domain change

I’m letting the domain nukegingrich.com go ….

The site will still be available at nukegingrich.wordpress.com

 

thanks,

nuke

Those characters at ESPN are at it again

This post is dedicated to Ole Miss haters worldwide.

 

 

An Evening with Dave

YouTube producer Rhizorator spent a lot of time putting this compilation together. And, he’s been rewarded with over 4.8 million hits.
Dave Grohl peforms acoustic versions of 15 of your favorite Foo Fighters songs.
Enjoy!

Execution Watch: John David Battaglia — Texas

By Mark R.  Execution Watch Editor

Faith: a noun meaning (among others, the most common involving a belief in a deity or a religious teaching) “confidence or trust in a person or thing”.

Liberty: a noun meaning (among others, the most common involving a government) “freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint”.

(The definitions below are taken from dictionary.reference.com)

Faith and Liberty are also the names of two young girls (ages 9 and 6, respectively), taken from this world much too soon, no thanks to Huntsville’s Pearl Harbor Day guest of (dis)honor, John David Battaglia.

Family members have killed other family members since Cain murdered Abel. And children have been the center of parental disputes since parents have had disputes. Sometimes, tragically, the two meet. But you will be hard-pressed to find a more cold-hearted family murder than that of the Battaglia children.

Battaglia had Faith and Liberty for a scheduled custody visit. But on May 2, 2001, Battaglia would place a call to his ex-wife (the girls’ mother). Battaglia would then proceed to destroy Faith’s faith and restrain Liberty’s liberty by murdering the girls while their mother overheard the murders on the phone. In Texas, killing children (especially your own) will usually get you a death sentence, and less than one year later (April 2002) that would be the punishment handed down by the jury.

All of Battaglia’s appeals have been DENIED. However, he has persistently claimed that he was suffering from bipolar disorder, and shouldn’t be executed for what he did.  He also claims that he can’t remember a thing about what happened. I have a close friend with bipolar who had issues with her ex-spouse over their daughter—but she NEVER considered killing her in revenge.

In addition to the tragic story, the bipolar angle, and that it was one of the more notorious murders to come out of Dallas, I’ve followed this case for another reason: while prisons tend to be overpopulated with school dropouts and menial laborers, Battaglia had enough education to obtain a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. As a Texas CPA licensee myself, Battaglia is a stain on our honorable profession. The wheels of justice may move slowly but the TSBPA doesn’t—roughly one year after his conviction his CPA license was REVOKED.

https://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/php/fpl/indlookup.php?x=5Rp8bo1dZ%2BE%3D

Sometime after 6PM Huntsville time Battaglia will pay for his crimes. AND—he won’t be able to have his CPA license reinstated.

Scheduled Execution:  December 7, 2016.

Remember Kids: Donald Trump isn’t just for Christmas

Moral Bankruptcy: The Obama-Clinton Digital Coup

(Found wrapped around 3 Cuban Montecristo #2 Torpedos with the address “Steve B” near the Trump Tower an hour ago.)

“GALT’S GULCH COMMUNIQUE 26—- “BATTLE OF THE ANGELS (cont/)”

As you know, what you are seeing is the resolution of an attempted coup d’etat sprung by the Obama/Hillary cabal and we are winning so far.

Fortunately, this is the first attempt at a digital coup d’etat and it is still bloodless.

Unlike a banana republic, where the trick for the rebels is to get the Air Force first and bomb the Presidential Palace and then take over the national radio, in a digital society we are winning by superior communications. And our communications are from the lowest level of scruffy websites usually given to UFO observations, to YouTube, major websites and MSM news with important stories fed to Murdoch outlets like Fox’s Herridge and Baier and the WSJ. We don’t need the government radio. Trump is strong enough now that FaceBook and Twitter are afraid to censor the huge amount of traffic we are generating lest Trump win and take reprisals.

And the MSM have impeached themselves by their coverage to date, giving bootleg sources all the more power. The American electorate no longer know where to look for authority, so they are willing to look everywhere and we are EVERYWHERE.

Ironically this is an attempted coup by the current Obama government against the electoral system itself. Having mustered the support of core Federal agencies like the CIA, Homeland Security, DOJ, and without interference from the supine press, the Obama/Hillary transition team were initially stunned by the statement we pressured out of Comey last Friday which we were only able to get because it was becoming clear to all Trump was winning.

