“This is Not a Gun Free Zone”: Pennsylvania Town Packs Heat, and Wants Visitors to Know it [+video]

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Photo Credit: Fox News Drive into tiny Conoy Township, Pa., and you’ll see the standard “welcome” sign, but it also comes with a warning: “THIS IS NOT A GUN FREE ZONE.”

The signs are meant to alert criminals to the fact that many people in the rural Pennsylvania town of 3,000 are armed. A dozen have been installed so far and three more are slated to go up, which would cover every major road into the town. Officials hope the signs give would-be criminals second thoughts before causing trouble.

“I think even those who have bad intentions can read,” Stephen Mohr, one of the township supervisors, told FoxNews.com. He said the town’s five supervisors unanimously decided to put the signs up.

Mohr noted that the intent of the signs is to welcome good people to their town.

“The first word on there is “Welcome”… we have a lot here that we take pride in. What we’re telling people is that when they do come here, they should feel safer knowing that everyone in the township is watching out for them,” Mohr said. “And the criminal — he should realize that going into this township he could have a bad day.” (Read more about the Pennsylvania town HERE)

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The 2nd Amendment : For Muskets Only?!

People have been telling us for years that the 2nd amendment was written in a time of Muskets, and that it doesn’t apply to the evolved weapons of today. Is it true?

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Watch: European Company Implanting Electronic Chips in Employees’ Hands

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By BBC. Want to gain entry to your office, get on a bus, or perhaps buy a sandwich? We’re all getting used to swiping a card to do all these things. But at Epicenter, a new hi-tech office block in Sweden, they are trying a different approach – a chip under the skin.

Felicio de Costa, whose company is one of the tenants, arrives at the front door and holds his hand against it to gain entry. Inside he does the same thing to get into the office space he rents, and he can also wave his hand to operate the photocopier.

That’s all because he has a tiny RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip, about the size of a grain of rice, implanted in his hand. Soon, others among the 700 people expected to occupy the complex will also be offered the chance to be chipped. Along with access to doors and photocopiers, they’re promised further services in the longer run, including the ability to pay in the cafe with a touch of a hand.

On the day of the building’s official opening, the developer’s chief executive was, himself, chipped live on stage. And I decided that if was to get to grips with this technology, I had to bite the bullet – and get chipped too.

The whole process is being organised by a Swedish bio-hacking group which was profiled by my colleague Jane Wakefield recently. One of its members, a rather fearsome looking tattooist, inserted my chip. (Read more about the company in Sweden implanting electronic chips under their staff’s skin HERE)

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Jury Awards $150,000 in ‘Mark of the Beast’ Case

By WND. For the managers of West Virginia’s Consol Energy/Consolidation Coal Company, it was just a technological innovation to improve tracking of employees’ time and attendance, but for Beverly R. Butcher Jr. it was the Bible’s “Mark of the Beast.”

A jury sided this month with the general laborer, awarding him $150,000 in compensatory damages, reported the Clarksburg Exponent Telegram.

Butcher, an evangelical Christian, asserted he had been told he was required to submit to biometric hand scanning, even though he informed his employer in writing it was contrary to “his genuinely held religious beliefs about the relationship between hand-scanning technology and the Mark of the Beast and Antichrist discussed in the Bible.”

Revelation 13:16-17, a passage many Christians see as warning of the future Antichrist, reads: “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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New Jeb Bush Hire Couldn’t Remove ‘Slut’ Tweets Fast Enough, but Bush Still Wanted Him as Staff

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Photo Credit: TelegraphBy Breitbart News. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday decried messages posted to Twitter by a top technology aide as “inappropriate,” but a spokeswoman said the recent hire would remain with Bush’s nascent presidential campaign.

The distraction came on the same day Bush told supporters and former aides he is “singularly focused” on weighing a presidential bid, and as he prepared to release thousands of emails from his time as Florida’s chief executive and the first chapter of a related e-book to highlight what he called a compassionate leadership style with deep conservative credentials.

