10 Insane Things the Pentagon Gave to Local Law Enforcement

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The Department of Defense Excess Property Program (1033) has seen a lot of criticism lately, as news surfaces about how local police departments are using the Pentagon’s extras. Pentagon equipment used by the St. Louis County Police in Ferguson, Missouri — the scene of riots following the shooting of Michael Brown — includes multiple $47,000 trucks and scores of military rifles. The New York Times highlighted the program and produced an interactive graphic to show the flow of weapons from Defense to police. According to the Times, the program started as a countermeasure to high crime in the 1990s.

Using data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and covering 2006-2014, we looked into the type and cost of equipment that local law enforcement has been receiving from the Pentagon. Items ranged from aircraft (some costing over $5 million each) to screws and washers (36 cents each). Most of the equipment filtering down to local law enforcement will not surprise the average citizen — mostly rifles, handguns and related equipment — but we found a lot of questionable line items.

1. 240 pair of “DRAWERS,EXTREME COLD WEATHER” for a total cost of $1,770.65. San Diego County, California.

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La Jolla Beach, San Diego (kan_khampanya/Shutterstock.com)

2. 200 pairs of “SOCKS” for a total cost of $468. Wichita County, Texas.

The Pentagon gave or sold a lot of socks to different counties. The document contains 175 line items with the word “socks” in them, with nearly every state receiving the all-important garments. Wichita, Texas, received 200 pairs of Pentagon-issued socks, presumably, for inmates at the James V. Allred Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Otherwise, law enforcement in Wichita County is swimming in socks.

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DNC Chair: Illegal Immigrants ‘Backbone Of Economy’, Bigotry ‘Deeply Embedded’ In GOP (+video)

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Photo Credit: National Review

Photo Credit: National Review

The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was on Fusion’s America With Jorge Ramos when she was asked about immigration reform. DWS, as usual, had some interesting thoughts on the subject.

Wasserman Schultz says that illegal immigrants are the “backbone of the economy”, which means she must not think very highly of American workers or even legal immigrants. Schultz also says there hasn’t been any immigration reform because bigotry is “deeply embedded” in House Republicans.

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Behind Slew of Alaska Break-Ins: Bears

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Photo Credit: AP File / Mark Thiessen

Photo Credit: AP File / Mark Thiessen

An environmental expert traveled 50 miles of Alaskan coastline last week, and every single cabin he encountered had suffered a break-in—by bears . . .

Though periodic bear break-ins aren’t unusual, this season the creatures have bashed their way into “dozens and dozens” of cabins, a state wildlife biologist says. And they’re “not going straight to kitchen. They’re causing a lot of mayhem,” says a US Park Service biologist. “It looks like a frat party occurred in there.” Two possible reasons: The number of brown bears appears to be up this year, while berry growth is down.

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Why Top Catholic Education Organization Says Common Core Could Threaten Religious Liberty

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A leading Catholic education organization is warning that Common Core could pose a threat to religious freedom for Catholic schools that adopt the controversial education standards.

The Cardinal Newman Society’s summer newsletter named among the 10 things Catholics should know about Common Core is that it “could lead to religious liberty violations.” That’s in part because of the Department of Health and Human Services mandate to cover contraception coverage for employees.

“Catholic schools’ protection from threats like the HHS mandate depends on showing consistent Catholic identity, because First Amendment protections often depend on demonstrating a bona fide religious character,” the newsletter warned. “The Common Core may diminish a school’s Catholic identity by ‘crowding out’ important elements of authentic Catholic formation, emphasizing skills and practicality over vocation, and failing to teach reasoning from a foundation of truth.”

Further, as more Catholic schools adopt Common Core-certified textbooks and have to comply with Common Core exams, that could in turn lead to schools’ accepting more federal and state funding, which often has strings attached, said Denise Donohue, deputy director of the K-12 Catholic Education Program for the Cardinal Newman Society.

“Testing requirements affect instruction and that can be tied to funding,” Donohue told TheBlaze. “Any federal funding puts contraints on a program.”

