Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Laptops are crippling millions with back problems | the Daily Mail
Laptops are crippling millions with back problems the Daily Mail: "Booming sales of laptops have led to a surge in the number of computer users with back and muscle problems, experts have warned. "
Monday, May 28, 2007
Boing Boing: BBC shredded on bad science in WiFi scare report
Boing Boing: BBC shredded on bad science in WiFi scare report: "the report relied on measurements taken by a lobbyist who also sells tinfoil hats and measurement devices to those afraid of wireless signals. The report also seemed to systematically avoid using the scientific method, "
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Lorie Byrd: Al Qaeda mastered media manipulation in Iraq - Examiner.com
Lorie Byrd: Al Qaeda mastered media manipulation in Iraq - Examiner.com: "Roggio recently told the Christian Science Monitor that most mainstream media reporters “display a lack of knowledge of counterinsurgency and the role the media plays in an insurgency’s information campaign.” He says al Qaeda and insurgent groups frequently choose their targets to get specific media coverage they desire."
BLACKFIVE: Mememorial Day - "Remember..."
BLACKFIVE: Mememorial Day - "Remember...": "Remember Windy 25 - this video was sent to me from 12th AVN BDE and is about all of the Fallen Soldiers of the 12th which includes Windy 25. It was made by Chris Koth and I put it on YouTube for you to see:"
Another moving tribute via Blackfive.
Remember......
Another moving tribute via Blackfive.
Remember......
Origin of "Taps"
Arlington National Cemetery:: Ceremonies: "Origin of 'Taps'
During the Civil War, in July 1862 when the Army of the Potomac was in camp, Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield summoned Pvt. Oliver Wilcox Norton, his brigade bugler, to his tent. Butterfield, who disliked the colorless 'extinguish lights' call then in use, whistled a new tune and asked the bugler to sound it for him. After repeated trials and changing the time of some notes which were scribbled on the back of an envelope, the call was finally arranged to suit Gen. Butterfield and used for the first time that night. Pvt. Norton, who on several occasions, had sounded numerous new calls composed by his commander, recalled his experience of the origin of 'Taps' years later: "
During the Civil War, in July 1862 when the Army of the Potomac was in camp, Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield summoned Pvt. Oliver Wilcox Norton, his brigade bugler, to his tent. Butterfield, who disliked the colorless 'extinguish lights' call then in use, whistled a new tune and asked the bugler to sound it for him. After repeated trials and changing the time of some notes which were scribbled on the back of an envelope, the call was finally arranged to suit Gen. Butterfield and used for the first time that night. Pvt. Norton, who on several occasions, had sounded numerous new calls composed by his commander, recalled his experience of the origin of 'Taps' years later: "
cats candles wine and chocolate: Memorial Day - Read
cats candles wine and chocolate: Memorial Day - Read: "I then started to cry myself with the realization of what that really meant . All those old sailors, my dad included, standing on the deck of an old submarine holding the flag with such pride and sadness."
Beccy Cole - "Poster Girl" on the Wrong Side of the World
Another song to help us remember those who have given their all. From an Aussie lass who really gets it.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Lost Boat Ceremony - USS Silversides
Lost Boat Ceremony -
Sunday May 27, 2007
11:00 AM
At the USS Silversides dock, on the Muskegon channel.
Sunday May 27, 2007
11:00 AM
At the USS Silversides dock, on the Muskegon channel.
A very moving and worthwhile remembrance. Worth your time.
Bagpipes Cryin'
BLACKFIVE: Bagpipes Cryin' - Navy SEAL Poem to Country Music Video: "'I had three of the four guys on the ground that died that day. I was so heartbroken after I passed out all the flags at the memorial service. I was just thinking about the bagpiper, who is also a retired SEAL captain, standing there literally crying the song out of the bagpipes. We were all so sad. When I came home my wife said I should write down some words. Tim called me and asked how I was doing. I told him I wrote this poem and he said well let me have it. We went back and forth on the phone and decided to make it a tribute to everyone from World War II to the present.'
Navy SEAL Commander Mark Waddell
Navy SEAL Commander Mark Waddell
click the link for a wonderful video....
BLACKFIVE: Bagpipes Cryin' - Navy SEAL poem to Tribute Song: "'I had three of the four guys on the ground that died that day. I was so heartbroken after I passed out all the flags at the memorial service. I was just thinking about the bagpiper, who is also a retired SEAL captain, standing there literally crying the song out of the bagpipes. We were all so sad. When I came home my wife said I should write down some words. Tim called me and asked how I was doing. I told him I wrote this poem and he said well let me have it. We went back and forth on the phone and decided to make it a tribute to everyone from World War II to the present.' Navy SEAL Commander Mark Waddell"
Memorial Day memories
Daily Pundit » Weekend Cooking Thread - Memorial Day Weekend Edition: "I remember one rainy morning as a kid. I had just joined the Boy Scouts, and I was walking through a cemetary with a large, cloth sack of American flags. I had a section to cover, a list in my hand, and I spent all morning placing those small flags in front of the tombstones of dead warriors. After placing the flag, I would stand at attention in my dripping poncho, snap a three fingered Scout salute, and moved on. I remember placing a flag on the tomb of a Colonel of militia who fallen in the Revolution, and another on the fresh grave of an Army Corporal who had fallen in Vietnam. It being a Southern cemetery, small Confederate flags already marked many graves. American flags were placed with them.
When we were finished later that morning, Dad picked me up at the cemetary gate, gave me a smile and took me to the local High’s for an ice cream cone. I might have been wet, but I wasn’t one to turn down ice cream. It cleared up that afternoon and that evening, Dad fired up the grill. Hamburgers and hot dogs. Potato salad and cole slaw. As much Coke as I could drink and more ice cream, besides. Relatives and friends dropped by. It was a long, wonderful day."
When we were finished later that morning, Dad picked me up at the cemetary gate, gave me a smile and took me to the local High’s for an ice cream cone. I might have been wet, but I wasn’t one to turn down ice cream. It cleared up that afternoon and that evening, Dad fired up the grill. Hamburgers and hot dogs. Potato salad and cole slaw. As much Coke as I could drink and more ice cream, besides. Relatives and friends dropped by. It was a long, wonderful day."
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Being Honest About Ignorance — AMERICAN.COM: A Magazine of Ideas, Online
Being Honest About Ignorance — AMERICAN.COM: A Magazine of Ideas, Online: "Ignorance is a word we don't like to use today. It feels too much like a value judgment. But perhaps we should consider reclaiming it. We need to name this tendency, which seems to be ever more common in recent years, of ignoring facts we do not like. Call it willful ignorance. In this case, the value judgment is intended. By reclaiming the word ignorance, we reclaim also the 19th century sense that there is something inherently dangerous in not knowing."
Monday, May 21, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Disparate But Not Serious - WSJ.com
Disparate But Not Serious - WSJ.com: "But why are employers able to get away with requiring a degree without running afoul of Griggs? Because colleges and universities -- again, especially elite ones -- go out of their way to discriminate in favor of minorities. By admitting blacks and Hispanics with much lower SAT scores than their white and Asian classmates, purportedly in order to promote 'diversity,' these institutions launder the exam of its disparity."
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Volokh Conspiracy - -#1179259134#1179259134#1179259134#1179259134
The Volokh Conspiracy - -#1179259134#1179259134#1179259134#1179259134: "a 2002 decision in which the California Fair Employment & Housing Commission penalized Melissa DeSantis $500 for inflicting 'emotional distress' on a would-be roommate by allegedly telling him that 'I don't really like black guys. I try to be fair and all, but they scare me.' The decision also required her to pay the would-be roommate $240 in expenses — and take 'four hours of training on housing discrimination.' (See Department of Fair Employment & Housing v. DeSantis, 2002 WL 1313078, Case Nos. H 9900 Q-0328-00-h, C 00-01-180, 02-12 (Cal. FEHC May 7, 2002).) "
Will "reinvention" of IRS include Scientology tax deal probe?
Will "reinvention" of IRS include Scientology tax deal probe?: "But if this commitment to change the IRS is genuine, the agency should consider remedying what may be one of its largest blunders ever: its secret 1993 tax settlement with Scientology in which the IRS granted Scientology tax-exempt status and cut its estimated billion-dollar tax debt to about 1% of that amount. Not only was this deal a reversal of the IRS' 25-year policy regarding the cult's improper, illegal tax procedures, but it also cost taxpayers almost a billion dollars in unpaid taxes and gave Scientology private/religious education tax exemptions not given to any religion.
This 1993 tax deal was secret until recently exposed by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, and has since captured the interest of tens of millions of US taxpayers, major worldwide corporations with US tax liabilities, and diverse special interest groups with concerns ranging from taxation to religion to separation of church and state.
After repeatedly and justifiably denying Scientology's tax-exempt status, the IRS suddenly reversed its position in 1993 with the secret settlement which granted Scientology religious status and canceled most of the organization's huge tax debt. The mysterious and shocking reversal for the U.S. tax agency came after 25 years of steadfastly refused to provide Scientology with the tax exemption given to normal bona fide churches. Many believe that the scope of what was given away by the IRS to the multi-billion dollar Scientology organization, in financial benefit and other special considerations, is far beyond anything that has been given to any other religious group, corporation, or normal taxpayer."
This 1993 tax deal was secret until recently exposed by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, and has since captured the interest of tens of millions of US taxpayers, major worldwide corporations with US tax liabilities, and diverse special interest groups with concerns ranging from taxation to religion to separation of church and state.
After repeatedly and justifiably denying Scientology's tax-exempt status, the IRS suddenly reversed its position in 1993 with the secret settlement which granted Scientology religious status and canceled most of the organization's huge tax debt. The mysterious and shocking reversal for the U.S. tax agency came after 25 years of steadfastly refused to provide Scientology with the tax exemption given to normal bona fide churches. Many believe that the scope of what was given away by the IRS to the multi-billion dollar Scientology organization, in financial benefit and other special considerations, is far beyond anything that has been given to any other religious group, corporation, or normal taxpayer."
obama
In Your Heart, You Know He's TriteThe Chicago Tribune has an amusing report on Barack Obama, who appeared over the weekend on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos":
Obama's criticism of [President] Bush for his combative rhetoric came in answer to a question about whether the senator had the capacity to act ruthlessly when necessary if elected president.
"It's not just talking tough, because the truth is nobody's talked tougher than George Bush over the last six years. Being tough means, first of all, not having to talk about it all the time," Obama said. . . .
Without going into any specifics, Obama cited his testing in Chicago politics as a sign that he had an inner toughness. "Somebody who has arrived where I am out of Chicago politics has to have a little bit of steel in them," he said. "I have the capacity, I think, to make strong decisions even if they're unpopular, even if they're uncomfortable, even if sometimes I lose some friends."
So Obama says the first test of toughness is "not having to talk about it"--and he then proceeds to talk about how tough he is. By his own standard, he is a a jellyfish.
National Journal's Hotline transcribes another bit of the interview:
Stephanopoulos: You've also said that with Social Security, everything should be on the table.
Obama: Yes.
Stephanopoulos: Raising the retirement age?
Obama: Everything should be on the table.
Stephanopoulos: Raising payroll taxes?
Obama: Everything should be on the table. I think we should approach it the same way Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan did back in 1983. They came together. I don't want to lay out my preferences beforehand, but what I know is that Social Security is solvable. It is not as difficult a problem as we're going to have with Medicaid and Medicare.
Stephanopoulos: Partial privatization?
Obama: Privatization is not something that I would consider . . .
So when Obama says that "everything should be on the table," what he means is, "Not everything should be on the table." Of course the real problem isn't privatization, it's cynicism.
Obama's criticism of [President] Bush for his combative rhetoric came in answer to a question about whether the senator had the capacity to act ruthlessly when necessary if elected president.
"It's not just talking tough, because the truth is nobody's talked tougher than George Bush over the last six years. Being tough means, first of all, not having to talk about it all the time," Obama said. . . .
Without going into any specifics, Obama cited his testing in Chicago politics as a sign that he had an inner toughness. "Somebody who has arrived where I am out of Chicago politics has to have a little bit of steel in them," he said. "I have the capacity, I think, to make strong decisions even if they're unpopular, even if they're uncomfortable, even if sometimes I lose some friends."
So Obama says the first test of toughness is "not having to talk about it"--and he then proceeds to talk about how tough he is. By his own standard, he is a a jellyfish.
National Journal's Hotline transcribes another bit of the interview:
Stephanopoulos: You've also said that with Social Security, everything should be on the table.
Obama: Yes.
Stephanopoulos: Raising the retirement age?
Obama: Everything should be on the table.
Stephanopoulos: Raising payroll taxes?
Obama: Everything should be on the table. I think we should approach it the same way Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan did back in 1983. They came together. I don't want to lay out my preferences beforehand, but what I know is that Social Security is solvable. It is not as difficult a problem as we're going to have with Medicaid and Medicare.
Stephanopoulos: Partial privatization?
Obama: Privatization is not something that I would consider . . .
So when Obama says that "everything should be on the table," what he means is, "Not everything should be on the table." Of course the real problem isn't privatization, it's cynicism.
Clayton Cramer's BLOG
Clayton Cramer's BLOG
Down the Memory HoleRemember in 1984, where Winston's job was to revise newspapers of the past to keep up with the ever changing present? This is very interesting. A couple years ago, during the Katrina disaster, I linked to a CNN report and quoted it:
Overnight, police snipers were stationed on the roof of their precinct, trying to protect it from gunmen roaming through the city, CNN's Chris Lawrence reported.One New Orleans police sergeant compared the situation to Somalia and said officers were outnumbered and outgunned by gangs in trucks."It's a war zone, and they're not treating it like one," he said, referring to the federal government. ...One of my readers ran into that posting of mine--and noticed that the CNN report at that link no longer said anything like that. It was much, much more upbeat. Nothing about the police snipers on the roof. Did I copy the wrong link? Did I have a brief attack of delusion, and make something up?Nope. Lots of other people linked to that same CNN page, and quoted the same text. Like http://paulsplanet.blogspot.com/2005/09/fall-of-new-orleans_02.html and http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/002476.html .There were bloggers who quoted CNN exactly as I did, although with no link to the story: http://knemeyer.com/dk.cfm?a=cms,c,318,1 and http://www.flaregun.org/?feed=rss2&p=51 and http://gutternickle.net/blog/index.php/2005/09/02/something_i_don_t_want_to_forget_about_kDid something go down the memory hole? If that story was inaccurate, they should have identified it as inaccurate, and updated it. This dramatic transformation of a story that played a big part in creating bad press for President Bush really smacks of something very Orwellian."We have always been at war with Eastasia."
Down the Memory HoleRemember in 1984, where Winston's job was to revise newspapers of the past to keep up with the ever changing present? This is very interesting. A couple years ago, during the Katrina disaster, I linked to a CNN report and quoted it:
Overnight, police snipers were stationed on the roof of their precinct, trying to protect it from gunmen roaming through the city, CNN's Chris Lawrence reported.One New Orleans police sergeant compared the situation to Somalia and said officers were outnumbered and outgunned by gangs in trucks."It's a war zone, and they're not treating it like one," he said, referring to the federal government. ...One of my readers ran into that posting of mine--and noticed that the CNN report at that link no longer said anything like that. It was much, much more upbeat. Nothing about the police snipers on the roof. Did I copy the wrong link? Did I have a brief attack of delusion, and make something up?Nope. Lots of other people linked to that same CNN page, and quoted the same text. Like http://paulsplanet.blogspot.com/2005/09/fall-of-new-orleans_02.html and http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/002476.html .There were bloggers who quoted CNN exactly as I did, although with no link to the story: http://knemeyer.com/dk.cfm?a=cms,c,318,1 and http://www.flaregun.org/?feed=rss2&p=51 and http://gutternickle.net/blog/index.php/2005/09/02/something_i_don_t_want_to_forget_about_kDid something go down the memory hole? If that story was inaccurate, they should have identified it as inaccurate, and updated it. This dramatic transformation of a story that played a big part in creating bad press for President Bush really smacks of something very Orwellian."We have always been at war with Eastasia."
gethuman 500 database
Another nifty site from Kim Komando
gethuman 500 database
Hello, operator?
Few things annoy me as much as automated telephone systems.
I know they save companies money. But I think it is bad customer service to make callers jump through hoops to speak to someone.
That’s why I’m such a big fan of Gethuman. This site lists telephone numbers for a wide variety of companies. The companies are divided into categories for ease of use.
You’ll find the customer service number for the company. Then, you’ll find out how to get through to an operator. No more voice prompts!
gethuman 500 database
Hello, operator?
Few things annoy me as much as automated telephone systems.
I know they save companies money. But I think it is bad customer service to make callers jump through hoops to speak to someone.
That’s why I’m such a big fan of Gethuman. This site lists telephone numbers for a wide variety of companies. The companies are divided into categories for ease of use.
You’ll find the customer service number for the company. Then, you’ll find out how to get through to an operator. No more voice prompts!
Environmental 'Intelligence'? - WSJ.com
Environmental 'Intelligence'? - WSJ.com
May 10, 2007
COMMENTARY
Environmental 'Intelligence'?
By PETER HOEKSTRAMay 10, 2007;
Here we go again. The 2008 intelligence authorization bill, which the House may vote on this week, diverts CIA and other intelligence resources away from critical terrorism-related missions to study global climate change. If it becomes law, the legislation will force agencies to complete a National Intelligence Estimate with a 30-year assessment on the effects of environmental change within nine months.
We've been down this road before. In the mid-1990s, Bill Clinton's first Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, declared that environmental concerns and national security would share equal status in U.S. foreign policy. Immediately following that announcement, CIA Director John Deutch said in July 1996 that the U.S. was diverting spy satellites to photograph "ecologically sensitive" sites.
This was in the heady days that followed the Cold War, when our beleaguered intelligence community -- considered passé, downsized and suffering under the strain of budget cuts -- was searching for a politically popular mission.
Instead of focusing on looming national security threats -- the first World Trade Center bombing came in 1993 and in August of 1996 Osama bin Laden issued his fatwa, "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places" -- Mr. Deutch was currying favor with then-Vice President Al Gore.
George Tenet, Mr. Deutch's successor at the CIA, notes in his new book "At the Center of the Storm," Mr. Gore's interest in "wonkish" issues that he refers to as "bugs and bunnies." What Mr. Tenet fails to mention is that he kept open the ultimate expression of the politically correct "Deutch doctrine," the Director of Central Intelligence Environmental Center.
The Center had ordered intelligence analysts and collectors to write about volcano eruptions, fish schools and air pollution. And it also produced an annual Earth Day edition of the highly classified President's Daily Brief.
At the direction of the Center, spy satellites were tasked to conduct what some in the press dubbed "environmental peeking." The diversion meant fewer overhead images of vital national security concerns, such as Iran, North Korea and al Qaeda. It's impossible to know, but I wonder what intelligence clues in the run up to 9/11 were missed because our spy satellites were focused on the polar ice caps and schools of fish instead of Afghanistan and bin Laden.
Now House Democrats want to return to the days when the CIA wasted valuable resources on "bugs and bunnies." My objection is not about the validity of global climate change. I am concerned about whether it is an intelligence issue. Does it require analysts to make assessments using classified information that can only be acquired from sensitive human sources and billion-dollar spy satellites? Does it take holding a high-level security clearance and reviewing information in high-security, classified offices to write assessments about the environment?
The answer to these questions is no, at least according to one Democratic House Intelligence Committee staff member. The aide, who did not want to be named, told the Associated Press that, "a vast majority of the information used by intelligence analysts could come from unclassified, openly available sources and data in the government's possession." Why then divert intelligence assets to collect it?
The Democrats' 2008 intelligence authorization bill is a throwback to the mistakes of the 1990s when scarce resources were diverted to issues that clearly were not related to the businesses of intelligence. There was a mistaken belief then that serious threats to U.S. national security diminished or disappeared with the end of the Cold War. Intelligence spending was slashed in what was called then a post-Cold War "peace dividend."
I fear the intelligence authorization being voted on by Congress demonstrates some of the same short-sightedness of the 1990s. While Democrats call for U.S. intelligence agencies to study global climate change, they continue to grossly underestimate the terrorist threat. They willfully ignore or play down world-wide activity by radical jihadists, including this week's arrest in New Jersey of six men -- who may have been influenced by al Qaeda terrorist training tapes -- for allegedly planning to kill hundreds of soldiers at Fort Dix and other military installations in the Northeast. This past weekend, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, in a videotape message, mocked Democratic legislation to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq as a sign of American weakness and mentioned using Afghanistan and Iraq as bases to launch attacks.
The world remains a dangerous place. We need to spend our limited intelligence dollars wisely. We need our intelligence analysts focused on threats that require clandestine effort and classified information, such as rogue state weapons of mass destruction programs, al Qaeda and threats to American lives.
Let other federal agencies, as more than a dozen already do, cover the "bugs and bunnies." But let our spies be spies.
Mr. Hoekstra is a Republican congressman from Michigan and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
May 10, 2007
COMMENTARY
Environmental 'Intelligence'?
By PETER HOEKSTRAMay 10, 2007;
Here we go again. The 2008 intelligence authorization bill, which the House may vote on this week, diverts CIA and other intelligence resources away from critical terrorism-related missions to study global climate change. If it becomes law, the legislation will force agencies to complete a National Intelligence Estimate with a 30-year assessment on the effects of environmental change within nine months.
We've been down this road before. In the mid-1990s, Bill Clinton's first Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, declared that environmental concerns and national security would share equal status in U.S. foreign policy. Immediately following that announcement, CIA Director John Deutch said in July 1996 that the U.S. was diverting spy satellites to photograph "ecologically sensitive" sites.
This was in the heady days that followed the Cold War, when our beleaguered intelligence community -- considered passé, downsized and suffering under the strain of budget cuts -- was searching for a politically popular mission.
Instead of focusing on looming national security threats -- the first World Trade Center bombing came in 1993 and in August of 1996 Osama bin Laden issued his fatwa, "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places" -- Mr. Deutch was currying favor with then-Vice President Al Gore.
George Tenet, Mr. Deutch's successor at the CIA, notes in his new book "At the Center of the Storm," Mr. Gore's interest in "wonkish" issues that he refers to as "bugs and bunnies." What Mr. Tenet fails to mention is that he kept open the ultimate expression of the politically correct "Deutch doctrine," the Director of Central Intelligence Environmental Center.
The Center had ordered intelligence analysts and collectors to write about volcano eruptions, fish schools and air pollution. And it also produced an annual Earth Day edition of the highly classified President's Daily Brief.
At the direction of the Center, spy satellites were tasked to conduct what some in the press dubbed "environmental peeking." The diversion meant fewer overhead images of vital national security concerns, such as Iran, North Korea and al Qaeda. It's impossible to know, but I wonder what intelligence clues in the run up to 9/11 were missed because our spy satellites were focused on the polar ice caps and schools of fish instead of Afghanistan and bin Laden.
Now House Democrats want to return to the days when the CIA wasted valuable resources on "bugs and bunnies." My objection is not about the validity of global climate change. I am concerned about whether it is an intelligence issue. Does it require analysts to make assessments using classified information that can only be acquired from sensitive human sources and billion-dollar spy satellites? Does it take holding a high-level security clearance and reviewing information in high-security, classified offices to write assessments about the environment?
The answer to these questions is no, at least according to one Democratic House Intelligence Committee staff member. The aide, who did not want to be named, told the Associated Press that, "a vast majority of the information used by intelligence analysts could come from unclassified, openly available sources and data in the government's possession." Why then divert intelligence assets to collect it?
The Democrats' 2008 intelligence authorization bill is a throwback to the mistakes of the 1990s when scarce resources were diverted to issues that clearly were not related to the businesses of intelligence. There was a mistaken belief then that serious threats to U.S. national security diminished or disappeared with the end of the Cold War. Intelligence spending was slashed in what was called then a post-Cold War "peace dividend."
I fear the intelligence authorization being voted on by Congress demonstrates some of the same short-sightedness of the 1990s. While Democrats call for U.S. intelligence agencies to study global climate change, they continue to grossly underestimate the terrorist threat. They willfully ignore or play down world-wide activity by radical jihadists, including this week's arrest in New Jersey of six men -- who may have been influenced by al Qaeda terrorist training tapes -- for allegedly planning to kill hundreds of soldiers at Fort Dix and other military installations in the Northeast. This past weekend, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, in a videotape message, mocked Democratic legislation to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq as a sign of American weakness and mentioned using Afghanistan and Iraq as bases to launch attacks.
The world remains a dangerous place. We need to spend our limited intelligence dollars wisely. We need our intelligence analysts focused on threats that require clandestine effort and classified information, such as rogue state weapons of mass destruction programs, al Qaeda and threats to American lives.
Let other federal agencies, as more than a dozen already do, cover the "bugs and bunnies." But let our spies be spies.
Mr. Hoekstra is a Republican congressman from Michigan and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Democrat madness!
The US owes Carthage reparations for the Punic Wars Redstate: "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and his eight compatriots, all of whom have co-sponsored a bill that would require that America pay reparations to the people of Guam for - get this - the actions of the Japanese in World War II."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and his eight compatriots, all of whom have co-sponsored a bill that would require that America pay reparations to the people of Guam for - get this - the actions of the Japanese in World War II.
According to the bill (HR.1595, the "Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act"), the people of Guam:
suffered unspeakable harm as a result of the occupation of Guam by Imperial Japanese military forces during World War II , by being subjected to death, rape, severe personal injury, personal injury, forced labor, forced march, or internment.
For this reason (?), "the Secretary of the Treasury shall make payments" to WWII survivors and their descendants on Guam for the brutal actions of a third party.
Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? After all, the US is the largest aid donor on the planet; it's only logical that we should rebuild, repatriate, and reparate every country that has been hurt by every war that we can find. Let's not stop with Guam - let's include everybody from Carthage on up to the present. Should we pay reparations to the Koreans for the Mongol invasions of the 14th century, and to the Spanish for the loss of their Armada in 1588? Why not?
And while this bill holds up $126,000,000.00 for the repayment of the people of Guam for what the Japanese did (as well as $5,000,000.00 for "the Secretary of the Interior [to] establish a grants program [to]...award grants for research, educational, and media activities that memorialize the events surrounding the occupation of Guam during World War II, honor the loyalty of the people of Guam during such occupation, or both, for purposes of appropriately illuminating and interpreting the causes and circumstances of such occupation and other similar occupations during a war"), our soldiers can't even get a dime in supplemental appropriations.
Way to go, Democrats. Your "blame America first" (even for things we have nothing to do with), anti-US soldier attitudes, actions, and mindsets have just been taken to a new level.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and his eight compatriots, all of whom have co-sponsored a bill that would require that America pay reparations to the people of Guam for - get this - the actions of the Japanese in World War II.
According to the bill (HR.1595, the "Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act"), the people of Guam:
suffered unspeakable harm as a result of the occupation of Guam by Imperial Japanese military forces during World War II , by being subjected to death, rape, severe personal injury, personal injury, forced labor, forced march, or internment.
For this reason (?), "the Secretary of the Treasury shall make payments" to WWII survivors and their descendants on Guam for the brutal actions of a third party.
Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? After all, the US is the largest aid donor on the planet; it's only logical that we should rebuild, repatriate, and reparate every country that has been hurt by every war that we can find. Let's not stop with Guam - let's include everybody from Carthage on up to the present. Should we pay reparations to the Koreans for the Mongol invasions of the 14th century, and to the Spanish for the loss of their Armada in 1588? Why not?
And while this bill holds up $126,000,000.00 for the repayment of the people of Guam for what the Japanese did (as well as $5,000,000.00 for "the Secretary of the Interior [to] establish a grants program [to]...award grants for research, educational, and media activities that memorialize the events surrounding the occupation of Guam during World War II, honor the loyalty of the people of Guam during such occupation, or both, for purposes of appropriately illuminating and interpreting the causes and circumstances of such occupation and other similar occupations during a war"), our soldiers can't even get a dime in supplemental appropriations.
Way to go, Democrats. Your "blame America first" (even for things we have nothing to do with), anti-US soldier attitudes, actions, and mindsets have just been taken to a new level.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Didn't they try this in the 1980's?
Simply saying your product is "engineered beautifully" won't cut it when consumers have a real choice. It didn't work in the 80s, it won't work until they make a car that isn't junk. And that time hasn't arrived yet.
New Chrysler ad campaign focuses on engineering, quality: "The new spots, with the tag line of 'Engineered Beautifully,' will debut on prime-time television shows starting Tuesday night. The company also plans to carry the theme into print and Internet advertising."
Spartan hoops. Wow!
ESPN.com - NCB - Katz: Best program of the past decade? Try Michigan State: "Every four-year player recruited by Izzo in the past 10 years has played in at least one Final Four. "
"Limited jurisdiction...."?
The libs must love the fact that we don't teach "American" history in schools anymore.......
"In the first place, it is to be remembered, that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws: its jurisdiction is limited to certaine numerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any."-- James Madison (Federalist No. 14, 30 November 1787)
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Ummm...case closed.....
I love "case closed".
Soldier in Augusta comes home early, kills burglar SavannahNow.com: "AUGUSTA - A man who police said broke into a U.S. Army officer's south Augusta house to steal guns was fatally shot Wednesday by the soldier living there......
Neighbors told police that Bollinger, who is stationed at Fort Gordon, generally works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but occasionally he returns home early.
There were no plans to charge Bollinger in the shooting, police said."
Neighbors told police that Bollinger, who is stationed at Fort Gordon, generally works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but occasionally he returns home early.
There were no plans to charge Bollinger in the shooting, police said."
The lib tsunami continues
This is a class-action lawyer's dream. "Soft ground" harms disabled kids. "Hard ground" harms non-gimp kids. Until all playgrounds are closed and turned into homeless "sanctuaries", the democrat class-action lawyer money fountain will gush. Disgusting!
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY / Wood chips ruled unfriendly to disabled kids: "A Contra Costa County school district's use of wood chips in play boxes makes it harder for boys and girls in wheelchairs to get to swings and slides, a violation of the disabled children's rights, a federal judge has ruled.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland could lead to replacement of wood chips with firmer surfaces in public playgrounds at other schools and parks around the country,"
The decision by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland could lead to replacement of wood chips with firmer surfaces in public playgrounds at other schools and parks around the country,"
A bit of history
Seems kind of important if we're going to be informed about a potential President of the USA. Don't you think?
Hillary's assets - Editorials/Op-Ed - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "The odds of a retail trader executing the intraday transactions that generated a 530 percent overnight return, which Mrs. Clinton achieved on her first day, 'are about the same as [the odds] of finding the Dead Sea Scrolls on the steps of the State House in Little Rock,' according to estimates by Wall Street Journal financial columnist Caroline Baum and commodities speculator Victor Niederhoffer in their devastating account (Feb. 20, 1995; National Review) of Mrs. Clinton's trading activity. "
Saturday, May 05, 2007
This poll explains alot.
61% of American, democrat party members think Bush might have known in advance of 9-11!
Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a mid-term election.: "Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure."
Friday, May 04, 2007
Great driving combo
My Way - Sports News: "St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk and talking on his cell phone at the time of his fatal accident, and marijuana was found in the sport utility vehicle he was driving. "
Of course.......
Help! A child has been injured! Someone call a lawyer!
Boy who fell 17-feet at museum can move arms, legs - MLive.com blog : Muskegon Chronicle: "The boy was with his mother when she briefly became distracted by her 6-month-old, and Jacarious somehow fell over the railing, his father said. He said the museum should do more to protect children."
Talk Show Host Says He's Glad Radio Rival's Mother Is Dead - News Story - WISN Milwaukee
No big deal. The hating talker is black. Mrs. Sykes is white. No job will be lost... unless Sykes gets uppity.....
Talk Show Host Says He's Glad Radio Rival's Mother Is Dead - News Story - WISN Milwaukee: "'Mother Sykes, she dead. To me it's the vengeance of God. I ain't got no tears. Matter of fact a woman that would have a fool like that deserve whatever is coming her. She raised a sure enough idiot,' McGee said on his radio show. 'My instincts say Charlie Sykes killed his momma, cuz she live out in this big palace in Mequon all isolated. He got tired of waiting for her money.'"
Talk Show Host Says He's Glad Radio Rival's Mother Is Dead - News Story - WISN Milwaukee: "'Mother Sykes, she dead. To me it's the vengeance of God. I ain't got no tears. Matter of fact a woman that would have a fool like that deserve whatever is coming her. She raised a sure enough idiot,' McGee said on his radio show. 'My instincts say Charlie Sykes killed his momma, cuz she live out in this big palace in Mequon all isolated. He got tired of waiting for her money.'"
What revenue shortfall?
$30 million here, $80 million there. No problem, just increase taxes. Although we may need some good PR if we raise the sales taxes any more.
WZZM13 - Tourism leaders want more money spent touting state: "Leaders in Michigan's tourism industry today called for a giant boost in state spending to attract travelers as a way to revive the state economy and generate new tax revenue. ...
The TIME campaign (Tourism Improving Michigan's Economy) wants the Legislature and Gov. Jennifer Granholm to double spending on “Pure Michigan” advertising to $30 million from $15.6 million."
WZZM13 - Tourism leaders want more money spent touting state: "Leaders in Michigan's tourism industry today called for a giant boost in state spending to attract travelers as a way to revive the state economy and generate new tax revenue. ...
The TIME campaign (Tourism Improving Michigan's Economy) wants the Legislature and Gov. Jennifer Granholm to double spending on “Pure Michigan” advertising to $30 million from $15.6 million."
Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God......
Just when you thought Detroit couldn't get any more crooked and wasteful.
Pour millions (billions?) into the hands of the same Detroit "leaders" who have led this once great city into hell and add in their own "Dnewsbureau" to sanitize news of their perfidy and voila!..........
Detroit Renaissance leaders offer economic turnaround plan:
"the coalition’s wide-ranging program includes backing for new loan programs for entrepreneurs to establishing a creative corridor along Woodward Avenue to lure and support musicians, filmmakers, artists and designers.
Other strategies include building support for an Aerotropolis, or airport city, in the land between Metro Airport and Willow Run airports; and establishing a Mobility Community Leadership Cooperative to market southeast Michigan as the best business climate for any mobility-industry enterprise.
Proposals also included creation of a “Dnewsbureau” to promote positive stories in the media about metro Detroit."
Pour millions (billions?) into the hands of the same Detroit "leaders" who have led this once great city into hell and add in their own "Dnewsbureau" to sanitize news of their perfidy and voila!..........
Detroit Renaissance leaders offer economic turnaround plan:
"the coalition’s wide-ranging program includes backing for new loan programs for entrepreneurs to establishing a creative corridor along Woodward Avenue to lure and support musicians, filmmakers, artists and designers.
Other strategies include building support for an Aerotropolis, or airport city, in the land between Metro Airport and Willow Run airports; and establishing a Mobility Community Leadership Cooperative to market southeast Michigan as the best business climate for any mobility-industry enterprise.
Proposals also included creation of a “Dnewsbureau” to promote positive stories in the media about metro Detroit."
Classic liberal response
Pizza delivery people are murdered. The choice is more cops or ban pizza deliveries. Not much difference between "cut and run" and "run and hide".
"A controversial plan to halt nighttime pizza and food deliveries in Swissvale has come to a halt. The idea was brought up after two delivery drivers for Vocelli Pizza were killed in the the last two years.
The latest murder happened just last month in Wilkinsburg.
Bonacci now wants to meet with Vocelli Pizza and work things out with them.
He wants to work with the business to see how they check out addresses and where exactly they deliver.
The latest murder happened just last month in Wilkinsburg.
Bonacci now wants to meet with Vocelli Pizza and work things out with them.
He wants to work with the business to see how they check out addresses and where exactly they deliver.
Ekranoplans Showcase
Dark Roasted Blend: Ekranoplans Showcase: "They hover and skim above the water surface at speeds of up to 250 miles an hour, they carry heavier loads of cargo and troops than any airplane - the Ekranoplans, or 'Wing-in-Ground' (WIG) vehicles are possibly the most exciting and strange looking technology ever designed by men.
Developed mostly by Soviets during Cold Wars years (by Rostislav Alexeev's design firm) some of them were over 500 feet in length and had an estimated weight of over 500 tons! And yet they skimmed the waves with grace, at high speeds, able to negotiate stormy conditions, unseen by the radar - all thanks to an aerodynamic principle known as the 'ground effect'."
Developed mostly by Soviets during Cold Wars years (by Rostislav Alexeev's design firm) some of them were over 500 feet in length and had an estimated weight of over 500 tons! And yet they skimmed the waves with grace, at high speeds, able to negotiate stormy conditions, unseen by the radar - all thanks to an aerodynamic principle known as the 'ground effect'."
Same old........
