Mormon Church reveals people do NOT get their own planets in the afterlife | Mail Online

 "Mormon Church reveals people do NOT get their own planets in the afterlife... despite what The Book of Mormon claims"

The Mormon Church is pushing back against the notion that members of the faith are taught they'll get their own planet in the afterlife, a misconception popularized in pop culture most recently by the Broadway show 'The Book of Mormon.'

New nutritional labels on packages will highlight added sugars while reflecting more realistic portion sizes | Mail Online

New nutritional labels on packages will highlight added sugars while reflecting more realistic portion sizes | Mail Online:

New 'Nutrition Facts' labels on packages will let families know whether their food has added sugars for the first time while reflecting more realistic portion sizes.

Calorie counts will also be in larger, bolder type under the label changes being proposed by the Food and Drug Administration, which were announced by Michelle Obama on Tuesday.

Report: NKorea Fires Four Short-Range Missiles

Report: NKorea Fires Four Short-Range Missiles | The Weekly Standard:
The South Koreans are reporting that North Korea fired off four short-range missiles today. 
"South Korea says North Korea has fired four suspected short-range missiles into its eastern waters," reports the Associated Press. 

Girl, 11, shoots cougar that was following her brother in Washington State | Mail Online

Girl, 11, shoots cougar that was following her brother in Washington State | Mail Online: "'She wasn't scared a bit': How girl ELEVEN grabbed gun and shot dead cougar that was stalking her brother, 13, outside their house"

When Thomas White spotted a cougar approaching his teenage son outside their home in rural Washington state last week, there was only one thing to do - hand a gun to his 11-year-old daughter.  

Without a moment's hesitation, Shelby White killed the female cougar, and wildlife officials suggested that the animal may have been sick.

The mountain cat was 4 years old and weighed about 50lbs, which is about half of what an animal that age should weigh.

Hillary pulls into passing lane on ObamaCare | Fox News

Hillary pulls into passing lane on ObamaCare | Fox News:



Democratic 2016 frontrunner Hillary Clinton nudged the accelerator in her effort to get past the problems with ObamaCare bedeviling the president and their party. Talking to a gathering of health information specialists in Florida, Clinton sounded more than open to substantial changes to President Obama’s signature law.

Obama aiming for ‘unilateral disarmament’

Obama aiming for ‘unilateral disarmament’

"“The fact is, this administration still does not have a strategy for how to defeat radical Islam,” he said. “They don’t even talk about it. They took us out of Iraq, and what do we find? We find now that the Iraqis are buying weapons from the Iranians. That is a very disturbing thing. We fundamentally turned Iraq over to the Iranian sphere of influence. I’m afraid we’re going to do the same thing in Afghanistan, and still no strategy for defeating radical Islam.

“They are going to let Iran, in the next two or three years, become a nuclear power. I’m very disturbed with depleting not only our Army but also our Air Force and Navy and the Marine Corps. As I’ve said, we are fundamentally, unilaterally disarming,” he said.

McInerney’s comments ring close to concerns over manpower and readiness voiced Monday by retired U.S. Army Gen Jack Keane on the Fox News Channel.

“The fact of the matter is, today, the Army has very few units that are ready to fight today. And that’s the truth of it,” Keane said.

McInerney said that analysis is spot on, and much deeper cuts would only make things worse."

Give them power? They WILL abuse it!--------------------Spies at GCHQ intercept saucy webcam pics rather than hunting terrorists

CREEPY British spies have been busy intercepting webcam images from around the world rather than hunting terrorists.

OPTIC NERVE: The British spy agency GCHQ has gathered millions of private webcam images [REUTERS]

The private images were gathered from millions of Yahoo users with sexually explicit images among those gathered by spy agency GCHQ.
Internet giant Yahoo has denied any knowledge of the programme and has described the revelations from the Guardian as a "completely unacceptable" privacy violation.
In a statement GCHQ said all of its actions were in accordance with the law.
The operation, named Optic Nerve, was aided by the powerful US National Security Agency (NSA) and is said to have stored images transmitted between 2008 and 2010.

