Source: CNS News

Date: Friday, September 3, 2010

(CNSNews.com) - Laid-off temporary federal workers, who were brought on to the government payroll by the U.S. Census Bureau to help conduct the 2010 Census, accounted for 43.6 percent of the increase in unemployed people in the United States last month, as the national unemployment rate increased from 9.5 percent in July to 9.6 percent in August.

From July to August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall number of unemployed people in the United States increased by 261,000 from 14,599,000 to 14,860,000.

The fact that laid-off temporary Census workers accounted for 114,000 of those 261,000 newly unemployed Americans may not bode well for the coming months as the Census Bureau still has 82,000 temporary workers on its payroll who will eventually need to be laid-off when the work of the 2010 Census is completed.

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Source: The Arizona Republic

Date: Friday, September 3, 2010

PHOENIX — Defending the state against lawsuits related to its tough new immigration law has cost more than $440,000 to date, and outstanding bills could easily add up to an excess of $1 million or more.

The bills so far cover work and charges incurred only through the end of June, which doesn’t include any costs related to a U.S. Department of Justice suit filed in July.

“The fees incurred have been, and will continue to be, sizeable as the governor’s counsel responds to the massive number of filings in these lawsuits and prepares her filings before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,” Paul Senseman, Gov. Jan Brewer’s spokesman, said in an e-mail Thursday.

The state law, portions of which took effect July 29, had been the subject of seven federal suits. One has been thrown out; another has been partially dismissed. A federal injunction has halted four parts of state Senate Bill 1070, and that is what the governor is appealing.

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Source: WSWS

Date: 4 September 2010

US payrolls fell by 54,000 and the official unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in August from 9.5 percent the previous month, according to the monthly employment report released Friday by the Labor Department.

The net job loss in August marked the third straight month in which the US economy shed jobs. The private sector added a mere 67,000 new jobs during the month, about half the total needed just to keep pace with the normal growth of the labor force. It is estimated that 250,000 to 300,000 new jobs have to be generated every month to recoup the 8.4 million jobs lost since the recession that began in December 2007 and significantly reduce the unemployment rate.

Over the past eight months through August, the US economy has produced a net increase of 723,000 jobs, an average of only about 90,000 a month. The earlier pace of job creation has slowed and gone into reverse in recent months as US economic growth sharply receded.

Friday’s jobs report was consistent with other recent indicators of economic slump—a collapse in home sales, declining manufacturing activity, rising mortgage delinquency rates—that portend further increases in joblessness in the months ahead.

In a separate survey published Friday, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that growth in the US non-manufacturing sector, which accounts for about 90 percent of the US economy, slowed in August, with a key index hitting 51.5 percent compared with 54.3 percent in July. Economists had expected a reading of 53.5 percent. Service industries expanded at the weakest pace in seven months, the ISM reported.

In its employment report, the Labor Department said public-sector employment fell by 121,000. The bulk of government job cuts, 114,000, resulted from the termination of part-time workers hired to help conduct the 2010 census. An additional 10,000 jobs were eliminated by state and local governments that are slashing public services to close gaping budget shortfalls.

Manufacturing payrolls unexpectedly dropped by 27,000.

The entry of 550,000 new workers into the job market, combined with the net reduction in non-farm payrolls, resulted in the rise in the official jobless rate, the first increase in four months. The 9.6 percent figure, however, masks the true scale of the jobs crisis. The government’s so-called “underemployment rate,” which includes workers who want a job but have given up looking for work and those who want full-time work but are forced to work part-time, is a closer approximation of joblessness. That figure rose in August from 16.5 percent to 16.7 percent.

The total number of Americans counted by the government as unemployed rose in August to 14.86 million, up from 14.59 million in July. When so-called “discouraged” workers and those involuntarily working part-time are added, the number of jobless workers approaches 26 million.

The Labor Department upwardly revised its figures for new private-sector jobs in June and July, saying businesses added 168,000 jobs in those two months instead of 102,000 estimated earlier. It downwardly revised its estimate of net job losses during the two months to 229,000, 123,000 fewer than had been reported previously.

However, the upward revision of private payrolls in July to 107,000 means that 40,000 fewer private-sector jobs were created in August than in the previous month, indicating a negative trend in the job market.

Other data in the report highlight the devastating impact of the jobs crisis.

• The number of people working part-time because they could not find full-time work rose to 8.9 million in August from 8.5 million in July.

