Bombshell New Audit Exposes Baltimore City's Mismanagement Of Federal, State Grants | Zero Hedge

Bombshell New Audit Exposes Baltimore City's Mismanagement Of Federal, State Grants | Zero Hedge
"This might not surprise you at the very least, but a new financial audit of how Baltimore City manages millions of dollar in federal and state grants has found top senior officials cannot account for how those dollars were spent.

The Baltimore Sun reports city auditors have unearthed some very troubling mismanagement concerns when it comes to Baltimore’s finances: “Grant money coming into government coffers is not balancing out with what city agencies are spending.”

“The city is not able to establish accurate balances of grant accounts,” Deputy City Auditor Audrey Askew, CPA told Baltimore’s spending panel last week.

In a shocking response, Askew warned the spending panel: “The city could lose its much-needed [grant] funding,” because of its reckless accounting practices.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the city “receives nearly $448 million in grants or about 16 percent of its $2.8 billion budget.”...

Read on!

Yes, They Really Do Want to Take All Your Guns. [VIDEO] - Victory Girls Blog

Yes, They Really Do Want to Take All Your Guns. [VIDEO] - Victory Girls Blog:

by Kim Quade in guns 5 Comments

"The Children’s Crusade — aka The March for Our Lives — really isn’t out to take all guns away from citizens. 

No, they just want to remove those icky “assault weapons,” even though they really don’t know exactly what they are. 

They just know that they’re big and ugly and make a loud pew-pew. 

But if you have a handgun, you’re safe.

Except, not really.

The marchers interviewed by Campus Reform had no idea what an “assault rifle” is. 

But that doesn’t matter, because some would like to see the Second Amendment abolished. And they don’t stop there — some even want the entire Constitution gutted.

Here are examples of their pearls of wisdom:

“I think the Second Amendment at this time is outdated.”

“The Constitution in and of itself is something that’s outdated.”

“I don’t think it applies in today’s society.”

Read all!

Tucker Finally Had Enough of David Hogg, Took Him Down on National TV

Tucker Finally Had Enough of David Hogg, Took Him Down on National TV:

"Whenever someone calls Hogg out on the fact that being a shooting survivor does not make one an expert on constitutional law, gun policy, school security, or really anything other than your own experience, they’re called insensitive — almost as if the left is hiding behind these child soldiers, using them as human shields.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has had enough of this line of thinking."

Pure Fiction: State Tourism Cost-Benefit Analysis Ignores Costs [Mackinac Center]

Pure Fiction: State Tourism Cost-Benefit Analysis Ignores Costs [Mackinac Center]:
"In the past, the state has hired a secretive consultant to calculate its ROI.
That company made claims of a huge ROI but refused to precisely demonstrate how it arrived at its conclusion. 
In 2016, according to this consultant, the state’s $12.9 million in out-of-state advertising spending — sorry, investment — produced $8.33 in new state tax dollars for every dollar spent.
According to an investigation by the state’s Office of the Auditor General, made at the behest of two lawmakers, the numbers on the advertising investment excluded a number of costs. 
...In other words, more than 50 percent of the cost associated with the Pure Michigan advertising campaign was not factored into its returns.
...Scholar John L. Crompton’s 2006 paper in the Journal of Travel Research calls out consultants for their often questionable analyses...
Crompton writes: “Most economic impact studies are commissioned to legitimize a political position rather than to search for economic truth. Often the result is mischievous procedures that produce large numbers that study sponsors seek to support a predetermined position.” 
He specifically criticizes consultants for ignoring costs.
...But the program is not worth it.
The Mackinac Center found in its 2016 study that a $1 million increase in state tourism promotion spending results in $20,000 in extra economic activity in the state’s lodging industry..."
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Study: Chicago homicides spiked due to ACLU police decree | Power Line

Study: Chicago homicides spiked due to ACLU police decree | Power Line
"...Cassell and Fowles have studied the spike of homicides in Chicago in 2016. 
Through multiple regression analysis and other tools, they conclude that an ACLU consent decree triggered a sharp reduction in stop and frisks by the Chicago Police Department, which in turn caused homicides to spike. 

In other words, what Chicago police officers call the “ACLU effect” is real. 

That effect was more homicides and shootings.

Cassell explains:

Our article proceeds in several steps. 

It begins by describing in general terms what is quite accurately called a “spike” in homicides in Chicago in 2016. 

A 58% year-to-year change [from 480 killed in 2015 to 754 killed the next year] in America’s “Second City” is staggering, suggesting something changed dramatically to initiate the increase.

...We next explore the possibility that, as been suggested by a number of observers, a reduction in stop and frisks by the Chicago Police Department that began at the very end of 2015 was responsible for the homicide spike starting immediately thereafter. 

Good reasons exist for believing that the decline in stop and frisks caused the spike. 
Simple visual observation of the data suggests a cause-and-effect change. . . . November 2015 [is] the break point in the homicide data. 
This is precisely when stop and frisks declined in Chicago. . . "

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Lunch video-----ENOCH POWELL (CONSERVATIVE PARTY MP) ON IMMIGRATION - 1977

Noon-toon-----Wondermark » Archive » #1386; In which a Meal is enjoyed, Part 2

Wondermark » Archive » #1386; In which a Meal is enjoyed, Part 2:

What Laws Does March For Our Lives Want? | The Daily Caller

What Laws Does March For Our Lives Want? | The Daily Caller:

"The Daily Caller spent four hours at the march on Saturday asking dozens of protesters what specific legislation they wanted to see passed to end gun violence.
The answers almost exclusively involved banning certain weapons and confiscating others.
Listen to what these marchers want, right now, in their own words below:"

Florida Cops Laundered Millions For Drug Cartels, Failed To Make A Single Arrest

Florida Cops Laundered Millions For Drug Cartels, Failed To Make A Single Arrest:
"Posing as money launderers, police in Bal Harbour and Glades County, Fla. laundered a staggering $71.5 million for drug cartels in an undercover sting operation, according to an in-depth investigation by The Miami Herald.
With fake identities, undercover officers made deals to pick up cash from criminal organizations in cities across the country.
...After laundering the cash, police would skim a three percent commission fee, ultimately generating $2.4 million for themselves.
...Notably, the Tri-County Task Force never made a single arrest. 
Thanks to the commissions from money laundering, the task force could indulge in a lavish lifestyle. Officers enjoyed $1,000 dinners at restaurants in the Miami area, and spent $116,000 on airfare and first-class flights and nearly $60,000 for hotel accommodations, including stays at the Bellagio and the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and El San Juan Resort & Casino in Puerto Rico..."
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China Acknowledges Transfer of Ballistic Missile Optical Tracking System to Pakistan | The Diplomat

China Acknowledges Transfer of Ballistic Missile Optical Tracking System to Pakistan | The Diplomat
"China has acknowledged that it sold Pakistan a tracking system for use in developing new ballistic missiles capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads, according to a report published last week in the South China Morning Post. 
Chinese government authorities decided to declassify information on a Sino-Pakistani deal last week; a statement posted on the website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) acknowledged the sale and said that China was the first country to transfer this kind of equipment to Pakistan..."
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#1 This day 1963-----The Chiffons - He´s So Fine

The Most Hypocritical Thing Happened At The March For Our Lives | The Daily Sheeple

The Most Hypocritical Thing Happened At The March For Our Lives | The Daily Sheeple

