Off-Duty Police Officers in NYC Found To Have Been Present During Biker Attack On New York Family!

 

New post on JONATHAN TURLEY Off-Duty Police Officers Found To Have Been Present During Biker Attack On New York Family by jonathanturley We have been following the extraordinary case of the family terrorized by a gang of bikers in New York city. Alexian Lien, 33, was beaten and slashed in the attack which came after a long chase by the bikers. Previously, Christopher Cruz, 28. Cruz was charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, reckless driving and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17. A second suspect -- Allen Edwards, 42, of Queens, was charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and menacing. He is believed to be the man seen on video below striking the Range Rover windows with his fists in the video below. The man with the chrome-colored helmet is reported to be Reginald Chance, 38, of Brooklyn. Another man, Robert Sims, 35, of Brooklyn was also been arrested. As many as five men appear to have beaten Lien, though the criminality would seem to extend to other bikers who trapped and pursued the family. It now appears that at least two off-duty police officers may have been present at the chase and/or beating of the family and did not immediately intervene or come forward. Read more of this post jonathanturley | 1, October 7, 2013 at 10:37 am | Categories: Criminal law, Media, Torts | URL: http://wp.me/p6sYP-il5 Comment    See all comments    Like   http://jonathanturley.org/2013/10/07/off-duty-police-officers-found-to-have-been-present-during-biker-attack-on-new-york-family/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Response From Sen. John Barrasso About the Shutdown.

Hey Wyoming,

Barrasso's response would be funny if it wasn't so sad, and such a big fat republican lie.

At one point, Johnny "TV" Barrasso says this- "...we simply cannot continue this reckless approach to governing." Yet he is one of the main instigators in the republican caucus in the senate that uses a reckless approach of lies, myth and misinformation sharing, fearmongering and attacking any and everything Obama wants to do, even if the repubs were for it before they were against it. All to appease the TeaBagger/racist scumbag wing of the republican party. Johnny's staff, whomever penned this screed, seems to be preparing their resume as a fiction writer. And the only people of Wyoming Johnny really cares about are the ones who can donate large sums to his next senate campaign 5 years from now. He has voted against almost everything for the elderly, poor, middle-class, sick, children, veterans, disabled and any other person who may be facing difficult times. This faux self-righteousness is the cornerstone of republican politics, as they fake upset over things they initially instigated. What a pathetic lot they are, and they all need their walking papers ASAP!

---

 

Here's Johnny "TV" Barrasso's letter for your viewing: 

 

From: Senator_JBarrasso@barrasso.senate.gov

Sent: Monday, October 07, 2013 9:28 AM

To: -------------------------------

Subject: Response From John Barrasso

 

Dear William,

 

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the federal government shutdown.  It's good to hear from you.

As you know, the federal government is currently closed.  On three separate occasions I have voted in favor of funding the federal government in order to avoid a shutdown.  Unfortunately, passage of each bill was blocked.  With a national debt near $17 trillion and a government that is currently closed for business, we simply cannot continue this reckless approach to governing.  The American people deserve better.

I strongly believe the American people deserve a transparent, accountable government that works together to pursue responsible investment of tax dollars instead of reckless spending.  It is past time for Washington to end the political wrangling and conduct an honest, open debate about the challenges that we're facing as a nation. 

I do not believe that these problems are insurmountable.  We simply need Washington to refocus its attention not on the needs of any single political party, but on the needs of the American people. Please know that I will continue to fight to ensure that the people of Wyoming are heard as the debate about our nation's fiscal future continues.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me on this very important issue.

John Barrasso, M.D.                                                                         
United States Senator

 

---

 

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

Heavy Snow shuts down electricity and roads in Sheridan, Wyoming on October 4, 2013!

 

 

Snow shuts down electricity and roads in Sheridan!

Posted: Oct 04, 2013

The snow is making travel difficult in Wyoming and it has knocked out electricity in many areas.

Interstate 90 is closed from Sheridan to the South Dakota border. Any county roads that are open are slick and covered with snow and slush.

 

The snow's weight has caused many trees to bend or break, some hitting power lines. Montana-Dakota Utilities says power was lost for many homes between Ranchester and Big Horn.

