delta22

This is very interesting. Please include me in the cc when you forward it to your friends. Don't forget to change the subject line in the e-mail and don't cheat!! No cheating. If all of the eight desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose (sorry, you can only pick one)! Pick your dessert, and then look to see what psychiatrists think about your pick as it relates to you. REMEMBER - Make your choice before you check the meaning. After taking this dessert personality test, send this e-mail on to others, but when you do, be sure to put your choice of dessert in the subject box above. ALSO, SEND IT TO THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO YOU. DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR DESSERT CHOICE IN THE SUBJECT BOX BEFORE YOU FORWARD IT. Here are your choices: 1. Angel Food Cake 2. Brownies 3. Lemon Meringue Pie 4. Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Icing 5. Strawberry Short Cake 6. Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Icing 7. Ice Cream 8. Carrot Cake No, you can't change your mind once you scroll down, so think carefully about what your choice will be. Now that you've made your choice, this is what the researchers say about you..... SCROLL DOWN---No Cheating 1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times. 2. BROWNIES -- You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal. 3. LEMON MERINGUE -- Smooth, fun, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent caregiver and a good teacher.... But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style because you do your own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others and have many friends. 4. VANILLA CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lacking motivation... Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad? However, you are a friend for life... 5. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE -- Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen. You can be very emotional at times but a true person in every way. You like to do things for yourself and help others learn about themselves. 6. CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING-- vivacious, always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh. 7. ICE CREAM -- You like sports, whether it is baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports.. You don't like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance. 8. CARROT CAKE -- You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with... People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends. You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model. TRY THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS........INCLUDING ME! DON'T FORGET - PUT YOUR CHOICE OF DESSERT IN 'SUBJECT BOX' ABOVE BEFORE YOU FORWARD.

From a show on Canadian TV, there was a black comedian who said he misses Bill Clinton. "Yep, that's right-I miss Bill Clinton! He was the closest thing we ever got to having a real black man as President. Number 1 - He played the sax. Number 2 - He smoked weed. Number 3 - He had his way with ugly white women. Even now? Look at him...his wife works, and he doesn't! And, he gets a check from the government every month. Manufacturers announced today that they will be stocking America's shelves this week with "Clinton Soup," in honor of one of the nations' distinguished men. It consists primarily of a weenie in hot water. Chrysler Corporation is adding a new car to its line to honor Bill Clinton. The Dodge Drafter will be built in Canada. When asked what he thought about foreign affairs, Clinton replied, "I don't know, I never had one." The Clinton revised judicial oath: "I solemnly swear to tell the truth as I know it, the whole truth as I believe it to be, and nothing but what I think you need to know." Clinton will be recorded in history as the only President to do Hanky Panky between the Bushes." ... ya gotta love it!

A Polish man moved to the USA and married an American girl. Although his English was far from perfect, they got along very well. One day he rushed into a lawyer's office and asked him if he could arrange a divorce for him. The lawyer said that getting a divorce would depend on the circumstances, and asked him the following questions: Have you any grounds? Yes, an acre and half and nice little home. No, I mean what is the foundation of this case? It made of concrete. I don't think you understand.. Does either of you have a real grudge? No, we have carport, and not need one. I mean what are your relations like? All my relations still in Poland . Is there any infidelity in your marriage? We have hi-fidelity stereo and good DVD player. Does your wife beat you up? No, I always up before her. Is your wife a nagger? No, she white. Why do you want this divorce? She going to kill me. What makes you think that? I got proof. What kind of proof? She going to poison me.. She buy a bottle at drugstore and put on shelf in bathroom. I can read... it say: ~~~Polish Remover~~~

<br clear="all">Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!' Hunter S. Thompson I handed the teller @ my bank a withdrawal slip for $400.00 I said "May I have large bills, please" She looked at me and said "I'm sorry sir, all the bills are the same size." When I got up off the floor I explained it to her.... IDIOT SIGHTING When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'it's open!' His reply: 'I know. I already got that side.' This was at the Ford dealership in Canton, MS IDIOT SIGHTING We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, 'NO, it's not..' Four is larger than two.' We haven't used Sears repair since. IDIOT SIGHTING My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, 'you gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back. She sighed and went to get the manager, who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said 'We're sorry but we could not do that kind of thing.' The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and 75 cents in change. Do not confuse the clerks at McD's. IDIOT SIGHTING I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.' From Kingman , KS IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceburg lettuce. -- From Kansas City IDIOT SIGHTING I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?' He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.' Happened in Birmingham , Ala. IDIOT SIGHTING The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!' She was a probation officer in Wichita , KS IDIOT SIGHTING At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker who was leaving the company due to 'downsizing,' our manager commented cheerfully, 'This is fun. We should do this more often.' Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare. This was a lunch at Texas Instruments. IDIOT SIGHTING I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on. A deputy with the Dallas County Sheriffs office, no less. IDIOT SIGHTING How would you pronounce this child's name? "Le-a" Leah?? NO Lee - A?? NOPE Lay - a?? NO Lei?? Guess Again. This child attends a school in Kansas City, Mo. Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong. It's pronounced "Ledasha". When the Mother was asked about the pronunciation of the name, she said, "the dash don't be silent." SO, if you see something come across your desk like this please remember to pronounce the dash. If dey axe you why, tell dem de dash don't be silent. STAY ALERT! They walk among us...... THEY REPRODUCE

A sad day for downhill skier Lindsey Vonn...... I find this so sad. She truly earned this medal... American Lindsey Vonn has had to forfeit her Gold Medal on Friday, April 1, 2011. The International Olympic Committee announced today that it has taken back the gold medal previously awarded to American skier Lindsey Vonn and given it to U.S. President Barack Obama. Olympic officials said Obama deserved the medal more than Vonn because no one has ever gone downhill faster than he has.

An airport police officer stands guard at the scene where a shooting took place in Mexico City's international airport on Monday, June 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's federal police have replaced all 348 officers assigned to security details at the Mexico City International Airport in the wake of the June 25 shooting deaths of three federal policemen killed by fellow officers believed to be involved in trafficking drugs through the terminal. Federal Police regional security chief Luis Cardenas Palomino said the police agents have been reassigned to different states. They have been replaced by federal police who have passed double vetting and background checks. One of the three officers sought in the shooting has been captured. Two others are still at large. Cardenas Palomino said Sunday there is a reward of 3.4 million pesos, or $259,000, for information leading to their arrest. The rogue officers were allegedly part of a trafficking ring that flew in cocaine from Peru.

