Saturday, December 21, 2013

The 5th Night of the Living Van Vliet - Captain Beefheart Festival 2013-2014

In the spirit of the Zappadan Festival, in which we celebrate each year the life and music of Frank Zappa from the date of his death to the date of his birth, I propose we do the same for Don Van Vliet.


January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010


Fans need no introduction, others can read the extensive Wikipedia entry. My own experience with his genius is this.

Although I was born in 1953, and experienced the music and culture of the 60s and 70s like everybody else of my generation, I somehow never got into Zappa or Beefheart. My friends and I were into other things, Jimi, Janice, The Doors and a little bit later, The Yes Group and Queen. 35 years passed in the blink of an eye and one day in 2009 I discovered the Zappadan Festival.  That prompted a full immersion in the many albums of FZ, which as everyone knows can keep one very busy for a very long time. Naturally this activity led me to Captain Beefheart.  I've never been the same since, music appreciation-wise.

Here's the first cut on the first album, Safe as Milk.

A republic, not a democracy

And it's the Fifth Republic (Cinquième République which would be the Fünfte Reich auf Deutsch!).  It has been the Fifth Republic since the 4th of October 1958!



Vive la France!
Vive la Cinquième République!

School Shootings

Ohio Gun Stockpiler, Convicted Manslaughterer and Trademark Infringer, Gets Six Years



The Columbus Dispatch

A man who stockpiled weapons and ammunition at a northwestern Ohio shopping mall was sentenced to nearly six years in prison yesterday.
Prosecutors had contended that Richard Schmidt wanted to carry out a race war and was planning to assassinate black and Jewish leaders, but a federal judge who handed down the sentence said there wasn’t enough evidence to support that theory.
Schmidt amassed the guns and other survival gear such as freeze-dried food and bottled water because he was preparing for a potential doomsday calamity, not some sinister plan, his attorney said.
Federal agents discovered rifles, shotguns and 40,000 rounds of ammunition inside the mall where Schmidt ran a sports store and sold counterfeit NFL jerseys in Bowling Green, about 20 miles south of Toledo.
The FBI also found a list that included the names of black and Jewish leaders in Ohio and Michigan.
Schmidt, who earlier had served time for a 1990 manslaughter conviction for killing a man in Toledo in what he said was self-defense, kept weapons, ammunition, body armor, writings about white supremacist groups and a cot inside a storage room at the back of an empty store in the mall, prosecutors said.

Colbert's Take on the Duck Dynasty Business

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive

Jon Stewart on the Duck Dynasty Nonsense and the Political Correctness of Fox News

Obama Commutes Excessive Drug Sentences

Ohio Woman Who Compelled 10-Year-old Stepson to Kill his Father Gets Life Sentence


A prosecutor says a northern Ohio woman who compelled her 10-year-old stepson to kill his father in a shooting initially ruled accidental has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Defiance County prosecutor Morris Murray says 46-year-old Oakwood resident Judith Hawkey was sentenced Thursday.

Hawkey was convicted last month of aggravated murder, insurance fraud and child endangering in Robert Breininger's 2003 slaying. Her attorney hasn't returned a phone call seeking comment on Thursday's sentencing.

Murray says the case was reopened last year after authorities learned of new evidence indicating Hawkey physically and emotionally abused the boy and compelled him to shoot his father and directed him to say it was accidental.

Murray says at least part of Hawkey's motive was nearly $500,000 in insurance money.

Arkansas Man Receives Stiff Sentence for Accidental Shooting in Spite of His Blaming the Gun

Johnnie Carl Baker, 48, of Salesville, waits in Baxter County Circuit Court on Wednesday. Baker was sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison for the Nov. 12, 2012 shooting death of his best friend, Dennis Franklin Chapman.
Johnnie Carl Baker, 48, of Salesville, waits in Baxter County Circuit Court on Wednesday. Baker was sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison for the Nov. 12, 2012 shooting death of his best friend, Dennis Franklin Chapman. / Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

The Baxter Bulletin

Even up to his sentencing Wednesday, Johnnie Carl Baker insisted the shooting death of Dennis Franklin Chapman was an accident. Baker pleaded guilty in Baxter County Circuit Court to a manslaughter charge, reduced from second-degree murder, and was sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison.

