An Item From The “Truth Is Much Stranger Than Fiction” Department.

Stolen from Observations

Mobile, Alabama’s hometown TV station WALA FOX10 reports the following story, which contains comments that will leave most people scratching their head in disbelief.

An unidentified man who was shopping at the local Family Dollar store in Mobile saw a masked man pointing a gun at an employee and leading the employee toward the front of the store.

When he moved closer to investigate, he found the following: “He had the gun to his head. He had him on his knees,” said the man. “I drew my gun on him and I said 'Hey, don't move.' At that point he swung around and before he had a chance to aim the gun at me, I fired. I didn’t want to shoot him,” he said.

The gunman, 18-year-old Adric White, was not killed, and was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and is now recuperating in police custody at the hospital. A second young man, 19-year-old Tavoris Moss has been arrested as an accomplice to the Family Dollar robbery, although the FOX10 story did not explain the role he is accused of playing in the incident.

Court records show that Adric White was out on bond for robbing The Original Oyster House at gunpoint a little more than a month before the Family Dollar robbery, and records show the Baldwin County District Attorney's Office has now filed to have the bond in that case revoked.

Summarizing this incident, a young man out on bond for armed robbery was holding an employee of a retail establishment at gunpoint, and was challenged by a Good Samaritan with a gun, who then shot the young man when the Good Samaritan thought he was about to be shot.

Where this story gets really strange is in the reaction of Adric White’s family. The relatives of this young man who had already been charged in one armed robbery and was wounded in a second attempt to rob a store at gunpoint might reasonably condemn the young man’s behavior and be thankful that this wayward son is still alive and in relatively good condition, and therefore might be subject to rehabilitation. But that is not how at least some of his relatives reacted.

A female family member who did not want to be identified said the 18-year-old should have never been shot to begin with.

“If his (the customer’s) life was not in danger, if no one had a gun up to him, if no one pointed a gun at him - what gives him the right to think uhat it's okay to just shoot someone?” said the relative. “You should have just left the store and went wherever you had to go in your car or whatever,” FOX10 reported the relative as saying.

Apparently, judging from this relative’s comments she believes the victim in this scenario is the robber holding the employee at gunpoint, not the employee being held at gunpoint. And, the person who has done wrong is not the guy holding an employee at gunpoint during a robbery, but the Good Samaritan who thwarts a robbery and saves the employee from possible harm or death at the hands of the robber.

Where does such upside-down thinking develop? Is it a feature of only a relative few troubled minds, or is it far more widespread? Is it born in a soul convinced that he/she is entitled and therefore can do no wrong, or somehow is not subject to the laws governing our behavior? Is it a product of a failing culture that has not imparted basic American and human values to more recent generations?

Interestingly, FOX10 had interviewed Adric White’s parents, but the station reports that they later called the station and demanded the video not be aired. We are left to wonder whether they share the screwy morality of the relative whose sentiments were reported above.

For the record, the police emphasize that the Good Samaritan – whose name was not released, perhaps for his own protection – who shot the alleged robber was justified and broke no laws.

"[Criminals] tend to think that they are the only ones with guns," the Good Samaritan told FOX10. "I’ve been legally carrying my firearm for a little over four years now, and thank God I’ve never had to use it until, of course, last night. It just goes to show it's good to have a concealed carry [permit]. You never know when you’re going to need it.”

This story is sure to contribute to the fierce debate over gun control. It is a point in favor of the idea held by many of those who defend the constitutional right of Americans to keep and bear arms that the best way to combat a bad guy with a gun is the presence of a good guy with a gun. It shows that there may be positive results when law-abiding citizens are armed.

Whichever side of that argument you are on, we can all acknowledge that because of the behavior of this man legally carrying a gun, a robbery was thwarted and the perpetrator did not harm anyone.

Happy New Year!

Democrats Say The Darnest Things!

Hat Tip to Texas Fred

Once again one of the greatest idiots of the House has spoken up and shown her ignorance.

Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee has the conservative blogosphere in a tizzy again today. The target of right-wing wrath is the liberal Democrat’s contention that Congress should look “carefully at how we reform entitlements that are not handouts but they are earned.”

Video of Jackson Lee’s speech quickly ricocheted around the Internet. Comments on a Fox News blog post were almost universally negative: The Houston lawmaker was labeled “a disgrace” and “increasingly appalling.”

Some critics immediately assumed that Jackson Lee was talking about “welfare” programs, Food Stamps and other social safety net programs that are frequently deemed “entitlements” in the bureaucratic language of Washington.

But two of the three “entitlements” mentioned in her speech are not means-tested programs but government guarantees to elderly Americans who pay into the trust funds for those programs through their entire on-the-job earnings. The third, Medicaid, is a government health-care program that largely benefits the poor.

Here’s what Jackson Lee said on the House floor:

“I believe it should be pronounced here today, that the reform of the entitlements based upon shipshod, reckless, deliberations — or should I say actions — are a non-starter,” she said.

