Somehow this doesn't surprise. -------Michigan Schools Promoting Large Number Of Students Who Cannot Read

Michigan Schools Promoting Large Number Of Students Who Cannot Read [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"More than half of the third graders at Three Lakes Academy in the Upper Peninsula failed to score proficient on the state reading test in 2010-2011.
But none of the school's 14 third-graders were held back.
At Howell Public Schools, none of the 35 third-graders who didn't rate proficient at reading were held back.

OMG! There won't be a smart bra! ---'Smartbra’ To Combat Stress-Related Overeating Is A Bust

'Smartbra’ To Combat Stress-Related Overeating Is A Bust | CNS News:
"There are smartphones and smart appliances, but Microsoft has discovered that smart technology goes only so far.
The tech giant has decided not to pursue the idea of a “smartbra” with embedded sensors dreamed up by a team of researchers to combat stress-related overeating."

Quotations of the day: William Taft and the NY Times

Quotations of the day: William Taft and the NY Times | AEIdeas:
"Carpe Diem
Quotations of the day: William Taft and the NY Times
Mark J. Perry | December 7, 2013, 8:46 pm
1. “No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people.”

~William Howard Taft referring to the temperance movement of the early 1900s that was a major force in America’s First War on Drugs Peaceful Americans Who Chose to Use Intoxicants Not Currently Approved of by the Government, Who Will Lock Users Up in Cages if Caught.

2. “Once men get in the habit of helping themselves to the property of others they are not easily cured of it.”

~The NY Times editorializing in 1909 against the federal income tax.

MP: Unfortunately, our tolerance of: a) busybodies telling other people how to behave, and b) the practice of theft by taxation and civil forfeiture, has increased over the last 100 years, and the War on Drugs has contributed to both forms of despicable behavior."

Shockingly, they are NOW out of money.... your money..... and they want some more....City Spends $8 Million on Theater — Sells It Eight Years Later for $135,000

Will someone follow the money?
PLEASE!
City Spends $8 Million on Theater — Sells It Eight Years Later for $135,000 [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
"Eight years after the city of Pontiac spent $8 million renovating a theater that city officials say never reopened, the city sold it to a developer for $135,000.
Pontiac Emergency Manager Louis Schimmel said the deal is expected to be completed within two weeks."

Coming Soon: Obamacare Burns Down Volunteer Fire Departments

The PJ Tatler » Coming Soon: Obamacare Burns Down Volunteer Fire Departments

Through the magic combination of Obamacare and the IRS, volunteer firefighters may be considered “employees,” and their volunteer fire departments may be forced to give them healthcare. Or pay penalties that would force them to shut down.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs has asked the Internal Revenue Service, which has partial oversight of the law, to clarify if current IRS treatment of volunteer firefighters as employees means their hose companies or towns must offer health insurance coverage or pay a penalty if they don’t.

“It could be a huge deal,” said U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11, Hazleton, who is seeking clarification from the IRS. “In Pennsylvania, 97 percent of fire departments are fully or mostly volunteer firefighters. It’s the fourth highest amount in the country.”The organization representing the fire chiefs has been working on the issue with the IRS and White House for months.

So far, the IRS hasn’t decided what to do.

Efforts to reach spokesmen for the IRS were unsuccessful.

One would think that since volunteer firefighters aren’t paid, usually belong to small fire departments that operate on a shoestring and don’t work more than 29 hours per week fighting fires, Obamacare wouldn’t touch them. But the IRS considers all volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel to be employees. So the IRS could well rule that they must be extended healthcare, or their fire departments face penalties. The IRS hasn’t decided if it’s going to continue that thinking applied to Obamacare.

If it does, then volunteer fire departments will face a world of hurt. They could go away, leaving rural communities vulnerable.

How to destroy a nation

The Religious Makeup Of America

The Religious Makeup Of America - Business Insider:

When you take decades to destroy a great city, tough questions will follow-----Pensions in play in Detroit bankruptcy: What's equitable?

And no one in Muskegon county government seems to have a clue what's happening to Detroit.
Pensions in play in Detroit bankruptcy: What's equitable? | Crain's Detroit Business:
"All pensioners may have been made equal to other unsecured creditors who hold contracts with Detroit, by a federal bankruptcy court judge — but that may not necessarily put them on equal footing.

Now that Judge Steven Rhodes has found the city's 21,000-plus retirees are no different than many other creditors who have rights under a contract with the city, attorneys expect the city will submit what federal law calls a "fair and equitable plan" to restructure its debt by late February.