• The jobless rates for African-Americans, Hispanics and young workers were substantially higher than for the general population. The overall unemployment rate for African-Americans was 13.2 percent; for African-American men it was 17.3 percent. The jobless rate among Hispanics was 12 percent. Some 26.3 percent of teens and 14.9 percent of workers aged 20 to 24 were unemployed and seeking work.

Despite these grim figures, the media for the most part portrayed the jobs report as positive or “mixed,” largely because the private-sector job number was higher than had been anticipated and the net job loss was lower.

The financial markets responded enthusiastically to the jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 127 points, or 1.24 percent, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes gained even more, in percentage terms. This rise reflected the class calculations of the corporate-financial elite.

There was relief that the report did not point to a downward deflationary spiral, but rather a continuation of the environment of high unemployment and anemic growth which has been exploited by big business to ruthlessly attack the working class. Despite the stalling economy and the fictitious character of the “recovery,” corporate profits have been booming, based almost entirely on downsizing, wage-cutting and speedup.

The ruling class is at this point content to have the jobs crisis continue in order to press its advantage and permanently impoverish the working class.

In the Obama administration, it has a willing and pliant instrument for doing so. Obama, flanked by his team of economic advisers, hailed the jobs report in remarks delivered Friday morning from the White House Rose Garden. Oozing complacency and indifference, he pointed to “the eighth consecutive month of private job growth” and said, “Now, that’s positive news, and it reflects the steps we’ve already taken to break the back of this recession.”

He managed to include in his brief remarks the clichés that there is “no quick fix” and “no silver bullet” to reduce the highest jobless rate since the Great Depression. He sought to make a verbal acknowledgment of the social distress confronting workers, while belittling the depth of the crisis and claiming that the “recovery” merely needed to be sped up.

“But the key point I’m making now,” he said, “is that the economy is moving in a positive direction. Jobs are being created. They’re just not being created as fast as they need to…We just have to speed it up.”

Obama ignored a reporter who called out, “What about a poverty agenda, Mr. President? What about a poverty agenda for all classes?”

The president said he would hold a press conference next week and announce new initiatives to “keep the recovery moving.” However, the White House has already made it clear that there will be no major spending programs and no use of public funds to hire unemployed workers.

On Wednesday, Christina Romer, who has resigned her post as chair of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, gave a speech before the National Press Club in Washington in which she hinted at frustration over the refusal of the White House to undertake more aggressive stimulative measures.

“The only sure-fire ways for policymakers to substantially increase aggregate demand in the short run,” she said, “are for the government to spend more and tax less. In my view, we should be moving forward on both fronts.”

Asked about Romer’s remarks at a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, “Some big new stimulus plan is not in the offing.”

Administration officials are letting it be known that any new proposals will be “small bore” and “targeted” and will consist of new tax breaks and subsidies to businesses.

In the face of a worsening economic and social crisis—unemployment has stayed above 9 percent for 16 straight months and is more than 1.5 percent higher than when Obama took office—the administration has ruled out a continuation of even the half-measures of 2009 in order to prosecute the ruling class offensive against the working class. The corporate-financial elite has seized on the breakdown in its own system to carry through a historic attack aimed at rolling back all of the social gains won by workers over more than a century of struggle.

In particular, unemployment is being used to force workers to accept poverty-level wages and intensified exploitation in return for a job.

The Economic Policy Institute issued a report August 31 on wage-cutting in the US, in which it wrote: “Workers who have kept their jobs or found new work during this downturn have also suffered from a broad-based collapse of wage growth over the last two years. And with unemployment expected to remain elevated for many years to come, we do not expect the suppression of wage growth to ease anytime soon.”

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Beachgoers looked on as the waves broke on the Avalon Pier in North Carolina as Hurricane Earl headed for the East Coast

Author: ANAHAD O’CONNOR and JACK HEALY

Source: NYTimes

Date: September 3, 2010

Hurricane Earl pounded North Carolina late Thursday night with powerful but diminishing strength, pelting the eastern part of the state with bands of rain and severe blasts of wind as communities and seaside towns across the eastern seaboard braced for the storm’s devastating force.

The storm weakened as it approached the coast, shifting in strength from a Category 3 to a Category 2, but was still expected to sideswipe the Outer Banks in North Carolina overnight with winds exceeding 100 miles per hour. By 11 p.m., Earl was about 115 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, and was steadily marching forward, unleashing severe rain squalls and gusts of wind along the Outer Banks.

