Sunday, April 21, 2013

Arrested 396 times, woman knows how to work the system

Arrested 396 times, woman knows how to work the system - Chicago Sun-Times:
 "The frustrating truth: The system — strapped by overcrowded prisons and cuts to mental health funding — hasn’t been able to save Miles from herself or to help the communities she menaces.
Nothing has worked.
Not jail.
Not prison.
Not countless psychological exams for the woman described as being “acutely psychotic.”

Under-fire state agency director vows to go after fraud at $3,500 threshold

Under-fire state agency director vows to go after fraud at $3,500 threshold | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Steve Arwood, director of Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and the state Unemployment Insurance Agency, was grilled by lawmakers recently after a report in the Detroit Free Press showed that his agency was dealing only with fraud claims above $15,000.

According to the report, agency officials were told not to show up at administrative hearings for fraud cases unless the amount of fraudulently claimed benefits was at least $15,000.

That upset lawmakers because they passed a law last year that made such fraud a potential felony for anything above $3,500. The lawmakers were not happy that the agency decided not to follow suit with enforcement. "

EyeOnMuskegon 4-21-2013

http://youtu.be/kfAO0aRHbGE

Prom 2013: North Muskegon High School performs 'Harlem Shake' at prom (video)

Prom 2013: North Muskegon High School performs 'Harlem Shake' at prom (video) | MLive.com:

Axe Does Not Get Men Laid, Axe makes a high school student sick in PA

Axe Does Not Get Men Laid, Axe makes a high school student sick in PA

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Former Flint schools financial chief claims district fired her because she is black

Former Flint schools financial chief claims district fired her because she is black | MLive.com:

Pabst alleged that Flint schools Interim Superintendent Lawrence Watkins told Derricks after the Lansing meeting that the district had difficulty interacting with state education officials because "there were a lot of white faces looking at the poor blacks from Flint Community Schools."
"They just got a white face to interface with the Lansing people," Pabst said of the district's decision to remove Derricks.
Flint school' spokesman Bob Campbell declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Attorneys representing the district filed a motion seeking a more definitive statement in Derricks' complaint, arguing the lawsuit is "so vague or ambiguous that (the district) can not properly prepare a response," to the allegations, according to court records. 
School board members in January approved contracting financial services to Linda Holloway, a Certified Public Accountant with CIVA, LLC. The board will pay Holloway $120 per hour for financial work and $150 per hour for attending to "board meetings and consultation," according to the board resolution.
The decision to hire Holloway came following the departure of former district Superintendent Linda Thompson. Prior to Thompson's departure, the board criticized her for poor management and financial oversight.
But, Pabst said that Derricks did a satisfactory job with the district.
"They never told her she did anything wrong," said Pabst. 

Fact-Free Crusades

Fact-Free Crusades | RealClearPolitics:
"Amid all the heated, emotional advocacy of gun control, have you ever heard even one person present convincing hard evidence that tighter gun control laws have in fact reduced murders?"

ACLU: Detroit Police Dumping Homeless Outside City

ACLU: Detroit Police Dumping Homeless Outside City « CBS Detroit:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan says Detroit police are removing homeless people from the popular Greektown entertainment district downtown and dropping them off miles away — sometimes outside the city.
Following a year-long investigation, the ACLU filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department and sent a letter to Detroit police demanding an end to what they call a “disturbing practice.”
“DPD’s practice of essentially kidnapping homeless people and abandoning them miles away from the neighborhoods they know – with no means for a safe return — is inhumane, callous and illegal,” said Sarah Mehta, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney. “
The city’s desire to hide painful reminders of our economic struggles cannot justify discriminating against the poor, banishing them from their city, and endangering their lives. 
A person who has lost his home has not lost his right to be treated with dignity.”
The organization says it started receiving complaints last year and that the homeless are told they are not welcome in Greektown, which is popular with visitors to Detroit. 
The people are then forced in to vans, driven away and then deserted.

City of Boston gave 'subsidy' to bombing suspects' mosque

City of Boston gave 'subsidy' to bombing suspects' mosque | The Daily Caller:
"The Boston Redevelopment Authority, which is the city’s municipal planning agency and which is comprised of mayoral appointees, conveyed the land for the ISB’s purchase in 2000 at more than $400,000.
However, the city of Boston only charged ISB $175,000 for the land, with an agreement that the ISB perform other services for the city to make up the $225,000 remainder.
The ISB agreed to deliver a series of lectures at Roxbury Community College, to assist the Roxbury Community College Foundation in its fundraising efforts, and to maintain a Boston “play area.”
The deal was later described in media coverage as “an apparent financial handout” and a “possible government subsidy” from the city of Boston to the ISB.
The ISB has raised concerns in the past for its ties to radical figures in the Muslim world."

U.N. Committee Says: This Speech Must Lead to a Criminal Prosecution of the Speaker

The Volokh Conspiracy » U.N. Committee Says: This Speech Must Lead to a Criminal Prosecution of the Speaker:

The German government decided not to prosecute the speaker based on this speech, but the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has recently stated the contrary, TBB v. Germany (Feb. 26, 2013). Here’s the speech that, according to the Committee, must lead to a criminal prosecution in countries that have ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. (I am pleased to say that the U.S. has not recognized the competence of the Committee to enforce the Convention, though most European countries have; the U.S. has also ratified subject to a specific reservation in favor of the freedom of speech.)
The German cultural journal Lettre International (2009 fall edition, number 86)3 published an interview with Mr. Thilo Sarrazin, the former Finance Senator of the Berlin Senate (from 2002 to April 2009, Social Democratic Party) and member of the Board of Directors of the German Central Bank (from May 2009), entitled “Class instead of Mass: from the Capital City of Social Services to the Metropolis of the Elite”. In this interview, Mr. Sarrazin expressed himself in a derogatory and discriminatory way about social “lower classes”, which are “not productive” and would have to “ disappear over time” in order to create a city of the “elite”. In this contex alia:

BOW NOT promises to oppose plans for a Whitehall Township Wal-Mart, calls for April 24 protest

BOW NOT promises to oppose plans for a Whitehall Township Wal-Mart, calls for April 24 protest | MLive.com:
"The opponents have created a group called Back Off Walmart – Not Our Town, which goes by BOW NOT. The group has created a Facebook page and used a Change.org website petition which has received more than 900 “signatures” from across the country asking that plans for a Whitehall Township Wal-Mart be rejected.
A pro-Wal-Mart in Whitehall Township petition on change.org has 26 signatures.
But when it comes to more traditional protest, BOW NOT will be playing that game as well.
The group has asked Wal-Mart opponents to gather Wednesday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. for a rally at the Whitehall Township Hall, 7644 Durham Road, before the 7 p.m. special Whitehall Township Planning Commission meeting."

In residential real estate, bid farewell to the 'master bedroom'

In residential real estate, bid farewell to the 'master bedroom' - Baltimore Business Journal:

The “master suite” is being phased out — not from our homes, but from our lexicon.
A survey of 10 major Washington, D.C.-area homebuilders found that six no longer use the term “master” in
their floor plans to describe the largest bedroom in the house. They have replaced it with “owner’s suite” or
“owner’s bedroom” or, in one case, “mastre bedroom.”
Why? In large part for exactly the reason you would think: “Master” has connotation problems, in gender (it
skews toward male) and race (the slave-master).
Enter the owner's suite.4/19/13 Inresidential real estate, bidfarewell tothe'master bedroom' - BaltimoreBusiness Journal
m.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2013/04/16/homebuilders-scrap-racist.html?r=full 2/3
“I imagine it’s not only a more accurate description but also a more politically correct term of art,” said Steve
Nardella, senior vice president of operations for Bethesda-based Winchester Homes Inc.
Either way, the “master suite” has been linguistically shoved aside.
Winchester, Pulte Homes, NV Homes and Ryan Homes (both under the NVR Inc. umbrella), Van Metre Cos.
and D.R. Horton Inc. have allreplaced “master” in their floor plans, some more recently than others.
Richmond American Homes, Shulz Homes Corp. Sekas Homes Ltd. (in some of its models) and Quaker
Custom Homes LLC continue to employ the word “master” in their designs.
In general, said Grant Johnson of Sekas Homes, “we’re using owner suite, but sometimes it will come through as
master.”
Over time, “master” will be filtered out entirely, he said. The change is “just working through the industry, and
finally, bingo, we got it.”
Randy Creaser, owner of D.C.’s Creaser/O’Brien Architects PC, said he ditched “master” in the early 1990s in
his home designs. He vaguely recalled a few lawsuits brought against builders over the phrase. Pulte
spokeswoman Valerie Dolenga said Pulte made the shift maybe three or four years ago.

Detroit EM Kevyn Orr letter could indicate end to collective bargaining with unions

Detroit EM Kevyn Orr letter could indicate end to collective bargaining with unions | MLive.com:

Unions in general are at odds with the 2012 emergency manager law that empowers state-appointed officials to trump and unilaterally amend existing bargaining agreements.
Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr on Thursday issued a letter to state labor officials saying he has no obligation to collaborative bargaining or arbitration, which some speculate could be a hint that he intends to circumvent traditional bargaining mechanisms and make changes to the pay and benefits of Detroit employees with or without their consent, Reuters reports (full story).
"It's obvious what they're trying to do," Dan McNamara, president of the firefighters' unions, told Reuters. "They don't plan to negotiate with us."
Days after Orr took office, a federal lawsuit was filed challenging the sweeping emergency manager powers.
It's Orr's intention to restructure the city's budget and expenses to ensure it doesn't go bankrupt.
Detroit is running a $100 million annual budget deficit and has $14 billion in long-term debt. There are nearly 50 unions that contract with the city.
"Everything is on the table," Orr said when he was appointed March 17. "I hope to be inclusive... I am going to make decisions and move forward."

Lawmakers Call for Abolishing ‘Corruption-Infested’ Pennsylvania Turnpike

Lawmakers Call for Abolishing ‘Corruption-Infested’ Pennsylvania Turnpike | Heartlander Magazine:
"Pennsylvania has two transportation agencies.
One controls more than 40,000 miles of state roads and 25,000 bridges, and another maintains 545 miles of tolled highway.
The former has seven executives, one for every 5,857 miles of roadway; the latter nine executives, one for every 60 miles of roadway.
For a group of Republican lawmakers, this doesn’t add up, especially when one of those agencies was the subject of a 44-month long grand jury investigation over alleged bid-rigging."

Snyder defends secret project to reform education system

Snyder defends secret project to reform education system | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday defended his administration's involvement in a secret project that is trying to develop a cheaper way to deliver public education through a voucher-like funding system.
The education reform advisory team's existence had been secret until The Detroit News reported Friday about a months-long "skunk works" project to design a new "value school" that costs $5,000 per child annually to operate — $2,000 less than the state's minimum per-pupil funding. The group includes employees of software companies, charter school advocates and five state employees.
"There's people in the executive branch and any parts of government, actually in the general community, that get together and try to come up with new ideas and try to innovate and bring those ideas forward," Snyder told reporters Friday after the 14th annual Leadership Luncheon at the Renaissance Center in Detroit.
"That's what I would view a group like that — just working together to say they want to come up with new ideas and throw them out there. That's how you come up with new ideas. Most of them don't go anywhere, but you don't want to discourage people from trying and being creative."

