Was that…the Statue of Liberty?

Travel 2 Minutes
Dauphin, PA

Passing motorists on highway 322 or the combined 11 and 15 just outside of Harrisburg might notice something odd atop an old railroad bridge piling in the middle of the Susquehanna River. In the few fleeting seconds that it’s visible from either road, it can elicit an almost confused feeling. I’m sure the words “Was that the Statue of Liberty?” have been uttered more than a few times by those driving by.

In fact, it IS a replica of the Statue of Liberty. The unique replica of the Statue of Liberty stands in the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County. She currently rises 25 feet from an old bridge piling in a section of the Susquehanna River known as the Dauphin Narrows. “Of all the replicas across America, it’s one of the larger ones,” says Gene Stilp, who also believes his statue has the best location. The original was erected in 1986 and constructed from fiberglass and venetian blinds.

The inception of the statue was veiled in secrecy, only known by a few local men in Dauphin. The idea was the brainchild of Stilp, a non-practicing lawyer and engineering hobbyist. He drafted plans and began construction of the statue using plywood and venetian blinds in a friend’s garage. Upon completion, Stilp gathered a few of his friends whom he could trust with his secret, and on the night of July 1, 1986, 12 men set out to put their Lady Liberty in her place.

One of the men, safety coordinator Steve Oliphant recalls, “I was concerned about taking a bunch of knuckleheads with a 450-pound statue out into the Dauphin Narrows. It can get dangerous out there.” With only a few small boats, Stilp and his men paddled out onto the Susquehanna to the old Marysville Bridge piling. “We were 32 feet in the air, and it was pitch black, and we had to be very careful,” mused Stilp. Using only ropes and their combined man power, the men hoisted the 450 pound construction up the 30 feet to her perch. The men then convened over pizza and beer, not knowing they had sown the seeds of local legend.

Only meant to last for a few weeks, the first statue stood until 1992 when a series of storms forced her removal.

Six months of construction later, a four-ton replica of Lady Liberty was airlifted to the stone pedestal from which she had fallen five years earlier. This new statue, constructed of metal, wood, and fiberglass with a polyester finish cost an estimated $33,000 to complete. It was a triumphant moment for the people involved and the surrounding communities, with over 100 spectators watching the event. The statue was met with applause and cheers as it was secured into place. This small Pennsylvania town had its landmark back. “I knew we were going to get it done, no matter what the naysayers said. I’m not a sculptor; I’m just an amateur who is winging it,” Stilp said.

Stilp’s creation remains to this day. She endures freezing temperatures and howling winds, the baking sun and violent storms. Stilp is still involved with the statue, organizing a cleanup every few years that draws large numbers from the community. “It’s a tough time for America, so it’s nice to have a reminder of what people will do together. Everyone coming out and helping out. That’s a community,” said local songwriter Alex Kaschock.

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Published by pat frederick

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121 thoughts on “Was that…the Statue of Liberty?”

  1. Morning All!
    damp and rainy here…not a great travel day, but we should be leaving shortly after lunch. and be back sometime Sunday afternoon…with all sorts of stuff my mom insists i will want…LOL…we’ll see.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Morning, Pat! Super foggy here but already 53 – supposed to clear out but not for long. Ah, well – I can always mow! LOL

      What a cool statue! Just goes to show that venetian blinds are darned near indestructible! LOL

      Liked by 2 people

      1. LOL
        they put that thing up in the dead of night in the middle of the river AND managed to keep quiet about it till the statue of limitations ran out…LOL…
        that’s some dedication there!

        Liked by 2 people

  3. Liked by 1 person

    1. copied from wolf’s

      Wolf MoonOffline
      Admin
      Wolf
      May 6, 2022 01:02

      Some of the newest Pfizer data insights so far…..

