NBC's Todd Mocks Election Fraud Critics, Wins Washington Applause

From:  Oped News

By Andrew Kreig (about the author)
 

Karl Rove by U.S. Government
 

NBC Political Director Chuck Todd ridiculed election machine critics at a major conference of vote-counters last weekend -- thereby underscoring how Washington works. 

Todd told the National Association of Secretaries of State that their critics must be paranoid to fear that anyone would deliberately alter results. Allegations against Karl Rove, above, are among the most common.

"That's just stretching the bounds of reality," NBC's chief White House correspondent said in response to my question asking him to amplify his Tweet last fall on vote-tampering claims. "That's feeding the conspiracy." Todd had Tweeted: "The voting machine conspiracies belong in same category as the Trump birther garbage."  

Todd won a round of applause for his response, the only such interruption during his enlightening and entertaining Jan. 26 address and Q&A. Audience members were mainly state secretaries of state at their mid-winter conference, plus sales reps for voting machine and software companies. 

The rest of this column examines why those involved are so reluctant to discuss election machine fraud publicly except to deny its existence. Hint: Silence is golden.  

MORE

Hacked Emails Reveal ‘Washington-Approved’ Plan To Stage Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria

Obama administration complicit in war crime?

by Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet

Alleged hacked emails from defense contractor Britam reveal a plan “approved by Washington” and funded by Qatar to stage a chemical weapons attack in Syria and blame it on the Assad regime, fulfilling what the Obama administration has made clear is a “red line” that would mandate US military intervention.

The leaked emails, obtained by a hacker in Malaysia, feature an exchange (click here for screenshot) between Britam Defence’s Business Development Director David Goulding and the company’s founder Philip Doughty;

Phil
We’ve got a new offer. It’s about Syria again. Qataris propose an attractive deal and swear that the idea is approved by Washington.
We’ll have to deliver a CW to Homs, a Soviet origin g-shell from Libya similar to those that Assad should have. They want us to deploy our Ukrainian personnel that should speak Russian and make a video record.
Frankly, I don’t think it’s a good idea but the sums proposed are enormous. Your opinion?
Kind regards
David

The fact that the plan involves delivering a CW (chemical weapon) that is “similar to those Assad should have,” clearly suggests that the idea is to stage a false flag chemical weapons attack that could be blamed on Assad by Gulf states like Qatar and NATO powers.

If the claim that such as plot was “approved by Washington” can be verified, then the Obama administration is complicit in a war crime.

According to Cyber War News, which details the process of how the emails were hacked and includes screenshots of the leaked documents, the hack also uncovered, “extremely personal information,” including copies of passports of Britam employees, some of whom appeared to be mercenaries.

A full list of all the hacked documents can be found here.

Online business profiles confirm that both David Goulding and Philip Doughty work for Britam Defence.

Last year, reports began to circulate that that US-backed rebel fighters in Syria had been given gas masks and were willing to stage a chemical weapons attack which would then be blamed on the Assad regime to grease the skids for NATO military intervention.

Soon after in August, President Barack Obama warned that the use or even transportation of chemical weapons by the Assad regime would represent a “red line” that would precipitate military intervention. French President Francois Hollande followed suit, stating that the use of such weapons “Would be a legitimate reason for direct intervention.”

At around the same time, a source told Syrian news channel Addounia that a Saudi company had fitted 1400 ambulance vehicles with anti-gas & anti-chemical filtering systems at a cost of $97,000 dollars each, in preparation for a chemical weapons attack carried out by FSA rebels using mortar rounds. A further 400 vehicles were prepared as troop carriers.

The attack would be blamed on the Syrian Army and exploited as an excuse for a military assault. A March 2012 Brookings Institution report entitled Saving Syria: Assessing Options For Regime Change outlined this very scenario – where a manufactured humanitarian crisis would be cited as justification for an attack. MORE

BACKFIRE: Seattle Gun Buyback Turns Into Gun Show; Collectors Waved 'Wads of Cash' at Those in

 From:  SHTFPlan.com

Mac Slavo
January 29th, 2013
 
Leave it to enterprising Americans to always find a loophole in the midst of ever-expanding government regulation.
While thousands of Seattle residents lined up for hours to trade their handguns, rifles and family heirlooms away in exchange for up to $200 in gift cards as part of the city’s latest gun buyback program, gun collectors who have seen prices for assault rifles and firearms accessories almost triple since November took advantage of a huge opportunity.

