History for January 19

History for January 19 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary of author, poet, critic and editor Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49). Creator of “The Raven,” one of the most popular poems of the 19^th century, Poe was also the inventor of the detective story—although his fame rests in tales of the macabre.

175th birth anniversary of post-impressionist artist Paul Cézanne (1839-1906).

Birth anniversary of preacher and philanthropist Edgar J. Helms (1863-1942). He founded the program that became Goodwill Industries.

Birth anniversaries of Janis Joplin (1943-70), Robert E. Lee (1807-70), James Watt (1736-1819).

Happy Birthday! Michael Crawford,  Shelley Fabares, Dolly Parton

1793 - King Louis XVI was tried by the French Convention, found guilty of treason and sentenced to the guillotine. 


1966 - Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister of India. 


1977 - U.S. President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino (the "Tokyo Rose"). 


1996 - U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury. The investigation was concerning the discovery of billing records related to the Whitewater real estate investment venture.

Potato lobbists win!------Congress wants more potatoes in gov't program

Congress wants more potatoes in gov't program:
"WASHINGTON (AP) — Nutritionists say Americans don't need more white potatoes. Congress disagrees — again.
Lawmakers are encouraging the agriculture secretary to allow low-income pregnant and nursing mothers to buy white potatoes with the vouchers they receive as part of a government program. That goes against the advice of the Institute of Medicine, which advises the government on health issues. The institute has said recipients of such aid already eat enough white potatoes."

Global Warming Is A Back Door To Socialism - As Even The United Nations Admits

Global Warming Is A Back Door To Socialism - As Even The United Nations Admits - Investors.com:
"Power: As evidence discredits global warming, resistance to such facts by green elites reveals their real aim is bringing socialism in through the back door.
But don't take our word for it.
Listen to the climate change boss at the U.N.

Christiana Figueres, with the lumpy title of executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), came right out and said it:
Democracy is a poor political system for fighting global warming.
The really good model is communist China.

China is "doing it right," she told Bloomberg News Tuesday. 
"They actually want to breathe air they don't have to look at," she said with a straight face."

Number of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents on Food Stamps Doubles

Number of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents on Food Stamps Doubles:
"The number of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) receiving food stamps zoomed from 1.7 million to 3.9 million between Fiscal Year 2007 and Fiscal Year 2010.
In that same period, food stamp recipients in total grew from 26 million to nearly 40 million.
One reason for the catastrophic growth in the number of ABAWDs is Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus bill, which opened the door for states to waive the work provision required of ABAWDs. 
That work provision mandated that to continue receiving food stamps, after three months of being unemployed ABAWDs must work or perform some type of work activity 20 hours per week."

It's election time folks---------------Snyder encourages support for immigrants, pledges investment in early education

Holy crapoli!
He thinks employees create jobs, not employers.
Well, it sure has for police and social services.....
And that "....repopulate Detroit...." O baby, that gonna hurt.....
Snyder encourages support for immigrants, pledges investment in early education | Crain's Detroit Business

In his fourth State of the State address Thursday night, Gov. Rick Snyder pledged to make Michigan more welcome to immigrants, provide some tax relief for workers and continue to invest in early childhood education.

Snyder announced he will create the Michigan Office for New Americans through an executive order that is part of his strategy to attract well-educated immigrants to Michigan to help create jobs.

“We need to encourage immigration in our state,” Snyder said. “We need to focus on legal immigration and make sure people know Michigan is the most welcoming place.”

The office, he said, will be a coordinating resource and encourage entrepreneurship among foreign students studying in Michigan universities and food workers in the agricultural sector.

Brad Williams, vice president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber, said he appreciated the governor’s comments on immigration.

“If you want to look at repopulating Detroit… immigrants always play a vital role,” Williams said. “We look forward to a day when we can welcome immigrants with open arms in the city and make Detroit the most immigrant friendly city in the country."

Find Out How Each Republican Senator Voted on $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill

Find Out How Each Republican Senator Voted on $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill:
"The $1.1 trillion spending bill passed the Senate on Friday with a vote of 72-26. All 26 votes against the bill came from Republicans while 17 so-called Republicans voted in support of the bill that increased government spending.
The following is a list of Republicans and how they voted. Sens. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.), did not vote.
The 17 Republicans who voted to pass the bill: "

Failed Leadership: Dem Lawmaker Admits ‘Nobody’ Read $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Before Passing it

Failed Leadership: Dem Lawmaker Admits ‘Nobody’ Read $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Before Passing it:
"In fact, on Thursday, Oregon Democrat Representative Earl Blumenauer scoffed at the idea that anybody would read the bills before they voted for them.
CNSNews.com asked Blumenauer: “The omnibus bill yesterday, it was 1,582 pages, did you have a chance to read all the pages before voting on it?”
Blumenauer laughed and said: “Nobody did!”
“Nobody did?” asked the reporter.
“Nope,” said Blumenauer."

