Blog Heap of Links for the day 14 February 2016

… an IDF lookout position spotted two Palestinians hurling rocks near the security fence north of Jenin, near Arake village. A unit deployed to the area came under fire. It crossed the security fence to the Palestinian side and fired on two terrorists, one armed with an automatic rifle and the second with a knife, army sources said. Both terrorists were shot dead in the incident.…

…two Baton Rouge [LA] Police Officers were shot early Saturday morning… one of the officers was responding to a disturbance call about a damage to property disturbance… officer and the suspect, identified by his Godsister as 22- year-old Calvin Smith, got into a verbal exchange before the suspect fled the scene… During the chase, a second officer arrived… chase ended in front of [perp's] residence… where [he] exited the vehicle and fired several shots at the officers using a large caliber semi-automatic assault rifle. …Both of the officers received gunshot wounds during the shooting but managed to return fire hitting the suspect.…one officer received a gunshot wound to the ribs… listed in stable condition. …second officer received a graze wound to the back of the head and is also listed in stable condition. …[Perp] was taken to a nearby hospital where he is listed in critical condition. …has a history of mental illness and had been staying in a mental health facility in Shreveport until a week before Christmas. …attempted to commit suicide in the past.…

A Harford County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed inside an Abingdon, Maryland, Panera Bread restaurant on February 10 … a gun-free zone. … A second deputy was then shot and killed in a related shootout at a secondary location. …

With all of the bizarre rabid hatred for Ted Cruz, one would think that his sworn enemies would be able to find something bad about him that was actually true. In the latest anti-Ted smear piece at the Conservative Treehouse, a video featured by our friend “sundance” lies, lies, lies about Ted Cruz.… taking Ted Cruz’s words out of context and presenting them as flip flops. … Ted Cruz’s consistent statements into inconsistent statements. …

There are a lot of homages on Twitter from people who knew him well, but one of the best ones is from someone I trust to be honest about this story. It’s very short, but I think it sums up the character of Antonin Scalia. …

…He told a story about a small dinner he attended in England. His hosts raised their classes and said “God save the queen.”

He asked his hosts what the equivalent statement would be in the United States. They responded, “God save the President.”

Justice Scalia said, “no, God save the Constitution.…”

Some of Justice Antonin Scalia’s decisions I agreed with and some I disagreed with. But I’ve never once doubted the sincerity of his beliefs.

Now that he is gone from this earth, I can tell a story I’ve held inside for many years, a scene that touched me deeply and profoundly. I cannot think of him without remembering this moment.…

…Antonin Scalia was one of the most consequential justices on the Supreme Court in at least a generation, not for what he did necessarily but for standing up for and not abrogating his pledge to the Constitution; something that tragically too many of his colleagues at all levels of the Judiciary have not. … If Mitch McConnell allows President Obama to pick a justice to fill the vacancy, he will doubtless choose a fellow ideological traveler who will trash the Constitution or twist it for political expediency to legislate from the bench…

…When I saw the news my stomach dropped. This is not only a tragedy for his family and friends, it is a tragic loss for our country.

This nation is balancing on a slender thread of Liberty. And one of our fiercest defenders is lost. When a warrior falls while holding the line, it is up to us to ensure that the line holds.

It shouldn’t be this way. The fate of our great nation should not be at risk from the death of one man. But this is the sad fact. If we lose the Supreme Court, the damage to our Republic may be irreparable.…

We have lost a great man and a great Justice.…

…Sen. Ted Cruz… following the tragic death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, pledged to honor his name by asking his followers to help prevent Barack Obama from nominating his replacement to the nation’s highest court.

Justice Scalia, one of the court’s most steady Constitutional voices for decades, passed away at his West Texas ranch on Saturday. The 79-year-old died of natural causes, according to reports. …

When Leonard Nimoy died, he hadn’t spoken to William Shatner in five years. Nimoy shut him out after Shatner filmed him without permission for a documentary he was making about the captains of the Starship Enterprise.

“I thought he was kidding;” Shatner writes in his new book, “Leonard.” “It was such a small thing.…”

[Oklahoma] Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford introduced legislation Friday to give regional Veterans Affairs networks more authority to remove top hospital staff members. just days after the chief of staff at the VA hospital in Muskogee was removed by VA headquarters… after a review by the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Veterans Integrated Services Network. …Inhofe said he trusts the Rocky Mountain service network, which includes Oklahoma, and wants the regional networks to take action without needing headquarters approval.…

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz says that as soon as Austria has admitted its quota of 37,000 “refugees”, Macedonia must close its borders to any further migrants. Austria will send troops to FYROM to facilitate this process.

In other news, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warns that Europe must be prepared for future mass-scale Islamic terror attacks, which he says are a certainty.…

A Somali immigrant named Mohamed Barry entered a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio and began slashing at patrons with a machete, wounding four of them, one of them critically. He reportedly thought the restaurant was Jewish-owned, when it was in fact owned by an Israeli Arab Christian. After being vigorously resisted by customers and staff, the assailant fled. When he was stopped by police shortly afterwards, he lunged at the officers with a knife and a machete, and was shot to death. The incident had a Mohammed Coefficient of 100%.

In other news, three Pakistani “refugees” were arrested for allegedly raping a 19-year-old male compatriot at an asylum shelter where they all resided in Vicenza, Italy. …

During the trial of a culture-enricher in Hannover, Germany, a court heard that the alleged perpetrator cried “Allahu akhbar!” as he brutally raped a 25-year-old student. In possibly unrelated news, a culture-enriching prisoner cried “Allahu akhbar!” as he attacked a guard with the metal seat of a stool in a prison in Washington State. The guard suffered brain damage, and is still recovering from his injuries.

In other news, the precipitous drop in stock market prices has driven investors to buy precious metals. The prices of gold and silver are seeing a sudden increase as a result.…

…Trump is not just a liberal posing as a Republican. He is a moonbat posing as an American.

While Bush 43 was taking the fight to the terrorists and American troops were in harm’s way, the Donald was yelping about impeachment. When the Tea Party reached full steam, he was praising Obama and denouncing America for being racist. Now he’s back to echoing Michael Moore propaganda regarding the Iraq War and 9/11.

Anyone with right-of-center politics who supports Donald Trump has been duped. The guy is a talented salesman. But now the mask is off, so there is no excuse not to acknowledge the mistake.…