Chuck Norris Endorses Netanyahu in Political Ad

Chuck Norris, famous actor, overly exaggerated strong man, and avid Total Gym user, has endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his bid for re-election this year. Below is the video, with Chuck Norris's voice over pictures of himself, out of context clips of riots/protests, and videos that make B.B. Netanyahu seem like a real tough guy. We all know who would win in a fight though...

Courtesy of Youtube

Bloomberg Cracks Down on Prescription Drugs

By John Amaruso

 Mayor Bloomberg has taken action to combat the epidemic of prescription pill addiction by limiting access to painkillers for hospital patients. The plan would severely limit access to some of the more notorious prescription painkillers like Vicodin and Percocet, while drugs like Oxycontin, a powerful painkiller derived from the poppy seed thebaine, will become virtually non existent in hospital emergency rooms.
    Critics of the Mayor's plan claim that this would only penalize the poor who's only means of available health care come from emergency room visits. The Mayor fought back against the claim, saying the epidemic of painkiller addiction must be addressed and overcome. ""There's nothing that you can possibly do where somebody isn't going to suffer, and it's always the same group claiming, 'Everybody is heartless.' Come on, this is a very big problem." said Mayor Bloomberg after critics lambasted the measure.
    Mayor Bloomberg stated that over 250,000 people over the age of 12 are addicted to painkillers. The Mayor said his measures would help reduce excess drugs that are prescribed to law abiding patients from transferring to the hands of drug dealers and users. "If you break a leg, you're going to be in pain, nothing wrong with getting something that reduces the pain,... But if you get 20 days worth of pills and you only need them three days, there's 17 days sitting there. Invariably some of the kids are going to find them, or you're going to take them and get addicted." added Mayor Bloomberg.
    Violent robberies at pharmacies across the country have shined light on the growing prescription pill problem in the United States, as hundreds of robberies are committed for the sole purpose of obtaining these highly addictive drugs.
    According to the CDC, prescription drug overdoses have more than tripled in the United States since 1990, and it is estimated that 100 people a day die from prescription drug overdoses.

Before We All Freak Out Over NY's Gun Legislation...

By John Amaruso

All I'm seeing in my news feed is people freaking the hell out over something they probably haven't even read-

So, with that being said...

Before we get all up in arms (no pun intended) over the recent bill that passed through the New York state assembly, let's actually take a look at what is in the bill before we jump the gun (no pun intended). Unless you want to remain another passer of erroneous and misleading talking points, take a look at what is actually in this bill as reported by NBC news.

(Source by NBC News)
The Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, New York's law:

• Bans possession of any high-capacity magazines regardless of when they were made or sold. Only clips able to hold up to seven rounds can be sold in the state. Clips able to hold seven to 10 rounds can be possessed, but cannot be loaded with more than seven rounds. If an owner is found to have eight or more bullets in a magazine, he or she could face a misdemeanor charge.
• Requires ammunition dealers to do background checks, similar to those for gun buyers. Dealers are required to report all sales, including amounts, to the state. Internet sales of ammunition are allowed, but the ammunition will have to be shipped to a licensed dealer in New York state for pickup.
• Requires creation of a registry of assault weapons. Those New Yorkers who already own such weapons would be required to register their guns with the state.
• Requires any therapist who believes a mental health patient made a credible threat of harming others to report the threat to a mental health director, who would then have to report serious threats to the state Department of Criminal Justice Services. A patient's gun could be taken from him or her, as well.
• Stipulates that stolen guns should be reported within 24 hours.
• Tightens the state's description of an "assault" weapon. Previous state law defined an assault weapon as having two "military rifle" features, but the new law reduces that specification to just one feature
• Requires background checks for all gun sales, including by private dealers -- except for sales to members of the seller's immediate family.

To cut this down- you can all keep your guns. Unless it's you know, a ridiculously unnecessary one, like let's say an assault rifle (there's a reason why we're also not allowed to own grenades).

As for the background checks; when you buy a car in New York state, the car must be registered, and all sales whether private or public are reported to the state government to ensure the legality of the sale (I.E. make sure it's not stolen). Not to mention actually having to have a license to drive the car, because you know, driving a car is a big responsibility; hence, you must be qualified to operate one.

