Former Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon still collecting full salary 2 months after resignation

Former Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon still collecting full salary 2 months after resignation | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"More than two months after he resigned amid controversy, former Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon is still on the state payroll at his full $174,204 salary, an official confirmed late Tuesday.

Dillon started Nov. 1 -- the day his resignation as treasurer became effective -- as a senior adviser to Treasurer Kevin Clinton. Treasury Department spokesman Terry Stanton said.

“As noted during the announcement of Treasurer Clinton’s appointment, Mr. Dillon assisted Mr. Clinton with transition issues and has been working on local government fiscal issues,”: Stanton said.

His job is expected to continue for the next four to six weeks, Stanton said.

Gov. Rick Snyder, in announcing Dillon’s resignation on Oct. 11, said Dillon would assist the incoming treasurer with transition issues. But he made no mention of Dillon retaining a full-time salary."

This is your "black leadership" folks--------Jesse Jackson Praises Dennis Rodman’s ‘Diplomacy Efforts in North Korea’

Jesse Jackson Praises Dennis Rodman’s ‘Diplomacy Efforts in North Korea’ | TheBlaze.com:
 "Rev. Jesse Jackson turned to Twitter on Monday to lavish praise on former NBA player Dennis Rodman for his North Korean “diplomacy efforts.”

“Congrads @dennisrodman on your diplomacy efforts in North Korea,” the civil-rights icon said in a now deleted tweet. “It must be dark but you are a light!”"

Teacher seizes candy canes, says 'Jesus is not allowed'

Teacher seizes candy canes, says 'Jesus is not allowed' | The Daily Caller:
"A first-grade teacher at a public elementary school in Southern California allegedly snatched a bunch of candy canes bearing a brief religious message from a first-grade boy.
She told the poor kid “Jesus is not allowed in school” and then — right in front of his little six-year-old eyes — ripped the religious messages from each candy cane and dumped them in a trashcan.
The boy’s name is Isaiah Martinez.
He attends Merced Elementary School in the Los Angeles suburb of West Covina.
The first-grade teacher accused of religious bullying is Valerie Lu.
One of the candy canes was for her. 
The rest were for Martinez’s classmates."

Breaking free! ------University Staff Breaks Away From Michigan Education Association

University Staff Breaks Away From Michigan Education Association [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
"The move for clerical and technical workers to form an independent union will save members considerable money, Bedford said. While new dues have yet to be determined, Bedford points out that their unit has paid the MEA more than $1 million.

Bedford said members have been watching the proceedings of the "August Window" dispute in Lansing, but she said she thought people's minds were made up long before then. A Senate committee held hearings late last year about the MEA's practice of only allowing its members to leave during the month of August and whether the union tried to hide that information from members.

"It was just another example of how the MEA is choosing to operate," Bedford said. "You have many layers of politics within that group. Even the Uniserve directors admit they don't have much control over what goes on in Lansing."

Teachers in Roscommon left the MEA in 2012 and formed their own local union."

Cities Take Snow Emergencies To New Restrictive Level

Cities Take Snow Emergencies To New Restrictive Level [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"When Donna McPherson of Lansing received an automated phone message alerting her that a "snow emergency" had been declared and that "non-essential" travel had been banned, she said it raised a question.
McPherson said her family talked about whether Lansing police would pull over drivers and ask them why they were driving.
In the midst of the winter storm this week, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero declared a snow emergency, which prohibited "non-essential" commercial, private and public travel on city roads."

Poverty level under Obama breaks 50-year record

Poverty level under Obama breaks 50-year record - Washington Times

Fifty years after President Johnson started a $20 trillion taxpayer-funded war on poverty, the overall percentage of impoverished people in the U.S. has declined only slightly and the poor have lost ground under President Obama.

Aides said Mr. Obama doesn’t plan to commemorate the anniversary Wednesday of Johnson’s speech in 1964, which gave rise to Medicaid, Head Start and a broad range of other federal anti-poverty programs.
The president’s only public event Tuesday was a plea for Congress to approve extended benefits for the long-term unemployed, another reminder of the persistent economic troubles during Mr. Obama’s five years in office.

“What I think the American people are really looking for in 2014 is just a little bit of stability,” Mr. Obama said.

Although the president often rails against income inequality in America, his policies have had little impact overall on poverty.
A record 47 million Americans receive food stamps, about 13 million more than when he took office.

The poverty rate has stood at 15 percent for three consecutive years, the first time that has happened since the mid-1960s. 
The poverty rate in 1965 was 17.3 percent; it was 12.5 percent in 2007, before the Great Recession.

So EVERYONE thinks the kid's money is theirs to spend?-----GOP Senate candidate Land favors extending jobless benefits

Tell me again.
What is the difference between a republican and a democrat?
GOP Senate candidate Land favors extending jobless benefits | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Republican U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has come out in favor of extending unemployment benefits for 43,000 Michigan residents.
Land on Tuesday issued a statement saying she supports an extension of jobless benefits to "those actively seeking gainful employment."
She adds that it's just a short-term fix and another example of how Washington is governed by crisis."

MUST WATCH----Grim message in new NZTA road safety ad

Things are changing, folks.......Cop Shoots Schizophrenic Teen Who'd Already Been Tasered, After Saying "We Don't Have Time For This"

Cop Shoots Schizophrenic Teen Who'd Already Been Tasered, After Saying "We Don't Have Time For This" | Alternet:

A schizophrenic teen was fatally shot over the weekend in North Carolina by police officers.  Now, the  news outlet WECT reports that one of the officers who arrived at the scene in Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina has been placed on leave.  

The incident started on Sunday afternoon, when three cops arrived at the home of 18-year-old Keith Vidal.  The first officer who arrived at the home reported that there was a confrontation, but then told the second police unit that everything was OK.

But shots were fired from an officer in the second unit, who arrived after the first officer.  The teen’s father, Mark Wilsey, said that the family called the police for help with their schizophrenic son, who was holding a small screwdriver.  The family says their son would not have hurt anyone with the screwdriver.

Vidal, Wilsey’s son, was tasered first.  But according to Wilsey, an officer said, “we don’t have time for this,” and then shot Vidal.

"There was no reason to shoot this kid," Wilsey told WECT. "They killed my son in cold blood. We called for help and they killed my son."

Michigan State Group Chant - ESPN Video - ESPN

Michigan State Group Chant - ESPN Video - ESPN:
At last night's men's basketball game against Ohio State (MSU won in overtime), members of the Rose Bowl-winnng football team taught their locker room chant to the crowd.

For Too Many Americans, College Today Isn't Worth It

For Too Many Americans, College Today Isn't Worth It | Zero Hedge:
"In the field of higher education, reality is outrunning parody.
A recent feature on the satire website the Onion proclaimed, "30-Year-Old Has Earned $11 More Than He Would Have Without College Education."
Allowing for tuition, interest on student loans, and four years of foregone income while in school, the fictional student "Patrick Moorhouse" wasn't much better off.
His years of stress and study, the article japed, "have been more or less a financial wash."

"Patrick" shouldn't feel too bad. 
Many college graduates would be happy to be $11 ahead instead of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, behind. 
The credit-driven higher education bubble of the past several decades has left legions of students deep in debt without improving their job prospects."

Find yourself or your friends-2014 Rose Bowl Gigapixel

2014 Rose Bowl Gigapixel - Powered by Blakeway Panoramas

History for January 8 -Elvis!

History for January 8 - On-This-Day.com: 

79^th birth anniversary of Elvis Aaron Presley (1935-77).

1642 - Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.


1815 - The Battle of New Orleans began. The War of 1812 had officially ended on December 24, 1814, with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The news of the signing had not reached British troops in time to prevent their attack on New Orleans.


1918 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points as the basis for peace upon the end of World War I.



1955 - After 130 home basketball wins, Georgia Tech defeated Kentucky 59-58. It was the first Kentucky loss at home since January 2, 1943.



1964 - U.S. President Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty."




1973 - The trial opened in Washington, of seven men accused of bugging Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, DC.



1982 - American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies.



1987 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed over the 2000 mark for the first time at 2,002.25.



1994 - Tonya Harding won the ladies' U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit, MI, a day after Nancy Kerrigan dropped out because of a clubbing attack that injured her right knee. The U.S. Figure Skating Association later took the title from Harding because of her involvement in the attack.



1999 - The top two executives of Salt Lake City's Olympic Organizing Committee resigned amid disclosures that civic boosters had given cash to members of the International Olympic Committee. 

9 Stunning Images Of Lake Michigan Frozen (PICTURES)

9 Stunning Images Of Lake Michigan Frozen (PICTURES)

Naked Aussie freed from washer with olive oil

Naked Aussie freed from washer with olive oil - New York News

SYDNEY (AP) - A naked Australian man who became stuck in a washing machine as part of an ill-planned practical joke was freed from the appliance with the help of an unusual rescue device: olive oil.

