History for January 23

History for January 23 - On-This-Day.com:

National Pie Day

Birth anniversary of John Hancock (1737-93, NS)

Ratification anniversaries: in 1933, the 20^th Amendment was ratified (moving presidential inaugurations to Jan 20) and in 1964, the 24^th Amendment was ratified (abolishing the poll tax).

Happy Birthday! Rutger Hauer

1556 - An earthquake in Shanxi Province, China, was thought to have killed about 830,000 people. 

1960 - The U.S. Navy bathyscaphe Trieste descended to a record depth of 35,820 feet (10,750 meters) in the Pacific Ocean.



1968 - North Korea seized the U.S. Navy ship Pueblo, charging it had intruded into the nation's territorial waters on a spying mission. The crew was released 11 months later. 


1971 - In Prospect Creek Camp, AK, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. was reported as minus 80 degrees. 


1977 - The TV mini-series "Roots," began airing on ABC. The show was based on the Alex Haley novel. 


2003 - North Korea announced that it would consider sanctions an act of war for North Korea's reinstatement of its nuclear program.

ObamaCare’s Attack on the Elderly

ObamaCare’s Attack on the Elderly | FrontPage Magazine:
"Beginning the the same time the LCP scandal was being exposed, the Obama administration began awarding hospitals bonus points for spending the least amount of money on elderly patients. 

Even worse, the idea was sold to the elderly as a good thing during the 2012 presidential election campaign."

The inconvient truth---Target announces it will drop part-time employees from its healthcare plan

Target announces it will drop part-time employees from its healthcare plan | TheHill
Target Corp. announced on Tuesday it would no longer offer healthcare coverage to its part-time employees.

In a blog post on the company’s website, Jodee Kozlak, the executive vice president of human resources, framed it as a positive development for part-time employees of the company.

“The Health Insurance Marketplaces provides new options for healthcare coverage that we believe our part-time members may prefer,” she wrote. “In fact, by offering them insurance, we could actually disqualify many of them from being eligible for newly available subsidies that could reduce their overall health insurance expense.”

Kozlak added that at present, fewer than 10 percent of part-time employees that are eligible have actually enrolled in the company’s healthcare plan.

No one can figure it out? People like "free" or "discount". And this is news?-----A quarter of Affordable Care Act enrollees were uninsured, Priority Health survey finds

A quarter of Affordable Care Act enrollees were uninsured, Priority Health survey finds | MLive.com: "Although easy access to doctors was considered a high priority, 43 percent said they did not know if the provider network in their new plan was similar to their former network.
Most said the subsidy influenced their selection of a plan.
But more than 60 percent did not know whether they were eligible for cost-sharing reductions. 
The discount is available for those who choose a silver plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace and whose income is below a certain level – about $29,000 for single people."

Wait til these guys are unionized government employees----Paramedic charged with stealing $80 from dead man

Paramedic charged with stealing $80 from dead man | MLive.com:
"Prosecutors said Price was on an ambulance run for Professional Med Team Inc.
Pro Med President Thomas Schmiedeknecht could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

The attorney listed for Price in court files, Ronald H. Pannucci, also could not be reached Tuesday."

It's comin' to America, folks-----Swedes buy insurance to skip long health queues

Swedes buy insurance to skip long health queues - The Local:
"One in ten Swedes now has private health insurance, often through their employers, with some recipients stating it makes business sense to be seen quickly rather than languish in national health care queues.

Sweden's health system 'worst in the Nordics' (04 Dec 13)
'Rid health care of venture capital': Liberals (11 Nov 13)
Swedish midwives cut health care costs (02 Oct 13)

More than half a million Swedes now have private health insurance, showed a new review from industry organization Swedish Insurance (Svensk Försäkring).
In eight out of ten cases, the person's employer had offered them the private insurance deal.

"It's quicker to get a colleague back to work if you have an operation in two weeks' time rather than having to wait for a year," privately insured Anna Norlander told Sveriges Radio on Friday.
 "It's terrible that I, as a young person, don't feel I can trust the health care system to take care of me." "

Wimp presidents get bad deals-----Iran on nuke deal: 'We did not agree to dismantle anything'

Iran on nuke deal: 'We did not agree to dismantle anything' - CNN.com:
"(CNN) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted Wednesday that the Obama administration mischaracterizes concessions by his side in the six-month nuclear deal with Iran, telling CNN in an exclusive interview that "we did not agree to dismantle anything."
Zarif told CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto that terminology used by the White House to describe the agreement differed from the text agreed to by Iran and the other countries in the talks -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.
"The White House version both underplays the concessions and overplays Iranian commitments" under the agreement that took effect Monday, Zarif said"

Obama certainly knows "JV"-----Obama Claim That Post-Bin Laden Al-Qaida Is 'JV' Is Alarming

Obama Claim That Post-Bin Laden Al-Qaida Is 'JV' Is Alarming - Investors.com:

"President Obama says post-Bin Laden al-Qaida's control of more territory than ever doesn't matter because it's like a junior varsity high school basketball team.
Hoops aren't what al-Qaida is shooting.