"I spent four hours at the March For Our Lives on Saturday and asked dozens of protesters what specific legislation they wanted to see passed to end gun violence.
They, to a person, wanted to see “assault weapons” banned and forcibly bought back from legal owners.
After filming, I wandered the march observing the signs and messages people were sending.
Some of the signs were profane.
Some more bizarre.
Others seemed ill-informed.
However, the most peculiar and frankly hypocritical thing I saw at the march did not happen on stage or even in the audience.
The most hypocritical thing happening at the March For Our Lives took place backstage.
Each celebrity speaker and high school activist who took the stage to give an impassioned speech condemning firearms was themselves protected by a wide arsenal of firearms.
I personally witnessed multiple celebrities go to and from their limousines under the heavily armed guard of private security members and the Capitol Police. 
I watched Katie Couric, Cher, George Clooney and the student celebrities of Parkland all get escorted to safety by police officers who were visibly carrying holstered handguns.
None of the speakers waived the protections of an armed officer.
Every major movie star, singer or student leaving the rally rushed to the protective bubble of well armed security as they traveled from the gated backstage area to idling limousines and private cars..."
Read on!

You ought to know!

Google Searches on 'NRA Membership' Hit Record Levels During Student Gun Control March | Breitbart

Google Searches on 'NRA Membership' Hit Record Levels During Student Gun Control March | Breitbart:

"While students marched for gun control in Washington, DC, Americans were doing Google searches on “NRA membership” at a record pace."

SUNY Plattsburgh caves to demands - will fly BLM, gay pride flags to 'improve campus climate' - The College Fix

SUNY Plattsburgh caves to demands - will fly BLM, gay pride flags to 'improve campus climate' - The College Fix:
"It looks like the administration at SUNY Plattsburgh has bowed to the demands of student protesters who, over the last couple of months, got to the point where they ended up calling for the resignations of key campus officials.One of those officials, Plattsburgh President John Ettling who told by demonstrators “You don’t need this job, bro,” recently detailed ten “immediate and long-term initiatives” to improve the climate on campus, according to Cardinal Points.

Some of the plans include increasing police presence on campus, the creation of a mandatory diversity course, organization of a social justice task force, and the “the hoisting of a Black Lives Matter flag and LGBT pride flag in the Angell College Center.”...
...Other Plattsburgh “climate” efforts include the establishment of a “bias response-and-referral process,” compulsory “face-to-face diversity and inclusion training for all faculty and staff,” and creation of a multicultural “unity space” at the Angell Center."

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AM Fruitcake

History for March 28

History for March 28 - On-This-Day.com
August Busch 1899, Dirk Bogarde 1921, Dianne Wiest 1948 - Actress ("Law and Order")


Reba McEntire 1955 - Actress, country singer, Vince Vaughn 1969 - Actor, Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) 1986 - Musician

1774 - Britain passed the Coercive Act against Massachusetts.


1854 - The Crimean War began with Britain and France declaring war on Russia.


1885 - The Salvation Army was officially organized in the U.S.


1917 - During World War I the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded.


1921 - U.S. President Warren Harding named William Howard Taft as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.


1933 - In Germany, the Nazis ordered a ban on all Jews in businesses, professions and schools.


1939 - The Spanish Civil War ended as Madrid fell to Francisco Franco.


1979 - A major accident occurred at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. A nuclear power reactor overheated and suffered a partial meltdown.

California Violates Constitution to Protect Illegal Aliens | American Center for Law and Justice

California Violates Constitution to Protect Illegal Aliens | American Center for Law and Justice:

"The State of California recently passed laws designed to shield illegal aliens residing in California from workplace enforcement actions conducted by federal immigration agents. To stop these new laws, the Trump Administration filed a federal lawsuit, and the American Center for Law and Justice (“ACLJ”) has submitted an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief supporting the Administration’s efforts. The brief was submitted with the support of more than 65,000 people who have joined the ACLJ’s committee opposed to state actions that violate the United States Constitution."

The way we were-----Two Faces Have I - Lou Christie- 1963

Boob-tube-----1984 by George Orwell Book Movie on BBC TV from 1956, Peter Cushing Glen...

