Beagle Scout

According to that fringe polling outfit named Gallup, a record 57% of Americans profess little or no trust in this country’s mass media to report the news fairly and accurately. What a crock! They could have put it another way: An amazing more than four out of 10 Americans (43%) may perhaps believe most everything they read in the news or see on television.

As if there’s any difference between the two, Gallup reports, “Democrats and liberals remain far more likely than other political and ideological groups to trust the media and to perceive no bias.” Interestingly, the same belief in the media’s credibility holds true for lower-income Americans and those with less education, the poll finds. While the more affluent and better-educated citizens tend to perceive more bias in the media, as if being well-educated counted for anything in perspicacity. Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com

Six inmates who escaped from the Lincoln County Jail late Monday night were captured Wednesday morning in New Orleans after spending just more than 30 hours on the run.

Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing said his deputies, assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service, apprehended the entire group in a pair of raids at separate hotels in the Big Easy around 5 a.m. and 9:05 a.m. All six escapees are being held in the Jefferson Parish Jail and could be extradited back to Lincoln County by Thursday, he said.

The apprehended escapees include Ahmad R. Butler, 22, of 920 Chippewa St.; James R. Durr, 33, of 1620 East Nola Road; Austin R. Hart, 16, of 338 Bogue Chitto Road; Bobby J. Hudson, 26, of 306 Brister St.; Justin S. Leake, 31, of 2883 Grandview Lane; and Chad M. Wallace, 29, of 148 Wakefield Lane.

Butler is facing murder charges in the June 17 killing of 21-year-old Anthony Nichols of McComb, who was shot dead near a convenience store on South First Street in Brookhaven.

Durr is charged with grand larceny of personal property, while Hart is facing charges of burglary of a motor vehicle. Rushing said Hart was being held with adult inmates because he was tried as an adult in court, adding the Lincoln County Jail doesn’t hold juveniles unless directed by the court.

The remaining three inmates face various drug charges. All were awaiting trial. Read more at www.dailyleader.com

See more at pdbwatch.blogspot.com

His real name was Xhristo Planev. He and one other man were my very best friends in Bulgaria for over 15 years. They died within three weeks of one another earlier this year. I attended the latter’s funeral but never got to visit with Xristo, or  even knew he was ill. While the other fellow, Dmitar, was a classic-rags-to-riches tale of never giving into “imperial communists”, also deserving of a story here, Xhristo was that crazy live-alone uncle no one ever wanted to show up for Thanksgiving dinner…except me.

Everyone called him Kuko, but I never did. He was always Xristo to me, and I think he appreciated it, as Kuko was more than just a diminutive nickname. It also carried a little stigma, I learned. (I’ll use it here only because it’s easier to spell.)

My first visit to Bulgaria, in 1995 was as a gun runner. Legal of course, but I was representing a US company hoping to buy various product at their national factory in the Balkan mountains. I had connections. So I was running back and forth for about four days. Across the street from my hotel was the Parliament, then behind it a magnificent cathedral named St Alexander Nevsky, and around it a great plaza which contained many interesting sites, along with a flea market that abutted on the parks. With a couple of hours to kill waiting for a car to pick us up, my arms specialist and I decided to visit this place. It is still there. Read more at www.redstate.com

Fact One: In 2008, a group of  citizens in Harris County, Texas saw what appeared to be a massive attack on the integrity of the election process:

Fact Two: Last month, a mysterious fire broke out that destroyed most of the voting machines for Harris County, Texas. [Houston is in Harris County.]

Fact Three: The fire occurred three days after Harris County voter registrar Leo Vasquez issued a press release stating:

“The integrity of the voting rolls in Harris County, Texas, appears to be under an organized and systematic attack by the group operating under the name Houston Votes” Vasquez said at a 2 p.m. press conference at his office, where he also released copies of applications in some of the most egregious cases.

Fact Four: As arson investigators continue looking into the blaze, their focus seems to be less centered on arson than on what may have been the building’s electrical system.

Fact Five: On September 2nd, the Texas Democratic Party sued  Harris County registrar:

Fact Six: When the aforementioned concerned citizens (who later formed a group called True the Vote) found questionable registrations, it appeared to be concentrated to one group:

Most of the findings focused on a group called Houston Votes, a voter registration group headed by Steve [Sean] Caddle, who also works for the Service Employees International Union. Among the findings were that only 1,793 of the 25,000 registrations the group submitted appeared to be valid. The other registrations included one of a woman who registered six times in the same day; registrations of non-citizens; so many applications from one Houston Voters collector in one day that it was deemed to be beyond human capability; and 1,597 registrations that named the same person multiple times, often with different signatures.

Fact Seven: One candidate running as a Democrat in District 133 in Harris County, is Kristi Thebaut, formerly affiliated with ACORN [h/t Anita MonCrief]

Of course, between the fire, the fraud, the SEIU and ACORN connections, they could be just mere coincidences… Read more at www.redstate.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Citizens’ Group Helps Uncover Alleged Rampant Voter Fraud in Houston. “Most of the findings focused on a group called Houston Votes, a voter registration group headed by Steve Caddle, who also works for the Service Employees International Union. Among the findings were that only 1,793 of the 25,000 registrations the group submitted appeared to be valid. The other registrations included one of a woman who registered six times in the same day; registrations of non-citizens; so many applications from one Houston Voters collector in one day that it was deemed to be beyond human capability; and 1,597 registrations that named the same person multiple times, often with different signatures.” Read the whole thing.

Imagine that — ordinary citizens getting together to do things that existing institutions can’t, or won’t. Who could have seen this kind of thing coming? Read more at pajamasmedia.com