Omnibus spending bill stuffed with Pentagon pork

Omnibus spending bill stuffed with Pentagon pork | WashingtonExaminer.com

The bill, for instance, includes $4 million for alcohol and substance abuse research, $12 million for Alzheimer’s research, $120 million for breast cancer research, $10.5 million for lung cancer research, $20 million for ovarian cancer research, $80 million for prostate cancer research, and more — all of which are nondefense activities and overlap research performed by the National Institute of Health.
A document prepared by the staff of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., shows the omnibus bill is also stuffed with funding for weapons not even requested by the Pentagon, including $90 million for Abrams tank upgrades to maintain “critical industrial base capability,” $1.2 billion to the Navy's request to fully fund a second Virginia-class submarine in fiscal year 2014 (the Navy had requested partial funding), and eight additional MQ-9 Reaper UAVs on top of the 12 the Air Force requested. The Coburn document also shows that the omnibus funds research not requested by the Pentagon, including $6 million for human, social and culture behavior modeling, $46.7 million for weapons technology, and $70 million for common kill vehicle technology.

Where Will You Be?-Muskegon's Tammy Derouin

LIBERTY REVIEW:

There’s evidence of scandals, corruption, lies and deception. 

The most arrogant of them all, changing company rules without going through proper procedures. 

Your company manual was changed and you didn’t even know it.

State in the Worst Fiscal Condition Is…

State in the Worst Fiscal Condition Is… | TheBlaze.com:
"[Editor’s note: The following is a cross post that originally appeared on CNBC.com]:

A new study on the fiscal condition of the 50 states ranks New Jersey dead last, citing revenue shortfalls, budget practices and high levels of debt .

The healthiest states, on the other hand, are those benefiting from the domestic energy boom, including Alaska and the Dakotas."

Do cops need a warrant to search your phone? US Supreme Court will rule

Do cops need a warrant to search your phone? US Supreme Court will rule • The Register:
"The US Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a pair of cases to determine whether police need a warrant to search the mobile phones of people they have arrested.

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution forbids "unreasonable" search and seizure, but in 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that conducting a full search of an arrestee's person and belongings was not unreasonable, even without a search warrant."

Affordable Care Act impact: 1,000 fewer workers in West Michigan, survey finds

Affordable Care Act impact: 1,000 fewer workers in West Michigan, survey finds | MLive.com: "“Conservatively, there would be 1,000 more workers today in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon and Allegan counties if not for the ACA,” Muller said.
“This is not even taking into effect the decrease in hours firms are making to keep employees at part-time.”
The report found 49 percent of firms already have increased employees’ share of health care costs."

Kimberley Strassel: IRS Targeting and 2014

Kimberley Strassel: IRS Targeting and 2014 - WSJ.com:
"President Obama and Democrats have been at great pains to insist they knew nothing about IRS targeting of conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofits before the 2012 election.
They've been at even greater pains this week to ensure that the same conservative groups are silenced in the 2014 midterms.

That's the big, dirty secret of the omnibus negotiations.
As one of the only bills destined to pass this year, the omnibus was—behind the scenes—a flurry of horse trading.
One of the biggest fights was over GOP efforts to include language to stop the IRS from instituting a new round of 501(c)(4) targeting. 
The White House is so counting on the tax agency to muzzle its political opponents that it willingly sacrificed any manner of its own priorities to keep the muzzle in place."

Police forced man to have anal surgery during crazy drug search, now settling for $1.6 million

Police forced man to have anal surgery during crazy drug search, now settling for $1.6 million | The Daily Caller:
"David Eckert–the man who was stopped by police, suspected of drug possession, driven to a hospital, driven to a second hospital, forced to undergo multiple invasive surgeries, and billed for the abuse after no drugs were found–has obtained a $1.6 million settlement with New Mexico local authorities.

The settlement between Eckert and police in Deming and Hidalgo County, New Mexico brings a measure of closure to the horrifying incident, said Eckert’s lawyer.

“He feels relieved that this part is over and believes this litigation might make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” said Shannon Kennedy, Eckert’s lawyer, in a statement. (RELATED: Horror: Police force man to undergo invasive anal operation)"

History for January 18

History for January 18 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversaries of entertainers Oliver Hardy (1892-1957), Cary Grant (1904-86), and David Ruffin (1941-1991).

In 1803, US President Thomas Jefferson commissioned a western expedition to be led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark.

1778 - English navigator Captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands, which he called the "Sandwich Islands." 


1788 - The first English settlers arrived in Australia's Botany Bay to establish a penal colony. The group moved north eight days later and settled at Port Jackson. 


1911 - For the first time an aircraft landed on a ship. Pilot Eugene B. Ely flew onto the deck of the USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco harbor. 


1943 - U.S. commercial bakers stopped selling sliced bread. Only whole loaves were sold during the ban until the end of World War II.
 

1950 - The federal tax on oleomargarine was repealed. 


1964 - The plans for the World Trade Center in New York were disclosed. 

1990 - A jury in Los Angeles, CA, acquitted former preschool operators Raymond Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, of 52 child molestation charges. 


1990 - In an FBI sting, Washington, DC, Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug possession. He was later convicted of a misdemeanor. 


1993 - The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all 50 U.S. states for the first time. 

YES!!!!!---------Washington reporters parrot Obama's 'income inequality' mantra

Washington reporters parrot Obama's 'income inequality' mantra | WashingtonExaminer.com:

Washington's political reporters, in lightning knee-jerk speed, have embraced President Obama's Robin Hood war on “income inequality,” the latest example of the president's success in using the bully pulpit to steer attention to his new populist campaign.

The issue took center stage Wednesday during a briefing from the nonpartisan Business Roundtable meant to focus on the group's agenda to push economic growth from 2 percent to 4 percent, but instead saw several reporters pestering the group's president and chairman about the minimum wage and income distribution.

At first, Randall Stephenson, the Roundtable chairman and CEO of AT&T, and Roundtable President John Engler were patient with the questions from the reporters, many of whom have been in Washington for decades and are presumably well-paid.

Stephenson argued that if the administration helped to fix the economy, reduce regulations and expand trade, more jobs would be created. “If the economy is doing better, everyone is doing better,” Stephenson said at the briefing hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

But near the end, the gregarious Engler, a former Michigan governor, couldn't take it any more as the number of questions asked on wages, income and unemployment reached 10. So he flipped the issue back on the reporters, including those parroting the president, who plans to discuss the issue in his upcoming State of the Union address.
“There's income inequality around this table,” he said. “I'm very concerned that Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal and USA Today probably pays a lot more than some of the bloggers get paid. And I don't have a strategy to fix that.”

City of Palo Alto Faces Strike – $139,907 Average Total Compensation Not Enough

City of Palo Alto Faces Strike – $139,907 Average Total Compensation Not Enough | Union Watch:
"The problem with this, of course, is that as soon as one city raised their wages and benefits to make their jobs more attractive than the neighboring city, then the neighboring city had to endure the clamor from their unions to keep pace.
The result?
We have workers in Palo Alto, whose average pay and benefits were $139,907 during 2012, claiming they don’t make enough money, and so they’re considering going on strike.
One problem with media coverage of these strikes is that local newspapers rarely bother to report what the employees are actually making in total pay and employer-paid benefits. 
And if these reporters do take the time to report pay, they usually report averages from the State Controller’s “Government Compensation in California” website."

Will work for beer...what a concept!-----------Alcoholics work for beer in Amsterdam program

Alcoholics work for beer in Amsterdam program - The Denver Post:
"In a pilot project that has drawn attention in the Netherlands and around the world, the city has teamed up with a charity organization in hopes of improving the neighborhood and possibly improving life for the alcoholics.
Not by trying to cure them, but instead by offering to fund their drinking outright.
Participants are given beer in exchange for light work collecting litter, eating a decent meal, and sticking to their schedule."

Go ahead, make your day $15/hour------Future of farming: The robotic optical grape sorting system

Future of farming: The robotic optical grape sorting system | AEIdeas:
"The video above shows the Bucher Delta Vistalys R2 optical grape sorting system in operation.
Modern Farmer featured the futuristic farming technology on its website this week in the article “How a Robot Can Sort 2 Tons of Grapes in 12 Minutes.”

Head winemaker Steve Leveque is now using a $150,000 optical grape sorter at Hall Winery in Napa Valley, and he says “Most wineries can sort about two tons of grapes per hour, using 15 human sorters.
We now processes the same amount of grapes in only twelve minutes, with zero human sorters.”"

