Lunging at police officers with a knife. That’s smart.
A knife-wielding homeless man was shot and killed after lunging at two officers near Philadelphia City Hall Friday morning.
Officers were called after reports of a disturbance at a below ground concourse near City Hall at about 8:30 a.m.
Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said a foot patrol officer was first to respond and was confronted by an suspect armed with a utility knife. The officer apparently recognized the 60-year-old suspect as a homeless man who frequents the area.
After a bike patrol officer arrived at the scene, authorities said the suspect lunged with the knife, forcing both officers to open fire.
The suspect was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital where he was pronounced dead. No injuries to police were reported. (H/T – CBS3)
Every day, Philadelphia City Hall is chock full of police officers. There are dozens of foot and bicycle beats there, and it is also where we check in and out for court. Trying to attack an officer there is suicide.
Of course, the best part of this story is this: No injuries to police were reported.
Wow, I tell ya, this would be really embarrassing if the country were in the middle of a recession right now. Oh . . . never mind. Well, I’m sure Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid had nothing to do with this . . . Or they didn’t know about it . . . Or they didn’t care . . .
The true shame of all of this is that when she was elected Speaker, Pelosi said the following:
“After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: pay as you go, no new deficit spending. Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt. [O]ur first order of business is passing the toughest congressional ethics reform in history. Let us join together in the first 100 hours to make this Congress the most honest and open Congress in history.”
Yeah, right.
Democrats ran on the Culture of Corruption charge in 2006 and gained control of both chambers of Congress on the promise to clean up Capitol Hill. The Wall Street Journal finds instead that Democrats have used their power to spend taxpayer dollars on high-priced global travel. Taxpayer-funded Congressional delegation travel has increased by 50% since the Democrats took charge:
Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands.
The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That’s a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.
The cost of so-called congressional delegations, known among lawmakers as “codels,” has risen nearly 70% since 2005, when an influence-peddling scandal led to a ban on travel funded by lobbyists, according to the data. (H/T – Hot Air)
So let’s see: Congress is raising our taxes, forcing us into a Cap and Trade debacle that will destroy small businesses, and leading the nation to an unemployment rate of 9.5%. And while we are suffering economically, they are taking trips to exotic locales on our dime. Interesting.
I guess I have only one question. Why would anyone vote to keep these people (Democrats and Republicans) back into office next year?
Submit your original caption for this photo in the comments section or e-mail me your photoshop entries. The winners will be announced on Monday, July 6th. Good luck!
As you read this post, some 4,000 United States Marines are participating in an Afghanistan surge entitled “Operation Khanjar” (Strike of the Sword). The man leading this impressive military operation is Brigadier General Larry Nicholson – a man who was severely wounded in an Iraqi rocket attack five years ago. BrigGen Nicholson addressed the Marines before their deployment yesterday, and gave a speech for the ages.
I found excerpts from his speech on NPR, of all places. It’s worth your time:
On the mission in the Helmand River valley:
Our job is to get in there and get it back [from the Taliban] … We don’t want to give the enemy one second to think about what he’s going to do. Because we’re going to be pushing so goddamn hard on the enemy. Our job is to go in there and make contact with the enemy — find the enemy, make contact with the enemy and then we’ll hold on. This is an enemy that’s used to having small-scale attacks and having the coalition pull back. There is no pullback. We will stay on him, and we will ride him until he’s either dead or surrenders.
Ooh-rah!
On putting the Taliban on the defensive:
All too often, it is us who have to think about where we’re going to go, where we’re going to attack, what we’re going to do. In this case, we’re going to be so thick in his AO [area of operation] that he’s going to have three choices: Stay and fight, which we hope he does; try to blend into the population and just pretend he’s a local, in which case the Afghan army and police can sure as hell help identify that along with local leaders; and the third thing is run. And if he tries to run, we’ve got people waiting for him.
And when his mission is done, I wouldn’t mind the good Brigadier General coming home and running for president.
On defeating the enemy:
We’ll kill and capture a hell of a lot of enemy over these next couple of weeks, I’m confident of that. And I hope the enemy does try to go chest-to-chest with you. It would be a hell of a big mistake, and I don’t think his last mistake. And I suspect we’ll see some of that.