      Vickie B reposted

      comment image

      Johannes
      @Johanne31785773
      7h

      COVID-1984 Vaccine Side Effects

      PFIZER’S NEW 80,000-PAGE DATA DUMP IS A NIGHTMARE – AND CAME AT THE SAME TIME AS THE ROE v WADE LEAK – Notable issues include:

      Pfizer’s COVID vaccine was NOT 95% effective as they claimed. The data shows it has a 12% efficacy rate for the first 7 days…then falls to less than 1% (0.84%)
      There were no human clinical trials to determine if the experimental COVID vaccines were safe for pregnant women. They were excluded from all the trials. Instead, they tested it on 44 rats before claiming it was “safe”
      There are a total of 9 sites revealed so far (as of May 2, 2022) of 158. Under 6.6% of the Subjects are accounted for. Where did the data relating to the hundreds of other Subjects/trial participants go?
      Where are the 25,706 patients missing from the Pfizer data?
      The lipid nanoparticles were found to have distributed throughout the body — in the liver, ovaries & other vital organs 48 hrs post injection
      The latest release can be found via the database here or at the ICAN site here.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. We know why…….and if this BS is passed at the UN……

      EXCERPT: “On May 22-28, 2022, ultimate control over America’s healthcare system, and hence its national sovereignty, will be delivered for a vote to the World Health Organization’s governing legislative body, the World Health Assembly (WHA).

      This threat is contained in new amendments to WHO’s International Health Regulations, proposed by the Biden administration, that are scheduled as “Provisional agenda item 16.2” at the upcoming conference on May 22-28, 2022.1

      These amendments will empower WHO’s Director-General to declare health emergencies or crises in any nation and to do so unilaterally and against the opposition of the target nation. The Director-General will be able to declare these health crises based merely on his personal opinion or consideration that there is a potential or possible threat to other nations.

      If passed, the Biden Administration’s proposed amendments will, by their very existence and their intention, drastically compromise the independence and the sovereignty of the United States. The same threat looms over all the U.N.’s 193 member nations, all of whom belong to WHO and represent 99.44% of the world population.2

      These regulations are a “binding instrument of international law entered into force on 15 June 2007.”3 U.N. members states can be required by law to obey or acquiesce to them.

      How It Became Official

      On January 18, 2022, with no public awareness, officials from the Biden Administration sent the World Health Organization these extensive amendments to strengthen WHO’s ability to unilaterally intervene into the affairs of nations merely suspected of having a “health emergency” of possible concern to other nations.4 The U.S. amendments cross out a critical existing restriction in the regulations: “WHO shall consult with and attempt to obtain verification from the State Party in whose territory the event is allegedly occurring…”5 By eliminating that, and other clauses (see below), all the shackles will be removed from the Director-General of WHO, enabling him to declare health emergencies at will.

      The amendments would give WHO the right to take important steps to collaborate with other nations and other organizations worldwide to deal with any nation’s alleged health crisis, even against its stated wishes. The power to declare health emergencies is a potential tool to shame, intimidate, and dominate nations. It can be used to justify ostracism and economic or financial actions against the targeted nation by other nations aligned with WHO or who wish to harm and control the accused nation.

      Although sponsored by an American administration, WHO’s most significant use of this arbitrary authority to declare national emergencies will be used against the United States if our government ever again dares to take anti-globalist stands as it did under the Trump administration.”

      https://www.americaoutloud.com/biden-handing-over-u-s-sovereignty-to-who/

      Liked by 1 person

      1. i dunno…I do not think the executive branch has the power to unilaterally dispense with American sovereignty.
        this fight will go to scotus.
        and he should be impeached over it
        jmo

        Liked by 1 person

        1. This is comparable to a treaty and must be voted on in the Senate. But, as we see every single day more and more, they don’t give a flying shit about law and legal procedures!!!! But it certainly flies in the face of any logic whatsoever considering the corrupt bastid Tedros, who is at the head of the WHO!!! HE ISN’T EVEN A FRICKING DOCTOR!!!!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. agreed. I simply cannot see someone like desantis allowing this to happen without suing shit-for-brains and riling up the base about american sovereignty…
            this WILL get ugly

            Liked by 1 person

            1. What isn’t un-Constitutional these days? Take a lot less time to list Constitutional actions…..since there have been NONE in this fake admin. I sure hope that “fraud vitiates everything” is true……

              Liked by 1 person

      1. he should have a no knock raid on his premises and arrested for formenting a judicial insurrection–and threatening the lives of scotus

        Liked by 1 person

  6. also from wolf’s…does this administration even know the definition of ethical?

    holly08Online
    Fox
    May 6, 2022 04:41

    Top story at DM….

    New White House press secretary sparks fresh ethical dilemma for CNN: Psaki replacement Karine Jean-Pierre’s partner is CNN political reporter Suzanne Malveaux – as critics liken conflict of interest to Chris Cuomo scandal

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10787997/New-WH-press-sec-sparks-ethical-dilemma-Karine-Jean-Pierres-partner-CNN-reporter.html

    Liked by 1 person

  7. shit-for-brains pandering to moose slimes in the wh and a point by point rebuttal in the article…
    FTA
    Consider the words of U.S. President Joe Biden, spoken during Eid al-Fitr with Muslims at the White House on May 2. He said:

    [T]oday, around the world, we’re seeing so many Muslims being targeted with violence. No one, no one should discriminate against oppressed or be oppressed for their religious beliefs…. Muslims make our nation stronger every single day, even as they still face real challenges and threats in our society, including targeted violence and Islamophobia that exists.

    Now, let’s briefly parse these surreal claims:

    [T]oday, around the world, we’re seeing so many Muslims being targeted with violence.

    Where are the statistics for this claim? Rather, what we’re used to seeing is Muslims targeting non-Muslims with violence. According to one tally, for example, during just this last Ramadan, or basically the month of April 2022, Muslims launched 177 terror attacks “in the name of Islam” that murdered 1,086 people. Again, that’s just during one month—Islam’s “holiest” month. The same tally finds that there were zero attacks and zero deaths by non-Muslims operating under the name of their religions.

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/05/biden-so-many-muslims-are-targeted-violence-and-raymond-ibrahim/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Altho it is on a smaller scale, another problem spot is India – also happening in Vietnam – with radical Buddhists and Hindus going after those teaching Christian philosophy. ANY “radical” religion that advocates for following religious law over Constitutional law should be banned.

      From 2021: https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Christians-flee-after-two-attacks-by-Buddhist-radicals-against-their-church-53764.html

      From 2020: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2020/august/hindu-extremists-in-india-viciously-attack-christians-while-they-pray

      From 2017: https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/buddhist-persecution-of-christians-others-on-the-rise

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Liked by 2 people

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  10. it raining here and i decided not to put the hummer feeder out front–the side feeder is still there. the oriole has been on the railing under where the feeder hangs scolding me 3 times already this morning…looking for the feeder…lol

    we take the front feeder in every night, since the raccoons can climb on the railing and reach the feeder. they empty it and make a mess. the side feeder hangs from the eave and the raccoons can’t get to it, so we leave that one out. (the bears can stand on their hind legs and get to any they want, but that’s the chance we take when we leave for the weekend.)

    Liked by 1 person

      1. the hummer was buzzing about the empty chain out front, but then immediately fly to the one on the side, so he’ll be okay till Sunday

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Hmmm….wouldn’t help with the bears at all but putting the feeder on one of those long metal poles greased with vaseline will keep the raccoons and squirrels from reaching it…..I do that with the feeder I put out front to keep the ants from swarming it – some still manage but not many. Of course, you wouldn’t want to do that when you’re gone for the week-end, tho.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. because the house sits on a garage/basement level, we can’t see the yard unless it’s farther out–we have to go to the deck railing and look down. that’s why the feeders hang from the eaves on the side or from the beam supporting the deck roof in the front

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Another option would be to mount it right on the deck – drill holes to slide it thru the top and bottom boards of the railings. Just some ideas – may or may not work for you.

