Sunday, April 14, 2013

Florida sergeant fired for having Trayvon Martin shooting targets

Florida sergeant fired for having Trayvon Martin shooting targets - CNN.com:
"A Florida police sergeant was fired for possessing several so-called Trayvon Martin shooting targets, authorities said Saturday."

The Aerodynamics Of Nihilism

The Aerodynamics Of Nihilism | Zero Hedge:
"The money pours in each month from America, Europe and Japan and overrides anything and everything else. With pre-payments and calls the estimated amount of money provided by the Fed for the world's monetary supply is approximately $100 billion every month.
It is not just the American banks that are the recipients of the hand-out but the foreign ones who ship it back to Europe or buy European sovereign debt courtesy of Mr. Bernanke.
I suspect that if the American taxpayers were aware of the scheme that the citizens would not be pleased but then what the Fed is doing is not generally part of polite conversation in America and so it is not discussed."

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Minimum Wage Increase — A Serious Effort Or Just Rhetoric?

Minimum Wage Increase — A Serious Effort Or Just Rhetoric? [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
“Labor economists estimate that for every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage rate, employment among those affected drops by 5 percent,” Block said."

Coast West Music Festival

Coast West Music Festival:

Tax deadline is approaching: Bring us back to 1913 (or better yet, bring us back to pre-income tax 1912) | AEIdeas

Tax deadline is approaching: Bring us back to 1913 (or better yet, bring us back to pre-income tax 1912) | AEIdeas:
"In its annual report to Congress, the National Taxpayer Advocate estimated that American taxpayers spend 6.1 billion hours a year complying with the income tax code, based on IRS estimates of how much time taxpayers (both individual and businesses) spend collecting data for, and filling out tax forms.
That amount of time spent for income tax compliance would be the equivalent of more than 3 million Americans working full-time, year-round (2.22% of payroll employment).
By way of comparison, the federal government employed 2.78 million full-time workers in 2012, and Wal-Mart, the world’s largest private employer, currently employs 1.4 million workers in the US (both full-time and part-time)."

Landlord Joe Biden pocketed $26,400 in 2012 renting cottage to the Secret Service

Landlord Joe Biden pocketed $26,400 in 2012 renting cottage to the Secret Service - Washington Times:
"Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, took in $26,400 in 2012 by renting a cottage on the property of their Delaware home to the Secret Service, tax records released by the White House revealed."

WPost reporter explains her personal Gosnell blackout

WPost reporter explains her personal Gosnell blackout

I began by asking the AP’s national social issues reporter why he hadn’t been tweeting to AP coverage of the Gosnell trial. I had to ask a few times and then … there it was … finally …. a tweet on the Gosnell trial. Then he told me that the AP was covering the trial (which I knew, as I’ve critiqued it here). I reminded him that I was wondering why he hadn’t been tweeting to coverage of Gosnell. I asked him to correct me if I was wrong about his lack of tweets. He didn’t.
Then I decided, since tmatt has me reading the Washington Post every day, to look at how the paper’s health policy reporter was covering Gosnell. I have critiqued many of her stories on the Susan G. Komen Foundation (she wrote quite a bit about that) and the Sandra Fluke controversy (she wrote quite a bit about that) and the Todd Akin controversy (you know where this is going). In fact, a site search for that reporter — who is named Sarah Kliff — and stories Akin and Fluke and Komen — yields more than 80 hits. Guess how many stories she’s done on this abortionist’s mass murder trial.
Did you guess zero? You’d be right.
So I asked her about it. Here’s her response:
Hi Molly – I cover policy for the Washington Post, not local crime, hence why I wrote about all the policy issues you mention.
Yes. She really, really, really said that. As Robert VerBruggen dryly responded:
Makes sense. Similarly, national gun-policy people do not cover local crime in places like Aurora or Newtown.

Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story

Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic
The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It is thoroughly newsworthy.
"The grand jury report in the case of Kermit Gosnell, 72, is among the most horrifying I've read.
"This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women.
What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy - and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors," it states.
"The medical practice by which he carried out this business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels - and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths."