By the time the fringes of the hurricane hit, some parts along the coast of North Carolina were so deserted they were nearly silent.

The National Hurricane Center issued an advisory late Thursday night, warning that while Earl was weakening, it was still a “large hurricane.” Thousands of tourists were evacuated from the area earlier in the day, and at seaside inns in Long Island and the Jersey Shore, owners boarded up windows, pulled down their canvas awnings, and handed out flashlights to guests who had come to revel in an extended Labor Day weekend. On Nantucket, officials urged people to pull in their boats and planned to open an emergency shelter at a high school in the morning.

Forecasters said that after passing North Carolina, the storm would likely continue weakening as it headed north into colder waters.

In Massachusetts, where Earl is expected to pass perilously close to Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Friday night, Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and asked residents near the coast to consider relocating. In New York, the Long Island Railroad said it was canceling all service on the East End of the island for Friday, with trains set to shut down east of Speonk and Ronkonkoma. And in many communities along the Atlantic seaboard, residents and business owners began boarding up their windows and shuttering their homes as they anticipated the brutal lashing from the storm, which could taunt the coastal United States into Saturday.

The National Weather Service said Earl was heading north with winds of 105 miles per hour, and issued a tropical storm warning for parts of Long Island and a hurricane warning for coastal Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, which lie along the storm’s expected path as it curves to the northeast and sweeps up the coast. The storm could bring winds of at least 75 miles per hour, four to eight inches of rain and severe coastal flooding and erosion.

By 8 p.m. Friday evening, the hurricane should reach a point about 100 to 120 miles southeast of Montauk at Long Island’s eastern tip, bringing tropical-storm force winds of up to 74 miles per hour to parts of Long Island itself, said Ross Dickman, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service’s office in Brookhaven. He warned that such winds and heavy rains could start knocking down trees and power lines even earlier in the day Friday and urged residents to stock up on batteries and secure boats, beach chairs, outdoor umbrellas and any other objects that could turn into missiles.

Forecasters have not entirely ruled out the possibility that Earl could maliciously swerve onto land as a full-fledged hurricane with winds of 100 miles per hour.

“If the hurricane comes ashore, we could have extremely dangerous wind conditions causing significant damage,” Mr. Dickman said. “Right now it doesn’t look it’s going to happen.”

“On my way to work this morning,” he added, “I noticed many of my neighbors had lawn furniture out and umbrellas open, and those sort of things need to be put away because they could potentially become projectiles in tropical force winds.”

On the Outer Banks, a line of barrier islands with some stretches barely wider than the road itself, an evacuation order that applied to visitors and in some places residents was largely heeded. A state official called the response to the order “very healthy.”

At the North Beach Campground in Rodanthe, a few stragglers visited the convenience store. Ron Pettit, a watersports business owner, said he had tucked away his jetskis and kayaks and was prepared to wait out the storm with his wife.

But Robin Arnold stopped in to cash her check and gas up her car, headed off the island, in part because she was worried about being stuck there and unable to attend a weekend rock concert. “I’d rather see a concert than eat crackers and whatever else I have in my house,” she said.

On Nantucket, officials said they planned to open an emergency shelter at a high school Friday morning. No one has been asked to evacuate, and it would be very difficult, said Gregg Tivnan, the assistant town administrator.

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Source: TBD

Date: September 2, 2010 – 06:19 pm

James J. Lee walked into One Discovery Place Wednesday afternoon with two non-firing starter pistols and four improvised explosive devices, police said. While it appears the starter pistol is what led police to shoot Lee, the explosive devices were the real danger.

Police Chief Tom Manger said at least one of the devices was capable of killing someone, had it detonated. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Chief Richie Bowers, whose department contains the bomb squad, declined to describe the devices or their potential capabilities.

Lee’s end came when authorities heard a pop. Manger said the SWAT team was inside the building, around the corner from Lee. The team heard a pop that they believed was a pistol shot. The team came around the corner and shot Lee.

According to Special Operations Division commander Capt. Darryl McSwain, “He made a direct effort to harm, in our opinion, one of the hostages, which left us with no other choice.”

According to Manger, Lee repeatedly said “I’m ready to die” during the standoff.

“I can’t imagine how terrified someone could be to listen to, for the better part of four hours, Lee’s end of the conversation,” Manger said.

Police said they found one starter pistol — a gun incapable of firing a bullet — Wednesday at One Discovery Place and another one was found today.

Manger said multiple officers fired at Lee. They are members of the County’s SWAT team, and have been placed on routine administrative leave.

A total of four improvised explosive devices were found inside the Discovery Channel building, including one strapped to Lee. Another four were found Thursday morning at the Wheaton home where Lee rented a room.

Manger said investigators were scanning security camera video to see if Lee had the explosives strapped to him when he walked into the building . Lee was carrying two backpacks and two boxes, and the explosives may have been inside.

UPDATE 5:07 p.m.: The ‘gunman’ in yesterday’s hostage standoff was only armed with starter pistols, which are incapable of firing bullets.

Investigators say there were four explosive devices in the Discovery Channel building and four in his rented room in Wheaton. The devices could have been deadly, Montgomery County police Chief Tom Manger said.

UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: A couple of updates on the investigation from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Chief Richie Bowers:

Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams searched James J. Lee’s rented residence on Thursday and found four additional devices detonated them remotely and safely.

Bowers declined to talk more about the improvised explosive devices found at the Discovery Channel headquarters. Bowers added that investigators are searching for Lee’s vehicle.

Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said there is no indication there was any explosion when Lee was shot by officers.

UPDATE 4:25 p.m.: We are awaiting a news conference from Montgomery County police Chief Tom Manger about yesterday’s standoff at Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring. Use the live-streaming box that appears above this post (Requires Flash 10.1)

UPDATE 3:35 p.m.: TBD’s Elahe Izadi just filed this report from the scene of yesterday’s standoff:

“The sidewalks around the Discovery building on Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road have now cleared for pedestrians to walk by. Police tape still prevents access to the Georgia and Wayne avenues side of the property, and private cleaning crews were busy cleaning up the crime scene.

The sidewalks opened at about 11 a.m., a police official on the scene said.

Discovery employees have slowly been making their way back to their offices to retrieve car keys and other items they left behind. Employees are entering the lobby on the corner of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue and have to present a photo I.D. to get past the entrance.”

Read the complete post here…

UPDATE 2:46 p.m.: ABC 7’s Brad Bell writes: The people of Silver Spring and the employees of Discovery Communications reclaimed their turf and headquarters building today. The SWAT teams and snipers are gone but the rattled nerves have clearly not healed. I encountered Natasha Dickson just before noon as she walked out of the Discovery building. She was holding her young daughter’s hand and clutching the purse she’d left behind in her hurry to evacuate yesterday. She told me that many staffers are still emotional. She described people hugging and even shedding a few tears.

I also saw something today that had a few hardened cops and firefighters chuckling about the hidden cost of crime. A Montgomery county fire crew was rigging lines as though they were embarking on a rescue from high-rise window ledge. I asked what was up and the answer was priceless. A police officer who had taken up a high angle position across the street from the bomb wearing gunman had accidentally left his wedding ring in his sniper’s nest! The mission was to retrieve the jewelry. Life goes on.

UPDATE 2:06 p.m.: Montgomery County police plan to hold a news conference about the latest developments in the James J. Lee Discovery Channel gunman case at 4:30 p.m. We’re working on live-streaming it. It will also be carried live on ABC 7 News and TBD-TV.

UPDATE 1:27 p.m.: Police and FBI agents have left the Wheaton home where the Discovery Channel gunman rented a room.

One next-door neighbor, Billy, who declined to give his full name, was at home with his grandson Thursday morning when investigators knocked on his door and told him to leave his house for about an hour.

Billy said there has been a lot of turnover at the house where Lee resided.

“He must not have lived there for very long because I would have noticed,” Billy said of Lee.

Billy went to a neighbor’s house. He saw what appeared to be investigators come out of the Lee residence with boxes.

UPDATE 1:05 p.m.: Police and FBI agents surrounded the Wheaton home Thursday where James J. Lee, the Discovery Channel gunman, rented a room.

Lee’s landlord contacted police about 9:30 a.m. Thursday after seeing the news about Lee. Police had the home surrounded by about 10 a.m.

Lee rented a room in a house at 2512 Kimberly Street in Wheaton, Montgomery County police Lt. Bob Bolesta confirmed to TBD’s Elahe Izadi.

The home was searched and evidence recovered, ” Lt. Bolesta said. Police declined to describe the evidence. The bomb squad was called in the check out the residence, but the area was cleared. Police declined to say whether anything suspicious was found.

