Tag Archives: National

Montana Congressional candidate shoots down a drone.

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matt-rosendale4MONTANA – Congressional candidate Matt Rosendale shoots down a drone in his campaign ad. Just to prove a point.

Whether or not it garners him any votes, it certainly might resonate in the western States on the heels of the Bundy Ranch incident in Nevada. The incident brought out militia members from around the country alongside citizens and legislators from various States. The rock band Madison Rising appeared to perform at the site.

The action caused a Legislative Summit on the Transfer of Public Lands in Salt Lake City which included at least nine western States.

Drones have been a sore point since they have been appearing as part of the surveillance network and was used to kill an American citizen overseas.

Nevada range war: Western states move to take over federal land

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Christian Science Monitor

Christian Science Monitor

Like a mustang tied to a fence post, many westerners for years have resisted Uncle Sam’s control of land they say more properly belongs to states or counties – or to nobody at all except the ranchers, miners, and loggers who work the land for its natural resources.

The tussle over Cliven Bundy’s 400 cows – grazing on federal land, although he refuses to pay the required fees now amounting to more than $1 million – sharpens this debate, which has featured state legislators, county officials, environmentalists, and federal judges (all of whom have ruled against Mr. Bundy).

In Salt Lake City Friday, representatives from Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington met for a “Legislative Summit on the Transfer of Public Lands.”

“Those of us who live in the rural areas know how to take care of lands,” Montana state Sen. Jennifer Fielder said at a news conference. “We have to start managing these lands. It’s the right thing to do for our people, for our environment, for our economy and for our freedoms.”

Read more at The Christian Science Monitor

Army, National Guard Fight Over Apache Helicopters

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defense-largeBen Watson – Defense One

The Army National Guard is pushing back against a plan to send all of its 192 Apache attack helicopters to the active duty Army. In exchange, the Guard and Reserve components would receive 111 UH-60 Blackhawk transport and utility helicopters from the Army in a broader aviation restructuring after more than a decade of combat and steep budget cuts.

The restructuring would also eliminate three of 13 combat aviation brigades from the Army, while the Guard would phase out its entire fleet of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout helicopters, which have been in use for nearly five decades.

This shakeup of Army air assets amounts to some $12 billion in cost-saving measures through fiscal year 2017, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee at a hearing Tuesday.

But National Guard Chief Gen. Frank Grass, who also testified at the hearing, isn’t happy with the plan. “None of us like what we’re having to do,” he said. “My big concern right now is figuring out how I’m going to move, and how many states I’m going to have an impact on, and what’s the cost of facilities and to retrain pilots. I’ve got to tackle that because the decision’s been made.”

Read more at Defense One

Google Buys Drone Company Titan Aerospace

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s50_highalt2_4k (1)Jay Yarow – Business Insider

Google has acquired drone maker Titan Aerospace, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Titan is a New Mexico-based company that makes high-flying solar powered drones.

There’s no word on the price Google paid, but Facebook had been in talks to acquire the company earlier this year for a reported $60 million. Presumably, Google paid more than that to keep it away from Facebook.

Read more at Business Insider

“Blood moon” all the rage tonight.

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Schematic diagram of the shadow cast by the Earth. Within the central umbra shadow, the Moon is totally shielded from direct illumination by the Sun. In contrast, within the penumbra shadow, only a portion of sunlight is blocked. - Wikipedia

Schematic diagram of the shadow cast by the Earth. Within the central umbra shadow, the Moon is totally shielded from direct illumination by the Sun. In contrast, within the penumbra shadow, only a portion of sunlight is blocked. – Wikipedia

Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak's web site.

Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak’s web site.

FLAGSTAFF – The Coconino Astronomical Society is encouraging the viewing of a somewhat rare astronomical event starting tonight and running into the early morning hours. Tonight there will be the first of four total eclipses of the moon in 2014. It is predicted to have a red appearance which has given rise to the term “blood moon.”

NASA is even promoting a live stream of the event if it is too chilly for you or if the cloud coverage in your area causes a problem.

Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak's web site.

Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak’s web site.

The rarity of this even is that four blood moons will occur in roughly six-month intervals on the following dates: April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015, and September 28, 2015. This is called a tetrad by astronomers. The NY Daily News reports:

According to NASA, seeing four complete lunar eclipses in a row is very rare. The skies were tetrad-free from 1600 to 1900. But in the 21st century, there will be many.

What’s even stranger is that Americans have a front row seat.

“The most unique thing about the 2014-2015 tetrad is that all of them are visible for all or parts of the USA,” NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak told CNN.

