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President Obama arrived in Russia today to find the already failing relations with his host in even worse condition. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to provide his Syrian allies with a missile shield in the event of U.S. airstrikes further complicates Obama’s flagging effort to win international support for an attack on Damascus. As the Guardian reports, Putin’s warning that an attack without UN backing would provoke military aid from Russia may drive away the handful of international partners for Obama’s proposed attack.

Dear [Thane_Banquo]: Thank you for contacting me in regard to recent proposals that have called for immigration reform. You taking time to share your opinion with me on this important and controversial matter is most appreciated. I wanted to share with you my principals for any acceptable reforms of our immigration system. As the grandson of immigrants, I am an advocate of legal immigration. That being said, I share your concerns about some of the immigration proposals that have recently been offered both by our President and Members of Congress. The Obama Administration and some in Congress have announced calls...

NAACP Annual Convention WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED 2013 Annual Convention, July 13 – 17, 2013, Orlando, Florida For ALL NAACP CONVENTION RELATED INQUIRIES contact the Events Planning Department at 410-580-5782.

The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald slammed NBC's "Meet the Press" host David Gregory on Sunday for asking whether he should be charged with a crime for "aiding and abetting" former government contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked classified information to him about the National Security Agency's surveillance operations. "To the extent that you have aided and abetted Snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn't you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?" Gregory asked on the news show. Greenwald immediately rejected the premise of the question, calling it an "pretty extraordinary" question for a journalist to ask another peer. "I think...

I posted the Politico story a couple days ago about here how Sharyl Attkisson has had strange computer problems ever since she started reporting things unfriendly to the Obamunist regime. That started more than one response from people here who had experienced bizarre behavior from the goverment of a repressive nature. For instance, one commenter noted: Welcome to the world of the “birthers”, Sharyl. All the corrupt tactics we “birthers” were ridiculed for mentioning because it was too “conspiratorial” are now wide out in the open. What still remains hidden to the public is what these tactics are supposed to...

Sharyl Attkisson, the Emmy-award winning CBS News investigative reporter, says that her personal and work computers have been compromised and are under investigation. "I can confirm that an intrusion of my computers has been under some investigation on my end for some months but I'm not prepared to make an allegation against a specific entity today as I've been patient and methodical about this matter," Attkisson told POLITICO on Tuesday. "I need to check with my attorney and CBS to get their recommendations on info we make public."

Mass casualty event at Boston Marathon. Reports of at least one explosion. CNN just reported as well.

The moment that made Gingrich was when he got Tip O'Neill so all fire mad that Tip made statements in violation of House rules and had his words "taken down," a major parliamentary slap on the hindquarters. You can watch the C-SPAN video here: Tip O'Neill's words taken down. Now, this week we've heard the RINOs try to slam Gingrich's attitude to Reagan's foreign policy vis-a-vis the communists, trying to claim that when the liberals in the House were criticizing Reagan's policy and threatening to cut off funding for the Contras, Gingrich was right along them agreeing with it. How...

Mitt Romney attacked his GOP presidential rival Newt Gingrich over what has to date been one of Gingrich’s most effective debate methods — going after the moderators and the media for questions he deems inappropriate. “It’s very easy to talk down a moderator,” Romney said Wednesday on Fox News. “The moderator asks a question and then has to sit by and take whatever you send to them. And Speaker Gingrich has been wonderful at attacking the moderators and attacking the media.”

When asked about his electability, Newt invoked Ronald Reagan, who was once thought unelectable — his first invocation of Reagan during the debate last night. If Mitt Romney were a yard dog, he might have fired back, “Hey, Newt, whose record are you running on — yours or Ronald Reagan’s?” Mitt Romney is not a yard dog. But he did a damned good job at the debate anyway, turning in a winning performance after his abysmal one in South Carolina. He laid several gloves on Newt, and Newt — who wore a nasty facial expression most of the night —...