STATEWIDE: Tax plans require compromise: "Q: Who wins under either plan?
A: Manufacturers like the big automakers are big winners under the House Democratic plan. Among the estimated 32,000 losers are contractors, commercial property owners, some professional partnerships with high net worth and small payrolls, and other small businesses that pay little or no tax now."
A: Manufacturers like the big automakers are big winners under the House Democratic plan. Among the estimated 32,000 losers are contractors, commercial property owners, some professional partnerships with high net worth and small payrolls, and other small businesses that pay little or no tax now."
If we cut and run now.....
This comes from T.A.Jurgens, who fought in WWII and survived with one other soldier in a battle where all others were killed. He's going strong in his late 80's, in Fremont, Nebr., where they just celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary last Nov., Lil having been an Armed Services nurse (and that's how they met). An extraordinary couple, for sure, and I'm proud to be amongst their relatives. There's some good "food for thought" herein. jw
SOME OF YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THAT NEARLY EVERY FAMILY IN AMERICA WAS GROSSLY AFFECTED BY WW II . MOST OF YOU DON'T REMEMBER THE RATIONING OF MEAT, SHOES, GASOLINE, AND SUGAR.
NO TIRES FOR OUR AUTOMOBILES, AND A SPEED LIMIT OF 35 MILES AN HOUR ON THE ROAD, NOT TO MENTION, NO NEW AUTOMOBILES.
READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE WOULD REACT TO BEING TAKEN OVER BY FOREIGNERS IN 2007.
Historical Significance
Sixty-three years ago, Nazi Germany had overrun almost all of Europe and hammered England to the verge of bankruptcy and defeat. The Nazis had sunk more than 400 British ships in their convoys between England and America taking food and war materials.
At that time the US was in an isolationist, pacifist mood, and most Americans wanted nothing to do with the European or the Asian war.
Then along came Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in outrage Congress unanimously declared war on Japan, and the following day on Germany , who had not yet attacked us. It was a dicey thing. We had few allies.
France was not an ally, as the Vichy government of France quickly aligned itself with its German occupiers. Germany was certainly not an ally, as Hitler was intent on setting up a Thousand Year Reich in Europe. Japan was not an ally, as it was well on its way to owning and controlling all of Asia.
Together, Japan and Germany had long-range plans of invading Canada and Mexico, as launching pads to get into the United States over our northern and southern borders, after they finished gaining control of Asia & gt; and Europe.
America's only allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and Russia. That was about it All of Europe, from Norway to Italy (except Russia in the East) was already under the Nazi heel.
The US was certainly not prepared for war. The US had drastically downgraded most of its military forces after WW I because of the depression, so that at the outbreak of WW II, Army units were training with broomsticks because they didn't have guns, and cars with "tank" painted on the doors because they didn't have real tanks A huge chunk of our Navy had just been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor.
SOME OF YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THAT NEARLY EVERY FAMILY IN AMERICA WAS GROSSLY AFFECTED BY WW II . MOST OF YOU DON'T REMEMBER THE RATIONING OF MEAT, SHOES, GASOLINE, AND SUGAR.
NO TIRES FOR OUR AUTOMOBILES, AND A SPEED LIMIT OF 35 MILES AN HOUR ON THE ROAD, NOT TO MENTION, NO NEW AUTOMOBILES.
READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE WOULD REACT TO BEING TAKEN OVER BY FOREIGNERS IN 2007.
Historical Significance
Sixty-three years ago, Nazi Germany had overrun almost all of Europe and hammered England to the verge of bankruptcy and defeat. The Nazis had sunk more than 400 British ships in their convoys between England and America taking food and war materials.
At that time the US was in an isolationist, pacifist mood, and most Americans wanted nothing to do with the European or the Asian war.
Then along came Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in outrage Congress unanimously declared war on Japan, and the following day on Germany , who had not yet attacked us. It was a dicey thing. We had few allies.
France was not an ally, as the Vichy government of France quickly aligned itself with its German occupiers. Germany was certainly not an ally, as Hitler was intent on setting up a Thousand Year Reich in Europe. Japan was not an ally, as it was well on its way to owning and controlling all of Asia.
Together, Japan and Germany had long-range plans of invading Canada and Mexico, as launching pads to get into the United States over our northern and southern borders, after they finished gaining control of Asia & gt; and Europe.
America's only allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and Russia. That was about it All of Europe, from Norway to Italy (except Russia in the East) was already under the Nazi heel.
The US was certainly not prepared for war. The US had drastically downgraded most of its military forces after WW I because of the depression, so that at the outbreak of WW II, Army units were training with broomsticks because they didn't have guns, and cars with "tank" painted on the doors because they didn't have real tanks A huge chunk of our Navy had just been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor.
The rest of this wonderful history is in the "comments" section below.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Out of money? Buy a new boat!
Is anyone seeing a pattern here?
Counting trout.....
mlive.com: NewsFlash - Department of Natural Resources has new research boat: "The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is launching a new fisheries research boat.
The 56-foot Lake Char was christened Tuesday in Marquette's Lower Harbor. It replaces the Judy, which was in service 53 years — the last 28 for the DNR.
Among other projects, new vessel will be used to measure trout populations in Lake Superior"
Easier to measure trout than the employed human populations in this anti-employer "stay the course" state.
Counting trout.....
mlive.com: NewsFlash - Department of Natural Resources has new research boat: "The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is launching a new fisheries research boat.
The 56-foot Lake Char was christened Tuesday in Marquette's Lower Harbor. It replaces the Judy, which was in service 53 years — the last 28 for the DNR.
Among other projects, new vessel will be used to measure trout populations in Lake Superior"
Easier to measure trout than the employed human populations in this anti-employer "stay the course" state.
Guy/Chicks, Chick/Guys want this?
Daily Kent Stater: "April Templeman was pleasantly surprised when she saw that the sign on the family restroom on the third floor of the Student Center had been changed to read, 'unisex.'
Templeman, co-chair of the Queer Liberation Front, said she and other members have been talking with university administration about installing more unisex bathrooms to accommodate transgender students.
'I was really excited when I saw it,' she said. 'We went to the administration about this because it's something we've seen on other campuses, and we think it needs to be incorporated into our campus as well.'
Thomas Euclide, director of the Office of the University Architect, said although the department doesn't have the funding to put gender neutral bathrooms into every building on campus, all new designs and renovations will include at least one.
'Taylor Hall is the only building on campus with faculty bathrooms, and we're looking at ways to convert at least one of those into a unisex bathroom,' he said. 'We have grander plans, though.' "
Templeman, co-chair of the Queer Liberation Front, said she and other members have been talking with university administration about installing more unisex bathrooms to accommodate transgender students.
'I was really excited when I saw it,' she said. 'We went to the administration about this because it's something we've seen on other campuses, and we think it needs to be incorporated into our campus as well.'
Thomas Euclide, director of the Office of the University Architect, said although the department doesn't have the funding to put gender neutral bathrooms into every building on campus, all new designs and renovations will include at least one.
'Taylor Hall is the only building on campus with faculty bathrooms, and we're looking at ways to convert at least one of those into a unisex bathroom,' he said. 'We have grander plans, though.' "
HillaryCare preview
Disney World?
Don Surber » Blog Archive » Your health bucks are going to Disney World: "It seems four federal agencies are sponsoring a 3-day conference at the Walt Disney World Resort — on health care:
1. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
2. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
3. Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development Service (VA HSR&D)
4. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Think of it as the nomenklatura going to the Black Sea."
1. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
2. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
3. Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development Service (VA HSR&D)
4. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Think of it as the nomenklatura going to the Black Sea."
$1.30 to $2.94?
This smells so bad in so many ways.
Why the gigantic increase?
Why were they "selling water to customers for less than is was paying to buy it"?
Is the idiot who underpriced the H2O still employed?
And the change to monthly billing. I wonder what the late penalties will be.......
Water bills to shift from quarterly to monthly: "On the north side, the rate increased from $1.30 to $2.94 per unit, which is 750 gallons. On the south side, rates increased from $1.85 to $2.70 per unit.
The increase was necessary because the water system was selling water to customers for less than it was paying to buy it from the city of Muskegon, according to Ribbens. "
Why the gigantic increase?
Why were they "selling water to customers for less than is was paying to buy it"?
Is the idiot who underpriced the H2O still employed?
And the change to monthly billing. I wonder what the late penalties will be.......
Water bills to shift from quarterly to monthly: "On the north side, the rate increased from $1.30 to $2.94 per unit, which is 750 gallons. On the south side, rates increased from $1.85 to $2.70 per unit.
The increase was necessary because the water system was selling water to customers for less than it was paying to buy it from the city of Muskegon, according to Ribbens. "
Say good bye to retail sales in Michigan
This must be the right thing to do because it's a Fair Tax. Say "good night" Michigan. It's gonna get dark real soon.
- Fair-tax bill to be introduced in Michigan Legislature: "Legislation that would let Michigan residents vote to eliminate personal income and business taxes, and raise the state's sales tax and expand it to services will be unveiled Thursday.
If both the state House and Senate approve the so-called 'fair tax' resolution by a two-thirds vote, it will go on the November 2008 statewide ballot. Otherwise, the Michigan FairTax Association hopes to collect hundreds of thousands of voter signatures to place it on the ballot.
Individuals would pay property taxes and a sales tax between 8.5 cents and 9 cents on the dollar under the plan, which also would expand the sales tax to include all services such as haircuts. "
- Fair-tax bill to be introduced in Michigan Legislature: "Legislation that would let Michigan residents vote to eliminate personal income and business taxes, and raise the state's sales tax and expand it to services will be unveiled Thursday.
If both the state House and Senate approve the so-called 'fair tax' resolution by a two-thirds vote, it will go on the November 2008 statewide ballot. Otherwise, the Michigan FairTax Association hopes to collect hundreds of thousands of voter signatures to place it on the ballot.
Individuals would pay property taxes and a sales tax between 8.5 cents and 9 cents on the dollar under the plan, which also would expand the sales tax to include all services such as haircuts. "
Closing prisons and firing State Troopers should help...
Maybe it'll all go away when Bush retires......
Murders in Grand Rapids jump 44 percent in '06: "Murders in Grand Rapids jumped 44 percent from 2005 to 2006, despite an overall crime increase of less than 1 percent during the same period. "
Murders in Grand Rapids jump 44 percent in '06: "Murders in Grand Rapids jumped 44 percent from 2005 to 2006, despite an overall crime increase of less than 1 percent during the same period. "
Detroit is in Wayne County
Seriously! We need to give these guys more of our money! That's what our Governor Granholm tells all.
When will we wake up?
Wayne board rakes in top pay: "In addition, base pay for each Wayne County commissioner is $68,767 -- twice as much as their Oakland and Macomb colleagues.
The disparity is appalling, Bogaert said.
Citizens, she said, 'throw up their hands. People don't know what the heck to do with Wayne County because it's so poorly run,' she said. 'And the people who could make the change are the people collecting the big paychecks, and you sure as heck aren't going to see them turning those down.'
Office budget is $86,000
Salaries are only part of the financial picture: Each Wayne County commissioner gets an $86,000 office budget and a $500-a-month car allowance."
The disparity is appalling, Bogaert said.
Citizens, she said, 'throw up their hands. People don't know what the heck to do with Wayne County because it's so poorly run,' she said. 'And the people who could make the change are the people collecting the big paychecks, and you sure as heck aren't going to see them turning those down.'
Office budget is $86,000
Salaries are only part of the financial picture: Each Wayne County commissioner gets an $86,000 office budget and a $500-a-month car allowance."
And Jenny tells us spending isn't the problem, revenue is.
Taxpayers sending 80 officials off to Hawaii: "Nearly 80 officials across Michigan -- more than twice the number of any other state -- plan to fly off to Hawaii this month for a weeklong conference on public pension issues. And taxpayer-backed pension funds will pay the tab.
Leading the Michigan contingent are 13 officials from Detroit,"
Leading the Michigan contingent are 13 officials from Detroit,"
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
This is an outrage!
Is this ripoff going in in Muskegon?
End this charity: "Both the Genesee County Board of Commissioners and Flint City Council take advantage, the former to the tune of $2,000 per commissioner per year and the City Council $1,500 per member. From those funds officials drop tidy sums on church groups, sports teams, senior activities, festivals, parties, Christmas events and a wide swath of nonprofit agencies, most of which enjoy close ties to the officeholders.In many cases the donations amount to poorly veiled opportunities to advance their profiles and/or pay back favors.
While taxpayers foot the bills, the officials are the ones who come off looking generous and often get precious exposure in the process, as they attend dinners and other large gatherings, get thanked in brochures or turn up in public donor lists. "
End this charity: "Both the Genesee County Board of Commissioners and Flint City Council take advantage, the former to the tune of $2,000 per commissioner per year and the City Council $1,500 per member. From those funds officials drop tidy sums on church groups, sports teams, senior activities, festivals, parties, Christmas events and a wide swath of nonprofit agencies, most of which enjoy close ties to the officeholders.In many cases the donations amount to poorly veiled opportunities to advance their profiles and/or pay back favors.
While taxpayers foot the bills, the officials are the ones who come off looking generous and often get precious exposure in the process, as they attend dinners and other large gatherings, get thanked in brochures or turn up in public donor lists. "
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The MSM keeps repeating the democrat lie.
It is disgusting that the democrats and their liberal supporters in the media continue their lie that Bush declared the war “won” when he declared that ”Major combat operations in Iraq have ended”. His speech was in support of our brave troops and their victory over the Iraqi military. One mission was most certainly accomplished.
He was very specific in his caution that there was much more to be accomplished.
Now the democrat “leaders” are waiting on their surrender bill to present it to the President on the anniversary of Bush landing on the USS Abe Lincoln.
Read it yourself and remember who the liars are, the defeatist democrats and their comrades in the liberal MSM.
He was very specific in his caution that there was much more to be accomplished.
Now the democrat “leaders” are waiting on their surrender bill to present it to the President on the anniversary of Bush landing on the USS Abe Lincoln.
Read it yourself and remember who the liars are, the defeatist democrats and their comrades in the liberal MSM.
http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rm/20203.htm
"Thank you all very much. Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country....
We have difficult work to do in Iraq....
The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq....
The war on terror is not over; yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide."
Liars!
"Thank you all very much. Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country....
We have difficult work to do in Iraq....
The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq....
The war on terror is not over; yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide."
Liars!
The question the democrats won't answer.
What will happen to America and the west if Iran or Al Qaeda take over Iraq?
Kudlow's Money Politic$: Al Qaeda Is the Problem in Iraq: "Our real enemy in Iraq, the true source of all the murders, mayhem, and instability, is not sectarian strife. And it’s not the Sunnis or the Shiites either. The real enemy we face in Iraq is al Qaeda."
Hummers and Ferraris on Mars?
Nope. Just Old Sol.
