Original Post: Daily Mail
By JONATHAN PETRE
The academic at the centre of the ‘Climategate’ affair, whose raw data is crucial to the theory of climate change, has admitted that he has trouble ‘keeping track’ of the information.
Colleagues say that the reason Professor Phil Jones has refused Freedom of Information requests is that he may have actually lost the relevant papers.
Professor Jones told the BBC yesterday there was truth in the observations of colleagues that he lacked organisational skills, that his office was swamped with piles of paper and that his record keeping is ‘not as good as it should be’.
The data is crucial to the famous ‘hockey stick graph’ used by climate change advocates to support the theory.
Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now – suggesting global warming may not be a man-made phenomenon.
And he said that for the past 15 years there has been no ‘statistically significant’ warming.
The admissions will be seized on by sceptics as fresh evidence that there are serious flaws at the heart of the science of climate change and the orthodoxy that recent rises in temperature are largely man-made.
Professor Jones has been in the spotlight since he stepped down as director of the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit after the leaking of emails that sceptics claim show scientists were manipulating data.
The raw data, collected from hundreds of weather stations around the world and analysed by his unit, has been used for years to bolster efforts by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to press governments to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
More...
MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: The professor's amazing climate change retreat
Following the leak of the emails, Professor Jones has been accused of ‘scientific fraud’ for allegedly deliberately suppressing information and refusing to share vital data with critics.
Discussing the interview, the BBC’s environmental analyst Roger Harrabin said he had spoken to colleagues of Professor Jones who had told him that his strengths included integrity and doggedness but not record-keeping and office tidying.
Mr Harrabin, who conducted the interview for the BBC’s website, said the professor had been collating tens of thousands of pieces of data from around the world to produce a coherent record of temperature change.
That material has been used to produce the ‘hockey stick graph’ which is relatively flat for centuries before rising steeply in recent decades.
According to Mr Harrabin, colleagues of Professor Jones said ‘his office is piled high with paper, fragments from over the years, tens of thousands of pieces of paper, and they suspect what happened was he took in the raw data to a central database and then let the pieces of paper go because he never realised that 20 years later he would be held to account over them’.
Asked by Mr Harrabin about these issues, Professor Jones admitted the lack of organisation in the system had contributed to his reluctance to share data with critics, which he regretted.
But he denied he had cheated over the data or unfairly influenced the scientific process, and said he still believed recent temperature rises were predominantly man-made.
Asked about whether he lost track of data, Professor Jones said: ‘There is some truth in that. We do have a trail of where the weather stations have come from but it’s probably not as good as it should be.
‘There’s a continual updating of the dataset. Keeping track of everything is difficult. Some countries will do lots of checking on their data then issue improved data, so it can be very difficult. We have improved but we have to improve more.’
He also agreed that there had been two periods which experienced similar warming, from 1910 to 1940 and from 1975 to 1998, but said these could be explained by natural phenomena whereas more recent warming could not.
He further admitted that in the last 15 years there had been no ‘statistically significant’ warming, although he argued this was a blip rather than the long-term trend.
And he said that the debate over whether the world could have been even warmer than now during the medieval period, when there is evidence of high temperatures in northern countries, was far from settled.
Sceptics believe there is strong evidence that the world was warmer between about 800 and 1300 AD than now because of evidence of high temperatures in northern countries.
But climate change advocates have dismissed this as false or only applying to the northern part of the world.
Professor Jones departed from this consensus when he said: ‘There is much debate over whether the Medieval Warm Period was global in extent or not. The MWP is most clearly expressed in parts of North America, the North Atlantic and Europe and parts of Asia.
‘For it to be global in extent, the MWP would need to be seen clearly in more records from the tropical regions and the Southern hemisphere. There are very few palaeoclimatic records for these latter two regions.
‘Of course, if the MWP was shown to be global in extent and as warm or warmer than today, then obviously the late 20th Century warmth would not be unprecedented. On the other hand, if the MWP was global, but was less warm than today, then the current warmth would be unprecedented.’
Sceptics said this was the first time a senior scientist working with the IPCC had admitted to the possibility that the Medieval Warming Period could have been global, and therefore the world could have been hotter then than now.
Professor Jones criticised those who complained he had not shared his data with them, saying they could always collate their own from publicly available material in the US. And he said the climate had not cooled ‘until recently – and then barely at all. The trend is a warming trend’.
