A recent poll released by The Hill on Monday showed that a plurality of American voters believe that President Obama needs to be more supportive of Israel. The President has struggled over his first term to convince the American electorate that he is sufficiently supportive of the Jewish State and its elected leaders. The President has recently announced that on March 20 he is planning on making his first Presidential visit to Israel to meet with Israel’s new government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the poll, 39% of likely US voters believe that President Obama has not been supportive enough of Israel. The poll also showed that 34% of likely US voters believe that President Obama’s support of Israel is just “about right” while only 13% believe that the President was too supportive of Israel while 14% of voters were not sure.

President Obama’s first term in office was marked but what was perceived as a rocky relationship with Israel and specifically with Netanyahu. President Obama is the first US President to call for the creation of a Palestinian State along the 1967 ceasefire lines that delineate the West Bank from Israel. Obama has also been seen as snubbing Netanyahu on more than one occasion, leaving the room in frustration during a working meeting at the White House and citing scheduling conflicts as a reason to avoid the Prime Minister while the two were in New York.

There was also the embarrassing incident where, when speaking to French President Francois Hollande, Obama lamented having to work with Netanyahu. During that conversation neither President realized that they were being recorded and Hollande referred to Netanyahu as a liar.

Israel recently held parliamentary elections and Netanyahu won the most seats of any party in the Israeli Parliament, The Knesset. Since the election Netanyahu has struggled to put together a governing coalition. Netanyahu has until March 16th, four days before President Obama’s scheduled visit, to put together a government or Israel will have to go back to the polls and vote for a new government. Obama plans on visiting the region to discuss the conflict in Syria, the Iranian nuclear threat and the Israeli/Palestinian peace process.

Here is the most recent address given to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Poll: President Obama Needs To Be More Supportive Of Israel is a post from: The Inquisitr

Republican Representative James Lankford, the fifth-ranking Republican in the House, met with his constituents in Oklahoma City earlier this week and was asked about his views on gun violence. Lankford laid the blame on the feet of the children of “welfare moms” who have committed fraud.

The exchange went like this, according to Think Progress:

CONSTITUENT: My question is regarding the guns and is Washington at all aware of the psychotropic drugs that these children are taking? I guarantee it 100 percent that’s our big problem. [...]

LANKFORD: I agree with that. I think there’s a bunch of issues that, quite frankly, most liberals are afraid to talk about. [...] Where are we on all those psychiatric drugs? We’ve overmedicated kids. Quite frankly some of the overmedication of kids are because welfare moms want to get additional benefits and if they can put them on SSI through maintenance drugs, they can also put them on Social Security disability and get a separate check. That is wrong on every single level. Not only is it fraudulent to the government, but it also tells a kid with great potential, “don’t try because you’re disabled.”

Think Progress also did a breakdown of the numbers in order to discredit the statement made by Lankford. They showed that in 2011, the Inspector General’s office opened up 4,600 fraud cases related to Social Security disability programs. The number of people who are committing the type of fraud described by Lankford is a tiny fraction of that overall number. Meanwhile, nearly 10,000 people are gunned down in an average year. These numbers call into question whether Lankford’s comments can be taken seriously on any level.

The Republican party has been hesitant to blame the guns themselves for the violence seen over the last few months. The National Rifle Association has made it a point to address the issues of mental health and entertainment influence in order to steer the topic away from guns.

Watch the exchange with Representative James Lankford right here:

Republican Leader James Lankford Blames Gun Violence On Children Of ‘Welfare Moms’ [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Forget the National Rifle Association’s assertion that what is needed to protect our children is more guns: They haven’t met Camilla McCall. McCall was walking in a Charlotte, North Carolina park with her three year old son when a strange man who was walking past them decided to try to grab the 3-year-old off his bicycle. McCall grabbed the bottom half of her son and fought like crazy to make sure the man, Jerry White, wouldn’t get a hold of him for good.

McCall then wrestled White and her son to the ground. White, fearing a visit from the cops, ran for his life, and McCall avoided seeing her son kidnapped by a total stranger. After White fled the scene, police were able to figure out his identity from surveillance footage from a local fast food restaurant.

White wasn’t just any stranger either. He has been arrested more than 103 times in the past. Most of those arrests were for non-violent offenses, but, yet, local residents, including McCall, were still shocked that White was not behind bars.

McCall said:

“He just snatched him around the waist, off the bike and that’s when I jumped on, and grabbed Liam and that’s when we were fighting about him. The only thing I could think of is, I’ve got to hold on to him as tight as I can. That is crazy that he is still walking around here in our neighborhood and he’s been arrested that many times.”

White was later released after the incident, and the charges of kidnapping were dismissed due to lack of evidence. He was later found guilty of assault in connection with the incident.

Mother Wrestles Kidnapper To The Ground to Protect Her Son, Kidnapper Arrested 103 Times is a post from: The Inquisitr

Iran, in celebration of the Islamic Revolution on February 10, 2013, plans on sending five monkeys into outer space on top of a ballistic missile. The five monkeys will be carried into orbit on top of a Kavoshgar rocket, and they will be in a capsule Iran is calling Pishgam (Pioneer). The West is worried that, if Iran is successful, they will have the ability to launch a nuclear warhead anywhere in the world.

Iran has attempted similar launches in the past. Last October, Iran acknowledged that they had tried to send a monkey into space in the past, but they admitted it was a dismal failure. Iran often disguises their advances in nuclear and missile research as purely scientific exercises.

In February 2009, Iran launched a satellite called Omid into orbit aboard a missile capable of carrying more than 330 kilograms. Western intelligence sources said at the time that the  launch was the furthest advance that Iran has made in their quest for a nuclear bomb and the means to deliver it. Israeli intelligence website DEBKA says that the iranian monkey launch will be even more serious because the Iranians can make the Pishgam capsule at any weight they want and then use the calculations to compute the size of a nuclear warhead they can deliver on top of one of their missile.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed in 2011 that Iran “has also been carrying out covert ballistic missile tests and rocket launches, including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payment in contravention of UN Resolution 1929.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency is planning a visit to Iran to resume some level of inspection of their nuclear facilities. There are very few Western leaders who believe that Iran is going to come clean about their nuclear advances. The NSA recently told a Congressional hearing that at their current pace Iran will be able to conduct its first nuclear test in mid 2014.

Iran To Use Ballistic Missile For Monkey Launch, Missile Capable Of Nuclear Attack Anywhere In The World is a post from: The Inquisitr

Senior members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party lashed out at President Obama early Wednesday morning for what they call a “gross interference” in Israel’s upcoming elections. President Obama was quoted in a Bloomberg piece as having said privately that “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are.”

There has been no love lost between Netanyahu and Obama, and relations between Israel and the US have been less than perfect over the course of Obama’s first term. Obama was reacting to plans by the Israeli government to build more than 3,000 homes in settlement blocs in response to the Palestinian move to achieve non-member observer state status at the UN.

According to columnist Jeffrey Goldberg, Obama “told several people that sort of behavior on Netanyahu’s part is what he has come to expect, and he suggested that he has become inured to what he sees as self-defeating policies of his Israeli counterpart.” He further wrote that “on matters related to the Palestinians the president seems to view the prime minister as a political coward, an essentially unchallenged leader who nevertheless is unwilling to lead or spend political capital to advance the cause of compromise.”

He added that he would not be surprised if Obama “eventually offered a public vision of what a state of Palestine should look like, and affirmed that it should have its capital in East Jerusalem.”

Members of the Likud party say that the comments are an attempt to portray a vote for Netanyahu as a vote for further conflict with the United States, but they believe that the opposite will be true in the eyes of the Israeli public. Likud party members of parliament believe that the voters want to know that their Prime Minister will stand up for what he believes in and was elected to do in spite of American pressure.

Netanyahu’s political rivals were quick to seize on Obama’s comments and use them against the Prime Minister.

Former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, whose party was expected to fair poorly against Netanyahu, said at a press conference in Tel Aviv:

“All of the people of Israel should have been woken up by Obama saying the prime minister was leading Israel to grave isolation. As an Israeli, it is hard for me to hear it, but it’s important to know that this is happening. If people don’t change their vote, Netanyahu will continue leading us to isolation, violence and a worse economy, because it’s all connected.”

Sources in Israel say that Obama’s comments may be a level of retaliation for what was perceived as Netanyahu’s endorsement of Mitt Romney in the previous American elections.

Israeli Politicians Accuse Obama Of ‘Gross Interference’ In Israeli Elections is a post from: The Inquisitr

While Republicans have stepped up their criticism of Chuck Hagel ahead of his hearings to become the next Secretary of Defense, Hagel has his defenders stepping up to the plate also. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell went on NBC’s Meet The Press to lend his support to the former Senator.

Hagel has been on the phone non-stop since his nomination last week calling Senators and has been trying to line up support for his cause. He wanted to clear the air about his stance on Israel and Iran. Conservatives have been coming out in droves to criticize Hagel for refusing to sign a letter urging the EU to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist group, for complaining about a “Jewish Lobby,” and for his pacifist attitude towards Iran’s nuclear program. Liberals have also been coming out against Hagel for anti-gay comments he made back in the 90s.

Powell told Meet The Press:

“He knows what war is and he will fight a war if it’s necessary, but he is a guy who will do it with great deliberation and care.”

Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte told Fox News Sunday:

“I also wonder what message are we sending to Iran, what message are we sending to Israel and I am perplexed that the president has nominated him.”

Republican Senator Bob Corker went on the attack over Hagel’s temperament while speaking on ABC’s This Week, saying:

“But I think another thing that’s going to come up is just his overall temperament, and is he suited to run a department or a big agency or a big entity like the Pentagon. There are numbers of staffers who are coming forth now just talking about the way he has dealt with them.”

Hagel has been nominated to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta for President Obama’s second term. Of all the nominations the President has put forward, Hagel is considered the most controversial.

Colin Powell Defends Chuck Hagel, Says He Was Always A Supporter Of Israel is a post from: The Inquisitr

In a movement reminiscent of the collapse of the Soviet Union, American defense contractors are leaving the industry for greener pastures. Amid reports that the Department of Defense is going to dramatically scale back its reliance on contractors to reduce costs, the industry is moving on. Contractors are saying that the uncertainty of their future is forcing them to look for other options as they cannot take loans or hire new talent without being sure the money is going to be there to pay the bills.

Retired General Lawrence Ferrell, president of National Defense Industry Association, told Fox News:

“They’re losing good people whom they likely won’t get back, and with them goes the cutting-edge expertise.”

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told Congress that the Department of Defense is taking steps to freeze civilian hiring, putting off contracts that have already been awarded and leaving maintenance for another day to prepare for the automatic budget cuts that are headed for the department if Congress fails to reach a deal on the sequestration. Sequestration is the name given to the automatic budget cuts that were set to go into effect for Congress’ failure to enact the spending cuts recommended by President Obama’s deficit reduction committee.

