Anti-terror officers warn vets' wives of Crip 'hit'

Just in time Christmas threat confronts families of returning war veterans

Lawton, Oklahoma – When the four soldiers from Ft. Sill invaded the home, they left 4 members of the Crips gang shot and two others injured, according to Army anti-terror investigators.

None of the information available in official Army alerts, news articles or a blog for “solo ops” wives specifies exactly what the 4 military suspects were after when they raided the Crips stronghold in this suburban setting bordering the sprawling military base.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Crips is a collection of gangs throughout the U.S. with an estimated membership between 30,000 and 35,000 operating out of 221 cities in 41 states. Their colors are shades of blue.

They sell drugs, among other criminal pursuits, according to lawmen.

The September 20 attack led the Crips to put out a shoot on sight “hit” on any soldier wearing his uniform off post – out to dine, running errands, commuting to the base.

There doesn't seem to be an expiration date on the threat.

As a “precautionary measure,” Lt. Col. Levon E. Cumpton issued a memo which “came out through Army channels” instructing soldiers not to “wear a military uniform out for evening dining, shopping, and other personal matters.” He urged the soldiers to “consider commuting to/from work in civilian clothes – specifically, if they need to make personal stops beetween home and work.”

At least one military wife was quick to post his words on a blog devoted to wives of soldiers and airmen involved in “solo ops.”

Apparently, the alert is still in force as soldiers throughout the affected area of Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas return from the Iraq war just in time for Christmas.

Spokesmen for the Missouri National Guard and Fort Sill declined to elaborate on the incident, saying the investigation is in the hands of the Lawton, Okla., Police Department. Yet as of the time of the September threat, "the alert has not been rescinded," said Maj. Tammy Spicer, the public affairs officer for the Missouri National Guard.

From the first 15 seconds - you know it's your lingo

GOP, Demo parties unify on April 3 primary date

Negotiated order goes to San Antonio court

BULLETIN: The three-judge panel of the Western District U.S. District Court signed the negotiated order within hours of its introduction by the GOP and Democratic Parties of Texas.

We have no hard filing deadline, for seats that don’t yet exist, for an election date we don’t know. Any questions?” Harold Cook

Austin – Officials of the state Republican and Democratic parties agreed on a proposed order which, if a three-judge panel of Federal Judges signs it, will move the March primaries to a new date of April 3.

The new deadlines agreed upon are:

February 1, 2012 - New residency deadline for candidates seeking election to the Texas House and Texas Senate.

February 1, 2012, 6:00pm - New deadline of court-ordered reopened filing period, in which candidates for all offices have the opportunity to amend, withdraw or file a new application for the ballot.

February 3, 2012 - New deadline for County Executive Committees to conduct drawing for candidate order on ballot.

April 3, 2012 - Date of the 2012 General Primary Election.

April 14 or April 21, 2012 - Date of County and Senatorial District Conventions, as determined by the State Chair of each political party.

June 5, 2012 - Date of the 2012 General Primary Runoff Election.

According to the order, which will not be effective until or unless the judges sign off on it, the following stipulations apply:

The following schedule is contingent upon the Court entering redistricting plans for Texas House, Senate and Congress on or before February 1, 2012:

Residency

Therefore, it is ORDERED that for the 2012 elections to the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate a person must be a resident of the district the person seeks to represent from February 1, 2012 until the date of the General Election, and,

It is further ORDERED that an incorrect precinct, district or place designation on anapplication for a place on the ballot shall not render the application invalid if the designation is corrected on or before February 1, 2012 at 6 p.m. If a previously filed application indicated a district, precinct or place designation specifying a particular map to which that designation applied, or if the application did not specify a district, precinct, or place designation, and one is required for the office sought, the application shall be rejected if not amended to correct such designation prior to 6 p.m. February 1, 2012. Any petition submitted in lieu of filing fee must contain valid
signatures of registered voters of the territory from which the office sought is elected in the number required by the Texas Election Code, and must be submitted to the appropriate filing authority no later than 6:00 p.m., February 1, 2012.

