June 27, 2011 - 2:55 PM, CHICAGO - BLAGO IS GUILTY. The jury has convicted former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on 17 of 20 counts against him in his retrial.

From AP: This time, the 12 jurors voted to convict the 54-year-old Blagojevich on 17 of 20 counts after deliberating nine days. He also faces up to five additional years in prison for his previous conviction of lying to the FBI.

June 28, 2011 - There was fear and loathing in Peoria, Illinois this weekend. The fear lingers on tonight. Last Friday evening, a mob of Black youths marched along a street and yelled "We’re gonna kill all the white people, this is our neighborhood."

So far, the mainstream media is virtually ignoring the story, while the blogosphere is boiling over with it. And by the way, will the like of Barack Obama and Father Pleger and Jesse Jackson, Sr. speak out against this incident?

Here is an eye-witness from Paul Wilkinson, the president of the Altamont Park Neighborhood Association in Peoria:

Tonight, around 11 p.m., a group of at least 60-70 African American youth marched down one of the side streets (W. Thrush) to the 4 lane main drag (Sheridan). They were yelling threats to white residents. Things such as we need to kill alll the white people around here. They were physically intimidating anyone calling for help from the police. They were surrounding cars. Cars on the main drag had to slam on their brakes to either avoid the youth blocking not only all four lanes, but a large section of the side street as well. fights were breaking out among them. They were rushing residents who looked out their doors, going on to porches, yelling threats to people calling the police for help.

Cars were doing U turns on the streets just to avoid the mob, mostly male. One youth stated his grandfather was white and several assaulted him on the spot. One police officer answered the call. The youth split into two large groups, one heading north, the other south. They were also yelling racial threats to the police officer but he was outnumbered. Another police car did not show up until after the youth finally dispersed and the patty wagon (van) also eventually showed up.

Residents are very shaken, both black and white alike. This is the fifth large mob action in about a month with smaller groups of 10-12 are out threatening children and adults a few evenings a week or later into the night. The times vary, even occuring during the day. In talking to the police officer, they are short staffed. Residents were advised to simply keep inside and to lock their doors. In other words buckle down, it’s not even safe to sit on your porch or go into your yards. (SOURCE: Cache of a deleted blog post, originally posted at the Peoria Chronicle.)

RELATED:
War Zone? Peoria Pundit
Mob in Peoria IL: “Kill All The White People” UFOshock.com
Peoria Blacks Declare War on Whites, 60+ African Americans hit the streets chanting “Kill all the White people” Black Peoria
Account of racist Peoria mob spurs national attention pjstar.com / Journal Star

26 June 2011 - It was probably getting a bit too hot for LulzSec, a group of hackers that have caused a lot of sleepless nights for data security experts in recent weeks.

LulzSec said late Saturday it would break up, reports PC World, but they planned to go out with a bang. "In what it said was its final act of mayhem," wrote PC World, "it publicly unloaded a trove of documents containing a significant amount of compressed data." The group's farewell came via Twitter.

PC World quoted LulzSec communique as saying, "Our planned 50-day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance...our crew of six wishes you a happy 2011."

The FBI, as well as investigative agencies from the U.S. and other nations, have been in hot pursuit of the LulzSec internet criminals. British authorities arrested a suspected member of LulzSec near London recently. Even other hackers were trying to uncover the identities and whereabouts of LulzSec's members.

The Telegraph UK says that LulzSec claimed to have "accomplished its mission to disrupt corporate and government bodies" and "has claimed responsibility for security breaches at targets including the CIA, Sony and the US Senate. Before disbanding it issued one last batch of data which included internal documents from internet giant AOL and the US phone company AT&T." More about LulzSec at The Telegraph...

Why has LulzSec been wreaking havoc on the Internet? LulzSec claims they did it "just because we could." I get this uneasy feeling that we have not heard the last of LulzSec. Even if the group never operates under that name again, some of it members could continue the misdeeds. Worse, copycat digital criminals around the world will undoubtedly be inspired by LulzSec.

June 23, 2011 - An enormous victory for free speech was won in the Netherlands (Holland) on June 22, 2011. Dutch politician Geert Wilders has been fighting charges of "inciting hatred" by speaking out against sharia law and other Islamic practices. Wilders' Freedom Party is the Netherlands' third largest political party in the nation's parliament. (Below is a video report by AlJazeera, followed by a video titled "Geert Wilders' Warning to America.")