Congress passed a delay in the budget cuts for two months as part of the bill to avert the fiscal cliff.

Panetta has also made it clear that, if the budget cuts are enacted, the United States will face serious threats to national security amid the financial instability.

The Pentagon is facing a spending reduction of nearly $500 billion over a decade should Congress fail to reach a deal. And an additional $110 billion in automatic spending cuts to military and domestic programs will take effect in early March if no agreement is reached.

Dawne S. Hickton, president and CEO of RTI International Metals Inc., said the cuts will imperil programs that have taken years to implement, saying:

“What we’re manufacturing in our plants today is going in a military program two or three years down the road.”

Economists are warning that the Department of Defense is but a symptom of the overall problem, which they say is the lack of stability. The Senate has not passed a budget in more than 6 years. Congress, in the absence of a budget, is forced to fund the government in small increments leading every spending bill into a political fight.

Defense Contractors Leaving The Industry Amid Uncertainty Of Budget Cuts is a post from: The Inquisitr

The 2013 People’s Choice Awards are in the books and the big winner of the night was the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games took home awards for favorite movie, action movie and favorite movie franchise. In addition to the Hunger Games’ awards the movie’s Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson andLiam Hemsworth won the award for onscreen chemistry.

People’s Choice Awards: Complete List Of Winners is a post from: The Inquisitr

It seems as if Britney Spears’ stint on X Factor is coming to a close. Sources are saying that Spears has told the show she is not going to be returning for Season 3. The sources are also saying that Spears quit after learning she was going to be fired for what they call an underwhelming performance in the first two seasons according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The writing has been on the wall for a while now that Cowell was not happy with Spears’ performance on the show. While there has been no official announcement as of yet, it is being reported in virtually all the gossip columns that the pop star is done with the show.

The Inquisitr is reporting that Spears is looking to get involved with a sitcom after her exit.

TMZ first broke the story about Spears exit with the headline, “I Quit, Y’All!”. TMZ also reported that the top management of the show was tired of the constant criticism that Spears was brining to the show. Ratings for the show have gone down by double-digits since it first launched, and a large portion of the criticisms were that it was Spears that was the most heavily criticized.

Fox officially has no comment as of yet about the firing either. They have announced that the show was given the green light for Season 3. Even though her departure is imminent from the show, Fox Entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly had nothing but nice things to say about Britney Spears.

Reilly said at  Tuesday’s executive session at the Television Critics Association gathering in Pasadena:

“I think Britney did a really good job. Maybe some people were waiting for more drastic displays of some nature that never came, so for those expecting that, it didn’t happen. … She’s just an interesting figure who’s lived a unique life, and I thought she brought some of that.”

Britney was paid $15 million dollars for the first two seasons of the show.

Do you think Britney Spears should still be on X Factor?

Britney Spears Quits X Factor After Learning Simon Cowell Was Going To Fire Her is a post from: The Inquisitr

Kyle Bangayan will not be prosecuted for threatening to commit a Sandy Hook style school massacre which he claimed would “dead kindergarteners” all over Los Angeles, according to authorities. Bangayan was arrested after making the threats on his Facebook page.

When police raided Bangayan’s house in connection with the threats they found six semi-auto handguns, two rifles and one shotgun according to TMZ.

On the day of the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut Bangayan posted to his Facebook page:

“No really America, if you post one more Facebook post about the shooting at that elementary school, I swear to whatever f**king god you believe in that I will do the same goddamn thing.I have the guns, I have the incentive, and I won’t commit suicide at the end, I’ll just go to the next f**king school and the next and the next … So I woke up this morning and said to myself … Dang you know [what] would be really awesome right now … some dead kindergarteners … and Christmas early.”

Prosecutors say they will not be able to file charges against Bangayan because his threats, while extremely disturbing, were generic and not targeted against anyone specifically.

The shooting in Newtown, Connecticut at the Sandy Hook Elementary School occurred December 14, 2012. Gunman Adam Lanza went to the school with an arsenal of weapons, after killing his mother at their home and taking the guns, and gunned down 26 people, including 20 children. After he committed the massacre he turned one of the guns on himself and committed suicide.

The Sandy Hook masacre has led to a nationwide debate about the gun culture in America, with President Obama promising to make a major push to enact gun control measures in the near future.

Sandy Hook Copycat Threatened To Kill Hundreds Of Dead Kindergarteners, Yet Will Not Be Charged is a post from: The Inquisitr

Micah Sierra Williams, also known as Katt Williams was arrested in Los Angeles for failure to appear in a court hearing according to TMZ. The rapper/actor/comedian was supposed to appear for an arraignment in Sacramento yesterday.

A Sacramento Judge issued a bench warrant for Williams’ arrest yesterday at the arraignment hearing where Katt was facing charges of reckless driving and evading a police officer, both felonies under California Law. Katt was arrested back in November when he had used his three-wheeler to take police on a wild chase through Sacramento.

TMZ is reporting that the Los Angeles Police Department was aware of Katt’s bench warrant and when police spotted him outside his home they placed him under arrest. Law enforcement sources are saying that Katt fully cooperated with police.

He is being held on $100,500 bail.

Katt Williams has a long history of run ins with the law.

On November 13, 2006, Williams was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after a stolen gun was found in his briefcase. He was given three years probation and a fine for the crime. In November 2010, Williams was arrested for stealing more than $3,000 dollars worth of jewelry and charged with burglary and theft. On June 11, 2011, Katt was charged with assault witha deadly weapon for a fight he got in. He has also been charged with multiple counts of child engagement.

Katt Williams was also sued in connection with multiple shows he booked and sold tickets to and never showed up for. A California Judge had allowed him to be sued under Class Action status for the ticket money he was paid for shows he never showed up to.

Do you think the court should go lightly on Katt Williams?

Katt Williams Arrested In Los Angeles is a post from: The Inquisitr

Why The Chicken Really Crossed the Road is a post from: The Inquisitr

It seems as if the whole thing started off as a really bad joke on 4Chan. The idea that teenagers have started a movement to cut themselves in an attempt to stop pop icon Justin Bieber from smoking weed. The real issue right now is that the hashtags #cutforbieber and #cuttingforbieber are trending all over the internet and there is a good chance that some teens will be horribly influenced to believe this is true according to BuzzFeed.

The pictures shown below are from Tweets where teens are claiming that they are slashing their arms obsessively.  The trend to do so is not new and it is called cutting. Psychologists list cutting as a major illness where teenagers look for attention and validation by harming themselves. The practice is similar to those who abuse drugs or alcohol and for those that have eating diorders.

This article must stress that this whole trend started out as a joke and the Tweets shown below may be fake, but at the same time even the joke is really disturbing.

Justin Bieber, one of the most popular pop stars on the planet, recently was photographed at a house party with what looked like a blunt in his hand. The pictures also show the “Biebs” to look really high in the pictures. Bieber’s team is reportedly furious over the pictures. Bieber has been largely silent over the episode, and many publications have questioned why the pictures were allowed to be taken in the first place because Bieber’s security detail was there to stop them.

Warning The Tweets Below Are Extremely Graphic

Teenagers Cutting Themselves To Get Justin Bieber To Stop Smoking Weed? [NSFW, Extremely Graphic] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bank of America has allegedly taken the drastic step of inserting their political views into their banking business. American Spirit Arms Owner Joe Sirochman, a major American gun manufacturer, says that their accounts were frozen by Bank of America and they were told by a company manager that it was because they “shouldn’t be selling guns on the Internet” according to the Blaze.

Joe Sirochman wrote on American Spirit Arms’ official Facebook page in late December:

“My name is Joe Sirochman owner of American Spirit Arms…our Web site orders have jumped 500% causing our Web site e-commerce processing larger deposits to Bank of America. So they decided to hold the deposits for further review…as you could imagine this made me furious…After countless hours on the phone with Bank of America I finally got a Manager in the right department that told me the reason that the deposits were on hold for further review. Her exact words were…”We Believe you should not be selling guns and parts on the internet.”, [W]e are a firearms Manufacturer with all the proper licensing FFL (Federal Firearm license ), SOT and that we follow all Federal and All States’ rules and regulations on shipping Firearms and parts ..and that we are also Audited by ATF and Homeland 
Security on a regular basis.”

Sirochman says that he flipped the F**k out when he heard the managers excuse, then he told her she had no right to make up rules and regulations against an industry she disagrees with.

Sirochman said that Bank of America has only release one-third of the company’s money has been released by the bank.

CNSNews.com said in a recent report that this isn’t the first time Bank of America has interjected their business into the debate about gun control saying:

“This isn’t the first time Bank of America has targeted a customer involved in the firearms industry. McMillan Group International was reportedly told that its business was no longer welcome after the company started manufacturing firearms – even after 12 years of doing business with the bank”

Sirochman said that the company will be ceasing their business with Bank of America and will be looking for a new bank.

Do you think that Bank of America has the right to punish companies who disagree with their political viewpoints?

Bank Of America Allegedly Freezes Gun Manufacturer’s Account Saying They Shouldn’t Be Selling Guns On the Internet is a post from: The Inquisitr

Now joining the ranks of restaurant franchises around the country one Wendy’s franchise from Omaha, Nebraska says they are going to cut all their employees back to part-time positions to avoid providing them with healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare.

Owners of restaurant chains ranging from Olive Garden to Red Lobster have announced similar moves and have recently announced that their anti-Obamacare campaigns have hurt much more than helped their businesses.

By moving employees to part time positions they are eligible to receive their health care benefits fromt he government as opposed to getting them from their employer. The employer has to pay a fine if their employees get their coverage from the government but only if they are full time workers.

Gary Burdette, vice president of operations for the local franchise said:

“The company has announced that all non-management positions will have their hours reduced to 28 a week. The cuts are coming because the new Affordable Health Care Act requires employers to offer health insurance to employees working 32-38 hours a week. Under the current law they are not considered full time and that as a small business owner, he can’t afford to stay in operation and pay for everyone’s health insurance.”

This fall Denny’s saw some of their franchisees announce similar moves and the parent corporation distanced themselves from the policy. Darden Restaurants saw a sharp 37 percent drop in profit after threatening to cut workers to part-time.

The owner of Papa John’s pizza, John Schnatter,  said that he will have to raise prices in order to compensate for the new health care requirements. Schnatter took considerable criticism when he announced that the price increases would amount to a few pennies per pie. The American Urban Institute recently published a study showing that the Affordable Care Act has a negligible impact on costs for large corporations and that small businesses actually see a benefit.

The restaurant industry has been the most outspoken in its warnings of skyrocketing costs due to the health care mandate of Obamacare.

Do you think the requirements from the Affordable Care Act are going to negatively effect small businesses?