Lee had two other roommates at the house. Investigators have spoken to one of them, but don’t believe either had anything to do with Lee’s plot.

“This individual kept to himself,” Lt. Bolesta said. “None of these individuals (roommates) were ever in his room.”

TBD was tipped to the police activity by What’s Up Wheaton.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: Montgomery County police have blocked off a section of Kimberly Street in Wheaton, where Discovery Channel gunman James J. Lee may have resided at some point, the Wheaton Patch reported.

ABC 7 and TBD reporters are en route to the scene.

ABC 7 News has also confirmed that Discovery Communications had a staff meeting on Thursday, where managers praised the actions of police and security. A TwitPic captured the crowd of employees in the lobby.

UPDATE SEPT. 2, 10:40 a.m.: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley released this statement praising Montgomery County police:

“I want to commend Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger and the members of the Montgomery County Police for their valiant efforts to diffuse the hostage situation at Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring yesterday. Chief Manger and his team’s professionalism kept civilians safe and unharmed. Law enforcement officers put their lives at risk everyday and the bravery of these men and women should not be overlooked.”

“I also want to commend Discovery CEO David Zaslov and the employees of Discovery for executing their crisis plan flawlessly, and for remaining calm during this crisis.”

UPDATE SEPT. 2, 8:05 a.m.: According to Montgomery County police, a makeshift bomb was discovered inside the Discovery Communications building, ABC 7 reports. It consisted of two small propane canisters similar to those used for camping. It was wrapped with piping that contained shot gun pellets. If it had gone off, it would have acted similar to a grenade, sending out shrapnel.

Police also say that suspect James J. Lee fired his gun when he entered the lobby Wednesday. An overnight sweep of the building produced a number of items that were disrupted by the bomb squad, including two backpacks and two boxes. Lee was also seen during the standoff with what appeared to be a remote with an antenna in his hand, which concerned emergency responders. Lee also had on him batteries and two ski masks.

Around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, the tactical unit that was outside the lobby heard what they believed to be a gun shot or some type of explosive, in addition to seeing Lee waving the gun and appearing to threaten a hostage. At that point they made the decision to go in and a member of the tactical entry team shot and killed Lee.

UPDATE SEPT. 2, 8:00 a.m.: WTOP reports a list of Mebrobus lines affected by the investigation in Silver Spring, including the Q2, Y8, Z8, and J2.

ORIGINAL STORY, SEPT. 1:

Corrections: An original version of this story said Lee had violated a stay-away order by returning yesterday; in fact, the stay-away order had expired. Also, police did not detonate the bombs last night. They “disrupted” them with quick blasts of water.

Employees of Discovery Communications hadn’t heard much from James J. Lee in the last two years. For a brief spell in early 2008, Lee was a fixture outside the company’s Silver Spring headquarters, leading a bizarre protest aimed at forcing the television giant to alter its programming. When his week-long spectacle ended in an arrest for disorderly conduct, Lee headed to a courthouse in Montgomery County as his own lawyer and quietly slipped out of the company’s consciousness.

When the 43-year-old finally returned today around 1 p.m., Lee came with a gun in his hand, a possible explosive device strapped to his body, and a list of demands that made sense only to himself. He walked into the company’s lobby brandishing his gun, starting a four-hour standoff full of fear and negotiations, with co-workers and loved ones hanging desperately on every update from police.

Police mugshot of James J. Lee

Lee never moved beyond the company’s lobby. He immediately took three people hostage — two of them Discovery Channel staffers, the third a security guard. Once it became clear something was amiss, the 1,900 employees either hunkered down in their offices or headed to the building’s side exits and out into the streets.

The building went into lockdown, the Montgomery County police arrived on the scene and cordoned off the area, and Discovery managers sent out an e-mail: “URGENT: Employees Should Go Home – Don’t Return to 1DP Until Further Notice. Employees at 1DP should go home for the remainder of the day. No employee should return to 1DP for any reason.” The roughly 100 children at Discovery Kids Place, the company’s day care center, were ushered by their teachers to a nearby McDonald’s.

(Photo: Jonathan Calvert)

Discovery staffers texted and e-mailed one another in a flurry of confusion. The situation was shocking and bizarre. There are plenty of government buildings around Washington to attract angry extremists, but who could hold a potentially violent grudge against Discovery?

