Tempest in a Tea (Party) Cup?

Connecticut Marines Fight for 'Don't Tread on Me' Flag Display
By Diane Macedo

Published June 28, 2010
FOXNews.com

A group of retired Marines is asking Connecticut's attorney general to allow the "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden flag to fly over the state Capitol on July 4 after Capitol Police refused the request saying it doesn’t fall within the state’s flag flying parameters.

The group says the yellow banner, which sports a coiled rattlesnake and its trademark motto, is the original flag of the U.S. Marine Corps and clearly fits into the section of the policy which states that the Connecticut State Capitol can fly “flags of recognized military organizations of the U.S.A.”

But Capitol Police have denied several requests to fly the flag -- which has become a favorite nationwide among the Tea Party movement and a popular alternative to the stars and stripes – saying it is not the official Marines flag.

“The Gadsden flag was a personal standard used by one admiral during the Revolutionary War,” Capitol Chief of Police Walter Lee told FoxNews.com. “The Marine Corps never claimed that to be one of its organizational flags.”

(snip)

“Historically, it’s like when you look at a picture of George Washington; he was the first president of the United States so as a patriotic American you look to George Washington as kind of representation as the forefather of the country,” McCall said. “The Gadsden flag is the original flag of the Marine Corps, so it’s the forefather standard of the Marine Corps.”

Rubino says that’s what the Connecticut government needs to keep in mind above anything else.

Gotcha!

Capture of Cabin Dweller Cesar Laurean Shocks Mexican Villagers Who Knew Him

SAN JUAN DE LA VINA, Mexico — People wondered about the bearded stranger with a foreign accent who moved into a rustic cabin weeks ago in the pine-clad mountains surrounding this picturesque village.

Some thought maybe he was a drug trafficker — something not unheard of in these parts. It was not until Friday when they saw Cpl. Cesar Laurean's photograph in the local newspaper that they learned he was a U.S. Marine suspected of killing a pregnant colleague.

Police arrested Laurean, 21, on Thursday as he was walking along the main street in San Juan de la Vina in the municipality of Tacambaro, ending a three-month manhunt. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, who had accused him of rape.

Lauterbach's burned remains were found in January in the backyard of his home near Camp Lejeune, a coastal North Carolina base that is home to roughly 50,000 Marines.

FBI Public Affairs Specialist Amy Thoreson said FBI agents were present at Laurean's arrest in Mexico, but it was unclear what role they played.

Bearded and thin, Laurean told police he survived for months largely by eating avocados from the orchard in the mountains where he lived in Michoacan state.

After his arrest Thursday, a slightly disoriented Laurean spoke briefly with The Associated Press while being held by Mexican police.

"You know my name. You know who I am," Laurean said. Asked if he wanted to say anything, Laurean answered, "Proof," but would not explain.

Asked what he would do next, he replied, "Do I have a choice? ... I don't know."

Residents here said Laurean lived in a three-room wood cabin with a corrugated metal roof where he slept on a bed of crushed cardboard boxes. On Friday, there was a notebook on the cabin's floor showing that he kept a diary of his daily exercise routine, including push-ups, sit-ups and crunches. There were two shelves filled with canned tuna, instant soup and candy.

He walked to town daily, greeting those he passed, and spent hours at the local Internet cafe.

"He always seemed really happy to see us. He was serious, respectful," said Tomasa Boteyo, 78, who lived near his cabin.

Then on Thursday afternoon, state police officers drove through town looking for someone, residents say. They spotted Laurean walking toward the Internet cafe.

Lorenza Olayo, 96, who would greet Laurean daily from her front stoop, said he did not fight back when officers grabbed him.

She said she did not know why the young man was taken away until she saw his picture in the local newspaper the next day.

Lucio Tapia, 22, said before his arrest, Laurean told him he had just returned from Spain and that his parents were punishing him by making him live on an avocado orchard in Mexico.

Laurean was born in Guadalajara but reportedly moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago.

"I thought he was a drug trafficker," Tapia said. "There's a lot of drugs here and drug traffickers hide out in the mountains here."

On Friday, Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Laurean and his wife, Christina, sent Internet messages to each other through the MySpace social-networking service. Christina Laurean used her sister's computer, which was seized, Hudson said.

Christina Laurean did not break any laws by communicating with her husband as long as she did not provide him with money or aid of any other kind, Hudson said.