When New Yorker editor David Remnick pointed out to Obama during a November interview that years after Osama bin Laden had been killed, "the flag of al-Qaida is now flying in Fallujah, in Iraq, and among various rebel factions in Syria" and "al-Qaida has asserted a presence in parts of Africa, too," the response he got was either delusional or deceitful.
The president retorted that "if a JV team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant."

Do we really want two sets of laws in America?----D.C. trial for one shotgun shell but no gun, not given NBC David Gregory offer

MILLER: D.C. trial for one shotgun shell but no gun, not given NBC David Gregory offer - Washington Times

A year ago this month, the attorney general for the District of Columbia let NBC News anchor David Gregory off scot-free for possession of a “high capacity” magazine because doing so “would not promote public safety.”

Now, Irvin Nathan refuses to use that same prosecutorial discretion for an average citizen who violated a bizarre technicality that makes empty casings and shells a crime as serious as having an illegal firearm.

Mr. Witaschek, a successful financial adviser with no criminal history, is the first known case of a citizen being prosecuted in D.C. for inoperable ammunition. 
Washington police and prosecutors have spent a year and a half trying to nail him for the possession of so-called unregistered ammunition. 

A hunter and gun owner, Mr. Witaschek has always kept his firearms at his sister’s house in Virginia. 
If convicted, he faces a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for having a single, inoperable shotgun shell in his home. 
The jury trial starts on Feb. 11.   

The Metropolitan Police Department raided Mr. Witaschek’s rented Georgetown house twice in the summer of 2012 on the word of his angry ex-wife.

Frustrated with not finding the promised firearms, the police handcuffed him, searched his home top to bottom and came out with only ammunition, which carries the same felony penalty as a firearm.

(Click here for more details of the raids from my first story on his case.)

Mr. Witaschek told me this week, “Since the night my home was invaded and family terrorized by a militarized D.C. police force, I am more afraid of what government is doing than I am of any of the people I encountered when I spent the night in jail.”

He added, “The Second Amendment was meant to guarantee individuals the right to protect themselves against government — as much as against private bad guys and gangs.”

There have been two pre-trail hearings in the case so far. At the end of the first hearing in November, Judge Robert Morin gave the government until Jan. 3 to come up with a good defense for the initial police raid without a search warrant.

Knowing things weren’t going in their favor, the two assistant attorneys general for the District on the case, Peter Saba and Oritsejemine Trouth, offered Mr. Witaschek probation if he pleaded guilty. He declined the offer.

At the second hearing, the judge disallowed the first warrantless search and the fruits of it. This eliminated a box of rifle ammunition from the charges.

Undeterred, the prosecutors continued with the two items from the second raid — a misfired 12-gauge shotgun shell and a box of muzzleloader sabots.

Sabots are plastic covers that make it easier to push the bullet into a muzzleloader gun. 
There is no propellent on the bullet or sabot — because the gunpowder is separated — so it is not clear that it can be categorized as ammunition and thus only registered gun owners can possess it.

Thus, the single vaguely legitimate remaining charge for “unregistered ammunition” is the misfired shotgun shell that Mr. Witaschek has kept as a souvenir from deer hunting years earlier. The shell cannot be fired because the primer was already stricken and failed to propel it.

“I believe that some in the prosecution and police apparatus know what they did and are trying to continue this charade to cover their tracks,” Mr. Witaschek said of the warrantless raid and SWAT team tactics used against his family. “If I am proven a ‘criminal,’ then their bad acts are covered. If not, they are liable.”

That’s why Mr. Witaschek turned down the prosecution’s second offer that he would plead guilty to a reduced charge of “attempted possession” of ammunition. That crime still would carry a maximum of penalty of a six-month jail sentence, and it is not eligible for a jury trial.

Neither of the prosecutors nor the spokesman for Mr. Nathan responded to requests for comment.

Without a firearm, Mr. Witaschek could not do anything dangerous with an inoperable shotgun shell or muzzleloading bullets.

