Interlude: Conspiracy Theory...or is it?

Came across this episode of Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory. It's about 45 minutes long but find the time and watch it.

Did some research on www.senate.gov and found the bill H.R. 645. Text below.

H.R.645 -- National Emergency Centers Establishment Act (Introduced in House - IH)

HR 645 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 645

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 22, 2009

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

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A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `National Emergency Centers Establishment Act'.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military installations.

(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure--

(1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster;

(2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;

(3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and

(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
So, it is indeed up to the Secretary of Homeland Security that he can use these Emergency Centers as whatever he/she feels like depending on what's happening.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate not fewer than 6 military installations as sites for the establishment of national emergency centers.

They figured military installations would make great emergency shelters? This raises the hackles on my neck.

(b) Minimum Requirements- A site designated as a national emergency center shall be--

(1) capable of meeting for an extended period of time the housing, health, transportation, education, public works, humanitarian and other transition needs of a large number of individuals affected by an emergency or major disaster;

(2) environmentally safe and shall not pose a health risk to individuals who may use the center;

(3) capable of being scaled up or down to accommodate major disaster preparedness and response drills, operations, and procedures;

(4) capable of housing existing permanent structures necessary to meet training and first responders coordination requirements during nondisaster periods;

(5) capable of hosting the infrastructure necessary to rapidly adjust to temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance needs;

(6) required to consist of a complete operations command center, including 2 state-of-the art command and control centers that will comprise a 24/7 operations watch center as follows:

(A) one of the command and control centers shall be in full ready mode; and

(B) the other shall be used daily for training; and

(7) easily accessible at all times and be able to facilitate handicapped and medical facilities, including during an emergency or major disaster.

(c) Location of National Emergency Centers- There shall be established not fewer than one national emergency center in each of the following areas:

(1) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions I, II, and III.

(2) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IV.

(3) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V and VII.

(4) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI.

(5) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions VIII and X.

(6) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX.
You'll notice the 10 regions here.

(d) Preference for Designation of Closed Military Installations- Wherever possible, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate a closed military installation as a site for a national emergency center. If the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense jointly determine that there is not a sufficient number of closed military installations that meet the requirements of subsections (b) and (c), the Secretaries shall jointly designate portions of existing military installations other than closed military installations as national emergency centers.

(e) Transfer of Control of Closed Military Installations- If a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Defense shall transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security administrative jurisdiction over such closed military installation.

(f) Cooperative Agreement for Joint Use of Existing Military Installations- If an existing military installation other than a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a cooperative agreement to provide for the establishment of the national emergency center.

(g) Reports-

(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) an outline of the reasons why the site was selected;

(B) an outline of the need to construct, repair, or update any existing infrastructure at the site;

(C) an outline of the need to conduct any necessary environmental clean-up at the site;

(D) an outline of preliminary plans for the transfer of control of the site from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of Homeland Security, if necessary under subsection (e); and

(E) an outline of preliminary plans for entering into a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f).

(2) UPDATE REPORT- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) an update on the information contained in the report as required by paragraph (1);

(B) an outline of the progress made toward the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(C) an outline of the progress made toward entering a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(D) recommendations regarding any authorizations and appropriations that may be necessary to provide for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(3) FINAL REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) finalized information detailing the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(B) the finalized cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(C) any additional information pertinent to the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(4) ADDITIONAL REPORTS- The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, may submit to Congress additional reports as necessary to provide updates on steps being taken to meet the requirements of this Act.

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

This Act does not affect--

(1) the authority of the Federal Government to provide emergency or major disaster assistance or to implement any disaster mitigation and response program, including any program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); or

(2) the authority of a State or local government to respond to an emergency.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to carry out this Act. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

Your tax dollars hard at work.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the following definitions apply:

(1) CLOSED MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term `closed military installation' means a military installation, or portion thereof, approved for closure or realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note) that meet all, or 2 out of the 3 following requirements:

(A) Is located in close proximity to a transportation corridor.

(B) Is located in a State with a high level or threat of disaster related activities.

(C) Is located near a major metropolitan center.

(2) EMERGENCY- The term `emergency' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
“Emergency” means any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the
President, Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and
capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to
lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.

