Archive for February 15th, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 98, February 15, 2013: Segment 2: Obama’s Kill List–Drones–Remotely Piloted Aircraft–RPAs–Killing Machines–We Don’t Torture Terrorists–We Kill Targeted Americans, Civilians and Children in Undeclared Wars–Obama is Judge, Jury, and Executioner–Hope, Change, and Murder, Inc.–The Mass Murderer In The White House–DOJ White Paper on Drone Memo–Videos

Posted on February 15, 2013. Filed under: American History, Business, Communications, Consitutional Law, Federal Government, Foreign Policy, Government, Government Spending, History, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Polls, Videos, Violence, War, Wisdom | Tags: Attack of the Drones, Barack Obama, Children, DOJ White Paper on Drone Memo, Drones, Executioner, John Brennan, Judge, Judge Napolitano, Jury, Kill List, Killing Machines, Mass Murder, Mass Murderer, Nobel Peace Prize, Obama's Kill List, Reaper Drone, Remotely Piloted Aircraft, RPA, Terrorists, The White House, Undeclared Wars, War Crimes, Why Do They Hate Us, Women |

Pronk Pops Show 98: February 15, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 97: February 8, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 96: February 1, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 95: January 25, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 94: December 7, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 93: November 30, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 92: November 10, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 91: November 5, 2012

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Segment 2: Obama’s Kill List–Drones–Remotely Piloted Aircraft–RPAs–Killing Machines–We Don’t Torture Terrorists–We Kill Americans, Civilians and Children in Undeclared Wars–Obama is Judge, Jury, and Executioner–Hope, Change, and Murder, Inc.–The Mass Murderer In The White House–Videos

Rand Paul Says He’ll Block Nominations Until Answered If Drone Assassinations

Guidelines for killing US citizens stir outrage

Memo Leaked: Barrack Obama can Kill American Citizens without Evidence

Govt. Has The Right to Kill American Citizens?

[yuotube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjqZJveJb2Q]

McLaughlin Group Panel Investigates: Will Obama Face War Crimes Prosecution

Drone Spin: Killing machine PR swarms US mainstream

Obama’s Kill List Sanctioned by Dept. of Justice

No civilians killed by Obama’s drone attacks: so explain this

Fox Liberal Contributor Kirsten Powers Rips Obama And Other Liberals For Supporting

Drone Strikes Kill 175 Kids in Pakistan Alone, Admits Obama.

Are Drone Strikes and Kill Lists The New Normal? Q&A w Newsweek’s Eli Lake

Obama is worse than George Bush and Tony Blair says Noam Chomsky

Obama’s Kill List, Drones, & Assassinating U.S. Citizens

Deadly Drone Strikes – Obama is ‘Serious’

Obama Drone Strikes Are ‘Mass Murder’ – Jeremy Scahill

Drone Strikes Kill Numerous Civilians – Report

“Thousands Of Innocent People Have Been Killed Under These Drone Attacks!”

Obama’s secret drone war explained by Reuters’ David Rohde – Fast Forward

BREAKING! OBAMA DECLARES DRONE WAR ON ALL…

Judge Napolitano on Obama’s Drone Strike Policy: ‘This Is the Power Claimed

Maddow Examines AG Holder’s Response To Questions About Drone Memos

Gerald Celente on Farrakhan “Murderer in The White House” comment “Call These People What They Are”

Drone Spin: Killing machine PR swarms US mainstream

80% of drone strike victims innocent civilians

Obama Orders Children Murdered with Predator Drones. WARNING: Graphic video

US Predator Drone strikes kill 80 innocent civilians in Yemen

Judge Napolitano on Government Killing Americans

Who Said You Can Kill Americans Mister President?

Obama’s kill list revealed

Obama’s Secret Kill List

Is Obama a Mass Killer of Innocent Children?

Obama: Nobel Peace Prize winner with a kill list

DOJ Drone Memo: If Bush Attempted This Policy, Democrats Would’ve Called

DOJ White Paper on Drone Memo

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/020413_DOJ_White_Paper.pdf

John Brennan: The Nexus of Torture and Drone Assassinations

America’s War Drones Kill Over 800 Civilians – 200 Children – Casualties Of War

Obama Kill List Exposed: Leaked Drone Memo; Assassination of U.S. Citizens

Drone Strike Kills 4 In Pakistan

Attack of the Drones – USA

Rise of the Machines – USA

Pentagon drones flying domestic; declaring war on your privacy?