So it is inconceivable that a judge or jury would see this case as anything other than an overly technical interpretation of a law supposedly intended to prevent crime.

Nevertheless, the attorney general and his team insisted on prosecuting. Mr. Nathan’s office has spent countless hours and taxpayer money to try to nail a man who is an upstanding member of society with no intent to harm anyone.

Mr. Witaschek deserves the same treatment as the powerful TV anchor Mr. Gregory. Mr. Nathan should drop this absurd charge before this case goes to the jury.

Aerial drone catches ice images at Holland State Park

Aerial drone catches ice images at Holland State Park
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/article/20140119/NEWS/sthash.ytBIDO6H.gbpl#ixzz2r2X39EBz

"The incoming cold and snow will make it tough to get a look at the ice building along the Lake Michigan 

shore, but a recent aerial video taken by a Hope College sophomore brings the shoreline spectacle to your warm living room. 

Jeff Zita used a small four-propeller drone to capture about 8 minutes of video of the expanding ice cover at Holland State Park on Jan. 12 — one of the few sunny days this month. 

“I thought I’d get some awesome shots of Big Red and the ice,” Zita said."

Record 20% of Households on Food Stamps in 2013

Record 20% of Households on Food Stamps in 2013 | CNS News:

"A record 20% of American households, one in five, were on food stamps in 2013, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The numbers also show there was a record number of individuals on food stamps in 2013 and that the cost of the program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was at an all-time high."

House GOP Plans To Save Obama By Passing Immigration Amnesty

House GOP Plans To Save Obama By Passing Immigration Amnesty - Investors.com:
"President Obama expects House Republicans to jump-start his presidency by embracing amnesty for illegal aliens.
But if it does, the GOP could wreck its chances to take back the Senate.
Republicans should own the issue of immigration.
After all, the last time — 1986 — the nation took the "comprehensive" approach that Democrats now propose, nothing ended up being fixed in exchange for the amnesty for millions of illegals. 
And today, insisting on securing the border before doing anything else is no-lose politically."

Levin on Obama Imaginary Son Football Quote: 'I Wouldn't Let My Son Be an Ambassador Under You'

Levin on Obama Imaginary Son Football Quote: 'I Wouldn't Let My Son Be an Ambassador Under You':
"LEVIN ON OBAMA IMAGINARY SON FOOTBALL QUOTE:
 'I WOULDN'T LET MY SON BE AN AMBASSADOR UNDER YOU'"

Wall Street adviser: Actual unemployment is 37.2%, 'misery index' worst in 40 years

Wall Street adviser: Actual unemployment is 37.2%, 'misery index' worst in 40 years | WashingtonExaminer.com:
"Don't believe the happy talk coming out of the White House, Federal Reserve and Treasury Department when it comes to the real unemployment rate and the true “Misery Index.”
Because, according to an influential Wall Street advisor, the figures are a fraud.
In a memo to clients provided to Secrets, David John Marotta calculates the actual unemployment rate of those not working at a sky-high 37.2 percent, not the 6.7 percent advertised by the Fed, and the Misery Index at over 14, not the 8 claimed by the government."

History for January 22

History for January 22 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary Francis Bacon (1561-1626)  

Happy Birthday! Linda Blair

1771 - The Falkland Islands were ceded to Britain by Spain. 

1901 - Queen Victoria of England died after reigning for nearly 64 years. Edward VII, her son, succeeded her. 


1944 - Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy, during World War II. 


1950 - Alger Hiss, a former adviser to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, was convicted of perjury for denying contacts with a Soviet agent. He was sentenced to five years in prison. 

1970 - The first regularly scheduled commercial flight of the Boeing 747 began in New York City and ended in London about 6 1/2 hours later. 

1973 - Joe Frazier lost the first fight of his professional career to George Foreman. He been the undefeated heavyweight world champion since February 16, 1970 when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis. 


1973 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws that had been restricting abortions during the first six months of pregnancy. The case (Roe vs. Wade) legalized abortion. 


1997 - The U.S. Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the first female secretary of state. 

Obama Regulations To Shut Down 40 Percent Of Nation’s Electricity

Obama Regulations To Shut Down 40 Percent Of Nation’s Electricity | The Minority Report Blog:
"If that wasn’t bad enough, some observers think the regulations could double electricity rates for average households. 
The rates would increase because utilities would have to pass the cost onto ratepayers of replacing coal burning power plants or modernizing them to comply with the regulations.
The EPA rules — Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants — are part of Obama’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which the agency says contribute to global warming."

