News Clips
1) Shrinking Sky! Cloud Tops Dropping Closer to Earth, NASA Satellite Finds... Natural Shifts/Nature
2) Radical Liberal Atheist Bill Maher Donates $1 Million to Obama Super PAC... Liberal Double Standards/Hypocrites
3) I tried to open a lemonade stand... Statism/Regulation to Slavery/Loss of Freedom
4) 16 Statistics Which Show That The Number Of Americans Dependent On The Government Is At An All-Time High... Democrats/Communism/Slavery
5) Nigerian Churchgoers Club Would-Be Suicide Bomber to Death After His Car Bomb Fails to Kill Him... Islamic Violence/Christian Rage
6) ‘Ethicists’ justify after birth abortion... Liberal/Anti Children/Pro Killing the Innocent/Obama
7) Rick Warren to acknowledge Christians, Muslims worship 'one God'... Liberal Christian Heretical/Islamic Victory
8) The Monkees singer Davy Jones dead at 66... Celebrity Death/Interest
9) Andrew Breitbart, 43, Has Died.... Conservative Celebrity Death/Interest/Politics
1) Shrinking Sky! Cloud Tops Dropping Closer to Earth, NASA Satellite Finds... Natural Shifts/Nature
http://www.livescience.com/18604-cloud-heights-declining.html
22 February 2012
The average height of clouds has dropped by about 1 percent in the last decade, new research finds.
The sky is falling… sort of. Over the last 10 years, the height of clouds has been shrinking, according to new research.
The time frame is short, but if future observations show that clouds are truly getting lower, it could have an important effect on global climate change. Clouds that are lower in the atmosphere would allow Earth to cool more efficiently, potentially offsetting some of the warming caused by greenhouse gases.
"We don't know exactly what causes the cloud heights to lower," study researcher Roger Davies of the University of Auckland in New Zealand said in a statement. "But it must be due to a change in the circulation patterns that give rise to cloud formation at high altitude."
Clouds are a wildcard in understanding Earth's climate. Ephemeral as they are, they're difficult to track over time, and factors such as height and location make a big difference in whether clouds will slow the effects of global warming or exacerbate them. And no one fully understands how clouds will respond to a warming climate. [Album: Reading the Clouds]
For a decade, however, the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer on NASA's Terra spacecraft has been watching Earth's clouds. Now, Davies and his colleagues have analyzed the device's first 10 years of cloud-top height measurements from March 2000 to February 2010. They found that global average cloud height decreased by around 1 percent over the decade, a distance of 100 to 130 feet (30 to 40 meters). Most of the reduction stemmed from fewer clouds forming at very high altitudes.
The researchers reported their results in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The Terra satellite is set to continue collecting data through the rest of this decade, which will help determine whether or not the cloud lowering is a consistent trend.
2) Radical Liberal Atheist Bill Maher Donates $1 Million to Obama Super PAC... Liberal Double Standards/Hypocrites
http://www.mrconservative.com/2012/02/2223-maher-and-obama/
February 25, 2012
HBO host Bill Maher made a surprise announcement, which he revealed he would give $1 million to President Barack Obama’s super PAC.
“I would like to announce tonight a donation to the Obama super PAC, which has the very unfortunate tongue-twister name Priorities USA Action. I know, it was named by Borat, but tonight I would like to give that PAC $1 million” (cue applause from liberal sheep).
All of this is ironic considering that Obama was critical of the Citizens United decision which would allow for unlimited funding from Super PAC’s. Shortly after the decision was passed Obama’s team wasted no time in signing up for one! Like two birds of a feather liberal atheist Maher & Socialist In Chief Obama can now band together at long last to spread left wing propaganda.
Obama’s fundraising efforts have been abysmal to put it lightly. Last month he raised $59,000 through his Super PAC which means that Maher’s $1 Million donation was welcomed with open arms. Do note: That money is probably from profit Maher made producing atheist documentary “Religulous” which mocked every organized religion under the sun.
3) I tried to open a lemonade stand... Statism/Regulation to Slavery/Loss of Freedom
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/02/24/tried-to-open-lemonade-stand/
February 24, 2012
Want to open a business in America? It isn't easy.
In Midway, Georgia, a 14-year-old girl and and her 10-year-old sister sold lemonade from their front yard. Two police officers bought some. But the next day, different officers ordered them to close their stand.
Their father went to city hall to try to find out why. The clerk laughed, and said she didn't know. Eventually, Police Chief Kelly Morningstar explained, "We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, and of what the lemonade was made with."
Give me a break. If she doesn't know, so what? But kids trying their first experiment with entrepreneurship are being shut down all over America. Officials in Hazelwood, Missouri ordered little girls to stop selling Girl Scout cookies.
It made me want to try to jump through the legal hoops required to open a simple lemonade stand in New York City. Here's some of what one has to do:
1) Register as sole proprietor with the County Clerk's Office (must be done in person)
2) Apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number
3) Complete 15-hr Food Protection Course!
4) After the course, register for an exam that takes 1 hr. You must score 70 percent to pass. (Sample question: "What toxins are associated with the puffer fish?") If you pass, allow 3-5 weeks for delivery of Food Protection Certificate.
5) Register for sales tax Certificate of Authority
6) Apply for a Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit. Must bring copies of the previous documents and completed forms to the Consumer Affairs Licensing Center.
Then, at least 21 days before opening your establishment, you must:
Arrange for an inspection with the Health Department's Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation. It takes about 3 weeks to get your appointment. If you pass, you can set up a business once you:
- Buy a portable fire extinguisher from a company certified by the FDNY and set up a contract for waste disposal.
- We couldn't finish the process. Had we been able to schedule our health inspection and open my stand legally, it would have taken us 65 days.
I sold lemonade anyway. I looked dumb hawking it with my giant fire extinguisher on the table.
Tourists told me they couldn't believe that I had to get "all those permits." A Pakistani man said, "That's crazy! You should move to Pakistan!"
But I don't want to move to Pakistan.
Politicians say, "We support entrepreneurs," but the bureaucrats make it hard. The Feds alone add 80,000 pages of new rules every year. Local governments add more. There are so many incomprehensible rules that even the bureaucrats can't tell you what's legal. In the name of public safety, politicians strangle opportunity.
4) 16 Statistics Which Show That The Number Of Americans Dependent On The Government Is At An All-Time High... Democrats/Communism/Slavery
http://www.mrconservative.com/2012/02/2250-16-statistics-which-show-that-the-number-of-americans-dependent-on-the-government-is-at-an-all-time-high/
February 25, 2012
A higher percentage of the American population is receiving government benefits than ever before. Yes, there have always been poor people that have needed our assistance, but what does it say about our economy that the number of Americans dependent on the government is at an all-time high? Every night on the evening news we are told that the economy is improving, and Barack Obama is endlessly giving speeches about the “economic recovery” that is supposedly underway. But that is not the reality on the ground for those on the bottom rungs of the income ladder in America. People are really hurting out there, and the number of Americans that are turning to the government for financial assistance just continues to increase. Yes, we should always have a “safety net”, but right now our “safety net” is becoming massively overloaded as millions more Americans jump on to it every single year. What all of these impoverished Americans really need are jobs, but the U.S. Congress and the past several administrations have been systematically killing job growth in America. So unfortunately the number of poor Americans is going to continue to rise, and that is really bad news for a nation that is already drowning in debt.