 

An MDU spokesperson said as on noon Friday, about 3,000 in Sheridan County were without power, but that number could go down to only 1,000 later in the afternoon.

 

A Powder River Energy Corporation spokesperson says crews started working late Thursday night to restore power to many rural areas around Sheridan, Buffalo, Newcastle, Sundance, and areas around Wright, Gillette, and Moorcroft.  There are still around 3,000 meters without electricity, and those without power should prepare for extended outages lasting into the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

It's know time like snow time in beautiful Wyoming!

Howdy You All,

 

It's that time of the year.

 

 

 

 

Up at Spear-O-Wigwam next to Park Res. In Bighorn Mountains Just west of here.

Taken last night, 9-26-2013

 

 

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

WHEN COAL Comes En Masse to our Western Cities, Towns and Communities, Like Sheridan, WY!

When Coal Comes To Town: Western Communities Brace For Coal Export Explosion Posted: 16 Sep 2013 08:43 AM PDT   Backed-up traffic as a coal train passes through Billings, MT. CREDIT: Western Organization of Resource Councils Why is it that the USA has to always get rid of their natural resources as quickly as possible for the fast buck? Why can't we use them wisely, and conservatively, rather then use them up as quickly as possible? Why are we even thinking of sending COAL to China? Who woke up one day and thought that was a great long-range policy goal for the USA? Only greedy little bastards would have---short term gain trumps long term energy security for the country. BILLINGS, MONTANA — Not so long ago, the two warehouse district streets that parallel the railroad tracks running through Montana's biggest city were, in the description of a local architecture firm, "seedy and dangerous, highlighted by saloons, gambling, fighting, and regular police traffic." Today, Minnesota Avenue and Montana Avenue are the heart of a small but thriving retail, entertainment and residential loft district, part of a spreading urban transformation that has brought new vitality to Billings — a revitalization that some residents fear may be in jeopardy as coal mines operating in the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana could in the near future begin shipping massive quantities of coal to export terminals in the Pacific Northwest. Though their communities may differ greatly, the coal industry's drive to breathe new life into a struggling economic sector is uniting activists and residents alike — from ranchers in the West, to small towns like Livingston, Sheridan, and Billings, to the cities in Washington and Oregon facing the possible construction of large coal export facilities. Founded as a railroad town in 1882 — it is named for the then-head of the Northern Pacific — Billings has long dealt with freight trains rumbling through the heart of their city on tracks that separate the north and south sides. But people here worry that a dramatic increase in the number of trains moving through the center of the city will bring an unacceptable level of congestion, potential health impacts from diesel fumes and coal dust blowing off the open cars, and setbacks to the urban renaissance currently underway. Those kinds of concerns are mirrored in many communities across the Northern Plains and Pacific Northwest, which are in the cross hairs of a possibly huge jump in coal train traffic that could significantly affect community life. Freight trains, including coal carriers a mile and a quarter long, delay auto traffic on heavily-traveled 27th Street in Billings for seven or eight minutes. During peak travel times those lines of waiting traffic can be several blocks long, according to Billings residents, and can delay access to the city's hospitals for residents on the south side. And it's not just traffic that is raising concerns: Dr. Robert Merchant, a Billings pulmonologist, told The Daily Climate, that he fears the dust, diesel fumes and noise will adversely affect the health of city residents. "A marked increase in coal trains will markedly impact the health of my patients," he said. "I need to keep them out of the hospital."   CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS Over the past few years, six new West Coast coal export terminals have been proposed to move U.S. coal to Asia, primarily China. Currently there are no U.S. coal export facilities on the West Coast, and the modest but growing export trade in U.S. coal headed for Asia is shipped from terminals in British Columbia. Three of the U.S. terminal plans have fallen by the wayside, but the three that remain, in Cherry Point, Washington, Longview, Washington, and Boardman, Oregon, would have the capacity to ship close to 120 million tons of coal per year. A study prepared last summer by three transportation experts for the Western Organization of Resource Councils determined that at full capacity, those six terminals would be able to ship 170 million tons of coal. According to the report, "Heavy Traffic Ahead," that would mean an additional 57 coal trains passing through Billings on average every day. With the three remaining terminal plans, the coal train traffic would be almost 70 percent of what the study projected for the original six terminals, meaning that freight train traffic in Billings could roughly triple from what it is today. That could bring the total stalled traffic time on the three Billings streets that cross the train tracks to about seven hours a day. "It's already an issue," said Ed Gulick, an architect whose firm has played a key role in the urban redevelopment here and has an office just south of the railroad tracks. With triple the number of trains, he said, "downtown would be