crime

Connecticut School Shooting

Mark Noonan112 Comments

Just absolutely horrific:

Twenty-seven people are dead, including at least 18 children, after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Newtown, CBS News reported.

Officials say the gunman, who apparently had two guns, was also killed. It happened around 9:40 a.m. Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School..

Web chatter indicates there might have been a second gunman.  We’ll have to see.  Please pray for the families.

UPDATE:

A Prayer To The Holy Innocents

Holy Innocents, you died before you were old enough to know what life means, pray for all children who die young that God may gather them into His loving arms.

Holy Innocents, you were killed because one man was filled with hatred, pray for those who hate that God may touch their hearts and fill them with love.

Holy Innocents, you experienced a violent death, pray for all who are affected by violence that they may find peace and love.

Holy Innocents, your parents grieved for you with deep and lasting sorrow, pray for all parents who have lost young children that God may wrap a warm blanket of comfort around them.

Holy Innocents, those around you certainly felt helpless to prevent your deaths, pray for all who feel helpless in their circumstances that they may cling to God for courage and hope.

Holy Innocents, you who are now in Heaven, pray for all of us that one day we may join you there to bask in God’s love forever.

Amen.

UPDATE II:  Predictably, some are trying to make a political case right away – probably in service to someone’s idea of never letting a crisis go to waste.  Seriously, people, start to think a bit.  First off, guns can’t be banned without a constitutional amendment, which would never in a million years be enacted…and if the government tried to go ahead and ban them, anyway, you’re just not going to get them out of the approximately 200 million Americans who have them.  Secondly, can you lay off for just a day or two?  At least until the bodies get cold?  A gigantic, unimaginable tragedy has just occurred and the 2014 mid-terms are nearly two years away…whatever points you think you’re scoring right now, they are at best just a waste of time.

UPDATE III:

The human heart has depths from which schemes of unheard-of ferocity sometimes emerge, capable of destroying in a moment the normal daily life of a people. But faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ’s word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say. Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time our prayerful trust draws strength from it. —Blessed John Paul II

Regarding High Crimes and Misdemeanors

Leo Pusateri57 Comments

If this doesn’t fit the bill, nothing does..

Wisconsin Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee where Attorney General Eric Holder testified on Thursday, suggested that impeachment of administration officials involved with Operation Fast and Furious may be the only way to bring the scandal to a close.

In a heated exchange between Sensenbrenner and Holder during Thursday’s Judiciary Committee hearing, Sensenbrenner said impeachment is one option on the table if Holder and the Justice Department continue to withhold information from congressional investigators.

Sensenbrenner didn’t specify which administration officials he thinks could face impeachment proceedings, or if Holder is among them. But he did say the drastic measure would be a last resort.

“There is really no responsibility within the Justice Department,” Sensenbrenner said. “The thing is, if we don’t get to the bottom of this — and that requires your assistance on that — there is only alternative that Congress has and it is called impeachment.”

Folks– This IS an IMPEACHABLE offense– and that’s not hyperbole. The Obama justice department, via Fast & Furious, has become complicit with and a party to out-and-out MURDER, with hundreds of innocent people, including one brave U.S. border control agent, dead as a result of this program–all designed to make it easier for the Obama administration to impinge on 2nd amendment rights. This is nothing less than unconscionable; a criminal act worthy of the rank of “High Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Holder must resign. Obama must resign or be impeached.

More Striking Differences Between the Occupy Anywhere for Anything Crowd and the TEA Party Rallies … Bumped

tiredoflibbs154 Comments

The Occupy Anywhere Crowd are continuing their mooch errrr… march (yeah that’s it) in Richmond.

Another difference between the OAAC and the TEA Partiers, the TEA Partiers have to PAY for their rallies while the moochers do not.

For example: Which group has shown it is capable of rioting and destruction of public/private property?   The TEA Party has to put up an insurance bond to pay for property damage (not to mention all the other fees) while the anarchists do not.

But why take my word when a source will do.  Here is the link (unlike most leftist drones).

Feel free to add any new story here of the OAAC…. have at it.