Blast from the past! Mystery surrounds the Russian spy ship docked in Havana with no explanation as US warns Moscow over war games in Ukraine

Blast from the past! Mystery surrounds the Russian spy ship docked in Havana with no explanation as US warns Moscow over war games in Ukraine | Mail Online:
 "A Russian spy ship docked in Havana on Wednesday, and neither Cuba nor Russia offered any mention or explanation of the mysterious visit that is reminiscent of the Cold War.
AFP reported that the Viktor Leonov CCB-175 boat, that measures 300 feet long and 47.5 feet wide, appeared in the section of Havana's port usually used by cruise ships.
The intelligence vessel bristles with electronic eavesdropping equipment and weaponry, including AK-630 rapid-fire cannons and surface-to-air missiles."

He doesn't like cheap electricity or gasoline. She doesn't want you to eat meat------Cattle Rise to Record, Hogs Gain on Shrinking Meat Supply

Cattle Rise to Record, Hogs Gain on Shrinking Meat Supply - Bloomberg:
"Cattle futures rose to a record as ranchers struggle to boost the U.S. herd from a 63-year low, and hogs climbed to a 34-month high after a virus that kills piglets spread, spurring concerns that meat supplies will shrink.
Beef output in the U.S., the world’s top producer, will fall 5.3 percent this year to 24.35 billion pounds (11.04 million metric tons), the lowest since 1994, the Department of Agriculture has forecast.
At the start of this year, the cattle herd fell to 87.7 million head, the lowest since 1951, following drought and high feed costs. "

Is that a long cylindrical object covered with a sock in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?------Gary Rough jailed over robbery bid with cucumber

BBC News - Gary Rough jailed over robbery bid with cucumber:
"Gary Rough brandished the vegetable, which was covered in a sock, at a female worker at the Ladbrokes shop in Shettleston and demanded cash.
 Shortly after she refused, the 28-year-old was pinned to the ground by an off-duty police officer and arrested.
Rough was jailed at the High Court in Glasgow after admitting a charge of assault with intent to rob.
The court heard that the bookmakers was busy when Rough carried out the raid.
Prosecutor Sheena Fraser said Rough was armed with a "long cylindrical object covered in a black sock" when he went to the counter for cash. 
Worker Andrea McIntosh thought it may be a gun - but refused to give him money."

Some Idiot Sold A WW2 Rifle at a Police Gun Buyback For $200 Gift Card (VIDEO)

Some Idiot Sold A WW2 Rifle at a Police Gun Buyback For $200 Gift Card (VIDEO) | The Libertarian Republic:

Some Idiot Sold A WW2 Rifle at a Police Gun Buyback For A $200 Gift Card (VIDEO)

THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

StG-44 Sold At California Gun Buyback For $200

LOS ANGELES, CA - A gun buyback program in Los Angeles, California turned up a person willing to sell a World War 2 $30,000 Sturmgewehr 44 for a $200 gift card. The StG-44 was the first modern assault rifle built by the Nazis, who would have likely been big fans of the LAPD’s tactics.

The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia

The audacious rescue plan that might have saved space shuttle Columbia | Ars Technica:
" Finally, at 9:12 Eastern Time, re-entry Flight Director LeRoy Cain gave the terrible order that had only been uttered once before, 17 years earlier when Challenger broke apart at launch: "Lock the doors."

It was an acknowledgement that the worst had happened; the mission was now in "contingency" mode. Mission Control was sealed off, and each flight controller began carefully preserving his or her console's data.

Columbia was gone, and all seven of its crew had been killed. NASA refers to this most rare and catastrophic of events as an LOCV—"Loss of Crew and Vehicle.""

Survey ranks Detroit on 'Unpleasant Cities Rivaling Sochi' list

Survey ranks Detroit on 'Unpleasant Cities Rivaling Sochi' list | The Detroit News:
Detroit can’t catch a break finding itself on yet another poll hating on the Motor City.