But what is equitable, for example, to former city employees who have been retired for years, are physically unable to return to work, do not receive Social Security if they were police officers or firefighters, and received promises from a city that was once in much better shape? "

Can we get those "clunker" cars back? Report: Scientists predict a century of global cooling

Report: Scientists predict a century of global cooling | The Daily Caller:
"German scientists found that two naturally occurring cycles will combine to lower global temperatures during the 21st century, eventually dropping to levels corresponding with the “little ice age” of 1870.

“Due to the de Vries cycle, the global temperature will drop until 2100 to a value corresponding to the ‘little ice age’ of 1870,” write German scientists Horst-Joachim Luedecke and Carl-Otto Weiss of the European Institute for Climate and Energy."

Welcome to Obamacare-----New Affordable Care US health plans will exclude top hospitals

New Affordable Care US health plans will exclude top hospitals - FT.com:
"Americans who are buying insurance plans over online exchanges, under what is known as Obamacare, will have limited access to some of the nation’s leading hospitals, including two world-renowned cancer centres.
Amid a drive by insurers to limit costs, the majority of insurance plans being sold on the new healthcare exchanges in New York, Texas, and California, for example, will not offer patients’ access to Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan or MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, two top cancer centres, or Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, one of the top research and teaching hospitals in the country."

Why not $100/hr? -----The True Cost of a Higher Minimum Wage

The True Cost of a Higher Minimum Wage - Zachary Karabell - The Atlantic:
"What’s not clear, however, is whether mandating a higher wage will do anything to change that. Nearly 20 states have a higher minimum wage than the federal rate.
That means that the federal law has little effect in wide swaths of the country.
What’s more, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 5 percent of all workers are paid at or less than the current minimum wage. 
Thus, increasing it will make precious little difference in most people’s lives.
.....Under a higher minimum wage, a significant number of companies would likely trim payrolls in order to maintain profits."

"Choice" is an option...if you're rich------You Want to Keep Your Doctor? ‘You Can Pay for It,’ Says Obamacare Architect

You Want to Keep Your Doctor? ‘You Can Pay for It,’ Says Obamacare Architect | CNS News:
"Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a former health policy adviser in the Obama White House, grudgingly admitted on Sunday that President Obama did promise the American people that they could keep their doctors if they liked them under Obamcare.
“No one guaranteed you that your premium wouldn't increase,” Emanuel, a medical doctor, told Fox News Sunday.
“The president guaranteed me I could keep my doctor,” Chris Wallace told Emanuel.
“And if you want to, you can pay for it,” Emanuel responded. 
“As a matter of fact, choice is something we all understand, and we all understand that for more choice, more benefits, you have to pay more.”"

This plan will work. Unless the democrats and unions stop it.Paul unveils plan for Detroit 'economic freedom zone'

Paul unveils plan for Detroit 'economic freedom zone' | The Detroit News

Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul unveiled Thursday his plan to save Detroit two days after a judge officially declared the Motor City bankrupt.

Paul, widely considered a 2016 potential presidential candidate, said he will introduce legislation Monday to create “economic freedom zones” by dramatically lowering taxes in depressed areas and loosen visa rules to encourage foreign entrepreneurs to immigrate to the city.

“We hope to create taxes so low you essentially are able to bail yourselves out,” Paul said Thursday in a conference call outlining his plan."

Obama's america--Hate-criminal--Waitress Accused of Lying About Anti-Gay Customers Denying Her a Tip Now Out of a Job

I wonder how many lawyers have contacted he about an unfair firing lawsuit.
Waitress Accused of Lying About Anti-Gay Customers Denying Her a Tip Now Out of a Job | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Morales received more than $3,000 in donations via PayPal, Gothamist reported, and promised to donate the money to the Wounded Warriors (which she hadn’t as of this week).
Some individuals have indicated receiving refunds from Morales after her story began falling apart, Gothamist added.
(The couple whom she accused of not leaving a tip and leaving an anti-gay note instead presented a receipt with a tip and no note as evidence of Morales’ apparent hoax.)"