According to the Society flier the eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye with no special equipment required. Binoculars might give a better view of the event.

An eclipse of the moon can only take place during the full moon phase when the moon passes through some portion of the shadow of the Earth. The shadow consists of two parts; the penumbra and umbra. It is when the moon passes through the umbra portion that the earth blocks all light from the sun. That is the type of eclipse we will see with the tetrad.

The event begins at about 10:58 tonight when a partial eclipse begins. The total eclipse should bet at 12:07 tomorrow morning. The moon will be eclipsed until around 1:25 with another partial eclipse ending at 2:33 am.

The Coconino Astronomical Society promotes taking advantage of the dark skies of Arizona to view astronomical events. They have a private, two-acre viewing area two-miles north of Williams provided for CAS members and their guests.

They group has recently been attempting to set up monthly viewing sessions inside Williams. Even within the lighted city the session this month provided remarkable views of Jupiter and four of the moons. Later in the summer Saturn will be visible including the amazing rings surrounding it.

OBAMA IN SERIOUS DANGER OF IMPEACHMENT

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b6c1a0e70728e1d4e493b912b474d5e5It is now official. The serious possibility of the impeachment of Barrack Obama is a reality.

The Globe magazine—which brings us articles on all of our favorite celebrities—is calling for the impeachment of the president.

The infamous Globe magazine brought us the exclusives that Barrack Obama is a Muslim who was not born in the United States. They told us of the hit list of Michelle Obama. Presumably that means her favorite music from Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga.

If the Globe is willing to go after a meal ticket such as the current occupants of the White House, you know there is trouble brewing.

And if Congress isn’t listening, there might just be a few articles about them in subsequent issues.

Armed Detroit nurse saves man being beaten by angry mob

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Deborah-HughesDETROIT – When a retired Detroit nurse witnessed an angry mob beating a man last week, she didn’t simply turn away. Instead, she grabbed her gun, placed it in her coat pocket and went to intervene, which quite possibly saved the man’s life.

Steve Utash was driving down the street in his pick-up truck last Wednesday when 10-year-old David Harris stepped off of the curb and into the street. Utash accidentally struck the child with his vehicle, but when he stopped and got out to help him, as a local Fox affiliate reported, things quickly went from bad to worse.

About 10 to 12 people immediately surrounded Utash and began to beat him, while dozens of others stood by and watched.

But Deborah Hughes, who lives across the street from where the incident occurred, witnessed the events and wasn’t about to just do nothing. Hughes grabbed her handgun and went to help Utash.

Read more at Guns.com

Militiamen make presence felt in protest of BLM’s livestock grab

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0410BLMProtest02_t653BUNKERVILLE — The militiamen rolled in to draw a line in the dirt.

About 70 miles northeast of Las Vegas, they set up camp on a sun-baked patch of land next to a bend in the Virgin River, keeping supplies — like rucksacks and sleeping bags — in neat piles under the roof of an abandoned shack.

Gruff and largely unshaven, dressed in camouflage fatigues and cut-off shirts, the men kept their intentions quiet, telling news reporters the reason they pulled their trucks into this rural desert town — on one of the hottest days of the year — is simple enough: “We’re here to camp,” said one man who would not share his name.

The group even had a sign, posted for arriving members: Militia Sign In.

But they were really here to protect one of their own from the perceived enemies: a band of federal agents recently dispatched to the scrub desert to seize the cattle of embattled rancher Cliven Bundy.

“They’re here to protect Cliven’s family and home,” said Lynn Brown, one of Bundy’s daughters.

Read more at Las Vegas Sun

Air Marshal director resigns amid agency gun scheme probe

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bray_splitEXCLUSIVE: The director of the Federal Air Marshal Service is resigning after being investigated for his role in an alleged operation to acquire guns for officials’ personal use, FoxNews.com has learned.

Director Robert Bray’s home was raided in December in connection with the ongoing probe. Law enforcement and congressional sources told FoxNews.com that Bray’s recently announced resignation, which is effective in June, is directly related to the investigation.

Bray allegedly is among several officials who were obtaining weapons through this operation.

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general probe — which also is believed to involve the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — stems from whistleblower accusations involving federal Air Marshal supervisor Danny Poulos.

He is accused of using the agency’s federal firearms license and his relationship with gun manufacturer Sig Sauer to obtain discounted and free guns. He then provided them to high-up agency officials for their personal use, according to whistleblower documents obtained by FoxNews.com and interviews with multiple officials with knowledge of the ongoing probe.

Read more at FOX News Politics