I can't believe that there is not more outrage at this mans actions. They are beyond criminal. For the full report click Here

I wonder what he was really up to and for who? I guess we'll never know. There should be quite a few people in the unemployement line over this.

What do you guys think? Was it a "mistake" as he claims, or were the reasons more naferious than he claims? Do the potential penelties fit the crime, or is he getting off easy? Remeber he was the National Security Advisor for our country. I personaly find this whole affair discusting, and a snapshot into what is wrong with politics today (on both sides of the isle).

Former Clinton Aide Pleads Guilty to Taking Classified Docs

Sunday , April 03, 2005

WASHINGTON — For months, he called it an honest mistake.

But on Friday, Sandy Berger (search) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in federal court. Berger, who served as President Clinton's national security adviser, is acknowledging that it wasn't an honest mistake and that he intentionally took and destroyed copies of classified documents from the National Archives (search) and cut them up with scissors.

Berger acknowledged to U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson that he intentionally took and deliberately destroyed three copies of the same document dealing with terror threats during the 2000 millennium (search) celebration. He then lied about it to Archives staff when they told him the documents were missing.

"Guilty, your honor," Berger responded when asked how he pleaded.

Robinson did not ask Berger why he cut up the materials and threw them away at the Washington office of his Stonebridge International consulting firm. Berger, accompanied by his wife, Susan, did not offer an explanation when he addressed reporters outside the federal courthouse following the hearing.

"It was a mistake and it was wrong," he said, refusing to answer questions.

It's part of a plea agreement between Berger — who still claims he hasn't done anything criminally wrong — and the Justice Department so he doesn't get jail time.

Noel Hillman, chief of the Justice Department's public integrity section, would not discuss Berger's motivation, but said the former national security adviser understood the rules governing the handling of classified materials. Berger only had copies of documents; all of the originals remain in the government's possession, Hillman said.

The charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine.

However, under a plea agreement that Robinson must accept, instead of jail, Berger would pay a $10,000 fine, surrender his security clearance for three years and cooperate with investigators. Security clearance allows access to classified government materials.

Berger was released and sentencing was set for July 8.

After his court appearance, Berger told reporters that he "excerised poor judgement" and "deeply regretted it." He said his motivation was to help himself and others prepare for their appearance before the commission probing the events surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The U.S. District Court appearance was the culmination of a bizarre episode in which the man who once had access to the government's most sensitive intelligence was accused of sneaking documents out of the Archives, which houses the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and other cherished and top-secret documents.

The Bush administration disclosed the investigation in July, just days before the Sept. 11 commission issued its final report. Democrats claimed the White House was using Berger to deflect attention from the harsh findings, with their potential for damaging President Bush's re-election prospects.

After news of the probe surfaced, Berger admitted that twice during 2003, he knowingly removed classified documents regarding the government's anti-terror efforts and notes from the National Archives Annex in College Park, Md., by putting the papers in his jacket, his pants and in a leather case. That's a misdemeanor that can bring a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

He said he was reviewing the materials to help determine which Clinton administration documents to provide to the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He called the episode "an honest mistake" and said he "deeply regrets" taking the material.

According to a statement released by the Justice Department on Friday, Berger took the documents to his office in Washington, where he destroyed three of the copies. Soon after he visited the Archives in October 2003, building officials discovered that documents were missing and, two days later, contacted Berger.

Initially, Berger did not tell the Archives staff that he had taken the documents but later that night told Archives staff that he had "accidentally misfiled" two of them, according to the Justice Department. The next day, he returned to Archives staff the two remaining copies of the five documents he had taken during the September and October visits. Each of the five copies of the document was then given to the Sept. 11 commission.

"In his plea, Berger also admitted that he concealed and removed his handwritten notes from the Archives prior to a classification review, in violation of Archives rules and procedures," reads the DOJ statement. "Those notes have been returned to the government."

But still missing are drafts of a sensitive after-action report on the Clinton administration's response to a failed terror plot to blow up the Los Angeles International Airport during December 1999, otherwise known as "the Millennium plot."

One source told FOX News that the report was critical of how the Clinton administration handled Al Qaeda threats to the U.S. homeland and that the missing report made security recommendations that were never implemented.

The Associated Press first reported in July that the Justice Department was investigating Berger for incidents at the Archives the previous fall. The disclosure prompted Berger to step down as an adviser to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Clinton was among Democrats who questioned the timing of the disclosure of the Berger probe, three days before the release of the final Sept. 11 commission report. The commission, writing three months before the 2004 presidential election, detailed failures of both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

Clinton was among the Democrats who questioned the timing of the disclosure of the Berger probe three days before the release of the Sept. 11 report. Leaders of the Sept. 11 commission (search) said they were able to get every key document needed to complete their report.

FOX News' Bret Baier, Anna Persky and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

How lucky is this guy? Have any of you ever leaped out of a perfectly good airplane before, or had an inclination to do so?

I would say this guy recieved an early Christmas present. And the folks at the end of the article, seems luck was also on their side...............

