Name A Young Voter Who's Heard Of Ronald Reagan?

If you were born after 1989, you've never heard of Ronald Reagan.

That's a little too much! Let's say that you've heard of him, but you don't know much about his legacy! Practically you've read it in history or civics class. And practically, young voter don't care about it either.

It's a damn shame that the Republican Party is still stuck on the 20th Century. They've fallen and they can't get up! Seriously, the Republican Party is tone deaf to the changing demographics.

Young voters can only remember at best George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And thanks to the controversial issues fed through the junk food media, the tide is turning. Things that we used to shun in general are now more open and people are tolerating it.

The young voters are a key demographic that is ripe with fresh votes. The Democrats have taken advantage of this by moving forward. The Republicans may have just sealed their fate. Still living in a generation that keeps overpaid agitators rich and the young voters tuned out.

Gay marriage is coming!

They're lighting up the weed!

Sundays aren't in the church! They're in the bed.

The immigrants are moving into the cities, the suburbs and the gated communities!

It's getting browner and yes, it's because of interracial births and open relationships.

The junk food media feeds young voters issues that revolve around celebrities and gotcha moments from politicos.

The social networks are killing off the cable television, newspapers, books, DVDs and music CDs.

We don't have to watch television anymore. We can view our shows on the internet or through our gadgets.

The rich are about to lose their perks! The tax havens and money funneling to other countries are on the verge of coming to an end.

Many Americans have war fatigue. The war drums are not as loud! They don't want to waste more blood and treasure in the Middle East. Even the threat from North Korea isn't moving the needle. The crisis in North Africa isn't appealing to the American people. People don't care about the conflicts in Libya, Egypt, Israel, Syria and the undisputed Palestine territories.

The threat of terrorism exists everyday. But more Americans worry about their neighbors more than some guy in a turban and garb.

So far, the young voters only care about finding jobs, homes, cars, luxuries, and college.

They don't care about the talk about debt, taxes and firearms. The debt is only important when they've maxed out their credit cards or owe student loans. That stuff is a turn off to the general public.

Hence, the Republican Party's outreach. An outrage that fails to see this. A political party that continues to take marching orders from overpaid agitators and half-term former governors.

Yes, Republicans do have young voters in the fold. Some young voters who vote Republican do attend some form of school. You may find a young voter in public school, private school, being homed-schooled and taught religious or non-religious education. But are they losing this fold too?

Even some of their young voters are warming to gay marriage, marijuana legalization and are experiencing war fatigue.

I was born in 1980. I was born around the time when Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States was getting his clocked cleaned by former California governor named Ronald Wilson Reagan.

People remember him as a radio announcer and later an actor who played roles in movies and sitcoms. A man once palled with a chimpanzee named Bonzo and told the team to win one for The Gipper.

His first wife was Jane Wyman, a fellow actress. After the marriage turned sour, he went on to marry another leading lady named Nancy Davis.

Who would of thought an actor would become the President of The United States?

I remember the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. I was young and didn't care about his politics. I didn't care about the president's political party he represented. I just knew him as our president.

Whatever he done, wasn't affecting my life. I was a kid so I was more aware of the playmates than the Iran-Contra affair. I don't remember John Hinckley shooting him. I was too young. I do remember Christa McAuliffe and the six astronauts dying in the Challenger tragedy.

I knew the only thing that kept me going was the playmates, the 1980s-themed television programs and a weekend (or summer break) off from school.

I give Reagan credit, he was a popular president. He managed to run the country for eight years. He won two landslide elections and survived a near fatal shooting. He was a friend, foe and father to many.

I grew up during the days of sitcoms and cartoons that featured public service announcements.

I grew up in the days where urban plight was the driver of White flight.

I grew up watching the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy in 1986.

I remember the Cold War talk and the Red Scare out of Moscow.

I remember talk about the Berlin Wall. A wall that divided Berlin into two separate cities. One for the Western nations and the other allied to the Soviet Union. One theme that Reagan presented was the famous quote: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

I could remember the talk about Ronald Reagan and his best friend Margaret Thatcher, then prime minister of Great Britain. They managed to drive conservatism into the mainstream. It also allowed overpaid conservative agitators to drive the AM dial even further to the bottom.