Some people out there want to blame the poor for the statistics that you are about to read, but that is a mistake. Yes, there are a lot of people out there that are abusing the system, and that needs to be stopped.
But many Americans that are dependent on the government are in that situation because there simply are not enough jobs in this country.
And unfortunately, the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress continue to pursue the same job-killing policies that have gotten us into this mess in the first place. So millions of Americans that have learned to survive as government dependents are not being given the opportunity to break out of that cycle. When there is a shortage of decent jobs, it is easy to give up. Many tend to become more and more comfortable being dependent on the government as time goes by.
Once you become addicted to getting a government check in the mail, it can be very difficult to give that up. There are some that get trapped in a life of government dependence for years or even decades.
The following are 16 statistics which show that the number of Americans dependent on the government is at an all-time high….
#1 According to the Census Bureau, 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that gets direct monetary benefits from the federal government. Back in 1983, less than a third of all Americans lived in a home that received direct monetary benefits from the federal government.
#2 The amount of money that the federal government gives directly to Americans has increased by 32 percent since Barack Obama entered the White House.
#3 The number of Americans receiving Social Security disability benefits has increased by 10 percent since Barack Obama first took office.
#4 Back in 1990, the federal government accounted for 32 percent of all health care spending in America. Today, that figure is up to 45 percent and it is projected to surpass 50 percent very shortly.
#5 The number of Americans on food stamps recently hit a new all-time high. It has increased by 3 million since this time last year and by more than 14 million since Barack Obama first entered the White House.
#6 Today, one out of every seven Americans is on food stamps and one out of every four American children is on food stamps. This is unprecedented in American history.
#7 In 2010, 42 percent of all single mothers in the United States were on food stamps.
#8 Back in 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income. In 2010, government transfer payments accounted for 18.4% of all income, which was a new all-time high.
#9 By the end of 2011, approximately 55 million Americans received a total of approximately 727 billion dollars in Social Security benefits. As theretirement crisis becomes much worse, that dollar figure is projected to absolutely skyrocket.
#10 According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security systempaid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes in 2010. That was not supposed to happen until at least 2016.
#11 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid, and things are about to get a whole lot worse. It is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.
#12 The U.S. government now says that the Medicare trust fund will run outfive years faster than previously anticipated.
#13 The total cost of just three federal government programs - the Department of Defense, Social Security and Medicare - exceeded the total amount of taxes brought in during fiscal 2010 by 10 billion dollars.
#14 It is being projected that entitlement spending by the federal governmentwill nearly double by the year 2050.
#15 Right now, spending by the federal government accounts for about 24 percent of GDP. Back in 2001, it accounted for just 18 percent.
#16 When you total it all up, American households are now receiving more money directly from the federal government than they are paying to the government in taxes.
Once again, I am not blaming the poor. Almost all of us know of someone that is on government assistance. Most of them are not dependent on the government because they are lazy or because they want to cheat the system. Most of them have just had their dreams crushed by this horrible economyand need a helping hand.
It is incredible how anyone can run around claiming that the U.S. economy is heading in the right direction with all of this going on.
Yes, things are going fairly well for the boys and girls down on Wall Street, but for the vast majority of Americans things are looking quite bleak.
For example, things have gotten so bad that the state of Florida is actually considering using ballparks and sports stadiums as shelters for the homeless.
But when it comes to so many people being financially dependent on the federal government, there is a major problem.
The problem is that the federal government is absolutely drowning in debt.
So why don’t our politicians just explain to the American people that we need to start cutting back and reducing the size of some of these programs?
Well, if any of our politicians try to do that they won’t get elected next time around.
The truth is that the American people are deeply addicted to government money.
Any politician that proposes significant cuts to Social Security or Medicare is a goner.
Every poll or survey that is done on this subject shows that the American people are overwhelmingly against cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicare.
So politicians will just keep spending money like there is no tomorrow, and the American people will just keep sending them back to Washington.
But just like we saw in Greece, a day of reckoning comes eventually.
There will come a time when the federal government will not be able to steal 150 million dollars an hour from our children and our grandchildren.
There will come a time when there will not be enough money for all of these growing social programs.
So once the government checks stop rolling in, what is going to happen then?
5) Nigerian Churchgoers Club Would-Be Suicide Bomber to Death After His Car Bomb Fails to Kill Him... Islamic Violence/Christian Rage
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nigerian-churchgoers-club-would-be-suicide-bomber-to-death-after-his-car-bomb-fails-to-kill-him/
February 26, 2012
Angry churchgoers at the headquarters of the Church Of Christ In Nations (COCIN) in Nigeria clubbed to death a would-be suicide bomber after his car bomb failed to kill him. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bomber and one other, who both wore army camouflage, drove into the Church and beat the security before hitting the building:
“The bomb carrier jumped out of the vehicle just before the blast went off and attempted to run but could not move as he was affected by the blast.
The angry worshipers, however, descended on him and clubbed him to death.
An eyewitness and a worshipper in the Church, Joyce Dalyop, told NAN that there were arguments among the worshipers over what to do with the bomber before he was finally killed.
`Immediately they (bombers) entered the Church, one of them jumped out of the black jeep but luck ran out of him as the explosion affected him and so he could not run very fast before he was caught.’
`Some people even pleaded that he should not be killed; they suggested that he should be handed over to Police for further investigation, but others argued that the police could not be trusted and opined that the suspect may be released,’ she said.”
The Associated Press reports that the suicide car bomber killed three people and wounded 38. The radical Islamist sect Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack during an early morning service. The attack follows other assaults the sect has claimed against Christians in Nigeria’s north, widening distrust between the two main faiths in the multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.
AP reports that Boko Haram has launched increasingly bloody attacks across Nigeria, including ones on churches like the Christmas Day bombing of a Catholic church that left at least 44 dead claimed by the sect in Madalla, a town just outside the country’s capital, Abuja.
The group also claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on Christmas Eve that struck Jos in 2010, killing as many as 80 people.
6) ‘Ethicists’ justify after birth abortion... Liberal/Anti Children/Pro Killing the Innocent/Obama
http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/02/28/ethicists-justify-after-birth-abortion/
Feb 28, 2012
Worried about that kid you just had? Feel like you really wanted a girl, but God saw fit to give you a boy? Don’t worry! Ethicists (using that term very loosely) have now said that you should be able to murder abort the baby after it’s born!
The Blaze reports:
Alberto Giubilini with Monash University in Melbourne and Francesca Minerva at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne write that in “circumstances occur[ing] after birth such that they would have justified abortion, what we call after-birth abortion should be permissible.”
The two are quick to note that they prefer the term “after-birth abortion“ as opposed to ”infanticide.” Why? Because it “[emphasizes] that the moral status of the individual killed is comparable with that of a fetus (on which ‘abortions’ in the traditional sense are performed) rather than to that of a child.” The authors also do not agree with the term euthanasia for this practice as the best interest of the person who would be killed is not necessarily the primary reason his or her life is being terminated. In other words, it may be in the parents’ best interest to terminate the life, not the newborns.