One of the conditions included in the manslaughter law refers to an individual who “recklessly causes the death of another person.” Bayless tried to explain to Baker that it meant he had improperly handled the rifle when Chapman was shot.

Baker still seemed confused and hesitant to acknowledge the allegations against him. Finally, Putman suggested putting Baker under oath and letting him explain what happened.

Baker told the court that the night of the incident he was wiping down the rifle with oil because it had rust spots. “While I was wiping it down with my shirt, it went off,” said Baker.

Putman asked him how the rifle discharged. “I was wiping it down and it went off,” said Baker. The incident initially was reported as an accidental shooting. However, investigators learned that Baker had loaded the rifle the day before the shooting.

They reported that Baker told them he’d thrown a Pepsi bottle to Chapman and told him he was going to shoot it, and the rifle discharged. Baker told investigators the rifle fired on its own.

This is known as the Arkansas defense although it's not limited to that one state. It usually works but not in this case.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Japanese Mafia Responsible for Two Gun Murders in Two Days

Opinione

Japan Daily Press reports the latest incident involving the yukuza in the southern island of Kyushu.

The head of one of Japan’s fishing unions was shot dead on Friday in the southern city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. This was the second fatal gun-related incident in as many days in a country that is not used to violent crimes that involve firearms.

The 4th Night of the Living Van Vliet - Captain Beefheart Festival 2013-2014



The top 10 Captain Beefheart songs

1

'Ashtray Heart'

From 'Doc at the Radar Station' (1980)
After several years of inactivity and uninspired records, Captain Beefheart returned at the start of the '80s with one of his best albums. Some of the material had been kicking around inside Van Vliet's head for years. No matter -- 'Doc at the Radar Station' sounds great. 'Ashtray Heart' wraps 15 years of Beefheartian weirdness into three and a half minutes of tape loops, beat poetry, bluesy riffs, a jazz combo's impeccable timing and a vocal tic that Tom Waits would adapt within a couple of years. Totally wild and awesome.

teejo has lots of great CB stuff.

Truth in advertising

I try to not post memes because they are too cliche.  And, despite some unfounded criticism about me, they are also rather shallow.  But, I am going to make an exception for this one since it takes a piece of propaganda, which works on the emotions to short circuit the intellect, and replaces the propaganda with facts.

Original by Oleg Volk, rework by Lizzie Borden from facebook:


Of course, the rework cites its sources for its claims as opposed to the propaganda version which makes a statement that works on the emotions of fear and shame.

Zappadan 2013 - Day 16

Iranian Redneck has lots of good stuff including this one:



The Paltry Sapien has The True Meaning of Zappadan.

The Duck Dynasty Fanatic


Colorado Man Gets 18 months for Accidental Shooting

A 25-year-old man was sentenced Thursday in an accidental shooting that killed a man at a Colorado Springs hotel.
Billie Thomas Allen was ordered to serve 18 months in jail in the February death of 29-year-old Justin Dore at a Days Inn on Rusina Road.
A jury convicted Allen of reckless manslaughter at an October trial after hearing testimony that both Allen and Dore were high on methamphetamine when a gun went off while Allen was handling it.
Manslaughter carries a normal presumptive range of up six years in prison.
You see, one way to ensure that the authorities take your negligent gun handling seriously is to be using drugs at the time of the incident. That almost guarantees there will be no slap on the wrist or shrugging it off entirely.

