Category Archives: janet napolitano
Do I Feel Safe About Travel? NO!
Watch this segment of the Dr. Phil TV show, where they interview a young woman who was beaten up at a TSA checkpoint. It was not the TSA staff, but it was the Washington Police that did the beating.
This is a situation that no matter when or where it happens, it’s our families, our children and our friends. Be on guard, film everything and throw away any liquids!
The only particular thing about this video you will see, is that it was security cameras at the checkpoint and no passenger filmed it! What does that mean to you?
Related Articles
- “Parents of 6-Year-Old Girl Frisked by TSA Speak Out: She Was Crying and Distraught” and related posts (blogs.babble.com)
- TSA Detains Man For Attempting to Videotape His Own Patdown (pixiq.com)
- I don’t feel safe. I feel violated, humiliated, and angry. (wilwheaton.typepad.com)
- Fondlers, Your Country Calls (lewrockwell.com)
- Op-Ed Columnist : Stripped of Dignity (nytimes.com)
- TSA officers arrested after allegedly stealing $40,000 (cnn.com)
- TSA: Proper procedures followed in child’s pat-down (cnn.com)
- Safe Scanning: New TSA Body Imaging Pacifies Modest Travelers – TIME (news.google.com)
- Safe Scanning: New TSA Body Imaging Pacifies Modest Travelers (newsfeed.time.com)
- Valeria Maltoni: Are new warning and tracking systems enough to make us forget about TSA agents’ misdeeds? (elliott.org)
The Memorial Service That Never Was
Twitter was all abuzz about the memorial service held in Tucson, Arizona. All this time, the media did not stop with this buzz; that the President was preparing his speech, and for hours on end when I thought he was “done” with it, he wasn’t. FOX News and other media outlets kept the pressure on; the expectations were high, while the status of the patients were still coming in.
These were tough matters to address on that speech, and to do so appropriately. He had to follow President Clinton‘s speech after the Oklahoma City bombing, and George W. Bush after 9/11. So President Obama had big shoes to fill. It was going to be a memorial service for those who lost their lives on the Safeway in Tucson, Arizona. At least that’s what we were told.
I knew it would be tricky, precisely because of this odd balance. But I knew that of all people, Obama could pull this off very easy. What I didn’t expect were the T-shirts, the concession stands, and the strange blessing of the Native American (which by experience, it is not up to par with tribes I know.) Perhaps Native American tribes in the North conduct their blessings differently.
Folks on Twitter were puzzled at the musical scores for the evening: The crowd cheering for everybody that was called onstage, even members of the Obama administration were cheered at when they read quotes from the Holy Bible. In my opinion, the only one that did deserve the stand-up ovation was the real hero that helped Congresswoman Giffords, Daniel Hernández.
Hence the tricky part: Was it supposed to be sober? Was it supposed to be a celebration of life? It felt like neither. President Obama’s speech was good, especially towards the end. But unfortunately the cheering, applause, whistlings and “woo-hoo’s” were a big distraction. People that were in their vehicles when the memorial service started got on Twitter and wrote that they were confused, because it sounded just like a college game or an event specific to the university.
I honestly believe President Obama was surprised at his surroundings. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of a political rally rather than a memorial service. I was very happy when Obama announced that Congresswoman Giffords opened her eyes, but Obama didn’t have to say multiple times, like a preacher would. That’s when the “tone and rhetoric” took a dive. There were people right on the front rows, directly affected by this tragedy and they were weeping. They were serious, and thoughtful.
The crowd at thee McKale Arena at the University of Arizona should have taken notice of this, the University’s administration could have handled this differently, and President Obama should have addressed the crowd about the noise and call for respect for the deceased and wounded, restrain himself from the cult following. What do I mean by that?
The nickname “Healer In Chief” that MSNBC and the New York Times used as a past campaign “uniter” and in this case, the lie that he and only he somewhat had ”Gaby” open her eyes for the first time.
Related Articles
- No, Boehner didn’t “snub” memorial rally (hotair.com)
- Obama at Arizona Memorial: ‘We Can’t Use This Tragedy to Turn on Each Other’ [VIDEO] (observer.com)
- President Barack Obama Speech at Tucson Memorial Service – Watch Full Video (binsidetv.net)
- Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Speaks Movingly at Tucson Memorial (mediaite.com)
- Brit Hume Questions Tone, Timing Of Arizona Shooting Memorial Service (huffingtonpost.com)
- Congressional intern praised as hero at memorial (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- ‘Gabby Opened Her Eyes For The First Time:’ Obama At Tucson Memorial (politicsdaily.com)
- Obama Leads World’s Most Confusing Memorial Service [Video] (gawker.com)
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Palin Has Same Foreign Policy Stands As Bolton
Governor Palin wrote an op-ed on USA Today, and is really using her claws and calling the Obama administration to use United States’ super-power status (that is, if Obama has the balls to do it) and go after Russia and Iran. Governor Sarah Palin is using the same common-sense that I share: Iran is a threat, therefore it must be taken care of; but keep in mind that there are Iranians that want democracy and freedom, and that women in Iran deserve their freedoms too.
There are ways to deal with both issues and still come out on top; but in my honest opinion, the UAE should advocate a very similar position, if they want a similar result that Palin portrays.
Below is her op-ed, in which the All-American values and strong sense of freedom should be a priority, not only for Iran, but for us as well.
Iran continues to defy the international community in its drive to acquire nuclear weapons. Arab leaders in the region rightly fear a nuclear-armed Iran. We suspected this before, but now we know for sure because of leaked diplomatic cables. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia “frequently exhorted the U.S. to attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear weapons program,” according to these communications. Officials from Jordan said the Iranian nuclear program should be stopped by any means necessary. Officials from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt saw Iran as evil, an “existential threat” and a sponsor of terrorism. If Iran isn’t stopped from obtaining nuclear weapons, it could trigger a regional nuclear arms race in which these countries would seek their own nuclear weapons to protect themselves.
That wouldn’t be the only catastrophic consequence for American interests in the Middle East. Our credibility and reputation would suffer a serious blow if Iran succeeds in producing its own nuclear weapons after we’ve been claiming for years that such an event could not and would not be tolerated. A nuclear-armed and violently anti-American Iran would be an enormous threat to us and to our allies. Israel in particular would face the gravest threat to its existence since its creation. Iran’s leaders have repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction, and Iran already possesses missiles that can reach Israel. Once these missiles are armed with nuclear warheads, nothing could stop the mullahs from launching a second Holocaust. It’s only a matter of time before Iran develops missiles that could reach U.S. territory.
Even without nuclear weapons, Iran has provided arms used to kill American soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran is also the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. It has shielded al-Qaeda leaders, including one of Osama bin Laden’s sons. Imagine how much worse it would be for us if this regime acquired nuclear weapons.
Toughen up
President Obama once said a nuclear-armed Iran would be “unacceptable.” Yet, Iran’s nuclear progress still continues unchecked. Russia continues to support Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactors. It also continues to sell arms to Iran — despite the Obama administration’s much-touted “reset” policy with Russia. The administration trumpets the United Nations sanctions passed earlier this year, but those sanctions are not the “crippling” ones we were promised. Much more can be done, such as banning insurance for shipments to Iran, banning all military sales to Iran, ending all trade credits, banning all financial dealings with Iranian banks, limiting Iran’s access to international capital markets and banking services, closing air space and waters to Iran’s national air and shipping lines, and, especially, ending Iran’s ability to import refined petroleum. These would be truly “crippling” sanctions. They would work if implemented.
Some have said the Israelis should undertake military action on their own if they are convinced the Iranian program is approaching the point of no return. But Iran’s nuclear weapons program is not just Israel’s problem; it is the world’s problem. I agree with the former British prime minister Tony Blair, who said recently that the West must be willing to use force “if necessary” if that is the only alternative.
Standing with the people
But we also need to encourage a positive vision for Iran. Iran is not condemned to live under the totalitarian inheritance of the Ayatollah Khomeini forever. There is an alternative — an Iran where human rights are respected, where women are not subjugated, where terrorist groups are not supported and neighbors are not threatened. A peaceful, democratic Iran should be everyone’s goal. There are many hopeful signs inside Iran that reveal the Iranian people’s desire for this peaceful, democratic future. We must encourage their voices.
When the brave people of Iran take to the streets in defiance of their unelected dictatorship, they must know that we in the free world stand with them. When the women of Iran rise up to demand their rights, they must know that we women of the free world who enjoy the rights won for us by our suffragist foremothers stand with our sisters there. When Iranians demand freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and freedom to simply live their lives as they choose without persecution, we in the free world must stand with them.
We can start by supporting them with diplomacy and things such as radio broadcasting, just as we did with those who suffered under the former Soviet Empire. Most of all, we should support them with confidence in the rightness of the ideals of liberty and justice.
Just as Ronald Reagan once denounced an “evil empire” and looked forward to a time when communism was left on the “ash heap of history,” we should look forward to a future where the twisted ideology and aggressive will to dominate of Khomeini and his successors are consigned to history’s dustbin.
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008.
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Elian Gonzalez Resurfaces Again
Let’s not forget that the THUG that has been appointed by the Bamster to be the Attorney General, was a U.S Attorney when the raid happened–and he was the ring leader. I am NO fan of Reno, but ERIC HOLDER ran this show. Exerpt from proceedings:
“Napolitano: Tell me, Mr. Holder, why did you not get a court order authorizing you to go in and get the boy?
Holder: Because we didn’t need a court order. INS can do this on its own.
Napolitano: You know that a court order would have given you the cloak of respectability to have seized the boy.
Holder: We didn’t need an order.
Napolitano: Then why did you ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for such an order if you didn’t need one?
Holder: [Silence]
Napolitano: The fact is, for the first time in history you have taken a child from his residence at gunpoint to enforce your custody position, even though you did not have an order authorizing it.
Elian Gonzalez Resurfaces Again
Let’s not forget that the THUG that has been appointed by the Bamster to be the Attorney General, was a U.S Attorney when the raid happened–and he was the ring leader. I am NO fan of Reno, but ERIC HOLDER ran this show. Exerpt from proceedings:
“Napolitano: Tell me, Mr. Holder, why did you not get a court order authorizing you to go in and get the boy?
Holder: Because we didn’t need a court order. INS can do this on its own.
Napolitano: You know that a court order would have given you the cloak of respectability to have seized the boy.
Holder: We didn’t need an order.
Napolitano: Then why did you ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for such an order if you didn’t need one?
Holder: [Silence]
Napolitano: The fact is, for the first time in history you have taken a child from his residence at gunpoint to enforce your custody position, even though you did not have an order authorizing it.