I'm going to die, skydiver thought as he fell 15,000ft . . . into a bush

Jack Malvern

·  Horror plunge as both parachutes fail

·  He survives as brambles break fall

A skydiver who had both parachutes fail during a 15,000 ft (4,000m) jump was spared death by the prickly branches of a blackberry bush.

Michael Holmes, 25, from Jersey, went into a spin when his main parachute became tangled during a two mile drop over Taupo, in New Zealand.

He was convinced that he was going to die when his auxiliary parachute failed, but escaped with a punctured lung and a broken ankle.

Mr Holmes’s ordeal was captured on a helmet-mounted camera, which continued filming even after he landed.

He landed in a blackberry bush, 30 metres from a carpark, where firefighters rushed to the scene to cut him free.

Mr Holmes, a skydiving instructor from Taupo Tandem Skydiving, recalled the incident, which took place on December 12, from his bed in Waikato Hospital. “When the second parachute didn’t open I realised it was all over,” he said. “I was going to die. You don’t have much time to say goodbye. I just said: ‘S**t I’m going to die’.”

“The next thing I remember is seeing friends, firemen, ambulances and police dogs.”

His ordeal was witnessed by John Siddles, a local man, and his 18-year-old son, Adam. The pair were at a nearby lookout watching the parachutists to decide if they wanted to try it themselves.

“One of the skydivers was coming down and going round and round,” Mr Siddles said. “He looked like he was all tangled up or something. He just came down, straight down. It looked like it had opened but it’s hard to say.

“We drove to the site where the skydiver landed and asked if we could help, but fellow skydivers had landed nearby and had things under control. It was a bit yucky. We decided it’s not for us.”

Constable Mark Bond of Taupo police said that a dog handler driving past was flagged down by a member of the public who thought the parachutist might be in trouble.

Mr Holmes, the youngest British person ever to qualify as a skydiving instructor, has been active in the sport for seven years. He was found unconscious after he landed in a conservation area in Five Mile Bay, Taupo, and was airlifted to hospital.

Hugh Barclay, a spokesman for Taupo Tandem Skydiving, said that due to the location of the landing there was some difficulty extracting Mr Holmes.

He said that the company will make no further comment pending an investigation by the New Zealand Parachute Industry Association.

New Zealand has up to three non-fatal accidents annually out of 70,000 solo parachute jumps.

Skydiving has its origins in the military and has been practiced since the early 1900s. Competitions first started in the 1930s and it became an international sport in 1951.

Lucky escapes

  Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade survived a fall estimated to have been 18,000ft during the Second World War by landing in a heavy snowdrift. He had leapt from a blazing Lancaster bomber

  In 1972 Vesna Vulovic, a Yugoslav air stewardess, fell 10,160 metres (33,000ft) without a parachute, and lived after a DC9 passenger jet blew up over the former Czechoslovakia. She landed in woodland

  In 1993 New Zealander Klint Freemantle, 22, plunged 3,000 feet into a 3ft-deep duck pond. He emerged almost without a scratch

  The French parachutist Didier Dahran survived after being sucked into a cyclone that sent him spinning up to 25,000ft in 1993. He was in the air for two hours

This article claims that women in the field is on the rise. I believe it, as we see more and more women entering the shooting sports arena. In the private sector we see more and more ladies along side significant others on the shooting line and in self-defense classes overall. In fact many places are offering women only shooting and other protection classes. They are not only doing it for self protection but for the fun of it. If you look at the Women in The Outdoors, which is sponsored by the National Turkey Wildlife Foundation, it is growing in leaps and bounds. when the local chapter was formed here in Bakersfield the first outing had less than 60 participants. Four or so years later they had in excess of 350 women participating. Next year they anticipate that number to be over 450 ladies. The Bakersfield chapter for the last two years has had more than any other chapter in the country. As the time nears for next years event I'll post information in more detail.

.

The article can be read here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/...

Here is an old one, but still may offer an argument for those for or against profiling. This has been around for quite a while but still has a valid point to be made.

 To ensure we Americans never offend anyone - - - particularly fanatic’s
 intent on killing us - airport screeners will not be allowed to profile
 people. They will continue random searches of 80-year-old women, little
 kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret Service agents
 who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old
 Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal Of Honor winning former
 Governors.
 
 Let's pause a moment and take the following test:
 
 =========================================== ======================
 In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped & massacred by:
  (a) Olga Corbutt
  (b) Sitting Bull
  (c) Arnold Schwartzeneger
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40

================================================= ================
  In 1979, the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by:
  (a) Lost Norwegians
  (b) Elvis
  (c) A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40

