Kevin's View

Austin Apartment Complex is Un-American

2012-05-22T04:21:00.000-05:00

KXAN News recently reported that an apartment complex in north Austin was anti-American. Yes, you read that right. An American company doing business inside American borders is anti-American. Here are the details.

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Richard Old is a self-proclaimed patriot and son of a veteran. Proud of his country, he put up an American flag on his apartment's patio four months ago.

"When it flaps over the pole, I immediately come untangle it," said Old. "I definitely keep it looking good, proud, like it should be."

Last Thursday, Old received a note from the property manager at the Barrington at Park Place apartments, telling him he needed to remove his flag in an attempt to make the complex appear more uniform.

"Flying the American flag should not be against any policies," Old added.

Apartment managers told KXAN their policies do not restrict American flags, but any flag or patio decoration that does not lend itself to the complex's decor and atmosphere.

The property manager provided KXAN with the resident handbook and points to the page referring to balconies, patios and ground. That section says, "Please do not obstruct any sidewalks, step or stairs. Your awareness of the condition of your balcony, patio, windows, and utility room doors should be consistent with the decor and atmosphere of your community and will help maintain an attractive appearance. We do not allow any other window covering except for the ones that we provide."
- KXAN News

Let's see take the American flag down, because it does not make the complex uniform. While other tenants have things drying over the balcony railing (as seen in the video) and stuff stored on the balcony/patio. Tell me what about an American flag is unattractive?
Just admit it, you all are communists. This is America and if a tenant or property owner wants to display the flag on their personal patio, then let them. If nothing can be hung what so ever, then all the hanging pots and wind-chimes would have to come down to. Both of which I have at the apartment complex I reside in.

Flap over flying American flag on patio: kxan.com

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Austin City Council Elections

2012-05-13T08:33:00.001-05:00

Yesterday voters in Austin, Texas went to the polls to vote in their city council elections. We had a chance to throw out a couple of the liberals and replace them with some real protectors of liberties. Unfortunately that didn't happen, as all four liberal incumbents won election. Here are the vote counts according to Burnt Orange Report:

*MAYOR*
.	Lee Leffingwell (Incumbant)	25434	52.77%
.	Brigid Shea	18115	37.58%
.	Clay Dafoe (Liberty Activist)	5307	11.01%
.	TOTAL:	48199

PLACE 2

Laura Pressley

(Liberty Protector)

21183

45.08%

Mike Martinez

(Incumbant)

26449

56.28%

TOTAL:

46992

.	PLACE 5
.	John Duffy	2720	6.10%
.	John Rubine	966	2.17%
.	Bo Prudente	608	1.36%
.	Tina Cannon	4611	10.34%
.	Bill Spelman (Incumbant)	26085	58.49%
.	Dominic Chavez	8647	19.39%
.	David Conley	1549	3.47%
.	TOTAL:	44599
.
.	PLACE 6
.	Sheryl Cole (Incumbant)	32379	71.80%
.	Shaun Ireland	13313	29.52%
.	TOTAL:	45094

Preliminary estimates are that only about 10% of registered voters voted in this election. A record low, according to KVUE News.

Now it is time focus on federal and state elections in Texas. Tomorrow begins early voting for those and the actual election is Tuesday May 29, 2012. This will include the Presidential preference primary.
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Update: Pepsi Reverses Course

2012-05-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

We have an update to report to you regarding the story we brought you last month about Pepsi Using Fetal and Embryo Cells in production of their products.

After months of pro-life protests and opposition, PepsiCo has indicated it will alter its contract with biotech firm Senomyx Inc., which uses cells from a baby killed in an abortion to conduct flavor testing.

The second-largest beverage company in the world contracted with the firm in a $30 million deal in August 2010 and once Debi Vinnedge of the pro-life group Children of God for Life uncovered the connection, numerous pro-life groups, including LifeNews, joined together to promote a boycott of Pepsi until it ends the Senomyx contract.
- LifeNews

This is great news. It means that Pepsico, it's subsidiaries and 3rd party contracts will be prohibitted to do any kind of testing of their products using HEK cells or any other tissues or cell lines derived from human embryos or fetuses.

In a letter to her group, PepsiCo’s VP of Global Public Policy, Paul Boykas stated that “Senomyx will not use HEK cells or any other tissues or cell lines derived from human embryos or fetuses for research performed on behalf of PepsiCo.”
- LifeNews

OneNewsNow reported:

Both Senomyx and PepsiCo have agreed to not use cell lines derived from human embryos or unborn babies, the result of a "David versus Goliath" campaign -- a small pro-life ministry against a large corporation.
- OneNewsNow

However, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported that the Washington Times said,

PepsiCo did not immediately respond to an email from The Washington Times on whether it had recently changed its relationship with Senomyx or altered the wording or the interpretation of its Responsible Research Statement.
- Bloomberg BusinessWeek

So did they or didn't they. Sounds like an unrepentent sinner telling confessing to a sin then turning around and denying it in the next breath.

PepsiCo subsidiaries include: Pepsi, Tropicana and Frito Lay
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DOCUMENTARIES PLEASE

2012-04-13T09:30:00.001-05:00

I appreciate the guest post, Jewel Rodgers

I absolutely love Netflix. Ever since we logged onto Clear-Internet.com and got a quicker internet speed, I have been adding things to my queue like crazy. I think that my favorite thing about Netflix is all the documentaries that they have available to watch. I love to learn. I remember as a kid when I saw the big clunky television cart wheeled into the classroom with the old school VHS player, I would get so excited! I also remember recalling a lot of the facts that I learned by watching educational programs on TV. Now, its no different. I like to learn by watching documentaries. They have a lot of great ones that were produced by the History Channel. I have watched everything from the History of the Salem Witch Trials to the documentary on the election of our President, Barack Obama. There is something for everyone on Netflix. It is really some of the best money that I spend every month and it is really not that much at all!

