is there ever going to be a chance where I will be able to get back to the fire department and they always told me no and it was heartbreaking every single time," said Baker.
The 11-year veteran would not take no for an answer, crediting his faith, co-workers and family, including his now 11-year-old daughter with encouraging him to fight.
"She always thought that I was going to be able to come back and she would tell me every day, 'you know I’m sick of you sitting around here, it’s time to get up and do your exercises,'" said Baker.
Baker went through two rigorous years of rehab and had to learn how to walk again. After two years of difficult work and perseverance, he was able to come back to the firehouse.
"He is the crazy one of the crew, once he got back he just stepped right back into that role," said fellow firefighter and longtime friend, Orlando Gray.
While Baker was gone, he never missed a paycheck thanks to the support from the city.
"Everyone donated probably over two years of vacation time to him, so he did not miss a check while he was out," said College Park Fire Chief Wade Elmore. "He is a model employee, so I would say he means a whole lot to us."
#7
Three ghoulies were pullin' the stuffin'
From out of some World Star McGuffin:
Two grown-ups (pure blameless,
except, perhaps, aimless);
One juvie (who didn't do nuffin).
#9
Bah. Sleepless and racist(-ish) is no way to go through the day.
A tale of a tortoise: Imprudence
In dealing with diligent students
Of history and hurdles
(and torturing turtles)
May anger race-mongering mutants.
Can't quite get to TMNT, dammit. Going random...
Hot sand, and a squeezebox primordian,
That over its shadow sat guardian.
A passer-by, saying,
"So shady! Not playing?"
"It's not in my nature, dear scorpion."
#12
I am honored to be named with your real life mother, my dear, especially referencing one of my many favourite Tom Lehrer songs. And with Shipman, who must never be let off the hook. ;-)
I always read the comments. Whether I say anything depends on time and energy constraints.
These yoots display typical underclass behaviour. In Britain they'd be whites or Pakistanis.
[Wash Times] Leptospirosis, a rare infection spread by rat urine, killed one person and severely sickened two others within the past couple of months, New York City health officials said Tuesday.
"The Health Department has identified a cluster of three cases of leptospirosis on one block in the Concourse area of the Bronx. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that is most commonly spread by contact with rat urine and is very rarely spread from person to person," The Health Department said in a statement Tuesday, New York’s Pix 11 reported.
Two of the patients contracted leptospirosis in December and another was sickened as recently as the month. In every instance they became severely ill and hospitalized with acute kidney and liver failure, the Health Department said.
One of the patients died from their illness and the other two recovered, the Health Department said. An emergency meeting is scheduled to take place Wednesday in the epicenter of the outbreak, 750 Grand Concourse across from Franz Sigel Park.
"Human leptospirosis cases are very rare in New York City," said Demetre Daskalakis, acting deputy commissioner of the Health Department.
"This is the first time a cluster of cases has been identified," he told the New York Post.
[An Nahar] Venezuela's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez's nearly 14-year prison sentence, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... called for his release.
The founder of Popular Will, one of the most hardline of the parties opposing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Lopez was sentenced on charges of inciting unrest at anti-government protests that left 43 people dead in 2014.
"The appeal was declared inadmissible. It is a reality and an act of absolute injustice," defense lawyer Juan Carlos Gutierrez told AFP, adding that the case is closed in Venezuela and can be appealed only to international bodies.
The ruling on the appeal -- filed in July -- came a day after Trump received Lopez's wife Lilian Tintori at the White House.
"Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez, a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintor i (just met w/ @marcorubio) out of prison immediately," Trump tweeted following the meeting.
The government called Tintori's meeting with Trump an "intrusion and aggression."
Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez blamed Venezuelan opposition "lobbies" within "the Miami mafia."
"While President Maduro proposed starting a new era of respectful relations, Donald Trump is in solidarity with the leader of violent actions," he said.
