New Gun-Rights Bill Angers Namesake Piers MorganThe New American – by Raven Clabough

An Oklahoma state legislator has proposed a pro-gun law to “reaffirm Oklahomans’ Second Amendment rights,” and humorously named it after a man who loathes being associated with such a measure.

The “Piers Morgan Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms Without Infringement Act,” proposed by State Senator Nathan Dahm, would allow citizens over the age of 18 to openly carry loaded or unloaded guns without the need for a license. The bill would include military or law enforcement functions, practice or performance for entertainment purposes, and lawful self-defense situations.   Continue reading “New Gun-Rights Bill Angers Namesake Piers Morgan”

Stand Your GroundAmmoLand

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- This is a great question because there is so much confusion around both these terms.

Much of the confusion stems from the fact that although both of these terms have a narrow, technically-correct meaning they have also been commonly used to refer to other aspects of self-defense law beyond these core meanings.   Continue reading “Much Confusion Around Both Stand-Your-Ground & Castle Doctrine”

Connecticut CarryAmmoLand

Connecticut –-(Ammoland.com)- In, yet, another flimsy case, brought and prosecuted by the State of Connecticut, the State is, once again, refusing to drop charges against a Connecticut citizen because of the fact that he owns firearms.

Mr. Morgan, a long time collector of firearms, owns quite an extensive collection of firearms, including machine guns. The charges against Mr. Morgan were based on allegations of a physical altercation that had nothing to do with firearms. The entire incident was apparently so negligible that the accusers took 15 hours to report the incident to police. Despite these facts, the judge and prosecutor have made Morgan’s firearms a central aspect of the case.   Continue reading “Perverted Justice: CT State Continues Prosecution despite Trooper’s Forced Resignation”

Crow fought the wings of a dove: While speaking at the window beforehand, Francis had appealed for peace in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters have diedThe Daily Mail – by Mark Duell

Two white doves released by children standing alongside Pope Francis as a peace gesture today were attacked by other birds.

As tens of thousands of people watched in St. Peter’s Square, a seagull and a large black crow swept down on the doves right after they were set free from an open window of the Apostolic Palace.

One dove lost some feathers as it broke free from the gull. But the crow pecked repeatedly at the other dove. It was not clear what happened to the doves as they flew off.    Continue reading “Birds of pray: Doves released in the Vatican as a gesture of peace are immediately ATTACKED by vicious seagull and crow”

The Daily Beast – by Josh Rogin

Dennis Rodman reportedly brought thousands of dollars in luxury gifts to Kim Jong Un for his birthday. Now, Washington’s looking into whether those gifts violated U.S. sanctions.

Dennis Rodman was already having a rotten month, between the trip to rehab and the global condemnation for cozying up to a dictator. Now things may be about to get much worse. The U.S. Treasury Department is investigating whether he violated the law that prohibits the importing of luxury goods into North Korea.   Continue reading “U.S. Investigating Dennis Rodman for Busting Sanctions”

AOL

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) – A massive highway pileup being blamed on whiteout conditions killed at least two people and injured scores of others Thursday afternoon in northwestern Indiana, police and a coroner said.

LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan confirmed the two deaths and said the toll could rise because cars were trapped under semitrailers and hadn’t been searched.   Continue reading “At least 2 dead in pileup on I-94 in Indiana”

NYC Food BankCBS New York

More and more New Yorkers have been reaching out to soup kitchens to feed their families, new research showed Wednesday.

Research from the Food Bank for New York City revealed that most of the city’s food pantries have seen a sharp increase in visitors.

The trend follows a $5 billion national cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that went into effect Nov. 1, CBS 2 reported.    Continue reading “NYC Food Bank Use Skyrockets Following SNAP Cuts, Report Says”

US History

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth’s Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country.

In its original form it read:

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”   Continue reading “The Pledge of Allegiance”

Huffington Post – by ANGELA DELLI SANTI

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Democratic mayor of a town severely flooded by Superstorm Sandy said Sunday that she was told an ultimatum tying recovery funds to her support for a prime real estate project came directly from Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a claim a Christie spokesman called “categorically false.”

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said she met with federal prosecutors in Newark for several hours Sunday at their request and turned over a journal and other documents.   Continue reading “New Jersey Mayor Dawn Zimmer Meets With Federal Investigators Over Claim Against Chris Christie”

George Stinney Jr appears in an undated police booking photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Attorneys in South Carolina say they have found fresh evidence that warrants a new trial in the case of a 14-year-old black teenager put to death nearly 70 years ago for the murders of two white girls. George Stinney Jr. was the youngest person to be executed in the United States in the last century, and attorneys say the request for another trial so long after a defendant's death is the first of its kind in South Carolina. REUTERS/South Carolina Department of Archives and History/HandoutReuters – by HARRIET MCLEOD

Attorneys in South Carolina say they have fresh evidence that warrants a new trial in the case of a 14-year-old black teenager put to death nearly 70 years ago for the murders of two white girls.

George Stinney Jr. was the youngest person to be executed in the United States in the last century, and attorneys say the request for another trial so long after a defendant’s death is the first of its kind in the state.   Continue reading “New trial sought for South Carolina teen executed for 1944 murders”

17-year-old Grant Virgin was in a coma after a September car accident broke several bones and injured internal organs.New York Daily News – by JOEL LANDAU

With their teenage son in a coma, a California family was willing to try anything to bring him back.