Police stood in awe as gun enthusiasts and collectors waved wads of cash for the guns being held by those standing in line for the buyback program.
…
Police officers in Seattle, Washington held their first gun buyback program in 20 years this weekend, underneath interstate 5, and soon found that private gun collectors were working the large crowd as little makeshift gun shows began dotting the parking lot and sidewalks.
Some even had “cash for guns” signs prominently displayed.
People that had arrived to trade in their weapons for $100 or $200 BuyBack gift cards($100 for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and $200 for assault weapons) soon realized that gun collectors were there and paying top dollar for collectible firearms. So, as the line for the chump cards got longer and longer people began to jump ship and head over to the dealers.
John Diaz, Seattles Police Chief, wasn’t pleased with the turn of events stating “I’d prefer they wouldn’t sell them,” but admitted it’s perfectly legal for private individuals to buy and sell guns, FOR NOW. Mayor Mike McGinn said at a news conference the private transactions are a loophole that needs to be closed. “There’s no background checks, and some (guns) could be exchanged on the streets that shouldn’t be in circulation.”
But Schuyler Taylor, a previous gun retailer attending the event in hopes of buying weapons, asked “Why not offer them cash versus a gift card? I’m still taking the guns off the streets; they’re just going in my safe.”  MORE

DCexposed via What Really Happened?, Before It’s News, Daily Paul

Pictures from the Gun buyback turned gun show in Seattle:

Why Is it a 'Crime' To Disarm a Uniformed Aggressor?

From:  Rockwell.com 

 by William Norman Grigg

Sheriff Terry Maketa of Colorado’s El Paso County has promised his constituents that he "will actively oppose any effort that infringes upon your second amendment rights."

"Like every elected official in the state, I took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Colorado," wrote Maketa in an open letter to El Paso County residents. "This means all rights."

That promise apparently doesn’t apply to the right of an unarmed citizen to defend himself against acts of criminal violence committed by one of Maketa’s deputies. If it did, Maketa – who, like every other sheriff, has some discretion regarding prosecutions – would have urged the local prosecutor to drop all charges against Calhan, Colorado resident David Goss, a sod farmer who is now serving an unjustified four-year prison sentence for the supposed crime of trying to avoid being shot in the stomach by Deputy Jeff Schulz. 

On the evening of June 16, 2011, Deputy Schulz responded to a call from a woman who had been chased away by Goss after she and several friends accidentally trespassed on his farm. 

In the weeks leading up to that incident, Goss – who would later be described by a trial judge as "a pillar of his community" – had suffered a series of robberies and received no help from the Sheriff’s Office. He was sitting in his pickup at the end of a long driveway when Schulz arrived. Owing to his understandable frustration, Goss had been abrupt and inhospitable in dealing with the unwanted visitors, and his mood didn’t improve when Schulz showed up.

According to Shulz’s original account of the confrontation, Goss approached his vehicle in a "menacing" fashion, which prompted the officer to whirl around and shoot him with a Taser. Goss was not a criminal suspect. After being attacked without cause on his own property, Goss removed the Taser barbs and then knocked the weapon out of the assailant’s hands. This act of self-defense was later described as the supposed crime of "disarming an officer."

A struggle then ensued in which the deputy – despite being larger and younger than the farmer – supposedly wound up pinned to the ground on his back as Goss repeatedly beat him with his own radio and threatened to kill him. At that point, Schulz – supposedly fearing for his life – shot the unarmed and already traumatized farmer in self-defense.

That was not to be the only version of the story told by Schulz. Furthermore, eyewitnesses to the struggle told a very different story: In their account, Schulz had drawn his gun and was struggling with Goss while firing wildly. One of the rounds struck the car being driven by Goss’s wife, who, out of concern for her husband, had come down the driveway. 

After shooting Goss in the stomach, Schulz attempted to shoot him again, but the gun misfired. Schulz – visibly agitated and muttering to himself – spent several minutes driving in circles in his police vehicle, without calling for an ambulance. Shulz also threatened several eyewitnesses on the scene.

Confronted about his inconsistencies on the witness stand, Schulz – a paragon of self-pity who was reduced to blubbering at several points during Goss’s trial – insisted that "the situation was chaotic …. So if I don’t remember something that’s normal and typical." Since cops are trained and given official permission to lie, self-serving perjury of this kind is, as Deputy Schulz said, entirely normal and typical. 

Defense attorney Geoffrey Heim produced photographs of Deputy Schulz after the incident showing that there was dust on the left leg of his trousers, but none on his back. Prosecutor Tanya Karimi dismissed that critical evidence of perjury by maintaining that Schulz was merely "mistaken" about how he had landed on the ground, and that he was on his side when the struggle took place. That version, fatally undermined the melodramatic depiction of Goss was kneeling on Schulz’s chest and beating him severely.  MORE

Police state gone wild: Couple facing 60 days in jail for rescuing injured baby deer

(NaturalNews) An Indiana couple saved a wounded baby deer and nursed it back to life, saving its life and giving it a home. They named it "Little Orphan Dani." When Indiana state officials got word of this courageous act of compassion, they ordered the deer euthanized. (Because government wants to kill everything you love.)

When the deer "escaped" right before it was schedule to be killed -- and yes, I think the couple probably set it free rather than have it killed -- the man and woman were charged with unlawful possession of a deer.

They now face $2,000 in fines and 60 days in jail.

This is yet another example of the government police state gone wild, and it's on top of seemingly countless other stories of similar police state insanity such as armed government raids on raw milk distributors.

Click here for more details on this story from ABC News.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038874_baby_deer_police_state_jail_time.html#ixzz2JSs6lCrU

226 Sheriffs Saying ‘NO’ to Obama Gun Control - January 23, 2013

	The number of sheriffs standing against the Obama and Feinstein gun control efforts have grown to... 219!    Click Here for Full List    Help Us Spread The Word! It's very simple.  Find as many news outlets, reporters and websites as you can find.  They can be local, national or international. Then send them an email with the link below encouraging them to do a story on the growing number of sheriffs standing against gun control. http://cspoa.org/sheriffs-gun-rights/ We don't care if it's a liberal news outlet and if they're going to spin it negatively.  Let people see what's happening and let them decide for themselves! Just keep the emails short with the link.  Then move on to the next outlet or reporter. Let's get the word out so other sheriffs decide to come on board.  There are 3,000 sheriffs in this country - so we have a lot of work to do! "When government fears the people, there is liberty.  When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson
	Donate Online: www.cspoa.org

Virginia Tech Lumenhaus Wins the 2010 Solar Decathlon

From:  Inhabitat.com

by Andrew Michler, 06/27/10

 

The winner of the 2010 European Solar Decathlon is Virginia Tech for the Lumenhaus!

Over the last couple weeks we at Inhabitat watched the 2010 Solar Decathlon Design Competition roll out 17 fantastic solar-powered prefab homes, showing the world that completely self-sustaining shelters can easily become a reality if we invest in solar technology. Over one thousand students took part in this phenomenal architectural design-build competition which challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive to boot. A true test of durable, effective design , the students not only faced rigorous juried evaluation, but they were also confronted with several challenges posed by Mother Nature herself - including the relentless beating sun and a wild thunderstorm! An exhilarating race from start to finish, some houses fell behind the pack, while a clear group of winners gradually took the lead at the forefront, and now, we are thrilled to finally announce that the winner of this year’s Solar Decathlon Europe is Virginia Tech, for their luminous Lumenhaus!

Read more: Winners Announced for the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe! | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Colorado Sheriffs Defend the Second Amendment

Colorado Sheriff's Associaton's

Letter Defending the Second Amendment

Iceland President at Davos: Let the Banks Go Bankrupt

Monday, January 28, 2013

Youtube
FROM: Activist News - Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson on how letting the banks fail led to a remarkable recovery of the country's economy.

'Vaccine court' awards millions to two autistic children damaged by vaccines

From: Natural News: Monday, January 28, 2013 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer



NaturalNews) Quietly and without much fanfare, the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), or more accurately the congressionally-sanctioned kangaroo court whose sole purpose is to shield the vaccine industry from liability for vaccine injuries, has essentially admitted that vaccines cause autism. As reported by the Huffington Post, two more children who developed autism following routine vaccinations have been awarded millions of dollars to help pay for the lifetime of specialized care they will need to address their injuries.

The first case involves a 10-year-old boy named Ryan from California who quickly regressed into an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following routine vaccinations he received between 2003 and 2005, and specifically the combination measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Prior to getting vaccinated, Ryan was a perfectly healthy young boy who was actually quite advanced for his age, according to reports. But after getting the MMR vaccine on December 19, 2003, he rather quickly developed an encephalopathy, or serious inflammation, in his brain.

Ryan's family and friends testified before the kangaroo court that the cumulative effect of the boy's receiving multiple vaccines from 2003-2005 caused him to suffer "neuroimmunologically mediated dysfunctions in the form of asthma and ASD," a claim that the federal government eventually admitted to be true several years later. Ryan's family eventually received compensation for his "Vaccine Table Injury," but pertinent details about the case have been sealed, including particulars about whether or not the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed with the court's decision.

You can read further details about Ryan's case here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/post2468343_b_2468343.html

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038858_vaccine_court_autistic_children_damaged.html#ixzz2JI0tp0CP

Anonymous avenges death of Aaron Swartz with takeover of US government judicial website and message of freedom

 Anonymous avenges death of Aaron Swartz with takeover of US government judicial website and message of freedom

Saturday, January 26, 2013
by Mike Adams 

(NaturalNews) Mere weeks after the death of internet revolutionary Aaron Swartz who was threatened with 50 years of prison time by the U.S. government, the group Anonymous has struck back with a takeover of the U.S. Sentencing Commission website. (IP address of 66.153.19.162)

That attack took control of the website and replaced it with the following message from Anonymous:

Citizens of the world,

Anonymous has observed for some time now the trajectory of justice in the United States with growing concern. We have marked the departure of this system from the noble ideals in which it was born and enshrined. We have seen the erosion of due process, the dilution of constitutional rights, the usurpation of the rightful authority of courts by the "discretion" or prosecutors. We have seen how the law is wielded less and less to uphold justice, and more and more to exercise control, authority and power in the interests of oppression or personal gain.

Right from the start, let me say on the record that this statement from Anonymous is 100% accurate and true. Over the last few years, the U.S. government has become an outright tyranny. It is now obvious that the entire Homeland Security apparatus that we were told was being built for "terrorists" was actually being constructed to spy on and suppress American citizens. The armed government raids on raw milk producers, home farms, vitamin companies, ministries and other innocent operations have reached a point of insanity. And now, the government wants to disarm the American people, creating a monopoly of force in the hands of the government itself.

These are all red flag signs that freedom is being suffocated in America, and in its place a totalitarianistic regime has been erected and rolled out.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038829_Anonymous_Aaron_Swartz_secret_documents.html#ixzz2JBKcsBcJ

Sheriffs Pledged to Uphold the Constitution

 Sheriffs Pledged to Uphold the Constitution

Alabama

Houston County, Alabama Sheriff Andy Hughes
Madison County, Alabama Sheriff Blake Dorning
Montgomery County, Alabama Sheriff D.T. Marshall
Morgan County, Alabama Sheriff Ana Franklin

Alaska (there are no counties in Alaska)

Arizona

Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Mohave County, Arizona Sheriff Tom Sheahan
Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu
Yavapai, County, Arizona Sheriff Scott Mascher

Arkansas

California

Amador County, California Sheriff Martin Ryan
Butte County, California Sheriff Jerry Smith
Del Norte County, California Sheriff Dean Wilson
El Dorado County, California Sheriff John D'Agostini
Fresno County, California Sheriff Margaret Mims
Humboldt County, California Sheriff Mike Downey
Lassen County, California Sheriff Dean Growden
Mendocino County, California Sheriff Thomas Allman
Modoc County, California Sheriff Mike Poindexter
Plumas County, California Sheriff Greg Hagwood
Shasta County, California Sheriff Tom Bosenko
Siskiyou County, California Sheriff Jon Lopey
Stanislaus County, California Sheriff Adam Christianson
Tehama County, California Sheriff David Hencraft
Trinity County, California Sheriff Bruce Haney
Tuolumne County, California Sheriff James W. Mele

Colorado

El Paso County, Colorado Sheriff Terry Maketa
Garfield County, Colorado Sheriff Lou Vallario
Larimer County, Colorado Sheriff Justin Smith
Mesa County, Colorado Sheriff Stan Hilkey
Weld County, Colorado Sheriff John Cooke

Connecticut

Delaware

Sussex County, Delaware Sheriff Jeff Christopher

Florida

Bay County. Florida Sheriff Frank McKeithen
Martin County, Florida Sheriff Bill Snyder
Walton County, Florida Sheriff Michael Adkinson

Georgia

Cherokee County, Georgia Sheriff Roger Garrison
Gilmer County, Georgia Sheriff Stacy Nicholson
Oconee County, Georgia Sheriff Scott Berry
Paulding County, Georgia Sheriff Gary Gulledge

Hawaii

Idaho

Bonner County, Idaho Sheriff Daryl Wheelter
Canyon County, Idaho Sheriff Kieran Donahue
Clearwater County, Idaho Sheriff Chris Goetz
Idaho County, Idaho Sheriff Doug Giddings
Jerome County, Idaho Sheriff Doug McFall
Lewis County, Idaho Sheriff Brian Brokop
Nez Perce County, Idaho Sheriff Joe Rodriguez

Illinois

Edgar County, Illinois Sheriff Edward Motley:
McLean County, Illinois Sheriff Mike Emery

Indiana

Elkhart County, Indiana Sheriff Brad Rogers

Iowa

Cedar County, Iowa Sheriff Warren M. Wethington

Kansas

Johnson County, Kansas Sheriff Frank Denning

Kentucky

Bath County, Kentucky Sheriff John Snedegar
Jackson County, Kentucky Sheriff Denny Peyman

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Benzie County, Michigan Sheriff Ted Schende
Kent County, Michigan Sheriff Larry Stelma

Minnesota

Pine County, Minnesota Sheriff Robin Cole

Mississippi

DeSoto County, Mississippi Sheriff Bill Rasco

Missouri

Barry County, Missouri Sheriff Mick Epperly
Johnson County, Missouri Sheriff Charles Heiss
Lawrence County, Missouri Sheriff Brad DeLay
Livingston County, Missouri Sheriff Steve Cox
Oregon County, Missouri Sheriff George R. Underwood
Osage County, Missouri Sheriff Michael Dixon

Montana

Lake County, Montana Sheriff Jay Doyle
Powell County, Montana Sheriff Scott F. Howard
Ravalli County, Montana, Sheriff Chris Hoffman
Sanders County, Montana Sheriff Tom Rummel
Wibaux County, Montana Sheriff Darby Harrington

Nebraska

Nevada

Churchill County, Nevada Sheriff Benjamin D. Trotter
Humboldt County, Nevada Sheriff Ed Kilgpore
Nye County, Nevada Sheriff Tony DeMeo

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

Bernalillo County, NM Sheriff Dan Houston
Catron County, NM Sheriff Shawn Menges
Chaves County, NM Sheriff Patrick R Jennings
Cibola County, NM Sheriff Johnny Valdez
Colfax County, NM Sheriff Jim Maldonado
De Baca County, NM Sheriff Dennis A. Cleaver
Dona Ana County, NM Sheriff Todd Garrison
Eddy County, NM Sheriff Ernest J Mendoza
Grant County, NM Sheriff Raul Holguin
Guadalupe County, NM Sheriff Michael R Lucero
Harding County, NM Sheriff Herman Martinez
Hidalgo County, NM Sheriff Saturnino Madero
Lea County, NM Sheriff Rod Coffman
Lincoln County, NM Sheriff Rick Virden
Los Alamos County, NM Sheriff Marco Lucero
Luna County, NM Sheriff Raymond Cobos
Otero County, NM Sheriff Benny House
Quay County, NM Sheriff Joe Schallert
Rio Arriba County, NM Sheriff Joe Mascarenas
Roosevelt County, NM Sheriff Darren Hooker
San Juan County, NM Sheriff Ken Christesen
San Miguel County, NM Sheriff Benjie Vigil
Santa Fe County, NM Sheriff Robert Garcia
Sierra County, NM Sheriff Joe Baca
Socorro County, NM Sheriff Phillip Montoya
Taos County, NM Sheriff Miguel Romero Jr
Torrance County, NM Sheriff Heath White
Union County, NM Sheriff William Spriggs
Valencia County, NM Sheriff Louis Burkhard

New York

Otsego County, New York Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr.
Putnam County, New York Sheriff Donald Smith
Schoharie County, New York Sheriff Tony Desmond
Steuben County, New York Sheriff David Cole

North Carolina

Catawba County, North Carolina Sheriff Coy Reid
Edgefield County, North Carolina Sheriff Adell Dobey
Henderson County, North Carolina Sheriff Charlie McDonald
Wayne County, North Carolina Sheriff Carey Winders

North Dakota

Ohio

Boone County, Ohio Sheriff Micahel A. Helmig,
Clermont County, Ohio Sheriff A.J. Rodenberg

Oklahoma

Wagoner County, Oklahoma Sheriff Bob Colbert

Oregon

Baker County, Oregon Sheriff Mitchell Southwick
Coos County, Oregon Sheriff Craig Zanni
Crook County, Oregon Sheriff Jim Hensley
Curry County, Oregon Sheriff John Bishop
Deschutes County, Oregon Sheriff Larry Blanton
Douglas County, Oregon Sheriff John Hanlin
Grant County, Oregon, Sheriff Glenn Palmer
Jackson County, Oregon Sheriff Mike Winters
Josephine County, Oregon Sheriff Gil Gilbertson
Klamath County, Oregon Sheriff Frank Skrah
Linn County, Oregon Sheriff Tim Mueller
Madison County, Idaho Sheriff Roy Klingler
Malheur County, Oregon Sheriff Brian Wolfe
Multnomah County, Oregon Sheriff Daniel Staton
Polk County, Oregon Sheriff Bob Wolfe
Washington County, Oregon Sheriff Pat Garrett
Yamhill County, Oregon Sheriff Jack Crabtree

Pennsylvania

Adams County, Pennsylvania Sheriff Jim Muller
Berks County, Pennsylvania Sheriff Eric J. Weaknecht
Bradford County, Pennsylvania Sheriff Clinton J. Walters

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Berkeley County, South Carolina Sheriff Wayne DeWitt
Charleston County, South Carolina Sheriff Al Cannon
Kershaw County, South Carolina Sheriff Jim Matthews
Lexington County, South Carolina Sheriff James Metts
Richland County, South Carolina Sheriff Leon Lott
Spartanburg County, South Carolina Sheriff Chuck Wright

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Austin County, Texas Sheriff Jack Brandes
Collin County, Texas Sheriff Terry Box
Hill County, Texas Sheriff Michael Cox,
McCulloch County, Texas Sheriff Earl Howell
McLennan County, Texas Sheriff Parnell McNamara
Randall County, Texas Sheriff Joel W. Richardson
Smith County, Texas Sheriff Larry Smith

Utah

Beaver County, Utah Sheriff Cameron Noel
Box Elder County, Utah Sheriff Joseph Yeates
Cache County, Utah Sheriff G. Lynn Nelson
Carbon County, Utah Sheriff James Cordova
Daggett County, Utah Sheriff Allan Campbell
Davis County, Utah Sheriff Todd Richardson
Duchesne County, Utah Sheriff Merv Gustin
Emery County, Utah Sheriff Greg Funk
Garfiled ounty, Utah Sheriff Than Cooper
Grand County, Utah Sheriff James B. Nyland Sr.
Iron County, Utah Sheriff Mark Gower
Juab County, Utah, Sheriff Alden Orme
Kane County, Utah Sheriff Lamont Smith
Millard County, Utah Sheriff Robert Dekker
Morgan County, Utah Sheriff Gene Ercanbrack
Piute County, Utah Sheriff Mary Gleave
Rich County, Utah Sheriff Dale Stacey
San Juan County, Utah Sheriff Mike Lacy
Sanpete County, Utah Sheriff Kay P. Larsen
Sevier County, Utah Sheriff Phil Barney
Summit County, Utah Sheriff David A. Edmunds
Tooele County, Utah Sheriff Frank J. Park
Uintah County, Utah Sheriff Jeff Merrell
Utah County, Utah Sheriff James B. Tracy
Wasatch County, Utah Sheriff Kenneth Vanwagoner
Washington County, Utah Sheriff Kirk Smith
Wayne County, Utah Sheriff Kurt R. Taylor
Weber County, Utah Sheriff Terry Thompson

