State Law Allows Schools to Demand Students’ Social Media Passwords

/1 Comment/in , /by

By Kara Pendleton. In an effort to address the growing problem of cyber-bullying, an Illinois law passed last year gives schools the right to demand student social media passwords. This law applies to all students from kindergarten through college.

Effective January 1st, each school was required to send notification to students through the student handbook, as well as, provide parents with notice of the change in policy. This week, several school districts satisfied this requirement with a letter to parents.

A sample of the letter to parents is included in a “Student Handbook Model” online. The model letter notes:

School authorities may require a student or his or her parent or guardian to provide a password or other related account information in order to gain access to the student’s account or profile on a social networking website if school authorities have reasonable cause to believe that a student’s account on a social networking website contains evidence that a student has violated a school disciplinary rule or procedure.

He letter goes on to define “social networking” and ensures that email passwords are not included under the law. As expected, both parents and students had strong reactions. (Read more about the schools demanding social media passwords HERE)

_________________________________________________

Father of ‘Snapchat Bullies’ Loses Job

By Lindsey LaBelle. Thousands of people are offering support and encouragement for a Prior Lake, Minnesota family after the father confronted his daughter’s bullies in a YouTube video. The father of those bullies lost his job just two days after the video was posted.

Brad Knudson recorded a nearly 6-minute YouTube video complete with racist voicemails from the father of two children who apparently sent his 8th grade daughter Dierdra a series of malicious Snapchats.

Deron Puro was an independent contractor at a financial firm, and his employer confirmed to Fox 9 on Wednesday that he is no longer associated with that company as of Jan. 21. (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Largest March for Life in the World

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Life Site NewsThe 42nd annual March for Life kicked off Thursday with an hour-long rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as hundreds of thousands of pro-life activists gathered beneath sunny skies and surprisingly warm temperatures to hear speeches from pro-life politicians and prominent movement leaders.

The rally opened with a benediction from Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, KY, who was flanked by both Catholic and Orthodox clerics as he led the crowd in prayer and asked God’s blessing on the March.

After the benediction, March for Life Chairman Patrick Kelly took the podium to welcome the marchers, taking special notice of their overwhelming youth. “When I look out on this enormous crowd, I see a tide turning in America,” Kelly said. “The March for Life is getting bigger and younger every year.”

“History is on our side,” said Kelly, “because history is always on the side of those who fight for human dignity and human life.” He said that after four decades, the March for Life “has become the largest human rights march in the world.”

March for Life President Jeanne Monahan Mancini elicited happy cheers from the crowd as she took the stage and asked, “What do y’all think about this weather?” Thursday’s mild conditions stood in marked contrast to the weather during last year’s march, which took place in near-zero temperatures with biting winds, putting marchers at risk of frostbite and causing electronics to fail due to the extreme cold. (Read more about the largest march for life in the world HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

‘American Sniper’ Star Gives Wounded Veterans Memories They Won’t Forget

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: IJreviewBy Chris Enloe. Bradley Cooper has been in the limelight a lot lately, after his Oscar-worthy performance in the box-office smash hit American Sniper.

Two days before the American Sniper premiere of the movie, Bradley Cooper made an appearance at the Brooke Army Medal Center in San Antonio, Texas, for a special preview of the film.

Close to 260 service members and staff at the hospital, including Bradley Cooper and Chris Kyle’s father, Wayne, came together for the screening.

While the movie was being viewed in the hospital’s auditorium, Cooper was in the Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center Rehabilitation Gym handing out signed movie posters and t-shirts to wounded warriors and hospital staffers.

To take on the role of Chris Kyle and to portray him as best he could, Cooper put on 37 pounds of muscle before shooting started on the movie. Cooper dove deep into Kyle’s personal life with his wife Taya, and altered his voice to more accurately sound like Kyle. (Read more about the star giving wounded veterans memories the won’t be forgetting HERE)

___________________________________________________

Trial of Eddie Routh, Killer of Chris Kyle Upcoming

By Abby Phillip. Eddie Ray Routh barely knew Chris Kyle when he shot and killed the famed Navy SEAL sniper on a remote Texas shooting range on Feb. 2, 2013.

Routh, who admitted to police that he killed Kyle and the marksman’s friend Chad Littlefield, will have his day in court early next month. By then, news of Kyle’s life, his “unverifiable” legacy and his tragic death will have already ricocheted around the world, thanks to the box office hit “American Sniper.”

The circumstances of Kyle’s death aren’t discussed in detail in the Oscar-nominated biopic, which mostly focuses on Kyle’s career as one of the country’s most praised and skilled snipers. (Read more from this story HERE)
___________________________________________________

Ex-Marine Standing Trial for Murder of Chris Kyle to Plead Insanity

By K.C. Baker. On Feb. 2, 2013, nearly four years after Kyle quit the military, he and his friend, Chad Littlefield, were allegedly shot and killed on a Texas gun range while helping former Marine Eddie Ray Routh, then 25, cope with his PTSD. Routh’s trial is set to begin Feb. 11.

