In light of President Obama’s comments on LBJ, you may enjoy what one critic wrote about his ‘anti-poverty’ agenda back in 1964 | TheBlaze.com

In light of President Obama’s comments on LBJ, you may enjoy what one critic wrote about his ‘anti-poverty’ agenda back in 1964 | TheBlaze.com:

"During President Obama’s address at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library honoring the 50th Anniversary of President Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act, the president praised Johnson, not only in terms of his passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but in fighting for civil rights such as “a decent job, decent wages, health care” — in other words for the entirety of the Great Society agenda.
Tying this argument into today, Obama cast his opponents in the “debate about equality and opportunity and the role of government in ensuring each” as analogous to those of 50 years ago, who “dismiss the Great Society as a failed experiment and an encroachment on liberty, who argue the government has become the true source of all that ails us and that poverty is due to the moral failings of those who suffer from it.”"

If He Looks Stupid, He Probably Is

RealClearScience - If He Looks Stupid, He Probably Is
In a new study, both male and female subjects were able to accurately evaluate the intelligence of men simply by viewing photographs of their faces.

While many avow that you can't judge a book by its cover, researchers Karel Kleisner, Veronika Chvátalová, and Jaroslav Flegr, all based out of Charles University in the Czech Republic, showed that if that book is a man, you probably can. 

For the study, which is published in PLoS ONE, 80 science students from Charles University -- 40 men and 40 women -- took an in-depth exam to gauge their IQ and were subsequently photographed with neutral face expressions. Another 160 participants assessed the photographs, judging the subjects' attractiveness and intelligence on a scale of 1 (the highest ranking) to 7 (lowest ranking).

......So why could both men and women accurately predict the intelligence of men, but not women, based on their looks?

One explanation the researchers put forth is that physical cues of intelligence may be sexually dimorphic. So while intelligence may be physically plastered on the faces of men, women may signal it in other ways.

Why Massive Auto Recalls Are Becoming the Norm

Why Massive Auto Recalls Are Becoming the Norm | Motherboard:

That last point is key. 
The average number of vehicles per recall has increased since the NHTSA first started instituting recalls in the 1960s, and it's in large part because of the increased sharing of parts across models. 
Designing and testing auto parts is a laborious, expensive process, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper to make one windshield wiper motor and share it across as many cars as possible as it is to design a bespoke model each time. 
But that means if a part fails, it affects a lot of vehicles.
.....There's a third factor that ties in as well: Automakers are also recalling more cars because regulators have taken a much more aggressive stance. 

Trey Gowdy Erupts During House Floor Speech Aimed at Dems Making Excuses for Ex-IRS Official Lois Lerner

Trey Gowdy Erupts During House Floor Speech Aimed at Dems Making Excuses for Ex-IRS Official Lois Lerner | Video | TheBlaze.com:
“Can you imagine a fact pattern where somebody takes the stand and says, ‘I didn’t rob the bank.
But I’m not gonna answer why my fingerprints are on the demand note,’” Gowdy continued.
“‘And I’m not gonna tell you why I’m on the surveillance footage with a gun in my hand.
And I’m not gonna tell you why the dye pack blew up in my car. I’m just gonna tell you I didn’t rob the bank!’ That’s not the way our system works.”"

Announcing Our 11th Annual Photo Contest Finalists| Smithsonian

Announcing Our 11th Annual Photo Contest Finalists | Photo Contest | Smithsonian

Chattanooga Twins Dead in Recliners For 3 Years Before Being Found By Police

Chattanooga Twins Dead in Recliners For 3 Years Before Being Found By Police:
"A pair of 63-year-old twin men were found dead in their Chattanooga, Tenn. home, having apparently died together three years before. 
Investigators are so far unable to say what happened.
The Associated Press reports that Andrew and Anthony Johnson had lived in the same home for decades. They were occasionally seen by neighbors mowing the lawn, gardening in surgical masks, or going out for groceries, but no one ever spoke to them.
"I didn't even know their names," said across the street neighbor Linda Maffett, a 73-year-old retiree.
Police found the skeletal remains of the twins on March 29 after a relative requested a check on them.
The brothers were decomposing in recliners in the living room."

Michigan School Funding Up, Results Flat

Michigan School Funding Up, Results Flat [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"Michigan School Funding Up, Results Flat
State spent $7,500 per pupil in 1972, over $12,000 today

Michigan per-pupil spending and SAT scores.
Overall, Michigan school spending has increased significantly over the past few decades, but test scores have remained relatively flat.