Anyone hear from Al Sharpon on this? Veteren Jim Vester murdered after arranging to buy iPad from Craigslist

I assume if Obama had any sons they'd look just like these two scumbags......
Veteren Jim Vester murdered after arranging to buy iPad from Craigslist | Mail Online:
"Tyron Kincade, 19, and his brother Tyshaune Kincade, 18, have been arrested and charged with Vester's murder"

This ain't good-----Japan Press: "China-Japan War To Break Out In January"

Japan Press: "China-Japan War To Break Out In January" | Zero Hedge

Following China's unveiling of its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, overlapping a large expanse of territory also claimed by Japan, the Japanese media has, as The Japan Times reports, had a dramatically visceral reaction on the various scenarios of a shooting war. 

From Sunday Mainichi's "Sino-Japanese war to break out in January," to Flash's "Simulated breakout of war over the Senkakus," the nationalism (that Kyle Bass so notably commented on) is rising.

Which side, wonders Shukan Gendai ominously, will respond to a provocation by pulling the trigger? 

The game of chicken between two great superpowers is about to begin.

Via The Japan Times,

Five out of nine weekly magazines that went on sale last Monday and Tuesday contained scenarios that raised the possibility of a shooting war.

No more potash? Potential ... with a grain of salt

Well, we still got pot in Michigan.
Potential ... with a grain of salt | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Only weeks after a swirl of media reports trumpeted that potash soon may become a $65 billion industry for Michigan, the owner of the only potash mine in the state stopped production of the mineral and laid off a dozen workers."

They STILL had a statue of Lenin?!!! Protesters in Kiev Topple Lenin Statue as Rallies Grow

Protesters in Kiev Topple Lenin Statue as Rallies Grow - NYTimes.com:
"KIEV, Ukraine — Protesters in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, toppled the city’s main statue of Lenin on Sunday and then pounded it into chips with a sledgehammer as a crowd chanted and cheered.
The destruction of the statue was a cathartic moment in the biggest day of demonstrations so far against President Viktor F. Yanukovich’s turn away from Europe."

Face it. Our rulers just don't like us to have a choice about anything. Except killing babies.........New York City proposal seeks ban on electronic cigarette use in public

It's the look they don't like?
New York City proposal seeks ban on electronic cigarette use in public | Fox News:
"New Yorkers who say electronic cigarettes helped them quit smoking asked city lawmakers at a hearing this week not to ban the nicotine inhalers from restaurants, workplaces and other indoor spaces, saying there isn't enough evidence they pose a health risk to justify their exclusion.

"The facts are that this isn't smoking," Jesse Gaddis, a representative from Brooklyn-based Bedford Slims, an e-cigarette company, toldThe New York Post as he exhaled wasps of white mist during his testimony. "This is vapor."

Another attendee at Wednesday's meeting said, "These people would try to get you to prohibit penicillin ... if there was grant money in it.""

The predictive powers of media-----1993 Independent Article About Osama Bin Laden

These MSM bozos couldn't predict tomorrow's weather..... oh, wait. They have. And they're wrong about that too!
1993 Independent Article About Osama Bin Laden - Business Insider:
"This article from Dec. 6, 1993, by Robert Fisk of The Independent, titled, "Anti-Soviet warrior puts his army on the road to peace," is stunning to consider 20 years later.

Osama bin Laden, fresh off the US-backed mujahadin's victory over Russia in 1989, flew his men, materials and money down to Sudan, ostensibly to start public works projects.

When asked if they were militant training camps, the "Saudi entrepreneur" and future leader of al Qaeda told Fisk: "I am a construction engineer and an agriculturalist. If I had training camps here in Sudan, I couldn't possibly do this job.""

Theatre Full Of Bikers And Only 2 Seats Left. What Would You Do?

Theatre Full Of Bikers And Only 2 Seats Left. What Would You Do?

British writer: Michigan State beats Ohio State with class, celebrates with class

British writer: Michigan State beats Ohio State with class, celebrates with class | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:

US-based British sportswriter Simon Veness revels in a win for the ‘good guys’ in Indianapolis.

We have a saying in British sporting circles – form is temporary, but class is permanent. 

And that never seemed like a greater truism afterthe events at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night.
....And it owed everything to the class of Mark Dantonio, who has – in the eyes of this observer-from-afar – created an atmosphere of nobility in competition and respectfulness in attitude, two qualities that probably seemed as outdated as the idea of 12-win seasons and Rose Bowl bids back in September.

...."At the same time, we wait to see if the apparent hubris of OSU’s leader is affected in defeat, if an upset in this manner counts for anything in Columbus. I may have missed it, but I didn’t see a quoted word from the head coach admitting that the better team carried the day; that the Spartans are deserving of their ticket to Pasadena; anything, in fact, that showed an awareness of a world beyond his own.

So, if Urban Meyer really wants to learn the lessons of his first defeat with the Buckeyes, he needs to look not at the game tape of how his team were substantially and indisputably undermined on the field – but at how the opposite sideline conducted itself off it.

In this case, class may not necessarily be permanent, but it has certainly lasted since November 2006, when Mark Dantonio took up the reins at Spartan Stadium. And it will probably last as long as he fancies the task of pitting MSU against college football’s ‘super-powers.’"

WeMog-Tomorrow-Everyone invited

Meet at Picnic Shelter Parking lot (ski trails)

 at 12:25 at Hoffmaster State Park,

Monday, December 9.   

Boots hit the trail at 12:30. 

Plan to hike a couple of hours. 

There are lots of options, so group can choose trails.

Happy Hiking

Well-armed young women help spike growing gun-ownership numbers

Well-armed young women help spike growing gun-ownership numbers - Boulder Daily Camera:

The Well Armed Woman -- their slogan is "Where the Feminine and Firearm Meet" -- advertises stylish purses designed for concealed carry.

Another online retailer, Pistols & Pumps -- "Concealed and High Heeled" -- offers pink camouflage hats and bra-mounted holsters.

Gungoddess.com -- the name, apparently, is sufficient -- sells a variety of "gun bling," including leopard-print handgun grips and zebra-print ear protection.

Such items may seem odd to some, but these retailers understand their customer base -- a group of young, strong, determined and armed women. And just because their bullets may be fired from pistols with rhinestone-studded grips doesn't mean they shouldn't be taken seriously.

These women are among a growing population of gun owners who fiercely fight for their right to own and carry a gun for self-protection.

Self-reported gun ownership -- among both men and women in the U.S. -- is the highest it has been since 1993.

"A woman with pepper spray is smart, a woman who takes self-defense is prepared, but a woman with a gun is scary," said Rachael Makowski, a 25-year-old nanny in Westminster, Colo. 

"And when it comes down to my life or theirs, I want them to be just as afraid of me as I am of them."

7 Nelson Mandela Quotes You Probably Won't See In The U.S. Media

7 Nelson Mandela Quotes You Probably Won't See In The U.S. Media

7. On the U.S. war with Iraq:
“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world,
it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.”
Via cbsnews.com

6. On Israel:
“Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967,
 and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights,
from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.”
Via jweekly.com

5. On the U.S. war with Iraq:
“All that (Mr. Bush) wants is Iraqi oil.”
Via cbsnews.com



4. Mandela on Castro and the Cuban revolution:
“From its earliest days, the Cuban Revolution has also been a source of
inspiration to all freedom-loving people.
We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence
and sovereignty in the face of the vicious imperialist-orquestrated campaign to
destroy the impressive gain made in the Cuban Revolution.
… Long live the Cuban Revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro.”
Via lanic.utexas.edu

3. Mandela on Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, his longtime supporter:
“It is our duty to give support to the brother leader … especially in regards 

to the sanctions which are not hitting just him, they are hitting the 

ordinary masses of the people … our African brothers and sisters.”Via finalcall.com

2. On the U.S. preparing to invade Iraq in a 2002 interview with Newsweek:
“If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion
that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace.”
Via newsweek.com

1. On a Palestinian state:
“The UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years,
an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to
this iniquitous system.
But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the
 freedom of the Palestinians.”

Via cbsnews.com

The World's 18 Strangest Airports

Airports and Architecture - The World's 18 Strangest Airports - Popular Mechanics

8: Princess Juliana International Airport

Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten

Our president is a serial liar and no one in the media seems to care------Twisting the truth till you cry uncle

Carr: Twisting the truth till you cry uncle | Boston Herald:
"But the confusion was understandable, Baghdad Jay Carney explained at the White House this week.
Back when the question of his relationship with Uncle Omar arose, after his pinch for drunken driving in Framingham in 2011, Carney said the staff “looked at the record, including the president’s book, and there was no evidence that they had met.”

Consider that for a moment.
The aides consulted “the book” — “Dreams from My Father.”
This is Barack’s “autobiography,” which a convicted Weatherman terrorist now claims to have ghostwritten.
It includes what is now acknowledged to be a “composite girlfriend,” and was peddled to publishers with a description of Obama as Kenyan-born, although he now claims to have been born in Hawaii, or as he calls it, “Asia.”

“Dreams from My Father” — obviously, an extremely credible source."

Embezzle a half million? No problemo in Flint Michigan-----Career Alliance saga ends with no jail time for those who misused $500,000 in taxpayer money

With zero penalty for the theft, why not try it again?
Career Alliance saga ends with no jail time for those who misused $500,000 in taxpayer money | MLive.com
 "FLINT, MI -- A scandal that took down the head of a public agency, a Flint police chief and his father, as well as a former Flint School Board member has come to end with more than $500,000 in taxpayer money misused and not a single day of jail for anyone involved.

Pamela Loving, the former head of Career Alliance who a federal judge called the leader of the "criminal episode," was ordered to pay back more than a half-million dollars after she admitted to embezzling tax-payer money and funding a program led by a relative without approval of the federal government.

U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith, however, spared Loving from more than a year in prison and instead placed her on five years' probation with a year of house arrest.

Loving, who is unemployed and has filed for bankruptcy, was also ordered to pay $586,000 in restitution."

▶ 12/7/2013 - Michigan State 34 Ohio State 24 - YouTube

▶ 12/7/2013 - Michigan State 34 Ohio State 24 - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

The unions and their democrat friends don't want you to read this---Why does Walmart get 38 applications for every opening? Because it offers economic opportunity, hope and change

The "Harvard" of employment opportunity!
Carpe Diem | AEIdeas

Why does Walmart get 38 applications for every opening? Because it offers economic opportunity, hope and change

Mark J. Perry | December 6, 2013, 6:26 pm

There’s a lot of rhetoric, especially from the left, that is very dismissive of working at Walmart. Go the Wikipedia entry for “Criticism of Walmart” and you’ll find references to the following criticisms of being a Walmart employee: low wages, poor working conditions, being forced to work off the clock, being denied overtime pay, not being allowed to take breaks, violations of child labor laws, instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day, labor racketeering crimes, sexual discrimination, limiting or eliminating health care benefits, poorly-run and understaffed stores, etc. You get the idea – it must be a pretty terrible place to work, right? But then why do so many people actually want to work for the retail giant, based on the huge number of applications that Walmart receives every time it opens a new store?

For example, Walmart received 23,000 applications for 600 new jobs at the two new stores that it opened this week in Washington, DC. That’s more than 38 applications for every position. 
In contrast, Harvard only gets about 17 applications for every available opening in its freshman class, Stanford gets about 15 students applying per opening, Yale receives roughly 14 applications per opening, and Princeton gets 12.7 applications for every slot in its freshman class.

When Walmart is considering employee applications for its news stores, why can it be twice as selective as Harvard and three times more selective than Princeton when those elite universities consider student applications for freshman admission? 

In other words, why do so many people want to work at Walmart?

A VERY sh!tty day-----Ottawa County farmer recovering from entanglement in manure spreader

Gotta hope he's OK
And give thanks Obamacare isn't in force yet.
Ottawa County farmer recovering from entanglement in manure spreader | MLive.com:
"Deputies said Vanderzwaag’s clothing became entangled in the power take-off (PTO) shaft of the manure spreader he was using in a field. "

IBM offered to built it for free?!!!! Obama Stars in The No-Name Law That Sank His Party

Articles: Obama Stars in The No-Name Law That Sank His Party:
"We've paid almost a billion dollars to a Canadian firm whose vice-president is a college buddy of Michelle Obama's from their black radical days at Princeton to create a webpage to enroll people mandated by this law to do so, Obama having turned down the U.S. firm IBM's offer to create it for free. "

America's closest ally? After Snubbing Thatcher Funeral, Obama and Michelle to Visit South Africa for Mandela

After Snubbing Thatcher Funeral, Obama and Michelle to Visit South Africa for Mandela:
"On Friday, the White House announced that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama would travel to South Africa next weeks to pay their respects to Nelson Mandela."

Soon to be the richest woman in her trailer park? Woman Hospitalized After Being Glued To Toilet Seat at Home Depot

Woman Hospitalized After Being Glued To Toilet Seat at Home Depot:
"The store manager found a brown paper sack in the restroom containing a bottle of Loctite GO2 glue, a product that not only boasts of durability, but also versatility. "

This explains much-----The more inept you are the smarter you think you are

BBC - Future - Health - The more inept you are the smarter you think you are:
"You're pretty smart right?
Clever, and funny too.
Of course you are, just like me.
But wouldn't it be terrible if we were mistaken?
Psychologists have shown that we are more likely to be blind to our own failings than perhaps we realise. This could explain why some incompetent people are so annoying, and also inject a healthy dose of humility into our own sense of self-regard.