Onslow County Capt. Rick Sutherland said Cesar Laurean "repeatedly asked for resources from family members" and that his wife "specifically denied those resource when she was asked."

Christina Laurean fully cooperated with investigators, he said, "and got us to the point where we are today."

The FBI said Cesar Laurean, of Las Vegas, is awaiting extradition to the U.S., although local authorities in North Carolina cautioned the process could take a year or more if he decides to fight it. They encouraged him Friday to waive extradition, saying the process — however lengthy — will inevitably lead to his return. Laurean was being held at a Mexico City prison.

Hudson, the district attorney, agreed not to seek the death penalty against Laurean in order to win the cooperation of Mexico authorities, who refuse to send anyone back to the U.S. unless assured they will not face execution. Hudson said Friday that Mexican law requires an extradition process that will take at least 60 days to complete.

Authorities believe that on Dec. 14, Laurean killed Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant, after forcing her to remove money from her bank account.

On Friday, Navy investigators said they would wait until Laurean is returned to the United States to perform a paternity test to determine if he was the father of the unborn child, because they want a reliable DNA sample from him.

Lauterbach and Laurean were both personnel clerks in a logistics unit at Camp Lejeune. Detectives have said Laurean left behind a note for his wife in which he denied killing Lauterbach but admitted burying her remains.

In the note, Laurean said Lauterbach committed suicide by cutting her own throat, an assertion authorities have rejected, citing evidence that she died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Maria's mother, Mary Lauterbach, said Friday that a sheriff telephoned her with news of Laurean's capture.

"This has been a terrible tragedy, not only for our family but for Cesar and Christina and Laurean's family," she said as she backed out of her driveway at her Vandalia, Ohio, home.

In a separate statement released through her attorney, Lauterbach added that "nothing can replace the pain" of Maria's death. "At the same time, we know that Maria would want justice to be done in this case."

The GOP Hits Back With Dems' Own Weapons

Father of fallen Marine to seek office
Son's death in Iraq a wake-up call, candidate says.

By Larry King

Last spring, as Tom Manion grieved the loss of his son in Iraq, he felt the warm embrace of the people of Bucks County.

Manion now hopes county voters will embrace him once again, this time as a Republican running for Congress.

The pharmaceutical executive yesterday announced his bid to oust U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, the freshman Democrat who served in Iraq, then built a winning campaign around getting the troops out.

Manion said he was inspired to run by the sacrifice of his son, Marine First Lt. Travis Manion, killed by a sniper April 29 near Fallujah.

"He believed in something bigger than himself, and he had a life's passion for making a difference in this world," Manion, 53, told a crush of family, friends and reporters in the kitchen of his Doylestown Township home. "Travis has given me a wake-up call that my service to this country is not over."

A race between Manion and Murphy could well be seen as a referendum on Iraq, although Manion yesterday did not cast it as such. Manion supports the current strategy in Iraq, including the surge in troops and the need to stay until Iraqis can peacefully assume control of their country. But Manion said he was frustrated with partisan gridlock over a host of issues, from health care and immigration to alternative energy and global warming.

"And, yes, I want to end the war in Iraq as soon as possible," he added. "No one is more committed to that goal than I - because I want no other parents to go through what Jannett [his wife] and I have. But in doing this, we must confront the threats to our nation's safety for this and future generations."

The death of Travis Manion, 26, a former three-sport standout at La Salle College High School, resonated in Bucks County as few losses have. Already, a local street has been named for him.

The community's reaction was heightened, in part, by the death four days later of another Doylestown son, Army First Lt. Colby Umbrell, 26.

Part of the reaction was due to the Manions' uncommon openness in sharing their loss with the public - even inviting the media to the arrival of their son's remains at Willow Grove Naval Air Station, an event that is normally cloistered. Throughout, Thomas Manion maintained an outspoken belief that his son had died for a worthy cause.

Trim and telegenic, the retired Marine Reserve colonel said he had conferred with Bucks County GOP chair Harry Fawkes and with former U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick - whom Murphy narrowly defeated - and was confident of the party's endorsement.

Fitzpatrick helped clear the way by announcing Monday that he would not try to reclaim the seat and would back Manion instead.

Still, the challenger's road will not be easy.

Murphy enjoys the advantage of incumbency in a congressional district where a once-pronounced Republican voter-registration advantage has eroded steadily since 1996. And Manion supports an unpopular stay-the-course strategy in Iraq that has helped push President Bush's approval ratings nationally to an all-time low.