I don't remember everything that happened while I was young but I knew that Ronald Reagan had made people feel good about themselves. He's considered a "rock star" among the Republican faithful.

The legacy of Ronald Reagan is memorable. He was the oldest elected president. At age 69, many Americans assumed that his health was going to deteriorate during his term. According to his son, Ron Reagan, he thought his dad was showing signs of Alzheimer's disease after his second term.

My biggest concern with the Republican Party is the constant rewrite of history. They've taken credit for things they've never supported. Let's take for example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Republicans claim they were solely responsible for passing the law. It was the choice of two Democratic presidents, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Kennedy was assassinated by an extremist. Johnson faced opposition from the conservative Democrats (Dixiecrats) and Republicans. Once this was passed, Democrats ended up losing the South. To this day, many states in the South have went to Republicans easily.

Some of the themes by some in the conservative agitating media generate the condescending rhetoric about how young voters are "idiots" and "low information voters". That right there turns off voters and makes it even harder for the Republicans to win over young voters.

Another reason for the deficit of young voters is Republican parents home schooling young minds into bigotry and hatred of other!

Why on earth would any family member try to inject politics into their young children?

With all the anti-Obama rhetoric from those in the Republican Party, one is to believe that they're the party of fiscal responsibility. One is to believe the party is more tolerant of race, gender, sexuality, religion, education, political and economic standings. One is to believe the Republican Party was the party of civil rights. The way they're going today will make the Republican Party a party of White people and freaking idiots!

Republicans didn't care about the debt and massive spending. They didn't care about the tax increases. They didn't care about the incidents that lead to deaths of Americans. Sure they were some politicos and consultants who worried, but conservatives were lockstep in whatever Reagan done. Regardless of it being right or wrong.

I mean it's over 30 years since his presidency, and the Republicans still continue to run on this narrative that his policies worked. If his policies have worked, why hasn't a Republican won the presidency since George W. Bush?

Republicans skip through the forest when it came to disasters of previous Republican presidents.

Are you afraid to mention James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, George H.W. and George W. Bush?

Republicans can only endorse Reagan and Abraham Lincoln as the saviors of the Republican Party.

If they were alive today, these individuals would be marched right out of the party. They've would have been considered too liberal for the current establishment.

BREAKING: Caught!

In custody

WE DON'T KNOW IF THE SUSPECT WAS SHOT BUT WE KNOW HE'S CAUGHT.

BROTHER WAS KILLED IN GUNFIRE.

Killed by gunfire.

FOUR PEOPLE WERE KILLED BY THESE MEN. THREE BY THE BOMBING. ONE BY GUNFIRE.

FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND BOSTON POLICE CONFIRMED CAPTURE.

NBC News and Associated Press confirms the Boston Marathon bombing suspect was captured alive Friday night after police found him in a boat in a suburban backyard following a bloody rampage and daylong manhunt, law enforcement sources said.

Cheers went up from a crowd of police gathered at the scene in Watertown, Mass., where bursts of gunfire had been heard over the course of two hours.

The arrest ended five days of terror from the bombing at the marathon finish line, which killed three people, wounded 176 and left the city of Boston on edge.

ABC News reports that developments came just minutes after a press conference by law enforcement officials and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said a massive dragnet had failed to find the suspect.

George Pizzuto, who lives in the neighborhood where the police activity is centered, said that his friend and neighbor, David Henneberry, discovered a body in his boat and reported it to police around 7 p.m. tonight, just minutes after Patrick said residents could go outside again.

"He looked and noticed something was off about his boat, so he got his ladder, and he put his ladder up on the side of the boat and climbed up, and then he saw blood on it, and he thought he saw what was a body laying in the boat," Pizzuto said. "So he got out of the boat fast and called police."

He said that Henneberry was being interviewed by police about what he saw, and that power had just been cut to the Henneberry's house.

"That boat's his baby. He takes care of it like you wouldn't believe. And they told him it's all shot up," Pizzuto said. "He's going to be heartbroken."

Erik Thompson, who lives across the street from the Henneberry's home, said he heard gunshots and saw law enforcement rush to the scene.