In 1999, Justin Kruger and David Dunning, from Cornell University, New York, tested whether people who lack the skills or abilities for something are also more likely to lack awareness of their lack of ability. 
At the start of their research paper they cite a Pittsburgh bank robber called McArthur Wheeler as an example, who was arrested in 1995 shortly after robbing two banks in broad daylight without wearing a mask or any other kind of disguise.
When police showed him the security camera footage, he protested "But I wore the juice".
The hapless criminal believed that if you rubbed your face with lemon juice you would be invisible to security cameras."

Obama supporting, serial liar----Wounded Warriors Has No Record of Donation from Waitress Tip Hoaxster

"Fake hate" works.
EVERYONE heard about the slur.
Most haven't heard ANYTHING about this hate spewing, lying, lesbian.
But the "hate" message lives on.
The PJ Tatler » Wounded Warriors Has No Record of Donation from Waitress Tip Hoaxster:
"Sure, that’s possible.
It’s not likely, but it’s possible.
There are reasons to doubt Morales’ veracity.
Her “former Marine” schtick didn’t really pan out. 
Neither did her original claim — she’s being investigated.
We probably already have a smear and a version of “stolen valor” in this story.
We’ll see how the donations angle shakes out."

This was the lead story ALL morning on Grand Rapids TV-WOOD --Fires, arrests in East Lansing after MSU's win

Fires, arrests in East Lansing after MSU's win | WOOD TV8
And this is why they are hemorrhaging viewers.
They did have an alternative.......

"Killer Climate Change" ----Climate change warning: Killer winter storms for next THIRTY years

No worries. 
If we give them enough money, they promise to stop it from happening. 
Or, at least, to rename it......
Climate change warning: Killer winter storms for next THIRTY years | Latest News | Latest Breaking News | Daily Star. Simply The Best 7 Days A Week:
"Many people could die as extreme weather becomes common.
There will be more freak winds like the October storm, which killed four people.
Heatwaves will be lethal and the sea level will rise, leaving coastal towns at risk of being swamped by storm surges.
Sir Brian Heap, president of the European Academies Science Advisory Council, said he felt “obliged” to issue the warning after a new study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."

New Nat Geo website showcases amateur nighttime photography

New Nat Geo website showcases amateur nighttime photography | Rare:

Folks, this is a recipe for disaster----41% of Net New Jobs in November Were in Government

41% of Net New Jobs in November Were in Government | CNS News:
"Federal, state and local governments hired a net additional 338,000 workers in November, equaling 41 percent of the total of 818,000 net additional jobs created in the United States during the month.

At the same time, the unemployment rate for government workers fell from 4.4 percent in October to 3.2 percent in November. (The overall national unemployment rate fell from 7.3 percent to 7.0  percent.)"

And the media made fun of Sarah Palin......Obama: ‘Biden Will Go Down In History As One Of The Best Vice Presidents Ever’

Obama: ‘Biden Will Go Down In History As One Of The Best Vice Presidents Ever’ « CBS DC:
"President Barack Obama has high praise for potential 2016 contenders Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“I think Joe Biden will go down in history as one of the best vice presidents ever, and he has been with me, at my side, in every tough decision that I’ve made,” Obama told MSNBC in an interview Thursday held at American University.
“Hillary, I think, will go down in history as one of the finest secretaries of state we’ve ever had, and helped to transition us away from a deep hole that we were in, when I first came into office, around the world, and rebuilt confidence and trust in the United States.”"

Lots of high pay jobs available designing touchscreens------McDonald's orders 7,000 touchscreen kiosks to replace cashiers

McDonald's orders 7,000 touchscreen kiosks to replace cashiers - Neowin:
"McDonald's recently added 64,000 people to its payroll in the United States, but job prospects in Europe for those so inclined to work in the fast food industry are looking pretty grim right about now.
That's because the fast food giant is poised to add touchscreen kiosks in more than 7,000 of its restaurants in Europe in effort to replace actual, human cashiers."