Lawful Idaho Gun Owner Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter in the Accidental Shooting Death of his Cousin


Derick Lee Sedivy


Local news reports
A 24-year-old Boise man who accidentally shot his cousin in the head pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Wednesday.
Derick Lee Sedivy had been drinking at an Orchard Street home the night 20-year-old Austin Tyler Blankenburg was shot May 10. Blankenburg, a Kuna resident, died the next day.
Police classified the shooting as unintentional, and pointed to alcohol as a factor. Sedivy was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and use of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony.
He pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge Wednesday, less than a month before the set start date for his jury trial. The deadly weapons enhancement, which could have added 15 years to Sedivy's sentence, was dismissed when he pleaded guilty, prosecutor Brent Ferguson said.
Sedivy could face up to ten years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Ferguson said the prosecution will recommend a sentence of one year in jail, followed by ten years of probation.




Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/12/19/2935422/boise-man-pleads-guilty-in-accidental.html#storylink=cpy

New Hampshire Man Charged in Dropped Gun Incident

121713_ET_THOMPSON_JPG
Joshua Thompson

Local news reports

A Haverhill man was arrested Monday after accidentally shooting his girlfriend in the leg.

Police responded Monday night after a report of a gunshot wound. When police responded, they found Joshua Thompson, 22, of Haverhill and a 19-year-old Plaistow woman with a gunshot wound to her leg.
“We believe it was an accidental discharge,” Deputy police Chief Kathleen Jones said. “He dropped it and it went off.”
Police charged Thompson with second-degree assault.
“In New Hampshire, recklessly causing injury to another by means of a dangerous weapon is means for assault,” Jones said. “He was being careless with the firearm.”

Minnesota 15-Year-old Charged in Friends Accidental Shooting

Prosecutors have charged a 15-year-old boy in an accidental shooting that wounded his friend in a St. Paul home this week.
The Ramsey County attorney's office charged the boy Tuesday with reckless discharge of a firearm within a municipality and possession of a pistol/assault weapon by a person under 18 years old, said Dennis Gerhardstein, office spokesman.
Police have said that the 16-year-old victim was shot in the abdomen with a small-caliber rifle, and that his injuries were apparently not life-threatening. It happened Monday night when the 15-year-old was playing with the gun in the basement of his home in the Como.
The 15-year-old's mother was home at the time and drove the victim to the hospital, police have said.
It's part of the nonchalance with which we treat these cases that the parents who own the gun and allowed the youngsters to play with it are not charged.

Iowa Shooting Range Death

The Mahaska County Sheriff's Office received a call around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday stating there was a person on the ground with what appeared to be a gunshot wound at the Hull Shooting Range four miles west of Oskaloosa.
Authorities released the victim’s identity on Thursday.
He was Daniel Eugene Karow, 73, of Oskaloosa.
The sheriff's office says deputies arrived and found Karow semi-concious.
He was taken by ambulance to Mahaska Health Partnership where he died a few hours later as the result of a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Investigators said it appears Karow was unloading a revolver when it went off and struck him.
Just imagine how many stupid things this guy has done with guns during his long life. He may have even injured others or himself in the past. But, since we take such a tolerant view of gun mishaps, guys like this are allowed to continue on their way until they kill themselves or another. It's a tragedy which could be avoided.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Metro Bus Passengers Overpowering Armed Robber in Seattle

Zappadan 2013 - Day 15



A list of other participants.

Borrowed from Fabboy's Blog
2nd day of zappadan!

The 3rd Night of the Living Van Vliet - Captain Beefheart Festival 2013-2014



Big Lebowski fans might recognize this one.

Here's the explanation of the origin and the dates.

Thanks to Microdot for the title of the Festival.

Dangerous Minds posted a tribute in honor of Don's Death Day including the wonderful John Peel documentary.

D.C. Re-Registration Requirement to Take Effect Jan. 1

Guns dot com
Starting Jan. 1, D.C. gun owners who purchased a firearm between 1976 and 2010 will have 90 days to re-register their firearm with district police.
Failure to re-register one’s firearm may result in fines ranging from $13 to $1,000 and jail time of up to one year, according to Gwen Crump a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department.
“A person who fails to renew their firearms registration within 90 days of the deadline (meaning, 90 day renewal period + 90 day grace period = 180 days total) will have their firearm registration canceled, will be in possession of an unregistered firearm, and may face criminal charges punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or 1 year in jail, or both,” Crump wrote in an email.

