Venezuelans bishops warn government that there is a shortage of mass wine and hosts — MercoPress:
"Officials in Venezuela are warning that the situation will not improve in the short term, she added."
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Audit finds 1,164 dead among Mass. welfare recipients
Audit finds 1,164 dead among Mass. welfare recipients | Boston Herald:
"A stunning $2 million in benefits were paid out to more than 1,160 people who were listed as dead, according to a scathing new audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance"
"A stunning $2 million in benefits were paid out to more than 1,160 people who were listed as dead, according to a scathing new audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance"
Stupid
P.J. O’Rourke
May 27, 2013 9:01 AM
“You’re stupid,” is not something even his most severe critics usually say to President Barack Obama. But on Friday morning I picked up the Wall Street Journal and learned that the president had given a speech about the war on terror saying, “This war, like all wars, must end.”
That story was at the top of the front page. Immediately below was a photograph of flowers being laid at a makeshift memorial near the Woolwich Royal Arsenal where machine gunner Lee Rigby was hacked to death by terrorists.
This war, like all wars, must end when someone wins it. The president—speaking at the National Defense University, of all places—said, “the core of al Qaeda . . . is on the path to defeat.” And so it may be. But meanwhile, the core of al Qaeda, its aims and its beliefs, is also on the path to Boston and London and any number of other places.
On page 7 of Friday’s Journal was the headline, “Suicide Bombings in Niger Linked to Mali Islamist Group.” On page 9 was a report of terrorist Hezbollah militias aiding the terrorist Assad regime in attacking the rebel-held Syrian city of Qusayr where the rebels themselves are allied with yet more Islamic terrorists. And on pages 4 and 8 were more bad tidings from that perpetrator, abettor, and friend of terrorism, Iran. Iranian fundamentalists, in the chokehold they have on the country’s political system, are improving their grip. And, “according to current and former U.S. officials,” Iran has “escalated a campaign of cyberassaults against U.S. corporations. . . . The hackers were able to gain access to control-system software that could allow them to manipulate oil or gas pipelines.”
All that on a slow news day.
In 2001 Congress passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, a declaration of war on terrorists and nations that harbor them. In his speech the president said, “I look forward to engaging . . . in efforts to refine and ultimately repeal the AUMF’s mandate.”
I like the president’s use of the word “efforts” here, as though he’s merely trying to be stupid. He doesn’t need to try. Earlier in the week he signed new policy guidance for drone strikes. In the future we will use lethal drones only on terrorists who are a “continuing and imminent threat to the American people” and not on terrorists who are a “significant threat to U.S. interests.” Although, assuming tremendously stupid efforts will be made to tell the two kinds of terrorists apart, maybe I’m wrong about the president not needing to try. The policy guidance also stipulates that there “must be a near certainty” that civilians won’t be killed or injured in a drone strike. Imagine how stupid a WWII Army Air Corps briefing officer would have had to be to say that to his B-17 pilots.
Maybe we pundits don’t tell President Obama, “You’re stupid,” because we are proudly showing off our sensitivity to the negative stereotypes that hurtful language engenders in a way that we didn’t feel was necessary when we were telling Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush, “You’re stupid,” even though actors, WASPs, and Texans are burdened with their fair share of negative lamebrain stereotypes.
More likely it’s because we pundits prize signs of intelligence. We take every opportunity to display our own signs, and President Obama exhibits the same wordy, wonky, academic intelligence indicators that we do, so we don’t call him stupid.
As if the two things were mutually exclusive. I know quite a few fellow members of the news analysis and commentary business, and I have it from the highest-placed sources, on the record, that each and every one of our children is a genius. And yet, if we pundits were to gather together our sons and daughters, during their teenage years, and close them for a night in a dimly lit room full of beer and drugs and comfy futons, I can assure you that evidence of stupidity would be found the next morning.
But the most likely reason that we don’t call President Obama stupid is that it’s such a cul-de-sac of a word. Stupid gives the pundit nothing to perform punditry upon. Call a man ignorant and you have license to show the world your vast fund of knowledge and wise him up. Call a man misguided and you transform your column or blog post or TV appearance into a valuable and beneficent German shepherd with a handle on its back and you lead the poor soul in his blindness. Call a man, best of all, wicked and you get to don the sacramental vestments, climb into the pulpit and thunder forth with such a sermon as to bring him weeping to the font of righteousness or cause the Lord God Almighty to strike him with a thunderbolt in his pew or something fun like that. But call a man stupid and . . . there it is.
And there it is: Dopey stimulus, obtuse bailout, noodle-headed Obamacare, half-wit Dodd-Frank, damfool IRS Tea Party crashers, AP and Fox News beset by oafish peeping Toms and the Benghazi tale told by an idiot. One could go on. Stupid is a great force in human affairs. And the great force has a commander in chief.
P.J. O'Rourke is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard.
Mystery Contribution Kept ‘Dues Skim’ Alive
Mystery Contribution Kept ‘Dues Skim’ Alive [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"That's significant because the MQC3, the dummy employer used by the union to keep its forced unionization of home-based caregivers alive, had been previously defunded by the state government and thus would have been unable to keep facilitating the union's scheme."
"That's significant because the MQC3, the dummy employer used by the union to keep its forced unionization of home-based caregivers alive, had been previously defunded by the state government and thus would have been unable to keep facilitating the union's scheme."
Bankruptcy plan could open door to sale of DIA collection
Bankruptcy plan could open door to sale of DIA collection | Crain's Detroit Business:
"A federal bankruptcy court can't force the city of Detroit to sell part or all of the Detroit Institute of Arts art collection, but EM rules raise another set of legal possibilities."
"A federal bankruptcy court can't force the city of Detroit to sell part or all of the Detroit Institute of Arts art collection, but EM rules raise another set of legal possibilities."
Penalties for politicians
Penalties for politicians: Column:
"We entrust an inordinate amount of power to people who don't feel any pain when we fall down."
"We entrust an inordinate amount of power to people who don't feel any pain when we fall down."
Monday, May 27, 2013
To the Horror of Global Warming Alarmists, Global Cooling Is Here - Forbes
To the Horror of Global Warming Alarmists, Global Cooling Is Here - Forbes:
"Britain’s Met Office, an international cheerleading headquarters for global warming hysteria, did concede last December that there would be no further warming at least through 2017, which would make 20 years with no global warming.
That reflects grudging recognition of the newly developing trends.
But that reflects as well growing divergence between the reality of real world temperatures and the projections of the climate models at the foundation of the global warming alarmism of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Since those models have never been validated, they are not science at this point, but just made up fantasies.
That is why, “In the 12 years to 2011, 11 out of 12 [global temperature]forecasts [of the Met Office] were too high — and… none were colder than [resulted],” as BBC climate correspondent Paul Hudson wrote in January."
"Britain’s Met Office, an international cheerleading headquarters for global warming hysteria, did concede last December that there would be no further warming at least through 2017, which would make 20 years with no global warming.
That reflects grudging recognition of the newly developing trends.
But that reflects as well growing divergence between the reality of real world temperatures and the projections of the climate models at the foundation of the global warming alarmism of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Since those models have never been validated, they are not science at this point, but just made up fantasies.
That is why, “In the 12 years to 2011, 11 out of 12 [global temperature]forecasts [of the Met Office] were too high — and… none were colder than [resulted],” as BBC climate correspondent Paul Hudson wrote in January."
Slowing the aging process using only antibiotics
Slowing the aging process using only antibiotics | KurzweilAI:
"Why is it that within a homogeneous population of the same species, some individuals live three times as long as others?"
"Why is it that within a homogeneous population of the same species, some individuals live three times as long as others?"
Electric cars and plug-in hybrids are a fail
Electric cars and plug-in hybrids are a fail | ZDNet:
" GM's Volt and Nissan's Leaf sales are pathetic. Fisker is going to be issued its last rites, A123 and CODA are going bankrupt, and Israel is now sitting shiva for a Better Place. Why are electric cars and plug-in hybrids failing so miserably?"
" GM's Volt and Nissan's Leaf sales are pathetic. Fisker is going to be issued its last rites, A123 and CODA are going bankrupt, and Israel is now sitting shiva for a Better Place. Why are electric cars and plug-in hybrids failing so miserably?"
Fired for word: 'Negro' in Spanish class
Fired for word: 'Negro' in Spanish class - Yahoo! News
The Akron Public Schools Board of Education voted in January to pursue the firing of Melissa Cairns. She was a math teacher at Buchtel Community Learning Center.
The school district said that Ms. Cairns posted a photo on her personal Facebook page which showed 8 or 9 out of her 16 students with duct tape across their mouths. The caption read: "Finally found a way to get them to be quiet!!!" The district says a colleague of Cairns' notified a supervisor of the photo.
On the face of it, this sounds outrageous. But what's the context?
Cairn, a teacher for 10 years, says she gave a girl a roll of duct tape to fix her binder, but the student cut a piece of tape, placed it over her mouth and laughed.
"The other kids in the class thought it was funny also, and they proceeded to pass the tape and scissors around the class. The students, the majority of the class, ended up putting a piece of duct tape across their mouth," Cairns explained.
Friday, May 24, 2013
IRS Tea Party Intimidation An Echo Of Raids On Gibson Guitar
IRS Tea Party Intimidation An Echo Of Raids On Gibson Guitar - Investors.com:
"Interestingly, one of Gibson's leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Co. According to C.F. Martin's catalog, several of their guitars contain "East Indian Rosewood," which is the exact same wood in at least 10 of Gibson's guitars. So why were they not also raided and their inventory of foreign wood seized?
Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson's chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the past couple of election cycles."
"Interestingly, one of Gibson's leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Co. According to C.F. Martin's catalog, several of their guitars contain "East Indian Rosewood," which is the exact same wood in at least 10 of Gibson's guitars. So why were they not also raided and their inventory of foreign wood seized?
Grossly underreported at the time was the fact that Gibson's chief executive, Henry Juszkiewicz, contributed to Republican politicians. Recent donations have included $2,000 to Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and $1,500 to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
By contrast, Chris Martin IV, the Martin & Co. CEO, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee over the past couple of election cycles."
At least one Milwaukee mom won’t be sending her child to school on ‘Switch It Up Day’
At least one Milwaukee mom won’t be sending her child to school on ‘Switch It Up Day’ - EAGnews.org :: Education Research, Reporting, Analysis and Commentary:
"Deidri Hernandez’s seven-year-old son won’t be in school today, after officials at Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities confirmed they’re still holding “Switch It Up Day” – a time for students to come dressed as members of the opposite sex."
"Deidri Hernandez’s seven-year-old son won’t be in school today, after officials at Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities confirmed they’re still holding “Switch It Up Day” – a time for students to come dressed as members of the opposite sex."
Bill would let Michigan install red-light cameras
Bill would let Michigan install red-light cameras | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com:
"Michigan's local governments would have the option to put cameras at intersections to spot drivers running red lights under proposed legislation in the state House.
A measure recently introduced by Republican Rep. Wayne Schmidt of Traverse City would give local communities the power to put cameras in place."
"Michigan's local governments would have the option to put cameras at intersections to spot drivers running red lights under proposed legislation in the state House.
A measure recently introduced by Republican Rep. Wayne Schmidt of Traverse City would give local communities the power to put cameras in place."
Bernanke out by August, QE ends, rates up: Crash
Bernanke out by August, QE ends, rates up: Crash - Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch:
"The Fed “won’t be able to keep a lid on interest rates forever.” So “large money managers such as BlackRock, TCW Group and Pimco are getting ready for the day when rates take their first turn higher. It isn’t coming anytime soon, these investors say. But when it does, they worry, the ascent will be swift and steep.”
Get defensive now, start preparing for a crash ... later is too late
Get it? Rates will go up. Way up. Very fast.
And America’s 95 million Main Street investors will be unprepared. Markets will crash. Like 1994’s 24% bond crash after Fed rate increases, notes Wirz.
The big players say the crash “won’t happen soon.” Don’t believe them. They’re betting with trillions. And they are hedging their bets, already preparing for “when rates take their first turn higher,” because rates will soar “swift and steep,” and when that happens it will be too late to prepare."
"The Fed “won’t be able to keep a lid on interest rates forever.” So “large money managers such as BlackRock, TCW Group and Pimco are getting ready for the day when rates take their first turn higher. It isn’t coming anytime soon, these investors say. But when it does, they worry, the ascent will be swift and steep.”
Get defensive now, start preparing for a crash ... later is too late
Get it? Rates will go up. Way up. Very fast.
And America’s 95 million Main Street investors will be unprepared. Markets will crash. Like 1994’s 24% bond crash after Fed rate increases, notes Wirz.
The big players say the crash “won’t happen soon.” Don’t believe them. They’re betting with trillions. And they are hedging their bets, already preparing for “when rates take their first turn higher,” because rates will soar “swift and steep,” and when that happens it will be too late to prepare."
BBC political editor Nick Robinson's extraordinary apology after backlash against 'Muslim appearance' comment about Woolwich killers
BBC political editor Nick Robinson's extraordinary apology after backlash against 'Muslim appearance' comment about Woolwich killers | Mail Online:
"The BBC's political editor has apologised for directly quoting a Whitehall source who described the Woolwich killers as being 'of Muslim appearance'.
Nick Robinson said he was sorry for using the phrase, which 'was both liable to be misinterpreted and to cause offence', during the BBC News at Six broadcast yesterday."
"The BBC's political editor has apologised for directly quoting a Whitehall source who described the Woolwich killers as being 'of Muslim appearance'.
Nick Robinson said he was sorry for using the phrase, which 'was both liable to be misinterpreted and to cause offence', during the BBC News at Six broadcast yesterday."
I-5 bridge collapses over Skagit River; possibly triggered by truck
I-5 bridge collapses over Skagit River; possibly triggered by truck | The Today File | Seattle Times:
"The bridge, built in 1955, has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score."
"The bridge, built in 1955, has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score."
Thursday, May 23, 2013
London, a Deeper Horror Than We Might Think
London, a Deeper Horror Than We Might Think - Simon Conway - Page 1
And I know in my heart that if you transplanted that atrocious scene on a London street yesterday, to an American street today, then the outcome would have been entirely different. People, as they did in Boston, would run TOWARDS the danger.
So what happened yesterday? What could possess a crowd to watch two men with knives and machetes hack to death another human being? And why was the only reaction to pull out phones and shoot pictures and video? How could these people then wait 20 minutes for the police to show up without any attempt to take down these terrorists?
It took most of the day for me to reach my conclusion, but I have arrived at something that is really quite uncomfortable - more so because we here in the United States are currently headed down the same path. We might be 10 or 15 or even 20 years away, but unless we change direction then we too will simply record an event and do nothing to try and save another human being.
What am I talking about? Some of you might call it socialism, but whatever label you give it, Britain is now a country that is completely dependent on government. Government will take care of me; government knows best; government has my best interests at heart; government will be here in 20 minutes to deal with these terrorists.
11 Public Universities with the Worst Graduation Rate
11 Public Universities with the Worst Graduation Rate:
"1. Southern University at New Orleans, Louisiana
Graduation rate: 4%
"1. Southern University at New Orleans, Louisiana
Graduation rate: 4%
Sweden riots expose ugly side of 'Nordic model'
Sweden riots expose ugly side of 'Nordic model' - Yahoo! News Canada:
"Sweden received 43,900 asylum seekers in 2012, a nearly 50 percent jump from 2011 and the second highest on record.
Nearly half were from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. Many native Swedes worry welfare could become unaffordable if the trend continues."
"Sweden received 43,900 asylum seekers in 2012, a nearly 50 percent jump from 2011 and the second highest on record.
Nearly half were from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. Many native Swedes worry welfare could become unaffordable if the trend continues."
911 Dispatcher Tells Woman About To Be Sexually Assaulted There Are No Cops To Help Her Due To Budget Cuts
911 Dispatcher Tells Woman About To Be Sexually Assaulted There Are No Cops To Help Her Due To Budget Cuts « CBS Seattle
“Uh, I don’t have anybody to send out there,” the 911 dispatcher told the woman.
The woman told the dispatcher that Bellah previously attacked her and left her hospitalized a few weeks prior to the latest incident.
“Uh, I don’t have anybody to send out there,” the 911 dispatcher told the woman.
“You know, obviously, if he comes inside the residence and assaults you, can you ask him to go away?
Do you know if he’s intoxicated or anything?”
