History for June 5

History for June 5 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversaries of Adam Smith (1723-1790), Scottish economist and philosopher, and John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), British economist.

Happy Birthday! Ken Follett, Bill Moyers, Mark Wahlberg

1752 - Benjamin Franklin flew a kite for the first time to demonstrate that lightning was a form of electricity. 


1827 - Athens fell to the Ottomans. 


1851 - Harriet Beecher Stow published the first installment of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in "The National Era." 


1884 - U.S. Civil War General William T. Sherman refused the Republican presidential nomination, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected." 


1927 - Johnny Weissmuller set two world records in swimming events. Weissmuller set marks in the 100-yard, and 200-yard, free-style swimming competition. 


1933 - President Roosevelt signed the bill that took the U.S. off of the gold standard. 






1944 - The first B-29 bombing raid hit the Japanese rail line in Bangkok, Thailand. 


1947 - U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University in which he outlined the Marshall Plan. 


1967 - The Six Day War between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan began. 


1981 - In the U.S., the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five men in Los Angeles were suffering from a rare pneumonia found in patients with weakened immune systems. They were the first recognized cases of what came to be known as AIDS. 


1998 - A strike began at a General Motors Corp. parts factory near Detroit, MI, that closed five assembly plants and idled workers across the U.S. for seven weeks. 


1998 - C-Span reported that Bob Hope had died. The report was false and had begun with an inaccurate obituary on the Associated Press website. 

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://www.libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2014/06/scandal-of-week-by-tammy-derouin.html

It’s easy to see the lack of American knowledge in the younger generations.  It’s also easy to see why.  The Pledge of Allegiance is controversial.  Wearing red, white and blue may offend non-citizens.  Expressing your belief and support for the Bill of Rights labels you as a radical and possibly dangerous.  We are told the Constitution is old, dusty, and full of negative liberties.

The Simple Arabic Phrase Bowe Bergdahl’s Father Said at a Press Conference With Obama That Has Sparked a Heated Debate | TheBlaze.com

The Simple Arabic Phrase Bowe Bergdahl’s Father Said at a Press Conference With Obama That Has Sparked a Heated Debate | TheBlaze.com:
"So why did Robert Bergdahl use the phrase? Exactly what message was he trying to send?
That’s the debate that’s currently raging on the Internet, with some alleging that the father was “claiming” the White House for Islam and others downplaying it as a very common, innocent phrase. Meanwhile, many people are simply struggling to understand why he chose that specific phrase and if there is more significance to it than meets the eye."

Prepare to drop more in that Detroit bucket------Rating agency warns of possible downgrade for Detroit water bonds

Rating agency warns of possible downgrade for Detroit water bonds | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
Fitch Ratings agency has warned it may dramatically downgrade its ratings for Detroit Water & Sewerage bonds if Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s reorganization plan for the department goes into effect.
In an analysis dated Friday, Fitch warned that it might downgrade $5.7 billion of the city’s water and sewer debt to as low as D -- junk status -- from its current much higher ratings of BB-plus and BB if U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven Rhodes approves the city’s plan of adjustment as Orr has proposed it.
.....“Fitch believes that there is no legal basis to compel bondholders to accept such impairment as proposed,” Fitch analyst Adrienne M. Booker wrote in the report.
.....And if agencies like Fitch were to downgrade the water department debt to junk status, it would cost the water system more to borrow money for future needs because lower ratings translate into higher interest costs for borrowers.

Government at work for you?--------Traffic at Ambassador Bridge slow; too few customs workers cited

Traffic at Ambassador Bridge slow; too few customs workers cited | The Detroit News:
"Traffic at the Ambassador Bridge was backed up for hours Tuesday night after an apparent lack of open customs booths on the Canadian side.

Only six of more than 20 booths were available at 11 p.m., said Mickey Blashfield, director of government relations for the Detroit International Bridge Co.
It wasn’t clear why all were not fully staffed, but customs officials were informed and traffic personnel were working to address the matter, he said.
“It’s purely a matter of customs not having booths open to accommodate the traffic that exists,” Blashfield said, adding there was no indication of how long the situation would last.
At one point, the tie-up extended as far as Interstate 75 and Junction on the Detroit side, he said.

