Friday, January 04, 2013

2012 was Detroit's most violent in 20 years; shootings, bloodshed have 'become the norm'

http://tinyurl.com/aytkgkj
Already this week, a mother has been charged with fatally stabbing her 8-year-old daughter, and a cab driver was shot to death.

Cab driver dead after Detroit shooting, police say

Cab driver dead after Detroit shooting, police say | MLive.com

New Civil Rights Group Joins Affirmative Action Case

New Civil Rights Group Joins Affirmative Action Case [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
Voters in 2006 passed the constitutional amendment that prohibited the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any group or individual on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin by a 58 percent to 42 percent margin.
However, on Nov. 15, eight federal judges on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals struck the initiative down.

Bridge Card error affects 85,000 Michigan families receiving food assistance; state working to fix problem

Bridge Card error affects 85,000 Michigan families receiving food assistance; state working to fix problem | MLive.com
Thousands of Michigan families are temporarily unable to get their food assistance benefits because of a Bridge Card error that state officials are working to fix.

What was cost to protect right-to-work demonstrators, Capitol building last month?

Tim Skubick: What was cost to protect right-to-work demonstrators, Capitol building last month?
MLive.com
......so far nobody knows how many were spent to deploy 500 Michigan State Police officers to guard the state capitol and Right to Work demonstrators last month.
Five hundred is darn close close to half the entire force.

Armed guards at NY paper that reported gun info

Armed guards at NY paper that reported gun info
...publisher Janet Hasson said. “The safety of my staff is my top priority,” she told The New York Times

Review & Outlook: Crony Capitalist Blowout - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Crony Capitalist Blowout - WSJ.com
But a special award goes to Chris Dodd, the former Senator who now roams Gucci Gulch lobbying for Hollywood's movie studios.
The Senate summary of his tax victory is worth quoting in full: "The bill extends for two years, through 2013, the provision that allows film and television producers to expense the first $15 million of production costs incurred in the United States ($20 million if the costs are incurred in economically depressed areas in the United States)."
You gotta love that "depressed areas" bit.
The impoverished impresarios of Brentwood get an extra writeoff if they take their film crews into, say, deepest Flatbush.
Is that because they have to pay extra to the caterers from Dean & DeLuca to make the trip?
It sure can't be because they hire the jobless locals for the production crew.
Those are union jobs, mate, and don't you forget it.

Muskegon official: Abortion clinic was 'a filthy mess,' won't reopen | MLive.com#incart_river

Muskegon official: Abortion clinic was 'a filthy mess,' won't reopen 
It’s just ridiculous,” Alexander said Monday.
“At this point, they (anti-abortion activists) win.
this point, I’m not going to open back up.”
Lewis released a redacted list of what city Fire Marshal Major Metcalf called 11 “violations noted during my assessment,” performed after Muskegon police investigated a reported break-in at the clinic.

Armed Woman Stops Shooter in TX

Armed Woman Stops Shooter in TX
“On Sunday, 2 days after the CT shooting, a man went to a restaurant in San Antonio to kill his X-girlfriend.
After he shot her, most of the people in the restaurant fled next door to a theater.
The gunman followed them and entered the theater so he could shoot more people. He started shooting and people in the theater started running and screaming.
It’s like the Aurora, CO theater story plus a restaurant!
Now aren’t you wondering why this isn’t a lead story in the national media along with the school shooting?
There was an off duty county deputy at the theater.
SHE pulled out her gun and shot the man 4 times before he had a chance to kill anyone. So since this story makes the point that the best thing to stop a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun, the media is treating it like it never happened.
Only the local media covered it.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Your Favorites: Our Top 10 Stories of 2012

Your Favorites: Our Top 10 Stories of 2012 [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
A 'horseshoer' with no horses, drunk teachers and right-to-work coverage were some of the most popular articles

How corporate tax credits got in the 'cliff' deal

Tim Carney: How corporate tax credits got in the 'cliff' deal | WashingtonExaminer.com

The Five Worst Op-Eds of 2012

Gene Healy: The Five Worst Op-Eds of 2012 | WashingtonExaminer.com

Senators Got 154-Page 'Fiscal Cliff' Bill 3 Minutes Before Voting on It

Senators Got 154-Page 'Fiscal Cliff' Bill 3 Minutes Before Voting on It | CNS News

FBI: More People Killed with Hammers, Clubs Each Year than Rifles

FBI: More People Killed with Hammers, Clubs Each Year than Rifles
According to the FBI annual crime statistics, the number of murders committed annually with hammers and clubs far outnumbers the number of murders committed with a rifle.

Michelle Suggests Republicans are Liars

Michelle Suggests Republicans are Liars | The Blog on Obama: White House Dossier
First Lady Michelle Obama Thursday suggested Republicans are engaged in rampant lying as they debate the issues with President Obama.
“People have to stay focused on what’s going on, because it’s easy to get confused in all the back and forth that goes on, and there’s a whole lot of not-truth telling going on, if you know what I mean,” Michelle said during a radio appearance on the The Tom Joyner Show.
Mrs. Obama also charged that voter suppression during the 2012 election was widespread.
Michelle said Republicans sought to win the election by spending “unprecedented amounts of money,” running negative advertising, and committing voter suppression.
“Voter suppression was in full force in so many states all over this country,” Mrs. Obama said.