The circumstances, the authors state, where after-birth abortion should be considered acceptable include instances where the newborn would be putting the well-being of the family at risk, even if it had the potential for an “acceptable” life. The authors cite Downs Syndrome as an example, stating that while the quality of life of individuals with Downs is often reported as happy, “such children might be an unbearable burden on the family and on society as a whole, when the state economically provides for their care.”
“Why don’t we call chocolate pudding,” Glenn joked over their preference for “after birth abortion” over “infanticide”. Glenn said that changing the language is a longtime progressive tactic that started when Woodrow Wilson scared everyone with similar radical ideas.
“Why don’t we just wait to see if we like the baby,” Glenn said of the ridiculousness of the debate.
“They’re just poking us with a stick. That’s all they’re doing,” he added.
“ Now, the question is are we even awake enough? Do we even care enough this time around to have it swing back so far the other way. I don’t think so,” Glenn said.
7) Rick Warren to acknowledge Christians, Muslims worship 'one God'... Liberal Christian Heretical/Islamic Victory
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1545418
2/29/2012
A Messianic Jewish leader says it's a tragedy that mega-church pastor Rick Warren appears to be ignoring the Great Commission as he reaches out to Muslims in southern California.
The Orange County Register reports that Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, is part of an effort called "King's Way" that is attempting to build a bridge between evangelical Christians and Muslims.
According to that report, Warren wants to heal divisions by partnering with area mosques through a proposed set of principles that includes acknowledging that Christians and Muslims "believe in one God." King's Way principles are also committed to building friendships with members of the other faith, without either group proselytizing the other, as the focus is not on conversion but on loving thy neighbor (Matthew 22:39). Those principles were reportedly co-authored by Saddleback's pastor in charge of interfaith outreach and the director of religious affairs at a Los Angeles mosque.
But Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, wonders how the Christian leader can overlook the Great Commission, which calls on Christians to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:16-20).
"Why and when did we get a pass on sharing our faith, on witnessing?" she wonders. "You can be a friend to a Muslim all the way into hell -- and that's where these Muslims are going, for Pete's sake. They're headed straight for hell, and Rick Warren could do something about that by sharing the gospel with them."
Markell says King's Way is part of the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3.
"This is just more of the church that has lost its direction, that is not tending to the sheep properly," she decides.
The Olive Tree Ministries founder concludes that it is a tragedy that at this late hour, Warren is not telling lost Muslims that Christ is the only bridge to eternal life.
Late last year, Warren flatly denied rumors he said were "100-percent false" that he promotes a Christian-Islam mixture identified as "Chrislam." He stated at that time: "My life and ministry are built on the truth that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority."
8) The Monkees singer Davy Jones dead at 66... Celebrity Death/Interest
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/02/29/monkees-singer-davy-jones-dies-at-66-report-says/
February 29, 2012
Davy Jones, the lead singer of the pop group The Monkees, died Wednesday at the age of 66, his publicist confirmed to Fox News.
"The only thing we can do is confirm that he has died of a heart attack at Indiantown, Florida this morning," his rep Helen Kensick told Fox News. "We will have more later.
The local medical examiner released a statement Wednesday confirming that they had been notified of the singer's death.
"The District 19 Medical Examiner's office has been notified of the death of Mr. Davy Jones," spokeswoman Rebecca Shortridge said. "We are currently evaluating whether or not the medical examiner's office will take jurisdiction."
Jones, who last performed Feb. 19 in Oklahoma, formed the Monkees in 1966 with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork.
Their biggest hits included "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer" and they also had a television show.A former racehorse jockey, Jones turned to acting and then became lead singer when he joined The Monkees in 1965 and the band embarked on a wildly popular U.S. television show. Jones sang lead vocals on songs such as "I Wanna Be Free" and "Daydream Believer."
The band was assembled as with its personnel designed to be the instant stars of an American TV series seeking to evoke the Beatles, then already famous for their music and such films as "A Hard Day's Night and "Help!"
Auditions for The Monkees were held in the fall of 1965, attracting some 500 applicants. Jones -- who was born Dec. 30, 1945, in Manchester, England -- had stylishly long hair and a British accent that helped with his selection. He would go on to achieve heartthrob status in the United States.
Nonetheless, musical ability wasn't paramount in the casting decisions. While Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork had some musical experience, Mickey Dolenz had been a child actor, as had Jones along with being a jockey in his native England.
In August 1966, the Beatles performed in San Francisco, playing their last live set for a paying audience. The same month, the Monkees released their first album, introducing the world to the group that would star in the NBC series when it premiered in September 1966.
The first single, "Last Train to Clarksville," became a No. 1 hit. And the show caught on with audiences, featuring fast-paced, helter-skelter comedy inspired as much by the Marx Brothers as the Beatles.
It was a shrewd case of cross-platform promotion. As David Bianculli noted in his "Dictionary of Teleliteracy," "The show's self-contained music videos, clear forerunners of MTV, propelled the group's first seven singles to enviable positions of the pop charts: three number ones, two number twos, two number threes."
And though initially the Monkees weren't allowed to play their own instruments, they were supported by enviable talent: Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote "Pleasant Valley Sunday," and Neil Diamond penned "I'm a Believer."
Musicians who played on their records included Billy Preston (who only later played with the Beatles), Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Ry Cooder and Neil Young.
After two seasons, the TV series had flared out and was canceled in the summer of 1968. But the Monkeys remained a nostalgia act for decades, firmly entrenched in the American musical imagination.
According to The Monkees website -- Monkees.com -- Jones left the band in late 1970. In the summer of 1971, he recorded a solo hit "Rainy Jane" and made a series of appearances on American variety and television shows, including "Love American Style" and "The Brady Bunch."
Jones played himself in a widely popular Brady Bunch episode, which aired in late 1971. In the episode, Marcia Brady, president of her school's Davy Jones fan club, promised she could get him to sing at a school dance.
Amid lingering nostalgia for the Monkees, Jones teamed up in the mid-1980s with former Monkee Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and promoter David Fishof for a reunion tour. Their popularity prompted MTV to re-air The Monkees series, introducing the group to a new audience.
In 1987, Jones, Tork and Micky Dolenz recorded a new album, "Pool It." Two years later, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In the late 1990s, the group filmed a special called "Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees."
Jones is survived by his wife, Jessica.
9) Andrew Breitbart, 43, Has Died.... Conservative Celebrity Death/Interest/Politics
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/andrew-breitbart-has-died/
March 1, 2012
Conservative website publisher and author Andrew Breitbart has died. He was 43.
“With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart,” a statement on Breitbart’s BigJournalism.com said early Thursday. “Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.”
(Related: Jonah Goldberg Breaks Down During Fox Interview Moments After Breitbart News Hits)
(Related: ‘Burn in HELL!’: Shocking Tweets Celebrate Andrew Breitbart’s Death on Twitter)
“We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior,” the statement said.
Joel Pollak, editor in chief and in-house for Breitbart.com, confirmed the news to The Blaze in an email.
