Monday, April 14, 2014

Accused Kansas Shooter Called Hitler 'Greatest Man that Ever Walked the Earth'

 

The accused shooter in the Overland Park Jewish Community Center shooting once praised Hitler as the “greatest man that ever walked the earth” in an interview with radio host Howard Stern.

Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. was interviewed by Stern in 2010 after he launched an independent campaign for Senate in Missouri.

Miller used his media opportunity to launch a stream of vitriolic hatred against the Jewish people, calling them “parasites” that had bought the Republican and Democratic parties in America.

When asked by Stern about his opinion of Hitler, Miller proclaimed that he was the “greatest man that ever walked the earth” and also “the most lied about man.”

Miller also ranted about “neo-con Jews” like Paul Wolfowitz and Bill Kristol during the interview who were responsible for America's aggressive foreign policy and “murdering millions of people in the Middle East."





Accused Kansas Shooter Called Hitler 'Greatest Man that Ever Walked the Earth'
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:30:00 GMT

To Stop Russia, Cancel Obama's 'New Start'

 

Among the many dubious legacies of "moderate" Republicans is the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, also known as "New START," which the Senate ratified in December 2010, just after the electorate had delivered a resounding condemnation of the Obama administration's left-wing agenda. New START was the centerpiece of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ill-conceived and ill-fated "reset" with Russia.

As conservatives, such as former UN Ambassador John Bolton, noted at the time, New START amounted to a policy of unilateral disarmament by the United States. It was a disastrous and unwarranted step, taken in the wake of Russia's aggression in Georgia, and was done partly because of Obama's conviction that U.S. power is itself the central problem of international affairs, and partly because he had "moderate" Republican help.

Sen. Dick Lugar, then representing Indiana but barely living there, was a staunch advocate of "New START," and the mainstream media praised his statesmanship as a way of attacking his fellow Republicans. Ronald Brownstein of National Journal, for instance, lauded Lugar as an exemplar of "traditional internationalism inside the GOP," while disdaining those Republicans who wanted "unilateral American freedom of action."

So before the Tea Party hobbits arrived on Capitol Hill, inspired by the (well-informed and prescient) Sarah Palin, Lugar delivered the necessary votes to ratify New START. Relations with Russia have been a disaster since then, with Vladimir Putin backing the genocidal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, continuing to support the Iranian nuclear program, and now annexing the Crimea and threatening the stability of Eastern Europe.

Instead of sending weapons to shore up the defenses of the beleaguered Ukraine--who sent troops to fight with us in Iraq, by the way--the Obama administration is sending rations, i.e. Spam. Unless the luncheon meat has Kryptonite-like qualities on Russian troops and Russian-supporting paramilitaries, it is unlikely to have much of an effect. Sadly, few Republicans are offering anything more substantive as a response to the Ukraine crisis.

But there is one very simple way to begin a response: cancel New START. Doing so would not require sending U.S. troops overseas, or involving ourselves in international affairs we clearly have no patience to unravel. It simply means undoing something we ought never to have done in the first place--and sending a strong signal to Putin that his actions have strategic costs that will actually set back Russia's overall geopolitical position.

Treaties are not set in stone, after all. After all, Russia itself has violated the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 by violating Ukraine's territorial integrity. In 2012, it withdrew unilaterally from the Nunn-Lugar arrangement to monitor nuclear weapons in the former Soviet republics. Obama ought to have registered that signal of Russia's aggressive intent. It is well past time for the U.S. to signal back that we will defend our interests.

President Obama would, no doubt, resist any attempt to unravel what he considers (tellingly) part of his foreign policy legacy. But Congress can put pressure on him to withdraw from New START--and, in addition, pressure Democrats to indicate where they stand, with a view to both 2014 and 2016. If Putin is certain that another weak administration will replace Obama's, he will press forward. If he is unsure, he is likelier to relent.





To Stop Russia, Cancel Obama's 'New Start'
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:41:00 GMT

Feds to Pursue Bundy Ranch ‘Judicially’ After Standoff

 

Despite aborting their roundup and allowing “trespassing” cattle returned to the Bundy ranch in southern Nevada, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently offered public statements claiming it would continue to pursue the ranchers in court. Should the agency choose to do so, it would be the third time federal courts were utilized in the matter.

BLM spokesman Craig Leff told the Associated Press the agency was in no way ceasing its efforts with Cliven Bundy, claiming he would be pursued “administratively and judicially." Leff added that the BLM will “figure out how to move forward with this” and that “the door isn’t closed.”

