U.S. SUES WELLS FARGO FOR ALLEGED MORTGAGE FRAUD

The federal government has sued Wells Fargo Bank in New York, blaming the nation’s largest originator of home mortgages for thousands of loan defaults over the last decade.

A civil mortgage fraud lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars that the Federal Housing Administration, which insured the loans, had to pay out after borrowers defaulted.

The lawsuit charges San Francisco-based Wells Fargo with falsely certifying that its loans met the standards necessary to be eligible for government insurance. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says the bank’s plan to reward employees for the number of loans they approved “was an accelerant to a fire already burning.”

This marks the fifth lawsuit that the government has brought against major lenders over mortgage practices.

Wells Fargo & Co. has denied the allegations and is promising a vigorous defense.

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LEADER CALLS FOR ‘HOLY JIHAD’ TO TAKE JERUSALEM FROM ISRAEL

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide – the group’s highest ranking official — is calling on the Muslim world to carry out “holy jihad” against Israel and capture Jerusalem. Mohammed Badie’s remarks were reported Thursday by AFP:

“Jerusalem is Islamic … and nobody is entitled to make concessions” on the Holy City, said Sheikh Mohammed Badie in his weekly message to supporters.

“The jihad for the recovery of Jerusalem is a duty for all Muslims,” he said, stressing that the liberation of the Holy City “will not be done through negotiations or at the United Nations.”

Badie said that because “the Zionists only understand force,” Muslims should sidestep any efforts at negotiation with Israel. The Times of Israel provided more quotes from the Muslim Brotherhood leader’s anti-Jewish message [emphasis added]:

Egypt’s foremost Muslim Brotherhood official called on the Arab world Thursday to replace negotiations with Israel with “holy Jihad,” claiming that if Jews are allowed to pray on the Temple Mount they will destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and supplant it with the third temple. […]

“The time has come for the Islamic nation to unite around one man for the sake of Jerusalem and Palestine,” Badie said. “The Jews have dominated the land, spread corruption on earth, spilled the blood of believers and in their actions profaned holy places, including their own.”

“Zionists only understand the language of force and will not relent without duress,” Badie continued. “This will only happen through holy Jihad, high sacrifices and all forms of resistance. The day they realize we will march this path and raise the banner of Jihad for the sake of God, is the day they will relent and stop their tyranny.”

NBC‘S MATT LAUER CAN’T CONTAIN DISGUST WITH ROBERT GIBBS OVER BIG BIRD AD: ‘IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS’ OR JUST TRYING TO ‘GET ATTENTION’?

You know the fallout behind a campaign move is bad when the morning mainstream media is even expressing disgust. And that‘s exactly what NBC’s Matt Lauer did on the “Today” show on Wednesday morning with Obama campaign representative Robert Gibbs over the Obama-approved Big Bird ad.

The ad, which mocks Mitt Romney for going after PBS funding, has become a laughing stock among both conservatives and liberals who have skewered it as beneath the campaign of a sitting president. And on Wednesday, Lauer made it a little personal by adding his thoughts in an interview with Gibbs.

“I have to be honest with you, I personally was a bit surprised that the campaign released this Big Bird ad yesterday,” Lauer said. “I mean, is that the kind of political ad that a campaign releases when it feels it has ideas and solutions on its side, or is that the kind of political ad a campaign releases when it simply wants to get attention?”

Gibbs responded by twisting Romney’s position, saying the governor wants to end “Downton Abbey” and “go to war” with Sesame Street instead of holding Wall Street accountable. “And, look, we can’t have a president who does that.”

Lauer’s disgust, however, was obvious.

“And I find it hard to believe I’m asking this question here this morning, but will the campaign take Bird Bird out of its ads?” he asked with a smirk.

MULTIPLE TWITTER USERS THREATEN TO ASSASSINATE MITT ROMNEY: ‘SHOOT HIM DEAD’ (UPDATED)

The race to the White House can be ugly and cruel, an inconvenient truth that rears its ugly head in U.S. politics every four years. Unfortunately, there will always be those who reserve pure, unadulterated hatred for anyone they disagree with.

Nothing displays that fact more clearly than the dozens of horrific death threats made against GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney via Twitter, which were uncovered Sunday night. South Carolina attorney Todd Kincannon, who is also the former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party, took notice of the intense hatred coming from the left and directed the threatening messages to the Secret Service and FBI’s official Twitter accounts. Here are a few of the tweets:

RT @sistertoldjah: @SecretService RT @iAmBenjisLady: If Romney wins Ima Shoot his ass Its Gonna Be another JFK insident

cc: @SecretService MT @Haunter_: Romney is trying to ban tampons. Omg. I'm not even kidding, someone go with me so we can shoot him dead.

I crash that fucking airplane that that faggot nigga Romney, stab Mrs. Romney in her GOD DAMN esophagus. & won’t stop until the cops come in

Hannah freed following arrest in pipeline protest

TYLER, Texas (AP) -- Actress Daryl Hannah has been released from a Texas jail following her arrest as she protested an oil pipeline designed to bring crude from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph reported (bit.ly/QMlAo1) Saturday that Hannah was freed on $2,500 bond Thursday night, but faces criminal trespass charges. Her release came hours after being arrested in Winnsboro, about 100 miles east of Dallas.

