James L. Paris's Blog, page 167

Tennessee Votes to Hit Back at U.S. Government on Refugee Resettlement

The state of Tennessee is, once again, participating in a rebellion against the federal government.

This time, the Tennessee General Assembly has voted, overwhelmingly, to sue the feds over what that body sees as violations of the Tenth Amendment committed in the name of refugee resettlement. The Tenth Amendment basically says that the federal government enjoys only those powers granted to it by the Constitution, and that all others belong to the states or the citizens. The resolution passed the Tennessee House by a margin of 69 to 25, and the Senate passed it with a 29 to 4 vote.

Tennessee elected to bail on the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program back in 2008, but that has not stopped the feds from sending thousands of refugees to the state each year, anyway. Although two other states, Alabama and Texas, are suing the government in connection with resettlement, they are doing so on the basis that the government has violated the terms of the Refugee Act of 1980. In the case of Tennessee, it is the first state to formally object to the resettlement program on the basis of the provisions of the Tenth Amendment.

In an interview with the conservative news and issues website Breitbart, resolution co-sponsor Sen. Mark Norris said the following: ���Today we struck a blow for liberty by finally adopting SJR467.The General Assembly clearly understands the importance of public safety and state sovereignty as demonstrated by the overwhelming support of this resolution for which we are thankful. The Syrian surge heightens our sense of urgency to get this properly before the courts, and we urge the attorney general to act without delay.���

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Gay Pastor Sues Whole Foods

I don���t what it is with cakes and political thought, but another example of baked confections is serving as the flashpoint for a dustup between an avowed gay pastor and, rather curiously, the progressive-leaning Whole Foods grocery chain.

According to Pastor Jordan Brown of the Church of Open Doors in Austin, Texas, he ordered a cake from a Whole Foods bakery with the inscription ���Love Wins,��� an expression that has become a popular battle cry, of sorts, within the LGBT community. Brown says that when he received the cake, the homosexual pejorative ���f-g��� had been added beneath the words ���Love Wins.��� Brown���s revelation of what he alleges Whole Foods had done came in the form of a YouTube video he posted after leaving the store with his cake. The video that Brown uploaded indeed shows the cake in its box, with the offensive inscription he claims was put there by one of the store���s bakers. Brown decided to file a lawsuit against Whole Foods for the alleged misdeed.

It turns out, however, that things may not be what they seem with this incident, and now Pastor Brown has learned that Whole Foods is planning to countersue him over his allegation. According to Whole Foods, an investigation it conducted into the matter has led them to strongly believe Brown altered the inscription himself, and that his lawsuit is purely an extortion attempt.

Whole Foods issued a statement on Monday about the matter. Here it is:

���After a deeper investigation of Mr. Brown���s claim, we believe his accusations are fraudulent and we intend to take legal action against both Mr. Brown and his attorney. Here���s what we know:

Our bakery team member wrote ���Love Wins��� at the top of the cake, which was visible to Mr. Brown through the clear portion of the packaging. That���s exactly how the cake was packaged and sold at the store. Whole Foods Market has a strict policy that prohibits team members from accepting or designing bakery orders that include language or images that are offensive. Mr. Brown admits that he was in sole possession and control of the cake until he posted his video, which showed the UPC label on the bottom and side of the box.

After reviewing our security footage of Mr. Brown, it���s clear that the UPC label was in fact on top of the cake box, not on the side of the package. This is evident as the cashier scans the UPC code on top of the box, which you can view here. We stand behind our bakery team member, who is part of the LGBTQ community, and we appreciate the team members and shoppers who recognize that this claim is completely false and directly contradicts Whole Foods Market���s inclusive culture, which celebrates diversity.Yours Truly, Whole Foods Market���

Clearly, Whole Foods seems convinced that Pastor Brown is up to no good. Public reaction over the situation has been mostly favorable for Whole Foods, a company with a long record of sympathy to more liberal causes. Indeed, it is that very record that makes, in the eyes of many, Whole Foods such an unlikely culprit in the ���crime��� alleged to have been committed here.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Survey Reveals that Privacy Options on Social Media Are Especially Important to Women

According to the results of a survey of 2028 Internet users in the U.S. conducted by Morar Consulting, women, much more than men, see Internet privacy as something about which to be acutely concerned. The results show that men care about it, as well���just not to the same degree.

