Alabama Homeowner Shoots Registered Sex Offender (Just Released from Prison) During Home Invasion

Posted by The Eye is Watching on May 22, 2013
Posted in: Positive US Gun Stories. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 2 comments

A man in Talladega received a rude awakening after breaking into his neighbor’s home in the 100 block of Dusty Trail Lane early Thursday morning between 4-4:30 a.m.

Jimmy Lee Garrett, a 48-year-old male residing at 116 Dusty Trail Lane, was arrested and charged for second-degree burglary, but not before a catching a bullet in the foot for his troubles.

According to Talladega County Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore, a female resident told investigators she woke up and saw Garrett in her kitchen.

At that point, she yelled for her husband, who began chasing Garrett throughout their home while wielding a firearm.

The husband fired two shots at Garrett, simultaneously wounding the intruder and thwarting the home invasion.

Garrett, a registered sex offender, had been arrested twice in 1985 for first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse of a 69-year-old woman.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Safety, Garrett was in compliance with sex offender reporting procedures. Garrett was released April 21, 2013, from prison for previous offenses.

Kilgore said there was at least one child inside the residence, but noted the only person harmed was Garrett. No charges were filed against the husband for shooting the perpetrator.

“He was a resident and he was protecting his home from an intruder,’ Kilgore said.

Garrett was taken to Citizens Baptist Medical Center for treatment, and then released under the custody of authorities from the Talladega County Sheriff’s Department, who promptly transported him to the Talladega County Jail.

Garrett’s bond was set at $30,000.

Bi-Partisan Vote in Alabama Overrides Governor’s Veto of Armed Teachers Bill

Posted by The Eye is Watching on May 22, 2013
Posted in: Positive US Gun Stories. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 comment

Alabama lawmakers stayed up late into the night to consider last-minute bills before the last day of the 2013 legislative session on Monday.

Both chambers in the state house voted to override Gov.. Robert Bentley’s veto on a local bill that would allow armed teachers in Franklin County schools.
The bill will now become law without the governor’s signature.
It will allow teachers and other school employees to carry a gun at school – so long as they are properly trained as police officers or sheriff’s deputies.
Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow (D-Colbert, Franklin) has been a vocal advocate of the bill, saying schools in Franklin County cannot always afford to hire school resource officers.
He added that the schools – being in rural areas – need to have armed school employees on-hand right away if they need protection in an emergency situation.
Rep. Morrow told reporters he was glad both chambers, with it Republican supermajority, backed him up on the bill and added that partisan politics has no place in school safety.
“When [children] hear about Sandy Hook and Dale County, they visualize the same thing happening in Franklin County. This will put a degree of safety. This will give assurance in their minds that someone is protecting them,” Rep. Morrow said.
Gov. Bentley vetoed two versions of the bill, saying he was not convinced there were enough training requirements in the legislation.

USA is Going Broke, Why?? Amnesty Bill Start Up Costs: Blackmailers Start At $6.6 Billion For 2013

Posted by The Eye is Watching on May 22, 2013
Posted in: Economy, World News. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Section 6 of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act provides that $6.6 billion be placed in a separate Treasury account on or before October 1, 2013. The bulk of the money, earmarked for “one-time and start-up costs necessary to implement this Act,” is to be transferred from the general fund, which means it’s coming directly out of taxpayer’s pockets.

The proposed bill provides for the establishment of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund. The Trust Fund will hold money transferred from the general fund of the Treasury and proceeds from various application and registration fees collected from immigrants and employers.

More than 75 percent of the U.S. Treasury’s general fund consists of money collected from sales and income taxes, to be used for law enforcement, health and human services, public safety, the administration of justice and general government services – all departments and services that are already severely affected by sequestration.

Nevertheless, the amnesty bill calls for $6.5 billion to be transferred “On the later of the date of the enactment of this Act or October 1, 2013.”

Additionally, another $100 million is to be appropriated at the same time, “to remain available until September 30, 2015, to the Department to pay for one-time and startup costs necessary to implement this Act.”

On top of that, all fees and penalties collected from immigrants and employers applying for visas or a change in status will also be added to the Trust Fund.

Initially, $3 billion over the next five years will be made available to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for use in implementing the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy. Another $2 billion will be made available over the next 10 years for the Secretary to achieve and maintain border security, and another $1.5 bill will be made available to the Secretary over the next five years to actually fence in our borders.