A Bush spokeswoman said he was disappointed to learn that Ethan Czahor – hired in January as chief technology officer of Bush’s Right to Rise political action committee – had posted messages on his personal Twitter account that referred to women as “sluts” and made remarks about gay men.

Within an hour, Czahor posted a new tweet, his first in months: “i deleted some old jokes i made years ago that i no longer find funny or appropriate. (hash)learning (hash)maturing”

Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said Czahor, 31, the founder of Hipster.com, will stay in the role. (Read more about the new Jeb Bush hire’s tweets HERE)

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Despite Recent Comments Saying Jeb Bush’s New Hire Would Stay on Staff After ‘Slut’ Tweets, the New Hire Was Forced to Resign

By Rob Crilly. The tech whizz hired by Jeb Bush to oversee the digital side of an expected run for the White House has been forced to resign – for a series of offensive online posts.

The appointment of Ethan Czahor, who co-founded Hipster.com, as chief technology officer was only announced on Monday . . .

“While Ethan has apologised for regrettable and insensitive comments, they do not reflect the views of Governor Bush or his organisation, and it is appropriate for him to step aside,” said Kristy Campbell, a spokeswoman for Mr Bush.

American media reported that Mr Bush knew about the comments before his organising team hired Mr Czahor. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Three Admirals Forced Out Amid Massive Navy Bribery Investigation

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Photo Credit: Stripes By Erik Slavin. The commander of naval forces in Japan and two other admirals are retiring following letters of censure issued by the secretary of the Navy in connection with a wide-ranging bribery scandal in the Asia-Pacific region.

Naval Forces Japan commander Rear Adm. Terry Kraft, along with rear admirals Michael Miller and David Pimpo, were censured by Secretary Ray Mabus to “document their failure of leadership” related to dealings with Glenn Defense Marine Asia between 2006 and 2007, according to a Navy statement.

Navy officials spanning the ranks from enlisted to commanding officers, as well as high-placed civilians, have pleaded guilty since December 2013 to trading classified information in exchange for luxury travel, cash and prostitutes with ship support contractor GDMA and its owner, Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis.

Francis, 50, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in San Diego federal court in January. (Read more about the Navy bribery investigation HERE)

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Navy Contractor at Center of Navy Bribery Scandal Helping Investigators

By Craig Whitlock and Matt Zapotosky. The Navy’s sex-for-secrets corruption scandal may be about to get worse: Investigators’ prized catch has started to squawk.

Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian defense contractor who made a fortune by supplying Navy ships throughout Asia, has begun cooperating with federal investigators and pointing the finger at new suspects, court records indicate.

According to an affidavit filed this week by federal investigators, a confidential witness who matches Francis’s description detailed how a former senior U.S. contracting official accepted several hundred thousand dollars in bribes in exchange for driving Navy business to Francis’s company.

The witness was not identified by name but was described in the affidavit as a person who has already pleaded guilty in the corruption investigation and who was separately convicted of firearms charges in a foreign country about 30 years ago. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Chinese Suggest Arming Hawaiian Independence Activists Due to US-Taiwan Arms Sales

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Photo Credit: Free Beacon China has suggested arming Hawaii’s independence activists in retaliation for U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and recently threatened to challenge American sovereignty by making legal claims to the Pacific islands as its territory.

Chinese threats to back several groups of Hawaiian independence activists who want to restore the islands’ constitutional monarchy, ousted in a U.S.-backed coup over a century ago, has raised concerns that military facilities on the strategic central Pacific archipelago are threatened at a time when the Obama administration is engaged in a major shift toward Asia as part of its military and diplomatic rebalance.

Michael Pillsbury, a Pentagon consultant and author of the recent book 100 Year Marathon, said Chinese military hawks, known as “ying pai,” told him they are ready to provide arms to Hawaiian independence activists in retaliation for U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

“Beijing’s extraordinary sensitivity to American arms sales to Taiwan—even one bullet or a spare tire for a jeep—often provokes angry words,” said Pillsbury who has held talks with 35 Chinese generals in recent years.

“A favorite comparison the ying pai has made to me is ‘How would the Pentagon like it if we provide arms to our friends in Hawaiian independence movement?’” he said. “I was incredulous because I had never heard of such a movement in Hawaii, but, after checking I met a few of them.” (Read more about the Hawaiian Independence Movement attracting Chinese interest HERE)

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Assisted Suicide Legislation Rears its Ugly Head in Alaska‏

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Yesterday Representative Harriet Drummond introduced what’s being called “Right-to-Die” or assisted suicide legislation in the Alaska Legislature. This bill (HB99) specifically violates the mission of Alaska Right to Life to “protect and defend innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural end of life”.

Every human being is made in the image of God and is infinitely valuable. God is the one that determines our beginning and our end. We should never tolerate legislation that puts suffering and vulnerable people into the position playing God and taking their own life with the help of their doctor. God’s command “thou shalt not kill” extends to everyone, even in the case of someone contemplating ending their own life.

From a practical standpoint, patients who are given no hope of survival from their doctors are known to have survived and gone on to live profitable and happy lives. A diagnosis can be wrong and taking one’s own life to escape from a current condition shuts off any hope of recovery.

Assisted suicide, no matter how compassionate it may seem on the surface, is nothing more than a cruel lie. To the terminally ill, it tells them that there is no meaning to their life and that when they become a “burden” to others suicide is the easiest answer for everyone. It also robs them of something integral to the human spirit – hope. Real compassion takes time and commitment. It means standing by someone and bearing their burden.

Terminally ill patients in Alaska need love, care and protection from those around them. Instead of killing the pain that terminally ill patients are suffering, these “right to die” activists focus on killing the patient. Few of them seem enthusiastic about educating healthcare professionals about the amazing advances in palliative care. Alaska can definitely do better than assisted suicide.

In a state with the highest suicide rates per capita, why would we think it is a good idea to pass legislation that would, in effect, be encouraging suicide?

In an age of soaring healthcare costs and cutbacks, how much longer until the “right to die” becomes the “duty to die?” How much longer until those considered a “burden” on society are systematically denied healthcare and life-saving measures in order to cut costs?

Alaska Right to Life stands in opposition to HB99 and asks that you contact Health & Social Services Committee Chairman Paul Seaton and demand that he not schedule the bill for a hearing. You can contact Representative Seaton via email at [email protected] or by phone at 907-465-2689. It is imperative that we protect and defend all innocent human life!

(Read more from Alaska Right to Life HERE)

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How This New Obamacare Regulation Will Drive Up Your Health Care Costs Significantly

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Photo Credit: The Daily Signal America’s doctors, already struggling with the Affordable Care Act’s regulatory burdens, could face another round of red tape—which means higher costs for ordinary Americans.

The new round of red tape is the government-mandated implementation of the International Classification of Diseases tenth revision (ICD-10). The new system, delayed last year, goes into effect Oct. 1, 2015.

The ICD-10, created and maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO), is the latest version of the medical coding system doctors use to file claims for reimbursement with Medicare and insurance. (When you see a doctor, a code associated with your diagnosis determines how much your insurance will be billed.) The ICD-10 will replace the existing coding system (ICD-9), for medical diagnoses and inpatient procedure coding.

The new version of the ICD will increase the number of codes from 18,000 to 155,000. There is also a lot of unnecessary (not clinically relevant) data doctors must document to remain compliant.

While most Americans have probably never even heard of the ICD-10, if you go to the doctor or hospital you will be affected by it, in one way or another. For instance, the reimbursement your doctor receives is based on the code of the disease you were diagnosed with. (Read more about the increasing health care costs HERE)

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Jeb Bush Releases Emails Including Social Security Numbers of Florida Residents

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By T.C. Sottek. Jeb Bush, a rumored 2016 Republican presidential candidate, just decided to publish hundreds of thousands of emails sent to him during his time as governor of Florida. On its face it seems like a great idea in the name of transparency, but there’s one huge problem: neither Bush nor those who facilitated the publication of the records, including the state government, decided to redact potentially sensitive personal information from them.

