James L. Paris's Blog, page 158

Southern California Residents Facing Blackouts this Summer Amidst Natural Gas Shortage

Southern Californians appear to be under the gun right now from Mother Nature. Just a few days ago, we told you about a report of significantly increased seismic activity along the San Andreas Fault; now, we���re learning that residents are facing a substantially increased of power outages through the summer as a result of the failure of a shuttered area natural gas storage facility to become operational again.

The Aliso Canyon field, which serves to back up the electric utilities in the region during periods of significant demand, was shut down last October following the discovery of a leak at the facility. Without the availability of Aliso Canyon to backstop the massively-increased energy requirements that have already come to pass this year, residents are being warned to brace for power outages that could affect millions of residents during periods that last as long as two weeks. Already, thousands of Los Angeles residents got a glimpse of the trouble likely to come when they were hit with an outage during an exceptionally hot day this past Monday, but officials say that is nothing compared to what is in store for massive numbers of area residents this summer as the Aliso Canyon facility remains out of commission.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Atheists Demand that Small Texas Town Remove Its ���Welcome��� Signs Mentioning God

The small city of Hondo, Texas has been known for its distinctive ���welcome��� signs (that have been up since 1932) that read, ���Welcome. This is God���s Country. Please Don���t Drive Through It Like Hell.���

Pretty cute, right? Well, not to some atheists, apparently, and clearly not to an organized group of atheists based out of Wisconsin, the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The FFRF has written to Hondo city officials to ask the signs be removed because���in the opinion of the atheist group���they violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The letter written by the group includes a complaint that the signs convey the message that ���nonbelievers are not welcome in the city,��� as well as that they declare ���government preference for religion over non-religion.���

According to The Gospel Herald Society, Hondo mayor Jim Danner said in response to the letter that, ���There���s no way in hell we���re going to take those signs down.���

This is one of the best examples I���ve seen recently as to what makes so many atheists insufferable. Here is a clever, fun, municipal sign message that contains an incidental expression of faith. No reasonable person would say that it is an example of government-sponsored religion, an official endorsement of Christianity, or anything like that. Only the most unhinged progressive would agree with the Freedom From Religion Foundation���s contention that the signs indicate ���that nonbelievers are not welcome in the city,��� and, still, here we are again.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Despite Orlando Massacre Gun Control ���Momentum,��� Anti-2nd Amendment Bills Defeated in Senate

Four bills designed to strengthen gun control laws were contested by the U.S. Senate on Monday, but all fell to defeat after much contentious back-and-forth between Republicans and Democrats.

The bills each made their way quickly through to consideration in the wake of the June 12 terrorist attack by self-proclaimed ISIS disciple Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and injured 53 more at an Orlando gay nightclub when he opened fire with both a semi-automatic rifle and pistol.

However, the perceived momentum in favor of additional gun control in the days following the Orlando attack appears to have been just that, perceived. The first piece of legislation up for a vote was brought to the table by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who proposed an amendment to increase funding for background checks; that went down to defeat by a vote of 53-47.

Next up was a vote on Sen. Chris Murphy���s (D-Conn.) proposal to both close the gun show loophole and increase the scope of background checks; that failed by a vote of 56-44.

The third measure voted on was brought by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). His proposal would have placed a 72-hour delay on gun sales to suspected terrorists while prosecutors determined if the sale should be prevented entirely, but that measure also went down to defeat by a vote of 53-47.

Lastly, there was Sen. Dianne Feinstein���s (D-Calif.) bill that would have prevented anyone on the government���s official terrorism watch list from purchasing firearms, but that, too, was defeated, 53-47.

While some Democrats think additional legislative efforts on behalf of more gun control are forthcoming in the Senate, there are no expectations that the House of Representatives will take any steps on crafting its own gun control legislation in the foreseeable future.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Researchers: ���Considerable��� Movement Along San Andreas Fault

According to researchers, new evidence has come to light showing ���considerable��� movement along the San Andreas Fault.