Congress launches ‘Attack of the drones’

By Michael Isikoff National Investigative Correspondent, NBC News

A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” — even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.

The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects abroad, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes.

The secrecy surrounding such strikes is fast emerging as a central issue in this week’s hearing of White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, a key architect of the drone campaign, to be CIA director. Brennan was the first administration official to publicly acknowledge drone strikes in a speech last year, calling them “consistent with the inherent right of self-defense.” In a separate talk at the Northwestern University Law School in March, Attorney General Eric Holder specifically endorsed the constitutionality of targeted killings of Americans, saying they could be justified if government officials determine the target poses “an imminent threat of violent attack.”

But the confidential Justice Department “white paper” introduces a more expansive definition of self-defense or imminent attack than described by Brennan or Holder in their public speeches. It refers, for example, to what it calls a “broader concept of imminence” than actual intelligence about any ongoing plot against the U.S. homeland.

Michael Isikoff, national investigative correspondent for NBC News, talks with Rachel Maddow about a newly obtained, confidential Department of Justice white paper that hints at the details of a secret White House memo that explains the legal justifications for targeted drone strikes that kill Americans without trial in the name of national security.

“The condition that an operational leader present an ‘imminent’ threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future,” the memo states.

Read the entire ‘white paper’ on drone strikes on Americans

Instead, it says, an “informed, high-level” official of the U.S. government may determine that the targeted American has been “recently” involved in “activities” posing a threat of a violent attack and “there is no evidence suggesting that he has renounced or abandoned such activities.” The memo does not define “recently” or “activities.”

As in Holder’s speech, the confidential memo lays out a three-part test that would make targeted killings of American lawful: In addition to the suspect being an imminent threat, capture of the target must be “infeasible, and the strike must be conducted according to “law of war principles.” But the memo elaborates on some of these factors in ways that go beyond what the attorney general said publicly. For example, it states that U.S. officials may consider whether an attempted capture of a suspect would pose an “undue risk” to U.S. personnel involved in such an operation. If so, U.S. officials could determine that the capture operation of the targeted American would not be feasible, making it lawful for the U.S. government to order a killing instead, the memo concludes.

The undated memo is entitled “Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qa’ida or An Associated Force.” It was provided to members of the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees in June by administration officials on the condition that it be kept confidential and not discussed publicly.

Although not an official legal memo, the white paper was represented by administration officials as a policy document that closely mirrors the arguments of classified memos on targeted killings by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which provides authoritative legal advice to the president and all executive branch agencies. The administration has refused to turn over to Congress or release those memos publicly — or even publicly confirm their existence. A source with access to the white paper, which is not classified, provided a copy to NBC News.

“This is a chilling document,” said Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the ACLU, which is suing to obtain administration memos about the targeted killing of Americans. “Basically, it argues that the government has the right to carry out the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen. … It recognizes some limits on the authority it sets out, but the limits are elastic and vaguely defined, and it’s easy to see how they could be manipulated.”

In particular, Jaffer said, the memo “redefines the word imminence in a way that deprives the word of its ordinary meaning.”

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the white paper. The spokeswoman, Tracy Schmaler, instead pointed to public speeches by what she called a “parade” of administration officials, including Brennan, Holder, former State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh and former Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Johnson that she said outlined the “legal framework” for such operations.

Pressure for turning over the Justice Department memos on targeted killings of Americans appears to be building on Capitol Hill amid signs that Brennan will be grilled on the subject at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

On Monday, a bipartisan group of 11 senators — led by Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon — wrote a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to release all Justice Department memos on the subject. While accepting that “there will clearly be circumstances in which the president has the authority to use lethal force” against Americans who take up arms against the country, it said, “It is vitally important … for Congress and the American public to have a full understanding of how the executive branch interprets the limits and boundaries of this authority.”

