WWII vet, beaten by teens outside Eagles Lodge, dies

Author: Ian Cull, KXLY4 Multimedia Journalist, ianc@kxly.com

Rob Kauder, Internet Content Manager, robk@kxly.com

WWII veteran Delbert Belton survived being wounded in action during the Battle of Okinawa only to be beaten and left for dead by two teens at the Eagles Lodge in Spokane on Wednesday evening.

Belton, 89, died from the injuries he suffered in the beating Thursday morning at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Witnesses say Belton was in the parking lot of the Eagles Lodge at 6410 N. Lidgerwood, adjacent to the Eagles Ice-A-Rena, around 8 p.m. Wednesday when the two male suspects attacked him as he was about to head inside to play pool.

Police responded with K-9s to track the suspects' scent but were not able to locate them.

"It does appear random. He was in the parking lot, it appears he was assaulted in the parking lot and there was no indication that he would have known these people prior to the assault," Spokane Police Major Crimes Detective Lieutenant Mark Griffiths said.

Belton died from his injuries Thursday morning at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

"Shorty," as he was known by his friends at the Eagles Lodge, served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific during WWII and was shot in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa. He went on to work at Kaiser Aluminum at the company's Trentwood plant for more than 30 years. Belton's wife passed away several years ago.

He loved playing pool, even though he claimed he was no good at it and had been a member of the Eagles Lodge for the last four months. In addition to playing pool he loved working on cars.

Shorty was Ted Denison's best friend of 23 years; the two played pool occasionally and worked on cars daily.

"He was always there for me when I needed him," Denison said. "We'd joke back and forth. We were always having fun, some sort of fun."

He was the kind of nice old man who'd become your friend in minutes.

"Probably every time I come into town, he'd have a project for me to do," Denison said. "I thought of him more as a dad than I did a friend really."

Now, with the suspects still at large and the Spokane Police Department working to track them down, Shorty's friends are hoping for justice.

"I don't understand how somebody could do this. I really don't," Denison said.

Spokane police are looking for two male suspects in the attack. They said the suspects are African Americans between 16 and 19 years old. One suspect was described as heavy set and wearing all black clothing. The other was described as being about 6 feet tall and 150 pounds. There was no description of what clothing the second suspect was wearing other than a silk do-rag.

Police investigating the deadly attack on Belton have also obtained surveillance footage from the scene. Click this linkto see still images of the two suspects in the attack.

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2013 is a record low year for U.S. tornadoes

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Anthony Watts

While many climate alarmists still try to tell us that global warming will increase tornadoes, we are in the middle of a tornado drought, and well below normal. Normally we’d see 1221 tornadoes in the USA, so far for 2013, only 716 have been reported.

The map of the USA shows the distribution:

So far, we are about 200 tornadoes below this time last year, and last year was also a low event year.

When looking historically at where we are, we find that 2013 has slipped below the historical minimum, setting a new record for the ~60 years in the tornado database.

What’s more, we are well past the time of peak tornado activity, which typically occurs in spring, when we have the most collisions between warm and cold air masses over the USA. While we could certainly see a rebound, it is statistically unlikely.

Sources: NOAA Storm Prediction Center

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/newm.html

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/

Political reporter Jack Germond, has died today at age 85

Political reporter Jack Germond, who died August 14 at age 85, talks in a 2012 interview about working for the Baltimore Sun

By Frederick N. Rasmussen, The Baltimore Sun

11:10 a.m. EDT, August 14, 2013

Jack W. Germond, an irascible columnist and commentator who was a fixture on the American political scene for nearly 50 years, including nearly 20 of them in The Baltimore Sun's Washington bureau, died shortly after 4 a.m. today of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in Charles Town, W.Va.
He was 85.
"Jack died from the consequences of a life well-lived. He died at his home overlooking his beloved Shenandoah River," said his wife of 18 years, the former Alice Travis Ruby, who recently stepped down as secretary of the Democratic National Committee.

"Jack was a truly dedicated reporter and had an old-fashioned relationship with politicians. He liked them but that did not prevent him from being critical when they did bad things and behaved badly.

That was a trademark of Jack's," said Jules Witcover, his longtime writing partner.

The son of an engineer and homemaker, Mr. Germond was raised in Boston and Baton Rouge. He began his newspaper career in 1951 after graduating from the University of Missouri, when he became sports editor of the Jefferson City Post-Tribune.

"I started covering politics in the 1980 presidential campaign for Newsday and Jack was the sage when it came to politics. He was the guy you went to when you were a junior reporter," said Susan Page, the Washington bureau chief for USA Today.

"He was very friendly to junior reporters. We had dinners and he was very generous with the stuff that he knew," said Ms. Page, who described Mr. Germond as a "funny, no-nonsense gruff guy."

Mr. Germond joined The Evening Sun in 1981 after The Washington Star folded, and retired from The Baltimore Sun in 2000.

He is survived by his wife; a daughter, Dr. Jessica Germond Moreland of Iowa City, Iowa; two stepchildren, David Travis and Abigail Travis, both of Los Angeles; and six grandchildren.
At Mr. Germond's request, there will be no services.

"Jack will be cremated and his ashes strewn in the Shenandoah River. He began and ended his days looking at that river and that is where he'll spend eternity," said his wife.
fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com

Mark Zuckerberg immigration group defends Paul Ryan

Mark Zuckerberg and Paul Ryan are pictured in this composite. | AP Photos

Zuckerberg's group bought roughly $350,000 worth of TV time targeted at Ryan’s district. | AP Photos

By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 8/8/13 8:38 PM EDT

The arm of the Mark Zuckerberg-backed immigration reform group that focuses on conservatives is going on air in Milwaukee with a pro-reform spot defending Rep. Paul Ryan, POLITICO has learned.

