Color me not shocked.  After the fiasco in New York last year I’m actually surprised it took this long for a bunch of pontificating progs to go in this direction….

(Via Fox News)  A national newspaper chain with nearly 100 publications and 1.6 million readers is considering building “state-by-state databases” on concealed weapons permit holders, according to an internal e-mail.

The plan, laid out in an email from a top editor at North Carolina-based Civitas Media, could be similar to a controversial project a New York state newspaper carried out in 2012 which included an online map that identified gun owners in two counties by name and address. Civitas’ database project was detailed the plan in a Jan. 19 e-mail to newsrooms in 11 states, including Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

“The second project examines the explosion of ‘conceal and carry’ gun permits across the U.S.,” wrote Jim Lawitz, Civitas’ director of content, in an e-mail first obtained by the Buckeye Firearms Association. “Through public records act requests, we will attempt to build state-by-state databases that list those who have the right to carry a concealed weapon.”  (read more)

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviewing Congresswoman Jane Harmon about a recent NSA review board determination. The report concluded the NSA collection raises “constitutional concerns” with regard to U.S. citizens’ rights of speech, association and privacy.

Congresswoman Harmon along with numerous representatives from both sides of the political spectrum are highly concerned. The NSA surveillance program is at the top of current concerns for 70%+ of Americans….   Now watch:

#1   –  Federal prosecutors are now in New Jersey conducting a preliminary inquiry into accusations that aides to Gov. Chris Christie shut down access lanes to the George Washington Bridge as political retribution.  And have issued grand jury subpoenas to Mr. Christie’s re-election campaign and to the state Republican Party, the lawyer for the campaign and the party said Thursday.   (link)

#2  –   Dinesh D’Souza, a conservative commentator, best-selling author and the director of the anti-Obama film “2016: Obama’s America” was indicted by a federal court today. The movie, the second highest domestic grossing political documentary in the United States since 1982, was a huge success before the 2012 elections.  Indicted by a federal grand jury for arranging excessive campaign contributions to a candidate for the U.S. Senate.   According to an indictment made public on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, D’Souza around August 2012 reimbursed people who he had directed to contribute $20,000 to the candidate’s campaign. The candidate was not named in the indictment.  (link)

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DETROIT (WWJ) – He’s been dubbed the “Blow Torch Rapist” and Detroit police say he’s struck again.

The latest attack occurred just before 7 a.m. Wednesday in a largely abandoned neighborhood near Plymouth and Meyers roads the city’s west side.

A 43-year-old woman told police she was leaving a gas station when a man came behind her and put a gun to her head. The woman said her attacker forced her into a car, ripped off her clothes and began burning her face with a blow torch.

Police say the victim stabbed the man in the eye with a screwdriver and was able to get away and call for help. She’s currently hospitalized in stable condition. (more…)

Functionally obsolescent = Impairment of the usefulness of a system due to its inability to be upgraded or modified to serve the user’s current needs.   In this case, private health insurance is now viewed as obsolete because government controlled ObamaCare moves in to replace private options. 

WASHINGTON DC – Moody’s announced Thursday it was downgrading its outlook for health insurers from stable to negative based on uncertainty related to ObamaCare.

The credit rating agency cited an unstable environment because of the healthcare law’s difficult rollout, and projected that insurers would earn 2 percent less than forecast in 2014.

“While we’ve had industry risks from regulatory changes on our radar for a while, the ongoing unstable and evolving environment is a key factor for our outlook change,” Moody’s Senior Vice President Stephen Zaharuk said in a statement. “The past few months have seen new regulations and announcements that impose operational changes well after product and pricing decisions were finalized.” (more…)

GREG HICKS – Shifting blame to our dead ambassador is wrong on the facts. I know—I was there.

Last week the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued its report on the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya. The report concluded that the attack, which resulted in the murder of four Americans, was “preventable.”

Some have been suggesting that the blame for this tragedy lies at least partly with Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in the attack. This is untrue: The blame lies entirely with Washington.

The report states that retired Gen. Carter Ham, then-commander of the U.S. Africa Command (Africom) headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, twice offered to “sustain” the special forces security team in Tripoli and that Chris twice “declined.”

Since Chris cannot speak, I want to explain the reasons and timing for his responses to Gen. Ham. As the deputy chief of mission, I was kept informed by Chris or was present throughout the process. (more…)

Yesterday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated there is absolutely nothing in the Nuclear deal with Obama that references “dismantling” of centrifuges.

President Rouhani specifically called the White House liars and then Rouhani challenged the media to read the actual text of the agreement which the White House has refused to release.

Today the White House lost Fareed Zakaria.   This is an important development because Obama has admitted that Zakaria is an advisor to his administration on Iranian policy.

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TEXAS – When she was on the Fort Worth City Council, Wendy Davis tried to kick gun shows off of municipal property. She tried this in Fort Worth, Texas, “where the West begins,” and failed. Fort Worth is not Austin, and Texas is not like the liberal enclaves where Davis tends to raise her campaign funds, as she is learning this week.

Revelations that her origins story has some holes in it has sent Davis’ campaign for governor into a full-blown crisis. What’s a candidate to do?

Change the subject, of course. So tonight, the AP reports that Davis is out suggesting that if she becomes the first Democrat elected governor of Texas in a generation, she would expand where Texans could concealed carry our firearms. (more…)

Saturday 1/18/14,  a man wearing Google Glasses (prescription glass) went to enjoy a movie with his wife.  A showing of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit at an AMC theater in Columbus, Ohio.

About an hour  into the movie,  federal agents yanked the Glasses off the man’s face,  pulled them out of the theater and took them to separate interrogation rooms.

The Story is Confirmed –  And Also outlined HERE – The man, who’d just been trying to enjoy a crappy movie with his lovely wife  on a Saturday night, says he was accused of illegally taping the movie and  questioned extensively about “who I am, where I live, where I work, how much I’m  making, how many computers I have at home, why am I recording the movie, who am  I going to give the recording to, why don’t I just give up the guy up the chain,  ’cause they are not interested in me. Over and over and over again.”

The agents also allegedly displayed this level of ridiculousness:

They wanted to know where I got Glass and how did I came by having it. I  told them I applied about 1000 times to get in the explorer program, and  eventually I was selected, and I got the Glass from Google. I offered to show  them receipt and Google Glass website if they would allow me to access any  computer with internet. Of course, that was not an option. Then they wanted to  know what does Google ask of me in exchange for Glass, how much is Google paying  me, who is my boss and why am I recording the movie.

After an hour of intense interrogation, the agents hooked the Glass up  to a computer, and saw that all it was storing were personal family  photos, he says. They allegedly went through his phone, too, and  found nothing. (more…)

TEXAS – It’s just getting worse and worse for abortion activist Wendy Davis, who is falling on her own sword in the Texas gubernatorial race.

First, Davis was caught by a Dallas newspaper lying about her story of being a single mom who overcame adversity. Then, she sought to blame her problems on pro-life candidate for governor Greg Abbott.   Now, in attacking Abbot, she’s stuck her foot in her mouth saying he’s “never walked a mile in my shoes.”

Problem is, Abbott can’t. He’s a paraplegic who is confined to a wheelchair. (link)