If I have to go through all that just to drive a car, I'd hope I'd have to do a lot more to own and use a weapon, especially one with the capability of taking out masses of people.

The only real victims in any of this? The mentally ill. They have now been stigmatized and ostracized as a bunch of looney violence addicted murderers who have no control over themselves whatsoever. There are millions of people diagnosed with all types of mental illness ranging from depression, to anxiety, to bi-polar and the like; they don't all go out and kill someone. They will only be made to feel further isolated and humiliated by society, singled out for having a mental deficiency which is just as debilitating and common as any physical disability.

This is just a prelude; I will be writing a piece in due time over why there is no real solution to gun violence in this country. Policy makers want to find the silver bullet (lol) for this problem, but there just isn't. Banning guns won't do. Locking up the mentally ill won't do it. What will do? Call me a cynic, but not much.

I am a firm believer in the constitution and our inalienable rights. But that does not mean that all of our rights come with absolutely no limitation- even our freedom to express ourselves is limited (it's called hate speech). Our freedom to assemble is limited (you need a permit). So everyone, just chill out- the government is not going to break down your door and take your guns away as the NRA would like you to believe.

Again New Yorkers, don't freak out- you'll all be able to keep your guns. Just not the completely unnecessary ones that were illegal in the first place.








P.S. You know there are 27 amendments in the constitution right? Many of which are violated on a daily basis and have a much bigger impact on our freedoms than our freedom to own a gun. Here's a short list of how some of these amendments have been violated in recent years.

• Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression
  -No mosques can be built here! (I.E. Tennessee, Ground Zero Mosque)
  -Journalists can't photograph soldier's bodies returning from war
• Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure
• Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses
• Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases
• Amendment 8 - Cruel and Unusual Punishment
  -All 4 stated above violated by the Patriot Act and NDAA- look it up.
• Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People
  -Commerce Clause filled that power void a long time ago.
• Amendment 24 - Poll Taxes Barred
  -Republicans tried passing voter I.D. laws requiring voters to have a driver's license (which can cost a lot to a low income person)- essentially, it's a tax or a fee to vote.

So enjoy fighting for those rights back too.

I'm Sorry! It's Just... I Thought We Were At War...

When you play the Game of Drones, you win or you die. Especially if your a high-ranking Al-Qaeda member

Obama Criticized After Nominating John "Drone Master" Brennan for CIA Director Position

By Tyrone L. Heppard

Go ahead. Ask anyone who knows me. I’m liberal to the core.

For example, I don’t understand how gays still aren’t allowed to get married in America in 2013 (Especially after Rachel Maddow and former Rep. Barney Frank; they’re awesome people and we all know it). Also, kudos to Colorado and Washington and a pox on Oregon! Yeah; I support legalized marijuana; but I wouldn’t mind seeing cocaine and mushrooms legalized as well. I believe full-grown women know how their bodies work and how to make important life decisions; they don’t need any man’s help with any of that.

I believe people need to keep their religion out of our schools. That’s science’s turf – and if I’m not mistaken, there are places readily available for that sort of thing.  Plus, the aforementioned science says global warming is a tangible threat, so let’s stop destroying our planet for profits (I’m talking to you, Shell). I believe Wall Street’s run by criminals and thieves, racism impedes social progress, and the 1^st Amendment is the most important amendment in our Bill of Rights. Speaking of which, we need to have a serious national discussion about gun control in America; something I have a feeling I’ll be talking about a lot this year.

With all that being said, there is one area where I’m staunchly conservative. I am very, very, conservative when it comes to fighting extremists. Bang the drums, sound the horns, raise the anchor – use whatever phrase you want.  I’m a hawk in that regard and I don’t care who knows it. Specifically, I’m a hawk when it comes to dealing with Al-Qaeda, North Korea, and the Iranian government; people like that have it coming. I’d explain myself here, but that’s a long story for another time. Allow me to continue.

As you know, President Obama won himself another four years in the White House last year after beating some tool in yet another historical election. Traditionally, even when the incumbent wins a second term, he’s expected to do a little bit of reshuffling to his cabinet come January, and that’s exactly what Obama is doing. However, anyone who was conscious during the last four years knows that Obama can’t make a decision without people throwing a hissy fit or trying to make it a bigger deal than it is.