Americans for a Conservative Direction bought roughly $350,000 worth of TV time targeted toward Ryan’s district, a source tracking the air wars said.

That’s almost double what the anti-immigration Federation for American Immigration Reform is spending on 30-second spots accusing Ryan of backing “amnesty.”

The spot from the FWD.us affiliate begins with a picture of Ryan and says, “Amnesty? Not a chance,” and goes on to say the House budget chairman is looking at a “conservative solution” to the issue of immigration.

It then focuses on more muscular pieces of the reform effort such as increased border security, E-verify and items like back taxes charged to illegal immigrants already in the country.

The buy runs from Friday through Sept. 3 on cable and broadcast networks.

Ryan has been working to push for a version of comprehensive reform in the House.

Megyn Kelly Getting Sean Hannity's 9 PM Slot: Drudge Report

The Huffington Post | By Jack Mirkinson

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 10: Megyn Kelly, host of America Live on set at Fox News studios in New York. Fox News Channel celebrated its 15th anniversary on the air on October 7th.

When Fox News announced that Megyn Kelly was going to be moving from daytime to primetime, it did not specify what hour she would be taking over.

According to a "flash" from Matt Drudge on Thursday, that hour is 9 PM — which is better-known as the time when Sean Hannity's show airs.

Drudge cited anonymous "top sources" in his report, and said that the announcement would be made later in August.

The big question, if the report were to prove true, would be what happens to Hannity. He is signed to a long-term contract that will reportedly keep him on the network through the 2016 election. His other prime-time colleagues, Bill O'Reilly and Greta Van Susteren, are also signed for years. Recently, Van Susteren responded to rumors that she would be bumped by Kelly by saying she had a contract for a daily, primetime show.

UPDATE: Fox News chief Roger Ailes dropped some big hints about what changes might be afoot during an interview on Thursday. Ailes said that he has been working with Shep Smith, who anchors the network's 3 and 7 PM hours, on a "a new way to deliver news" that would be unveiled in September—just around the time Kelly returns from maternity leave. This raised the possibility that Smith would also be involved in whatever changes Kelly's ascension prompts.

Feinstein: You’re Not a Real Journalist Unless You Draw a Salary

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com

Senator Dianne Feinstein. Photo: Bay Area Rapid Transit

California Senator Dianne Feinstein has proposed an amendment to the Media Shield Law – an irrelevant law ignoring protection already afforded by the First Amendment – that would limit the law’s protection only to “real reporters,” not bloggers and other upstart alternative media types.

A real reporter, declared Madame Feinstein during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, is “a salaried agent” of a media company like the New York Times or ABC News, not a shoestring operation with volunteers and writers who are not paid.

Feinstein voiced her concern “that the current version of the bill would grant a special privilege to people who aren’t really reporters at all, who have no professional qualifications,” like bloggers and citizen journalists.

Last week, Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, worried the Shield Law, if passed, would be used to protect whistleblowers and others who ferret out government corruption.

“The world has changed. We’re very careful in this bill to distinguish journalists from those who shouldn’t be protected, WikiLeaks and all those, and we’ve ensured that,” Schumer said. “But there are people who write and do real journalism, in different ways than we’re used to. They should not be excluded from this bill.”

The bill moving through Congress would require the Justice Department to notify reporters it decides to monitor. The law would allow Justice Department officials to delay notice for a period of 45 days. In addition, it would permit the DOJ to ask for an extension of 45 days.

In May, it was learned that the Justice Department had illegally seized the phone records of Associated Press journalists over a two month period. Obama’s Justice Department did not provide notice or a court-issued warrant prior to violating the confidentiality of the journalists.

In response to criticism of the illegal surveillance of journalists, Justice Department boss Eric Holderpresented rule changes to the White House in July. The changes will require that journalists involved in “ordinary news-gathering activities” cannot be served with a warrant connected to their own investigative work unless the journalist in question is the subject of a criminal investigation.

This article was posted: Friday, August 9, 2013 at 10:04 am

Tags: big brother, domestic news, domestic spying, mainstream media

New York Times Sells Boston Globe at 93% Loss

by John Nolte 3 Aug 2013, 5:21 AM PDT 1388 post a comment

After purchasing the Boston Globe in 1993 for a then-record $1.1 billion, the financially troubled New York Times just announced it sold the 141 year-old paper to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry for a mere $70 million. That's a straight 93% loss. Figuring in two decades of inflation would only make it worse -- as does the fact the Times retains the Globe's pension liabilities, estimated at over $100 million.

The Times announced in February that it was putting the Globe up for sale. News reports claimed that bids had been as high as $100 million. What might have sweetened the lower offer for the Times is that Henry offered a straight cash deal, which is expected to close sometime in September or October.
In 2011, the Times turned down a $300 million offer from Aaron Kushner, CEO of Freedom Communications, Inc., publisher of the Orange County Register and other newspapers in California. This offer even included the assumption of pension liabilities, which are currently estimated at $110 million.
The Times itself reports that today's sale to Henry does not include pension liabilities. Apparently, those remain a Times' responsibility and expense.
In September of 2002, the Boston Globe enjoyed a circulation rate of 413,000. The average weekday circulation today is nearly half that, 230,351.
Other than plummeting circulation due to online competition, both the Times and Globe have been plagued by collapsing ad revenues, that have only worsened in recent years. Friday the Times reported its 11th straight quarter of falling ad revenue.
Both the Globe and Times have and continue to strongly endorse and champion President Obama and his economic policies, even though those policies have failed to create the kind of economic growth necessary to create a boom in advertising spending. The future doesn't look much brighter.
Last quarter the American economy only grew by 1.7%. Last month saw only 162,000 new jobs created, most of them part-time.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC