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News, US

Orlando police Master Sgt. Debra Clayton was allegedly shot and killed by Markeith Loyd, 41, right, on Monday. Orange County motorcycle Sheriff Deputy Jerry Demings was also killed in a traffic accident during the effort to capture the suspect. (Photos: Courtesy of the Orlando Police Department and Orange County Sheriff's Office)

Orlando police Master Sgt. Debra Clayton was allegedly shot and killed by Markeith Loyd, 41, right, on Monday. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said a motorcycle deputy was also killed in a traffic accident during the effort to capture the suspect. (Photos: Courtesy of the Orlando Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Office)

Authorities are offering a $60,000 reward for anyone who helps to capture the man suspected of shooting and killing Orlando police Master Sgt. Debra Clayton. Markeith Loyd, 41, was accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Sade Dixon in December, and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Orange County Sheriff Deputy Jerry Demings said a motorcyle deputy was killed in a crash with a 78-year-old driver during the manhunt effort to capture the suspect. Worth noting, Monday was and still is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina called Clayton, a mother of two, a hero.

“We’re sad on this day for many reasons,” Chief Mino said at a morning news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene just after 7:15 a.m. in response to an “officer needs help.”

Loyd, who was wearing a security uniform at the time of the shooting, shot Master Sgt. Clayton three times outside a Walmart on Monday before fleeing the scene on Princeton Street, located west of John Young Parkway.

“(The shooter) was an average looking dude, he walked by me, had a security vest and everything,” witness James Herman said. “I was walking down the sidewalk, right past the officer, and I heard her tell him to stop, or whatever, and he shot her. He shot her down.”

Herman said a shopper had tipped off the unnamed officer — who was putting bags in the trunk of her vehicle — that Loyd was in the Walmart waiting to check out. As the officer walked towards the store, the suspect barged out and fired at least 12 shots, according to Herman. Three shots hit the officer.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. EST, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported that a murder suspect was on the loose and flooded the Pine Hills area, located a few miles west of Orlando. They said he had abandoned a stolen vehicle not far from the Walmart. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) sent out an alert midday, describing him as 6-3, 230 pounds and having last been seen on Cinderlane Parkway.

Loyd has a long wrap sheet and extensive criminal history. On Nov. 30, he wrote on his Facebook page, “Goals!!!! To be on Americas most wanted.”

On Dec. 13, Loyd had gone to his girlfriend’s home on Long Peak Drive and began banging on the door. When Dixon answered, he shot her and her 26-year-old brother, Ronald Steward. He was critically wounded and five other people were home at the time of the shooting, including Dixon’s 5- and 7-year-old children.

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“We are going to bring this dirtbag to justice, and he’s going to jail,” Chief Mina said.

Master Sgt. Clayton was one of the first officers to respond to the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in June that left 49 people dead and more than 50 injured.

“We’re sad on this day for many reasons,” Sheriff Demings said at a morning news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center. “In my 36-year career, this is possibly one of the toughest days for me.”

Video courtesy of the Orlando Police Department

Authorities are offering a $60,000 reward to

News, US

Markeith Loyd, 41, has been identified as the suspect in the murder of an Orlando police office outside of Walmart. (Photo: Courtesy of the Orlando Police Department)

Markeith Loyd, 41, has been identified as the suspect in the murder of an Orlando police office outside of Walmart. (Photo: Courtesy of the Orlando Police Department)

ORLANDO, Fla.–A suspect wanted for the murder of an Orlando police officer is on the run after he shot a female cop three times outside a Walmart on Monday. The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Markeith Loyd, fled the scene on Princeton Street, located west of John Young Parkway.

(UPDATE: $60,000 Reward for Suspect — Read Updated Story)

Master Sgt. Debra Clayton’s heart stopped while paramedics were racing her to Orlando Regional Medical Center and, even though they were able to get it started again, she died shortly after. Worth noting, Monday was and still is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Loyd was accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Sade Dixon in December, and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina called Clayton, a mother of two, a hero.

