Woman Claims She Was ‘Astonished at the Behavior of the Red Cross’ After Bringing 400 Burgers to Harvey Victims

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On Saturday, a Facebook user identified as a pregnant Texas woman publicly aired her grievances with the Red Cross after two of its representatives allegedly “berated” her for trying to provide 400 warm hamburgers to evacuees housed at Jack Brooks Regional Airport near Port Arthur, Texas.

The post, which had been shared more than 64,000 times as of Monday evening, alleges that Lindsey Scott and an unnamed pilot who “donated his time, fuel, money, plane, and arranged the delivery of the burgers,” arrived at the airport-turned-shelter to provide those stranded by the storm with a hot meal. According to Scott, two unnamed Red Cross representatives told her that the gesture was unnecessary because the evacuees “already had a sandwich.”

“Yes, they had one sandwich in 24 hours,” Scott wrote.

Members of the Red Cross then allegedly attempted to place the warm burgers into an ice chest, which prompted Scott to stand in shock, “mouth gaping open and fighting back tears.”

Scott, who had spent the early hours of the day aiding in the transportation and reception of supplies and materials provided by the Sky Hope Network, was perturbed by Red Cross representatives’ alleged treatment of the community upon their arrival.

“The Red Cross was not there at 6:30 am when we got there to find we had no food to serve the 100s of evacuees who had sat on a bus all night and some who had not eaten in 24 hours. They were not there when the sun came up and they woke up hungry, angry, tired, scared, and frustrated. They did not see them fighting over donuts that OUR friends and family answered the call to bring at 7:00 am,” Scott wrote in a post on her sister’s Facebook page.

Scott acknowledged that while she was not disturbed by the Red Cross’ delayed arrival into the area, she was caught off guard by the behavior some members displayed upon their arrival.

She referenced a second incident in which Red Cross members allegedly attempted to prevent local community members from distributing their donations to those in need, instead requesting all items be “shipped to their warehouse for processing and distribution.”

“We need these things here, locally, NOW. And while we refused to turn away anyone who came on foot or by other means (evacuee or not) or any other church, group, or organization asking for supplies…the Red Cross tried to prevent us from sharing OUR donations,” wrote Scott.

Scott attempted to separate the actions of the two Red Cross representatives from the organization as a whole.

“I pray this is not representative of the Red Cross organization as a whole. People who donate their money would be horrified.”

The Texas woman made sure to emphasize the tireless effort put forth by the Sky Hope Network, Republican State Rep. Dade Phelan, and local community volunteers. Scott ended her statement with an emphatic homage to the people of Texas.

“Our men may spit, smoke, dip, cuss, and drink from time to time…but when the s— hits the fan, our husbands, brothers, dads, uncles, cousins, sons, and all the other men we know put on their boots, waders and get their boats and trucks and go to work!” Scott wrote. “And our community will answer the call to donate, collect and distribute supplies and food wherever it’s needed. I won’t be waiting on the Red Cross.” (For more from the author of “Woman Claims She Was ‘Astonished at the Behavior of the Red Cross’ After Bringing 400 Burgers to Harvey Victims” please click HERE)

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Tennessee Leads the Way in Establishing Animal Abuser Registry

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In 2016, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to implement an animal abuse registry, and now other states are looking to follow its lead.

The law requires anyone convicted of aggravated cruelty to animals to be placed on a registry accessible to the public on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s website.

The registry currently has eight perpetrators’ names, photographs and other personal information on it.

Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen told NBC News affiliate WBIR that there are three ways people can make the registry: “aggravated cruelty to animals, fighting animals or having sexual relations with animals.”

The list is reserved for those convicted of the felonies, not lesser misdemeanor crimes of animal abuse, which might involve not feeding or otherwise properly caring for animals.

Also, the law specifically covers companion animals, such as cats and dogs, not farm animals.

State Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, who co-sponsored the legislation, explained why he thought it was an important to step for Tennessee to take.

“These animals become members of our family and they need to have some of the same protections as the people who become attached to them,” Briggs said.

The law requires any who are convicted of aggravated animal cruelty to be placed on the registry for two years. An additional five years will be added to a perpetrators expiration date for every subsequent offense.

Josh Devine, spokesman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, explained via email, “We have heard – anecdotally – the registry is proving to be a resource for adoption organizations, shelters and others as part of their process to ensure those who have a history of abusing animals don’t have access to other animals.”

“The registry – like our sex offender registry – is not designed to be punitive, but informative, so the community has information about those who have been convicted of the most serious animal welfare violations,” he added.

Eric Swafford, Tennessee state director for the Humane Society of the United States, told Western Journalism that “having this type of information being more readily available to law enforcement and to the public, it just makes good sense.”

“Oftentimes people that commit crimes against animals move on to committing crimes against people,” Swafford noted.

Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley executive director Amy Buttry said she is pleased that the registry is available as a resource that her organization can use when doing adoptions, hiring staff and recruiting volunteers.

“Most shelters already use some sort of database, so that they at least know in their immediate town or county of offenders they won’t adopt to,” she explained.

Otherwise, beyond the information contained in the adopter’s application and local databases, “You’re going on faith almost every time you adopt out an animal,” Buttry said.

Michigan became the second state earlier this year to implement an animal abuse registry, while legislation has been introduced in Rhode Island, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (For more from the author of “Tennessee Leads the Way in Establishing Animal Abuser Registry” please click HERE)

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NYT Writes 1300 Words About Dem Senator’s Corruption Trial Without Mentioning He’s a Democrat

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The New York Times published an almost 1300-word news story in Tuesday’s paper about Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, without ever mentioning Menendez’s party affiliation.

Both in print and on social media, the NYT failed to inform its readers that Sen. Menendez is a Democrat.

“For the first time in 36 years, a sitting United States Senator is facing a federal bribery trial,” read a NYT tweet promoting the story, which was titled: “Menendez Trial Set to Begin With Tensions High and Washington Watching.”

The NYT wasn’t without opportunities to inform its readers which party Menendez belonged to: the paper referred to Menendez 29 times in the story, without once ever mentioning that Menendez is a Democrat. (Read more from “NYT Writes 1300 Words About Dem Senator’s Corruption Trial Without Mentioning He’s a Democrat” HERE)

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Sympathetic Media Scrambles to Trot out Shiny ‘Dreamers,’ but Forgets All the Nightmares

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Since news broke of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the DACA amnesty for roughly 800,000 illegal immigrants, a sympathetic media has trotted out endless sob stories about so-called “Dreamers.”

The news coverage and criticism of Trump’s reported decision to end DACA has focused on the idea that they are children (many thousands are in their 30s) and are super-stars in their community in an attempt to justify blanket amnesty. To support their criticism, we’re offered an endless stream of anecdotal success stories.

CNN’s Poppy Harlow dragged a violin-playing, six-language speaking Ivy League student in front of the camera. And yes, a DACA recipient was working as a paramedic in the Houston-area following the destruction by Hurricane Harvey. These reports and the reporters who are anxiously highlighting them usually fail to mention 2,139 DACA recipients have lost their status since 2012 due to criminal activity.

“Most DACA terminations were based on the following infractions (not ranked): alien smuggling, assaultive offenses, domestic violence, drug offenses, DUI, larceny and thefts, criminal trespass and burglary, sexual offenses with minors, other sex offenses and weapons offenses,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told The Daily Caller. (Read more from “Sympathetic Media Scrambles to Trot out Shiny ‘Dreamers,’ but Forgets All the Nightmares” HERE)

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Chicago’s Newest Problem Is an Invasion of ZOMBIE DOGS

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The police department in the Chicago suburb of Hanover Park is warning local residents to stay away from diseased coyotes which have lost a bunch of hair and look “like some sort of ‘zombie’ dog.”

“Recently we have received several messages and posts from citizens concerned about what appear to be malnourished or neglected stray dogs,” the Hanover Park police department says in a Facebook announcement. “These are NOT lost pets, but are in fact coyotes.”

“There is unfortunately an increase in sarcoptic mange in the urban coyote populations which has caused these normally noctural animals to become more active during the day. Infected animals will often appear “mangy” — which looks just like it sounds,” the police department’s Facebook page also says.

(Read more from “Chicago’s Newest Problem Is an Invasion of ZOMBIE DOGS” HERE)

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Yellowstone Approaches Record Levels of Seismic Activity

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By now, most are aware of the earthquake swarm under the Yellowstone supervolcano. Many people are fearing a major eruption, and those terrors aren’t calmed for some as the national park approaches a record number of earthquakes.

A cluster of earthquakes at the Yellowstone Park volcano is the most active it’s been in recent history. The earthquake count is up to 2,357 since June with the largest having a magnitude of 4.4. The majority of the earthquakes were magnitudes of 0 or 1, according to a report by Newsweek.

Yet scientists are assuring the public that a swarm of earthquakes doesn’t necessarily signal an eruption of the supervolcano. But when the type of earthquakes occurring in Yellowstone deviates from the standard, it could mean that an eruption is forthcoming. A swarm of earthquakes is rather normal for Yellowstone, but the number of quakes is approaching a new record.

The current swarm is approaching the record set in 1985 when three months brought over 3,000 earthquakes. In 2010 a swarm brought over 2,000 earthquakes over a month. Scientists still say to not worry too much. The threat of an eruption is still very slim.