My wife and I have been shooting pistols for about two years now. We really love shooting, and we want to branch out into shotgun sports, specifically sporting clays. We are looking for a shotgun to share for this purpose, preferably an auto-loader. Mrs. Thane_Banquo is 5'3'' and 112 lbs, but she is physically fit and can handle her 1911 .45 without any problems. So she isn't afraid of a little recoil. However, a 12 ga. would probably be a bit too much for her, so probably a 16 ga. or a 20 ga. We're probably looking for something in...

I'm in the market for a new revolver. The other day I went down to my local gun store and held a Smith & Wesson Thunder Ranch 325, chambered in .45 ACP with a 4" barrel. I am having a hard time finding reviews on this gun (other than from the gun mags who are paid to write good reviews on everything). Anyone here familiar with this particular revolver? How is reliability? What is the recoil like?

Lately I've had a hankering for a revolver. So today the Mrs. and I went to our local gun shop. I immediately fell in love with the S&W 686 model with the 4" barrel. But I need to decided between the 686+ or the 686 SSR. The SSR supposedly has more bells and whistles, but the 686+ is about $100 cheaper and comes with a 7 round cylinder. So to those who are familiar, is the 686 SSR worth the extra money? Most importantly, is there an appreciable difference in the action?

I have begun reading Hayek's The Road to Serfdom for the first time, and in his foreward I came across a quote from de Tocqueville's Democracy in American, followed by a comment from Hayek. What these two brilliant men wrote is so perfectly correlated with what has happened in America and is happening today that I consider it nearly prophetic. First, the quote from de Tocqueville: Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and...

I have a question on Illinois Gun Laws. I have a FOID card, of course, and I own a Stoeger Cougar 9mm. My dad is in town from Florida. He obviously doesn't have a FOID since he isn't an Illinois resident. Is there anyway he can accompany me to an IL shooting range and shoot with me?

I just bought my first gun, a Stoeger Cougar 8000, chambered in 9mm. For those of you not familiar with it, this is identical to the Beretta Cougar 8000. When Beretta bought Stoeger, they moved all their Cougar machinery from Italy to Turkey and re-started production of the Cougar under the Stoeger name. Anyway, what is your favorite ammo for target shooting? Specifically thinking FMJ, probably 115 grain (though I might eventually try 124). I have several kinds of ammo for it: American Eagle, Fiocchi, Blazer, Remington UMC, Winchester White Box, and PMC. What are your thoughts on these? I...

My wife and I are planning to buy our first handguns. My wife seems to want either one of the several S&W revolvers chambered in 357, so she can shoot 38SPL, or possibly the Walther PPK semi-auto. My dilemma is more complicated. I want a semi-auto, but have yet to pick one, but I like the Beretta PX4 Storm, the IWI Jericho/Baby Eagle (hate the Baby Eagle moniker), the S&W Sigma, or the Glock 17. Glock 17 is probably my least favorite. I've also been told by one friend to stay away from the Baby Eagle, but I've seen good...

Link to site where students rate their college professors. Apparently Ayers is nuttier than a fruitcake.

Saints, we must cotinue to pray for victory in this election! We are up against a blood red Marxist whose followers worship him as messiah and lord. We know that Marxists, when they get in power, invariably persecute the followers of Jesus. So we must, must ask the Lord to protect His church by defeating Barack Hussein Obama. Because we do not serve earthly kings or Presidents, but the High King of Heaven, and the tyrants and despots of the world have never been able to tolerate those who serve anyone but them. More and more I find the Spirit...

As the candidates make their closing arguments before the election, the race has tightened with Barack Obama now leading John McCain by 47 percent to 44 percent among likely voters, according to a FOX News poll released Thursday. Last week Obama led by 49-40 percent among likely voters. Obama has a bit more strength of support going into the final week. Among his backers, 88 percent say they support him "strongly" and 12 percent "only somewhat." For McCain, 78 percent of his voters support him "strongly" and 22 percent "only somewhat." In addition, 66 percent of Obama's supporters say it...