(3) MAJOR DISASTER- The term `major disaster' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
“Major disaster” means any natural catastrophe (including any hurricane, tornado,
storm, high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic
eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or, regardless of cause, any
fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which in the determination
of the President causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant
major disaster assistance under this Act to supplement the efforts and available
resources of States, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in
alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby.

(4) MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term `military installation' has the meaning given such term in section 2910 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).

Just so you know who is responsible. This lovely bill is sponsored by Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] (introduced 1/22/2009) and Co-Sponsored by Rep Altmire, Jason [PA-4] - 6/29/2010 
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 9/16/2009 
Rep Davis, Artur [AL-7] - 4/22/2009 
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14] - 6/22/2010 
Rep Gerlach, Jim [PA-6] - 2/25/2009 
Rep Murphy, Tim [PA-18] - 6/22/2010

A modified bill (s.3476) was brought before the Senate on June 10, 2010 but it was essentially the same. It was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. The modified bill was sponsored by  Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] and Co-Sponsored by Sen Specter, Arlen [PA] - 6/10/2010

Elementary: Debunking Secret Societies, Conspiracy Theories and New World Orders, Part 1

I recently was pointed to an article on www.in5d.com. The article was supposedly written by a judge who, through exhaustive research, discovered that the United States of America isn’t what we all think it is. Now, the fact that this article is on such an obscure website to begin with and isn’t featured on ABC News or CNN has me a bit skeptical but I’ve decided to go through the article and do some research of my own and see if what the article is saying is the truth…or something else.

I've actually noticed the same article, or bits of it, on a snopes.com forum and at what looks like a blog, pepehatesme.wordpress.com. It seems to have made the rounds on conspiracy theory web sites, which, in itself, doesn't lend credence to its content.

It’s a fairly long article so it will probably take a few blog posts to go through it and I’m hoping the research won’t take too long. The important thing here is to get to the bottom of articles like this and either shrug it off as another crackpot or, if it’s true, bring it to the forefront and make people aware.

The article will be in the usual white text while my comments will be in red. Let’s begin:

The following article presented in three parts, starting today, was written by a former judge.
He doesn’t reveal his full name, but the information contained within the writing is well-worth reading and digesting anyway.

It is worth reading because it should stimulate your pursuit to understand the truth behind the formation of America.

This is important since Americans have long been deceived by the likes of men who followed in the footsteps of despicable characters like Ben Franklin, men who have hidden their Illuminati and Vatican connections behind a false veil of freedom and Christianity.

I’d like to step in here to say that, right off the bat, this author accuses Ben Franklin of being “despicable”. In all that I’ve read so far about the Founding Fathers of our country, Ben Franklin was, by far, the most honest of the bunch. It was Ben Franklin who stood up at the Constitutional Convention and offered his opinion that politicians in the Executive Branch should not receive a salary. “…though we may set out in the beginning with moderate salaries, we shall find that such will not be of long continuance.” The Anti-Federalist Papers, page 44. Ben Franklin, above everyone else, saw the long term dangers of any government. Despicable? I disagree.

If anyone doubts what the judge has researched, just ask yourself why America has crumbled into fascism after only a little more than 200 years of so-called “freedom”.

Fascism is a harsh word. “…a little more than 200 years” tells me the article was possibly written in the 1980’s but the author references The Matrix, which came out in 1999. We’ll say early 2000’s. (Note: did some quick research; article posted in 2009 but who knows when it was written.)

THE MATRIX AND
THE U. S. CONSTITUTION
By: no name (hidden for his safety)
INTRODUCTION:
During my twelve years service as a Judge, I always insisted on the truth and placed justice above law and order! I could have prepared this article indicia of a research paper however; people tend to lose interest when articles of this nature become too technical. Science has taught us that, “For every action there is a positive reaction!”

Actually, science teaches us for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

If your life on earth resembles a Matrix, it is because you’re seeing things for the first time, with eyes wide open, but you feel confused! That feeling of confusion is appropriate because the information you are now digesting, contradicts much of the information you have been spoon fed throughout your life! I named this paper after the movie “The Matrix,” written by the Wachowsi brothers. After reading this, watch the movie and you will notice many similarities.

The author is obviously a fan of The Matrix so it surprises me that he misspells the name ‘Wachowski’ and writes ‘Wachowsi’. It could be an innocent misspell that he/she didn’t catch but it certainly grabbed my attention.

