PZ Signing Off

Posted on April 4, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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Of course the title says it all and if you have come here looking for updates recently, you know that there hasn’t been any. Unfortunately this marks the end of my political rants and website running days. Why you ask?

Plain and simple, I don’t have the time to dedicate myself to the site anymore. It is what it is.

I do want to thank everyone that has supported The Political Zealot over the years and give a big shout out to the founders of PolicyMic. I have learned a ton running this site and made a lot of new connections at PolicyMic. Indeed, I even learned how to publish an ebook and actually have one out on the market today, which explains what PolicyMic is and how it is the next platform for millennials and politics.

Thank you again everyone!

~PZ

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First Week

Posted on February 20, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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This is my first week at my new job so I don’t expect to be posting anything this week. Hopefully I will get into the swing of things next week and get something new up, but until then wish me luck on my new endeavor!

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Cosmic Lottery – Meteorite Hit Russia The Same Day As Asteroid Flyby

Posted on February 15, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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Cropped from TIFF image from [http://www.solar...Today at exactly 2:24pm EST the asteroid 2012 DA14 is expected to come extremely close to Earth in a near miss by cosmic terms. How close exactly? Asteroid 2012 DA14 will actually intersect the satellite band that surrounds the Earth, ie it will be closer to us than some satellites.

What seems like an odd coincidence and is certainly as rare as winning the cosmic lottery, this morning a large meteorite struck Russia and injured more than 500 people. Scientists say that these two astral bodies are completely unrelated and that the Russian incident is just a coincidence.

Talk about winning the cosmic lottery!

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Was Christopher Dorner Executed By Burning The Cabin Down Deliberately?

Posted on February 13, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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It appears that the hunt for Christopher Dorner is now over. Reports now indicate that a charred body was recovered from the cabin in which Dorner was suspected of being held up in. Authorities believe the body belongs to Christopher Dorner.

As I watched the footage last night, I wondered how the building was engulfed in flames. Was it a diversion in an attempt for Dorner to flee custody? Based on his manifesto, it wouldn’t have surprised me if that was the case, but based on this audio from police scanners during the standoff the truth appears to be even more sinister.

The information gained from the scanners reveals what appears to be a deliberate plan to burn the cabin down with Dorner held up inside. Without a chance to escape, this plan is nothing short of an execution. One officer was heard saying, “Alright, we’re gonna go ahead with the plan with the burners.” Then another was heard saying, “The burners are deployed, and we have a fire.”

So the question is, did police set this fire on purpose in order to eliminate Dorner without any additional risk of loss of life? It seems out there, but listen to the audio. If that audio wasn’t captured on tape I wouldn’t believe it, but the tape is damning.

What do you think?

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Busy Tuesday – State Of The Union, North Korea Nuke Test, Gun Control Hearing

Posted on February 12, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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Today marks a busy Tuesday. Tonight we have Obama’s State of the Union address, which is very important because it marks his first State of the Union address for his second term. We learned last night that North Korea successfully tested another nuclear weapon. Supposedly this was a response to US ‘aggression’. Finally this morning Senator Richard Durbin hosts the second hearing on gun control.

I expect the State of the Union to be Obama as far left as they come. After all, he doesn’t have to fight for reelection again, so he can be whatever he wants to be tonight during his speech. It appears that Obama is going to be shifting back jobs. This is somewhat odd. I mean he has shifted his focus to jobs many times in the past. While the unemployment rate has been steadily dropping, there are still millions without jobs throughout the country.

North Korea testing another nuke doesn’t surprise me, nor does it really concern me. Even though they may be close to being able to launch a nuclear missile at the US, I just don’t see that as something we can really control. The fact is that North Korea would be obliterated if they made such a move and they know it. That in my mind makes an attack very unlikely and not worth talking about.

Finally, the second of three gun control hearings is something I will likely DVR and watch. I did watch the first hearing all the way through. I posted my notes on that hearing here. My impressions from the first hearing was that the witnesses were very fairly distributed between pro gun control and pro gun rights. I will be curious to see if this hearing has a similar distribution or is more skewed towards gun control. The hearing is being held by Senator Dick Durbin, who is a staunch gun control advocate, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this hearing is more skewed towards more gun control.

There will be one more hearing on gun control being hosted by Senator Dianne Feinstein later this month. I expect that to be a complete gun control bonanza. Feinstein announced that she wanted her own hearing on the matter once she learned who would testify on the first hearing and was unsatisfied with the witness pool.

So this is a busy Tuesday. How many of you plan to watch Obama tonight at the State of the Union?

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Christopher Dorner Elludes Police And Gains A Following

Posted on February 11, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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Christopher Dorner LAPD

Christopher Dorner

Christopher Dorner, an ex-LA cop accused of killing three people in a fit of revenge over his dismissal from the LAPD has managed to elude police over the weekend who have setup a widespread dragnet in an attempt to capture or kill the man. Police thought they had a beat on him at a resort location called Big Bear. Meanwhile, due to Dorner posting an online manifesto of sorts, explaining his reasoning for why he is going on this rampage, something very unexpected has happened.

Christopher Dorner posted this manifesto on his facebook page before he went on his killing spree. The manifesto is long, thought out, detailed, and covers a lot of subjects. I’ve read many ramblings before from crazy men such as Ted Kaczynski. Dorner though does not come across as a crazy person, other than the fact that his conclusion is to kill and be killed in order to change the system. This sort of conclusion is obviously where the man broke down. The thing is if you read this man’s complaints without knowing what he has already done as a response, you might actually believe he is being genuine.

Oddly enough, Dorner is actually gaining public support. Of course no one is condoning the killings of innocents, but many are starting to believe that his complaints about corruption and racism in the LAPD has struck a nerve among many who are openly supporting him as a sort of martyr (or soon to be martyr). His support has even forced the LAPD to reopen the investigation into why Dorner was fired.

Meanwhile the hunt for Dorner continues. The LAPD has posted a massive $1 million dollar reward for information leading to Dorner’s capture. That reward is a record amount offered in southern California for any criminal investigation.

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Rep. Paul Broun Jumps Into Georgia Senate Race

Posted on February 7, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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English: Portrait of US Rep. Paul Broun

Portrait of US Rep. Paul Broun (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rep. Paul Broun jumped into the senate race in Georgia to replace Saxby Chambliss. Broun doesn’t have a big name recognition, but if he sounds familiar it’s because I have written about him before. Broun, who still sits on the Science, Space, and Technology committee in the House, made the comment, “All that stuff I was taught about evolution, embryology, Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell.” This is the type of representative John Boehner believes should be on the Science, Space, and Technology committee.

So now Broun has jumped into the race in Georgia. Personally I don’t think much about it. I do not believe that Broun stands a chance at winning over the Saxby Chambliss seat because he isn’t well known and even if he gains popularity, the media attention about his ‘pit of hell’ quote would surely hit his candidacy down the road.

It’s interesting to note that Broun has a lot of support among Tea Party Republicans. Surprise? Of course not! I’ve been saying for a long time now that the Tea Party is nothing more than a backdoor movement for extreme social conservatives. The good news is that others are starting to see this as an issue. The infamous Karl Rove has created the Conservative Victory Project a new Super PAC designed to vet candidates better before they are able to win the primaries for winnable races for Republicans. The goal is to eliminate candidates like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock from ever winning their primary races.

Throw Paul Broun into that mix. I’m not sure Rove’s Super PAC needs to do much in Georgia about Broun just yet. It is still very early and many people are still trying to decide whether or not to run, but should Broun gain some steam, the Conservative Victory Project better pay attention to the Georgia senate race. Running someone like Broun has the potential to turn the hardened Republican seat Democrat.

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GOP Pushes On With Sequester

Posted on February 6, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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Republican Party (United States)Last month I talked about the strategy Republicans should employ moving forward in order to get the most out of the debt and spending debate. I said that the Republicans should raise the debt ceiling because it was a losing battle and instead focus on the sequester and continuing resolution to fund the government. It appears that the GOP is taking that strategy, assuming they can hold the line.

Republicans have the upper hand with the sequester debate, which is the first time they have really had the upper hand in these debates. Republicans didn’t have the upper hand in the fiscal cliff debate and ended up caving in the end. The same went for the debt ceiling. Unlike those two debates though, the GOP has the upper hand with the sequester because President Obama does not want the sequester to happen.

President Obama has already said that the sequester will be damaging to the economy. Obama said about the sequester, “We have seen the effects that political dysfunction can have. It will cost us jobs and hurt our economy.” Pushing even further, Obama said that the automatic cuts should instead be replaced with, “balanced mix of spending cuts and more tax reform.”