Lopez was the most prominent of a hundred prisoners jugged You have the right to remain silent... for the 2014 protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2017 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11123 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
[BuzzFeed] Erik Prince -- founder of the private military company Blackwater, financial backer of President Donald Trump, brother to the new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and frequent Breitbart radio guest of White House power broker Stephen Bannon -- has been offering his military expertise to support Chinese government objectives and setting up Blackwater-style training camps in two Chinese provinces, according to sources and his own company statements.
The move could put him at odds with Trump, who has often taken a hard line against China, and could also risk violating US law, which prohibits the export of military services or equipment to China.
At this point, 'single source reporting.' I've found nothing else anywhere.
#11
Be realistic... why would China need Erik Prince to make an army for them? Their army's real size is already probably larger than its size-of-record.
Authorities in Macau said they will protect the family of Kim Jong-nam, the murdered half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to local media on Thursday.
Might have worked a little better if you had protected Jong-nam up front...
His widow Ri Hye-kyong (42), who is also goes by Jang Kil-son, and two children Han-sol (23) and Sol-hui (18) all hold Macau citizenship.
Law enforcement officials in Macau were quoted as saying, "We are closely monitoring how the events are progressing. We will do everything we can to ensure the safety and rights of Macau residents and visitors."
One South Korean friend of Kim Jong-nam’s in Macau said, "Kim Jong-nam was a fan of the Korean pop culture and told me several times that he would like to visit Seoul some day. I told him to make the visit and he would tell me, 'How could that be possible?'"
The source said he did not recall Kim making any attempt to defect to South Korea. "He was reported to have used the name Kim Chol on his passport and that's also the name he used on his credit cards."
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post quoted another friend of Kim's as saying that he knew he was targeted and that his half-brother was after him.
The Macau Daily quoted a friend identified by his surname Chen as saying, "Kim Jong-nam was accompanied by bodyguards during his early years there, but he moved around by himself in recent years."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
Once an indispensable sports powerhouse, cable TV network ESPN has gone from must-see-TV for millions of sports fans to financial boondoggle for owner Disney with the network losing up to 10,000 subscribers a day, a report says.
“A floundering ESPN, with rising costs and declining viewership, continued to sink Disney’s DIS, +0.24% financial results during its fiscal first quarter,” MarketWatch.com reported.
With the impact of the flailing sports network, Disney’s revenue fell 3 percent, and its profits sank 14 percent, the financial site reported.
As to ESPN itself, the network lost subscribers, found its average viewership crater, and experienced falling advertising rates even as its programming costs climbed. And this fall from grace continued even after Disney insisted that ESPN had reached its bottom after the previous quarter came to an end.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, though, is still putting a sunny face on this quarter after quarter failure saying he still “believes” in the network.
“We believe that the best approach to doing well in a world that is disruptive, in a world that has far more digital distribution, is to have great content and tell great stories. And that includes ESPN, by the way,” Iger said during a recent conference call. “But I can tell you that it is our full intent to go out there aggressively with digital offerings direct to the consumer for ESPN and other Disney-branded properties.”
Despite Iger’s happy talk, ESPN has lost about 12 million subscribers, down to 88 million from its 100 million subscriber high from back in 2011. That lost revenue amounts to about $7 per subscriber, according to The Wrap.
ESPN’s operating costs are also negatively impacting its finances, especially the $7.3 billion it has to pay out to the various sports leagues for access to game broadcasting. But, according to at least one analyst, ESPN’s political lurch to the left has also led to its massive loss.
#5
#2 SJWs are not a good target audience for alpha male oriented entrainment.
Posted by: Procopius2k 2017-02-17 00:15
THIS. Oh, so much this. And those viewers who aren't young alpha males simply don't like being told by billionaires that we have to watch millionaires tell us how downtrodden and disrespected they are.
Keep an eye on this fight and the one in NC, because it's rapidly coming down to a point where the league is going to have two choices - start looking the other way, or shut the respective teams out of competition to make their point. Popcorn, anyone?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/17/2017 5:01 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I've watched ESPN for 30+ years. I'm down to only a couple of shows during football season and not always then. I do still like Mike & Mike in the morning but even they fall into the PC territory on occasion.
Remember the days of Aussie Rules? Allie Sherman? Chris Berman? It ain't like that no more.
#8
Count ESPN as just one of dozens of companies who stranglely believed they could talk down to 50% or more of their customers and that doing so would magically have no consequences. I *despise* tuning in to watch a Dodgers game only to be told its "International Night" and be forced to sit thru vinettes sermonizing about bullshit that has nothing to do with baseball (as just one example). That former softball player does a horrible job commenting on baseball as well.
#9
And the production has tanked, and can't even get the broadcast schedule correct: there was a game I actually was interested in, said it was on x channel, was really on y, missed the game. Thought maybe, my local knocked the dog but talked to someone else, they missed it too, recorded the wrong channel.
Live sports is the only tether I have, and the companies who cover them, not just this one, are floundering all aspects - mainly the commentators. Production sucks too. Watched the big college game with just sounds of the game - was great, until I realized the 'stadium announcer' was some jackass with a noise manipulator. Also, if I'm going to sit in a chair for six hours I better be skiing when done.
#11
Sports broadcasters in general seem to have forgotten why we tune in--its to ESCAPE from the bullshit of every day life. I remember when the National Anthem bullshit sprang up early this NFL season I had a long drive in the middle of nowhere and I was searching for a sports-talk show. The one from ESPN radio had some chirpy chic hosting it who said "This controversy is a national discussion we have to have." I changed the channel--if I wanted a "national discussion" on a POLITICAL issue, I would NEVER turn to ESPN radio for the source. They've forgotten what they got in business to do--cover our DIVERSIONS from the everyday bullshit.
#12
So it is purely coincidence that Disney recently raised admission to the various Walt Disney Worlds/Lands/etc, and no connection whatsoevah to the ESPN financial tanking.
I do have to say that despie ESPN's pilotical ventures, their NASCAR coverage beat the daylights out of NBC.
[Daily Caller] American musician and conservative activist Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent would not ruled out a potential 2018 Senate bid in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation (TheDCNF).
"I’m always very interested in making my country and the great state of Michigan great again and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to help in any way I possibly can," Nugent told TheDCNF in an interview Wednesday.
Nugent shared a story from West Michigan Politics, a local Michigan political blog, which entertained the idea of a Ted Nugent 2018 Senate run Tuesday.
Michigan’s 2018 U.S. Senate race is likely to garner a lot of attention, as the state went red for a presidential election for the first time since 1988. Incumbent Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow, elected in 2000, successfully held off Republican challengers in 2006 and 2012.
#1
“If these GOP sonsabitches don’t get it right this time I will come charging in as the ultimate WE THE PISSED OFF PEOPLE Mr FixIt Consitutional firebreathing shitkicker candidate from hell!”
If the lefty media and Washington Beltway Party doesn't like Trump, they will hate Nugent.
[Wash Times] Vice Adm. Robert Harward turned down the post of White House national security adviser Thursday, just days after President Trump fired Michael Flynn from the job.
A senior administration official confirmed that Adm. Harward declined the job, saying his decision was due to "family considerations" and difficulties in overcoming financial entanglements with defense contractor Lockheed Martin.
He has served as CEO of Lockheed in the United Arab Emirates since 2014. Adm. Harward, who is close to Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, was in negotiations with the White House over bringing some of his own staff to the embattled National Security Council. Reuters reported that Mr. Trump had told Mr. Flynn’s deputy, K.T. McFarland, that she could stay.
The president had apparently referred to Adm. Harward at a press conference earlier in the day, saying, "I have somebody that I think will be outstanding for the position."
Adm. Harward is a Navy SEAL who served as deputy of the U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for overseeing military operations in the Middle East. It was there that he worked closely with Mr. Mattis.