According to the wire report, what may have appeared to be a resolution to the standoff evidenced by the returning of the cattle was only a temporary measure, according to Las Vegas Police Lt. Dan Zehnder. Lt. Zander claimed that that Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie negotiated a short-term resolution with the Bundy family without the BLM or the National Park Service (NPS) not being direct parties to the discussion.

The BLM affirmed local law enforcement’s claims on the matter.

"The BLM and National Park Service did not cut any deal and negotiate anything," BLM spokesman Leff said. "There was no deal we made."

As Breitbart News recently reported in detail, the Bundy family and the U.S. Department of the Interior are no strangers to one another in “administrative” and “judicial” conflict resolution scenarios. The parties locked horns beginning in 1994 after the BLM revoked the family’s grazing permit for alleged failure to renew use rights. Around the same time, BLM changed the terms of grazing rights forcing users to reduce herd sizes in an effort to protect a tortoise that inhabited the area. The following two decades were filled with administrative threats, federal court orders with appeals and claimed attempts to cut deals.

It was not until April 2014 that the BLM acted to impound “trespassing” cattle in compliance with a court order that was originally issued in late 1998. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a fresh court order from 2013 to perform the same action.

It remains to be seen if the BLM and NPS will actually seek a third order.

Follow Logan Churchwell on Twitter @LCChurchwell





Feds to Pursue Bundy Ranch ‘Judicially’ After Standoff
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:44:56 GMT

How Paramount Blew It with 'Noah'

 

What could have been a financial windfall for Paramount has turned into a film that might not break even. Hopefully, the box office history of "Noah" will tell Hollywood two things:

1. If you build it, we will come: The Faithful will flock to what they believe is a well-made biblical epic. "Noah's" Opening weekend proves that. No one expected a $44 million opener. People showed up to enjoy their Bible on the big screen. Until…

2. Don't bait-and-switch The Faithful: "Noah" could not hold on to the promise of its boffo opening weekend because it is a bait-and-switch flick that was only able to sucker The Faithful for a few days. After word got out that "Noah" is nothing close to the story of Noah but really an anti-God epic filled with nonsensical pieces of Kabbalah, Gnosticism, and environmental lunacy, the box office collapsed.

Imagine the money Paramount would be making if the film kept its promise?

Currently, "Noah" sits at $247 million worldwide. That means it has made back its $125 million production budget. With a promotion budget that has to be somewhere around $50 to $75 million, "Noah" will need to clear another $100 to $150 million. In North America, Box Office Mojo is now questioning if it can haul in another $10 million.

So at the very best, "Noah" is going to squeak out a break even.

It didn’t have to be like this. The opening weekend proves there's a demand for these kinds of films. But director Darren Aronofsky and Paramount just couldn’t bring themselves to be decent. And now what could have been a blockbuster is a financial wash.  





How Paramount Blew It with 'Noah'
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:55:00 GMT

Texas Border Official Admits to Public Corruption

 

40-year-old Maria Patricia Medina, the former chief of staff for the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, pled guilty  to covering up a felony related to elections in her district. As a result she could spend up to three years in prison and a hefty fine, according to local media outlet KRGV. 

More specifically, reports state that Medina attempted to cover a trail of money given to former Sheriff Lupe Trevino's election campaign by an alleged drug trafficker. Medina reportedly covered up records of the donations, which were given in cash from 2011-2012. 

Breitbart Texas’ Contributing Editor Syliva Longmire considers the episode to be representative of a larger issue involving public officials getting wrapped up in a culture of greed fuled by drug cartels.

“In a place like south Texas that is economically disadvantaged in many areas, it's increasingly difficult for some public officials to turn away from the large amounts of money involved in the drug business,” Longmire said. “It's tragic to see a border agency tainted this way, but good that the transparency of the investigation is shining a spotlight on the lesser known impacts of the drug war in our border communities.”

A spokesperson from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Breitbart Texas that Sheriff Lupe Trevino resigned, but refused to answer further questions at this time. KRGV reported that Trevino stepped down on March 28 and was not charged with a crime.

County records confirm that J.E. "Eddie" Guerra took Trevino's place and is now the Interim Sheriff. Reacting to Medina's guilty plea, Guerra told  Channel 5 News, "They resigned for a reason and now we know why they resigned...I will tell the citizens of Hidalgo County, I've only been on the job for a week, but there is a lot of good men and women working for the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office."

The recent incident involving Medina is only the most recent in a string of events involving corruption and town officials. 

