Monday, August 29, 2011

USDA Gives $73,824 Grant To Connect Food With Bed And Breakfasts

USDA Gives $73,824 Grant To Connect Food With Bed And Breakfasts CNSnews.com
Among the 19 states receiving these funds is New York, which recently announced that it was awarded a $73,824 grant.
This grant will be used to encourage bed and breakfast operators to use locally produced food and agricultural products.

Obama | approval rating

Obama approval rating Gallup The Daily Caller
President Obama’s disapproval rating reached its highest level to date Sunday, according to Gallup’s daily presidential tracking poll.


Libyan rebels will not deport Lockerbie bomber

Libyan rebels will not deport Lockerbie bomber - Washington Times
The Libyan rebel government will not deport the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, its justice minister said Sunday.

Montgomery County proposes flash-mob law

Montgomery County proposes flash-mob law - Washington Times
Talk of such a bill was prompted by a recent mass theft at a Germantown 7-Eleven, where dozens of young people returning home from the Montgomery County Fair simultaneously entered the store and began brazenly stealing candy bars, chips and sodas, police said.

Ten years ago, could ANYONE in America have imagined we'd need a law like this?
It's the culture, stupid!




The critical facts that no one mentioned in the debt debate

The critical facts that no one mentioned in the debt debate - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog Term Sheet
Raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires in the U.S. accomplishes little and sometimes nothing.
Maryland raised taxes on millionaires in 2008, and so many millionaires left the state that tax revenue from the group didn't rise as intended, but fell dramatically.

A Short Primer on the National Debt

John Steele Gordon: A Short Primer on the National Debt - WSJ.com
Many blame the Bush tax cuts for adversely impacting federal revenues, causing the debt to spiral upwards.
But that is just not true.
Federal revenues declined by almost 12% in the early years of the decade, but when the tax cuts fully kicked in in 2003, the economy began to grow strongly again and federal revenues increased 44% in the next four years, while unemployment fell to 4.2% from 6.2%.
Federal outlays in those four years increased by only 26.4%, and while the debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 64.8% by 2007, that was still well below what it had been in 1994.

Kent Pietsch at Abbotsford Air Show


Sukhoi's T-50: The End of U.S. Dominance?

Sukhoi's T-50: The End of U.S. Dominance?
To me, the real worry is not the competition, which I think U.S. companies can handle just fine with superior products.
The dark side is an overreaction by a political process in this country that can't solve any problems, much less difficult ones with multi-decade payouts.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

9 Ways To Start a Fire Without Matches

9 Ways To Start a Fire Without Matches Crystal Kiss - Strange News and more...
There is a primal link between man and fire.
Every man should know how to start one.
A manly man knows how to start one without matches.
It’s an essential survival skill

First Legal Food Truck Now Operating in Detroit After 60 Trips to City Hall for Permits

theblogprof: First Legal Food Truck Now Operating in Detroit After 60 Trips to City Hall for Permits
In Detroit, regulatory hell and corruption as politicians continue with the absurd function of protecting one legitimate business (brick and mortar restaurants) from another(mobile restaurants).
Yet after all the artificial boundaries, one business got to the other side:

Hurricane Irene as the “Harbinger” of More Warming Propaganda

Hurricane Irene as the “Harbinger” of More Warming Propaganda « Commentary Magazine
Few aspects of contemporary debate are as dreary as the politicization of weather. Government officials have always known — or at least should have always known — that they will be blamed for natural disasters especially if they are not seen to be conducting rescue or cleanup activities with sufficient zeal.
But just as depressing and unenlightening is the practice of using instances of extreme weather — be they hot or cold, wet or dry — as “proof” that the planet is warming.

Does Newsweek's ranking Michigan the top state for job growth matter?

Does Newsweek's ranking Michigan the top state for job growth matter? MLive.com
Gentex has a plan to hire 1,100 workers over the next three to four years.
Other West Michigan firms are adding workers as well, Baker said.

He also credits Gov. Rick Snyder with measures like a $1.7 billion business-tax cut and passing a state budget months ahead of time with sending a strong signal that Michigan is open for business.
Businesses “need a stable, predictable environment,” Baker said.

Al Gore | Global warming | racists

Al Gore Global warming racists The Daily Caller
One day climate change skeptics will be seen in the same negative light as racists, at least so says former Vice President Al Gore

The Decline and Fall of the French Language?

The Decline and Fall of the French Language? Newgeography.com
English may not yet have won the globe, but French has definitely lost it.

How Obama Spent His Summer Vacation

How Obama Spent His Summer Vacation - HUMAN EVENTS
I would imagine the increasingly disenchanted public remembers all those loud promises that the President “will not rest” until “everyone looking for a job can find one,” especially since they were made as recently as two weeks ago.
Unique challenges call for remarkable leadership and sacrifice, not scheduled vacation romps… much less a President who never seems to do anything except show himself a good time, and raise funds for his re-election campaign.
He’s spent plenty of time hanging around with deep-pockets supporters during this “working vacation.”

Comparing Obama’s Performance in Office with that of a Sack of Hammers

Pajamas Media » Comparing Obama’s Performance in Office with that of a Sack of Hammers
It’s somewhat difficult to judge the performance of a president with all the factors that need to be considered and trying to figure out the president’s effect on them, but perhaps the best way to accurately assess the effectiveness of a president is to judge him against the expected performance of a sack of hammers in a similar situation (which is known as the “Coolidge Test”).

Basically, the question is: Instead of electing the current president, would the country have been better off taking a burlap sack to Ace Hardware, filling it with approximately one hundred dollars worth of hammers, and placing that in the Oval Office?

Losing Malmo

Losing Malmo - Andrew C. McCarthy - National Review Online
Large enclaves of the city, like similar enclaves throughout Western Europe, have earned the dread label “no-go zone.”
They are unsafe for non-Muslims, particularly women who do not conform to Islamist conventions of dress and social interaction.

Coming to a city near you?

Reselling, donating old cribs now illegal under new federal consumer protection rules

Reselling, donating old cribs now illegal under new federal consumer protection rules MLive.com
If you're wondering what to do with that crib after your little one moves to a “big boy bed,” you probably have only one option: disposing of it.
Cribs manufactured before July 23, 2010, don't meet new standards set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and are illegal to resell or donate.
Parents who want to get rid of their old cribs should disassemble them before disposing of them, the CPSC said.

Japanese construction company orders 2,700 staff to get 'energy-saving' haircuts

Japanese construction company orders 2,700 staff to get 'energy-saving' haircuts Mail Online
A Japanese company has ordered all 2,700 of its employees to get identical hairstyles - to help save energy.
Tokyo-based Maeda Corporation announced the move as part of a national campaign to reduce energy consumption in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March.
Men are expected to sport a short back-and-sides, slightly longer on the top, while women have been asked to wear a 'cute' bob with a fringe that can be swept to one side.

Top 10 Outrageous Maxine Waters Quotes

Top 10 Outrageous Maxine Waters Quotes - HUMAN EVENTS
We rarely agree with Rep. Maxine Waters (D.-Calif.), the loud-mouth, left-wing congresswoman from South Central Los Angeles, home of the 1992 Rodney King riots. But recently she said, “We're supportive of the President, but we're getting tired. We’re getting tired. The unemployment is unconscionable.”
Yes, Maxine, we are also getting tired of the President.
And we are getting tired of you as well, and here's why: The Top 10 Outrageous Maxine Waters Quotes

Saturday, August 27, 2011

North Muskegon High on top, Muskegon Heights on bottom of state schools ranking

North Muskegon High on top, Muskegon Heights on bottom of state schools ranking MLive.com
The percentile ranking of schools was based on a number of factors, including student proficiency, student improvement and achievement gaps among all students within a school.
Graduation rates were considered for high schools.

If we don't fix our schools, no amount of money will fix our community.
Just throwing more money at teachers and administrators is NOT the answer.

COA: State workers’ mandatory health-care charge unconstitutiona

COA: State workers’ mandatory health-care charge unconstitutional The Michigan Lawyer

A statute requiring public employees to contribute three percent of their pay to finance state retiree health-care benefits is unconstitutional, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
In AFSCME Council 25, et al. v. State Employees Retirement System, et al., the court upheld a lower court ruling that struck down MCL 38.35.
The state and unions representing state workers negotiated a three percent pay raise, which the state Civil Service Commission (CSC) approved.

So they get the 3% raise but don't have to pay for ANY of their retirement health care costs.
Jusk great.....

Economic Growth Slows to Crawl, GDP Increase at 1%

Economic Growth Slows to Crawl, GDP Increase at 1% - CNBC
The U.S. economy grew much slower than previously thought in the second quarter as business inventories and exports were less robust, a government report showed on Friday, although consumer spending was revised up.

Gross domestic product growth rose at annual rate of 1.0 percent the Commerce Department said, a downward revision of its prior estimate of 1.3 percent.

Unexpectedly!

Obama Administration Allowing Mexican Police To Operate On US Soil; Wants To Apply Lessons Of Afghanistan To Mexico

Obama Administration Allowing Mexican Police To Operate On US Soil; Wants To Apply Lessons Of Afghanistan To Mexico
Clearly things are not going well in Mexico.
 ......“The military is trying to take what it did in Afghanistan and do the same in Mexico,” one officer told the Times."

Emerging powers press rich world on CO2 cuts

Emerging powers press rich world on CO2 cuts
"We demand that industrialized countries set more meaningful objectives toward CO2 reductions than what they have presented up to now," Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota told a meeting in Inhotim, Brazil.

Hopey, changey South American style.

Late School Start Times to Help Sleepy Teens

Late School Start Times to Help Sleepy Teens NBC Los Angeles
A new study links school starts times with academic performance.
Now, more schools are starting school later to help students focus and concentrate in class.

GREAT preparation for their first job.......

Insurers must cover mental illness on par with physical, court rules

Insurers must cover mental illness on par with physical, court rules - latimes.com
Healthcare insurers must provide benefits to those with mental illnesses equal to those for clients with physical afflictions, a federal appeals court ruled Friday in a case that could lead to more extensive coverage for a wide array of disorders.

This'll be cheap.....

U.S. May Back Mortgage Refinancing for Millions

U.S. May Back Mortgage Refinancing for Millions - NYTimes.com
The idea is appealing because it would not necessarily require Congressional action.

What a concept!

Climate prostitutes, charlatans and comedians

Climate prostitutes, charlatans and comedians NetRight Daily
Instead, we’ve been repeatedly treated to amusingly convoluted back-peddling from earlier pronouncements that ski resorts will be a thing of the past and “children just aren’t going to remember what snow is.”

Now we’re told that global warming can worsen winters and increase snowfalls.
In fact, as one Greenpeace activist explained, “Global warming can mean colder. It can mean wetter. It can mean drier. That’s what we’re talking about.”

College to Ask About Sexual Orientation

College to Ask About Sexual Orientation NBC Chicago
A "yes" answer could put students in line to qualify for a scholarship worth one-third of tuition at the private, liberal arts school affiliated with the United Church of Christ, said Rold.

Why wouldn't EVERYONE say they're gay for free moolah?