DAVID UNSWORTH: Data on mass shootings at school don’t live up to the hysteria. Since March of 19…

Instapundit » Blog Archive » DAVID UNSWORTH: Data on mass shootings at school don’t live up to the hysteria. Since March of 19…:
"DAVID UNSWORTH: Data on mass shootings at school don’t live up to the hysteria.

Since March of 1998, there have been 298 people killed in school shootings in the United States, or 14.9 deaths a year. Put another way, in a typical year in the United States in the past two decades, 35 states would not even have a single school shooting death, while the other 15 would have only one.

...Given that over the past 118 years, 4.7 people per year have died at the hands of school shootings, and 14.9 per year over the past 20, perhaps there are more serious issues that they should worry about.

Yes, but they aren’t as conducive to youth indoctrination and voter registration.--by Stephen Green

The Paris Climate Accords Are Starting to Look Like Fantasy

The Paris Climate Accords Are Starting to Look Like Fantasy
"Remember Paris?
It was not even two years ago that the celebrated climate accords were signed — defining two degrees of global warming as a must-meet target and rallying all the world’s nations to meet it — and the returns are already dispiritingly grim.
This week, the International Energy Agency announced that carbon emissions grew 1.7 percent in 2017, after an ambiguous couple of years optimists hoped represented a leveling off, or peak; instead, we’re climbing again.
Even before the new spike, not a single major industrial nation was on track to fulfill the commitments it made in the Paris treaty..."
Read on!

Trump California sanctuary lawsuit backed by more than a dozen states - Washington Times

Trump California sanctuary lawsuit backed by more than a dozen states - Washington Times:

"Texas and more than a dozen other states led by Republican governors are supporting the Trump administration in its lawsuit over California’s so-called sanctuary laws that protect people in the U.S. illegally.
In a court filing Monday, the states say the laws are designed to interfere with or block federal immigration enforcement, and California doesn’t have that authority."

Russia Routed Millions to Influence Clinton in Uranium Deal, Informant Tells Congress

Russia Routed Millions to Influence Clinton in Uranium Deal, Informant Tells Congress:
"Moscow routed millions of dollars to the U.S. expecting the funds would benefit ex-President Bill Clinton’s charitable initiative while his wife, Hillary Clinton, worked to reset relations with Russia, an FBI informant in an Obama administration-era uranium deal stated.
In a written statement to three congressional committees, informant Douglas Campbell said Russian nuclear executives told him that Moscow hired American lobbying firm APCO Worldwide to influence Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, among others in the Obama administration, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
Campbell said Russian nuclear officials expected APCO to apply its $3 million annual lobbying fee from Moscow toward the Clintons’ Global Initiative.
The contract detailed four $750,000 payments over a year’s time..."
Read on!

Conference explores ways to teach 'gender diversity' to kids

Conference explores ways to teach 'gender diversity' to kids

• "The University of Colorado at Boulder recently hosted a three-day “TRANSforming Gender Conference” featuring three keynote addresses and 60 workshops addressing various transgender issues.
• Several of the workshops were geared toward educating young children about "gender inclusivity," the "gender spectrum," and "gender diversity."

Image via Twitter: @BBNLowerSchool
A recent three-day “TRANSforming Gender Conference” included several workshops on introducing children to the topic, such as one on “queer storytime.”
The conference, hosted by the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Gender and Sexuality Center, featured keynote speakers like YouTuber Kat Blaque, who “playfully refers to herself as ‘intersectionality salad’ as she embodies various identities and experience,” according to the conference website..."
Read on!