Hannah and 78-year-old Eleanor Fairchild were arrested after blocking heavy equipment in an attempt to halt construction of the Keystone XL pipeline through Fairchild's land. Fairchild was released on a personal recognizance bond.

Hannah has long opposed TransCanada's construction of the $7 billion pipeline, which is designed to transport heavy tar-sands crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas' Gulf Coast refineries. Known for roles in dozens of movies, including "Splash" and "Kill Bill," Hannah also was arrested in August 2011 while protesting the pipeline in Washington.

Her manager, Paul Bassis, said Hannah was meeting with Fairchild when they found out the equipment was operating on the Fairchild's 90 acres.

"When people engage in civil disobedience, it's a last resort," Bassis told the Telegraph. "They do it after local, state and federal agencies fail, after the courts fail, after everything else has failed."

TransCanada said in a statement Thursday that it's "unfortunate Ms. Hannah and other out-of-state activists have chosen to break the law by illegally trespassing on private property."

Pipeline opponents argue the project is unsafe because it would be carrying heavy, acidic crude oil that could more easily corrode a metal pipe, which would lead to a spill. They also say refining the oil would further contaminate the air in a region that has long struggled with pollution.

TransCanada says its pipeline would be the safest ever built, and that the crude is no dirtier than oil currently arriving from Venezuela or parts of California.
The company began construction of that portion of the pipeline this summer after receiving the necessary permits. Some Texas landowners, joined by activists, have tried through various protests to stop or slow down construction.
Fairchild complained to the newspaper about the "pushy, bullying" tactics used by TransCanada to take her land by eminent domain. She said she never signed a land agreement with the company.
"I don't think there is an even playing field for the landowners and the pipeline company," she told the Telegraph. "Most people can't fight these big companies so they take what they want."
When given the opportunity to go home and avoid arrest, Fairchild said she did not want to abandon her friend, Hannah.
"I am not a pro at protesting, but I think it makes more of a statement to be arrested," she told the newspaper. "They need to know landowners like me are being trampled."

IRAN FREES CHRISTIAN PASTOR, SENDS HIS LAWYER TO COUNTRY‘S ’MOST DANGEROUS’ PRISON

 Youcef Nadarkhani, a former Muslim turned Christian convert who had been imprisoned since 2009 for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. Both the pastor and his supporters breathed a sigh of relief when he was released from prison in early September, however, the victory turned out to be bittersweet when the attorney responsible for Nadarkhani’s release was, in turn, imprisoned.

Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, the human rights attorney who represented Pastor Youcef is now slated to serve a hefty prison sentence in what reports indicate is one of Iran’s most dangerous prisons. Dadkhah had represented other religious and political prisoners and been convicted previously for such “crimes.”

Dadkhah, who has represented Nadarkhani and who is known as a prominent human rights advocate, has allegedly been sentenced to nine years in prison for “acting against national security.” [...]

As The Blaze has reported for months, Nadarkhani’s charges were waged over his conversion from Islam to Christianity. Dadkhah’s sentencing, it seems, has resulted from his defense of the pastor and others who were detained following Iran’s disputed 2009 elections. In addition to his alleged prison sentence, the lawyer has reportedly been banned from teaching in Iranian universities and from practicing law for the next 10 years.

The beleaguered attorney’s imprisonment has also sparked outrage within the human rights movements, particularly with Amnesty International. “Iranian human rights defender and lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah must be immediately and unconditionally released,” Amnesty said in a statement.

Amnesty asserts that Dadkhah “is the fourth member of the CHRD to have been imprisoned in the last 18 months,“ and that ”he should never have been put on trial for his legitimate human rights activities — the Iranian authorities must overturn his conviction and sentence and release him immediately and unconditionally.”  Amnesty is also calling on the authorities to “ensure he is protected from torture or other ill-treatment” as well as be provided with an attorney of his choosing. In Iranian prisons however, especially where those charged with apostasy are concerned, torture — particularly at Evin Prison, where Dadkhah is being held — seems par for the course.

Saeed Pourheydar, an Iranian journalist and blogger who worked for “reformist newspapers,” told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) that he was arrested twice, once in 2010 and then again 2011, and that he was held as a political prisoner in Evin’s Ward 240. According to reports, Dadkah is being held in Ward 350. In a blogpost for ICHRI, Pourheydar wrote of the torture he endured during his time at Evin:

 Many of my prisoner friends inside Evin’s Ward 350, who had prior experience in solitary cells inside Wards 209, 240, and IRGC’s Ward 2-A, had been exposed to some type of psychological, mental, or physical torture. During my time in Ward 350, I was able to talk to 19 friends who had been tortured. Most of the torture took place inside the ward affiliated with the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), and depending on what the security forces decided for the prisoner, the type and intensity of the torture differed. [...] During the talks I had with my friends, they gave me a complete description of what they went through in solitary cells. The stories I heard about the horrible psychological and physical torture provided me with new insight about how brutally the regime treats its political prisoners.

Beatings, urinating on the prisoner’s head and face, hanging the prisoner by his feet, flogging, using electric shockers, hitting sensitive spots on one’s body, and one case of horrible rape using glue, were parts of the physical torture my friends told me about. Fake executions, insults and degradation, arrests of family members, threats of arresting and raping the prisoner’s wife or daughter, threatening the prisoner with the death sentence, forcing the prisoner to take psychedelics, etc., were only a small part of the psychological and mental tortures used inside the Islamic Republic prisons that these 19 prisoners experienced. Though the number of prisoners who were tortured was far more than this number, when I was inside Ward 250, I was only able to talk to 19 individuals, some of whom were unfortunately executed later and some others who continue to serve their time there.

Regardless of what ward Dadkhah is in currently, it is clear that his life and well-being are in grave jeopardy. While human rights activists and people of goodwill around the world are speaking out and navigating diplomatic channels to advocate for his release, the record of success in such instances may not favor the embattled attorney.

Ironically, the one Islamic country that is actually seeing a decline in Islam and a push among its people — particularly within its dissident movement — towards Western values, is Iran. But while a hardline Islamic regime led by the Ayatollah Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad still exists, the odds are stacked decidedly against political prisoners in the country.

DEALERSHIP ACCIDENTALLY SELLS VA. MAN AN SUV FOR $5K LESS THAN IT COSTS — THEN TELLS POLICE HE STOLE IT AND HAS HIM ARRESTED

A Virginia man is suing a Chevrolet dealership after it accidentally sold him a car for $5,600 less than it cost — and then accused him of stealing it and had him arrested, the Virginian-Pilotreported.

According to the lawsuit, Danny Sawyer, 40, purchased a black Chevrolet Traverse from Priority Chevrolet in May but returned the next morning to exchange it for a blue one. A sales manager agreed to the trade but did not say how much more the blue SUV would cost — something the dealership disputes. Still, Sawyer signed a new contract with a sales price of about $34,000 when it should have been around $39,000.

One week later, Sawyer returned home to dozens of voice messages and a letter from the dealership. The sales manager said he made a mistake and sold the car for too little, and asked Sawyer to return and sign a new, correct contract. According to the lawsuit, Sawyer refused. When he didn’t return, the dealership continued to try to contact him before finally going to the police to report the SUV had been stolen. On June 15, three police officers arrested Sawyer in front of his Chesapeake, Va. home. He was released on bond after spending four hours in jail.

Priority Chevrolet President Dennis Ellmer apologized Wednesday for Sawyer’s arrest and said the dealership “definitely made a mistake” — first with the incorrect contract and then in going to the police.

“I owe Mr. Sawyer a big apology,” Ellmer told the Virginian-Pilot. “It is my plan to let him keep the $5,600 and to make Mr. Sawyer right. I can’t tell you how I plan to fix it, but it is my intention to make it right.”

Rebecca Colaw, Sawyer’s attorney, told the newspaper her client appreciates Ellmer taking responsibility but said “an apology is not enough.”

Sawyer has filed two lawsuits accusing the dealership of malicious prosecution, slander and defamation, among others, and is seeking $2.2 million in damages, plus attorney fees.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Nancy Parr told the Virginian-Pilot her office dropped all charges against Sawyer due to insufficient evidence.

DOG SURVIVES 11-MILE RIDE AFTER GETTING HIT — THEN WEDGED IN A CAR GRILLE

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (TheBlaze/AP) — A dog who survived an 11-mile ride from Massachusetts to Rhode Island after being hit by a car and wedged into the grille has been reunited with its owners.

The owners, who weren’t identified, told WPRI-TV that the dog’s survival is a “miracle.”

East Providence Animal Control supervisor William Muggle said the owners claimed “Suzie” on Tuesday after seeing news reports. Animal control tells The Providence Journal they had veterinary paperwork with the dog’s microchip number.

“One of the more bizarre stories by far,” Muggle said. “We’ve never come across anything like this.”

Muggle also detailed the bizarre story, claiming that the female poodle mix ran in front of a car in Taunton, Mass., Sept. 20. The driver slammed on the brakes but didn’t see the dog.

Muggle said another motorist noticed it when the driver reached East Providence. Animal control officers were able to free the fluffy white pooch, which suffered a concussion and minor injuries. WPRI-TV has more about what unfolded when the other motorist noticed Suzie:

“She was kind of wedged in there with the license plate and the license plate cover,” said Muggle.

Muggle rushed to the scene and tried to pull the dog out, not knowing if she would survive.

“She was holding on to the front bumper, holding on for dear life if it were,” he said.

Amazingly, the dog was nearly unscathed. She had a concussion which has since cleared up, and a minor bladder issue that has been fixed as well.

“This is definitely one of the luckiest dogs I’ve met.”

Hiker Who Abandoned Injured Dog on Mountain Charged With Animal Cruelty and Pressured to Give It Up

A man who left his more than 100-pound dog on a Colorado mountain after it became injured and weather conditions caused him to fear for his own safety and that of a teenage climbing companion said he has received death threats for his actions.
The German shepherd mix named Missy was found more than a week after owner Anthony Ortolani left her on Mount Bierstadt in early August. She was brought down by a group of hikers and is now doing well.
Ortolani, who has been charged with animal cruelty by investigators over the incident, paid for Missy’s vet bills and reluctantly agreed to turn over the dog to one of the rescuers, bending to criticism he has received for leaving the dog to die.

