Thrillseekers Get Ready , Fury 325 Roller Coaster Opens March 27th

Watch The Plunge From This New 325-Foot Roller Coaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

” While most of the country is shivering in the cold, a theme park wants you to shiver with excitement at what it calls the world’s tallest and fastest “giga” coaster expected to make its debut later this month.

  Carowinds, one of 11 amusement parks operated by Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair LP (NYSE: FUN), made the first test run Wednesday of its 325-foot-tall Fury 325 earlier this week. Its first passenger was a video camera, but when it opens March 27, 32 visitors in each open-air train car will be able to experience the climb to the top of the hill, a 81-degree drop and speeds of up to 95 miles an hour.

  A giga coaster, a term coined by Cedar Fair’s first park, Cedar Point, has a drop from 300 to 399 feet. The next class is a “strata” coaster with a height of more than 400 feet.

  In comparison, the Statue of Liberty stands 305 feet, 1 inch from the ground to the tip of the torch, according to the National Park Service.

  When the Fury 325 opens, it will be among the five tallest roller coasters in the world, coming in at No. 3 or No. 5 depending on whether you’re including shuttle roller coasters, according to UltimateRollercoaster.com and EntertainmentDesigner.com. Steel-track shuttle coasters don’t travel a complete circuit.”

 

Read more at USAToday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cam Newton Injured In Roll-Over Crash

Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton Involved In Vehicle Wreck

 

 

 

 

 

” Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was taken to a hospital after the truck he was traveling in crashed in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, police said.

  He was transferred to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman Rob Tufano. Newton’s truck and a sedan were involved in the wreck.

” It would appear the car rolled over. The accident is being investigated,” he said.

  There was no word on what caused the wreck in uptown Charlotte, but witnesses told CNN affiliate WSOC they saw Newton’s vehicle flip four times.

  WSOC published an image of a dark-colored truck lying on its side in the roadway.

  The extent of Newton’s injuries was not immediately clear. The Charlotte Observer tweeted an image of Newton lying on his side smiling.”

CNN has more

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NC Judge Orders Hundreds Of “Stingray” Records Unsealed

Local Judge Unseals Hundreds Of Highly Secret Cell Tracking Court Records

 

 

 

 

” A judge in Charlotte, North Carolina, has unsealed a set of 529 court documents in hundreds of criminal cases detailing the use of a stingray, or cell-site simulator, by local police. This move, which took place earlier this week, marks a rare example of a court opening up a vast trove of applications made by police to a judge, who authorized each use of the powerful and potentially invasive device.

  According to the Charlotte Observer, the records seem to suggest that judges likely did not fully understand what they were authorizing. Law enforcement agencies nationwide have taken extraordinary steps to preserve stingray secrecy. As recently as this week, prosecutors in a Baltimore robbery case dropped key evidence that stemmed from stingray use rather than fully disclose how the device was used.

  The newspaper also reported on Friday that the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s office, which astonishingly had also never previously seen the applications filed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), will now review them and determine which records also need to be shared with defense attorneys. Criminals could potentially file new claims challenging their convictions on the grounds that not all evidence was disclosed to them at the time.

  Relatively little is known about precisely how stingrays are used by law enforcement agencies nationwide, although more and more documents have surfaced showing how they’ve been purchased and used in limited instances. Last year, Ars reported on leaked documents showing the existence of a body-worn stingray. In 2010, security researcher Kristin Paget famously demonstrated a homemade device built for just $1,500.

  Worse still, local cops have lied to courts (at the direction of the United States Marshals Service) about the use of such technology. Not only can stingrays be used to determine a phone’s location, but they can also intercept calls and text messages. While they do target specific phones, they also sweep up cell data of innocents nearby who have no idea that such data collection is taking place. “

 

Ars Technica has more

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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First Russian Ships

and now  ” Fighter jets in Democratic convention’s military montage were Turkish, not American “

” The Democratic National Committee has already apologized for using a photo of four Soviet-era
Russian warships in a giant stage backdrop intended to illustrate the party’s support for military personnel and veterans.

Some support …

But the F-5 fighter planes in the photo are part of the air force of Turkey, a nation whose government is now jailing journalists and establishing Islam as a state religion.”

How Appropriate

“Naval expert: Ships shown during Democratic convention tribute to veterans were Russian”

  “The Democratic National Convention’s final night included a stirring tribute to America’s veterans from a retired naval four-star admiral, complete with a backdrop of jets flying over a row of proud warships. But convention organizers may soon regret it.

Norman Polmar, author of “The Naval Institute Guide to the Soviet Navy” and other military handbooks, told the Navy Times on Tuesday that the ships were Russian vessels.