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Losing the Hacking War in the US

2012-04-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

Guest Post By:

Elizabeth A. Roque is a contributing writer for Franklin Debt Relief

You may think, since we don't hear about it very often, that the US is winning the war against hackers. This, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be the case.

According to The Wall Street Journal:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's top cyber cop offered a grim appraisal of the nation's efforts to keep computer hackers from plundering corporate data networks: "We're not winning," he said.

Shawn Henry, who is preparing to leave the FBI after more than two decades with the bureau, said in an interview that the current public and private approach to fending off hackers is "unsustainable.'' Computer criminals are simply too talented and defensive measures too weak to stop them, he said.

Unsustainable?

Are people that, most of the time, have no education or training, really beating the snot out of top employees that have been dealing with hackers for years upon years?

Yes, actually, this is the fact. Many people heard about the hacking of Sony's PlayStation Network last year, which compromised thousands upon thousands of people's valuable information – and it didn't happen just once, it happened three times, and the network went down every time it did. Nasdaq reported similar attacks last year, which sabotaged 100 million accounts, and the cybersecurity firm – yes, that's a company that specializes in anti-hacking measures – was a victim to a hook that stole thousands of e-mails that were internally exchanged within the company.

Why is this happening?

How could this be happening?

Technology is simply advancing too fast for regular people to come up with. A better approach may be, ultimately, to hire the hackers themselves to defend the systems that they are trying to attack – and rumor has it, the next hits are going to be important, vital systems in the US, such as our nuclear reactor systems and ultimately, our bombing systems.

Some people are combating this fact, such as James A. Lewis, a senior fellow on the cybersecurity at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He says that that Shawn Henry, who is retiring this year from the FBI and moving to a different company, is being overly gloomy. "There's a kind of willful desire not to admit how bad things are, both in government and certainly in the private sector, so I could see how [Mr. Henry] would be frustrated.”

It's hard to believe that Mr. Henry is the only one worried about the overwhelming hacking attacks going on as of current, especially since so much of the time, companies don't even know their data was stolen and it's stumbled upon accidentally. In fact, a new study shows that 55% of hacking attacks are only found on accident, and only 13% are caught by anti-hacking software. If over half of the hacking attempts are found on accident, then how many aren't found at all?

This isn't going anywhere slow – the hacking is only going to continue to get worse, and we're not going to be able to do anything out it until we step up our game and stop acting like hackers are no big deal. Hopefully, this happens soon, as attacks are just getting worse: in 2010, a group of Chinese hackers attacked and destroyed a computer's defenses, which isn't a huge deal – except that that computer was in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The hacking group gained access to everything stored on its systems, which include information on millions of people – addresses, names, and credit card information.

We need to do more than just react, too, and as Mr. Henry says:

Companies need to do more than just react to intrusions. "In many cases, the skills of the adversaries are so substantial that they just leap right over the fence, and you don't ever hear an alarm go off,'' he said. Companies "need to be hunting inside the perimeter of their network," he added.

We need our leadership to come up with a strategy and start organizing against cyber attacks before it's too late to stop them.

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Pepsi Uses Aborted Fetuses for Products

2012-04-09T08:48:00.002-05:00

I have been hearing recently that Pepsi was using aborted fetuses in their products. Hearing this I was so shocked I was in disbelief. Could it really be? So I began investigating. What I found was that it was true to some extent.

Scores of pro-life groups are calling for a public boycott of food giant, PepsiCo due to their partnership with Senomyx, a biotech company using aborted fetal cells in the research and development of artificial flavor enhancers.

Pepsi is funding the research and development – and paying royalties to Senomyx which uses HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney cells) to produce flavor enhancers for Pepsi beverages.

Senomyx boasts they have over 800,000 unique flavors for foods. The human tongue recognizes only 5 (salty, savory, sweet, sour and bitter). But cells expressing certain proteins produce a chemical signal when flavors are introduced, which determines if it’s the proper flavor. The aborted fetal cells are not in the product itself.
- BryanKemper.com

That is some relief, because earlier reports made the claim that it was. According to Snoops the story is a mixture of truth and falsehoods. The Snoops article quotes a CBS report which stated that neither Pepsi nor Senomyx would confirm or deny this, but a look at Senomyx patents show that it may well be true.
Sound a lot like the movie Soylent Green? That could easily be next. They already use ground up babies in makeup and medicine if they can get us to be comfortable to testing flavorings on fetal cells, how much of a stretch would it be to actually start feeding us the babies just like in that movie Soylent Green?
Even the Obama administration has weighed in and given its blessing Pepsi's and Senomyx practice.

(NaturalNews) The Obama Administration has given its blessing to PepsiCo to continue utilizing the services of a company that produces flavor chemicals for the beverage giant using aborted human fetal tissue. LifeSiteNews.com reports that the Obama Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided that PepsiCo's arrangement with San Diego, Cal.-based Senomyx, which produces flavor enhancing chemicals for Pepsi using human embryonic kidney tissue, simply constitutes "ordinary business operations."