Wendy’s Franchise Announces 300 Employees Being Converted To Part-Time To Avoid Obamacare is a post from: The Inquisitr

AIG International recently finished paying back the American taxpayers for their $187 billion dollar bailout of the insurer at the height of the financial crisis. Now the Board of Directors of the company are preparing to meet to discuss the merits of joining a lawsuit against the government. The lawsuit claims that the government deprived shareholders of the company of billions of dollars when they took a 92 percent stake in the company and attached interest to the bailout.

The lawsuit is a touchy subject for AIG. The company recently started airing a bunch of commercials with the theme of “Thank You America” for the bailout which essentially saved AIG from bankruptcy in 2008.

The lawsuit filed by former chief executive officer of AIG, Maurice R. Greenberg, says that under the Constitution’s 5th Amendment the government cannot deprive citizens of their property without just compensation. The lawsuit further says that the government had no right to take of what became a 92 percent stake in the company. It also challenges the deal’s high interest rates and the funneling of billions to the insurer’s Wall Street clients.

AIG has become the poster child for Wall Street excess during the financial crisis and could create a major backlash against the company both in the sphere of public opinion and in Congress which could easily pass a law punishing the company for its ingratitude.

AIG is meeting to discuss the lawsuit under a threat from Greensburg that if the Board of Directors does not even consider the lawsuit he will name them as defendants for shirking their fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders  of which Greenberg remains a large one.

Frank Partnoy, a former banker who is now a professor of law and finance at the University of San Diego School of Law told DealBook:

“On the one hand, from a corporate governance perspective, it appears they’re being extra cautious and careful. On the other hand, it’s a slap in the face to the taxpayer and the government.”

The lawsuit does not argue that the bailout was not needed, just that it was fundamentally unfair to the shareholders, even though the shareholders would have received a far worse deal under bankruptcy.

Do you think it is appropriate for AIG to consider a lawsuit against the American government for the bailout which saved them from bankruptcy?

AIG May Sue The American Government Claiming Bailout Cheated Shareholders is a post from: The Inquisitr

Amid the petitions to deport Piers Morgan for his outspoken criticism of America’s gun laws, the talk show host decided to have the founder of the petition, radio host Alex Jones on his show. Morgan asked him about his stance on gun laws and it caused Jones to go completely bezerk. Monday evening Jones was a guest on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight, the videos are below.

Jones started off the segment by telling Morgan that the movement to ban guns in America was a result of world governments and ”the megabanks that control the planet” conspiring together to deprive Americans of their Constitutional rights.

Jones said:

 ”They’ve taken everybody’s guns, but the Swiss and the American people.  [The Second Amendment exists to]protect us from tyrannical government and street thugs.”

Jones continued to get more and more upset during his rant and even made it a point to reference the massacres of Chinese citizens brought about by Mao Zedong and the horrific gang rapes in India.

Jones then went on to say:

“I’m here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms! Doesn’t matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street, begging for ‘em to have their guns taken. We will not relinquish them. Do you understand?! That’s why you’re going to fail, and the establishment knows, no matter how much propaganda, the republic will rise again!”

Jones also stated that the recent school shooting in Newtown, connecticut was the result of anti-depressants, saying:

“The number one cause of death in America is suicide, because they give people suicide mass murder pills!”

The White House commented on Jones’ “Deport Piers Morgan” petition to have Piers Morgan thrown out of the country for his pro-gun control views saying:

“The White House responds to all petitions that cross the threshold and we will respond to this one. In the meantime, it is worth remembering that the freedom of expression is a bedrock principle in our democracy.”

Here is the first half of the interview Alex Jones gave to Piers Morgan

Here is the second half of the interview Alex Jones gave to Piers Morgan

Alex Jones Loses It On Piers Morgan, White House Responds To Deportation Petition [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has a message to send to the White House. There will be no more increases on taxes as part of any deficit reduction or debt deal this session. In an interview with ABC’s This Week, McConnell let the White House know that the Republican party has bent far enough and will not be bending nay further.

McConnell said:

“[T]he tax issue is finished, over, completed. That’s behind us. Now the question is, what are we going to do about the biggest problem confronting our country and our future? And that’s our spending addiction. It’s time to confront it. The president surely knows that. I mean, he has mentioned it both publicly and privately. The time to confront it is now.”

The new Congress has a lot on its plate in regards to the American economy. They still have to worry about the $1 trillion in sequester-related cuts that will be hitting in two months without a deal, the raising of the debt ceiling. There is also a debate brewing about the funding the government for the remainder of the year. All of these debates sets up a serious debate about the economy between the Republicans and President Obama.

President Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have said that they will not put entitlement reform on the table unless there is a “balanced approach” meaning more tax increases.

Pelosi said to CBS’ Bob Schieffer:

“No, no, it is not. I mean, the president had said originally he wanted $1.6 trillion in revenue, he took it down to 1.2 as a compromise in this legislation. We get $620 billion dollars, very significant, high-end tax, changing the high-end tax rate to 39.6 percent, but that is not enough on the revenue side.”

Democrats want to add an additional $600 billion in tax revenues to any deal.

McConnell also ruled that out also, saying:

“I’m in favor of doing tax reform, but I think tax reform ought to be revenue-neutral as it was back during the Reagan years. We’ve resolved this issue. Look, we don’t have this problem because we tax too little. We have it because we spend way, way too much.”

Mitch McConnell: There Will Be No More Tax Increases is a post from: The Inquisitr

The New Year is treating Lea Michele and Cory Monteith well. The two Glee lovebirds took an exciting trip to Hawaii after the new year began to bask in the warmth of the sun. Lea Michele also decided to let the world see just how hot and steamy Hawaii can get by tweeting pictures of herself in a skimpy little bikini, showing off her dancer’s body (Photos Below)

The two Glee co-stars have been dating since February of last year and have been getting more and more open about their relationship. Recently Michele has been quoted as saying that she is so happy with Monteith that she could not imagine not being with him.

On December 29th Michele tweeted out:

In paradise and I’ve never been happier:) Time now to rest, relax, and enjoy some fun in the sun! Xo

— Lea Michele (@msleamichele) December 29, 2012

As the vacation progresses she is continuing to let eveyone know how great the couple are doing tweeting:

Having the most amazing vaca:) Feeling so rested and relax and happy! Also rockin’ some sweet tan lines right now.. lol

— Lea Michele (@msleamichele) January 4, 2013

Glee is scheduled to make a return to the screen later in January. In the show Monteith and Michele have been playing an on again and off again couple since the show started. Many “Gleeks” are anxiously awaiting word as to whether  the couple will be making a comback together or whether they are going to permanently go their seperate ways.

What do you think of the pictures of Lea Michele in her skimpy bikini?

Lea Michele Hits The Beach In A Skimpy Bikini [Photos] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sources close to the Obama Administration say the White House is leaning towards pushing for more broad based and comprehensive gun control legislation than simply reinstating the assault weapons ban. After the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting President Obama tasked Vice-President Biden with putting together a working group to discuss the Administrations response.

Sources close to the working group say that they are preparing to release their recommendations which includes the input from several key law enforcement groups and involves requiring universal background checks for firearm buyers, tracking the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthening mental health checks, and stiffening penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors.

If the Obama Administration decides to go that route they will face formidable opposition from Congressional Republicans and their allies in the gun lobby. The Administration is supposedly weighing a strategy to go around the gun lobby by enlisting the help of Walmart and other major retailers by offering the legislation in a way where it benefits their businesses. Obama also plans on working closely with outspoken anti-gun mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

In addition to pushing a comprehensive reform approach the Biden work group is also weighing suggestions that President Obama can implement through executive orders such as strengthening background checks and improving mental health screenings.

Pro gun rights organizations are already responding to the proposals as an assault on the Second Amendment. In addition to fighting the administration in Congress they will most likely turn to the court system which has been moving more towards the right on gun issues in the first place.

What is still a question mark is how much political capital President Obama wants to  use on this issue. He has already made it clear he plans on pushing a more union friendly agenda, pushing climate control legislation and has a fight about the debt ceiling approaching, in addition to an economy that has not rebounded the way he has hoped.

Do you think the President should be pushing more comprehensive gun control measures at this point in his career?

The White House May Present Broad Gun Control Legislation In The Wake Of Newtown Shootings is a post from: The Inquisitr

With the Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill getting most of the press this week, there are plenty other high profile bills that got left by the wayside. The GOP lead Congress is now taking heat for letting a fairly bipartisan bill, The Violence Against Women Act, go unaddressed. So now under House rules, it will have to be taken up by the new Congress, which is just as unlikely to pass it as this one was.

As far as easy to pass bills go, this one seemed like a slam dunk. The Violence Against Women Act was approved by the Senate by a 68 to 31 vote and was crafted by a liberal Democrat (Senator Patrick Leahy) and a conservative Republican (Senator Mike Crapo). It was passed in 2000 and reauthorized in 2005 without any hassle.

So why did Congress ignore it this year?

House Republicans insisted it was too supportive of immigrants, gays, and Native Americans. Rather then reauthorize the bill and go on record supporting something that their constituents (or potentially more conservative primary challengers) could use against them, they decided to just let the law die.  The White House dispatched Vice-President Biden to try to get Majority Leader Eric Cantor to get the bill voted on but to no avail.

Senator Patty Murray, the Democratic point person on Violence Against Women Act, said in a statement:

“The House Republican leadership’s failure to take up and pass the Senate’s bipartisan and inclusive VAWA bill is inexcusable. This is a bill that passed with 68 votes in the Senate and that extends the bill’s protections to 30 million more women. But this seems to be how House Republican leadership operates. No matter how broad the bipartisan support, no matter who gets hurt in the process, the politics of the right wing of their party always comes first.”

As for electoral considerations, Republicans lost badly in the 2012 elections, thanks in large part to the largest gender gap in modern times, but the House Republican leadership seems to not care.

The only thing for certain is, until the Violence Against Women Act is reauthorized, States will have considerably less Federal help to fight domestic violence and other women’s issues.

House GOP Blocks Violence Against Women Act is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to sources, the tone in Washington may have gotten a little worse during the debate about the “fiscal cliff.” According to Politico, House Speaker John Boehner, who Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had earlier in the week accused of running a “dictatorship,” told Reid to “Go Fu*k Himself.”

Boehner had run into Reid in the lobby of the White house last Friday amid harsh negotiations dealing with the “fiscal cliff.” As Reid walked past Boehner, just mere steps away from the Oval Office, Boehner decided to let Harry Reid know how he really felt.

Politico reports the exchange went like this:

“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.

Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”

Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.”

Also being reported by The Weekly Standard, Boehner later bragged about the exchange to fellow Republicans.

All of this comes as the Senate and House have voted to approve a set of spending cuts and tax increases meant to keep the United States from going into an economic abyss. On January 1, without Congressional action, taxes were set to rise on every American as the Bush Tax Cuts were set to expire. In addition, because the government failed to act on the recommendations of President Obama’s debt reduction commission, more than $600 billion in spending cuts were set to take effect. Many economists warned that, without a deal to avert these measures, the American economy would most likely fall back into a recession.