America! F**k, yeah! Do you think the Marines approved of the Brigadier General’s message?
Yeah, I think so, too. I wouldn’t want to be a member of the Taliban right now. Godspeed, Marines!
The Badger was kind enough to inform us that our favorite all-time band (and the greatest band ever) The Psychedelic Furs are coming to Philly on October 2nd! Whoo hoo!!!
They’ll be playing at The Trocadero at 10th and Arch Streets, and everyone who’s anyone will be there. So far, it’ll be Badger, Vinnie, Fish, Deathlok and Mrs. Deathlok, and even RT. Gonna be kickass!
If Mountain performed their hit song “Mississippi Queen” today, they would probably have to change the title to “Mississippi Queen-Sized,” or have a forklift ready to pluck up their queen and transport her to the castle. The one with the HUGE entrance.
A new study found the fattest states in America and released the overall rankings for every state in the union. Mississippi is queen of hearts (disease), and are again at the number one position. Ouch!
Well, if there is good news for Mississippi, it’s that its neighbor – Alabama – is catching them in the hot, buttery, delicious calorie game.
WASHINGTON – Mississippi’s still king of cellulite, but an ominous tide is rolling toward the Medicare doctors in neighboring Alabama: obese baby boomers.
It’s time for the nation’s annual obesity rankings and, outside of fairly lean Colorado, there’s little good news. Obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year and didn’t decline anywhere, says a new report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
And while the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds — the oldest boomers — than among today’s 65-and-beyond.
That translates into a coming jump of obese Medicare patients that ranges from 5.2 percent in New York to a high of 16.3 percent in Alabama, the report concluded. In Alabama, nearly 39 percent of the oldest boomers are obese.
And the states at the bottom of the list?
Colorado had the lowest rate of obese adults, at 18.9 percent, followed by Massachusetts, 21.2 percent; and Connecticut, 21.3 percent. (H/T – AP)
For those of you interested, Pennsylvania is in the middle. We’re ranked 22nd on the list. Of course, that does not mean that our inner-city women should be allowed to wear an all-spandex ensemble in the middle of July, though.
That rat bastard Randal Graves sent this to me, and I haven’t uncrossed my legs since. Trust me, this story is not for the faint of heart. Guys, you’re been warned.
A British man had to be rushed to a hospital emergency room after attempting to circumcise himself with nail clippers, the Telegraph reported Tuesday.
AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
The unnamed young man was taken to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, where he had the wound cleaned and disinfected.
He was kept in the hospital for observation.
“This is something we would advise men never to attempt,” a medic told the Telegraph. “The results can be quite horrific and long-lasting and have quite an affect on a man’s sexual performance. Using a pair of nail clippers must have caused excruciating pain, even if he had had a few drinks beforehand.” (H/T – FOXNews)
I have no words. Well, maybe “OUCH!” and “WHAT THE FRAK?” but that’s it.
Ever since Barack Obama announced his intention to run for president, the mainstream media has been carrying his water and massaging his genitals 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The man – and that shrew wife of his – could do no wrong. After the election, the love-fest continued, even while some of his programs, policies, and brilliant ideas didn’t exactly “succeed.” The next thing you know, a radical Left site like The Huffington Post is getting called upon by Obama during press conferences – an action akin to the POTUS calling on me for a question. The press treated Obama like a god, and it was getting really uncomfortable.
That’s why it is so hysterical when CBS’ Chip Reid and the human muppet Helen Thomas ripped Obama yesterday for his phony Town Hall meeting. To wit:
Phony, that is, in the sense that the White House knows in advance the questions that’ll be asked, which makes the questioners de facto plants of the most transparent administration evah. I have no big problem with The One putting on a pageant — that’s standard presidential stagecraft in a television age — but I do have a problem with the NYT taking care to note the “orchestration” when Bush pulled this while neglecting to mention it this time. It’s in keeping with the media’s narratives about Dubya and Obama, though, the former shifty and stupid and therefore dependent on softballs, the latter “open” and ingenious and no longer required to prove his ability to handle tough questions.
