A transgender woman found guilty of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in a bathroom

A transgender woman found guilty of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in a bathroom could face 70 years in jail.

‘Michelle’ Martinez

Michelle Martinez – known as Miguel before identifying as a female – was convicted of first and second degree sexual abuse of a minor on Wednesday.

The young girl had told police that Martinez – from Casper, Wyoming – took her to a bathroom before touching her breasts and genitalia.

According to the Billings Gazette, she then penetrated the girl.

The victim later told her mother about the ordeal with Martinez, who was a family friend.

Nurses at Wyoming Medical Center then found redness and abrasions on the girl’s genitalia.

The girl told an interviewer from the Children’s Advocacy Project that Martinez should be jailed, the Casper Star Tribune reported….

Court Rules WWI Memorial Cross Must Be Torn Down

Back in 1925, the American Legion erected a memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland to honor the memory of 49 men who perished during World War One.

Photo by dbking (CC)

The 40-foot tall memorial became known as the “Peace Cross.”
In 2014, the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit alleging the cross-shaped memorial is unconstitutional and demanding it be demolished, altered, or removed.
They alleged the cross carries “an inherently religious message and creates the unmistakable appearance of honoring only Christian servicemen.”
On Wednesday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and ruled the historic memorial must be torn down – all because the Bladensburg Memorial is in the shape of a cross.

The Fourth Circuit said the memorial excessively entangles the government in religion because the cross is the “core symbol of Christianity” and “breaches” the wall separating church and state.
Writing separately, Chief Judge Gregory wrote, “This Memorial stands in witness to the VALOR, ENDURANCE, COURAGE, and DEVOTION of the forty-nine residents of Prince George’s County, Maryland ‘who lost their lives in the Great War for the liberty of the world.’  I cannot agree that a monument so conceived and dedicated and that bears such witness violates the letter or spirit of the very Constitution these heroes died to defend.”
The American Legion could appeal directly to the Supreme Court.
“Today’s decision sets dangerous precedent by completely ignoring history, and it threatens removal and destruction of veterans memorials across America,” First Liberty Institute attorney Hiram Sasser said….

Survival Preppers! Here’s How to Get a Continuous Food Supply on a Budget

"Get an unlimited food supply by growing a survival garden."

Home and Garden America reveals the most practical and affordable way to ensure an unlimited supply of food in a survival situation.

Carson City, NV - October 19, 2017 - In this day and age of uncertain calamities and looming nuclear threats, survival prepping becomes all the more crucial. But while preparedness is important, it’s not always affordable for everyone. Stocking on supplies, especially long-term survival food, can be quite expensive. Because of this, practical preppers are now desperate for ways to secure their survival food supply without breaking the bank.

For Home and Garden America, the solution is simple: get a survival seeds vault and plant a vegetable garden. A survival expert from the company says, “Growing your own produce is the most inexpensive way to guarantee your long-term food supply. A survival seeds vault is much cheaper than other survival food options, yet it can grow a continuous amount of nutritious food whenever you need it.”

In comparison to non-perishable food products, survival seeds are a lot more affordable and dependable. Canned foods are cheap but they have a very short shelf life, usually 1-3 years. Dehydrated foods are in the mid-range—they cost a bit more but they can only last up to 10 years. Freeze-dried foods can go for more than 25 years, but the prices can go up to thousands of dollars for a 1-year supply alone.

Another problem with non-perishables is their nutritional content. Canned foods are known to have preservatives, and the vitamins tend to wash out in the water only after a year. Some dehydrated foods also have preservatives, although their vitamins remain in the food instead of the water unlike canned items. Freeze-dried foods contain no preservatives but again, not everyone can afford them.

All things considered, homegrown produce is the best choice for preppers if budget and nutrition are determining factors. “You only need to invest in a quality survival seeds vault, then you can grow healthy vegetables, fruits and herbs to sustain your family’s needs. Whether you plant the seeds tomorrow or decades later, your food supply will always be guaranteed,” said the Home and Garden America expert.

Some people may wonder if they can really grow food continuously in a disaster or survival crisis. Most people think crops can only be planted in spring and summer, but the expert says that’s a huge misconception.