          Liked by 1 person

            1. If it’s tall enough and covered with vaseline….as long as it’s smooth, with no ridges, they should just slide right off. But that would admittedly be a long shot – those raccoons can figure out just about ANYTHING!!! LOL

              Liked by 1 person

  11. oh boy…lower the standards…what could go wrong? wait till this attitude permeates the field of medicine…

    Liked by 2 people

      1. so when they move to do with doctors…and start passing and graduating idiots who don’t belong in the profession…we’ll see who gets the blame for the resulting deaths

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Liked by 1 person

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  14. HA!

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Entire article @ BB: “An 18-year-old Georgia resident Bryn Hammock, who refined her sewing skills during the pandemic, spearheaded an effort to produce 140 weighted gloves, which she calls “Tiny Hugs,” to comfort infants in the newborn intensive care units (NICU) at her local hospitals.

    It all began when Hammock learned that parents could only spend two hours daily with their newborns in NICUs under pandemic restrictions, People reported. She then heard of bead-filled gloves meant to comfort newborns from her grandmother, Deanna Simmons, who happens to be a pediatric nurse.

    “It basically is like a weighted blanket for the babies in the NICU,” Hammock told 11Alive. “It feels like they have a hand on them when their parents can’t be there with them.” “I heard they were alone in the hospital, and I was like ‘Wow, they really need this,’” she told People. Hammock, a girl scout, also had her eyes set on the Gold Award, the highest honor the Girl Scouts of America has for ambassadors and senior girl scouts, the organization’s website states.

    She decided the weighted gloves for newborns would be the best way she could serve the smallest and most vulnerable members of her community, but there was one obstacle in the way. “I could sew by hand, but I had never sewn with a machine before,” Hammock told 11Alive. She sought the counsel of Simmons. “I had not sewn in years, but it was like riding a bicycle. She didn’t get frustrated. It was pretty impressive,” Simmons told People.

    Hammock created her first batch of “Tiny Hugs” and, with the help of her mother, Kelley Hammock, produced an instruction video on how to make them while also fashioning a team of 18 volunteers, People said. The group set out to make 30 “Tiny Hugs,” but when all was said and done, they manufactured 140.

    Kelley told the outlet that watching her mother and daughter, who spent time in NICU when she was a baby, work together to benefit infants was immensely heartwarming and meaningful to observe. The group distributed the Tiny Hugs to seven Georgia hospitals, 11Alive noted. For her efforts, Bryn earned the Gold Award. Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Communications Advisor Leslie Gilliam told the Atlanta Journal-Consitution said Hammock’s project came at a crucial time.

    “I love Bryn’s project. Through simple sewing supplies and the will to make a difference, she brought comfort to infants (and their parents) at a critical time,” she explained. Perhaps more meaningful than the Gold Award were the letters the caring teen received from hospital staff. Technical Intensive Care Unit (TICU) Nurse Trisha Whitley from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite sent a message to Hammock, informing her that the products were being put to great use.

    “The Tiny Hugs you sent us have been greatly used and appreciated by our little ones and staff. Your efforts have warmed a lot of hearts around the TICU, and the world is a better place with people like you in it,” Whitley wrote, according to People.”

    Video: https://www.breitbart.com/local/2022/05/05/georgia-teen-fashions-weighted-gloves-newborns-nicu/

    Liked by 1 person

  16. EXCERPT: “A Canadian space law amendment allowing for the prosecution of crimes committed on the Moon passed Canada’s House of Commons at the end of April, Euronews reported on Thursday.

    Members of Canada’s House of Commmons, or lower house of parliament, voted 181 to 144 in favor of the space law amendment on April 29, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on May 5. The legislation would extend Canada’s criminal jurisdiction into outer space.

