Monday, March 11, 2013

Bad Science and Bad Journalism are a Bad Combination

Bad Science and Bad Journalism are a Bad Combination:
On Wednesday, March 6, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee sent out a notice that its hearing on global warming was cancelled due to the chilly weather and a snowstorm that was about to hit the nation’s capital."

SUNSHINE SPECIAL: How I got the story Archives « Watchdog.org

SUNSHINE SPECIAL: How I got the story Archives « Watchdog.org Watchdog.org:

SEC hits Illinois with securities fraud charges

SEC hits Illinois with securities fraud charges - Sun-Times Politics:
"The finding of securities fraud doesn't subject the state to any fines or penalties but amounts to a warning to potential investors about the state's past financial misdeeds."

10 companies profiting the most from war

10 companies profiting the most from war

New Muskegon prosecutor gets radio show

New Muskegon prosecutor gets radio show | News | Muskegon News:
"MUSKEGON, Mich. (WZZM) - New Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson will begin hosting a radio show next week.
"Straight Talk with D.J. Hilson" will be live on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of every month on 103.7, The Beat starting at 5:00pm.
The station is giving the prosecutor the half-hour live show to talk directly to the community about issues like crime prevention, courts, and the police."

Sunday, March 10, 2013

What Do You Think about Obama Pardoning the Sequester and Sending It to Portugal?

What Do You Think about Obama Pardoning the Sequester and Sending It to Portugal? - By Andrew Johnson - The Corner - National Review Online:
 The question to passers-by: What do you think about Obama pardoning the sequester and sending it to Portugal?"

Must see to the end!

The American Ignoramus

Articles: The American Ignoramus:
"What does it mean? At best, the U.S. will have bad political leaders, chosen by low information voters.
At worst, American democracy will slowly shrivel due to widespread ignorance.
Ignorance seldom leads to happy endings."

Green Cars Have a Dirty Little Secret

Bjorn Lomborg: Green Cars Have a Dirty Little Secret - WSJ.com:
"When an electric car rolls off the production line, it has already been responsible for 30,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide emission. The amount for making a conventional car: 14,000 pounds."....But remember, the production of the electric car has already resulted in sizeable emissions—the equivalent of 80,000 miles of travel in the vehicle.So unless the electric car is driven a lot, it will never get ahead environmentally. 
And that turns out to be a challenge.
 Consider the Nissan Leaf. It has only a 73-mile range per charge. Drivers attempting long road trips, as in one BBC test drive, have reported that recharging takes so long that the average speed is close to six miles per hour—a bit faster than your average jogger.To make matters worse, the batteries in electric cars fade with time, just as they do in a cellphone. Nissan estimates that after five years, the less effective batteries in a typical Leaf bring the range down to 55 miles. 
As the MIT Technology Review cautioned last year: "Don't Drive Your Nissan Leaf Too Much."

Muskegon County Sheriff's Office may provide reflective safety vests to pedestrians, bicyclers

Muskegon County Sheriff's Office may provide reflective safety vests to pedestrians, bicyclers | MLive.com: "“There is a private citizen who has expressed a genuine interest in how to make it safer for the joggers and bikers and walkers in our area,” said Sheriff Dean Roesler.
“We will be working on a program to provide reflective vests to those who request them.
The program details are in the preliminary stages, but Roesler said he would like to make that happen soon for area residents who enjoy exercising outdoors."

'Toaster Pastry Gun Freedom Act' proposed in Maryland

'Toaster Pastry Gun Freedom Act' proposed in Maryland | The Daily Caller
"Students could also form their fingers in the shape of a gun without fear of reprisal.
The bill also includes a section mandating counseling for school officials who fail to distinguish between guns and things that resemble guns. 
School officials who fail to make such a distinction more than once would face discipline themselves."

Suburbs secede from Atlanta

Suburbs secede from Atlanta
"Some are quietly wondering whether Atlanta is in danger of becoming “the Detroit of the South.”

Friday, March 08, 2013

Professional fundraisers pocketing 65% of donations collected for charities in Michigan

Schuette: Professional fundraisers pocketing 65% of donations collected for charities in Michigan | MLive.com: "Click here to see the full report, which is organized by both charity name and professional fundraiser.
Or visit the Michigan Attorney General's website to search by charity."

12 Hilarious Grandparents on Facebook or Texting

12 Hilarious Grandparents on Facebook or Texting - Oddee.com

MEDC exec goes to Pacific to raise money for state

Tom Walsh: MEDC exec goes to Pacific to raise money for state | Tom Walsh | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
"On Wednesday this week, Paul Brown is to take off on a business trip to Hawaii, Guam and Saipan, the largest of Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
Tough duty for a Michigan public servant in February, eh?
Incredulous as it may sound, Brown, vice president of capital markets for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., is generating money for Michigan's treasury by peddling the state's expertise in running small-business lending programs to other states and U.S. territories."

UM, lecturers reach deal before right-to-work law

UM, lecturers reach deal before right-to-work law | Crain's Detroit Business
"ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan says it's reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract with a union representing 1,500 lectures ahead of the effective date for the state's right-to-work law.
The Detroit News reported that the Ann Arbor-based school and the Lecturers' Employee Organization announced the agreement Wednesday.
The deal replaces one that expires April 20.In Detroit, Wayne State University faculty union members completed voting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday"

Neighbors sue owner of $5.5 million lakefront mansion, trying to stop parties and special events

Neighbors sue owner of $5.5 million lakefront mansion, trying to stop parties and special events | MLive.com
"Built on three lots along Lake Michigan, the modernistic 3-story home is listed for $5.5 million, making it the most expensive real estate listing in West Michigan."

With Carl Levin not seeking reelection, 6 people who may run for his U.S. Senate seat

With Carl Levin not seeking reelection, 6 people who may run for his U.S. Senate seat | MLive.com
"“The impact is that you now have a lot more grassroots enthusiasm because now you have two huge races,” he said, which will rally the base to get to the polls.
Turnout was an issue for the Democrats in 2010, when Snyder trounced the Democratic nominee, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero."

Demos will be jazzed.
GOPers better get goin'!

Public Employee Pension Systems Raided To Pay Film Studio Bills

Public Employee Pension Systems Raided To Pay Film Studio Bills [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
"Under a deal made in 2010 by then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the State of Michigan Retirement Systems is on the hook for those missing payments. Michigan Motion Pictures Studios was formerly known as Raleigh Studios."

Fed: Detroit-based Ally Financial the only one of 18 banks tested that couldn't weather severe slump

Fed: Detroit-based Ally Financial the only one of 18 banks tested that couldn't weather severe slump | Crain's Detroit Business:
Detroit-based Ally Financial Inc., the auto lender majority-owned by U.S. taxpayers, was the only one of 18 of the country's largest banks tested that could not withstand a deep recession and maintain capital above a regulatory minimum - a sign of how higher standards and supervisory prodding are strengthening the financial system, the Federal Reserve said."

Thursday, March 07, 2013

NAPOLITANO: A divine right of arms

NAPOLITANO: A divine right of arms - Washington Times
"The president and his big-government colleagues want you to believe that only the government can keep you free and safe, so to them, the essence of this debate is about obedience to law."

Student sues GVSU over guinea pig, awarded $40K

Student sues GVSU over guinea pig, awarded $40K | wzzm13.com:
"GVSU said it was a prohibited pet but Velzen said her doctor prescribed the guinea pig as a companion animal to help her deal with chronic depression.
As part of the settlement, GVSU has agreed to grant future requests by Velzen to live with a guinea pig or similar companion animal."

Question of the Day: Should local governments be involved in the trash business?

Question of the Day: Should local governments be involved in the trash business? | MLive.com
"Currently, Norton Shores homeowners chose their own trash, yard waste and recyclables hauler -- a longstanding responsibility in the city's short 45-year-old history, officials said."

All Whitehall School District bus tires deflated; school closed as a result

All Whitehall School District bus tires deflated; school closed as a result | MLive.com

Violence Against Women Act--Passed in GOP-Controlled House--Covers Transgenders

Violence Against Women Act--Passed in GOP-Controlled House--Covers Transgenders | CNS News
 "The new law does not provide a definition for transgender or bisexual. 
However, the American Psychological Association defines transgender as “an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.
Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female, or something else; gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, voice, or body characteristics.”

Salazar: 28% of ‘Recoverable Oil ‘ Now Off-Limits in National Petroleum Reserve

Salazar: 28% of ‘Recoverable Oil ‘ Now Off-Limits in National Petroleum Reserve | CNS News
"Outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed a directive that places 28 percent of the “estimated economically recoverable oil” in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska off-limits.
The 22.8-million acre reserve in Alaska’s North Slope has been protected as an oil resource for the United States since 1923."

Privacy bill would ban police from getting email and location data without a warrant

Privacy bill would ban police from getting email and location data without a warrant | The Verge
"Privacy advocates in Congress have introduced another bi-partisan bill attempting to amend decades-old legislation that has allowed police and government to search private data without a warrant.
The bill, called the Online Communications and Geolocation Privacy Act, looks to fix the severely outdated Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 so that email and location data stored by third parties like Google or AT&T receive the same warrant protections as data stored on a personal computer."

The government can get this info TODAY WITHOUT A WARRANT!

03-05-13 Muskegon County Commission Courts Public Safety

Rep. Paul Ryan’s new Medicare cutoff: 56

Rep. Paul Ryan’s new Medicare cutoff: 56 - The Hill
"Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is pressing GOP centrists to accept a budget that would cut Medicare benefits for recipients who are now 56 years old.
The House Budget Committee chairman and 2012 GOP vice presidential candidate argues the change is necessary to help him produce a budget next week that balances within 10 years. "

Big Hollywood Bailout: Taxpayers Spent Nearly $40 Million To Subsidize Disney's 'Oz'

Big Hollywood Bailout: Taxpayers Spent Nearly $40 Million To Subsidize Disney's 'Oz' [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
"In 2010, Michigan had an annual unemployment rate of 12.5 percent. 
Then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm told lawmakers to expect a $1.58 billion deficit in the following year and to expect a $263 per pupil cut for K-12 education.
Yet, the state played a part in allowing one of the most lucrative companies in the world to post a record $4.8 billion in profits by handing it nearly $40 million in film tax credits."

White House Visitors Office director received $30,000 raise in 4 years

White House Visitors Office director received $30,000 raise in 4 years | The Daily Caller
"The White House said on Tuesday that it is canceling all White House public tours due to the automatic spending cuts passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011."