The 20-year-old man, identified only as "Laurence," told Australia's Fairfax Radio that he was on his way to take a shower on Saturday when he decided to climb into the top-loader to have a bit of fun. 

The fun quickly evaporated, however, when he realized he couldn't budge.

He called out to his friend for help, who rang the police. 

They responded to the scene, along with firefighters, paramedics and a search and rescue squad.

"He was very well wedged in there and we were concerned for his health and well-being," Shepparton police Sgt. Michelle De Araugo told the Shepparton News. 

"It was just a game gone wrong.

 It would be fair to say the gentleman was very embarrassed."

Rescuers tried in vain to pull Laurence from the machine. 

But when it became clear he was seriously stuck, they grabbed a bottle of his favorite olive oil to help lubricate his escape. 

The oil worked, and he popped out.

"I was quite disappointed they used my good olive oil," Laurence told Fairfax Radio. 

"As soon as the washing machine went on its side, it was a bit like a birthing."

Reporter flipped funny sled accident

Allen West, NRA warn EPA causing ammo shortage in back-door gun grab

Allen West, NRA warn EPA causing ammo shortage in back-door gun grab - BizPac Review

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West is joining the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups to warn that an attack by the Obama administration’sEPA on a Missouri lead processing operation is really part of a back-door attack on the Second Amendment.

In a column posted on his website Sunday, West wrote about the Doe Run company’s lead smelting operation in Herculaneum, Mo., which is being forced to close after the Environmental Protection Agency required it to spend up to $100 million on upgrades the plant.

But to anyone outside Washington, D.C., $100 million is a lot of money – too much, in this case. Doe Run, the last primary lead smelter in the United States, is closing on Dec. 31, eliminating 145 jobs in a town of about 3,400 people.

It will also eliminate the last place for refining lead other than scrap metal in the country, meaning the U.S. will have to import refined lead used for everything from batteries to airport metal detectors and medical devices, thetrumpet.com reports.

And ammunition.

And here’s where West is joining with the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.

In an October report, the NRA/ILA wrote:

“At this time, it’s unclear if Doe Run or another company will open a new lead smelter in the United States that can meet the more stringent lead air quality standards by using more modern smelting methods.   What is clear is that after the Herculaneum smelter closes its doors in December, entirely domestic manufacture of conventional ammunition, from raw ore to finished cartridge, will be impossible.

That means the U.S. military will be dependent on foreign sources — like China — for ammunition for its weapons. Even libs should see the problem with that.

It also mean American gun owners, already facing a long-term ammunition shortage, are looking at a future of more expensive, harder-get-get bullets for the guns the president and his “base” already want to get rid of.

The Obama water carriers at MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” posted a column in October pre-emptively attacking the “conspiracy theory” that an openly, fanatically anti-gun president would use an aggressive Environmental Protection Agency to try a back-door enforcement of gun control. The writer points out that the EPA first started looking at Doe Run during in 2008 under President Bush.

But the MSNBC writer is missing the point (probably deliberately). It really doesn’t matter if the original aim of the EPA’s fixation on Doe Run was really to shut down ammunition manufacture in the United States.

The bottom line is that is what it is doing. And it’s hard to believe the libs that elected this ruinous president are anything but ecstatic about the sneak attack’s success.

As West writes:

Not only will ammo be even harder to come by, the demand and the process of supply will cause the price to skyrocket even more. And ponder this, there is an excellent chance that Obama will rig the market to where all ammo has to be purchased from the government instituting an ammo registration.

So America, back door gun control is moving forward and while we are all distracted with Obamacare and Iran nuclear negotiations, our Second Amendment rights are undergoing an assault by clandestine infiltration … [Obama] He is seeking to outflank, envelope, and destroy the Second Amendment. Now it’s our move in 2014.

Interesting word, "scrimp". Government doesn't "scrimp" very often-----------Winter storm proves Illinois has plenty of 'non-essential' government workers

Winter storm proves Illinois has plenty of 'non-essential' government workers « Watchdog.org:

But that begs the question, who is a non-essential government worker?

Thousands of people who answer phones in the massive state bureaucracy were told to stay home. Same with the folks who sell license plates and the people who run Illinois’ universities. Even the folks implementing Obamacare got a day off because they are not needed.

The cost for that, Quinn said, will not be known for a while. Though the governor doesn’t sound as if he cares.

“You don’t scrimp when it comes to public safety,” Quinn said. “In the end we will calculate it. “

Walmart-A nother reason why Jay Carney has the world's toughest PR job

Another day, another reason why Jay Carney has the world's toughest PR job | WashingtonExaminer.com: "Walmart is America's largest retailer and the one every labor activist in the country dreams about unionizing because the Arkansas-based company allegedly underpays and mistreats its employees.

But now along comes the Washington Examiner Watchdog Team's Richard Pollock, who took the time to compare the giant retailer's employee health insurance plans with Obamacare.

After consulting with multiple health insurance experts, Pollock concluded that "Walmart's plan is more affordable and provides significantly better access to high-quality medical care than Obamacare.""

No problem. Who needs public transportation when it's cold?-------------------Polar blast in Detroit continues: People Mover shut down

Polar blast in Detroit continues: Broderick Tower residents evacuate after pipe bursts; People Mover shut down | Crain's Detroit Business:

People Mover shuts down

The Detroit People Mover has been shut down today because of the sub-zero temperatures and wind chill.

"The operations are suspended until further notice and are being monitored as weather conditions improve," said Ericka Alexander, via email. She's the marketing specialist for the Detroit Transportation Co., which operates the system as a public corporate body rather than a city department.

The 2.9-mile, 13-stop, elevated single-track loop opened in 1987 at a cost of $200 million.

Its fleet of 12 automated, driverless vehicles are operated remotely by computer. 

A single loop takes 15 minutes.

Protect your family-----------2013 Gun Sales Skyrocketed, Broke Previous Record by Wide Margin

2013 Gun Sales Skyrocketed, Broke Previous Record by Wide Margin:
"It is important to note that the 21,093,273 background checks for 2013 do not represent number of guns sold. Background checks are done on gun purchasers, and each purchaser can buy multiple guns.
So the overall number of guns sold could have been two or three times the number of background checks – or more. "

The only thing important in this article is the lack of one name, Michigan-----------Ten freshman governors who have shrunk their states’ bureaucracies

Ten freshman governors who have shrunk their states’ bureaucracies | Conservative Intelligence Briefing

In 2010, Americans went to the polls and elected a whole crop of new governors — 26 in all, if you count the election of governors who had previously served non-consecutive terms in Iowa and Oregon. 

Election results varied from state to state, but the overall voice of the people that year — the great Tea Party midterm — was calling for a more limited and less intrusive government.

So which of those new governors have delivered in their first term?

ObamaCare's Phony Medicaid Promise Of Cost-Savings Is Exposed

ObamaCare's Phony Medicaid Promise Of Cost-Savings Is Exposed - Investors.com:
"ObamaCare is driving millions of people into Medicaid, a program we now know does nothing to improve health and actually drives emergency-room use higher.
A central premise of ObamaCare was that vastly expanding Medicaid would ultimately save health care dollars. 
The millions of uninsured gaining access to Medicaid would no longer crowd costly emergency rooms looking for care, the thinking went.
And that improved access would keep them healthier.

Turns out that neither of those claims is true."

Grand Haven pier

At some point... doncha start to run out of victims? -----------------Chicago Is Far Less Violent Than Before

I guess they call this "good news" in Obama's neighborhood.....
Chicago Is Far Less Violent Than Before | Black Blue Dog:
"After a year, in which Chicago led the nation in homicides topping 500 for 2012, officials in the city are saying that the murder rate fell to its lowest levels since 1972.
The Chicago Police Department is reporting a 16% decline in crime for 2013, including violent crimes, robberies, and aggravated battery.
This is a precipitous drop considering 2013 didn’t start good in Chicagoland with 40 homicides in January alone.
But afterwards and by the end of the year the city had recorded 415 homicides, 88 fewer than in 2012 and 20 fewer than in 2011."

Steyn I-Told-You-So Moment

Steyn I-Told-You-So Moment :: SteynOnline:
"Mr. Mutchnick's comparison of the word "homosexual" with "Negro" gives the game away:
Just as everything any conservative says about anything is racist, so, now, it will also be homophobic.

And so it has proved. GLAAD's spokesgay grasped as much.
When the backlash against the GLAADhanding began, he retreated in TV interviews to complaining that Robertson's memories of the southern blacks he knew in his youth were "racist".
People are not, yet, not quite, ready to see the gay card played as wildly as the race card, but it's in the same hand. "

"....Every time you allow the thought-enforcers to add the scalp of a Jeremy Irons or a Phil Robertson to their trophy room, you're licensing the next sacrificial victim. 
Enough."