- Natural News

They use the cells to determine (reportedly) how the human taste buds respond to the flavoring, Does that sound like a load of crap to anyone besides me? For over 100 years Pepsi has not had to test their products on dead babies to determine if the public would like it or not, but now they think they have to? What a steaming pile of horse manure.
However, it is not just Pepsi (Pepsico). The following companies have also used flavoring from Senomyx as well: Nestle, "Kraft", Cadbury, Starbucks and until recently ""Campbell's" and Solae,

For those of you who simply cannot believe that something this horrible could be true then ask yourself why haven't these companies sued this organization for libel? They are wealthy companies and this is a small organization; it wouldn't take much to shut them up if it isn't true. Additionally, why did Campbell and Solae end their relationship with Senomyx after this came out?

- Brie Hoffman

other sources:

Dead Babies Main Ingredient in Chinese Stamina Pills

Fetuses used in Creating Vaccines

State Bill Outlaws Using Fetuses In Food Industry; Meets Visceral Reaction : The Two-Way : NPR

Shareholder resolution filed over PepsiCo use of aborted fetal cell lines
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IRS says Forget About Traveling

2012-04-06T04:20:00.001-05:00

MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act - Senate bill 1813) introduced in the Senate by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)is headed to the House after clearing the Senate on March 14. Boxer’s bill allows the federal government to revoke the passports of citizens the IRS claims owe taxes.

According to the Daily Economist,

“There is no requirement that the tax payer be guilty of or even charged with tax evasion, fraud, or any criminal offense — only that the citizen is alleged to owe the IRS back taxes of $50,000 or more."
- the Daily Economist

Which in the words of InfoWars.com that translates into

the Fourth Amendment will become irrelevant in many taxes cases if this legislation makes it through the House. MAP-21 does, however, face opposition by some Republicans.
- InfoWars.com

How can they tread on the Constitution like this and ignore the due process of law? To fight suspected terrorists of course. We as honest hardworking citizens must give up our freedoms. Hell, we must burn the constitution, because of those terrorists. There is no more innocent until proven guilty. No more due process of law. Our only hope to stop this injustice is with the members in the lower chamber of Congress. We must write and call our congressmen and tell them we don't want our Constitutional liberties tread upon anymore.

As for as only going after wealthy Americans as the media release indicates (those owing over $50,000) the history of the IRS is quite different. In May 2010 CBS reported that the IRS went after a man who owed back taxes of 4 cents. With penalties over the course of three years that 4 cents ballooned to $200. So much for the kinder, gentler IRS that was promised us a few years back with the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.

How long will it be before we have a Soviet style system of internal passports to travel within the United States. A system that would prohibit us from going from one state to another simply because the government didn't like us.

“Those who are willing to allow the government to establish a Soviet-style internal passport system because they think it will make us safer are terribly mistaken,” Paul concluded. “Subjecting every citizen to surveillance and screening points actually will make us less safe, not in the least because it will divert resources away from tracking and apprehending terrorists and deploy them against innocent Americans!

- Ron Paul (December 8, 2004)
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Race for GOP Delegates Continues

2012-04-04T13:33:00.002-05:00

After Mitt Romney's trifecta win yesterday in the Wisconsin, Maryland and D.C. primaries the AP has released their new estimated delegate count.

Romney 658

Santorum 281

Gingrich 135

Paul 51

Huntsman 1

Uncommitted

At the same time the New York times estimates the breakdown this way:

Romney 655

Santorum 278

Gingrich 135

Paul 51

1,144 delegates are needed to win the nomination.

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CIA Chief David Petraeus says Appliances will Spy on you

2012-03-26T07:08:00.000-05:00

Governments around the world spying on innocent citizens? No, I'm not just speaking of the so called red light cameras, which is keeping tabs on traffic and crowds in cities all over either. No it goes much further then that. Maybe not quite as far as the spy drones that were a topic on last nights hit series "Harry's Law," but I wouldn't be surprised about that either. Especially after the public admissions from the CIA head guy, David Petraeus, which lead me to believe it really is happening.
So how are they spying on us? Well it seems there are tiny cameras and microphones in new appliances. These so called smart appliances include washers, dryers and refrigerators.

CIA director David Petraeus has said that the rise of new “smart” gadgets means that Americans are effectively bugging their own homes, saving US spy agencies a job when it identifies any “persons of interest”.

Speaking at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s technology investment operation, Petraeus made the comments when discussing new technologies which aim to add processors and web connections to previously ‘dumb’ home appliances such as fridges, ovens and lighting systems.

- InfoWars.com

Image courtesy of mobiledia.com

We as American citizens are to be called suspects in any crime. Instead we are being called persons of interest if the government so chose to track our personal devices. Like on last night's "Harry's Law" my concern would be the invasion of our 4th amendment rights with the possibility of such warrant-less searches.
Does this sound a lot like the so called fictional TV show, "Person of Interest"? It does to me to, and it scares me.

Still think this might be conspiracy theory? Let's take a lookat what Wired reported on their blog.

Earlier this month, Petraeus mused about the emergence of an “Internet of Things” — that is, wired devices — at a summit for In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital firm. “‘Transformational’ is an overused word, but I do believe it properly applies to these technologies,” Petraeus enthused, “particularly to their effect on clandestine tradecraft.”

All those new online devices are a treasure trove of data if you’re a “person of interest” to the spy community. Once upon a time, spies had to place a bug in your chandelier to hear your conversation. With the rise of the “smart home,” you’d be sending tagged, geolocated data that a spy agency can intercept in real time when you use the lighting app on your phone to adjust your living room’s ambiance.
- Wired

Still not convinced? Let's look at what was reported by the BBC.

Arm Holdings has unveiled what it describes as the "world's most energy-efficient microprocessor" design.

The firm says that microcontrollers based on the "Flycatcher" architecture will pave the way for the "internet of things" - the spread of the net to a wider range of devices.