14 Of The Obamas’ Most Decadent Vacations On Your Dime

14 Of The Obamas’ Most Decadent Vacations On Your Dime | Right Wing News

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick to preside over alien hearings for $20K

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick to preside over alien hearings for $20K | MLive.com
"Former Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, mother of ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, jumped at the chance to serve on a mock congressional panel to inquire about extraterrestrial life on Earth, according to the Detroit News.
..The gig, dubbed the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure, is scheduled to take place from April 29 to May 3 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Kilpatrick is reportedly receiving $20,000 to participate.
"The Citizen Hearing on Disclosure of an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race will attempt to accomplish what the Congress has failed to do for 45 years — seek out the facts surrounding the most important issue of this or any other time," the event website says.
"For this reason the motto for the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure is 'If the Congress will not do its job, the people will.'"

Friday, April 12, 2013

Fiscal Problems Not Stopping Flint From Pursuing $2.4M Hydrogen Bus

Fiscal Problems Not Stopping Flint From Pursuing $2.4M Hydrogen Bus [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"In a city with an unemployment rate near 18 percent and a fiscal situation so bad it requires an emergency manager, the Flint Mass Transportation Authority is trying to buy a hydrogen bus that sells for $2.4 million — more than seven times as much as a traditional bus.
..A typical diesel bus cost about $327,000, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The MTA is requesting that it be able to use federal stimulus funds it was approved for three years ago.
In September 2009, Reuters reported that the Mass Transportation Authority would get $2.2 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to buy two zero-emission buses and that the buses would be deployed in 2010.
However, the MTA’s choice to make the buses, Fischer Coachworks, went out of business in 2010"

Trayvon Martin's Family Settles Wrongful Death Suit

Trayvon Martin's Family Settles Wrongful Death Suit:
Trayvon Martin's family has reached a settlement in a wrongful death suit they filed against the homeowners association of the sub-division where Martin was killed........"the figure is believed to be in excess of $1 million. 
The settlement does, however, state that Zimmerman is not part of the agreement.
Lawyers for Martin's family have made it clear that they still plan to file a civil claim against Zimmerman at a later point."

Democrats are Blocking Resolution to Honor Lady Thatcher

Democrats are Blocking Resolution to Honor Lady Thatcher
"A Senate resolution to honor Lady Thatcher was supposed to pass last night. 
However, per well placed sources on the Hill, Democrats have a hold on the resolution.
To refuse to honor a woman of such great historical and political significance, who was deeply loyal to the United States, is petty and shameful. 
One truly has to wonder, what is it about Lady Thatcher that gives them pause? 
Her unfaltering commitment to freedom? 
Or perhaps the way she fought for individual liberty and limited government?"

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Biden Directly Confronts NRA and 'Black Helicopter Crowd' as Gun Deal Looms

Biden Directly Confronts NRA and 'Black Helicopter Crowd' as Gun Deal Looms - J.K. Trotter - The Atlantic Wire:
"A visibly emotional Biden indulged no such circumspection, comparing the most vehement opponents of expanded background checks, which 92% of Americans support, to conspiracy theorists.
"The black helicopter crowd is really upset," Biden said, taking on a kind of faux voice in describing fears about background checks —
"It's kind of scary, man," he said."

N.Y. Dad’s Pistol License Suspended Over Something His 10-Year-Old Son Said — and It Could Be 8 Years Before He Gets It Back

N.Y. Dad’s Pistol License Suspended Over Something His 10-Year-Old Son Said — and It Could Be 8 Years Before He Gets It Back | TheBlaze.com:
".......a teacher overheard the students talking and informed the principal, who then immediately called police and filed a report.
He said the principal told police something to the effect of, there’s a “kid with a gun, ready to go.” 
Mayer maintains that no serious death threats were made by the students. 
The Hauppauge Public School District has not returned several messages left by TheBlaze, therefore, it is not clear what they are claiming was said.
School officials then “interrogated” the boys, Mayer explained.
It was later determined that the 10-year-old boys did not have access to a BB gun, paintball gun or any actual firearms."