Mr Harrabin told Radio 4’s Today programme that, despite the controversies, there still appeared to be no fundamental flaws in the majority scientific view that climate change was largely man-made.
But Dr Benny Pieser, director of the sceptical Global Warming Policy Foundation, said Professor Jones’s ‘excuses’ for his failure to share data were hollow as he had shared it with colleagues and ‘mates’.
He said that until all the data was released, sceptics could not test it to see if it supported the conclusions claimed by climate change advocates.
He added that the professor’s concessions over medieval warming were ‘significant’ because they were his first public admission that the science was not settled.
I learned in grade school that the scientific method involves peer review and the ability to replicate an experiment in a laboratory setting. Why is this beyond these scientists?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Lena Taylor, Property Accessory To Voter Fraud
Original Post: Media Trackers
By Collin Roth
Media Trackers discovered that over 20 individuals voted, some illegally, from one of Senator Lena Taylor’s (D-Milwaukee) properties during the April 5, 2011 spring election. According to a Media Trackers open records request with the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, the property at 1018 N 35th St. in Milwaukee currently has 36 active voter registrations and at least 23 individuals voted using the address.
Media Trackers was tipped off to Senator Taylor’s property by the Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty, who found 11 individuals that registered on election day to vote from Taylor’s property, 7 of which were corroborated by Senator Taylor’s mother, Lena J Taylor.
“Using open records requests, we obtained copies of the 11,017 Milwaukee County Election Day Registrations and created a database to analyze the entries from all 19 municipalities in the county,” said Tim Dake of the Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty. Dake explained further that “our volunteers ran numerous queries on the data and were surprised to see the name Lena Taylor appear on so many forms.”
According to property records obtained from the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, Senator Lena C. Taylor owns the property at 1018 N. 35th St. in Milwaukee. The property has 6 units and is zoned by the Milwaukee Zoning Code as RT3. According to the City of Milwaukee Zoning Code, properties zoned RT3 are intended to “promote, preserve and protect neighborhoods intended primarily for two-family dwellings.”
According to records from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Senator Taylor’s mother, Lena J. Taylor, ran a delinquent and now defunct non-profit on the property called “Mama Delta’s Lovehouse.” The non-profit was allegedly a “homeless/temporary shelter” from February 2007 until March 2011, less than one month before the April 5, election. The organization was found delinquent in January of 2010, given a notice of dissolution in January 2011, and officially administratively dissolved as of March 15, 2011.
Despite the presence of the non-profit on the premises of 1018 N. 35th St., the City of Milwaukee Zoning Code reads:
H. Group Home, Group Foster Home, or Community Living Arrangement
h-2 If the use is located in an RS1 to RS6 or RT1 to RT3 district, not more than 8 clients shall reside on the premises. In all other residential districts, not more than 15 clients shall reside on the premises. Even if Taylor’s mother’s delinquent and dissolved non-profit were an excuse for the number of voters at 1018 N. 35th St., housing 36 individuals would be a violation of the City of Milwaukee Zoning Code for the property itself.
The issue with Senator Taylor’s property does not stop at the exorbitant number of active voters or the number of individuals who used the address to vote on April 5. When Media Trackers began to look at the individuals that voted from Taylor’s property, questions began to emerge about whether voters were ineligible to vote and whether they actually lived on the premises, let alone the state of Wisconsin. One individual was a felon voter and another may reside in Chicago.
According to court documents, there are at least 3 other questionable registrations at Taylor’s property. These individuals list different addresses in court documents from previous years but it cannot be determined when they registered to vote from Taylor’s property.
The Ineligible Felon Voter
On election day April 5, Russell Collins registered and voted from the property in question. Senator Taylor’s mother even corroborated for Collins, claiming to be the owner of the property on Collins’ voter registration form. When Media Trackers searched the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Program, it was discovered that Collins’ was convicted of a Class G Felony (theft of moveable property from person) on November 5, 2010 and sentenced to 10 months in a “house of correction” with credit for 98 days served. According to Collins’ Criminal Court Filing with the Milwaukee County Court:
Court advised defendant his voting rights are suspended, and he may not vote in any election until his civil rights are restored. With no indication on his Criminal Court Filing that his civil rights have been reinstated, and the fact that Collins’ could not have served out the totality of his 10 month sentence by April 5 election, it raises questions about whether Collins’ voted illegally and whether Senator Taylor and her mother were complicit in this fraud.