The Associated Press reported Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles shortly after midnight when he collapsed.
Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him, his father-in-law Orson Bean said. He was rushed to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center where he died.
Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, Bean said, though he could not determine what happened.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s devastating,” he told The Associated Press.
Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office told the AP a cause of death was unknown and an autopsy would “more than likely” be conducted.
Breitbart is survived by his wife Susannah Bean Breitbart, 41, and four children.
Condolences immediately began pouring in on Twitter, a favorite social media tool of Breitbart’s
Politicians, including some of the Republican candidates for president, weighed in as well.
“RIP ‘O Mighty Warrior!” Texas Gov. Rick Perry wrote on Twitter.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) wrote he was “stunned to hear about the passing of Andrew Breitbart” and offered his condolences to “his wife Susie, his children, and his friends.”
Mitt Romney wrote: “Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of @AndrewBreitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father.”
Rick Santorum, hearing the news from reporters while on the campaign trail, called Breitbart’s death “a huge loss, in my opinion for our country and certainly for the conservative movement.”
Newt Gingrich called Breitbart’s death “a tragedy for his family and for conservatism.”
“Andrew Breitbart was the most innovative pioneer in conservative activist social media in America. He had great courage and creativity,” Gingrich tweeted.
Breitbart, an outspoken critic of the mainstream media, was known for taking on his critics on Twitter and frequently re-posted their expletive-laden insults. His final tweet, posted at 11:25 p.m., was part of a similar back-and-forth discussion on the micro-blogging site.
Breitbart became well-known for his work with the Drudge Report. Shortly after the news of his death, Matt Drudge posted a personal tribute to him on his website:
DEAR READER: In the first decade of the DRUDGEREPORT Andrew Breitbart was a constant source of energy, passion and commitment. We shared a love of headlines, a love of the news, an excitement about what’s happening. I don’t think there was a single day during that time when we did not flash each other or laugh with each other, or challenge each other. I still see him in my mind’s eye in Venice Beach, the sunny day I met him. He was in his mid 20′s. It was all there. He had a wonderful, loving family and we all feel great sadness for them today… MDRUDGE
Breitbart was also involved with the Huffington Post in its early stages. Editor in chief Arianna Huffington released a statement on his passing:
I was asked many times this morning for my thoughts on what Andrew meant to the political world, but all I can think of at the moment is what Andrew meant to me as a friend, starting from when we worked together - his passion, his exuberance, his fearlessness. And above all, what I’m thinking of at the moment is his amazing wife Susie and their four beautiful young children. My love and thoughts are with them right now.
This post has been updated since it was first published.
LOS ANGELES - Conservative media publisher and activist Andrew Breitbart, who was behind investigations that led to the resignations of former Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York and former U.S. Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod, has died in Los Angeles. He was 43.
Breitbart’s website, bigjournalism.com, announced Thursday he died of natural causes in Los Angeles. His death was confirmed by breitbart.com editor-in-chief Joel Pollak, who said he was at the hospital, and by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood on Thursday, shortly after midnight, when he collapsed, said his father-in-law, Orson Bean, a movie, TV and Broadway actor.
Someone saw Breitbart fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s devastating,” Bean told The Associated Press.
Larry Dietz, watch commander at the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, said a cause of death was unknown and an autopsy was likely.
Reaction to his death was quick.
“RIP ‘O Mighty Warrior!” Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a message on Twitter, the medium where Breitbart confronted his critics with often abrasive messages. Indeed, Breitbart’s final message called a follower “a putz.”
His online profile, meanwhile, called him a “mild-mannered family guy” and “husky male model.”
Media Matters, the liberal watchdog that was a frequent Breitbart critic, said the organization’s “thoughts and prayers are with his family today.”
“We’ve disagreed more than we’ve found common ground, but there was never any question of Andrew’s passion for and commitment to what he believed,” said Media Matters’ Ari Rabin-Havt.
Republican presidential contenders also weighed in.
Rick Santorum called Breitbart a “powerful force” after learning of his death from reporters at a rally in Dalton, Ga. “He will be what a huge loss ... for our country and certainly for the conservative movement and my prayers go out to his family,” Santorum told reporters. “I’m really sorry to hear it.”
Mitt Romney posted to Twitter: “Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of (at)AndrewBreitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father.”
Newt Gingrich tweeted: “Andrew Breitbart was the most innovative pioneer in conservative activist social media in America. He had great courage and creativity.”
Breitbart’s fans have praised him for exposing government corruption and media bias.
Sherrod, who is black, was fired from her job as Georgia state rural development director in July 2010 after an edited video surfaced of her making what appeared to be a racist remark. She is seen telling a local NAACP group that she was initially reluctant to help a white farmer save his farm more than two decades ago, long before she worked for USDA.
Missing from the clip was the rest of the speech, which was meant as a lesson in racial healing. Sherrod told the crowd she eventually realized her mistake and helped the farmer save his farm.
Sherrod sued Breitbart, his employee, Larry O’Connor, and an unnamed “John Doe” defendant for “defamation, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress.” A lawyer for O’Connor said Thursday that it is unclear whether the case will proceed for the other two defendants, who were in the process of trying to get the case dismissed from federal court.
Breitbart’s websites also featured a 2009 hidden-camera video that brought embarrassment to the community group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. The videos show ACORN staffers offering advice on taxes and other issues to actors posing as a prostitute and pimp.
Those videos triggered a firestorm of criticism, with some ACORN employees appearing willing to support illegal schemes involving tax advice, misuse of public funds and illegal trafficking in children.
An internal review later concluded the videos “feed the impression that ACORN believes it is above the law.” The internal investigation and a Government Accountability Office report cleared ACORN of criminal activities.
Even so, public pressure led Congress to block previously approved funds from going to ACORN and to stop future payments. Roughly 10 percent of ACORN’s funds came from federal grants and the group eventually disbanded.
Breitbart also sparked a controversy that ultimately led to the resignation of Weiner, whose problems began on May 28 when Bretibart’s biggovernment.com posted a lewd photograph of an underwear-clad crotch and said it had been sent from Weiner’s Twitter account to a Seattle woman.
Initially, Weiner lied, saying his account had been hacked. But he pointedly did not report the incident to law enforcement - a step that could have led the way to charges of wrongdoing far more serious than mere sexting.
Additionally, his public denials were less than solid - particularly when he told an interviewer that he could not “say with certitude” that he wasn’t the man in the underwear photo.
Weiner’s spokesman said the photo was just “a distraction” and that the congressman “doesn’t know the person named by the hacker.”
The congressman denied sending the photo and said he had retained an attorney and hired a private security company to figure out how someone could pull off such a prank.
But Weiner dropped that story line on June 6, offering a lengthy public confession at a Manhattan news conference, acknowledging to online activity involving at least six women.
Breitbart seldom showed restraint in his vitriol to his critics and seemed to relish in the negative attention his antics earned him.
After Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts died in 2009, Breitbart tweeted “Rest in Chappaquiddick” and called him “a special pile of human excrement.” When critics questioned his tone, he tweeted they “missed my best ones!”
Breitbart is survived by his wife, Susannah Bean Breitbart, and four children.
2) Radical Liberal Atheist Bill Maher Donates $1 Million to Obama Super PAC... Liberal Double Standards/Hypocrites
3) I tried to open a lemonade stand... Statism/Regulation to Slavery/Loss of Freedom
4) 16 Statistics Which Show That The Number Of Americans Dependent On The Government Is At An All-Time High... Democrats/Communism/Slavery
5) Nigerian Churchgoers Club Would-Be Suicide Bomber to Death After His Car Bomb Fails to Kill Him... Islamic Violence/Christian Rage
6) ‘Ethicists’ justify after birth abortion... Liberal/Anti Children/Pro Killing the Innocent/Obama
7) Rick Warren to acknowledge Christians, Muslims worship 'one God'... Liberal Christian Heretical/Islamic Victory
8) The Monkees singer Davy Jones dead at 66... Celebrity Death/Interest
9) Andrew Breitbart, 43, Has Died.... Conservative Celebrity Death/Interest/Politics
1) Shrinking Sky! Cloud Tops Dropping Closer to Earth, NASA Satellite Finds... Natural Shifts/Nature
http://www.livescience.com/18604-cloud-heights-declining.html
22 February 2012
The average height of clouds has dropped by about 1 percent in the last decade, new research finds.
The sky is falling… sort of. Over the last 10 years, the height of clouds has been shrinking, according to new research.
The time frame is short, but if future observations show that clouds are truly getting lower, it could have an important effect on global climate change. Clouds that are lower in the atmosphere would allow Earth to cool more efficiently, potentially offsetting some of the warming caused by greenhouse gases.
"We don't know exactly what causes the cloud heights to lower," study researcher Roger Davies of the University of Auckland in New Zealand said in a statement. "But it must be due to a change in the circulation patterns that give rise to cloud formation at high altitude."
Clouds are a wildcard in understanding Earth's climate. Ephemeral as they are, they're difficult to track over time, and factors such as height and location make a big difference in whether clouds will slow the effects of global warming or exacerbate them. And no one fully understands how clouds will respond to a warming climate. [Album: Reading the Clouds]
For a decade, however, the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer on NASA's Terra spacecraft has been watching Earth's clouds. Now, Davies and his colleagues have analyzed the device's first 10 years of cloud-top height measurements from March 2000 to February 2010. They found that global average cloud height decreased by around 1 percent over the decade, a distance of 100 to 130 feet (30 to 40 meters). Most of the reduction stemmed from fewer clouds forming at very high altitudes.
The researchers reported their results in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The Terra satellite is set to continue collecting data through the rest of this decade, which will help determine whether or not the cloud lowering is a consistent trend.
2) Radical Liberal Atheist Bill Maher Donates $1 Million to Obama Super PAC... Liberal Double Standards/Hypocrites
http://www.mrconservative.com/2012/02/2223-maher-and-obama/
February 25, 2012
HBO host Bill Maher made a surprise announcement, which he revealed he would give $1 million to President Barack Obama’s super PAC.
“I would like to announce tonight a donation to the Obama super PAC, which has the very unfortunate tongue-twister name Priorities USA Action. I know, it was named by Borat, but tonight I would like to give that PAC $1 million” (cue applause from liberal sheep).
All of this is ironic considering that Obama was critical of the Citizens United decision which would allow for unlimited funding from Super PAC’s. Shortly after the decision was passed Obama’s team wasted no time in signing up for one! Like two birds of a feather liberal atheist Maher & Socialist In Chief Obama can now band together at long last to spread left wing propaganda.
Obama’s fundraising efforts have been abysmal to put it lightly. Last month he raised $59,000 through his Super PAC which means that Maher’s $1 Million donation was welcomed with open arms. Do note: That money is probably from profit Maher made producing atheist documentary “Religulous” which mocked every organized religion under the sun.
3) I tried to open a lemonade stand... Statism/Regulation to Slavery/Loss of Freedom
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/02/24/tried-to-open-lemonade-stand/
February 24, 2012
Want to open a business in America? It isn't easy.
In Midway, Georgia, a 14-year-old girl and and her 10-year-old sister sold lemonade from their front yard. Two police officers bought some. But the next day, different officers ordered them to close their stand.
Their father went to city hall to try to find out why. The clerk laughed, and said she didn't know. Eventually, Police Chief Kelly Morningstar explained, "We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, and of what the lemonade was made with."
Give me a break. If she doesn't know, so what? But kids trying their first experiment with entrepreneurship are being shut down all over America. Officials in Hazelwood, Missouri ordered little girls to stop selling Girl Scout cookies.
It made me want to try to jump through the legal hoops required to open a simple lemonade stand in New York City. Here's some of what one has to do:
1) Register as sole proprietor with the County Clerk's Office (must be done in person)
2) Apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number
3) Complete 15-hr Food Protection Course!
4) After the course, register for an exam that takes 1 hr. You must score 70 percent to pass. (Sample question: "What toxins are associated with the puffer fish?") If you pass, allow 3-5 weeks for delivery of Food Protection Certificate.
5) Register for sales tax Certificate of Authority
6) Apply for a Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit. Must bring copies of the previous documents and completed forms to the Consumer Affairs Licensing Center.
Then, at least 21 days before opening your establishment, you must:
Arrange for an inspection with the Health Department's Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation. It takes about 3 weeks to get your appointment. If you pass, you can set up a business once you:
- Buy a portable fire extinguisher from a company certified by the FDNY and set up a contract for waste disposal.
- We couldn't finish the process. Had we been able to schedule our health inspection and open my stand legally, it would have taken us 65 days.
I sold lemonade anyway. I looked dumb hawking it with my giant fire extinguisher on the table.
Tourists told me they couldn't believe that I had to get "all those permits." A Pakistani man said, "That's crazy! You should move to Pakistan!"
But I don't want to move to Pakistan.
Politicians say, "We support entrepreneurs," but the bureaucrats make it hard. The Feds alone add 80,000 pages of new rules every year. Local governments add more. There are so many incomprehensible rules that even the bureaucrats can't tell you what's legal. In the name of public safety, politicians strangle opportunity.
4) 16 Statistics Which Show That The Number Of Americans Dependent On The Government Is At An All-Time High... Democrats/Communism/Slavery
http://www.mrconservative.com/2012/02/2250-16-statistics-which-show-that-the-number-of-americans-dependent-on-the-government-is-at-an-all-time-high/
February 25, 2012
A higher percentage of the American population is receiving government benefits than ever before. Yes, there have always been poor people that have needed our assistance, but what does it say about our economy that the number of Americans dependent on the government is at an all-time high? Every night on the evening news we are told that the economy is improving, and Barack Obama is endlessly giving speeches about the “economic recovery” that is supposedly underway. But that is not the reality on the ground for those on the bottom rungs of the income ladder in America. People are really hurting out there, and the number of Americans that are turning to the government for financial assistance just continues to increase. Yes, we should always have a “safety net”, but right now our “safety net” is becoming massively overloaded as millions more Americans jump on to it every single year. What all of these impoverished Americans really need are jobs, but the U.S. Congress and the past several administrations have been systematically killing job growth in America. So unfortunately the number of poor Americans is going to continue to rise, and that is really bad news for a nation that is already drowning in debt.