"The acquittal yesterday of Dutch anti-Islamic politician Geert Wilders on charges of inciting hatred," reports The Independent (UK), "has split the Netherlands down the middle as effectively as the populist MP's right-wing rhetoric." The report about the acquittal of Geert Wilders noted that the judge "ruled that some of Mr Wilders' comments may have been "crude and denigrating" but they did not amount to inciting hatred against Muslims and remained within the boundaries of free speech."

“I am delighted with this ruling,” wrote Geert Wilders on his own website today. “It is a victory, not only for me but for all the Dutch people. Today is a victory for freedom of speech. The Dutch are still allowed to speak critically about islam, and resistance against islamisation is not a crime. I have spoken, I speak and I shall continue to speak.”

Remember this famous quote from then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi? "[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy." Well, we're finding out.

If this wasn't the Obama administration, this would seem an unbelievable story. While we were promised that Congress would have plenty of time to read every bill that went through when the Democrats controlled both chambers, this, along with other bills, was shoved down the American peoples' throats before there was ever time to absorb it. Now come the consequences.

It is now being reported that "Obamacare" will allow millions of middle-class Americans to get healthcare coverage for practically nothing. In fact, up to three million Americans who retire early, at the age of 62, will qualify for the federal-state sponsored insurance program Medicaid.

Believe it or not, couples who can earn up to $64,000.00 per year will, in the year 2014, qualify for the program which is intended for low income and disabled Americans. This is because, as the AP reports, "in a major change from today, most of their Social Security benefits would no longer be counted as income for determining eligibility."

The Associated Press says the "Medicare chief actuary Robert Foster says ‘The situation keeps me up at night. I don't generally comment on the pros or cons of policy, but that just doesn't make sense,' Foster said during a question-and-answer session at a recent professional society meeting. It's almost like allowing middle-class people to qualify for food stamps, he suggested.

‘This is a situation that got no attention at all,' added Foster. ‘And even now, as I raise the issue with various policymakers, people are not rushing to say ... we need to do something about this.'"

Of course, all of this is happening at a time when both the federal and state governments are drowning in debt. With Medicaid, the federal government pays 60% of Medicaid costs, while states must pay 40% of the costs. Obviously, neither can afford the added expense of the problem posed in the bill that "we had to pass to know what was in it."

The depth of ineptness in the Democrat party is just unfathomable. BOTH houses of Congress were controlled by Democrats when this bill was passed, and obviously a Democrat president signed it into law. This is an important point. As 2012 approaches, we must remember that we not only have an inept president who needs to be replaced, but we also have inept members of Congress who need replacing as well!

Of course, for many of these Congressional seats, and even the highest office in the land, I would suggest that you keep in mind that many of those making a lot of the noise, and prompting most of the change on Capitol Hill, are Tea party members who are motivated, invigorated and most importantly, true to their word.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/more-surprises-from-obama-healthcare-law-michael-a-minton-4939336.html

June 23, 2011 - The International Energy Agency announced today that 60 million barrels of crude oil stocks would be released immediately by the U.S. and 27 allies. The IEA move comes as an attempt to ease the effects of the recent loss of Libyan crude oil exports. One effect of the IEA move, it is hoped, will be a lowering of gasoline prices for consumers and businesses. (New York Financial Press video report below.)

The Telegraph (UK) reports today (at 4:13 PM London time) that oil prices "crashed more than $7 a barrel to a four-month low on Thursday after the world's consumer nations said they would band together to aid the global economy by releasing emergency oil reserves for the third time ever."

The IEA announcement coincides with a sharp drop in stocks on Wall Street, partly caused by the IEA's decision. The euro also dropped sharply as oil prices tumbled The fact that there was a higher than expected rise jump in unemployment benefits claims in the U.S. did nothing to increase optimism in the markets.

The Telegraph report says that the effect on Wall Street traders was stunning. "The move shocked traders who had been expecting the IEA to give top exporter Saudi Arabia more time to make up for the supply shortfall following OPEC's failed meeting on June 8, when other members blocked Gulf efforts to hike output."

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 1.7 percent to 11,904. London's FTSE 100 lost 1.7 percent, France's CAC lost 2.4 percent. Germany's DAX lost 2 percent. The euro fell 1.4 percent against the dollar to $1.4152.

