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Author: Mary Chastain

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Mary Chastain

Mary is the resident libertarian. She covers stories in every vertical, but her favorite thing to do is take on the media. She saw its bias against the right when she was a socialist.

Mary loves the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, tennis, cats, Oxford comma, Diet Coke, and needlework.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 29, 2016 7 Comments
Texas police officer Michael Kelley has claimed prosecutors on the Sandra Bland case threatened his career if he brought forth evidence of wrongdoing. Kelley, from Prairie View, said he saw "marks on her forehead after a confrontation with state trooper Brian Encinia." The AP reported:
Kelley said he was never contacted by special prosecutors handling the case, and the Waller County district attorney's top assistant said there would be repercussions if he spoke to a Bland family attorney. Prosecutors have strongly denied Kelley's allegations.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 29, 2016 2 Comments
Turkish journalist Mahir Zeynalov spent this morning tweeting pictures and bios of some of the journalists detained by the Turkish government. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to think they have connections to Fehtullah Gülen, who he blames for the coup, or at least that is the excuse for the round up. https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov/status/759021471045980160

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 29, 2016 11 Comments
Adel Kermiche, one of the terrorists that slit the throat of Father Jacques Hamel in a small town in northern France, recorded his plans to attack a church on the Telegram app:
"You take a knife, you go to a church, you make a carnage," he said. "You slice two or three heads and it's good. It's over."
Another thing. A "spiritual guide" further radicalized Kermiche in prison in 2015.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 28, 2016 14 Comments
What a shock. Judicial Watch discovered that top IRS officials, including Lois Lerner and Holly Paz, knew that the agency targeted conservative groups before they told Congress. Judicial Watch reported:
The FBI documents also reveal that IRS officials stated that the agency was targeting conservative groups because of their ideology and political affiliation in the summer of 2011. According to one senior tax law specialist, “The case seemed to be pulled because of the applicant’s political affiliation and screening is not supposed to occur that way … [Redacted] said he thought the cases were being pulled based upon political affiliations.” And IRS senior official Nancy Marks, appointed by [then-acting Commissioner Steven] Miller to conduct an internal investigation stated, “Cincinnati was categorizing cases based on name and ideology, not just activity.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 28, 2016 6 Comments
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has shut down over 130 media outlets as he continues his crackdown on a failed coup two weeks ago. Erdoğan believes Fethullah Gülen's followers orchestrated a coup that failed miserably. Now anyone he suspects supports the scholar will lose their job or be detained without any proof.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 27, 2016 12 Comments
Due to recent terrorist attacks, German politicians have now asked Chancellor Angela Merkel to deport over 200,000 migrants who failed to gain asylum. Homeland expert Armin Schuster said:
In his appeal for a speeding up of deportations, Mr Schuster said: “Some could get the impression they could get away with anything because they don’t realise how mildly the state reacts to those breaking the law.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 27, 2016 11 Comments
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has found that shooting deaths of law enforcement has risen to 78% in 2016 from 2015. The majority of those officers died in "ambush-style killings." The report runs from January to July 20 and compares the stats from the same time period last year, which means it includes the Dallas and Baton Rouge officer assassinations. Those killers stated they wanted to kill white cops due to recent killings of black people from cops. Another study showed, though, that police violence against citizens remains unbiased.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 27, 2016 20 Comments
A judge has released John Hinckley, Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in an effort to impress actress Jodie Foster. He must live with his mother in Williamsburg, VA. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said the 61-year-old "no longer poses a danger to himself or others."

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 26, 2016 15 Comments
A Texas court has dropped the remaining charges against the pro-life activists who caught Planned Parenthood officials on tape selling baby parts. David Daleiden, 27, said:
"The dismissal of the bogus, politically motivated charges against [Center for Medical Progress] project lead David Daleiden and investigator Sandra Merritt is a resounding vindication of the First Amendment rights of all citizen journalists, and also a clear warning to any of Planned Parenthood's political cronies who would attack whistleblowers to protect Planned Parenthood from scrutiny," Daleiden said in a statement.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 26, 2016 2 Comments
My old boss Andrew Breitbart said politics are downstream from culture. When celebrities say or do something, it is important to take notice. Popular metal band Disturbed received honors from the Mansfield Police Department in Massachusetts after they allowed them to use their cover of Sound of Silence in a video. All the band members expressed gratitude while vocalist David Draiman told the cops they have much respect for the cops and thanked them for everything they do:
"It is a crying shame what has happened in this country," he told the cops. "You guys give everything for us so it's the least we can do."