“It took all of us by surprise,” says one employee, who was set to work at the office that evening. (Employees were instructed not to talk the press, which explains why staffers quoted in this story requested anonymity.) The company, she says, is quite good about keeping employees abreast of any controversy or demonstrations—-like earlier this year, when some people protested against Discovery’s plans for a reality show featuring Sarah Palin. There’d been nothing of the sort in recent weeks.

But the situation made a little more sense when the press aired a loose description of the perpetrator. “When I came in to talk to one of my supervisors, we had the TV on,” says another employee who works in a separate building. “There was a crawl at the bottom of the screen saying the suspect had been identified as an Asian male. We said, ‘That’s got to be the guy who was protesting a couple of years ago.’ And an hour or so later they confirmed it.” The employee says he hadn’t seen or thought of Lee in more than two years.

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Source: Nanny State Liberation Front (NSLF)

Date: August 17, 2010

"Is this a court of law or a beauty contest, Your Honor?"

Note from Brian Hill: This could be the beginning of the Sharia Courts under Sharia Law Obama wants in the United States

Forget about wearing baggy pants, flip-flops and skimpy tops to court if the thought has crossed your mind. Increasingly, judges are demanding anyone who has a date with the law must dress “appropriately,” and what defendants wear to their trials can and will be used against them.

“We’re not out to treat people as school kids, but we do expect if you come to court, you need to treat it with the appropriate respect and dignity it should deserve due to the occasion,” Delaware Superior Court Judge William Witham Jr. told USA Today. His courtroom and others across the state prohibit women from wearing skirts that fall shorter than 4 inches above the knee when standing.

Show-up on your trial date wearing inappropriate clothing and you will miss your court date and be slapped with a penalty for failing to appear. While some legal advocates claim that policy is unfair, perhaps taking the safe route and wearing a suit or dress would serve defendants’ best interests.

Holly Alford, an assistant professor in the department of fashion design and merchandising at Virginia Commonwealth University, noted that judges who prohibit defendants from wearing “saggy pants” that expose their underwear are silently being discriminated against by judges because that trend is popular among blacks. “[It's] almost like you’re making racial statements without actually saying it.”

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says female Muslim defendants are at risk of discrimination, too. “There should be no issue for anyone entering a court with either a face veil or a head scarf,” he said.

Then, there are the idiots who are either expressing their First Amendment rights to free speech or just trying to send a message to judges and juries by wearing clothing that sends a message:

• In May, Jennifer LaPenta was jailed briefly after a judge in Lake County, Ill., held her in contempt for wearing an offensive T-shirt to court.

• In Inkster, Mich., Joseph Kassab was turned away in April from the courtroom for wearing black jeans. He missed his traffic court appearance and was fined, and he’s challenging the dress code in the state Court of Appeals.

• The same thing happened to Linda West, who missed her court date after being refused entry in June to court in Bakersfield, Calif., for wearing flip-flops.

• In July, in Hamilton County (Ohio) Municipal Court, William Morse’s T-shirt featuring slasher-movie character Chucky and the words “Say goodbye to the killer” earned Morse a warning that he’d spend a day in jail if he came to court again with inappropriate attire.

Do you believe judges should determine the appropriateness of defendants’ wardrobes? Can defendants wearing questionable attire receive fair trials? Should the First Amendment protect defendants’ rights to wearing whatever they determine appropriate for court appearances? Sound-off below on these issues and whatever else comes to mind.

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Source: Sources are listed below the article

Date: August 16, 2010

Damon Dunn is a Republican being put in the position to be nominated for the Secretary of State of California is actually a registered Democrat in Florida since 1999 according to Dr. Orly Taitz. The speech by Dr. Taitz about the Election Fraud was found on YouTube by the user William Wagener.

Dr. Taitz is also running to be nominated for Secretary of State so Damon Dunn who is competing in the nominations for California Secretary of State is who she is up against in the elections.

According to Dr. Taitz Mr. Dunn has violated three Elections codes of California. Those California Elections codes are §8001(a)(2), §18203, and §18500 which has been searched up on the California Government code search engine.

For those who don’t know what three Elections Codes were violated I will explain all three.

According to §8001(a)(2)

No declaration of candidacy for a partisan office or for
membership on a county central committee shall be filed, by a
candidate unless
(2) the candidate has not been registered as

affiliated with a qualified political party other than that political

party the nomination of which he seeks within 12 months, or, in the

case of an election governed by Chapter 1 (commencing with Section

10700) of Part 6 of Division 10, within three months immediately

prior to the filing of the declaration.

So somebody that is already affiliated with a qualified political party has to state their change to another political party 12 months prior to running for office.

According to §18203

Any person who files or submits for filing a nomination
paper or declaration of candidacy knowing that it or any part of it
has been made falsely is punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the state prison for
16 months or two or three years or by both the fine and imprisonment.

So in simple terms for this one if anybody who files for, makes a declaration for, or submits a filing for Nomination or Candidacy knowing that the information put on the filing was false information then that is considered fraud according to California Election Code (CEC). So in other words if I filed that I am not affiliated with any political party even though I was years ago then I am lying about my political affiliations to a Government registration facility which is what fraud is. So if I told the FBI my name was Sally Joe then I am committing fraud in a Government office. So you get the picture of what fraud is.

So the last Code is §18500 and so according to it

Any person who commits fraud or attempts to commit fraud,
and any person who aids or abets fraud or attempts to aid or abet
fraud, in connection with any vote cast, to be cast, or attempted to
be cast, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment for 16
months or two or three years.

So according to this law if somebody aids, commits, approves, encourages, or supports Fraud then they are held liable and is guilty of a Felony.

So now I explained what all three California Elections Codes Damon Dunn has violated according to Dr. Taitz.

Dr. Taitz claims she wants to become the California Secretary of State to expose all the inner political corruptions within California. Dr. Taitz has also been fighting in court for months to years over Obamas Birth Certificate issue over the fact that Mr. Obama did not release a valid long form Birth Certificate before his inauguration to Presidential office.

Also according to William Wagener’s video description it says

Across America, TEA PARTY fakes are endorsing and Pushing RINO’s to win
the Republican Primaries. RINO = Republican In Name Only. Damon DUNN is the man who had forged Signatures on his Nomination Papers, in the California
Secretary of STATE GOP primary. See Proof, in “Nomination FRAUD” on Y.T.
Mr. DUNN had been a registered Democrat all his life, publically stated Obama is His “Hero”, in a Stanford Blog interview, and voted only in 2009 one time. ONE TIME. Yet, he makes wonderful speeches and wants us to believe he is qualified to run the States Elections, having voted ONE TIME, prior to the June 2010 Republican Primary.

So according to William Wagener there are democrats who have became Republicans just to get elected even though that is a false Declaration of affiliation for a political party. It is nomination Fraud when somebody does not declare that they begin to affiliate themselves with a different political party because of the corruption and infiltration that breeds from the sudden change in political parties. So that is why states have passed law codes that anybody who changes a political party has to wait a certain time period plus has to declare that the person is ready to change to another political party.

Even though the Standford Interview is mentioned by William Wagener I am unable to source it at this time until somebody notifies me of the source of the Interview.

Damon Dunn got a scholarship into Stanford University then got into Football. Dr. Dunn also played in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.

Damon Dunn has also been affiliated with the Democrat party according to Dr. Taitz.

Damon Dunn also thought of Obama as his hero according to a Stanford Blog Interview.

The video regarding the Orly Taitz speech is below:

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

Sources (Links are within the article but sources are also included here for reference):

Common Elections Fraud Violations – Also mirrored here

YouTube – 2010 – Another RIGGED ELECTION – Video mirrored here

California Government codes search engine

California Elections Code §8001(a)(2)

California Elections Code §18203

California Elections Code §18500

Links that were referenced in this article:

William Wageners YouTube page

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Source: Nanny State Liberation Front (NSLF)

Date: August 13, 2010

Child sits on sidewalk with a target for parade marchers to aim for with their candy.

Parents are not capable of controlling their own children during parades in a small upstate New York village, claim busybody bureaucrats who outlawed the tradition of parade marchers tossing candy to kids on sidewalks.

“The ban starts with the local high school’s homecoming parade in October and includes the holiday parade, which features Santa Claus riding a float while his elves throw goodies to children lining the streets,” reports MyFoxNY.com from the Village of Endicott. “Officials say the candy-tossing ban is meant to prevent kids from rushing into the street and getting hit by floats or other vehicles.”

Marchers in parades will now be forced to break out of formation to personally hand kids candy and whatever other trinkets they’d like to offer.

Do you agree that this new law will prevent children from being run-over by floats and vehicles traveling at speeds barely above idling? Chime-in below, and be sure to share your opinion with Village of Endicott Mayor John R. Bertoni and his Board of Trustees that made this absurd law possible.