The woman told the dispatcher that Bellah previously attacked her and left her hospitalized a few weeks prior to the latest incident.
The dispatcher stayed on the phone with the woman for more than 10 minutes before the sexual assault took place.
“Once again it’s unfortunate you guys don’t have any law enforcement out there,” the dispatcher said, according to Oregon Public Radio.
The woman responded: “Yeah, it doesn’t matter, if he gets in the house I’m done.”
“Once again it’s unfortunate you guys don’t have any law enforcement out there,” the dispatcher said, according to Oregon Public Radio.
The woman responded: “Yeah, it doesn’t matter, if he gets in the house I’m done.”
People Getting Dumber? Human Intelligence Has Declined Since Victorian Era, Research Suggests
People Getting Dumber? Human Intelligence Has Declined Since Victorian Era, Research Suggests:
".....points to the fact that women of high intelligence tend to have fewer children than do women of lower intelligence.
This negative association between I.Q. and fertility has been demonstrated time and again in research over the last century."
".....points to the fact that women of high intelligence tend to have fewer children than do women of lower intelligence.
This negative association between I.Q. and fertility has been demonstrated time and again in research over the last century."
Propaganda: NPR Incorrectly Claims IRS Has Nothing to do With Obamacare
Propaganda: NPR Incorrectly Claims IRS Has Nothing to do With Obamacare:
"Conway also reminded host Conan why Obamacare was upheld by the Supreme Court last year.
It wasn't upheld under the Commerce Clause but under the federal government's taxing powers.
"So, the same IRS that is playing politics with people's lives and their applications will also have some kind of authority over what happens with healthcare," she said.
As they came upon a break, Conan's reply was a succinct--and wholly wrong--"No, it won't."
"Conway also reminded host Conan why Obamacare was upheld by the Supreme Court last year.
It wasn't upheld under the Commerce Clause but under the federal government's taxing powers.
"So, the same IRS that is playing politics with people's lives and their applications will also have some kind of authority over what happens with healthcare," she said.
As they came upon a break, Conan's reply was a succinct--and wholly wrong--"No, it won't."
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Manhood of the West
Belmont Club » The Manhood of the West:
"The attackers knew they were actors in a drama — as keenly watched in their communities as on the BBC. And in that other audience they were asking, “how will the locals behave”.
We know now.
And that other audience may derive an entirely different lesson from this tableau.
“See?
Only their women act like men.
They follow orders.
They are nothing any more — these Westerners.
They are a civilization whose core has been destroyed.”
And would they be right?
Who will be the judge?"
"The attackers knew they were actors in a drama — as keenly watched in their communities as on the BBC. And in that other audience they were asking, “how will the locals behave”.
We know now.
And that other audience may derive an entirely different lesson from this tableau.
“See?
Only their women act like men.
They follow orders.
They are nothing any more — these Westerners.
They are a civilization whose core has been destroyed.”
And would they be right?
Who will be the judge?"
Inconvenient weather fact: Frequency of violent tornadoes like the one in Oklahoma has been declining, not increasing
Inconvenient weather fact: Frequency of violent tornadoes like the one in Oklahoma has been declining, not increasing | AEIdeas:
"There’s just one small, inconvenient problem with making a connection between climate change and an increasing frequency of violent tornadoes – the link doesn’t actually exist."
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Spain's Angry and Unemployed Young Men
RealClearWorld - Spain's Angry and Unemployed Young Men:
"The oddest moment came when we reached a tollbooth not too far from Madrid.
There was only one booth open and when we pulled up there was no one in it and no coin or credit card slot. We waited, then we left.
Perhaps the attendant was in the bathroom.
Perhaps the revenue didn't justify paying a toll taker.
Perhaps this was one of the austerity measures they had taken.
I will never know.
What I do know is that the drive had a sort of post-apocalyptic feel, except that it was very clean. "
"The oddest moment came when we reached a tollbooth not too far from Madrid.
There was only one booth open and when we pulled up there was no one in it and no coin or credit card slot. We waited, then we left.
Perhaps the attendant was in the bathroom.
Perhaps the revenue didn't justify paying a toll taker.
Perhaps this was one of the austerity measures they had taken.
I will never know.
What I do know is that the drive had a sort of post-apocalyptic feel, except that it was very clean. "
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