Thursday, February 09, 2012

Michigan, Pennsylvania put limits on families seeking food aid

Michigan, Pennsylvania put limits on families seeking food aid MLive.com
Now, Michigan lets families exclude one vehicle and apply for food stamps as long as their second vehicle isn't worth more than $15,000 and they don't have more than $5,000 in assets.
The Moores and about 1,484 households were able to apply for aid again after the guideline was relaxed.

Washington Footing the Cell Phone Bill for Millions of Low Income Americans

Washington Footing the Cell Phone Bill for Millions of Low Income Americans - Yahoo! News
As many as 5.5 million residents in Pennsylvania alone could qualify for the program, which is funded primarily by the Universal Service Fund fee added to the bills of land-line and wireless customers.

The CIA Digs In

The Volokh Conspiracy » The CIA Digs In
But we should probably add two things. First, in Afghanistan – the strategically more important theatre – the CIA’s role is likely to be much more than simply gathering intelligence and engaging in paramilitary strikes, either using drones or its agents and Special Forces teams.
It is likely to be deeply involved in the coordination and funding of various local Afghanistan forces – in something that I suspect will look, in terms of the Agency’s historical role, much more like reversion to the mean.

America's Amazing Shovel-Ready Energy Stimulus; And It's Happening Despite U.S. Energy Policy

CARPE DIEM: America's Amazing Shovel-Ready Energy Stimulus; And It's Happening Despite U.S. Energy Policy
MP: What makes this energy stimulus even more remarkable is that it came about in spite of, not because of, any intended government energy policies.

Developer says his project to renovate four Grand Rapids elementary schools fills a housing demand

Developer says his project to renovate four Grand Rapids elementary schools fills a housing demand MLive.com
Ojibway hopes to raise more than $16 million from investors and through a complex series of tax credits that will allows them to buy the old buildings and convert them into apartments.

Maybe there’s something to the idea that Eastwood’s Chrysler commercial was an Obama campaign ad?

Maybe there’s something to the idea that Eastwood’s Chrysler commercial was an Obama campaign ad? The Daily Caller
Several members of the Wieden+Kennedy team that produced the Eastwood spot were among the creative professionals who privately supported Obama’s first election campaign.

Right-to-Work Revolution Takes on Big Labor#page1

Right-to-Work Revolution Takes on Big Labor
First, it had been more than a decade since any state adopted right-to-work laws.
But more importantly, Indiana is the first rust belt state – where manufacturing provided most of the economy and unions controlled large portions of the labor force – to pass such laws.

D.C. deploys plows to ease feds' early commute

D.C. deploys plows to ease feds' early commute - WTOP.com
WASHINGTON - Federal employees can take unscheduled leave or telework from home on Wednesday in anticipation of what many forecasts believe could be a non-event.

Michigan Must Decide What to Do With an Unexpected Surplus

Michigan Must Decide What to Do With an Unexpected Surplus - NYTimes.com
Even more surprising: Revenues, which had sunk or had been mostly flat for all but one year since 2000, have grown. Not a lot, but grown.

NYT?

'Forced Unionization' Employer Out of the Picture, But Dues Keep Flowing To SEIU

'Forced Unionization' Employer Out of the Picture, But Dues Keep Flowing To SEIU [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
But even with the dummy employer admitting it isn't the home health care workers' employer, the major effect of the forced unionization continues.

Breaking Global Warming Taboos: 'I Feel Duped on Climate Change'

Breaking Global Warming Taboos: 'I Feel Duped on Climate Change' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
Will reduced solar activity counteract global warming in the coming decades?

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Muskegon's Bonfire Restaurant closes

Muskegon's Bonfire Restaurant closes; next restaurant concept in planning stages MLive.com
Saturday was the last day of operation for Joe Grimm’s restaurant at 2536 Henry.

Benefit Costs Sunk Benton Harbor's Finances

Benefit Costs Sunk Benton Harbor's Finances [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski said the city of Benton Harbor’s property tax revenue was fairly steady from 2002 to 2008.
But he said the city has so many tax-free enterprise zones that it was difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison of property tax revenue from year to year.

The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows

The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows Environment The Guardian
The world's greatest snow-capped peaks, which run in a chain from the Himalayas to Tian Shan on the border of China and Kyrgyzstan, have lost no ice over the last decade, new research shows.
The discovery has stunned scientists...

» Chrysler Is Back? Great. Then Why Hasn’t It Repaid Taxpayers the $1.3 Billion It Still Owes Them?

» Chrysler Is Back? Great. Then Why Hasn’t It Repaid Taxpayers the $1.3 Billion It Still Owes Them? - Big Government
Amid the controversy over Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime In America” Super Bowl commercial, a glaring question remains: if Chrysler is back on top and so strong, then why hasn’t it repaid taxpayers the $1.3 billion it still owes them?

And our moolah didn't go to "Chrysler", it went to the unions.

CDC: Bread beats out chips as biggest salt source

News from The Associated Press
Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips.

GOP lawmakers protest removal of 'God' from Air Force unit's patch

GOP lawmakers protest removal of 'God' from Air Force unit's patch - The Hill's DEFCON Hill
The patch logo was changed after a military atheist group, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, protested the reference to God on the patch.

Dependent Nation: Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama; 67 Million Get Aid

Dependent Nation: Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama; 67 Million Get Aid - Investors.com
The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program

Eisenhower Family Raises Objections to Planned Memorial

Eisenhower Family Raises Objections to Planned Memorial - NYTimes.com
But the Eisenhower family objects to the design and is attempting to delay approval of the project in a dispute that has pitted a leading American family against one of the country’s most recognized architects.
The family says Mr. Gehry should portray Eisenhower as a man in the fullness of his achievements, not as a callow rustic who made good.

Poll: Voters back plan to link university funding hikes to meeting goals

Poll: Voters back plan to link university funding hikes to meeting goals MLive.com
State residents back the idea of linking state aid increases for state universities to meeting goals tied to graduation rates and other measures, according to a poll released today from Business Leaders for Michigan.

Charles Murray: Why We Dislike the New Upper Class

Charles Murray: Why We Dislike the New Upper Class TIME Ideas TIME.com
The new upper class is different.
It consists of the people who run the country.
By “the people who run the country,”
I mean two sets of people.

Norton Shores approves tax abatement for $2.5 million industrial expansion

Norton Shores approves tax abatement for $2.5 million industrial expansion MLive.com
The council also passed a resolution agreeing to pay any costs of resurfacing Norton Avenue beyond the $669,000 covered by a state grant.
The estimated cost is $1,020,800, so if the project is on budget, the cost to Norton Shores would be $351,800.
Only half of Norton Avenue would be reconstructed this year, with the other half repaired next year, City Manager Mark Meyers said.
The cost of working on both sides at once would strain the city’s budget, he said.
“We phase it over two years instead of one year to be able to budget for it,” he said.

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

'Germany's George Monbiot' turns climate sceptic

'Germany's George Monbiot' turns climate sceptic – Telegraph Blogs
"Imagine if George Monbiot were suddenly to declare himself a climate sceptic.
That's how massive this story is!"

Stuff Obama's campaign says vs. Stuff that is true

Stuff Obama's campaign says vs. Stuff that is true Campaign 2012 Washington Examiner

"Go Ahead. Make My Halftime..."

http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/driveby/go_ahead_make_my_halftime.php
"Go Ahead. Make My Halftime..."
Eastwood and Obama Get Theirs Today from Limbaugh

link to the best parody!

Six Things Everyone Should Know About The HHS Mandate

USCCB: Six Things Everyone Should Know About The HHS Mandate National Petition to Stop HHS Mandate

NUGENT: The Great Keystone XL Pipeline Massacre

NUGENT: The Great Keystone XL Pipeline Massacre - Washington Times
President Obama’s decision to put a bullet in the back of the head of the Keystone XL pipeline is all the proof you need to know that his modus operandi is to sidle up to environmental green-energy crackpots instead of creating thousands of American jobs and honestly pursuing energy independence for America.

Occupy DC Plans Mayhem for Major Conservative Conference

Exclusive: Occupy DC Plans Mayhem for Major Conservative Conference
The “Occupy DC” protest group is planning to disrupt the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference using a range of potentially illegal tactics that could even include violence against participants...

As predicted.
What, no MSM TV frowny faces or major consternation..........?

Pete Hoekstra's Super Bowl ad message on China failed because of racial uproar, expert says

Pete Hoekstra's Super Bowl ad message on China failed because of racial uproar, expert says MLive.com
In the damage control, Hoekstra has not apologized, and instead continues to track back to the record of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the Democrat who Hoekstra hopes to unseat in November.
Hoekstra, a Republican from Holland, first needs to defeat competitors in the August Republican primary.

Stand tall, Pete!

Portage Schools Turns Down $270K Savings

Portage Schools Turns Down $270K Savings [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
Portage Public Schools had an odd reaction to some good financial news this week, telling a company that could save it $270,000 a year "no thanks."
That offer came from Grand Rapids Building Services, a facilities cleaning contractor that proposed taking over the school district’s first shift custodial duties.

And there is this: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/02/ex-mona_shores_high_school_jan.html