He also worked on the National Security Council during the administration of President George W. Bush. The comments are worthy of a read.
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms held in the Parliament House on Wednesday could not reach a consensus on the issue of 10 per cent mandatory participation of women in elections after the Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) opposed the proposal presented by other parliamentary parties.
The JUI-F and JI stuck to their stance for only 5pc participation of women in the elections, although other parliamentary parties demanded at least 10pc participation for validation of polls.
"The parliamentary parties could not reach a consensus on the issue of women’s voting," Shazia Marri, a member of the committee, told news hounds after an in-camera meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Exasperated by the repetitive arguments being advanced before it despite a fortnight’s break, the Supreme Court on Wednesday wondered why the questions that were doing the rounds on day one of the Panama Papers leaks case continued to linger on.
"Where is the actual document to show that Hussain Nawaz, the elder son of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... , is the owner of the four London flats?" asked Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, a member of the five-judge Supreme Court bench who rejoined proceedings after recovering from a cardiac ailment.
Justice Saeed had developed chest pains at the last hearing on Jan 31 and had to be rushed to the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, where doctors reportedly advised him to take a break.
When the members of the bench arrived in Courtroom No. 2 on Wednesday to resume the hearing of the Panamagate case, senior counsel Salman Akram Raja -- who represents Hussain and Hassan Nawaz -- greeted Justice Saeed cordially.
At this, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa -- who heads the bench -- observed that the judges were grateful to everybody who prayed for the speedy recovery of their fellow judge.
But the ever-witty Justice Saeed, pointing towards the counsel, said he should not expect "an easy ride".
"Let’s call a spade a spade and show the court the relevant papers to reveal who paid Minerva Services [for the services rendered to Nielson and Nescoll, which own the four London properties]," he remarked.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[An Nahar] The Church of England's General Synod on Wednesday rejected a report which ruled out accepting homosexual Mawwiage marriage and had led to a gay rights protest outside the meeting of Anglican bishops.
The "Mawwiage Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations" report, released on January 27, had called for the traditional teaching that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman to be upheld.
The report also reaffirmed the view that the clergy must remain celibate if in a same-sex relationship and that they should not be allowed to bless same-sex marriages.
But it did recommend "a fresh tone and culture of welcome and support" for the LGBT community.
Participants in the Synod, the Church of England's legislative body, agreed overall to "take note" of the report, by 242 votes to 184.
But it was rejected under Synod rules because it failed to win a simple majority among clergy, despite being backed by bishops and laity.
After the vote, the Bishop of Willesden, Pete Broadbent, said he hoped the Church of England would continue debating the topic.
"The Synod has declined to take note and so the report in its present form cannot come back to Synod for discussion, though we will still have to find a way forward for the wider discussion," he said.
The issue of same-sex unions has long strained ties within the estimated 85-million-member Anglican Communion, which includes more liberal members from countries such as the United States and Britannia, and conservatives from countries such as Nigeria and Kenya.
Ahead of the vote 50 protesters, carrying placards reading "LGBT equality for people and priests" and "Synod should reject bigot's report," called on bishops not to acknowledge the report, saying the concessions offered were not enough.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[Wash Times] VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis insisted Wednesday that indigenous groups must give prior consent to any economic activity affecting their ancestral lands, a view that conflicts with the Trump administration, which is pushing to build a $3.8 billion oil pipeline over opposition from American Indians.
Francis met with representatives of indigenous peoples attending a U.N. agricultural meeting and said the key issue facing them is how to reconcile the right to economic development with protecting their cultures and territories.
"In this regard, the right to prior and informed consent should always prevail," he said. "Only then is it possible to guarantee peaceful cooperation between governing authorities and indigenous peoples, overcoming confrontation and conflict."
The Cheyenne River and the Standing Rock Sioux tribes have sued to stop construction on the final stretch of the Dakota Access pipeline, which would bring oil from North Dakota’s rich Bakken fields across four states to a shipping point in Illinois.