cut off from the interstate, so it will be a huge issue." Gulick concedes that many elected officials here don't see the issue in the same light as he does. In April 2012, the county commissioners in Yellowstone County, which includes Billings, wrote the state's three-man congressional delegation voicing their support for the proposed coal terminals and predicting they would help expand Montana's coal industry and spur employment. But as Larry Swanson, an economist who heads the University of Montana's O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West points out, mining in the years 1991-2011 never accounted for more than two percent of the state's jobs. And he projects that through 2020, the big job growth fields will be health care and social assistance, trade, and retail and hospitality. The Powder River Basin currently accounts for more than 40 percent of U.S. coal production. As coal used for electricity generation domestically has declined in recent years, the industry has started to pin its hopes for growth on Asia's appetite for that fuel. Two years ago, for example, the CEO of industry giant Arch Coal, Steven F. Leer, referred in a press release to the company's "strategic objective of expanding Powder River Basin coal sales into the Asia-Pacific region." And last year, the president of Cloud Peak Energy, Colin Marshall, announced the purchase of a new mine site in the basin, saying the acquisition would "position Cloud Peak Energy well for future growth in our Asian exports as additional terminal capacity becomes available." The study prepared for the Western Organization of Resource Councils projects that most of the industry's hoped-for boom in exports to Asia from Montana and Wyoming would be shipped via BNSF lines from the Powder River Basin to the Pacific Northwest. BNSF is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company chaired by investing wizard Warren Buffett. Communities large and small across that region have been coming to grips with what a major increase in coal train traffic could mean. In many of them, existing rail lines run straight through their downtowns, so the possibility of large numbers of coal trains blocking passage for auto traffic is no small matter. In Sheridan, Wyoming — population about 18,000 — city officials commissioned a study that looked into relocating the rail line and associated downtown rail yard. The study concluded that the project would cost between $140 million and $169 million. With no relocation of the rail lines and rail yard, the study predicted that in ten years, the number of vehicles experiencing delays at the town's main rail crossing would more than double to between 3,365 and 4,945 depending on the timing of rail traffic coming through. "Sheridan had to scramble to come up with $5 million for upgrades to its sewage treatment plan," said Brad Mohrmann, a consultant who has worked on a separate study of economic development possibilities for the current railroad properties if the rail line is moved. "Where are they going to get $160 million? That would never happen … BNSF is not interested in throwing in one dime."   CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS Similar concerns are being aired in Livingston, Montana, another town with a rich railroad history where the tracks run through the center of the community. Facilities include a rail yard and shop complex that dates to 1883 where soil and water is contaminated by hydrocarbons, asbestos and chlorinated solvents because of railroad maintenance activities. The area, a state superfund site, is being cleaned up, but at a snail's pace according to residents. Located on the Yellowstone River, east of Bozeman, Livingston is a gateway to Yellowstone National Park to the south through the Paradise Valley. It's become a mecca for anglers, authors and artisans, and the small downtown next to the railroad tracks is an eclectic amalgam of coffee shops, a rail museum in the historic depot, restaurants featuring locally grown food, and fly fishing shops along with welding and industrial supply stores. Currently about 15 trains a day come through Livingston, said Kerry Fee, executive director of the Park County Environmental Council, who expects the number could double with construction of the coal export terminals. Though he agrees there will be some job growth at the railroad maintenance facility, he thinks overall it would very much be a net negative for the community. For some in Livingston, climate change is also a significant concern. Courtney Lehmans, a 20-year resident, says Montana during much of that time has been dealing with drought, and she points to the rapid disappearance of many of the glaciers in Glacier National Park as clear evidence of warming. With a big increase in coal production in the Powder River Basin, she says "they'll be shipping it to China and the emissions are going to hit the jet stream and come right back to us." There are only three places in Livingston where vehicles can cross the tracks, and only one of them is an underground bypass that operates even when trains are coming through but which sometimes floods. Fee thinks that double the number of trains will increase the odds that emergency vehicles and EMTs will at some point face an emergency and not be able to get from one side of town to another. Noise is another concern. Fee says he can hear the train horns from four miles away, and the effort required to pull long trains up Bozeman Pass to the West makes them sound like jet engines in the valley below. "It's pretty darn loud," Fee said. "It will affect property values and it is not going to be good for the economy." The post When Coal Comes To Town: Western Communities Brace For Coal Export Explosion appeared first on ThinkProgress.