DJs' April Fools' prank leads to small-scale panic

DJs' April Fools' prank leads to small-scale panic:
A pair of longtime disc jockeys have gotten in hot water for their annual April Fools' Day joke.
The problem:
They joked about water quality, saying "dihydrogen monoxide" was coming out of residents' taps.
It caused small-scale panic among some radio listeners in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., metro area.
 "The two DJs, Val St. John and Scott Fish, who have been with WWGR-FM here for 16 years and 10 years respectively, were suspended indefinitely.
The radio station has recanted the joke and been apologizing during station breaks."

Safe from Sequester: $704,198 for Gardening at NATO Ambassador’s Home

Safe from Sequester: $704,198 for Gardening at NATO Ambassador’s Home | CNS News:
"Just over a week after sequestration took effect, the State Department allotted more than $700,000 for gardening at a U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Brussels, Belgium."

Muskegon Community College board chairman promises changes to millage increase campaign

Muskegon Community College board chairman promises changes to millage increase campaign | MLive.com:
"Crandall then talked about improving and expanding MCC’s health education facility.
Improvements include expanding the facility and renovating it.
He also went over the renovation of creative and performing arts facilities, which includes moving creative art department out of the existing building into a new space.
There would be five new art studies, three classrooms, an exhibition gallery, a kiln room, improvements to the Overbrook Theater, expanded lab and a multimedia instructional space."

The most shocking news you won't see in the MSM today

Blog: The most shocking news you won't see in the MSM today:
"I can't describe it.
It sounded like a little alien," West testified, telling a judge and Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury that the body of the child was about 18 to 24 inches long and was one of the largest babies she had seen delivered during abortion procedures at Gosnell's clinic.
West said she saw the child, whose face and features were not yet completely formed, lying on a glass tray on a shelf and she told a co-worker to call Gosnell about it and fled the room."

EPA acknowledges releasing personal details on farmers, senator slams agency

EPA acknowledges releasing personal details on farmers, senator slams agency | Fox News:
"But Sen. John Thune, who originally complained about the release, slammed the EPA for trying to retroactively recover the sensitive data.
"It is inexcusable for the EPA to release the personal information of American families and then call for it back, knowing full well that the erroneously released information will never be fully returned," he said in a statement to FoxNews.com.
"While EPA acknowledging that it erred is a first step, more must be done to protect the personal information of our farmers and ranchers now and in the future.
I will continue to demand answers from the EPA on how this information was collected and why it is still being distributed to extreme environmental groups to the detriment of our farm and ranch families."

Completely Predictable

Completely Predictable | Sumner Books:
"That means total net government spending per household ($50,074) exceeded median household income (49,445) by $629.
Government in the United States, of course, has not always spent more per year than the median household earns.
As recently as 2000, the relationship between government spending and household income was dramatically different.
Data from the Census Bureau and the OMB show that in that year net spending by all levels of government was $3,239,913,876,000.
That equaled $29,941 for each of the nation’s then 108,209,000 households. In 2000, the median household income was $41,990.
Thus, between 2000 and 2010, government in this country went from spending $12,049 less than the median household income to spending $629 more."

Megabus or weather? MDOT weighs in on Amtrak's Grand Rapids-to-Chicago ridership loss

Megabus or weather? MDOT weighs in on Amtrak's Grand Rapids-to-Chicago ridership loss | MLive.com
"Janet Foran, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, which subsidizes the route, said a combination of factors likely caused an 11 percent ridership decrease on the Pere Marquette Line in March.
The decrease over March 2012 — and ridership being down 2.2 percent for the first six months of the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 — was announced Tuesday by Amtrak.
Despite some MLive readers' pondering whether one cause for the decrease was the low-cost Megabus service, which began traveling from Grand Rapids to Chicago last summer, Foran said it was an unlikely scenario.
"We have no way to confirm that, but certainly [Megabus] is another means to get to Chicago and back," Foran said. "And I think that … I feel more strongly that the weather had an impact on travel."

Smoking Is a ‘Preexisting Condition’

Smoking Is a ‘Preexisting Condition’ - Kevin D. Williamson - National Review Online:
"The District of Columbia’s Obamacare czars — the board that sets rules for the phony insurance marketplace, or “exchange,” that the law creates — have decided that henceforth insurers shall be forbidden by law to charge smokers higher rates than non-smokers.
Smoking, as it turns out, “is a preexisting medical condition,” according to Dr. Mohammad Akhter, the chairman of the D.C. Health Exchange Board.
Two liberal states, California and Connecticut, have decided likewise, while Colorado and Alaska have rejected the idea."

