It’s Thursday, August 16th, 2012….and here’s The Gouge!

First up, courtesy of Carl Polizzi and Paul Watson writing at InfoWars.com, it’s the “Things That Make You Go ‘Hmmmm'” segment, and an otherwise innocuous factoid that’s piqued our curiousity:

Social Security Administration To Purchase 174 Thousand Rounds Of Hollow Point Bullets

Preparing for civil unrest? Ammunition to be delivered to 41 locations across U.S.

 

First it was the Department of Homeland Security, then it was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and now the Social Security Administration is set to purchase 174,000 rounds of hollow point bullets that will be delivered to 41 locations across the country.

A solicitation posted by the SSA on the FedBizOpps website asks for contractors to supply 174,000 rounds of “.357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition.” An online ammunition retailer describes the bullets as suitable “for peak performance rivaling and sometimes surpassing handloads in many guns,” noting that the ammo is “a great personal defense bullet.”

The synopsis to the solicitation adds that the ammunition is to be shipped to 41 locations within 60 days of purchase. A separate spreadsheet lists those locations, which include the Social Security headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland as well as major cities across the country including Los Angeles, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

Hollow point bullets are designed to expand as they enter the body, causing maximum damage by tearing apart internal organs.

It’s not outlandish to suggest that the Social Security Administration is purchasing the bullets as part of preparations for civil unrest. Social security welfare is estimated to keep around 40 per cent of senior citizens out of poverty. Should the tap run dry in the aftermath of an economic collapse which the Federal Reserve has already told top banks to prepare for, domestic disorder could ensue if people are refused their benefits.

Indeed, earlier this year the Department of Homeland Security ran a drill called Operation Shield which included turning the entrance of a Florida Social Security office into a checkpoint manned by Federal Protective Service officers armed with semiautomatic rifles. “With their blue and white SUVs circled around the Main Street office, at least one official was posted on the door with a semiautomatic rifle, randomly checking identifications. And other officers, some with K-9s, sifted through the building,” reported the Daily Commercial.

A rash of solicitations by federal agencies for hollow point bullets in recent months has stoked fears that the government is preparing for civil unrest caused by a financial collapse on a scale similar or even larger to scenes already witnessed in Europe over the last two years.

As we reported yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has put out a contract for 46,000 rounds of hollow point bullets along with 500 paper targets. Despite initially asking the bullets to be delivered to the National Weather Service, NOAA claimed this was a “clerical error” and insisted the ammunition was being sent to the Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement. Why powerful hollow point bullets that are designed to tear apart internal organs are needed for practice shooting at paper targets has not been explained. (Those must be some big-assed bass!)

Back in March, Homeland Security purchased 450 million rounds of .40-caliber hollow point bullets that are designed to expand upon entry and cause maximum organ damage, prompting questions as to why the DHS needed such a large amount of powerful bullets merely for training purposes.

This was followed by another DHS solicitation asking for a further 750 million rounds of assorted bullets, including 357 mag rounds that are able to penetrate walls.

The DHS recently put out an order for riot gear in preparation for the upcoming DNC, RNC and presidential inauguration. The U.S. Army is also busy buying similar equipment. The DHS also recently purchased a number of bullet-proof checkpoint booths that include ‘stop and go’ lights.

Mere coincidence?  Perhaps.  A sinister conspiracy?  Maybe….maybe no.  But we’d certainly like to hear an Administration wishing to ban law-abiding citizens’ access to the same ammunition explain how what’s good for the government goose ain’t appropriate for the John Q. Gander.

Next up, the WSJ celebrates….

A Voter ID Victory

Pennsylvania’s new law passes a legal test, as it should on the merits.

 

Chalk up another one for voter ID laws and representative politics. On Wednesday, a Pennsylvania judge refused to block a new Keystone State ID law from going into effect, handing a defeat to the ACLU and Attorney General Eric Holder’s campaign to demonize such laws as racist.

Judge Robert Simpson didn’t rule on the state constitutional merits, which he will hear later. But he sensibly refused to overturn a law duly passed by an elected legislature and signed by the Governor that applies equally to all Pennsylvania residents. He said the state government will carry out the law in a “non-partisan, even-handed manner” and so deserves to be put into effect until the larger issues can be decided.

The ACLU says it will appeal, but it’s notable that the left-wing legal group specifically avoided arguing this case in federal court. That’s because the U.S. Supreme Court has already held (in 2008 in Crawford v. Marion County) that a similar Indiana law requiring photo ID is constitutional and not an undue burden on voters for the sake of ensuring accurate elections.

The ACLU claims the new law violates the Pennsylvania Constitution by denying citizens the right to vote. For an emotional punch, the group trotted out 93-year old plaintiff Viviette Applewhite, who lacks a birth certificate. They also make much of the fact that the names of 759,000 registered voters statewide don’t match up with the ID list kept by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (known as PennDot), meaning a lot of voters don’t currently have what they need to vote.