It suggests that fridges and other white goods, medical equipment, energy meters, and home and office lighting will all benefit from the innovation.
- British Broadcasting Corp

Slate.com also reported on this very story:

Watch out: the CIA may soon be spying on you—through your beloved, intelligent household appliances, according to Wired.

In early March, at a meeting for the CIA’s venture capital firm In-Q-Tel, CIA Director David Petraeus reportedly noted that “smart appliances” connected to the Internet could someday be used by the CIA to track individuals. If your grocery-list-generating refrigerator knows when you’re home, the CIA could, too, by using geo-location data from your wired appliances, according to SmartPlanet.

“The current ‘Internet of PCs’ will move, of course, toward an ‘Internet of Things’—of devices of all types—50 to 100 billion of which will be connected to the Internet by 2020,” Petraeus said in his speech. He continued:

Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters—all connected to the next-generation Internet using abundant, low cost, and high-power computing—the latter now going to cloud computing, in many areas greater and greater supercomputing, and, ultimately, heading to quantum computing.

- Slate.com

Another media source reported:

While discussing an "Internet of things," Petraeus said household devices with online connectivity will change the notion of secrecy, indicating the rise of these devices will create a fresh wave of privacy concern.

Devices collecting data from a home can potentially watch anything inside it, gathering information that may be stored in the parent company's server. Such data may be subject to review by regulators, or probes by agencies like the CIA if the user is a person of interest, sparing law enforcement the step of bugging the home, Petraeus said.

"Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters -- all connected to the next-generation internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing," Petraeus said, according to Wired. "The latter now going to cloud computing, in many areas greater and greater supercomputing, and, ultimately, heading to quantum computing."

Federal laws keep the CIA from spying on just anyone without a warrant or proper judicial procedure. But multiple cases of agencies tracking GPS data without a warrant nudge the boundaries of Fourth Amendment privacy protections, and laws that predate today's technology could be vaguely interpreted when applied to data residing in a cloud.

- MobileMedia.com

There lies the concern. As I mentioned earlier in this post and now in this latest quote. The fourth amendment protects us from illegal search and seizures. These kind of devices and spy tools open the door for the government to spy on us while we are in the shower, making out with our spouses and plain just spying on us without cause in our on private homes, hoping to catch us doing something they deem illegal. Is that the kind of society you want to live in? I know it's not the kind i want. I enjoy the freedoms that our Constitution affords us, but some of our leaders like CIA Chief Petraeus seems bent on ignoring the Constitution and taking our freedoms from us.
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SPLC's War Against Conservatives

2012-03-24T22:45:00.001-05:00

Recently I found the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) had released their list of anti-government groups and hate groups. Some of the so called groups on there are suspect. Why do I say that? In the words of Eddie Craig of Rule of Law Radio on Logos Radio Network (formerly Rule of Law of Radio Network),

Especially considering that a lot of these "groups" are not even groups, like the bookstore (BNB), some are films, some are film companies, and some are radio networks, like us

His comment came as a reply to my shock at seeing some of those that were listed.
Organizations like the Constitution Party, a political party that I myself had looked at because of their Conservative stance and desire to uphold the Constitution of the United States. A political party that wants to uphold the Constitution of these here United states, but left wing political parties that call for the radical overthrow of the Constitutional government of the United States are not listed. Such parties as the Socialist Party of America or Communist Party USA are no where on the list.

Yet at the same time book stores, movies and radio networks are listed.
For example....
Brave New Books in Austin, TX is not a group but is a bookstore in downtown Austin that I myself have visited to attend a political forum held there. Although the store isn't the most handicapped accessible being located in the basement of a Chase Bank building which is also home to the areas Libertarian Party headquarters.

Rule of Law Radio (Network) is Radio Network heard on a handful of radio stations around the country, I listen to them and programing from about two other networks on 90.1 FM which online can be heard on the website TXLR (Texas Liberty Radio)

Republic Broadcasting

Infowars.com a website discussing news events that the Mainstream Media largely ignore.

Say what you will about the philosophy of each of these business and people but they aren't anti-government and they aren't groups in the traditional since of the term. Does anyone besides the left wing Southern Poverty Law Center really believe they are?
Unlike the latter two political parties mentioned above; the Constitution Party platform is derived 100% from the U.S. Constitution. Seems like that is what all parties in this country should be. I know it's a radical thought but the founders of this nation were pretty radical, and we need to return to the document that founded this country.

Now lets look at the so called hate groups. Again I find that I have some ties to groups that are on this list and I am appalled that these groups that have great ministries would be linked to hate groups like Westboro Baptist, Klu Klux Klan and the Nation of Islam.

Such ministries as The American Family Association is on the list as a hate group, because they call homosexuality a sin. They preach the Bible and that's what the Bible says. That doesn't mean they hate homosexuals. Instead they believe Christ can change a persons heart, something that the Apostle Paul says in the book of 1 Corinthians

9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

There is a great deal of love for any unbeliever in the Christian community, but as the Bible says those in sin hate hearing the truth, but that doesn't mean the Christian community hates them. It also doesn't mean the Christian community agrees with the Westboro Baptist ~~church~~ cult. And for a ministry to be listed with the likes of Fred Phelps is appalling. How long before these liberals paint all Christian Bible believing churches in this same light? Just because they call homosexuality and all kinds of immoral sexual behavior a sin?

As Alex Jones, the publisher of the aforementioned Infowars.com said the other day on his radio show,

I don't agree with the Klu Klux Klan but they have a right to protest and to publish...I don't agree with the black Muslims, but they have a right to call me a devil.