The deal worked out by the Senate and House lets the tax cuts expire for individuals making more than $400,000 dollars per year and couples making more than $450,000.  It also put off the spending cuts for two months while the sides try to work out a compromise.

Do you think Speaker Boehner was way out of line?

John Boehner To Harry Reid: Go F**k Yourself is a post from: The Inquisitr

Under the deal crafted by the Senate and recently approved by a majority in the House, the country will avoid going over the “fiscal cliff,” but it will not stop a vast majority of Americans seeing higher taxes this year. The deal does not extend a payroll tax cut of two percent that was put into effect at the height of the economic collapse in 2008. Bloomberg News is reporting that, due to that tax hike and the others negotiated between the Senate and Vice-President Biden, 77 percent of Americans will have a higher tax burden this year.

The actual full number of households that will see a tax hike is 77.1 percent of US households, mostly because of the expiration of a payroll tax cut but also taking into account the other provisions, according to preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington.

More than 80 percent of households making between $50,000 and $200,000 will see an average tax hike of $1,635 for 2013.

Of course, the highest amount of tax hikes are reserved for top earners. Income, capital gains, dividends, and estate taxes are all rising in 2013. The top one percent of taxpayers (those with more than $506,210 per year) will see an average of $73,633 in new taxes this year.

The top 0.1 percent of taxpayers, those with incomes over about $2.7 million, would pay an average of $443,910 more, reducing their after-tax incomes by 8.4 percent.

The top .o1 percent of taxpayers would be responsible for 26 percent of the additional taxes imposed by the legislation.

The legislation also lets tax rates rise on all incomes over $400,000 for an individual and $450,000 for a couple for 20313. Instead of paying 35 percent of their income in taxes, it will rise to 39.5 percent.

On top of state taxes, some wealthy filers will now see a tax rate of over 50 percent of their income.

Do you think tax rates are high or just about right?

Under Fiscal Cliff Deal, 77% of Households Will See Higher Taxes This Year is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Paparazzi photographer was killed by oncoming traffic Tuesday evening as he to get some pictures of Justin Bieber’s Ferrari, according to an exclusive report by TMZ.  Los Angeles Police are reporting that Bieber was not behind the wheel of the car during the incident.

Los Angeles Police are telling the media that Bieber’s white Ferrari was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol for a routine traffic stop. Bieber’s Ferrari was being driven by a friend and another of the pop star’s buddies was in the passenger seat, Bieber was not in the car at the time of the incident. The car was pulled over on Sepulveda Boulevard near the Getty Center in Los Angeles.

The photographer had been following the Ferrari in hopes Bieber would emerge from the car and he would get some exclusive snaps.

The photographer parked his car behind the police officer when Bieber’s Ferrari was pulled over. The paparazzi member got out to take pictures of the Ferrari and hopefully of Bieber. As he exited the vehicle the photographer was advised by the California Highway Patrol to step back because the situation was not safe. It was at that point that an oncoming car hit the photographer.

Los Angeles police Officer James Stoughton said the photographer, who was not identified, died at a hospital shortly after the crash according to the Daily Mail.

Police have made it clear that there were no drugs or alcohol involved with either the photographer or the other driver that hit him.

A full investigation is under way to see if there were any contributing factors to the accident.

Justin Bieber had recently been on television preforming on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve the night before.

Check out Bieber performing at Times Square New Year’s Eve.

Justin Bieber: Paparazzi Photographer Killed While Chasing Bieber’s Ferrari [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Now that the news is out on Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s expecting a child, the question that has been on everyone’s mind is how they will cash in on it. The Inquisitr is already reporting that Kim Kardashian’s mom is already looking for buyers for baby bump photos of Kim, and now The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Kim and Kanye’s pregnancy is going to be followed on E! entertainment television.

E! President Suzanne Kolb told the Hollywood Reporter in a statement:

“Kim and Kanye are an incredibly dynamic couple, and their baby news is just so exciting. Like so many Kardashian fans, we love it when this close-knit family gets even bigger. We look forward to sharing the joy as they prepare for more diapers, more bottle and without a doubt, more fabulous baby wear.”

Kanye announced the pregnancy at a concert on December 30 in front of a crowd in Atlantic City.  Kim confirmed the pregnancy a few hours later on her personal blog.

E! is also looking forward to the major ratings spikes expected for the upcoming episodes of the Kardashian hit Kourtney & Kim Take Miami, which start on January 20.

An insider said:

“[E!] will continue to cover all aspects of Kim’s life as it always has, including Kim’s pregnancy and perhaps even the birth.”

Kim Kardashian is still technically married at the moment to basketball star Kris Humphries. The two were watched by more than 10.5 million viewers over a two day period on Kim Kardashian’s Fairy Tale Wedding. The couple separated 72 days later.

The have been multiple reports of Kim Kardashian looking to take her romance with Kanye to the next level. Maybe this is what they were hoping for.

Do you think it is right for Kim Kardashian to make a national television event of her pregnancy?

Kim Kardashian And Kanye West To Document Pregnancy On E! is a post from: The Inquisitr

Police are remaining tight lipped as to the status of the others who were shot. Authorities are also not disclosing if a motive for the shooting was known or if there is any information about a suspect or any arrests. Witnesses are telling the news stations on the scene that they saw a man being taken into custody.

One woman told CBS:

“They had one person in an ambulance and one person in a cop car.”

Another woman commented:

“I saw the gun in the hand. He was just screaming and shooting.”

Sources said that more than 40,000 people had gathered in downtown Old Sacramento to take part in a fireworks display scheduled for 9 pm. There were thousands of young children present for the festivities with their parents. A second fireworks display that was scheduled for midnight was cancelled. Police helicopters were seen overhead announcing the cancellation.

The police surrounded the entire area of the shooting, and mounted police, fire trucks, and hundreds of police officers were there to preserve order and keep the partiers away from the scene.

5 Shot, 2 Dead During New Year’s Eve Celebration In Old Sacramento is a post from: The Inquisitr

Al Sharpton has finally given conservatives the ammo they need to argue that gun control legislation will lead to more laws and government over-reach. The controversial civil rights activist said on his radio broadcast on Monday that, after the government takes on gun control, they may move to tackle knife control next, according to The Blaze.

Everyone knew it was going to come to this, but few thought so soon. Every time the issue of gun control comes up, there are those of a more Libertarian ilk who say that regulating guns is a slippery slope that will give the government the right to regulate more and more activities that they should be staying out of.

In response to a caller who asked about an expected rise in knife related crimes if a gun ban is ever passed, Sharpton said:

“In any civilized society you do not see massacres continue to happen, from Tucson to Aurora to Columbine to Virginia Tech to where we are now in Newtown to Chicago and you keep the same laws when clearly they’re not working.”

The caller responded:

“What happens when the criminal goes to knives, Al?”

Sharpton replied:

“Then you deal with knives. The same thing as if you have a head cold and the same thing you do if you have a head cold and the cold is gone and you have a headache. Then you take headache medicine. The job of society is to deal with whatever problem confronts it.”

There will, of course, be a backlash among conservatives for this type of statement, and again the debate may shift away from the massacre at Newtown and onto these types of arguments. President Obama has insisted that gun control legislation will be at the top of his legislative priorities this year, and he is determined to get a deal done. The NRA and other pro-gun groups are gearing up for the fight and are expected to start pushing their agenda immediately after the new year.

Do you think Al Sharpton is right and that America may need knife control?

Al Sharpton: Knife Control Will Follow Gun Control Legislation [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Three hours shy of midnight, the President and Congress were able to put the framework together for a deal that averts the “fiscal cliff.” According to the Huffington Post, the deal calls for tax rates to rise on all Americans making more than $450,000 per year, a $200,000 threshold higher than the President wanted, an extension on unemployment benefits for another year, and a plan to deal with the other tax rates. It extends the child tax credit and the college tuition credit for five years, individual and business tax extenders for two years, and the Medicare “doc fix” for one year. The Alternative Minimum Tax will be permanently fixed. The agreement also extends the farm bill for one year.

The deal also gives Congress two months to hammer out a plan to reduce spending by more than $100 billion dollars, delaying the sequester. The cost of continuing current spending levels will be paid for through an even mix of tax revenue increases and later spending cuts. While the specifics about the cuts have not been fleshed out, the general framework calls for 50 percent of the cuts to come from defense and the other 50 percent from other programs.

The White House dispatched Vice-President Biden to Capital Hill yesterday in order to mediate between the sides and hammer out a deal. While Democrats are not happy with the framework, sources report that the Vice-President sold it to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi by explaining to them this was the best deal they were going to get.

Senator Charles Schumer said of the deal and the Vice-President’s message:

“The disagreement on this provision and that provision and other provisions are large and wide, but the number of people who believe that we should go over the cliff rather than vote for this is very small. It’s not that this proposal is regarded as great or is loved in any way, but it’s regarded as better than going over the cliff.”

Senator Diane Feinstein said in a statement:

“The argument is that this is the best that we could put together at this time on a bipartisan basis. We need a bipartisan basis to get this done so that means compromises on both sides.”

House Republicans also released a statement by Majority Leader John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, saying:

“The House will honor its commitment to consider the Senate agreement if it is passed. Decisions about whether the House will seek to accept or promptly amend the measure will not be made until House members — and the American people — have been able to review the legislation.”

How do you feel about the deal to avert the fiscal cliff?

White House And Senate Reach Deal On ‘Fiscal Cliff’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Washington has no shortage of crisis these days. Congress is currently in Washington trying to avert the tax hikes and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.  There are multibillion dollar bills for farm aid and Hurricane Sandy relief. Yet Senator Lindsey Graham is threatening to push America back into a devastating recession by holding up the debt ceiling without a guarantee of raising the retirement age for Social Security. Most economists say that without a deal to raise the debt ceiling the American economy will suffer a more devastating recession than the 2008 financial crisis.

The debt ceiling must be raised by February in order to prevent the looming economic catastrophe.  The last time Republicans held up a deal on the debt ceiling the economic uncertainty caused a massive drop in the stock markets and caused the ratings agencies to lower America’s credit rating.  The Congressional Budget Office further released a study saying that a failure to raise the debt ceiling will spark a new recession in 2013.

Senator Graham in an interview with Fox News Sunday said:

“I’m not going to raise the debt ceiling unless we get serious about keeping the country from becoming Greece, saving Social Security and Medicare [sic]. So here’s what i would like: meaningful entitlement reform — not to turn Social Security into private accounts, not to take a voucher approach to Medicare — but, adjust the age for Social Security, CPI changes and means testing and look beyond the ten-year window. I cannot in good conscience raise the debt ceiling without addressing the long term debt problems of this country and I will not.”