Update….

Another day, another string of stories about the latest violence or destruction at the hands of Obama’s children – the Occupy Anywhere for Whatever crowd.

Police Link Molotov Cocktail To Occupiers, Reports More Explosive Devices Being Made Inside Camp…

Protesters Threaten Citizen Journalist, “We’ll Put You In A Ditch And Leave You”…

Occupiers Desecrate American Flag…

Protester Arrested For Smashing Window of Police Car With a Hammer…

News Crew Attacked By Protester, “You Nazi F**king Americans”…

Nancy Pelosi has a statement she wants to make about violent rhetoric:

“I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw this myself in the late 70s in San Francisco, this kind of rhetoric. … It created a climate in which violence took place. … I wish we would all curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements and understand that some of the ears that it is falling on are not a balanced as the person making the statements may assume.”

Oh wait.  I’ve made a mistake here.  That wasn’t Nancy Pelosi talking about the occupiers.  That is what she had to say about TEA PARTIERS …..  Sorry.  My bad.  I went back to my notes .. and here’s what she actually had to say about Obama’s children:

“God bless them .. for their spontaneity. It’s independent … it’s young, it’s spontaneous, and it’s focused. And it’s going to be effective.”

Certainly puts their (the liberals) views in perspective doesn’t it?

Murtha Be Not Proud

Leo Pusateri15 Comments

Back in February, 2010, I stated that with Congressman John Murtha’s death, the mission of my Murtha Must Go! blog had ended.

Well, what I saw today just about made me gag:

JOHNSTOWN -—

A life-size likeness of the late U.S. Rep. John Murtha will be unveiled Monday morning at the Veteran’s Park in Johnstown.

In a press conference at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center on Tuesday, the congressman’s wife, Joyce Murtha, said a public dedication ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. Retired U.S. Gen. James Jones, former commander of all NATO forces, will give the keynote speech.

“(My husband) had a lot of admiration for Gen. Jones and spoke of him quite often,” Joyce Murtha said. “I’m delighted he’s taking the time to come in and be with us.”

More than $180,000 in private donations have already been raised to bring a statue of Murtha to the Veteran’s Park, with 65 percent of contributions coming from individuals who gave $100 or less. According to Joyce Murtha, fundraising efforts will continue.

“We are still accepting contributions because we need a maintenance fund for the years ahead,” she said.

“We don’t want to see the statue fall into disrepair,” she added.

The part of the article that made me gag the most was thus:

Wayne Hyde of Manns Choice was selected as sculptor for the statue, which is in place at the park but covered by a canvass. He said he was honored to help with the project.

“I hope the statue will stand there to always remind people of a good public servant,” he said.

And with that quote, dear readers, I stand here… speechless.

I invite anyone to peruse the contents of this blog, which for a span of nearly four years served to chronicle the misdeeds and malfeasance that pock-marked the long, ingnominious tenure of Jihad Jack Murtha. The same Jack Murtha who from his early days as a congressman was a shining example of a self-serving, corrupt politician in the tradition of Huey Long. Murtha, remember, was proclaimed an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the Abscam scandal in the early 80s. Like a pharaoh with a god complex, he erected countless monuments to himself in PA-12, including a barely utilized, multi-, multi-million dollar airport complete with state of the art equipment that no one knew how to run. Murtha was also known as the “King of Pork” and was no stranger to seedy earmarks to political cronies who, in turn, would keep his campaign war chest well stocked.

If John Murtha’s only crimes were reckless malfeasance with taxpayer monies, despite the fact he was unmatched in that dubious category, it would be one thing.

But John Murtha, though an ex-Marine, was a ruthless man who would let nothing stand in the way of his political ambitions, nor would he leave any perceived stepping stone un-stepped on to meet his nefarious ends, no matter whose lives he ruined in the process.