All I can say Alex is ditto, I have said the same thing about the garbage that the Westboro Baptist Cult has said and done. Under the Constitution they have a right to speak and to peacefully protest. That is the American freedoms you and I enjoy, and just because I (we) don't like something someone else spouts doesn't mean they have to shut up as long as they remain within the law. Obviously cross burning on another persons property or acts of violence crosses the lines and are not forms of peaceful protests.
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Thanks CarInsuranceGroups.org

2012-03-24T07:50:00.003-05:00

Thanks to www.carinsurancancegroups.org for their support for our efforts here.
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Brazilian Butt Lift

2012-03-21T08:54:00.001-05:00

Are you depressed about the ay you look? Do you want to shape up your body? Want to do to it naturally without the costs of painful surgery? Then take a look at doing Brazilian butt lift workout. Crеаtеԁ bу thе legendary Brazilian personal fitness trainer Leandro Carvahlo. Thе Brazilian butt lift workout іѕ a lower body sculpting аnԁ medium intensity cardio workout program based οn hіѕ secret Triangle Training Technique.

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Impeachment Charges Filed Against Obama

2012-03-13T09:26:00.003-05:00

You probably haven't heard this if all you listen to and read is the main stream media, but on Wednesday March 7, 2012 Congressman Walter B. Jones filed House Concurrent Resolution 107 which calls for the impeachment of ~~President~~ err Dictator Obama.

an Act of Congress constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution.

Whereas the cornerstone of the Republic is honoring Congress's exclusive power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that, except in response to an actual or imminent attack against the territory of the United States, the use of offensive military force by a President without prior and clear authorization of an Act of Congress violates Congress's exclusive power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution and therefore constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution.
- House Concurrent Resolution 107

So here is the breakdown. Personally I am not ready to call our elected President a dictator. However, some are saying what was reported last year in the Mainstream media in response to the Libya action and ignored by the same press this year in response to Syria is treason. Was basically a Coup D’etat. Why? For that we have to look at what he said and compare that to the constitution of the United states of America.

According to Article 1, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution Congress does unambiguously state that “Congress shall have power to...declare War.” The president is designated commander in chief, with the authority to direct the military. James Madison declared the War Powers Clause to be the most important in the Constitution because history had shown that “the executive is the branch of power most interested in war,” and therefore must be tempered by a deliberative Congress.
No where does it give that power to the United Nations or any foreign power. Last year when he put our troops in harms way in Libya, President Barack Obama made what was probably the most arrogant statement of any President thus far betraying his open hostility to the rule of law as it applies to his administration’s illegal war on Libya, churlishly dismissing criticism from Congress and remarking, “I don’t even have to get to the Constitutional question.”
He then reiterated this open defiance in a letter to House Speaker Boehner in March of last year (2011).

In which he states the following:

At approximately 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, on March 19, 2011, at my direction, U.S. military forces commenced operations to assist an international effort authorized by the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council and undertaken with the support of European allies and Arab partners, to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and address the threat posed to international peace and security by the crisis in Libya. As part of the multilateral response authorized under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, U.S. military forces, under the command of Commander, U.S. Africa Command, began a series of strikes against air defense systems and military airfields for the purposes of preparing a no-fly zone. These strikes will be limited in their nature, duration, and scope. Their purpose is to support an international coalition as it takes all necessary measures to enforce the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973. These limited U.S. actions will set the stage for further action by other coalition partners.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 authorized Member States, under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in Libya, including the establishment and enforcement of a "no-fly zone" in the airspace of Libya. United States military efforts are discrete and focused on employing unique U.S. military capabilities to set the conditions for our European allies and Arab partners to carry out the measures authorized by the U.N. Security Council Resolution.

Muammar Qadhafi was provided a very clear message that a cease-fire must be implemented immediately. The international community made clear that all attacks against civilians had to stop; Qadhafi had to stop his forces from advancing on Benghazi; pull them back from Ajdabiya, Misrata, and Zawiya; and establish water, electricity, and gas supplies to all areas. Finally, humanitarian assistance had to be allowed to reach the people of Libya.

Although Qadhafi's Foreign Minister announced an immediate cease-fire, Qadhafi and his forces made no attempt to implement such a cease-fire, and instead continued attacks on Misrata and advanced on Benghazi. Qadhafi's continued attacks and threats against civilians and civilian populated areas are of grave concern to neighboring Arab nations and, as expressly stated.

in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, constitute a threat to the region and to international peace and security. His illegitimate use of force not only is causing the deaths of substantial numbers of civilians among his own people, but also is forcing many others to flee to neighboring countries, thereby destabilizing the peace and security of the region. Left unaddressed, the growing instability in Libya could ignite wider instability in the Middle East, with dangerous consequences to the national security interests of the United States. Qadhafi's defiance of the Arab League, as well as the broader international community moreover, represents a lawless challenge to the authority of the Security Council and its efforts to preserve stability in the region. Qadhafi has forfeited his responsibility to protect his own citizens and created a serious need for immediate humanitarian assistance and protection, with any delay only putting more civilians at risk.

The United States has not deployed ground forces into Libya. United States forces are conducting a limited and well-defined mission in support of international efforts to protect civilians and prevent a humanitarian disaster. Accordingly, U.S. forces have targeted the Qadhafi regime's air defense systems, command and control structures, and other capabilities of Qadhafi's armed forces used to attack civilians and civilian populated areas. We will seek a rapid, but responsible, transition of operations to coalition, regional, or international organizations that are postured to continue activities as may be necessary to realize the objectives of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973.
- letter to House Speaker Boehner

Fast forward to this year and Leon Panetta’s testimony asserting that the United Nations and NATO have supreme authority over the actions of the United States military, words which effectively declare Congress a ceremonial relic, have prompted Congressman Walter Jones to introduce a resolution that re-affirms such behavior as an “impeachable high crime and misdemeanor” under the Constitution. See the video of Panetta's testimony for yourself.