You Shall Not Pass, Dog

You Shall Not Pass, Dog - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

Oh my gosh! This just grows and grows and grows! Wonderful! (Watch it in "big screen") USAF Band Holiday Flash Mob at the National Air and Space Museum

▶ USAF Band Holiday Flash Mob at the National Air and Space Museum - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

Never forget--Pearl Harbor remembered

Sadly, I fear we already have forgotten just about EVERY lesson from that infamous day.
Pearl Harbor remembered - The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com:
"Thousands are expected at the US Navy base in Hawaii Friday to commemorate the lives of those lost in the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941."

Spartans WIN!

If you love your country, you won't keep your country if you give it to greedy socialists who run AARP---------AARP partner crafted Obama 'keep your plan' lie

AARP is bad people
AARP partner crafted Obama 'keep your plan' lie | The Daily Caller:
"The retired persons advocacy group AARP partners with the organization that helped craft President Obama’s “you can keep your plan” lie.

AARP, founded in 1958, is generating criticism from many of its members for heavily promoting Obamacare, which helps AARP’s bottom line to the tune of more than $1 billion. "

A lot of bruhaha for a small number of folks-----Same-Sex Weddings 17 Percent of Washington Marriages

And 1/4 of the 17% were from a different state
Same-Sex Weddings 17 Percent of Washington Marriages:
"SEATTLE
Gay weddings made up 17 percent of marriages in Washington this past year, the first year gay marriages were legal in the state, state officials reported Wednesday.

About 7,071 same-sex couples got married in Washington between December 6, 2012, and the most recent complete month of data, September 2013. There were 42,408 total marriages in the state during that time, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

So far, most of Washington state's same-sex marriages, 62 percent, were between two women."

L.A. County social workers strike over salary increases, caseloads

These pay numbers do NOT include overtime or BENEFITS and PENSION
L.A. County social workers strike over salary increases, caseloads - latimes.com:
"These workers, who earn between $41,328 and $86,436, will not be paid while striking.
Nearly 200 clerical workers in the department also failed to report to work."

The scurge of moobs---------------Does smoking pot cause man boobs?

Now that pot is officially the "asprin" of the millenium, what federal "fix" do ya think will come out of Obamacare to cure boy-hooters?
Does smoking pot cause man boobs? - CNN.com:
"A young man in his 20s -- let's call him George -- sits across from me in the exam room.
"Dr. Youn," he says, "I have man boobs."
I notice a not-so-unfamiliar smell wafting from his body.
It's the same odor that floated my way during a rock concert I recently attended.
"How long have you had a problem with this, George?"
"Hard to say.
But it seems to have gotten worse over the past year or so."
"George, the first thing you need to do is stop smoking pot. 
Marijuana could be causing your man boobs.""

The Simple Water Pump That's Changing Lives Across the World

The Simple Water Pump That's Changing Lives Across the World | Wired Design | Wired.com:
"But gear wasn’t the problem; the real challenge was changing behavior. “We spend all our time in the field, talking about irrigation and how much money they can make,” Fisher says. “Then we have to sell them a big-ticket item they’ve never seen before.” 
But it’s working.
Kick­Start has already sold 230,000 pumps, currently priced at $75 to $160 each.
Now they’re developing solar-­powered pumps, versions that can tap deeper water sources, and new financing models to reach more farmers.

The benefits are tangible: The pumps have increased farm incomes by 500 percent on average, helping move 740,000 people out of poverty. “If you’re poor, your number one need is a way to make more money,” Fisher says. Cheap, simple machines might be the best approach."

The federal government banned barges in Muskegon? ----Business group favors opening Muskegon port to river barges

I'm thinkin' there is more to the story..... like federal "free" money, union requirements, enviro-payola.......
Business group favors opening Muskegon port to river barges | Crain's Detroit Business:
"MUSKEGON — Michigan business interests are asking the U.S. Coast Guard to open the port of Muskegon to river barge traffic.
The Michigan Agri-Business Association and local leaders have scheduled a news conference for today in Muskegon to discuss the proposal, which the group says would bring more opportunities for economic growth.
The Coast Guard allows barges and other commercial vessels to operate along set routes in some navigable waterways.
Interest recently has risen in bringing barge traffic commonly seen on the Mississippi River and its tributaries to Lake Michigan.
The Coast Guard will be accepting public comment on the idea in coming weeks."

Finally, a reason to brave the danger and visit Detroit-------New bra boutique opening in Midtown Detroit

But isn't it kinda pathetic that the opening of this small store actually is news in what was a major American city?
New bra boutique opening in Midtown Detroit | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Busted! brings lingerie to the city, featuring options for ladies of all cup sizes."