“In the spirit of transparency, I am posting the emails of my governorship here,” a note on Bush’s website says. “Some are funny; some are serious; some I wrote in frustration.” Some also contain the email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers of Florida residents. The emails are available in Outlook format, and can be searched on the web at Bush’s website.

The Verge did not receive a response from Mr. Bush or his Political Action Committee’s office at the time of publication. (Read more from “Jeb Bush Releases Emails” HERE)

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Will Jeb Bush’s Foreign Policy Lean More Towards His Brother’s or Father’s?

By Patrick O’ Connor. Jeb Bush faces a unique dilemma as he builds a Republican presidential campaign—whether to follow in the foreign-policy footsteps of his father or his brother.

One early indication suggests he is leaning toward his father’s more pragmatic and restrained philosophy. The former Florida governor is considering naming Meghan O’Sullivan as his top foreign-policy aide; several people familiar with the deliberations describe her as the front-runner for the post.

In many ways, the 45-year-old Ms. O’Sullivan, who now teaches at Harvard, bridges the two Bush worlds. She served as deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan for much of George W. Bush ’s second term and was heavily involved in carrying out his Iraq policies. But she wasn’t among the neoconservative advisers who drove the initial decision to invade Iraq, and she is more closely aligned with—and is being promoted by—the kind of pragmatists who dominated George H.W. Bush ’s presidency.

All candidates running for president in 2016 will be asked to articulate what factors would drive them to send U.S. troops into battle. The question would be more delicate for Mr. Bush, should he run, because he would have to navigate the legacies of his father and his brother, whose public image was marred by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Family of US Aid Worker Confirms Her Death at the Hands of ISIS

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Photo Credit: Fox News Kayla Mueller wrote her family a heart-wrenching letter nearly a year ago, possibly from the bowels of a Raqqa, Syria, building that U.S. special forces raided on July 4, 2014, only to learn Mueller – and at least three other hostages who were later killed – had been moved days earlier.

“If you could say I have ‘suffered’ at all throughout this whole experience it is only in knowing how much suffering I have put you all through,” wrote Mueller, a 26-year-old aid worker from Arizona who was kidnapped in Syria by ISIS in August 2013.

“I have a lot of fight left inside of me. I am not breaking down + I will not give in no matter how long it takes,” Mueller said in the newly released letter, believed to have been written in the Spring of 2014. “I know you would want me to remain strong. That is exactly what I am doing. Do not fear for me, continue to pray as will I + by God’s will we will be together soon.”

Mueller’s parents confirmed Tuesday their daughter died while in the hands of the terror group, though they did not say how or when she was killed.

“We are heartbroken to share that we’ve received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller has lost her life,” Carl and Marsha Mueller, of Prescott, Ariz., said in a statement. “Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in need of freedom, justice, and peace.” (Read more about the death of the US aid worker HERE)

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Man Convicted of Capitol Murder After Horrifying Burned Child Case

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Photo Credit: Chron From the moment he was doused with gasoline and set on fire until his last breath in 2011, Robert Middleton spent every day fighting — for life, for health, for respite from pain, for a return of the happiness and carefree attitude that was his by nature. But the one thing he never got to do was fight back.

On Monday, a jury in Galveston stepped forward in his absence and convicted Don Willburn Collins of capital murder, almost 17 years after the attack that horrified the community of Splendora and all but defied the legal system to do anything about it.

Collins, whose trial now moves into the punishment phase, faces a maximum of 40 years imprisonment because he was only 13 at the time of the assault, not old enough for the full range of adult punishment. For Middleton’s parents, however, the conviction was satisfaction enough. They never knew if Collins would be forced to answer for the inexplicable assault on a wooded path behind their home, just hours after Robert was to celebrate his 8th birthday with cake, presents and a sleepover.

“We wanted to make sure people knew what kind of person he was,” Colleen Middleton said. “I didn’t think we’d see this day, really” . . .

The Middletons won a victory in civil court in 2011, but there was no criminal prosecution until a new state law and a new Montgomery County district attorney changed the landscape. Previous prosecutors had told them that “contradictions” in various stories made the case too shaky to take to court. (Read more about the conviction of capitol murder from the burned child case HERE)

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