Chicago Voter?
Another individual, Mark E Lewis Sr., first registered to vote from Taylor’s property on November 4, 2008. Without voting at all in 2010, Lewis voted again from 1018 N. 35th St. for the April 5, election. But what is peculiar about Lewis is that just one month after the April 5, election, Lewis was cited for consuming food or beverage on a city bus. The rather benign citation aside, Lewis listed his address on May 4, 2011 as 4843 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois.
Leading to further questions about Lewis’ residency at Taylor’s property, on June 21, 2010, Lewis was cited for a host of charges including Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest. In June of 2010, Lewis listed his address as 2933/37 W Wells St. Milwaukee, WI.
Either Lewis lived at 3 different residences and 2 states in the course of 11 months, the last move from Wisconsin to Illinois in less than one month, or Lewis used his active voter registration at Taylor’s property when he did not reside there.
Conclusion
Senator Lena Taylor wants to recall Gov. Scott Walker for what she believes is his misuse of power, but in this case she appears to have been an accessory to illegal voting activities. Furthermore, Senator Lena Taylor was an outspoken critic of the Photo ID bill, but if that bill had been in place it could stopped some of the potential voter fraud that took place from her property.
Just last week, Sen. Lena Taylor re-introduced legislation to extend the right to vote to felons and other convicts the moment they leave jail. But instead of waiting to change the law, Senator Taylor appears to have been an accessory to at least one voter breaking current election law as it relates to felon voting.
Just after the August recall elections, Senator Taylor wrote “when you assault the values and history of the Badger State, you will be held accountable.”
The scope of this scheme indicates that Senator Lena Taylor and her mother need to be asked very serious questions about how the property was used, and how it came to be that 36 voters, some felons still on extended supervision, and others who appear to possibly be from out of state, were registered to vote at the address. At best this is gross negligence that undermines the integrity of the election process, at worst it is an offense against the state of Wisconsin.
Using one of Senator Taylor’s favorite lines, is this really what democracy looks like?
By Collin Roth
Media Trackers discovered that over 20 individuals voted, some illegally, from one of Senator Lena Taylor’s (D-Milwaukee) properties during the April 5, 2011 spring election. According to a Media Trackers open records request with the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, the property at 1018 N 35th St. in Milwaukee currently has 36 active voter registrations and at least 23 individuals voted using the address.
Media Trackers was tipped off to Senator Taylor’s property by the Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty, who found 11 individuals that registered on election day to vote from Taylor’s property, 7 of which were corroborated by Senator Taylor’s mother, Lena J Taylor.
“Using open records requests, we obtained copies of the 11,017 Milwaukee County Election Day Registrations and created a database to analyze the entries from all 19 municipalities in the county,” said Tim Dake of the Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty. Dake explained further that “our volunteers ran numerous queries on the data and were surprised to see the name Lena Taylor appear on so many forms.”
According to property records obtained from the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, Senator Lena C. Taylor owns the property at 1018 N. 35th St. in Milwaukee. The property has 6 units and is zoned by the Milwaukee Zoning Code as RT3. According to the City of Milwaukee Zoning Code, properties zoned RT3 are intended to “promote, preserve and protect neighborhoods intended primarily for two-family dwellings.”
According to records from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Senator Taylor’s mother, Lena J. Taylor, ran a delinquent and now defunct non-profit on the property called “Mama Delta’s Lovehouse.” The non-profit was allegedly a “homeless/temporary shelter” from February 2007 until March 2011, less than one month before the April 5, election. The organization was found delinquent in January of 2010, given a notice of dissolution in January 2011, and officially administratively dissolved as of March 15, 2011.
Despite the presence of the non-profit on the premises of 1018 N. 35th St., the City of Milwaukee Zoning Code reads:
H. Group Home, Group Foster Home, or Community Living Arrangement
h-2 If the use is located in an RS1 to RS6 or RT1 to RT3 district, not more than 8 clients shall reside on the premises. In all other residential districts, not more than 15 clients shall reside on the premises. Even if Taylor’s mother’s delinquent and dissolved non-profit were an excuse for the number of voters at 1018 N. 35th St., housing 36 individuals would be a violation of the City of Milwaukee Zoning Code for the property itself.