"There was some gunfire earlier which was almost immediately stopped. People were yelling to cease fire, and it seems to be focused on some homes across the street from where I am, which I think is the western side of the street," Thompson said.

"There's still a significant presence of law enforcement there," he said. "It's like D-Day."

The governor lifted an order that kept people in Watertown, Boston and surrounding suburbs inside all day.

The officials had said at the press conference that they thoroughly searched Watertown and had not found any sign of Tsarnaev.

Earlier in the day, police in took three individuals into custody in connection with the search for Tsarnaev.

Lt. Robert Richard of New Bedford, Mass., said three "college age" individuals were taken in for questioning by the FBI. New Bedford is less than 15 miles north of Dartmouth, Mass., where Tsarnaev attends college.

Following a late-night shootout with police that involved more than 200 rounds of ammunition and explosive devices, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, abandoned his car and slipped away on foot.

His older brother and alleged accomplice in the bombings, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in the gunfire. The pair are believed to have dropped two bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, killing three and injuring more than 170.

Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Timothy Alben said at a press conference this afternoon that the Tsarnaev brothers opened fire and threw explosives at cops around 10:30 p.m. Thursday as they fled from Cambridge to Watertown. But he said law enforcement were forced to choose between providing first aid to those in need and securing a perimeter to contain the suspect.

"Unfortunately we did not have enough people to provide first aid" to the injured "and establish a perimeter," the colonel said.

BREAKING: Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev And Tamerlan Tsarnaev Captured!

U.S. federal authorities want these guys.

This is the ongoing issue out of Boston. The AP and multiple sources report that two individuals Dzhokhar and Tsarnaev Tsarnaev are the suspects sought in the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

The FBI released their images yesterday and multiple tips were given to them.

The clear images of the individuals gave the nation a look into two brothers who managed to pull off a deadly attack at an annual event that been held over 100 years.

The United States Justice Department issued a warrant for these two. The FBI and Massachusetts law officials have been tipped off to a robbery at a 7 Eleven. The individuals tried to rob it.

They were spotted around MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and they've ended up killing an officer.

People have posted on their social networking websites the events that have unfolded while most of us were sleeping or working,



They've also carjacked an individual.

When the police seen the individuals with the car jacking victim in the suburb of Watertown, they ran off.

The individuals fired upon the police and transit officers. The exchange of gunfire killed Tamerlan Tsanaev.

Now the other individual Dzhokhar is possibly in a stand off with the U.S. federal authorities.

The nation went live on this coverage. Similar to the Christopher Lee Dohner coverage. A few months ago, the LAPD were looking for a former cop who killed Monica Quan, her finance, and three law enforcement officers.

The media looked into the individuals manifesto through his social networking (via Facebook).

They've determined that Dohner was depressed about being fired from the Los Angeles Police Department and discharged from the military. He felt that he was being blackballed over his perceived complaints of racism at the department.

The manifesto he wrote was over 10 pages long and it contained his decry to kill as many as possible.

Now there's a similar theme here with Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. These two individuals were from the Dagestan region, The region is close to Chechnya, a conservative Sunni Muslim region known for Islamic terrorism. They've looked Dzhokhar's social networking sites and determined that he was devoted to Islamic radicalism. The Russian Federation's most reclusive region of Chechnya is considered a Sunni Muslim region.

The media hasn't confirmed if he's an associated to al-Qaeda or any extremist groups.

The talk of Islamic extremism will generate hate crimes among those who are Muslim or Sikh.

These two men lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts and they've had trouble fitting in with people.

Looking into their social networking websites they've seemed like they were studying at local colleges.

They've were considered model citizens. The family claimed these two were studying for medicine. What the federal authorities are trying to determine is how they were inspired into inflict harm upon innocent people.

President Barack Obama was notified about the situation since 2 AM. The situation unfolded overnight with the suspects trying to leave the vicinity.

The police were effective in determined the men. Both were spotted around the finish line. The "black hat" individual (Tamerlan) was spotted first. The "white hat" individual (Dzhokhar) was spotted with hat turned backwards. The improvised bombs that were left by the two went off before 3 PM on Monday.

The bombing injured over 150 people and killed three. There was a massive causalities inflicted by these two explosions. These bombs were a mixture of pressure cookers, nails, ball barrings and metal fragments.

This issue triggers debate over what you post online, gun control, immigration, terrorism, and racial profiling.

The media have found YouTube videos by the suspects.



The Boston Globe announced the officer who was killed in today's shooting was 26-year old Sean Collier.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to his family.

Death of a law enforcement officer. 

Okay, there haven't been any developments so far. The neighborhood in the Watertown area is being surrounded by federal law enforcement figures and local police.

As of 9:45 AM, Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI director Robert Muller have talked to the president about their solution to ending this standoff.

We're in the afternoon hours of this incident going on in Watertown, the media has released the picture of a transit cop who was shot by the suspects. Richard Donahue is fighting for his life after an exchange of gunfire injured him severely.

Richard Donahue was a transit law enforcement officer injured.

The media has released the picture of President Barack Obama in the Strategy Room in Washington, DC.

The media also got in contact with suspects family members. The father, the sisters, aunt and uncle are informed about the suspects.

These classified these individuals as terrorists.

The media hasn't confirmed the individual (Dzhokhar's) capture.

Rulsan Tsarni says Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev immigrated to the United States around 2000 or 2001, and have lived at the same Cambridge address since that time.

According to Tsarni, Dzhokhar completed high school in Cambridge and was attending college somewhere outside of Boston.

He described Tamerlan as a “loser.”

Tsarni was shocked when he was informed of the unfolding situation that left Tamerlan Tsarnaev dead in a shootout.

“He deserved his. He absolutely deserved his,” Tsarni said. “They do not deserve to live on this earth.”

Later in the morning, Tsarni held an impassioned news conference that began with him offering condolences to “those who’ve been murdered, those who’ve been injured.”




Tsarni noted that his family had not been in touch with the family of the suspects for a number of years, but still, he expressed shame.

“My family has nothing to do with that family… Of course we’re ashamed. We’re ashamed. They’re children of my brother,” he said. “Somebody radicalized them, but it’s not my brother… He spent his life working.”

Tsarni called on his nephew to turn himself in. When asked why the suspects may have committed what Ruslan described as “an atrocity,” he said simply it was because they were losers.

“Being losers, hatred to those who were able to settle themselves; those are the only reasons,” he said. “Anything else to do with religion, with Islam, it’s a fraud; it’s a fake.”

Ruslan told reporters that the two bombing suspects wasted an opportunity for a great life.

“This is the ideal micro-world in the entire world,” he said of the United States. “I respect this country. I love this country; this country which gives chances to everybody else to be treated as a human being.”

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has eluded authorities and is still on the loose. The FBI has issued a national alert for the apprehension of him.

Until we get word of his capture, we will post more information.

Unconfirmed reports of shots being fired.

Horrible error in reporting.

The New York Post made too many critical errors in their reporting of this.

Conservative media outlets are lavishing over the fact these suspects being converted Muslim extremists.

So far, I noted That Guy Who Helped Obama Win, Crazy Jones, and That Guy Who Throws Shit To The Wall openly boasting about Muslim extremism.

These individuals were according to friends and family, agnostic. But recently, the older Tamerlan was getting more religious and acted like a loner. Dzhokhar was a model student who was awarded a scholarship to college. He was naturalized a U.S. Citizen in September 2012.

Law enforcement were around this Watertown area for over 18 hours looking for the slip up by Dzhokhar.

The Boston Globe reports that the person who the New York Post splashed is in fear of death threats.

The family of a Revere high-school student whose photograph appeared in the New York Post indicating a link to the attacks at the Boston Marathon said they were being hounded and were afraid to leave their home.

The front page of Thursday’s New York Post featured a photo of Salah Eddin Barhoum, 17, and another young man watching the marathon before the blasts with the headline: “Bag men: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon.”

The FBI later released photos of two suspects in Monday’s bombings, neither of whom were Barhoum.

Barhoum, a runner for his high school track team, told the Associated Press Thursday that he is afraid to go outside, fearing people will blame him for Monday’s bombings. The AP ­reported that Barhoum is a ­Moroccan native and went to authorities, anxious to clear his name.