Another hiker spotted the injured dog after eight days, and volunteers coordinated a rescue effort through a climbing website. Rescuers found the dog bloodied and close to death on a ridge.
Ortolani told KMGH-TV he was forced to leave the dog on the mountain after the animal got injured. He said he and a 19-year-old friend tried to carry the 112-pound animal for more than two hours over rocky terrain, but he worried for his safety and that of the teen and had to abandon her.
“I don’t want to give her up. I love her, but those people risked life and limb to get her out of there, and that has got to be worth something,” said Ortalani, adding that he has already paid close to $5,000 in vet and boarding bills.

Ortolani was climbing with the 19-year-old son of a friend when bad weather moved in. He said the canine’s feet were blistered and she was unable to walk. He said he and his climbing companion were also struggling in the bad weather and decided it was time to come down for their own safety.
“Carrying her down, unfortunately caused her more injury,” Ortolani said. “She fought with me and squirmed off my shoulders, and I dropped her on some rocks and she got hurt worse. Everybody says `Why didn’t you go back?’ My physical condition was significantly deteriorated, my emotional condition was no good. I thought she was dead.”

Ortolani called a friend who contacted the Clear Creek County Sheriff‘s Office but was told the region was too dangerous and crews don’t rescue animals.
Ortolani acknowledged that he didn’t put up a sign on the trailhead bulletin board asking to be contacted if anyone saw his dog. He said he takes full responsibility for taking the dog with him on a hike that proved to be too difficult for her. “I’ve always wanted nothing but the best for her, and that’s why I take her everywhere with me,” he said.

The rescuers, not knowing each other before retrieving the dog, were organized online through the site 14ers.com. Discussion on the site, which KMGH reports went on for more than 49 pages, included Ortolani owning up to what he did and saying he feels “stress and sadness from the whole situation.” Here is some of what was written on the site against Ortolani’s actions:

“All I can say is, you left Missy on that mountain, and now she deserves to live with someone who cared enough to rescue her. (Seven) days she laid there bleeding, hurt, alone, tired, hungry and thirsty. Her old life ended when the people she counted on the most left her, and her new life begins with one of the rescuers, or anyone who won’t abandon her, for that matter,” one poster wrote.
Another wrote, “I feel that the owner should spend 8 days and nights on the Sawtooth himself without water, food, shelter. Then I would advocate that he has earned a slight chance to get her back. Sorry but the owner left her for dead. I would not have, even in pain I would have found friends, searched for help, posted signs, something.”

Romney Essentially Calls Obama a Liar: ‘The President Tends to, How Shall I Say it, to Say Things That Aren‘t True’

Mitt Romney said preparation for his upcoming debates against President Barack Obama has led him to recognize that Obama tends to “say a lot of things that aren’t true” — essentially calling him a liar.


In an interview with George Stephanopolos for ABC News’ “Good Morning America” broadcast Friday, the Republican presidential nominee was asked what he’s learned about Obama as a debater, with the two set to face off for the first time Oct. 3. Romney responded that he thinks Obama is “going to say a lot of things that aren’t accurate.”

“I think the challenge that I’ll have in the debate is that the president tends to, how shall I say it, to say things that aren’t true,” Romney said. “I’ve looked at prior debates. And in that kind of case, it’s difficult to say, ‘Well, am I going to spend my time correcting things that aren’t quite accurate? Or am I going to spend my time talking about the things I want to talk about?’”

Pressed how he would respond to that when facing off against Obama, Romney replied, “it’s a challenge you always have. And that’s a judgment you make.”

US adds cancer to list of illnesses linked to 9/11 terror attacks

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health approved the additions to the list of illnesses covered in the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which were proposed in June. The updated regulations take effect 30 days after the ruling is published in the Federal Register.

The decision "marks an important step in the effort to provide needed treatment and care to 9/11 responders and survivors," said Dr. John Howard, administrator of the World Trade Center Health Program established by the Zadroga law.
The Zadroga Act — named after NYPD Detective James Zadroga, who died at age 34 after working at ground zero — was signed into law nearly two years ago. Despite the hundreds of sick responders, the act did not cover cancer because of a supposed lack of scientific evidence linking cancer to ground zero toxins.

---

"We are getting sick in record numbers," said Ray Pfeiffer, a first responder who was diagnosed three years ago with kidney cancer. He said it has been a struggle to pay for expensive medications not fully covered by his insurance.
"It's fantastic news," he said of the expanded list of covered illnesses.

About 400 residents and rescue workers have died from cancer since 9/11, according to the New York Post.

With cancer included in the program more victims are likely to seek compensation, which could cause individual awards to be reduced as officials divide up the $2.77 billion fund.
"They’re going to add cancers, but are they going to add more money to the fund?" Thomas "T.J." Gilmartin, who suffers from lung disease and sleep apnea, said to the Post. "It’s crazy. Every time, we gotta fight. It’s two years since Obama signed that bill, and nobody’s got 10 cents."
"We fought long and hard to make sure that our 9/11 heroes suffering from cancers obtained from their work at ground zero get the help they deserve," U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles E. Schumer, both of New York, said in a statement. "Today's announcement is a huge step forward that will provide justice and support to so many who are now suffering from cancer and other illnesses. We will press on - with advocates, the community, and our partners in government - to ensure that all those who suffered harm from 9/11 and its aftermath get the access to the program they so desperately need."