An additional $100 million dollars is to be made available from 2014 through 2018, $50 million for “ increas(ing) the number of border crossing prosecutions in the Tucson Sector of the Southwest Border region to up to 210 prosecutions per day” and $50 million for “reimburs(ing) State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies for any detention costs related to the border crossing prosecutions.”

The Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy, which is included in the bill, deserves much more than a paragraph of explanation, but suffice to say it includes additional border patrol stations, mobile, video, manned and un-manned surveillance equipment, single-, double- and triple-layered fencing, increased man-power and training, helicopters, tanks and aircraft. In short, everything we’ve been asking for to protect our borders from illegal aliens.

And all for the low, low price of just $6.6 billion – to start. Oh, and amnesty for a few million illegal aliens.

Democrats Turing on IRS; Compare IRS Scandal To Totalitarian Regimes

Posted by The Eye is Watching on May 22, 2013
Posted in: Economy, Privacy, Ramblings. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 comment

As the House Oversight Committee commenced its hearing on the IRS Scandal Wednesday, it was clear that Democrats, visibly angered by the decision of IRS Exempt Organizations director Lois Lerner to answer questions, turned on the agency. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination

In a fiery statement, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), cited the State Department’s annual human rights report, and the practice of tyrannical regimes that enact human rights on paper but fail to honor them in practice. He compared the conduct of the IRS in singling out Tea Party and conservative groups to those regimes.The witnesses were then sworn in. Lerner read an opening statement in which she denied providing false information to the committee or any other body: “I have not done anything wrong,” she said defiantly.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) demanded that Lerner be made to testify, arguing that she had waived her Fifth Amendment rights by telling her side of the story. In a courtroom, he said, she would have been regarded as having waived her rights–and, he pointed out, Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) had said he wished to conduct the hearings like court proceedings. The hearing room broke out in applause.

Utah Lawmaker Seeks to Attract Beretta, Other Gun Companies from Anti Gun States With Lucrative Tax Incentives

Posted by The Eye is Watching on May 22, 2013
Posted in: Ramblings. 1 comment

As some states such as Maryland, Connecticut, and Colorado turn their backs on gun companies who have contributed to their state economies for years by passing extremely restrictive anti gun laws, other, pro-gun states are actively courting gun companies to bring jobs to their states.

Case in point, Utah State Senator Howard Stephenson is filing legislation to give very attractive tax breaks to companies like Beretta who are seeking a new base of operations as their home states turn more and more anti gun.

The following was posted on Stephenson’s state senate blog,

My initial proposal will be to reduce obstacles and offer incentives to gun manufacturers located in the Beehive State. This might include eliminating sales taxes on machinery, equipment and replacement parts which are used in the manufacture of guns.

This is an exciting opportunity for Utah, and tomorrow’s Republican State Convention provides an additional exciting opportunity to open up a discussion about bringing Beretta and other gun manufacturers to our state.

 At tomorrow’s convention I’ll have a co-sponsor list with me. I’m anxious to continue this discussion, and I hope that the other state legislators in attendance will find me and sign on to this opportunity for Utah.

It’s obvious that state governments are serious about attracting the large number of jobs and positive economic impact that large gunmakers would bring with them.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is another public official who has been publicly and aggressively courting gun companies to move to the famously gun friendly state of Texas.

At least one gun related company has already bolted from their home state following the passage of restrictive gun laws. Magpul Industries, which manufactures one of the most popular magazines for AR-15 style rifles on the market, along with other accessories has almost completely moved their operations from the state of Colorado following the passage of extremely anti gun laws there, including a law which would make their would famous magazines illegal within the state.

Environmental Toxins Are in Water, Food and Your Garden

Posted by The Eye is Watching on May 22, 2013
Posted in: Health. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

From Natural News

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that environmental toxins and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are linked to health problems. The EPA lists a “Dirty Dozen” that can cause health issues, such as the brain, thyroid, and cause violence. More than 60,000 substances are registered substances with the EPA, and some of them are already known to be neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, and carcinogens. Many of these chemicals are found in pesticides, insecticides, toxic metals and PCBs in plastics.

These environmental toxins wreck havoc with your health. POPs have been linked to obesity, cancer, thyroid problems, hormone issues, autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity in children, as well as other mental illness including violent behavior. Heart disease and diabetes risk is increased with exposure to these chemicals. Children are most at risk from exposure to environmental toxins.

Over 60 percent of the population was tested to have 20 of the pollutants in their blood. In Canada, 46 pollutants were found in every blood test administered. Cadmium has been found in 70 percent of American women over the age of 50, which increased their risk for myocardial infarction by 80 percent, osteoporosis by 40 percent and could be the cause of one fifth of the osteoporosis for that age group. Arsenic, found in drinking water, more than doubles one’s risk of getting diabetes

Definition of a POP

“Organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes.”