Yeah, they used to do this. They don't anymore..... I hope......1985 Breckenridge Ski Ballet

Morons are bankrupting our country. And no one seems to mind------China’s Treasury Holdings Climb to Record in Government Data

China’s Treasury Holdings Climb to Record in Government Data - Bloomberg:
"China’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries increased $12.2 billion to a record $1.317 trillion in November, data released on the Treasury Department’s website showed.
The figures, scheduled for release at 9 a.m. tomorrow in Washington, were inadvertently posted on the Treasury’s website.
Japan’s holdings rose $12 billion to $1.186 trillion, the figures showed."

Newport Beach’s $100,000 Lifeguards Feel Pension Squeeze

Newport Beach’s $100,000 Lifeguards Feel Pension Squeeze - Businessweek:
"Newport Beach, California, where four ranking lifeguards earned more than the town’s $109,677 median household income in 2012, may partially disband its municipal ocean rescue to deal with rising pension costs."

Cut up the credit cards: states have $5 trillion in debts taxpayers will have to pay

Cut up the credit cards: states have $5 trillion in debts taxpayers will have to pay « Watchdog.org

Coast to coast, states are leaving taxpayers on the hook for massive debt payments over the coming decades as state governments continue to abuse their metaphorical credit cards.

A new report released this week says state governments have more than $5.1 trillion in debt, largely because of pension obligations to former and current state employees, which states now lack the assets to pay off. Pension debt accounts for more than $3.9 billion of that total, but the report also includes outstanding bonded debt, unemployment compensation trust fund debt and debt in the form of “other post-employment benefits,” or OPEB, which is closely linked to pensions and includes retired public employees’ health-care costs.

BLAME THE PENSIONS: The majority of state debt is the result of public employee pension obligations, which most states lack sufficient resources to pay.

Though the totals vary significantly from state-to-state, it adds up to an average of more than $16,000 of debt for each man, woman and child in the United States.

Don't they get the "We are broke!!!!" thing?-----------------$1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Easily Approved by Congress

PJ Media » $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Easily Approved by Congress:

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a $1.1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill tonight, sending the spending whopper to President Obama’s desk for a signature and leaving the hacktivist collective Anonymous simply commenting on its Twitter account, “Where is the cash coming from?”

A government at war with its citizens-----NYPD Seized an Innocent’s Man Cash, Used It to Pad Their Pensions

NYPD Seized an Innocent’s Man Cash, Used It to Pad Their Pensions | The Institute for Justice

Under civil forfeiture, someone does not have to be convicted, or even charged, with a crime, to have their property confiscated. Plus, under New York state forfeiture law, the burden of proof is placed on the property owner. In other words, owners have to prove their innocence in court.

Read More: The 14 Most Ridiculous Things Police Bought With Asset Forfeiture

That clearly favors the police. According to Steven Kessler, the former head of the Bronx District Attorney’s forfeiture unit, property owners are not charged with a crime in 85 percent of the forfeiture cases pursued by the NYPD.

As Max Rivlin-Nadler elaborates at Gothamist:

The NYPD does not keep public records of how much money or property it seizes through civil forfeiture, nor does it publicly account for how that money and property is spent or allocated. Based on the sheer volume of cases that the department pursues, experts estimate that the amount the NYPD has taken from New Yorkers over the past decade is well into the millions.

That isn’t too surprising, if disheartening. According to the Institute for Justice’s report, “Policing for Profit,” across New York State, district attorneys and task forces obtained almost $70 million in cash from forfeiture in 2008 (the latest year available).

County leaders divided on Detroit water deal, warn of huge rate hikes

County leaders divided on Detroit water deal, warn of huge rate hikes | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"A potential deal for greater suburban control over Detroit’s water system is running up against political recriminations from two of southeast Michigan’s top elected officials, who on Thursday accused negotiators for the city’s emergency manager of withholding critical data about the long-term costs of any such agreement.

The divisions erupted as the leaders of Detroit, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties spoke before a Detroit Economic Club luncheon.
Thursday’s comments reflected frustration over apparently stalled talks about the water system, which is among the most contentious issues in Detroit’s bankruptcy."

.....One issue is unpaid water and sewer bills in the City of Detroit, which have averaged $40 million annually. Suburban leaders want assurances that they won’t face rate increases to pay those bills.

The city of Highland Park, for one, owes the system about $18 million and has shown no means of paying it. 

The department can’t shut off water to the whole city, so suburban leaders want that issue resolved before agreeing to anything.