The issue with Senator Taylor’s property does not stop at the exorbitant number of active voters or the number of individuals who used the address to vote on April 5. When Media Trackers began to look at the individuals that voted from Taylor’s property, questions began to emerge about whether voters were ineligible to vote and whether they actually lived on the premises, let alone the state of Wisconsin. One individual was a felon voter and another may reside in Chicago.
According to court documents, there are at least 3 other questionable registrations at Taylor’s property. These individuals list different addresses in court documents from previous years but it cannot be determined when they registered to vote from Taylor’s property.
The Ineligible Felon Voter
On election day April 5, Russell Collins registered and voted from the property in question. Senator Taylor’s mother even corroborated for Collins, claiming to be the owner of the property on Collins’ voter registration form. When Media Trackers searched the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Program, it was discovered that Collins’ was convicted of a Class G Felony (theft of moveable property from person) on November 5, 2010 and sentenced to 10 months in a “house of correction” with credit for 98 days served. According to Collins’ Criminal Court Filing with the Milwaukee County Court:
Court advised defendant his voting rights are suspended, and he may not vote in any election until his civil rights are restored. With no indication on his Criminal Court Filing that his civil rights have been reinstated, and the fact that Collins’ could not have served out the totality of his 10 month sentence by April 5 election, it raises questions about whether Collins’ voted illegally and whether Senator Taylor and her mother were complicit in this fraud.
Chicago Voter?
Another individual, Mark E Lewis Sr., first registered to vote from Taylor’s property on November 4, 2008. Without voting at all in 2010, Lewis voted again from 1018 N. 35th St. for the April 5, election. But what is peculiar about Lewis is that just one month after the April 5, election, Lewis was cited for consuming food or beverage on a city bus. The rather benign citation aside, Lewis listed his address on May 4, 2011 as 4843 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois.
Leading to further questions about Lewis’ residency at Taylor’s property, on June 21, 2010, Lewis was cited for a host of charges including Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest. In June of 2010, Lewis listed his address as 2933/37 W Wells St. Milwaukee, WI.
Either Lewis lived at 3 different residences and 2 states in the course of 11 months, the last move from Wisconsin to Illinois in less than one month, or Lewis used his active voter registration at Taylor’s property when he did not reside there.
Conclusion
Senator Lena Taylor wants to recall Gov. Scott Walker for what she believes is his misuse of power, but in this case she appears to have been an accessory to illegal voting activities. Furthermore, Senator Lena Taylor was an outspoken critic of the Photo ID bill, but if that bill had been in place it could stopped some of the potential voter fraud that took place from her property.
Just last week, Sen. Lena Taylor re-introduced legislation to extend the right to vote to felons and other convicts the moment they leave jail. But instead of waiting to change the law, Senator Taylor appears to have been an accessory to at least one voter breaking current election law as it relates to felon voting.
Just after the August recall elections, Senator Taylor wrote “when you assault the values and history of the Badger State, you will be held accountable.”
The scope of this scheme indicates that Senator Lena Taylor and her mother need to be asked very serious questions about how the property was used, and how it came to be that 36 voters, some felons still on extended supervision, and others who appear to possibly be from out of state, were registered to vote at the address. At best this is gross negligence that undermines the integrity of the election process, at worst it is an offense against the state of Wisconsin.
Using one of Senator Taylor’s favorite lines, is this really what democracy looks like?
Monday, November 21, 2011
Apparently it's ok to threaten governors in Wisconsin
No criminal charges for woman accused of threatening Gov. Walker
Original Post: WKOW
MADISON (WKOW) -- The woman accused of posting a death threat against Gov. Scott Walker will not face criminal charges.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said he won't file charges against Regan Cowan.
Ozanne said the Facebook post did not appear that it was meant to reach the governor.