Add Boston Marathon Bombing to pile of Failed Eliminationist Narratives

Add Boston Marathon Bombing to pile of Failed Eliminationist Narratives - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion:

It started with Bill Sparkman, the part-time Census worker who went missing and then was found dead, setting off an avalanche of mainstream media and left-blogosphere accusations that he was the victim of anti-government “right-wing” hate.  It turned out that Sparkman killed himself, but there were few if any apologies coming.
The Sparkman accusations were based on nothing more than a desire to demonize the newly formed and rapidly growing Tea Party movement as terrorists and un-American.  It was as if theywere hoping for an act of Tea Party violence.
Yet there was a theory behind the madness, the Eliminationist Narrative created by Dave Neiwart of Crooks and Liars about an “eliminationist” radical right seeking to dehumanize and eliminate political opposition.  It was a play on the over-used narrative of Richard Hofstadter’s “paranoid style” in American politics.
The Eliminationist Narrative was aided and abetted by an abuse of the term “right-wing” to include groups who are the opposite of conservatism and the Tea Party movement.
In the case of Sparkman, the accusations were just Another Failed Eliminationist Narrative.  And the Eliminationist Narrative would fail time and time again:
We can now add the Boston Marathon Bombing to the pile.  The wild speculation that there was a Tea Party or “right-wing” connection proved false

Muskegon man shot at, home struck by gunfire in early morning shooting

Muskegon man shot at, home struck by gunfire in early morning shooting | MLive.com:
"The shooting incident occurred as two subjects were walking toward the victim.
One of the subjects was armed and fired several shots in the victim's direction, police said."

4 shot in basement in Ohio

4 shot in basement in Ohio - UPI.com:
"Four people were found shot in the head in the basement of a townhouse in an Akron, Ohio, public housing complex on Thursday, according to police.
A friend found the bodies shortly before 3 p.m., after entering the home and seeing signs of something amiss, reports NBC News.
All four appeared to be shot in the head execution style."

The 18 Worst Things For Left-Handed People

The 18 Worst Things For Left-Handed People

Friday, April 19, 2013

Massive University of Wisconsin Slush Fund Discovered

BREAKING NEWS - Massive University of Wisconsin Slush Fund Discovered - Right Wisconsin - Conservative politics and perspective powered by Charlie Sykes:
"UPDATE:  From a Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo confirming the existence of the massive UW Slush Fund:
The UW System had a tuition balance of $414.1 million as of June 30, 2012.
By comparison, the UW System's tuition balance was $212.8 million as of June 30, 2009.
During this time period, base resident undergraduate tuition increased by 5.5% annually. 
It should be noted that the UW System's tuition balance increased significantly at the same time that the UW System has been subject to significant GPR funding reductions and lapses.
While the University of Wisconsin has been raising tuition and clamoring for more taxpayer support they have been stockpiling hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent tuition and federal grant monies.
Sources in Madison familiar with the discovery tell RightWisconsin that the total of non earmarked funds in the massive UW Slush Fund is at least $450 million."

Oops! Feds Underestimate Court Project by $2 Billion

Oops! Feds Underestimate Court Project by $2 Billion | Judicial Watch:
"For example the Federal Judiciary told Congress that 12 courthouse projects would cost around $1 billion when in fact it will take a whopping $3.2 billion to finish the job.
This means that the project masters likely planned to squeeze the extra $2.2 billion out of Congress mid construction, when lawmakers had little choice but to allocate the funds for completion.
The audit, conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), flat out says that the document the judiciary uses to request money for courthouse construction projects “lacks transparency and key information” about their “cost.”

Unlike Boston, with Benghazi ...