Last week, the New York City Fire Department added nine names to the 55 already etched on a wall honoring members who have died of illnesses related to ground zero rescue and recovery work, Reuters reported.
Some estimates put the overall death toll from 9/11-related illness at more than 1,000, according to Reuters. At least 20,000 ground zero workers are being treated across the country and 40,000 are being monitored by the World Trade Center Health Program, Reuters reported.
Tuesday marks the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Last fall, the September 11 Memorial at ground zero finally opened in the footprints of the original towers. Since then, more than 4 million people have visited.
Financial, security and design setbacks have delayed the redevelopment of the World Trade Center in the past decade. A recent project audit indicates that overall site redevelopment costs have grown to nearly $15 billion.

One World Trade Center is nearing completion and is expected to open in 2014.

Did You Know It’s National Preparedness Month? Here Are Tips From the Experts on How To Be Ready

What does emergency preparedness mean to you? For some, it means having a flashlight (bonus if it has working batteries). Others are a bit more advanced with a “72-hour kit“ or ”bug out bag” — basically the essentials to maintain life for a short period of time. Then there are those who build bunkers and go on extreme coupon benders to stock up on supplies.
Given that it’s National Preparedness Month, an annual awareness month hosted in September by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, TheBlaze decided to speak with some of those in the preparedness movement that we’re familiar with (via The Marketplace by TheBlaze) and get some practical tips about getting ready for emergencies.
“This year’s wildfires, the derecho, and Hurricane Isaac are all important reminders that disasters can happen anytime and anywhere,” FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said in a statement. “By taking steps now to prepare for emergencies, we ensure that our families and communities are prepared to respond and recover from all types of disasters and hazards. Together, our efforts will build a stronger and more resilient nation.”
Mike Porenta, chief of operations for the American Preppers Network, said that being ready for disaster — whether it be a natural event, epidemic sickness or terrorist attack — is more than just having stocks of water. He also said it shouldn‘t take a huge investment to adequately prepare one’s family for an emergency.
In its own statement regarding National Preparedness Month, APN states that it takes FEMA’s suggestions as a baseline but that it wants people to focus more on preparedness with an edge for self-reliance:

FEMA’s information is solid, it’s great – it’s also simple and short-sighted. In seeking a simple and structured solution, they have completely overlooked teaching self-reliance. In fact, their model expects you to NOT be self-reliant. They want you to prepare to live until they get to you. We want you to prepare so that when/if they get to you, you say no-thanks and send them away. Preppers do not belong in shelters. We belong in our homes if we’re bugging in or in out BOL if we’re bugging out. We do not rely on nor do we need FEMA or anyone else to come rescue us and take care of us.

Get to know your neighbors now

Porenta‘s number one suggestion is to get to know your neighbors before you’re in an emergency situation. There is a benefit in banding together as a group in an emergency, but he said doing so after a disaster strikes is not the best time.
Stating what he hopes is common sense, Porenta notes you shouldn’t approach neighbors with only preparedness plans in mind — “you don’t want to scare them off” — but doing so tactfully could give neighbors a strong network.
Porenta is clear to point out that not everyone is going to jump on this preparedness bandwagon.
“You can’t train the mentality of preparedness,” Porenta said. But finding others around you who would want to work together in an emergency could be enough to help those nearby as a whole if the time ever came.
Plan on a group scale
After finding neighbors interested in preparing, Porenta said the next step is to establish a plan.
“Just like when you have an escape route plan … discuss who will be the most in need in the event of a disaster,” he said. “Identify the weakest people in the neighborhood who would need help, the people who are really struggling.”
These people could vary depending on the situation. Elderly may be limited in a physical disaster, but during economic collapse, consider those who might be on food stamps and how to help them should that service ever be cut off.
“Just get three to four families like you feel like you can connect with and figure out a plan for your area. Figure out the most likely disaster your area could experience – plants closing, natural disaster — and plan accordingly.
Stock up on what matters
Although it may seem like a good idea to have a large stockpile of canned goods in your basement, Porenta said that might not be as useful as you would think.
“People think about food the most, but they haven’t taken into consideration shelter … or access to water,” he said.
In a situation where “normal American life can’t continue, figure out your most essential human needs” and gather those items (or learn how to safely obtain them if you can’t gather them per se):

1. Oxygen
2. Water and water test kits
3. Shelter
4. Food

What would Porenta say is the most valuable tool to have on hand? A chainsaw. But before you go rushing out to buy a brand new chainsaw, he said you are more likely to find a quality used chainsaw in the local classifieds for as much as or less than a brand new.
Porenta said chainsaws can be used to chop items blocking roadways or get through rubble to help rescue someone who is trapped.
The ease of cleaning and storing water is another measure Porenta highlighted.
“There are tons of amazing products that will help you with filtration,” he said, specifically mentioning a straw with a filter built-in that can clean up to 50 gallons of water directly. (A straw similar to what Porenta describes can be found here. )

PICTURE OF TODDLERS’ POTTY TRAINING IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESTAURANT DINING ROOM GOES VIRAL

Here’s how Decker described the incident at the Thanksgiving Point Deli:

“I noticed that this lady was having her two — she had two twins, two little girls about 2-and-a-half years old, sitting on what I thought were booster seats,” Decker said.

But after doing a double take, she realized they weren’t booster seats, they were child port-a-potties.

“She had to undo the jumpsuits, and take them all the way down so they were completely nude, with the jumpsuits down to their ankles just eating their chicken nuggets, sitting on little toddler potties,” Decker said.

 Although I try my hardest not to judge other moms, I was TOTALLY grossed out by the image of a mom potty training her nude toddlers while they snacked on chicken nuggets at a Utah restaurant.  Potty training stinks, no pun intended.  I’ve done it four times and I’m not looking forward to number five.

[...]

When people go out to eat, they deserve to enjoy their meal, not to be exposed to pooping toddlers.  And I’m leaving the smell and sanitation components out of it.  Sorry, but to me this mom made the wrong choice.

A spokesperson for the deli saying staff didn’t realize what was going on until it was too late. The restaurant received several complaints from patrons.

PRESIDENT OBAMA ISSUES MAJOR ‘GREEN ENERGY’ EXECUTIVE ORDER

Between conservatives focusing all their attention on the successes/failures of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., and the left having a meltdown over the supposed “racism” and unprecedented disrespect of Clint Eastwood’s “Empty Chair” routine, little attention has been given to an executive order issued last Thursday by President Barack Obama that targets industrial “efficiency” and carbon emissions.

“Today, we are taking another step to strengthen American manufacturing by boosting energy efficiency for businesses across the nation,” said President Obama.

“This action will cut costs, increase efficiency, and help our businesses create strong, middle class jobs.  We’ll continue to do everything we can to put more people back to work and build an economy that lasts,” he added.

The order, which aims to increase the number of cogeneration plants in the U.S. by 50 percent by 2020 and slash carbon emissions by 150 million tons per year, is the administration’s latest effort to “deploy cleaner and more efficient energy production in the country by working around political resistance to climate change and ‘green’ energy legislation on Capitol Hill,” Reuters reports.

“The Federal Government has limited but important authorities to overcome … barriers, and our efforts to support investment in industrial energy efficiency and CHP [Combined heat and power] should involve coordinated engagement with a broad set of stakeholders,” the order says.

Translation: If duly elected representatives of the people get in the way of “climate change” (formerly known as “global warming,“ formerly known as ”global cooling”) legislation, work around them.

“The man is legislating by presidential fiat!” conservative author and radio show host Mark Levin said Friday. “This is unconstitutional.”

The order dictates that the Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency coordinate their actions to provide “policy and technical assistance” to states in order to ensure energy efficiency targets are being met.

What could possibly go wrong?

The order also “establishes a new national goal of 40 gigawatts of new combined heat and power capacity by 2020, a 50% increase from today,” according to a statement from the White House.

“Meeting this goal would save energy users $10 billion per year, result in $40 to $80 billion in new capital investment in manufacturing and other facilities that would create American jobs, and would reduce emissions equivalent to 25 million cars,” the statement adds.

Sure, it sounds nice and (like most things in this administration) it promises a great return on investment, but are there any possible downsides to this executive order?

“This is a fiat from on high for these utilities to change the way they process energy — anenormous capital expense and many of them are going to close down,” Levin argued. “And they only have eight years to do it as part of this ‘cap-and-trade,‘ ’green’ energy, ‘climate change’ bull crap.”

“You’re going to see your bills go up, up, and up some more. And you’re going to see brownouts and one day blackouts,” he added.

Pentagon: Ex-SEAL faces legal action for book

The Pentagon warned a former Navy SEAL that he faces legal action and loss of the profit for writing a book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a letter released Thursday night.

The letter, addressed to Mark Owen, the pseudonym forMatt Bissonnette, alleges that he broke two non-disclosure agreements. He signed the agreements after leaving the Navy in April 2012 and in 2007, and they prevent him from releasing classified information.

It was sent to Bissonnette by Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's top lawyer.

"I write to formally advise you of your material breach and violation of your agreements, and to inform you that the (Pentagon) is considering pursuing against you, and all those acting in concert with you, all remedies legally available to us in light of this situation," Johnson wrote in the letter, which was sent in care of the publisher, Penguin Putnam.

The book, No Easy Day, gives a first-hand account of the May 2011 raid that killed bin Laden, the terror mastermind. Bissonnette did not submit the book to the Pentagon for pre-publication review as required by the military, according to the Pentagon.

Dutton, the publisher, has maintained that the book does not disclose secret information. It goes on sale Tuesday.

It's unclear how far the military is willing to go in punishing a member of the team that killed bin Laden after a decade on the run.

• 
  By Anjum Naveed, AP
  Pakistani army troops guard the perimeter of the compound where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was caught and killed by U.S. forces in he letter, addressed to Mark Owen, the pseudonym forMatt Bissonnette, alleges that he broke two non-disclosure agreements. He signed the agreements after leaving the Navy in April 2012 and in 2007, and they prevent him from releasing classified information.