So apparently it's ok to threaten to kill people as long as it isn't meant to reach your victim. Who knew? I always thought it was illegal to threaten people, especially elected officials. I guess the Secret Service has been overstepping their bounds. I'm being ironic of course. Please don't throw me in jail, I of course realize that the Secret Service is just doing their job and that it is, in fact illegal to threaten to kill people. It's just unfortunate that Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne doesn't. It seems that I'm more qualified for his job than he is. In fact, I have called upon him to step down for gross incompetence. Dane County also contains the city of Madison, in which police allowed the destruction of recall petitions against sitting Democrats in front of them, but is now investigating anonymous allegations of the destruction of recall petitions against Scott Walker from second hand sources. It's interesting how selectively the law enforcement of Dane County chooses to do their job. As a non-Democrat I have no faith that I have any protection within the boarders of Dane County. And that's awful.
Occupy Wall Street protests are not peaceful
Bail set for Occupy protester charged with assault
"PORTLAND — Bail has been set at $10,000 surety or $5,000 cash for an Occupy Maine protester accused of striking another man in the head with the blunt end of a hatchet..."
LAPD Points Fingers at Occupy LA for Rise in Crime
"The LAPD reports that crime has dramatically increased in Downtown Los Angeles since Occupy L.A. set up camp. Not only are police busy arresting protesters, they're also combating a surge in incidents from robbery to grand theft auto to aggravated assault...">
'Defecation and drugs' at Occupy camp
"...Legal documents have listed "defecation and drugs" among problems at a protest camp outside St Paul's Cathedral,..."
Occupy DC Protester Shoots At White House With Assault Rifle
"Another day, another “isolated incident” from a “rogue element” within the Occupy Wall Street movement. This one opened fire on the White House with an AK-47:..."
Police arrest 6 Occupy Seattle marchers
"...A man assaulted an officer near Third Avenue and Wall Street, and was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of charges of assault on an officer, police said..."
Occupy Philly: Man arrested in rape; mayor denounces protesters
"Mayor Michael Nutter held a news conference Sunday, as police arrested a man in connection with Saturday evening's reported sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman in a tent on Dilworth Plaza outside City Hall. "
Rapes and sexual assaults are rampant among the Occupy movement
"...Rapes and sexual assaults are rampant among the Occupy movement in cities across the nation. According to ABC News, this past Saturday night a 23-year-old reported being raped by a 50-year-old inside a tent at Occupy Philadelphia. Similarly, a 14-year-old child was allegedly raped at Occupy Dallas. And at Occupy Cleveland, a 19-year-old told police she was raped after sharing a tent with an unknown man..." Occupy Milwaukee engaged in recall signature fraud
Occupy San Francisco Protesters Attacked Two Officers, Police Say
"...Police spokesman Carlos Manfredi says officers were trying to keep marchers out of an intersection when a woman came from the crowd, slashed an officer's hand with a pen knife or razor blade, then disappeared before he realized he'd been cut..."
Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR
Protesters try to blind police with paint bombs
"Ultimately violence will be necessary"
Occupy Riverside Protesters Arrested
"...One protester threw a bottle at an officer and was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon..."
"You beat the crap out of them"
Flier at Occupy Phoenix asks, “When should you shoot a cop?”
"...It not only condones but even encourages citizens to kill any “government agent” (i.e. law enforcement officers), who in their perception violates their rights..."
Occupy Oakland Leaflet Mocks Pacifists and Openly Call for Violence
"...The Oakland Liberation Front goes on to demand that any and all pacifists in the movement stand aside, while the real Occupiers violently take on the police and work to bring our entire system down."
"PORTLAND — Bail has been set at $10,000 surety or $5,000 cash for an Occupy Maine protester accused of striking another man in the head with the blunt end of a hatchet..."
LAPD Points Fingers at Occupy LA for Rise in Crime
"The LAPD reports that crime has dramatically increased in Downtown Los Angeles since Occupy L.A. set up camp. Not only are police busy arresting protesters, they're also combating a surge in incidents from robbery to grand theft auto to aggravated assault...">
'Defecation and drugs' at Occupy camp
"...Legal documents have listed "defecation and drugs" among problems at a protest camp outside St Paul's Cathedral,..."
Occupy DC Protester Shoots At White House With Assault Rifle
"Another day, another “isolated incident” from a “rogue element” within the Occupy Wall Street movement. This one opened fire on the White House with an AK-47:..."
Police arrest 6 Occupy Seattle marchers
"...A man assaulted an officer near Third Avenue and Wall Street, and was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of charges of assault on an officer, police said..."