Enter the Haditha Marines. Continue reading →

Democrats Attempt to Limit Solyndra Investigation

Mark Noonan11 Comments

As per usual, desperately trying to protect their corrupt, fellow Democrats – from the New York Times:

Democrats would back a GOP subpoena to compel testimony from executives at government-backed solar firm Solyndra who plan to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights at a hotly anticipated oversight hearing tomorrow, according to the party’s senior member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee…

Sounds good, right?  First paragraph of the MSM story…good, old Democrats are willing to join the GOP in going after the Solyndra execs.  Just great!  Except for one thing – the Solyndra execs represent only one half of the corruption…the other half is Obama Administration officials.  So, how do the Democrats view that?  Some paragraphs down in the story, we’re told:

…Waxman drew a bright line between a potential subpoena of the company and a July edict that Republicans issued to the Office of Management and Budget for emails related to its review of the Solyndra loan guarantee — a party-line subpoena that the Californian then lambasted as “an abuse” and “a fishing expedition”…

So, it is “abuse” to ask Administration Officials about how Administration officials decided to procure a loan benefiting a donor to the President’s political campaigns.  Yeah, right.  What this really amounts to is a Democrat attempt to limit the investigation…ok to hang the Solyndra execs out to dry, but don’t dare go after the Administration.  And if you do, its an abuse…some sick bit of Teabagger, bitter-clinger political nastiness when we’re all supposed to be engaging in a new tone.  How dare you!

We must not let Democrats have any say in the House investigation.  We have learned that allowing Democrats to participate in any investigation only results in Democrats covering up for other Democrats.  Democrats have proven they are not interested in the truth…only interested in limiting the amount of damage to themselves and, if possible, shoving the blame for their own failures on to the GOP.  This investigation is vital and it must find the truth…and so the only Democrat input should be under oath, on camera, and in front of the investigating committee.

How Political Payoffs are Done

Mark Noonan15 Comments

From MSNBC:

A retired Chicago labor leader secured a $158,000 public pension — roughly five times greater than what a typical retired public-service worker in the Windy City receives — after being rehired for just one day of active duty on the city payroll, local news reports said…

…Gannon, former president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, was able to take a long leave from a city job to work for a union and then receive a city pension based on a high union salary. That arrangement is allowed under a state law signed by Gov. Jim Thompson on his last day in office in 1991, according to an investigation by the Tribune and WGN-TV.

The change has enabled a couple dozen labor leaders to become potential millionaires.

What is different in Gannon’s case is that he became eligible for the especially lucrative pension deal only because the city rehired the former Streets and Sanitation Department worker for one day in 1994, before granting him an indefinite leave of absence, according to the investigation. He retired from the city job in 2004 at age 50…

Now, don’t anyone out there think that any Joe Shmoe can get a job, work a day, go on indefinite leave and then collect millions in pension benefits.  This is something entirely reserved only for those the government wants to pay off for one reason or another.  I don’t know what services Gannon rendered in order to secure such a massive amount of money for no work, but it was probably pretty stupendous…and probably something the politicians of Chicago and Illinois would prefer we never find out about.  And this is just a tip of the iceberg in the total playbook of how to bribe of payoff in politics.

One other way which Matt and I discovered in writing Caucus of Corruption is to donate to powerful politicians who either run un-opposed or against token opposition.  You’ll be surprised how many such there are in politics…and even more surprised in how much money they raise for their re-election campaigns.  You become un-surprised about it when you find out that their campaign staffers, at very high salaries, are spouses, children, family members and long-time cronies.  In other words, you don’t directly bribe Congressman X, you donate to his campaign and he pays his wife $100,000.00 a year to be a campaign “consultant” against a non-existent or quixotic opponent.  All perfectly legal, just as Gannon’s pension, but always it is a bribe…it is a means of giving in return for getting without the public finding out just what sort of nauseating filth is going on.