Some people out there want to blame the poor for the statistics that you are about to read, but that is a mistake. Yes, there are a lot of people out there that are abusing the system, and that needs to be stopped.
But many Americans that are dependent on the government are in that situation because there simply are not enough jobs in this country.
And unfortunately, the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress continue to pursue the same job-killing policies that have gotten us into this mess in the first place. So millions of Americans that have learned to survive as government dependents are not being given the opportunity to break out of that cycle. When there is a shortage of decent jobs, it is easy to give up. Many tend to become more and more comfortable being dependent on the government as time goes by.
Once you become addicted to getting a government check in the mail, it can be very difficult to give that up. There are some that get trapped in a life of government dependence for years or even decades.
The following are 16 statistics which show that the number of Americans dependent on the government is at an all-time high….
#1 According to the Census Bureau, 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that gets direct monetary benefits from the federal government. Back in 1983, less than a third of all Americans lived in a home that received direct monetary benefits from the federal government.
#2 The amount of money that the federal government gives directly to Americans has increased by 32 percent since Barack Obama entered the White House.
#3 The number of Americans receiving Social Security disability benefits has increased by 10 percent since Barack Obama first took office.
#4 Back in 1990, the federal government accounted for 32 percent of all health care spending in America. Today, that figure is up to 45 percent and it is projected to surpass 50 percent very shortly.
#5 The number of Americans on food stamps recently hit a new all-time high. It has increased by 3 million since this time last year and by more than 14 million since Barack Obama first entered the White House.
#6 Today, one out of every seven Americans is on food stamps and one out of every four American children is on food stamps. This is unprecedented in American history.
#7 In 2010, 42 percent of all single mothers in the United States were on food stamps.
#8 Back in 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income. In 2010, government transfer payments accounted for 18.4% of all income, which was a new all-time high.
#9 By the end of 2011, approximately 55 million Americans received a total of approximately 727 billion dollars in Social Security benefits. As theretirement crisis becomes much worse, that dollar figure is projected to absolutely skyrocket.
#10 According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security systempaid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes in 2010. That was not supposed to happen until at least 2016.
#11 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid, and things are about to get a whole lot worse. It is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.
#12 The U.S. government now says that the Medicare trust fund will run outfive years faster than previously anticipated.
#13 The total cost of just three federal government programs - the Department of Defense, Social Security and Medicare - exceeded the total amount of taxes brought in during fiscal 2010 by 10 billion dollars.
#14 It is being projected that entitlement spending by the federal governmentwill nearly double by the year 2050.
#15 Right now, spending by the federal government accounts for about 24 percent of GDP. Back in 2001, it accounted for just 18 percent.
#16 When you total it all up, American households are now receiving more money directly from the federal government than they are paying to the government in taxes.
Once again, I am not blaming the poor. Almost all of us know of someone that is on government assistance. Most of them are not dependent on the government because they are lazy or because they want to cheat the system. Most of them have just had their dreams crushed by this horrible economyand need a helping hand.
It is incredible how anyone can run around claiming that the U.S. economy is heading in the right direction with all of this going on.
Yes, things are going fairly well for the boys and girls down on Wall Street, but for the vast majority of Americans things are looking quite bleak.
For example, things have gotten so bad that the state of Florida is actually considering using ballparks and sports stadiums as shelters for the homeless.
But when it comes to so many people being financially dependent on the federal government, there is a major problem.
The problem is that the federal government is absolutely drowning in debt.
So why don’t our politicians just explain to the American people that we need to start cutting back and reducing the size of some of these programs?
Well, if any of our politicians try to do that they won’t get elected next time around.
The truth is that the American people are deeply addicted to government money.
Any politician that proposes significant cuts to Social Security or Medicare is a goner.
Every poll or survey that is done on this subject shows that the American people are overwhelmingly against cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicare.
So politicians will just keep spending money like there is no tomorrow, and the American people will just keep sending them back to Washington.
But just like we saw in Greece, a day of reckoning comes eventually.
There will come a time when the federal government will not be able to steal 150 million dollars an hour from our children and our grandchildren.
There will come a time when there will not be enough money for all of these growing social programs.
So once the government checks stop rolling in, what is going to happen then?
5) Nigerian Churchgoers Club Would-Be Suicide Bomber to Death After His Car Bomb Fails to Kill Him... Islamic Violence/Christian Rage
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nigerian-churchgoers-club-would-be-suicide-bomber-to-death-after-his-car-bomb-fails-to-kill-him/
February 26, 2012
Angry churchgoers at the headquarters of the Church Of Christ In Nations (COCIN) in Nigeria clubbed to death a would-be suicide bomber after his car bomb failed to kill him. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bomber and one other, who both wore army camouflage, drove into the Church and beat the security before hitting the building:
“The bomb carrier jumped out of the vehicle just before the blast went off and attempted to run but could not move as he was affected by the blast.
The angry worshipers, however, descended on him and clubbed him to death.
An eyewitness and a worshipper in the Church, Joyce Dalyop, told NAN that there were arguments among the worshipers over what to do with the bomber before he was finally killed.
`Immediately they (bombers) entered the Church, one of them jumped out of the black jeep but luck ran out of him as the explosion affected him and so he could not run very fast before he was caught.’
`Some people even pleaded that he should not be killed; they suggested that he should be handed over to Police for further investigation, but others argued that the police could not be trusted and opined that the suspect may be released,’ she said.”
The Associated Press reports that the suicide car bomber killed three people and wounded 38. The radical Islamist sect Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack during an early morning service. The attack follows other assaults the sect has claimed against Christians in Nigeria’s north, widening distrust between the two main faiths in the multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.
AP reports that Boko Haram has launched increasingly bloody attacks across Nigeria, including ones on churches like the Christmas Day bombing of a Catholic church that left at least 44 dead claimed by the sect in Madalla, a town just outside the country’s capital, Abuja.
The group also claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on Christmas Eve that struck Jos in 2010, killing as many as 80 people.
6) ‘Ethicists’ justify after birth abortion... Liberal/Anti Children/Pro Killing the Innocent/Obama
http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/02/28/ethicists-justify-after-birth-abortion/
Feb 28, 2012
Worried about that kid you just had? Feel like you really wanted a girl, but God saw fit to give you a boy? Don’t worry! Ethicists (using that term very loosely) have now said that you should be able to murder abort the baby after it’s born!
The Blaze reports:
Alberto Giubilini with Monash University in Melbourne and Francesca Minerva at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne write that in “circumstances occur[ing] after birth such that they would have justified abortion, what we call after-birth abortion should be permissible.”
The two are quick to note that they prefer the term “after-birth abortion“ as opposed to ”infanticide.” Why? Because it “[emphasizes] that the moral status of the individual killed is comparable with that of a fetus (on which ‘abortions’ in the traditional sense are performed) rather than to that of a child.” The authors also do not agree with the term euthanasia for this practice as the best interest of the person who would be killed is not necessarily the primary reason his or her life is being terminated. In other words, it may be in the parents’ best interest to terminate the life, not the newborns.
The circumstances, the authors state, where after-birth abortion should be considered acceptable include instances where the newborn would be putting the well-being of the family at risk, even if it had the potential for an “acceptable” life. The authors cite Downs Syndrome as an example, stating that while the quality of life of individuals with Downs is often reported as happy, “such children might be an unbearable burden on the family and on society as a whole, when the state economically provides for their care.”
“Why don’t we call chocolate pudding,” Glenn joked over their preference for “after birth abortion” over “infanticide”. Glenn said that changing the language is a longtime progressive tactic that started when Woodrow Wilson scared everyone with similar radical ideas.
“Why don’t we just wait to see if we like the baby,” Glenn said of the ridiculousness of the debate.
“They’re just poking us with a stick. That’s all they’re doing,” he added.
“ Now, the question is are we even awake enough? Do we even care enough this time around to have it swing back so far the other way. I don’t think so,” Glenn said.
7) Rick Warren to acknowledge Christians, Muslims worship 'one God'... Liberal Christian Heretical/Islamic Victory
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1545418
2/29/2012
A Messianic Jewish leader says it's a tragedy that mega-church pastor Rick Warren appears to be ignoring the Great Commission as he reaches out to Muslims in southern California.
The Orange County Register reports that Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, is part of an effort called "King's Way" that is attempting to build a bridge between evangelical Christians and Muslims.
According to that report, Warren wants to heal divisions by partnering with area mosques through a proposed set of principles that includes acknowledging that Christians and Muslims "believe in one God." King's Way principles are also committed to building friendships with members of the other faith, without either group proselytizing the other, as the focus is not on conversion but on loving thy neighbor (Matthew 22:39). Those principles were reportedly co-authored by Saddleback's pastor in charge of interfaith outreach and the director of religious affairs at a Los Angeles mosque.
But Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, wonders how the Christian leader can overlook the Great Commission, which calls on Christians to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:16-20).
"Why and when did we get a pass on sharing our faith, on witnessing?" she wonders. "You can be a friend to a Muslim all the way into hell -- and that's where these Muslims are going, for Pete's sake. They're headed straight for hell, and Rick Warren could do something about that by sharing the gospel with them."
Markell says King's Way is part of the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3.
"This is just more of the church that has lost its direction, that is not tending to the sheep properly," she decides.
The Olive Tree Ministries founder concludes that it is a tragedy that at this late hour, Warren is not telling lost Muslims that Christ is the only bridge to eternal life.
Late last year, Warren flatly denied rumors he said were "100-percent false" that he promotes a Christian-Islam mixture identified as "Chrislam." He stated at that time: "My life and ministry are built on the truth that Jesus is the only way, and our inerrant Bible is our only true authority."
8) The Monkees singer Davy Jones dead at 66... Celebrity Death/Interest
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/02/29/monkees-singer-davy-jones-dies-at-66-report-says/
February 29, 2012
Davy Jones, the lead singer of the pop group The Monkees, died Wednesday at the age of 66, his publicist confirmed to Fox News.
"The only thing we can do is confirm that he has died of a heart attack at Indiantown, Florida this morning," his rep Helen Kensick told Fox News. "We will have more later.
The local medical examiner released a statement Wednesday confirming that they had been notified of the singer's death.
"The District 19 Medical Examiner's office has been notified of the death of Mr. Davy Jones," spokeswoman Rebecca Shortridge said. "We are currently evaluating whether or not the medical examiner's office will take jurisdiction."
Jones, who last performed Feb. 19 in Oklahoma, formed the Monkees in 1966 with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork.
Their biggest hits included "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer" and they also had a television show.A former racehorse jockey, Jones turned to acting and then became lead singer when he joined The Monkees in 1965 and the band embarked on a wildly popular U.S. television show. Jones sang lead vocals on songs such as "I Wanna Be Free" and "Daydream Believer."
The band was assembled as with its personnel designed to be the instant stars of an American TV series seeking to evoke the Beatles, then already famous for their music and such films as "A Hard Day's Night and "Help!"
Auditions for The Monkees were held in the fall of 1965, attracting some 500 applicants. Jones -- who was born Dec. 30, 1945, in Manchester, England -- had stylishly long hair and a British accent that helped with his selection. He would go on to achieve heartthrob status in the United States.
Nonetheless, musical ability wasn't paramount in the casting decisions. While Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork had some musical experience, Mickey Dolenz had been a child actor, as had Jones along with being a jockey in his native England.
In August 1966, the Beatles performed in San Francisco, playing their last live set for a paying audience. The same month, the Monkees released their first album, introducing the world to the group that would star in the NBC series when it premiered in September 1966.
The first single, "Last Train to Clarksville," became a No. 1 hit. And the show caught on with audiences, featuring fast-paced, helter-skelter comedy inspired as much by the Marx Brothers as the Beatles.
It was a shrewd case of cross-platform promotion. As David Bianculli noted in his "Dictionary of Teleliteracy," "The show's self-contained music videos, clear forerunners of MTV, propelled the group's first seven singles to enviable positions of the pop charts: three number ones, two number twos, two number threes."
And though initially the Monkees weren't allowed to play their own instruments, they were supported by enviable talent: Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote "Pleasant Valley Sunday," and Neil Diamond penned "I'm a Believer."
Musicians who played on their records included Billy Preston (who only later played with the Beatles), Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Ry Cooder and Neil Young.
After two seasons, the TV series had flared out and was canceled in the summer of 1968. But the Monkeys remained a nostalgia act for decades, firmly entrenched in the American musical imagination.
According to The Monkees website -- Monkees.com -- Jones left the band in late 1970. In the summer of 1971, he recorded a solo hit "Rainy Jane" and made a series of appearances on American variety and television shows, including "Love American Style" and "The Brady Bunch."
Jones played himself in a widely popular Brady Bunch episode, which aired in late 1971. In the episode, Marcia Brady, president of her school's Davy Jones fan club, promised she could get him to sing at a school dance.
Amid lingering nostalgia for the Monkees, Jones teamed up in the mid-1980s with former Monkee Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and promoter David Fishof for a reunion tour. Their popularity prompted MTV to re-air The Monkees series, introducing the group to a new audience.
In 1987, Jones, Tork and Micky Dolenz recorded a new album, "Pool It." Two years later, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In the late 1990s, the group filmed a special called "Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees."
Jones is survived by his wife, Jessica.
9) Andrew Breitbart, 43, Has Died.... Conservative Celebrity Death/Interest/Politics
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/andrew-breitbart-has-died/
March 1, 2012
Conservative website publisher and author Andrew Breitbart has died. He was 43.
“With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart,” a statement on Breitbart’s BigJournalism.com said early Thursday. “Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.”
(Related: Jonah Goldberg Breaks Down During Fox Interview Moments After Breitbart News Hits)
(Related: ‘Burn in HELL!’: Shocking Tweets Celebrate Andrew Breitbart’s Death on Twitter)
“We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior,” the statement said.
Joel Pollak, editor in chief and in-house for Breitbart.com, confirmed the news to The Blaze in an email.
The Associated Press reported Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles shortly after midnight when he collapsed.
Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him, his father-in-law Orson Bean said. He was rushed to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center where he died.
Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, Bean said, though he could not determine what happened.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s devastating,” he told The Associated Press.
Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office told the AP a cause of death was unknown and an autopsy would “more than likely” be conducted.
Breitbart is survived by his wife Susannah Bean Breitbart, 41, and four children.
Condolences immediately began pouring in on Twitter, a favorite social media tool of Breitbart’s
Politicians, including some of the Republican candidates for president, weighed in as well.
“RIP ‘O Mighty Warrior!” Texas Gov. Rick Perry wrote on Twitter.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) wrote he was “stunned to hear about the passing of Andrew Breitbart” and offered his condolences to “his wife Susie, his children, and his friends.”
Mitt Romney wrote: “Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of @AndrewBreitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father.”
Rick Santorum, hearing the news from reporters while on the campaign trail, called Breitbart’s death “a huge loss, in my opinion for our country and certainly for the conservative movement.”
Newt Gingrich called Breitbart’s death “a tragedy for his family and for conservatism.”
“Andrew Breitbart was the most innovative pioneer in conservative activist social media in America. He had great courage and creativity,” Gingrich tweeted.
Breitbart, an outspoken critic of the mainstream media, was known for taking on his critics on Twitter and frequently re-posted their expletive-laden insults. His final tweet, posted at 11:25 p.m., was part of a similar back-and-forth discussion on the micro-blogging site.
Breitbart became well-known for his work with the Drudge Report. Shortly after the news of his death, Matt Drudge posted a personal tribute to him on his website:
DEAR READER: In the first decade of the DRUDGEREPORT Andrew Breitbart was a constant source of energy, passion and commitment. We shared a love of headlines, a love of the news, an excitement about what’s happening. I don’t think there was a single day during that time when we did not flash each other or laugh with each other, or challenge each other. I still see him in my mind’s eye in Venice Beach, the sunny day I met him. He was in his mid 20′s. It was all there. He had a wonderful, loving family and we all feel great sadness for them today… MDRUDGE
Breitbart was also involved with the Huffington Post in its early stages. Editor in chief Arianna Huffington released a statement on his passing:
I was asked many times this morning for my thoughts on what Andrew meant to the political world, but all I can think of at the moment is what Andrew meant to me as a friend, starting from when we worked together - his passion, his exuberance, his fearlessness. And above all, what I’m thinking of at the moment is his amazing wife Susie and their four beautiful young children. My love and thoughts are with them right now.
This post has been updated since it was first published.
LOS ANGELES - Conservative media publisher and activist Andrew Breitbart, who was behind investigations that led to the resignations of former Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York and former U.S. Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod, has died in Los Angeles. He was 43.
Breitbart’s website, bigjournalism.com, announced Thursday he died of natural causes in Los Angeles. His death was confirmed by breitbart.com editor-in-chief Joel Pollak, who said he was at the hospital, and by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood on Thursday, shortly after midnight, when he collapsed, said his father-in-law, Orson Bean, a movie, TV and Broadway actor.
Someone saw Breitbart fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s devastating,” Bean told The Associated Press.
Larry Dietz, watch commander at the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, said a cause of death was unknown and an autopsy was likely.
Reaction to his death was quick.
“RIP ‘O Mighty Warrior!” Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a message on Twitter, the medium where Breitbart confronted his critics with often abrasive messages. Indeed, Breitbart’s final message called a follower “a putz.”
His online profile, meanwhile, called him a “mild-mannered family guy” and “husky male model.”
Media Matters, the liberal watchdog that was a frequent Breitbart critic, said the organization’s “thoughts and prayers are with his family today.”
“We’ve disagreed more than we’ve found common ground, but there was never any question of Andrew’s passion for and commitment to what he believed,” said Media Matters’ Ari Rabin-Havt.
Republican presidential contenders also weighed in.
Rick Santorum called Breitbart a “powerful force” after learning of his death from reporters at a rally in Dalton, Ga. “He will be what a huge loss ... for our country and certainly for the conservative movement and my prayers go out to his family,” Santorum told reporters. “I’m really sorry to hear it.”
Mitt Romney posted to Twitter: “Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of (at)AndrewBreitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father.”
Newt Gingrich tweeted: “Andrew Breitbart was the most innovative pioneer in conservative activist social media in America. He had great courage and creativity.”
Breitbart’s fans have praised him for exposing government corruption and media bias.
Sherrod, who is black, was fired from her job as Georgia state rural development director in July 2010 after an edited video surfaced of her making what appeared to be a racist remark. She is seen telling a local NAACP group that she was initially reluctant to help a white farmer save his farm more than two decades ago, long before she worked for USDA.
Missing from the clip was the rest of the speech, which was meant as a lesson in racial healing. Sherrod told the crowd she eventually realized her mistake and helped the farmer save his farm.
Sherrod sued Breitbart, his employee, Larry O’Connor, and an unnamed “John Doe” defendant for “defamation, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress.” A lawyer for O’Connor said Thursday that it is unclear whether the case will proceed for the other two defendants, who were in the process of trying to get the case dismissed from federal court.
Breitbart’s websites also featured a 2009 hidden-camera video that brought embarrassment to the community group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. The videos show ACORN staffers offering advice on taxes and other issues to actors posing as a prostitute and pimp.
Those videos triggered a firestorm of criticism, with some ACORN employees appearing willing to support illegal schemes involving tax advice, misuse of public funds and illegal trafficking in children.
An internal review later concluded the videos “feed the impression that ACORN believes it is above the law.” The internal investigation and a Government Accountability Office report cleared ACORN of criminal activities.
Even so, public pressure led Congress to block previously approved funds from going to ACORN and to stop future payments. Roughly 10 percent of ACORN’s funds came from federal grants and the group eventually disbanded.
Breitbart also sparked a controversy that ultimately led to the resignation of Weiner, whose problems began on May 28 when Bretibart’s biggovernment.com posted a lewd photograph of an underwear-clad crotch and said it had been sent from Weiner’s Twitter account to a Seattle woman.
Initially, Weiner lied, saying his account had been hacked. But he pointedly did not report the incident to law enforcement - a step that could have led the way to charges of wrongdoing far more serious than mere sexting.
Additionally, his public denials were less than solid - particularly when he told an interviewer that he could not “say with certitude” that he wasn’t the man in the underwear photo.
Weiner’s spokesman said the photo was just “a distraction” and that the congressman “doesn’t know the person named by the hacker.”
The congressman denied sending the photo and said he had retained an attorney and hired a private security company to figure out how someone could pull off such a prank.
But Weiner dropped that story line on June 6, offering a lengthy public confession at a Manhattan news conference, acknowledging to online activity involving at least six women.
Breitbart seldom showed restraint in his vitriol to his critics and seemed to relish in the negative attention his antics earned him.
After Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts died in 2009, Breitbart tweeted “Rest in Chappaquiddick” and called him “a special pile of human excrement.” When critics questioned his tone, he tweeted they “missed my best ones!”
Breitbart is survived by his wife, Susannah Bean Breitbart, and four children.