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Fox Reporter Won’t Name Sources in Aurora Shooting Story; Faces Jail

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Photo Credit: The New American

Fox News reporter Jana Winter is so committed to keeping secret the identity of her sources of information in the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shootings that she is willing to face jail time rather than expose the unnamed persons. Though both a Colorado judge and a New York judge have ordered her to turn over her notes related to the killings — that likely contain the names of her law-enforcement sources — Winter has so far refused.

On July 20, 2012, James Holmes opened fire on unsuspecting patrons in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70. Fox News sent Jana Winter to cover the aftermath. Just five days later, Winter broke her exclusive story that Holmes had forwarded a notebook to a University of Colorado psychiatrist “filled with details about how he was going to kill people.” Her story was based on information she had received from law-enforcement sources who were not to discuss the case because of a gag order issued by County Judge William Sylvester.

Forbes reported,

As one might expect, the defense attorneys were not happy with the revelation, claiming that the failure of the unnamed sources to honor the gag order — and Winter’s reporting of what she had learned — violated Holmes’ right to receive a fair trial.

The defense team began an investigation into the violation of the gag order, and called a number of law-enforcement officers to the stand, all of whom denied having leaked the information. It was at that point that the defense team persuaded Colorado Judge Sylvester to issue an order forcing Winter to turn over her notes on the story. But because Winter lives in New York, she could not be forced to comply with the order.

Manhattan Judge Larry Stephen then stepped in to offer his assistance and signed off on a subpoena requiring Winter to turn over all her materials associated with the Holmes case, as per the Colorado judge’s order.

Read more from this story HERE.

Batman Theater Shooter Converts To Islam

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Photo Credit: Associated Press

The man who shot up an Aurora, Colo., movie theater during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” last summer has reportedly converted to Islam and prays up to five times a day.

A prison source say the beard James Holmes sported in court last months represents his new-found faith. The source said Mr. Holmes has turned Muslim as a way of justifying his horrific crimes on July 20 which left 12 people dead and 58 people wounded, the Daily Mail reports.

“He has brainwashed himself into believing he was on his own personal jihad and that his victims were infidels,” the source told the National Enquirer.

Mr. Holmes now prays five times a day, sticks to a strict Muslim diet and spends hours each day studying the Koran, the source told the Enquirer.

Read more from this story HERE.

After Aurora, Obama now considering banning ammo sales online

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Photo credit: kcdsTM

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that President Obama will “evaluate” a new bill that would ban online ammunition sales in the wake of the shooting massacre in Aurora, Colo. That left 12 dead and dozens more injured.

During the daily press briefing, Mr. Earnest was asked whether Mr. Obama supports the measure, which aims to end sales of unlimited amounts of ammunition on the Internet and other mail orders. The bill also would force ammunition dealers to report large sales of bullets and other munitions to law enforcement authorities

At first Mr. Earnest said he didn’t know if Mr. Obama was aware of a bill sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Democrat from New Jersey, and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a Democrat from New York. He later amended this remarks to say the White House would evaluate the measure.

“The president’s view that have been relayed quite frequently over the last few days, you know, is that he believes in the Second Amendment of the Constitution, in the right to bear arms but he also believes that we should take robust steps within existing law to ensure that guns don’t fall in the hands of criminals or others [who] shouldn’t have them,” he said, referring to gun-control comments Mr. Obama made during at speech at the National Urban League.

The reporter followed up by asking whether the president’s push for enforcing existing law would prevent him from supporting the bill banning online munition sales.

Read more from this story HERE.

Scalia’s comments this weekend open the door to more gun control legislation

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Photo credit: US Mission Geneva

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Sunday the Second Amendment leaves open the possibility of gun-control legislation, adding to what has become a slow-boiling debate on the issue since the Colorado movie theater massacre earlier this month.

Scalia, one of the high court’s most conservative justices, said on “Fox News Sunday” that the majority opinion in the landmark 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller stated the extent of gun ownership “will have to be decided in future cases.”

“We’ll see,” he said.