The results were arrived at through a compilation of answers derived from questions that addressed the subject of Internet privacy in different ways. For example, on a question that asked how likely is it that the respondent would put sensitive, personal information on a social media profile, 78% of the women said it is ���extremely unlikely��� they would do so, while 63% of the men surveyed felt the same way. When asked if they would even disclose such information in a chat forum, 76% of women declared they would be ���extremely unlikely��� to do so, while only 60% men felt the same way.

More broadly, 52% of women surveyed said they lacked confidence that websites they visited would be able to protect them from ���security problems,��� while just 33% of men said so.

Intuitively, it makes sense that women would be more concerned about the vulnerabilities associated with being overexposed on social media and elsewhere on the Internet. It has to be said, though, that a lot of people, women included, are guilty of doing an especially poor job of employing even simple safeguards to help stay secure when using social media. I think that many of us have had the experience, when using Facebook, of clicking on the names of users who are not our own Facebook ���friends,��� and being surprised at how much information we can glean. The one ���pet peeve��� of mine in this regard has to do with the pictures of children that too many post and leave unprotected to the prying eyes of Facebook trolls with whom they have no identifiable connection or association. Let���s set aside, for the moment, that no one ���has��� to post any pictures���or anything at all, for that matter���to social media; if you do insist on putting such photos online, you owe it to all concerned to make certain that only those who are truly in your inner circle can see them.

Of course, genuine Internet privacy and safety involves much more than maintaining the right settings on social media; it demands the implementation of solid, comprehensive security measures that help ensure not only can nefarious individuals not grab a foothold in your private life or access your sensitive information, but that you will have the ability to navigate the Internet largely in complete anonymity.

A great resource to help get you where you need to be in this regard is The Patriot Privacy Kit ebook, something we have previously recommended. The Patriot Privacy Kit provides a ton of useful information on how to stay safe online. One of the many product features I like is the outlining of the procedure, shown step-by-step and graphically displayed using actual screen shots, demonstrating how to ���lock down��� your Facebook page. The material contains a lot more information, of course, including how to secure your computer hardware and software platforms, how to be a good steward of your all-important passwords, how to use email more securely���even how to surf the web anonymously. This comprehensive resource also includes great information on how to secure your sensitive information offline (even in this ���Internet age,��� most ID theft still takes place that way, from the compromise of documents in a physical form). Something else - The Patriot Privacy Kit comes with a fantastic money-back guarantee, which means you can read and use the information through and through���and if you���re still not satisfied, you can get all of your money back, with no fuss. If you want to learn more about The Patriot Privacy Kit, Click Here.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

AMC Quickly Backs Away from Idea to Allow Audience Texting In Its Movie Theatres

So AMC Theatres head Adam Aron revealed in an interview published on Thursday in Variety that the movie house chain was considering allowing audience members the opportunity to text during film showings; specifically, he said that his company was kicking around the idea of making ���more texting friendly��� some of their ���specific auditoriums.���

By Friday, the very next day, AMC made it clear that they were no longer entertaining the idea.

It turns out that when news of what AMC was pondering became well and widely known, the Internet backlash against the idea was cacophonous, to say the least.

The aspect of this whole thing that struck me, in particular, was what appeared to be the company���s underlying justification for considering the idea in the first place: to simply give in to the entitlement mentality of a mega-spoiled generation. Note carefully the following words of Aron, when this was still (to AMC) a viable idea: ���When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don���t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can���t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That���s not how they live their life.���

A private business ���can���t tell��� an adult to abide by a rule itself so rooted in common courtesy that it should not even have to be a rule? That is how far off the rails we���ve now gone? What is especially bad is that his statement to that effect really implied that society, as a whole���not just a given private business���can no longer expect to demand basic courtesy from other people.

Sorry, no sale.