Yes the president has the power to defend this country. However, involving ourselves in another countries civil was has nothing to do with the United States and its own defense. Leave them be.

It is almost funny because when he was campaigning for the office of president in 2007, then candidate Barack Obama said that President George W. Bush had no legal authority to launch the Iraq war. “The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation,” Obama said.

Now as president he says that he can go to war without Congresses approval because he gets his approval from the UN. What a hypocrite! He is not trustworthy and it is time for him to go. We need to get someone in office that understands and is willing to obey the laws of this country. Not act like a dictator. We have no business in the Middle East for any reason. We got Osama Bin Laden. That is why went to Afghanistan, So now lets get out of there. We have no business involving ourselves with any other turmoils in the Middle East and therefore should not be there. Don't wait till 2014 to get out Afghanistan. Do it this year. That is the only way he might be re-elected.
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The death of an Austin Icon errr Weirdo

2012-03-11T09:02:00.002-05:00

This past week on March 8, 2012 Leslie Cochran, who many call "Austin's favorite cross-dresser," died. When I titled this article, I did so affectionately according to the man it is about. I never met this guy, not that I really ever wanted to, but since arriving in August 2010, I have never personally seen him and now I never will.

Austin’s favorite cross-dressing, stiletto-strutting, thong bearing homeless icon, Leslie Cochran, was announced dead today. The city lost more than a man this morning, and we don’t just mean his womanly alter-ego. Leslie was a legend, a landmark, often a mayoral candidate and always a hell of a time. Known for his high heels and g-strings, he turned more heads than slutty, under-age college girls. When he suffered a brutal beating that left him unconscious in 2010, the city came together and raised enough money to cover the brain surgery that saved his life. I had the pleasure of interviewing him briefly at Marley Fest after he left the hospital, and I was happy to find him up to his usual antics. Unfortunately, Leslie could not be revived this time around. RIP Leslie, we really love you, (wo)man.

- Coed Magazine

In memory of Leslie Coed Magazine compiled a set of pictures that really celebrate his life.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia had this to say about Leslie:

Albert Leslie Cochran (June 24, 1951 – March 8, 2012) was an American peace activist, cross-dresser, urban outdoorsman and outspoken critic of police treatment of the homeless. Cochran was known in Austin as Leslie.

Cochran was considered the man who personified "Keep Austin Weird.

...

Cochran was typically seen around 6th Street and Congress during business hours, frequently wearing women's clothing. His most popular attire was a leopard thong and high-heeled shoes. Cochran preferred, however, to be known as a man
- Wikipedia

Despite his appearance he was married for a very brief time according to Wikipedia from 1985-86. So I will join the chorus of other Austinites and wish him a hearty RIP, may God be with your soul.
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Thank You BetPhoenix.com

2012-03-09T21:17:00.000-06:00

Thank you to mlb playoff odds from BetPhoenix.com for their support of our group of ministries.

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Girl Scouts Robbed

2012-03-04T15:55:00.001-06:00

Yes, you read that right. Can you believe it? It takes a low life to rob anyone, but it takes a real low life to steal money from a group of girl scouts. Here are the details as I know them.

Houston, Texas - A group of Girl Scouts tried to fight back when they were allegedly robbed by a suspect outside a Walmart in Fort Bend County Saturday afternoon, but sadly, all the hard-earned money earned from their cookies sales was gone.
- KHOH

The article continues by saying:

The girls were selling cookies at a Walmart on Grand Parkway at Bellaire around 1:50 p.m. when they were approached by a man they thought was a potential customer.

“A guy came up and was asking, ‘how much are your cookies,’ and so we were telling him and there was a guy in the car who was like, ‘hey, hurry up,’” said Rachel Johnson, a 9-year Girl Scout senior. The girls thought the men were just really anxious to get cookies, but they were wrong.

“Instead he grabs our cash box and runs over to the car and drives off,” Johnson said. “They drive off and I sort of hang on to the car and it drags me a bit."
- KHOH

Because of this the girls are out of $200 which they will have to replace with their own money thanks to these low lives.

Despite the Girl Scouts efforts to fight back, the crooks managed to drive away with the cash box containing about $200.

Unfortunately, the girls will have to dig deep into their own pockets to make up for the theft.

Click2Houston

Unfortunately this isn't the first time. When researching this story, I would a similar robbery from 2010 in Tacoma, WA. This time at a Safeway store.

TACOMA, Wash. - A man stole a bag of cash from a 16-year-old selling Girl Scout cookies at a Tacoma Safeway Thursday night.

Tacoma police say the robbery happened around 7 p.m. at the Safeway on South 38th Street and South M Street

King 5 News

I ma just shocked and angry that some idiot guys would steel from a group of little girls. It just shows that these men aren't men at all. They are low lives that should be strung up. To bad we don't hang thieves anymore.

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Solar Panels Are They Just A Dream

2012-02-04T07:18:00.001-06:00

One of the things I have always want for as long as I can remember is solar panels on my home. Solar panels however can be quite expensive, and I am not sure sure how I will ever afford the initial outlay. Even though the eventual savings will be well worth it. However, I did see how to make a solar panel recently and wondered is it possible? Can I make my own solar panel and save money on that to? You can bet I am looking into that. Now I just need my own house again.
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A Look at the Obama Administrations Accomplishments

2012-01-25T11:09:00.000-06:00

We have all heard the claim that Democrats are for the poor and Republicans for business and rich. However, is that really factual? In short no. Republicans want a smaller government that means less taxes. Less taxes for everyone, not just the rich. Democrats want to raise taxes especially on the rich. So why not raise the taxes on the rich? Because the poor are the ones that will suffer more. How? The rich are the ones that provide our jobs, if there expenses go up, then they make cuts (IE: cut jobs) which in turn hurt the low income the hardest. Let's take a look at some facts on how events under the Obama administration has hurt the poor more.

When Obama took the oath of office on January 20, 2009 gas was a national average of $1.79/gallon today it is above $3 and most places hovering around $3.30/gallon. (source: Energy Information Administration) That is more then double the price in fuel. When George W. bush left office, gas prices were down 9% from when he was inaugurated in 2001.

The thing is Obama even planned to do it,

"Under my plan of a cap and trade system, [energy prices] would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was... [t]hey will pass that money on to consumers." --Barack Obama, 1 November 2008
I would rather have Bush back (**groan**), then this current guy.
More people are on Food Stamps since Obama took office. Food Stamp recipients went from 31.9 million when he took office to 43.2 million currently (a 35.1 % increase) (source: various media outlets).
Americans living in poverty has risen under the first three (3) years of the Obama administration from 39.8 million to 43.6 million (that's an increase of 9.5%). So I guess you can say Democrats and Obama are for the poor, they want more of them.
Unemployment numbers are up since Obama took office in January 2009, when the unemployment rate was 7.8% (11.6 million) to 8.5% (13.1 million) in December 2011. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
He also was the first President to sue states (Arizona, Wisconsin and Indiana) that he was sworn to protect. Why?
Arizona - Immigration law
Wisconsin - Voter ID law
Indiana - Immigration law
Other States could be coming, as his administration has threatened more lawsuits.

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Race for Delegates

2012-01-22T07:40:00.000-06:00

The race for the Republican nomination is heating up. When votes for the Iowa Caucuses were certified, it was found that Santorum won not Romney. Then the trifecta that was predicted in South Carolina didn't materialize as Gingrich won that state. Meaning three contests, three different winners. This race is not over. Of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination here is how they stack up: Here is how the delegate counts are stacking up at the moment.

Candidate	Delegates
Mitt Romney	19
Newt Gingrich	19
Rick Santorum	12
Ron Paul	3
Jon Huntsman	2

Whatever happens this primary season, whoever wins, they will make history. Especially if they win the General Election to. No Republican has won the White House without winning New Hampshire. Likewise since 1980, no one has won the Republican nomination without winning the South Carolina primaries.
I certainly will be keeping a watchful eye on this primary season and I will make decision before the April 3 primaries here in Texas. Who will win Texas? Who will win the nomination? Only time will see.

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And Then There Were Four

2012-01-19T10:10:00.004-06:00

Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas is expected to announce in a few minutes to suspend his campaign. Suspending the campaign is essentially the same thing as dropping out. This newest exit from the race will leave four candidates. Mitt Romney, who some say is the man to beat, Ron Paul, who isn't given much chance, even though he does bring some good ideas to the table. Then two conservatives, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, who will still be dividing the the conservative votes.
Reports say Perry will endorse Gingrich, but until I hear it for myself, I cannot be sure. As a Perry supporter myself, I will have to make some tough decisions as I reevaluate the candidates and focus on the upcoming April 3 primary.

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A GIRL CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH

2012-01-14T05:27:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Roman May

I got my husband DIRECTV HD Sports for the holidays. Now, I am starting to regret my decision, because he is controlling the remote all the time! He loves to watch sports. All kinds: football, golf, basketball, tennis, and even soccer ( the European football). He just can’t get enough of it. Now that he has all the sports channels and watches everything in HD, I can’t peel him away from the tube. I swear we watched every single college bowl game that was on over the holidays. I know that I clocked well over twenty four hours in football television. I can take football in little spurts, and actually enjoy it. My favorite is definitely college football. Now that NFL is in full swing, I don’t know how much longer that I am going to last. I think that I am just going to have to leave the house and let his friends come over and keep him company during the games. A girl can only take so much football!

Close Caucus Results is a Roller-Coaster, Nail-Bitter

2012-01-04T08:37:00.002-06:00

Early in the evening Ron Paul was in the lead. Then his lead deminished and it looked like he was going to take third, which he eventually did. When I went to bed last night, the report was the Rick Santorum had won the Iowa caucuses. Even though it was a statistical tie with Mitt Romney. However, this morning when I woke up, I learned that Romney had eked out an 8 vote win over Santorum.

Jan 03, 2012 (100% of precincts reporting)

Mitt Romney 30,015 24.6%

Rick Santorum 30,007 24.5%

Ron Paul 26,219 21.4%

Newt Gingrich 16,251 13.3%

Rick Perry 12,604 10.3%

Michele Bachmann 6,073 5%

Jon Huntsman 745 0.6%

Herman Cain 58 0%

Buddy Roemer 31 0%

No Preference 135 0.1%

Other 117 0.1%

Romney eked out a minuscule 8-vote victory over Rick Santorum in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses, the state party chairman said early Wednesday, ringing down the curtain on an improbable first act in the campaign to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the fall.

