Sunday, January 20, 2013

Michigan Supreme Court justice Diane Hathaway charged with fraud

Michigan Supreme Court justice Diane Hathaway charged with fraud | MLive.com
Federal prosecutors have filed a fraud charge against Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway, just a few days before she leaves the state's highest court in a scandal involving the sale of a Detroit-area home and suspicious steps taken to conceal property in Florida.
The charge was filed Friday as a criminal "information," which means it was negotiated and that a guilty plea is expected in federal court.

Putting college in reach for Michigan foster children

Putting college in reach for Michigan foster children | Bridge Michigan
But she’s succeeding at Western, thanks to perhaps the most comprehensive program to support foster children in college in the nation.
She expects to earn a bachelor’s degree in social work and ultimately get a PhD.
The Seita program has helped Jenks adjust to college, and after a slow start, shift her focus from social to academic and boost her grades and develop relationships with her professors.
“My campus coach is super supportive and helpful,” Jenks said during her winter break.
“I can’t even imagine going to college without her or somebody to talk to.”
Jenks is one of Western’s Seita Scholars, students removed from their family homes because of abuse or neglect and now getting financial, academic and social support to give them the opportunity to succeed in college and launch successful careers.
In five years, the program grew the germ of an idea during a ride home from a conference to one of Western’s crown jewels, a signature program serving 160 students from 35 counties across the state.

Holton school contract aims to end months-long sick leaves

Holton school contract aims to end months-long sick leaves | MLive.com
“(A) maximum cap limitation of 120 sick leave days has been added to prevent the over accumulation of sick days so that employees are not able to take multiple months of work in a row off beyond the 120 days,” he wrote.
The contract removed a “floating holiday” – essentially an extra day off that employees could choose when to take.
It also changed evaluations so they can be provided employees in a “meaningful way with delineated performance goals,” Kennedy said.
Employee co-pays for family health insurance coverage through Priority Health increased from $83 per month to $204.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Great moments in failed predictions of resource depletion

Great moments in failed predictions of resource depletion | AEIdeas
"1. In 1885, the US Geological Survey announced that there was “little or no chance” of oil being discovered in California. In 1891, it said the same thing about Kansas and Texas.
2. In 1939 the US Department of the Interior said that American oil supplies would last only another 13 years.
3. 1944 federal government review predicted that by now the US would have exhausted its reserves of 21 of 41 commodities it examined. Among them were tin, nickel, zinc, lead and manganese.
4. In 1949 the Secretary of the Interior announced that the end of US oil was in sight.
5. In 1974, the US Geological Survey announced “at 1974 technology and 1974 price” the US had only a 10-year supply of natural gas.
For the full list of failed predictions, go here.
HT: Joe Lais"

State's broken tax system favors corporations over families

Guest column: State's broken tax system favors corporations over families | MLive.com

IT LOOKS DELICIOUS: McDonald’s Offers France a High-Calorie McBaguette. “Sorry, Gallic purists, bu…

Instapundit » Blog Archive » IT LOOKS DELICIOUS
McDonald’s Offers France a High-Calorie McBaguette.
“Sorry, Gallic purists, but after sampling it, I can tell you that the McDonald’s (MCD) bread is pretty good.
OK, not as good as the premium-priced ‘traditional’ baguettes sold in bakeries and served in upscale restaurants, but certainly no worse than the standard loaves consumed daily by millions of French.”

A Drying Lake

Daily Kos: A Drying Lake
"Jon McEwen makes an interesting point: as the water levels decline, the amount of weight on the terrain around and under the lakes is significantly lower and the land will rise, or re-emerge.
We're entering unknown territory with record low Lake Michigan levels.
What type of real world effects will the rise of bottom lands and surrounding lake lands lead to?
We don't know.
We've never seen this before."

WHY AL FRANKEN IS LOOKING IFFY ON GUN CONTROL

Instapundit » Blog Archive » 
"WHY AL FRANKEN IS LOOKING IFFY ON GUN CONTROL: Minnesotans Buying Guns In Record Numbers.
“Across the country, firearms industry analysts point to soaring numbers — including first-time gun buyers now making up a quarter of all sales and nearly 75 percent of gun retailers reporting sales boosts over last year. Minnesotans are riding that same wave, prompting more than 25,000 law enforcement queries tied to permit applications since Dec. 18.
That’s more than double the 10,681 checks run for permits during the same period a year ago. . . . Those burgeoning numbers worry gun control advocates, who are puzzled that the reaction to the Newtown tragedy has been this massive firearms buildup.”
They don’t understand things very well, do they?
But then, the gun-control movement is a bunch of old, out-of-touch white people, clinging to the politics of the last century."

School board: We're satisfied superintendent accused of plagiarism 'understands her mistake'

School board: We're satisfied superintendent accused of plagiarism 'understands her mistake' | NJ.com
"Koos told Bernardsville-Bedminster Patch that the seeming plagiarism of the Bettendorf message was actually a misunderstanding, and that she should have attributed Shutte's messages to him.
Koos called the incident "a mistake," and said she had an email from Shutte giving her permission to use the comments in her own letter, according to Patch.
However, Shutte told NJ.com he first heard from Koos sometime on Jan. 4, two days after the letter was already published on Bedminster's website with Koos' name signed to it.
On Jan. 11, Casella said the school board would investigate the possible plagiarism and, "as soon as we're able to get through everthing and get to the bottom of it, we will take appropriate steps from there."
But earlier that morning, the school district's website had been changed to edit another letter from the superintendent that appeared to be plagiarized from another school district."

Pennsylvania girl, 5, suspended for threatening to shoot girl with pink toy gun that blows soapy bubbles

Pennsylvania girl, 5, suspended for threatening to shoot girl with pink toy gun that blows soapy bubbles | Fox News
"A 5-year-old Pennsylvania girl who told another girl she was going to shoot her with a pink Hello Kitty toy gun that blows soapy bubbles has been suspended from kindergarten.
Her family has hired an attorney to fight the punishment, which initially was 10 days for issuing a 'terroristic threat.'
But her punishment was reduced to two days after her mother met with school officials and had the incident dropped to 'threatening to harm another student,' which apparently carries a lesser punishment."

12 Year Old Girl Shoots Home Intruder

12 Year Old Girl Shoots Home Intruder - KTEN.com - No One Gets You Closer
"A day off for fall break was anything but relaxing for a 12-year old Bryan County girl, when an intruder broke into her home on Michael Avenue.
Deputies say, the girl was home alone when a man she'd never seen before, rang the front doorbell.
They say when no one answered the door, the man went around to the back of the house and kicked a door open. 
That's when authorities say, the girl grabbed a gun and hid in a bathroom closet.
"He had worked his way all the way through the house and into the bathroom. 
And from what we understand, he was turning the doorknob when she fired through the door." Says Bryan County Under sheriff, Ken Golden."

Non-Union Workers Excluded from Hurricane Sandy Cleanup

Non-Union Workers Excluded from Hurricane Sandy Cleanup - By Eliana Johnson - The Corner - National Review Online
"In New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie has said that relief measures for Hurricane Sandy should be “above politics,” non-union workers are now excluded from participating in cleanup and rebuilding efforts.
That policy took effect when the New Jersey state senate voted on Monday to expand an existing labor-agreement law that has been on the books since 2002.
According to the Jersey Journal, highways, bridges, pumping stations, and water and sewage treatment plants were not covered under the existing law, but the new bill includes them:
Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who authored the legislation and fast tracked it, said the agreements are key to making sure work goes to New Jersey workers.
Above politics, just not regional politics, I guess.
The new measure also passed along party lines, 23 Democrats to 13 Republicans.
Above politics, just not party politics."

A New Anti-Terror Front? Yes, the Government Thinks It’s ‘Right-Wing Extremists’

A New Anti-Terror Front? Yes, the Government Thinks It’s ‘Right-Wing Extremists’ - By John Fund - The Corner - National Review Online
The Combating Terrorism Center, which is based at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, has issued a new report on its website entitled
“Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right.”
Normally, the center’s activities are focused on al-Qaeda and other violent Islamic groups seeking to topple governments around the world.
But the latest report looks inside America itself, and if the center is to be judged by the quality of its analysis in this report, it might be wise for all of us to be skeptical of its other work.
The Center’s report lumps together entirely legitimate tea-party-style activists with three groups it says represent “a racist/white supremacy movement, an anti-federalist movement and a fundamentalist movement.”
Together all these forces are said to have engaged in 350 “attacks initiated by far-right groups/individuals” in 2011, although the report never specifies what makes an attack a “far right” action.
The report’s author is Arie Perliger, who directs the Center’s terrorism studies and teaches social sciences at West Point.
I can only imagine what his classes are like as his report manages to lump together every known liberal stereotype about conservatives between its covers.