Scalia’s comments follow the July 20 massacre at the Aurora, Colo., movie theater in which the alleged gunman, with the help of a semi-automatic weapon and an ammunition clip that could hold as many as 100 rounds, killed 12 and wounded 59 others.

His comments also follow those of lawmakers who have called for tougher gun-related laws in the wake of the shootings – most recently New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg and New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Democrats who said Sunday they will introduce legislation this week to “make it harder for criminals to anonymously stockpile ammunition through the Internet, as was done before the recent tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Publisher’s Note:  Scalia also noted in his interview on Fox News Sunday that an original construction of the Constitution opens the door to gun limitations as well, noting that the Second Amendment allows us only to “keep and bear arms.”  The word “bear” means that the Founders intended some restrictions, at the minimum allowing prohibition of weapons that cannot be carried.

 

UN Arms Trade Treaty deadline today: Revised draft gives hope to gun control advocates

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Photo credit: paljoakim

A revised draft of a new U.N. treaty to regulate the multibillion dollar global arms trade raised hopes from supporters and the British government, which has been the leading proponent, that an historic agreement could be reached by Friday’s deadline for action.

The draft circulated late Thursday closed several loopholes in the original text, though the Washington-based Arms Control Association said further improvements are still needed to strengthen measures against illicit arms transfers.

A spokesman for Britain’s U.N. Mission, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the new text is “a substantial improvement” and “an historic agreement that effectively regulates the international trade in conventional arms is now very close.”

The estimated $60 billion international arms trade is unregulated, though countries including the U.S. have their own rules on exports.

Opponents in the U.S., especially the powerful National Rifle Association, have portrayed the treaty as a surrender of gun ownership rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The issue of gun control, always politically explosive one for American politicians, has re-emerged since last week’s shooting at a Colorado cinema killed 12 people.

Read more from this story HERE.

Rapper Ice-T: Despite Aurora, gun rights are “the last form of defense against tyranny” (+video)

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While many pundits have been quick to advocate for gun control in the aftermath of the Aurora, Colo., theater rampage that killed 12 and wounded 58, rapper Ice-T took to the airwaves to defend gun rights.

Speaking with Channel 4 London’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy, the rapper and “Law & Order: SVU” actor said: “The right to bear arms is because that’s the last form of defense against tyranny. Not to hunt. It’s to protect yourself from the police.”

Guru-Murthy pushed back against the rapper who penned “Cop Killer” by asking if a link between the Second Amendment and the tragedy in Colorado exists.

“No, not really. You know what I’m sayin,’ if somebody wants to kill people they don’t need a gun to do it,” the rapper responded.

Ice-T’s comments stand in stark contrast to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s remarks immediately following the theater massacre.

Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s the video:

 

Photo credit: Tom Mooring

Video: Anti-gun O’Reilly gets schooled by Rep. Jason Chaffetz on Federal Gun Laws

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If you didn’t see this on O’Reilly the other night, take the three or four minutes to watch this video.  In it, O’Reilly advocates for a massive expansion of federal oversight over the purchase of guns and ammo, erroneously (and repeatedly) citing the Aurora shooter’s “60,000 rounds” of ammo purchased on the Internet.  Watch this video and send a note of thanks to Rep. Chaffetz HERE.

 

Photo credit: Michael.Jolley

Gun sales explode in wake of Aurora shooting

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The theater shooting in Colorado last week continues to generate discussions about firearms in America, but it is doing more than just getting people to talk. Gun sales in Colorado have skyrocketed in the days since the Aurora, CO massacre.

James Holmes, 24, is being held in connection with the Friday morning outburst that left 12 people dead and injured dozens more. Authorities allege that Holmes opened fire shortly after the midnight screening of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises began at the Century Aurora 16 theater. Only hours later, though, locals were lining up in droves to equip themselves with the same kinds of weaponry.

Jake Meyers tells the Denver Post that he arrived for work at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo on early Friday to find a line of 15 to 20 people waiting outside of the store. Three days later, he said surging gun sales yielded “probably the busiest Monday all year” and that, for the first time all year, firearms classes taught by the store’s staff were booked for three weeks straight.