Appearing hours after the caucuses had ended, Matt Strawn said Romney had 30,015 votes, to 30,007 for Santorum, whose late surge carried him to a near win.
- AP story via IowaCaucus.com

CNN earlier in the evening as the late news would have been starting on the four major networks was projecting Santorum the winner and Romney the 2nd place finisher, but was not ready to officially project 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. Well seems they still were a little early with the projecting game.

For whatever, it means the 24.6% finish is a record low. No Republican Caucus winner has ever received less then 26%. That being Bob Dole of Kansas, who received 26.3 percent support in 1996, when he won.

The next contest is this next Tuesday in New Hampshire, which hold the first in the Nation primary. No Republican president has ever been elected without winning the New Hampshire primary. Before President Bill Clinton, the same thing could have been said about the Democrats. Also no non-incumbent Republican has won both the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. If Romney, who is handily leading in New Hampshire wins that primary, he will be the first do so.

Stay tuned, our eyes will be glued to the big day. Who will be the challenger to President Barrack Obama?

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Dreams

2012-01-03T08:18:00.000-06:00

Recently I had a dream. The dream was weird in a way, but not in a scary way. Just a sense of me scratching my head looking for a meaning. I mean what could God above possibly be trying to tell me in this dream?

I walked into the area of the restrooms, I turn to my left to enter the men's room, what I seen was a single toilet sitting at the top of some steps. Sitting there by itself like a throne. I then turned and went the other way and in the ladies room I also seen a single seat, sitting near the outer wall. It looked like a recliner; covered in red velvet, but upon closer inspection the seat itself was a toilet seat.

At that point I woke up. Imagine two toilets looking like these. One like a King's throne and the other like a lush recliner. What in the world do you think this meant? What was almighty God trying to tell me?

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Top 10 Tornado Facts

2011-12-26T23:16:00.003-06:00

Since moving to Texas, I am surprised to find many Texans think Kansas has more tornado's then any other state. That as I recalled from grade school (5th grade) when we studied tornadoes and had a map in the back of class was/is not the case. However, I needed to find out for sure. That was a long time ago. So I began my search online.
Here is what I found. From the Tornado Project we look at tornadoes from a number of angles and find Kansas is never above 4th place. Take a look at the chart below (that I have recreated from their website):

Rank	Total numbers of tornadoes	Deaths per 10,000 sq miles	Number of killer tornadoes	Total tornado path length per 10,000 sq miles	Killer tornadoes as a % of all tornadoes	Annual tornadoes per 10,000 sq. miles
1	Texas	Massachusetts	Texas	Mississippi	Tennessee	Florida
2	Oklahoma	Mississippi	Oklahoma	Alabama	Kentucky	Oklahoma
3	Florida	Indiana	Arkansas	Oklahoma	Arkansas	Indiana
4	Kansas	Alabama	Alabama	Iowa	Ohio	Iowa
5	Nebraska	Ohio	Mississippi	Illinois	Alabama	Kansas
6	Iowa	Michigan	Illinois	Louisiana	Mississippi	Delaware
7	Missouri	Arkansas	Missouri	Kansas	North Carolina	Louisiana
8	Illinois	Illinois	Indiana	Indiana	Michigan	Mississippi
9	South Dakota	Oklahoma	Louisiana	Nebraska	New York	Nebraska
10	Louisiana	Kentucky	Tennessee	Wisconsin	Massachusetts	Texas

As Mark Twain once said, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics! The statistics above are what I believe, not the myths that many people believe. Yes, Texas is a part of Tornado alley, even if many here Texas don't think so.

So what about the deadliest Tornadoes? The Tornado Project has statistics for that as well witch I have again recreated below:

Rank	State(s)	Date	Time	Dead	Injured	F-Scale	Town(s)
1	MISSOURI/ILLINOIS/IOWA	March 18, 1925	1:01 PM	695	2027	F5	Murphysboro,Gorham, DeSoto
2	LOUISIANA/MISSISSIPPI	May 7, 1840	1:45 PM	317	109	F?	Nachez
3	MISSOURI/ILLINOIS	May 27, 1896	6:30 PM	255	1000	F4	St. Louis, East St. Louis
4	MISSISSIPPI	April 5, 1936	8:55 PM	216	700	F5	Tupelo
5	GEORGIA	April 6, 1936	8:27 AM	203	1600	F4	Gainesville
6	TEXAS/OKLAHOMA/KANSAS	April 9, 1947	6:05 PM	181	970	F5	Glazier, Higgins, Woodward
7	MISSISSIPPI	April 24, 1908	11:45 AM	143	770	F4	Amite, Pine, Purvis
8	WISCONSIN	June 12, 1899	5:40 PM	117	200	F5	New Richmond
9	MICHIGAN	June 8, 1953	8:30 PM	115	844	F5	Flint
10	TEXAS	May 11, 1953	4:10 PM	114	597	F5	Waco

As you can see, even here Kansas doesn't rank in the top 5, but neither does Texas. One thing though, Kansas doesn't even make the deadliest list without including parts of Texas with it. So why do people in Texas think that Kansas has more tornadoes? Who knows, because there is no grain of truth to it.

Fast Facts

Kansas - Highest number of F5 tornadoes since 1880
Iowa - Greatest number of F5's per square mile
Alabama - Highest percentage of tornadoes rated as of significant intensity
Kentucky - Highest percentage of all tornadoes ranked as violent (F4 or F5)

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Wedding at a Football Game

2011-12-26T04:46:00.001-06:00

by Kevin Surbaugh

A classmate from high school recently got married (Christmas Eve 2011) at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO during the Chiefs and Raiders game. Take a look at the news clip from KCTV5 below.

Congratulations Jody, the wife and I wish many years of happiness with your soul-mate. God bless.

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