Anticipating domestic boom, colleges rev up drone piloting programs

The completeness of the administration’s public accounts of its legal arguments was also sharply criticized last month by U.S. Judge Colleen McMahon in response to a lawsuit brought by the New York Times and the ACLU seeking access to the Justice Department memos on drone strikes targeting Americans under the Freedom of Information Act. McMahon, describing herself as being caught in a “veritable Catch-22,” said she was unable to order the release of the documents given “the thicket of laws and precedents that effectively allow the executive branch of our government to proclaim as perfectly lawful certain actions that seem on their face incompatible with our Constitution and laws while keeping the reasons for the conclusion a secret.”

In her ruling, McMahon noted that administration officials “had engaged in public discussion of the legality of targeted killing, even of citizens.” But, she wrote, they have done so “in cryptic and imprecise ways, generally without citing … any statute or court decision that justifies its conclusions.”

In one passage in Holder’s speech at Northwestern in March, he alluded – without spelling out—that there might be circumstances where the president might order attacks against American citizens without specific knowledge of when or where an attack against the U.S. might take place.

“The Constitution does not require the president to delay action until some theoretical end-stage of planning, when the precise time, place and manner of an attack become clear,” he said.

But his speech did not contain the additional language in the white paper suggesting that no active intelligence about a specific attack is needed to justify a targeted strike. Similarly, Holder said in his speech that targeted killings of Americans can be justified if “capture is not feasible.” But he did not include language in the white paper saying that an operation might not be feasible “if it could not be physically effectuated during the relevant window of opportunity or if the relevant country (where the target is located) were to decline to consent to a capture operation.” The speech also made no reference to the risk that might be posed to U.S. forces seeking to capture a target, as was mentioned in the white paper.

The white paper also includes a more extensive discussion of why targeted strikes against Americans does not violate constitutional protections afforded American citizens as well as a U.S. law that criminalizes the killing of U.S. nationals overseas.

It also discusses why such targeted killings would not be a war crime or violate a U.S. executive order banning assassinations.

“A lawful killing in self-defense is not an assassination,” the white paper reads. “In the Department’s view, a lethal operation conducted against a U.S. citizen whose conduct poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States would be a legitimate act of national self-defense that would not violate the assassination ban. Similarly, the use of lethal force, consistent with the laws of war, against an individual who is a legitimate military target would be lawful and would not violate the assassination ban.”

Ask the experts: Drones

By Sydney Sarachan

“…How precise are drone attacks?RC: Pretty precise is my understanding. If you think about it, a drone pilot first sits outside of a structure doing surveillance for a long time. Upon getting the order, he or she delivers the missile from relatively nearby. That is why some experts (for instance, American University’s Kenneth Anderson) argue that drones strikes may be more consistent with limits on collateral damage. It may also explain higher observed rates of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in drone pilots. Of course, even manned missile attacks are often preceded by on-the-ground reconnaissance that paints a specific target.CF: This depends upon the kind of drone attack. In Pakistan’s FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) they are all intelligence-led (as opposed to “troops in contact”). On this, please see the other pieces I have written on this: Drone Wars and Drones Over Pakistan – Menace or Best Viable Option?JF: Drones are extremely precise. The debate over their use has been whether they are accurate: whether they target the right people. In terms of precision, they do hit the targets we give them very consistently, we just don’t always know who that target is.RN: Since the answer to this question depends on how many civilians are killed or injured for each targeted “militant” who has been killed, it can’t be answered without answering the question of how many civilian casualties there have been.NW: Although missiles launched from drones may be more precise than some other weapons systems, they are known to have caused the deaths of hundreds of civilian bystanders. The issue is less one of technical precision than it is the standards under which the U.S. government decides who may be targeted and how it protects civilian bystanders from death or injury, as it is required to do under international law. Outside the context of armed conflict, the use of lethal force is illegal unless it is a last resort to avert a concrete, specific, and imminent threat. Further, the government is obligated to take all feasible precautions to protect civilian bystanders from harm. But those aren’t the standards that the government is using. The New York Times has reported that the U.S. “counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.” Regardless of the theoretical precision of drone attacks, when the government uses such flawed reasoning it will inevitably cause civilian bystander deaths, in violation of international law. …”

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/uncategorized/ask-the-experts-drones/14813/

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Pronk Pops Show 98, February 15, 2013: Segment 0: Dr. Benjamin Carson’s Amazing Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast — Gifted Hands — Who Gives Children A Second Chance –Videos

Pronk Pops Show 98, February 15, 2013: Segment 1: Chris Dorner–New Left’s New Social Justice Hero: Black Veteran Ex-L.A.P.D. Cop Killer — Another Lone Wolf Killer–Go Figure–Depravity Scale–Police Execute Killer By Burning Cabin–Police Were Judge, Jury, and Executioner — Vigilante Justice — Videos

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Pronk Pops Show 98, February 15, 2013: Segment 1: Chris Dorner–New Left’s New Social Justice Hero: Black Veteran Ex-L.A.P.D. Cop Killer — Another Lone Wolf Killer–Go Figure–Depravity Scale–Police Execute Killer By Burning Cabin–Police Were Judge, Jury, and Executioner — Vigilante Justice — Videos

Posted on February 15, 2013. Filed under: American History, Business, Communications, Consitutional Law, Crime, Federal Government, Government, Law, Media, Politics, Polls, Security, Videos, Wisdom | Tags: Chris Dorner, Mass Murder, Murder, New Left Hero, Pronk Pops Show 98 |

Pronk Pops Show 98: February 15, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 97: February 8, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 96: February 1, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 95: January 25, 2013

Pronk Pops Show 94: December 7, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 93: November 30, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 92: November 10, 2012

Pronk Pops Show 91: November 5, 2012

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Segment 1: Chris Dorner–New Left’s New Social Justice Hero: Black Veteran Ex-L.A.P.D. Cop Killer — Another Lone Wolf Killer–Go Figure–Depravity Scale–Police Execute Killer By Burning Cabin–Police Were Judge, Jury, and Executioner — Vigilante Justice — Videos

Did the Police Execute Chris Dorner?

LATEST NEWS : Is the Dorner manhunt over?

ULTIMATE PROOF_ SWAT Team Purposely Set Fire To Dorner’s Cabin Waco Style Fire

Christopher Dorner Shootout – Cops say “Burn It Down”

Drones Search for Cop Killer & LAPD Apology

Chris Dorner Cabin Shootout Exposed Mainstream Media Misinformation

Liberal Hypocrisy On Display Over Murder Suspect’s Manifesto

“He Had An RPG!” Young Turks Guest Justifies Cops Executing Chris Dorner

CHRIS DORNER ~ Hero or Villain? RT NEWS Scathing Report and Investigation…

Cop Killer Christopher Dorner Gaining Supporters on Facebook

Christopher Dorner – Hero or Villain?

Liberals mourn Christopher Dorner

Depraved CNN Pundits Defend Dorner

Depravity Scale

Understanding Motives of The ‘Lone Wolf’ Shooter/Killer, Mass Murderer’s Deadly A

Psychiatrist analyzes shooters’ mindsets

What creates a MASS SHOOTER

Chris Dorner Triggers An Avalanche Of Support On The Internet Some Hailing Him A Truth Teller

CNN: Chris Dorner Is ‘Like Watching Django [Unchained] Getting Revenge’

On Wednesday, a CNN panel explored the phenomenon of people on social media expressing sympathy and support for Chris Dorner, whose rampage ended yesterday as law enforcement cornered him in a remote cabin in Big Bear, California. Two of CNN’s panel guests said that Dorner’s murder spree exposed the issue of “police brutality.” One contributor said that Dorner’s escapades reminded him of watching “Django Unchained in real life.”
The Daily Beast contributor Lauren Ashburn said she was offended by those who found Dorner’s murderous actions laudable. She said that his attacks on innocent people were a tragedy, and hours of airtime were “wasted” covering the killer’s motivations.

Official Christopher Rambo Dorner Story

Whistle Blower Cop killing Corrupt Cops until they come clean !!!

Christopher Dorner Has LAPD In Fear For Their Lives

Mainstream Media:Why Are You Making A Difference With Christopher Dorner?

Christopher Dorner (Dead?)MANIFESTO. Ex LAPD Officer’s Manifesto

LAPD Chief Announces He’s Reopening The Case That Resulted In Dorner’s Dismissal

Former Police Officer Goes On Killing Spree (Christopher Jordan Dorner)

Chris Dorner, Fugitive Ex-Los Angeles Cop In Shootout Reported Dead, BUT LAPD

Did Police Scanners Reveal Police Plan to Torch Fugitive Chris Dorner’s Hideout?

Police Audio from the Shootout with Christopher Dorner in Big Bend Ca, 2/12/13

2 Innocent People Shot In Torrance In Ex-Cop Manhunt – Christopher Dorner

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Alex Jones Predicted Chris Dorner Torched Waco Style 2 Hours Before Fire

Chris Dorner Torched Waco Style?

Media Complicit in Cover Up of Dorner Execution

Did Police Scanners Reveal Police Plan to Torch Fugitive Chris Dorner’s Hideout?

After a massive weeklong manhunt, police cornered fugitive ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner in a cabin near Big Bear Lake.

It has since been learned that Dorner had been hiding in a nearby cabin for the past several days holding a couple captive since police found his burned out truck nearby several days earlier.

Early Tuesday Dorner initially fled in a stolen purple Nissan but crashed that vehicle and fled into the forest only to emerge nearby and carjack local resident, Richard Helterbrake on a nearby rural road. After allowing Helterbrake to retrieve his dog from his vehicle, Dorner then escaped in his white extended cab pickup.

The vehicle was spotted by Forest Service personnel and Dorner is reported to have fled into the forest and taken refuge in a rural cabin in the Big Bear area after a shoot out with two San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Deputies which left both wounded. One deputy, Jeremiah McKay was airlifted in critical condition and was confirmed dead.

Dorner's Cabin burns after shootout with police.

Police Scanner Traffic Reveals Cops Burned Chris Dornier Out of his Cabin Hideout

Numerous police quickly converged on the area and after a fierce gun battle the cabin was engulfed in flames. A single set of remains was recovered from the cabin on Wednesday but has not yet been confirmed as belonging to Dorner. The charred state of the remains means DNA testing will be required and that is expected to take several days. In the interim, the LAPD has announced that they will continue their protective details on the 40 people named as possible targets in Dorner’s rambling 6,000 word manifesto.

Recordings of the police communications picked up on a police scanner appear to show the police discussing plans to burn the cabin. To hear the recordings click on the accompanying video link.

This latest revelation brings additional scrutiny and criticism on police methods in the wake of Chris Dorner‘s rampage which he argued was necessary to bring to light the corrupt practices of the LAPD and their institutional use of excessive force.

http://www.examiner.com/article/police-scanners-reveal-police-torched-rogue-ex-cop-chris-dorner-s-hideout

What is the Depravity Scale Research?

Judges and juries both across the United States and in other countries who decide that a crime is “depraved,” “heinous,” or “horrible” can assign more severe sentences. Yet there is no standardized definition for such dramatic words that courts already use. And while we may all recognize that some crimes truly separate themselves from others, there is no standard, fair way to distinguish crimes that are the worst of the worst, or “evil.”

To minimize the arbitrariness of how courts determine the worst of crimes, and to eliminate bias in sentencing, the Depravity Scale research aims to establish societal standards of what makes a crime depraved, and to develop a standardized instrument based on specific characteristics of a crime that must be proven in order to merit more severe sentences.

This research will refine into the Depravity Standard, an objective measure based on forensic evidence. This instrument distinguishes not who is depraved but rather, what aspects of a given crime are depraved and the degree of a specific crime’s depravity. The research will enhance fairness in sentencing, given that it is race, gender and socio-economic blind.

The research has already been guided by legal and scientific study. Now, a two-part survey has been developed to involve the general public in establishing societal standards of what makes a crime depraved. The first part enables the general public to shape the specific intents, actions, and attitudes that should be included as items of the Depravity Standard instrument, and the second involves the general public in refining the relative weight of these items. In both surveys, all members of the general public are urged to participate. This is the first project ever developed that invites citizens’ direct input to forensic science research, and the first project ever developed in which citizens shape future criminal sentencing standards.

Your perspectives on depraved crime should be included in the Depravity Standard. Therefore, we ask that you participate in this landmark project. Thank you for your interest. Want to learn more?

https://depravityscale.org/depscale/

Dorner, Folk Hero of the Left

February 14, 2013 By Matthew Vadum

Nobody loves cop killers more than left-wingers do.

The grotesque outpouring of love for cop killer Chris Dorner, an ex-cop now presumed dead in a fiery shootout at Big Bear Lake, California, should make all sane Americans fear for the future of their country.

Dorner is suspected of killing at least one police officer and two others. He allegedly gunned down 28-year-old Monica Quan and her husband-to-be 27-year-old Keith Lawrence outside their home. Quan’s father Randy, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer turned lawyer, represented Dorner in disciplinary hearings that resulted in Dorner’s dismissal. Dorner reportedly called Mr. Quan days after the murder to taunt him.

Dorner’s cross-country rampage has been met in recent days with Facebook fan pages, sympathetic statements on Twitter, and grassroots-level enthusiasm for this brutal sociopath.

But making vicious killers into folk heroes is nothing new for the Left. American history in recent decades is bursting with cop killers romanticized by the Left.

Among those who have stuck it to The Man by killing “pigs” are: Troy Davis, executed in 2011 for murdering police officer Mark MacPhail as he came to the aid of an assault victim; Lovelle Mixon, killed in a gunfight with police in 2009; Mumia abu-Jamal, imprisoned for life for the 1981 murder of a police officer; Leonard Peltier, convicted in 1977 for gunning down FBI agents; Assata Shakur, escaped from prison in 1979, a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA), having been granted “asylum” in Cuba; and 1960s radicals like Marilyn Buck.

In a rambling self-incriminating manifesto that Dorner posted online, the ex-Los Angeles police officer says “No one grows up and wants to be a cop killer … but, as a young police officer I found that the violent suspects on the streets are not the only people you have to watch.”

Dorner argues that he is sacrificing himself for the greater good by going on his murder spree, which he refers to as “a necessary evil” aimed at effecting change in the Los Angeles Police Department. “The only thing that changes policy and garners attention is death.”

In one of several chilling passages, Dorner waxes philosophical: “Let the balance of loss of life take place. Sometimes a reset needs to occur.”

In his online screed, Dorner praises an assortment of left-wingers. He lauds President Obama for doing what he considers a good job under difficult circumstances. For their anti-Second Amendment efforts, Dorner hails TV host Piers Morgan, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Vice President Joe Biden. He also gives shout-outs to a galaxy of celebrities and public figures. Complimenting the First Lady on her hairstyle, he interjects, “Off the record, I love your new bangs, Mrs. Obama.”

There are also those slippery souls who stop short of endorsing Dorner’s killing spree, but who ponder aloud whether society drove him to murder. Their musings bear a creepy similarity to the Left’s post-9/11 hand-wringing about the true “root causes” of the attacks on America.

MSNBC ranter Chris Matthews and death row groupie Marc Lamont Hill suggest that Dorner’s online essay is a kind of petition for redress of grievances that needs to be taken seriously.

Matthews suggested Americans shouldn’t be so quick to judge Dorner because he may have had a legitimate beef against the LAPD. He asked reporter Andrew Blankstein, “How do you write a story like this that’s objective for the big metropolitan paper, the Los Angeles Times?”

Matthews added, “Are there people in your newsroom, editors who are saying, ‘We have to be careful here. It’s not simple. This man may have a complaint.’”

Matthews, of course, has never been concerned about fairness for non-leftists. He prefers to lump nonviolent Tea Party supporters in with the Taliban and the Third Reich.

Hill, host of HuffPost Live and a professor at Columbia University, said the Dorner saga is a needed civics lesson for the public about racism and the excessive use of force. “This has been an important conversation that we’ve had about police brutality, about police corruption, about state violence.”

“As far as Dorner himself goes, he’s been like a real life superhero to many people,” Hill said. Adding an obligatory disclaimer, Hill said, “What he did was awful, killing innocent people was bad, but when you read his manifesto, when you read the message that he left, he wasn’t entirely crazy.”

Those cheering on Dorner were happy to see him exact vengeance against a corrupt system, Hill said. “It’s almost like watching Django Unchained in real life … It’s kind of exciting.”

Hill has a soft spot for those who murder police officers. He co-authored The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black Life in America (Third World Press, 2012) with Mumia abu-Jamal. Mumia, as left-wingers affectionately call him, is celebrated as a political prisoner even though in court he has never denied shooting Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner execution-style.

The book is essentially a transcript of a mutual admiration society, as the two radicals trade compliments and insights about how rotten America is. Hill tells Mumia that “you’re in prison but somehow still free, while I’m out here feeling profoundly un-free.”