“With some garden planning, any prepper can grow crops in the fall and winter seasons as well. Cool-season crops like cabbage, green onions, kale, lettuce, swiss chard, peas, radishes, turnips, spinach and other leafy greens can be cultivated in the colder months. Gardening all year round is very doable, and it gives preppers a regular food source to count on,” the expert remarked.

To ensure a fresh and unlimited supply of seeds every year, the expert recommends saving the seeds from each harvest. This way, running out of seeds will never be an issue. He further advised preppers to learn how to fish and hunt for game so they can add protein to their diet.

Having access to a bountiful veggie garden and hunted meats will enable prepper families to thrive in any survival situation. For more info on how to get the best survival seeds vault for survival gardening, preppers can visit the Home and Garden America website.

About Home and Garden America

Home and Garden America is the gardening division of the Charles C Harmon Co LLC. The heirloom company offers a survival seeds vault that produces acres of life-sustaining food to feed families through any disaster and beyond

Rep. Lamar Smith demanding DOJ prosecute Hillary Clinton’s private server team over stonewalling

• April 27, 2017

• 

Lawmakers are crying “Foul!” — and rightfully so — over the internet company Hillary Clinton hired to run her private, off-the-books email server, as the company has been giving congressional investigators the runaround for more than a year — something prompting leading lawmakers to take the case to President Trump’s Justice Department for prosecution.

The Washington Free Beacon has the details:

Rep. Lamar Smith (R., Texas), chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, has asked the DOJ to prosecute Platte River Networks CEO Treve Suazo for obstructing a congressional investigation into his company’s role in providing security for Clinton’s home brewed email server, which became the subject of widespread debate following revelations that it had multiple security vulnerabilities.
Smith, whose committee has jurisdiction over the investigation, said the Congress would not tolerate Platte River’s failure to comply with the investigation.
“The Committee is referring Mr. Treve Suazo, CEO of Platte River Networks, to the Department of Justice for prosecution under federal laws pertaining to failing to produce subpoenaed documents, making false statements to Congress regarding possession of documents, and obstructing Congress,” Smith said in a statement.

Our leaders in Washington, D.C. need to hold each other accountable. No government official should get away with stonewalling the American people. We deserve transparent, honest leadership and we thank Rep. Lamar Smith for demanding exactly that. Click here to get involved and help Tea Party Patriots hold our leaders accountable!

Tea Party Patriots: IRS Must Immediately Release All New Documents Potentially Related to Targeting

• March 9, 2017

• 

Atlanta, GA – Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin released the following statement today, in response to reports that the IRS found new documents potentially related to the agency’s targeting scandal, in which conservatives were targeted for their political beliefs under the Obama Administration.
“Years after the Obama Justice Department refused to conduct any real investigation of the IRS targeting scandal, in which conservatives were targeted for their political beliefs, and during which former president Obama laughed it off and claimed there was ‘not a smidgen’ of corruption at the IRS, and years after IRS Commissioner Koskinen claimed all the Lois Lerner backup emails during the relevant time period were erased, we now learn that there are almost 7,000 undisclosed documents potentially related to the IRS targeting.
“Not only did the IRS magically ‘find’ potentially relevant documents but the IRS is now refusing to make them public.
“We call on the IRS to immediately release all these new documents, so the American people can finally begin to see what the IRS has been hiding regarding their scandalous abuse of power.
“We call on IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, a Democratic Party major donor, to finally be held accountable for his role in covering up the targeting of conservatives for their political views. Commissioner Koskinen and the IRS may have been protected by the Obama White House, but now under President Trump we are confident the time for holding them accountable is finally here.”

Audit: IRS rehired employees formerly involved in agency misconduct

• August 1, 2017

• 

According to an audit from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Internal Revenue Service rehired employees who were involved in misconduct such as falsifying documents or had unauthorized access to taxpayers’ information.
The Washington Free Beacon has the story:

Considering that identify theft is a major concern, auditors wanted to inspect the agency to ensure the individuals they hire are of high integrity in safeguarding sensitive taxpayer information.
The auditors found there were 200 employees who were rehired between January 2015 and March 2016 that were terminated or separated from the agency that were either under investigation or had some misconduct that caused them to leave.
These employees had conduct issues such as falsifying employment forms or documents, unauthorized use of taxpayer accounts, misuse of email or property, absence and leave issues, workplace disruption, failure to follow instructions, and violations of the Internal Revenue Code, to name a few.