    “The new act being scrutinised by parliamentarians essentially extends Canadian law to space, meaning that anything that would be illegal in Canada will become illegal on board spacecraft travelling to the Lunar Gateway, on the Gateway itself and on the surface of the Moon,” Euronews observed on May 5.

    The Lunar Gateway is a planned space outpost that would orbit the Moon starting in 2024, according to the U.S. federal government’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

    Canada’s House of Commons presented its new space law amendment on April 29 in a 2022 federal budget bill under the subheading, “Lunar Gateway,” which read, “A Canadian crew member who, during a space flight, commits an act or omission outside Canada that if committed in Canada would constitute an indictable offence is deemed to have committed that act or omission in Canada.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/science/2022/05/05/canada-votes-give-itself-power-prosecute-crime-moon/

    Liked by 1 person

  17. EXCERPT: “A federal civil rights lawsuit was filed Thursday against Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra over the agency’s “anti-racism” plan that injects “race-based decision making into our health care system.”

    The lawsuit, which also names Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure, was filed by Mississippi doctor Amber Colville and Kentucky doctor Ralph Alvarado. The attorneys general of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Montana have also joined the suit.

    “[D]istinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are by their very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality,” the lawsuit opens, quoting case law.

    As Breitbart News reported, HHS encourages health care providers to conduct a “clinic-wide review of existing tools and policies, such as value statements or clinical practice guidelines, to ensure that they include and are aligned with a commitment to anti-racism and an understanding of race as a political and social construct, not a physiological one.”

    The federal government also offers financial incentives to health care providers who implement critical race theory-based policies at their practices, including, in some cases, racial prioritization for receiving medical help. Becerra appears to have misled Congress about his agency’s policies, maintaining that “we don’t have a policy as you’ve described” despite the fact that the policy is published in the Federal Register.

    “Unlike any prior administration, the Biden administration has sided with critical race scholars over the law,” the lawsuit charges. “The administration is injecting the terms ‘antiracism’ and ‘equity’ into various agency regulations, knowing full well what those terms of art mean—even citing Kendi himself in the Federal Register.” “Now the administration is injecting these concepts into the one area where they belong the least: medicine,” it continues.

    Referring to the Federal Register “anti-racism” rule, the lawsuit claims it encourages “doctors to elevate race over medical treatment in violation of our nation’s core principles, but it violates the law.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/05/05/federal-civil-rights-lawsuit-filed-against-hhs-secretary-over-race-based-medical-care/

    Liked by 1 person

  18. I just turned my TV to Fox – one would expect them to air it…..

    [Forwarded from Jack Posobiec]

    BREAKING: Fmr Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is holding a press conference this morning outlining national security concerns of Dr Oz’s relations to the government of Turkey, including security clearance, working for state entities, and voting in Turkish elections

    Liked by 2 people

  20. Entire article @ BB: “A judge in Missouri has green-lit a subpoena that former Gov. Eric Greitens, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate this year, sought against his ex-wife for phone and communication records between her and top GOP establishment officials.

    “Based on overwhelming evidence that the Governor’s ex-wife was untruthful in her statements and the children’s medical/dental records showing no abuse occurred, the judge has granted the legal team complete access to her phone records,” Greitens’s campaign told Breitbart News on Thursday after the judge approved the subpoena. “We expect that the facts will show, sadly, that she coordinated with Mitch McConnell’s lieutenants and Karl Rove to peddle these false allegations. Ultimately, we look forward to gaining access to their records as well.”

    The move by Eric Greitens to subpoena his ex-wife Sheena Greitens’s phone records comes after she accused him of abusing her and their children in a court filing earlier this year. He has denied the allegations, and claims they are part of an ongoing effort by GOP establishment political consultants to stop his campaign. A recent Breitbart News investigation into the matter too found that a top confidante to top GOP donors said that Karl Rove—George W. Bush’s right hand man—knew about the allegations ahead of Sheena Greitens making them. Sheena Greitens’s sister, Catherine Linkul, works for a number of different consulting firms tied closely to top allies of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.