An application for a place on the ballot for the office of precinct chair shall not be invalid if filed more than 90 days before the deadline.

According to a joint statement issued by the GOP and Democratic parties, “If signed by the three-judge panel - nothing in the order shall be construed by the Court or the parties as a waiver of the positions of each party with respect to the schedule or conduct of the upcoming election. The parties' positions as stated at the December 13, 2011 hearing are expressly reserved. Additionally, the Republican and Democratic parties have agreed that it is necessary to have a primary early enough in April to allow them to conduct their statutorily required conventions as previously planned.”

Highly transmissible bird flu created in labs...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Howard just pointed with his gun and said, "That way, down Highway 61..."

To stifle the internet in favor of big corporate media...

Washington - Congress will vote today on the Stop Online Privacy Act, H.R. 3261, introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX. Many who oppose the law feel its passage would stifle the use of the internet if enacted, casting a pall of fear on free expression through cybernetic means. Others go much further in their opinion; they say its passage would lead to enormous conflict.

Eighty-two engineers who were involved in the seminal events that created the internet in its present form wrote Congressmen an entreaty urging they vote against both the House and Senate versions of the new law.

“If enacted, either of these bills will create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation, and seriously harm the credibility of the United States in its role as a steward of key Internet infrastructure,” the engineers wrote.

Sheriff Joe violated latinos' rights, according to U.S. Atty.

Phoenix – As a result of findings of civil right violations outlined by U.S. Attorney Thomas Perez, deputies of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will no longer be allowed to detain illegal immigrants following their arrest.

When an officer sends a suspect's name to Washington to learn of past offenses and criminal background under the 287(g) agreement, no data will be returned.

Instead, according to Department of Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano, DHS “will utilize federal resources for the purpose of identifying and detaining those individuals who meet U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) immigration enforcement priorities.”

DHS, she said, “will continue to enforce federal immigration laws in Maricopa County in smart, effective ways that focus our resources on criminal aliens, recent border crossers, repeat and egregious immigration law violators and employers who knowingly hire illegal labor.”

'Because of insurance,' Christmas mailing hectic

Waco - The line snaked all the way out of the service area, across the lobby, past the post office boxes, and out the door of the U.S. Post Office on Wooded Acres in driving rains that poured out of leaden skies Wednesday.

Noon time crowds waited patiently as one postal worker filled a station at the counter inside, patiently weighing parcels, applying postage and ignoring the fact that he was utterly alone to service the demands of the year's biggest holiday rush.

In fact, the throng of more than a hundred wet, miserable, harrassed postal patrons stood and watched as he measured with a tape measure the girth and length of a parcel, carefully jotting down the figures.

Three times.

He did it three times.

Beside him, a half dozen work stations sat idle, piled high with such items of holiday cheer as fruitcakes and plates of cookies wrapped in colorful packages.

Some kind of dahkine look-see pidgin, blalah. What means this?

Now comes the revelation: It's all about the insurance.

Very interesting, no?

In an effort to eliminate $5.5 billion in annual payments to pre-fund retirement health benefits 75 years into the future, a majority Republican U.S. House of Representatives is following the lead of Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, who is already cutting staff by attrition.

They propose to close 3,700 local post offices, 200 mail processing plants, and lay off 120,000 workers in addition to eliminating the legislation that requires Congress to fund postal workers' retirement health benefits 75 years into the future at the cost of $5.5 billion per year.

The cause for the crunch is falling volumes of mail in a snail mail system that has lost out to e-mail, cybermarketing and a reduction of direct mail catlogs and marketing schemes.

Transportation costs for trucking paper to printing plants, shipping finished product to bulk mailing facilities, and fuel surcharge pass-through costs to patrons alone has dented the failing postal system's bottom line, fractured its cost effectivity, and made unfeasible the massive hemorrhaging of red ink for the past 40 years.

Merry Christmas. Ho. Ho. Ho.