Romney Campaign Officially Announces Paul Ryan as Vice Presidential Running Mate | TheBlaze.com

Romney Campaign Officially Announces Paul Ryan as Vice Presidential Running Mate | TheBlaze.com

Romney Campaign Makes it Official: It’s Paul Ryan

• Posted on August 11, 2012 at 7:22am by Madeleine Morgenstern
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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) campaigned together earlier this year in Wisconsin. The Romney campaign announced Saturday morning Ryan would be his vice presidential running mate. (AP)

Mitt Romney has tapped Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan to be his vice presidential running mate, ending weeks of speculation about who would join the former Massachusetts governor on the Republican ticket.
The Romney campaign announced the Ryan pick to supporters beginning at about 7 a.m. Saturday via an iPhone app.
Romney and Ryan will appear together later in the morning at a naval museum in Norfolk, Va.

The "Mitt's VP" app officially announced the news Saturday morning.

Multiple news outlets began reporting that Ryan was Romney’s choice shortly after midnight Saturday, but the app announcement was the campaign’s first official word.
The website romneyryan.com went live early Saturday morning, as did the new Twitter handle @PaulRyanVP.
At 7:43 a.m., a tweet on Romney’s official Twitter account stated: “I am proud to announce @PaulRyanVP as my VP. Stand with us today. http://mi.tt/Romney-Ryan  #RomneyRyan2012.”

Brigham Young University's Neal A. Maxwell Institute Fires Ardent Heartland Critics, "Heartland" Book of Mormon Geography Model of North America.

