What's News?

[gus danger]

I just watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition, where the project was to build a new home for Lori Piestewa's family. This came about at the urging of Jessica Lynch who had a pact with her "best friend" that if either of them died in Iraq, the other would take care of their family.

I'm sure everyone remembers the Jessica Lynch story but she says her friend was the real hero, who gave her life for our country, leaving behind 2 small children, who are now being raised by her parents.

SPC Lori Ann Piestewa (December 14, 1973–March 23, 2003) was a U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps soldier killed during the same Iraqi Army attack in which her friend Jessica Lynch was injured. A member of the Hopi tribe, Piestewa was the first woman in the U.S. armed forces killed in the 2003 Iraq war and is the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving with the U.S. military.

Lori and Jessica were members of the army's 507th Army Maintenance Company, a support unit of clerks, cooks, and repair personnel. Her company was traveling in a convoy through the desert and was meant to bypass Nasiriyah, in southern Iraq, during the opening days of the war; but the convoy became lost and ran into an ambush in Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003.
As Piestewa came under what an Army investigation described as "a torrent of fire," she drove at a high speed, successfully evading the enemy fire until an RPG hit the front-left wheel-well of her Humvee. The force of the explosion sent her vehicle into the rear of a disabled tractor-trailer. Three other soldiers in the Humvee died in the crash. Lynch attempted to fire her M16, but it jammed. Piestewa and Jessica Lynch both survived but were wounded. They were taken prisoner, with Piestewa dying soon after of her wounds. A video of some of the American prisoners of war, including Piestewa (filmed shortly before she died in an Iraqi hospital), was later shown around the world on Al Jazeera television. According to Jessica Lynch's book—I'm a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story—Piestewa was wounded in the head, and it was impossible to perform delicate neurosurgery in an Iraqi civilian hospital in wartime conditions (such as intermittent electric power). In a U.S. military hospital with reliable power and neurosurgeons available around the clock, she might have survived.).

Piestewa was awarded the Purple Heart and Prisoner of War Medal. The army posthumously promoted her from Private First Class to Specialist.
Jessica Lynch has repeatedly said that Piestewa is the true hero of the ambush and named her daughter Dakota Ann in honor of her fallen comrade.

This Extreme Makeover show is very heartwarming and it's wonderful seeing Lori's Mom, Dad, Son and Daughter able to move from a small, run-down, mobile home, into a big beautiful home, built just for them.
If you get a chance to see it, on TV Land, and you can spare the tears, I urge you to watch it!

Our "leaders" should all watch it too, before sending our fellow Americans into harms way without good reason!
God bless our troops!
:flagwaver:
Gus

[SouthwestRanger]

Sam Elliott Blames Catholic Church for Shelving ‘Golden Compass’ Sequel
By Carolyn Plocher Newsbuster.com
December 16, 2009

Actor Sam Elliott, who played the Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby in the 2007 movie "The Golden Compass," has blamed the Catholic Church for scaring Hollywood away from creating a sequel.



"The Catholic Church happened to ‘The Golden Compass,' as far as I'm concerned," said Elliott in a Dec. 14 interview with the London Evening Standard.

Elliott claimed that the Church "lambasted" the company that produced "The Golden Compass," New Line Cinema, and "scared New Line off." Elliott was referring to the boycott organized by Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. The London Evening Standard quoted Donahue's reason for opposing the movie.

"The reason I protested was the deceitful attempt to introduce Christian children to the wonders of atheism in a backdoor fashion at Christmas time," said Donahue. "Everyone agrees the film version was not anti-Catholic, but that hardly resolves the issue. The fact is that each volume in the trilogy becomes increasingly anti-Catholic."

And the box office numbers appear to agree with him. According to Boxofficemojo.com, the movie fell far short of its expected $30-40 million opening day U.S. revenues, earning only $25.8 million. In fact, the U.S. only accounted for 18.8 percent of the movie's total profit - a startlingly low number since U.S. audiences usually account for at least 30 percent of big-money movies.

NEWS LINK

SR: We recently watched THE GOLDEN COMPASS and thought it was allright....However I blame Bill Donahue and his Neo Nazi Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights which gave Kevin Smith a hard time over DOGMA....

