Al-Qaeda in Yemen threatened US 4 days before terror attempt
An Al-Qaeda operative in Yemen threatened the United States and said “we are carrying a bomb” in a video posted online four days before the botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight. The video does not contain any clear evidence that the speaker was anticipating Friday’s attempt, but it has attracted scrutiny because of reports that the bombing plot may have originated in Yemen. The 23-year-old Nigerian man accused in the attack claimed he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives there, U.S. law enforcement officials said, and a key American lawmaker has said there are “strong suggestions” of a Yemen connection. [What did the Obama administration know, and when did they know it?…ed]
Not again: ‘Unruly’ passenger aboard Northwest Flight 253 taken into custody
Jitters or another deadly threat? A disruptive Nigerian passenger caused the pilot of the same Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight targeted by a Nigerian bomber Christmas Day to declare an emergency Sunday. Delta/Northwest Airlines flight 253 landed safely in Detroit at 12:34 p.m. and was shunted to a remote part of the tarmac, where it was being held as officials investigated. Michigan media reported the incident did not appear to be a terrorist threat, but rather was caused by a businessman who became ill during the flight. The brouhaha started when a passenger spent nearly an hour in the bathroom and then emerged “unruly” and “verbally disruptive,” witnesses said. [Nothing to worry about here folks. Just another Nigerian on an airplane locking himself in the bathroom for some time then acting weird when he finally comes out. Move along please. Thank you, Janet Napolitano…ed]
Officials: Only A Failed Detonator Saved Northwest Flight
Officials now say tragedy was only averted on Northwest flight 253 because a makeshift detonator failed to work properly. Bomb experts say there was more than enough explosive to bring down the Northwest jet, which had nearly 300 people aboard, had the detonator not failed, and the nation’s outdated airport screening machines may need to be upgraded. “We’ve known for a long time that this is possible,” said Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism czar and ABC News consultant, “and that we really have to replace our scanning devices with more modern systems.” Clarke said full body scans were needed, “but they’re expensive and they’re intrusive. They invade people’s privacy.” [This information in no way diminishes the heroic actions of those who jumped this terrorist punk and prevented him from possiblly reverting to a plan B…ed]
Understandably, the White House is trying very hard to get out in front of the would-be Christmas bomber story. The head of the Department of Homeland Security isn’t helping. I watched her on three shows and each time she was more annoying, maddening and absurd than the previous appearance. It is her basic position that the “system worked” because the bureaucrats responded properly after the attack. That the attack was “foiled” by a bad detonator and some civilian passengers is proof, she claims, that her agency is doing everything right. That is just about the dumbest thing she could say, on the merits and politically. [I agree, Napolitano is nothing but a useless partisan hack with about as many qualifications to hold her position as Obama does his. Zero…ed]
Senate Democrats to W.H.: Drop cap-and-trade
Bruised by the health care debate and worried about what 2010 will bring, moderate Senate Democrats are urging the White House to give up now on any effort to pass a cap-and-trade bill next year. “I am communicating that in every way I know how,” says Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of at least half a dozen Democrats who’ve told the White House or their own leaders that it’s time to jettison the centerpiece of their party’s plan to curb global warming. The creation of an economy-wide market for greenhouse gas emissions is as the heart of the climate bill that cleared the House earlier this year. But with the health care fight still raging and the economy still hurting, moderate Democrats have little appetite for another sweeping initiative — especially another one likely to pass with little or no Republican support. [The ‘Rats are stressing and are pleading with their free falling messiah to back off his radical agenda so they can have a prayer on hanging onto their power come the midterm elections in 2010. Good luck with the narcissist there kids…ed]
Washington Democrats gorge on absolute power
The wisest quote of 2009 came from President Barack Obama, who cut off belligerent Republicans with the reminder: “Elections have consequences.” They surely do. And Americans are paying the consequences of the 2008 election. The most tangible fallout of the electorate installing single-party rule in Washington is that policy-making has become an ideological exercise, rather than a pragmatic one. Republicans still represent the views of roughly half of the America people — on health care, it’s more like 60 percent — and yet the minority party has had no moderating effect on the health care reform packages moving swiftly to passage. It’s a bill written by Democrats and passed by Democrats, with all of the give-and-take taking place between Democrats. The horse-trading is between the middle and the left, instead of between the right and the left. So instead of a bill that falls close to the middle, Congress will produce one that is well left of center. [And this is precisely why the Democrats will get their asses handed to them come November 2010…ed]
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Angry Seniors Brace for Obamacare Cuts
Insurers constantly caution seniors that their Medicare Advantage perks such as hearing aids, dental payments and even gym memberships will fizzle if Democrats get their way and cut government subsidies for them. But tens of billions of Medicare dollars funneled through insurers also pay for extras that never reach beneficiaries: multimillion-dollar salaries, executive retreats in Hawaii, Scotland and Cancun, and massive expenditures on marketing to lure more customers to the privately administered Advantage plans that serve as an alternative to government-provided Medicare. The government-subsidized benefits that seniors on Advantage plans receive — often at premiums lower than Medicare premiums — are real, and are legitimately in danger in some cases if Democrats succeed in their health care overhaul. [If there is one group of voters you do not want to piss off in this country it would be senior citizens who have busted their asses for most of their lives and are now hoping to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Way to go Democrats!…ed]
Student seeks balance in teaching of controversial topics
A Rhinebeck High School sophomore is urging the school district to require alternative views be presented by teachers on controversial topics like climate change. Michelle Dewkett said the global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” was being shown in science and English classes without equal weight being given to other positions on the topic. “As of now, the teaching of controversial topics is out of control,” Dewkett told members of the Board of Education on Tuesday. She also said the district is not following its own policy of providing students with a wide range of materials. Dewkett cited a class on global warming as an example, saying the effects of human activity on the environment are not being balanced with information about the natural course of changes on Earth. [Good for this young lady who has had enough of the climate change BS being shoved down her throat. On the down side she will now have to find a way to pay for a private education since the NEA will see to it she is kicked out of public school for her audacity of challenging the left wing indoctrination process…ed]
Forecasters warn of continued blizzards in Plains
Residents in the nation’s heartland were digging out after a blustery storm as meteorologists warned that blizzard conditions could continue across the northern Plains on Saturday. The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin through Saturday. The storm had already dumped significant snow across the region, including a record 14 inches in Oklahoma City and 11 inches in Duluth, Minn., on Thursday. Slippery roads have been blamed for at least 21 deaths this week as the storm lumbered across the country from the Southwest. Paul Mews, who drove from Faribault, Minn., to a relative’s home in Plum City, Wis., on Friday morning, said the first 15 minutes of the 80-mile trip were clear, but a surge of heavy snowfall produced a stretch of near-whiteout conditions. [Snowfall records dating back to the 1800s broken with this latest blizzard caused by global warming…ed]
Jefferson County judge arms herself amid safety fears
Jefferson County Domestic Relations Judge Suzanne Childers was hearing a child support case a few weeks ago when she became afraid for two female attorneys in the courtroom and set off her panic device. It took 40 minutes before anyone arrived in response to her call, Childers said. That response time worries the judge, who was already concerned about security cutbacks at her courthouse. She had become so worried, in fact, that this fall she got qualified to bring a gun to court. “I wish I didn’t have to carry a gun,” said Childers, who has contacted the sheriff and county commissioners with her concerns. [If this judge is concerned about her safety while working inside a COURTROOM imagine how the rest of us citizens feel while about and about in the REAL world!…ed]
Pastor Kirk Caldwell wrote last year that at age 15, he found God. Yesterday, on Christmas, 29 years after he found God, he found himself in the most ungodly of situations. Police said Caldwell, 44, a father of eight, shot his son Jordan, 21, once in the chest shortly before 2 p.m. during a gathering of between 15 and 18 family members at his home on Ridge Avenue near Main Street in Darby Borough. Within the hour, Jordan Caldwell was pronounced dead at Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, according to police. [In case you thought you had a lousy Christmas…ed]
Pennsylvania Walmart Sued for Videotaping Employees, Customers in Bathroom
A Pennsylvania Walmart Supercenter videotaped employees and customers in a unisex bathroom, several former and current Walmart employees alleged in a lawsuit filed this week. Seven former and current employees from the Tire and Lube department at the Walmart in Easton, Pa., filed a lawsuit in county court against the Arkansas-based corporation and four local managers Dec. 21. Several employees discovered an “off-the-shelf” video camera in a store bathroom March 31, 2008, according to the court filing. [Stupid move on the part of the loss prevention people and more ammo for the wally world haters…ed]
Quote of the day.
America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings. [This country and Islam share NOTHING in common Obama! REAL Americans know this…ed]
Al Qaeda is still a threat. We cannot pretend somehow that because Barack Hussein Obama got elected as president, suddenly everything is going to be OK. [You’re exactly correct Obama. Muslims all around the world hate the freedom and liberties granted by our country’s Constitution for the last 222 years just like YOU!…ed]
-Barack Hussein Obama