The retirement age for Social Security currently stands at 65 years old. Senator Graham is proposing radical changes to the program in addition to raising the retirement age.  Social Security has become a frequent target for Republicans who are wary of income generation through cuts to defense spending or raising taxes.

Watch the video of Graham threatening to hold up the Debt ceiling bill.

Lindsey Graham Says He Will Block A Debt Ceiling Deal Unless The Social Security Retirement Age Is Raised [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

President Obama is prepared to take action to limit the nuclear arsenal of the United States by bypassing Congressional oversight on the issue according to John Bolton and John Yoo. The two penned an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal on Friday to explain to America how the President plans to do that.

According to the pair, the President set up an advisory panel within the State Department run by former Secretary of Defense William Perry. Perry’s group has recommended to the President that the US and Russia agree to dramatically reduce the nuclear arsenals of both countries without a formal treaty, therefore sidestepping the need for Congressional ratification.

There is a concern among critics that, if the President were to go down this path, not only would it be an unprecedented power grab by the Executive branch of government but that the President would essentially be using only his own judgement to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin to honor the arms reduction agreement.  Russia has not stuck to many of its treaty bound obligations regrading nuclear weapons reductions.

President Obama made the elimination of nuclear weapons one of his top priorities at the beginning of his first term. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at that time for his commitment to the issue. During his first term, he negotiated a drastic reduction in the US nuclear arsenal with Russia, and the agreement almost didn’t pass Congress.

President Obama also took an enormous amount of criticism on the issue when a microphone overheard him telling then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that, if Russia would back off during the election season in the US, the President would be much more flexible on the issue in his second term.

Do you think the President should be responsible for nuclear arms reductions, or is it task for Congress?

President Obama To Grant Himself Unprecedented Powers Over Nuclear Arsenal is a post from: The Inquisitr

It seems as if the vast conspiracy theories surrounding the violent crackdown on the Occupy Wall Street Movement throughout the United States were not just the crazy thinking of a bunch of paranoid anti-government types. The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, requesting documents under the Freedom of Information Act, found that the FBI, The Department of Homeland Security, and local police coordinated their efforts with the heads of Universities and the big banks themselves.

The bloody crackdown involved smoke canisters violent arrests, cutting off protesters’ blood supplies with handcuffs, and being held in chains for hours until they urinated in their pants.  The documents, reproduced here and easily found on the internet, show a coordinated effort by the banks and other corporate entities working in lockstep with the American government to crush a peaceful protest against corporate interests.

The documents were released in between Christmas and New Year detail the plot involving six American universities sites where campus police funneled information about students involved with OWS to the FBI with the administrations’ knowledge, banks which sat down with FBI officials to pool information about OWS protesters harvested by private security, detailed plans to crush Occupy events, planned for a month down the road, made by the FBI and even threats of the assassination of OWS leaders by sniper fire.  Many of the files remain redacted in the name of National Security.

Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the PCJF, says that the documents show that even though the OWS protest were largely peaceful in nature, the government went out of their way to label the protests “terrorist” in nature.  She said:

“FBI documents just obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) … reveal that from its inception, the FBI treated the Occupy movement as a potential criminal and terrorist threat … The PCJF has obtained heavily redacted documents showing that FBI offices and agents around the country were in high gear conductingsurveillance against the movement even as early as August 2011, a month prior to the establishment of the OWS encampment in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy actions around the country.”

Verheyden-Hilliard points out the close partnering of banks, the New York Stock Exchange, and at least one local Federal Reserve with the FBI and DHS, and calls it “police-statism”:

“This production [of documents], which we believe is just the tip of the iceberg, is a window into the nationwide scope of the FBI’s surveillance, monitoring, and reporting on peaceful protestors organizing with the Occupy movement … These documents also show these federal agencies functioning as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America.”

Jason Leopold of  Truthout.org, has been seeking these documents for years under Freedom of Information Act requests, but he feels that the release of the documents at this time was strategic in nature.  He feels that the government is hoping that protestors, seeing that there have been plans for assassination of “terrorists” could be a strong sterent for the protestors to again take to the streets.

Do you think the Occupy Wall Street movement was targeted by the government and private industry to be taken out?

FBI, Homeland Security Coordinated With Banks And Universities To Crush Occupy Wall Street is a post from: The Inquisitr

Piers Morgan has been in the hot seat lately for his views of the Second Amendment and gun control. Now he has set his sights on another staple of American life, The Bible.  Morgan said in an interview with Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren that the Bible and the Constitution are “inherently flawed” and need to be amended.

The discussion was held on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight.  During a debate about American society, Piers interjected that, because the Bible does not include a permission for gay marriage, like an amendment to the Constitution repealing the Second Amendment, Morgan thinks the Bible should be updated.

Morgan said to Warren:

“Both the Bible and the Constitution were well intentioned but they are basically, inherently flawed. Hence, the need to amend it. My point to you about gay rights, for example, it’s time for an amendment to the Bible.”

Morgan had been specifically debating the need for a stronger separation of Church and State with Pastor Warren.

Warren immediately disagreed with Morgan’s thoughts on the Bible, saying:

“Uh, no, not a chance. What I believe is flawed is human opinion, because it constantly changes.”

Both men were able to stay civil in the debate and not devolve into character attacks or insults. Both commented on the need to keep these debates civil for the sake of society.

Morgan has been in the media spotlight since his outspoken views on the need for gun control in America after the Newtown School massacre. Morgan has gone as far as to call spokespeople for gun groups stupid and idiots.

Second Amendment supporters have filed a petition to the White House signed by over 75,000 people calling for the CNN host’s deportation back to Britain. This development led to a counter protest in the UK “Stop Piers Morgan from being deported back to the UK from America.”

Watch the exchange between Piers Morgan and Pastor Warren below.

Piers Morgan: Bible And Constitution Inherently Flawed And Need To be Amended [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

A two week labor dispute turned deadly in the Indian state of Assam yesterday as tea workers, angered by their working conditions, surrounded the house of their boss and set it on fire with both the boss and his wife inside of it. Both perished in the flames. Kunapathar police have detained three suspects in the incident, according to the BBC.

Local police official SS Meenakshi Sundaram said that more than 700 workers had surrounded the boss’s house and set it on fire. They also torched two vehicles belonging to the couple.

Assam State is responsible for more than 50 percent of India’s tea production with more than 800 estates dedicated solely to teas growing and harvesting.

The charred bodies of Mridul Kumar Bhattacharyya and his wife, Rita, had already been found among the burned out remains of the house according to Meenakshi.

This was not the first time Mr. Bhattacharyya had been involved in such a dispute.  He also owned dozens of other tea estates throughout the area and two years ago had also gotten into a dispute that turned violent, but he escaped that one with his life.  In that dispute, angry workers set fire to his tea factory near the state capital, Guwahati, after he had allegedly fired on a crowd that had gathered near his house to protest against a reported attack on a local woman.

Dozens of incidents of attacks by tea workers have been reported in Assam in recent years. Tea workers are regularly employed under deplorable conditions for extremely low pay. Often the estate owners provide shacks for the workers to live in during harvests and kick out the weaker workers in place of the healthier and stronger ones leading to resentment and anger.

Do you think that violence is a way to act during a labor dispute?

Indian Tea Workers Burn Boss And His Wife To Death is a post from: The Inquisitr

The United States has made a strategic decision to project their power into the Pacific theater, specifically to counter the strongest military in the region, China.  Reports from America’s top military planners are saying that by 2017 the entire country of China will be surrounded by US stealth aircraft capable of avoiding enemy radar.  The stealth squadrons will include F-22 Raptors, B-2 foxed wing fighters, and a fleet of Marine F-35 Joint Strike fighter aircraft.

David Axe from Wired notes that in his many interviews with top players at the Department of Defense have hinted to a “strategic pivot” from the Obama administration was all just smoke and mirrors and that the US considers Asia to be one of its top priorities for the future.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had announced a decision in June to focus more than 60 percent of America’s warships in the Asia-Pacific by 2020. He said the move had nothing to do with China but would position American fighting power equally throughout the world.

Panetta has said in a press conference at the time:

“Some view the increased emphasis by the United States on Asia-Pacific as a challenge to China, I reject that view entirely. We’re going to continue to invest in the region [but] It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of focus.” He further said at The National Press Club “[W]e still have to maintain our global leadership and presence by building innovative partnerships and partner capacity across the globe and using these innovative rotational deployments as a way to do exercises and training with other countries, developing their capabilities so that they can help provide for their own security.”

8th Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Stephen Wilson told Air Force Magazine that fleets “will rotate to forward operating locations all over the world in small numbers for a few weeks at a time. beginning with a short Pacific deployment.”

China is considered to be the largest economic rival of the United States. While that may tie the two countries together and lessen the likelihood of a conflict, Chinese resource attainment and the desire for regional domination could lead to increased tension between the two nations.

China has also announced that within the next five years its first aircraft carrier will be operational and ready for deployment anywhere in the world.  China has also announced that it has developed two stealth aircraft of its own that are ready to be put into the hands if their military.  They have also been rumored to be working on a stealth cruise missile capable of taking out an aircraft carrier.

Do you think china and the United States will eventually get into a military confrontation?

US Stealth Jets To Surround China By 2017 [Report] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Westboro Baptist Church, who picket the funerals of dead soldiers and murdered children, is planning to picket the funerals of the two firefighters who were shot in the line of duty trying to put out a fire set by William Spengler. Spengler set the fire then started shooting at the first responders who showed up to the scene. Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowkan were shot and killed when they showed up to the fire on December 24th.  Firefighters Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hoftsetter were also shot but survived. Spengler shot and killed himself before being captured.

Prior to this incident, Spengler had spent 17 years in prison for murdering his grandmother with a hammer.

Westboro Baptist Church spokesperson Margie Phelps tweeted:

”They died for idolatrous worship-of-the-dead.”

Phelps included information about the funeral arrangements and the hashtag #PicketFunerals.

Hundreds of anti Westboro Baptist Church citizens are planning to show up to the funerals and form a human wall around the funeral processions so that the families will not be bothered by protests. Twitter user @donna­_STFU made it clear to Phelps the town of Rochester would band together in the same way if Westboro Baptist Church attempts to picket the funerals for the slain firefighters.

The Inquisitr is also reporting that the infamous hacker group Anonymous recently upped the stakes against the Westboro Baptist Church by hacking into their website and posting the details of all their members online so that people could target the individuals who support the church.

A petition is currently posted to the White House website to recognize the Westboro Baptist church as a hate group. The petition is the most popular one ever posted to the site.

Do you think the government should recognize the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group?

Westboro Baptist Church To Protest Webster Firefighter Funerals is a post from: The Inquisitr

COMMENTARY | In the wake of the horrible shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, there has been a lot of blame thrown around as to what caused Adam Lanza to snap, load of an arsenal of weapons, and go slay 20 children and six adults.  The blame has disproportionately focused on the guns themselves, the violence coming out of Hollywood, video games, the mental health system, and a few others.  Yet no one in America wants to address the issues that drive this kind of tragedy in a realistic way.