In 2002, my brother ran into a problem with the IRS and to help him out, I began to research the Tax Code. One thing led to another and suddenly I was uncovering information about our government, which was directly in conflict with the U. S. Constitution and what I have been led to believe throughout my life. In time I began to interface with people from every state in the Republic, who was doing the same thing I was doing; some for the same reason and others for different reasons. We began to trade our research and the facts I uncovered was totally in contradiction to the history of America, which had been taught to us in public school and the principals of law, I had absorbed during my service as a Judge. I began to assist people to prepare and file suits in the courts and I filed several of my own. At one point, because of the information I’m about to provide to you; I became extremely depressed. After about three months, I eventually shook it off and continued on with my research.
My hope in writing this is to help you, the reader, make sense of it all, which will require you to wash your mind clean of the brainwashing you were subjected to by our government, our government controlled public schools and church’s and re-educate yourself. When you understand the actions, the reactions will make sense, and it should anger you! Eventually, you will have a choice to make; a choice that will define: “How to survive life in, The Matrix?” In ‘The Matrix’ nothing is real however, your mind has been conditioned to believe it is real! The Matrix is far too big to defeat; no one can escape it, and we haven’t the means or intelligence to beat those in control! Through my research, I discovered that America is a society of functional illiterates! I remind you that this is not my opinion, I’m just the messenger!

I do agree that the American History we are taught in school is the Reader’s Digest version, where America always wears the white hat and any enemy is portrayed as if it were the Anti-Christ. We do this so that the citizens of this country grow up supporting this country. Why would you want to teach your citizens, “Yeah, well, America isn’t perfect and we’ve done some not-so-good things but we’re okay and since you were born here, well, that’s the reason you should support the country.” Every country on the face of the Earth teaches their people the same, that whatever country they live in is the best!

That’s why I find it laughable when I see news articles about American politicians complaining that certain middle eastern countries teach their citizens to hate America because we’re the Anti-Christ. We do the same thing, just aimed at other countries! Is it a form of brainwashing? Yes, to a certain degree, but I understand why it’s done.

The people in charge of the Matrix represent the most powerful and intelligent humans on earth. When gifted children appear in the public schools of the world, they are courted with scholarships, money and eventually memberships into secret societies! They will be introduced to very persuasive intellectuals, who will convince these young gifted people, that it is their place and duty to be a part of the elite who rule the worlds population, because the rest of the worlds population are too stupid to make decisions for themselves (their comment – not mine)! When the “New World Order” is officially and openly in control, only the extremely intelligent will be allowed to propagate. Everyone else will be sterilized or murdered through staged pandemics, used to eliminate excessive populations! Every Foreign Revolution, the World Wars, the Depression, Prohibition, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East conflict and the Influenza Epidemic during World War I; was planned and orchestrated by these people!

This is where the author begins to sound a little, well, crazy. Powerful and intelligent don’t go hand-in-hand. He makes it sound as if there are a vast network of people who hang around schools and when they spot a student who seems exceptionally intelligent they mark that student and whisk him/her away. In order for a Secret Society to work, it has to remain secret. The only way to accomplish this is to keep it small, otherwise, you’ll get someone with a guilty conscience who will expose everything. We know about every “secret” society there is exactly for that reason.

The New World Order is a conspiracy theory that says there are people in power (who are also members of a “secret” society) who want to have a single totalitarian world-wide government. Everything they do is supposed to steer everyone else toward that direction. The problem is that you would never get all governments to submit to one world wide government. It’s a dream. A fiction that will never come to pass.

TO  BE  CONTINUED...

The Playoff Field

Wow. Pretty wild first round of baseball playoffs. Some capsules:

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves: Decent Wild Card game marred by an umpire calling the Infield Fly Rule on a) a ball that was out in left field, b) the infielder wasn't "camped" under the ball waiting for it and c) the umpire didn't make the call immediately. Bottom line is that the Infield Fly never should have been called. Would it have changed the game? Maybe...

Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers: Surprised enough that the Oakland Athletics swept Texas to win the Western Division but then Baltimore comes in and beats up Texas pretty handily. That's why you play the games.

Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants: I must admit that I wanted the Reds to win and it seemed to be going good after they won the first two in S.F. You gotta give credit to the Giants who, faced with a tall order of winning 3 in a row away from home, did it. They move on to the Championship Series.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals: This was a good series that also went the limit. Again, I wanted Washington but St. Louis proved that Tony LaRussa isn't as great as we all thought he was. The Cardinals won with a rookie manager that's never managed anywhere before. The Nationals are young and will be back in the playoffs again.

Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics: When I found out that Oakland led the American League in strikeouts (that's batters striking out), I knew it wasn't going to end well. I wanted Oakland to win but Detroit won in 5 with Verlander pitching a Game 5 gem.

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees: [heavy sigh]. Yes, I wanted Baltimore to win (hmmm, I sense a trend here). Neither team hit the ball well except Derek Jeter and Nate McLouth (who now has a .321 career postseason batting average). McLouth is going to be a Free Agent so he just boosted his rep and potential payday. A possible pick-up for my Cleveland Indians....

I'm curious by the fact that the Yankees and Giants could play each other in the World Series for the first time since 1962.

The Tigers and Cardinals have never played each other in the World Series and, even though it's a curious match-up, it's a series that I have absolutely no interest in.

We'll see what happens.

Another Baseball Year In The Books

Today is the last day of the regular season and the bad news is that my Cleveland Indians are not in the playoffs...

the good news is that they won't finish in dead last place (like the Red Sox :P) and they won't lose 100 games, like the Cubs and Astros. What do the Indians have to do in the off-season to get better? Glad you asked because I'll go through that. What makes me an expert? Well, two 1st place finishes in both of my baseball Fantasy Leagues must mean I know something about baseball!

First, though, I want to give a shout-out to Pittsburgh Pirates fans who suffered through a 7-21 September, which not only knocked them out of playoff contention, but assured the Pirates of a 20th consecutive losing season. It'll get better. I promise.

As for the Indians, they need to let go and start over. Travis Hafner, you gave us some good years but when you can't even stay in the line-up for a full year at DH then it's time to go. The Indians can use the 13 million they're paying you to get a quality Free Agent first baseman.

Speaking of First Basemen, Casey Kotchman had a good year in 2011 for Tampa Bay (.306/10/48 in 146 games) and I thought he would be a good fit for the Indians so I was happy when they signed him. It just didn't work out for Casey, who stands at .229/12/55 in 142 games. Casey will be a Free Agent in 2013 but, as I said, there will be better options. The Indians can try to re-sign him but most assuredly he'll want more than the 3 million he's making this year and you're gambling that he'll have a bounce-back year. I would pass.

Grady Sizemore. If he doesn't retire I'll be surprised. He's too brittle. The Indians cut him and then re-signed him at a lower price, hoping he would be able to contribute down the stretch. His back and knees are shot. Let him go, Cleveland.

Between the three guys I mentioned above, the Indians have now freed up 21 million. All they really need in the field is a power-hitting, decent fielding first baseman. The rest goes to starting pitching.

Justin Masterson is eligible for arbitration so he's looking at a raise despite a sub-par year and Ubaldo Jimenez is locked up for 5.75 million. The Indians could try to trade Ubaldo and get at least one blue-chip prospect in return, preferably two. Chances are the Indians will hold on to him and try to make it work considering we gave up two high prospects for him. If he has another bad year, look for the Indians to try and move him at the trading deadline or, barring that, buy him out at the end of the year.

As for the rest of the rotation; Zach McAllister is a young arm with promise, I'm not too excited about Corey Kluber and Fausto Carmona  Roberto Hernandez, Josh Tomlin had Tommy John surgery so he'll miss at least half of next season and Jeanmar Gomez looked horrible this year. The Indians have to be looking at adding a Starter from the Free Agent pool.

I'm not sure about upcoming Free Agents yet but when the list comes out I'll get into more detail. The Indians have the beginnings of a good team. A team possible of making the playoffs but they need to be smart and not keep bringing back players that are perpetually hurt because of some sense of loyalty. This is a business. Let's treat it as such.

Next up: The playoff field!

Science Footnote: A couple of posts ago I wondered about how fast a star collapses into a black hole. Well, as far as I can tell no one knows exactly how fast because it's never been observed. The consensus, though, is that it happens "very quickly."
Use your own judgement.