================================================= ================ 
 During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
  (a) John Dillinger
  (b) The King of Sweden
  (c) The Boy Scouts
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40
================================================= ================ 
 In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
  (a) A pizza delivery boy
  (b) Pee Wee Herman
  (c) Geraldo Rivera making up for a slow news day
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40.
================================================= ================ 
 In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked, and a 70 year old
 American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard by:
  (a) The Smurfs
  (b) Davy Jones
  (c) The Little Mermaid
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40.
================================================= ================ 
 In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, & a U.S. Navy diver was
 murdered by:
  (a) Captain Kid
  (b) Charles Lindberg
  (c) Mother Teresa
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40
================================================= ================ 
 In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
  (a) Scooby Doo
  (b) The Tooth Fairy
  (c) Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid who had a few sticks of
 dynamite
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40
================================================= ================ 
 In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
  (a) Richard Simmons
  (b) Grandma Moses
  (c) Michael Jordan
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40.
================================================= ================ 
 In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
  (a) Mr. Rogers
  (b) Hillary, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women problems
  (c) The World Wrestling Federation to promote its next villain:
  "Mustapha the Merciless"
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40
================================================= ================ 
 On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked & destroyed & thousands of
  people were killed by:
  (a) Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd
  (b) The Supreme Court of Florida
  (c) Mr. Bean
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40.
================================================= =============== 
 In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
  (a) Enron
  (b) The Lutheran Church
  (c) The NFL
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40.
================================================= ============= 
 In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
  (a) Bonny and Clyde
  (b) Captain Kangaroo
  (c) Billy Graham
  (d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 & 40.
================================================= ============= 
 Hmmm . . . nope, no patterns anywhere to justify profiling

This has been around for a while but has some humorus and serious points to ponder. Thanks to Hardliner for giving me the idea to start a blog on this issue. I don't think we agree on much, but I think we have at least one thing in common.......In the comming months I will publish things I feel relevent to the Second Amendment/Firearms issues. And as the title states, anything else I deem fit to put on here. I would like to have an open dialog with both believer and non-believers on these issues. Please try to keep a civil tone. I know that this issue can be very heated at times but let's keep it as civil as possible. 

Here goes........


1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, and Chicago cops need guns.
2. Washington DC's low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis' high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control.
3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are "just statistics."
4. The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of which went into effect in 1994, are responsible for the decrease in violent crime rates, which have been declining since 1991.
5. We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.
6. The more helpless you are the safer you are from criminals.
7. An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you.
8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.

 9. When confronted by violent criminals, you should "put up no defense — give them what they want, or run" (Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Pete Shields, Guns Don't Die - People Do, 1981, p. 125).
10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns; just like Guns and Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.
11. One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts, a civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for spinal paralysis, a computer programmer for Y2K problems, and Sarah Brady [or Sheena Duncan, Adele Kirsten, Peter Storey, etc.] for firearms expertise.
12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, which was created by an act of Congress in 1917.
13. The National Guard, funded by the federal government, occupying property leased to the federal government, using weapons owned by the federal government, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a state militia.
14. These phrases," right of the people peaceably to assemble," "right of the people to be secure in their homes," "enumeration's herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained by the people," and "The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and to the people," all refer to individuals, but "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" refers to the state.

15. We don't need guns against an oppressive government, because the Constitution has internal safeguards, but we should ban and seize all guns, thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th amendments to that Constitution.

16. Rifles and handguns aren't necessary to national defense, which is why the army has millions of them.

17. Private citizens shouldn't have handguns, because they serve no military purpose, and private citizens shouldn't have "assault rifles," because they are military weapons.
18. The ready availability of guns today, with waiting periods, background checks, fingerprinting, government forms, et cetera, is responsible for recent school shootings,compared to the lack of school shootings in the 40's, 50's and 60's, which resulted from the availability of guns at hardware stores, surplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, mail order, et cetera.
19. The NRA's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda, and the anti-gun lobby's attempt to run a "don't touch" campaign is responsible social activity.
20. Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.
21. A handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use, as opposed to an automobile that only has 20.
22. Women are just as intelligent and capable as men but a woman with a gun is "an accident waiting to happen" and gun makers' advertisements aimed at women are "preying on their fears."
23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.
24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.
25. A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population supported owning slaves.
26. A self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a "weapon of mass destruction" or an "assault weapon."
27. Most people can't be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most people will abide by because they can be trusted.

28. The right of online pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.

29. Free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self-defense only justifies bare hands.
30. The ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the Constitution, and the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts of the Constitution.
31. Charlton Heston as president of the NRA is a shill who should be ignored, but Michael Douglas as a representative of Handgun Control, Inc. is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms control summit.
32. Police operate with backup within groups, which is why they need larger capacity pistol magazines than do "civilians" who must face criminals alone and therefore need less ammunition.
33. We should ban "Saturday Night Specials" and other inexpensive guns because it's not fair that poor people have access to guns too.
34. Police officers, who qualify with their duty weapons once or twice a year, have some special Jedi-like mastery over handguns that private citizens can never hope to obtain.
35. Private citizens don't need a gun for self-protection because the police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the police are not responsible for their protection.
36. Citizens don't need to carry a gun for personal protection but police chiefs, who are desk-bound administrators who work in a building filled with cops, need a gun.
37. "Assault weapons" have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people, which is why the police need them but "civilians" do not.
38. When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft preferential promotion, that's bad; but when the Federal government pressures cities to buy guns only from Smith & Wesson, that's good.
39. Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for defensive purposes, which is why you see police officers with one on their duty weapon.
40. When Handgun Control, Inc., says they want to "keep guns out of the wrong hands," they don't mean you. Really.