The teenager later told ABC News that when he saw the Post’s front page, “It’s the worst feeling that I can possibly feel. . . . I’m only 17.”

Outside the family’s apartment building on Thursday, a man who indicated he was ­Barhoum’s father, but declined to give his name, told a Globe reporter and other members of the press in broken English that reporters had been hounding his family all day Thursday and they had been afraid to leave.

“From one o’clock in the morning till now, we [ate] nothing,” he said. “Please, can you respect my family?”

“The picture of my son on the Internet, [he] is now skewered,” the man said.

Confirmed by law enforcement the suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was caught.

Amateur Internet sleuths on various websites, culling through images of the Marathon, had highlighted Barhoum and others as potential suspects in Monday’s bombings, which killed three people.

The man who indicated he was Barhoum’s father declined to be interviewed further and said his son did not want to speak to the press any more late Thursday afternoon.

There are confirmation that an individual was spotted in a boat in a neighborhood close to the area where U.S. federal authorities are searching. There were an exchange of gunfire in this event.

Killed in gunfire by law enforcement. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the Boston Marathon bomber.

We can't confirm if they've found Dzhokhar Tsamaev.

President Barack Obama was contacted by Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin. Putin sends his condolences to the American people lost in this tragedy.

They've found suspect. There's no confirmation that he's been caught. But from what the news wires reporting that a man was hiding in a backyard near a boat.

There are cheers from spectators.

Medical officials are under fire for releasing possible death photos of Tamerlan Tsamaev. Coming from the Smoking Gun website. Not safe for work. Also comments are not safe for work.

Former Law Officials Arrested Texas DA Case!

Former judge arrested in the death of district attorneys.

In a major break, the Texas law enforcement officers arrested a former justice of the peace and his wife in the deaths of two district attorneys and the wife of the slain.

In the beginning we thought that extremists from the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas may have put a hit on the Texas district attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia.

Kim Williams, accomplice of the gunman who killed two district attorneys.

Earlier the first killing of assistant district attorney Mark Hasse was making the rounds.

The murder of those in law enforcement has the nation gripping to the fears of retaliation from extremist groups frustrated with the reelection of President Barack Obama.

Eric Williams and his wife Kim, were charged with the murder of law enforcement.

The information comes from Kaufman, Texas through the Associated Press.

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) — North Texas authorities have arrested the wife of a former justice of the peace who was charged with making a terroristic threat in connection with the shooting deaths of a district attorney and his wife.

Two weeks before his slaining, District Attorney Mike McLelland told the press, that he's determined to capture the individuals who killed his friend and partner District Attorney Mark Masse.

Kim Lene Williams was arrested early Wednesday. Online jail records do not list charges against her and efforts to reach Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes, county Judge Bruce Wood and others were not successful.

A law enforcement official has said authorities are trying to build a case against her husband, Eric Lyle Williams, in the deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, whose bodies were found at their home March 30.

A probable cause affidavit says Eric Williams sent an email, one day after the McLellands' bodies were discovered, implying there would be another attack if authorities didn't respond to various demands. The email was sent from Eric Williams' personal computer. Authorities arrested him on Saturday and charged him with making a terroristic threat.

He was being held on $3 million bond on that charge.

Williams lost his elected position as justice of the peace after he was convicted of stealing three computer monitors from an office. McLelland and Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse — who was shot and killed in an apparent ambush outside a courthouse in January — prosecuted that case.

Mark Hasse was killed in January.

During closing arguments, the prosecutors presented testimony indicating that Williams had made death threats against a former girlfriend and a local attorney.

A jury found Williams guilty; he received two years' probation and lost his law license and position as justice of the peace.

"The good old boy network is gone," McLelland said at the time.

These two are facing capital murder and this will carry the death sentence.

BREAKING: Suspects In Boston Marathon Bombings!

News of the individual being caught appears across national wires. 

Huffington Post siren.

Developing out of Boston, there's a break in the case of the marathon bombing.

According to CNN and the Associated Press, an individual was arrested.

The FBI held a press conference in regards to the Boston bombings investigation.

The news is reporting that investigators believe they have identified a suspect based on surveillance tape which show two people the FBI are looking for.

The individuals are considering them armed and extremely dangerous.