President Obama with the potential CIA Director John Brennan

 

As of January 8, Obama has nominated Chuck Hagel for Leon Panetta’s Secretary of Defense job, John Kerry for Hillary Clinton’s spot as Secretary of State, and a man named John Brennan to permanently serve as Director of the CIA after David Petreaus thought it a good idea to cheat with the woman writing his memoir. Not the way I would’ve chosen to end an illustrious career, but to each his own I suppose.

Please note that it’s not just the GOP who’s foaming at the mouth; everybody has something to say about Obama’s picks thus far. Democrats are ranting about Kerry because they think Obama was too scared to nominate Susan Rice after Benghazi. Republicans are mad he picked Hagel because of some stuff he said about the Iraq War and (ironically enough) a gay person. The media is flipping out because everyone he’s nominated so far is an old white guy and his "new" cabinet isn’t diverse enough – even though he’s not done picking people yet. The guy can’t catch a break!

What got my attention was the nomination of this John Brennan fellow. I didn’t know who he was so like a good little news junkie, I did some research. Turns out that Brennan had spent 25 years at the CIA and has been working closely with Obama since 2009. According to the president, Brennan is the guy responsible for developing and overseeing our, “comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy.”

Brennan does know his way around the CIA and America is fighting a “War on Terror”. It sounds like he’d be the right guy for the job to me, so what’s the big deal? Well, when Obama said Brennan helped with counter-terrorism strategy, he meant that Brennan has been the guy who has been advocating the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (aka UAVs or “drones”) on the battlefield. He’s the one who's been pushing the president to issue more drone strikes and the president has happily obliged him.  

A U.S. soldier makes adjustments to a UAV

According to CNN, drones seem to be the Obama Administration’s “weapon of choice”. As of September of last year, the number of people who were killed by drone strikes in Pakistan was somewhere between 1,494 and 2,618 – four times more than the deaths racked up during what I like to refer to as, “The G-Dub Era”. This was because Obama authorized 283 of them – six times as many as Bush. If President Obama is in love with drones like some say, then John Brennan’s the guy who hooked ‘em up.

As you can imagine, critics on both sides of the aisle aren’t too thrilled about this pick either for many reasons. The most popular being that when the US military started dealing death from the skies under Obama’s watch, it turns out that 100 percent of the people killed weren’t terrorists or enemy soldiers; there were a few civilians mixed in there.

Normally, this would be the point where I throw some facts ‘n figures in your general direction and allow you to decide how many civilian casualties is too many. I'm not going to do it though because I think that would be overlooking something fairly obvious: innocents have a tendency to get caught in the crossfire of battles raging in their backyards – even after over a decade.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not apathetic and I’m most definitely not saying anyone deserves death or should expect to be killed. All I’m saying is that when there’s war, people die; innocent people included. President Obama and John "Drone Master" Brennan might have been around for a while, but collateral damage is even older than they are....            

WAIT! Before my liberal brothers and sisters start de-friending me on Facebook, let me see if I can’t state this a bit more elegantly. Here goes….

Whenever innocents are killed it’s a tragedy; I think we can all agree on that. But if our country’s stated intent is to target extremists – extremists who themselves have said they want to destroy our government and end the lives of our friends and families – then what difference does it make if we’re using UAVs, or bombers, or assault rifles, or chemical weapons, or horses and bayonets to defend ourselves or to quash a threat? And look - we’re all people here, and, “to err is human”, right? Mistakes happen and this is war, so naturally someone is going to die who doesn’t deserve it.

Now, if you want to say that we shouldn’t be over there in the first place that’s one thing. Better yet, if you want to say that humanity needs to grow up and we need to stop trying to kill whoever we don’t like/disagree with, I’m prepared to have that conversation, too. Hell, I'm already at the table because I wholeheartedly agree!

But in my opinion, blaming the president, Brennan and UAVs for innocent deaths in a war zone is a lot like blaming the operator for running a machine they had no part in engineering. Granted; war is an ancient, massive, overused, violent machine fueled by wanton bloodshed and a lust for power at the expense of human suffering and misery – but it's a machine nonetheless. 

I'll tell you what: I’m totally down to help destroy it with you all; I think my life-long record as a leftist proves that. But you'll have to let me punch Kim Jong-Un and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the mouth first. Once should be enough. Afterwards - and you have my word - we will rage!