“My client will plead not guilty by reason of insanity,” Routh’s attorney, J. Warren St. John, tells PEOPLE. Prosecutors for the State of Texas have said they are not seeking the death penalty in the case.

One growing issue: With the film’s success, finding an impartial jury may be difficult. (Read more about this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Airstrikes Have Killed Over 6,000 ISIS Soldiers

/2 Comments/in , /by

By Kelly Cohen. More than 6,000 Islamic State fighters have been killed, a top U.S. official said Thursday.

Though the Pentagon has been reticent to discuss exact numbers, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones told Al Arabiya News Channel Thursday that U.S.-led airstrikes have “taken more than half “ of ISIS’ leadership.

Jones also described the airstrikes as having a “devastating” effect on ISIS.

“We estimate that the airstrikes have now killed more than 6,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq,” Jones said, adding that the airstrikes have “destroyed more than a thousand of ISIS vehicles inside Iraq.”

Jones reiterated that the statistics were “not so important in themselves,” but that they “do show the degradation of ISIS.” (Read more about the airstrikes killing ISIS soldiers HERE)

_______________________________________________________

Volunteers Secretly Battle ISIS

By Alexander Smith. A network of anti-ISIS “commando cells” has carried out hundreds of guerrilla attacks in a city seized by the Islamist militants, Iraq’s vice president told NBC News.

Dubbed the “Mosul Liberation Battalions,” the little-known resistance movement has killed “a large number” of extremists through operations including sniper attacks, blasts using homemade bombs and raids on weapons-storage sites, according to Osama al-Nujaifi.

Battalion members include former military officers and tribesmen as well as students and local businessmen. (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Woman Dies After Farewell to Favorite Horse

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: BBCA cancer patient has died after a final farewell to her favourite horse outside the hospital where she was treated.

Staff at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan granted Sheila Marsh’s last wish, by arranging a visit from two of her horses on Monday afternoon.

The hospital said the 77-year-old, unable to speak properly due to illness, “gently called” her favourite horse, who then nuzzled her cheek.

Mrs Marsh, who used to work at Haydock Park Racecourse, died early on Tuesday.

The grandmother from Wigan had six horses, three dogs, three cats and other animals. (Read more about the woman’s farewell to favorite horse HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Patriots QB on “Deflation-Gate”: I’m Not a Cheater (+video)

/2 Comments/in , /by

Bill Belichick knows nothing. Tom Brady knows nothing. So if neither the New England Patriots’ head coach nor their star quarterback called the play, then exactly who deflated the game balls in the AFC championship game that put their team in the Super Bowl?

In separate news conferences called seven hours apart to address the spiraling scandal about tampering with game balls, Belichick told reporters only Brady could talk about his “personal preferences on footballs,” and Brady said it was all a mystery to him.

“I didn’t alter the ball in any way,” said Brady, who acknowledged joking in a video made several years ago about preferring deflated footballs, presumably because they are easier to grip, throw and catch. He explained that what he meant was that he liked his pigskin inflated to 12.5 pounds per square inch, the precise bottom of the NFL range that extends up to 13.5 pounds. Eleven of the 12 game balls managed by the Patriots in Sunday’s 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts were determined by NFL investigators to be illegally below the threshold, a situation that appears well beyond the realm of coincidence.

“I have no knowledge of anything,” said Brady, clad in a gray sweatshirt and team ski hat. “I have no knowledge of wrongdoing. I have no problem saying that – as far as I know.”

Insisting “I don’t believe I’m a cheater,” Brady said fans are free to believe otherwise. (Read more about what the Patriots QB said HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Jet Fuel Price Dropping, Alaska Airlines Stocks Soaring

/0 Comments/in , /by

By David Koenig. Leaders of United and Southwest gave an upbeat forecast for 2015 that combined strong travel demand and cheaper fuel. Alaska Airlines, citing a strong outlook and record adjusted earnings, raised its dividend by 60 percent. Airline stocks soared on Thursday.

The price of jet fuel has dropped by about half since September, boosting airline profits and tamping down fear that global economic weakness could hurt the carriers. Analysts expect all four of the biggest U.S. airline operators — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Continental and Southwest, to post bigger profits this year than in 2014.

United Continental predicted first-quarter profit margins higher than many analysts had expected. (Read more about the jet fuel price dropping HERE)

__________________________________________________

Delta Air Lines’ “Seattle Invasion” has Failed to Displace Alaska Airlines

By Steve Wilhelm. If you thought the Seattle invasion by Delta Air Lines would dislodge Seattle-based Alaska Air Group, think again.

Alaska reported record profit and decreasing costs for the fourth quarter, and executives struck a note of confidence during the earnings call Thursday.