We have DOD, NSA and strong points in various security agencies like the FBI and local police which make it possible to force them to allow the electoral process to continue.

But by Tuesday, Loretta Lynch was building a case in her DOJ issued statement by Kadzik for “a parallel DOJ investigation of the Weiner email” treasure trove that would enable her to make her own “more objective interim statement” tomorrow that so far, “there was no indication that any of the new emails would occasion any additional action by DOJ, although the process had not been completed.”

She made the fatal mistake of leaving the totally compromised Kadzik in charge of her operation, but with things happening fast, that weakness might not have mattered compared to the PR effect of her support on behalf of Hillary’s staggering campaign.

Fortunately, while Obama was able to keep Loretta Lynch from empanelling a grand jury, and hence denying Comey any ability to get proper subpoenas and bring an indictment and the same could have been the net effect of his current investigation as well, this time DOJ is not the controlling legal authority.

This investigation is being conducted by the NY Police Department as a sex crimes pursuit of the evidence on the Weiner case regarding sexual child abuse. It has its own time clock and its own validity. And the “accidental” discovery of the implication of the Clinton Foundation and key individuals in it and the Democrat Party may be pursued without regard for the concerns of DOJ. It is under the supervision of an ambitious and able US Attorney for the Southern District appointed to office by Obama himself, who also sees the likelihood of a Trump win.

As you know, what has been found so far is so outrageous, voting against Hillary will be the LEAST of the action that would occur should our information find its way into general currency before the election. And if Trump wins, as we expect, no one will want to get caught trying to hide or downplay what we have.

We must give proper credit to the courageous Julian Assange who has made it possible to coordinate all the leaks coming from loyal Americans in and out of government which have been being injected into the news on an ongoing basis.

There can scarcely be anything more foul than the Obama Administration pretense that “the Russians” were behind the Wikileaks, to discredit them in favor of their attempted coup nor that of the media who served their masters in government rather than the people in amplifying these baseless representations.

Right now our job is to continue to create enough of a FUD factor to keep the Obama/Hillary coup down with its face in the dirt, afraid that if they try anything before the election we will drop the bomb on them proving the true extent of the participation of current and former Democrat figures in this vile morass of child molesting and endangerment. They have to consider afterwards they can at least try to cut the best deals they can and try to control their exposure.

But if they go all out, I think I can guarantee all of you, it will simply be the sorry end of the Democrat Party forever. Who would want to run with the support of such a morally bankrupt entity?

So keep alert and keep your powder dry.”

JG ”

hat tip:  Thomas Lipscomb

The serenading obese female

It has been 10 years since we started The Blog.
Lotsa water under the bridge.
And now, it’s time.
See ya.

Nothing but love, y’all.

 

The War Room

Nice job Team Cruz

It’s all in the math

We have beaten the drum for years, here at the blog.

Pension security is nothing more than a math equation.  Whether you’re talking about private pension plans, multiple employer pensions, or the grandadday of them, Social Security, you cannot continue to pay existing benefits without bankrupting the fund.  It’s simple math.

It’s emotional, too.  Especially if you’re passed your optimim working age, and have made your financial plan using the rules at hand.  It’s not like you can  just jump back into the workforce.  This is a situation that we Baby Boomers are going to have to face, and overcome if our retirement years are anything like we desire.

And now, one of the nation’s largest private pensions is crying uncle.  Uncle Sam, that is.  they have applied to the US Treasury for a waiver of the rules, allowing them to reduce their pension payments.  Significant reductions:

“This is going to be a national crisis for hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions, of retirees and their families,” said Karen Friedman, executive vice president of the Pension Rights Center.

It’s the math.  You can argue with me all you want, but it doesn’t change the math.  Time to get busy, folks.  Nobody is going to do it for you.

Source

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday

Bryan Adams, principled exploitation

You may have heard that the Governor of Mississippi recently signed into law a bill which would prevent gay activists from bringing legal action against clergymen, bakers, and florists who decline to participate in homosexual weddings for deeply held religious reasons.

This kind of thinking is considered backwards and illegally discriminatory by those on the progressive left who believe that lifestyle, gender, and matrimony are matters of preference.  It really shouldn’t be much of a surprise that more consertative parts of the country would object, and would try to push back against the tide.  But to hear the Left tell it, it is morally wrong, and should be punishable by law to not allow their march to a society in which no one’s actions should be judged against the Standards which have held for centuries to continue unabated.