Loyd was wearing a security uniform at the time of Monday’s shooting, a witness told WFTV.

“(The shooter) was an average looking dude, he walked by me, had a security vest and everything,” witness James Herman said. “I was walking down the sidewalk, right past the officer, and I heard her tell him to stop, or whatever, and he shot her. He shot her down.”

Herman said a shopper had tipped off the unnamed officer — who was putting bags in the trunk of her vehicle — that Loyd was in the Walmart waiting to check out. As the officer walked towards the store, the suspect barged out and fired at least 12 shots, according to Herman. Three shots hit the officer.

Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene just after 7:15 a.m. in response to an “officer needs help.”

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. EST, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported that a murder suspect was on the loose and flooded the Pine Hills area, located a few miles west of Orlando. They said he had abandoned a stolen vehicle not far from the Walmart.

City Commissioner Regina I. Hill did not give a name, but simply identified the slain officer as her Orlando Police Department liaison.

“Oh God!!!! Please pray for my OPD Liaison, she’s been shot down in Pinehills.”

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Officials locked down 13 schools in the area, including Evans High, Meadowbrook Middle, Lockhart Middle, Pine Hills Elementary, Rolling Hills Elementary and Lockhart Elementary. Gov. Rick Scott was scheduled to attend a jobs event this morning with KPMG in Orlando, but press aide Jackie Schutz said he has cancelled the event.

On Dec. 13, Loyd had gone to his girlfriend’s home on Long Peak Drive and began banging on the door. When Dixon answered, he shot her and her 26-year-old brother, Ronald Steward. He was critically wounded and five other people were home at the time of the shooting, including Dixon’s 5- and 7-year-old children.

Orange County Sheriff Deputy Jerry Demings said a motorcycle deputy was killed during the effort to capture the suspect.

“We’re sad on this day for many reasons,” Mino said at a morning news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Video courtesy of the Orlando Police Department

A suspect wanted for the murder of

Entertainment

Meryl Streep poses with her lifetime achievement award backstage at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. (Photo: AP)

Meryl Streep poses with her lifetime achievement award backstage at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. (Photo: AP)

Actress Meryl Streep used her lifetime achievement award to trash Donald J. Trump, topping a long list of Hollywood hypocrites. As the leftwing Hollywood elites trashed the incoming president as a misogynist and a bully, they praised actual rapists and sexual harassers.

Hell, Casy Affleck, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his leading role in Manchester by the Bay, has been accused of sexual assault that actually cost women their jobs. Streep, herself, gave a standing ovation to convicted rapist Roman Polanski at the 2003 Oscars. At the 1:10 mark, she can be seen vigorously applauding Polanski when he won the Academy Award for Best Director for “The Pianist” in 2003.

Polanski fled the U.S. to avoid prosecution and imprisonment after he raped a 13-year old girl. In 2011, he admitted his guilt. The Supreme Court in Poland rejected the final U.S. petition to extradite him.

Then there’s Mr. Affleck, the brother of far-leftwing superstar Ben Affleck. From The Daily Beast:

In December 2008, Amanda White agreed to serve as a producer on an untitled documentary headed by Affleck and Flemmy Productions, which ultimately became I’m Still Here. She had a decade-long history of working with Affleck. Over the course of filming, White alleged in the complaint that she was repeatedly harassed. On one occasion, she claimed that Affleck ordered a crew member to take off his pants and show White his penis—even after she vehemently objected. She claimed that Affleck repeatedly referred to women as “cows,” and recounted his sexual exploits with reckless abandon. In her complaint, White recalled Affleck asking her “Isn’t it about time you get pregnant?” once he learned her age, and suggesting that she and a male crew member reproduce.