 

 

Best wishes always,
William D. Harasym

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

Who was Jesus?

Who was Jesus?

 

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:

 

1. He called everyone brother

2. He liked Gospel

3. He didn't get a fair trial

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:

 

1. He went into His Father's business

2. He lived at home until he was 33

3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:

 

1. He talked with His hands

2. He had wine with His meals

3. He used olive oil

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:

 

1. He never cut His hair

2. He walked around barefoot all the time

3. He started a new religion

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian:

 

1. He was at peace with nature

2. He ate a lot of fish

3. He talked about the Great Spirit

 

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:

 

1. He never got married..

2. He was always telling stories.

3. He loved green pastures.

 

But the most persuasive evidence that God was a woman: 

 

1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was virtually no food.

2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.

3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do.

 

 

 

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

35 FOUNDING FATHER Quotes Conservative Christians Will Hate!

I recently read this and thought I would share it with everyone!

The separation of church and state is one of the cornerstones of America's foundation. Conservative Christian fundamentalists have sought to crush this cornerstone in the hopes of establishing Christianity as the state religion, an action that would threaten the rest of the foundation that makes up the Constitution. These conservatives contend that the Founding Fathers dreamed of making America a Christian state at the expense of those who practice other religions or none at all.

 

 

So here are 35 quotes from the Founding Fathers. Perhaps your first thoughts are the first four Presidents and maybe Benjamin Franklin, but there were many other Founding Fathers. Many were signers of the Constitution and The Declaration of Independence. They were lawyers, judges, soldiers, merchants, farmers, and some were even clergy. And the great majority of them signed the Constitution knowing that matters of government and matters of religion would be separate.

1. "If I could conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded, that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution."
~George Washington, letter to the United Baptist Chamber of Virginia, May 1789

2. "Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society."
~George Washington, letter to Edward Newenham, October 20, 1792

3. "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition… In this enlightened Age and in this Land of equal liberty it is our boast, that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the Laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining and holding the highest Offices that are known in the United States."
~George Washington, letter to the members of the New Church in Baltimore, January 27, 1793

4. "The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature; and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history. Although the detail of the formation of the American governments is at present little known or regarded either in Europe or in America, it may hereafter become an object of curiosity. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses."
~John Adams, "A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America" 1787-1788

5. "The Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."
~1797 Treaty of Tripoli signed by John Adams

6. "Thirteen governments [of the original states] thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind."
~John Adams, "A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America" (1787-88)

7. "We should begin by setting conscience free. When all men of all religions shall enjoy equal liberty, property, and an equal chance for
honors and power we may expect that improvements will be made in the human character and the state of society."
~John Adams, letter to Dr. Price, April 8, 1785

8. "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state."
~Thomas Jefferson, letter to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, 1802

9. "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is error alone that needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself."
~Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Horatio Spofford, 1814

10. "Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, then that of blindfolded fear."
~Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787

11. "I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another."
~Thomas Jefferson, letter to Elbridge Gerry, January 26, 1799

12. "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes."
-Thomas Jefferson: in letter to Alexander von Humboldt, December 6, 1813