None of this is persuasive. The Pennsylvania Department of State says that of those 759,000 non-matches, some 167,000 were inactive voters who haven’t cast a ballot in five years. That often includes college students who have moved but failed to cancel their voter registration. Also inflating the numbers are names that don’t match exactly from one list to the next. If you’re Jennifer Jones on the voter registration list and Jen Jones to PennDot, you’re one of the non-matches.

Since the law passed in March, Pennsylvania has also made it easier to get a state ID for voting purposes and begun providing them free of charge. Under state law, driver’s licenses, passports, military ID, federal government employee ID and college ID all qualify at the voting booth. The state will also provide a free ID to anyone who signs an affirmation that he needs it to vote, requiring only a Social Security number and two proofs of residence. Viviette will get her ID.

But there’s more. Voters who show up at their polling place without an ID will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot and present proof of identity within six days. Indigent voters may also cast a provisional ballot and sign a statement saying they couldn’t obtain the necessary documents. Does all of this plausibly add up to voter suppression?

The ACLU also advertises—and the national media have played up—that the state lists no known instances of voter fraud. However, the state Attorney General’s office doesn’t typically prosecute election fraud cases because most voter fraud is investigated by county boards of election and prosecuted by the 67 county district attorneys. As independent elected officials, they don’t report their caseload to the state AG, making it nearly impossible for Pennsylvania to compile state-wide statistics.

In a July report on voting irregularities in Philadelphia, City Commissioner Al Schmidt compiled a list of assorted errors at the polls, including a woman who voted twice, 23 unregistered voters who cast ballots, and eight non-Democrats who voted in a Democratic primary.

That number of votes won’t turn any except the closest elections, but it’s still useful democratic hygiene to ensure that voting lists are as accurate as possible. Access to the ballot is important, but so is the integrity of each vote. If fraudulent votes are routinely cast, they cancel out the ballots of legal voters.

The new Pennsylvania law is also in the cross-hairs of Mr. Holder’s Justice Department, and you can expect a lawsuit before Election Day. Like the ACLU, Mr. Holder wants to use the voter ID issue to cry “Jim Crow” and drum up minority turnout in what could be a close contest in Pennsylvania this year. Good for Judge Simpson for putting the law above the politics.

Bottom line: THIS is racist:

This….

….is common sense.

And since we’re on the subject of frauds perpetrated on the American people by powerful Progressive politicians….

House members’ VIP loans from Countrywide excluded from subpoena, report says

 

A Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime mortgage lender Countrywide to exclude records showing that he, other House members and congressional aides got VIP discounted loans from the company, documents show. The procedure to keep the names secret was devised by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. In 2003, the 15-term congressman had two loans processed by Countrywide’s VIP section, which was established to give discounts to favored borrowers.

The effort at secrecy was reversed when Towns’ Republican successor as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, California Rep. Darrell Issa, issued a second subpoena. It yielded Countrywide records identifying four current House members, a former member and five staff aides whose loans went through the VIP unit. Towns was on the list.

Most of the names had dribbled out to the media by the time Issa issued the committee’s final report last month on Countrywide’s use of loan discounts to buy influence with government officials. But there was no official confirmation until Issa made his report public.

Towns’ effort to keep the loans secret was at odds with statements by Republicans and Democrats alike that full disclosure of lawmakers’ financial dealings was the best means for keeping the public aware of congressional perks, unethical conduct and fundraising.

Countrywide had been the nation’s largest home loan originator before the housing market collapse. Many of its borrowers were left unable to repay mortgages that, in many cases, required no proof of income or a down payment. The company was purchased in 2008 by Bank of America, which now holds the VIP loan files.

The original Towns subpoena had asked for all files that went through the Countrywide VIP unit and specifically mentioned House members and aides. Bank of America sent a spreadsheet that identified 18,000 files that listed a borrower’s employer, but without names to maintain privacy. The spreadsheet identified several files listing the House or Congress as the employer. Since the vast majority of the employers in the spreadsheet were of no interest to the committee, committee Republicans — then in the minority — and majority Democrats each drew up a separate list of loan files to be turned over by the bank.

The Republican list totaled 3,000 files and included borrowers listing the House as an employer. Towns narrowed the files to about 300 and excluded references to the House. It was Towns’ truncated list that went to Bank of America. Bank of America confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press that the original subpoena terms were changed by Towns.

….Towns announced in April that he was retiring after 30 years of representing his Brooklyn district.

Out of sight….and out of Congress….out of mind; and beyond prosecution….provided you’re a Progressive!

In a related item….

ICE chief of staff on leave after new allegations of lewd conduct surface

 

Let’s be honest: if absolute lack of experience were a punishable offense, the entire Obama Administration would be under indictment.

Speaking of Team Tick-Tock’s rather cavalier attitude towards national security, as TheNewMediaJournal.com reports….

Russian Attack Sub Sailed in Gulf of Mexico Undetected for Weeks

 

A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic US waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian attack submarine has patrolled so close to US shores.