Alaska Air Group, which includes Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, reported a record $571 million in net 2014 income excluding special items, up 49 percent from the year before. Alaska’s passenger revenue grew 7 percent for the year.

“Alaska has real and durable competitive advantages that will help us sustain these results going forward,” said Brandon Pedersen, chief financial officer. “We’re safe, we run an excellent operation, we offer
award-winning service, have really loyal customers, a great network, low costs, a modern fuel-efficient fleet, a strong balance sheet, and engaged employees.” (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Christian School Shut Down for “Bigoted” Views on Muslims; Outspoken Vanderbilt Professor Targeted by Muslims

/41 Comments/in , /by

By Eleanor Harding and Mario Ledwith. Pupils at a Christian school have been branded bigots after a young boy gave the wrong answer when asked what a Muslim was.

Durham Free has been told to close after inspectors branded it an educational failure and said some children displayed ‘discriminatory views’ toward people of other faiths. The boy’s answer to the Muslim question apparently included a reference to terrorism.

But teachers said the verdict was grossly unfair and based on a throwaway and ignorant comment made by a single pupil. They said the school’s Christian ethos made it an easy target for officials who wanted to show they were promoting the Government’s diversity agenda.

A second Christian school in the area has been put into special measures. Inspectors also concluded its children were intolerant after allegedly asking ten-year-old pupils what lesbians ‘did’.

Teachers at Grindon Hall Christian School in Sunderland said the critical Ofsted report came as a shock because it was performing well. (Read more about the Christian school shut down HERE)

_________________________________________________

Muslims Target Black Vanderbilt Professor

By Eric Owens. A black Vanderbilt University professor’s op-ed critical of Islamic terrorism has touched off a wave of protest by Muslim students and other critics.

The op-ed author is Carol Swain, a longtime professor of law and political science at Vanderbilt and a self-proclaimed political conservative. Her op-ed, entitled “Charlie Hebdo attacks prove critics were right about Islam,” appeared in The Tennessean (Nashville’s main newspaper) on Jan. 15.

Swain, who opposes burqas and advocates stronger efforts at assimilation for American Muslims, argued that radical Islam “poses an absolute danger to us and our children unless it is monitored better than it has been under the Obama administration.”

In response, Muslim students, led by Vanderbilt undergraduate Farishtay Yamin, took great offense.

Yamin told The Vanderbilt Hustler, the campus newspaper, that she “could not believe her eyes” when she read Swain’s column. The student also quickly labeled Swain’s opinion as “hate speech.” (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Watch Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Shocking Statement About Muslims

/8 Comments/in , /by

By David Brody. Hey John McCain: Move over. You have a “straight talk” partner. His name is Gov. Bobby Jindal. Watch below.

This is what he said today in London, England, about Islamic terrorists who think they’re going to heaven.

Gov. Bobby Jindal: Muslim leaders must make clear that these individuals are not going to enjoy the afterlife, they’re not going to be martyrs but rather they’re going to hell.

There’s not enough left to be said other than, “Preach it, brother!” (Read more about Bobby Jindal’s statement about Muslims HERE)

___________________________________________________

Muslim Population Growing in America

By Carol Brown. Even when Muslims are a minority population they can and do transform whole cultures and societies. And not for the better.

Why? Because their holy book is a totalitarian ideology founded on submission and world domination. And toward that end, Islam is on the march. Meanwhile, the West remains mired in cowardice and complicity. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in Europe, which is on the fast track to join the Caliphate.

Not to be outdone by Europe’s madness, the United States is traveling down the same bloody path, importing large numbers of Muslims from Islamic countries thanks to the Islamophile sitting in the Oval Office and a nation full of dhimmis.

Estimates on the number of Muslims living in the US vary, ranging from 3 million to 7 million. Whatever the precise number, it’s already outdated as it rises with each passing nanosecond. (Read more from this story HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Alleged Epstein Sex Slave: I Did Not Have Sex with Bill Clinton

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APShe did not have sexual relations with that man, President Clinton — but billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged “sex slave” is now swearing under oath and in excruciating detail about underaged sexual trysts with Prince Andrew and others.

In papers filed Wednesday in Florida federal court, “Jane Doe No. 3,” Virginia Roberts, detailed an 11-person orgy in 2001 with the British prince, who’s been dubbed “Randy Andy” . . .

Roberts, now 31, also doubled down on her claims that she had sex with renowned lawyer Alan Dershowitz, swearing in court papers that she had sex with him six times – and that he once stood casually chatting with Epstein as she was performing oral sex on the freaky financier.

Meanwhile, Epstein’s girlfriend, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, had “forceful” sex with underaged girls — including Roberts — almost daily, the explosive filing says.

One person Roberts said she didn’t have sex with while working for Epstein between 1999 and 2002 was his then-pal, Bill Clinton. (Read more about Virginia Roberts saying she didn’t have sex with Bill Clinton HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.