13. "Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual.
State churches that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make the clergy unresponsive to the people and leads to corruption within religion. Erecting the "wall of separation between church and state," therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society. We have solved … the great and interesting question whether freedom of religion is compatible with order in government and obedience to the laws. And we have experienced the quiet as well as the comfort which results from leaving every one to profess freely and openly those principles of religion which are the inductions of his own reason and the serious convictions of his own inquiries."
~Thomas Jefferson: in a speech to the Virginia Baptists, 1808

14. "Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."
~Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814,

15. "The civil government functions with complete success by the total separation of the Church from the State."
~James Madison, 1819, Writings, 8:432, quoted from Gene Garman, "Essays In Addition to America's Real Religion"

16. "And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in shewing that religion & Govt will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."
~James Madison, letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822

17. "Every new and successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters is of importance."
~James Madison, letter, 1822

18. "Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies, may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history."
~James Madison; Monopolies, Perpetuities, Corporations, Ecclesiastical
Endowments

19. "It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties."
~James Monroe, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1817

20. "When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obligated to call for help of the civil power, it's a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."
~Benjamin Franklin, letter to Richard Price, October 9, 1780

21. "Manufacturers, who listening to the powerful invitations of a better price for their fabrics, or their labor, of greater cheapness of provisions and raw materials, of an exemption from the chief part of the taxes burdens and restraints, which they endure in the old world, of greater personal independence and consequence, under the operation of a more equal government, and of what is far more precious than mere religious toleration–a perfect equality of religious privileges; would probably flock from Europe to the United States to pursue their own trades or professions, if they were once made sensible of the advantages they would enjoy, and were inspired with an assurance of encouragement and employment, will, with difficulty, be induced to transplant themselves, with a view to becoming cultivators of the land."
~Alexander Hamilton: Report on the Subject of Manufacturers December 5,
1791

22. "In regard to religion, mutual toleration in the different professions thereof is what all good and candid minds in all ages have ever practiced, and both by precept and example inculcated on mankind."
~Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists (1771)

23. "That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forebearance, love, and charity towards each other."
~George Mason, Virginia Bill of Rights, 1776

24. "It is contrary to the principles of reason and justice that any should be compelled to contribute to the maintenance of a church with which their consciences will not permit them to join, and from which they can derive no benefit; for remedy whereof, and that equal liberty as well religious as civil, may be universally extended to all the good people of this commonwealth."
~George Mason, Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776

25. "A man of abilities and character, of any sect whatever, may be admitted to any office or public trust under the United States. I am a friend to a variety of sects, because they keep one another in order. How many different sects are we composed of throughout the United States? How many different sects will be in congress? We cannot enumerate the sects that may be in congress. And there are so many now in the United States that they will prevent the establishment of any one sect in prejudice to the rest, and will forever oppose all attempts to infringe religious liberty. If such an attempt be made, will not the alarm be sounded throughout America? If congress be as wicked as we are foretold they will, they would not run the risk of exciting the resentment of all, or most of the religious sects in America."
~Edmund Randolph, address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June
10, 1788

26. "I never liked the Hierarchy of the Church — an equality in the teacher of Religion, and a dependence on the people, are republican sentiments — but if the Clergy combine, they will have their influence on Government"
~Rufus King, Rufus King: American Federalist, pp. 56-57

27. A general toleration of Religion appears to me the best means of peopling our country… The free exercise of religion hath stocked the Northern part of the continent with inhabitants; and altho' Europe hath in great measure adopted a more moderate policy, yet the profession of Protestantism is extremely inconvenient in many places there. A Calvinist, a Lutheran, or Quaker, who hath felt these inconveniences in Europe, sails not to Virginia, where they are felt perhaps in a (greater degree)."
~Patrick Henry, observing that immigrants flock to places where there is no established religion, Religious Tolerance, 1766

28. "No religious doctrine shall be established by law."
~Elbridge Gerry, Annals of Congress 1:729-731

29. "Knowledge and liberty are so prevalent in this country, that I do not believe that the United States would ever be disposed to establish one religious sect, and lay all others under legal disabilities. But as we know not what may take place hereafter, and any such test would be exceedingly injurious to the rights of free citizens, I cannot think it altogether superfluous to have added a clause, which secures us from the possibility of such oppression."
~Oliver Wolcott, Connecticut Ratifying Convention, 9 January 1788

30. "Some very worthy persons, who have not had great advantages for information, have objected against that clause in the constitution
which provides, that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. They have been afraid that this clause is unfavorable to religion. But my countrymen, the sole purpose and effect of it is to exclude persecution, and to secure to you the important right of religious
liberty. We are almost the only people in the world, who have a full enjoyment of this important right of human nature. In our country every man has a right to worship God in that way which is most agreeable to his conscience. If he be a good and peaceable person he is liable to no penalties or incapacities on account of his religious sentiments; or in other words, he is not subject to persecution. But in other parts of the world, it has been, and still is, far different. Systems of religious error have been adopted, in times of ignorance. It has been the interest of tyrannical kings, popes, and prelates, to maintain these errors. When the clouds of ignorance began to vanish, and the people grew more enlightened, there was no other way to keep them in error, but to prohibit their altering their religious opinions by severe persecuting laws. In this way persecution became general throughout Europe."
~Oliver Ellsworth, Philip B Kurland and Ralph Lerner (eds.), The Founder's Constitution, University of Chicago Press, 1987, Vol. 4, p.
638

31. "Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law. Take away the law-establishment, and every religion re-assumes its original benignity."
~Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, 1791

32. "God has appointed two kinds of government in the world, which are distinct in their nature, and ought never to be confounded together; one of which is called civil, the other ecclesiastical government."
~Isaac Backus, An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty, 1773

33. "Congress has no power to make any religious establishments."
~Roger Sherman, Congress, August 19, 1789

34. "The American states have gone far in assisting the progress of truth; but they have stopped short of perfection. They ought to have given every honest citizen an equal right to enjoy his religion and an equal title to all civil emoluments, without obliging him to tell his religion. Every interference of the civil power in regulating opinion, is an impious attempt to take the business of the Deity out of his own hands; and every preference given to any religious denomination, is so far slavery and bigotry."
~Noah Webster, calling for no religious tests to serve in public office, Sketches of American Policy, 1785

35. "The legislature of the United States shall pass no law on the subject of religion."
~Charles Pinckney, Constitutional Convention, 1787

These are hardly the words of men who allegedly believed that America should be a Christian nation governed by the Bible as conservatives constantly claim. On the contrary, the great majority of the Founders believed strongly in separation of church and state. So keep in mind that this country has survived for over two centuries under the principle of separation and it is only now when conservatives are attempting to destroy that very cornerstone that we find America becoming ever more divided and more politically charged than ever before. If this right-wing faction has their way, America as we know it will cease to exist and the freedoms we have enjoyed because of the Constitution will erode. The Founding Fathers had a vision of this

nation and trusted that the people would protect that vision and improve upon it. Now is not the time to fail them. Because the day the people fail, so does America.

 

Author: Stephen D. Foster Jr. July 4, 2013 8:00 am

 

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/04/35-founding-father-quotes-conservative-christians-will-hate/#ixzz2b3Y491nC

 

 

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

Little fawn Murderer, with an ignorant low-information analogy!

Hey Jen, ( jennifer.niemeyer@wisconsin.gov )

 

How does it feel to murder a little fawn? What is in the water in WI?

 

You analogy comparing the over-reaction of the DNR (Dumb Retarded Nutjobs) to the baby deer with a 10-12 man police raid to a raid on a drug house makes one wonder how someone so damn stupid gets to be a supervisor? Do they have a casting couch at DNR? But then again, WI, home of a the Village Idiot Governor, Scott Walker, so I'm guessing everyone below him is dumber then him by a factor of 10 every level of government you go down the chain of command.

It was obvious your 3 brain cells were having a tough time during the raid and the following interview. It looks like the only thing good about Wisconsin are the Green Bay Packers, and then it's all downhill from there, for the state and all the little fawn murderers.

Shame on you and your DNR for murdering a little fawn when that didn't have to happen. Karma baby, Karma!

 

Listen to the village-idiot's lame analogy about the DNR/Sheriffs Raid to murder the little fawn!