White’s accusations go on, ranging from incredibly unprofessional behavior to actual physical intimidation. She described an instance where she was prevented from returning to her bedroom during shooting, because Affleck and Phoenix had locked themselves in her room with two women where they had sex with them (Affleck was married with two children to Phoenix’s sister, Summer, at the time—though the couple recently split). She also alleged that Affleck attempted to manipulate her into sharing a hotel room with him. When she resisted, White claimed, he grabbed her threateningly and attempted to scare her into submission. Affleck then allegedly proceeded to send White abusive text messages, calling her “profane names” for refusing to stay with him. White filed a $2 million lawsuit against Affleck in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 23, 2010.

The Guardian also did an informative report taking a look at the potential “monkey wrench” threatening to damage the publicity campaign for the movie. And how did entertainment elites and media react to these charges?

“Casey Affleck joins the ranks of giants,” Time Out wrote declared in a puff piece.

Just to recap, it’s okay to rape little girls and sexually harass women in the workforce just as long as your politics are liberal. Got it? Hollywood did everything they could to get Hillary Clinton elected. She got trounced. They did everything they could to get faithless electors to abandon President-elect Trump, she lost more electors than any other candidate in 104 years.

Americans rejected the out-of-touch partisan views of Tinseltown. Since it’s clear they aren’t going to be doing any introspection exercises anytime soon, it will only get worse.

UPDATE: Well, we all knew this was coming…

Meryl Streep and the Hollywood elite took

Economy

In this photo taken on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, a vehicle drives past a sign outside the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles world headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo: AP)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, a vehicle drives past a sign outside the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles world headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo: AP)

Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) on Sunday announced a plan to spend $1 billion on U.S. manufacturing, including modernizing plants in Michigan and Ohio. The decision is estimated to add 2,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs in the Rust Belt.

“The expansion of our Jeep lineup has been and continues to be the key pillar of our strategy,” Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in the statement. “We will finally have the capacity to successfully penetrate markets other than the U.S. which have historically been denied product due to capacity constraints.”

According to the company’s plan, the plant based in Warren, Michigan will revamped to have the capability to produce the RAM HD, a pickup truck that is currently only manufactured in Mexico. Mr. Marchionne also unveiled plans to export the SUVs and trucks. The Warren plant will make the new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer large SUVs. A plant in Toledo, Ohio also will get new equipment to make a new Jeep pickup.

The move by Fiat Chrysler comes after a slew of announcements from companies such as Carrier, which is owned by United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), SoftBank (TYO:9984), U.S. Steel Corp (NYSE:X), IBM and others to invest in the U.S. following the election of Donald J. Trump.

It also comes after their competitor Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) also announced it cancelled plans to build a $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and will instead invest millions in Michigan. CEO Mark Fields said the policies President-elect Trump “and the new Congress have indicated they will pursue” were key to the company’s decision to invest $700 million in and create 700 direct new jobs at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant.

But the manufacturing sector, which has struggled to regain growth since the Great Recession, is showing some renewed optimism. Sanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK), one of the most well known hand and power tool manufacturers, last week said they plan to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. after the election of the New York businessman.

President-elect Trump frequently criticized auto manufacturers for Mexican production, but has taken politicians to the mat for forcing them to do so with “stupid trade deals” and government regulations that are “regulating these businesses out of business.” He’s encouraged automakers to design and manufacture vehicles in the U.S. and hasn’t been afraid to threaten companies with tariffs and Mr. Marchionne’s announcement is largely seen as a way to avoid being targeted like some of his competitors.

Following the Ford announcement, he tweeted at General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) threatening them with a “big border tax” for producing cars in Mexico and then selling them in the U.S. GM pushed back on that characterization of its business model, but Ford also took the same initial position before their announcement.

Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) on Sunday announced a

Policy

Employee at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). (Photo: AP)

Employee at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). (Photo: AP)

More than two years ago, I shared a couple of humorous images showing the languorous lifestyle of lazy bureaucrats. While those images were amusing, they didn’t really capture the true nature of bureaucracy.

For a more accurate look at life inside Leviathan, here’s a video showing an unfortunate woman trying to get a permit from a government agency.

It should probably be accompanied by a trigger warning lest it cause flashbacks for readers who have been in the same situation.

Very well done, I think you’ll agree. I especially like the subtle features of the video, such as the bureaucrat’s competitive desire to show his coworker that he won’t let a mere citizen prevail. And the part at the end showing the disappointment by all the bureaucrats also was a good touch.

Sadly, the story in the video isn’t just satire.

First, there are many absurd rules that require people to get permission from bureaucrats in order to work. All those laws and rules should be repealed. If consumers value certification and training, that can be handled by the private sector.

Second, it does seem as if bureaucrats relish the opportunity to torment taxpayers. I recall having to make four trips to the DMV when helping my oldest kid get his learner’s permit. Each time, I was told an additional bit of paperwork that was required, but at no point was I told all the forms and paperwork needed. Hence I had the pleasure of waiting in lines over and over again.

Though I did learn as time passed. By the time my last kid needed his permit, it only took two trips.

Since we’re on the topic of bureaucrat humor, regular readers know about the Bureaucrat Hall of Fame. Well, just as the Baseball Hall of Fame has a committee that looks back in time to find players who were overlooked and deserve membership, we need something to recognize deserving bureaucrats who somehow escaped my attention.

And if we travel back in time to 2013, John Beale of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clearly can make a strong case that he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

The EPA’s highest-paid employee and a leading expert on climate change was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison Wednesday for lying to his bosses and saying he was a CIA spy working in Pakistan so he could avoid doing his real job. …Beale told the court…that he got a “rush” and a “sense of excitement” by telling people he was worked for the CIA. …He perpetrated his fraud largely by failing to show up at the EPA for months at a time, including one 18-month stretch starting in June 2011 when he did “absolutely no work,” as his lawyer acknowledged in a sentencing memo filed last week.

Though, in his defense, he wasn’t goofing off all the time.

He also spent time trying to learn about new ways to hinder the private sector.

…he used the time “trying to find ways to fine tune the capitalist system” to discourage companies from damaging the environment. “I spent a lot of time reading on that,” said Beale.

For what it’s worth, he probably spent most of his time figuring out how to bilk colleagues.

Nor was that Beale’s only deception, according to court documents. In 2008, Beale didn’t show up at the EPA for six months, telling his boss that he was part of a special multi-agency election-year project relating to “candidate security.” He billed the government $57,000 for five trips to California that were made purely “for personal reasons,” his lawyer acknowledged. (His parents lived there.) He also claimed to be suffering from malaria that he got while serving in Vietnam. According to his lawyer’s filing, he didn’t have malaria and never served in Vietnam. He told the story to EPA officials so he could get special handicap parking at a garage near EPA headquarters. …Beale took 33 airplane trips between 2003 and 2011, costing the government $266,190. On 70 percent of those, he traveled first class and stayed at high end hotels, charging more than twice the government’s allowed per diem limit. But his expense vouchers were routinely approved by another EPA official

Not surprisingly, the EPA took years to figure out something was amiss.

After all, why care about malfeasance when you’re spending other people’s money?

Beale was caught when he “retired” very publicly but kept drawing his large salary for another year and a half.

Heck, I’m surprised the EPA’s leadership didn’t award themselves bonuses for incompetence, like their counterparts at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

A secret glimpse at life inside a

Politics

[brid video=”104101″ player=”2077″ title=”Reince Priebus on Fox News Sunday ‘Sitting Duck’ DNC ‘Lacked Defenses Lacked Training'”]

Reince Priebus, the incoming chief of staff for President-elect Donald Trump, said on Fox News Sunday that Democrats were unprepared and are to blame for the hacks. Priebus, who is the outgoing chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), also said President-elect Trump “accepts the findings” of the U.S. intelligence report that concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to meddle the 2016 presidential election.

“I think he accepts the finding,” Chairman Priebus said. “He’s not denying entities in Russia are behind these particular hackings.”

Still, he pointed out that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was warned about their lack of cyber security by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“We have a DNC as a sitting duck . . . It matters,” he said. “They lacked defenses. They lacked training. They allowed foreign governments into their system.”

Unlike the RNC, which invited the FBI in and took direction from national security experts, officials at the DNC did nothing. Contrary to reports by The Washington Post and New York Times, the FBI conducted a probe into a potential breach at the RNC following the initial DNC hack last summer. The Bureau was “unaware of any successful RNC hack” after more than three weeks of investigations.

President-elect Trump has expressed skepticism regarding the findings of the intel report and has been even more dismissive of the idea the hacks influenced the outcome of the November election, in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. He has pointed out, and rightly so, that the crowing over the hacks were nothing more than an effort to delegitimize his victory.

The declassified intelligence report released Friday backs up that notion. It revealed that foreign governments, including China, sought to influence the U.S. presidential election in 2008. Since President Barack Obama has been president, more than a dozen government agencies had been hacked and the administration took no action in retaliation or to beef up cyber defenses.

Priebus also pointed out during the interview that Russia and China have tried to influence elections outside their borders for “many, many years.” Of note, he also said President Trump “may very well” take action against Russia, though he ran and won on his promise to try to improve relations with Moscow.

Just one day after the briefing with intel officials, he said in a string of tweets that only “stupid people” or “fools” wouldn’t want to improve U.S.-Russian relations.

“… have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am president, Russia will respect us far … more than they do now and both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!,” he tweeted.

Reince Priebus, the incoming chief of staff

Opinion

Sanders-Supporters-Nevada-Democratic-Party-State-Convention-2016

In a Saturday, May 14, 2016 photo, supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, igather in the front of the room during the Nevada State Democratic Party’s 2016 State Convention at the Paris hotel-casino in Las Vegas. (Photo: AP)

Millennials, we are the newest generation to become adults. We play a big role in society and are the next generation to be in power. We aren’t like the generations before us, most of us have never held a gun in the face of war, were never taught to question everything and, the truth is, most of us have been indoctrinated into certain beliefs.

But some of us were unable to fight off these worrisome teachings.

Lies were taught in our history classes, revisions the elite wanted us to know about our history–even though they’re lies–we were fed. Much of what we were taught was designed to elicit an emotional response, get us upset. A lot had to do with race. Teachers would get reprimanded if they taught outside of the book. Students would also be told to stop telling the truth. I was a sophomore in high school when my favorite history teacher warned me to never tell what I knew about the history he was teaching because we, both, would get in trouble.

I had to keep quiet on topics including World War II, the Romanovs and the Vietnam War as not to expose the lies to my classmates. We were taught that socialism is great and capitalism is our enemy. They taught us that every person has the right to “good education, healthcare, food and housing.”

Most of us grew up believing these things, thus, when it came our time to vote, many chose the socialist. It makes sense. Most of us knew nothing but socialism.

It was very easy to do this because they had been laying the groundwork for years. They destroyed the family structure in America by making it near impossible for a family to live off the wages of a parent’s single job, the model for families in the previous generations. Most of my peers grew up with only one parent who were constantly working and were never there for their children.

Even in two-parents households, neither had time to be parents to their kids, leaving the state in charge of teaching their children. That may be a big belief among communists and socialists, but it didn’t work out too well for us Millennials.

There were some of us who had it different, like myself.

Yes, my parents worked. But they always tried to make time for us. My father always taught me to ask questions, to never believe anything until you research and not to believe everything that the schools teach–to teach myself. I was very lucky, because it helped me not to get caught up in the narrative that most of my generation is caught up in.