As it happens, I don���t spend much time in movie theatres any longer, and that is due in no small way to the unfortunate discourteousness exhibited by a number of patrons, and exacerbated by the reluctance of theatre staff to actually do anything about those being rude. All of that is bad enough, but when theatres actually go as far as to seek ways to earnestly become part of the problem, then that is our cue to collectively push back as hard as possible. If we���re not inclined to do so at that time, then we each, truly, deserve everything we get.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Storied Military Academy Weighs Allowing Incoming Muslim Freshman to Wear Hijab

The Citadel, established in 1842 and steeped in a legacy that is unrivaled by practically any other American institution of higher learning, is giving serious consideration to taking a step that is as much a departure from the traditions of the military as it is a giant ���cannonball��� into the lake of political correctness. The same school that graduated a slew of Civil War generals, along with more modern-day military standouts like William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, and is famously (or infamously) known for its strictness even by the standard of military academies���is now giving serious consideration to the request made by an incoming Muslim freshman that she be allowed to wear a hijab as a part of her regular dress.

In the eyes of many, that the school is mulling any kind of exception to its uniform standards and rules is bad enough. However, part of what is causing such acute consternation for many over the proposed move���is that it would benefit a student of the Muslim faith at a time in American history when there is an ongoing national dialogue about how Islam ���fits��� in American society, particularly as the nation continues its active participation in an ongoing, global war against that religion���s radical elements.

According to the school���s policy on making accommodations for students on the basis of religion, it says, in part, ���The Citadel will approve requests for accommodation of religious practices unless accommodation will have an adverse impact on a competing institutional interest including, but not limited to, cohesion, morale, good order and discipline, cadet welfare, safety and/or health." Many of those who strongly object to allowing the exception in this case point precisely to the very standard outlined in the school���s policy as a good enough reason to slam the door shut on even the idea of granting the Muslim student���s request.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Indonesian Christian Woman Caned Under Sharia Law for Selling Alcohol

 In a particularly strict province of Indonesia, an elderly woman of the Christian faith was recently subject to the harsh punishment of caning for the offense of selling alcohol. Beyond the matter of the punishment itself, what makes this event so unusual���and, to many, so very ominous���is that the lashes were administered on the basis of sharia law, which governs the Indonesian province of Aceh where all of this took place.

The woman, 60 years old, was whipped approximately 30 times with a rattan cane. There was a crowd of hundreds that had assembled to watch the meting out of her punishment, as well as the punishment administered to a couple accused of committing adultery ��� they were each caned 100 times.

Until recently, the application of sharia law had applied only to Muslims, but a bylaw took effect in 2015 that permits the application of sharia to non-Muslims in select circumstances. An official at the prosecutor���s office in Aceh, speaking of the woman���s punishment, told the news bureau Agence France-Presse, ���This is the first case of a non-Muslim being punished under Islamic criminal bylaw.���

Although it is unusual for a single province to be subject to laws that differ significantly from those that govern the rest of the country, the unique autonomy was granted to Aceh in 2001 by the Indonesian government as a way to help suppress the Free Aceh Movement insurgent forces active there at the time.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Take Tim Kennedy���s ���Train to Be Hard to Kill��� Mantra to Heart

Tim Kennedy is currently a professional mixed martial arts fighter in the popular Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) system, but it is history of military service that has gone a long way to making him such a particularly noteworthy figure on the circuit. As a soldier, Kennedy has gone ���all the way,��� as they say, having completed Ranger School as an honor graduate, sniper school, as well as the highly-elite Special Forces Qualification Course, earning the Army Special Force���s unique mark of distinction, the Green Beret headpiece. Kennedy served in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom , and can count the Bronze Star with the ���V��� device (added when the medal is specifically awarded for valor in combat) among his many awards.

To people like me, who are big fans of the kinds of things Kennedy does (and has done), he is no stranger. Here he is as a guest on The Alex Jones Show, discussing among other things, the nature of the specific ISIS threat in the state of Texas:

Tim Kennedy espouses the kinds of general ideas and philosophies to which many of us adhere. On the subjects of hardcore fitness and unarmed combat training, in particular, Tim has a notion���a mantra, really���that speaks to the bottom line: ���EVERY TIME YOU TRAIN, TRAIN WITH THE MOTIVATION AND PURPOSE THAT YOU WILL BE THE HARDEST PERSON SOMEONE EVER TRIES TO KILL.��� I love that, largely because it speaks truth to the nature of the threats that plague our society now, more than ever before.

In the spirit of Tim Kennedy���s training philosophy, I want to take this opportunity to ���give some love,��� as the kids say, to one of the finest, remote-based self-defense trainings I have ever reviewed: MaxKravMaga.com.

Krav Maga is a system of self-defense that was created for the benefit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and is comprised of a wide variety of techniques with origins in other formal systems and concepts of self-defense. One of the characteristics I particularly like about Krav Maga is its realistic approach to self-defense; one of its core themes is combat expediency, which is, perhaps, the most important feature (or should be) in street self-defense.

The MaxKravMaga.com system is the brainchild of Eyal Yanilov, the founder of Krav Maga Global who studied under the tutelage of Krav Maga���s legendary founder, Imi Lichtenfeld. The detail of the instruction, along with the top-notch quality of the videos themselves, the clean, crisp organization of the materials, and the excellence of the platform on which they���re situated, make MaxKravMaga.com a true winner in the realm of remote-based self-defense instruction.

So What Do You Get with MaxKravMaga.com?

Lots. Here is just a brief rundown of what is contained in the MaxKravMaga.com program, because a full detailing would take up several more pages:

10 comprehensive, highly-detailed video training modules

The official KMG syllabus for every proficiency level

Technique analysis and discussion with fellow members

Members-only forums

Access to every future upgrade and content addition

Q&A with program architect and Krav Maga legend Eyal Yanilov

You ALSO receive four terrific bonus videos, as well:

Combat Mindset and Mental Conditioning

Eyal Yanilov���s Masterclass Seminar

Anti-Carjacking and Road Rage Defense

Using Firearms as Non-Lethal-Weapons

As for the techniques illustrated in the material, there are far too many to itemize here, but they include:

Strikes, including hooks and uppercuts

Spinning attacks, strikes, and kicks

Takedowns using wrist leverage

Switch kicks

Defenses against chokes

Defenses against armed attacks

In total, your membership in MaxKravMaga.com provides you with access to:

272 VIDEOS

647 TECHNIQUES

23 HOURS OF FOOTAGE

There���s other cool stuff, as well, including the opportunity to earn 30 free days of membership for each time someone you solicit enrolls in the program!

An additional feature that I want to mention is the generous refund policy. As great as this program is, if you enroll in MaxKravMaga.com and then decide that it is not really for you, then you can get a no-hassle refund for up to 60 days after you first sign up. Speaking candidly, if you see yourself as a devoted self-defense student who wants to be able to train remotely and on your schedule, I cannot imagine that you would want to quit and get your money back. However, I also understand ���life events��� sometimes arise that force even the dedicated student to change course. Anyway, regardless of the reason, you can receive a refund anytime during the first two months of membership, which seems pretty great to me.

If you want to train to ���be the hardest person someone ever tries to kill,��� then MaxKravMaga.com is for you. If you would like to learn more, or just enroll in MaxKravMaga.com directly, Click Here.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

In the Donald Trump ��� Megyn Kelly Feud, is Kelly Now Blinking?

 In light of the intense acrimony that has characterized much of the discourse on the Republican side of the 2016 presidential election thus far, it is difficult to see how those feuds that have been extra-prickly could ever see even a measure of repair come to them. The name-calling, the vitriol expressed at such a personal level���makes it seems as though it would be impossible for some of these ���relationships��� of people who are supposed to be, at least generally, on the same team, to ever again become sincerely congenial.

Given that, it was with more than a little surprise that many of us learned of a ���secret��� meeting on Wednesday morning between GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and the person many have come to see as his arch-nemesis in the media, FOX News personality Megyn Kelly, host of the highly-rated Kelly File. According to Kelly herself, in mentioning the meeting briefly on her program Wednesday night, it was she who requested the meeting, adding that ���Trump was gracious enough to agree to it.���

Kelly said that the two met for more than an hour, during which time she asked that he sit with her to do a formal interview. Kelly did not reveal whether Trump agreed to the interview request, but she did say that she hopes to have more information on that at a later date.