And it is on and on like that all through politics.  To be sure, plenty of Republicans engage in it…but it is endemic in the Democrat party.  If you found me a Democrat who had never engaged in any sort of shady practice, I’d be surprised…pleased, but surprised.  It is endemic over there for two reasons – for generations Democrats were in power and never really had anyone call them to account; secondly, Democrat electorates have proven almost impervious to corruption…no matter how corrupt a Democrat is, he can usually win re-election if he’s in a strongly Democrat district (for instance, Barney Frank had a live-in whore working out of Frank’s DC townhouse; Frank fixed 33 of the whore’s parking tickets and wrote a letter on his behalf to the parole board…a GOPer who had that would be forced to resign in days; Frank has been re-elected 11 times since that scandal).  Year by year it has built up – first go ahead and do it; secondly, you never (or, at least, rarely) get punished for it.

The thing to remember is that if the MSM actually did its job and relentlessly investigated the corruption in government, it would be front page headlines every day that some senior politician is on the take…even if the take is “legal” in the sense that corrupt politicians have set up the laws and regulations to make it so, but still crooked as all get out.  Nine out of ten of the crooks would be Democrat, of course…and that is why the MSM doesn’t do its job.  It doesn’t want to implode the Democrat party in a sea of corruption stories.  And, so, it just continues…but, perhaps not for long.

The real fear in the Ruling Class is that someone will get elected next year who doesn’t care about the Ruling Class and is willing to unleash law enforcement on those who have broken the law, as well as ruthlessly exposing those who keep within the law, but are clearly taking/giving bribes and payoffs.  The Ruling Class is afraid that their time at the hog trough might be through…that is the real genesis of the Wisconsin protests and recall elections.  The Ruling Class was frightened that the corrupt deals, bribes and payoffs might come to a screeching halt…as, indeed, they will now that Wisconsin government doesn’t have to roll over to corrupt public sector unions.  If you think Wisconsin was bizarre, just wait until a TEA Party-backed candidate comes to the White House…these people will go ballistic.

But ballistic only because they are afraid they won’t get free money and an easy time in life.  That is what must be remembered.  They’ll talk like they are fighting for the little guy but all they are really fighting for is their bribes, kickbacks and payoffs…they will be upset that maybe they won’t ever get a chance at millions of dollars in taxpayer money for working a day.    There are probably 30 to 50 million people like that in the United States…who are either already living off the taxpayer or dream of doing so…on a larger or smaller scale, but still the goal is to get money they didn’t earn.  This is the core constituency of the left…and they are worried sick they might be kicked off the taxpayer’s teat.

And, glad to say, it looks like that is what will happen…a revolution is brewing in this nation.  Those who have been paying the freight for a corrupt, lying, morally degenerating Ruling Class have had enough…we’re taking it all back next year, and we’ll fix this nation and restore our greatness.  This will result in a lot of leeches having to get real jobs, but that is all to the good…it’ll teach them to be better Americans.

HAT TIP:  Mish’s

The Execution of Troy Davis

Mark Noonan20 Comments

Actually, it has been temporarily stayed, but no one knows for how long…could be that Mr. Davis will be executed later today, or tomorrow…but it could also go on quite a long time.  After all, last month we passed the 20th anniversary of his conviction.  I admit that until a little while ago, I had never heard of Mr. Davis – but this article over at Hot Air brought it to my attention, especially as it details Reagan FBI Director Sessions’ assertion that Mr. Davis should not be executed.

Reading the article, I have to say I’m quite unimpressed with the exculpatory evidence.  Seems like the usual litany of claims made by someone trying to get off from their crime.  Someone else did the actual dirty deed, witnesses have changed testimony, yadda, yadda, yadda.  Probably 99% of those on death row have similar claims.  Looking a bit further in to the case, I find – in my view – the most crucial evidence being that the ballistics for the murder match the ballistics for a previous armed robbery, for which Mr. Davis was convicted.

There is, of course, that chance that Mr. Davis lent his weapon to someone else who then murdered the cop (off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail), but this is highly unlikely.  What is incontrovertible is that Mr. Davis was doing a lot of things in 1989 (the year of the crime) as he shouldn’t…to put it to you all quite harshly, if by some chance he didn’t actually kill the cop, then he can choke on the irony of it all.  There is no one responsible for Mr. Davis being on death row other than Mr. Davis – he was living a life a crime, and such a life brings with it grave risks.  Had he never run afoul of the law, then he almost certainly would never have been convicted of any crime, let alone one which would result in a death sentence.