Lunch video-----Women Don't Want To Work For A Woman

Noon-toon

Facebook under fire as prosecutors, Congress confirm investigations - Washington Times

Facebook under fire as prosecutors, Congress confirm investigations - Washington Times:

"The Federal Trade Commission, a key congressional committee and state prosecutors each announced inquiries Monday into Facebook’s privacy practices, leaving the internet giant scrambling to contain a growing scandal over how it treats its users.
The FTC confirmed that it is investigating whether release of data on more than 50 million Facebook users — information that ended up in the hands of a British political consultancy tied to the Trump campaign — breaches a 2012 privacy settlement Facebook reached with the U.S. government to better protect data.
On Capitol Hill, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to explain his company’s actions at an April 10 hearing."

SJW Outraged to hear 'Men are Taller than Women'

SJW Outraged to hear 'Men are Taller than Women':

A campus SJW was triggered by hearing that ‘men are taller than women,’ and was then quickly removed by a taller and stronger man. 
...Dr. Heather Heying, an evolutionary biologist, began talking about some differences between men and women. 
She even acknowledged that it struck her as odd to have to defend this notion that men and women are different. 
As she spoke of differences in height and muscle mass, a few students stood and voiced their protest. 
Though there were not many, the students caused a scene. 
One went to the PA system and threw it from the table. 
The sound for the event was cut as a result of the damage..."
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News - Collectivism’s Progress: From Marxism to Race and Gender Intersectionality | Heartland Institute

News - Collectivism’s Progress: From Marxism to Race and Gender Intersectionality | Heartland Institute:
"By many objective signs and indicators the world is becoming a far more materially comfortable place. 
Over the last thirty years, tens of millions of people have been raised out of poverty in various parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
At the same time, new technologies have been transforming communications and conveniences of everyday life.
Yet, present political trends in America and other places in the world seem to be suggesting a far different story.
...But among many intellectuals and paternalistic ideologues every such improvement in the human condition is matched with condemnations and attempts to smother personal and economic liberty.
...The progressives want to use the government to impose a straightjacket of “politically correct” words, actions and attitudes.
...In the meantime, the U.S. government continues its path along worsening fiscal irresponsibility as both Democrats and Republicans in Congress “compromise” with each other to gain deficit-busting increases in both domestic and military spending
All of these trends, I would suggest, are instances of the fact that as we approach the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century, the world is, again, in the grip of a wave of anti-individualism and anti-capitalism. 
In fact, it is merely a continuation of the same counter-revolutionary trend that has been at work for well over a century to reverse the achievements of nineteenth century classical liberalism.
It is the same old collectivist wine poured into new political and cultural bottles..."
Read it all!

#1 This day 1955-----1955 HITS ARCHIVE: Ballad Of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes (his original #1...

What Laws Does March For Our Lives Want? | The Daily Caller

What Laws Does March For Our Lives Want? | The Daily Caller
"The highly publicized March For Our Lives took place in Washington DC this weekend.

The March was organized in-part as a response to the horrific school shooting in Parkland Florida earlier this year.

...However, there was one question that was never seriously asked of the speakers or the marchers: 

What specific pieces of legislation do you want to see passed that will curb gun violence?
...Listen to what these marchers want, right now, in their own words below:

Read-Listen to all!

#MarchForOurLives Admits: "Give Us and Inch, We'll Take a Mile"

#MarchForOurLives Admits: "Give Us and Inch, We'll Take a Mile":

"You want us to believe you don’t really hate gun owners.

If that’s the case, you may want to stop saying things like this in public:"

American adults just keep getting fatter | Miami Herald

American adults just keep getting fatter | Miami Herald:
"U.S. adults continue to put on the pounds. 
New data show that nearly 40 percent of them were obese in 2015 and 2016, a sharp increase from a decade earlier, federal health officials reported Friday.

The prevalence of severe obesity in U.S. adults is also rising, heightening their risks of developing heart disease, diabetes and various cancers. 

According to the latest data, published Friday in JAMA, 7.7 percent of U.S. adults were severely obese in the same period.

...Public health experts said that they were alarmed by the continuing rise in obesity among adults and by the fact that efforts to educate people about the health risks of a poor diet do not seem to be working..."
Read on!

AM Fruitcake