Twitter / SharylAttkisson: Unlike Boston, with Benghazi ...:
Follow Sharyl Attkisson ‏@SharylAttkisson
"Unlike Boston, with Benghazi the govt never released the promised surveillance video. And no suspects identified or arrests to date.
Reply Retweet Favorite More
203
RETWEETS
27
FAVORITES
7:17 AM - 19 Apr 13
Joe Bua ‏@JoeWatchesTV 1h
.@SharylAttkisson That's quite the fixation you have. You must be reading your email from Tea Party Express.
'via Blog this'

Boston Bomber Could Have Been Deported After 2009 Conviction

Boston Bomber Could Have Been Deported After 2009 Conviction | Judicial Watch:
"Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old killed in a wild shootout with police, was a legal U.S. resident who nevertheless could have been removed from the country after a 2009 domestic violence conviction, according to a Judicial Watch source.
That means the Obama administration missed an opportunity to deport Tsarnaev but evidently didn’t feel he represented a big enough threat.
Adding insult to injury, the other bomber, little brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was rewarded with American Citizenship on September 11, 2012 in Boston, according to JW’s source.
The 19-year-old, who is still on the run, was granted asylum in Arlington Virginia on September 27, 2002, JW’s source reveals."

Zombie foreclosure statistics scary

Zombie foreclosure statistics scary - chicagotribune.com:
"In a zombie foreclosure, the owner has gotten a foreclosure notice and subsequently packed up and moved, apparently thinking it's over — the banks will finish the job.
But many banks, for various reasons, haven't followed through with the rest of the process, and the homes languish in the absent homeowners' names.
And the homeowners, sometimes years later, find out they're still on the hook for property taxes.
There are about 302,000 "zombies," according to RealtyTrac, a housing data company that studies foreclosure activity."

Twitter feed suggests Boston Marathon terrorist was an Obama supporter

Twitter feed suggests Boston Marathon terrorist was an Obama supporter « Bob Owens
"Boston Marathon terrorist suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev is still on the run, but his real Twitter feed @J_tsar has been discovered.
Most of it is the sort of superficial fluff you’d expect from someone his age, but he did make statements alluding to drug use, terrorist, and his political beliefs.
Here are some supportive retweets he made in the wake of Barack Obama’s reelection.

Excerpt from November Twitter feed of terrorist Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev.
They “are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” and they are both Islamic terrorists and leftists"

Detroit 3 may be exempted from vehicle fees for Regional Transit Authority

Detroit 3 may be exempted from vehicle fees for Regional Transit Authority | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
"Critics are blasting a bill that would exempt thousands of automakers’ test vehicles that drive metro Detroit’s roadways from potential taxes meant to pay for southeast Michigan’s new Regional Transit Authority before the effort gets off the ground.
A bill introduced in the state Senate this week would exempt up to 11,000-12,000 General Motors vehicles alone registered in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties from having to pay a tax that hasn’t been proposed yet.
Similar numbers for Ford and Chrysler weren’t immediately available."

Cellphone Video of Shootout with Boston Bombers, and Did the Younger Brother Tweet Supporting Gun Control?

The PJ Tatler » Cellphone Video of Shootout with Boston Bombers, and Did the Younger Brother Tweet Supporting Gun Control?:
"UPDATE: According to BuzzFeed, Dzhokhar is a registered voter.
Update: Both were evidently registered voters. 
Neither were/are citizens of the US."

What is CISPA, and what does it mean for you? FAQ

What is CISPA, and what does it mean for you? FAQ | ZDNet

CISPA passes U.S. House: Death of the Fourth Amendment?

CISPA passes U.S. House: Death of the Fourth Amendment? | ZDNet:
"CISPA will allow private sector firms to search personal and sensitive user data of ordinary U.S. residents to identify "threat information," which can then be shared with other opt-in firms and the U.S. government — without the need for a court-ordered warrant.
This means a company like Facebook, Twitter, Google, or any other technology or telecoms company, including your cell service provider, would be legally able to hand over vast amounts of data to the U.S. government and its law enforcement — for whatever purpose it deems necessary — and face no legal reprisals.
And despite numerous amendments and changes, there are no requirements that personal data, such as health records or banking information, should be anonymized before sharing it with the government."