Michigan Congressional Republicans Split On 'Fiscal Cliff' Vote

Michigan Congressional Republicans Split On 'Fiscal Cliff' Vote [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
Republicans voting “yes“ were U.S. Representatives Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls; Dave Camp, R-Midland; Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township.; Mike Rogers, R-Howell; and Fred Upton, R-St Joseph

Fox News Parody About Gun-Free Zones Stopping Crime


Wednesday, January 02, 2013

A Voyage to Laputa

A Voyage to Laputa - By Michael Walsh - The Corner - National Review Online
Conservatives understand, to their chagrin, that Obamaism cannot be defeated and rolled back until the GOP undergoes the same sort of ideological transformation that the Left effected upon the Democrats between 1968 and 1972.
Sure, the donkeys lost for a while, and lost bad — Nixon wiped out McGovern in ‘72 and Reagan destroyed Mondale in 1984.
But that was a price they were willing to pay for eventual victory

What global warming? Alaska is headed for an ice age as scientists report state's steady temperature decline

What global warming? Alaska is headed for an ice age as scientists report state's steady temperature decline | Mail Online
Since 2000, temperatures in Alaska have dropped by 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit

Scientists reviewed weather reports from 20 climate stations operated by the National Weather Service located across Alaska, 19 of the 20 weather stations reported falling temperatures

An ocean phenomenon has disrupted a storm regulating system thus allowing cold winter storms to linger longer and bring a deep chill

Local residents have noticed the colder temps but say its no big deal since they are already bundled up for 20-below zero temperatures

County Prevailing Wage Law Could Add Millions To Taxpayer Costs

County Prevailing Wage Law Could Add Millions To Taxpayer Costs [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has researched the costs of prevailing wage laws in Michigan.
It has concluded that prevailing wage laws can add 10 percent to 15 percent to the cost of construction projects.
If Muskegon County's prevailing wage ordinance were to add 10 percent to the cost of the jail project, the ordinance would put local taxpayers on the hook for an additional $2.3 million to $4.7 million.

Hollywood: Cinema attendance plummets to 25-year low

Hollywood: Cinema attendance plummets to 25-year low | Mail Online
The golden age of the silver screen may be coming to a close.
Attendance at movie theatres is at a 25-year low, with young consumers – those who often see the most films – down 40 per cent since 2002.

Dreading your diet? Don't worry...plump people live LONGER than their skinnier counterparts

Dreading your diet? Don't worry...plump people live LONGER than their skinnier counterparts | Mail Online

‘Cliff’ bill is a bitter pill for House’s tea party adherents to swallow

‘Cliff’ bill is a bitter pill for House’s tea party adherents to swallow - The Washington Post
The bill was 153 pages long. t was written only the day before, by Washington insiders working in the dark of night.
It was crammed with giveaways and legislative spare parts: tax breaks for wind farms and racetracks.
A change to nuclear-weapons policy.
Government payments for cheese.
And, most significantly, the bill will raise taxes but do relatively little to cut government spending or the massive federal deficit.

How to Clean Up the List of Apps that Have Access to Your Accounts

How to Clean Up the List of Apps that Have Access to Your Accounts - How-To Geek

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Photos of the Year - The Wall Street Journal

Photos of the Year - The Wall Street Journal

Members-only clubs for legal pot use open in Colorado

Members-only clubs for legal pot use open in Colorado | Fox News

Monumental deceit: How our politicians have lied and lied about the true purpose of the European behemoth

Monumental deceit: How our politicians have lied and lied about the true purpose of the European behemoth | Mail Online

Sperm donor ordered to pay child support to lesbian couple despite him giving up rights to the child

Sperm donor ordered to pay child support to lesbian couple despite him giving up rights to the child | Mail Online
The legal agreement that the three made in 2009 was deemed invalid by Kansas state because they did not use a certified doctor for the insemination.

"Stockton tries a Chrysler"

Fix Pacifica: Bakersfield bankruptcy in stalemate
Wall Street Journal/Review and Outlook/Top Stories in Opinion, 12/31/12. "Stockton tries a Chrysler"

The municipal bankruptcy unfolding in Stockton, California is giving investors a bad case of deja vu. Just as the Obama Administration bailed out the United Auto Workers in Chrysler's bankruptcy while hanging bondholders out to dry, the city of Stockton is subordinating its bond debt to worker pensions.
But what's really scary is that the Stockton case could be replayed in dozens of California cities.

The San Joaquin Valley's second largest city filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy this summer after a three-month mediation with creditors and unions ended in stalemate.
Bond insurers that guarantee about $200 million in debt wouldn't submit to a haircut unless the rich pensions that helped drive the city to bankruptcy were also clipped.
Yet unions wouldn't countenance an even modest reduction to their pensions.

.... Ratings agencies downplay the "systemic risk" that the Stocktons of the United States pose to the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market.
But then they also said mortgage-backed securities were Triple-A.
While the market may not be in danger of blowing up soon, bondholders face a very real danger of being blown off to preserve worker pensions.

Gunman shoots one outside San Antonio movie theater

Gunman shoots one outside San Antonio movie theater | The Desert Sun | mydesert.com:
The gunman entered the theater and fired a shot but struck no one, Antu said.
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security then shot the gunman.