H.R. 748 would require all persons in the US between 18-25 to perform ‘national service’

 

 

There has been speculation regarding President Obama’s “citizen army”. In 2008, President Obama made statements regarding a “civilian national security force”. Since that day, many have been curious as to what President Obama had in mind when he made that statement. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY13) may have just given a bit of insight into what was meant when he introduced H.R. 748 last week.

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded,” Obama said as a candidate in 2008.

H.R. 748 would require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 25 to perform “national service”. These persons in the United States would either serve the country as a member of uniformed services or as civilian service. The civilian service could be served with a Federal, State, or local government program. The local government programs include community-based organizations. H.R. 748 would “authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, to provide for the registration of women under the Military Selective Service Act, and for other purposes”

 

Continue Reading: http://www.examiner.com/article/h-r-748-would-require-all-persons-the-us-18-25-to-perform-national-service

Drones will be used to hunt Christopher Dorner on US soil

Examiner.com unpublished this story. It seems they didn’t want me to share this with you. WHY???

 

 

 

The manhunt continues for Christopher Dorner, the former Los Angeles police officer suspected in three killings.  Authorities are now offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.  Police had used numerous resources in the manhunt and they announced on Sunday that they would be using drones to hunt down Dorner, if they are not already.

Police have searched an estimated 600 houses in two days searching for Dorner, many assume most of those were searched without a warrant. The home of Dorner’s mother was searched Friday, with a warrant issued. Another warrant was served to search a storage facility where Dorner had a storage locker.

Schools are scheduled to be open on Monday, despite the continued manhunt. Officials say there will be “added security” measures in place at schools. Some have called this “scare tactics”. Many have also begun to question the government use of drones to kill American citizens in other countries. Dorner may become the first American citizen killed by drone on United States soil.

A senior police source said: “The thermal imaging cameras the drones use may be our only hope of finding him. On the ground, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Asked directly if drones have already been deployed, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, who is jointly leading the task force, said: “We are using all the tools at our disposal.”

The use of drones was later confirmed by Customs and Border Patrol spokesman Ralph DeSio, who revealed agents have been prepared for Dorner to make a dash for the Mexican border since his rampage began.

He said: “This agency has been at the forefront of domestic use of drones by law enforcement. That’s all I can say at the moment.”

Dorner was fired in 2008 by the LAPD and has vowed to wreak revenge.

 

Opponents of ACTA had a symbolic win in European Parliament today

Thursday may have been a definitive day in the fight against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).  ACTA is a multi-national treaty meant to enforce intellectual property rights.  Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, the United States, and 22 countries of the European Union signed in ACTA.  Opponents of ACTA say that the treaty adversely affects privacy, freedom of expression, and other fundamental rights.

On Thursday, a number of committees spoke out against ACTA to the European Parliament (which is ACTA will ultimately be allowed to stay in or be written out of the books forever).  Five committees will give their recommendation to the European Parliament as to whether ACTA should stay.  One of those committees, the International Trade (INTA) committee “owns” ACTA, therefore will most likely recommend keeping the controversial treaty in place.  Three of the remaining four committees gave their recommendation to the European Parliament Thursday.  The Industry, Research, Energy (ITRE), the Legal Affairs (JURI), and the Civil Liberties (LIBE) committees all voted Thursday to reject ACTA.

Continue reading: http://www.examiner.com/article/opponents-of-acta-had-a-symbolic-win-european-parliament-today?cid=db_articles

Thousands head to a grassy knoll in Austin, Texas to see Ron Paul speak! (With PICTURES)

While Ron Paul was speaking to thousands in Austin, Texas on Thursday, CISPA was passed.

Now, on to the positive.

On Thursday, thousands in Texas gathered to see Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul speak.  The grassy knoll in Austin at the University of Texas slowly filled as supporters prepared to see Ron Paul.  The 12-term congressman from Texas had announced a few days prior that his campaign team would be focusing in Texas, his home state, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Dr. Paul’s campaign events consistently pack the house, flood the streets, and fill stadiums.

Tuesday’s primaries in five states caused sources close to the Gingrich campaign to inform the media that Gingrich will be dropping out of the Republican race for the nominationnext Tuesday.  This means the Republican Party will have two choices for the nomination for president, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney.

The Congressman, one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People“, has declared he is not dropping out and is in it to win it.  The crowds drawn to his events seem to emphasize this.

The numbers have not been released by Ron Paul’s campaign staff yet.  Until they are, enjoy these pictures! 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photos via @ChonRM on Twitter, @KoryWatkins on Twitter, and @Texas4Paul on Twitter and Ron Paul 2012.

Who voted YES for CISPA and Tom Carper responds to his CISPA vote (he’s planning on a yes vote)

A friend of mine, Margaret Melson, contacted Delaware Senator Tom Carper regarding his vote for CISPA  (he plans to vote yes).  What follows is his response.

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the Cybersecurity Act. I appreciate hearing from you about this important issue.

As you know, the threat of a catastrophic attack on our critical information systems has grown over the past several years. The Senate Sergeant at Arms recently reported that the computer systems of the Executive Branch agencies and Congress are attacked an average of 1.8 billion times a month. Given the increased sophistication and scale of these attacks, many experts in the cyber intelligence community believe that it is not a matter of “if” a damaging attack will happen, but rather “when” it will happen. If such an attack were carried out, it could cost billions of dollars in economic damage and possibly even thousands of lives.

Unfortunately, current law has not kept pace with the threat of cyber attack. To respond to a major cyber attack in the 21 st century, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), introduced S. 2105, the Cybersecurity Act, on February 14, 2012. This legislation would direct the Department of Homeland Security to set risk-based security requirements for critical infrastructure like telecommunications networks, electric grids, and financial systems. The owners and operators of these critical infrastructure systems would collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security to develop a plan to protect against an attack and would be able to choose which protective measures ensure security without imposing an undue burden on businesses. S. 2105 has been referred to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, on which I serve, for further review.

With that said, I have heard from a number of constituents, like you, who are concerned that the Cybersecurity Act would give unprecedented powers to the President to control the Internet. Unlike earlier versions of this legislation, however, the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 does not contain the so-called “internet kill-switch” language that raised many concerns a few years ago. Moreover, this legislation encourages a private-public partnership that shares security risk information and solutions so that, in an event of a serious cyber attack, there will be minimal interference to businesses and consumers.

Please be assured that I will continue to support reasonable measures of legislation that protect free speech while keeping our country safe from a cyber attack. Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or other matters of importance to you.

Sincerely,

Tom Carper
United States Senator

CISPA, or the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act was passed through a surprise vote in the House on Thursday night.  The vote count was 248 ayes with 168 nays.  The bill now heads to the Senate, and if it passes there, to President Obama’s desk.  Obama will be able to sign CISPA or cancel it.

CISPA was scheduled to be voted on by the House on Friday but the House passed the bill after a number of amendments were passed.  Some of these amendments have Americans upset.  This bill will now allow the government to use private information obtained through CISPA to investigate and prosecute “cybersecurity crime”.  The definition of “cybersecurity crime” has also changed.

The new clauses define “cybersecurity crime” as any crime involving network disruption or hacking.

Many believe this is really about making people share their private information.

Find out who voted for CISPA.  Republicans Michele Bachmann and Allen West are included in the ayes.  

Man sentenced to three days in jail for sagging pants

n the past, there have been headlines where towns and schools have attempted to outlaw sagging pants.  People have been fined (in one case almost $4,000 has been raised) for sagging pants.  Fines start as low as $25 and may be as steep as $250 for having bad fashion sense.

No one has ever been jailed for sagging their pants though, right?  This is America!  Americans aren’t jailed for bad fashion sense here!  Justin Bieber would be in jail then, right?

It seems that an Alabama judge has sent a 20-year-old man to jail for three days for entering court with sagging pants.

Circuit Judge John Bush may have been on a power trip when he declared that it was disrespectful for LaMarcus D. Ramsey to wear pants below his waistline in his chambers.  Ramsey was in court to enter a plea on a charge for receiving stolen property when Bush called his clothing a disruption.

“You are in contempt of court because you showed your butt in court,” a visibly irate Bush told Ramsey. “You can spend three days in jail. When you get out you can buy pants that fit, or at least get a belt to hold up your pants so your underwear doesn’t show.”

Ramsey is to serve his three days in the Autauga Metro jail.

This writer has been told her clothing was a distraction before.  One wonders if soon the fashion police will start searching Wal-mart for potential offenders. The question is not whether you like sagging pants, the question is when do people stop harassing others for what they’re wearing?

Continue reading on Examiner.com Man sentenced to three days in jail for sagging pants. – Wilmington Civil Rights | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/civil-rights-in-wilmington/man-sentenced-to-three-days-jail-for-sagging-pants#ixzz1rklNFBI
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A bit on the NDAA

I spent some time this morning gathering National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) related images, I figured I would stock-pile them here for those of you who may spend some time doing the same thing.

So, check them out, or don’t, but here are some that I thought were moving or relevant:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, Indefinite Detention for some may be different than for others:

 

 

I have a Facebook Fan Page you can join, stay informed. I post updates regularly.

SHHHHH