Our suspicions are slowly confirming.   The South Carolina political machine is working diligently now to protect themselves from a volatile situation they have created.

Grande Lum is the head of the Federal DOJ Community Relations Service.  As readers here are familiar, he is an Obama-like ideologue but he is also no dummy.  There is no doubt Lum has already recognized the dangerous position created by the South Carolina political machine who control SLED.

In our estimation the politicians in South Carolina have created an unrealistic public expectation in the Michael Slager case with an arrest for murder and no hope of achieving a conviction of that charge in court.

The primary mission of the State Law Enforcement Division [SLED] is to provide quality manpower and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies and to conduct investigations on behalf of the state as directed by the Governor and Attorney General.  (link)

It became obvious to us when we saw the 4/6/15 Arrest Warrant for “Murder” filed by SLED, a political entity reporting to the attorney General and Governor’s office, the SC political machine was setting expectations incredibly high based on highly dubious information.

In essence they reacted out of fear to the Walter Scott witness video without even interviewing the eye-witness before they filed charges.  Their reaction most likely based on an attempt to stop a Ferguson-like uproar, but they simply went too far. (more…)

WALKERTON, Ind. (AP) – A northern Indiana pizzeria that closed after its owner supported Indiana’s religious objections law has reopened.

Memories Pizza owner Kevin O’Connor says he reopened about 4 p.m. Thursday. He says that within an hour, all eight tables were filled and six people were waiting for carryout orders. There were no protests as of 7 p.m.

O’Connor faced criticism after he and his daughter, Crystal, said they would never deny service to a gay customer but would decline to cater a same-sex wedding because it would conflict with their Christian beliefs. Protests led them to close the Walkerton pizzeria about 20 miles southwest of South Bend.

O’Connor says he’ll use some of his share of more than $842,000 raised online to make improvements. He also plans to donate to charity.  (link)

Stingray technology is a data tool for capturing cell phone communication and tracking cell phone users. Stingray Systems mimic cell tower signals and capture the content of targeted cell phone users.

The New York ACLU went to court to force Erie County Sheriffs’ to disclose details about the law enforcement use of Stingray Technology. What they uncovered is alarming. In 46 out of 47 examples law enforcement never sought a warrant to use Stingray intercepts, and in 46 out of 47 examples the same law enforcement used Stingray tools to track the movements of “suspects” – again without warrants or court oversight.

(NYCLU April 7, 2015) — The New York Civil Liberties Union released today records it received from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office on its use of ”stingrays,” devices that can track and record New Yorkers’ locations via their cell phones. The records showed that of the 47 times the Sheriff’s Office used stingrays in the past four years, it apparently only once obtained a court order, contradicting the sheriff’s own remarks.

“These records confirm some of the very worst fears about local law enforcement’s use of this expensive and intrusive surveillance equipment,” said NYCLU Staff Attorney Mariko Hirose. “Not only did the Sheriff’s Office promise the FBI breathtaking secrecy to keep information about stingrays as hidden as possible, it implemented almost no privacy protections for the Erie County residents it is sworn to protect and serve.” (more…)

Update: No-one fired, no disciplinary action, barely an apology – Essentially no consequences. Rolling Stone says; Oopsie, our bad.

READ HERE

EARLIER: According to CNN’s Brian Stelter Rolling Stone will be releasing the results of a Columbia Grad School journalism audit tonight. In addition the lying Rolling Stone author of the UVA hit piece, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, is also anticipated to apologize for her false story.

[…] So as questions have swirled over how the botched story made it to print, there has been virtually no explanation from the author of the piece.

But that is expected to change Sunday night, when Columbia University’s graduate school of journalism releases findings from its independent review of Rolling Stone’s debacle.

(more…)

Mark Steyn

(more…)

Mark Steyn […]  “Betrothed gays looking for wedding cakes and floral arrangements are not just carelessly stumbling into homophobic bakeries and florists. It’s an organized campaign consciously targeting particular establishments. That’s why no gay couples have wandered into a Muslim patisserie in Dearborn.

(more…)

Overnight thread – Long video but worth watching if you have time.

Judicial Watch hosted a panel at its headquarters discussing Hillary Clinton’s email scandal with Joseph E. diGenova (Founding Partner, diGenova & Toensing, LLP), Daniel J. Metcalfe (Adjunct Professor of Law, American University), and Paul Orfanedes (Director of Litigation, Judicial Watch). Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch’s president, moderator.

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will not seek contempt charges against former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner for her refusal to testify before Congress, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Wednesday.

It has been nearly a year since the House voted to hold Lerner in contempt in a mostly party-line vote. At the time, the charges were referred to the local U.S. attorney. The Justice Department officially informed House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, of U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen’s decision in a letter sent to Boehner’s office Tuesday.

“A team of experienced career prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office was assigned to carefully assess the referral. After extensive analysis, the team concluded that the House Committee followed proper procedures in notifying Ms. Lerner that it had rejected her claim of a Fifth Amendment privilege and gave her an adequate opportunity to answer the Committee’s questions,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “However, the team also concluded that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment privilege by making general claims of innocence. The Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense if she were prosecuted for contempt.” (link)

UPDATE: The moonbattery has metastasized into a supernova of hatred. The intolerant leftists have shut down the mom and pop pizzeria with phone attacks and an on-line onslaught similar to Chick-Fil-A in 2012. Only this time the business is not a corporation it’s a family restaurant without the corporate resources.

A GoFundMe Fundraising Account has been set up to assist the “Memories Pizza” owners offset the damage to their business.

As of this writing it has raised $23,742 in 3 hours – ACCOUNT DETAILS HERE

You might have noticed an absolute apoplectic reaction to an article about an Indiana Pizza Shop, Memories Pizza, which is being sold as the “First business (restaurant) to publically deny service to same sex marriage”.

Check out the screenshot from their story.  Note the “HEADLINE“, and note the “AUTHOR“:

“Business Wouldn’t Cater A Gay Wedding” ??

Sounds a little weird, no?

…”On Tuesday, the proprietors of Walkerton’s Memories Pizza praised Gov. Mike Pence for protecting religious freedom and said they would choose not to serve their pies at any same-sex weddings”….

(Says Politico as they pick up the story)

I mean who exactly has a Pizza Restaurant cater a wedding? (more…)

What happens when liberals are losing an argument based on facts?

Watch and see:

Ryan Anderson noted that in fact, and in legal reality, the 2014 Hobby Lobby decision, the Supreme Court ruled the federal RFRA does apply to corporations. “Most churches are corporate persons, most charities are corporations. So the idea that a Religious Freedom Restoration Act doesn’t protect corporations really doesn’t have any basis in the law.” (more…)