Exciting News About the "Heartland" Book of Mormon Geography Model of North America! FIRM News                Aug. 9, 2012   Dear Stephen, Many fellow supporters of this research have been asking over the last few weeks what we know about the recent firings of the editorial staff of the FARMS Review by BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship (MI).  We have been looking into the matter and have waited for some of the dust to settle for a clearer view before posting online what we have learned.      Brigham Young University's Neal A. Maxwell Institute   Fires Ardent Heartland Critics What is known is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owned Brigham Young University oversees an organization called the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.  The BYU appointed management of this organization made a profound change in direction when, on Thursday, June 14th, 2012, Executive Director M. Gerald Bradford fired Daniel C. Peterson, a founder of FARMS (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies) and long time advocate of Mesoamerican theories, along with his entire editorial staff. Much speculation abounds as to why these firings occurred.  The answer to this question has not been forthcoming.    Director Bradford cited a desire to "take the Review (Mormon Studies Review, formerly FARMS Review) in a different direction."  The "shake-up," as it was called in a Salt Lake Tribune newspaper article, involves the dismissal of several of the most ardent critics of the Heartland Model Geography, and marks the end of the organization formerly known as FARMS and their flagship publication, FARMS Review.  The FIRM Foundation Executive Board has published our official statement on the matter online which includes several very informative links for further information which can be accessed on our website by clicking HERE.       The FIRM Foundation  Mission Statement and Goals  Many have wondered what is the overarching purpose of the Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism? The Executive Board would like to announce our aspirations. They are now published online at our FIRMLDS.org website.        FIRM Foundation  - Mission Statement The FIRM Foundation (Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism) is an organization dedicated to showing forth evidences for the Book of Mormon in order to provide LDS Church members with well researched information enabling them to powerfully and respectfully defend its historicity and thus its truthfulness - with the ultimate goal of bringing people unto Christ. FIRM Foundation - Goals to bring people to Christ through evidences of the Book of Mormon that cause them to realize that it is a literal historical and prophetic account of real people and events thereby encouraging them to read, study and ponder the book - which ultimately builds and strengthens testimonies of its truthfulness through the Holy Spirit,  to utilize the prophecies and promises in the Book of Mormon to increase awareness and understanding of the ancient prophetic history that took place in a long established covenanted and promised land - which today is found within the borders of the nation-state called The United States of America, to conduct research in a multiplicity of scientific and scholarly fields of endeavor which may provide secular support for the historicity of the Book of Mormon - including, but not limited to such disciplines as genetics, archaeology, climatology, anthropology, history, religion, geography, linguistics, mythology, meteorology, astronomy, metallurgy, architecture, ancient texts, Jewish customs, zoology, agronomy, oceanography, geophysics, etc., to correlate, publish and offer through our bookstore works of LDS scholars and researchers involving the Heartland Book of Mormon Geography Model and related research in support of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and the gospel of Jesus Christ,  to produce, provide and encourage well-researched articles, papers, books, films, newsletters and presentations in support of the Book of Mormon through the Heartland Model, to create one or more online repositories of knowledge, research and educational materials pertaining to evidence of the Book of Mormon's historicity through the Heartland Model,  to organize, conduct and sponsor events such as presentations, symposiums, firesides, webinars, and conferences providing educational opportunities for all interested, to objectively evaluate and review the assertions, articles, books, films, speeches and conferences of individuals or organizations promoting the plethora of Book of Mormon historical settings, and when said research is critical of the Heartland Model, to correct erroneous, unfounded, misrepresented, ill-conceived or poorly researched information as it pertains the Heartland Model through dispassionate instruction and education in a respectful and Christ-like manner that seeks to avoid confrontation and contention, to provide further on-location educational opportunities through travel and tours to visit proposed Book of Mormon sites and museums in conjunction with Church History and United States history, to provide forums ( blog, facebook, etc.) where responsible scholars, researchers and interested individuals can discuss and present ideas and discoveries consistent with the Heartland Model setting for the Book of Mormon, and to organize and engage the many thousands of volunteers who have offered to help with this research and organization.   FIRM Conclusions           We have felt it newsworthy to share with our readership these important events.  We also hope that this information helps you in coming to a better understanding of the directions of organizations involved in Book of Mormon geography research. It is our intent only to inform, not judge. Thank you all for your ongoing support and help in providing powerful, faith building and testimony strengthening evidences in support of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon as are being discovered in America's Heartland! Executive Board Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism  The FIRM Foundation In This Issue FIRM Mission Statement - Goals Quick Links BookofMormonEvidence    FIRMLDS.org  Legacy Tour and Travel    Register for an Event!    Visit our Bookstore! NEW ITEM!     An Everlasting           Decree:           Ensuring A Title To Liberty For the Promised Land  by Bruce H. Porter!     An Everlasting Decree Click for more information Some say that it doesn't matter where the Book of Mormon took place.  However, if the Promised Land cannot be identified, then the associated restrictions, blessings, and responsibilities can also not be realized, nor can the prophecies and promises in the text become a moving force, as hoped for by the prophets who speak out of the dust.  The location of the Promised Land is significant and necessary for the spiritual security and temporal salvation of those who would dwell upon the land.      This is the followup book to Prophesies & Promises with answers to our Mesoamerica based critics.      - 332 pages, softcover Order Yours Today! Only $19.95 for a limited time!  NEW ITEM! Touring Book of Mormon Lands In North America    Thinking of Taking a Heartland Model Tour?  Take a Video Tour First! The Publisher of Ancient American magazine and renown Book of Mormon scholar Wayne N. May has been exploring the Heartland of North America for evidences of the Book of Mormon for decades.      Now you can have Wayne take you on a "private tour" of the sacred sites of the Book of Mormon  through incredibly stunning, beautiful photography and video work, that is the next best thing to being there!  This 70 minute  video will take you to many of the sites typically visited on our tours as well as several others inaccessible to the tours.  You'll even be the first to enjoy remote "helicopter" fly-overs of several of the mound structures! Take a trip and never leave the comfort of your own home!  Get your copy today so you can take others on the tour as well!       Enjoy Unlimited Touring of Book of Mormon Lands   in America's Heartland for ONLY $19.95   Order Today and Take YOUR Tour Next Week!

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Clinton Emerson on SOFREP Gives Tips for Women Traveling and Visiting Foreign Countries Safely in General | TheBlaze.com

Clinton Emerson on SOFREP Gives Tips for Women Traveling and Visiting Foreign Countries Safely in General | TheBlaze.com

Good advice for those who travel a lot.

Top Tips for International Trips and Female Travelers…from a Former Special Ops Guy

• Posted on August 1, 2012 at 8:12am by Liz Klimas
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Customers wait to check luggage at O’Hare International Airport. Emerson offers tips for labeling your baggage as well. Read his full post to find out more. (Photo: AP//Nam Y. Huh)

Who better to get personal safety advice from than a well-decorated special operations member who now runs a company that helps the government and other agencies whose employees are required to travel internationally? Clinton Emerson, CEO of Escape the Wolf, gives the readers of the SOFREP (the Special Operations Forces Report) tips for both international travel in general, as well as more specific advice for females.
Emerson himself served for nearly 20 years in combat and other Department of Defense operations. His tips on SOFREP are broken into two posts.
First, he writes that as more women have become involved in elite operations over the years, “lessons [have been] learned [...] that have allowed them to get in and out of hostile environments undetected.” Culling through these lessons, Emerson provides those that are important for personal safety and offers them as what you “should and shouldn’t do to blend in, decrease exposure, and ultimately elude any potential threats.”
Here are just a few compiled from his categories of personal security and preventing sexual assault:

• Observe local customs as much as possible and try to learn unintended implications of your personal behavior, mannerisms and dress.  For example, smiling, making eye contact or touching males can be misunderstood in some cultures.
• Carry your handbag on the side away from the street to avoid grab-and-run attacks.
• Stay at reputable hotels and avoid rooms by elevators, hallways or terraces.
• Choose a room above the ground floor but not higher than the seventh floor for fire safety purposes.
• You are at your most vulnerable arriving and departing from your hotel.  Don’t linger in the public space around the hotel, the parking lot or indoor garage.
• Use a door alarm, carry a whistle and keep a self-defense weapon near your bed (a fishing weight wrapped in a handkerchief makes a great weapon).
• Wear clothing that is hard to remove. Avoid tight-fitting clothing and make-up.
• Consider wearing a wedding or similar ring, even if you aren’t married.
• Remember, assaults can also be at the hands of acquaintances, so choose fixers, interpreters and drivers carefully.
• Avoid wearing anything that could be grabbed – jewelry, ponytail, etc.

Check out Emerson’s full post on personal safety while traveling specifically directed toward women here.

With regard to international travel in general — although Emerson writes even L.A. can be dangerous — as hostile protests become more prevalent, he first suggests waiting to travel until “economic crutches are removed and solutions implemented.” If travel can’t be avoided, here are some of Emerson’s tips, including those for situations of civil unrest or meeting a checkpoint:

• Invest in good local interpreters recommended by the embassy, local being the most important word.
• Established, personal relationships go a long way. Where possible, have someone on the ground maintain ongoing working relationships in underdeveloped parts of the world.
• Have an exit strategy at all times. Plan this in advance, before heading into any situation, especially one where there is civil unrest.

• Run… BEFORE all else fails. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, identify potential risks and set invisible thresholds. Take action if threats cross the thresholds you have set in advance.
• If possible, avoid the checkpoint. It might be an ambush. If legitimate, third-world countries have weak economies and poor training – a potentially deadly combination when you’re stopped and at the mercy of someone (sometimes a kid) with an AK-47.
• A line of traffic and soldiers/police vehicles often signals a checkpoint ahead.
• When approaching a checkpoint, overwhelm the security personnel with kindness, yet always be cautious!
• Show the palm of your hand, have your ID ready, but don’t immediately give up who you are or your occupation.
• Start with broad explanations when asked where you are from – Example: America.
• Don’t roll windows all the way down. Keep all doors locked. If asked to roll windows down more, roll them down, but never all the way.  Or, say the window is broken, or that you are not able to roll them down.

Read all of Emerson’s tips in his full post about foreign travel here.