Climate change hits Mars-News-UK-TimesOnline: "Mars is being hit by rapid climate change and it is happening so fast that the red planet could lose its southern ice cap. Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period."
Good news
Catching bad guys is important. Telling them they can run away with impunity is.....well, it's what the democrat party has advocated.
Supreme Court Protects Police in Car-Chase Suit - WSJ.com: "The Supreme Court on Monday gave police officers protection from lawsuits that result from high-speed car chases, ruling against a Georgia teenager who was paralyzed after his car was run off the road."
A newspaper editorial that gets it!
Umm...rich bloggy logic in an American newspaper. Such a rarity.
Out of touch: "If your home budget had a $680 million deficit, you wouldn't demand that your boss give you a raise so that you could balance your finances -- and purchase $38 million worth of iPods and related 'technology' for school kids.
At least, not if you expected to keep your job. "
At least, not if you expected to keep your job. "
Like petulant children!
Like a crying child, they demand someone, anyone, give them more money.
Everything in their bloated budgets is sacred. Every possible cut that can be made has been made!
Why do we reelect these liars?
City urges Legislature to enact new tax: "Roosevelt Park has joined the chorus of communities asking the state Legislature to create a new tax to replace lost revenue.
On April 16, the city council unanimously approved a resolution calling on lawmakers to impose some sort of new business tax to replace the revenue soon to be lost due to elimination of the state's Single Business Tax. "
On April 16, the city council unanimously approved a resolution calling on lawmakers to impose some sort of new business tax to replace the revenue soon to be lost due to elimination of the state's Single Business Tax. "
a tiny first step, I hope.
Public employees have got to pay their fair share. Just like the rest of us.
City employees to pay more for insurance - : "Employees of the city of Muskegon will absorb more of the cost of their health care, due to steeply rising insurance premiums.
In just one year, those costs have risen approximately 10 percent, according to the city's finance director, Tim Paul.
Premiums for the 2007-08 plan year rose from $744.43 to $817.28 per employee per month, Paul informed city commissioners, for an overall annual cost increase of $218,550."
City employees to pay more for insurance - : "Employees of the city of Muskegon will absorb more of the cost of their health care, due to steeply rising insurance premiums.
In just one year, those costs have risen approximately 10 percent, according to the city's finance director, Tim Paul.
Premiums for the 2007-08 plan year rose from $744.43 to $817.28 per employee per month, Paul informed city commissioners, for an overall annual cost increase of $218,550."
This is important!
I thought eating cheesburgers and bitchin' about George Bush would make me lose weight. I'm sure glad we have all these nifty, federal and state funded studies.... you thought they were free?
Exercising harder keeps weight off longer - Yahoo! News: " People who consistently engage in high levels of exercise over the long haul are the most successful at losing weight and keeping it off, a new study shows. "
Could it be something else?
Maybe fat broads are more likely to be lesbians?
US "researchers" sure are coming up with valuable information, don't ya think? Thankfully, us taxpayers got real deep pockets and we'll keep on funding these wonderful studies.
Lesbians twice as likely to be obese The Daily Telegraph: "LESBIANS are twice as likely as heterosexual women to be overweight or obese, which puts them at greater risk for obesity-related health problems and death, US researchers said."
The chant of the mind numbed robots.
Lib columnista sticks with the democrat party line that it's the taxpayers who are at fault, not the big spenders in Lansing.
Boston Tea Party spirit seems a bit watered down: "of visceral anger with state government -- is exactly what's missing here outside the Troy Civic Center on Big Beaver.
A $1.9 billion shortfall due to the repeal of the Single Business Tax hasn't animated the public. Instead, it's nurtured cynicism and apathy."
Boston Tea Party spirit seems a bit watered down: "of visceral anger with state government -- is exactly what's missing here outside the Troy Civic Center on Big Beaver.
A $1.9 billion shortfall due to the repeal of the Single Business Tax hasn't animated the public. Instead, it's nurtured cynicism and apathy."
This makes sense.
Cost of camping in state forests to rise 50%: "The fee to tent in Michigan's 143 state forest campgrounds will go up 50 percent this summer as the Department of Natural Resources continues to convert to a self-supporting system."
Maybe we ought to ask?
Maybe we ought to ask Nissan and Tennessee what they are doing that we in Michigan aren't? Naa, it's easier to ask Jenny or an educator.
SMYRNA, Tenn.
Nissan plant starts production of new Altima coupe: "Following the recent launch of the 2007 Altima and a hybrid model, production started Monday on the new Altima Coupe, a sportier version of Nissan's best-selling brand intended to attract new customers."
SMYRNA, Tenn.
Nissan plant starts production of new Altima coupe: "Following the recent launch of the 2007 Altima and a hybrid model, production started Monday on the new Altima Coupe, a sportier version of Nissan's best-selling brand intended to attract new customers."
This is ridiculous!
Thank you McCain-Feingold....
Michigan Democrats set Feb. 9 presidential caucus date: "Michigan Democrats voted to hold their 2008 presidential caucus on Feb. 9, but agreed they would move up the date for voting if any state moves ahead of the scheduled dates......
On the Republican side, any state holding a primary or caucus before Feb. 5 will lose delegates to the Republican National Convention _ even Iowa and New Hampshire, which traditionally go first.
The Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating season Jan. 14, then Nevada holds a Democrats-only contest Jan. 19, followed by the New Hampshire primary and contests in South Carolina, which has its Democratic primary Jan. 29 and GOP primary Feb. 2."
Michigan Democrats set Feb. 9 presidential caucus date: "Michigan Democrats voted to hold their 2008 presidential caucus on Feb. 9, but agreed they would move up the date for voting if any state moves ahead of the scheduled dates......
On the Republican side, any state holding a primary or caucus before Feb. 5 will lose delegates to the Republican National Convention _ even Iowa and New Hampshire, which traditionally go first.
The Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating season Jan. 14, then Nevada holds a Democrats-only contest Jan. 19, followed by the New Hampshire primary and contests in South Carolina, which has its Democratic primary Jan. 29 and GOP primary Feb. 2."
Conveniently ignoring the elephant in the room.
I wonder if the topic of teacher/administrator total compensation comes up? Yeah, right....
Education funding forum Monday night: "GRAND RAPIDS -- Education funding and the role it plays in the state's budget crisis will be the topic of a community forum Monday night.
The forum will touch on that along with the upcoming non-homestead millage for Grand Rapids Public Schools."
Education funding forum Monday night: "GRAND RAPIDS -- Education funding and the role it plays in the state's budget crisis will be the topic of a community forum Monday night.
The forum will touch on that along with the upcoming non-homestead millage for Grand Rapids Public Schools."
Brave men don't cut and run!
Blue Angels still coming to Battle Creek: "The Navy's flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels, is still planning on its stop in Battle Creek this summer.
There was speculation that the U.S. Navy team may not continue its tour after an accident that killed one of their pilots on April 21st.
24 Hour News 8 received word from the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival that the jet team will perform on June 30th and July 1st."
There was speculation that the U.S. Navy team may not continue its tour after an accident that killed one of their pilots on April 21st.
24 Hour News 8 received word from the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival that the jet team will perform on June 30th and July 1st."
Let's see.....
...the Granholm administration is SO efficient that the only place she can find to cut is education (not teacher compensation, oh no!) and healthcare to the poor. And we sheep hardly even bleat.
Budget ax could fall on schools, Medicaid in month: "Monday, she started the time clock by notifying the legislature, schools and Medicaid providers that money could be cut in 30 days if the legislature doesn't act."
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