Throughout this presidential election cycle, we've heard attacks on the business practices of Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Mitt Romney in 1984. Most recently, a political action committee that supports the re-election of President Obama released an ad featuring Joe Soptic, a former steelworker who lost his job, and hence health insurance for himself and his family, after the closing of the Bain-owned plant where he worked. Soptic's wife subsequently died of cancer; in the ad, he blames Bain and Romney for the fact that she didn't get care in time to detect and treat her disease. "I don't know how long she was sick," Soptic says, "and I think maybe she didn't say anything because she knew that we couldn't afford the insurance." The ad's veracity has been questioned (and defended), but evidence of Bain's deleterious impact on workers continues to surface. In the most recent news in that vein, The Guardian reports that Bain has for months been dismantling and shipping to China, "piece by piece," a car parts plant, of which it is majority owner, in Freeport, Ill. -- even as it requires the workers to train personally their Chinese replacements, who have been flown in by management. "It's not easy to get up in the morning, training them to do your job so that you can be made unemployed," Bonnie Borman told the paper. Borman, 52, has worked at the Sensata auto sensors plant for 23 years. She has three children and predicts that soon, "I am going to be competing for minimum wage jobs with my own daughter." Although Romney left Bain around the turn of the century -- pinpointing the exact year is difficult, which has itself become a source of controversy -- he maintains financial ties to the company, receiving millions of dollars annually in profits from buyout and investment funds. Which means that Romney stands to gain if Bain's plan to cut costs at Sensata by eliminating U.S. jobs succeeds in increasing profitability. Needless to say, such an arrangement strikes the company's current employees as deeply unjust. "I understand business needs to make a profit," Tom Gualrapp told The Guardian. "But this product has always made a ton of money. it's just that they think it is not enough money. They are greedy." Gaulrapp, 54, is a 33 year veteran of the plant, and says that homelessness "is a real possibility" in his near future. Bain has already quadrupled its initial 2006 investment in Sensata, The Guardian says. The closing of the Freeport plant will cost the city 170 well-paying jobs, further damaging an already enfeebled economy. The process of transferring the machinery to China will be complete by the end of the year. Still, the workers are keeping up the fight to save their livelihoods. Having already hand-delivered a letter asking for Romney's support to campaign headquarters in Madison, Wis., they're now planning to protest at the Republican National Convention, to be held in Tampa, Fla., at the end of the month. Attacks on Bain Capital have been controversial: Democrats including Newark Mayor Corey Booker, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and former President Bill Clinton have expressed their discomfort with the way the Obama campaign has impugned the morality of the private equity business. But the critiques are starting to gather momentum as the human toll of Bain's business practices becomes increasingly obvious: Writing about the deal that left Joe Soptic embittered and bereft, Bloomberg's William D. Cohan (no socialist; a former investment banker, in fact) asks, "Is there any fairness in a system where a group of people can borrow a bunch of money to buy a company and pay themselves millions of dollars in dividends and fees, while the company itself ends up bankrupt and its employees lose their jobs, health insurance and pensions?"

STEVENSON, Ala. -- James Davis is fighting to keep the remains of his late wife right where he dug her grave: In the front yard of his home, just a few feet from the porch. Davis said he was only abiding by Patsy Ruth Davis' wishes when he buried her outside their log home in 2009, yet the city sued to move the body elsewhere. A county judge ordered Davis to disinter his wife, but the ruling is on hold as the Alabama Civil Court of Appeals considers his challenge. Davis, 73, said he never expected such a fight. "Good Lord, they've raised pigs in their yard, there's horses out the road here in a corral in the city limits, they've got other gravesites here all over the place," said Davis. "And there shouldn't have been a problem." While state health officials say family burial plots aren't uncommon in Alabama, city officials worry about the precedent set by allowing a grave on a residential lot on one of the main streets through town. They say state law gives the city some control over where people bury their loved ones and have cited concerns about long-term care, appearance, property values and the complaints of some neighbors. "We're not in the 1800s any longer," said city attorney Parker Edmiston. "We're not talking about a homestead, we're not talking about someone who is out in the country on 40 acres of land. Mr. Davis lives in downtown Stevenson." A strong libertarian streak runs through northeast Alabama, which has relatively few zoning laws to govern what people do with their property. Even a neighbor who got into a fight with Davis over the gravesite – Davis said he punched the man – isn't comfortable with limiting what a homeowner can do with his property. "I don't think it's right, but it's not my place to tell him he can't do it," said George W. Westmoreland, 79, who served three tours of duty in Vietnam. "I laid my life on the line so he would have the right to do this. This is what freedom is about." Westmoreland declined to discuss his specific objections to the grave. It's unclear when the appeals court might rule. Attorneys filed initial papers in the appeal on Friday. The decision could come down to whether the judges believe the front-yard grave constitutes a family plot that requires no approval or a cemetery, which would. In the meantime, Davis has protested by running for City Council. A campaign sign hangs near a bigger sign in his yard that says: "Let Patsy Rest in Peace." A law professor who is familiar with the case said it's squarely at the intersection of personal rights and government's power to regulate private property. While disputes over graves in peoples' yards might be rare, lawsuits over the use of eminent domain actions and zoning restrictions are becoming more common as the U.S. population grows, said Joseph Snoe, who teaches property law at Samford University in suburban Birmingham. "The United States Supreme Court has said that the states, and the cities through the states, have the power to regulate. But if it goes too far ... then the government's got to pay, and there are certain things the government just doesn't have the power to do," he said. "As we get bigger and as government gets bigger and as people are more regulated ... you start having more and more disagreements." Davis, a longtime carpenter, built the family's home on a corner on Broad Street about 30 years ago in Stevenson, a town of about 2,600 in northeast Alabama. Once a bustling railroad stop, the city is now so quiet some people don't bother locking their doors. Stars twinkle brightly in the night sky; there aren't many lights to blot them out. Davis first met Patsy when she was a little girl. They were married for 48 years, but she spent most of her final days bedridden with crippling arthritis. Seated on a bench beside her marble headstone and flower-covered grave, Davis said he and his wife planned to have their bodies cremated until she revealed she was terrified by the thought. "She said this is where she wanted to be and could she be put here, and I told her, `Yeah,'" Davis said. "I didn't think there'd be any problem." There was, though. A big one. After his wife died on April 18, 2009, the City Council rejected Davis' request for a cemetery permit. The decision came even though the county health department signed off on the residential burial, saying it wouldn't cause any sanitation problems. Ignoring the council's decision, Davis said he and a son-in-law cranked a backhoe and dug a grave just a few feet from the house. A mortuary installed a concrete vault, and workers lowered Patsy's body into the plot in a nice, metal casket. The city sued, and the case went to trial early this year. That's when a judge ordered Davis to move his wife's remains to a licensed cemetery. That order is on hold to give the state appeals court time to rule. For now, Davis visits his wife's grave each time he walks out the front door. He puts fresh artificial flowers on it regularly, and he washes off the marker when raindrops splatter dirt on the gray stone. At Christmas, he said, he and other relatives hold a little prayer vigil around the grave, which is beside an old wooden garage. Edmiston said the man rejected several compromises from the city, including the offer of two plots in the municipal graveyard. While state officials say they don't know how many people might be buried on residential lots in Alabama, burials on private property in Alabama are not uncommon, said Sherry Bradley, deputy environmental director for the state Department of Public Health. While the state can regulate cemeteries, Bradley said it doesn't have any control over family burial plots. The city contends the grave at Davis' home is an illegal cemetery that falls under government oversight, said Edmiston, the city lawyer. If nothing else, Edmiston said, the appeals court might decide what constitutes a "family burial plot" in Alabama, and what's a cemetery. "It would be far-reaching if they say anyone can bury someone in their front yard if there are no drainage issues," he said. As it is, Davis said his five children will bury him in the yard beside Patsy after he dies, and they and his 15 grandchildren will care for the property from then on. "That's my perpetual care," said Davis, referring to the city's worry about what the grave will look like after he dies. Davis is adamant that he won't move the body, regardless of what any court says. "If they get it done it'll be after I'm gone," said Davis. "So if they order her to be moved, it's a death sentence to me. I'll meet Mama sooner than I planned on it."

Google recently launched a project to map out the flow of small arms, light weapons and ammunition transfers in and out of countries around the world. The result: An interactive visualization that lets the user examine the history of arms trading between 1992 and 2010. The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), a Norwegian initiative focused on the dealing of small arms, provided information for the undertaking, including "[m]ore than 1 million data points on imports and exports [...] across 250 states and territories," according to a post on the Google Blog. The project was developed by Google’s Creative Lab and the Brazil-based Igarape Institute. The tool allows the user to search by country and view where imports come from and where exports go each year; it also shows how much each country spends and receives as a result of this trade. Civilian and military purchases are displayed as well. (Note: The Google Blog defines "light weapons" as revolvers, assault rifles and light machine guns. The blog also states that "three quarters of the world’s small arms lie in the hand of civilians -- more than 650 million civilian arms.") Looking only at the United States, we can see that in 1992 the amount of small arms and ammo imported ($272 million) and exported ($455 million) pale in comparison to 2010's figures ($955 million imported; $606 million exported). Forbes examined the United States' traffic flow of small arms and noticed that "[o]ver half a billion of those [import] dollars went to civilian weapons. [...] Among the exporters that stand out, $151 millions dollars worth came from Brazil, $45 million from Republic of Korea, $92 million from the Russian Federation, $46 million from Israel." However, the global figures aren't perfect. The Igarape Institute points out in a PDF (viewable here) that the dataset used to produce this visualization is incomplete. Among some of the limitations listed are the following: [L]arge producing countries frequently censor reporting on military style light weapons and small arms while other less developed countries may lack the capacity to monitor and record all arms shipments. It is possible to assess the transparency of country reporting at small arms survey barometer. [...] Due to weak or non-existent reporting, the MAD visualization tool provides an incomplete assessment of overall flows of small arms, light weapons and ammunition. For example, countries such as China, North Korea, and the Republic of Iran along with most of Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are extremely weak in reporting. Igarape also states that the data does not reflect illegal transfers or re-transfers. Earlier this summer, Google announced a plan to take on Mexico's drug cartels by working to improve the way information is shared between communities and various law enforcement agencies fighting the illicit networks. You can check out Google's visualization tool of the small arms trade, here.

These last few nights ,as I prayed for our country a thought kept entering my head . Now I am not one of those guys that can quote chapter and verse from the good book , but the thought centered on Lot . As I tried to pray for the Lord to forgive us and renew our Nation to the fold and guide us so that we become a Nation under God again , it kept sneaking in...How many need to pray ? I kept flashing on Lot bargaining with the Angels sent to destroy Sodom and Gomoraha . If I remember correctly he had them down to one rightous person found would be enough to save the town. So I ask myself , how many of us need to pray to restore his protection ? I know I normally post jokes and such but this has been bugging me . If any of you can shed some light I would be grateful . Oh and if you feel led to pray for our country please join as there might be a number.

When James Guay was 12, he went into a Christian bookstore to look for information on what was wrong with him. He found just one book on homosexuality -- "on how to change it," he recalled. When he brought it to the counter, the clerk asked if it was for him. "She said she would pray for me," he said. A few years later Guay had a nervous breakdown and told his parents what was distressing him. His father, a pastor, helped him find a licensed "ex-***" psychologist. The psychologist said he had been ***, but now was married to a woman. He told Guay that change was possible. "It was this newfound hope," Guay said. Within six months to a year, the therapist promised him, Guay could overcome his attraction to men and learn to be attracted to women. Two months ago, Guay testified at a hearing on a new bill in the California State Legislature that would ban the "*** cure," as this type of therapy is known. The bill is the first of its kind in the U.S., and observers expect it to pass by the end of August. If Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs it, licensed therapists who try to change the sexual orientation of minors will run the risk of losing their licenses. "I wanted parents to understand that this therapy is crazy," said Sen. Ted Lieu, the California Democrat who authored the bill. The passage of SB 1172 would be the latest in a series of recent actions signaling a widespread condemnation of the practice. Almost all mainstream mental health organizations, from the American Psychiatric Association to the American Psychological Association, have renounced it. The World Health Organization has released a statement saying that such methods "lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being" of patients. Robert L. Spitzer, a psychiatrist who published a widely cited study supporting the "*** cure" practice in 2003, recently apologized for his work in the journal where the original paper appeared. "I believe I owe the *** community an apology," he wrote. For more than three decades, one of the leading forces behind the practice of attempting to change sexual orientation was Exodus International, a nonprofit group. In June, the head of Exodus International declared at its annual meeting that there was no cure for homosexuality and that the promise of one offered false hope to gays. Just a few years before, he and his wife had starred in advertisements saying, "Change is possible." Still, there aren't any scientific studies showing that the practice actually causes harm. Anecdotal reports of depression, even suicide, abound, and a task force convened by the American Psychological Association found the practice to be both harmful and ineffective. But when the government regulates a behavior, like driving without a seatbelt or smoking, they can usually draw on volumes of data demonstrating that the behavior hurts people. That isn't the case here, and the few remaining supporters of the practice stress this fact. David Pruden, the vice president of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, a group whose website proclaims that it "offers hope to those who struggle with unwanted homosexuality," sees the bill as a "solution in search of a problem." He maintains that there are people who can, "with the help of a well trained therapist, move through a process where they grow away from homosexual attraction and move towards heterosexual attraction." He gave the example of a child who is molested by an adult of the same sex. "One suggestion would be you're confused, you're not ***. Now this bill is saying that for a therapist to suggest to someone that they're not *** is somehow illegal or would be wrong." Mainstream psychological organizations in California were initially opposed to the law for similar reasons, but they withdrew their opposition after working with Sen. Lieu on the language of the bill. "Quite naturally there are many times when an adolescent is exploring their sexual identity and they may want to talk to a therapist about that," said Jo Linder-Crow, the executive director of the California Psychological Association. "We wanted to make sure that legitimate therapy would not be caught up in the definition used in the bill." The idea of a *** cure goes back to a time when homosexuality was considered a mental illness and "sodomy" a crime. In the years after World War II, as therapy became a widespread practice in the U.S., the idea of psychiatric treatment for homosexuality was seen as a humane alternative to institutionalization or jail. In the '70s, the American Psychiatric Institution removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses, and most psychiatrists and psychologists abandoned the practice. Around the same time, though, Exodus International was formed. Christian groups picked up where mainstream therapists had left off. It's hard to say why the "*** cure" practice has received so much attention in just the last few months. "People have had these concerns about it for a long time," said Clinton Anderson, the director of the American Psychological Association's office for LGBT issues. "What may be different is a sense that there's a political will, at least in certain places, to do something more signifiant about it." Anderson says there's no way of knowing how widespread the practice is, or how many psychiatrists perform it. The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, for its part, does not divulge its membership numbers, thought it does say that its members operate in all 50 states and in a number of other countries. Guay, who now runs his own therapeutic practice for people who have been scarred by experiences like his, spent a year with the ex-*** therapist and then got involved with Exodus International, attending several of their conferences. He started dating a woman, but it didn't work out. "I ended that relationship and began a relationship with a man," he said. It was only at that point that he had what a therapist might call a breakthrough."'Oh wait,'" he said, recalling his thinking at the time. "'This feels authentic and right

The Anti-Defamation League has urged U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to refuse to speak at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Iran due to the Islamic Republic’s “extreme and dangerous policies.” The Iranian government invited Ban to address the gathering, which is being held in Tehran beginning on Aug. 26. But the Secretary General’s office refused to confirm or deny that he accepted the invitation. Iran is assuming the presidency of the 120-member NAM for the next three years. The ADL said in a letter to the Secretary General: “Your presence in the Iranian capital at this time will be counterproductive to the efforts of the international community to bring Iran into compliance with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.” And Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said: “The Secretary General should publicly commit that he will not go to Tehran to address the NAM conference. “We strongly believe that such a visit will be a grave mistake, and serve to legitimize and bolster the Iranian regime and its extreme and dangerous policies. At a time when responsible members of the international community are working together to pressure Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program by increasing its isolation, we would expect the Secretary General to express support for that effort by announcing he will not be traveling to Tehran. His apparent hesitation to make such an announcement is inexplicable.” The ADL noted in an Aug. 14 statement that Iran has refused to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect military installations, championed “the violently repressive Syrian regime,” and its leaders have “spouted vile anti-Semitic rhetoric from U.N. podiums.” CNS News reported on Aug. 10 that Iran’s vice president for international affairs, Ali Saeedlou, told the semi-official Fars news agency that Ban would be participating at the conference. He also said the West and the “Zionist regime” were trying to prevent a “magnificent” summit to thwart the promotion of Iran’s “justice-seeking” views. The state-run IRNA news agency also reported that Ban was “expected to take part.” Asked if this was true, Ban’s spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said: “We are obviously aware of those reports. I cannot confirm them, and I’m not going to comment on them, OK?” In June, when the U.N. co-sponsored an event with Iran to mark the U.N.’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, another Iranian vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, accused Jews of driving global drug trafficking and various other conspiracies, including the killing of black babies. As recently as Wednesday, Iran once again threatened Israel with destruction. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he was confident “the fake Zionist [regime] will disappear from the landscape of geography.” The NAM comprises most of the world’s developing nations, including regimes hostile to the U.S. like Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. Iran succeeds Egypt as the chair, and Egypt’s two predecessors were Cuba and Malaysia. After Iran, Venezuela is set to assume the leadership in 2015.

Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela is training a “guerrilla army” it aims to grow to one million strong by 2013 to fight off possible “imperialist aggression” from the United States, an opposition lawmaker claims. Former presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado told El Universal newspaper that “Plan Sucre,” developed with input from Cuba, seeks to “transform a professional army into a guerrilla army.” She said she had obtained a copy of the plan. Its “strategic objective” is to build a force that could wage a prolonged popular war against “the empire” — the United States, Machado said, citing the document. “This is clearly a proposal with Cuban inspiration and advice.” She also told the newspaper that the plan provides for strengthening the guerrilla force at the expense of the regular army, and the force would grow to 2 million by 2019. Chavez, who took power in 1999, is seeking re-election in October after declaring himself free of the cancer he has battled for a year, AFP reported. He has frequently accused the United States of seeking to destabilize his government. Machado sought to oppose him in the October election, but was defeated in February’s primary.

The United Mine Workers of America enthusiastically supported Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008, but this year the union and its disgruntled members don’t plan to back Obama’s re-election bid. “As of right now, we’ve elected to stay out of this election,” said Mike Caputo, a vice president on the UMWA’s International Executive Board and a Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. “Our members right now have indicated to stay out of this race, and that’s why we’ve done that.” Caputo told National Journal he couldn’t remember a time when the UMWA — with more than 100,000 members in 2008, the last year the union updated its numbers — did not endorse a presidential candidate. Obama’s GOP opponent Mitt Romney has been claiming that Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency is waging war on coal with too many regulations. “Our members count on coal-fired power plants and burning of coal to keep jobs,” Caputo said. “We’re a very Democratic union and we try to listen to the rank and file. They’ve sent a clear message that they’re not supportive of the environmental rules that are being put in place.” An increase in natural gas production has contributed to a decline in the demand for coal. But politically, the EPA “is the culprit for the coal industry’s woes,” National Journal observed. “Throughout Appalachia where Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia converge, the coal industry’s disgruntlement with Obama is plastered on yard signs and billboards.” One billboard near the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border, sponsored by a coal-industry group, tells drivers they are entering “the Obama administration’s no jobs zone.” Four years ago, UMWA President Cecil Roberts said Obama “understands that coal will remain a primary source for electricity generation in this country for many decades to come. Obama will work to ensure the future of American coal and the jobs that go with it.” But this year Roberts made a reference to terrorism to describe the actions of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, stating in a radio interview: “The Navy SEALs shot Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and Lisa Jackson shot us in Washington.”

Wow the ball less phantom negger strikes again:lol: . I have no problem being negged for a personal opinion or comment , but to neg an article with out comment shows me that one you have no opinion two don't understand what you read or three it's personal anger. Well Capt.Gutless have a wonderful day bathed in your ignorance!

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He finally went to the doctor and was fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed him to hear perfectly. A month later, the man went back to the doctor, and the doctor said, “Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.” The man replied, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I’ve changed my will three times!”

The Obama administration, with the Obamacare health care takeover, either doesn’t care about or doesn’t like Catholics so much it is forcing them to choose between their beliefs or the federal law, according to the opening brief in a court case over the constitutionality of the law’s contraceptive coverage mandate. “The defendants offer numerous secular and even religious exemptions to the HHS mandate, but fail to offer the same respect to the Catholic beliefs of the plaintiffs – showing that defendants either care so little about those professing Catholic beliefs that they will not be bothered to address their concerns or showing that defendants are patently discriminating against and disrespecting those holding Catholic beliefs,” said the brief filed this week in support of a preliminary injunction that would protect the plaintiffs while the case moves through the courts. “Neither provides the defendants with a constitutional justification for violating the law.” The filing is from Thomas More Law Center, which is arguing on behalf of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Weingartz Supply Co. and Legatus, the nation’s largest organization of top Catholic business leaders. A hearing is scheduled later for the decision about the injunction, and Judge Robert H. Cleland noted, “the government agreed not to enforce the regulation against plaintiffs prior to Jan. 1, 2013 …” The Michigan case is against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and others. It seeks to permanently block the implementation of the Aug. 1 mandate, “which requires employers and individuals to obtain insurance coverage for abortions and contraception.” The grounds are that the Obamacare requirement “imposes clear violations of conscience on Americans who morally object to abortion and contraception.” It cites the First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion and free speech as well as the establishment clause. Weingartz is run by Christians who object to what they say is a violation of their rights, and Legatus represents some 4,000 Catholic member business owners and leaders. “It is not surprising that in our country founded by individuals, who sought refuge from religious persecution, the Supreme Court of our country has succinctly avowed, ‘If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein,’” Erin Mersino of the Thomas More Law Center wrote in the brief. The purpose of the lawsuit is to permanently block the implementation of the HHS mandate that requires employers and individuals to obtain insurance coverage for abortions and contraception on the grounds that it imposes clear violations of conscience on Americans who morally object to abortion and contraception. The timely decision on the injunction is very important, the brief explains. “Plaintiffs must now make decisions to change or terminate their health care plans. Under the HHS mandate, plaintiffs are forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs or violating federal law,” the plaintiffs explain. They argue that “‘causing death’ can never be considered a form of medical treatment,” and the federal rule violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, burdens the free exercise of religion, breaks the First Amendment and contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court’s own writings that “government may not enact laws that suppress religious belief or practice …” In a separate case making the same challenge, WND reported earlier when U.S. District Judge John J. Kane of Colorado granted a Christian-owned company a temporary injunction blocking Obamacare’s mandated coverage of sterilization, contraception and abortion-inducing drugs from being applied to the private business. That mandate took effect nationwide Aug. 1, but Hercules Industries of Denver, a company that manufactures air conditioning products, filed suit against the government in April, arguing Obama’s mandate conflicts with the Christian faith of the business’ owners. The government fought back, claiming Hercules is not a faith-based organization. It threatened the company, which employs 265 people, with millions of dollars in fines if it refused to comply. In a radio interview with WND’s Greg Corombos, Hercules Vice President Andy Newland said, “We realized we had a choice nobody should really have to face. That’s the choice to do business according to our faith, which we think is really important, or pay onerous crippling fines. And nobody, we believe, should be forced to make that decision.” The two temporary victories, in Michigan and Colorado, for religious rights could be just the tip of the iceberg, too. The Catholic Association, or TCA, released a statement warning, “August 1, 2012, indeed marks a seismic shift in the world of religious liberty in America. Once the mandate goes into effect, the government has codified into law the notion that employers may be required to violate the teachings of their faith if they are a for-profit employer. … August 1 is D-Day for religious freedom in America.” There have been at least 24 lawsuits filed across the nation to stop the contraception mandate from applying to various businesses. Earlier, Wheaton College announced it had joined the Catholic University of America in filing suit before District of Columbia federal court. Other organizations filing similar lawsuits include the University of Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of New York and the Catholic University of America. And leaders of of a multitude of religious-advocacy groups are warning of the Obamacare contraception mandate consequences for business owners of faith: Larry Cirignano, president of Faithful Catholic Citizens: “Give up your religion or go bankrupt. This is not a mandate; it is an ultimatum. Buy insurance and kill babies or go bankrupt fighting us. Not all of us can afford lawyers to fight this ‘mandate.’” Matt Smith, president of Catholic Advocate: “Aug. 1 will be remembered as the day our most cherished liberty was thrown in a government dumpster and hauled away. A day when family owned small businesses were forced to abandon their religious beliefs to provide products and services for free. And if they don’t, they will be taxed and fined at a time when job creators are struggling with enough costs and bureaucratic red-tape at every level of government just to stay in business. While the courts have provided a reprieve for one family business in Colorado, the government will never be able to repair the broken conscience of thousands of others until this mandate is removed.” Brent Bozell, chairman of ForAmerica: “August 1st is a day that will live in infamy for the First Amendment and the fundamental freedoms and rights we as a people have enjoyed since the founding of our nation. The HHS mandate imposed on the American people is the beginning of the end of freedom as America has known it and loved it. August 1st marks the day when many family owned and operated businesses lose their rights to exercise their faith in their daily lives. The government has told them – either comply with this mandate in violation of your faith and do what we tell you, or you will pay crippling faith fines to the federal government. With the stroke of a pen, the Obama administration has shredded the First Amendment and the Constitution right before our eyes.” Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute: “The Obama administration’s assault on religious liberty is taking root … Failure to comply with the mandate will result in penalties that could cost business millions of dollars. The administration clearly did not reach a much-vaunted ‘accommodation’ with business owners who strongly oppose the mandate and believe it is a clear violation of their constitutional protection of religious liberty. The HHS mandate forces business owners to choose between following their religious beliefs or obedience to the federal government. The Obama administration clearly believes the government is supreme and that individuals and businesses must bow to its dictates or suffer severe consequences. We know that Obamacare is wrong for America. The HHS anti-conscience mandate is clear evidence of why the law violates the most fundamental principles upon which our country is founded.” Gary Marx, executive director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition: “Confidence in the system and hope for religious liberty was mildly restored when a federal district judge issued a temporary injunction blocking Barack Obama’s health-care mandate from compelling a business to provide insurance coverage of sterilization, contraception, and abortion-inducing drugs. This is certainly a victory, but the fact that it only applies to one company means the federal government is still going to force millions of Americans to choose between having health insurance or their conscience and faith. With an administration intent on suppressing religious liberty, we can expect a historic turnout of voters of faith show up in November.” Penny Nance, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America: “The only solution that has been provided to the majority of Americans is to stand up and fight for their religious rights by refusing to comply or battling in court. … We must remember the wise words of Thomas Jefferson, ‘All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.’ To force religious groups to deny their deeply held convictions is not called balance; it is called tyranny.” Jeanne Monahan, director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity: “Today as a result of this initial implementation of the HHS mandate, the relationship between the separation of church and state is critically changed. Americans can no longer follow their consciences or religious dictates on issues as critical as abortion-inducing drugs. Organizations such as Wheaton College, or businesses such as Weingartz Supply of Ann Arbor, Mich.,will be forced to violate their consciences. On this sad day Americans have no ‘choice’ in this matter.” David Stevens, MD and CEO of the Christian Medical Association: “What will stop this administration, with its radical pro-abortion agenda, from further undermining conscience rights and pursuing policies that effectively force out of medicine physicians with life-honoring convictions? Who will keep government panels from effectively denying physicians and patients choice about what are the most effective and appropriate medicines, surgeries and treatments? We call on Congress to turn back this law’s assault on our freedoms and restore American values and constitutional principles in health care.” Paul E. Rondeau, executive director of American Life League: “History tragically teaches us that if our government can abolish one constitutional right, then all constitutional rights are put in jeopardy. This path sets a dangerous and foolish precedent that First Amendments rights such as freedom of speech, association, freedom of the press and the rights to assemble and petition the government may be just as easily curtailed in the future. We call on all citizens to tell their elected representatives that this erosion of rights must not stand.” Kristin Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life of America: “Today marks the beginning of the end of religious and conscience rights in America. As an employer, I am forced to make a false choice between providing a vital service to my employees and violating my conscience and values. The abortion-pill mandate is an egregious attack upon my rights, as well as the rights of all people of values and faith in America.”

A lawsuit that challenges the placement of the cross at the site of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center alleges atheist plaintiffs have suffered serious physical and mental illness because the religious symbol has made them feel excluded. Nonsense, says a new friend-of-the-court brief to be filed Monday in the case by the American Center for Law and Justice. The brief, which carries the signatures of more than 100,000 people, argues there have been no known sightings of suicides or uncontrolled vomiting at or around the Ground Zero cross. “The legal argument is absurd,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow charged Wednesday. American Atheists, he said “is making some astonishing claims.” The group contends the placement of the 17-foot-tall symbol at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum is making some atheists unbearably sick. “The plaintiffs, and each of them, are suffering, and will continue to suffer damages, both physical and emotional, from the existence of the challenged cross,” the lawsuit American Atheists v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey states. “Named plaintiffs have suffered …. dyspepsia, symptoms of depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish from the knowledge that they are made to feel officially excluded from the ranks of citizens who were directly injured by the 9/11 attack.” The suit explains the named plaintiffs “have seen the cross, either in person or on television, are being subjected to, and injured in consequence.” Sekulow doubts the claims are true, finding it uncanny that only a select group of non-believers is susceptible to such a debilitating “disease.” “These claims are ridiculous,” the ACLJ founder insists. “And so is the lawsuit. In just a matter of days, we will be filing a critical amicus brief defending this Ground Zero cross, which consists of two intersecting steel beams that survived the Twin Towers collapse on 9/11. We have a unique opportunity to not only urge the court to reject this flawed lawsuit, but to send a powerful message to the court: that more than 100,000 Americans are standing with us in this brief ─ urging the court to keep this powerful memorial in place.” If American Atheists’ demand to remove the cross doesn’t succeed, organization officials already have an alternative: something else must be erected next to the cross. “They even make a bizarre suggestion about erecting a ’17-foot-high A for Atheists’ to promote their non-beliefs at the site,” Sekulow said. The American Atheists group is suing numerous individuals and organizations over the cross, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center Properties, Church of the Holy Name of Jesus and Friar Brian Jordan, who blessed the cross. The main point of the action appears to be the indignation American Atheists President David Silverman feels about the God of the Bible and those who express faith in Him. “The cross has become a Christian icon,” Silverman stated. “It has been blessed by so-called holy men a few times, and presented as a reminder that God, in his infinite power of goodness, who couldn’t be bothered to stop the Muslim terrorists, or stop the fire, or hold up the buildings to stop 3,000 people from being crushed, cared enough to bestow upon us some rubble that resembles a cross. Ridiculous.” Silverman and other atheists argue that the cross unconstitutionally represents the government’s establishment of religion, but Sekulow disagrees. “Our initial legal analysis of their complaint reveals that while the lawsuit argues that it is unconstitutional to ‘plac[e] a religious symbol of Christianity on government-owned property,’ it ‘fail to note that the cross is actually a remnant of the ruins of the Twin Towers,’” Sekulow shared. Christian organizations aren’t the only ones who concur. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum described the cross in a document submitted to the court as an “important and essential artifact [that] comprises a key component of the retelling of the story of 9/11, in particular, the role of faith in the events of the day and, particularly, during the recovery efforts.” The museum stated it is “not in the business of providing equal time for faiths, we are in the business of telling the story of 9/11 and the victims of 9/11.” “This steel remnant became a symbol of spiritual comfort for the thousands of recovery workers who toiled at ground zero, as well as for people around the world,” the head of the museum’s proclaimed. “In the historical exhibition, the cross is part of our commitment to bring back the authentic physical reminders that tell the story of 9/11 in a way nothing else can.” The ACLJ points out three out of four Americans have said they support the Ground Zero cross. The Christian legal organization also notes that the cross has strong support from the Anti-Defamation League. “Allowing this cross to be included in the memorial along with other artifacts found at the site does not constitute government endorsement of a religious message,” the ADL declared in a public statement. “Rather, it is an acknowledgement that these beams – part of the infrastructure of one of the towers – acquired historical significance by giving comfort to many who lost loved ones in the attacks, as well as those who spent days and weeks sifting through the ash and debris.” Even a fellow atheist calls the legal battle a “frivolous lawsuit.” Susan Jacoby, who writes the Washington Post’s “The Spirited Atheist” blog, acknowledged the suit “misconstrues the First Amendment” and questioned whether Silverman “really believes this nonsense.” Even Silverman himself realized his legal attack on the cross would gain little to no support. “As president of the American Atheists organization, I promise to make sure that everyone, even those who are indifferent to our cause … will hate us,” the American Atheists president said. Silverman is no stranger to unpopular protests. His organization took a stand against the city of New York naming a street “Seven in Heaven,” contending the title honoring seven first-responder firefighters who died on 9/11 drew a biased link between Christianity and heroism. The Freedom From Religion Foundation entered into a decade-long lawsuit to remove a World War I memorial cross – erected in 1934 in a remote area of California’s Mojave Desert – because it offended an atheist who happened to hike near it. A court ordered the cross to be covered, and it eventually was stolen while the lawsuit was moving forward. After going to the U.S. Supreme Court, a land swap was approved. Months ago in Camp Pendleton, Calif., the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation pushed the U.S. Marines to remove a cross on the base that was erected to replace a cross that burned down. The crosses were put up to honor fallen soldiers. But MAAF had another way of looking at the cross. “We still have continuing exploitation of military service and veterans to promote Christian privilege,” a statement on MAAF’s blog reads, referring to the presence of memorial crosses on armed forces bases. “[it] sends a message of exclusion rather than inclusion on this secular holiday.” ACLJ Director of International Operations Jordan Sekulow said the atheists seem to be getting their way. “They are setting a new precedent,” he asserted. “They are saying, ‘We don’t have to go to court; we’ll just complain.” Sekulow said the military is so politically correct “at this point that it will build an $80,000 pagan worship center for witches to come in and have séances and cast spells for three pagan students at the Air Force Academy, but it will pull down every cross it can, whether it’s in a base in Afghanistan or Camp Pendleton or a Jesus statue that’s been up in Montana in the mountains since World War II.”

Longtime CIA operative Fred Rustmann tells Newsmax that the liberal writer who called Navy SEALs gutless is either “very brave” or “very stupid.” Rustmann, a member of a new political action committee that includes former SEALs, also says the Obama administration’s intelligence leaks that led to the writer’s comment could ultimately cost the lives of intel sources. And former SEAL Brandon Webb agrees, saying the leaking of sensitive information could kill Americans and put our national security at risk. Rustmann’s PAC, the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund, posted a 22-minute video on the Internet criticizing the Obama administration’s decision to grant filmmakers access to intelligence material for their upcoming movie about the killing of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, by a team of Navy SEALs who attacked his compound in Pakistan, and the video asserts that the intelligence leaks could have dire national security implications. In response, a writer for the liberal, George Soros-funded website Media Matters, Eric Boehlert, tweeted that “former Navy SEALs don’t have guts to admit they’re running a GOP, anti-Obama campaign.” In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV on Friday, Rustmann — who spent 24 years in the CIA — says of Boehlert: “He’s either a very brave guy or very stupid guy to call a Navy SEAL gutless. It’s beyond me.” To serve as a SEAL or as an intelligence operative in the CIA, he adds, “you have to have some serious guts. “This is very risky business and when people leak our sources and methods — well, there’s one fellow, a Pakistani doctor, who is now in jail for 33 years” because the Pakistanis believe he helped Americans locate bin Laden. “Everybody from the Pakistani intelligence service through the Taliban and down to al-Qaida are looking for individuals who were in that area at the time who might have been working for the CIA and were involved in the operation to locate and kill Osama bin Laden. These people are going to die if they’re found.” Story continues below video. Webb, a former SEAL sniper and editor in chief of the website SOFREP (Special Operations Forces Report), also expresses outrage over Boehlert’s comment. The SEALS in the PAC “put themselves out there front and center and that takes guts. I ask Eric Boehlert what his credentials are,” he tells Newsmax. “Has he served? Has he seen the ugliness of war and the cost on both sides? The loss of friends? I think not. “It's safe to say that he wouldn't stand in the same room with any of these SEALs and mutter the word gutless. “Politics aside, I'm glad this group is making an issue and educating citizens to the very serious consequences of intel leaks from Washington. The consequences of leaking sensitive information is that Americans and coalition forces die and we lose trust with foreign spies and our national security is put at risk.” And Ryan Zinke, another former SEAL and a member of the PAC that created the video, tells Newsmax that calling a SEAL gutless “is nuts, and yet another attempt to discredit honorable service and sacrifice for our country.” Rustmann, who worked closely with SEALs during his time with the CIA, was also asked about the comments of Bob Beckel, a liberal who works at Fox News, who said the SEALs featured in the film “Dishonorable Disclosures” should “take their benefits and go home.” Rustmann declares: “I think he’s a jerk. That’s what I think.” The intelligence leaks cited by the PAC’s video are said to have come from high-ranking White House staff members. Rustmann was asked if the leaks were motivated by political concerns, or resulted from the ignorance of people who did not fully understand the repercussions. “I don’t know, but I will say this: People who have security clearances in the government and work in secure facilities in the government like the CIA, their security clearance is a part of their job. If they lose their security clearance, they lose their job. So they understand the need to keep secrets. “A lot of security clearances, however, are given out to people by virtue of their job, from the president on down. Elected officials, staffers, what not, they have to see classified information and so they’re given clearances. They’re not really attuned to working in that kind of an environment and they’re more likely to leak stuff because they don’t really get it. “For a person with a security clearance like me, for example, all the things I write I have to pass through the agency for clearance, to make sure that I didn’t inadvertently disclose any classified information. This is a contract. And if you breach that contract you can be sued legally and it’s a criminal offense. “These guys, I think, a lot of them don’t understand that. I think a lot of them probably couldn’t get a clearance to work in the CIA’s cafeteria if they applied for a job there. They just got the clearance by virtue of their appointment or their election.” Webb shares those sentiments: “Our political election system and national security are in trouble and it got this way because of career politicians that make decisions regarding their next election cycle instead of being civic-minded. “The only light I see at the end of the tunnel is a train coming at them and the train conductors are unhappy American patriots from all walks of life." He did say, however, that President Obama “has been exceptional on the national security front with the exception of some damaging leaks. Bin Laden is dead, period, and that was a huge blow to the radical Islamic movement. “The U.S. Commander of Special Operations Command, Admiral [William] McRaven, said it best when he gave full credit to the president for making the decision. I know McRaven personally and he's a man of high integrity. He wouldn't say this about the president unless it was genuine.” Rustmann was also asked to compare the intelligence leaks criticized by the SEALs video and the leaking of Valerie Plame’s identity as a CIA agent. “It was terrible that her name was leaked. That is against the law. That is a leak of classified information,” he tells Newsmax. “But I thought the witch hunt that went on after the people that may have leaked this, because it was a Republican administration at the time, was much ado about nothing. “I thought that the leak was probably inadvertent. And as it turned out, we know that Secretary [Richard] Armitage was the guy that did it and he did it inadvertently. It was not with any malice. It was not in an effort to ‘gotcha’ anybody. It was an inadvertent slip of the tongue and the reason was because Valerie was at that time working in a position that didn’t appear to be a covert position and she didn’t appear to be a covert operative.” As for the fact that his PAC has not revealed its donors, Rustmann says: “I’m not a lawyer and I’m not involved in that part of it. I’m just an old CIA grunt who is very concerned about these leaks, that’s all.”

ALDEN, N.Y. -- Officials say John Lennon's killer, who is up for parole for the seventh time, could have a parole hearing as early as Tuesday. New York Department of Corrections spokeswoman Linda Foglia says Mark David Chapman is scheduled to be interviewed by members of the parole board this week. She says they could make a decision by Thursday or Friday. Chapman shot Lennon in December 1980 outside the Manhattan apartment building where the former Beatle lived. He was sentenced in 1981 to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. Chapman was transferred in May from the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York to the nearby Wende (WEHN'-dee) Correctional Facility. Both are maximum security. The prison system doesn't disclose why inmates are transferred. Chapman was denied parole for the sixth time in September 2010

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico is holding a two-part referendum on Sunday that could see the island amend its constitution for the first time in nearly half a century. The referendum would reduce the size of the U.S. territory's government by almost 30 percent as a cost-cutting measure, and would give judges the right to deny bail in certain murder cases. Puerto Rico currently is the only place in the Western hemisphere where all suspects, including those charged with rape and murder, are entitled to bail. Supporters say the proposals would save the government money, reduce crime and protect witnesses and the relatives of victims. Opponents say the measures would give more power to remaining legislators and strip suspects of their constitutional rights. Puerto Rico reported a record number of homicides last year and is struggling to quell a wave of drug-related violence that has killed an increasing number of innocent bystanders. Puerto Ricans also have expressed anger over legislative spending and political corruption scandals that have forced the resignation of several officials. Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz urged voters to approve both proposals, saying the money saved from shrinking the legislature would be used to fight crime and improve the island's education system. The referendum calls for reducing the number of Senate seats from 27 to 17 and the number of House seats from 51 to 39. Rivera also reminded voters of several high-profile cases in which murder suspects who posted bail were accused of killing again. Among those was Xavier Jimenez Bencevi, who was out on bail in 2007 when he was accused of killing a federal witness and of trying to kill two police officers. "We have to stop people like that in their tracks," Rivera said. "We have to treat them differently." Since January 2009, there have been 563 cases of suspects destroying evidence and 438 cases of suspects intimidating witnesses, according to Justice Secretary Guillermo Somoza, who said witnesses too often are unwilling to testify because they fear being killed. He said he did not know how many of those suspects were accused of murder. If approved, judges would have the discretion to deny bail to those accused of premeditated murder, of killing a police officer or of killing someone in a public space or during a home invasion, sexual assault or drive-by shooting. As in the U.S., prosecutors would have to prove the suspect is a flight risk or a danger to the community. But the bail proposal has been criticized by many, including Jose Andreu Garcia, former chief justice of Puerto Rico's Supreme Court. He said limiting bail would not reduce crime and argued the proposal "is intended to shift attention from the real factors that lead to rampant and unresolved crimes," such as poor crime investigations and improperly trained police and prosecutors. Also opposing the referendum is Carlos Negron, father of 15-year-old Karla Michelle Negron, who died after being hit by a stray bullet on New Year's Eve. "I have always said and I maintain that this does not resolve crime," he said. "The problem in Puerto Rico is the lack of values and the incompetence of the justice department." He criticized prosecutors and judges for releasing murder suspects on what he called absurdly low bail, but also said he could not deny reasonable bail to whoever was responsible for killing his daughter. "That is a right that every citizen has," Negron said. Puerto Rico's constitution currently prohibits judges from denying bail or setting an excessively high bail, a determination left up to the court's interpretation. Defense attorneys also can ask that a different judge lower bail. If the referendum is approved, the bail amendment would go into effect almost immediately, while the reduction of the legislature would become effective January 2017.

Hank Williams Jr. said that Obama is a Muslim who hates America at a concert on Friday night. Hank Williams Jr. reprised his role as a fiery anti-Obama blowhard on Friday, telling fans at a concert that the president was Muslim and anti-American. The statement came near the end of a concert at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand. Williams Jr.'s comments were first reported in a review by Des Moines Register reporter Joe Lawler. According to Lawler, the show was relatively free of politics until the end, when Williams Jr. made the following claims: "We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him!" The comments were apparently met with applause and loud cheers. Williams Jr. made waves in October 2011, when he appeared on "Fox and Friends" and likened the president to Hitler. That statement resulted in ESPN yanking Williams Jr.'s opening song from "Monday Night Football," where the country star's song had played for over two decades. Though he later said his "Fox and Friends" comments were "misunderstood," Williams Jr. has continued to be outspoken in his dislike of Obama. He also released a song entitled "Keep the Change," in which he derides not only the president but also Fox, who he describes as "twisting [his words] all around." In a July 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Williams Jr. doubled down on his particularly blunt brand of criticism of the Obama administration. "We've got a President that does a call to the Koran or Mecca or whatever," he told the magazine. When asked if he believed Obama hated America, Williams Jr. responded, "I don't know about that but it's kind of obvious. I guess when you take a tour, a world tour, to apologize for America." A number of entertainers have come out in support of Obama and/or against the Romney-Ryan ticket. The Silversun Pickups issued a strongly worded cease-and-desist letter to Romney when it was revealed that the campaign had played one of their songs. The campaign responded by saying it was within its legal rights in playing "Panic Switch" and added that the song was not among those usually played and would not be used again. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine wrote a takedown of Rep. Paul Ryan. Ryan had previously said that Rage was his favorite band. In his op-ed, Morello wrote that Ryan represented "the embodiment of the machine our music rages against." But Williams Jr. is not alone in the entertainment world. Musician Ted Nugent has made a cottage industry out of criticizing Obama, most recently claiming that the president "represents everything bad about humanity." Nugent was investigated by the Secret Service after he made the bizarre claim that a second Obama victory would result in the singer either being "dead or in jail.

The New York Times: When President Obama announced last month that he was barring a Baghdad bank from any dealings with the American banking system, it was a rare acknowledgment of a delicate problem facing the administration in a country that American troops just left: for months, Iraq has been helping Iran skirt economic sanctions imposed on Tehran because of its nuclear program.