ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20100107

Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable

Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!



"Daily Motivations"

The only person who succeeds is the person who is progressively realizing a worthy ideal. He's the person who says, "I'm going to become this" and then begins to work toward that goal. -- Earl Nightingale

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." -- B. Olatunji

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus when the limo breaks down." -- Oprah Winfrey



"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)

Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act. (Psalm 37:7)

Do you ever ask, "Why don't I experience God dramatically as the early believers did? Why do I not see anyone experiencing God that way?" A man from Old Testament times, a prophet named Elijah, struggled with this.

Elijah lived in a day, much like today, when many people doubted or scoffed at God. He longed to see God move with tremendous power and silence the critics. Sometimes God did that. But there was a time when Elijah's very life was in danger, and God seemed silent. An evil and godless queen named Jezebel sent her armies to kill Elijah. Was this his reward for being loyal and faithful to God? His depression and despair cut so deeply that Elijah finally asked God to simply let him die. If God wasn't going to speak or act what was the point of even living?

God taught Elijah an unforgettable lesson. He sent the prophet to a mountain and commanded him to stand and watch as the Lord passed. Wasn't that what Elijah wanted, after all? His heart must have raced as he anticipated looking upon the glory of God with his own two eyes. But instead, God came in a gentle whisper.

Elijah understood the message. God can hurl windstorms whenever He chooses. He can make the earth tremble or set it aflame. But He usually does not choose to move among us in sensational ways, but rather in the sound of a gentle whisper.

Your View of God Really Matters …

Why do you think God allowed Elijah to get so depressed he wanted to die? How did God restore Elijah's hope? Do you ever get depressed? Next time, listen for the gentle whisper.



"The Patriot Post"

"[W]hereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them; nor does it follow from this, that all promiscuously must go into actual service on every occasion. The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle; and when we see many men disposed to practice upon it, whenever they can prevail, no wonder true republicans are for carefully guarding against it." -- Federal Farmer, Antifederalist Letter, No.18

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." -- Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1778



From the Leftjudiciary: Judge: ACORN Can't be Defunded

You would be hard-pressed to find good news coming from ACORN these days -- or any days, for that matter. Once word got out of ACORN's willingness to help with illegal activities, Congress quickly passed a bill defunding the community organizers. But the good news came for ACORN when U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon tossed out the law, ruling that the organization was being punished "in the absence of any judicial, or even administrative, process adjudicating guilt." Obviously, ACORN's being caught on tape encouraging illegal acts such as tax evasion and child prostitution, in addition to participating in fraudulent voter registration wasn't enough for the Clinton appointee to rule in the government's favor.

Bill Quigley, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights (a group "committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change"), which filed the suit on ACORN's behalf, predicted the federal government would not appeal the case, though it is asking Gershon to reconsider. Given the Justice Department's tendency toward lax pursuit of voting law violations, such as the Black Panther voter intimidation case in Philadelphia, we don't see them adamantly defending the will of Congress either. So it looks like your tax dollars will head to ACORN once again.



National Security - Department of Military Readiness: A Disarming Way With Nukes

A world without nukes -- what's not to love about that? That's the message the Chosen One reiterated in Oslo last week as he accepted his Nobel Peace Prize -- for what we're not quite sure, other than wanting to do something about nuclear weapons. Citing his efforts to revise expiring nuclear agreements with Russia, His Worship went on to reaffirm his commitment to disarmament. There's just one minor problem: We're the only ones disarming.

For instance, in the tentative update to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991 (START), the U.S. is set to cut nuclear delivery vehicles -- ICBMs, bombers and subs -- to 800 or less, half the current START limits. Since Russia has a current inventory of 814 vehicles, while America has 1,198, guess who "wins" the arms reduction game here? Of course the "winner" also loses in the national security game, but we digress. The drawdown in bombers hurts our non-nuclear war-fighting capability, as well. That's because all of our nuclear-capable bomber platforms can also carry conventional munitions.

Forget about verification, too. The Gipper's "trust but verify" axiom may be thrown under the bus in the new agreement. Russia announced its intention to end continuous monitoring at its Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, which is where our Red "friends" are building new RS-24 mobile nuclear missiles, purported by a Russian general to compose 80 percent of Russian ICBM forces by 2016. Good luck guessing how many they will actually build if that provision is accepted -- but we can trust them, right?