The current situation doesn’t present too much of an eruption threat. The geological pressure would have to be sizable for anything to occur. “Yellowstone has had dozens of these sorts of earthquake swarms in the last 150 years it’s been visited. The last volcanic eruption within the caldera [crater] was 70,000 years ago. For magma to reach the surface, a new vent needs to be created, which requires a lot of intense geological activity,” said Jacob Lowenstern, one of the scientists managing the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. –The Epoch Times

Lowenstern went on to say that the odds are very high that Yellowstone will go centuries more without an eruption and that if one does occur, it will be minor. Should these earthquakes lead to an eruption, scientists think it would not be of much consequence. “If Yellowstone erupts, it’s most likely to be a lava flow, as occurred in nearly all the 80 eruptions since the last ‘supereruption’ 640,000 years ago. A lava flow would be a big deal at Yellowstone, but would have very little regional or continental effect,” Lowenstern explained. (For more from the author of “Yellowstone Approaches Record Levels of Seismic Activity” please click HERE)

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Florida Declares State of Emergency for Hurricane

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Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Monday afternoon as Hurricane Irma strengthened into a Category 4 storm.

According to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 p.m. advisory Monday, Irma grew to 140 mph sustained winds as it chugged at 13 mph through the Caribbean. Irma’s projected to turn west-northwest by the end of the day Tuesday, moving on an overall track that increased the possibility that South Florida will feel its effects, if not take a direct hit.

It’s also supposed to strengthen over the next two days. At its current sustained wind speeds, Irma would be the biggest hurricane to hit South Florida since Category 5 Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

“Today, given these forecasts and the intensity of this storm, I have declared a state of emergency for every county in Florida to make certain that state, federal and local governments are able to work together and make sure resources are dispersed to local communities as we get prepared for this storm,” read Scott’s statement on the flgov.com website. “In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best and, while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared. This state of emergency allows our emergency management officials to act swiftly in the best interest of Floridians without the burden of bureaucracy or red tape. (Read more from “Florida Declares State of Emergency for Hurricane” HERE)

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Christian Transhumanism? Yes, Says Pastor

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A Christian pastor from Florida is promoting acceptance of some forms of transhumanism, saying believers should be open to finding an “ethical alternative” to the complete rejection of the scientific, technical and philosophical transhumanist movement that has already begun.

Rev. Christopher Benek, associate pastor of family ministries and mission at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, writes in the Christian Post that it’s time for the development of “Christian transhumanism.”

“If you have read the The American Conservative’s recent postings about the evolving transhumanist movement, you have likely developed reasonable concerns,” Benek wrote. “People should be dismayed at Zoltan Istvan’s misguided article in TAC from two weeks ago entitled: ‘The Growing World of Libertarian Transhumanism.’ And, if one believes that Istvan’s transhumanism represents all transhumanists, then Kai Weiss’ follow-up piece “Transhumanism is Not Libertarian, It’s an Abomination,” is correct and appropriately titled. But these two depictions do not represent the majority of transhumanist thought. As such I would request: Please folks do not throw the transhumanist-baby out with Zoltan Istvan’s bathwater. There is an ethical transhumanist alternative: Christian Transhumanism.”

Benek says “Christians can make a positive moral impact” on the debate over transhumanism rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater.

“To be clear, transhumanism at its core is not some sci-fi or superhero that will happen in 100 years, concept,” he wrote. “Transhumanism is happening right now. As a pastor serving a local congregation, I see proof of transhumanism in my congregation every day.” (Read more from “Christian Transhumanism? Yes, Says Pastor” HERE)

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Ex-Muslim: Welfare Contributes to Islamism

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A former Muslim who is warning America that Islamists are establishing “no-go zones,” neighborhoods run by Islamic Shariah law, says social-welfare programs contribute to the problem.

Such “help” facilitates a “huge swathe of people not doing anything,” he explained in an interview with Greg Corombos of Radio America.

“All day every day [there are] men hanging on street corners, in the cafes, outside smoking, drinking tea, chatting, going back and forth between the mosque and the café,” said author Raheem Kassam, who has just released “No Go Zones: How Sharia Law Is Coming to a Neighborhood Near You.”

He explains such no-go zones already are a problem across Europe, and he sees the beginnings of the same troubles in America.

He said the radicals are being forced by the socialist programs in Europe into the circumstances that cause them to “live lives devoid of work, and joy and freedom.” (Read more from “Ex-Muslim: Welfare Contributes to Islamism” HERE)

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Brady Not Thinking of ’08 Injury as He Prepares for Chiefs

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The previous time Patriots quarterback Tom Brady opened a season at home against Kansas City in 2008, it ended with him limping off the field with a season-ending knee injury.

Now nine years removed from the most significant injury of his career, Brady said it is the furthest thing from his mind as New England prepares to host the Chiefs on Thursday night.

”Yeah, I didn’t think about that,” Brady said Monday. ”Time flies.” (Read more from “Brady Not Thinking of ’08 Injury as He Prepares for Chiefs” HERE)

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