Where are their morals, where are their decency? This low down re-enactment of a terrorist attack in France that left 17 people dead just shows us these people have no clue, no morals and definitely no decency.
A Texas pro-gun group organized a re-enactment of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in a bizarre bid to test what would have happened if one of the murdered scribes was armed.
But the experiment set up by the group The Truth About Guns backfired — in no scenario was the “armed civilian” able to take out both “terrorists.”
Perhaps even more disappointing for the pro-gun activists, only one of the volunteers playing the role of the armed civilian even managed to survive — by fleeing the scene.
Pro-gun activist Nick Leghorn, who helped organize the experiment, not surprisingly downplayed the results.
“It’s interesting to see how people react under stress,” Leghorn told a local CBS affiliate.
“It’s not what you’d expect people do.”
The set, created in the town of Plano, mirrored the Paris office where the bloody terror attack was carried out last week.
Armed with paintball guns, two volunteers played the roles of Cherif and Said Kouachi, the sibling extremists who carried out the Jan. 7 slaughter.
Another common lie Republicans tell is that Barack Obama is engaged in a war on religion. That line of course, is meant to keep the Christian conservatives in line and to foster their continued hate for the president Yet, in spite of that lie, the president just cintinued a long tradition and proclaimed January 16th as Religious Freedom Day.
Below is the full text of the president’s proclamation.
From many faiths and diverse beliefs, Americans are united by the ideals we cherish. Our shared values define who we are as a people and what we stand for as a Nation. With abiding resolve, generations of patriots have fought — through great conflict and fierce debate — to secure and defend these freedoms, irrevocably weaving them deep into the fabric of our society. Today, we celebrate an early milestone in the long history of one of our country’s fundamental liberties.
On January 16, 1786, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was adopted. It was one of the first laws in our Nation to codify the right of every person to profess their opinions in matters of faith, and it declares that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any” religion. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and guided through the Virginia legislature by James Madison, this historic legislation served as a model for the religious liberty protections enshrined in our Constitution.
The First Amendment prohibits the Government from establishing religion. It protects the right of every person to practice their faith how they choose, to change their faith, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free from persecution and fear. This religious freedom allows faith to flourish, and our Union is stronger because a vast array of religious communities coexist peacefully with mutual respect for one another. Since the age of Jefferson and Madison, brave women and men of faith have challenged our conscience; today, our Nation continues to be shaped by people of every religion and of no religion, bringing us closer to our founding ideals. As heirs to this proud legacy of liberty, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to safeguard these freedoms.
We must also continue our work to protect religious freedom around the globe. Throughout the world, millions of individuals are subjected to discrimination, abuse, and sanctioned violence simply for exercising their religion or choosing not to claim a faith. Communities are being driven from their ancient homelands because of who they are or how they pray, and in conflict zones, mass displacement has become all too common.
In the face of these challenges, I am proud the United States continues to stand up for the rights of all people to practice their faiths in peace. Promoting religious freedom has always been a key objective of my Administration’s foreign policy because history shows that nations that uphold the rights of their people — including the freedom of religion — are ultimately more just, more peaceful, and more successful. In every country, individuals should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind — and of the heart and soul. Today, let us continue our work to protect this tradition and advance the cause of religious freedom worldwide.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2015, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to commemorate this day with events and activities that teach us about this critical foundation of our Nation’s liberty, and that show us how we can protect it for future generations at home and around the world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.
Yea, I know what you’re thinking – that’s just impossible. Well, no it’s not. Not in Florida!
A Florida family has contacted a lawyer after they said they discovered a photo one of their members was being used by the North Miami Beach Police Department in a series of images of black men for target practice, according to television station WTVJ.
“The picture actually has like bullet holes,” Woody Deant told WTVJ in an article published Thursday. “One in my forehead and one in my eye.”
Deant’s sister, who serves in the Florida Army National Guard, said she discovered her brother’s face last month among a set of black male mugshots that were being used for target practice when she attended a shooting range, the station reported. Members of the the North Miami Police Department had been practicing there earlier, she told the station.
The mugshot was 15 years old, according to the family.
“Now I’m being used as a target?” Woody Deant told the station. “I’m not even living that life according to how they portrayed me as. I’m a father. I’m a husband. I’m a career man. I work 9-to-5.”
Police Chief J. Scott Dennis told WTVJ that the practice of using images of actual people is standard. He also denied any evidence of racial profiling, saying that police also have white and Hispanic faces in its inventory.
BBC news is reporting that Selma, the film depicting the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr., will have a screening at the White House.
It is a contender for best picture at next month’s Academy Awards, alongside seven other films including Birdman, Boyhood and Grand Budapest Hotel.
Cast and crew, including director Ava DuVernay, are expected to attend the screening on Friday.
The film picked up just two nominations for the Oscars, the second being a nomination for best original song, Glory, by John Legend and Common.
But British actor David Oyelowo missed out on a best actor citation, for his depiction of Martin Luther King, and Ava DuVernay failed to make the cut for best director.
This is for my one and only Republican friend who swears that Chris Christie is the best thing to happen in New Jersey since sliced bread. Jersey voters beg to differ.
Three-quarters of New Jersey residents believe Gov. Chris Christie has made minor or no real accomplishments to the state since first taking office, according to a new poll.
A majority of residents rate Christie average when stacked about against his predecessors and 75 percent indicated his accomplishments for the state have been minor or minimal, according to the Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind Poll released today. It found only about one-in-five residents, just 19 percent, said the Christie years have been good for the average Garden State citizen.
New Jersey residents are critical of Christie over the state’s economic conditions, with a little more than half – 52 percent – indicating they believe taxes and spending have increased under the administration and 42 percent saying the state’s overall economy has grown worse over the last five years.
“Voters look to what someone has done in the past for insight into what the future may hold. Many in the state don’t believe the economic conditions have improved while Governor Christie has been in office,” said Krista Jenkins, professor of political science and director of PublicMind.
Residents responded similarly when asked to consider the health of other issues facing the state, including its transportation systems, environmental conditions and New Jersey’s cities.
So what’s going on here? The Lakers aren’t playing good or something or is it Kobe? Didn’t he just passed Michael Jordan for the third all time leading scorer in the NBA?
In any case, this video surfaced, staring Kobe Bryant in Frozen’s Let It Tank!
While Pope Francis suggests that it is wrong to talk bad about someone else’s religion, even saying that freedom of speech does not extend to religions or religious beliefs, Bryan Fischer, Director of the American Family Association called the leader of the Muslim people, the Prophet Muhammad, “a demon god!”
“It is impossible to blaspheme Muhammad,” he said. “You cannot do it. Why? Because you can only blaspheme the True and Living God and Muhammad does not represent the True and Living God … Blasphemy is something that you can only commit against the True and Living God and we know, from the biblical standpoint, that Allah is represents a demon god”
Christ was betrayed, mocked, made fun of, even crucified. But never once did he criticize the people for doing thise things to him, and he certainly did not grab the closest NRA approved semi-automatic weapon to seek vengeance in his own name.
So yes, I was more than a little shocked and confused when the Pope apparently sided with the Islamic extremist terrorists who murdered 12 people at Charlie Hebdo for expressing their freedom of speech. It is the Pope’s opinion that freedom of speech does not apply to religion.
Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one’s mind for the sake of the common good.
But he said there were limits.
By way of example, he referred to Alberto Gasparri, who organizes papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.
“If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,” Francis said, throwing a pretend punch his way. “It’s normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.”
Many people around the world have defended the right of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in the wake of the massacre by Islamic extremists at its Paris offices and subsequent attack on a kosher supermarket in which three gunmen killed 17 people.
But recently the Vatican and four prominent French imams issued a joint declaration that denounced the attacks but also urged the media to treat religions with respect.
Here is something else Republicans will obviously fight the president on, because it benefits working America directly, and we all know Republicans don’t like much of anything that benefit the American workers.
Obama will take steps to provide federal employees with up to six weeks of paid sick leave to care for a new child. And he’ll propose that Congress pass legislation to give federal workers an additional six weeks of paid parental leave.
Details on how Obama would raise the $2 billion to help states will be released in the president’s budget proposal next month, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Wednesday.
Obama wants Congress to pass legislation that has been sponsored since 2005 by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., to allow workers to earn up to seven days, or 56 hours, of paid sick leave to care for themselves or a sick family member, obtain preventive care or deal with domestic violence. Under the Healthy Families Act, workers would earn an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work. Employers that already provide paid sick time would not have to change their policies as long as the time earned can be used for the same purposes.
Obama will also call on states and cities to adopt similar legislation; some already have, as the White House noted in a fact sheet.
The House on Wednesday voted to undo major provisions of President Obama’s immigration policy, approving legislation that would revoke legal protections for millions of undocumented immigrants. The vote drew outrage from Democrats and led more than two dozen Republicans, many worried about the perception that their party is hostile to immigrants, to break away, the New York Times reports.
The most contentious measures in the bill will most likely die in the Senate, where Democrats have said they will wage a filibuster and some Republicans are likely to join in opposition. The White House has said President Obama will not sign any bill that blocks his executive actions on immigration.
But the action in the House on Wednesday was a glimpse into how the new Republican-led Congress will navigate the divisive debate over the president’s immigration actions as lawmakers struggle to reach a compromise on funding the Department of Homeland Security. The department will run out of money at the end of February, and Republicans have said they will use the appropriations process as their vehicle for dismantling Mr. Obama’s directives.
And the Republicans rejoice. They have been working for this outcome for decades!
Middle- and low-income Americans are facing far higher state and local taxes than the wealthy, according to a new report assessing tax data from all 50 states.
In all, the analysis by the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that the poorest 20 percent of households pay on average more than twice the effective state and local tax rate (10.9 percent) as the richest 1 percent of taxpayers (5.4 percent).
ITEP researchers say the incongruity derives from state and local governments’ reliance on sales, excise and property taxes rather than on more progressively structured income taxes that increase rates on higher earnings. They argue that the tax disconnect is helping create the largest wealth gap between the rich and middle class that has ever been recorded in American history.
“In recent years, multiple studies have revealed the growing chasm between the wealthy and everyone else,” Matt Gardner, executive director of ITEP, said. “Upside-down state tax systems didn’t cause the growing income divide, but they certainly exacerbate the problem. State policymakers shouldn’t wring their hands or ignore the problem. They should thoroughly explore and enact tax reform policies that will make their tax systems fairer.”
The Washington Post reports that President Obama’s approval rating is up 7 percentage points since October, pulling his support out from underwater but leaving Americans still divided over the president’s leadership, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
The CBS survey has the president’s approval rating at 46 percent, up from 39 percent when CBS last polled the question in October. That rise has been particularly sharp among political independents, whose support for the president has risen 11 percent in the last three months.
The White House has had a busy few months, announcing several major initiatives that include an executive action on immigration policy and expanded diplomatic relations with Cuba. Perhaps most notably, these new numbers fall against the backdrop of positive economic trends that have elevated consumer confidence to its highest level since the 2008 recession.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By agreeing to this, we can analyze browsing behavior and unique IDs on this site. Declining or revoking consent may affect certain features.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