Finally, while Russia is investing heavily in new warheads and missiles, our own nuclear arsenal continues to age, with no proposed modernization on the horizon. The White House has been silent on virtually all matters related to strategic deterrence (save July's public kowtowing to Russian demands that the U.S. kill its plans to deploy an anti-ballistic missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic) to have any hope of moving forward on a revised START agreement. Notwithstanding Obama's disarming overtures toward Russia, none of these efforts have even remotely slowed Iran's full-court press to acquire nuclear weapons or North Korea's equally aggressive efforts to expand its nuclear arsenal.

Nice work, Mr. Nobel-Prize-Winner. Hope we all remember what a great job you did to "earn" your Nobel if Washington or New York are one day awakened at 2 a.m. to an "unscheduled sunrise."



Department of Military Correctness: Friendly Fire

As Christmas approaches, the Obama regime's assault on our own warriors continues. As detailed previously, court-martial preparations continue for three U.S. Navy SEALs accused of mistreating a captured jihadi. But another case of political correctness gone wild recently came to light -- that of Army Ranger 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna, who is now serving a 20-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth. Lieutenant Behenna was found guilty by a court-martial of unpremeditated murder in the shooting death of a jihadi named Ali Mansur, despite the fact that an expert prosecution witness had evidence that backed up Behenna's claim of self defense. The expert, Dr. Herbert MacDonell, a specialist in blood stain forensics, was flown in by the Army prosecutors to testify in the case, though it appears that in order to get a conviction, the Army prosecutors did not call on Dr. MacDonell to testify because his evidence did not support their case.

Thankfully, in both cases, some spine is finally starting to show among our leaders. In Congress, 40 members led by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) sent a letter to Army Major General Charles Cleveland, commander of Special Operation Command Central and the man who ordered the SEALs' court-martial, calling on him to dismiss the charges and exonerate the SEALs. Scandalously, but not surprisingly, the letter was signed only by Republicans, few though there were. And in Lt. Behenna's case, an e-mail from Dr. MacDonell explaining his testimony surfaced. A clemency hearing for Behenna is set for Jan. 7 in Arlington, Virginia. May justice be done.



Warfront With Jihadistan: Moving Gitmo Residents to Illinois

In other news, the administration continued its "Coddle a Jihadi" program, with a whole bunch of pork thrown in for Obama's "home" state of Illinois, to boot. Obama has ordered the federal government to purchase a little-used state prison in rural Illinois, the Thomson Correctional Center about 150 miles west of Chicago, to house upwards of 100 jihadis now held at Guantanamo Bay. The facility will be turned into a prison that exceeds "supermax standards" according to a letter sent to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and signed by a gaggle of Obama's national security team members -- and we can certainly trust them.

Ignoring the fact that bringing the jihadis to America's heartland paints a big target there and gives them constitutional protections, Illinois pols were gushing over the prospect of $1 billion and more than 3,000 jobs flowing their way. Quinn and Illinois' senior senator, Majority Whip Dick Durbin, said, "This is an opportunity to dramatically reduce unemployment, create thousands of good-paying jobs, and breathe new economic life into this part of downstate Illinois." What he left out was "and to spread radical Islam throughout our prison system." Junior Senator Roland Burris, the empty suit (and head) who replaced Obama, echoed these comments, saying the new facility will be "a great economic benefit to the state by creating over 3,000 well-paying jobs and bringing in valuable federal dollars." As for Obama, his political career began in the living room of two terrorists, so he's perfectly comfortable bringing others home to Illinois.



Business & Economy - Regulatory Commissars: Biting the Hand That Feeds

With soaring double-digit unemployment as the nation heads into an election year, the Obama administration determined that this is a good time to find a scapegoat for its continuing economic ineptitude. Barack Obama blamed the banking industry for making the bad loans demanded by liberal interest groups and for making loans the White House disfavors. "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street," Obama lectured. "America went through the worst economic year that it's gone through in -- in decades, and you guys caused the problem."

He then went on to demand that they repeat one of the things that caused the economic crisis: Loosen lending.

Of course, they already are loaning money, but those running large banks are not economically stupid. They are borrowing (printed) money from the Federal Reserve Bank at effectively zero percent and then loaning that money to the federal government at 3 percent or better..

Meanwhile, proving that the left hand is unaware of what the right hand is doing, the federal government is actively de-collateralizing banks by artificially forcing them to reduce the value of solvent small-business loans, which obliges banks to stop lending until the government ceases destabilizing the lending market. Predictably, the flow of loans is being choked off because banks are forced to rely upon other, riskier loans. The Obama solution? Oratorical finger-wagging and intoning about social responsibilities.

Democrats' fiscal follies extend beyond the lending realm with a congressional proposal to dramatically expand the mandate of the Federal Trade Commission. Democrats want the FTC to be able to directly litigate against and fine companies that are first-time offenders as well as enabling the agency to cobble together burdensome new rules without having to defend against inconvenient challenges by the regulated companies. Missing from the proposed new expansion is any suggestion that the FTC can be effective in regulating disparate industries with which it lacks any prior expertise, making the proposal appear more like a hammer than a scalpel. Unfortunately, when the only tool regulators have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

While the path to growing the economy remains an enigma to Obama and his fellow leftists, the solution is becoming crystal clear to everyone else: Jobs will be created only when Obama and liberal politicians lose theirs.



Tax Cut Trickery

Those of you who thought you were living large because Barack Obama gave you a small tax break every week (dubbed the "Making Work Pay" tax cut) might have to think again once you file 2009 taxes next April. While the 2009 tax tables show a small reduction, the IRS notes that married couples with two incomes and those who work multiple jobs may be having too little money withheld -- leading to a smaller refund next spring, or, in some cases, people who calculated their withholding to break even will find themselves owing Uncle Sam. Let's hope that they won't have a nice little underpayment penalty to tack on.

Moreover, the Making Work Pay tax cut of $400 ($800 for couples) would also be reduced to those who receive the promised $250 additional benefit for Social Security recipients. Instead of taxing additional Social Security benefits seniors didn't get because there was no cost-of-living increase this year, their taxable benefits are reduced. As always, the federal government figures out a way to win. It's what happens when the politicians think it's their money.



Faith and Family: Merry Ramadan

"Allah is God, we recall at dawn, Praying 'til night during Ramadan...." No, this isn't the prayer from your local mosque. It's what second-graders at Lantern Road Elementary School in Fishers, Indiana, were taught to sing for the school's holiday program, which touched on Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Las Posadas and Kwanzaa. Although the program supposedly was designed to teach "inclusiveness," according to FOX News Radio's Todd Starnes, Allah was the only god mentioned.

And while Allah's deity was proclaimed with confidence -- "Allah is God" -- students were taught to wonder if there really was a Baby Jesus: "I didn't know there was a little boy at the manger. What child is this? I'm not sure if there was a little boy or not...."

After public protests, the school nixed the Allah reference, but not before demonstrating the truth that politically correct "inclusiveness" means affirming, validating and endorsing all religions -- save the ones whose values built our nation.



"The Web"

The C-SPAN Lie? See Eight Clips of Obama Promising Televised Healthcare Negotiations

http://www.breitbart.tv/the-c-span-lie-did-obama-really-promise-televised-healthcare-negotiations/



150 Years of Dickens Vs. Darwin

Chuck Colson

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/commentary/11624316/

BreakPoint

Two of the most famous books in the Western canon turned 150 years old in 2009—On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

But these anniversaries were celebrated in vastly different ways. While Darwin's book was honored around the globe with films and websites and much more, relatively few people took notice that Dickens's book had reached the same milestone.

Why the difference? My colleague Gina Dalfonzo, in an article on BreakPoint Online, suggests that one reason might be "the difference in worldview." Gina points out that Origin of Species is built on Darwin's materialistic principles, while A Tale of Two Cities takes a more traditional and biblical view of things.

It's easy to see how our educational and media elite would gravitate toward the work that more faithfully reflects their own views, even if they don't fully realize why they're doing it.

Both authors lived at a time when Western culture was transitioning from faith in God to faith in humanity and its progress. Darwin went along with the change, embracing materialism and seeing his own scientific studies in its light.

But Dickens resisted. His faith has been called "simple"—he was not openly interested in complex theological questions, and he did not always adhere to church doctrine. But he maintained his belief in a loving Creator to the end of his life.

Isn't it interesting that it was Darwin who was swept up in some of the uglier trends of his day? Dr. Benjamin Wiker has recently pointed out Darwin's interest in the theories of Thomas Malthus, who thought that the "surplus population"—the weak and the unfit—were holding humanity back. The influence of this belief can be seen in Origin of Species and in Darwin's other works.

Personally, Darwin believed in helping the poor and sick, but his personal life did not fit with his actual ideas. His theory boiled down to "might makes right," and that meant survival was the highest ethical good.

On the other hand, Dickens parodied Malthus in his works, and showed the moral bankruptcy of his theories. In A Tale of Two Cities, a novel about the French Revolution, Dickens shows a struggle for power between two families, a struggle that turns into a cycle of violence and revenge. Madame Defarge, a central figure in the cycle, has no mercy for her victims once she gets them in her power; in fact, you might call her a fully Darwinian figure.

In the end, the cycle of violence can only be broken, and Madame Defarge disarmed, by another character's self-sacrifice—the kind of act that would have no place in a Darwinian view of the world. But in Dickens' biblically influenced view, this act of love and selflessness signifies the highest good of which humanity is capable.

Both Darwin and Dickens were optimistic men, but in fundamentally different ways. Darwin's vision of future perfection would be merely a race of physically and mentally strong beings. Dickens' hope was for a fundamentally moral society where the sick and weak were cared for, not pushed out of the way.

As the 150th anniversary year comes to an end for these two books, it's a good time to compare how these radically different worldviews worked out in practice. All you've got to do is look at the evidence of the last 150 years for a clear answer to which one was true.



School Singled Out For Alleged Attack On Religious Freedom

by Personal Liberty News Desk

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/school-singled-out-for-alleged-attack-on-religious-freedom-19524493/

Eastfield College, a public college in the Dallas area, came under criticism last month after it tried to prevent one of its students from making crosses during ceramics classes and imposed a full ban on the practice this fall.

The school’s art department has a "no symbols" policy that includes bans on crosses, menorahs and other religious items. Despite this regulation, Joe Mitchell, 69, made some ceramic religious figures for his fellow parishioners at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church, and said he felt humiliated and that his "spirituality was being demeaned" when he was confronted about it.

After the incident, Mitchell teamed up with Liberty Legal Institute to send a demand letter to the school, threatening to pursue a lawsuit if the policy is not changed to protect his religious freedom.

"Unfortunately, not everyone has the Christmas spirit or even a basic understanding of religious freedom," said Kelly Shackelford, the institute’s chief counsel.

She added that "the government cannot ban crosses and religious symbols."

The college responded, saying the rules are intended to compel students to make original works and avoid duplicate projects, not to circumvent artistic freedom, and it confirmed its legal counsel will review the policy and amend the language to make its intention clearer, according to WFAA.com.



Truth Truck Will Deliver New Year’s Message To Pro-life Traitor Sen. Ben Nelson

Written by Operation Rescue

http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/truth-truck-will-deliver-new-year%e2%80%99s-message-to-pro-life-traitor-sen-ben-nelson/

Neighborhood protest of Senator’s home will show the truth about the results of taxpayer funded abortion

Omaha, NE – An abortion protest featuring Operation Omaha, NE – An abortion protest featuring Operation Rescue’s Truth Truck will be conducted on New Year’s Day near the Omaha home of Sen. Ben Nelson.

The protest against Nelson’s scheme for tax-funded abortions will be held on January 1, 2010, in the neighborhood of 9735 Fieldcrest Drive in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning at 2 PM, Central Time.

“The Pro-Life Movement will be making Sen. Nelson aware of our New Year’s Resolution. We will no longer tolerate betrayal of politicians who pretend to be pro-life. If you betray the innocent blood of the babies you have promised to protect, we will vote you out on Election Day. It’s as simple as that,” said Rescue the Heartland’s Larry Donlan, who will be driving Operation Rescue’s Truth Truck, a large paneled vehicle displaying actual photos of aborted babies.

“If Nelson is so bent on forcing us to fund abortions, it is appropriate for us to show him the truth about what abortion does to babies,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

Nelson betrayed the trust of his pro-life constituency by accepting what has become known as the “Cornhusker Kickback” in which he exchanged his vote for abortion funding in the Senate’s health care bill in exchange for financial favors for Nebraska.

Nelson continues to attack those who once avidly supported him by making statements on radio and television ads defending his indefensible act and making further threats if his “deal” is “watered down” by the conference committee that will be charged with reconciling the House and Senate versions.

However, Rep. Bart Stupak has indicated that he and ten other House members will not vote for the final health care bill if it contains Nelson’s abortion funding scheme or any other plan for abortion funding. Thirteen State Attorney Generals have announced that they will sue to prevent the implementation of any health care legislation that contains Nelson’s “Cornhusker Kickback.”