Naturally, the gun-rights fanatics are up in arms about this, led by their favorite daughter Emily Miller. But it's really all bluff.  They feel constrained to object to any and all gun control laws always pretending they're much worse than they really are.

The fact is these requirement in DC don't go nearly far enough. I would have the re-registration done yearly, there would be no on-line option after the first time and the gun would have to be presented every time as proof of continued ownership.

That's the way to put an end to straw purchasing and improper sales of guns.

The other question that arises out of all this is, when will the confiscations begin? That's what they always say is the reason to resist registration, right? It's all a pretext for the eventual door-to-door confiscations that, as day follows night, will absolutely come.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Las Vegas Mom Accused of Shooting Son With Gun She Used to Kill Ex-Husband 20 Years Earlier


Linda Cooney

The Sun Sentinel

A woman who was acquitted of murder after killing her ex-husband more than 20 years ago in South Florida is now facing charges of trying to kill her adult son — with the same gun.
Prosecutors in Las Vegas want a jury there to learn about the trial Linda Cooney won in 1993, when she was accused in the Feb. 7, 1992 shooting death of prominent Palm Beach County tax attorney James Cooney.

Tennessee Gun Report

HCSO says man who fired at officers used AR-15

Southern Beale reports several stories - this is my favorite.

ROGERSVILLE — What started as an innocent hayride on the night of Oct. 10 turned into a horror ride as Trevor Lee Burton allegedly opened fire on a group of children who were riding in a wagon being pulled by an ATV in a field near his home.
Bullets were whizzing by as Burton allegedly fired a handgun while chasing the wagon on foot.
Seems like this would have made national news, not to mention the Tennessee news. Don’t know how I missed it. More on the incident here. Later reports say the guy was armed with an AR-15; neighbors say he frequently fired weapons from his house.
Seems the stereotype is proving the rule here.

Reno Nevada Medical Center Shooting - 2 Dead - 2 Critically Wounded

Tulsa Pair Plead Guilty to Avoid the Death Penalty



The Washington Post

Alvin Watts and Jake England plead guilty in racist Tulsa shooting rampage.

The Knockout Game vs. the Shooty Game

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The 2nd Night of the Living Van Vliet - Captain Beefheart Festival 2013-2014



Frownland is the first cut on the incredible album Trout Mask Replica. For me, the first line is one of the best lyrics ever written.

From Wikipedia:

Trout Mask Replica is the third album by Captain Beefheart (a.k.a. Don Van Vliet) and his Magic Band, released in June 1969. Produced by Beefheart's friend and former schoolmate Frank Zappa, it was originally released as a double album on Zappa's Straight Records label. Combining elements of bluesavant-gardefree jazz and other genres of American music,[1] the album is regarded as an important work of experimental musicand a major influence on genres such as alternative rock and post-punk.[1][2]
Most of Trout Mask Replica was recorded in March 1969 at Whitney Studios in Los Angeles, California. The lineup of The Magic Band at this time consisted of Bill Harkleroad and Jeff Cotton on guitar, Mark Boston on bass guitar, Victor Hayden on bass clarinet, and John French on drums and percussion. Beefheart played several brass and woodwind instruments (including saxophone, musette, and hunting horn) and contributed most of the vocal parts, with Zappa and various members of the band providing occasional vocals and narration. The well-rehearsed Magic Band recorded all instrumental tracks[a 1] for Trout Mask Replica in a single six-hour recording session; Van Vliet's vocal and horn tracks were laid down over the next few days. Upon release in the US, Trout Mask Replica sold poorly and failed to chart. It was more successful in the UK, where it spent a week on the charts, at #21.[3]
A widely recognized and acclaimed composition, Trout Mask Replica was ranked #60 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list The 500 Greatest Albums of All TimeAllmusic's Steve Huey wrote that "its inspiring reimagining of what was possible in a rock context laid the groundwork for countless future experiments in rock surrealism, especially during the punk/new wave era."[1]

Here's the explanation of the origin and the dates.