Occupy Philly: Man arrested in rape; mayor denounces protesters
"Mayor Michael Nutter held a news conference Sunday, as police arrested a man in connection with Saturday evening's reported sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman in a tent on Dilworth Plaza outside City Hall. "
Rapes and sexual assaults are rampant among the Occupy movement
"...Rapes and sexual assaults are rampant among the Occupy movement in cities across the nation. According to ABC News, this past Saturday night a 23-year-old reported being raped by a 50-year-old inside a tent at Occupy Philadelphia. Similarly, a 14-year-old child was allegedly raped at Occupy Dallas. And at Occupy Cleveland, a 19-year-old told police she was raped after sharing a tent with an unknown man..." Occupy Milwaukee engaged in recall signature fraud
Occupy San Francisco Protesters Attacked Two Officers, Police Say
"...Police spokesman Carlos Manfredi says officers were trying to keep marchers out of an intersection when a woman came from the crowd, slashed an officer's hand with a pen knife or razor blade, then disappeared before he realized he'd been cut..."
Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR
Protesters try to blind police with paint bombs
"Ultimately violence will be necessary"
Occupy Riverside Protesters Arrested
"...One protester threw a bottle at an officer and was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon..."
"You beat the crap out of them"
Flier at Occupy Phoenix asks, “When should you shoot a cop?”
"...It not only condones but even encourages citizens to kill any “government agent” (i.e. law enforcement officers), who in their perception violates their rights..."
Occupy Oakland Leaflet Mocks Pacifists and Openly Call for Violence
"...The Oakland Liberation Front goes on to demand that any and all pacifists in the movement stand aside, while the real Occupiers violently take on the police and work to bring our entire system down."
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Democrats call upon the dead to recall Scott Walker
I've tried to verify this from outside sources but most of them have the same screenshot with a notice that says they removed it from their page. I would like to believe that the Democrats wouldn't be so dumb as to advertise the fact they were planning on using the dead as signatures for recalling Scott Walker, but based on the brazen stupidity of the Democrats and recall supporters I cannot believe that. Especially after the Facebook death threats against our Governor and Mark Radtke Director of Public Works's blatant use of government resources to work his recall agenda I believe this screen shot to be accurate. I will post a retraction here if I find out otherwise.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Obama, the Grinch that taxed Christmas
Original Post: Newstalk 1130
President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.
In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)). And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).
Obama creates new Christmas tree tax
President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.
In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)). And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).
Monday, November 7, 2011
Governor Walker Target of Online Death Threat
Original Post: Maciver Institute
Madison, Wisc…] A death threat against Governor Walker was removed from Facebook on Monday, almost three full days after it was initially posted.
“Earlier this morning, Capitol Police became aware of an online death threat directed towards Governor Walker,” said Chief Charles Tubbs in a statement issued this afternoon. “Capitol Police takes any threat directed towards those who visit or work in the Capitol seriously, and Capitol Police investigators have identified and interviewed the responsible individual. Capitol Police does not generally comment on specific security issues.”
Tubbs issued the statement after an inquiry made by a MacIver News Service reporter.
“Rather than recall him… Can we kill him instead? Just curious,” wrote Rachel Cowan on the Recall Walker Kick Off Rally event page on Facebook Friday afternoon.
When someone responded with “He’s signed a bill allowing conceal to carry IN the capitol…..Someone just might get away with it!!!” Cowan then posted: “I’m game.”
The effort to recall Governor Scott Walker is underway and is highly-organized, with dozens of employees set to work out of more than 20 planned regional offices.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin laid out its initial plan to recall Governor Scott Walker at a volunteer training meeting in Madison last month. DPW is working with a coalition of labor groups under the United Wisconsin umbrella and has divided the state into eight regions and is prepared to have 44 field officers operating out of 22 offices.
During the Senate recall elections in August, state Democrats’ goal was to recall at least three Republican Senators. While they failed to achieve that objective, organizers hope to use the lessons learned from that effort to help them collect the more than half a million signatures needed to trigger a recall election of the Governor.
The death threat was posted on the Facebook page promoting a rally by We Are Wisconsin, the labor union mega PAC that spent more than $18 million on the State Senate recalls earlier this month. We Are Wisconsin is one of the groups helping to organize a Recall Kickoff Rally on Saturday November 19.
Moments after the MacIver News Service contacted the page’s administrators for comments about the threats, the offending post was removed.