    Sheena has issued statements claiming she told nobody but her lawyer about the contents of the filings before she made them, so records like text messages or emails showing her telling others about them would contradict that. Sheena Greitens and others that Eric Greitens moved to subpoena—like Linkul and his former campaign manager Austin Chambers—sought to quash the subpoenas, but the judge ruled on Thursday that at least the one with regard to Sheena Greitens is to proceed for now. The other subpoenas may be green-lit at later dates based on information gleaned from this first subpoena.”

    Liked by 2 people

  21. Just did a brief walk-about in back – 3 of the Honeysuckle vines are leafing out; rose bush has leaves all OVER it; both Clematis on trellis are leafing out – YEAH!!! None of the daffodil and glad bulbs are showing yet – I never did put more mulch on them so hopefully, our mild winter didn’t freeze ’em.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. sounds like a good spring flowering is coming your way!
      still raining here…the mallard ducks were in the pond this morning in spite of the rain.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Looks like it. Now that we’ve gotten some rain, I expect the Weigela bushes in front will promptly leaf, too. They need a lot of water. Yeah, ducks don’t GAS about no rain!!! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

          1. Yeah – I have the 3 out front – I had to get a replacement for one of mine but they’ve done really well. I should prune them more. The one in the middle is the white one and the blooms turn pink – it blooms later than the other two.

            Liked by 2 people

              1. I was very careful when I planted those and did it right. I filled the huge holes with new dirt and plant food for them. We had to dig down at least 5 feet to get the root bulbs of the dead cedar bushes that were there – 3 of those suckers! SIL helped me with it – no way I could have done it by myself. One was so big, I couldn’t even move it! Sweet Oran, across the street, was taking a load of yard waste to the dump and he tossed it onto his trailer for me.

                Liked by 1 person

              2. i tried a rhodedenrum–thinking they’re everywhere in the woods around here–they won’t be of interest to the deer. they weren’t. a raccoon dug it out of the ground 3 times and eventually drug it away with him. we have it on the trail cam

                Liked by 1 person

  22. From BB: “Pro-life activists gathered outside U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s House on Thursday to show gratitude and support after the Court reportedly decided to overrule the landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade.
    ————————
    The pro-life activists gathered outside of Alito’s house may again run into radical pro-abortion activists tonight, as it is rumored the pro-abortion activists plan to protest at Alito’s house this evening as well.”

    Liked by 2 people

  24. I haven’t done any research on her and only a minimum on McCormick – I do know he is a big corporation guy. Personally, I think I would vote for Barnette, followed by McCormick if he beats her in the primary. Either would be better than Oz, that’s for darned sure!!!!

    EXCERPT: “There is a virtual tie in the Pennsylvania Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat roughly two weeks before voters go to the polls on May 17, according to a Franklin & Marshall poll.

    Franklin & Marshall’s poll showed there is a virtual tire between the top candidates, with between 325 registered Republican Pennsylvania voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.

    The poll found only 18 percent of Republican respondents said they would vote for the celebrity doctor, Mehmet Oz. While in comparison, there was also 16 percent who would vote for David McCormick, and in third, Kathy Barnette garnered 12 percent of the respondents.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/05/05/pennsylvania-senate-race-heating-up-virtual-tie-in-the-polls/

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I thought you would agree. Someone at BB complained about her using her race to explain that she could go into a group from the black community and convince them easier than a white candidate. I say she is 100% correct and would be foolish not to use that in her campaign. JMO

        Liked by 1 person

  26. EXCERPT: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is warning that requiring a permit for concealed carry subcontracts out constitutional rights to the whims of the person approving permit applications.

    News4Jax noted that DeSantis described the concealed permitting process on Tuesday as a “licensing scheme” run by people who can take away your license if they so choose. The Governor made clear he wants to replace the permitting system with a constitutional carry framework.

    Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is the individual who oversees concealed permitting in Florida. She is also a Democrat candidate for governor in the state. Fried responded to DeSantis by calling the push for constitutional carry “absurd political pandering from the governor of a state that has experienced some of the worst mass shootings in our country’s history.”

    DeSantis also spoke about concealed permitting over the weekend, alluding to “the official in charge of these permits” but not calling out Fried by name.

    The NRA quoted DeSantis saying “the official in charge of these permits doesn’t support Second Amendment rights.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/05/05/ron-desantis-requiring-permits-concealed-carry-subcontracting-your-rights/

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Entire article @ FreeBeacon: “Congress is demanding answers from the Biden administration following a disclosure that reams of biometric data abandoned by the United States during its bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan are being used by the Taliban to target American allies still stuck in the war-torn nation.

    Eight Republican senators led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) are asking the State and Defense Departments to turn over information related to the evacuation of U.S. troops in Afghanistan that allowed the Taliban to retake control of the country. In addition to leaving behind $7 billion worth of military hardware, the United States abandoned “sensitive data, including biometric data,” on Afghan allies that are now reportedly being used by the Taliban to target those who supported the United States’ 20-year war in the country.

    “These systems, which were abandoned when the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, contained iris scans, fingerprints, photographs, occupational data, home addresses, and names of relatives,” the senators wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon. “The Taliban is using this personal information to increase targeted killings, torture, and forced disappearances of Afghans who helped the United States.” The senators warned that “the Taliban will continue to target the vulnerable with equipment and information that the Biden Administration left behind.”

    The probe comes just weeks after Human Rights Watch, an advocacy organization, released a bombshell report detailing how the Taliban is using abandoned biometric data to eradicate those who worked alongside the United States.

    With the international community focused on Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine, the Taliban has increased its assault on U.S. allies stuck in Afghanistan. An unknown number of Afghan citizens who aided the United States remain in hiding as the Taliban uses the U.S. government’s own data to abduct these individuals. The senators’ investigation into the matter is the latest Republican effort to unearth the extent of damage caused by the Biden administration’s decision to evacuate Afghanistan.

    Blackburn and her colleagues are instructing the Pentagon and State Department to explain the “policies and procedures governing when and how the U.S. collects sensitive data, including biometric data, of individuals working with the American military around the globe, including those who supported U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.” They expect this information will help prevent a future situation in which sensitive government data fall into enemy hands.

    The senators also want to know what safeguards are in place to secure these data. “Where is such data stored and how is it disposed of in the event of mission changes or unintended transfers of control of the data?” they asked.

    They want the Biden administration to explain whether it has any plans in place “to help our Afghan partners that are being targeted with this information.” The Biden administration has been mostly silent about the crisis in Afghanistan since U.S. troops left the country, stranding scores of Americans and Afghan allies.

    “What future steps will the administration take to improve its data collection and retention policies to be sure this does not happen again in places where we are militarily involved?” the lawmakers wrote.

    Human Rights Watch, in its latest report, spoke with a range of well-placed Afghans about the Taliban’s abuse of the abandoned biometric databases. This included 12 Afghans with knowledge of the database, 6 of them judges; multiple human rights researchers who have documented the Taliban’s exploitation of this information; and U.S. military officials formerly based in the country.

    “A former military commander still in Afghanistan said that Taliban detained him for 12 days in November and took his fingerprints and scanned his irises with a data-collection tool,” according to the report. “They told me they took my fingerprints to check if I was military and if they could confirm it, they would kill me,” the official was quoted as saying. “I was very lucky that for some reason they did not get a match.”

    “The Taliban’s access to this data comes at a time when they are targeting individuals because of their past association with the former government, particularly members of the security forces, judges and prosecutors, and civil servants, including women working in these fields,” the report notes. “Taliban access to these systems may make it much harder, or impossible, for these people to remain hidden.”

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Entire article @ FB: “President Joe Biden lacks the authority to execute his plan to have the government take on hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt, top Obama administration education lawyer Charles Rose warned on Wednesday.

    Rose, who served as the Education Department’s general counsel from 2009 to 2011, wrote in a memo for his law firm that “the Executive Branch likely does not have the unilateral authority to engage in mass student debt cancellation,” the Wall Street Journal reported. If Biden enacts the plan, courts will likely overturn it, Rose said.

    Biden said last week that he is considering mass student debt cancellation. The White House has not given many details about its plan, though the president has said that any cancellation would be less than the $50,000 sought by some Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and “Squad” member Ayanna Pressley (Mass.). The president is “more comfortable with debt cancellation in the range of $10,000,” the Journal wrote.

    Canceling $10,000 in loans per borrower would put the federal government $245 billion deeper in debt, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found. Canceling $50,000 would put the government nearly $1 trillion deeper in debt.

    Experts say student loan cancellation would benefit the wealthiest students “while leaving behind, or perhaps even draining from, the neediest,” the Washington Free Beacon reported. The top 40 percent of wage earners carry more than half of all student loan debt.

    Rose’s worries about the legality of cancellation are strikingly similar to concerns that Biden sounded last year. “I don’t think I have the authority to do it by signing with a pen,” the president said at a CNN town hall. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has made similar arguments. “People think the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness,” Pelosi said last July. “He does not.”

    Biden last year issued an eviction moratorium even as he said it “is not likely to pass constitutional muster.” The Supreme Court quickly struck the moratorium down.”

    Liked by 2 people

    1. i don’t remember where i saw it, but 60% of student debt is for doctoral work. and some of those doctorates are for gender studies…who needs a doctorate in THAT?
      frivolous, avoid life, stay in school and rack up debt occupations

      Liked by 2 people

          1. The only future I can see is, in truth, being activists, yes? I mean, what else is there? Jeez – gender is gender…..unchangeable! You wanna live as a guy/gal? Have at it! I don’t GAF but don’t force me to believe it and leave the children alone!

            Liked by 2 people

    1. I was thinking that you and hubby have been loading your vehicle – you taking your jeep? I probably won’t be posting much, really, but I’ll check in periodically, just in case CM or Kea want to “talk.” I hope you have a safe, comfortable trip and a truly wonderful time with your Mom. See you when you get back! Pssttt….you’ll need to do an open about the trip, you do know that??? LOL – smuchas!!!

      Liked by 2 people

      2. Its suppose to be so nice outside. I’ll pop in to say hi!!!!! But when its so nice and warm I don’t do much computer time!!!!

        Liked by 2 people

  32. Equity Investment Executive Dowd: Excess Deaths Are Running Around 20% in First Quarter of 2022

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/shock-video-equity-investment-executive-dowd-excess-deaths-running-around-20-first-quarter-2022/

    Ed Dowd: “The overarching theme is excessive mortality remains elevated to the surprise of many executives…

    …We have excess deaths running around 20% in Q1. We’ll see if that continues into Q2.”

    Not at all shocked when we have this:

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Chief BS is angry.

    Fake Indian Elizabeth Warren Says Supreme Court will Target Interracial Marriage Next

    Sitting bullshit no liking this.

    Liked by 2 people

  35. Biden Regime Helped Ukraine Sink Russian Ship the Moskva – Then Leaked it to Warmongers in Liberal Media

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/going-get-us-killed-biden-regime-helped-ukraine-sink-russian-ship-moskva-leaked-warmongers-liberal-media-video/

    The Biden regime is going to get us all killed.

    US intelligence, under the direction of Joe Biden’s handlers, helped Ukraine sink the Russian flagship, the Moskva, in the Black Sea .

    Then they leaked the news to The New York Times and NBC News who gladly reported the news.

    I think Russia knows who’s at fault.

    Liked by 1 person

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