Egypt shows how quickly internet can be shut down

contributed by Vision2America

The move by Egyptian authorities to seal off the country almost entirely from the Internet shows how easily a state can isolate its people when telecoms providers are few and compliant.

Mohammed Abed | APF | Getty Images Egyptian demonstrators hold up placards during a protest in central Cairo to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and calling for reforms.

In an attempt to stop the frenzied online spread of dissent against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, not only Facebook and Twitter but the entire Internet was shut down overnight, leaving some 20 million users stranded.

Hundreds of service providers offer connections in Egypt, but just four own the infrastructure - Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya[VOD-LN 178.15 -0.90 (-0.5%)], Telecom Egyptand Etisalat Misr.

Daniel Karrenberg, chief scientist at RIPE NCC, a European not-for-profit Internet infrastructure forum, says immature markets with few providers can achieve such shutdowns relatively easily.

"The more simple the topology is and the fewer Internet services providers there are, the easier it is for any government or the telco themselves to control access into any geographical area," he said.

"If you have a relatively diverse telecoms market and a very much meshed Internet topology then it's much more difficult to do than if you have the traditional telecoms structure of two decades ago and they control all the international connections. Obviously that creates a choke point," he said.

Despite the rapid transformation of the Web during its short history, and the unprecedented freedom of expression it has enabled, the Internet still has vulnerable points that can be exploited by governments or for commercial interests.

Cut Off From The World

"Virtually all of Egypt's Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide," Jim Cowie, chief technology officer of U.S.-based Internet monitoring firm Renesys wrote on the company blog.

"Every Egyptian provider, every business, bank, Internet cafe, website, school, embassy, and government office that relied on the big four Egyptian ISPs for their Internet connectivity is now cut off from the rest of the world."

Vodafone said in an emailed statement: "All mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas. Under Egyptian legislation, the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply."

A few large organisations with independent connections were able to stay connected to the Internet. Cowie said on Friday he was investigating two apparent exceptions to the block: the Commercial International Bank of Egypt and the Stock Exchange.

Iran, Tunisia and most recently Syria have imposed Internet restrictions in attempts to quell opposition, but Egypt's is by far the most drastic move so far.

The closest precedent has been in China, which has more Internet users than any other country and also the strictest controls. It cut off Internet access to its Xinjiang region for almost a year after deadly ethnic unrest in 2009.

Centralized

The world's biggest social network Facebook, and Twitter with its real-time mini-blog posts, have proved extraordinarily effective in gathering large numbers of people together and helping them to be nimble in dodging the authorities.

Lynn St Amour, president of the Internet Society, says they could have made revolutionaries of many who had not seen themselves as activists, thanks to the ease of signing up to groups or sending messages of support while sitting at home.

But the danger of depending on such services is that they can be blocked simply by targeting their IP addresses, since they are centralized on a single site - as witnessed in Iran and Tunisia.

"It's quite easy, as we've seen," St Amour told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In Tunisia, dissidents even found their Facebook pages taken over without their knowledge. But when access to an entire site is blocked from outside, there is little that Facebook or Twitter can do - although users often find ways around the problem by using proxy servers.

"We try very hard to keep Facebook available wherever people want to access it," Dan Rose, who is responsible for Facebook's worldwide business development, said in London this week.

"We have outreach and relationships with governments all around the world. We can only do what we can do."

Diversity

The resilience of the Internet in any particular country also depends on the diversity of its international providers, the routes in an out of a country.

In 2008, Egypt suffered an 80 percent outage of Internet services when submarine cables in the Mediterranean linking Egypt to the rest of the world were accidentally cut.

On Friday, key fibre-optic cables that pass through Egypt as they link Europe to Asia appeared unaffected.

Renesys's Cowie contrasted a country such as Egypt with those that have highly dispersed international connections.

"In the United States you have every global carrier available to you, you have multiple cable landing points ...you have a country that effectively can't be taken off the Internet," he told Reuters.

Audit the Fed

I thought I would paste this message from Congressman Paul. It's about time that we have congressmen that are trying to make the Federal Reserve to be accountable. The Federal Reserve is not part of the United States Government and is just a private bank that loans our government money and then our government has to pay the money back with interest. No wonder why our government is in trillions of dollars in debt. We as Americans need to realize that our dollar has virtually become worthless as a result of a few bankers controlling our economy. We need to become educated about our banking institutions and get involved and let our local congressmen know that they need to get behind Ron Paul and Rand Paul.

Fellow Patriot,

Yesterday, I introduced Audit the Fed to the House of Representatives (H.R. 459), and my son Rand introduced Audit the Fed in the Senate (S. 202).

You and I may never have a better chance to pass this important legislation and finally bring transparency and accountability to the Federal Reserve.

Please take some time to read the message from John Tate below and help Campaign for Liberty in this crucial fight.

In Liberty,

Congressman Ron Paul

---

Dear Jason,

Congress has returned. But it looks a little different than last year.

As our battle to Audit the Fed begins again this year, it's important to look at what's different, and why this is our best chance ever to pass a real Audit to shine a spotlight on the out of control FED.

Congressman Ron Paul is now Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy - the Committee that oversees the Federal Reserve.

And Senator Rand Paul stands ready to lead the fight in the Senate.

With hundreds of returning cosponsors, this is a battle you and I CAN win.

But we also cannot underestimate the statist, Fed-loving politicians in Washington, D.C. It's vital we immediately unleash a tidal wave of anti-FED grassroots power on Congress.

I've prepared a petition for you. Please sign it immediately, so we can begin our battle against the Fed by passing a TRUE AUDIT THE FED BILL!

As you know, the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and their cronies on Wall Street have for more than 2 years been engaged in the worst plundering of a country's wealth in the history of civilization.

They are clearly out of control. And you and I together must demand Congress finally put a stop to it all.

That's why your help today is the key to enabling Ron Paul and Campaign for Liberty to fight back by taking the battle straight to the heart of the problem - the Federal Reserve itself.



You and I have a mountain of debt, and yet the Fed continues to print more money - backed by nothing but the whims of Ben Bernanke and international bankers.

That is our current financial policy in this country.

Bank bailouts. TARP funds spent on who knows what. The easing of our money supply. Artificially low interest rates. All done to benefit Wall Street bankers and international elites at the expense of the American taxpayer.

If you and I don't put a stop to it all, it will clearly be the ruin of our entire way of life. Already the glaring warning light of runaway inflation is flashing: higher grocery bills, gasoline price spikes, and gold and silver hedge investing are just the beginning.

There is good news, however.

Early in the 112th Congress, Congressman Ron Paul reintroduced his Audit the Fed bill. And for the first time, he was joined by his son, Senator Rand Paul, with similar legislation in the U.S. Senate.

The recent elections showed us what can be done by outraged citizens. Now, you and I must capitalize on these results to push forward in our mission to Audit - and then END - the Fed.

That's why it's vital you agree to fill out your personal "Audit the Fed" petition in support of Ron and Rand Paul's bill.

Did you know that we are now over $14 trillion dollars in debt? Or that over $10 trillion more has been pledged by the government and the Fed in bailouts or loan guarantees during this economic crisis?

More and more Americans are finding out the truth - and demanding action from Congress.

Now is the time to make sure your representative and senators feel the heat to support the Audit the Fed Bill!

Some folks say it is already too late.

I don't believe that; I know Ron Paul doesn't either.

We both believe the American people can work together to rein in the Fed and Congress and avert the disaster.

But if you and I don't act today, I'm afraid this crisis will end with the economic ruin of every man, woman, and child in America.

Whether it's seeing a phony "stimulus" package get rammed into law or watching Congress pass a $700 BILLION bank "bailout" under threat of martial law, the American people are agitated and increasingly angry.

They showed it this past fall.



That's why now is the perfect time to unleash the pressure of MILLIONS of outraged Americans on the out of control Fed!

So please fill out the petition urging your representative and senators to cosponsor and seek roll call votes on Ron Paul's Audit the Fed Bill!

And please consider making a contribution to Campaign for Liberty today.

As I know you're aware, the Federal Reserve is shrouded in secrecy. Their meetings are off-limits to the public. Their inner workings are off-limits to the public.

So can you imagine the impact of a full-scale audit? You and I will finally be able to show the American people that the Federal Reserve System leads to:

***Constant economic crises - the housing crisis and the resulting chaos is just one example of an economic bubble created by centrally-planned interest rates and money manipulation;

***The destruction of the middle class - as fuel, food, housing, medical care, and education costs soar, everyone who is NOT on the government dole is forced to make do with less as the value of their money slowly decreases;

***Currency destruction - history shows us that riots, violence, and full-scale police states can result when people finally realize their money isn't worth the paper it's printed on and REFUSE to accept it.

And unless you and I end the madness in Washington, D.C., we may be closer than we'd like to think to learning that history lesson firsthand - right here in our own streets.

That's why your commitment to helping pass the Audit the Fed Bill - and helping Campaign for Liberty fight this battle - is so vital.

Not too long ago, there was little chance of passing any legislation like Ron Paul's Audit the Fed Bill.

So I guess there has been one "CHANGE."

You see, with the piling up of trillions of dollars in out of control "bailouts" of Wall Street and international bankers, even many politicians in Washington, D.C. want to show you they're "being responsible."

What better way for Congress to do this than by auditing the Federal Reserve to account for the trillions stolen from U.S. taxpayers?

More and more Congressmen are already feeling the pressure and are signing up to support this bill. It could move at any time in the new Congress.

When it does, you and I must be ready to fight.

And, it's both a bill we CAN pass, and one that is vital to exposing the massive corruption and dollar manipulation at the Federal Reserve.



Now, we just need to show Congress the American people demand action on the Audit the Fed Bill. Here's how we plan to do that.

First, we're already busy contacting up to five million activists nationwide through mail, phones, and email to generate petitions to the U.S. Congress demanding action on Ron Paul's Audit the Fed Bill.

But that's just the beginning. We'll work the talk radio stations, as well as national news programs, and grant local media interviews to further turn up the pressure on Congress.

And a few days before the vote, if we have the resources, we'd also like to run hard-hitting, targeted radio, TV, and newspaper ads.

This entire program is designed to send one, CLEAR message to Congress: any politician who votes against the Federal Reserve audit should look for another job.

But such a massive effort won't be easy - or cheap. That's why I'm counting on your chip in contribution of $10 today.

The big government, Fed-loving statists in Congress will stop at nothing to derail our efforts to Audit the Fed.

This is our best chance EVER to push our battle forward. But it won't happen without your help.

That's why I hope you'll join Ron and me in this battle by sending in your petition and by chipping in a contribution of $10 today.

Thank you for your support.

In Liberty,

John Tate

The Ruins of Detroit

No place in America better symbolizes the ruination brought by Democrats than Detroit. The city has been run by Democrats for decades, while its economic life has been in thrall to the unions, which drove up wages to unsustainable levels, ruining the American auto industry.

The UK Guardian has published a selection of stunning photographs taken by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, showing the ruins of once grand buildings in the Motor City. It is heartbreaking to see -- almost as if a war was fought there. Yet, the problem is that it is not because of the Democrats ruining the city. It's because the city no longer reflects that of the great days of the past when the city was made up of White Christians. Detroit was the workmans' paradise. Now, it reflects that of a third world country in Africa. The similarities are the same. The people that makes up Detroit and a third world African country is made up of negroes, the two are totally bankrupt, crime runs rampant such as rape, murder, and robbery, and there are no white people. Ummm.

Ohio Supreme Court upholds state law blocking Cleveland's gun law

By Aaron Marshall

Gus Chan, Plain Dealer fileThe Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a state law invalidates several Cleveland ordinances regulating guns.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Lawmakers had the right to pass a uniform statewide gun law that blocked Cleveland and other cities from passing tougher laws such as assault weapons bans and handgun registration requirements, the state's highest court ruled Wednesday.

Gun-rights advocates hailed the Ohio Supreme Court's decision as a victory for constitutional rights, while Cleveland officials attacked it as an infringement on their authority to protect citizens from gun violence.

In the 5-2 decision, the Republican-dominated court said a 2006 state law does not violate Ohio's home rule provision that gives local authorities the ability to enact measures in the interest of their citizens. A key question in the case was whether the statewide gun law is considered a "general law"-- which under the home rule provision would override local ordinances.

The 13-page decision written by Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton supports the rationale of lawmakers that the statewide gun law was needed in 2006 to keep gun owners from being at the mercy of "a confusing patchwork" of licensing requirements and possession restrictions.

The gun law "is a general law that displaces municipal firearm ordinances and does not unconstitutionally infringe on municipal home rule authority," Stratton wrote. Concurring were Justices Maureen O'Connor, Terrence O'Donnell, Judith Lanzinger and Robert Cupp.

Cleveland had argued that its crime troubles are more severe than in other parts of the state, so gun control rules that apply to low-crime rural areas should not apply to the big city.

Cleveland has about a half-dozen firearms provisions that are stricter than the state law passed in 2006. For example, every firearm in the city must be registered; no one can openly carry a gun; and assault rifles and shotguns are banned -- all bans that are preempted by Ohio's uniform gun law and have been on hold during the court case.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said the ruling will put urban populations like Cleveland's at greater risk for gun violence.

"Even though we've made progress in Cleveland, gun violence is a very real threat that we face, particularly our young people," Jackson said in a statement. "Our inability to enforce laws that are right for our city flies in the face of home rule and takes power away the people at the local level."

Attorney General Richard Cordray praised the decision as a big win for those exercising their Second Amendment rights.

"This is an important victory for every gun owner in Ohio," Cordray said in a statement. "Before 2006, Ohioans faced a confusing patchwork of local ordinances with different restrictions on gun ownership and possession."

Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action echoed Cordray's comments and added in a statement: "If Cleveland, or any other city, wants to crack down on violence, city leaders there should focus on prosecuting criminals, not enacting new gun laws that only serve to restrict law-abiding citizens."

Cleveland Law Director Robert Triozzi, however, said the decision "eviscerates" home rule in Ohio.

"The impact is that municipalities can no longer take reasonable action to protect their citizens from the unique impact of gun violence in an urban environment, notwithstanding the numerous acts of gun violence throughout the state in the almost five years since the legislature passed a 'comprehensive' gun safety law in this state," he said in a statement.

Triozzi and other Cleveland officials see Wednesday's ruling as the latest blow to the nearly century-old authority of local governments to make their own laws. In recent years, the state legislature has passed laws attempting to limit local control over such issues as gas well drilling, real estate development, traffic cameras, residency requirements for employees and predatory lending.

Generally, the state's highest court has sided with lawmakers in recent years, striking down local provisions when they conflict with state law. For example, a Cleveland law restricting high interest rates and fees by lenders and another requiring city employees to live in Cleveland were both overturned by the court, citing conflicting statewide laws.

Dissenting in Wednesday's ruling were Chief Justice Eric Brown, the court's lone Democrat, and Justice Paul Pfeifer, who said that the law violates home-rule rights by preventing communities "from tailoring ordinances concerning the regulation of guns to local conditions."

The Supreme Court ruling overturns a decision by the 8th District Ohio Court of Appeals that found that the gun law was unconstitutional.

A sliver of the case is still alive as the high court punted back to the appeals court the question of whether the law violates the one-subject rule for legislation embedded in the Ohio Constitution. The appeals court has previously found this issue moot.

The King Holiday National Day of Disgrace!

Learn more history obout the True Martin Luther King by going to www.martinlutherking.org, but here is a short synopsis: The King Holiday National Day of Disgrace!

On Jan. 31, 1977 Coretta Scott King obtained a federal court order sealing 845 pages of FBI records about her husband for 50 years "because its release would destroy his reputation!" Many people contend that there is important information within this sealed file that should be made available to the public. The court says the file is of little importance, yet others claim that if that is indeed true, why withhold the information from the public.

The order to "bug" King was made by then U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy on Oct. 10, 1963. Before the files were finally sealed – some of the information was leaked and corroborated by associates of King. These statements are included in Congressional Records, which are available to the public. What we do know about King is so shocking that it is hard to believe there is actually more – but the files remain closed – even to the media.

King was affiliated with over 60 Communist groups (Congressional Record May 29, 1968 pg. E4785)

The Washington Observer Newsletter reported that "When the FBI agents had King under surveillance, they observed him meet a well-identified Soviet espionage agent at the Kennedy Airport in New York. They also secured evidence that King was receiving large sums of money from a well-known American Communist agent who gives King instructions that he implicitly obeys." (Congressional Record April 11, 1968 pg. E3005)

When the government raided the Southern Conference Educational Fund (labeled by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee as "a communist transmission belt for the South.") a check was found made out to Martin Luther King, Jr.– it was endorsed for cashing – the signatures on the check are those of James Dombrowski and Benjamin Smith (registered agent of Fidel Castro), both were identified Communist agents and the check is noted to be for "New York Expenses" The check was dated March 7, 1963

The Tennessean newspaper printed a photo of King on Labor Day weekend 1957 seated next to Abner Berry, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and writer for the Communist paper The Daily Worker, Aubrey Williams, Communist Party organizer and Myles Horton, director of the Communist Highlander Folk School located in Monteagle Tennessee. Rosa Parks was also a student of the Communist training school.

King often spoke of love. However, after becoming enraged with a woman (one of several involved in a sex party) he became very violent, hitting and cursing, knocking her across the bed. (Ralph Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down (New York: Harper &Row 1989)

King was involved in illicit homosexual unions – Carl Rowan, a black syndicated columnist was outraged when he had learned about the bugging of King’s hotel rooms and that there was "at least 15 reels of tape about sexual entertainment and conversations between King and Abernathy that might lead to the conclusion that there was a homosexual relationship between the two ministers." (Breaking Barriers: A Memoir by Carl Rowan – Boston: Little, Brown, and Company 1991) he blamed the bugging on Hoover until learning it was actually done at the urging of Bobby Kennedy. Tony Brown, a black talk show host, described in his book The Worst Kind of Uncle Tom, a reported instance between King and Abernathy . Using black street slang, King asks Abernathy to move closer so that oral sex can be performed. (We won’t print the actual quote)

At the Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, King said that U.S. servicemen serving in Vietnam were "like Nazis" and that U.S. servicemen were "the greatest purveyors of violence in the word today!" This statement disgraces all servicemen – white or black. Life Magazine of April 21, 1967 described King’s speech as a "a demagogic slander that sounded like a script for Radio Hanoi!"

King supported Red China’s admission to the UN and said that Americans should "not engage in a negative anti-communism." (Congressional Record May 2, 1967 p. H4973)

Communists in the U.S. were told to rally behind King. The U.S. Congressional Record of March 30, 1965 quotes Karl Prussian, a FBI counterspy inside the Communist Party. "At all of these Communist Party meetings Rev. Martin Luther King was always set forth as the individual to whom Communists should rally around."

King used the word non-violence, but wherever he went violence ensued. King wrote: "The purpose of our direct action program is to create a crisis packed situation. We who engage in non-violent direct action are not the creators of tension. – Negroes will be mentally healthier if they do not suppress rage." In Chicago he spoke before the West Side Club under a sign which read "Burn Baby Burn"

In New York City King threatened a young female civil rights worker. If she did not have sex with him – he would jump from the 13th floor of the hotel and in Norway King was nude when stopped by police while chasing a young woman down a hotel corridor.

Upon the death of King, Henry Winston, National Chairman of the Communist Party, USA led a six men delegation to the funeral of King. The Soviet Union sent messages of sympathy as well. Memorial meetings took place all over the Soviet Union: factories, halls, and theaters – even Moscow University. Waldeck Rochet, general secretary of the French Communist Party sent his regards and Poland’s Communist paper the Worker sent condolences to Corretta King. William Patterson, secretary of the Negro Department of the Communist Party, USA sent a telegram to Coretta King, wishing her the best: "Tonight we will join with all progressive mankind in expressing the deep pain and anguish at the monstrous assassination of your illustrious husband." Also in the Worker along with the article about the telegram was an article entitled, "Dr. King’s Legacy – 'FULFILL IT! COMMUNISTS DEMAND." What was it they wish to fulfill? The New York Post of July 1, 1958 interviewed King whom stated: "I’m sure that integration will lead to intermarriage." William Z. Foster head of the Communist Party in the 1940’s stated in his book, Toward a Soviet America, "The American Soviet will, of course, abolish all restrictions upon racial intermarriage.... The revolution will only hasten this process of integration."

Congressman Buchanan, speaking before the House, promulgated who benefited from King’s assassination: "The hand that gunned down Martin Luther King served the world Communist cause well, and no other cause I know". Certainly, the people who hold those Communist/Socialist/ one world order/beliefs did benefit from Kings death by the acceptance of their views by more people in society.

This is not the type of man that any child of any race should hold high as a hero. The files are not to be opened until the year 2027. By this time, will America become so degenerate as to not care about his slander of our military, his anti-women behavior, his 'secret’ homosexual lifestyle, and his subversive actions toward America and its traditions of Christian decency? We can only pray that America will not succumb to such anti-American notions. Yet, by promoting King as a hero to the youth of America without allowing them the truth of his character – we actually end up ushering in this type of mentality sooner. Unseal the files now and let Americans judge for themselves – Martin Luther King Jr. Hero or Traitor? – We believe the latter.

Obama's State Dept. Removes Mother, Father from Passports

From Newsmax

Sunday, 09 Jan 2011 08:45 PM

In what seems to be a diplomatic effort at extreme political correctness and a nod to gay rights groups, the Obama administration is removing the words “mother” and “father” from U.S. passport applications and replacing them with “gender neutral” terminology. Mom and dad will now be referred to rather coldly as “parent one” and “parent two.”

Conservative Christian groups are outraged over the decision.

“Only in the topsy-turvy world of left-wing political correctness could it be considered an ‘improvement’ for a birth-related document to provide less information about the circumstances of that birth,” Family Research Council president Tony Perkins wrote in a statement to Fox News Radio. “This is clearly designed to advance the causes of same-sex ‘marriage’ and homosexual parenting without statutory authority, and violates the spirit if not the letter of the Defense of Marriage Act.”

“The words in the old form were ‘mother’ and ‘father,’” Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services, confirmed Fox News. "They are now ‘parent one’ and ‘parent two.’"

A statement on the State Department website noted: “These improvements are being made to provide a gender neutral description of a child’s parents and in recognition of different types of families.” The statement didn't note if it was for child applications only.

The new passport applications, not yet available to the public, will be available online soon. Sprague told Fox the decision to remove the traditional parenting names was not an act of political correctness.

“We find that with changes in medical science and reproductive technology that we are confronting situations now that we would not have anticipated 10 or 15 years ago,” she said.

Gay rights groups are applauding the decision.

“Changing the term mother and father to the more global term of parent allows many different types of families to be able to go and apply for a passport for their child without feeling like the government doesn’t recognize their family,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of Family Equality Council.

Her organization lobbied the government for several years to remove the words from passport applications.

“Our government needs to recognize that the family structure is changing,” Chrisler said. “The best thing that we can do is support people who are raising kids in loving, stable families.”

The new gender-neutral passport application will be rolled out in February.

City with strictest gun control laws has most officers killed by gunfire

Chicago Mayor's Failed Social Policies Continue to Cost Citizens

By Mike Bauman

The City of Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation. Up until a few months ago, it was illegal for a private citizen to own or possess a handgun anywhere within the city, including in one's own home. For 2010, Chicago also holds another distinction. More Chicago Police Officers were killed by gunfire this year than any other police agency in the nation. The city also boasts one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, with 1 in 89 residents being victims of violent crime last year.

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc., the City of Chicago had five police officers killed in the line of duty this year. Four of those were killed by gunfire. This, despite the fact that until June of this year, Chicago did not allow the licensing of handguns. In order to lawfully possess a handgun in Chicago, a citizen was required to have a license. In effect, the Chicago law banned having any type of handgun.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled Chicago's ban violated its citizens' Second Amendment Rights. Long-time Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley, and the Chicago City Council, then reworked the city's laws, making it possible, but extremely expensive and difficult, to obtain a handgun license, clinging desperately to the hope that strict gun control laws would decrease crime in their city. When asked by Mick Dumke, of the Chicago Reader, if the city's firearms restrictions had helped, given the city's high rate of violent crime, Daley picked up a rifle from a news conference display and responded, "If I put this up your—ha!—your butt—ha ha!—you’ll find out how effective this is!"

In this case, it would appear more restrictions on firearms do not equal a safer community.

MTV's Teen Abortion Sales Pitch: It's just 'A Ball of Cells'

reprinted from Vision2America

The incredibly harmful lies propagated during “No Easy Decision” were matched only by the awful truths about the pro-abortion agenda that the show unintentionally unmasked. Pro-abortionist Lynn Harris, at Salon, exposed one such awful truth and, worse, actually praised it:

Here’s Dr. Drew opening the show — and racking up stunned “FTW!”s (For The Win!) on Twitter right out of the gate: “About 750,000 girls in the U.S. get pregnant every year. And although nearly a third of these teen pregnancies result in abortion, we’ve never shown this choice on ’16 and Pregnant’ up until now. It can be a polarizing topic, and there’s quite frankly no way to talk about this and please everyone. Although controversial to some, abortion is one of the three viable options, and it’s among the safest, most common medical procedures in the U.S., so we thought it was important for us to discuss.”

Among the most common “medical procedures” in the United States. So much for that safe, legal and rare thing, huh? That lie has been completely exposed already and there are over 50 million dead fetuses that attest to that fact. They don’t want it to be rare; they want it to be the default option as No Easy Decision, and the glee-ridden leftist feminist response to it, clearly shows. In fact, they want it to be “normal” and common. And will outright lie in order to accomplish this. Markai was told by the abortion clinic counselor as she was being prepped for the abortion, “do not think of ‘it’ as ten fingers and ten toes or anything like that or you will get too depressed. Think of ‘it’ as what ‘it’ is: a ball of cells.” I suppose that’s why children are not even allowed in the waiting room of the clinic; don’t want any of those pesky balls of cells running around confusing people.