The stealth underwater incursion in the Gulf took place at the same time Russian strategic bombers made incursions into restricted US airspace near Alaska and California in June and July, and highlights a growing military assertiveness by Moscow. The submarine patrol also exposed what US officials said were deficiencies in US anti-submarine warfare capabilities — forces that are facing cuts under the Obama administration’s plan to reduce defense spending by $487 billion over the next 10 years.

The Navy is in charge of detecting submarines, especially those that sail near US nuclear missile submarines, and uses undersea sensors and satellites to locate and track them. The fact that the Akula was not detected in the Gulf is cause for concern, US officials said.

A Navy spokeswoman declined to comment.

One official said the Akula operated without being detected for a month. “The Akula was built for one reason and one reason only: To kill US Navy ballistic missile submarines and their crews,” said a second US official. “It’s a very stealthy boat so it can sneak around and avoid detection and hope to get past any protective screen a boomer might have in place,” the official said, referring to the Navy nickname for strategic missile submarines.

The US Navy operates a strategic nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia. The base is home port to eight missile-firing submarines, six of them equipped with nuclear-tipped missiles, and two armed with conventional warhead missiles.

“Sending a nuclear-propelled submarine into the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean region is another manifestation of President Putin demonstrating that Russia is still a player on the world’s political-military stage,” said naval analyst and submarine warfare specialist Norman Polmar. “Like the recent deployment of a task force led by a nuclear cruiser into the Caribbean, the Russian Navy provides him with a means of ‘showing the flag’ that is not possible with Russian air and ground forces,” Polmar said in an email.

The last time an Akula submarine was known to be close to US shores was 2009, when two Akulas were spotted patrolling off the east coast of the United States. Those submarine patrols raised concerns at the time about a new Russian military assertiveness toward the United States, according to the New York Times, which first reported the 2009 Akula submarine activity.

The latest submarine incursion in the Gulf further highlights the failure of the Obama administration’s “reset” policy of conciliatory actions designed to develop closer ties with Moscow.

Then again, we wouldn’t put it past The Dear Misleader to spin Akulas in the Gulf as evidence their hopelessly misguided “reset” with the Russians IS evidence of closer ties with Moscow. 

And in the “MSM Bias….WHAT Bias?!?” segment,

Cameras catch CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien reading liberal blog during debate with Romney adviser

 

CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien was recently caught on screen looking at article from a known left-wing website to assist her when debating Romney campaign senior adviser Barbara Comstock. In screen grabs posted on Newsbusters.org, O’Brien, who was filling in Anderson Cooper, can be seen reading from a piece entitled “The Myth of Paul Ryan the Bipartisan Leader” as Comstock offers her response.

The post, which was published just hours before the program began, appeared on the website Talking Points Memo. While she does not directly cite the blog, she does a read a quote from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or.) to Comstock that appears verbatim in the piece during the program. Blogger Ali A. Akbar first posted about it on Viralread.com.

On Tuesday, O’Brien and Mitt Romney surrogate John Sununu engaged in a heated debate over Medicare on “Starting Point,” where he told her “Soledad, stop this! All you’re doing is mimicking the stuff that comes out of the White House and gets repeated on the Democratic blogs boards out there. Put an Obama bumper sticker on your forehead when you do this.”

O’Brien said her figures were from unbiased information from Factcheck.org, the CBO and CNN analysis.

Which makes the WaPo, at least in Soledad’s estimation….

Romney’s right: Obamacare cuts Medicare by $716 billion.

 

….a tool of the Reactionary Right.

On the Lighter Side….

Finally, we’ll call it day with “Your Tax Dollars At Play” segment, courtesy of a….

Top General Accused of Living Large on Gov’t $$

 

Wow!  Camp cook to CO of the Africa Command in one fell swoop; bottom rail on top now, Massah!

A four-star Army general is under investigation for allegedly misusing hundreds of thousands of government dollars on travel, hotels and other unauthorized expense, Defense Department officials said Wednesday. The general has been identified as William “Kip” Ward, the first leader of the U.S. Africa Command.

Among the allegations are that Gen. Ward allowed family members and other unauthorized people to fly on government planes and that he spent excessive amounts of taxpayer dollars on hotel rooms, transportation and other expenses when he traveled as head of the Africa Command.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to decide on Ward’s military future following the release of a Defense Department inspector general’s report, which is now under legal review and is expected to be out within the next couple of weeks. Panetta could demote Ward before he is allowed to retire, effectively forcing him to retire at a lower rank and reducing his benefits.

Because Ward’s alleged offenses occurred while he was a four-star general, he could be forced to retire as a three-star, which officials said could cost him as much as $1 million in retirement pay and overtime. It was not immediately clear whether Ward also could face criminal charges or whether he will be fined. (We can only assume, like buggery, theft is no longer an offense under the UCMJ.)

Service members can retire only at the rank at which they served honorably, and a four-star general is the highest rank in the Army. The inspector general’s investigation lasted about 17 months. Ward did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Likely because he was out of cell phone range on another taxpayer-funded holiday with his buddy….

….Barack!

Magoo