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Asotin County, Washington Sheriff Ken Bancroft
Multnomah County, Washington Sheriff Dan Staton
Skamania County, Washington Sheriff Dave Brown
WhitmanCounty, Washington Sheriff Brett Myers
Yakima County, Washington Sheriff Ken Irwin

West Virginia

Wood County, West Virgina Sheriff Ken Merritt

The Battle of Athens: Restoring the Rule of Law

On Aug 1-2, 1946, the people of Athens, Tennessee, led by WWII vets, exercised their rights, protected under the Second Amendment, and staged an armed revolt against the local criminal elite government.

SOURCE: The Daily Post-Athenian, Athens, Tenn., August 7, 1946; pages 1, 6.

McMinn A Warning — By Eleanor Roosevelt

New York, Monday — After any war, the use of force throughout the world is almost taken for granted. Men involved in the war have been trained to use force, and they have discovered that, when you want something, you can take it. The return to peacetime methods governed by law and persuasion is usually difficult.

We in the U.S.A., who have long boasted that, in our political life, freedom in the use of the secret ballot made it possible for us to register the will of the people without the use of force, have had a rude awakening as we read of conditions in McMinn County, Tennessee, which brought about the use of force in the recent primary. If a political machine does not allow the people free expression, then freedom-loving people lose their faith in the machinery under which their government functions.

In this particular case, a group of young veterans organized to oust the local machine and elect their own slate in the primary. We may deplore the use of force but we must also recognize the lesson which this incident points for us all. When the majority of the people know what they want, they will obtain it.

Any local, state or national government, or any political machine, in order to live, must give the people assurance that they can express their will freely and that their votes will be counted. The most powerful machine cannot exist without the support of the people. Political bosses and political machinery can be good, but the minute they cease to express the will of the people, their days are numbered.

This is a lesson which wise political leaders learn young, and you can be pretty sure that, when a boss stays in power, he gives the majority of the people what they think they want. If he is bad and indulges in practices which are dishonest, or if he acts for his own interests alone, the people are unwilling to condone these practices.

When the people decide that conditions in their town, county, state or country must change, they will change them. If the leadership has been wise, they will be able to do it peacefully through a secret ballot which is honestly counted, but if the leader has become inflated and too sure of his own importance, he may bring about the kind of action which was taken in Tennessee.

If we want to continue to be a mature people who, at home and abroad, settle our difficulties peacefully and not through the use of force, then we will take to heart this lesson and we will jealously guard our rights. What goes on before an election, the threats or persuasion by political leaders, may be bad but it cannot prevent the people from really registering their will if they wish to.

The decisive action which has just occurred in our midst is a warning, and one which we cannot afford to overlook.

Ashtabula Column - Seeking the Muse

Seeking the Muse

by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

Omelets at the E-Comm Cafe on Main Street are succulent, and huge. I stopped by for one after my Pilates class today. It nearly filled up the plate all by itself, overflowing with perfectly cooked mushrooms and other yummies, with wonderful, coffee refilled every time I looked up. 

Pilates class at the YMCA has been a real experience, and was very different than expected. I was surprised to learn Joseph H. Pilates was a sickly child, suffering from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. Determined to find health and strength, he began studying body-building, yoga, qigong, and gymnastics. By age of 14, he was posing for anatomical charts. 

A gymnast, diver, and bodybuilder, he moved to England in 1912, earning his living as a professional boxer, circus-performer, and self-defense trainer at police schools and Scotland Yard. 