Among the non-starters listed by Jackson Lee:

• Raising the eligibility age for Medicare
• Carelessly considered Medicaid changes
• Changes in Social Security, which, she said, “is solvent.”

“So, I would say move quickly to pass the middle class tax cuts that would be for all Americans — 100 percent [of Americans] up to $250,000,” she said. “And let’s think about moving into 2013, how we make this economy better by looking carefully at how we reform entitlements that are not handouts but they are earned.”

Source

You can watch the video and see hear her own words:



Click here if the video doesn't load.

For the record Social Security is NOT solvent and if something isn't done to repay the fund it will fail in 15 to 20 years.

For the record raising the eligibility age from 65 to 67 will help slow the insolvency of Social Security by 5 years.  It is a start back towards solvency.

Medicaid is forcing states to go broke.  More and more funds (usually earmarked for other programs) are being spent on Medicaid.  We were promised that Obamacare would correct this problem.  I guess that is another lie about Obamacare that has been broken.

I am amazed at the voters of the 18th District in Texas (Houston Area) would keep sending this idiot back to Congress time and time again.  Have they no common sense?  Do they not see that this woman (I refuse to call her a lady.) is nothing but a joke among her colleagues?  Then again, they did go overwhelmingly for Barack Hussein Obama.

I guess this is just a sample of the stupidity we are to be subjected to for the next 2 years.  Perhaps in 2 years the people of the 18th District will finally gain some self-respect, some intelligence and vote her out of office.  But don't hold your breath.

Moonbat Alert!!!

Their Usefulness Is Over

Once the usefulness of a group is over to the liberal elites they are thrown by the waste side.  Under Stalin the peasants and workers of the Soviet Union were starved into submission to the State.  Here in the United States the Liberal elites are starting the same policy by cutting Food Stamps.

Ohio families receiving food stamps could get an unwelcome surprise come January: $50 less every month in assistance.

For the 869,000 households enrolled in the program for the poorest Ohioans, that could amount to about $520 million annually out of the grocery budgets.

Because of the way the federal government calculates utility expenses for people receiving the benefit, a mild winter nationwide last year, and a lower price for natural gas, many families could experience a significant cut in aid, those familiar with the program say.

Recipients should get a letter from the state Department of Job and Family Services this month explaining the change, said Ben Johnson, a spokesman for the agency.

Meanwhile, food banks and others that distribute food assistance are bracing for increased demand.

“They are going to increase hunger among our most vulnerable — working families, seniors, children, and persons with disabilities,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Ms. Hamler-Fugitt said her organization is particularly concerned that some seniors or persons with disabilities who have a low benefit amount could lose all their monthly assistance.

We’re really worried about [the change],” she said.

What’s called the “standard utility allowance” — the amount deducted from a person’s income when the state determines his or her eligibility for the food stamp program — will decrease by $166 for 2013, translating to about $50 less per household in food assistance. State Job and Family Services officials tried to appeal the change to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but the USDA denied the request.

USDA officials did not respond to requests from The Blade for comment.

State and county Job and Family Services officials say there is little they can do other than letting their clients and community partners who provide food assistance know about the changes.

“This is a federal issue,” said Joel Potts, executive director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Directors’ Association. “It is what it is. They have a formula. ... We just think it is going to be really hard on families and individuals. They will see significantly less money starting in January.”

The average food-stamp recipient receives $138 per person, per month, according to state statistics. As of August, more than 1.7 million individual Ohioans, or about 869,000 families, received the assistance. A total of $3 billion in benefits was issued in 2011 in Ohio; the program is federally funded.

In Lucas County, about 91,000 people — 46,000 households — receive the benefit. Fifty fewer dollars per household per month would amount to about $27 million annually.

“It’s a concern,” said Deb Ortiz-Flores, director of Lucas County’s Job and Family Services agency. “Fifty dollars can buy quite a bit of food.”

Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services in southeastern Ohio, said the loss of funds will cause a true hardship.

“Fifty dollars would be devastating” to families, he said. “These are folks that have already fallen off the fiscal cliff.” Mr. Frech added that many of his agency’s clients are not affected by lower natural gas prices.

“The majority of folks [here] don’t heat with natural gas in the first place,” he said. “They heat with fuel oil and propane.”

The Rev. Steve Anthony, executive director of Toledo Area Ministries, said, “It will put a strain on all organizations that provide emergency food. We’re going to have to find alternatives. We can’t pull food or money out of thin air.”

TAM runs the Feed Your Neighbor program, which has 13 food pantries in Toledo and surrounding suburbs.

Source

The price of food is rising yet the State of Ohio is cutting food stamps.  I expect many states will be doing this soon to cut expenses and reduce their debts.  I wonder what other "Welfare" programs are going to be cut.  And the funny thing is that the poor fools don't even know that they voted for this to happen.