Yes, all of the above issues probably had a role to play in the tragedy and anyone who realistically thinks that this event will change anything should just march down the yellow brick road to the magic forrest where we all use lollypop slingshots to hunt us a unicorn.  Hollywood is not going to get less bloody, video games are going to continue to promote death, and banning every single assault weapon in America is going to have about as much an effect on violence as blaming the chocolate chip for the obesity epidemic.

Here are five issues that people really need to open up a discussion about if they truly want these types of events to stop.

1. The Public Health System

Focusing on the state of our mental health system while ignoring the larger role of public health is like focusing on the gunpowder while ignoring the bullet, the gun, and the shooter (pun intended).  The public health system in America is in a horrible state. People are going broke to pay medical bills, people avoid going to the doctor for checkups, and the worst part of the system is that people are almost entirely dependent on their place of employment to determine if their families are going to be taken care of.

Realistically, a person who sees their doctor a few times a year for checkups and the availability of treatment regardless of your age or socioeconomic status is a surefire way to identify those among us that may have some level of mental issues. You see, doctors are trained to spot warning signs in people during their 8 YEARS of medical school. When giving checkups, doctors look for outside influences that may be effecting people’s state of mind and body as a way to offer the treatment and health options.  This can be said for a lot of professions, but the health system in America is the most prominent because it is the one area of wellness that is still completely in the hand of for-profit corporations.

Here is where you can just move down to the comments section to see all the people who are going to jump on me saying “President Obama’s health care law is going to change all of that, now everyone will have healthcare”. Actually people, you couldn’t be more wrong. With the entire debate focusing on the Obamacare fiasco, there is only one thing that is completely clear.  Obamacare will give everyone access to healthcare, but, for most people, it will still be way too expensive to utilize.  Most people will just pay the yearly fine and move on, a little more pissed off at the government for providing them with nothing and taking just a little bit more of their money.

The most obvious part of my argument is that the bill, with its trillions of dollars in spending, has earmarked effectively NOTHING for new doctors, hospitals, Drug Rehabilitation facilities, and even mental  health services. Do you really think that if the bill was expecting millions of people to join the ranks of the “insured” that they would earmark a couple of bucks to handle the influx of new patients?  The government allocated $1.2 BILLION dollars to Salt Lake City to cover the costs of the Olympic Games in 2002. This was to handle to huge crunch of people descending on one city for a couple of weeks, not for tens of millions of people joining a system that is already more costly than anywhere else in the civilized world.

So next time you get your Facebook statuses in a bunch over some tragedy that happens because of one lunatic, we really need to investigate the way we treat people before they snap and not after.

Which leads us to…

2. The Public Education System

Our school system in America is the one example of a completely socialized system where the long arm of capitalism rarely reaches in. The teachers, buildings and supplies are all paid for with our tax money, and the results have been painfully pathetic.

We spend more per pupil than almost any other country when it comes to our schools. We even do a decent job of preparing those students who will excel in any environment into the next level of their lives.  Yet, in America, those that lie on the fringes are painfully ignored as they progress from the ranks of “troubled youth” to full fledged criminals and psychos.  Instead of nurturing the talents of the students and making sure those that do have learning disabilities and mental issues are properly prepared for society, we just push them towards a goal that they will never be able to reach and ignore them. Schools have seen their vocational budgets slashed beyond any form of effectiveness and the only barometer used to measure education is the student’s ability to get into college after they graduate.  It has become very Un-Politically correct to say that not everyone is destined to go to college, but that is because people make that argument based on gender or race.  I am saying that not only is everyone not meant to go to college, not everyone WANTS to go to college.

I knew a girl in High School who drove a BMW from the day she turned 17, and, when people would inquire as to what bank her father worked for, those in the know would whisper that she was a “Plumber’s Daughter.”  They didn’t say this with the disgust that you would expect from telling you that her father is knee deep in poop for most of his day.  They said this with the reverence usually reserved for astronauts and basketballs players.

You see, what they knew then was that being a good plumber pays a fortune! You don’t need a college degree or calculus to do it, but it is very rewarding both professionally and financially. Yet, if you suggest to a student that he try to study to become a plumber, it is treated the same as telling him he should just resign himself to be a fry cook at McDonald’s   The horrible part about it is that trying to convince people who have no ability or interest in college that they need to prepare for it will almost guarantee that they will be working at McDonald’s after they graduate. That is a surefire formula for someone to snap.

3. The Stress of American Life

Look at most countries (notice I didn’t say Westernized countries because almost all countries have some level of these benefits). There are laws protecting maternity leave, vacation pay, pension funds, and a lot of other benefits that an employer must give you in order to make sure you stay at the top of your mental game. Sure, in America, most people have vacation days, but they feel that, if they use them, they may miss something at work that will make them expendable. Sure, women have the right to maternity leave, just not the right to be paid for it.  While in almost all countries maternity time is paid, we needed a special law in America to get the leave at all. Now only a lucky few are able to be paid to recover from having a child and be there for them for the first few months of their lives.

What does this have to do with the Newton tragedy? A hell of a lot!

In America, no one gets the chance to unplug at all.  We work ridiculous hours to support ridiculously indulgent lifestyles and are constantly told that asking for any time off or to ourselves is a sign that we are becoming weak and entitled. The word entitled itself has gotten such a bad rap that people recoil from the word as if it is the word SYPHILLIS. Unfortunately for everybody, we are entitled.  We are entitled to a few days off every now and then.  We are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, and, most of all, we are entitled to not be pushed to the breaking point by society and then when we go off the deep end we lose our jobs, medical care, and all other forms of aid.  Sure, we can go on food stamps and welfare and then get treated like a tick does when they attach themselves to the tail of a dog.

Even if Adam Lanza had all the money and support he would every need, he lived in a society where no one even has time to sit down and have a cup of coffee anymore and just expect that everyone will be able to adapt accordingly.

4. The Gun Culture

I know, I know, I was just complaining a minute ago how everyone was using the gun culture in America as a scapegoat to avoid the tough issues we face.  I didn’t say I wasn’t a little bit of a hypocrite sometimes, but I digress. I do not mean that I want to take sides on the whole more guns/less guns argument. I am saying the fact that it is an argument at all is to blame and that is a unique argument here in America.

There are those among us who say that if the Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle was banned this would never have happened.  That is almost as ignorant as saying that if every school was protected by a full platoon of the 82nd airborne there would be no more violence in schools. I say to both: Would this have been better if he just used the handguns he had? How about if he made a bomb? Or lit a fire? Do we need lighter control to keep our kids safe?

On the other side of the coin, if we armed the entire school with rocket launchers to stop the Adam Lanzas, what are we going to do with our school buses? How about zoos? There are plenty of kids there. How about parks? Should we just make sure there are networks of super-armed humans everywhere to protect us? NEWSFLASH there already are.  They are called the police. They are all over towns and patrolling constantly (even at schools) to try to stop bad guys.  Do we need millions of more cops? America has five percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the world’s prisoners so the cops are doing a pretty good job of locking people up, yet these things are still happening.

The problem is that we are making it our business to talk about guns as the problem instead of talking about the lunatics that get their hands on the guns/axes/bombs. The September 11th hijackers killed more than 3,000 people with a bunch of box cutters   Since then, we have spent billions of dollars making sure every 92 year old Alzheimer’s patient in a wheelchair doesn’t have C-4 in their sneakers. Yet terrorists still find ways to kill people.

And the Adam Lanza’s of the world will still find a way to hurt people while we are still debating this pointless issue.

5. The Political/Media Culture in America

It has taken a while for us to get to this point, but we have now officially chosen sides in America. Fifty percent support the Democrats and 50 percent support the Republicans. I used to say the right and left, but there is really no more divide between the left and right anymore. Everyone supports the party line. For the next four years, America has two types of people: those that are for Obama and those that are against him. This is not Obama’s fault. He does happen to be a pretty polarizing figure but in my opinion it is because he exemplifies the problem we now have. Instead of doing, we talk about doing.  Obama seriously considers himself a progressive because every time he wants to change something, he runs around the country giving speeches and getting people pissed off. Then he comes back to Washington and does precisely nothing. The Republicans are just as bad, if not worse. They just say as long as they don’t agree to anything it will stop Obama from ever getting to accomplish anything.

The one thing that both parties have in common is their relentless hatred of the other side. Remember the last time we got into a debate about gun control? It was right after some nut job shot congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and a whole bunch of other people.  At the time, there was not a television screen to be found without a Democrat on it saying that if Republicans had just been less critical and hateful to all of them this lunatic would have never done what he did. These were the same people who just a few years earlier were camped out on the White house lawn calling George Bush a Nazi and saying he went to war and actually got Americans killed for oil.

You see, in America, we have lost the ability to sell people on the idea that what we are pushing is right, only that what the other guy is pushing is wrong. Tune on the television, log onto Facebook, or go anywhere and you will not hear people talking about the benefits of their solutions only about the flaws in their opponents. This leads us to hate our opponents instead of being able to work together towards a solution. How can you compromise with someone you just called a bigoted, racist and misogynist rape supporter and allow then to have any meaningful input into a debate or policy? If you accept some of their policies, doesn’t that then make you a bigoted, racist and misogynist rape supporter?

The media love to portray this type of disagreement between Americans because, let’s face it, people don’t tune into broadcasts of people getting along and working together. Controversy sells newspapers and the media love selling it.

When people are convinced that the entire world is going to hell and that things are not going to get any better, they tend to snap. Especially those among us that aren’t all there to begin with.  Maybe if we tone it down a bit and work together on solutions, America will become a little less of a breeding ground for hostile loonies.

If not, at least we spent more than a trillion dollars last year on Defense so the 82nd airborne is ready to protect us all.

Top 5 Things No One Is Talking About In The Wake Of The Newtown Massacre is a post from: The Inquisitr

Pop Superstar Jennifer Lopez turned heads this week when she took to the football field to play a game for charity. Lopez donned a pair of short shorts to show off her sexy side while playing football in San Juan for a charity event seeking to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York City.

J-Lo was spotted playing the game while her boyfriend Casper Smart played on the same team. Lopez’s two children, Emme and Max, were also on hand to cheer on their mommy in the game.

The 43-year-old Lopez has had no shortage of sexy press over the last year. The Inquisitr reported earlier this year that the singer had a slight wardrobe malfunction while presenting an award, and the entire internet blew up in response hoping to get a slight glimpse of the singer’s hot body.

Lopez was married to Latino music sensation Marc Antony since 2004.  The couple had  a set a twins in 2008, which People magazine paid more than $6 million dollars for the pictures in 2008. The couple were not able to withstand the pressures of a celebrity marriage, and they were divorced in 2010.  Shortly after, Lopez started dating backup dancer Casper Smart, who she is still with until this day. Their relationship has not been without controversy as rumors have repeatedly made their way through the gossip pages saying that Smart is actually gay and is only in the relationship for the publicity.

Lopez stayed in San Juan for  the Christmas holiday to be with family.

Photos by Flame/Flynet

Jennifer Lopez Plays Football In Short Shorts [Photos] is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to doctors in the area, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons, specifically the paralytic Agent 15, in his attacks on rebels in recent days.  The Syrian Medical Society (SAMS) interviewed witnesses and victims of the recent gas bomb attack and reported that it is impossible to verify the use of chemical weapons without laboratory tests but the reports are consistent with Agent 15, according to Business Insider.

Victims and witnesses at the scene report that soldiers loyal to Assad threw grenades that released a white gas that had a pungent odor. Immediately after exposure, they suffered from shortness of breath, loss of vision, inability to speak, dizziness, nausea, and paralysis. Those who had them also used the antidote to nerve gas called Atropine which, when combined with Agent 15, can lead to death itself.

President Obama has said on many occasions that the use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians is a “red line” that will incur an American military response.  The use of such weapons is seen as a desperation move by the crumbling Assad regime and is a serious breach of international law.  In addition to the Agent 15, Syria is believed to have massive stockpiles of Sarin, Mustard Gas, VX, and other deadly chemical weapons. There has been widespread reporting that Assad’s forces have already loaded bombers with Sarin for a planned offensive.

Israel National News is reporting that Syria is bracing for a level of foreign intervention. Iranian news sources have been saying that they suspect that rebels will gain access to chemical weapons and use them in a limited way while blaming Assad for their use.  The goal would be to bring the international community into Syria to end Assad’s rule.

Iran is Syria’s last remaining ally in the Middle East. Russia has been a staunch ally of Assad but they are quickly losing patience with the loss of life and instability the conflict is causing.  Moscow has recently said that there are a number of countries that would give Assad safe haven if he were to leave but that Russia would not be one of them.

Watch the reports of Syria loading deadly Sarin gas into their fighter bombers.

Report: Assad Using Chemical Weapons In Syria [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has been going on the offensive after taking major criticism for the gun culture in America in the wake of the Newton Massacre.  The NRA is fond of saying that, in Israel, there are no school shootings because the Israelis place armed guards at the entrances to every school. Well, the Israelis have responded and told the NRA that the gun laws in Israel are nothing like America’s and that the guards at school wouldn’t help prevent tragedies like Newton.

Israel, contrary to popular belief, has very strict gun laws. There is no right to a gun in Israel, and, in order to get licensed, one must go through extensive screening and training.  They also must show cause such as traveling with large amounts of cash, being in a  security-related field, and living in a settlement.

The National Rifle Association’s chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, said of the Israeli school system on Meet The Press:

“Israel had a whole lot of school shootings until they did one thing: They said, `We’re going to stop it,’ and they put armed security in every school and they have not had a problem since then.”

First off, Israel has never had a rash of school shootings.  There were two terrorists attacks on schools over the course of the last 60 years.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor spelled out the difference between the problems in America and the problems in Israel:

“We’re fighting terrorism, which comes under very specific geopolitical and military circumstances. This is not something that compares with the situation in the U.S.”

Because it is aimed at preventing terror attacks, Israel’s school security system is part of a multi-layered defense strategy that focuses on prevention and doesn’t depend on a guy at a gate with a gun.

The Israelis are also saying that the armed guards are the last line of defense with the intelligence services bearing the brunt of the strategy to stop Palestinian terrorists from attacking schools.

Israel Rejects NRA Argument About Guns In School is a post from: The Inquisitr

Charles Durning, dubbed the king of character actors, died Monday at his home in New York City.  The two time Oscar nominee was 89, and his cause of death was recorded as natural causes, his agent, Judith Moss, told the Associated Press.

Durning is best remembered for his role as the comically corrupt governor in the 1982 smash hit The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.  He was nominated for an Oscar for the role.  He has played almost every type of character in his long career from Nazi soldiers to the Pope.  A year after his role in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, he was nominated for a second Oscar for his role as an idiot Nazi officer in To Be or Not to Be. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as a policeman in Dog Day Afternoon.  He won a golden Globe for his role of John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald in the TV film The Kennedys of Massachusetts and a Tony in 1990 as Big Daddy in the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

For a very heavy man, Durning was also a prized dancer.  He met his first wife Carol while working at the same dance studio as her.

Durning really came to life on screen for his breakout role as a small town mayor in the Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning play That Championship Season in 1972. He followed up that role acting alongside Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the Oscar winning hit The Sting.  He has also played roles in Tootsie, The Muppet Movie, The Front Page, The Hindenburg, ‘O Brother Where Art Though, Spy Hard, Dick Tracy, and I Would be Called John: Pope John XXIII 

Durning was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008.  

He told the Associated Press at the time:

“I never turned down anything and never argued with any producer or director. If I’m not in a part, I drive my wife crazy. I’ll go downstairs to get the mail, and when I come back I’ll say, ‘Any calls for me?’”

Before becoming an actor, Durning had served his country as an infantryman during World War II.  He was among the first wave of soldiers who stormed the beach at Normandy.  He was the only member of his unit to survive, taking a bullet to the leg.  He was captured at the Battle of the Bulge and survived a massacre of war prisoners before the Germans surrendered.  He was awarded the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts.

Durning had three children with his first wife before a divorce in 1972.  In 1974, he married his high school sweetheart Mary Ann Amelio.  The family will lay him to rest in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Charles Durning, ‘King Of Character Actors,’ Dies In Manhattan At 89 is a post from: The Inquisitr

In an interview with Indiewire, Twilight star Kristen Stewart says that the sex scenes she filmed for her new movie On The Road are fairly ridiculous when viewed independently from the rest of the movie.  She said that, when given the option to screen them, the sex scenes are very difficult to watch.  Yet she says they fit into the movie as a whole and are very necessary to the film.

Stewart said:

“To be honest, I think if you were to isolate the scenes, it’s fairly ridiculous watching yourself fake have sex, but within the movie, watching the movie, I do get so caught up in this one. I’ve seen it three times, and that’s not typical for me. I have to complete the process, I need to watch the movie at the end of it.”

In the new adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Stewart plays Marylou, a young woman who marries Dean Moriarty (played by Garrett Hedlund), She has sex with multiple partners during the film, but she told the Huffington Post the scenes were a huge part of the film.

Stewart said to HuffPost Entertainment:

“Actresses love to stand up and say, after they’ve shown their t*ts in a movie, that it was done tastefully and that it was, you know, far from gratuitous. I mean, projects that really require it are really few and far between. And I think that in this case, it needed to be. This book celebrates being alive and it celebrates being human, and if you want to cover up and deny any aspect of that, you are denying the spirit of the book. I think that it would have been so wrong to shy away from anything in this movie. I think that I would have gotten flak for that. I think that it would have been that I was scared to disappoint my ‘Twilight’ fans or something.”

Stewart said she wouldn’t have had it any other way, saying at the fillm’s premeire at the Cannes Film Festival in May:

“I wanted to do it. I love pushing, I love scaring myself.”

Kristen Stewart: Sex Scenes Are ‘Fairly Ridiculous’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Piers Morgan, the British CNN host, is facing a significant backlash from Americans over his views on gun control. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition asking for the government to deport the talk show host over his “attack on the Second Amendment,” according to Sky News.  Petitions posted to the White House website that surpass a threshold of 25,000 signatures get an automatic response form the President.

Morgan has been incredibly outspoken in his view that America needs tougher gun control laws.  Tuesday Morgan interviewed Gun Owners of America executive director Larry Pratt.  During the interview, Pratt had suggested that the answer to the December 14 massacre in Newton, Connecticut was to have more guns on the street as opposed to less.

Morgan said to Pratt during the on camera debate:

“You’re an unbelievably stupid man, aren’t you? You have absolutely no coherent argument. You don’t actually give a damn about the gun murder rate in America.”

The petition posted to Whitehouse.gov was put there by a Texas journalist.

“The petition says that Morgan ’is engaged in a hostile attack against the US Constitution by targeting the Second Amendment. We demand that Mr Morgan be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens.’ “

Morgan claims that he has no problem with the Second Amendment even though he believes the government has every right to ban military type assault weapons.  Most Americans disagree, with a majority of citizens seeing the right to bear arms as an individual right protected by the Constitution.

Morgan took to Twitter after the interview saying:

“Ironic US gun rights campaign to deport me for ‘attacking Second Amendment rights’ – is my opinion not protected under 1st Amendment rights”?

Do you think that Piers Morgan should be deported over his Second Amendment views?

Piers Morgan: Thousands Sign Petition For His Deportation is a post from: The Inquisitr

There are a lot of proposal stories out there ranging from heartwarming to super geeky.  This one falls more on the super geeky side. One biologist, who is only identified by his username of gdiguy2, proposed to his biologist girlfriend by using a polymerase chain reaction to give her a huge surprise when she imaged his electrophoresis gel.  The word “Will You Marry Me” appeared on the test.

The proposal made its may to reddit where the kooky biologist explained how he did it.  He said:

They’re 5 sized PCR fragments (roughly 150, 300, 500, 700, 1kb), I went back through my notes to find 5 primer pairs that I knew worked pretty well (so don’t feel bad, they’re selected out of primers that had been pre-validated =p). The other lanes are just mixes of the 5 sizes (either 2:3:4 or 4:6 volume mixes going in decreasing size, since larger fragments tend to be brighter). The gel actually didn’t take that long (though it was terrifying loading it), but I made a mockup in Illustrator beforehand (along with a ladder to test what sizes to use), and then sketched it out beforehand so I knew what to add to each lane.

The man also explained that the DNA fragments were only the first step in his proposal. He actually got down on one knee and proposed orally with a bouquet of flowers and chocolates instead of pretreated DNA fragments in a gel.

The biologist also sais that he preferred his manner of proposing as opposed to one of his biologist friends who had suggested he propose to his mouse geneticist girlfriend by sewing the ring into a dead mouse and asking her to dissect it.

Does this proposal rank as the geekiest you have ever heard?

Biologist Proposes To His Girlfriend With DNA Fragments is a post from: The Inquisitr

As we count down to the end of the world, which is scheduled to take place this Friday at 11:11 am, there are a great deal of people who want to maximize their end of the year experience by getting some Apocalypse Sex.  Craigslist has seen an uptick in ads looking for  “casual encounters” and even “end of the world sex.”

The New York Post is reporting that a swimsuit model named Niki Ghazian declared to the paper:

“If I die, I don’t want to die on a dry spell! Everybody should go out feeling satisfied. If the world’s gonna end, why hold back?”

There are more than 50 announced parties at local bars and area hot spots in New York City alone that are advertising end of the world themed parties.  They are hoping that, with the end of the world on the horizon, there will be a lot of people like Ghazian who just want to show up and get some companionship and some Apocalypse sex.

Dennis Clinton, a bartender from the Lower East Side said he is going to go buy new clothes and get a haircut for the occasion, saying:

“I will be looking for an end-of-the-world hook-up. If you’re going to go out, go out with a bang.”

Sara Saperstein of Bushwick is also hoping to get one last hook up in before the world ends, telling the Post:

“It’s like New Year’s. I want to go out on a wild note.”

There will be a great amount of parties going on all over the country to welcome the coming rapture.  Check local listings for your own.

What are you looking to get out of the last night on Earth?

Apocalypse Sex: Many Looking For End Of The World Hook Up is a post from: The Inquisitr

Project Runway star Heidi Klum tweeted a picture of herself sunbathing topless on an undisclosed beach somewhere just in time for the holidays, according to the Huffington Post.  There is speculation that the 39-year-old Klum had to have a guest with her on the trip because obviously someone had to take the the photograph (picture below).

USA TODAY also ran the photo as the supermodel has no shortage of fans.  Although Klum is regularly photographed without her shirt on or at least sprouting a ton of side boob, she is definitely still a headline grabber even as she nears 40.

Klum has been all over the news this year due to her high profile divorce from famous singer Seal.  The two originally cited irreconcilable differences in their divorce filings, but it came out that Seal left Klum after he caught her having an affair with one of her body guards.

Seal said of Klum at the time that he felt that Heidi had disgraced herself by “fornicating with the help.”

A source told Radar Online at the time when Heidi dropped her argument, saying:

“Heidi felt that the children had gone through enough since their parents split, and  she didn’t want their private moments out there for the world to see. But Seal maintained he had  every right to use his personal photos —  and, moreover, that it was a done deal and out of his hands.”

Island speed… twitter.com/heidiklum/stat…

— Heidi Klum (@heidiklum) December 18, 2012

Do you think Heidi Klum is still at the top of her modeling game?

Heidi Klum Sunbathes Topless On Tropical Island [Photos] is a post from: The Inquisitr

During the 2012 Republican primaries, there was a lot of speculation that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was going to throw his hat into the ring and challenge eventual winner Mitt Romney.  A tough fiscal conservative with a socially liberal streak, Christie has been a darling of the Republican party since he unseated Governor John Corzine in New Jersey.  Now Christie is opening up as to why he didn’t run in 2012 and why he may run in 2016.

Christie said in an interview with Steve Adubato on the show Conversations at NJPAC:

“I wasn’t ready to run for President this time. If [a 2016 presidential run] comes, I know that I will be more ready for it than I would have been this year.”

Christie is the most favored candidate among national Republicans to take the nomination in 2016, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll, which was released on Tuesday.  While his approval rating among Republicans has been very high all year, it skyrocketed with his handling of the Hurricane Sandy catastrophe, which hit New Jersey a couple of months ago.

While Christie may be riding on cloud nine right now, he didn’t mince words when talking about what the Republican party faced heading into 2016.

Christie said:

“We’re not connecting with Americans on the issues that matter most to them. We haven’t had the best candidates. I believe that Mitt Romney is a good man. I was out supporting him before anyone else, but he simply didn’t connect with Americans.”

The one chink in Christie’s armor is that he took a significant amount of flak for his support of President Obama during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Criticism went from giving Obama an advantage in the election to outright being called a traitor.

Christie said of the incident:

“Mitt Romney knew that I was doing what had to be done. Then the media and political operatives got involved and it turned into a story. It’s just stupid for anyone to be upset with my reaction, even if it was a week before the election.”

Would you vote for Chris Christie in 2016?

Chris Christie Reveals Why He Didn’t Run For President is a post from: The Inquisitr

With Mark Sanchez’s four interceptions thrown on Monday, the New York Jets lost their shot at making the playoffs this year. Now rumors are beginning to circulate that this will not only affect the future of Mark Sanchez but backup quarterback Tim Tebow as well.  League Sources are telling ESPN that the Jets are considering trading Mark Sanchez in the offseason and that Tim Tebow might ask for a trade to get back in the game after hardly seeing any playing time this year at all.

When it comes to Sanchez, the team may have a really difficult time finding a taker.  Sanchez is still owed $8.25 million dollars of guaranteed money for 2013, and, since the Jets have proven unwilling to give Tim Tebow a chance to play, they will have to explore other options at quarterback.

The Jets have benched Mark Sanchez in favor of third string backup quarterback Greg McElroy, and it looks like they will be going with him for the remainder of the season.  Sanchez has thrown 25 interceptions this season, the highest in the league.

Tebow has finally started to voice his frustration with the season and his lack of playing time.  Sources are saying he is going to ask for a trade, and the Jets will be willing to oblige him.  Tebow voiced his frustration with being passed over for the starters job last week in favor of McElroy and openly admits he has no idea why the Jets traded for him last march.

Tebow told the media after Monday’s game about his being a Jet next season:

“I’m not sure. It’s something we’ll talk about after the season. I haven’t asked for a trade yet”

In addition too the salary limitation for trading Sanchez, the Jets face a salary cap penalty of $17.1 for moving Sanchez in 2013. They can spread that charge out for two years if they move him before June 1.

Tebow, who has played in only 70 offensive snaps, was at a loss to explain why the Jets wanted him in the first place.

“Some things are hard to understand. All you can ask for, all you want is a chance — a chance to go out and play the game you love and help this team win football games. That’s all I wanted. I tried to make the most of every opportunity I had. I would’ve loved to have had more.”

Do you think the Jets should just rebuild the position of quarterback without Sanchez and Tebow?

New York Jets Consider Trading Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow May Also Ask For Trade [Source] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Australian musician Peter Andre was being comforted at his home last night after losing his brother Andrew Andre to a battle with kidney cancer.  Andrew was diagnosed with kidney cancer in February and was progressing well in his treatments until he took a turn for the worse earlier last month.  Peter, his parents, and Andrew’s wife and children were at his bedside when he passed. Andrew Andre was 54 years old.

Peter Andre, whose musical career has blown up in recent years, was also married to Glamour model Katie Price Jordan.

A spokesman for Peter Andre told the press:

“Peter is devastated. He was very, very close to his brother. This is the very first family member Peter has experienced losing. He just needs time to grieve.”

A family friend told the Mirror:

“Everyone was with him when he passed away. They all did everything they could for Andrew and there wasn’t one waking minute when he wasn’t with somebody.”

Andrew and Peter’s brother Chris also confirmed Andrew’s passing on Facebook last night.

Chris wrote:

“Love you my brother. Never to be forgotten, i’ll see you when i get up there someday. Until then rest in peace and enjoy the tranquility.”

Michael Andre, another one of Andrew’s brother took to Twitter to let the world know of Andrew’s passing.

R.I.P. my beautiful brother. 

— Michael Andre (@mrmichaelandre) December 18, 2012

Peter andre has been touring the world on his “Up Close And Personal” Tour. He cancelled his remaining tour dates this month to be with Andrew.  Peter also moved Andrew into his personal home and hired a team of specialists to take over his care.  There is no date for when Peter plans to begin touring again.

Peter had given an interview with Andrew on one of his many reality show appearances and said when he learned his brother was sick:

“I was horrified, so shocked, and I broke down. The tears were just rolling down my face and I’ve cried every day since.”

Andrew Andre Dies Of Kidney Cancer At Age 54, Peter Andre Devastated is a post from: The Inquisitr

In the wake of the horrible massacre that left 20 children and 8 adults dead in Newton, Connecticut, there is another problem of dealing with the trauma those still alive are facing. One Lutheran group, Lutheran Church Charities of Addison, Illinois, is sending in the dogs … literally.   The group has sent eight golden retrievers to the area to help comfort the survivors at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Lutheran Church Charities President Tim Hetzner told the Chicago Tribune that the dogs “are nonjudgmental. They are loving. They are accepting of anyone.”

The dogs are sent anywhere in the country where the church feels they are needed.  The breed is known for their overabundance of kindness, and their presence is very soothing, according to Yahoo News.

Lynn Buhrke, 66, who is a handler for a female golden retriever name Chewie, told the Associated Press:

“The dogs have become the bridge. People just sit down and talk to you.”

The dogs have already made an appearance sunday at the Christ the King Lutheran Church.  The church held funerals for two of the victims that day.

Hetzner told the Associated Press:

“You could tell which ones … were really struggling with their grief because they were quiet. They would pet the dog, and they would just be quiet.”

The Lutheran group started the comfort dog program in 2008.  At that time, there was a shooting at Northern Illinois University that killed five students.  The dogs were able to provide a healthy distraction to those students who were overcome with grief.

The dog program started with a handful of dogs, but now the Lutheran Church Charities boasts of more than 60 dogs on their website.

Golden Retrievers Sent To Newton To Comfort Survivors is a post from: The Inquisitr

National Review, one of America’s leading conservative publications, published an in house editorial on the Newton massacre saying that mass killings are the price a free society has to pay to have the second amendment.  The article was not written as a cautionary tale.  The editors of National Review believe that Americans who cherish the freedom to own guns have to accept that sometimes you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.

The op-ed featured on the National Review homepage said:

“The practical consequence of living for nearly two-and-a-half centuries under the almost universally benevolent protection of the Second Amendment is a society in which there are hundreds of millions of guns…Those upset with the order of things are welcome to try, and doomed to fail, to repeal the Second Amendment via the constitutional process. But the guns of America aren’t going anywhere any time soon, and generic calls to “do something” — even insofar as doing something is desirable — must reckon with this fact.

“On Friday, the president promised “meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.” We doubt that something like this is possible, in a way consistent with the principle and the fact of the Second Amendment. If the possibility of terrors like Newtown are a reminder of why we need politics, their reality is a reminder that politics can do only so much.”

The massacre in Newton has renewed a call among the left and a decent portion of the center to re-examine the ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines that expired in 2004.  There are further calls for politicians to act to further restrict gun ownership in an attempt to prevent further atrocities.

The Supreme Court, as recently as 2008, recognized gun ownership as an individual right and not a collective one conferred on the population by the government. Before 2008, it was permissible by Court precedent to put any type of restriction on guns that the country felt fit as the right was viewed as collective.  The Court recently has struck down all types of laws that banned concealed weapons and restricted the purchases of the most commonly used murder weapon in the country, handguns.

Politico’s Dylan Byers writes on their website that the argument posed by National Review basically comes down to “preventing more tragedies might be possible, but it is not possible unless you repeal the Second Amendment, which you cannot do. Thus, therefore, ergo: The tragedy in Newtown, Conn., is a price that is paid for protection of the Second Amendment.”

The question that policy makers will face in the coming months is what type of regulations can reasonably pass Congress and will help reduce gun violence.  President Obama is turning the issue over to a committee in Congress to answer exactly that.

National Review: Massacres The Price Of The Second Amendment is a post from: The Inquisitr