What really got me thinking over this case was the way the HotAir article concluded:

…The judge at the evidentiary hearing concluded that, “While Mr. Davis’s new evidence casts some additional, minimal doubt on his conviction, it is largely smoke and mirrors.” That’s an excellent reason to keep him locked up while he tries to prove his innocence, but “additional” doubt — even if it’s minimal — is an equally fine reason not to apply the needle lest you deny him the chance, especially when you have the shadow of someone else’s confession looming over the proceedings. Like Guy Benson says, “There are no do-overs here.” This, in fact, is how I suspect most opponents of capital punishment are made — there’ll always be some who blubber at the thought of the state imposing lethal justice on the Ted Bundys of the world, but the rest move by inches as nagging doubts in cases like this drag them towards abolition. Even if Davis is probably guilty, why not save lethal injection for the guys who are definitely guilty? I’ll never understand that.

Indeed – and that is part of the reason I’m opposed to the death penalty (the other part is that I hope those who commit crimes eventually beg God for forgiveness…I don’t wish to be even in theory part of cutting a man down before he’s had every possible chance to repent).  But the problem is that those who either oppose the death penalty – or who are approaching opposition – go about it entirely the wrong way.  As per usual in these cases, we had the “no justice, no peace” people out in force…curious how they never shout that for the innocent victims of crime; they never seem to demand justice for them and are quite peaceable about the people murdered, raped and robbed by criminals.  Seems that only criminals make such people want justice.  Funny, huh?  Anyways…they’ve got it all wrong.  If you want to end the death penalty, don’t argue in favor of the condemned who are usually pretty bad people, even if you want to argue they didn’t do the actual crime they are to be executed for.  What you want to argue for is justice…that those who commit crimes will pay a high price for it.  Do that, and all demand for the death penalty will evaporate.

Because you want to know what gets peoples goat?  It isn’t that criminals are breathing, but that they are breathing and not having a bad time of it.  Among the routine stories of our times are stories of convicted felons in prison having cable television, exercise rooms, access to booze and drugs and generally lots of time to loaf around and eat food they didn’t earn.  That is what ticks people off…but if we make prison a place of no amenities and hard labor, then it will be judged sufficient punishment for criminals, and the public support for the death penalty will dry up.  Don’t, as it were, try to get Davis off…try to get him transferred to a prison-striped uniform and out in the hot sun breaking rocks, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.  He’ll be alive, he certainly won’t be executed, he’ll still be able to argue his case in court that he’s innocent…but he won’t be in any condition to make non-criminals figure he isn’t being punished.

The desire for justice is innate in human beings.  Even when we are at our worst, we still tend to desire an equitable outcome. That people will get what’s coming to them.  The death penalty in the United States is just the desperate expedient of people who were sick and tired of mealy-mouthed liberals letting murderers out of jail after 12 years back in the 70’s.  Get rid of the mealy-mouthed liberals, make prison a harsh but just experience, and the people will relent of their desire to execute.  It is as simple as that.

UPDATE:  Mr. Davis was executed at 11:08 pm, Eastern.  I am sorry for it.  May God have mercy on his soul and comfort his friends and family in this hour of trial.  May God also preserve and strengthen the family and friends of officer Mark MacPhail.

Fast and Furious Body Count: 200

Mark Noonan3 Comments

From Townhall:

In a conference call this morning with Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, reporters were told the Attorney General in Mexico has confirmed at least 200 murders south of the border happened as a result of Operation Fast and Furious.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, as the Attorney General in Mexico is so concerned, she’s made the point that at least 200 Mexicans have been killed with these weapons and probably countless more,” Issa said.

