Month: January 2014

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News Religion

Pope Benedict Defrocked 400 Priests involved in Sex Abuse Scandals

As the Vatican was being blistered by a U.N. committee this week for its decades-long mishandling and cover up of a global sex abuse scandal involving priests and children, new disclosures show the extraordinary steps that Pope Benedict XVI took to get rid of problem priests.    

In just two years, Benedict defrocked nearly 400 priests, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press, which first reported the story on Friday. The number of priests defrocked by Benedict in 2011 and 2012 reflected a dramatic spike over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, according to the AP.

The newly uncovered statistics come from data from annual reports compiled by the Vatican to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

While Benedict has been seen as remote, dogmatic, and lacking the charisma of both his predecessor, John Paul II, and his successor, Pope Francis, he was aggressive in pushing the Holy See to address the scourge of child molestation within the Church.

Categories
News

Teenage Prankster Rang Doorbell – Got Shot

ARENDTSVILLE, Pa. (WHTM) –
A 14-year-old boy was shot in the foot while he and other juveniles were ringing doorbells at Arendtsville homes as a prank early this morning, according to police.

Authorities have arrested the alleged shooter, 28-year-old Eric Lee Steinour, and have charged him with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment, according to state police in Gettysburg.

Several juveniles were involved in the pranks at around 2 a.m. when Steinour confronted two of the youths in an alley and fired a shot from a handgun when they ran away, police said in a news release.

The juveniles were hiding when the victim found that the bullet had struck him in the right foot and leg, police said.

His mother transported him to Gettysburg Hospital, and he was later transported to York Trauma Center for treatment of the non-life threatening injury, police said.

Steinour, of Biglerville, was found at the home of an acquaintance as troopers investigated. He admitted to firing the gun and was taken into custody, police said.

Trooper Robert Hicks, a state police spokesman, said it appears Steinour fired in an attempt to scare the teens.

Categories
Politics Steve King

Republican John Boehner Called Republican Steve King “an asshole!”

Hey, I’m just reporting what the man said.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) claims in a recent article for Texas Monthly that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) an “asshole” in July after King compared undocumented immigrants to drug mules with “calves the size of cantaloupes.”

In the article, Castro reflects on his first year in Congress and expresses his disappointment in the House’s inability to pass immigration reform last year.

Castro himself calls King one of the “less tactful Republicans,” who “seemed to even go out of their way to express disdain for immigrants.” Boehner condemned King’s statements in a July press conference, calling them “deeply offensive and wrong.”

In his piece, Castro offers a candid opinion of Boehner and the circumstances under which the comment was made:

The Democratic caricature of the speaker is that he’s an overly tan, overly emotional cat-herder who has lost control of his flock, but in person, he comes across as approachable and down-to-earth, and you can see how he earned the trust of his colleagues and became their leader. On a day not too long after Boehner’s political body check of Steve King for his immigration comments, the speaker was milling around the aisle walkway in the middle section of the House floor where the Democratic and Republican territories meet. Another Texas Democrat and I were standing a few feet away, and as the speaker passed us we thanked him for denouncing King’s offensive comments. He slowed his stride and then paused to turn toward us. “What an asshole,” he said. My thoughts exactly, Mr. Speaker.

Boehner’s office declined to comment on Castro’s account.

Categories
Politics sexual assault

Woman Files Sexual Assault Suit Against TSA – “it shouldn’t take that much groping”

According to a CBS4 report, police are investigating Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Denver International Airport after a woman filed a criminal complaint claiming that her frisking was tantamount to sexual assault.

Jamelyn Steenhoek was frisked by TSA officers while escorting her 13-year-old daughter to her gate. She was not flying herself that day, but had acquired permission to accompany her underage child to her gate.

As she attempted to move through the TSA checkpoint, an alarm sounded. Steenhoek told CBS4 that she believes that metallic jewels sewn into her rear pants pocket were responsible for setting off the machine. She said she consented to have her hands swabbed.

“They told me I tested positive for explosives,” she said, and was then ushered into a small TSA screening room in with her daughter. She was told to spread her arms and legs, and when she told the female TSA agent that she needed to get her daughter to her plane, the agent’s demeanor changed.

“At that point she did a pretty invasive search. They are just areas of the body I’m not comfortable being touched in. On the outside of my pants she cupped my crotch. I was uncomfortable with that,” she said.

“The part of the search that bothered most was the breast search. You could tell it shouldn’t take that much groping . To me it was as extensive as an exam from my physician — full touching and grabbing in the front. I felt uncomfortable, I felt violated.”

When the search yielded no explosive materials, Steenhoek said, the TSA agent repeated it, only this time there was “more touching and grabbing than the first time.”

After successfully escorting her daughter to her flight, Steenhoek complained to TSA officials, but felt they were not taking her complaint seriously enough, so she filed charges with Denver police.

Categories
Entertainment Television

Duck Dynasty’s Ratings Plummet after Robinson’s Statement

Did the controversy surrounding Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson take a toll on the show’s appeal? A&E’s flagship reality series clocked 8.5 million viewers Wednesday night, snapping a streak of ratings records and posting its first season-to-season drop. Among adults 18-49, the premiere averaged 4.2 million viewers, down 33%. Those are still huge numbers for a cable series, but the Season 5 opener was down from the show’s Season 4 debut, which drew nearly 12 million to become the No. 1-rated nonfiction series telecast in cable history. It edged the Season 4 finale, which was watched by 8.4 million.  More recently, the one-hour Duck Dynasty Christmas special logged nearly 9 million viewers.

The two back-to-back episodes were the first appearance on A&E of the Robertson family since patriarch Phil’s controversial comments about gay men and blacks in a GQ interview that caused A&E to suspend him. After the rest of the family indicated they would not do the show without him, and religious organizations and a legion of conservatives stood by him, A&E reversed its decision, lifting Phil’s suspension.

Categories
Politics

Republicans Want Food stamp Recipients to Show Photo ID to Buy Food

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) on Wednesday introduced legislation to require food stamp recipients to produce a valid photo ID every time they purchase food with their Electronic Benefits Transfer card. Under the Food Stamp Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act, anyone caught using someone else’s EBT card illegally would be banned from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“Using a photo ID is standard in many day-to-day transactions, and most of those are not exclusively paid for by the taxpayer dollars,” Vitter said in a press release Wednesday. “Food stamps have more than doubled in cost since 2008 and continue to grow in an unsustainable way.”

Vitter’s bill comes after an October system glitch that temporarily disabled the spending limit on EBT debit cards, leading some recipients to take advantage by exceeding their normally allotted cap.

“A photo ID would not have stopped people from taking advantage of the system failure that day,” The Times-Picayune reported. “But Vitter said requiring photo IDs would make it harder for someone to use a stolen or fraudulently obtained [EBT card].”

National advocacy groups for low-income Americans criticized Vitter’s proposal as ineffective and harmful to struggling beneficiaries.

“Many poor people do not have photo IDs, and it costs money they do not have to get them,” Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs, told The Times-Picayune on Wednesday. “Senator Vitter’s proposal will be especially tough on elderly and poor people who do not have the documents needed to get their photo ID, and who will struggle even to get to the necessary offices. They will wind up going without food.”

Categories
Politics rachel maddow

Rachel Maddow Thinks Christie May Have Backed Out of 2016 – Video

We all may have missed this little piece of information yesterday, but it didn’t get pass the watchful eyes of Rachel Maddow.

On her show yesterday, Maddow explained that a recent appearance by New Jersey’s embattled governor Chris Christie may have contained news about his 2016 presidential prospects.

In his appearance,  Christie explained that he was governor of Jersey for eight years, not four. He also said that he was born in Jersey and will stay in Jersey.

This information was interpreted by Maddow to mean that Christie’s Bridge-Gate scandal is taking its toll and the last Republican hope for 2016, is calling it quits.

Video

Categories
News

Possible Remains of Missing Avonte Oquendo Found on Queens NY

Authorities in Queens are investigating the discovery of remains found next to the East River, and sources tell Eyewitness News that police have notified the family of missing autistic teenager Avonte Oquendo about the investigation.

The remains, said to be a human arm and legs, were found on a rock in the water near the College Point Yacht Club around 7 p.m. Thursday. Police responded to a 911 call in the vicinity of Powell Cove Boulevard and Endeavor Place after a 14-year-old girl stumbled across the limbs.

The sources said a pair of sneakers was also found, but it could not be confirmed if it belonged to the 14-year-old non-verbal boy who disappeared after running out of his Long Island City school 15 weeks ago Friday, on October 4.

The remains were removed to the Queens County Morgue as Harbor Patrol divers and helicopters searched the cold, dark waters for additional body parts. The tide quickly came in and the search had to be suspended, but it resumed at daybreak.

The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. No positive identification has been made, but police have been in contact with the Oquendo family.

The investigation is ongoing.

Categories
Politics

John Boehner Has Had Enough! “It’s time to move on” from Christie Scandal

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Thursday said that lawmakers and the media should move past the controversy surrounding New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge last year, noting that the governor has “held people accountable.”

“It’s time to move on,” he said during a Thursday press conference. “I think the governor made clear that mistakes were made.”

Boehner would not address whether Christie should campaign for House Republicans now that the state legislature is investigating potential political motives behind the lane closures.

The federal government is running a separate probe into Christie’s use of Sandy relief funds.

h/t TPM

Categories
Politics tweets

The GOP to Twitter “Tell Us Your Issues” – Big Mistake as Twitter Responds

I bet they won’t make that mistake again!

After sending out a tweet asking the good folks on Twitter to tell them their issues, the good folks on Twitter took them up on it and began telling the GOP their issues. Below are just some of the responses.

Categories
Politics

Chris Christie Explains What He Enjoys about Being Governor – No Traffic

Amazing, that the man who could be behind the traffic nightmare on the world’s busiest bridge in Fort Lee New Jersey, explained recently that he loves being a governor because one of the perks is getting away from traffic.

A little girl named recently asked the New Jersey governor the question, what do you enjoy most about being governor. The BridgeGate centerpiece then went into a long explanation, stating that he hates traffic and that anytime he travels to New York, they stop traffic so that his entourage could drive through.

Ironic.

Categories
Featured Terrorism

The Voice of a Crazed Mass Murderer – Adam Lanza

For the first time, the world is hearing the chilling voice of Adam Lanza, the man responsible for the horrific shooting of twenty first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown Connecticut.

In an audiotape of a call Lanza made to an Oregon college radio station obtained by The Daily News – and vouched for by two old friends – the madman waved a giant red flag that he was about to explode almost exactly a year before the Sandy Hook massacre.

Using the name Greg and apparently taking pains to disguise his voice, Lanza weighed-in on mass murder by comparing “a teenage mall shooter” to Travis, a chimpanzee who became infamous after ripping the face off a Connecticut woman in 2009.

In doing so, Lanza provided a frightening look not seen thus far into the twisted logic and troubled mind of the 20-year-old killer.

“His attack can be seen entirely parallel to the attacks and random acts of violence that you bring up on your show every week, committed by humans, which the mainstream also has no explanation,” Lanza says of Travis at one point.

“I just … don’t think it would be such a stretch to say that he very well could have been a teenage mall shooter or something like that.”

Those words, uttered on Dec. 11, 2011, did not set off any alarms with “Anarchy Radio” host John Zerzan, who is himself a controversial fringe figure.

Listen below.

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