And with a new type of treatment, their son has made a miraculous recovery — thanks to fish oil.

Grant Virgin, now 17, of Palm Desert, Calif., was involved in a near-tragic car accident last September when an unidentified woman crashed into him and drove off — even after stopping to survey the damage, the Desert Sun reported.   Continue reading “California teen recovers from devastating coma thanks to fish oil”

NPR

LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A condemned man appeared to gasp several times and took an unusually long time to die — almost 25 minutes — in an execution carried out Thursday with a combination of drugs never before tried in the U.S.

Dennis McGuire’s attorney Allen Bohnert called the convicted killer’s death “a failed, agonizing experiment” and added: “The people of the state of Ohio should be appalled at what was done here today in their names.”   Continue reading “Ohio Killer’s Execution Takes Almost 25 Minutes”

KHOU – by Tiffany Craig 

SPRING, Texas — An entire family was arrested after tips reported through a crime prevention app from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Raymond, Stephanie, Jess and Madison Wood were all charged with drug possession. The parents, Raymond and Stephanie were also charged with possessing an illegal weapon.

It happened Friday morning on Candlepine Drive in Spring.   Continue reading “Deputies arrest entire family after neighbors use app to report suspicious activity”

Criminal Safe ZoneAmmoLand – by Dean Weingarten

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- In a recent article in the Star Tribune,  an interesting admission was noted in an advocacy piece pushing for more infringements on the exercise of the second amendment.

After documenting how some cities are flouting the rule of law, and apparently approving of it, the author notes that:   Continue reading “League of Minnesota Cities Admits, Cities Work to ‘Chill’ Exercise of Gun Rights”

Stock photo of dealer with guns and assault rifle (Shutterstock.com)Raw Story – by George Chidi

A gun show held about once a month near Austin ends in January after county commissioners and the show management failed to come to terms over a county demand for federal background checks on all gun sales.

The Saxet Gun Shows in Travis County have been held in the county’s publicly-owned Exposition Center since 2010. Following the Sandy Hook shootings of 2012, commissioners stipulated that the gun show require all exhibitors and attendees to perform a free federal criminal background check, the Austin American-Statesman reported.   Continue reading “Texas county gun show shuts down rather than implement background checks”

Huffington Post

Like Precalculus and Newton’s laws, Shakespeare’s plays are among the most groaned-about high school topics, begetting the complaint: “When will I ever need to know about this in real life?” Turns out, pretty often. Shakespeare can be credited for the invention of thousands of words that are now an everyday part of the English language (including, but not limited to, “eyeball,” “fashionable,” and “manager.”)

In addition to his being a particularly clever wordsmith, Shakespeare’s word invention can be credited to the fact that the English language as a whole was in a major state of flux during the time that he was writing. Colonization and wars meant that English speakers were borrowing more and more words from other languages.   Continue reading “13 Words You Probably Didn’t Know Were Invented By Shakespeare”

chicago e-cigarette indoor smokingHuffington Post

Get ready to take that habit outside, e-cigarette smokers.

The Chicago City Council on Wednesday moved to ban the smoking of e-cigarettes in most indoor public spaces — including restaurants and bars — in addition to anywhere within 15 feet of a building entrance, just as traditional cigarettes are regulated under the city’s existing indoor smoking ban.   Continue reading “Chicago E-Cigarette Ban: Major City Adds E-Cigs To Public Smoking Ban”

bruce-springsteen-jimmy-fallon-chris-christie.JPGNJ.com – by  Amy Kuperinsky/The Star-Ledger

They took to the stage dressed in “Born in the U.S.A.” ensembles, wearing sleeveless denim button-downs, aviator sunglasses and red bandanas.

Tonight, Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon sang about none other than Gov. Chris Christie.

The song, called “Governor Chris Christie’s Fort Lee, New Jersey Traffic Jam,” riffed on the George Washington Bridge scandal involving Christie’s staff and lane closures to the bridge in Fort Lee.   Continue reading “Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Fallon sing Chris Christie ‘New Jersey Traffic Jam’ song”

FILE - This Aug. 1, 2013, file photo shows Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., flanked by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., left, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. Top congressional negotiators released on Jan. 13, 2014, a bipartisan $1.1 trillion spending bill that would pay for the operations of government through October and finally put to rest the bitter budget battles of last year. The 1,582-page bill was released after weeks of negotiations between House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., and Senate counterpart Mikulski, who kept a tight lid on the details. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)Yahoo News – by ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top congressional negotiators Monday night released a bipartisan $1.1 trillion spending bill that would pay for the operations of government through October and finally put to rest the bitter budget battles of last year.

The massive measure fleshes out the details of the budget deal that Congress passed last month. That pact gave relatively modest, but much-sought relief to the Pentagon and domestic agencies after deep budget cuts last year.   Continue reading “Huge Spending Bill Would Bury Budget Battles”

Huffington Post – by Michael McAuliff

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s international trade agenda is dead in the water if he doesn’t do a better job engaging with Democrats in Congress, and his administration appears to be getting that message, Democrats said Friday.

Congressional Democrats have often been frustrated by his lack of attention to their concerns, but they’ve been especially disturbed lately that in his grand pivot to Asiaand push for a 12-nation trade pact dubbed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, they and the rest of Congress largely have been cut out of negotiations.   Continue reading “Why House Democrats Might Kill Obama’s Big Trade Deal”