With reports out of Sochi of stray dogs, discolored drinking water and unfinished hotel rooms, Misstravel.com, a travel dating website, asked more than 3,000 customers what other travel locations were as bad.
 And, deservedly or not, Detroit ranked No. 4 on the “Top 8 Most Unpleasant Cities Rivaling Sochi” list.

The least desirable cities included:
1. Dhaka, Bangladesh
2. New Delhi, India
3. Algiers, Algeria
4. Detroit
5. Youngstown, Ohio
6. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
7. Guadalajara, México
8. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

MissTravel said the survey-takers based their decisions on factors such as lodging, amenities, cleanliness and customer service."

Tax is "shared responsibility payment"?!!!!!!-----------------Americans for Tax Reform : IRS Warns: Obamacare Tax Must Be Paid with Tax Return

Americans for Tax Reform : IRS Warns: Obamacare Tax Must Be Paid with Tax Return:
"President Obama’s Internal Revenue Service today quietly released a series of Obamacare “Health Care Tax Tips” warning Americans that they must obtain “qualifying” health insurance – as defined by the federal government – or face a “shared responsibility payment” when filing their tax returns in 2015. "

Harvard writer: Abolish free speech

Harvard writer: Abolish free speech:
 "“This woman has just written a column about it at Harvard with what appears to be an extreme view of eliminating the First Amendment as a way of silencing opposition.
But she’s very honest. 
The First Amendment, free speech, ‘threatens liberalism,’ meaning liberalism cannot thrive in an open society. 
Liberalism is totalitarianism. 
Liberalism is statism. 
It is authoritarianism. 
It is all of the horrible Isms, and it cannot thrive when there is open debate. 
It cannot survive challenges.”"

Your tax dollars at work-----------An Entire College Course on Beyonce at Rutgers University!

But "gay marriage" and a gay football player dominate USA news-----GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS SEIZED IN UKRAINE'S CRIMEA

News from The Associated Press:

"SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (AP) -- Dozens of heavily armed pro-Russia gunmen seized control of local government buildings in Ukraine's Crimea region early Thursday, escalating tensions in a peninsula that's become a flashpoint in the east-west divide that threatens to rip apart a country engulfed in political and economic turmoil."

Ukraine and Our Useless Outrage

Ukraine and Our Useless Outrage | National Review Online:

"Although the U.S. alone seems to honor its promised deadlines of withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, the world’s aggressors sense that the Obama administration’s bluster will be followed by more bluster.

Therefore, they have decided to risk aggrandizements while they can.

In the mind of Vladimir Putin, today Ukraine, tomorrow the Baltic States or Eastern Europe. 

In the minds of the Iranian theocrats, if chemical WMD are okay in Syria, why not nuclear WMD in Iran? 

In China’s view, when Japan backs off, why shouldn’t Taiwan, South Korea, or the Philippines? 

Such a seemingly insignificant loss of deterrence is how wars often start — when an aggressive nation bets that loud words signal that consequences will never follow. 

So it is emboldened to up the ante to try something even riskier.

 America’s step-over line/deadline/red line outrage is long past monotonous and empty — and the result has been an ever scarier world."

Obama tellin' Putin how it is........RUSSIA WAR GAMES OVER UKRAINE PROMPT US WARNING

News from The Associated Press:

"KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia ordered 150,000 troops to test their combat readiness Wednesday in a show of force that prompted a blunt warning from the United States that any military intervention in Ukraine would be a "grave mistake."

 Vladimir Putin's announcement of huge new war games came as Ukraine's protest leaders named a millionaire former banker to head a new government after the pro-Russian president went into hiding."

And how did "Pre-WW II cuts" work out in 1941?-----------------Pentagon plans to shrink US Army to pre-WWII level

Pentagon plans to shrink US Army to pre-WWII level - Yahoo News:
"Washington (AFP) - The Pentagon plans to scale back the US Army by more than an eighth to its lowest level since before World War II, signaling a shift after more than a decade of ground wars.

• Budget cuts to slash U.S. Army to smallest since before World War Two Reuters
• Pentagon Signals the End of American Nation Building The Fiscal Times
• Hagel says US military must shrink to face new era Associated Press
• Hagel proposes big cuts in Army in 2015 budget Associated Press
• Saying it was time to "reset" for a new era, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recommended shrinking American forces from 520,000 active duty troops to between 440,000 and 450,000."

Photo of the Day: The Catastrophe in Syria

Photo of the Day: The Catastrophe in Syria | Power Line:

 "The Obama administration’s Syria policy has been a fiasco. 

I don’t think anyone seriously tries to defend it.

That said, the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding in that country is not the responsibility of the U.S. government. It is the fault of Bashar Assad and his minions, and al Qaeda and other radical Muslims who have forcibly taken over the opposition to Assad.

 The human catastrophe in Syria is almost beyond reckoning. 

You can look up the numbers, but what stunned me was this photograph, taken late last month.

The scene is Yarmouk, a district of Damascus that is populated largely by Palestinian “refugees” and has been the scene of heavy fighting. "

Ukraine and Our Useless Outrage

Ukraine and Our Useless Outrage | National Review Online:
"Don’t step over the line and re-militarize the Rhineland. Absorbing Austria would cross a red line. 
Breaking up Czechoslovakia is unacceptable. 
Get out of Poland by the announced deadline.
The rest was history.

Don’t dare blow up another American military barracks overseas.
Don’t even consider another attack on the World Trade Center.
Don’t even try blowing up one more American embassy in East Africa.
Don’t ever put a hole in a U.S. warship again.
The rest was history.

President Obama issued yet another one of those sorts of warnings to stop the violence to Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych just before protesters drove Yanukovych out of office. “There will be consequences if people step over the line,” Obama threatened."

History for February 27

History for February 27 - On-This-Day.com

Birth anniversaries of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-82), Marian Anderson (1897-1993),  Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

Happy Birthday! Ralph Nader, Joanne Woodward

1827 - New Orleans held its first Mardi Gras celebration.


1867 - Dr. William G. Bonwill invented the dental mallet.


1933 - The Reichstag, Germany's parliament building in Berlin, was set afire. The Nazis accused Communist for the fire.


1951 - The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, limiting U.S. Presidents to two terms.


1972 - The Shanghai Communique was issued by U.S. President Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai.


1982 - Wayne B. Williams was convicted of murdering two of the 28 black children and young adults whose bodies were found in Atlanta, GA, over a two-year period.


1991 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush announced live on television that "Kuwait is liberated."


1998 - Britain's House of Lords agreed to give a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son. This was the end to 1,000 years of male preference


2002 - In Boston, twenty people working at Logan International Airport were charged with lying to get their jobs or security badges. 

11 Million Small Business Employees to See Premiums Rise under Obamacare

The PJ Tatler » 11 Million Small Business Employees to See Premiums Rise under Obamacare:
"In a Friday night document dump, along with the usual flotsam and jetsam of the administration came a bit of bad news for small business in America. 
 Nearly two thirds of small businesses who offer insurance to employees will see their premiums increase.
That covers 11 million employees and their families.
Since those costs to businesses are usually passed down to employees in the form of higher contributions, Obamacare will impose what amounts to a pay cut on millions of workers.
 The premium increase comes on the heels of several years of skyrocketing health insurance costs for small businesses."

Government ain't gonna help you. Find ways to help yourself-----------------Opternative Is The First Online Eye Exam That Writes You A Prescription

Opternative Is The First Online Eye Exam That Writes You A Prescription | TechCrunch:
"“Do I need glasses?” is a question you usually have to get an in-person eye test to answer.
But today, online eye exam provider Opternative is coming out of stealth to get you a doctor’s prescription for glasses straight from your computer or phone. 
Opternative’s test takes five to 10 minutes and costs around $35 — 75 percent less than in-person exams.
With $1 million in funding, it plans to launch this summer.
“Doing eye testing day in and day out, I thought ‘there has to be a better way to do this’”, Dr Steven Lee tells me.
The co-founder of Opternative graduated from optometry school in 2007 and has been practicing ever since.
He realized that with advances in computers and phones, he could probably replace that clunky ‘What’s better? One or two’ machine."

Apple’s Security Breach Should Scare You More Than Target’s Did

Apple’s Security Breach Should Scare You More Than Target’s Did | TheBlaze.com:
"Apple’s security protocol breach is nearly as bad as handing your credit card straight to a hacker rather than making them steal the information through the magnetic stripe readers."

"Education" insanity-------Clarksville Student Suspended For Knife In Father's Car

Clarksville Student Suspended For Knife In Father's Car - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports:
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn - A high school student in Montgomery County has been suspended after school officials found a knife inside his father's car.
David Duren-Sanner should be spending his time going through college and scholarship applications this time of year.
Instead, he's wondering if he'll even be able to graduate after what hundreds of people are calling an overreaction to a mistake.
On Thursday, Duren-Sanner, a senior at Northeast High School drove his father's car to school.
During a random lockdown, his car was chosen to be searched.
Duren-Sanner gave permission because he said he had nothing to hide.
His father is a commercial fisherman on the West Coast and had apparently left a fishing knife in the car. Duren-Sanner's father said it might have been wedged between one of the seats.
Duren-Sanner said he told school officials and the Sheriff's department the car was his father's and he didn't know the knife was in it.
"He's like 'it doesn't matter it was in your possession anyway,'" Duren-Sanner said.
School officials suspended him for 10 days, the maximum allowed under school policy, and then he was reprimanded to attend 90 days at an alternative school.

Repeat a lie often enough........Biden: New voter ID laws tied to 'hatred'

Biden: New voter ID laws tied to 'hatred' | TheHill:
"Vice President Biden said new voter ID laws in North Carolina, Alabama, and Texas were evidence of “hatred” and “zealotry” during a Black History Month event at the Naval Observatory on Tuesday.
The vice president said his votes to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act were among his proudest as a senator, and expressed frustration with a recent Supreme Court ruling striking down a key provision of the law.
...."These guys never go away. Hatred never, never goes away," Biden said. "The zealotry of those who wish to limit the franchise cannot be smothered by reason."

Phone Call Foils Meat Cleaver-Wielding Bank Robber's Plan

When Failure Is Success

When Failure Is Success | National Review Online:
Losing a job is freedom from job lock. 
A budget deficit larger than in any previous administration is austerity. 
A mean right-wing video caused the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi. Al-Qaeda was long ago washed up. 
The Muslim Brotherhood is secular. Jihad is a personal journey. 
Shooting people while screaming Allahu akbar! is workplace violence. 
Unaffordable higher premiums and deductibles are the result of an Affordable Care Act. 
Losing your doctor and your health-insurance plan prove you will never lose your doctor and your health-insurance plan — period! 
Being a constitutional lawyer means you know how to turn the IRS and the FCC on your enemies. 
Failure is success; lies are truth.

President Obama’s polls are creeping back up again.
They do that every time the latest in the series of scandals — the IRS, AP, NSA, Benghazi, and Obamacare messes — recedes into the media memory hole.
The once-outrageous IRS scandal was rebranded as psychodramatic journalists being outraged.
The monitoring of AP reporters and of James Rosen is mostly “Stuff happens.”
The NSA octopus was Bush’s creation.
You can keep your doctor and your health plan — period — begat liberation from “job lock” and the ability to write poetry because you don’t have to work.

Proposed Muskegon County smoking ordinance fails to pass; only two officials in support

Proposed Muskegon County smoking ordinance fails to pass; only two officials in support | MLive.com

MUSKEGON, MI – A proposed amendment to Muskegon County’s smoking ordinance failed to pass on Tuesday, allowing residents, employees and visitors to continue using tobacco on county property.

The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners voted 4-2 on Feb. 25 to reject proposed changes to existing regulations that prohibit smoking inside county buildings.

Ken Mahoney and Bob Scolnik voted for the measure, while Rillastine Wilkins, Terry Sabo, Ben Cross and Susie Hughes voted against it.

During the roll call, Commissioner Charles Nash opted to abstain from voting after taking a few seconds to make a decision.

......Mahoney and Scolnik, on the other hand, suggested the government take a leadership role and help the region reach the wellness goals set by the One in 21 Healthy Muskegon County effort.

Scolnik said the county owns only a very small portion of the property in the region and the ordinance would not have affected people’s lives in a significant manner.

“All we’re doing is sending a message that smoking is bad for you. The hospitals are doing it. Colleges are doing it. Schools are doing it. I think it’s a good thing. My dad died from lung cancer and he smoked most of his life,” Scolnik said.

Bush's FAULT!!! ----------------------Golden Gate Bridge hits milestone in 2013 with 46 suicides

Obama's economy has NOTHINK to do with ANYTHINK!
Golden Gate Bridge hits milestone in 2013 with 46 suicides - Yahoo News:
"San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge marked a milestone in 2013 as 46 people leaped to their deaths in what appears to be the deadliest year for suicides at the California landmark, a watchdog group said on Tuesday.
The Bridge Rail Foundation, which tracks fatalities at the 4,200-foot-long (1,280-meter) span, said the high number of suicides demonstrates the need for a safety net to be installed to make it more difficult for would-be jumpers to take their own lives there."

I bet our president will have some really, really nasty things to say to Mr. Putin..................On The Roads Into The Crimea, The Quiet Russian Mobilization Continues

On The Roads Into The Crimea, The Quiet Russian Mobilization Continues | Zero Hedge:
"Not a day passes without a YouTube clip being released showing some colonnade of Russian vehicles headed into the Ukraine, and specifically into the Crimea, where the Russian base of Sevastopol is located, and where the biggest pro-Russian support groups are to be found.
 Today, we show the following Youtube clip taken recently with a dashcam, several miles above the port of Novorossiysk near the village of Gaiduk, which shows Russian vehicles carrying assorted military equipment being carried toward the Crimean."

Dartmouth Students Threaten ‘Physical Action’ If School Doesn't Respond to Over 100 Demands

Dartmouth Students Threaten ‘Physical Action’ If School Doesn't Respond to Over 100 Demands | National Review Online
An unknown number of anonymous Dartmouth students are threatening the Big Green with “physical action” if the administration does not respond to list of over 100 demands issued in an eight-page letter, the College Fix reports.

The students — who label themselves as “Concerned Asian, Black, Latin@[sic], Native, Undocumented, Queer, and Differently-Abled students” — claim that the Ivy League school deploys “systems of oppression,” including “racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, and ableism.”

“We believe that dialogue and resistance are both legitimate and necessary ways of disturbing the status quo,” the students wrote in a letter addressed to 13 faculty members and cc’ed in an email to every student at Dartmouth College.

The students’ first demand is for the college to “increase enrollment of Black, Latin@[sic], and Native students to at least 10 percent each.” Ten percent appears to be a magic number for undergraduate quotas, as the Black Student Union at the University of Michigan demanded that same percentage during a Martin Luther King day rally earlier this year. However, the disaffected Dartmouth students think 10 percent is insufficient for post-doctoral studies, and instead demand a minority population equal to 47 percent of that student body. The rationale behind demanding 47 percent went unexplained.

Yet racial quotas were only the beginning of the list of demands. In an effort to treat illegal immigrants as both the same as and different from American students, the activists called on the university to “place all undocumented students in the domestic/U.S.A. applicant pool, not the international admissions pool,” shortly before asking the college to “allow undocumented students to be able to work similarly to international students.”

Because education about “social justice” and “marginalization” are currently insufficient, the letter also demands that each student be required to take multiple classes “that will challenge their understanding of institutionalized justice around issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, etc.”

Gender-neutral housing must be available for all students (it is currently available only to sophomores and older) and gender-neutral facilities must be offered in every single campus building, the students write.

Speech must also be heavily regulated and altered. The anonymous students call for “serious consequences against hate speech/crimes,” the definition of which was undefined. They also seek a ban on the term “Indian” in a student publication and outlawing of the terms “illegal aliens” and “illegal immigrants.”

To top it off, “every Dartmouth student should be taught and made aware that the land they reside on is Abenaki homeland,” and they must be reminded of this at “all major Dartmouth ceremonies.”

The above is merely a sampling of the complete letter, which provides many more gems, such as replacing “women” with “womyn” throughout.

Drug Rationing for Seniors Begins

Drug Rationing for Seniors Begins | The American Spectator:

"Even some left-leaning media outlets are uncomfortable with the Obama administration’s rationing policy.

In the Huffington Post, Professor Kenneth Thorpe of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, recently pointed out that the CMS rule “will not only fail to rein in Medicare’s long-term spending growth, but will inflict severe and unnecessary harm on our nation's poor and elderly who are suffering from serious physical and behavioral illnesses.”

Thorpe makes much the same point as does Feyman: “Restricting access to the medicines patients need to manage depression, avoid organ transplant rejection, and treat psychosis will drive healthcare utilization in far more costly ways.”

 It’s a little disorienting to find such an objective view in a publication that normally repeats Obama administration talking points verbatim, but there it is."

The Great Establishment Deception on Winning Back Senate

The Great Establishment Deception on Winning Back Senate | RedState:
"The unambiguous strategy of the GOP establishment this year has been to avoid any and all confrontation in the hopes of gliding into a Senate majority in 2015. 
To that end, they have capitulated on all of the major leverage points, passed a number of Democrat spending bills, and are in the process of pushing “small-ball” legislation in the House so as not to rock the boat before November.

This pusillanimous strategy is predicated on the false hope that a bare-minimum Senate majority – comprised of the same Republicans who support these Democrat priorities – will somehow alter the landscape in Washington. 
They are misleading conservative and GOP activists into thinking that as long as the GOP can hold tight on the status quo until 2015 we will enjoy robust power to push for conservative priorities thereafter.

The reality is that nothing will change in 2015.

Irrespective of the outcome in November, Republicans will control the House and have the ability to block bad legislation.  On the other hand, President Obama will still be in the White House for another two years.  Consequently, the addition of six more Senate seats with the current incumbent leaders and rank-and-file members will not change the legislative dynamic.

Republicans who lack the will or principles to fight on major issues will still use Obama’s obstructionism as the baseline for excuses not to advocate bold initiatives.  Whether it’s a debt ceiling or a budget bill, they will fear brinkmanship with Obama as much as they do now.

What about blocking bad bills?  Certainly Republicans will have the power to do so if they win back the Senate, won’t they?

Well, they already have the power to stop bad bills with control of the House, yet, time and again, we have seen a de facto Democrat super-majority in the Senate pass harmful legislation only to be rubber-stamped by the House – or at least open for consideration.

Unless we elect the right candidates for Senate, a weak GOP majority would still net enough votes to pass amnesty, an internet sales tax, omnibus bills, highway bills, or the anti-liberty “ENDA” bill.

Unofficial results: Voters approve 1-mill tax increase for tech, security upgrades at Muskegon County schools

It seems we deserve what we get.
But our county has 170,000 residents, 128,000 registered voters and, yet, less than 6300 voters can impose a $100/yr tax on the rest of us.
There something wrong when less than 4% of voters can forcibly take money from the producers, homeowners, renters, businesses and other municipal organizations. And "give" it to the takers. 
Unofficial results: Voters approve 1-mill tax increase for tech, security upgrades at Muskegon County schools | MLive.com:
"MUSKEGON, MI – Voters approved a tax increase to fund technology and security upgrades at public school districts in the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District in the Tuesday, Feb. 25 election.