A new study from the Cato Institute, using information from the National Center for Education Statistics, found Michigan saw a large increase in spending with few apparent educational benefits.
"Inflation-adjusted per pupil spending in Michigan rose dramatically from 1972 to 2009 — going from $7,500 to over $12,000 in today's dollars. 
That's a 70 percent increase," said Andrew Coulson, director of Cato's Center for Educational Freedom and author of the study.
"Over that same period, the state's academic achievement rose by less than 1 percent.
It's hard to look at those numbers and not be disappointed.""

10 Of The Worst Cities To Live In Michigan

10 Of The Worst Cities To Live In Michigan - InfoBarrel:
"Muskegon
With a correctional facility and some of the worst crime and highest rates of poverty, Muskegon is one of the worst cities in Michigan.
Though a day trip can be worth seeing Michigan Adventure, make sure to lock your car and keep your valuables near you. 
Housing values show now hope of climbing, another reason this spot is on the list of the worst cities in Michigan to live."

Federal Judge Criticizes Eric Holder for ‘Unprecedented’ Action That Executive Branch Had ‘No Authority’ to Take | TheBlaze.com

Federal Judge Criticizes Eric Holder for ‘Unprecedented’ Action That Executive Branch Had ‘No Authority’ to Take | TheBlaze.com:

"U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor Jr., a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, expressed his unease with Holder directive to federal prosecutors on reducing prosecutions and sentencing for drug crimes, thus bypassing the regular commission process.
“The law provides the executive no authority to establish national sentencing policies based on speculation about how we and Congress might vote on a proposed amendment,” Pryor said."

New York pays more police in retirement than to patrol our streets

Article | Cop Out:

New York pays more police in retirement than to patrol our streets — yet pols do nothing to address our skyrocketing pension costs

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg scolded the NYPD’s critics, from The New York Times to the Democratic mayoral candidates. 
The mayor said that "the attacks most often come from those who play no constructive role in keeping our city safe."

The mayor is right — but there’s another threat to the NYPD’s crime-fighting success, too. We now have more retired cops than active police officers, and the multibillion-dollar bill for their pension and health benefits harms our ability to hire new ones.

In December 2001, a month before Bloomberg took office, New York had 39,297 cops. Today, the city has 34,510 to protect us — and by the time the mayor leaves office in eight months, we’ll have 34,483 — a cut of nearly 5,000 pairs of eyes.

Yet spending has increased. During Bloomberg’s final year, city will spend $8.7 billion on the police department, nearly double the 2002 figure and more than three times the rate of inflation.

Muslim Immigrants, Prez of Muslim Grp Ran Largest Shoplifting Ring in History; $3 Milln Vicky’s Secret Undies in Vegas

EXCLUSIVE: Muslim Immigrants, Prez of Muslim Grp Ran Largest Shoplifting Ring in History; $3 Milln Vicky’s Secret Undies in Vegas:
"Yesterday, Detroit-area police announced that they busted what is likely Michigan’s largest ever shoplifting ring, the operations of which spanned the country and included shoplifting of $3 million in underwear from Victoria’s Secret in Las Vegas. 
But what neither the media nor the cops noted is that the two men running the ring are Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants (my sources in the know say), and one of the men apparently heads a Muslim organization.
Uh-huh, more JebBushian “Acts of Love”!
As is typical in Islam, the men had three American chick slaves working for them.
Did the profits go to finance Islamic terrorism?"

There's No Bailout for Puerto Rico

There's No Bailout for Puerto Rico - Bloomberg View:

It’s been clear for a while that Puerto Rico is going to have to default on its debt:
Puerto Rico has $70 billion in debt outstanding, all of it needing to be repaid with interest -- and the simple fact is that there’s no way it’s going to be able to do that, if its economy continues to shrink and its most talented nationals continue to decamp for the mainland, where their prospects are much brighter. Labor mobility from Puerto Rico to the rest of the US, and particularly to Florida, has never been higher, while most of the migration in the other direction comes in the form of retirees, who are not exactly going to kick-start the economy. In fact, in terms of the labor force participation rate, they’re just going to make matters worse, on an island where only 1.2 million of the 3.4 million inhabitants are employed.
In many ways, Puerto Rico is similar to those other tourist destinations, Portugal and Greece -- it’s highly indebted; it’s not particularly well educated (only half of Puerto Ricans over 25 have graduated from high school, and only a quarter of high-school graduates go on to get a bachelor’s degree); and it is hobbled by being unable to devalue its currency.
All of this is a clear recipe for default: if Puerto Rico can’t repay that $70 billion in debt, then it won’t. 

Fears science project resembled weapon get teacher suspended

Fears science project resembled weapon get teacher suspended | The Daily Caller:
"Schiller got into trouble after two of his students turned in science projects designed to shoot little projectiles, reports the Los Angeles Times.
One of the projects used compressed air (but was not actually connected to any air).
The other one was coil gun: a tube surrounded by a coil and powered by a standard AA battery.
An unidentified school employee saw the air-pressure projectile device and got scared because, to her, it looked like a fearsome weapon. 
The amount of knowledge the employee has concerning science – if any – is unclear.
As a result of the unnamed employee’s fears, Schiller – who actually never got to see either the air-pressure project or the coil project except in photos – was dismissed from the classroom indefinitely."

Why Meat Prices Are Going To Continue Soaring For The Foreseeable Future

Why Meat Prices Are Going To Continue Soaring For The Foreseeable Future | Zero Hedge
The average price of USDA choice-grade beef has soared to $5.28 a pound, and the average price of a pound of bacon has skyrocketed to $5.46.
Unfortunately for those that like to eat meat, this is just the beginning of the price increases.

Due to an absolutely crippling drought that won’t let go of the western half of the country, the total size of the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk for seven years in a row, and it is now the smallest that is has been since 1951.
But back in 1951, we had less than half the number of mouths to feed.

And a devastating pig virus that has never been seen in the United States before has already killed up to 6 million pigs in this country and continues to spread like wildfire.
What all of this means is that the supply of meat is going to be tight for the foreseeable future even as demand for meat continues to go up. 
This is going to result in much higher prices, and so food is going to put a much larger dent in American family budgets in the months and years to come.
One year ago, the average price of USDA choice-grade beef was $4.91. 
 Now it is up to $5.28, and the Los Angeles Times says that we should not expect prices to come down “any time soon”…

New York’s SAFE Act Allows Police to Seize Firearms Without a Warrant: Lawsuit

New York’s SAFE Act Allows Police to Seize Firearms Without a Warrant: Lawsuit | TheBlaze.com:

"New York’s hastily-passed gun control law “mandates that law enforcement personnel seize, without a warrant, probable cause or hearing” some firearms, a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York’s Eastern District alleges."

History for April 11

History for April 11 - On-This-Day.com

Happy Birthday! Joel Grey, Louise Lasser, Peter Riegert

1898 - U.S. President William McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war with Spain. 


1899 - The treaty ending the Spanish-American War was declared in effect. 


1941 - Germany bombers blitzed Conventry, England. 







1945 - During World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald in Germany.


1947 - Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major-league history. He played in an exhibition game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. 


1951 - U.S. President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur as head of United Nations forces in Korea. 


1961 - Israel began the trial of Adolf Eichman, accused of World War II war crimes. 


1968 - U.S. President Johnson signed the 1968 Civil Rights Act. 


1970 - Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts did return safely. 


1980 - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued regulations specifically prohibiting sexual harassment of workers by supervisors. 


1981 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan returned to the White House from the hospital after recovering from an assassination attempt on March 30. 


1984 - China invaded Vietnam. 


1986 - Kellogg's stopped giving tours of its breakfast-food plant. The reason for the end of the 80-year tradition was said to be that company secrets were at risk due to spies from other cereal companies.
 

1996 - Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff was killed with her father and flight instructor when her plane crashed after takeoff from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Jessica had hoped to become the youngest person to fly cross-country. 

Adam Carolla Destroys Hollywood Hypocrisy

Adam Carolla Destroys Hollywood Hypocrisy:
“I simply talk realistically about education, family, smaller government, and less taxes,” he explained, “and that has made me right wing” in the eyes of Hollywood elitists.
He said his message of personal responsibility has “turned me into Rush Limbaugh” in the media. In reality, his interest in O’Reilly was not political but based on the host’s embrace of common sense.
“I would challenge anyone who just thinks a guy like O’Reilly is some sort of right-wing hate monster,” he said. “Listen to what his points of view are on many different topics. Most of it comes down to common sense. It may be stuff you don’t want to hear … but it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”"

사진은 권력이다 :: 아기들을 위한 Crib Dribbler 자동 젖병 장치

사진은 권력이다 :: 아기들을 위한 Crib Dribbler 자동 젖병 장치:

"아기 키우기 너무 힘듭니다. 아기 키워본 분들은 새벽에 아기가 칭얼거려서 한 부번 깨는 것이 아닙니다. 아기는 2시간에서 3시간에 한번 씩 깨는데 그 사이클을 부모가 맞추기에는 너무 힘들죠. 그래서 아기 키우는 맞벌이 부부들은 더 고통스러운 시간을 보냅니다. 회사에 출근해서 꾸벅꾸벅 조는 모습을 보이면서 측은함을 느끼게도 하는데 어쩌겠습니까? 부모 되는 것이 쉽지 않습니다."

The Domino Effect of EMP

The Domino Effect of EMP | SurvivoPedia:
"Of all the myriad of different disasters that could strike the United States, an EMP would be one of the most devastating. 
Our modern society depends so much upon electronics, as well as the computers that run just about anything.
Very little of this is protected from the effects of EMP, including the power grid that we need to run it all.
It is even questionable whether our nuclear power plants could survive an EMP, without the possibility of catastrophe.
The United States has many enemies around the world, some of whom have blatantly declared their desire to destroy us.
While not all of these countries have the capability of shooting a nuclear device into the stratosphere, in order to create an EMP over the United States, some do.
What technology our enemies don’t have could easily be bought on the world market."

Democrat-backed gender pay gap bill fails on test vote

Democrat-backed gender pay gap bill fails on test vote | Fox News:
"A Democrat-backed bill aimed at curbing paycheck discrimination against women failed to clear a key Senate hurdle on Wednesday, as Republicans blocked the measure amid concerns from business groups.
The bill fell short on a 53-44 vote. It needed 60 to advance.
It was the third consecutive election year in which Senate Democrats have pushed the bill and Republicans have shot it down. "

Health insurers are shutting down for seven months.

April 9, 2014: Citizens' Council for Health Freedom
Health insurers are shutting down for seven months. 
It's virtually lights out. 
Unless you have a qualifying "life event," you must wait until open enrollment begins Obamacare on November 15. 
A product once available year around for Americans to purchase no longer is.
The entire industry now runs on the Obamacare schedule.
Perverse incentives written into the law lead to unimaginable outcomes.

As the Associated Press reports,
"The law allows insurers to keep selling all year.
But it also creates the conditions prompting them to stop.
The law, which requires nearly all Americans to be insured or pay a fine, bans insurers from rejecting customers because of poor health.
The companies say that makes it too risky to sell to individuals year-around."

Only those who get married, move to another state, have a baby, lose a job, age out of their parent's health plan or experience some other qualifying life event will be able to get individual insurance.
Otherwise insurers are "closed for business".
So what about health insurance agents? 
Are they out of work for seven months? 
The Obama administration never wanted the agent industry to survive.
The whole point of the law was everyone would eventually get coverage through Obama's exchange system.

The government exchange and the government call centers would become the new "agents" along with Acorn-like "navigators" with little training, no background checks and access to lots of private personal financial and medical data.
Agents and brokers are considered an unnecessary expense.

One health insurance agent quoted by the AP, says he only learned a couple of weeks ago that insurers were cutting off all new plans: 
"It's lousy communication out there...If we don't know, my God, how do they expect other people to know? It's terrible."

Government "consolidation", what a "great" idea...............Washington-wide 911 outage

Washington-wide 911 outage - New York News:
"SEATTLE (AP) — Some 911 service has been restored in parts of Washington but CenturyLink is still working on the statewide outage.
Spokeswoman Kerry Zimmer says technicians hope to restore all 911 service Thursday, but she can't say for sure how long it will take or what caused the problem. 
She says it's unknown if the problem was caused by computer hacking or an equipment problem.
Zimmer says it began about 1:30 a.m. Thursday at Sheridan, Ore., and service in Oregon was affected for a time. It has since been restored.
Service is disrupted statewide because the dispatch centers are all tied together."

Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens

Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens | Meijer Gardens

• Santana, June 1 at 6:30 p.m., $150 presale | $ 153 member | $155 public
• Jason Isbell with James McMurtry, June 11 at 6:30 p.m., $29 presale | $32 member | $34 public
• CAKE, June 12 at 7 p.m., $47 presale | $50 member | $52 public
• John Legend, June 18 at 7:30 p.m., $75 presale | $78 member | $80 public
• Tedeschi Trucks Band, June 19 at 6:30 p.m., $54 presale | $57 member | $59 public
• NEEDTOBREATHE, June 21 at 7 p.m., $35 presale | $38 member | $40 public
• O.A.R. & Phillip Phillips, June 23 at 5:30 p.m., $65 presale | $68 member | $70 public
• Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, June 26 at 6:30 p.m., $62 presale | $65 member | $67 public
• Tegan and Sara, June 28 at 7 p.m., $38 presale | $41 member | $43 public
• Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers, July 2 at 7 p.m., $38 presale | $41 member | $43 public
• Yonder Mountain String Band & Railroad Earth, July 6 at 6 p.m., $38 presale | $41 member | $43 public
• Nickel Creek, July 9 at 7 p.m., $48 presale | $51 member | $53 public
• Jackson Browne, July 13 at 6:30 p.m., $65 presale | $68 member | $70 public
• Gavin DeGraw & Matt Nathanson, July 14 at 6:30 p.m., $65 presale | $68 member | $70 public
• Jennifer Nettles, July 19 at 7 p.m., $87 presale | $90 member | $92 public
• Counting Crows with Toad the Wet Sprocket, July 21 at 6 p.m., $80 presale | $83 member | $85 public
• Ray LaMontagne with Jenny Lewis, July 23 at 6 p.m., $55 presale | $58 member | $60 public
• KC and the Sunshine Band, July 24 at 7 p.m., $55 presale | $58 member | $60 public
• Barenaked Ladies, July 27 at 7 p.m., $55 presale | $58 member | $60 public
• Pat Metheny Unity Group & Bruce Hornsby, July 30 at 6:30 p.m., $52 presale | $55 member | $57 public
• Conor Oberst with Dawes, July 31 at 6:30 p.m., $37 presale | $40 member | $42 public
• John Butler Trio, August 1 at 6:30 p.m., $35 presale | $38 member | $40 public
• Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, August 6 at 7 p.m., $62 presale | $65 member | $67 public
• Five for Fighting with Twilight Symphony Orchestra, August 7 at 7 p.m., $45 presale | $48 member | $50 public
• Rodrigo y Gabriela, August 13 at 6:30 p.m., $47 presale | $50 member | $52 public
• G. Love and Special Sauce & Keb’ Mo’ Band, August 20 at 6:30 p.m., $48 presale | $51 member | $53 public
• The Moody Blues, August 21 at 7 p.m., $75 presale | $78 member | $80 public
• Lake Street Dive, August 28 at 7 p.m., $22 presale | $25 member | $27 public
• The Beach Boys, September 4 at 7 p.m., $62 presale | $65 member | $67 public
• Sheryl Crow, September 7 at 6:30 p.m., $77 presale | $80 member | $82 public

Tickets go on sale to Meijer Gardens members April 26, the general public can purchase tickets beginning May 10.

Committee to DOJ: IRS Official Denied Conservative Groups ‘Due Process and Equal Protection’ | CNS News

Committee to DOJ: IRS Official Denied Conservative Groups ‘Due Process and Equal Protection’ | CNS News:

 "(CNSNews.com) - Lois Lerner, who was director of the Internal Revenue Service’s Exempt Organizations Division, used her position in the IRS to deny conservative groups their constitutionally protected rights to due process and equal protection of the law, the House Ways and Means committee alleged today in what the committee called a “criminal referral letter” sent to Attorney General Eric Holder."

Walter Williams: How to Assist Evil

Walter Williams: How to Assist Evil
"Though the Holocaust ranks high among the great human tragedies, most people never consider the most important question:
How did Adolf Hitler and the Nazis gain the power that they needed to commit such horror? 

Focusing solely on the evil of the Holocaust won't get us very far toward the goal of the Jewish slogan "Never Again."

When Hitler came to power, he inherited decades of political consolidation by Otto von Bismarck and later the Weimar Republic that had weakened the political power of local jurisdictions. Through the Enabling Act (1933), whose formal name was "A Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich," Hitler gained the power to enact laws with neither the involvement nor the approval of the Reichstag, Germany's parliament. The Enabling Act destroyed any remaining local autonomy. The bottom line is that it was decent Germans who made Hitler's terror possible —Germans who would have never supported his territorial designs and atrocities.

...Professor Rummel explained in the very first sentence of "Death by Government" that "Power kills; absolute Power kills absolutely. ... 

The more power a government has, the more it can act arbitrarily according to the whims and desires of the elite, and the more it will make war on others and murder its foreign and domestic subjects." 

That's the long, tragic, ugly story of government: the elite's use of government to dupe and forcibly impose its will on the masses. 

The masses are always duped by well-intentioned phrases. 

After all, what German could have been against "A Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich"? 

It's not just Germans who have fallen prey to well-intentioned phrases. 

After all, who can be against the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"?
We Americans ought to keep the fact in mind that Hitler, Stalin and Mao would have had more success in their reign of terror if they had the kind of control and information about their citizens that agencies such as the NSA, the IRS and the ATF have about us. 

You might ask, "What are you saying, Williams?" 

Just put it this way: No German who died before 1930 would have believed the Holocaust possible.

Assisting evil---The Shame of Brandeis

The Shame of Brandeis « Commentary Magazine:
"If you have not yet heard, Brandeis University has rescinded its offer of an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born activist whose work has focused on the barbaric misogyny rampant in Islamic societies like the one in which she was raised—and whose efforts to call attention to them as a legislator in the Netherlands led to a political crisis there and her eventual flight to the United States.
Given that it only takes a Google search to find out everything one would need to know about her, including the controversial aspects of her views, it is disgustingly laughable for Brandeis President Fred Lawrence to claim he had to withdraw the degree because of information he had only lately discovered.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali said this afternoon that she was not surprised she came under attack from demagogic apologists like the Council on American Islamic Relations: 
She has come to expect such things."

US TROOPS MAY BE SENT TO E EUROPE

News from The Associated Press:
"PARIS (AP) -- NATO's top military commander in Europe, drafting countermoves to the Russian military threat against Ukraine, said Wednesday they could include deployment of American troops to alliance member states in Eastern Europe now feeling at risk.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove told The Associated Press he wouldn't "write off involvement by any nation, to include the United States.""

Not As Many People Buying Recreational Pot As Predicted

Not As Many People Buying Recreational Pot As Predicted « CBS Denver

DENVER, Colo. (CBS4) – Sales tax revenue on recreational marijuana in Colorado is down compared to early projections.

Total tax revenue on recreational pot is 13 percent below state estimates which means Colorado is bringing in nearly a half a million dollars less.

“We’re not seeing number of individuals using recreational marijuana that everybody originally thought we would. So because of that it’s very difficult to budget as to how do we spend dollars we don’t know whether we will or won’t,” said State Rep. Geri Gerou.

Not only are sales lower than projected but so are the number of business approved to sell it.

The state expected to approve 110 businesses in the first month but only 59 were approved as of Feb. 1.

The budget committee will create a mini-budget for the tax dollars collected in the first six months, an estimated $20 million.

That’s far below the $54 million Gov. John Hickenlooper budgeted for.

The committee plans to put much of the money toward prevention programs to protect kids.

Three construction companies would become team that builds new Red Wings arena

Three construction companies would become team that builds new Red Wings arena | Crain's Detroit Business

Property taxes will pay for $261.5 million or 58 percent of the arena’s construction cost, while the team’s ownership would provide the remaining $188.4 million.
Olympia, which will operate the arena under a 35-year concession agreement with the DDA, is the property development arm of Mike and Marian Ilitch’s $2 billion Detroit business empire, which includes the Red Wings,Detroit Tigers and Little Caesars pizza chain.
Under the deal, Olympia keeps all revenue generated by the arena, including concessions and parking, and all money from any naming rights deal. There will be 12 five-year renewal options for its 35-year management deal.
The hockey arena, which will replace city-owned Joe Louis Arena, is part of a wider $650 million plan to create a 45-acre district that includes retail, residential, office and restaurant space on the venue site.
Joe Louis will be razed and the site redeveloped after the new venue opens.
The new arena will have 1,200 premium seats, an attached 500-space parking garage and 10,000 square feet of retail space anchored by a Red Wings merchandise store, restaurants and other retail, according to the project plan.
The DDA intends to use $284.5 million in property taxes already captured within its 615-acre downtown district to pay off the bonds issued by the state to build the arena. The remainder of the district costs, or $365.5 million, will be picked up by Olympia.

Latest ObamaCare surprise: Most won't be able to buy health insurance until end of year

Latest ObamaCare surprise: Most won't be able to buy health insurance until end of year | Fox News:
""It's all closed down.
You cannot buy a policy that is a qualified policy for the purpose of the ACA (the Affordable Care Act) until next year on January 1," says John DiVito, president of Flexbenefit which has 2,500 brokers.
John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas adds, "People are not going to be able to buy individual and family policies, and that's part of ObamaCare. And what makes it so surprising is the whole point of ObamaCare was to encourage people to get insurance, and now the market has been completely closed down for the next seven months.
That means that with few exceptions, tens of millions of people will be locked out of the health insurance market for the rest of this year."