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pnXQ4CiJpoM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

 

 

 

Best wishes always, and hope you can find a good neurosurgeon, (Obviously not in WI.) that can fix that tiny 3 brain-cell brain of yours. You folks truly are sad and pathetic sub-human beings.

Good Night and Good Luck!

Sincerely

Mr. William D. Harasym
(Veteran- USAF Military Working Dog Handler K-9, Disabled)

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

Spread the Word

Howdy my fellow Americans,

The proposal to strip nearly all gray wolves across the lower 48 states of Endangered Species Act protections has left many Americans saddened, shocked and downright angry.

As part of our efforts to bring attention to this urgent issue, my friends at Defenders of Wildlife has created a powerful two-minute video that emphasizes why continued protection for wolves is crucial, and illustrates what our nation's wolves could face if the Administration goes forward with their misguided plan.

Please, take a few moments to watch this poignant video, share with your friends, and support our work today. Wolves need you now more than ever!

Thank You All Very Much!

http://dfnd.us/121aAnY

 

 

 

 

http://youtu.be/v6Ad09m3WQY

 

Thanks for your time and support!

Bill and all the wolves in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain Region!

"The Criminal N.S.A."

"The Criminal N.S.A."

By: JENNIFER STISA GRANICK and CHRISTOPHER JON SPRIGMAN- | Published: June 27, 2013

 

THE twin revelations that telecom carriers have been secretly giving the National Security Agency information about Americans' phone calls, and that the N.S.A. has been capturing e-mail and other private communications from Internet companies as part of a secret program called Prism, have not enraged most Americans. Lulled, perhaps, by the Obama administration's claims that these "modest encroachments on privacy" were approved by Congress and by federal judges, public opinion quickly migrated from shock to "meh."

Oh my---Obama Calls Surveillance Programs Legal and Limited (June 8, 2013)

It didn't help that Congressional watchdogs — with a few exceptions, like Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky — have accepted the White House's claims of legality. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, and Saxby Chambliss, Republican of Georgia, have called the surveillance legal. So have liberal-leaning commentators like Hendrik Hertzberg and David Ignatius.This view is wrong — and not only, or even mainly, because of the privacy issues raised by the American Civil Liberties Union and other critics. The two programs violate both the letter and the spirit of federal law. No statute explicitly authorizes mass surveillance. Through a series of legal contortions, the Obama administration has argued that Congress, since 9/11, intended to implicitly authorize mass surveillance. But this strategy mostly consists of wordplay, fear-mongering and a highly selective reading of the law.

Americans deserve better from the White House — and from President Obama, who has seemingly forgotten the constitutional law he once taught.The administration has defended each of the two secret programs. Let's examine them in turn.Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contract employee and whistle-blower, has provided evidence that the government has phone record metadata on all Verizon customers, and probably on every American, going back seven years.

This metadata is extremely revealing; investigators mining it might be able to infer whether we have an illness or an addiction, what our religious affiliations and political activities are, and so on.The law under which the government collected this data, Section 215 of the Patriot Act, allows the F.B.I. to obtain court orders demanding that a person or company produce "tangible things," upon showing reasonable grounds that the things sought are "relevant" to an authorized foreign intelligence investigation. The F.B.I. does not need to demonstrate probable cause that a crime has been committed, or any connection to terrorism.Even in the fearful time when the Patriot Act was enacted, in October 2001, lawmakers never contemplated that Section 215 would be used for phone metadata, or for mass surveillance of any sort.

Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., a Wisconsin Republican and one of the architects of the Patriot Act, and a man not known as a civil libertarian, has said that "Congress intended to allow the intelligence communities to access targeted information for specific investigations." The N.S.A.'s demand for information about every American's phone calls isn't "targeted" at all — it's a dragnet. "How can every call that every American makes or receives be relevant to a specific investigation?"