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Half a Mile Long Mysterious Crack Splits the Ground in Northern Mexico – Scientists Puzzled Over Possible Cause (+video)

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Giant-Earth-Crack-mexicoIncredible footage has emerged showing a 26ft (8m) deep crack in the in the farmland of northwest Mexico, which stretches for over a kilometer. The crevice which appeared last week, has disconnected Highway 26 between Hermosillo and the coast, Sky News reported. Drivers, including farm workers, have been forced to navigate around the colossal trench. The video showcasing the crack that in some parts is 16ft (5m) wide, was shot using a camera attached to a drone device. It shows vehicles stopped beside the crack, while a green tractor drives away from the scene. People below the drone appear to be discussing the situation. Geological investigators are now assessing what caused the crack, according to El Imparcial newspaper. The civil protection unit believes the fissure may have been caused by an earthquake which hit last Sunday. But another investigation by geologists at the University of Sonora found that farmers in the area had built up a levee stream to contain rainwater which had begun to leak. Experts believe that this may have caused an underground stream to develop, which soften the earth above it until it collapsed. -Independent

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Report: 25 Percent of Troops Use Food Assistance

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Photo Credit: AP / U.S. AIR FORCE

Photo Credit: AP / U.S. AIR FORCE

The recent results of a survey by Feeding America (page 16), the largest domestic hunger-relief charity in the U.S., suggests that 620,000 households containing at least one currently serving military member utilize food banks and other food assistance programs.

That’s a staggering statistic – 25 percent of the currently serving force.

Pentagon officials were quick to refute the validity of the report’s statistics, but regardless of the actual number, the survey reflects many military families are using food banks to help make ends meet.

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School Apologizes for Making Special Needs Kids Sort Trash

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Photo Credit: LifeNews

Photo Credit: LifeNews

On the heels of the controversy over Richard Dawkins’ comments saying that parents of unborn babies who are found to have Down syndrome should abort them comes this. This kind of story shoes the bias and discrimination people with special needs face in our society.

If they are lucky enough to survive an abortion beforehand, kinds with Down syndrome and other special needs children then face a culture that relegates them to second-tier status as somehow less than perfectly human. As a pro-life movement, we must change the culture before and after birth.

From the report:

A Southern California school district has apologized to parents of special education students who were outraged to learn their children had been sorting trash as a school activity.

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Investigations Underway, Suspected Voter Fraud In Virginia And Maryland

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Photo Credit: REUTERS / Fred Prouser

Photo Credit: REUTERS / Fred Prouser

Virginia Voters Alliance, an election integrity group, has called attention to the surprising amount of duplicate voter registrations in Maryland and Virginia, challenging the view that voter fraud is nonexistent, Watchdog reports.

According to the Virginia Voters Alliance (VVA), the state has decided to term these as inactive voters, meaning that they join the total of 43,896 Virginia and Maryland voters who are eligible to vote up until 2019.

As state officials have taken little action, Fairfax General Registrar Cameron Quinn has announced she intends to step in, although since there are an estimated 14,646 duplicate registrations, it’s a race to the clock to remove them before the voter database freezes 60 days before a general election.

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ISIS, Mexican Drug Cartels Teaming Up?

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Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

The relationship between drug trafficking and terrorism has long existed, and can take many forms depending on the goals and needs of each party. Sometimes hybrid criminal-terrorist organizations form in which terrorist groups become involved in the drug trade to fund operations, purchase equipment, and pay foot soldiers. In return, they provide safe passageways for the drugs and give traffickers tips for circumventing customs and security forces. Other times a localized criminal organization or terrorist group lacks expertise, so increased contacts and business with major drug cartels helps advance the sophistication of their operation. Ultimately, though, both have logistical needs and working with or even talking to each other allows the groups to share lessons learned, important contacts to corrupt officials, and operational methods.

Thus, it’s not surprising to hear that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is already talking to Mexican drug cartels. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), a member of the House Judiciary Committee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, said as much on Newmax TV’s “America’s Forum” on Wednesday when asked if there’s any interaction between the two.

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Begich to Face Sullivan

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A strong showing in Homer by Republican Party U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller surprised almost everybody — everybody except a spirited group of supporters on the lower Kenai Peninsula.

“In the past week and a half, just monitoring what’s going on across the state, we really saw a surge of support in Anchorage,” said Barnabas Firth, a Miller campaign volunteer. “Down here locally we have a strong support base. I really expected him to have a stronger showing than the polls were indicating.”

In all nine House District 31 precincts from Funny River to the head of Kachemak Bay, Miller took first, with 1,332 votes. Former attorney general Dan Sullivan finished second with 948 votes and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell finished third with 586 votes. In Anchor Point, his strongest precinct, Miller won with 53 percent of the vote, 253 votes to Sullivan’s 135.

Statewide, though, Sullivan has won the nomination and will face Democratic Party nominee and incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Begich in the general election. Sullivan got 40 percent of the vote to Miller’s 32 percent and Treadwell’s 25 percent.

For Treadwell supporter Jon Faulkner, Miller’s strong showing came as a surprise.

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