In early April, Breitbart Texas reported on a bribery case in Progreso, Texas, involving Mayor Omar Leonel Vela. Vela, along with his brother Michael Vela, President of the Progreso Independent School District (PISD), and his father Jose Guadalupe Vela Jr., admitted to accepting more than $300,000 in bribes from contractors bidding to do work for the district. 

The Velas were able to carry out their scheme, undetected, for many consecutive years due to the power they collectively held in local government. A plea agreement obtained by Breitbart Texas said, "The Velas were able to extract bribes from contractors as a result of their political control of Progreso and PISD... In addition, Jose Vela controlled the PISD School Board by rewarding with bribe money board members who voted as he directed."

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate





Texas Border Official Admits to Public Corruption
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 16:08:21 GMT

Kids Whose Parents Opted Out of Common Core Left Out of Sweet Treat

 

A New York school district apologized after it held an ice cream party for third- through sixth-graders who took the Common Core language arts exams, but excluded the children whose parents opted out of the controversial education standards.

Houstyn Lehman 5, works on math work as she waits for her mother in the gallery of the State House of Representatives Thursday, March 13, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. A proposal to delay further implementation of the state’s Common Core standards was approved in the House on Thursday. (AP Photo/The Tennessean, George Walker IV )

Arkport Central School District in Arkport, N.Y., spent much of the last week answering questions about the disparate treatment, fending off what the school’s chief called “ugly” comments on social media and drawing a big crowd at the education board meeting Wednesday night, according to WLEA-AM.

One parent even labeled it “ice cream gate.”

“Very sorry that it was taken in the light that it was taken,” Arkport School Superintendent Glenn Niles told WLEA. “We try to do a simple token, as we’ve done every year that we’ve ever tested, this year was no different. We just had more kids that didn’t take the tests, and therefore, it was a little bigger deal, so we will evaluate what we do in the future.”

Common Core refers to the English and math standards developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. While 44 states, including the District of Columbia, adopted the standards, many of them have since backpedaled: Indiana repealed Common Core altogether, while New York and others are reviewing the implementation of the standards.

Arkport Elementary Principal Catlin Dewey read a prepared apology at the board meeting.

Niles, however, also accused the public of not responding properly.

“I am very disappointed in the reaction, quite honestly.  We were never asked to explain ourselves, we were just basically attacked through social media and through other venues, and it was really unfortunate,” said Niles. “Some of the things said about me, about Mrs. Dewey and about the school, are really just plainly ugly.”

(H/T Biz Pac Review)

Follow Fred Lucas (@FredVLucas3) on Twitter

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Kids Whose Parents Opted Out of Common Core Left Out of Sweet Treat
Fred Lucas
Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:44:50 GMT

Obama: ‘No One Should Ever Have to Fear for Their Safety When They Go to Pray’

 

President Barack Obama used his remarks at the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast to call for Americans to fight religious-based bigotry and intolerance one day after a former Ku Klux Klan leader allegedly shot and killed three people at Jewish centers in Overland Park, Kan.

President Barack Obama speaks at the Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 14, 2014. (AFP/Yuri Gripas)

“Nobody should have to worry about their security when gathering with their fellow believers,” Obama said. “No one should ever have to fear for their safety when they go to pray.”

Police said Frazier Glenn Miller, said to be a former “grand dragon” with the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, killed two people at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and then killed another person at the Village Shalom Retirement Center.

Obama pointed out that the shooting occurred during a holy time for both Jews and Christians. Two of the victims, a grandfather and his teenage grandson, attended the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and were at the community center for an event.

“As a government, we’re going to provide whatever assistance is needed to support the investigation,” Obama said. “As Americans, we not only need to open our hearts to the families of the victims, we’ve got to stand united against this kind of terrible violence, which has no place in our society, and we have to keep coming together across faiths to combat the ignorance and intolerance, including anti-Semitism that can lead to hatred and to violence, because we’re all children of God.”

Obama also spoke at the Easter breakfast about meeting with Pope Francis during his trip through Europe last month.

“I had a wonderful conversation with Pope Francis, mainly about the imperatives of addressing poverty, inequality, and I invited him to come to the United States, and I sincerely hope he will,” he said.

Obama, a Protestant, said Pope Francis has moved all Christians by his example.

“Some of it is his words; his message of justice and inclusion, especially for the poor, the outcast, he implores us to see the inherent dignity in each human being,” Obama said. “But it’s also his deeds, hugging the homeless man, washing the feet of somebody normally that ordinary folks would just pass by on the street. He reminds us that no matter what our station have an obligation to live righteously and we all have an obligation to live humbly.”

Follow Fred Lucas (@FredVLucas3) on Twitter

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Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:03:47 GMT