Mr. Sensenbrenner has asked. The answer is simple: It's not.The government claims that under Section 215 it may seize all of our phone call information now because it might conceivably be relevant to an investigation at some later date, even if there is no particular reason to believe that any but a tiny fraction of the data collected might possibly be suspicious. That is a shockingly flimsy argument — any data might be "relevant" to an investigation eventually, if by "eventually" you mean "sometime before the end of time." If all data is "relevant," it makes a mockery of the already shaky concept of relevance.Let's turn to Prism: the streamlined, electronic seizure of communications from Internet companies. In combination with what we have already learned about the N.S.A.'s access to telecommunications and Internet infrastructure, Prism is further proof that the agency is collecting vast amounts of e-mails and other messages — including communications to, from and between Americans.

The government justifies Prism under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Section 1881a of the act gave the president broad authority to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance. If the attorney general and the director of national intelligence certify that the purpose of the monitoring is to collect foreign intelligence information about any non­American individual or entity not known to be in the United States, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court can require companies to provide access to Americans' international communications. The court does not approve the target or the facilities to be monitored, nor does it assess whether the government is doing enough to minimize the intrusion, correct for collection mistakes and protect privacy. Once the court issues a surveillance order, the government can issue top-secret directives to Internet companies like Google and Facebook to turn over calls, e-mails, video and voice chats, photos, voice­over IP calls (like Skype) and social networking information.Like the Patriot Act, the FISA Amendments Act gives the government very broad surveillance authority. And yet the Prism program appears to outstrip that authority. In particular, the government "may not intentionally acquire any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known at the time of the acquisition to be located in the United States.

"The government knows that it regularly obtains Americans' protected communications. The Washington Post reported that Prism is designed to produce at least 51 percent confidence in a target's "foreignness" — as John Oliver of "The Daily Show" put it, "a coin flip plus 1 percent." By turning a blind eye to the fact that 49-plus percent of the communications might be purely among Americans, the N.S.A. has intentionally acquired information it is not allowed to have, even under the terrifyingly broad auspices of the FISA Amendments Act.How could vacuuming up Americans' communications conform with this legal limitation? Well, as James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, told Andrea Mitchell of NBC, the N.S.A. uses the word "acquire" only when it pulls information out of its gigantic database of communications and not when it first intercepts and stores the information.If there's a law against torturing the English language, James Clapper is in real trouble.The administration hides the extent of its "incidental" surveillance of Americans behind fuzzy language. When Congress reauthorized the law at the end of 2012, legislators said Americans had nothing to worry about because the surveillance could not "target" American citizens or permanent residents. Mr. Clapper offered the same assurances. Based on these statements, an ordinary citizen might think the N.S.A. cannot read Americans' e-mails or online chats under the F.A.A. But that is a government ­fed misunderstanding.A "target" under the act is a person or entity the government wants information on — not the people the government is trying to listen to. It's actually O.K. under the act to grab Americans' messages so long as they are communicating with the target, or anyone who is not in the United States.Leave aside the Patriot Act and FISA Amendments Act for a moment, and turn to the Constitution.

The Fourth Amendment obliges the government to demonstrate probable cause before conducting invasive surveillance. There is simply no precedent under the Constitution for the government's seizing such vast amounts of revealing data on innocent Americans' communications.The government has made a mockery of that protection by relying on select Supreme Court cases, decided before the era of the public Internet and cellphones, to argue that citizens have no expectation of privacy in either phone metadata or in e-mails or other private electronic messages that it stores with third parties.

This hairsplitting is inimical to privacy and contrary to what at least five justices ruled just last year in a case called United States v. Jones. One of the most conservative justices on the Court, Samuel A. Alito Jr., wrote that where even public information about individuals is monitored over the long term, at some point, government crosses a line and must comply with the protections of the Fourth Amendment. That principle is, if anything, even more true for Americans' sensitive nonpublic information like phone metadata and social networking activity.We may never know all the details of the mass surveillance programs, but we know this: The administration has justified them through abuse of language, intentional evasion of statutory protections, secret, unreviewable investigative procedures and constitutional arguments that make a mockery of the government's professed concern with protecting Americans' privacy. It's time to call the N.S.A.'s mass surveillance programs what they are: criminal.

Jennifer Stisa Granick is the director of civil liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. Christopher Jon Sprigman is a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/opinion/the-criminal-nsa.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

In William Harasym (Notes) on Monday, July 1, 2013 at 9:23pm

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912