ROSEANNE BARR: MOST BILLIONAIRES ‘VIOLENT PEDOPHILES’ & ‘HEARTLESS’ COCAINE ADDICTS

“Comedienne” and aspiring presidential candidate Roseanne Barr took to Twitter for another one of her wild rants Sunday, alleging that the wealthy are predominantly violent, lawless criminals.

Barr began, seemingly taking the idea of “class warfare” to heart:

"most billionaires r violent pedophiles & consumers of violent pedo porn. they get a kick out of being heartless cruel empty cocaine addicts."

The actress then told readers to “feel free” to offer ideas on what she should do in her “first week in office” as president.

After re-tweeting a number of comments, including an FDR quote, Barr dramatically adjusted her tone and encouraged the country to build “unity and consensus”:

For those who don’t recall, Barr also called for the rich to be “beheaded” in an interview with Russia Today last year.

“[All] of my ideas R based in socialism. I’m the opposite of Ayn Rand, who was a capitalist fanatic free market fundamentalist,” she explained in her most recent tweet, as of this article’s publication.

Noel Sheppard at Newsbusters simply commented: “And this woman actually used to have her own television show.”

HANDWRITING EXPERT TO REVIEW OBAMA‘S SIGNATURE ON LETTERS TO FALLEN SEALS’ FAMILIES, WH DENIES ‘AUTOPEN’ CLAIMS

The Obama White House is denying claims that the letters sent to families of fallen Navy SEALs were signed by an electronic autopen that can replicate his signature. But a veterans group isn’t ready to just take the administration at its word and has vowed to get to the bottom of “autopen-gate,” FoxNews.com reports.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Friday that every letter sent to families of slain service members is signed by the hand of President Obama.

“The President signs every such letter personally,” he said.

Even so, Veterans for a Strong America, a nonpartisan military watchdog group, says it will hire a handwriting expert to determine whether the letters sent to the parents of Navy SEALs killed in Afghanistan were signed by the commander-in-chief or by the previously mentioned electronic autopen.

Karen and Billy Vaughn, whose son Aaron Vaughn was one of 17 SEALs and 13 other Americans killed in a helicopter crash Aug. 6, 2011, raised the issue at a Tea Party rally in Tampa during the Republican National Convention. Karen Vaughn said she compared the signature on her letter, dated Sept. 23, 2011, with those received by other families of SEALs and determined the signature was mechanical.

An autopen is a machine that can be programmed to duplicate an individual’s John Hancock. Seen as more personal than a stamp but less than a hand-signature, the device was first used in the White House by President Harry Truman. President Obama made history when he became the first chief executive to use the device to sign a bill, authorizing its use to extend key provisions of the Patriot Act last year while he was in France.

Aaron Vaughn was part of a rescue team that was sent to a mountainous area in the Wardak Providence in August of last year to assist an Army Ranger unit that was under heavy fire. The team had completed their mission but their Chinook helicopter was shot down as they were departing. Nearly 40 people perished, marking it one of the deadliest single incident losses in the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

“After reviewing letters from several families of fallen Navy SEALs, it appears that the letters may have been auto-penned, so we are going to have nationally recognized handwriting experts review the letters given the strong circumstantial evidence which exists in this case,” Joel Arends, chairman of Veterans for a Strong America said in a statement to FoxNews.com.

Arends is also peeved that the condolences were merely form letters, with only the names of the recipients changed. That’s something the White House had no choice but to admit — and they did. However, officials added that presidents have always sent form letters, especially when war deaths stack up.

According to FoxNews.com, Newsweek started a media firestorm in 2003 by reported that condolence letters from the President George W. Bush were form letters, “With the exception of the salutation and a reference to the fallen soldier in the text.”

Yet the Washington Times reported in 2008 that President Bush had also sent personalized letters to roughly 4,000 families of fallen soldiers and 9/11 victims. It was a gesture that reportedly went largely unrecognized by the media.

CJD Says No Pay for Orie Melvin During Her Interim Suspension

The state Court of Judicial Discipline has ordered that Justice Joan Orie Melvin not be paid during her interim suspension.

A six-judge panel of the CJD issued a 45-page opinion and order on Thursday, voting 5-1 to suspend Orie Melvin's pay.

The opinion, issued by Judge Robert E.J. Curran, said Orie Melvin was "so single-mindedly occupied with achieving personal aggrandizement that she pressured, intimidated and bullied her clerks and secretaries into performing work on her political campaigns in violation of a pledge each had made as a condition of their employment pursuant to an order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania."

"This intimidation and bullying was relentless and continued over long periods of time," Curran said.

CJD President Judge Bernard L. McGinley dissented but did not file an opinion.

Orie Melvin was suspended in May from her duties on the state's high court after charges were filed against her for allegedly using her Superior Court judicial staff and the state Senate staff of her sister to help Orie Melvin run for Supreme Court.

"In these circumstances only an order of interim suspension which removes this respondent from the public payroll has any prospect of ameliorating the harm to the public's confidence in the judicial system which has been caused by respondent's conduct which has led to the pending charges against her," Curran said.

Curran was joined by Judges John W. Morris, Charles A. Clement Jr., John R. Cellucci and Timothy F. McCune.

Orie Melvin was charged by the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office on May 18 with nine criminal counts alleging she used legislative and judicial staff to perform campaign work.

On May 22, the CJD issued an order suspending Orie Melvin with pay based on the recommendation of the Judicial Conduct Board, but called a hearing in June to allow the parties to present testimony as to whether the order should stand or the justice should be suspended without pay.

During that hearing the JCB appeared to be uninterested in presenting testimony, instead joining Orie Melvin's attorney, William "Skip" Arbuckle III of the Mazza Law Group in State College, in urging the court to defer to the parties' stipulation that the justice remain on paid suspension.

JCB Deputy Chief Counsel Francis J. Puskas II did enter five items into evidence — the grand jury presentments and police complaints against both Orie Melvin and her sister, former state Senator Jane Orie, as well as witness testimony from Orie's preliminary hearing — but said the JCB did not wish to present live testimony and was instead taking the position that Orie Melvin's paid suspension should stand.

However, Curran, flanked by former President Judge Morris and Magisterial District Judge Clement Jr., said the parties' agreement "overlooks or ignores" the primary function of the CJD, which he said is to protect the integrity of the state's judicial system.

The court scheduled a second hearing for August 14, during which, according to thePittsburgh Post-Gazette, Puskas argued in favor of suspending Orie Melvin's pay.

In Thursday's opinion, Curran said the court based its ruling on the arguments at those two hearings as well as on "the charges contained in the criminal information filed by the District Attorney as well as the testimony which led the grand jury to make the recommendations set out in its presentment as well as the testimony and exhibits presented at the preliminary hearing."

According to Curran, Orie Melvin had argued that both the federal and state constitutions prohibit challenging a sitting judge's pay.

Orie Melvin also argued, according to Curran, that her pay should not be suspended because when public officials are impeached they continue to receive their pay until they're convicted by the Senate.

But Curran disagreed.

"This argument is off-point and unpersuasive, especially when one considers that the Constitution specifically bestows upon this court the authority to suspend a judge without pay for an interim period; and, indeed, we recognize that the conference of that authority subsumes the obligation to do so in a proper case," Curran said. "We think it is better that we look for policy guidance in that part of the Constitution which deals with our function rather than in those parts which don't."

Curran also rejected Orie Melvin's argument that the criminal charges against her are weak.

"We happen to think they are strong and that they describe conduct so egregious as to require respondent's interim suspension without pay," Curran said.

Curran prefaced the court's analysis of Orie Melvin's conduct by noting, "In the process we will necessarily be expressing our view on whether the evidence presented in support of the charges is 'weak' as counsel so persistently insists it is."

Curran said Orie Melvin and her counsel have maintained that the justice had no knowledge that any of her employees or her sister and office manager, Janine Orie, were engaging in illegal political activities.

"As a matter of fact, counsel challenged the board 'to point to any place in the transcript where evidence could be found which would establish otherwise,'" Curran said, quoting the transcript from the August 14 hearing. "We have accepted that challenge and have reviewed the notes of testimony of the preliminary hearing; and we found a record brimming with evidence establishing 'otherwise.'"

For example, Curran said, Lisa Sasinoski, who was Orie Melvin's chief law clerk on the Superior Court, testified at the preliminary hearing that she used to drive Orie Melvin to political events both during and after work hours and that she handed out political brochures and passed out nominating petitions at many of those events.

Sasinoski also testified that she and Orie Melvin would often talk about the speeches Sasinoski had written or helped write for the justice, according to Curran.

"We think it is likely that the commonwealth will be able to establish: that respondent knew it was Lisa Sasinoski who was driving the car; that respondent knew that it was Lisa Sasinoski who was helping her at the political events; that respondent knew who Lisa Sasinoski was and knew that she worked for her in her Superior Court office; that respondent knew that Lisa Sasinoski was paid by the Superior Court; that respondent knew that Lisa Sasinoski was not paid by her or by the 'Joan Orie Melvin Campaign'; that respondent knew that Lisa Sasinoski was prohibited from engaging in any 'partisan political activity' by an order of the Supreme Court; that respondent knew that Lisa Sasinoski was violating that order because she knew Lisa Sasinoski was a court-appointed employee and was engaging in partisan political activity on respondent's behalf; [and] that respondent knew that she was prohibited from diverting the services of Lisa Sasinoski for her own benefit by Section 3926(b) of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code which designated the crime as a felony," Curran said.

Curran also relied on the preliminary hearing testimony of another of Orie Melvin's former Superior Court clerks, Molly Creenan, who claimed that she had confronted Orie Melvin about having staff perform campaign work.

Creenan "practically begged her to stop demanding that the staff continue to violate the order prohibiting them from engaging in such political activity; but respondent didn't stop," according to Curran.

"Molly Creenan continued to get political assignments and when she refused to disobey the Supreme Court's order, respondent mocked her with a note asking 'Are you above this?'" Curran said. "This intimidation was backed up by loss of favor [of the boss and her deputy-sister], and discharge — and fear thereof. Respondent's judicial staffers were confronted with the prototypical 'Hobson's choice': their choice was either obey respondent's commands and risk being fired by the Supreme Court, or disobey her commands and risk being fired by her."

Arbuckle did not return a call for comment late Thursday afternoon.