Histrionics, Economics and Right-to-Work

Histrionics, Economics and Right-to-Work [Mackinac Center]
However, while the evidence on the economic effects of right-to-work laws is mixed, extensive empirical research generally shows neutral to very positive impacts.
Examples include:

Editorial: New truancy program bolsters education in Muskegon area

Editorial: New truancy program bolsters education in Muskegon area | MLive.com
A collaborative effort, the truancy program is designed to help families get their children into the classroom through counseling and mediation services, including those offered by Mediation & Restorative Services and the Department of Human Services’ school-based Family Resource Centers. If the truancy is persistent then the punishment element will go into effect.

The End of the University as We Know It

The End of the University as We Know It - Nathan Harden - The American Interest Magazine
In fifty years, if not much sooner, half of the roughly 4,500 colleges and universities now operating in the United States will have ceased to exist.
The technology driving this change is already at work, and nothing can stop it.
The future looks like this: Access to college-level education will be free for everyone; the residential college campus will become largely obsolete; tens of thousands of professors will lose their jobs; the bachelor’s degree will become increasingly irrelevant; and ten years from now Harvard will enroll ten million students.

House Committee finds stimulus cash flowing to foreign companies

House Committee finds stimulus cash flowing to foreign companies | Washington Free Beacon
"The government made this change in Section 1603 of the 2009 American Recovery Act, better known as the stimulus bill.
“The stimulus’s purpose was to create jobs,” said Yeatman.
Each job created by the grant program cost $1.2 million, according to the report.
“That cost-per-jobs figure is eye-popping,” Yeatman said.
Iberdrola Renewables, the American wing of a Spanish renewable energy company, received $1.77 billion spread over 24 grants, over 10 percent of the total grants awarded."

Cheesecake Factory pasta on list of caloric food porn

Cheesecake Factory pasta on list of caloric food porn | Reuters:
"- Chocolate Zuccotto Cake from Maggiano's Little Italy. One slice weighs nearly one pound and has 1,820 calories, 62 grams of saturated fat and 26 teaspoons of added sugar - or 15 Hostess Ho Hos, CSPI said."

ABC, CBS and NBC All Refuse to Identify Indicted Nagin as Democrat

ABC, CBS and NBC All Refuse to Identify Indicted Nagin as Democrat | NewsBusters

Re The Bigger Picture

Re The Bigger Picture - By Mark Steyn - The Corner - National Review Online
......you’re correct that the TSA is a prime example of the broader insanity of the precautionary principle applied without regard to cost-benefit analysis. 
I wasn’t joking, by the way, about the federal bureaucracy policing pumpkin pie consistency.
It’s now part of a grand holiday tradition reflected in headlines that ought to be deeply embarrassing to a supposedly free people:
A Thanksgiving Meal, With The TSA’s Blessing"

Man-on-the-street interviews: So, what’d you think of Obama’s inauguration?

MUST SEE VIDEO!
Man-on-the-street interviews: So, what’d you think of Obama’s inauguration? « The Greenroom
Jimmy Kimmel’s done a bunch of these on different subjects but the gag will never get old. 
It’s basically a psychological experiment in serial form, and a case study in why polls can never fully be trusted. 
Remember that Pew survey the other day showing how, even though most young adults don’t know what issue Roe v. Wade dealt with, nearly 100 percent of them had an opinion on whether or not the decision should be overturned? 
If you were confused about how that result is possible, let late-night comedy be your beacon towards the truth.

Treasury can start selling remaining GM shares

http://tinyurl.com/a4lff2g

At current prices, the Treasury would lose more than $12 billion on its GM bailout.

Before you file your income tax form: 6 things to know about Michigan's changes | MLive.com

Before you file your income tax form: 6 things to know about Michigan's changes | MLive.com
Homestead Property Tax Credit:
The maximum $1,200 credit is no longer available to homes with a taxable value greater than $135,000.
That cap does not apply to rented homesteads.
Previously, taxpayers could claim a credit if their household income was $82,650 or less.
Now, taxpayers with household resources (which includes more than just income) totaling more than $50,000 will no longer receive the credit.
Credits are reduced for households with resources ranging from $41,001-$50,000.
Seniors can receive the full credit if their household resources are no more than $21,000.
The credit would be reduced by 4 percent for each additional $1,000 in household resources up to $30,000.
Senior claimants can receive 60 percent of the credit if they have resources of $30,000 to $41,000. After that, the phase out applies.
A full explanation can be found here.

Remember the good ol' days, with lots of state income tax deductions?

Tim Skubick: Remember the good ol' days, with lots of state income tax deductions? | MLive.com

But get a load of the tax deductions or exemptions that you use to get that ain’t no more.
If you made a contribution to charities last year, the credit you got in 2011, you will not get in 2012.
If you paid a city income tax, that credit is caput.
You use to get credit for college and tuition fees. Adios to that boys and girls.
And other credits are hit: renewable energy surcharge, home heating credit for seniors, an exemption for unemployment compensation, earned income tax credit, homestead property tax credit, and for kids at home under 18, the $600 deduction is out the window.
Tell junior to get a job to make up the lost credit.

Government Scientist Gets Fired for Telling the Truth

Government Scientist Gets Fired for Telling the Truth - David Spady
The purpose of fictional environmental science is to sway public opinion through what amounts to propaganda. Intransigent purveyors of “green” propaganda know their greatest enemy is truth.
One of the most famous propaganda experts was Germany’s Joseph Goebbels, who taught that if a lie is repeated often enough it will eventually be accepted as truth.
Goebbels also knew that truth has to be suppressed if it contradicts the objectives of the propaganda.
Goebbels wrote, “It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Friday, January 18, 2013

Mark Steyn: Fake dead girlfriends and fake debt limits

Mark Steyn: Fake dead girlfriends and fake debt limits | dollar, trillion, debt - Opinion - The Orange County Register:

 Forty-four nations voted at Bretton Woods to make the dollar the world's reserve currency.
If they were meeting today, I doubt they'd give that status to a nation piling on over a trillion in federal debt per year, 70 percent of which its left hand (the U.S. Treasury) borrows from its right hand (the Federal Reserve) through the Nigerian email equivalent of Paul Krugman's trillion-dollar groat.
Meanwhile, I see the Bundesbank has decided to move 300 tons of German gold from the Federal Reserve in New York back to Frankfurt. It's probably nothing. 
And what's to stop the Fed replacing it with 300 tons of Boston Cream donuts and declaring them of equivalent value? Or maybe 300 imaginary dead football girlfriends, all platinum blondes.

Reader panel members react to using Craig School as a juvenile transition center

Flash views: Reader panel members react to using Craig School as a juvenile transition center | MLive.com
Agreeing with Griffin was Jim Riley of Norton Shores, who doesn't think the county has made a case for moving the transition center.
If county commissioners and administrator Bonnie Hammersley have a compelling reason to move the facility, they have yet to clearly present their rationale to the public.
In that vacuum of clarity, I say detach the juvenile transition center issue from the new jail discussion and keep the JTC in its current location.

Whoops: PolitiFact's 'Lie of the Year' Turns Out to Be True

Whoops: PolitiFact's 'Lie of the Year' Turns Out to Be True | The Weekly Standard:

Michigan Senators Introduce Firearms Freedom Act

Michigan Senators Introduce Firearms Freedom Act – Tenth Amendment Center Blog
"Senators Pavlov, Jones, Green, Casperson, Meekhof, Proos, Jansen, Brandenderg, Hildenbrand, Nofs, Colbeck, Emmons and Marleau introduced SB0063, which would protect firearms made and remaining in Michigan from unconstitutional federal regulation. SB0063 was referred to the Committee on Judiciary, chaired by Senator Jones."

Food service vulnerable to food allergy lawsuits

WASHINGTON: Food service vulnerable to food allergy lawsuits | Health | Macon.com
A settlement stemming from a lack of gluten-free foods available to students at a Massachusetts university could serve as a precedent for people with other allergies or conditions, including peanut sensitivities or diabetes.
Institutions and businesses subject to the Americans With Disabilities Act could be open to lawsuits if they fail to honor requests for accommodations by people with food allergies.