Census data on income distribution reveal evidence of rising income levels for a rising share of American households

Very insightful post.
Well worth your time to study.
It disproves the "we're all getting poorer" myth.
Census data on income distribution reveal evidence of rising income levels for a rising share of American households | AEIdeas:
"I posted and wrote about a similar chart last summer that displayed the distribution of “family income” and concluded in that post that the Census income data may suggest that the reason the middle class might appear to be “disappearing” is because that income group is actually moving into the upper class, and not falling into the lower class as is typically claimed. "

The police came later. To claim the body.......Florida Homeowner Uses AK-47 to Shoot and Kill 1 of 3 Armed Home Invaders

[Video] Florida Homeowner Uses AK-47 to Shoot and Kill 1 of 3 Armed Home Invaders:
"DAVIE, FL – A homeowner sent two home invasion suspects running and one to the morgue last Thursday night.
According to NBC Miami,
Three armed men entered the apartment and pistol-whipped the resident inside, police said. He then confronted the suspects.
“The resident of the apartment had possession of an AK-47 and after he received this beating he was able to get possession or control of that, and started shooting at these suspects as they were fleeing,” Engle said.
One of the suspects was fatally shot, but the other two escaped."

Indonesian man has tumour removed from his waist only for hundreds of others to sprout up all over his face as doctors fear for his sight

Cherish your health.
Indonesian man has tumour removed from his waist only for hundreds of others to sprout up all over his face as doctors fear for his sight | Mail Online:
-"Indonesian man has tumour removed from his waist only for hundreds of others to sprout up all over his face as doctors fear for his sight
Slamet, 59, is believed to be suffering from neurofibromatosis
-Genetic condition which causes uncontrollable growths along the nerves
-Illness began six months after doctors removed tumour from waist in 1991"

Honestly. I'm still not sure if this is a hoax.

Looks like BO's "laser-like focus on jobs" has been replaced by a laser-like focus on his "People Magazine" presidency.

The dude gotta short attention span.

Bummer, America....

Sob story at double (triple?)-time...........It's not easy being a Wayne County snow plow driver: Non-stop hours, little respect

Yeah, they do a needed job.
But wouldn't it be helpful if the FREEP propagandists told us how much the tax payers are paying for these heroes?
As opposed to those small business plow service types just trying to stay afloat???
It's not easy being a Wayne County snow plow driver: Non-stop hours, little respect | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"The effort has been met with less-than-pleasant responses from many residents, some of whom have taken to social media to voice their displeasure.
....At 11:30 a.m. — more than 10 hours into his shift — he took a few minutes to grab something quick to eat. He was back on the road within minutes.
In the last two weeks, he’s logged about 90 hours of overtime.
Monday’s shift was scheduled to end at 4 p.m., he said, but that’s not always a guarantee.
“We stay till we get all the clean-up done,” he said.
Sure, the overtime is nice, he said, but “I’d rather be home with my kids and family.”"

Tax Audits Are No Laughing Matter

Tax Audits Are No Laughing Matter - WSJ.com:
"At his Arizona State University commencement speech last Wednesday, Mr. Obama noted that ASU had refused to grant him an honorary degree, citing his lack of experience, and the controversy this had caused.

He then demonstrated ASU's point by remarking, "I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson.
I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. . . . President [Michael] Crowe and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS."

Just a joke about the power of the presidency.
Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny.
But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it's hard to see the humor."

White House admits taxpayers will foot the bill to extend Michelle Obama's Hawaiian vacation

White House admits taxpayers will foot the bill to extend Michelle Obama's Hawaiian vacation | Mail Online:
"Happy birthday, Michelle . . . from all of US! Taxpayers foot the bill for First Lady's extended Hawaiian vacation... so she can celebrate her 50th in Oprah's Maui home
-The first lady remained behind in Hawaii following a 15-day family vacation, and will stay at the 12-bedroom island home of Oprah Winfrey
-Mrs Obama will be flown home on a separate aircraft, with tax dollars covering the cost
-The White House insists she will be responsible for her own 'personal expenses'
-Secret Service protection and dedicated vehicles will add significantly to the price tag of what the president described as an early birthday gift"

This is the St. Joseph Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. Today, it is encased in ice as the Midwest is hit with a "polar vortex", causing wind chills to reach -50 degrees.

http://www.michigannutphotography.com/michigan-lighthouses/h53c4cc46#h53c4cc46

http://www.michigannutphotography.com/michigan-lighthouses/e53c4cc46

Top 10 Editorial Cartoons of 2013 —Best Of Michael Ramirez

Top 10 Editorial Cartoons of 2013 —Best Of Michael Ramirez - Investors.com