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 26, 2016 52 Comments
French President Francois Hollande said the men who murdered 84-year-old Jacques Hamel pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). They also took four people hostage. Hollande said:
"[ISIS] has declared war on us," French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday. "We must fight this war by all means, while respecting the rule of law -- what makes us a democracy."
Authorities identified one terrorist as Adel Kermiche. His parents "flagged his radical behavior to authorities." We will continue to update this post as more information becomes available.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 25, 2016 8 Comments
Turkey continues to purge people after a failed coup two weeks ago. Authorities said ambassadors are next while Amnesty International reported authorities have raped and tortured the detainees already behind bars. Turkey blames the Gülen Movement and have said everyone purged has connections to the group. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said they are no concentrating on his department:
"Some personnel in the ministry had been given answered questions... and some personnel were placed in key positions in the ministry," he told broadcaster France 24.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 25, 2016 5 Comments
Two Syrians in Germany attacked innocent civilians on Sunday. One killed a pregnant woman with a machete while the other detonated a bomb outside of a music festival. The bomber recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, which has led authorities to call it a terrorist attack. Authorities call the murder of the pregnant woman a crime of passion since the attacker was in love with her. The attacks come only days after Ali Sonboly, a German-Iranian 18-year-old, killed nine at a McDonalds in Munich.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 24, 2016 10 Comments
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided not to fully ban Russia from the 2016 Rio Games even though the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found the doping scandal reached the government. The IOC said:
Given the urgency of the situation, with the Olympic Games Rio 2016 starting in 12 days, and the athletes’ entry process already underway, the IOC EB had to take a preliminary decision with regard to the participation of Russian athletes in Rio de Janeiro. Prof. McLaren states in his report that it “fulfils partially the mandate of the Independent Person”. This is why the IOC supports his request to continue and finalise his work. On the other hand, this situation leads to an urgency for the IOC which does not allow it sufficient time for hearings for affected athletes, officials and organisations.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 23, 2016 6 Comments
Authorities have discovered German-Iranian Ali Sonboly,18, had an obsession with mass shootings and researched them before he murdered nine people in Munich. The police said:
“With regard to the suspect we have to examine everything, but we don’t know yet what triggered the crime,” said Peter Beck, a police spokesman. According to investigators, materials were found in Mr Sonboly’s room indicating a fascination with mass shooting incidents. “There was material found in the apartment of the suspect that showed a particular interest in shooting sprees”, said Thomas de Maiziere, Germany’s interior minister.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 22, 2016 5 Comments
It looks like British Prime Minister Theresa May has become the next Margaret Thatcher as she dominated her first Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs). She said:
You refer to me as the second woman Prime Minister, in my years here in this House I've long heard the Labour Party asking what the Conservative Party does for women - well, just keep making us Prime Minister.
Then she railed against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 22, 2016 10 Comments
Japan's Funai Electronics announced they will stop building VCRs this month. They have trouble finding the parts to build the machines:
"We are the last manufacturer... in all of the world," the company said in a statement, which cited sales of just 750,000 in 2015. That's down by millions from the video cassette player's heyday.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 22, 2016 29 Comments
The NBA has decided to move their February 19 All-Star Game out of North Carolina due to the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Bill. The league stated:
"Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 and the issue of legal protections for the LGBT community in Charlotte became prominent, the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets have been working diligently to foster constructive dialogue and try to effect positive change. We have been guided in these discussions by the long-standing core values of our league. These include not only diversity, inclusion, fairness and respect for others but also the willingness to listen and consider opposing points of view.
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