Eleven crimes in the United States have been linked to Operation Fast and Furious up to this point. Issa said he expects as the investigation in the operation continues, more crimes connected to Fast and Furious will come to light and be exposed. This is not surprising, considering out of 2500 weapons the Obama Justice Department allowed to “walk,” and that only 600 have been recovered…

This, my fellow Americans, is a stain upon our national honor – it was we, through our government, which allowed these weapons to flow to Mexico.  We did it deliberately – and, why?  My view, as I’ve said before, is that it was a sick attempt to reinvigorate the gun control forces in this nation.  Not being able to get any traction as all the gun control ideology has proven false, someone cooked up a plan to arm Mexican criminals and then blame honest, innocent American gun dealers for the weapons…we were never supposed to find out that the weapons were purchased by the US government and illegally transferred to the drug gangs.

In order to restore our national honor in this matter we simply must get to the bottom of it – we must find out exactly who ordered this program to go forward and, in the best case scenario, ensure they see the inside of a jail cell.  People are dead because someone in DC made an egregiously stupid decision…we owe it to the dead to punish the guilty and ensure it never happens again.

Solnydra Exec’s to Take the 5th

Mark Noonan4 Comments

And I don’t mean a nice bottle of Scotch – from Reuters:

Solyndra LLC’s chief executive and chief financial officer will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and decline to answer any questions put to them at a Congressional hearing on Friday, according to letters from their attorneys obtained by Reuters.

In the letters sent to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, attorneys for Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison and CFO W. G. Stover said they advised their clients not to provide testimony during the hearings.

The bankrupt company’s $535 million federal loan guarantee is being investigated by the House Energy and Commerce Committee…

Which means, of course, that someone broke the law somewhere along the line…if you are honest as the day is long and have nothing to be ashamed of (or are of sufficient moral courage to admit to error, regardless of consequences), then you don’t take the 5th.  I know it is one of our bedrock rights…there is nothing wrong with refusing to answer as it might incriminate yourself.  But if you don’t answer, it means there is something incriminating going on.  Period.  End of story.

Likely they are keeping their mouths shut as their lawyers try to figure out whether any of them can get jail time for what happened…and their lawyers will likely demand some sort of immunity grant before they openly testify.  We can’t give it to them…they might take it and then just lie about what they know.  And we need to know what happened – only the threat of jail time will really get them to talk.  And if the genuinely turn State’s evidence, then we can consider being lenient…but nothing until we know for sure whatever they end up saying is completely factual.

What we need to know is just how the loan was made – who asked whom and why was it approved.  If there is criminal liability, then we need to ensure that everyone who made the decision sees the inside of a jail…and ultimately we need to know what the President knew, and when he knew it.  Maybe Obama is completely clear of this and it was rogue subordinates…but only a full investigation with complete White House cooperation can show that.

 

Liberals Afraid of Armed Americans

Mark Noonan20 Comments

Ah, the typical debate – from the LA Times:

On Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk is a bid to bar Californians from openly carrying firearms, legislation that could open a new front in the state’s decades-old gun control debate.

The measure, aimed at an increasingly popular tactic used by 2nd Amendment activists, would make California the first state since 1987 to outlaw the controversial practice of publicly displaying a weapon…

…Gun control advocates hope that California will now pave the way for the rest of the country to outlaw the practice.

“Openly carrying a gun with [an ammunition] magazine in your back pocket into Starbucks and other establishments creates a culture of fear and intimidation,” said Brian Malte, director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “It is irresponsible and dangerous.”…

I don’t know about you, but seeing someone openly carrying a weapon doesn’t intimidate me…by nature, criminals don’t want anyone to know they’re armed until they commit their crime.  Honest men and women legally carrying firearms, in my view, increases public safety:  it is highly unlikely that a criminal will commit a crime if some of the people in the area are clearly armed.  Criminals are not brave – they are cowards who prey upon the weak.  So, don’t be weak – be armed.

The liberal gun-grabbers, though, will never give up…somewhere deep inside them is a desire that all Americans be good, little slaves.  Disarming us is vital if liberalism is ultimately to gain full control of the United States.  Thwarted in one area, they’ll just try another…and they’ll keep at it and at it and at it until they have disarmed the American people.  Or, alternately, we stand so firm in defense of our liberty that it becomes the rock-solid law of the land that any law abiding citizen can carry whatever personal weapon he likes anywhere in the great Republic.