Thanks to Microdot for the title of the Festival.
Dangerous Minds has frequent Beefheart and Zappa posts including this one: MY HUMAN GETS ME BLUES: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND, LIVE ONSTAGE IN BELGIUM, 1969

Ginsburg: Justices Shouldn't Necessarily Resign When A Like-Minded President Is In Office

But Ginsburg, the oldest justice on the court, cited Justices William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall as two justices appointed by Democratic presidents who left their replacement to Republican successor presidents. Ginsburg said she supposed many people wanted both men to leave when a Democrat was president, but she noted that neither did.
Brennan was appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower and announced his retirement in 1990 at the age of 84 for health reasons. Marshall retired in 1991 at the age of 82. George H.W. Bush chose David Souter and Clarence Thomas as their respective successors.

Zappadan 2013 - Day 14



We're Only in It for the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention. Released on March 4, 1968 on Verve Records, it was subsequently remixed and re-recorded by Frank Zappa and reissued independently by Rykodisc Records in 1986. 

As with the band's previous two albums, We're Only in It for the Money is a concept album, and satirizes left and right-wing politics, particularly the hippie subculture, as well as The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Microdot is on it.

Gun-Sniffing Dogs in Miami

WSVN-TV - 7NEWS Miam Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco

Strange Bedfellows Offer 'Grand Bargain' on Gun Control

The one-year anniversary of the horrific Newton elementary school massacre prompted much reflection on the role of guns in American society. One of the most fascinating ruminations came from an unlikely pair: Richard Feldman, a well-known Second Amendment advocate and former lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, and Arkadi Gerney, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress. Gerney formerly served as a senior gun policy adviser to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, noted gun-control proponent and founder of Bloomberg LP, which owns Bloomberg Businessweek.
In a bold op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, Feldman and Gerney propose a “grand bargain” they hope has the potential to draw support from both sides of the normally radioactive Second Amendment debate. In brief, they suggest three changes:
2. Redefining the categories of people prohibited from owning a gun.Under existing federal law, convicted felons, domestic abusers, people adjudicated to be mentally ill, and several other categories are barred from purchasing or possessing guns. In a nod to rehabilitation, Feldman and Gerney would amend the rules to allow those convicted of nonviolent drug crimes, such as marijuana possession and financial fraud, to become eligible after a period of years to have their gun rights reinstated. While giving a second chance to peaceful stoners and physically nonthreatening white-collar miscreants, Feldman and Gerney would expand the prohibited categories to bar people convicted of violent misdemeanors—stalking, assault, and the like. This seems like a reasonable trade-off. We should concentrate our attention on people prone to violence and make sure they don’t obtain firearms.

Points numbers 1 and 3 are pretty interesting too.

NRA Official Criticized Over Nazi Argument in NJ by the Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League says a National Rifle Association board member from New Jersey was out of line to suggest similarities between gun control efforts and Nazism.
Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs executive director Scott Bach made the remarks last week on an NRA News program. The remarks came during a discussion of a Jersey City policy to ask gun makers about their safety records as part of their bids to sell firearms and ammunition to the police department.
Bach said Democratic Mayor Steve Fulop should know better than to institute the policy because his grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
The Anti-Defamation League has been campaigning against tying the Holocaust and Nazis to politics, particularly in gun control.

Wisconsin Appeals Court Says Insurer Does Not Pay for Criminal Acts

A Sheboygan insurance company is exempt from having to pay after a man accidentally killed his friend in Oconto County three years ago, an appeals court has ruled.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals decided last week that Wilson Mutual Insurance Co. doesn't have to pay because the shooting was a criminal act, not an accident. The decision affirmed a previous ruling by an Oconto County circuit court judge.
The decision came in a lawsuit that stems from a 2010 underage drinking party, where Jordan Walker was playing with his handgun and it went off. The bullet struck and killed 19-year-old Shawn Dobry.
Walker, now 22, was convicted of homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Dobry's family sued Walker, Walker's family and insurers, but the latest decision means the insurance company is freed from any financial responsibility.
The homeowner's insurance policy says the insurance company would pay for bodily injury or property damage caused by "an accident." But because state law defines negligent homicide as a crime, it cannot be construed as an accident, the court ruled.

Tennessee Man Dead - Negligent Discharge - Bullet Passed through the Floor

web1_Wisdom-Tyler-12-16-17_0.jpg

Local news reports

Columbia police are investigating the Sunday morning death of a 19-year-old man they believe was the victim of a “tragic shooting accident,” Sgt. Vince Morgan said. 

James Tyler Wisdom of Columbia died inside his town home from a single gunshot wound to his head, according to a police report. 

Morgan said Wisdom’s roommate was upstairs showing a .45-caliber Sauer pistol to another person about 1 a.m. Sunday when it discharged. The bullet passed through the floor striking Wisdom, who was standing in the kitchen area below.  

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Nearly Half of Florida's Non-Fatal Gun Shot Incidents are Unintentional Shootings

It's not armed robbers or warring gangs who send the greatest percentage of gunshot survivors to Florida emergency rooms.
It's people who shoot someone, or themselves, accidentally.
Four out of every 10 people who are rushed to a Florida hospital or emergency room with a nonfatal wound were shot by accident, according to hospital data collected by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and published by the Florida Department of Health.
It's a far bigger problem in Florida than elsewhere — double the national average the past three years — according to numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Orange County, it's even worse: More than half of the people treated for nonfatal gunshot injuries last year were shot accidentally.

Abolish the DHS

Security Degree Hub


ABOLISHING THE DHS


Abolish_the_DHS
Share this infographic on your site!

Abolishing the DHS

How a panicked response to 9/11 wastes billions of dollars fighting a minuscule threat.
The DHS was created to fix a problem: 9/11 
Or rather, the problems that led to 9/11: communication, coordination.[2]
1.) CIA monitored an al-Qeada planning meeting in Malaysia (2000).
But lost track of two members who made it to Bangkok.
These two terrorists made it to L.A.
And eventually flew American Airlines 77 into the Pentagon.
2.) FBI agent identified hijacked airliners as the weapon al-Qaeada would use.
Agent in Phoenix noted “Usama bin Laden” would attempt to send his men through aviation schools in the U.S.
3.) The Minneapolis FBI field office believed Zacharias Moussaoui, the accused 20th hijacker was planning the hijacking of a plane.
Yet failed to monitor him.
So the DHS was formed. So this wouldn’t happen again.
DHS=
22 agencies
70 buildings in 40 locations in DC
Reporting to 108 Congressional subcommittees and oversight panels.
Great for communication, right?
A cost benefit analysis found that for DHS spending to be worthwhile…
DHS would have to stop 4 otherwise successful car bomb attempts per day.[6]
DHS budget per year:[1]
2002–$13.03 billion
2003–$33.52 billion
2004–$36.2 billion
2005–$40.2 billion
2006–$41.1 billion
2007–$42.7 billion
2008–$46.4 billion
2009–$50.5 billion
2010–$55.11 billion
2011–$56.34 billion
2012–$56.94 billion
2013–$59.03 billion
2014–$59.96 billion
Put in Perspective:
All wheat bought in America, 2012: $7.5 billion
All Corn bought in America, 2012: $23.3 billion
DHS, 2012: $56.94 billion
All brewed beverages bought in America, 2012: $100 billion
Only 17 private American citizens died last year to terrorist attacks.
You have a greater chance of being crushed to death by your own furniture.[3]
17 deaths, vs:
1 million heart disease and cancer deaths
30,000 Gun deaths since Newtown [11/12/13]
And 40,000 suicides.
Is our second largest government agency worth it?
Budgeting without regard for population density, critical infrastructure, or risk assessments creates even more waste.[2]
1.) California: An urban fusion center acquired 55 large screen t.v.’s for training. They forgot to purchase training software. On the day inspectors visited, all 55 t.v.’s were on the same channel.
Price: $74,394
2.) Miami:Commander of Coast Guard District Seven has his stylish 6,200 sq. ft. home leased by tax payers.
Price: $111,600 in lease payments yearly
3.) Mason County Washington: Purchased a hazardous decontamination unit even though they have no hazmat team.
Price:$63,000
4.) Whitetail, Montana: Population 71, received a massive border checkpoint upgrade.
Price: $15,000,000
5.) Westhope, North Dakota: A border checkpoint serving an average of 73 people a day received a massive upgrade.
Price: $15,000,000
6.) Laredo, TX: Border checkpoint serving 55,000 daily and processing $116 billion in goods is nations highest priority. Receives no money.
Price: $0.00
7.) Tanzania: The U.S. Secret Service spent more than the entire country’s economic output for the week the first family was visiting.[8]
Price: $100,000,000
8.) Nationwide: To ensure the original 5 anthrax deaths don’t happen again, automated DNA-testing air sniffers were installed in many public buildings. Allowing testing of air 36 hours later. [9]
Price: $5,700,000,000
“If power companies invested in infrastructure the way DHS and Congress fight terrorism, a New Yorker wouldn’t be able to run a hair dryer, but everyone in Bozeman, Mont., could light up a stadium” ~ Economist Veronique de Rugy[8]
And eroding personal liberties:[7]
Warrantless Wiretapping
National Security Entry/Exit Registration System
the Real ID act
No Fly Lists
Monitoring of peaceful groups
Attacks on Academic freedoms
TSA searches
Domestic Drones
Militarization of the Police
Don’t let an overblown fear support a wasteful police state. Abolish the DHS.
Abolish_the_DHS_thumb
Citations:
  1. https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-budget
  2. http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/PA683.pdf
  3. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/americans-are-as-likely-to-be-killed-by-their-own-furniture-as-by-terrorism/258156/
  4. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html
  5. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm
  6. http://politicalscience.osu.edu/faculty/jmueller//MID11TSM.PDF
  7. http://www.civilfreedoms.org/?p=7260
  8. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-15/the-case-for-abolishing-the-dhs
  9. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-21/the-sky-high-price-of-sniffing-out-anthrax

Ohio Man, John Wise, Gets 6 Years in Wife's Mercy Killing



An Ohio man convicted of fatally shooting his ailing wife in her hospital bed was sentenced Friday to six years in prison. 
John Wise, 68, has said he shot his debilitated wife in the head out of love in August 2012 after she suffered aneurysms and appeared to be in pain at an Akron hospital. Mercy is not a defense to a murder charge in Ohio. 
Wise's attorney, Paul Adamson, said ahead of the sentencing that Wise will pursue clemency from the governor no matter the punishment. 
County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh had called Wise's actions illegal and dangerous but said the case warranted leniency. She had recommended that Wise be sentenced on a lesser offense, manslaughter.
Police say Wise calmly walked into his wife's hospital room on Aug. 4, 2012, and shot her at her bedside. She died the next day. 
Wise told police he intended to kill himself after shooting his wife, but the weapon jammed. 
"My recollection is that I walked in there, and within two minutes, I kissed her on the cheek and shot her," Wise told jurors. 
Barbara Wise, 65, was in the intensive care unit at Akron General Medical Center after suffering triple cerebral aneurysms that had left her unable to speak, a family friend has said. 
A doctor testified that Barbara Wise wasn't terminally ill and seemed to be responding to treatment. 
Wise testified that he couldn't stand to see his wife of 45 years in pain in the hospital and decided on his course of action after seeing a tear roll down her cheek.

The 1st Night of the Living Van Vliet - Captain Beefheart Festival 2013 - 2014

Incredible instrumental on the incredible album called Shiny Beast.

 

Here's the explanation of the origin and the dates.

Thanks to Microdot for the title of the Festival.