“In the latest poll, 72% of the American people opposed taxpayer funded abortions. That percentage is likely higher in Nelson’s home state. Nebraskans do not want the blood-money that the Democrats promised in exchange for Nelson’s vote approving abortion funding,” said Newman. “When our elected representatives refuse to represent the will of the people in favor of their own interests, then it is time to rebuke them and kick them out.”



John Kerry Refused Permission To Visit Iran

January 6, 2010 by Personal Liberty News Desk

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/john-kerry-refused-permission-to-visit-iran-19538745/

Legislators in Iran have rejected top Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) request to visit the country, the media have reported.

According to TheHill.com, Iranian media have said that Kerry, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had submitted an official request to visit Tehran as an emissary.

Iran’s Fars News Agency has quoted Zohreh Elahian, a member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, as saying that "The Islamic Republic of Iran has no plans to negotiate with any American official, unless [the U.S.] changes its policies," which was quoted by TheHill.com.

The Iranian news source also said that Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani advised Kerry to end America’s hostile policies toward his country, particularly regarding the nuclear issue.

When questioned by journalists, the senator’s spokesman, Frederick Jones, said no trip to Iran was planned at the moment.

The United States and Iran broke off diplomatic relations in the wake of the Iranian hostage crisis during which 53 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from 1979 to 1981 at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The two countries have held no bilateral talks for the past 30 years, but after his inauguration President Obama suggested he was ready to start talks on normalizing the relations.

However, last September Obama, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Great Britain and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France alleged Iran has covert plans to build an enrichment plant about 100 miles outside of Tehran, according to The New York Times.



Dearbornistan Muslim Arab Students’ Sweatshirts Glorify 9/11

By Debbie Schlussel

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/14788/dearbornistan-muslim-arab-students-sweatshirts-glorify-911/

As I have told you over and over again, despite their declared “condemnations” of the 9/11 attacks, Muslims all over America praised and cheered the mass murder of nearly 3,000 Americans. Last week, I told you about how four Muslim Arab employees cheered at a Ford engineering plant high-fived, cheered, and laughed at the 9/11 attacks, and got to keep their jobs for three years thereafter.

This week, it’s fifteen Arab Muslim students at Dearbornistan’s Edsel Ford High School. They made sweatshirts glorifying the 9/11 attacks, depicting the twin towers with a plane about to fly into it. “Religion of Peace,” indeed. It’s disgusting, but it’s the way of life in Dearbornistan and–soon–your neck of the woods (and, actually, already there). Watch the video. In case you are curious, “LOUI” is an Arabic name and surname.

About 15 Arab-American students at Edsel Ford High School are in trouble over a sweatshirt they had made over the holiday break. On the back of the sweatshirt, the number 11 is made to look like the World Trade Center Towers. The school’s mascot, a thunderbird, is seen flying toward the number.

Under the graphic, a tagline reads, “You can’t bring us down.” The students wore the hooded sweatshirts to school Monday.

The “you can’t bring us down” part is not referring to America or the towers, but to their fellow Arab Muslims who flew the planes on 9/11. They clearly meant to make a statement after the Flight 253 attack that happened in their backyard while they were on winter break.

They were immediately sent to the principal’s office.The sweatshirts were confiscated.“What took place here today was an inappropriate, distasteful act,” said David Mustonen, a spokesman for Dearborn Schools. “(It was) totally inappropriate, totally disrespectful, and they just were not thinking.”The students told the principal they didn’t mean any harm by having the sweatshirts made.

Uh-huh. Sure, they didn’t. And by the way, David Mustonen has his job by virtue of pandering to the Arab Muslims who run Dearborn. He’s never had the guts to stand up to him. And this is no exception. He constantly appears in the media as an apologist for his school district’s Hezbollah High a/k/a Fordson High School and its Islamic extremist principal, Imad Fadlallah, who runs the school, like his cousin, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, runs Hezbollah, constantly harassing and persecuting non-Muslim employees and students, and giving them the day off and extra credit to campaign against Christian candidates for the Dearborn City Council and School Board.

Other students who heard about and saw the shirts said they were disgusted.“I found them very offensive and I didn’t think it was funny or fun at all,” said Brittany Johnson, a senior at Edsel Ford High.The school has not said what disciplinary action will be taken against the students.“If I was in charge, I would have them expelled,” said Lindsey Winstrand. “But I think suspension is the least they can do.”The students told the principal they had the sweatshirts made at the Gibraltar Trade Center for about $25 each.