Conservatives Embrace Fancy Book Learnin’!

Conservatives Embrace Fancy Book Learnin’! - Kurt Schlichter - Page full:

"Who hasn’t had some liberal sneer at him, “Why don’t you conservatives go read a book?”
This powerful critique of the intellectual deficiencies of my ideological brethren always cuts me to the bone.
I’m usually so upset that I run weeping to my fine German touring sedan, completely forgetting to tip the nose-studded holder of a degree in Gender Neutral Puppetry who pointed out my educational failings while he fetched my latte."

Retaliation!-----Geithner Warned S&P Chairman US Would Retaliate For Downgrade

Geithner Warned S&P Chairman US Would Retaliate For Downgrade | Zero Hedge:
"Who can forget Tim Geithner's historic interview from April 2011, in which he said:
Peter Barnes
“Is there a risk that the United States could lose its AAA credit rating?
Yes or no?”
Geithner’s response: “No risk of that.”
“No risk?” Barnes asked.
“No risk,” Geithner said. 
Considering that the US was downgraded by S&P just 4 months later, one person who certainly will never forget his idiotic preannouncement, is the former Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner.
And being the sore loser that everyone suspected he was (although one hopes his recent well-paid move to Warburg Pincus will help soothe his sensitivity) it will come as no surprise that Geithner told the Chairman of embattled rating agency Standard & Poor's, that its downgrade of the US from AAA to AA+ "would be met by a response.""

Idle de Blasio staffers paid to play while waiting for roles

Idle de Blasio staffers paid to play while waiting for roles | New York Post:
"More than a dozen mayoral staffers have been awaiting job placements for three weeks — and have so little to do that they’re watching Netflix and playing cards while on the government payroll, The Post has learned.
......But since de Blasio took office on Jan. 2, they’ve been “twiddling their thumbs” in a third-floor office at 253 Broadway across from City Hall watching movies, playing cards, learning a second language or going on afternoon shopping sprees downtown.
The bored staffers have even been betting on how late the persistently tardy mayor will be at his press "

L. Brooks Patterson Slams Detroit: ‘The Truth Hurts… Tough S***’

L. Brooks Patterson Slams Detroit: ‘The Truth Hurts… Tough S***’ « CBS Detroit:
"“Anytime I talk about Detroit, it will not be positive.
Therefore, I’m called a Detroit basher,” he said.
”The truth hurts, you know?
Tough s***.”

The 75-year-old Republican went on to say he warned his children never to travel to Detroit.
“I used to say to my kids, ‘First of all, there’s no reason for you to go to Detroit.
We’ve got restaurants out here.’
They don’t even have movie theatres in Detroit — not one,” he said.

Patterson said the one thing Detroit offers that the suburbs can’t is live sports – and even then a trip to the city is quite risky. 
“For that, fine — get in and get out,” he said. 
“But park right next to the venue — spend the extra 20 or 30 bucks.
And, before you go to Detroit, you get your gas out here.
You do not, do not, under any circumstances, stop in Detroit at a gas station! 
That’s just a call for a carjacking.”"

MightyMac.org - The Mackinac Bridge

Timeline Photos - MightyMac.org - The Mackinac Bridge:




MightyMac.org - The Mackinac Bridge
Sunday Jan 19th 8:59 AM
Currently the Mackinac Bridge is experiencing winds of sufficient force in the Straits area to require an escort of certain "high profile" vehicles across the Mackinac Bridge. 

High profile vehicles include pickup trucks with campers; cars with small boats, bicycles or luggage attached to the roof; Ryder or U-Haul trucks; any vehicle pulling a boat; semi-tractors with enclosed trailers and all trailers with side walls over two feet in height.
Motorists are asked to reduce their speed to 20 miles per hour as they approach the bridge and be prepared to stop. 

Bridge personnel are stationed at both ends of the structure to provide instructions regarding how and when to proceed across the bridge.

Storm troopers?----------Delaware County Gun Shop Raided And Closed

Delaware County Gun Shop Raided And Closed:
"Lyn’s Leisure Tyme Gun Shop in Davenport, Delaware County has been raided and closed.
The person who answered the phone at the store on Sunday morning, when asked if this was Lyn’s Gun Shop, replied “we used to be.”
The individual confirmed there had been a raid Thursday night, but refused to comment further and would not state which law enforcement agency had conducted the raid or why.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Monday there had been activity at Lyn’s Gun Shop on Thursday, but stated it was action by the ATF (Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)
A call to the ATF requesting more information was not immediately returned."