When I started Pilates, I had no idea its original point was what, today, we call rehabilitation. After discovering this I started taking my son, Arthur to classes. Arthur, now 35, suffered major brain injury and other trauma in 1997 during a motorcycle accident. Six months later he shot himself through the brain. Over the past several years his mobility, which was certainly never good after these two events, had been deteriorating. Three months ago getting down on the floor was tough for him. Today I can see the difference, though he is cranky about the earliness of the class. 

For me, Pilates has provided some of the same benefits I previously found in Rolfing, with much less pain. Rolfing, originated by Ida Rolf, who received her Ph. D. in biochemistry from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1920, developed the system to,“correct imbalances in structure placed demands on the body's pervasive network of soft tissues: muscles, fascia, tendons and ligaments.” 

 

Pilates helps release trauma to muscles and joints, allowing the body to work more smoothly, providing many of the same benefits at less cost. Rebecca Mondo, who does the class, encourages folks with mobility problems to participate, Wednesdays at the Wellness Center, which is also where we will be starting a group to Evoke the Muse in You. The Muse is a fine thing to have on our journey through life and far more wonderful if you can share with others of like mind and heart. 

Body, mind, spirit, it takes all three. Brought together, life can be wonderful.

Today's Seafood Special: Pig Manure, Antibiotics, and Diarrhea Bugs

 

Imported seafood is full of dirt and chemicals. So why is the FDA inspecting practically none of it?

By Tom Philpott | Wed Jan. 23, 2013 3:01 AM PST

Next time you tuck into a Red Lobster "Endless Shrimp" special or score some $7-per-pound salmon at a supermarket, consider this: You're very likely eating imported seafood raised on a factory-style farm in Asia—and it almost certainly was never inspected by the Food and Drug Administration on its way into the country and onto your plate.
Is that...safe? Big retailers like Walmart [1] and restaurant chains like Darden [2] (owner of Red Lobster) say yes, in part because some of the seafood they buy bears the Best Aquaculture Practices label. Who issues that label? The Global Aquaculture Alliance [3], an industry endeavor—its board consists of representatives [4] from (you guessed it) Darden, as well as Cargill, the Chilean salmon industry, and a large farmed-shrimp importer called Eastern Fish Company [5]. Not surprisingly, BAP standards for farmed fish placed near the bottom (16 of 20) in a 2012 ranking of aquaculture labels [6] by the University of Victoria's Seafood Ecology Research Group. (Darden says it independently tests its shrimp for contaminants but declined to share its results; Walmart did not answer our questions about inspections.)

But the responsibility for ensuring the safety of our food doesn't fall to retailers and restaurants alone. The oversight authority belongs to the FDA, and the task is massive. In 2011, Americans consumed 4.7 billion pounds of seafood [7], 91 percent of which was imported. And yet the FDA only inspects a tiny amount of this giant haul: 2 percent at most [8]. (The equivalent agency in Canada inspects 15 percent of imported seafood; in the European Union the figure is 50 percent.)
That's worrisome because imported seafood has a spotty track record. According to a recent study [9] by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44 percent of the 39 foodborne-illness outbreaks caused by imports from 2005 to 2010 involved seafood—more than any other type of food.
And then there's the drug problem. Like US meat farms [10], Asia's shrimp operations rely heavily on antibiotics to control diseases among creatures packed tightly together, and also to make them grow faster. That creates the risk of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in the final product. In a 2012 study [11], FDA scientists tested 330 samples of shrimp farmed in Thailand—the No. 1 US shrimp supplier—and bought in Little Rock, Arkansas, supermarkets. Sixty-seven turned up positive for strains of the bacteria klebsiella that are resistant to a range of antibiotics—32 of them showed resistance to no fewer than eight different antibiotics. The researchers concluded that "imported shrimp is a reservoir for multidrug-resistant Klebsiella," which can trigger urinary-tract infections and pneumonia.
And it's not just nasty bugs that can end up in our seafood. Testifying before Congress in 2008 [12], Don Kraemer, then-deputy director of the FDA's Office of Food Safety, warned of "clear scientific evidence" that drug residues make it into the fish we eat. In 2011, the FDA tested just 0.1 percent of imported seafood products for drug traces. In 2008, the agency tested only 34 shrimp samples [13] for residues of nitrofurans—a class of antibiotics banned because they're carcinogenic. Six samples tested positive.  MORE