The United States EPA’s Dirty Dozen list includes:

•Aldrin – an insecticide used on corn, cotton and for termite control
•Chlordane – an insecticide used on sugar cane, sugar beets, termites, home lawns and garden pests
•DDT – insecticide used for agriculture especially cotton and to control malaria and typhus
•Endrin – insecticide used to control rodents and on cotton and grains
•Mirex – fire retardant for plastic, rubber and electrical products and an insecticide used to control fire ants, termites.
•Heptacholor – insecticide against termites and to combat malaria
•Hexacholorbenzene – fungicide used to treat seeds, used to make fireworks, synthetic rubber
•PCBs – used in industry for electrical transformers, paint additives, carbonless copy paper and plastics
•Toxophene – insecticide used to kill unwanted fish in lakes and treat crops
•Dioxins and furans – formed during combustion in burning of waste and backyard trash

Why are these chemicals so hard to get rid of?

What makes these chemicals so difficult to deal with is the chemical characteristics that they have in common. These toxic chemicals are not very soluble in water. They can pass through the body’s fat tissues and are therefore stored in fat tissue. The POPs are usually chemicals that are halogenated with the chemical chlorine. The chlorine indicates that the pollutant is not resistant to degradation, or breaking down.

While the United States has joined in numerous international agreements to help control, limit or ban many of these substances worldwide, more care is needed. In addition, individuals need to be informed and take action, as well as governmental agencies.

What to do to combat exposure to toxic chemicals and POPs

The first step to preventing absorption of toxins is to avoid exposure. Eating food grown without pesticides is the first step. Use care in purchasing household products for the garden and for house cleaning. Also read labels on any products that go on your skin.

Nutrients like vitamin C and alpha lipoic acid can help booster the liver, along with herbal remedies such as silymarin and turmeric. Staying hydrated with clean drinking water will help flush toxins from your blood and your liver as well.

Further information at: http://talyadagan.com/

Sources for this article include:

http://www.nhiondemand.com/expertsperspectives/article.aspx?id=150

http://www.epa.gov/international/toxics/pop.html

http://chm.pops.int

http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemicals.php?id=86

Tech Startup is Introducing Technology to Allow Guns Locations to be Tracked and Remotely Disabled

Posted by The Eye is Watching on May 22, 2013
Posted in: Ramblings. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

More “smart gun” talk. This time the technology isn’t about biometrics and making guns usable only by their owners. This new technology will allow guns to be tracked and remotely disabled using a cell phone app. Yeah, I’m sure there isn’t anything that could go wrong with this in the current age of cell phone hacking.

Yardarm Technologies LLC plans to introduce technology which would trigger an alarm on a user’s cell phone when their gun is being moved and allow them to disable the weapon remotely. The technology would also not only track where a gun is, but maintain a history of where a gun has been.

According to ABC News,

New guns would come with a microchip on the body and antennas winding around the grip. It would add about $50 to the cost of a gun, and about $12 a year for the service.

We have numerous concerns about this technology. Besides the obvious privacy issues there are reliability issues since the technology would surely rely on needing some sort of power source on board the firearm. Even if it was as simple as a small solar power, what would happen to guns that were stored in a safe, or if it’s a battery, what if you forget to change it? Is there a chance the gun would be inoperable if the device wasn’t working? Also, what about security and hacking concerns? How long would it take sophisticated criminals to come up with jammers or hack the accounts of people who use this service so they could disable guns in a home before breaking in?

According to the ABC report, the company is already trying to address some of those concerns,

Stewart said his company has addressed privacy concerns about its system, which would not only include live tracking but also a history of where a gun has been. Yardarm has an exclusive telephony network to avoid hackers and spotty wireless systems, and gun owners could “self-destruct” the technology on the guns themselves if they wish, he said.

Guns are as useful as they are because at the heart of it they are relatively simple machines which require no electricity and can be stored, sometimes for years, until they are needed. Adding computerized technology defeats the simplistic advantages that guns bring to the table. I have a hard enough time trying to remember to change the batteries in my TV remotes, I don’t want my life endangered because I forgot to change the batteries in my gun.

The NRA mirrors our concerns about adding this additional level of technology to firearms. “We believe that the technology does not exist today where a so-called smart gun can operate with 100 percent or close to it reliability,” National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said, “and a firearm that does not function when it is required to is not a smart gun.”