“It’s been insane,” Meyers says.

“A lot of it is people saying, ‘I didn’t think I needed a gun, but now I do,’ ” Meyers adds. “When it happens in your backyard, people start reassessing — ‘Hey, I go to the movies.'”

Read more from this story HERE.

Another Aurora Miracle: Brain Defect Saves Violinist Who was Shot in the Head

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If you haven’t heard, there are a number of miraculous stories emerging from the slaughter in Aurora, Colorado.  One involves a beautiful young lady named Petra Anderson who was shot four times.  Three shots hit her in the arm and a a single bullet hit her in the head.  She didn’t die due to small birth defect that no one knew about.  Here is the fascinating story, as told by her pastor:

It seems as if the bullet traveled through Petra’s brain without hitting any significant brain areas. The doctor explains that Petra’s brain has had from birth a small “defect” in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull, like a tiny vein through marble, or a small hole in an oak board, winding from front to rear. Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.

But in Petra’s case, the shotgun buck shot, maybe even the size used for deer hunting, enters her brain from the exact point of this defect. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra’s nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain. In many ways, it almost misses the brain itself. Like a giant BB though a straw created in Petra’s brain before she was born, it follows the route of the defect. It is channeled in the least harmful way. A millimeter in any direction and the channel is missed. The brain is destroyed. Evil wins a round.

As he shares, the doctor seems taken aback. It is an odd thing to have a surgeon show a bit of wonder. Professionally, these guys own the universe, it seems, and take everything in stride. He is obviously gifted as a surgeon, and is kind in his manner. “It couldn’t have gone better. If it were my daughter,” he says quietly, glancing around to see if any of his colleagues might be watching him, “I’d be ecstatic. I’d be dancing a jig.” He smiles. I can’t keep my smile back, or the tears of joy. In Christianity we call it prevenient grace: God working ahead of time for a particular event in the future. It’s just like the God I follow to plan the route of a bullet through a brain long before Batman ever rises. Twenty-two years before.

While we’re talking, Petra awakes. She opens her eyes, and sits up, “Mom.” Movie-star doctor spins to grab her, to protect her from falling. The nurse assures him she’s been doing this for a while. He talks to her, and she talks back. He asks questions, and Petra has the right answers. “Where do you hurt, Petra?” “All over.” Amazed, but professional, he smiles and leaves the set shaking his head. I am so thankful for this man.

Petra is groggy and beat up, but she is herself. Honestly, I look worse before my morning coffee. “I’m thirsty,” she proclaims.

“You want an ice cube, honey?” Kim replies.

“Please.” Wow. She lays down, back to sleep, a living miracle who doesn’t even know it yet. Good flowering out of the refuse pile of a truly dark night. “Thank you, Jesus,” I whisper.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit:  Brad Strait

Amoral Quest for Power Where Truth is Irrelevant

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In the first Harry Potter adventure, a pithy statement is attributed to the villain, Lord Voldemort. He described his own worldview thusly: “There is no good and evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it.”

Now, that serves as a fairly reasonable motto for the political Left in our day. It is the functional ethic of all liberalism. Oh, to be sure, they’ll prattle on like tonsured prelates about what everyone else should do to live in a manner that is good and right. Also, they’ll preach for days in breathless indignation over the evils they see in their opponents.

But behind the curtain, good and evil are nothing more than useful labels to them. They can’t be more than that, and the reason is that liberalism is the politicized denial of God and His laws. Deny that God’s commandments are, in fact, binding on people, and you’ve effectively done away with the concepts of good and evil.

By asserting that point, I am only repeating what the foremost atheistic philosophers have always acknowledged and taught. In atheism, there is no reason for maintaining categories like good and evil, since there is no transcendent law-giver or judge.

I bring all this up because it is this quote from Voldemort that has bounced around in my head since ABC news famously jumped the gun last weekend in announcing that the Aurora/Batman shooter may have had Tea Party ties.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: kevin dooley