Hey Bill why not talk about the RC Church's support of Hitler and Mussolini instead ?

Not to mention all those molested Altar Boys ?

And my Late Father and Mom wonder why their son went over to the Presbyterian Faith !

[SouthwestRanger]

HONOLULU (AP) - Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh is resting comfortably in a Hawaii hospital after suffering chest pains while on vacation, his radio program says.



"Rush appreciates your prayers and well wishes and will keep you updated via rushlimbaugh.com and on his radio program," the program said in a statement late Wednesday night.

Limbaugh was rushed for medical treatment earlier in the day. The statement said "Rush was admitted to and is resting comfortably in a Honolulu hospital today after suffering chest pains."

Kit Carson, Limbaugh's chief of staff, told The Associated Press that he had no further information on Limbaugh's condition.

He said the 58-year-old left for his usual Christmas vacation on Dec. 23 and is due to return to his show on Jan. 4. Carson didn't have any information on whether that schedule would change.

[SouthwestRanger]

5 Canadians Slain In Afghanistan Include Female Reporter.....

SONIA VERMA

From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Dec. 31, 2009 12:00AM EST



Sgt. George Miok, 28, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, both of Edmonton, Sgt. Kirk Taylor, 28, of Yarmouth, N.S., and Pte. Garrett Chidley, 21, of Cambridge, Ont. died Wednesday along with Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang

A massive roadside bomb has killed four Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist in a dramatic signal of an upsurge of violence in the crucial battleground around Kandahar city.

The blast hit a military convoy patrolling near Dand, considered a relatively peaceful district in the restive south that had been the focus of Canadian counterinsurgency efforts in recent months. The brazen nature of the strike on a road frequently travelled by Afghan civilians and soldiers threatens to undermine gains Canadians had made in the area.

It was a deadly day for foreign forces in Afghanistan, with eight American CIA agents killed by a suicide bombing at a U.S. base in Khost province. The attacks were seen as part of a major salvo against the U.S.-led troop surge in the region and shattering the typically peaceful winter season when Taliban fighters normally lay low, or regroup in neighbouring Pakistan.

Four additional Canadian soldiers and one Canadian civilian official were also injured in yesterday's IED blast and were airlifted from the wreckage to the military hospital at Kandahar Air Field, where they were in stable condition last night.

The strike was one of the deadliest attacks on Canadian troops since their mission in Afghanistan began in 2002 and marks the first death of a Canadian journalist participating in the military's media embedding program in the country.



Michelle Lang, a 34-year-old reporter with the Calgary Herald, was travelling in the armoured vehicle with a provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar when she was killed.

The Department of National Defence had not yet released the names of the four soldiers killed in the same explosion because of difficulties in notifying next of kin.

"Yesterday, Canada lost five citizens," said Brigadier-General Daniel M?nard, commander of coalition forces in Kandahar. "The soldiers were conducting a community security patrol in order to gather information on the pattern of life and maintain security in the area."

He said the attack would have no effect on the military's media embedding program, which allows Canadian journalists to cover war alongside the Canadian Forces.

Ms. Lang's death, however, could prove to have wider repercussions on how Canadian news organizations cover the conflict.

"In the wake of this attack, The Globe will again review our policies, staffing and training to ensure we are not assuming undue risks in our desire to report fully on the Afghan conflict," said John Stackhouse, editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail.

"But such attacks do not diminish our commitment to staffing Afghanistan. We have a duty to report first-hand on a country that has drawn so much of our national attention. In carrying out that duty, we have allowed our journalists on the ground - consulting with their editors - to make decisions that may affect their safety. But we know this is a war zone, and war zones present inherent risks that we must accept, within reason, along with our duty to report."

Ms. Lang had been in Afghanistan for just over two weeks - the award-winning health reporter's first assignment there.

Her death, and the military casualties suffered in the attack, left her colleagues in Kandahar and Canada badly shaken. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Michelle's fianc?, Michael, and her beloved parents," said Dennis Skulsky, president and CEO Canwest Publishing.

"Michelle, along with being an award- winning journalist was also much beloved by her colleagues ... This loss is immeasurable."

NEWS LINK

SR: Our thoughts and prayers go out as well to the latest victims of Mr. Obama's War On Terror....

Gee....so much for the change that was promised to us back during 2008....

[SouthwestRanger]

Top 10 corrupt politicians list for 2009 released

December 31, 9:51 AM
Jim Kouri
Examiner.com

The following report was submitted to the National Association of Chiefs of Police by Judicial Watch:

The Washington, DC-based Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, released its 2009 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.” The list, in alphabetical order, includes nine Democrats and one Republican:

1. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT): This marks two years in a row for Senator Dodd, who made the 2008 “Ten Most Corrupt” list for his corrupt relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial, a scandal which still dogs him. In 2009, the scandals kept coming for the Connecticut Democrat.

In 2009, Judicial Watch filed a Senate ethics complaint against Dodd for undervaluing a property he owns in Ireland on his Senate Financial Disclosure forms. Judicial Watch's complaint forced Dodd to amend the forms. However, press reports suggest the property to this day remains undervalued. Judicial Watch also alleges in the complaint that Dodd obtained a sweetheart deal for the property in exchange for his assistance in obtaining a presidential pardon (during the Clinton administration) and other favors for a long-time friend and business associate. The false financial disclosure forms were part of the cover-up. Dodd remains the head the Senate Banking Committee.

2. Senator John Ensign (R-NV): A number of scandals popped up in 2009 involving public officials who conducted illicit affairs, and then attempted to cover them up with hush payments and favors, an obvious abuse of power. The year’s worst offender might just be Nevada Republican Senator John Ensign. Ensign admitted in June to an extramarital affair with the wife of one of his staff members, who then allegedly obtained special favors from the Nevada Republican in exchange for his silence.


3. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): Judicial Watch is investigating a $12 million TARP cash injection provided to the Boston-based OneUnited Bank at the urging of Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank. As reported in the January 22, 2009, edition of the Wall Street Journal, the Treasury Department indicated it would only provide funds to healthy banks to jump-start lending. Not only was OneUnited Bank in massive financial turmoil, but it was also "under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses, including owning a Porsche for its executives' use." Rep. Frank admitted he spoke to a "federal regulator," and Treasury granted the funds. (The bank continues to flounder despite Frank’s intervention for federal dollars.)


7. President Barack Obama: During his presidential campaign, President Obama promised to run an ethical and transparent administration. However, in his first year in office, the President has delivered corruption and secrecy, bringing Chicago-style political corruption to the White House. Consider just a few Obama administration “lowlights” from year one: Even before President Obama was sworn into office, he was interviewed by the FBI for a criminal investigation of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s scheme to sell the President’s former Senate seat to the highest bidder. (Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and slumlord Valerie Jarrett, both from Chicago, are also tangled up in the Blagojevich scandal.)

Moreover, the Obama administration made the startling claim that the Privacy Act does not apply to the White House. The Obama White House believes it can violate the privacy rights of American citizens without any legal consequences or accountability. President Obama boldly proclaimed that "transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency," but his administration is addicted to secrecy, stonewalling far too many of Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act requests and is refusing to make public White House visitor logs as federal law requires.


8. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): At the heart of the corruption problem in Washington is a sense of entitlement. Politicians believe laws and rules (even the U.S. Constitution) apply to the rest of us but not to them. Case in point: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her excessive and boorish demands for military travel.

Judicial Watch obtained documents from the Pentagon in 2008 that suggest Pelosi has been treating the Air Force like her own personal airline. These documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, include internal Pentagon email correspondence detailing attempts by Pentagon staff to accommodate Pelosi's numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft as well as the speaker's 11th hour cancellations and changes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also came under fire in April 2009, when she claimed she was never briefed about the CIA's use of the waterboarding technique during terrorism investigations.

NEWS LINK

Enough Is Enough....We need a General House Cleaning in 2010 through 2012....

And here is my Dream Ticket for 2012...

For President....



SARAH PALIN

And as her Veep and to balance out the Ticket....A Fellow Fair Minded Woman, Outdoorswoman, Creative Spirit and Loving Mom...




CHERIE CURRIE


PALIN/CURRIE 2012 !!!!

[SouthwestRanger]

And the Circus continues....

Obama orders 1M troops to "Prepare for civil war"

Obama Orders 1 Million US Troops to Prepare for Civil War | EUTimes.net

Obama Orders 1 Million US Troops To ?Prepare For Civil War?

Obama Orders 1 Million US Troops to Prepare for Civil War // Current

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5swzxOYQ0k]YouTube - Obama Orders 1 Million US Troops To 'Prepare For Civil War'[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gsKVPRueCA&feature=related]YouTube - 1 MILLION TROOPS! ITS COMING.....HE KNOWS IT.....WHAT SIDE ARE YOU ON?[/ame]

[SouthwestRanger]

Doesn't this Toyata fiasco seem a bit....strange??

Like the whole Empire is crumbling.....as if it was planned???
Toyota Extends Recall to China and Europe - NYTimes.com

It's been so successful over the years...taking jobs away from the US....(even if they have factories here.) Suddenly, they're doing an Enron....it seems....peculiar.

[SouthwestRanger]

Rip Torn charged with breaking into Conn. bank
Sat Jan 30

SALISBURY, Conn. ? Actor Elmore "Rip" Torn has been charged with breaking into a Connecticut bank and carrying a loaded handgun while intoxicated.

State police say the 78-year-old Salisbury resident was arrested Friday night after police found him inside the Litchfield Bancorp with a loaded revolver.

The "Men in Black" actor has been taken into custody and booked on charges including burglary and possession of firearm without a permit. He is being held on $100,000 bond and is scheduled for a Monday appearance in Bantam Superior Court.

Last year, Torn was given probation in a Connecticut drunken driving case and granted permission to enter an alcohol education program. He also has two previous drunken driving arrests in New York.

A spokesman for Torn did not immediately return phone calls Saturday.

SR:He also came up to actor Michael Moriarity in a Vancouver, BC Bar one time and proceeded to strangle him....

[Secret Six]

According to The Palm Beach Post, a bomb squad was called to Ozzy Osbourne's book signing at in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida last night (February 26) after a marijuana-smoking fan was found to have homemade fireworks in his back pack.:laffingassoff:

Officers saw the man smoking the marijuana at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Legacy Place around 8 p.m., Gardens police spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy said. When the officers approached, the man took off running. :snickerpup:

The officers caught him and, during a search of his backpack, found what appeared to be homemade fireworks. A bomb squad was called to scene and the fireworks were taken away to be disposed of, Lovejoy said.

The man will be charged with drug possession and could be facing other charges, she said. :doh:

NEWS LINK

[SouthwestRanger]

Taxpayers foot State Department's stiff liquor bill



By Jim McElhatton

Months after President Obama urged federal agencies last year to cut wasteful spending, the U.S. Department of State paid $3,814 to fill an order of Jack Daniel's whiskey for gratuities at one of its many overseas embassies.

The booze buy wasn't unusual.

Last year alone, the State Department sent taxpayers tabs totaling nearly $300,000 for alcoholic beverages — about twice as much compared to the previous year, according to an analysis of spending records by The Washington Times.

The purchases, small and large, included $2,483 to pay for "assorted spirits for gratuities to vendors" at the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York, and $9,501 in "Christmas gratuities" of whiskey and wine at the U.S. Embassy in South Korea.

Taxpayer watchdogs say while accounting for a small fraction of the State Department's overall budget, some of the liquor expenditures reflect larger concerns about stewardship of federal tax dollars at a time when many recession-weary Americans find themselves struggling to hold onto jobs and pay mortgages.

"It's indicative of the disconnect that bureaucrats have when they spend our money," said David Williams, vice president of policy at the nonpartisan Citizens Against Government Waste.

State Department spokesman Noel Clay said such expenditures are permitted under law.

"As part of the department's work in representing the United States and its interests here and abroad, U.S. officials may hold receptions and representational events," he said....

NEWS LINK