 The proposed millage increase narrowly succeeded, with 6,285 "yes" votes or 51 percent of voters favoring it and 6099 or 49 percent voting against it, according to unofficial numbers reported election night by the Muskegon County Clerk."

How To Identify Economic Zombies

How To Identify Economic Zombies | Zero Hedge

A Simple Test For Economic Zombie Determination

The test to determine whether you or your friends are zombies is simple. Answer the following question: 

How would you live if debt/credit were outlawed? The economic zombie has difficulty comprehending the question, no less answering it. 

If you or your friends do, then you are well on your way toward full zombie-hood, if in fact you are not already there.

The question is relevant because it identifies those too ignorant to comprehend the fact that you cannot consume more than your income will support, at least not forever.

Income for a period determines the amount you can spend that period, or it would in the absence of debt or savings. Borrowing this period enables spending to exceed income this period. But borrowing is nothing but advancing consumption that otherwise would occur in a later period. Whatever is borrowed raises consumption this period but reduces it next period when some of the income earned then cannot be spent because it must be used to service the prior debt. Total consumption for both periods is lower than it would have been without the borrowing. That is due to the paying the carrying cost of debt, interest.

If you cannot understand this concept or you believe that you can nullify it by borrowing again next period, you qualify as an economic zombie. If you answered that you could not live if debt/credit were outlawed, you are an economic zombie, and perhaps also an economic idiot. Osavi Osar-Emokpae colorfully described debt:

And don’t tell me debt is not a big deal. Debt will cut off your legs and laugh at you as you grovel in the dirt begging for mercy. If you don’t need it, don’t get it. If you can’t afford it, don’t get it. If you’re already in debt, get out quickly. If you think you’ll never get out, you’re right, you won’t.

If you are using your credit cards as loans (i.e., you are not paying in full the balance each month) then you are zombie-qualified.

Economic zombies are not born. They are made. They choose their lifestyle. Behind every economic zombie is someone who believes he should live better than his abilities allow. That may work for a time. Then the Osar-Emokpae quote takes over.

The reality is that negative borrowing, saving, should be occurring every year. Man has a finite lifespan and a finite earning career. The latter is shorter than the former. Part of life is to be responsible enough to prepare for the future when income stops. Borrowing is a sign of immaturity and ignorance. Occasionally borrowing is necessary to meet an unforeseen emergency. If it is routine, then you are an economic zombie!

After a Democrat Praises Cuba, Marco Rubio Blasts Communism Like No U.S. Politician Since Reagan

After a Democrat Praises Cuba, Marco Rubio Blasts Communism Like No U.S. Politician Since Reagan | Independent Journal Review

Let me tell you what the Cubans are really good at, because they don’t know how to run their economy, they don’t know how to build, they don’t know how to govern a people. What they are really good at is repression.

He cited a poll, ‘More Americans want normal relations with Cuba.’ So do I — a democratic and free Cuba. But you want us to reach out and develop friendly relationships with a serial violator of human rights, who supports what’s going on in Venezuela and every other atrocity on the planet? On issue after issue, they are always on the side of the tyrants. Look it up. And this is who we should be opening up to? Why don’t they change? Why doesn’t the Cuban government change? Why doesn’t the Venezuelan government change?

But here’s the great news. I don’t know if they get C-SPAN in Cuba. I bet you the government people do. I hope you see that in America, we’re a free society. You’re allowed to come on the floor and you’re allowed to say and spread whatever you want. You think Cuba’s a paradise? You think it’s an example and a model that we should be following? You’re free to say that, here, in the press and anywhere you want. But we’re also free to come here and tell the truth. We’re also free to come here and denounce the violations of human rights and brutality.