FBI has released the images of the individuals responsible. The FBI are looking for two men.

Images of two possible suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing circulated among agencies investigating the terror attack are expected to be released to the public Thursday, The Boston Globe reports.

The photographs, captured moments before the blast Monday that killed three people and left more than 180 wounded, show two individuals separately standing at each of the bombing sites, according to multiple reports.

A Fox News reporter who said he had seen the photos described them as "clear," adding that the images show both individuals carrying bags. He said authorities requested the photos not be released for fear of compromising the investigation.



The bombs had been placed near the finish line, along Boylston Street. The bombs, which were pressure cooker devices, detonated at 2:49 p.m. EDT, 13 seconds apart. No warnings had been given, and no one has been arrested or claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Described as pressure cooker bombs, thought to be made using Fagor-brand pressure cookers, they were improvised explosive devices constructed from pressure cookers, explosives, bits of metal, and bearing balls placed in black nylon duffel bags or backpacks.

____________________________

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and perennial loser Mitt Romney were attending the mass for the victims today.



______________________________________________

While we were sleeping the news broke overnight saying that they've cornered the individuals responsible for the Boston Marathon Bombing.

To keep you up to date on the situation, they've ID the two men as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tzarnaev. They're brothers and the prime suspects in the bombing.

Overnight, there was a firefight and Tamerlan was killed. Dzhokhar is on the loose. He's considered dangerous according to law enforcement figures.

The FBI and Massachusetts law enforcement figures are looking for the suspect in the nearby Watertown, Massachusetts.

Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tzarnaev

The two managed to kill a MIT police officer, injured a transit officer in a firefight and threw explosive devices at police during their getaway attempt in a long night of violence that left one of them dead and another still at large Friday, authorities said as the manhunt intensified for a young man described as a dangerous terrorist.

Two law enforcement officials told the AP that Tsarnaev and the other suspect, who was not immediately identified, had been living legally in the U.S. for at least one year.

Right now, the city of Boston and vicinity is closed off to keep the suspect from fleeing. The FBI and local police are packing strong. They've determined the suspects are extremely dangerous and they're a strong possibility of a massive firefight.


"We believe this man to be a terrorist," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said at a post-4 a.m. press conference about the at large suspect. "We believe this to be a man who's come here to kill people. We need to get him in custody."

An MBTA Transit Police Officer was shot during the overnight manhunt through Cambridge and Watertown.

Richard (Dic) H. Donohue Jr., 33, is in surgery now at Mt. Auburn Hospital, according to a police spokesman just after 8 a.m.

Donohue has been an MBTA police officer for three years.

Donohue is from Winchester and now lives with his wife and six month old son in Woburn.

All MBTA service has been suspended on Friday morning and law enforcement officials are asking residents of Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge and the Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston to stay indoors and for businesses to not open today. Also, no vehicle traffic will be allowed in or out of Watertown until further notice.

The suspect is considered armed and dangerous.

A robbery at a Cambridge 7-11 Thursday night was followed by the fatal shooting of a MIT campus police officer, then a carjacking by the suspects, which turned into a shootout in Watertown on early Friday morning, with one suspect pronounced dead at a hospital after the shootout and the other at large.

Tragedy In West, Texas!

Massive causalities at a fertilizer plant explosion.

Outside of the city of Waco, an explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West. The state of Texas is mourning the loss of about 20 individuals in this horrible tragedy.

We at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to those lost in this senseless tragedy.



West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas, 18 miles (29 km) north of Waco, Texas.  Early media reports indicated mass damage to buildings and heavy casualties. It is not known what caused the blast.] The explosion killed up to 40 people, including volunteer firefighters, and injured more than 160 others. West's Mayor Tommy Muska said on April 18 that seven West firefighters died in the blast.

According to a witness quoted in The Dallas Morning News, the facility first caught fire, then exploded as firefighters were attempting to douse the flames.

Ground Zero Explosion.

The facility is owned by Adair Grain Incorporated.

Adair received an air quality permit as a fertilizer mixing and storage facilty from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in December 2006, issued after Adair was investigated for failure to secure a permit, when a neighbor complained about an ammonia smell coming from the facility. Adair reportedly stored 54,000 pounds (27 short tons; 24 t) of anhydrous ammonia, which, along with nitric acid, is used to produce ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer, pesticide, and rodenticide.

Emergency crews were called to the scene at about 7:30 p.m. to battle a small fire at the West Fertilizer Company, located in the 1400 block of Jerry Mashek Drive, just off of Interstate-35 between Waco and the DFW area. Firefighters were trying to control that blaze when an explosion happened. Emergency officials are among those confirmed dead, and some first responders are among the missing, but no names have been released.

The blast damaged as many as 75 nearby homes and gutted units in an apartment complex, according to State Trooper D.L. Wilson. “We’ve got a lot of houses on one street, especially there, that look like a war zone,” added EMS director Dr. George Smith. “They’ve been collapsed, so there may be people inside those houses, either critically injured or deceased.”

“We’ve got a lot of people who are hurt, and there’s a lot of people, I’m sure, who aren’t going to be here tomorrow,” said Mayor Tommy Muska.

“Part of that community is gone,” said Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton with the Waco Police Department.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene,” said Gov. Rick Perry in a statement, before declaring McLennan County a disaster area and mobilizing state resources to help out local authorities in Central Texas.

Destruction.

President Barack Obama later echoed Perry’s words, adding, “West is a town that many Texans hold near and dear to their hearts, and as residents continue to respond to this tragedy, they will have the support of the American people.” Click here to read the full statement from President Obama.

The town of West has a population of about 2,800 people. Residents were evacuated immediately after the explosion. The West Rest Haven Nursing Home was among the locations evacuated, as officials moved 133 patients to safety, some in wheelchairs. Authorities have not said if there were any injuries among those patients.

More than 100 victims were taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, and most of them have already been released. Other victims were transported to Providence Health Center, Scott White Hospital in Temple, Parkland Hospital in Dallas and JPS Hospital in Fort Worth. Those worried about the safety of loved ones can call 254-202-1100 to check on their status. Click here for additional emergency resources, including contact information for hospitals and relief providers.

The entire state has pulled together to offer assistance to West residents who have been impacted by the deadly blast. Volunteers from the American Red Cross have been mobilized and are bringing supplies to those in need — both citizens and emergency crews on the scene. Businesses, homes and churches near West have opened their doors to displaced residents. Reverend James Stevens with the First Baptist Church of Gholson said, “People are bringing food and water and blankets and necessities for these victims, and we’re so thankful for everybody’s generosity in time of crisis.”

Location of the plant.

“I know we hear a lot about police, a lot about first responders and about firemen rushing into the scene,” said Swanton. “Folks, I am here to tell you that there are some true heroes out there today that aren’t cops, aren’t paid firemen. They are civilians, and they’re going into a line of fire with us as well. So, certainly we appreciate those folks that are showing up in a supportive role. They are saving lives with us.”

However, despite reports of kind Texans helping out victims, there are some individuals walking the opposite path. “There has been a small amount of looting,” Swanton said at a Thursday morning news conference. Police are working to secure the blast site and protect the community from these crimes.

Meanwhile, the cause of the explosion is under investigation. West Fertilizer Company was cited in 2006 for failing to qualify for a permit. The plant had also been under investigation due to the strong smell of ammonia nearby. But Swanton explained, “Until we know it’s an industrial accident, we will work it as a crime scene.”

Washington Got The Poison Letter! | Updated!

Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) was a target of a ricin laced letter. The U.S. Capitol Police and Secret Service are investigating why this was sent to him, Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) and President Barack Obama.

BREAKING: THE PRESIDENT WAS SENT THE DEADLY SUBSTANCE RICIN. THE UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE IS INVESTIGATING WHO SENT THE LETTER. 

THE FBI ANNOUNCED THEY'VE CAPTURED THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED IN SENDING THE RICIN LACED LETTERS TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. 

News is developing out of Washington, DC that a few senators and President Barack Obama were given heads up to a ricin laced letters being intercepted by the U.S. Secret Service and Capitol Police.

Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Senator Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan), Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) and the president got shaken by an extremist.

According to the Associated Press, law enforcement officials say a second suspicious letter that has been received in Washington was actually directed to the White House, not the Senate.