The findings, published in the Nature Geoscience journal, show a ������considerable��� mall-amplitude, but spatially considerable, coherent pattern of uplift and subsidence straddling the fault system in southern California.���

Although the GPS readings have been available before, they had been obscured by other collateral ���noises��� in the data, including those from rain and water pumping. A team from the University of Hawaii was able, through statistical analysis, to remove these noises, and what was left was definitive evidence of movement on both sides of the fault.

Just last month, Thomas Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center, said in an address at the National Earthquake Conference in Long Beach, California that the part of the fault that runs through Southern California is ���locked, loaded and ready to roll.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Will Brexit Spark A World Financial Crisis?

It may be one of the biggest events in decades in Europe, and it happens this Thursday. The United Kingdom will hold a referendum on whether or not to leave the European Union. Could Brexit set off a world financial crisis? Ticketmaster settles a class action lawsuit and gives customer free tickets - how to find out if you are included. Fake IRS agents target college students, the Chicago School system is going bankrupt, and a half a billion dollar prepaid funeral scam.

 

 

LA Marzulli Discusses Orlando Shooting And World Events

Bible prophecy expert LA Marzulli joins Jim Paris live. On this episode - how do these attacks by Islamic radicals play into Bible prophecy? The significance of the U.K. vote to exit the European Union, the transgender agenda, Pope Francis, Donald Trump, and a preview on his upcoming movie , Watchers 10 - DNA.

 

In DOJ-Edited Transcript of Orlando Shooter���s 911 Call, ���Allah��� Replaced with ���God���

 The Justice Department has released what amounts to ���its��� version of the 911 call made by Orlando gay nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, replacing the mass murderer���s references to ���Allah��� with ���God.���

Mateen made the call while he was in the process of killing scores of people inside of Pulse nightclub on June 12, in what most see as a terrorist attack inspired by radical Islam. Although many have pointed to the nightclub���s gay orientation, as well as Mateen���s alleged declarations of hatred toward homosexuals, as the reasons to see the attack as one rooted in homophobia, Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State during his rampage, and ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack through an encrypted chat forum.

During the 911 call, Mateen recited an Islamic prayer in which he said:

���Praise be to Allah, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of Allah [in Arabic]. I let you know, I���m in Orlando and I did the shootings.���

However, the transcript released by the Justice Department reflects that part of the call in the following way:

���Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [in Arabic]. I let you know, I���m in Orlando and I did the shootings.���

Attorney General Loretta Lynch admitted that the DOJ would be cleansing from the transcript any references to Islamic terrorism. The justification for doing so, in her words, is that ���we���re not going to���further proclaim this man���s pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda. We are not going to hear him make his assertions of allegiance [to the Islamic State].���

Cynical observers see the reason for the edits rooted less in an attempt at psychological warfare, as implied by Lynch, and more in a politically-correct effort by the Obama administration to keep Islam from being portrayed in a negative light.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Dr. Kelli Ward, McCain Challenger, Says Senator is ���Directly Responsible��� for the Rise of ISIS

Dr. Kelli Ward, the right-wing Republican challenger to Arizona Sen. John McCain in his bid for re-election this year, went after her opponent in no uncertain terms after he accused President Obama on Thursday of being ���directly responsible��� for ISIS.

 

Co-opting the characterization of ���directly responsible,��� Ward seized the opportunity to use Sen. McCain���s attack on the president against the senator himself���not for the purpose of defending Obama, but to call out McCain for policies that she says have engendered and enabled the rise of the Islamic State.

Further playing into Ward���s hands ���in the moment��� was the fact that McCain, after his initial shot across the bow at Obama, attempted to walk back the criticism in what ultimately proved to be a rather ham-fisted effort.

Following is a portion of the statement issued by Ward wherein she accuses McCain of being responsible for the rise of ISIS:

���As we got used to during his 2008 presidential campaign, John McCain has once again thrown a punch at Barack Obama and immediately apologized for it, bowing to lick the boots of the political correctness police- Not surprising for the ultimate establishment insider.

I, however, am not afraid to place the blame right where it belongs:  John McCain is ���directly responsible��� for the rise of ISIS.  Without his dangerously distracted foreign policy, we would not have this ruthless Islamic extremist organization that crucifies children, systematically rapes women, oppresses Christians, and throws homosexuals off rooftops.

Libya and Iraq would not be the ���Harvard of terrorism��� they are now if it were not for his knee-jerk, trigger-happy foreign policy of promiscuously arming the supposedly moderate militants he says he is ���intimate with��� and overthrowing stable, albeit unsavory regimes. He even wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years and joked about risking military lives to ���Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.��� Even George W. Bush and Tony Blair have admitted that the 2003 invasion of Iraq created a vacuum which allowed jihadist ideologies to flourish. Our open border has given those emboldened elements access to our country and our citizens. McCain has been complicit in all of it.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

San Francisco Lawmaker Seeks Ban of U.S. Navy Blue Angels Flyovers

There is a growing movement within the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative body of both the city and county of San Francisco, to ban any further city flyovers by the Blue Angels, the elite flight demonstration squadron of the U.S. Navy.

The Blue Angels are scheduled to appear this October during San Francisco Fleet Week. Fleet Week is an annual event that celebrates the nation���s armed services, and appearances by military demonstration teams like the Blue Angels tend to put the punctuation points on such celebrations.

However, County Supervisor John Avalos is no fan of the Blue Angels, and has tried for some time now to convince his fellow supervisors to take steps that would see to it the Blue Angels could no longer fly over the City by the Bay.
While Avalos is couching his latest effort to ground the Blue Angels in safety concerns, particularly in light of the recent crash of a Blue Angels plane in Tennessee, he has also declared his clear distaste for the ���imperialism��� he believes the Blue Angels symbolize.

Among various tweets, Avalos has said the following:

���Thousands of us in the Civic Center Plaza staring up, gawking as the Blue Angels strafe San Francisco and flip us the bird.���
���War planes r flying at low altitudes over SF, reminding me of the $580B for US imperialism & the pittance 4 climate and human development.���

As an aside, Avalos might want to look up the definition of the word ���strafe��� before he uses it again so publicly.
That said, other members of the Board of Supervisors have already declared both support and opposition to Avalos��� proposed ban, with Board President London Breed saying she wants to hear more from the investigation into the Tennessee crash before making a final decision on how to vote.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

3 Reasons Why This Could Be Your Last Chance To Buy Bitcoin Before It Skyrockets

Bitcoin Price Jump Puts It at 28-Month High. We just recorded a 1 hour double podcast episode discussing how you can get in before it's too late.

On Thursday, the price of Bitcoin reached its highest level in nearly two-and-a-half years when it moved to over $750 during the session of the day.

The recent, significant upward move in the price of Bitcoin has been attributed to a variety of factors, including:

Investor reaction to the strategic devaluation of China���s yuan by that country���s central bank.
The uncertainty surrounding a (very) possible exit of Britain from the EU (���Brexit).
The anticipation surrounding the upcoming ���halving��� of Bitcoin.

In the latest edition of the Christian Money Plus members-only video double podcast, Jim Paris and co-host Bob Yetman address the influences presently exerting so much of an effect on the price of Bitcoin right now. Additionally, Jim discusses the most exciting development in digital currency since the advent of Bitcoin, something called Ethereum.

To hear this podcast in full, you must be a member of Jim���s premium information service, Christian Money Plus. Membership in Christian Money Plus entitles you to a variety of benefits, including access to new, twice-monthly podcasts, as well as to all archived editions. Other benefits include access to premium article content, archives of previous Jim Paris newsletter publications, recorded webinar trainings on a variety of personal finance subjects, unlimited email-based Q&A with Jim and his staff, and more*! For additional information about Christian Money Plus, including how to become a monthly subscriber for just $9.95 per month, Click Here. 

*** If you are already a member, go directly to the new one hour video on Bitcoin and Ethereum - Click Here.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

* Excludes topics related to personalized investment, tax, and/or legal advice.