This Nazi Beach Holiday Resort Stands Completely Empty

This Nazi Beach Holiday Resort Stands Completely Empty:

"This 10,000 Room Hotel Has Never Had A Single Guest. There’s A Very Deadly Reason For That."

What you don't know CAN hurt you-----This is what BWL thinks of its customers

Steve Miller: This is what BWL thinks of its customers | MLive.com:

"The reason for the piece was that the retiree, Steve Harry, had obtained and published the salaries of employees of the BWL, through an open records request.

Harry found that 86 BWL employees in 2008 made at least $30,000 more than their base salaries, and almost half of those had surpassed their base salaries by between $2,000 and almost $12,000. BWL had 76 employees that year with gross earnings over $100,000.

These are eye-popping figures for a public agency.
And damn good work for a guy who claims to be no journalist.
Harry told me last week that he became curious about the BWL when someone told him “once you got a job at BWL, you had it made. 
So I decided to find out a bit more about why that was.”"

Who’d a thunk-it? All 9 movies nominated for Best Picture were filmed in jurisdictions with movie production incentives

Who’d a thunk-it? All 9 movies nominated for Best Picture were filmed in jurisdictions with movie production incentives | AEIdeas:

"The important question is: do these incentives pay off for the states?

 The answer is no.

Similar to most targeted tax breaks, movie production incentives routinely fail to deliver on the economic promises made by their proponents.

Supporters frequently claim movie incentives create jobs and lead to net gains in tax revenue.

However, data from several states find movie production incentives generate less than 30 cents for every lost dollar in tax revenue."

Who-d a-thunk it? When government hands out money or creates artificial incentives, there’s waste, fraud, and abuse?

Who-d a-thunk it? When government hands out money or creates artificial incentives, there’s waste, fraud, and abuse? | AEIdeas:

Exhibit A: Two men have been charged by the FBI for allegedly defrauding the Renewable Fuel Standard credit system for $37 million in a biofuels scheme.

The Perverted Science of Global Warming Gets Dirty(er)

The Perverted Science of Global Warming Gets Dirty(er) - John Ransom - Townhall Finance Conservative Columnists and Financial Commentary - Page 1:

"Years ago I offered to shave my head bald and eat a can of dog food if someone—anyone-- could show me a credible scientific paper that demonstrates how the earth would cool even a fraction of a degree Fahrenheit by enacting a carbon tax here in the United States, such as the one proposed by the Democrats in 2009 and 2010.

I’m still waiting."

Liberal storm troopers in NYC--Cops bloody old man — for jaywalking

Cops bloody old man — for jaywalking | New York Post:

"Cops bloodied an 84-year-old man and put him in the hospital Sunday when he jaywalked at an Upper West Side intersection and didn’t appear to understand their orders to stop, witnesses said.

Kang Wong was strolling north on Broadway and crossing 96th Street at around 5 p.m., when an officer told him to halt because he had walked against the light.

Police were targeting jaywalkers in the area following the third pedestrian fatality this month around West 96th Street.
Wong, who lives a block away, appeared to not understand the cop, the witnesses said.

“The guy didn’t seem to speak English. 

The cop walked him over to the Citibank” near the northeast corner of 96th and Broadway, said one witness, Ian King, a Fordham University law student.

“[The officer] stood him up against the wall and was trying to write him a ticket.

The man didn’t seem to understand, and he started walking away."

Super Bowl Commercials 2014: What to Expect from Super Bowl XLVIII Ad Lineup

Super Bowl Commercials 2014: What to Expect from Super Bowl XLVIII Ad Lineup | Bleacher Report:
"There will still be a few ads that sneak up on us, but we already have plenty of information at our disposal. Here is a look at what to expect from your non-game action. "

Watch What Happens When Jesse Watters Asks Hollywood Celebs If They Are Disappointed With Obama

Watch What Happens When Jesse Watters Asks Hollywood Celebs If They Are Disappointed With Obama | Video | TheBlaze.com:

Wow! Detroit with worse weather and different but still unappealing accents----A crumbling Sochi hides behind Olympic facades

A crumbling Sochi hides behind Olympic facades | Fox News:

"SOCHI, RUSSIA –  A shining new $635 million highway on the outskirts of Sochi stands next to a crumbling apartment block with a red "SOS!" banner on its roof.

 The residents of 5a Akatsy street have lived for years with no running water or sewage system. 

Construction for the 2014 Winter Games has made their lives more miserable: The new highway has cut them off from the city center.

Even their communal outhouse had to be torn down because it was found to be too close to the new road and ruled an eyesore."