We trust the IRS with our most sensitive information and allowing former employees with records of misconduct to handle that information is a breach of trust. Click to help Tea Party Patriots fight against government abuse of power and demand that the IRS clean up its act!

She Found Rare Coins Worth $40 Million—Then the Government Took Them

A woman discovered rare 1933 coins in her family’s safe-deposit box. Can the government confiscate them?

By Vicki Glembocki

Noma Bar for Reader's DigestWhen Joan Langbord found ten gold coins in a family safe-­deposit box in 2003, she knew she’d unburied a treasure. Langbord, then 75, had worked in her late father’s Philadelphia jewelry store her entire life, and she was fairly sure that 
the coins were 1933 double eagles. Designed by American sculptor 
Augustus Saint-Gaudens with Lady Liberty on one side and a bald eagle on the other, the 1933 double eagle is one of America’s rarest and most beautiful coins.

Although 445,500 double eagles were minted in 1933, each one valued at $20, they were never issued (unlike these rare dimes worth nearly $2 million). Instead, 500 coins were held by the U.S. Mint’s cashier, and the rest were sealed away in the agency’s basement vault. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had pulled all gold coins from 
circulation because people were hoarding gold during the Depression, depleting the Federal Reserve’s stash. 
The Mint ultimately sent two of the 1933 double eagles to the Smithsonian; the rest were melted into bars and stored in the just-built Fort Knox in Kentucky.

Noma Bar for Reader's Digest

Or so the Mint thought. In the 1940s, reports of private collectors trading 1933 double eagles shocked Mint officials and sparked a Secret Service investigation. The agents discovered that a cashier had smuggled an unknown number of the coins out of the Mint. The Feds traced ten of them to Philadelphia jeweler ­Israel Switt—Joan Langbord’s father. Switt had sold those coins to private collectors, later testifying that he 
had no records of how he’d obtained them or from whom he’d bought them. He was never prosecuted for any crime.

The trail went cold until almost 
60 years later, when an English coin dealer tried to sell a 1933 double 
eagle to a New York collector. The U.S. government immediately seized it. It turned out to be a stolen coin Switt had sold to a Philadelphia collector; it had later been sold by a Texas collector to Egypt’s King Farouk, in 1944. Unaware then that the Secret Service was investigating the stolen coins, 
the Department of the Treasury mistakenly had allowed King Farouk to export the coin. Because of its own 
error, in 2002 the government agreed to sell that 1933 double eagle at auction and split the proceeds between the English coin dealer and the Mint. It sold for $7.6 million. (If any of these 15 valuable coins are in your wallet, you could get a nice chunk of change too.)

It was two years later that Langbord took her 1933 double eagles to the Mint for authentication. Assuming that her father had owned the coins legally, she hoped to make a similar arrangement, which would have netted about $40 million, according to Langbord’s original claim. The Mint refused—and confiscated the coins, claiming that the double eagles “already are, and always have been, property belonging to the United States.”

In 2006, Langbord sued the Mint, the Treasury, and various federal 
officials. She claimed there was a 
period in 1933, after the coins were minted but before Roosevelt pulled gold from the market, when her 
father could have legally purchased them. The government maintained that the coins were stolen.

Should the government return 
the coins to Joan Langbord? You 
be the judge.

The Verdict

Noma Bar for Reader's Digest

No, but it took the courts nearly a decade to make that call. 
The case came down to one question: Were the coins stolen, or was it possible that they were accidentally but legally issued and then sold to Switt? The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in 
August 2016 that the coins were the Mint’s property, citing testimony showing that Mint records “track the movement of each 1933 double eagle. These records were remarkably detailed.” In other words, says Mint attorney Greg Weinman, “these coins didn’t go out through the front door—they went out the back door.” Langbord appealed to the Supreme Court, but in April 2017, it declined to hear the case.