Captain Capitalism: They Are Coming For Your 401k's

Captain Capitalism: They Are Coming For Your 401k's:
 "They Are Coming For Your 401k's
What do I keep telling you?

It is going to happen.

Enjoy the decline."

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

All the News that Fit To Serve Democrats

Da Tech Guy's Blog » Blog Archive » All the News that Fit To Serve Democrats

During my conference call Captain Larry Bailey, a navy seal with 27 years of service noted that Watergate involved a break-in and the theft of papers but lead to years of dedicated investigation from the congress culminating in the resignation of a president in the United States. 
That being the case you would think an event that lead to the death of an American Ambassador, an attack that took place on the anniversary of 9/11 just two months before an election might have gotten a little bit of traction in the press. 
Alas the press that was so anxious to bring down a Republican president had no interest in dead Americans if it could hamper the re-election of a Democrat one.
 With the president re-elected the thought was some attention might take place, Senators Kelly Ayotte, John McCain & Lindsey Graham  managed to use it to achieve hearings but the meat and the potatoes of what happened and why we didn’t act to stop it remains unclear. 
What is clear is that with a Democrat majority in the senate and the media solidly behind them such hearing are of little danger to Obama.  
Even if the midterm elections flip the senate, the Obama administration with two years to go is unlikely to face an awful lot of trouble from such a hearing. 
So why such opposition to such a committee, why the knee jerk attempt to protect Barack Obama when he doesn’t need protecting? 
Ah but it is NOT Barack Obama the mainstream media is protecting, nor is it the Obama administration that is being shielded, it is not even any type of covert operation that is being protected from public disclosure.
They are protecting Hillary Clinton.

Senate appears unlikely to penalize higher ed for long-term contracts signed ahead of right-to-work law

Senate appears unlikely to penalize higher ed for long-term contracts signed ahead of right-to-work law | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Last month, Wayne State governors ratified an eight-year contract, and the University of Michigan reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract with a union representing 1,500 lecturers. Both contracts were settled before the right-to-work law went into effect."

What is the future of the Black community in Muskegon and Muskegon Heights?

Question of the Day: What is the future of the Black community in Muskegon and Muskegon Heights? | MLive.com:
"The predominately African-American city of Muskegon Heights in particular continues to face obstacles impacting the vitality of the city.
In 2012, Gov. Rick Snyder appointed an emergency manager for Muskegon Heights Public Schools, who in turn transformed the district into privately-ran public charter system.
Most recently, testing results conducted by Mosaica Education, the company running the city’s schools, found that nearly all ninth graders started the school year at least three grades behind in reading and mathematics."

Eight Fruitport Township teens honored for apprehending alleged fleeing felon

Eight Fruitport Township teens honored for apprehending alleged fleeing felon | MLive.com

Muskegon's brownfield authority considers $2 million assistance for Terrace Point Landing

Muskegon's brownfield authority considers $2 million assistance for Terrace Point Landing | MLive.com:
"Rooks and his Terrace Point Landing LLC have asked to be included in the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority plan.
Inclusion would offer the residential developer up to $2 million in property-tax captured dollars to complete an environmental assessment, cleanup activities and installation of roads and utilities."

Obama 2014 budget analysis: Numbers based on imagined spending cuts and a middle-class tax hike

Obama 2014 budget analysis: Numbers based on imagined spending cuts and a middle-class tax hike | Mail Online:
"Early analysis: Obama's 2014 budget numbers are based on bad math, phantom revenues, imagined spending cuts and a middle-class tax hike
White House promises $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction, although similar previous claims have been debunked.

New method of measuring cost-of-living increases will lower benefit payouts and push middle-class earners into higher tax brackets
Speaker Boehner's spokesperson: 'Any deficit reduction will come exclusively from tax hikes'
Administration's formula depends on cost savings from Obamacare, which may be more costly to implement than previously thought"