Canadian Bridge Blockades: Canadians Indigenous are "Idle No More"

   by Kenny Brown

    Over the last few years we have seen protests and uprisings all across the globe. From the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, from the EU Austerity Protests to the students in Canada. Now we are seeing a new protest stirring in the commonly silenced indigenous people of Canada. They are gathering behind a slogan "Idle No More", claiming multiple industries and the Canadian government are throwing them to the wind when it comes to promised profits and destroyed land. To put it in their own words here is an excerpt from the "Idle No More Manifesto" found on their Facebook page:

 "We contend that:
    Currently, this government is trying to pass many laws so that reserve lands can also be bought          and sold by big companies to get profit from resources. They are promising to share this time…Why would these promises be different from past promises? We will be left with nothing but poisoned water, land and air. This is an attempt to take away sovereignty and the inherent right to land and resources from First Nations peoples."

    The ongoing distrust of the Canadian government by the First Nations people and the "Idle No More" movement can be seen by recent actions. On Friday, January 4, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed to a meeting with representatives of the First Nations but yesterday, Saturday the 5th, the month old movement successfully created a blockade on the International Bridge in Cornwall, Ontario leading the police to shut it down. Other blockades were created across places like the main rail line between Toronto and Montreal. This blockade helped create havoc for passengers when it disrupted service for the Via Rail, affecting Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

    It should be noted that one of the four "Idle No More" founders, Jessica Gordon, does not support the blockade method, citing her support for peaceful protest. Although she disagrees with this form of action it should be noted the attention being fostered by it. News networks all over the globe have been covering the blockades and bringing light to a commonly ignored minority.

    Their next major announced protests will occur on January 11th on what they are calling their "Global Day of Solidarity and Resurgence". We shall see how things play out over the next few days and weeks with this rather young grassroots movement and if they will have their questions answered and their problems justified. It is hard to tell these days what movements will be successful but I always have my fingers crossed for the well intentioned under dog.

If you want to learn more about the "Idle No More" movement you can check them out via the links below.
Facebook Page
"Idle No More" Main Site

Cat Caught Smuggling Weapons Into Brazilian Prison

Photo of the suspect

Ever see the show Prison Break? Well, it's sort of like that, except with a cat.

In A Brazilian prison, guards found a cat attempting to sneak in through the prison fence. Upon apprehending the feline, guards found that the cat was strapped to the teeth; with saws, a cell phone, headphones, a memory card, drills, and various other contraband to it's chest and legs.

An official at the prison made a press statement, commenting on how difficult it is to solve the mystery of who was using the cat as a mule for tools to plot a prison break, saying

"It will be hard to discover who is responsible since the cat does not speak"

It is said the cat will be brought downtown for further questioning.
 

Ultra Conservative Group Freedom Works Pays $8 million For Boss to Quit. The Dick Armey Story.

By John Amaruso


Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey has been paid by his right wing organization "Freedom Works" an $8 million dollar deal to leave the organization. Freedom Works which has backed Tea Party candidates and other affiliated movements has been ran by Mr. Armey for almost 10 years. Mr. Armey defended the deal to quit by saying he couldn't "leave with empty pockets". Meanwhile the head of Freedom Works was quoted as saying to Mr. Armey about the deal that "you'll never have to work again forever".

The 72 year old Mr. Armey in an interview claimed the organization was "dishonest" and reflected on his time in the ultra conservative lobbying group and the disputes which ultimately led to his resignation.

It has also been alleged that Mr. Armey had planned an impromptu "coup" against the leadership of Freedom Works when in early September of 2012 he brought a gun carrying aide with him to a meeting attended by Matt Kibbe, Freedom Works president.

Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey

Under the deal Mr. Armey is set to receive $400,000 a year until he is 92- bringing the grand total of his severance package $8 million dollars.

Mr. Armey after being offered the deal said "How many people are going to have trouble of making that choice at the age of 72?".

Freedom Works did not comment on any of the accusations posed by Mr. Armey, only saying they wish him the best in his future endeavors.

I don't know about you, but that's a whole lotta pension pay. Where do I sign?

Freedom Works designing a deal Dick Armey can't refuse