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Source: Prison Planet

Date: August 12, 2010

Related: Activists want to Paint The Town for the National Anti-Fluoridation Poster Campaign

Concerned citizens in Wichita, Kansas, have informed that city’s public officials about a poster campaign designed to inform the public about the health hazards of water fluorination.

“We know the truth. And we are growing our numbers,” writes Travis W. Crank. “You will be forced to answer the increasing number of inquiries to your offices which will result — and shall escalate until the day that it is stopped and independent testing results show that your fluoridation operation has been withdrawn from this area altogether,” he writes in an open letter addressed to Sedgwick County public servants and members of the Wichita City Council.

This sort of direct action stands as an example that should be taken up by activists around the country in the struggle to rid our drinking water of the deadly neurotoxin. Crank’s open letter, an email thread, and details about the poster campaign follow:

Fluoridation of the Public Water Supply – Open Letter to County ‘Officials’

Transcript of E-mail Thread:

To Sedgwick County Public Servants / Wichita City Council Members:

Ladies & gentlemen – You will begin to notice a number of signs being placed throughout the city in order to inform the public of what is being deliberately pumped into the municipal water supplies. The fact that sodium fluoride (and other chemicals) is a very dangerous substance is well established. It has no business in our drinking water. Both the City of Wichita and Derby both concede that flouride is an additive, meant to prevent tooth decay and nothing could be further from the truth. This long-time deception will end – regardless of any federal incentives that have made this operation so appealing to the elected ‘officials’.

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were among the first leaders to use low-dosage water fluoridation as a means to subdue the general public, make concentration camp inmates more docile & to reduce fertility. In the modern age, water fluoridation is merely one method that is being used to take the ‘teeth’ out of the freedom movement in this nation.

We know the truth. And we are growing our numbers.

Signs will continue to be placed on a continual basis by an increasing number of activists in the area, in order to inform the public of the truth and to rally public inquiry. This operation will continue for some time and for as long as necessary, well in advance of any official proceedings that we will petition for – when we feel the time is right. By that time, you will have been inundated with telephone calls from an angry citizenry that demand to know why this is happening – and has been happening for over a decade.

More than just a blatant warning on the front side of these posters; upon being torn down, the citizen is then presented with definitive proof on the back side of these publications. Photographs of fluoride chemical bags & other technical data – including the City’s own ‘Water Poisoning Report’.

You will be forced to answer the increasing number of inquiries to your offices which will result – and shall escalate until the day that it is stopped and independent testing results show that your flouridation operation has been withdrawn from this area altogether.

That is all for now. I would recommend that the public servants of the great City of Wichita stop fluoridation on their own accord, and well in advance of future legal proceedings. Times have changed. And we are now pushing back. The great people of this state and city will do the bulk of the work for us as we lead them further down the rabbit hole.

Have a great day.
Travis W. Crank

From: James Gragg
Sent: Tue 8/10/2010 2:16 PM
To: Masked
Subject: Money Saving Idea

To the members of the Sedgwick county commissioners,

Please see below, a quick survey (short list) of several clinical studies concerning the use of fluorides in drinking water. In a time when money is so tight, it would be a prudent measure to discontinue to fluorinate our tap water. The various medical problems, caused by this public medication program, causes an additional burden on our medical services – which continues to add to the cost for all of us for these services. I should enlighten you, that 98% of European countries “outlaw” fluorination of public tap water. There is a reason. I am not speaking about “calcium” fluoride, which is a “naturally occurring” mineral, but to the industrial waste product, known as “sodium” fluoride (from the pesticide & aluminum industries), which is being added to our public water supply. This “source,” contains lead, mercury, barium and many other toxic industrial waste by-products. And if the county derives its additives “source” from China, that’s an entirely different, and MORE hazardous source.

I don’t know how much actual money the county could save (a portion to be sure) in directly discontinuing to fluoridate the public water supplies, but the citizens of this county would be healthier for it (for sure), and that will help to reduce some of the demand on county’s medical services, which should be seen as an indirect savings to the community at large.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Documentation of Clinical Studies & Other Data Follows

James Gragg
Wichita, KS

Get the “There is Poison in the Tap Water” poster (PDF) (Archived by USWGO).

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Source: CNN

Date: Aug 4, 2010

A plane has crashed into a building near an airport runway in Phoenix, Arizona, a Phoenix fire department dispatcher said Wednesday.

One person died when the SR22 aircraft crashed while trying to land at Deer Valley Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

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