Enter singer Bryan Adams.  Jeff Clark has an interesting piece in the Sun Herald regarding the performer’s decision to cancel his gig in Biloxi due to the recent passing of this bill.  Supposedly, Mr. Bryan Adams was deeply offended by the bill, much like Mr. Bruce Springsteen with his recent decision regarding North Carolina’s “Bathroom Bill.”

In full disclosure, the show was not selling very well…

It was reported in March that about 1,000 tickets had been sold and about 3,000 tickets needed to be sold to break even.

It’s interesting that he would cancel a show in Biloxi because of HB 1523, yet he’s played concerts in India where it is illegal to be gay.

So, Mr. Bryan Adams, was your decision to cancel your show in Mississippi based on having your sense of justice be so deeply offended, or is this maybe a bit of opportunistic career preening, or is it just plain old poor ticket sales?

 

Execution Watch: Pablo Lucio Vasquez, Texas

submitted by Mark R. Execution Watch Editor

On April 6 we will have our second execution in a little over two weeks, and our fourth of the year, that of Pablo Vasquez.

In the Rio Grande Valley town of Donna, Texas (home of the Donna Redskins, the only Valley high school ever to win a state football championship, Class 2A in 1961) Vasquez and his then 15-year-old cousin, Andy Chapa, met 12-year-old Daniel Cardenas at a party.  They invited Cardenas to join them afterwards, then
killed him by blunt force trauma to the head (pipe and shovel) and buried his body.  Vasquez took a ring and necklace from Cardenas’ body.

From the above information (taken mostly from TDCJ’s website) this would appear to be little more a nondescript robbery-murder.  But as Paul Harvey would say, there is “the rest of the story.”  For Vasquez’ motive in killing Cardenas wasn’t robbery—it was his desire to drink Cardenas’ blood as part of an occult ritual ceremony.  (In addition to the blood, Cardenas’ body was found missing one arm and part of the other, as well as no skin on his back.)

Vasquez was found guilty and given the death penalty.  (Chapa, being under 18, was too young to be given the death penalty for his part in Cardenas’ murder.)  Along the way, a few minor issues were remanded to lower courts, but ultimately all appeals were DENIED and there do not appear to be any further appeals pending in this case.

Pablo Vasquez wanted to engage in occult practices.  Sometime after 6PM Huntsville time he may very well meet the Devil—and then it will be too late to engage in anything else.

Execution Watch: John David Battaglia, Texas

by Mark R: Execution Watch Editor

(The definitions below are taken from dictionary.reference.com)

Faith: a noun meaning (among others, the most common involving a belief in a deity or a religious teaching) “confidence or trust in a person or thing”.

Liberty: a noun meaning (among others, the most common involving a government) “freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint”.

Faith and Liberty were also the names of two young girls (ages 9 and 6, respectively), taken from this world way too soon, thanks to Huntsville’s March 30th guest of (dis)honor, John David Battaglia.

Family members have killed other family members since Cain murdered Abel.  And children have been the center of parental disputes since parents have had disputes.  Sometimes, tragically, the two meet.

But you will be hard-pressed to find a more cold-hearted family murder than that of the Battaglia children.

Battaglia had Faith and Liberty for a scheduled custody visit.  But on May 2, 2001, Battaglia would place a call to his ex-wife (the girls’ mother).  Battaglia would then proceed to destroy Faith’s faith and restrain Liberty’s liberty by murdering the girls while their mother overheard the murders on the phone.

In Texas, killing children (especially your own) will usually get you a death sentence, and less than one year later (April 2002) that would be the punishment handed down by the jury.

All of Battaglia’s appeals have been DENIED.  However, he has persistently claimed that he was suffering from bipolar disorder, and shouldn’t be executed for what he did (he also claims that he can’t remember a thing about what happened).  I have a close friend with bipolar who had issues with her ex-spouse over their daughter—but she NEVER considered killing her in revenge.

In addition to the tragic story, the bipolar angle, and that it was one of the more notorious murders to come out of Dallas, I’ve followed this case for another reason:  while prisons tend to be overpopulated with school dropouts and menial laborers, Battaglia had enough education to obtain a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.  As a Texas CPA licensee myself, Battaglia is a stain on our honorable profession.  The wheels of justice may move slowly but the TSBPA doesn’t—roughly one year after his conviction his CPA license was REVOKED.

https://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/php/fpl/indlookup.php?x=5Rp8bo1dZ%2BE%3D

Sometime after 6PM Huntsville time, Wednesday evening, Battaglia will pay for his crimes.  AND—he won’t be able to have his CPA license reinstated.

Photo credit http://www.cncpunishment.com

 

Foreign Policy: Trump vs Obama

Yesterday, in the close aftermath of the Isis bombing in Pakistan, Donald Trump made one of the more incredibly grandiose claims of this incredibly bizarre campaign season:  that only he could solve the war with Isis.

“I alone,” he boasted.

In this regard, he is so much like the Obama of 2008 that it is downright scary.

Almost eight years ago to the date, at a San Francisco fundraiser, Obama said, “…foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain.”

After belittling Mrs. Clinton’s experience as First Lady as being ceremonial fluff, Obama went on to say that among the three candidates for President, only he could pass the 3 a.m. Leadership Test. Indeed, he alone possessed “the judgment, the temperament to ask the right questions, to weigh the costs and benefits of military action, who insists on good intelligence, who is not going to be swayed by the short-term politics.”  source

What a piece of work.

And as for the ultimate foreign policy test, the one John Kerry called, “passing the Global Test,” Obama proposed a diplomatic Manhattan Project of sorts, with Iran’s Mahmoud Amadinejad. The same Ahmadinejad who said his country’s objective was to destroy what he called corrupt western powers:  source

“Our objective is to annihilate all corrupt powers that dominate our planet today,”

We  all know how that turned out.  Let me ask you, does anyone, other than the Obama administration, believe that the world is now safer place with the infamous “Iran Deal” in place?

Somehow, taking a college trip to Pakistan, living in Indonesia for four years as a child, and having poor relatives in Africa convinced Obama that he had the necessary gravitas to engage in foreign policy on behalf of the world’s only superpower.

Obama’s grandiosity surpasses mere cockiness and is unseemly, if not dangerous. That same grandiosity is exactly what I saw in Trump’s tweet about the Isis attacks on Christians in Pakistan.  Their rhetoric is different, but their over-confidence in their own unproven abilities is strikingly similar.

He Is Risen

Vietnam Reflections: Patrick Lynn Blair

 

The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.
Calvin Coolidge

Patrick Lynn Blair: Not Just A Name On The Wall (originally published 5/28/2007)

I just re-read N2L’s tribute to his old friend Pat Blair, and I invite you to do the same.  I remember N2L telling me that his tribute was read aloud at his 45th high school reunion.  It was a touching, poignant moment.  Not a dry eye in the house.

Yesterday, I received a note from one of the administrators of the Facebook site “Vietnam Reflections – Fallen Heroes.”  He told me that they had recently published a tribute to Pat, and he invited our readers to visit.  Here is the link, and an excerpt:

SERGEANT PATRICK LYNN BLAIR WAS BORN ON 26 MAY 1949. HE GREW UP IN THE SMALL TOWN OF MARSHALL, TEXAS. HE WORKED IN HIS SPARE TIME AND HE LOVED BASEBALL AND WAS VERY COMPETITIVE IN LITTLE LEAGUE AND THEN THE BABE RUTH LEAGUE..HE GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL A SEMESTER EARLY AND ENLISTED IN THE ARMY IN EARLY 1968.HE CAME BACK FOR HIS GRADUATION 1 JUNE 1968. HE HAD MISSED THE SIMPLE LIFE OF A SMALL TOWN AND HIS MOTHER’S HOME COOKING.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the fine folks at Vietnam Reflections for remembering our fallen heroes in such a noble fashion.  I invite all of our readers to drop by and show your support of their efforts by joining this group.

Execution Watch: Adam Kelly Ward, Texas

by Mark R. Execution Watch Editor

March 22 brings us our second execution of the month, this time that of Adam Ward (no, not either of the actors in the old Batman series; that was Adam West and Burt Ward).  Commerce isn’t the place you would expect a capital murder to occur; usually the police only have to deal with out of control frat parties at Texas A&M—Commerce. Unfortunately, underneath the general calmness of daily life in a college town, the simmering of a pot about to blow was taking place.

The City of Commerce and the Ward family (Adam and his father Ralph) had been in a long-standing dispute over numerous code violations on the Ward property. The Wards claimed that the City was engaged in a conspiracy against them; the City countered that the property resembled something you would see on the TV series Hoarders.

But the feud between the parties would turn tragic shortly after 10 AM local time on June 13, 2005, when Code Enforcement Officer Michael “Pee Wee” Walker would go to the Ward property to take pictures of still more code violations. Walker would be met with multiple rounds of gunfire from Adam (before Ralph managed to get the gun away from Adam). In another tragic twist, the first responder at the scene was none other than Walker’s father Dick, who would watch his son die in his arms.

As Walker was a member of the Commerce Police Department, Ward would be charged with capital murder (murder of a peace officer and known to be such by the defendant). In Texas, that’s usually the fastest way to get a death sentence, and in June 2007 that would be the punishment handed down by the jury.

Ralph Ward would later enter into a settlement with Walker’s family, agreeing (without admitting fault) to pay the children $26,000 each plus the costs of Walker’s funeral and attorney’s fees. The City would later provide police protection to any city employee (even meter readers) going to the Ward property. (Walker’s father would later sue the City, on behalf of himself and the children, claiming that the City knew of the dangers but did nothing to protect Walker; I have no information on the outcome of that suit.)

All of Ward’s appeals have been DENIED; however, numerous appeals have been filed claiming he is mentally ill (bi-polar disorder) and therefore should not be executed. I know someone with bi-polar and she absolutely rejects any and all conspiracy theories. There are many sad stories in this case. Ralph Ward’s conspiracy-fueled rants led to him having to pay thousands of dollars to Officer Walker’s family—and he will have to see his son die before him. Dick Walker (who has managed to forgive Adam) had to see his own son die in his arms. Officer Walker’s children have grown up without their father. The City had to spend more taxpayer money to provide police protection for city employees who had to visit the Ward property—police who could have been working to prevent or solve other crimes.

And Adam Ward—only 22 when he fired the fatal shots—will die at 33, way before his time. But he could have chosen to reject the rantings of an unstable parent—he didn’t, though, and sometime after 6PM Huntsville time he will have to pay for his failure to choose wisely.

If we yield, we lose

I am very disappointed in my chosen candidate, Ted Cruz, for his opportunism in blaming Donald Trump for the violence in Chicago last night.  I present, for your consideration, these words which sum up my feelings perfectly:

A guest post by a friend of the blog

“To those that blame Trump, understand that the left has been ginning up anger like this for years. You can start with The Haymarket Affair in Chicago in 1886 and go straight thru to today. Each decade has something. In the old days it was labor strikes and destroying factories. Then in the 60s it was antiwar protests. Rodney King riots left 50+ dead. Occupy had over 7000 arrests. Wisconsin Statehouse. Ferguson and Baltimore led to BLM.

In all cases the Agitprop tactic is the same. Complain, play victim, stir up physical violence as justified by “intolerable conditions”. “No Justice no Peace”, etc. Push until the right reacts, then play martyr. If you look at Kent State, for example, those protestor were out there for days throwing rocks before a cop lost it and shot back.

So here we are. After thousands of tea party rallies, without any violence or threats of violence from the right, and with dozens of Trump rallies invaded by increasingly threatening protestors, the left finally got what they want. Video of a few Trump supporters hurling insults, throwing exactly one punch, and a grainy shot where a Trump staffer “grabbed the arm” of a reporter for 2 video frames.

Oh, the horror.

And now the left wing Agitprop machine will go into higher gear. To say that this is the Right’s fault or Trump’s fault is to say that Agitprop terrorism works and we can never fight back and must always yield. And we have yielded and grown smaller and smaller. Crybullies regularly shut down speech on campus and conservatives need guards to speak.
Note that Agitprop is what the Palestinians do with “Pallywood” and when they hurl rocks or rockets until they one gets shot and then complain they are oppressed. “Liberation from Oppression”. When you see that on signs, know that’s Marxist Speak 101. …

This is left wing Agitprop. Terrorism and propaganda combined. It’s as old as the hills. It’s how they get what they want. What this all signals – from the way the tea party was portrayed as violent in the media even when it wasn’t, to today – is that any pushback from us on the right WILL be met with this Agitprop technique:  Cries of oppression, amped up agitation and fake martyrs.

If we yield we lose, period.”

 

I hung my head

Early one morning /With time to kill /I borrowed Jebb’s rifle /And sat on the hill
I saw a lone rider /Crossing the plain /I drew a bead on him /To practise my aim
My brother’s rifle /Went off in my hand /A shot rang out /Across the land
The horse, he kept running /The rider was dead /I hung my head /I hung my head

Just sitting here on a Friday night, missing my bud N2L.

Execution Watch: Coy Wayne Wesbrook, Texas

by Mark R. Execution Watch Editor

It is said that March comes in like a lion.  This Wednesday it may be roaring in Huntsville with the execution of Coy Wesbrook (subject to a stay which may come, as explained below).

From Channelview (the place that gave us the sordid tale of the Pom Pom Mom) comes another tale right out of a novel from a sleazy bookstore.  The anti’s are arguing that Wesbrook isn’t all right in the head, and after reading this story it’s clear his elevator shaft may not have made it to the top floor, but there are other things to consider.

On November 13, 1997, Wesbrook goes over to the residence of Gloria Jean coons, his (second, as further discussed below) ex-wife, after she contacts him for an attempt at “marital reconciliation”.  When he gets over there, he finds three other men (Antonio Cruz, Anthony Ray Rogers, and Kelly Halzip) and either one (Diana Ruth Money) or two other females (depending on the source) at the house.  As none of the other parties identified themselves as clergy or otherwise there to assist in the
reconciliation, instead of figuring out that something is amiss and quickly departing, he hangs around and begins drinking with them.

Sometime during his visit Wesbrook discovers that his wife and two of the men weren’t around; he goes into a bedroom and finds them engaged in a threesome.  Wesbrook proceeds to do what any heartbroken man would do—he goes out to his truck, gets his hunting rifle, and kills her and the three other men (again, depending on the source, either Money was killed and the other not present when Wesbrook killed the others, Money was killed and the other survived, or the only woman present was Money).

There was plenty of evidence of future dangerousness:  in addition to the multiple murders Wesbrook 1) cut the phone lines of Coons, 2) attempted to burn down his residence after being evicted by his landlord (I own rental properties but never had any tenant this bad), 3) sought to have his FIRST ex-wife and her husband killed, and 4) sought to have three other people killed (which was brought out at trial by a jailhouse snitch).  The jury sentenced Wesbrook to death, and his initial round of appeals was  DENIED.

But during the punishment phase the State called Dr. George Denkowski as an expert witness on Wesbrook’s future dangerousness.  However, in April 2011 Denkowski entered into a settlement agreement with the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, whereby he agreed to a reprimand AND further “agreed to not accept any engagement to perform forensic psychological services in the evaluation of subjects for mental retardation or intellectual disability in criminal proceedings”.

Wesbrook requested that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, on its own motion, reopen the case.  TCCA did in April 2012 by remanding the case to the trial court “to allow it the opportunity to re-evaluate its initial findings, conclusions, and recommendation in light of the Denkowski Settlement Agreement”.  The trial court, in September 2014, recommended that relief be DENIED, and TCCA so agreed in January 2015.  (At this point there is nothing further in terms of appellate decisions; the Denkowski issue could end up putting this whole thing on hold.)

Wesbrook’s ex was clearly no saint.  And if he had only killed her and the other two men in the threesome you could have argued a crime of passion and probably shown mercy.  But there were two others there that weren’t doing it yet they died too.  And his other actions show criminal intent.

So this is another thug who is due his.

 

 Coy  Wayne Wesbrook

Born: February 1, 1958 (age 58), Houston, TX

Criminal penalty: Capital punishment

Killed: 5

Leap Day: Super Tuesday Eve

Have you had a boss like Donald Trump before?

All they care about is the bottom line, and looking good in the process.  That’s not a necessarily a bad thing in the private sector.  It can be taken to extremes like anything.  The bottom line becoming so important that fraud ensues:  Enron and Worldcom come to mind.  But, a results-oriented boss is generally a successful boss, because they are driven to succeed.  And, they drive their employees to succeed.

The boss I had was also like Trump in the way of being, well, thin-skinned.  You had to walk on egg shells around him.  He didn’t take criticism very well, and was not open to suggestions on anything that was counter to his pre-determined path.  His way or the highway.  You know the type.

Bu what bothers me about Trump as a Presidential candidate is the Constitution.  Trump’s style doesn’t lend itself to be willing to have his Executive power limited by the Constitution.  Case in point:  Two days ago, Trump said that he would “open up the libel laws” to allow an easier path to gain monetary awards.  The fact that the President doesn’t make the law aside, rewriting the interpretation of the First Amendment by the Court is not within the the power of the presidency.  Making a statement like this makes Trump look like a tinhorn, petty bully.

A boss in the private sector can do most anything he wants, as long as he meets his goals, keeps his superiors happy, and operates within the law.  This is the realm that Trump excels.  He has never had to deal with an entrenched bureacracy,  not to mention a possibly intransigent Congress, and a possibly hostile Court.  The expectations of a Trump Presidency will be unnaturally high, setting up a YUGE disappointment.

Super Tuesday is tomorrow.  I’m hopeful for a Cruz victory in Texas, a good showing across the South, and a further winnowing of the field.  Losing the Sessions endorsement yesterday had a real sting.  Maybe Jeff was telling Ted that he doesn’t think Ted’s quite ready yet.  I don’t know.  But it hurt nonetheless.  Head to head, I think Cruz has a chance to beat Trump.  A small chance granted, but a chance.

Cruz 2016. Because Conservatism Matters.  Because the Constitution Matters!

 

 

 

 

How much does Lindsey Graham hate Ted Cruz?

Well, let me put it this way:

If Lindsey Graham had a gun with two bullets, and he was locked in a room with Osama Bin Laden, Adolph Hitler, and Ted Cruz, he would shoot Cruz, twice!

From the Batshit-crazy wing of the GOPe, former presidential candidate Lindsey Graham just keeps on spewing craziness.

“If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.”

Ted Cruz hasn’t spent a lot of time in DC courting the ruling class, and it shows.

 

Venezuela burns: Nobody Cares

by Francisco Toro, Caracas Chronicles

The game changed in Venezuela last night. What had been a slow-motion unravelling that had stretched out over many years went kinetic all of a sudden.

What we have this morning is no longer the Venezuela story you thought you understood.

Throughout last night, panicked people told their stories of state-sponsored paramilitaries on motorcycles roaming middle class neighborhoods, shooting at people and  storming into apartment buildings, shooting at anyone who seemed like he might be protesting.

People continue to be arrested merely for protesting, and a long established local Human Rights NGO makes an urgent plea for an investigation into widespread reports of torture of detainees. There are now dozens of serious human right abuses: National Guardsmen shooting tear gas canisters directly into residential buildings. We have videos of soldiers shooting civilians on the street.

And that’s just what came out in real time, over Twitter and YouTube, before any real investigation is carried out. Online media is next, a city of 645,000 inhabitants has been taken off the internet amid mounting repression, and this blog itself has been the object of a Facebook “block” campaign.

What we saw were not “street clashes”, what we saw is a state-hatched offensive to suppress and terrorize its opponents.

Here at Caracas Chronicles we’re doing what it can to document the crisis, but there’s only so much one tiny, zero-budget blog can do.

After the major crackdown on the streets of large (and small) Venezuelan cities last night, I expected some kind of response in the major international news outlets this morning. I understand that with an even bigger and more photogenic freakout ongoing in an even more strategically important country, we weren’t going to be front-page-above-the-fold, but I’m staggered this morning to wake up, scan the press and find…

Nothing.

read more

If ever a case were to be made for the 2nd Amendment, it is being made right now in the streets of Venezuela.  Soldiers shooting civilians in their homes, on the streets, in open view of the public:  somehow, I believe they would not be doing so if the Venezuelans had the ability to offer armed resistance.

Socialism: 100 years of failure means nothing.

Wake up, America.

Execution Watch: Special Report

by Mark R. Execution Watch Editor

Execution Watch:  SPECIAL REPORT–Upcoming Texas Executions

TDCJ has been fairly active so far in 2016 with three executions already carried out. And this year could be among the busiest in recent memory, with TEN more scheduled through July.

According to the TDCJ Death Row site, the following executions are scheduled (subject to successful last minute stays):

Date: March 2

Offender: Coy Wayne Wesbrook

Summary of Offense: Murdered Gloria Jean Coons (his ex-wife) and three other men (Antonio Cruz, Anthony Ray Rogers, and Kelly Hazlip).  TDCJ states a female at the residence was shot, C&CP Forum states that she also died (Diana Ruth Money).  In a tale only Channelview (home of the Pom Pom Mom) could provide, Wesbrook went over to his ex-wife’s residence for an attempted “marital reconciliation”, only to find three men and a female there.  He later found her in a threesome, so he did what any heartbroken man would do–go out to his truck, get his hunting rifle, and start shooting everyone.

Date: March 22

Offender: Adam Kelly Ward

Summary of Offense: Murdered Michael “Pee Wee” Walker, a Commerce Code Enforcement Officer, while Officer Walker was taking pictures of code violations outside Ward’s home.  The Wards (Adam and father Ralph) had been in a running feud with the City of Commerce over the condition of the Wards’ property–the Wards claiming the City was harassing them unfairly; the City claiming that the Wards’ property resembled something from the TV show Hoarders.  The City would later settle with Officer Walker’s father (a first responder who watch his son die in his arms) and children over complaints that Walker was sent into a dangerous situation without adequate backup.

Date: March 30

Offender: John David Battaglia

Summary of Offense: Murdered Faith and Liberty Battaglia (his daughters) over a custody dispute.  In one of the most sickening and heartbreaking stories in recent years, Battaglia gets the daughters for a custody visit, then calls their mother on the phone and proceeds to kill them while she overhears everything.  The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy has already revoked Battaglia’s CPA license (as a CPA myself this is a stain on our honorable profession).

Date: April 6

Offender: Pablo Lucio Vasquez

Summary of Offense: Along with co-defendant Andy Chapa, murdered Daniel Cardenas (age 12).  Although they stole some of Cardenas’ property, the main reason for his murder was so Vasquez could engage in the Satanic ritual of drinking Cardenas’ blood.

Date: April 27

Offender: Robert Lynn Pruett

Summary of Offense: While incarcerated at the McConnell Unit and serving a life sentence for murder with a deadly weapon, Pruett killed TDCJ Correctional Officer Daniel Nagle.

Date: May 11

Offender: Terry Darnell Edwards

Summary of Offense: Going back to a former restaurant where he was employed, Edwards killed the store manager (Tommy Walker) and another employee (Mickell Goodwin) during a robbery.

Date: June 2

Offender: Charles Don Flores

Summary of Offense: Along with co-defendant Richard Lynn Childs, Flores murdered Elizabeth Black (age 64) at her home in Farmers Branch during a robbery.  (They didn’t find any money.)

Date: June 21

Offender: Robert Leslie Roberson III

Summary of Offense: Struck and killed Nikki Curtis, his two-year-old daughter.  Not only is Roberson an example of the failed prison revolving door (during a 10-year stretch he would be out on parole three times, returned twice for violating parole–the first time with two additional charges, then incarcerated for this crime), evidence showed he molested his daughter as well.  (Had he been placed in general population he would likely be dead by now.)

Date: July 14

Offender: Perry Eugene Williams

Summary of Offense: Along with three others, Williams abducted and murdered Matthew Carter, a first-year student at Baylor College of Medicine, while he was returning a video to a Houston video store.

Date: July 27:

Offender: Rolando (a/k/a Roland) Ruiz, Jr.

Summary of Offense: Ruiz was the triggerman in a murder-for-hire plot where he killed Theresa Rodriguez so her husband could collect life insurance proceeds.  The tale would be otherwise non-descript (other than he also received a 2-year sentence for assaulting a Bexar County jailer as well), except that her husband (who received a life sentence) was Michael Rodriguez, later to become one of the notorious Texas 7 (and the first of them to be executed).

Mr. Trump’s Mandate

An interesting moment in last night’s CNN Townhall with GOP candidate Donald J. Trump occurred during his discussion of Obamacare, and his plans for an alternate health care strategy.  Let’s cut to the video:

 

The most contentious provision of Obamacare is the mandate that everyone be covered or be subject to a fine.  In fact, the legal gymnastics undergone by Chief Justice John Roberts that the mandate was actually a tax, and therefore legal, has provided Mr. Trump with the basis for his criticism of Ted Cruz as the erstwhile sponsor of Roberts during the nomination hearings.

But, here we are, in Donald’s own words saying, “I LIKE THE MANDATE.” (emphasis mine).  I asked a FB friend and true Trump believer about this, and he denied Trump said anything of the kind.  IKR.

A truly been a remarkable primary season, indeed.

 

This is the World Famous Friday Open Thread:  A Free Speech Zone.

 

WFFOT:  #CruzOrLose