What is REALLY going on in Stockton? City's Police buy a $300,000 armored vehicle

This Is what the City of Stockton really couldn't resist at the low price of $300,000. A New armored vehicle for the S.W.A.T. team. With the City on the verge of bankruptcy, don't you think they could have waited on this purchase. I mean, where is the accountability? Stockton is facing a deficit of 26.5 Million dollars, is again leading the nation in Murders per capita, and their solution is; go and buy a top-of-the-line “Bear Cat” armored vehicle to replace the department’s older one.






“It’s built for tactical purposes, so every part of this thing is armored,” Lt. Eric Ingersoll said.

The one which was replaced, wasn't built for Tactical purposes? Do they think they are in a war zone? This is to the point that our policemen are short-staffed, but the Department buys a vehicle which will rarely be used. The best part is where the money came from. It came from the sale of seized assets of criminals. Why couldn't the city make a payment on the parking garages? Because we are going to need the parking fees to help pay for the gas this thing is gonna burn up.




I think Marshal law is coming to an American city near you!

Rise Our American Youth - Rebellious Truths

You as a group have contributed least to the ominous problems now plaguing this country. Yet the heaviest burdens will be forced upon the already aching backs of your futures by the previous generations. Many of you are hoping, and have been told, that a good college education will be your guiding light in these dark times, but do you know the truth? Do you understand what's happening in the world of education: absurd tuition raises, loan schemes, and youth graduate unemployment? You must all seek out the truth because, if not, you will be yet another victim of the system. But don't despair, for we can save our futures and create something new and beautiful together if we American Youth cast off tainted labels and false ideology and unite in truthful rebellion, and demand truth, accountability, and integrity from our political and media systems. Let the truth and nothing but the truth prevail.

Alien Remains found in Peru

Peruvian anthropologist Renato Davila Riquelme has discovered the remains of an unidentified creature with a "triangle shaped" skull nearly as large as its 20-inch-tall body.

Has the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull --the setting for the underwhelming 2008 Indiana Jones vehicle--finally been discovered? Well, don't be expecting a victory lap from Steven Spielberg or George Lucas anytime soon.

The remains are most likely those of a child, though one with an unusually shaped head and frame. But that hasn't stopped local site RPP from interviewing several anonymous Spanish and Russian "scientists" claiming that the remains are actually those of an alien:

It has a non-human appearance because the head is triangular and big, almost the same size as the body. At first we believed it to be a child's body until Spanish and Russian doctors came and confirmed that, yes, it's an extraterrestrial being.

Of course, five anonymous scientific authorities citing proof of extraterrestrial life would probably be generating a little more attention if their research had passed some basic scrutiny. Even if the remains are almost certainly those of a person, they are certainly unusual. You can take a look at the gallery of photos here.

Gov. Brown's tax-the-rich pitch looks like a winner

— Paul Whitefield

Photo: Gov. Jerry Brown speaks at a news conference at a Boeing plant in Long Beach. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Californians don’t actually hate taxes. They just don’t want to pay taxes.

Huh?

No, that’s not a contradiction. As my colleague Anthony York reported in Sunday’s Times:

California voters strongly support Gov. Jerry Brown's new proposal to increase the sales tax and raise levies on upper incomes to help raise money for schools and balance the state's budget, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they supported the governor's measure, which he hopes to place on the November ballot. It would hike the state sales tax by a quarter-cent per dollar for the next four years and create a graduated surcharge on incomes of more than $250,000 that would last seven years. A third of respondents opposed the measure.

Brown's new plan, rewritten recently amid pressure from liberal activist and union groups that had a competing proposal, relies on a larger share of revenue from upper-income earners than his original measure. Correspondingly, it leans less upon sales taxes, which are paid by all California consumers. The poll shows that taxing high earners is overwhelmingly popular.

You see: Californians aren’t opposed to tax increases — as long as it is someone else being taxed.

You want to raise my taxes? Over my dead body!

You want to raise taxes on the rich? As Oliver Twist might say, “More please.”

Or, as The Times story said:

"These poll results illustrate that Brown was very smart to put together this initiative the way he did," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.

Well, yes. Go ahead with all those “Gov. Moonbeam” jokes if you want, but Brown is no dummy. The state needs money. Republicans in the Legislature act as if raising taxes violates one of the Ten Commandments. Californians believe, wrongly, that they are taxed to death (or rightly, that the Legislature needs to get a grip on how it spends tax dollars).

The solution? Pick on the rich. Because here’s what that strategy buys you:

Shirley Karns, 74, an independent voter from the Northern California town of Lakeport who backs the governor's new plan, said the wealthy should pay more.

"Those who have an unbelievable amount more than those who do not should contribute more," she said. "And on the sales tax, the more you buy, the more you pay. It's pretty tough on low-income people who have to pay an extra nickel here and there, but we've got to get the money from somewhere."

Shirley, we can safely assume, does not qualify for membership in the California millionaires club. (Nor, apparently, does she buy a lot of big-ticket items.)

Of course, these are just poll results. Poll results don’t matter as much as what happens when people step into that private little place called a voting booth. (See: L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley, governor’s race, 1982.)

But with the state’s education system crumbling, its infrastructure eroding and its budget bathed in red ink, a tax increase certainly appears to be at least one part of the solution.

And here’s betting that most Californians will agree in November — especially if they’re not the ones who’ll feel the pain.

My Horoscope for Today, Says I will be Mayor

Thursday, Mar 8, 2012 -- Today's Full Moon in your sign heightens your emotional sensitivity, even if you wish you could be more rational. Your feelings may not be very stable now, especially if you are trying to build a relationship on a false assumption. Current changes aren't necessarily long-lasting, but you would be wise to pay attention to what is falling apart. Don't allow yourself to get pulled off track; demonstrate your strength by focusing on what needs to be fixed.

Police: Alaska girl locked in frigid bedroom dies

(03-04) 03:28 PST Anchorage, Alaska (AP) --

A 3-year-old girl from America's northernmost community died and her younger sister suffered hypothermia after their mother and the mother's boyfriend left them in a locked bedroom with a window open to a temperature of minus 30 degrees to air out the room because the girls wet their beds, authorities said.

The mother, 28-year-old elementary teacher Esther G. Edwards-Gust, was apparently on the lam Saturday, a day after she and 29-year-old Richard Tilden Jr. were indicted in the child's death. Tilden was in custody.

The couple shared a home with Edwards-Gust's 1- and 3-year-old daughters in the Inupiat Eskimo community of Barrow.

Police say the two girls last month were trapped overnight in their bedroom with a window open to temperatures that dropped to 30 degrees below zero. Both children were diagnosed with extreme hypothermia and flown to an Anchorage hospital, where the 3-year-old died.

Tilden later told authorities he'd been drinking the night before and opened the bedroom window to air out the room because the girls wet their beds, according to court documents. He also said the door's latch was broken, making it impossible for anyone inside the room to open it.

A grand jury on Friday indicted Tilden and Edwards-Gust on charges including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Tilden also faces second-degree murder and assault charges. He was arrested last month.

A warrant has been issued for Edwards-Gust's arrest. Police didn't immediately return a message Saturday, and a home listing for Barrow's police chief was disconnected. A person who answered the phone at the borough jail said Edwards-Gust was not in custody there.

Tilden called 911 when he discovered the 3-year-old was unresponsive and not breathing Feb. 2.

Officers said Tilden smelled of alcohol when they were at the apartment, court documents said. The news was first reported by the Anchorage Daily News.

Tilden later said he bought two bottles of whiskey from a bootlegger and began drinking the night before the children were found in the bedroom with the open window and broken door latch, authorities said. Two empty bottles were found in the apartment.

Tilden also told officers he opened the bedroom window because the girls wet their beds, and he didn't close it before going to bed. In earlier interviews, Edwards-Gust told officers the girls were sleeping in their beds when she went to work that morning.

According to the documents, Tilden woke up about 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 2 and noticed both girls needed to be changed after soiling themselves. It was during the changing process that he noticed the older girl was unresponsive.

He was arrested the same day on assault charges. After being in police custody for hours, officers said his blood-alcohol level was 0.164, more than twice the legal driving limit.

Edwards-Gust, who teaches in Barrow, was briefly in custody after traveling to Anchorage to be with her surviving daughter.

Anchorage Police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker said Saturday that Edwards-Gust was initially arrested on assault charges, then set free at the request of the Barrow district attorney. Parker said he believed Edwards-Gust returned to Barrow.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/03/03/national/a202920S19.DTL#ixzz1oAxi7dgF