Even this highly successful black man with his Ivy League Ph.D. who is sometimes called a “celebrity intellectual,” feels oppressed by American society.

“But to some degree, I feel un-free because I’m still encumbered by the very things that I’m critiquing in my work: consumerism, patriarchy even White supremacy … I’m trying to heal, man.”

Not surprisingly, in 2009 Fox News fired Hill as a paid on-air contributor after he acquired a reputation for defending cop killers and racists. But somehow he keeps finding his way back onto TV screens.

Meanwhile, the ever-resourceful self-described “communist” Van Jones is urging Americans not to concern themselves with Dorner’s decidedly left-of-center views.

“In the wake of a tragedy, it is understandable to ask why this happened,” says Jones. “It is appropriate to discuss ways to keep it from happening again. But we should draw the line at suddenly giving an exalted place in our national discourse to the political rantings of a murderer.”

How convenient, especially since Dorner’s views on cops seem to differ little from his own. Forced out as President Obama’s green jobs czar in 2009 for signing a 9/11 “truther” petition, Jones is a longtime supporter of convicted cop killer Mumia abu-Jamal. Jones founded Oakland’s Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in order to combat perceived police brutality.

But with Barack Obama in power, it is more difficult to be shocked by sympathetic reactions to Dorner.

The people doing the cheering are the Democratic Party’s electoral base.

Obama himself invites rappers who praise cop killers to perform at the White House.

One such entertainer, Common, is known for performing, “A Song For Assata,” which is a tribute to fugitive black militant Assata Shakur. Here’s one verse from the tune:

“In the spirit of God.
In the spirit of the ancestors.
In the spirit of the Black Panthers.
In the spirit of Assata Shakur.
We make this movement towards freedom
For all those who have been oppressed, and all those in the struggle.
Yeah. yo, check it-
I wonder what would happen if that woulda been me?
All this shit so we could be free, so dig it, y’all.”

Common believes Shakur is a martyr. That’s one of the reasons he was invited to the White House. Obama and those who sympathize with cop killers are on the same wavelength.

If someone writes a song about Dorner, don’t be surprised if the person shows up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/matthew-vadum/dorner-folk-hero-of-the-left/

Background Articles and Videos

Police Shoot Man Over 40 Times (Video)

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Background Information and Videos

Ben Carson biography

http://www.biography.com/people/ben-carson-475422

Dr. Ben Carson- Achieving Total HEALTH

Ben Carson: An Extraordinary Life – Conversations from Penn State

Dr Benjamin Carson

Great Risks Bring Greater Success – Dr. Ben Carson

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Dr. Ben Carson Q&A Session

Benjamin Carson

Benjamin Solomon “Ben” Carson, Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an African American neurosurgeon and the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, by President George W. Bush in 2008.

Early life

Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan and was raised by his single mother, Sonya Carson.^[1] He struggled academically throughout elementary school, but started to excel in middle school and throughout high school. After graduating with honors from Southwestern High School, he attended Yale University, where he earned a degree in Psychology. He chose to go to Yale because in College Bowl, an old knowledge competition TV program, he saw Yale compete against and defeat many other colleges, including Harvard. Carson wanted to participate in College Bowl, but the program was discontinued. From Yale, he attended University of Michigan Medical School.

Career

Carson’s hand-eye coordination and three-dimensional reasoning skills made him a gifted surgeon.^[2] After medical school, he became a neurosurgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Starting off as an adult neurosurgeon, Carson became more interested in pediatrics. He believed that with children, “what you see is what you get,^[2] … when they’re in pain they clearly show it with a frown on their face or when they are happy they show it by smiling brightly.”

At age 33, he became the youngest major division director in Johns Hopkins history, as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Carson’s other surgical innovations have included the first intrauterine procedure to relieve pressure on the brain of a hydrocephalic fetal twin, and a hemispherectomy, in which a young girl suffering from uncontrollable seizures had one half of her brain removed.