Two officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the letter was being treated in the same manner as a separate one sent to Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker and was undergoing field tests.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The U.S. Secret Service said it intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a "suspicious substance."

The letter to Wicker, a Republican, was intercepted at a Senate mail facility just outside Washington and has tested positive for ricin. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) has said authorities have a suspect in mind in that case, though no one has been charged.

Shennell S. Antrobus, a spokesman for the U.S. Capitol Police, said Tuesday night that Capitol Police had been notified by the Senate mail handling facility that "it had received an envelope containing a white granular substance."

"The envelope was immediately quarantined by the facility's personnel and USCP HAZMAT responded to the scene," Antrobus said. "Preliminary tests indicate the substance found was ricin. The material is being forwarded to an accredited laboratory for further analysis."

Antrobus said called the incident a "controlled event" and said operations at the Capitol complex had not been affected by the investigation.

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said earlier initial field tests on the substance produced mixed results and that it is in the process of undergoing further analysis at an accredited laboratory. Only after that testing can a determination be made about whether the substance is ricin, Bresson said.

Late Tuesday, Wicker released a statement acknowledging the letter and said it was sent to his Washington office.

"This matter is part of an ongoing investigation by the United States Capitol Police and FBI," Wicker said. "I want to thank our law enforcement officials for their hard work and diligence in keeping those of us who work in the Capitol complex safe."

Terrance W. Gainer, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, said in an emailed message to Senate offices that the envelope to Wicker, a Republican, had no obviously suspicious outside markings and lacked a return address. It bore a postmark from Memphis, Tenn.

Mail from a broad swath of northern Mississippi, including the Memphis suburbs of DeSoto County, Miss., Tupelo, Oxford and the northern part of the Mississippi Delta region is processed and postmarked in Memphis, according to a Postal Service map. The Memphis center also processes mail for residents of western parts of Tennessee and eastern Arkansas.

FBI arrest man involved in sending death threat to President Barack Obama and Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi). Paul Kevin Curtis is the man sought in ricin attack.

Gainer said there was "no indication that there are other suspect mailings." Yet he urged caution, and also said the Senate off-site mail facility where the initial tests were performed on the letter will be closed for a few days while the investigation continues.

The letter was discovered at a mail processing plant in Prince George's County in suburban Maryland, according to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).

Wicker, 61, was appointed to the Senate in 2007 and won election to a full term last year. He previously served a dozen years in the House.

He has a solidly conservative voting record, so much so that he drew notice last week when he voted to allow debate to begin on controversial gun legislation in the Senate. "I cast this vote at the request of the National Rifle Association, of which I am a member," he said in a statement at the time that added he has a 100 percent voting record in favor of Second Amendment rights.

Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters of the letter. Other lawmakers said they had been provided information by Gainer's office.

Milt Leitenberg, a University of Maryland bioterrorism expert, said ricin is a poison derived from the same bean that makes castor oil. According to a Homeland Security Department handbook, ricin is deadliest when inhaled. It is not contagious, but there is no antidote.

"Luckily, this was discovered at the processing center off premises," Durbin said. He said all mail to senators is "roasted, toasted, sliced and opened" before it ever gets to them.

A congressional official said evidence of ricin appeared on two preliminary field tests of the letter, although such results are not deemed conclusive without further testing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation remains active.

The discovery evoked memories of the days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when mail laced with anthrax began appearing in post offices, newsrooms and congressional offices.

Ricin beans are deadly.

That included letters sent to rhen-Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who was Senate majority leader, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). Two Senate office buildings were closed during that investigation.

Overall, five people died and 17 others became ill. The FBI attributed the attack to a government scientist who committed suicide in 2008.

More immediately, though, the discovery came as lawmakers were demanding answers to the attacks in Boston a day earlier.

There was no evidence of a connection between the bombings and the letter addressed to Wicker.


A Mississippi man charged with mailing letters with suspected ricin to national leaders believed he had uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market, and on Thursday his attorney said he was surprised by his arrest and maintains he is innocent.

Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, wore shackles and a Johnny Cash T-shirt in the federal courtroom. His handcuffs were taken off for the brief hearing, and he said little. He faces two charges on accusations of threatening President Barack Obama and others. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.