The elites then started to pay the Millennial generation to do things like riot, post inaccurate information, to troll, to accuse and more. This has also been in the making for years, as well. They sent us to school and put us in debt. They lowered wages and increased living costs. They basically made it easy for us us to be broke. So, when we’re told there is money to be made in something you can take your anger out on, some of us jump at the opportunity.

As a result, millions of dollars in damages, tragic deaths and a generation who will do anything for money.

Millennial have been taught that you are a racist, a bigot, etc. if you don’t believe the left’s ideas and narrative. Now, some of us are repeating everything that we were taught. When some of us don’t get our way or we don’t agree with another person, particularly one who holds conservative views, we immediately pull the race card or worse. We were taught to bully, shame and race-bait to scare people like myself into silence.

Silencing everyone who doesn’t agree with the left’s agenda is now the new normal. If you are CIS (cisgender), white, straight, male or female and conservative, you are now the enemy. You are what is wrong with society and this country.

The left allegedly wants everyone to be equal, but only if you are a minority, LGBTQ, another protected class and a liberal are to afforded equality. You could be black and conservative and the “social justice warriors” on the left will decide what your race is based on your political views.

How is this not racist in itself? How is attacking those who are white ok? To a rational mind, it is not ok. It is indeed racist.

Yelling, cursing, name-calling, destroying lives, towns and personal property, and even killing people will only make others less likely to listen to grievances, even when they are valid. How could someone want to help, to empathize if they are told everything is their fault, particularly when it isn’t?

So where did the Millennials go wrong? Was it really us, or was it the elites and government who did this to us? What would we if they had not targeted our generation? We could imagine the answers to the last two questions, but one thing is for certain–more of my generation must wake up in order for us to make the world a better place.

Where did the Millennials go wrong? Was

World

Israeli soldiers work at the scene where police said a Palestinian rammed his truck into a group of Israeli soldiers on a popular promenade in Jerusalem January 8, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

Israeli soldiers work at the scene where police said a Palestinian rammed his truck into a group of Israeli soldiers on a popular promenade in Jerusalem January 8, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

Four people were killed and 15 were wounded in Jerusalem when a Palestinian plowed a truck into a group of soldiers, in what police say called “a terrorist attack.” Israeli police chief Roni Alsheich identified the driver, who was shot and killed, as a Palestinian from East Jerusalem. At least a dozen bullet holes riddled the windshield of the truck.

“It is a terrorist attack, a ramming attack,” police spokeswoman Micky Rosenfeld said, adding that security had been heightened throughout Jerusalem in response.

The attack took place on the popular Armon Hanatziv promenade that offers a panoramic view the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Security camera footage showed the truck racing towards the soldiers, and then after a gap that apparently included scenes of carnage, reversing into them.

“He drove backward to crush more people,” eyewitness Leah Schreiber told reporters. “That was really clear.”

The victims included three women and one man, all in their twenties. Soldiers’ deaths are announced in Israel only after families are notified.

It was the deadliest Palestinian attack in Jerusalem in months and targeted officer cadets who were disembarking from a bus that brought them to the Armon Hanatziv promenade. The attack comes shortly after a U.N. Security Council vote, which passed because the Obama administration abstained, condemned Israel for settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called on residents not to “let terror win” and said militants would “pay a heavy price.”

“There is no limit to the cruelty of the terrorists who are willing to use any means possible to murder Jews and to damage the life routine of Israel’s capital,” Mayor Barkat said.

Palestinian street attacks killed 37 Israelis and two visiting Americans in the past 15 months, alone.

Four people were killed and 15 wounded

US

Travelers are evacuated out of the terminal and onto the tarmac after airport shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. (Photo: Reuters)

Travelers are evacuated out of the terminal and onto the tarmac after airport shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. (Photo: Reuters)

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (PPD)—Federal prosecutors have charged Esteban Santiago, who opened fire at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday, with performing an act of violence at an airport. Santiago, 26, brought a gun in a checked bag on a Delta Airlines flight from Anchorage, Alaska, where he had been living after serving in the U.S. Army National Guard.

The charges, including three violations related to firearms, were filed in Broward County, Florida, and could carry the death penalty if convicted. Special Agent in Charge George Piro said during a news conference that terrorism is a “potential motivation” for the attack, which killed 5 people and wounded 8 others. Prosecutors said during a news conference that they had interviewed roughly 175 people, including the interrogation of the cooperating suspect.

“Today’s charges represent the gravity of the situation and reflect the commitment of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to continually protect the community and prosecute those who target our residents and visitors,” U.S Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.

National Guard spokesman Major Paul Dahlen said Santiago deployed to Iraq in 2010 as part of the Puerto Rico National Guard, spending a year with an engineering battalion.

People’s Pundit Daily reported Friday he was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) multiple times. Santiago, 26, according to his aunt, “lost his mind” after a tour of duty in Iraq. Maria Ruiz Rivera, of Union City, said she was told by relatives in Florida that the suspected shooter who killed at least five people at the Fort Lauderdale airport Friday was her nephew, Esteban Santiago-Ruiz.

“Only thing I could tell you was when he came out of Iraq, he wasn’t feeling too good,” Hernan Rivera, his uncle told The Record newspaper.

Agents who identified themselves as being from the FBI arrived at the family’s Union City apartment Friday afternoon to question the aunt and uncle about their nephew, the family said. Sources said Santiago visited the FBI field office in Anchorage in November and told agents that U.S. intelligence agencies had infiltrated his mind and were forcing him to watch ISIS propaganda videos.

The FBI transferred him to law enforcement to be checked for mental health concerns. The complete results of the general welfare check are unknown, though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was brought into a joint-agency background investigation.

Federal prosecutors have charged Esteban Santiago with

Policy

Paramedics work at the site of an accident at a Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz square near the fashionable Kurfuerstendamm avenue in the west of Berlin, Germany, December 19, 2016. (Photo: REUTERS)

Paramedics work at the site of an accident at a Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz square near the fashionable Kurfuerstendamm avenue in the west of Berlin, Germany, December 19, 2016. (Photo: REUTERS)

Whenever mass shootings occur, some people quickly jump to conclusions before there’s any evidence. Folks on the right are occasionally guilty of immediately assuming Islamic terrorism, which is somewhat understandable. Folks on the left, meanwhile, are sometimes guilty of instinctively assuming Tea Party-inspired violence (I’m not joking).

I confess that I’m prone to do something similar. Whenever there is a terrorist attack, I automatically wonder if we’ll find out welfare payments and other goodies from the government helped subsidize the evil actions.

In my defense, there’s a reason I think this way. Whether we’re talking about Jihadi John or the Tsarnaev brothers, there are lots of examples of dirtbag terrorists getting handouts from taxpayers.

It happens a lot in other nations. And it’s now happening with disturbing frequency in the United States.

It’s even gotten to the point where I’ve created a special terror wing in the Moocher Hall of Fame. And, as more evidence accumulates, the medieval savage who drove a truck through a Christmas market in Germany may be eligible for membership.

Here’s some of what we know, as reported by the Daily Caller.

Berlin truck attack terrorist Anis Amri used several different identities to claim multiple welfare checks simultaneously in different cities around Germany. Amri, the Tunisian refugee who killed 12 and injured 48 at a Christmas market in Berlin Dec. 19… The investigation was closed in November because Amri’s whereabouts were unknown. …Welfare is a common way for terrorists to fund their activities in Europe.

The U.K.-based Express reveals that the terrorist was very proficient at ripping off taxpayers before deciding to kill them.

Despite being shot dead in Italy just days after the attack, the Tunisian refugee is now under investigation for fraud after conning German authorities into handing over cash to fund his terror exploits. After travelling from Tunisia to Europe in 2011, he used up to eight different aliases and several different nationalities – at times even claiming to be from Egypt or Lebanon. Reports claim Amri carried several different false identity documents and used aliases to collect welfare in cities across Germany.