In 1987, Carson made medical history by being the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins (the Binder twins) who had been joined at the back of the head (craniopagus twins). The 70-member surgical team, led by Carson, worked for 22 hours. At the end, the twins were successfully separated and can now survive independently. Carson recalls:

I looked at that situation. I said, ‘Why is it that this is such a disaster?’ and it was because they would always exsanguinate. They would bleed to death, and I said, ‘There’s got to be a way around that. These are modern times.’ This was back in 1987. I was talking to a friend of mine, who was a cardiothoracic surgeon, who was the chief of the division, and I said, ‘You guys operate on the heart in babies, how do you keep them from exsanguinating’ and he says, ‘Well, we put them in hypothermic arrest.’ I said, ‘Is there any reason that – if we were doing a set of Siamese twins that were joined at the head – that we couldn’t put them into hypothermic arrest, at the appropriate time, when we’re likely to lose a lot of blood?’ and he said, ‘No way .’ I said, ‘Wow, this is great.’ Then I said, ‘Why am I putting my time into this? I’m not going to see any Siamese twins.’ So I kind of forgot about it, and lo and behold, two months later, along came these doctors from Germany, presenting this case of Siamese twins. And, I was asked for my opinion, and I then began to explain the techniques that should be used, and how we would incorporate hypothermic arrest, and everybody said ‘Wow! That sounds like it might work.’ And, my colleagues and I, a few of us went over to Germany. We looked at the twins. We actually put in scalp expanders, and five months later we brought them over and did the operation, and lo and behold, it worked.^[3]

Awards and honors

Carson has received numerous honors and many awards over the years, including over 60 honorary doctorate degrees. He was also a member of the American Academy of Achievement, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, the [[Alpha Omega Alpha|Alpha

Publications and appearances

Carson has written four bestselling books published by Zondervan, an international Christian media and publishing company: Gifted Hands, The Big Picture, Take the Risk, and Think Big. The first book is an autobiography and two are about his personal philosophies of success that incorporate hard work and a faith in God; Carson is a Seventh-day Adventist. In a debate with Richard Dawkins, Francis Collins, and Daniel Dennett, Carson stated he doesn’t believe in evolution: “I don’t believe in evolution…evolution says that because there are these similarities, even though we can’t specifically connect them, it proves that this is what happened.”^[4]

A video documentary about Carson’s life titled Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story was released by Zondervan in 1992. Subsequently in 2009, a separate television movie with the same title premiered on TNT on February 7, 2009, with Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. in the lead role and Kimberly Elise portraying his mother.^[5]

On February 7, 2013, Dr. Carson was a key speaker at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast.^[6]

Personal life

In June 2002 Carson was forced to cut back on his public appearances when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but the cancer was caught in time. He still operates on more than 300 children a year, but has been trying to shorten his days: prior to his cancer he used to work from 7:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night.^[7]

Carson and his wife Lacena “Candy” Rustin met at Yale in 1971 when he was a junior and she was a freshman; they married in 1975. Candy holds an M.B.A. degree and is an accomplished musician, and both are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Carson’s life and work was so admired in 2007 that a feature film was made about the doctor, “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story”.^[8]^[9]

Publications

(2011) America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great, Zondervan Publishing. ISBN 978-0310330714
(2009) Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, Zondervan Publishing. ISBN 0-310-21469-6
(2008) Take The Risk, Zondervan Publishing. ISBN 0-310-25973-8
(2000) The Big Picture, Zondervan Publishing. ISBN 978-0310225836
(1996) Think Big, Zondervan Publishing. ISBN 0-310-21459-9
(1990) Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, Review & Herald Pub., ISBN 0-8280-0669-5

References

^ Ben Carson Biography – Facts, Birthday, Life Story – Biography.com
^ ^a ^b Conversation from Penn State: Ben Carson Interview.
^ Biography and Video Interview of Benjamin Carson at Academy of Achievement.
^ Richard Dawkins & Daniel Dennett vs. Francis Collins & Benjamin Carson : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
^ Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009) at the Internet Movie Database
^ “Zondervan Author Ben Carson Gives Keynote at 2013 National Prayer Breakfast”. prnewswire.com. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
^ Encyclopedia of World Biography: Biography of Benjamin S. Carson.
^ “7 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT DR. CARSON — THE PRAYER BREAKFAST SPEAKER WHOSE SPEECH IN FRONT OF OBAMA WENT VIRAL”. TheBlaze. 8 February 2013.
^ “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story”. IMBd. 7 February 2009.