The Trump-Kelly dustup has found itself serving as one of the ongoing backstories of the 2016 campaign. The trouble started, of course, at the Republican debate hosted by FOX on August 6, 2015, when Kelly pointedly asked Trump about his apparent lack of respect for women. Trump, clearly put out by the question, responded by basically saying that he does not behave in accordance with the dictates of political correctness, and that the American people have far bigger concerns than whatever offhanded comments he might have previously made.

It is difficult to know, for sure, what has prompted Kelly to want to bury the hatchet with Trump at this point, but most would likely suggest that it���s a matter of ratings, particularly as the primary season winds down and the Republican convention, expected to be nothing short of explosive, approaches. Indeed, as FOX News itself has said, Megyn Kelly ���has acknowledged in recent interviews that Trump is a fascinating person to cover and has electrified the Republican base.��� It very much stands to reason, then, that Kelly���s recent overtures to Trump are rooted in little more than professional expediency.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

New York Braces for Massive Protests by Anti-Trump Forces on Thursday

The 2016 New York State Republican Gala is this year honoring New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, but it is the listed ���special guests��� who are clearly the attraction at the sold-out event: Remaining Republican presidential contenders Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Donald Trump will all be appearing at the Gala, and it is the presence of Trump, in particular, that is expected to bring out the largest and most vocal number of protesters.

Trump���s chief menace at his most recent, high-profile rallies has come in the form of the radical progressive group MoveOn.org, an outfit that���s been very deliberate in its effort in recent days to gin up anti-Trump New Yorkers. MoveOn is doing everything it can to lure an enormous number of energetic leftists to the area of the Grand Hyatt New York hotel, site of the Gala, on Thursday evening, for the express purpose of protesting ���The Donald.���

MoveOn.org has competition, however, in its effort to claim responsibility for the upheaval sure to hit the streets on Thursday night. Other groups pushing for an enormous turnout of protesters include the Muslim Democratic Club of New York, as well as the immigration advocacy groups United We Dream and Make the Road. A member of Make the Road, Antonio Alarcon, declared in a press release that, ���The Republican hate train is coming to NYC. Donald Trump is the conductor and Ted Cruz is masquerading as the friendly ticket taker.��� He further said that, ���New Yorkers reject the policies that these two men are proposing, and call for security, unity, and opportunity for all New Yorkers."

While Cruz clearly has no fans among the fringe left, it is Trump who remains the primary target of the protesters, and MoveOn.org���s contribution to the press release made that clear, saying, ���A collection of organizations and independent New Yorkers are mobilizing to shut down Trump and oppose creeping Trumpism under the banner #HateFreeNY."

As far as logistical and safety concerns go, while it is bad enough that the protests are taking place anywhere within NYC, these are scheduled to get underway around 5:30 p.m. ET in the general area of Grand Central Terminal. This means that the jobs of the police and other emergency personnel tasked to the location will be even more difficult, as they contend not only with the ���regular��� fallout associated with protests, but, additionally, with the exacerbated conditions that naturally exist when trouble like this takes place at one of the world���s busiest travel hubs during rush hour.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Textbooks in Pakistan Teach That Christians are ���Violent and Tyrannical By Nature���

An article over at Christian Today by Florence Taylor sheds light on a study sponsored by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a study that reveals public school textbooks in Pakistan assume a decidedly adversarial posture toward Christians.

The study, Teaching Intolerance in Pakistan: Religious Bias in Public School Textbooks, examined the school books and other elements of the curriculum, and found that Pakistani Christians are portrayed as ���colonial oppressors,��� among many other unfortunate characterizations.

According to the study, the textbooks teach that "Christians learned tolerance and kind-heartedness from Muslims,��� while Hindus, another minority religion in the country, are forced to learn about "Hindus' conspiracies towards Muslims.��� Pakistani Christians are seen as ���colonial oppressors��� by the textbooks, and are characterized as ���nefarious, violent, and tyrannical by nature."

In discussing the study, Robert George, chairman of the Commission, said, in part, that, ���Pakistan's public school textbooks contain deeply troubling content that portrays non-Muslim citizens as outsiders, unpatriotic, and inferior; are filled with errors; and present widely-disputed historical 'facts' as settled history."

The Christian Today article reports that the Commission has asked the U.S. State Department to designate Pakistan as a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large