Screenshot of the threat at 12:35pm Monday:
Screenshot of the page as of 1:35pm Monday:
Madison, Wisc…] A death threat against Governor Walker was removed from Facebook on Monday, almost three full days after it was initially posted.
“Earlier this morning, Capitol Police became aware of an online death threat directed towards Governor Walker,” said Chief Charles Tubbs in a statement issued this afternoon. “Capitol Police takes any threat directed towards those who visit or work in the Capitol seriously, and Capitol Police investigators have identified and interviewed the responsible individual. Capitol Police does not generally comment on specific security issues.”
Tubbs issued the statement after an inquiry made by a MacIver News Service reporter.
“Rather than recall him… Can we kill him instead? Just curious,” wrote Rachel Cowan on the Recall Walker Kick Off Rally event page on Facebook Friday afternoon.
When someone responded with “He’s signed a bill allowing conceal to carry IN the capitol…..Someone just might get away with it!!!” Cowan then posted: “I’m game.”
The effort to recall Governor Scott Walker is underway and is highly-organized, with dozens of employees set to work out of more than 20 planned regional offices.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin laid out its initial plan to recall Governor Scott Walker at a volunteer training meeting in Madison last month. DPW is working with a coalition of labor groups under the United Wisconsin umbrella and has divided the state into eight regions and is prepared to have 44 field officers operating out of 22 offices.
During the Senate recall elections in August, state Democrats’ goal was to recall at least three Republican Senators. While they failed to achieve that objective, organizers hope to use the lessons learned from that effort to help them collect the more than half a million signatures needed to trigger a recall election of the Governor.
The death threat was posted on the Facebook page promoting a rally by We Are Wisconsin, the labor union mega PAC that spent more than $18 million on the State Senate recalls earlier this month. We Are Wisconsin is one of the groups helping to organize a Recall Kickoff Rally on Saturday November 19.
Moments after the MacIver News Service contacted the page’s administrators for comments about the threats, the offending post was removed.
Screenshot of the threat at 12:35pm Monday:
Screenshot of the page as of 1:35pm Monday:
Young teen forced into Wisconsin abortion clinic: witnesses
Original Post: Life Site News
BY KATHLEEN GILBERT
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, November 3, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pro-life sidewalk counselors outside a Milwaukee abortion clinic Thursday morning say that a preteen girl asking pro-lifers for help was forced into the clinic by escorts and a guardian, and that police have responded saying that they could do nothing.
Tobey Neuberger, a sidewalk counselor from Cedarburgh, said the incident occurred just before 10 a.m. outside Affiliated Medical Services, where she and two other female pro-life counselors gave a “very young” African-American girl literature as she entered the clinic, and told her that she could get more information at a pro-life center across the street. Witnesses said the girl looked anywhere between 11 and 14 years old.
Neuberger says she and her companions were “just incredulous” as they watched the girl come back out and ask for help from the counselors, only to be physically blocked by the escort staff.
“Once she said she wanted to go across the street, she [the escort] held up her arm and blocked her, then she put her hand on the kid’s shoulder to stop her,” said Dan Miller, another pro-life sidewalk counselor and witness present at the scene. “The whole group of vigilers were pleading for her to let her go across the street to get free help, and they wouldn’t let her.”
“We could hear her say, ‘please take your hands off me,’” Neuberger, 42, told LifeSiteNews.com. “You could see it in her eyes.” The counselor said that the guardian, who appeared to be her mother, eventually came out of the clinic appearing “very irritated” and “literally pulled her back into the clinic.”
Neuberger said that while they have often seen girls appearing to be forced into the clinic, this situation was different, as the girl had actually asked the counselors to take her across the street. “We’ve seen it before, with the girls going in with red eyes ... you get the eyes glazed over, you can tell. She vocally asked for help,” she said. “It was heartbreaking.”
During the conflict, the group of sidewalk counselors nearest the clinic asked for help from Miller, who was across the street, and who then called the police. But, he says, the operator responded by saying there was nothing to be done, and no officers were dispatched.
“I told her what the situation was, they said, well, there’s nothing we can do, she’s with her parents, so there’s nothing going on here,” Miller told LifeSiteNews.com.