Frankly, with ABC holding infomercials for Obama in prime time, it seems almost petty to get exercised about a phony town hall. (H/T – Hot Air)
Allahpundit is absolutely correct. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a big deal. However, it is noteworthy because some members of the press are tearing down the wall of invincibility and seeing this “open” administration for what it truly is: simply another group of typical politicians. No hope. No change. Just politics as usual.
I still despise Helen Thomas, but I’ll give her credit for ripping Obama as hard as she ripped George W. Bush. Even if it was only for one day.
Oh, and if nothing else, you really should click on this link to see the video of Thomas and Reid grilling that smarmy little bastard Gibbs. The guy just has no clue.
How despicable must you be to steal from an ambulance? How despicable must be if you’re a punk kid stealing from an ambulance? Well hopefully, the Elizabethton, Tennessee court system will find out when this boy goes to trial.
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. – A boy was arrested over the weekend on charges of stealing from an ambulance while paramedics were treating his mother. The Johnson City Press reported the boy, who was not named because he is a juvenile, was charged with stealing $5,000 in medical supplies. That includes an oxygen tank and an oxygen sensor machine.
What the frak was he going to do with an oxygen tank and sensor?
He is also accused of stealing a purse belonging to one of the rescue workers and of breaking into a car several hours earlier and stealing credit cards, a cellular phone and a PlayStation portable video game.
Oh, did you hear that? That was the sound of Ambulance Driver’s head exploding. Get him 50cc’s of duct tape, stat!
Okay, this story interests me for two reasons. First, I pride myself on being a history buff, so these scientific tests are history in the making.
Second, I am also a Roman Catholic, and I once did a report on St. Paul in elementary school.
Normally, I am not up for testing bones of saints, but this is a truly extraordinary circumstance.
ROME, Italy — Scientific tests prove bones housed in the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome are those of the apostle St. Paul himself, according to Pope Benedict XVI.
“Tiny fragments of bone” in the sarcophagus were subjected to carbon dating, showing they “belong to someone who lived in the first or second century,” the pope said in a homily carried on Italian television.
“This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition that these are the mortal remains of the Apostle St. Paul,” Benedict said in Sunday’s announcement.
I’m sorry, but this is just a fantastic piece of information.
The tomb also holds “traces of a precious linen cloth, purple in color and laminated with pure gold, and a blue colored textile with linen filaments,” the pope said.
The tests were carried out by inserting a probe into a small opening in the sarcophagus, “which had not been opened for many centuries,” the pontiff said. The probe “also revealed the presence of grains of red incense and traces of protein and limestone.”
But wait, there’s more:
Separately, archaeologists have uncovered an image of St. Paul which “could be considered the oldest icon of the apostle known to date,” the Vatican’s official newspaper reported Sunday.
The painting, in the St. Tecla Catacomb, is “among the oldest and best-defined figures from ancient Christianity,” according to the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, L’Osservatore Romano reported. (H/T – CNN)
I think I definitely chose the wrong career path. I should have been an archeologist. Unfortunately, I am much too stupid to be admitted into the fraternity of scholars. Dang.
This is an awesome idea. As terrific the game of lacrosse is, it is not as widely played as it should be because of equipment costs. Hell, a helmet costs $100, even for kids Kyle’s age!
Nevertheless, it’s good to see local players give back to the community. Anything that makes lacrosse more popular is worth the effort and the hard work.
Youth lacrosse has always been a staple in the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, and now two local players are trying to bring it into the inner city.
Eric Gregg and John Christmas have brought their expertise and passion into the non-profit program LEAPS (Lacrosse, Education, Attitude, Perseverance, Success)
LEAPS’ mission is to enrich the lives of youth through lacrosse and education, as well as instill the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle.
And if it keeps some inner-city kids off the street this summer, who can argue?
“John Christmas and I had the idea that we wanted to get more kids around the city involved. We knew that lacrosse could be an expensive sport, so we wanted to make if affordable and the coaching accessible. We went in the neighborhood and started community based leagues. We also work with the school district of Philadelphia to help them grow their school leagues,” said Gregg.
LEAPS began their first camp on Monday at Germantown High School, where they provide free lacrosse training for any boy or girl ages 6-14. LEAPS’ provides the equipment, coaching and a nutritional snack for all campers.
LEAPS will be holding youth camps all throughout the city until July 30th. For more info check their website: LEAPS. (H/T – CBS3)
So, the people of Minnesota have twice now elected a blathering Hollywood buffoon to high office. While the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision is not surprising, it is very surprising that Democrats in the North Star State would embrace such an unqualified, vile, hate-monger to the United States Senate. Could a Janeane Garofalo congressional run be far behind?
Personally, this would be the equivalent of electing Sean Hannity governor of New York. It’s just a stupid idea.
To no one’s great shock, the Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected Norm Coleman’s appeal of the election contest and awarded the Senate election to Al Franken. The decision, expected last week, stated that Coleman failed to prove that recounting thousands of rejected ballots would have impacted the final results:
“It is U.S. Sen. Al Franken.
The Minnesota Supreme Court today decided that Franken, a Democrat, won the highest number of votes in last year’s U.S. Senate race and deserves a signed election certificate.
The court said that Republican Norm Coleman didn’t prove that a lower court made mistakes requiring a rehearing of the case. Coleman had asked the court to order thousands of rejected absentee ballots counted. He had hoped the counting would allow him to overcome Franken’s 312-vote lead.” (H/T – Hot Air)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Country music has the hottest women in the music industry.
Georgia stunner Jessie James, whose self-titled debut album hit the shelves yesterday, sings straight from her sexy heart. And unlike many other young singers, this 21-year-old former army brat, who is opening for the Jonas Brothers on their U.S. tour, writes her own tunes. So gather ’round, y’all, and listen in as she shares some of her biggest firsts.
First Romantic Indiscretion: I write my own music, and I don’t write about anything that didn’t really happen to me, so my new song “Guilty” is based on a true story. I was dating a rock star—I’m not allowed to say who—but he was on tour a lot, so I just assumed he was cheating. It made me feel not guilty about doing it myself, you know? I don’t think he ever found out; he was too high on drugs. (H/T – FOXNews)
Okay, so she is not exactly a Rhodes Scholar. She sure is attractive, though:
The Air Force just released this photo of an F-22 Raptor going supersonic during a fly-by. This, my friends, is coolness personified.
The breaking of the sound barrier is not just an audible phenomenon. As a new picture from the U.S. military shows, Mach 1 can be quite visual.
This widely circulated new photo shows a Air Force F-22 Raptor aircraft participating in an exercise in the Gulf of Alaska June 22, 2009 as it executes a supersonic flyby over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.
Here’s what scientists think happens:
A layer of water droplets gets trapped between two high-pressure surfaces of air. In humid conditions, condensation can gather in the trough between two crests of the sound waves produced by the jet. This effect does not necessarily coincide with the breaking of the sound barrier, although it can. (H/T – LiveScience)
Let’s see the Iranians make a better one of those.
Sadly, President Obama wants to do away with the F-22, so images like these will be harder to come by.
LOS ANGELES, California — Michael Jackson’s three children asked to see their father’s body in the UCLA emergency room after they were told he was dead, according to the lawyer for Jackson’s personal doctor.
“My understanding is that they did” see the body, attorney Ed Chernoff said.
Okay, that in itself is a little creepy. Kids that age? Wait for the funeral.
On Monday, the children, ages 7, 11 and 12, were placed under the temporary guardianship of their paternal grandmother, Katherine Jackson, by a Los Angeles judge.
The biological mother of Jackson’s two oldest children, Debbie Rowe, will be invited to a hearing next Monday in which the judge will consider who should have custody of them. She has, so far, not publicly indicated whether she will challenge the Jacksons for custody. (H/T – CNN)
Okay, I have a few comments here:
1. Debbie Rowe may be a train wreck, and she may not. That being said, she is the mother of two of the children, and if she wants custody, she damned well better get it. Lord knows Jacko’s parents didn’t exactly do a bang-up job with their own brood.
2. The youngest child’s mother is listed as “None” on the custody papers. What the frak is that all about? Did Michale Jackson give birth to him?
3. Is anyone else besides me sick to death (Heh) of the Michael Jackson coverage yet? It’s enough already!