The tribes say the pipeline threatens their drinking water, cultural sites and ability to practice their religion, which depends on pure water. The last piece of the pipeline is to pass under a reservoir on the Missouri River, which marks the eastern border of both tribes’ reservations.
#5
In this regard, the right to prior and informed consent should always prevail.
10-4 there Papa Bear. But they had over 60 meetings and none of the tribes could be bothered to show up. And as far as that "ancestral lands" claim goes, they're going under a resivoir that didn't exist until the 1960's.
#6
HotAir: Vatican: No, the Pope did not announce opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline
"A Vatican spokesperson said after the session, however, that it’s wrong to infer a reference to any specific situation in the pope’s words.
“Pope Francis made no explicit reference to any concrete case,” Paloma Garcia Ovejero, the Vatican’s deputy spokesperson, told Crux.
“Evidently, he’s informed of the numerous problems that affect indigenous peoples, but there’s no element in his words that would give us a clue to know if he was talking about any specific cases,” Garcia Ovejero said."
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/17/2017 9:26 Comments ||
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#7
The Vatican's 1454 Doctrine of Discovery should be rescinded, then. The Reservation system is a direct byproduct of the Supreme Courts consideration of this papal Bull, in conflict with US Constitutional Law.
[Free Beacon] Republicans passed legislation on Thursday reversing former President Barack Obama's lame-duck ban on states withholding taxpayer funds from Planned Parenthood.
The resolution will undermine a December order from the Obama administration that prevented states from blocking taxpayer funding of abortion clinics. Bill sponsor Rep. Diane Black (R., Tenn.) said on the House floor that state lawmakers should have the final say over how taxpayer dollars for medical care are distributed in their local communities.
"We are simply voting today to affirm the right of states to fund the healthcare providers that best suit their needs, without fear of reprisal from their own federal government," Black said in a floor speech before the vote. "As a state legislator, I worked within my authority to make sure that Tennessee honored the will of our pro-life populace and steered our state’s share of Title X dollars away from health care providers that perform abortion."
State efforts to redirect taxpayer dollars away from abortion clinics began to gain momentum after the Center for Medical Progress released undercover video of Planned Parenthood workers and executives discussing their organ harvesting operations. Lawmakers and governors in 24 states introduced or passed legislation that would have denied funding to the nation's largest abortion provider, which receives about $500 million from taxpayers each year. If the resolution passes, state lawmakers could once again deny those funds to Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood decried the resolution in a press release. President Cecile Richards said that her organization plans on using the vote to mobilize opposition to Republican lawmakers.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Wash Times] A large number of non-citizen Hispanics, as many as 2 million, were illegally registered to vote in the U.S., according to a nationwide poll.
A Georgia firefighter and medic defied the odds after being shot 14 times and being told by doctors he would not be able to work again.
[Wash Times] Leptospirosis, a rare infection spread by rat urine, killed one person and severely sickened two others within the past couple of months, New York City health officials said Tuesday.
[BuzzFeed] Erik Prince -- founder of the private military company Blackwater, financial backer of President Donald Trump, brother to the new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and frequent Breitbart radio guest of White House power broker Stephen Bannon -- has been offering his military expertise to support Chinese government objectives and setting up Blackwater-style training camps in two Chinese provinces, according to sources and his own company statements.
[An Nahar] The Church of England's General Synod on Wednesday rejected a report which ruled out accepting homosexual 
[Wash Times] VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis insisted Wednesday that indigenous groups must give prior consent to any economic activity affecting their ancestral lands, a view that conflicts with the Trump administration, which is pushing to build a $3.8 billion oil pipeline over opposition from American Indians.
[Free Beacon] Republicans passed legislation on Thursday reversing former President Barack Obama's lame-duck ban on states withholding taxpayer funds from Planned Parenthood.