Witnesses said the girl re-emerged after about 90 minutes total in the clinic, but it didn’t appear she had undergone an abortion and she seemed in “good spirits.” Yet they feared she might return after fulfilling Wisconsin’s 24-hour waiting period: Miller said pro-life vigilers, who have been at the clinic around the clock as part of the Fall 40 Days for Life campaign, had apparently not seen the girl enter before.
Miller also noted that the girl’s guardian responded angrily to the pro-life group as the pair left, calling out, “free help my a**.”
A public relations officer at the Milwaukee Police Department was not available to speak with LifeSiteNews.com Thursday afternoon.
Virginia Zignego of Pro-Life Wisconsin noted that pro-lifers’ relationship with police in the area has been strained, and recalled one recent incident in which workers at Affiliated Women’s Heath Center called police to arrest pro-life witness James Marcou for videotaping outside the clinic. The charges were dropped last March.
Miller said that the clinic staff often used police to intimidate pro-lifers, often effectively.
“They [the police] would be used as a show of force by the abortion mill to scatter the pro-lifers, usually they call them when we have large numbers down here,” he said. “We’ve never been given a ticket, but the numbers would diminish afterwards.”
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, November 3, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pro-life sidewalk counselors outside a Milwaukee abortion clinic Thursday morning say that a preteen girl asking pro-lifers for help was forced into the clinic by escorts and a guardian, and that police have responded saying that they could do nothing.
Tobey Neuberger, a sidewalk counselor from Cedarburgh, said the incident occurred just before 10 a.m. outside Affiliated Medical Services, where she and two other female pro-life counselors gave a “very young” African-American girl literature as she entered the clinic, and told her that she could get more information at a pro-life center across the street. Witnesses said the girl looked anywhere between 11 and 14 years old.
Neuberger says she and her companions were “just incredulous” as they watched the girl come back out and ask for help from the counselors, only to be physically blocked by the escort staff.
“Once she said she wanted to go across the street, she [the escort] held up her arm and blocked her, then she put her hand on the kid’s shoulder to stop her,” said Dan Miller, another pro-life sidewalk counselor and witness present at the scene. “The whole group of vigilers were pleading for her to let her go across the street to get free help, and they wouldn’t let her.”
“We could hear her say, ‘please take your hands off me,’” Neuberger, 42, told LifeSiteNews.com. “You could see it in her eyes.” The counselor said that the guardian, who appeared to be her mother, eventually came out of the clinic appearing “very irritated” and “literally pulled her back into the clinic.”
Neuberger said that while they have often seen girls appearing to be forced into the clinic, this situation was different, as the girl had actually asked the counselors to take her across the street. “We’ve seen it before, with the girls going in with red eyes ... you get the eyes glazed over, you can tell. She vocally asked for help,” she said. “It was heartbreaking.”
During the conflict, the group of sidewalk counselors nearest the clinic asked for help from Miller, who was across the street, and who then called the police. But, he says, the operator responded by saying there was nothing to be done, and no officers were dispatched.
“I told her what the situation was, they said, well, there’s nothing we can do, she’s with her parents, so there’s nothing going on here,” Miller told LifeSiteNews.com.
Witnesses said the girl re-emerged after about 90 minutes total in the clinic, but it didn’t appear she had undergone an abortion and she seemed in “good spirits.” Yet they feared she might return after fulfilling Wisconsin’s 24-hour waiting period: Miller said pro-life vigilers, who have been at the clinic around the clock as part of the Fall 40 Days for Life campaign, had apparently not seen the girl enter before.
Miller also noted that the girl’s guardian responded angrily to the pro-life group as the pair left, calling out, “free help my a**.”
A public relations officer at the Milwaukee Police Department was not available to speak with LifeSiteNews.com Thursday afternoon.
Virginia Zignego of Pro-Life Wisconsin noted that pro-lifers’ relationship with police in the area has been strained, and recalled one recent incident in which workers at Affiliated Women’s Heath Center called police to arrest pro-life witness James Marcou for videotaping outside the clinic. The charges were dropped last March.
Miller said that the clinic staff often used police to intimidate pro-lifers, often effectively.
“They [the police] would be used as a show of force by the abortion mill to scatter the pro-lifers, usually they call them when we have large numbers down here,” he said. “We’ve never been given a ticket, but the numbers would diminish afterwards.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)