Month: September 2013

Posted by AzBueMeanie:

Where is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs when we need him? Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Today's tragic mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard is certain to be an episode of NCIS this season. At least 12 dead in Navy Yard shooting; possible suspect at large:

At least 12 people are dead and others were wounded after a shooter
opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, police said,
spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities tried to
contain the incident.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced the mounting death
toll in a 2 p.m. news conference. The suspected shooter, identified by
three law enforcement officials as Aaron Alexis, a man in his 30s from
Texas, is among the dozen dead.

But hours after the rampage began, it was still unclear whether the
shooting was the act of a lone gunman, or if other shooters were
involved. Lanier initially said authorities were looking for two other
potential shooters dressed in military style clothing. But shortly after
she announced a detailed description of two suspects, city officials
said one had been located and cleared.

Mayor Vincent C. Gray said no motive is known. He said they have no
reason to believe it was an act of terrorism, though he said he could
not rule it out.

Lanier described the other possible suspect, who
has not been located, as a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns,
wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform.

Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to call 202-727-9099.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

For all the media villages who have been playing the game of "show us the (classified) evidence" of chemical weapons use in Syria, the U.N. inspectors said Monday there is "clear and convincing evidence" that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale in an attack last month in Syria that killed hundreds of people. UN: 'Convincing evidence' of Syria chemical attack:

The findings represent the first official confirmation by scientific
experts that chemical weapons were used in Syria's civil war, but the
report left the key question of who launched the attack unanswered. The
rebels and their U.S. and Western supporters have said the regime of
President Bashar Assad was behind the Aug. 21 attack, while the Syrian
government and its closest ally, Russia, blame the rebels.

Note: The inspectors were mandated to report on whether chemical weapons were used and if so which ones — not on who was responsible.

And in Geneva, the chairman of a U.N. war crimes panel said it is
investigating 14 suspected chemical attacks in Syria, dramatically
escalating the stakes. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the panel had not
pinpointed the chemical used or who is responsible.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented the U.N. inspectors' report
to a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council before its release.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In Blog for Arizona's new series, "Questions for Martha McSally," we pose questions to
the Martha McSally campaign about her positions on current hot topics — I am
not going to give her a free pass until after the primary election is
over like our local media did in 2012. The McSally campaign has not posted any responses to the questions we have posed to her campaign.

But at least we ask the questions and expect a response. On Sunday, The Arizona Republic published a "puff piece" about Martha McSally with all the indicia that it was requested by National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Daniel Scarpinato, who gets a brief mention in the report. Martha McSally eyes running again in 2014. The only passage from this "puff piece" of any relevance:

Democrats argue that if McSally runs in 2014, she will be defeated again. Democrats have won the
seat the past five elections. They say she appears indecisive, after
talking in recent months about running for other offices and not
officially announcing her candidacy. They say McSally’s often-told
can-do story masks a reluctance to take a stand on tough policy
positions. Recently, she hasn’t addressed, for instance, the Syria crisis or a potential government shutdown.

McSally counters that she is doing her due diligence on running, her
positions have been detailed and, with more time to talk to voters, she
can win. National Republican leaders appear eager to back her, seeing a
key part of the GOP’s future in appealing to female voters.

The reporter does not challenge McSally's assertion that her "postions have been detailed," which we have clearly demonstrated they are not. McSally is an enigma, whom the media allows to get by on her biographical narrative, and never asks nor demands answers from her to hard questions about her policy positions. There is not a single policy position detailed in this long "puff piece."