Now you see why the GOP has the upper hand here. The GOP doesn’t want the defense cuts within the sequester to happen, but they also don’t want anymore tax increases or what Obama calls ‘tax reform’ to happen either. As expected Republicans immediately rejected Obama’s call for more tax increases.

The White House is controlling all communication about the sequester. They have issued a sort of gag order on all levels of government that may be affected by the sequester. Their insistence on controlling the message further points out that they are on the defensive in this debate. Should Republicans hold the line on the sequester, they will be able to use it to effectively gain some leverage to get their policies passed. If Republicans start to cave though due to the defense cuts and split their support, they will lose this battle just like they lost the fiscal cliff deal. Only time will tell if Republicans can stay united.

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Obama Starts His Gun Control Push In Minneapolis

Posted on February 5, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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Yesterday we saw President Obama start his gun control push on the road in Minneapolis. While in Minneapolis Obama pushed Congress to enact new gun control measures including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and a ban on high capacity magazines.

The one thing keyed on by Obama was the support for universal background checks. “We’re starting to see a consensus emerge about the action Congress needs to take. The vast majority of Americans, including a majority of gun owners, support requiring criminal background checks for anyone trying to buy a gun,” Obama said surrounded by police officers.

While Obama is correct in that there is broad support for requiring universal background checks, something I support as well, he went on to push for the big grab. “We should restore the ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines, and that deserves a vote in Congress because weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our schools or threatening our law enforcement officers. Our law enforcement officers should never be outgunned on the streets,” Obama said.

Outgunned on the streets? I’ve heard this before. The problem is that unless you are talking about a random patrol officer our law enforcement officers are not outgunned by any means. A recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution highlighted how militarized our local law enforcement departments are becoming through military surplus being handed down to police through a program called the 1033 program operated by the Department of Defense.

How militarized? Cobb county where I live has two armored trucks, 106 M16s, and eight m14s. That’s a hell of an arsenal!

So are law enforcement officers outgunned? I think not. Every time you hear such a notion, go reread this article in the AJC. The militarization of LEO’s isn’t limited to Georgia. It is happening across the nation.

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My Notes From The Judiciary Panel On Gun Violence

Posted on January 31, 2013 by The Political Zealot
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AR-15Instead of a long thought out post from yesterday’s judiciary panel on gun violence I’ve decided to post my notes from the panel instead. These are my raw notes as I watched the panel.

James Johnson – National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence (pro gun control) said that the Sandy Hook shooter didn’t steal his weapons and that they were instead available to him at his house.

Diane Feinstein and Charles Shumer use their time to ask questions only for Johnson who is an ardent supporter of their efforts to enact new gun control bills.

Gayle Trotter speaking on behalf of the Independent Woman’s Forum testified that a ban on AR-15′s would impact women more because they are the weapon of choice for self defense of women due to ease of use, weight, and accuracy.

Main focus of the hearing appears to be on background checks, including shoring up the existing system and expanding it for all gun sales.

Many states are not adding mental health records to the National Instant Check System (NICS). Mark Kelly (Gabrielle Giffords husband) testified that over 121,000 records from Arizona were not included in the NICS when his wife was shot. Why can we not force states through financial incentives to put theses records in the system?

A lot of talk about how federal justice department prosecutions for gun crimes are down substantially since President Obama took office.

Lots of citations of Heller decision which affirms the right to own a gun. Still some questions on how far restrictions can go from both sides.

Dick Durbin asks Wayne LaPierre if the 2nd amendment is meant to protect citizens from the government. The question is a setup and his second question goes to James Johnson. Durbin tells Johnson that some people believes as LaPierre confirmed that the 2nd amendment is meant to protect citizens from you (meaning the police). Durbin then focused his attention on 100 round drums and why they should be banned.

Lindsey Graham brings up Loganville Georgia incident. Discusses whether or not 6 rounds is enough for self defense by saying if there were two intruders in that incident that she would have ran out of ammunition if she were limited to a 10 round magazine and that it seemed reasonable to him that a 15 round magazine would make more sense. Graham said that he believed that in a lawless situation such a a natural disaster or a riot, that an AR-15 would be much better for self defense than a shotgun.

Sheldon Whitehouse gives statistics on gun prosecutions that are completely different from previous testimony citing that gun prosecutions are somewhat steady if not up since Obama took office. Suggested that gun prosecutions were over 10,000 in 2012. Talks about training required for police and military in order for them to be issued a weapon then pivots to why teachers should not have them in the classroom.

Those are my notes for the hearing. Hope it provides some insight!

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