“The ships are definitely Russian,” Polmar told the military newspaper. “There’s no question of that in my mind.” The ships depicted in the Democrats’ backdrop had radar designs that the U.S. fleet doesn’t use.”

“MILLER: Hide your guns”

“Democrats vow to pursue more gun-control laws”

  “You didn’t hear the word “guns” voluntarily pass the lips of any Democratic speaker at this week’s convention in Charlotte, N.C. Liberals may be smart enough to avoid alienating the almost half of all Americans who have guns in their homes, but the same can’t be said for their party platform.

The Democratic policy statement approved this week calls for enacting “common-sense improvements — like reinstating the assault-weapons ban and closing the gun-show loophole.” The so-called “assault-weapons ban” in the 1990s banned scary-looking guns and magazines that held over 10 rounds. The platform does toss in a line that claims to recognize the right to bear arms, but it is “subject to reasonable regulation.” The left wants “an honest, open national conversation about firearms.”

I asked many Democratic leaders about the party’s position on firearms at the convention, but almost all claimed not to have read that section of the platform. Jesse Jackson was one of the few willing to come out and say he wants to ban all guns except bolt-action rifles, shotguns and revolvers.”

 

Share in ” Republican” , ‘morning Joe’s’ Delusion

A deeper bench ? Hah! That’s funny.

“Conventional warfare: Why Democrats won ”

  “Or maybe it’s because
Democrats were simply blessed with a deeper bench of political athletes in 2012. But whatever the reason, Republicans were lapped by their rivals and may ultimately
pay in November for botching Mitt
Romney’s debut.”

Rev Your Engine … All the Way Back to Chicago

” Jennifer Granholm DNC Speech: Really Strange Podium Explosion”

  “Jennifer Granholm, the former Governor of Michigan, gave a speech Thursday, during the
DNC. Needless to say, videos are popping up all over the web (including here) …and for good
reason. Liberal media sources are calling it ‘electrifying’.Conservatives aren’t exactly sure what to call it.”

“10 surprises at the conventions”

Jennifer Rubin at Right Turn

” 2. The press, even liberal commentators, admitted that Obama had bombed. Sure, there
were bitter-enders who claimed all was fine, but the cable TV talking heads and the vast majority of columnists were brutally honest. MSNBC personalities were downright glum. “

Oops! Joe Biden Messes Up

Michelle Obama Spoke on Tuesday – Not Wednesday or Monday

For Obama and Country

  “Horror show: Wednesday night at the DNC”

“Wednesday was a wonderful political day for Republicans. Let’s recap. The day started off with the flap over platform language. That in
turn led to the spectacle of Democratic delegates booing the vote to put back Jerusalem and God back into the platform. It was even in the eyes of the most Obama-
sympathetic media a horrid disruption, signaling both incompetence and hostility to things that many if not most Americans hold dear. The news got worse as Politico reported that the
president had signed off on the platform sans God and Jerusalem. The Romney camp could hardly believe the avalanche of atrocious
press . (Democratic National Committee chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s
insistence that there had been no controversy brought CNN’s Anderson Cooper to declare
she was operating in an “alternate universe.”)

   It was a remarkable, actual newsmaking episode, something we rarely get at conventions. Moreover, it was the worst blunder
in a scripted TV event in recent memory. “

2/3’s Affirmative ? … Not

Democrats Hastily Try To Add God And Jerusalem Into Their Platform, Hilarity Ensues

You must watch this video .

“DNC Attendees…

… Yeah, it’s pretty awesome to
belong to the government”

“Revealing Politics asked DNC attendees and delegates in Charlotte what they thought of one
of the themes of the DNC promotional video that played in the arena last night— “The
government is the only thing we all belong to.”

  The Obama campaign is backing away from the video, but DNC attendees sure aren’t.”

“Reason Asks:”

“How ‘Pro-Choice’ Are Democrats?”

“Answer: Not very, when it comes to schools, unions, food, beverages,
light bulbs…”

Video at the link

# EmptyStadiumDay

“Oh, our aching sides! As Twitchy reported, President Obama’s DNC speech has been moved to a smaller venue, due to “weather.” Like with his dwindling crowd sizes at rallies, they totally meant to do that, you see.”

“@charlesadler
Were Dems paranoid that
Thursday would be #
EmptyChairDay at Stadium?
Were they worried about a new
hashtag # EmptyStadiumDay ?”

“@LegInsurrection
# EmptyStadiumDay The moment
when rise of Obama began to slow
and the planet began to heal “

No God , But Gun Control

Democratic Platform ‘Commonsense Improvements’ Brings Back ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban, Gun Show Loophole Arguments

  “The 2012 Democratic National Convention released its party platform today and it quickly drew fire from several points of the political spectrum for its statement on the Second Amendment and firearms ownership. As we did with the corresponding Republican platform section, we include it in its entirety:

“Firearms. We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans’ Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms. We can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening our background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements – like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole – so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few.”

