I’ve been poking around a bit on Prison Planet lately, thats a website run by Alex Jones, a radio talk show host who has been described as a “paleoconservative” whatever thats supposed to mean. Paleo means old, so I assume it’s being used to create a distance from the “neocons” (meaning New Conservatives) who were neither new nor really conservative in the first place. The first story I ran into over there was titled Louisiana Cops Plan for “End of the World” Scenario which goes on to describe how the program includes access to a .50 caliber vehicle mounted machine gun to help put down looters and rioting in the event of a crisis. I got a little further into the article and it is suggested that cities across America are beginning their own war training in preparation for the coming apocalypse in 2012. No, not the fabled Mayan end of the world, this refers to a prediction by a “futurist” named Gerald Celente.
(more…)

Great article in the NY Times magazine today examining the question of Christianity in education as the Texas State Board of Education weighs various petitions for modifying the curriculum. On the one hand arguments are made that the ’separation’ clause has been misused to totally remove any discussion of religion as a motivation in the founding of the US, while on the other that Christian factions are attempting to rewrite history and cast the founders as Christian fundamentalists. Why should we care, it’s only Texas? Simple, schoolbooks get rewritten based on how this very populous state decides to portray American history.
(more…)

I’m not quite sure why I became so interested in this particular case, but I did. I think it might have been because I have been to a lot of concerts and I never went to one with any thought that I wouldn’t make it home again. I followed the story on several websites including websleuths, findmorgan.com, and local Charlottesville newspaper websites and crime blogs. Dana Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student had planned to attend the Oct 17th Metallica show for a long time – along with a few friends – and before Metallica had even made it on stage she had somehow ended up outside the John Paul Jones arena on the University of Virginia campus, in 40 degree weather without her car keys. Her purse and cell phone (with the battery removed) were found the next day in an overflow parking area.
(more…)

The Times Online (UK) mentions a series of articles the print version is running with excerpts from “Game Change” a gossipy book out today by John Heilemann (New York Magazine) and Mark Halperin (Time) about the characters who made up the 2008 presidential campaign. While some tabloids are reporting on John Edward’s wife’s ego (she is described as an “abusive, intrusive, paranoid, condescending, crazywoman”), many are finding the revelations about Sarah Palin less than shocking.
(more…)

The Act is supposed to prohibit most members of the federal uniformed services (today the Army, Air Force, and State National Guard forces when such are called into federal service) from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain “law and order” on non-federal property (states and their counties and municipal divisions) within the United States. It is thought by many to be one of the most important laws (it is *not* a constitutional provision) which tempers the provisions of the Insurrection Act and helps to ensure that the United States remains something more than just a rich banana republic. Yet it seems that the National Guard is routinely called upon to serve a police keeping role in clear violation of US Code. How did this happen?
(more…)