In an earlier report this morning (7:39 AM EST), the L.A. Times ran a Bloomberg.com report that said today's move was not the first time that the IEA has influenced the release of crude reserves. Since its foundingin 1974, the IEA "has coordinated the use of emergency stockpiles twice.... The first occasion was during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and the second when Hurricane Katrina damaged oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005. The IEA is an energy policy adviser to 28 industrialized nations including the U.S., Japan and Germany."

Only time will tell how deeply the IEA mandated release of crude oil reserves will affect fuel oil prices. One factor, of course, is the cause of their decision: The unrest in Libya, which has caused the Libyan production to falter. If that conflict continues for any great length of time, today's IEA release will be meaningless in the long run.

June 21, 2011 - One of the head honchos of Mexico's "La Familia" was captured by Mexican federal agents today. (Video below, en Espanol)

Officials call the arrest of Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas, also known as 'El Chango' or 'The Monkey,' a major blow to the drug cartel.

He was one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords, He was taken down in the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes. Authorities say there was no struggle in the arrest.

Although they have reason to celebrate, Mexican authorities know all too well that other cartel leaders will quickly move to replace him in the hierarchy. However, there are probably even some drug cartel leaders who are happy about El Chango's arrest. The competition among rival crime gangs, after all, is fierce and deadly.

Mendez Vargas was "locked in an especially deadly internal fight in recent months," reports the Los Angeles Times. He led a faction of La Familia, says their report, that was a "ruthless and sometimes cult-like network that authorities say specializes in producing and shipping methamphetamine to the United States. La Familia is based in Michoacan, the home state of President Felipe Calderon and a region strategically important for drug trafficking because of its rough terrain and large seaport." More about the arrest of Mendez Vargas at the LA Times...

June 21, 2011 - Chicago - The American Medical Association (AMA) has suffered a significant loss of membership since 2010. The AMA is being ripped apart from within by its controversial support of the fascist "individual mandate" element of Obamacare, which requires individuals to by health care or face stiff penalties. This past weekend, the AMA met to discuss Obamacare and other issues. The AMA has just re-endorsed the individual mandate.

"The American Medical Association’s delegates held their annual meeting over the weekend, at which the most contested issue under discussion was the individual mandate to purchase health insurance or pay a fee," reports the American Independent, "and whether the AMA should continue, as it has since 2006, to officially support such a mandate. The mandate is a crucial component of the Affordable Care Act passed by the Democratic Congress last year."

"AMA delegates voted on yesterday in favor of maintaining support for the mandate by a vote of 326-165," the AI report said. "An alternative proposal, in favor of the government encouraging the purchase of insurance through tax credits but not requiring it, was supported by delegations from several more conservative states."

Many of the AMA's member physicians do not support the unconstitutional mandate, and a lot of those doctors have dropped their AMA memberships over the past two years.

According to America's Medical Society (AMS), "the AMA’s membership is down 5.3% since last year, and AMA rolls have dropped almost 10.4% since 2007…considering that the bulk of AMA members are medical students (who get a free ‘member’ card) and retirees, this loss of real, active, productive physician members is astounding and devastating to the AMA." The AMS published its article on its website on June 20, 2011. Read the AMS article "AMA Loses 12,000 Members … More Obamacare Lies from the White House" here.

The AMA calls itself "the nation's largest physician group," but this is intentionally misleading. AMA membership is not nearly as large as the average American might think. Fewer than one in five U.S. physicians are members of the AMA, which is based in Chicago. That number is dwindling, primarily because of the way in which the AMA embroiled itself in the health care debate by siding with Barack Obama's fascist policy of requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance.

"Despit the hoopla and false celebration of physician 'unity,'" says the AMS, "the American Medical Association reluctantly acknowledged this past weekend that the organization has lost 12,000 members in the aftermath of their support for Obamacare. Based on the growth of more moderate/conservative doctor groups in America, the AMA is losing even more members as each day goes by..."

There's something rotten over at LiveLeaks.com, and it's called "Star53."

"Mr. Pinko" (not his real name) at iOwnTheWorld.com, is one of the many supremely talented folks at iOTW. Like other with his level of talen, he is ripped off frequently by talentless hacks and outright thieves who use his art without attribution to him. Mr. Pinko is righteously pissed.