Yup, another bonus: the money probably went straight to Hezbollah or HAMAS. The Gibraltar Trade Center is infested by Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims selling counterfeit designer clothes and merchandise for cash, and, apparently, a good deal of the money goes straight to the Middle East to finance Hezbollah and HAMAS. Yet, ICE–Immigration and Customs Enforcement–won’t touch Gibraltar because its Michigan/Ohio Special Agent in Charge, Brian Moskowitz a/k/a “Abu Moskowitz,” doesn’t want to offend his Muslim falafel-eating buddies. Instead, they’re going after non-Muslims in most cases.

The next time you hear Muslims or Arab groups issuing yet another one of their empty, phony “condemnations” of Al-Qaeda, the 9/11 attacks, or the Northwest Flight 253 attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, remember these sweatshirts and remember the Muslim employees at Ford. Those are their REAL feelings about the Islamic mass-murder of nearly 3,000 Americans.

It’s trite, but true: Actions speak louder than words. And talk is cheap. Sweatshirts and jobs, on the other hand, are costly. And we see how our Arab Muslim residents of America invest themselves.



Comedy Of Errors: Cameras Didn't Work At Newark

Sources Tell CBS 2 That TSA Surveillance Cameras Were Inoperable At Time Of Terminal C Security Breach

TSA Apparently Didn't Know Number For Continental To Get Other Footage

http://wcbstv.com/local/newark.airport.continental.2.1407062.html

Reporting: Marcia Kramer - NEWARK (CBS)

Thousands of people found themselves bunched together inside Newark Liberty International Airport after a security breach prompted the closing of a terminal for several hours Jan. 3, 2010.

CBS

It's a tale of shocking ineptitude: CBS 2 has learned a series of missteps unnecessarily added to the mayhem at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday. The six-hour delay stranded thousands of people, creating extreme crowding and chaos.

The mistakes made at the airport give new meaning to the term "domino effect." It was a cascading series of missteps that cry out for action.

The sign at the Transportation Security Administration screening post at Newark read: "Premises Under Constant Video Surveillance."

What is should add is: "If We're Lucky."

That's because CBS 2 has learned that when an unidentified man breached a secure area at Newark on Sunday night, delaying thousands of passengers for hours, the TSA cameras weren't working.

That's right – they weren't even recording, sources said, and needed a reboot, which the agency apparently didn't ask for. That set off a chain reaction of even more missteps that caused needless chaos and inconvenience for several thousand hapless passengers.

With the cameras inoperable, the TSA tried to get a second set of surveillance video from Continental Airlines. But the TSA apparently didn't know the correct telephone number and the specific procedures to get the footage. That caused a two hour delay in identifying the intruder and closing the airport to look for him.

When they finally got the footage, they couldn't find the intruder, discovering later that he had slipped out another entrance 20 minutes after he arrived.

What Are Your Thoughts On This Story? Submit Comments Here?

"The question I would ask is should there be an independent camera system there. Who should be responsible for the law enforcement?" said Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

Lautenberg is furious about what happened and he's going to hold hearings to demand answers.

"You cannot afford a mistake here anymore than a surgeon in the operating room," he said. "This system was broken."

But that's not all. The Edwardes family of Ontario, Canada may have felt the worst of the domino effect. They were finally flying home on Tuesday after being stranded since Sunday. For them, a 90 minute layover to change planes from San Diego to Ontario turned into a two-and-a-half day delay.

"We were a minute away from boarding," said Terri Edwardes. "We just want to go home."

The family was left to wait for hours and hours with no water, no food, no information about whether their plane would take off, and no hotel. So what did they get from Continental?

"They gave us one of these packages with a toothpaste, and a toothbrush, and hairspray in it. And deodorant," said Jake Edwardes.

Needless to say, there is a lot of blame, and a lot of finger pointing. But as of now, if it were to happen again, there's no guarantee it would be handled smoothly.



"The e-mail Bag"

Ten Reasons Men Prefer Guns over Women

#10. You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.

#9. You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you're
on the road.

#8. If you admire a friend's gun and tell him so, he will
probably let you try it out a few times.

#7. Your primary gun doesn't mind if you keep another gun for a
backup.

#6.. Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.

#5. A gun doesn't take up a lot of closet space.

#4. Guns function normally every day of the month.

#3. A gun doesn't ask, "Do these new grips make me look fat?"

#2. A gun doesn't mind if you go to sleep after you use it.

And the number one reason a gun is favored over a woman....

#1. YOU CAN BUY A SILENCER FOR A GUN