The story also has details on how welfare payments subsidized previous terrorist actions.

Welfare fraud was key to funding terror attacks in Brussels in March and in Paris last year. Terrorists collected around £45,000 in benefits which they used to pay for the brutal attacks in the major European cities. …Meanwhile, Danish authorities came under fire recently after it emerged 36 Islamic State fighters continued to receive benefits for months after leaving the country to join other members of the brutal regime in Syria and Iraq.

And while I’m not sure RT is a legitimate news source, it says Amri used 14 identities for mooching.

Anis Amri, the Tunisian man accused of driving a truck into a crowd of Christmas market shoppers in Berlin, used at least 14 different identities, a German police chief said. …Among other things, this allowed the man to receive social benefits under different names in different municipalities, the police chief said.

A close associate (and suspected co-conspirator) of Amri also was mooching off the system according to news reports.

A spokeswoman for the office of Germany’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday said authorities have taken a second Tunisian suspect into custody following raids in Berlin on Tuesday. …However, she added that there was insufficient evidence to charge the suspect. In a separate statement, the federal prosecutor’s office announced the man had been charged with committing social welfare fraud and would remain in custody. …the suspect had previously been detained on suspicion of supplying explosives intended for a prospective attack in Dusseldorf. …The 26-year-old suspect allegedly had dinner with Amri at a restaurant the night before the attack, according to Köhler. The suspect allegedly met Amri in late 2015. “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported that the two men traveled together from Italy to Germany that year.

Gee, sounds like a model citizen. Merkel must be proud of her caring and sharing welfare state.

Last but not least, a story in the U.K.-based Telegraph has some added details on the sordid history of welfare-funded terrorism in Europe.

The jihadists suspected of carrying out the bomb and gun attacks in Paris and Brussels used British benefits payments to fund international terrorism, a court has heard. …Zakaria Bouffassil, 26, from Birmingham is accused of handing over the cash which had been withdrawn from the bank account of Anouar Haddouchi, a Belgian national, who had been claiming benefits while living in the West Midlands with his wife. Kingston Crown Court heard how thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money continued to be paid into Haddouchi’s bank account, even after he had left Britain for Syria and had begun fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Isil). …On the opening day of their trial, jurors heard how some of the most notorious and wanted terrorists in Europe had used British taxpayers’ money to fund their activities in Syria and elsewhere.

Though I suppose I shouldn’t say “sordid history.” This is more like societal suicide. After all, we’re not talking about welfare payments for a tiny fraction of terrorists. It really is a theme.

Welfare-Benefits-TerroristsI linked to some examples above, and if you want more evidence, click here and here.

By the way, I’m not claiming that welfare causes terrorism. Though I do wonder if Mickey Kaus has a point when he does make that link.

…extreme anti-social terrorist ideologies (radical Islam, in particular) seem to breed in “oppositional” cultures supported by various government welfare benefits. …The social logic is simple: Ethnic differences make it easy for those outside of, for example, French Arab neighborhoods to discriminate against those inside, and easy for those inside to resent the mainstream culture around them. Meanwhile, relatively generous welfare benefits enable those in the ethnic ghetto to stay there, stay unemployed, and seethe. Without government subsidies, they would have to overcome the prejudice against them and integrate into the mainstream working culture. Work, in this sense, is anti-terrorist medicine.

I don’t particularly like government-provided welfare of any kind, but I definitely think there should be strict rules against handouts for immigrants. And if that makes them less susceptible to terrorist ideologies, that’s a big fringe benefit.

P.S. It goes without saying that politicians aren’t trying to subsidize terrorism. It’s just a byproduct of bad policy. They do, however, explicitly and deliberately subsidize terrorism insurance for big companies. A rather unique example of corporate welfare.

Anis Amri, the man behind the Berlin

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