Murphy, like Manion, remains identified with Iraq by many. But he, too, seeks to connect with voters on a wider range of issues.

"There will be plenty of time to talk about politics later on," Murphy's press secretary, Adam Abrams, said yesterday. "Right now we are focused on bringing people together for bipartisan solutions to problems such as flooding along the Delaware, veterans' benefits, and the state of our economy."

Murphy has yet to claim a mandate from voters in the Eighth Congressional District; he became the district's first Democratic congressman in 14 years by only about 1,500 votes. Fitzpatrick narrowly won in Bucks County, but Murphy prevailed in the Northeast Philadelphia and eastern Montgomery County portions of the district.

Manion, a vice president for information technology at Johnson & Johnson, is a Philadelphia native, one of 10 children born to a salesman and a homemaker. He graduated from Widener University, served 11 years of active duty in the Marines, and earned a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School.

He moved to Bucks County with his wife and two children in 1990, when he joined Johnson & Johnson.

In response to reporters' questions, he pronounced himself "pro-life" on abortion, but in favor of stem-cell research. Illegal immigrants, he said, should be deported until they can apply for citizenship or a work visa program.

A political novice, Manion said he wanted to change "the partisan culture" of Washington that he said had stymied the country.

"Even with the Iraqi situation, we need to work together," he said. "What I want to bring to the table is an ability to work with others toward solutions that are desperately needed by our country."

Delco GOP picks Gulf vet to face Sestak

By Mari A. Schaefer
Inquirer Staff Writer

Delaware County Republicans last night nominated a former assistant U.S. attorney to challenge U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak this fall.

Wendell Craig Williams, 43, said a number of issues set him apart from Sestak. "Our positions on Iraq are very different," he said, adding that U.S. troops should stay until the job is done. Williams said that on illegal immigration, he is "far more stern and aggressive" than Sestak.

Referring to key party issues of winning the Iraq war, illegal immigration, and the mortgage crisis, Williams told those gathered at the Paxon Hollow Country Club: "We in the [Delaware County] Republican Party have lost our voice in Congress."

Andrew Reilly, former County Council chairman, said of Williams: "He has a pretty impressive resume."

While in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Williams prosecuted cases including child abuse, drugs, street crime and fraud. He resigned this week from the prosecutor's office to run for Sestak's seat, said Thomas J. Judge Sr., chairman of the county Republican Party.

Williams, a former Marine, was a decorated combat veteran in the Gulf War, flying 56 combat missions in an F-18, and graduated from Columbia Law School, according to Reilly. He and his wife, Jennifer Abittier Williams, and three children, two from her previous marriage, live in Glen Mills.

Democrat Sestak, a former Navy vice admiral, won the Seventh Congressional District seat in 2006 from longtime incumbent Republican Curt Weldon.

The district encompasses a majority of Delaware County, and smaller pieces of Chester and Montgomery Counties.

About 54 percent of the registered voters in the county are Republican. But the county recently has voted for Democrats in national elections.

Reilly said that Sestak has only put in "the appearance of working hard; there is nothing solid that he has accomplished."

"It is a competitive district," Reilly said, noting the district still leans Republican on voter registration. "It is not a walk for any candidate."

Sestak spokesman Clarence Tong said, "The election isn't for another 10 months, so Congressman Sestak is focused on changing Washington by ending the war in Iraq and helping more children in Pennsylvania get the health care they need."

About 70 percent of the municipal Republican leaders in Delaware County met for 10 minutes last night to make the selection. The vote for Williams was unanimous.

Michael Puppio, Springfield Township Republican leader, said Williams "will work extremely hard to bring his message of economic restraint and limited government to residents of the Seventh Congressional District."

A number of names of those interested in the race have surfaced over the last few months, including Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood; real estate developer Tom Pulte; and Stephen Elliott, a lawyer with the U.S. State Department.

As of last night, only one other candidate was still in contention, however.

Joe Breslin, a Haverford Township Republican committeeman who ran for the County Council last year, said he would seek the nomination independently from the county's Republican Party.

Breslin said the county Republicans have lost the faith of the voters. "I will be running as a Republican against the Republicans."

A Belated Happy Birthday!

The TrekMedic, of all bloggers, should have known better, but Captain America reminded him of an important birthday this weekend:




Just sit back and enjoy this: