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March 7, 2015

Grand Opening - Islam 'R Us Decorations


**** Today's Special ****

The Prophet's Perfect Party Favor!
Infidel PiƱatas!

Praise Allah! There's one hell of a sale going on so you'd better hurry! 
These unholy savings simply will not last long, especially in this hot weather.

Sale starts here!

And The Winner Is....


I'm not sure they're proud of it, but the current snow capital of America is Copenhagen, NY, a village of 801 souls just 80 miles north of me.
Copenhagen, N.Y. -- The snowiest place in America is Bill Hanchek's back yard just outside the Upstate New York village of Copenhagen, pop. 801.

More than 21 feet has fallen on Hanchek's small snowboard behind his house on River Road this season. That's more than any other spot in the United States as of Friday, including the Rockies and Alaska, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"It's more than usual," conceded Hanchek, who has been the official federal snow measurer for 23 years. "It's not unusually large yet, though."

Hanchek, who became a National Weather Service volunteer spotter after his wife, Kathy, saw a notice at the post office, recorded 358 inches in the winter of 2008-2009. Last winter, it was 325 inches.

Copenhagen lies in Upstate New York's Tug Hill region, perennially the snowiest area east of the Rockies. Tug Hill rises from the eastern end of Lake Ontario, and cold winter winds that whip across the lake pick up moisture and dumps aptly named lake effect snow, sometimes several feet per storm. While Buffalo gets national attention for its lake effect snows from Lake Erie, Lake Ontario stays open all winter while Erie freezes. That gives Tug Hill snow well into the spring.
In comparison, Syracuse has had 114 inches (9.5 ft.) of snow so far this season. 

March 6, 2015

Just Do It

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) has reintroduced legislation to do away with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Sensenbrenner, a senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the policies under ATF's jurisdiction could be easily incorporated into other agencies. Moreover, he argued, the ATF has become embroiled in too many controversies in recent years, like the botched "Fast and Furious" gun-tracking operation.

"The ATF is a scandal-ridden, largely duplicative agency that lacks a clear mission. Its 'Framework' is an affront to the Second Amendment and yet another reason why Congress should pass the ATF Elimination Act," Sensenbrenner said in a statement.

The ATF has drawn the ire of Republican lawmakers for its proposed ban on an armor-piercing bullet used in AR-15 rifles. Republicans say that hunters frequently use the bullets. The bureau says it initiated the regulation to help protect law enforcement officers from bullets that can pierce armored vests.
I used to take vest measurements for cops and order their body armor for my department. That last remark by the Bureau is baloney. Just about any center-fire rifle cartridge will defeat a police officer's soft body armor. Typical ballistic panels ordered for police are threat level II or IIA and they will not stop any high power rifle cartridge.

Story here.

March 5, 2015

The Japanese Battleship Musashi



The Imperial Japanese battleship Musashi was one of two super battleships of the Yamota class displacing 70,000 tons. By comparison, the Iowa class battleships of the US Navy displaced 45,000 tons.

Each of Musashi's three 18" gun turrets weighed more than a destroyer. Shells fired from these guns had a range of 46,000 yards (26 miles) and weighed 3,200 lbs. US carrier-based dive bombers dropped 500 lb. bombs on top of these turrets but could not penetrate their armor.

The Musashi was a hard ship to sink, but US carrier aircraft did exactly that during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24 OCT 1944. This was the largest naval battle of WWII, possibly one of the largest in history - almost 740 military ships were involved.
In all, Force A endures raids by 259 U.S. carrier aircraft during the day. MUSASHI sustains a total of 19 torpedo (10 port, 9 starboard) and 17 bomb hits, as well as 18 near misses.

MUSASHI capsizes to port and sinks by the bow in 4,430 feet of water in the Visayan Sea at 13-07N, 122-32E. Two underwater explosions are heard.

Destroyers KIYOSHIMO, ISOKAZE and HAMAKAZE rescue 1,376 survivors including XO Captain Kato, but 1,023 of her 2,399 man crew are lost including her skipper, Rear Admiral Inoguchi who is promoted Vice Admiral, posthumously.

The Americans lose 18 planes shot down.
More here.

The wreck was recently discovered by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

March 1, 2015

Verizon Speaks Out On New FCC Regulations



WASHINGTON – Today (Feb. 26) the Federal Communications Commission approved an order urged by President Obama that imposes rules on broadband Internet services that were written in the era of the steam locomotive and the telegraph. The following statement should be attributed to Michael E. Glover, Verizon senior vice president, public policy and government affairs:

“Today’s decision by the FCC to encumber broadband Internet services with badly antiquated regulations is a radical step that presages a time of uncertainty for consumers, innovators and investors. Over the past two decades a bipartisan, light- touch policy approach unleashed
unprecedented investment and enabled the broadband Internet age consumers now enjoy.

“The FCC today chose to change the way the commercial Internet has operated since its creation. Changing a platform that has been so successful should be done, if at all, only after careful policy analysis, full transparency, and by the legislature, which is constitutionally
charged with determining policy. As a result, it is likely that history will judge today’s actions as misguided.

“The FCC’s move is especially regrettable because it is wholly unnecessary. The FCC had targeted tools available to preserve an open Internet, but instead chose to use this order as an excuse to adopt 300-plus pages of broad and open- ended regulatory arcana that will have unintended negative consequences for consumers and various parts of the Internet ecosystem for years to come.

“What has been and will remain constant before, during and after the existence of any regulations is Verizon’s commitment to an open Internet that provides consumers with competitive broadband choices and Internet access when, where, and how they want.”

Source:

More here from Power Line:

Obama Defends Iran Nuclear Weapons Development?

The Bethlehem-based news agency Ma’an has cited a Kuwaiti newspaper report Saturday, that US President Barack Obama thwarted an Israeli military attack against Iran's nuclear facilities in 2014 by threatening to shoot down Israeli jets before they could reach their targets in Iran.

Following Obama's threat, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was reportedly forced to abort the planned Iran attack.

According to Al-Jarida, the Netanyahu government took the decision to strike Iran some time in 2014 soon after Israel had discovered the United States and Iran had been involved in secret talks over Iran’s nuclear program and were about to sign an agreement in that regard behind Israel's back.

The report claimed that an unnamed Israeli minister who has good ties with the US administration revealed the attack plan to Secretary of State John Kerry, and that Obama then threatened to shoot down the Israeli jets before they could reach their targets in Iran.

Al-Jarida quoted "well-placed" sources as saying that Netanyahu, along with Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon, and then-Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, had decided to carry out airstrikes against Iran's nuclear program after consultations with top security commanders.

Story here.

We Are The Seat Belts

Scripture and history warns us that life is not a smooth path from the cradle to the grave. It's a well-worn path that all must travel, and for some it is an expressway with regular rest stops and no red lights.

For most of us it is a rocky, bumpy, debris-shewn roller coaster ride - seat belts are required.

For the billions who travel on the well-worn path, it is best to prepare for the worst. And in this respect, God has indeed provided the safety belts ... us.

We are the straps that help us cling to life when we are about to get thrown out of the car. Our family, friends, neighbors and communities grab hold of our ankles and keep us in our seats. It doesn't mean that our hair won't get mussed or our clothes torn or even wind up missing a limb or two. But for the most part, we remain.

Over the course of millennia the Church has been an important link in this support system and, although weakened by liberal doctrine and lack of faith, it still remains a vital component for survival when SHTF.

Author James Jay Carafano (see below) has published an e-book, "Surviving the End: A Practical Guide for Everyday Americans in the Age of Terror." In his book Mr. Carafano states:
"... there are two crucial moments that determine whether someone will survive a disaster. The first is the “golden hour,” when a seriously injured individual needs to receive emergency medical care in order to survive. The next tipping point is the 72-hour mark. Individuals who can’t get water or are exposed to harsh weather for up to three days will likely die.

But what happens if the crisis is extended and ongoing and the government is unable to provide assistance in the wake of a catastrophic event?"
This is where the rubber meets the road. We have seen this in disasters before. The federal or state government will step in, but they can be slow, cumbersome beasts. Local services - fire, police, Red Cross - are the fastest government responders in an emergency.  But in the face of overwhelming major events they are a mile wide and an inch deep. And again, where do we turn to when all levels of government are reduced to helplessness?
"There is a pretty broad consensus that faith-based organizations are among the top performers during a crisis. The tasks they perform, such as supplying food, clothing, and shelter to those in need, or providing mental health responses for everything from stress and grief counseling to recovery from spousal abuse, can be immensely valuable for communities struggling to survive in the wake of a catastrophe. Being connected to a faith-based organization could well be critical for staying alive when nature or men do their worst."
In my church we assign tasks to assist members who require assistance. It may only require a single man with a snow shovel or a month of meals or a squad of men under the leadership of someone who knows carpentry to make repairs.  We elect deacons who have proven that they can provide leadership and possess a servant's heart. We are beginning to discuss what we can do if a prolonged emergency takes place.

But an emergency is something that occurs out of the ordinary. What do we do when the extraordinary becomes the norm? The next step after that is this: what do we as a church do if government collapses and there is no one to respond? Grocery stores will have nothing but empty shelves in a matter of hours. What if electric service disappears?  Natural gas? Petroleum?

The answer is this, we have God's grace and we have us.  I truly believe the End Times are approaching and our response should not be to bury our heads in the sand or to sit around waiting for Jesus to turn the lights back on. We must prepare to take care of each other if the need arises.

1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

1 John 3:17-18
But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Galatians 6:9-10
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

More here.

About the Author: James Jay Carafano, Heritage Foundation’s leading expert on national security and foreign policy challenges, is an accomplished historian, author and teacher. Carafano is adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the Institute of World Politics and has served as a visiting professor at National Defense University, assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., director of military studies at the Army's Center of Military History, and fleet professor at the U.S. Naval War College.