Mount Obama ? WTF?

Rains wash away Mount Obama in Charlotte, N.C.

  ‘A torrential downpour that struck Charlotte Saturday afternoon damaged the Mount Rushmore-style sand sculpture bust of President Obama — an ominous beginning to what many fear is a plagued convention.’

Julia To Take Center Stage in Charlotte

” Democrats walking into “war on women” trap of their own making ”

  ” Do Democrats still plan to feature a “war on women” theme at their convention? If they do, I
argue in my column today for The Fiscal Times , they may well find themselves hoist with their own petard, after a week of watching
accomplished Republican women speaking from the dais in Tampa. Not only does the emphasis
entirely miss the issues about which voters care most in this electoral cycle, the entire argument
diminishes women to, well, to exactly what Code Pink reduced them in protests at the GOP
convention:

   The message from the Obama campaign and Democrats in general seems to be that women are somehow incapable of finding
birth control on their own unless some paternal entity dispenses it to them, despite all evidence to the contrary. They’re so incapable of this task that employers and schools have to hand it for them, no matter how much income they
derive nor how much tuition they manage to pay otherwise. This has already backfired during Team Obama’s “Life of Julia” campaign, which offered a creepy, solitary vision of a woman’s life approaching that of the song “Eleanor Rigby.” Former CNN news anchor Campbell Brown wrote in The New York Times that “Julia” was “a silly and embarrassing caricature based on the assumption that women look to government at every meaningful phase of
their lives for help.” “

They Will Still Fund Him Though

” Hollywood bailing on President Obama and the Democratic National Convention “

” And it seems the majority of Clooney’s high-powered Hollywood counterparts are also passing on the 2012 convention – a far cry from 2008’s showdown in
Denver, Colorado which attracted
dozens of A-listers including Oprah
Winfrey, Sarah Silverman, Fallout Boy, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, Ashanti, Fran Drescher, Ashley Judd, Rage Against the Machine, Aisha Tyler, Anne Hathaway, Susan Sarandon, Jon Hamm, Cash Warren, Jessica Alba, Fergie, Will.i.am, Kanye West, Matthew Modine, Kerry Washington, Stevie Wonder,
Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Hudson,
Shawn Johnson, Forest Whitaker, Star Jones, Wilmer Valderama, Daniel Dae Kim, Kelly Hu, Jamie Foxx, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Chevy Chase, Richard Dreyfuss, Melissa Etheridge and Pharrell
Williams.

  Just to name a few.”

Transparency … Hmmm

“Democrats won’t disclose donors to Charlotte convention”

  “Interested in finding out who is underwriting the Democratic convention this year? Good luck :
Democratic Party officials say they will not release the names of donors to next month’s political convention before the event, despite an earlier pledge that they would regularly disclose the contributors.”

…. Shame On Us

Be afraid , be very afraid

  ” “If you think you’ve seen America
radicalized and Alinskyized over the last four years, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” said Farah. “This is the only book this year that isn’t about Obama’s past performance, which we all know from first-hand experience. This is about what he will do if given the chance of a
second term – based on the words and plans of those policymakers closest to him.” “

Forward !

” 3 reasons the Democratic Convention could be a disaster

Back when President Obama won North Carolina in 2008, holding his re-election convention in Charlotte may have seemed like a good idea….”

They’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

  The good times aren’t exactly ready to roll in Charlotte .

  Besides being 75% short on the budget ,cancelling the opening event at Charlotte Motor Speedway , slimming down the celebration from 4 days to 3 ,now Congressional candidates are being given the green light to bail on the proceedings altogether by the man in charge of getting back a Democratic majority .

   Interesting times , my friends , interesting times .

Permission to bail , Sir ? 

” Either that, or the chair of the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — whose mission is to restore a Democratic
majority in November with Nancy Pelosi still in charge of the caucus — has begun to feel the same panic that some of his colleagues have
experienced at the thought of.being associated with Barack Obama’s renomination as the
party’s standard-bearer. This morning , Israeltold a Reuters conference that every Democrat
running for Congress should skip the convention this year: “

Hard Times , Hard Times

   As of this moment the DNC has managed to raise only slightly over 25% of the estimated cost for the convention in Charlotte .

   The self-imposed ban on direct  corporate contributions , while a noble gesture , would seem to have had the unintended consequence of revealing just how popular the Dems are with the common man ( small contributor)  these days .
   

” The move comes as party planners are grappling with a fundraising deficit of roughly $27 million, according to two people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss internal party politics. With a party
ban on direct contributions from
corporations, the host committee has raised less than $10 million, well short of its $36.6 million goal , said one of the people. “