Weekly Bible studies at home cost Phoenix man $12,000 in fines and over two months in jail.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster USA DOT COM  July 7, 2012

A Phoenix man who held weekly Bible studies at his home has had the book thrown at him over the religious gatherings. Michael Salman (pictured above) has been sentenced to two months in jail and more than $12,000 in fines because the group sessions at his home were against the city's building code, Fox News Radio reported.

"They're cracking down on religious activities and religious use," Salman told Fox News Radio. "They're attacking what I as a Christian do in the privacy of my home."

Vicki Hill, Phoenix's chief assistant city prosecutor, said religious freedom had nothing to do with it and that it was a matter of public safety.

"Any time you are holding a gathering of people continuously, as he does – we have concerns about people being able to exit the facility properly in case there is a fire," Hill told Fox News Radio. "It came down to zoning and proper permitting."

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Tue Jun 19 17:19:45 PDT 2012

Phoenix man accused of building church in backyard to be jailed

Since 2007, The Salman family has fought to say the building in their backyard is for private worship, but Phoenix officials say it’s run as a church, and not up to code. view full article

The battle between Salman and the city of Phoenix is a longstanding feud. Hill said that Salman's neighbors complained of the gatherings back in 2007 because they were causing too much traffic congestion. Originally, about 15 people would attent the Bible studies, Fox News Radio reported.

But that number began to grow, and that's when Phoenix officials sent Salman a letter saying that his living room gatherings were in violation of the city's building codes.

When he didn't stop hosting the groups, the Phoenix Fire Department broke up a Good Friday gathering Salman was hosting at his home in 2008 in which there were as many as 20 people in the backyard.

Salman then decided to construct a 2,000-square-foot building in his backyard and move the gatherings there. He said that he applied for and was granted the appropriate permits for the building.

Hill, however, said that the permits Salman received were for converting his garage into a game room.

Finally, in 2009, a dozen cops raided Salman's home and charged him with 67 code violations for hosting the gatherings.

Since then, the courts have sided with the city, saying that Salman was using the building as a church and, therefore, was subject to city zoning laws.

"He built a structure that he said wasn't a church that is, in fact, a church," Hill told Fox News Radio.

"The state is not saying that the Salmans can't run a church or have worship services at the location," read a Jan. 4, 2010, Arizona court ruling. "But the state is saying that if they do so, they must do it properly and in accord with fire and zoning laws."

Salman doesn't buy the court's argument and has claimed that Phoenix officials are discriminating against him for his religious beliefs.

"If I had people coming to my home on a regular basis for poker night or Monday Night Football, it would be permitted," he told Fox News Radio. "But when someone says to us we are not allowed to gather because of religious purposes – that is when you have discrimination."

Salman's attorney is appealing the ruling and Salman's sentencing, but unless a federal court intervenes, Salman will begin serving his sentence on July 9.

Tags: Bible study, building code violations, building codes, fire code, fire codes, man arrested, man sentenced to jail, Michael Salman, Phoenix, religious freedom, violations, zoning

McIntyre votes for another bloated spending bill. Haven't we had enough?

Verne Strickland Blogmaster USA DOT COM   July 6, 2012

 

By Patriot on July 5, 2012 in Unfulfilled Promises, Voting Record
 

If we ever plan to balance the budget – a goal Mike McIntyre purports to share – we will need to spend less money each subsequent.  How else will we close the $1.3 trillion annual deficit without killing jobs with tax increases?

Last week, the House passed the FY 2013 appropriations bill for Transportation-HUD (H.R. 5972).  While members of Congress promised to cuts spending from year to year, this bill actually increases spending on some of the most wasteful programs and projects. 

Here is a synopsis from the Republican Study Committee of the extra spending in the bill:

• Amtrak: $1.8 billion—$384 million above last year. 

• Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority: $150 million—the same as last year

and $15 million more than the President’s request.

• Essential Air Service: $214 million—same as President’s request, and $71 million

(or 49%) above last year.

• Tenant-based Rental Assistance: $19.1 billion—$60 million more than the

President’s request and $219.9 million more than last year.

• Community Development Block Grant: $3.34 billion—$396 million more than

both last year and the President’s request.

• Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation: $225.3 million—$10 million more than

last year and $12.3 million more than the request.

Mike McIntyre voted for this bill, despite the increased in wasteful spending [roll call #450].  It’s not like McIntyre didn’t get a chance to vote against each individual item.  He did – and he voted no:

• McClintock AMDT to eliminate the Essential Air Service rural pork program.  This program provides $1000+ per-seat subsidy for airlines to fly into small airports that would otherwise be unprofitable. [roll call #417]
• Garrett AMDT to eliminate earmark to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.  [roll call #418]
• Broun AMDT to reduce by $6.5 million the amount provided for salaries and expenses of the Office of Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.   This amendment would have merely kept spending at FY 2012 levels. [roll call #424]
• Broun AMDT to reduce by $110 million the amount provided for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Public Housing Capital Fund Program. [roll call #429]
• Broun amendment to reduce by $12.3 million the amount provided for payment to the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. This amendment merely keeps the spending in line with Obama’s budget request!  [roll call #432]
• McClintock AMDT to eliminate all funding for the Community Development Fund for assistance to state and local governments, a total of $3.4 billion. [roll call #434]

Maybe Mike McIntyre would like to let us know if there is anything he would like to cut.

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Mitt Romney sizing up Chief Justice John Roberts: 'On second thought . . . "

Verne Strickland Blogmaster USA DOT COM July 6, 2012


The Huffington Post  |  By Melissa Jeltsen and Patrick Svitek Posted: 07/05/2012 1:01 pm Updated: 07/05/2012 2:12 pm

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Sounds like there's trouble in paradise.

During a Republican debate in December, Mitt Romney was asked to name his favorite Supreme Court justice. The first name he came up with? John Roberts. And on his campaign website, the presumptive Republican nominee for president vows to nominate justices "in the mold of Chief Justice Roberts."
Now, in the wake of Roberts' key vote to uphold President Barack Obama's health care law, that enthusiasm for the Chief Justice has all but disappeared.
In an interview on Wednesday, CBS News' Jan Crawford asked Romney whether he still would nominate justices like Roberts if elected president.
"Well, I certainly wouldn’t nominate someone who I knew was going to come out with a decision I violently disagreed with -- or vehemently, rather, disagreed with," Romney told Crawford. "And he reached a conclusion, I think, that was not accurate and not an appropriate conclusion. But that being said, he’s a very bright person, and I’d look for individuals that have intelligence and believe in following the Constitution.”
Crawford reported Monday that Roberts switched his vote after initially agreeing with the court's conservative bloc that the Affordable Care Act should be struck down.
"It gives the impression that the decision was made not on a constitutional foundation, but instead a political consideration about the relationship between the branches of government," Romney said. "But we don't really know the answers to those things until the justice speaks out -- maybe some time in history."
In an escape from the media spotlight, Roberts arrived in Malta on Tuesday to begin teaching a two-week course at the Mediterranean island's university.

NC Democrat Larry Kissell vows he will vote to repeal health care tax.

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Verne Strickland Blogmaster USA DOT COM 070612

Some ask why Kissell is a Democrat. Good question.

Digest Today's News 03 July 2012 

 

Written by Duane Lester 

 

While our so-called leadership is busy explaining how hard it is to repeal things, North Carolina Democrat Larry Kissell is talking about how they are on board with the idea:

“I’ve heard from hundreds and hundreds of people from my district about their opposition to the health care law,” Kissell told the newpaper. “I voted against it originally and I will vote to repeal it.”
According to the Observer, Kissell “also said he doesn’t plan to endorse Obama for re-election and isn’t sure he’ll attend his party’s national convention in Charlotte.”
Kissell will have to work very hard to miss the convention that is almost literally being held in his backyard. As RNC Deputy Communications Director Tim Miller tweeted, Kissell’s district ends about a mile away from where the Democratic National Convention will be held.

He’s talking a good game now, but he’s also looking out for his re-election.  That being said, I don’t think he’s bluffing.  He’s one of the 17 Democrats that voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt.
So why is he still a Democrat?

America under attack by Islamic radicals, home-grown traitors, and U.S. Supreme Court.

**************************************************************

When the American flag is destroyed or its sacred meaning abused, our entire nation and all it stands for is attacked. And America is and has been under vicious assault by enemies.

The short list . . .

The frenzied Islamic terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center. Despicable plots to bring down U.S. passenger planes. Anti-American radicals who burn our flag at home.

And now the U.S. Supreme Court.

Let's vow on this July 4th, 2012:  NO MORE!

God Bless America. And may America bow to God.

Verne Strickland

John Roberts flees U.S. like thief in the night after cowardly "health care" vote.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster USA DOT COM 

IF ANYONE DESPERATELY NEEDS AN ISLAND GETAWAY, IT'S CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS.

The Huffington Post  |  By Melissa Jeltsen
  Posted: 07/03/2012 5:06 pm Updated: 07/03/2012 8:46 pm

 Politics News

John Roberts has reached his " impregnable island fortress."

The U.S. Supreme Court's chief justice arrived at the Mediterranean island of Malta on Tuesday, where he will be teaching a class for two weeks.

If anyone desperately needs an island getaway, it's Roberts.

Since casting the key vote to uphold President Barack Obama's health care law, he has been bombarded with fiery criticism from conservative politicians and pundits.

Speculation about why Roberts voted with the liberal side of the court reached a fever pitch on Sunday when CBS reported that Roberts had switched his vote.

Then on Tuesday, a Supreme Court source told Salon that Roberts actually wrote much of the dissent, as well as the majority opinion.

Confusion reigns!

Maybe after some R&R on Malta's famed beaches, Roberts might care to clarify what actually took place.

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(AP Photo/Lino Arrigo Azzopardi)


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McIntyre is pulling our leg again -- on Obamacare. Here's the real story

 Verne Strickland Blogmaster  / USA DOT COM

IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S MIKE McINTYRE -- THE REPUBLICAN!

 McINTYRE VOTED MANY TIMES TO FUND OBAMACARE. NOW HE VOWS HE'LL VOTE AGAINST IT. WHO IS THIS GUY -- REALLY? 

By Patriot on July 3, 2012 in Unfulfilled Promises, Voting Record

Mike McIntyre might be a big liberal, but he knows how to play the political game.  He knows that Obama’s socialist policies don’t resonate with is conservative constituents.

To that end, he has made sure to vote against Obama on major initiatives during high profile votes.  But it’s on the more low-key votes that McIntyre surreptitiously sides with Obama’s big-government agenda.

Mike McIntyre realized that he could not be caught dead supporting Obamacare in public.  That’s why he made sure to vote for the Republican repeal bill in January, 2011.

What he won’t tell you is that he voted for a number of spending bills that funded Obamacare:
Spending Bills for FY 2012

• “Minibus” appropriations bill, H.R. 2112 [roll call #857, 11/17/2011]
• “Omnibus” appropriations bill, H.R. 2055 [roll call #941, 12/16/2011]

Spending Bills for FY 2011

• Continuing Resolution, H.R. 1473 (Covers all 12 appropriations from April 15 through the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2011) [roll call #268]
• Continuing Resolution, H.R. 1363 (funded the government from  April 9, 2011-April 15, 2011) [roll calls #247 and #253]
• Continuing Resolution, H.J.Res.44 (funded the government from March 5, 2011-March 18, 2011) [roll call #154]
• Continuing Resolution, H.J.Res.101, (funded the government from Dec. 4, 2010-Dec. 18, 2010) [roll call #593]

You can’t fool all the people all the time, Mr. McIntyre.