Chad’s Morning Brief: Imagine Lubbock Together, Homeland Security Prepares for Civil Unrest, & More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of July 30, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty for these and many more topics from 6-9 am.
1. Imagine Lubbock Together (link)
What is your vision for the future of Lubbock? Imagine Lubbock Together wants to know. According to KFYO News:
Lubbock leaders unveiled the new “Imagine Lubbock Together” project, aimed at defining the future of the Hub City, at the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce Friday morning.
The group says that the original community planning effort for this program began in 2011, when some Lubbock business leaders expressed their desire to design and institute a community-wide strategic plan as Lubbock continues to grow.
The Chamber of Commerce and a project steering committee chose ACP Visioning+Planning to consult on the plan last year.
Funding for the effort is being raised by steering committee members.
Public workshops will be held on September 10th through the 12th at Irons Middle School, Coronado High School, and Cavazos Middle School to allow input from the public. No times have been set for these meetings as of yet.
“We ask each of our citizens to communicate their desires for what Lubbock can be – through our interactive website…and through multiple public gathering workshops slated for the fall,” said Connie Wharton, co-chairwoman of the Imagine Lubbock Together steering committee.
The last community-wide effort was completed in 1995.
You can submit your ideas and take surveys on Lubbock’s future at www.imaginelubbocktogether.com.
So what is your vision for Lubbock? Do you think this is a good idea or are you worried where this might go?
2. Civil Unrest? (link)
A new report says that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing for civil unrest.
The Department of Homeland Security has ordered masses of riot gear equipment to prepare for potential significant domestic riots at the Republican National Convention, Democratic National Convention and next year’s presidential inauguration.
The DHS submitted a rushed solicitation to the Federal Business Opportunities site on Wednesday, which is a portal for Federal government procurement requisitions over $25,000. The request gave the potential suppliers only one day to submit their proposals and a 15-day delivery requirement to Alexandria, Virginia.
As the brief explains, “the objective of this effort is to procure riot gear to prepare for the 2012 Democratic and Republican National Conventions, the 2013 Presidential Inauguration and other future similar activities.”
The total amount ordered is about 150 sets of riot helmets, thigh and groin protectors, hard-shell shin guards and other riot gear.
Specifically, DHS is looking to obtain:
- “147 riot helmets” with “adjustable tactical face shield with liquid seal”
- “147 sets of upper body and shoulder protection”
- “152 sets of thigh and groin protection”
- “147 hard-shell shin guards” with “substantial protection from flying debris, non-ballistic weapons, and blows to the leg” and “optimized protective design for severe riot control or tactical situations.”
- “156 forearm protectors”
- “147 pairs of tactical gloves”
The riot gear will be worn by Federal Protective Service agents who are tasked with protecting property, grounds and buildings owned by the federal government.
The urgency of the order can be explained by the fact that there is a growing anticipation that many demonstrators will travel to the Republican National Convention (RNC), scheduled for August 27-30 in Tampa Bay, Florida, and Democratic National Convention (DNC), planned for September 3-6 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The RNC itself, for example, will have free speech zones, which will serve as containment quarters for the protesters by not allowing them to leave the designated areas and cause trouble.
Another recent DHS move to gear up was back in March of this year, when it gave the defense contractor ATK a deal to provide the DHS with 450 million .40 caliber hollow-point ammunition over a five year period.
On top of that, the DHS has recently purchased a number of bullet-proof checkpoint booths and hired hundreds of new security guards to protect government buildings.
So could we see civil unrest? Sure we could. This administration has been promoting the idea of the has vs the has not's, a racial divide, and a war on the rich. You bet we could see division in this country.
3. Romney in Israel (link)
Mitt Romney continued his overseas tour in Israel over the weekend. During his stop in Israel Romney pledged support for the nation and discussed how the U.S. must aid Israel against Iran.
Mitt Romney on Sunday gave his unequivocal support to Israel and its effort to thwart Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability, saying the United States has "a solemn duty and a moral imperative" to help in that effort.
The GOP presidential candidate made his comments in a much-anticipated speech in Jerusalem.
"Make no mistake, the ayatollahs in Iran are testing our moral defenses,” Romney said. They want to know who will object and who will look the other way. We will not look away nor will our country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel. … We recognize Israel's right to defend itself."
He also declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
Romney is not only trying to show himself to be pro-Israel compared to President Obama, but the move could even help him with evangelical voters who tend to be strongly pro-Israel.
4. Scalia Warns Guns May be Regulated (link)
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Sunday said that the Second Amendment leaves room for lawmakers to regulate guns.
"It will have to be decided in future cases," Scalia said on Fox News Sunday. But there were legal precedents from the days of the Founding Fathers that banned frightening weapons which a constitutional originalist like himself must recognize. There were also "locational limitations" on where weapons could be carried, the justice noted.
When asked if that kind of precedent would apply to assault weapons, or 100-round ammunition magazines like those used in the recent Colorado movie theater massacre, Scalia declined to speculate. "We'll see," he said. '"It will have to be decided."
As an originalist scholar, Scalia looks to the text of the Constitution—which confirms the right to bear arms—but also the context of 18th-century history. “They had some limitations on the nature of arms that could be borne," he told host Chris Wallace.
Thoughts?
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty. Tune in mornings 6-9am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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