On June 19, 2011, Mr. Pinko wrote about one of those talentless thieving hacks. Some a-hole called "Star53" posts regularly over at LiveLeaks.com, and he's ripped off Mr. Pinko (along with another iOTW superstar, "Big Fur Hat." See "Thievery At LiveLeaks.com")

Stealing the work of another artist or writer is all too common on the Internet. The fact that "everybody" does it does not make it right, however, and in reality not "everybody" does it. Some of us have ethics and decency. Disclaimer: Now and then, I will use a graphic without giving attribution, but only when there is no attribution to be found. Whenever possible, credit and/or a link back to the source is given.

My good friend Big Fur Hat (not his real name) at iOwnTheWorld.com, is an exceptionally talented artist, especially in the area of Photoshopping. He gets ripped off frequently by talentless a-holes who use his art without attribution to him. It's not the first time, either: Another iOTW artist was ripped off by Star53. See "Still More Thievery at LiveLeaks.com."

Big Fur Hat wrote on June 20, 2011 about the latest case of intellectual and artistic theft, which was perpetrated on LiveLeaks.com by a contributor there who goes by the moniker of "Star53." Here's what he wrote about that on iOwnTheWorld.com, reproduced below in full:

Look what this scumbag did. Here is my original piece that appeared on iOwnTheWorld.

(NOTE: I'll pause here to say that at this point, Big Fur Hat posted Star53's stolen version. Star53 and/or LiveLeaks became aware of this, and removed the post.)

Here is what this f---tard did. Notice the shitty photoshop of this mongo. This talentless piece of excrement can’t even successfully take out the credit like a more adept scummy thief.

I am currently in talks with LiveLeaks. This is some crew. They suggest that a text link be placed underneath all the copyright infringements. This is a valid “solution” for these crooks. They don’t seem to understand that when somebody else takes the image or video from LiveLeak they are not going to take the text link with them. Star53 is ground zero on scumbaggery. He removed the credits. Letting his account survive at LiveLeaks is all I need to know about this organization. I will not stop my crusade until Star53′s account is removed.

Update: By the way. I am seeing all the comments left by the iOTW family. Thank you, thank you. It means the world to us. We will never forget that.

SOURCE: http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=80798

The iOTW family is truly just that: A family of friends. They literally saved my life last year, and that means the world to me. I will never forget that, and I consider any enemy of iOTW to be an enemy of mine. ALSO SEE: A MESSAGE to star53 on LiveLeaks.com from Mr. Pinko of iOwnTheWorld.com

On June 14, 2011, French aircraft builder Airbus unveiled plans for its "Concept Cabin" (see video below) which Airbus calls "a whole new flying experience inspired by nature." The Concept Cabin would feature a "neural network" of artificial intelligence (AI) that sets up an "intelligent interface between passenger and plane."

The plane's AI would enable passengers to verbally request changes in their environment, such as seats that change to a person's body shape. We don't know if the Concept Cabin will produce tea, Earl Gray, hot on request; we suspect that traditional human flight attendants will still be needed for that.

Perhaps the most stunning feature of the Concept Cabin, however, is its ability to become transparent. Airbus says that "The aircraft’s bionic structure mimics the efficiency of bird bone which is optimised to provide strength where needed, and allows for an intelligent cabin wall membrane which controls air temperature and can become transparent to give passengers open panoramic views." More about the Concept Cabin at Airbus.com...

Story continues below this video

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 15, 2011 - United to Restore Freedom (URF) announced today that Right Nation 2011, taking place November 3-5, will be the location for the first annual Black Conservative Summit (BCS) hosted by Freedom's Journal Magazine.

“We’re honored the BCS has chosen Right Nation 2011 as a location to showcase the diversity of conservatism throughout the Midwest. We’re delighted that Dr. Eric Wallace and a team of highly-respected black conservative leaders, along with Freedom’s Journal Magazine, have agreed to be an integral part of this year's event," said Dennis LaComb, URF Executive Director. "Their participation will add depth and breadth to this year's gathering, and will showcase the richness of the conservative movement."

Freedom’s Journal Magazine is the sponsor of the Black Conservative Summit (BCS). The purpose of the summit is to aggregate and engender Black conservative voices on issues facing America and the Black community, and to proffer solutions that positively impact the country’s future.

Several Black conservative leaders have already confirmed their participation, including national columnist Star Parker, radio show host Armstrong Williams, Rev. Wayne Perryman, and Raynard Jackson.

"We anticipate the confirmation of additional leaders and participants over the next several weeks," said Dr. Eric Wallace. "We look forward to doing all we can to rekindle allegiance of the African-American constituency alongside fellow Midwesterners at Right Nation 2011. We look forward to strengthening the conservative movement and to reestablishing the concept of American exceptionalism."

Right Nation 2011 will be held November 3-5, 2011, at the Sears Centre Arena and the Schaumburg Convention Center. Last year the Right Nation event drew nearly 6,000 conservatives from throughout the Midwest.

About URF:
United to Restore Freedom (URF) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing conservative thought and ideas by educating and engaging policy makers, opinion leaders, and citizens on the URF LIFT principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and traditional values.

CONTACT: Collin Corbett 224-578-1501
ccorbett@unitedtorestorefreedom.com

Did he mean it literally? "A Wisconsin democrat running in a recall election," reports WISGOP.org, "left a message on a woman’s answering machine," and it was ugly. After speaking with a female constituent on the phone, Rep. Fred Clark of Baraboo said he felt like "smacking her around." Clark who is running in a recall election. Hear the audio in the video below, or click here to listen to an mp3 (40 seconds).

According to the WISGOP report, "The comment was recorded on the home answering machine of Sue and John Stapelman of Baraboo. Clark phoned the family while making campaign calls, and had a short, curt conversation with Sue Stapelman. Stapelman then hung up the phone, but her answering machine was still rolling, and caught Clark saying, 'I feel like calling her back and smacking her around'."

To be fair, no reasonable person should take Clark's words as meaning that he wants to literally hit Ms. Stapleman. He obviously meant that he wanted to "smack her around" verbally. You cannot, after all, physically beat somebody up by "calling her back" on a phone.

Even so, Clark's words were poorly chosen and there is no doubt that this will get a lot of play in Wisconsin during the recall election.

Here's a cool video of that big solar flare on June 7, 2011. The flare is stunning all by itself, but the piano music that UFO Shock laid down underneath it creates an almost surreal feeling. The music is "Rocking Horse" by Debbie Wiseman, from her album "Piano and Electric Piano."

Chicago, June 10, 2011 - Chicago resident Tahawwur Hussain Rana was found guilty yesterday on two counts of terrorism related to the 2008 massacre in Mumbai, India (the "26/11 attack," Nov. 26, 2008). However, the federal jury found him not guilty of actually helping to plot the terror operation. Rana was convicted for "providing material support to a terror conspiracy" and to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terrorist group based in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba means "army of the righteous."

The charges against Rana included an attack (later abandoned) against the Copenhagen newspaper that ran cartoons mocking Muhammad. "But," reports the Wall Street Journal, "Thursday’s verdict on Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 50, found him not guilty in helping plan the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks."

Rana could be sentenced for up to 30 years in prison for helping Lashkar-e-Taiba plan an attack on that Danish newspaper. AFP reports that jury "found there was insufficient evidence that Rana was involved in the Mumbai attacks that saw 166 people killed - even though a key figure described how he had used Rana's business offering immigration services as a cover while conducting surveillance in India's financial capital." More at World News Australia...

India has expressed official disappointment with the acquittals. Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, U.K. Bansal, said today that India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) will decide soon whether they will file charges against Rana in India. They were waiting until the Chicago trial ended before proceeding. More at The Hindu...

“It may be recalled that evidence was produced in the U.S. court that David Headley had advised Rana of his assignment to scout potential targets in India,” said a statement from India’s home ministry. “We are, therefore, disappointed that Rana was acquitted on the count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai terrorist attacks.”

Headley pleaded guilty in March, 2010 to 12 terror-related charges. He admitted to scouting out locations for the Mumbai attacks. He "testified in the Rana case that his friend assisted him. In return, U.S. prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty," reports WSJ's India Real Time.

Rana, 50, is a Canadian citizen who was living in the Chicago neighborhood of West Ridge (or "West Rogers Park")at the time of the murder spree at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. West Rogers Park is heavily populated by Pakistanis and other Muslims. It is a hub of criminal plotting. It's no wonder that Rana found refuge here.

West Ridge is home to the infamous 2008 Sunrise Equities scandal. Hundreds of investors lost their life savings in a scheme by Salman Ibrahim and his partners, who fled in the middle of the night. Most of those investors were Muslims and trusted Ibrahim's "shariah compliant" firm to help them make money. Ibrahim and his Sunrise Equities conspirators are still fugitives, and have close ties to Barack Hussein Obama. (See Obama's Sunrise Equities Office and Illinois Meat Plant Owner Charged With Financing Terrorists.)

RELATED VIDEO:
Dispatches - Terror In Mumbia - Liveleak.com

Also:

June 9, 2011 - The short video below examines the idiocy of publicy funding "art," especially in this bad economy. "A few weeks back," writes ReasonTV, the producer of the video, "Hollywood movie stars and groups such as the Creative Coalition stormed Washington, D.C. to lobby for increased taxpayer funding of the arts. Most memorably, Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey told Hardball's Chris Matthew that Abraham Lincoln was a huge theater fan who 'understood that he needed the arts to replenish his soul'."

As ReasonTV pointed out, Spacey didn't mention that Lincoln was killed by a crazed actor in a theater, while the president's soul was supposedly being replenished. They did, however, provide three good reasons why funding the arts with taxapayer dollars is a bad idea. Those reasons are listed below this video.

June 4, 2011 - At least four people in the U.S. are infected by the same E. coli strain that has sickened some 1,800 people in Europe, primarily Germany. The strain of E. coli is "Escherichia coli O104:H4, known as STEC O104:H4" and is said by some to be previously unknown, although there is some debate about that (see video below). The Shiga toxin-producing strain of E. coli is particularly deadly and has killed at least 20 people. The E. coli outbreak has health officials scrambling to find the source, which still remains unknown.

A fascinating - and somewhat frightening - story about cyberwar over at UFOscare.com. Here's a quick excerpt of that must-read post:

The brave new cyberworld - your computers, your iPads, etc. - has its marvels and benefits, but it has its nightmarish side too. Like something out of a science fiction novel, malicious codes (viruses, worms, trojans, etc.) are more than a nuisance: They are potentially catastrophic bringers of death and destruction. Malware is nothing more than algorithms, but they can effect the behavior of real things. One example is our power grid, controlled more and more by computers. A virus could wreak havoc with that system, thereby endangering public safety.

UFO Shock's post touches on the Stuxnet virus and how it works, and the Pentagon's refusal to deny using Stuxnet in a cyber attack on Iran's nuclear program. See the full post at UFO Shock: Malware, Cyberwar Cross From Virtual to Physical World

June 1, 2011 - The headlines are misleading. Here's one example: "Budget cuts force Calif. police and firemen to watch man drown." Let's think about this, shall we? According to media reports today, cops and fire fighters simply watched as a man drowned two days ago "because of budget cuts." This is utterly shameful.

"Police and firemen in Alameda, California watched a man drown on Monday," wrote Stephen C. Webster at rawstory.com, "after realizing they did not have proper certifications for water rescue, leaving them open to possible lawsuits if they attempted a rescue."

Several things about that are extremely disturbing: (1) Are we to believe that none of those first responders knew that they lacked water rescue certification BEFORE they got to the scene of the drowning? (2) Even with certification, any first responder is "open to possible lawsuits" from litigious a-holes. (3) Even though I am not certified for water rescue, I would have tried to save another man's life rather than just watch him die, possible lawsuits be damned.

It is distressing to think that the first responders of Alameda, California are so ill-informed of their own certification status and so afraid of possible legal action that they are essentially nothing more than useless lumps of human waster on the public payroll. Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of this entire story, however, is the fact Alameda is an island city, yet its first responders are not certified to do water rescues.

It's being reported that the 53-year old drowning victim was thought to be suicidal as he waded out "about 150 yards into cold waters off of Crown Beach in Alameda. It's said by witnesses that it took nearly an hour for him to kill himself.

ABC Local reported that the Alameda firefighters "could not even go into the water to get the body, so they waited until a woman in her 20s volunteered to bring the body back to the beach." ABC added that "Alameda fire officials say they are going to have a serious discussion about why Alameda, as an island city, does not have the ability to save people in danger in the water." More at KGO TV, with video...

Raisin' Cain! To all of the ignorant leftists out there who believe the Tea Party movement is racist, well, watch this video. Then, explain how it is that today we learn that Herman Cain is tied for 2nd place in a new poll of Iowa Republican primary voters.