News Briefs
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(Petunia and Pals) “With out a free Fox, there is not a free America”
- Immigration-reform impresario John McCain of the terrible sand people of Arizonastan — said that including binational gay and lesbian couples whose relationships are currently not recognized by the federal government in the proposed legalization process is a “red flag” that is “not of paramount importance.” (Think Progress)
- Grandpa Walnuts also says that he wants drones patrolling the border: “We have to use a lot of high-tech — we’ve got to use drones,” McCain told “Your World with Caputo” guest host Eric Bolling. “We’ve got to do a lot of things to get that border secure, but that must be done.” Continuing on, McCain did not say, “There must be a way to weaponize the border. Mmmm, guns!” (Raw Story)
- Chick-fil-A, the leading vendor of diabetes hate-burgers, as of 2011 is no longer funding anti-gay groups like the Family Research Council and ex-gay umbrella group Exodus International at the piddly amount of $1,000 year. However, it will continue to fund millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations like the Marriage & Family Foundation and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Chick-fil-A is not implementing any LGBT-inclusive policies like nondiscrimination protections. But this was enough to satisfy Campus Pride executive director Shane Windmeyer, who is calling off their campaign against the store, which was advocating for those changes or be removed from college campuses. (Think Progress)
CBP currently owns and operates 9 drones (acquired, starting in 2004), but a recent audit shows that they sit unused 63% of the time, and the CBP Inspector General, in the interest of efficient government, has recommended that CBP postpone additional UAS aircraft. The seven drones should have been flying at least 10,662 hours per year (collectively), but they actually only performed 3,909 hours per year, according to the Inspector General’s report. Despite the current underutilization, CBP received two additional drones in 2011 (for a total of 9 aircraft), and was scheduled to receive a 10th drone aircraft in 2012. Unfortunately, CPB has not budgeted for drone related equipment so there have been many instances of lengthy down time due to lack of ground control stations, repair parts, and even maintenance tools. CBP has said that they have no plans to purchase additional drones (in addition to the $152 million to acquire the current drones in their inventory) unless directed to purchase additional drones “by a higher authority” (those fiscal “hawks” in the Republican House & Republican Senators).
http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2012/06/freeze-border-security-drone-purchases-ig-says/56212/