SHOCK: VA Employees Spent WHOPPING 998,483 ‘Official’ Hours on Union Business in 2011

SHOCK: VA Employees Spent WHOPPING 998,483 ‘Official’ Hours on Union Business in 2011 | Progressives Today:
The American Federation of Government Employees – the union representing Veterans Administration workers – used the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to call for the hiring of more employees.
“Our rank-and-file members have sounded the alarm on poor management practices and inadequate staffing time and time again,” an AFGE press statement read.
But a review of data published by the Office of Personnel Management may indict both management and the union.
In 2011 – the last year the office published such numbers – employees of the VA reported spending 998,483 “official” hours on union business.
That is to say, they spent taxpayer-funded work time furthering their union’s objectives instead of serving veterans.
Remarkably, that was a 23.3 percent increase over 2010’s 809,740 hours.

What could possibly go wrong...........Muskegon Area Intermediate School District issues proposal to provide management services for Muskegon Heights

Muskegon Area Intermediate School District issues proposal to provide management services for Muskegon Heights | MLive.com:

...."There was a concern that started to surface: 'Would there be a new management company that would be willing to bid on the services for Muskegon Heights?'" Sipka said. 

"I literally woke up at 3 in the morning after I heard that. 

I thought, 'What happens if nobody bids on it? 

The ISD board would have to, in a very short time, break the district up.'

"I don't think that's what the governor wants, I don't think that's what the Muskegon Heights community wants."

.....In a memo posted on the MAISD website, Sipka praised the advances the district has made.

"Overall, we are pleased with the academic progress the students have made," Sipka wrote. 

.....The MAISD already meets regularly with officials at the Muskegon Heights school system to monitor grant funding, special education services and provide instructional support, Sipka said.

"I thought, 'We're already doing a lot -- why not take the next step?'" Sipka said.

...."One of the rubs about bringing in a for-profit company is that taxpayers' money leaves the state," Sipka said.

Mosaica Education is a for-profit corporation with headquarters in New York City. 

Muskegon Heights officials have not revealed the names or any other information about the companies that responded to the RFP.

EPA to Require Photo IDs to Attend Climate Change Hearings | TheBlaze.com

EPA to Require Photo IDs to Attend Climate Change Hearings | TheBlaze.com:
"Democrats have argued for the past few years that voter ID laws are being used by Republicans to create obstacles to voting by minorities, the elderly and others.
But on Monday, the Obama administration said it would require anyone who wants to attend critical environmental hearings later this summer to show a photo ID. The rule raises the question of whether everyone will have a fair shot of attending these hearings, which have the potential to shape environmental policy for the next few decades."

At some point, there won't be anyone to beg FROM!-------Begging ban fails in Grand Rapids; split vote leaves street-corner panhandling fair game

Begging ban fails in Grand Rapids; split vote leaves street-corner panhandling fair game | MLive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – With public objection pushing elected leaders away from a package of panhandling restrictions, two city commissioners urged that Grand Rapids at least ban begging from motorists.

But a 3-3 vote led by First Ward commissioners Dave Shaffer and Walt Gutowski on Tuesday, June 3, failed to get a majority.

For the time being, street-corner begging remains fair game.

Yes. EVERY vote does matter------Runoff in Mississippi

And, yes. A Tea Party victory!
 Runoff in Mississippi | National Review Online:

It was a virtually unknown candidate, real-estate broker Thomas Carey of Hernando, Miss., who determined the outcome: 
With 99.5 percent of precincts reporting, he had captured 1.6 percent of the vote, keeping both incumbent senator Thad Cochran, with 48.8 percent, and his insurgent challenger, state senator Chris McDaniel, with 49.6 percent, under the 50 percent margin required to seize victory. 

Vermont, Connecticut, Arizona Face Obamacare Premium Hikes

Vermont, Connecticut, Arizona Face Obamacare Premium Hikes | The Daily Caller:
"Vermont, Connecticut and Arizona Obamacare customers will almost universally be paying higher premiums in 2015, contrary to one of the central promises of the health-care law — lower health care costs.
Insurers are upping premiums for all Obamacare exchange customers in Vermont, which is working its way to a single-payer health-care system to encompass the whole state by 2017.
MVP Health Care has requested an average rate increase of 15.4 percent, while the only other insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, requested average hikes of 9.8 percent.
The lowest increase came from BCBS at 5.6 percent for the lowest-quality coverage, a high-deductible bronze plan, while the largest hike was an 18 percent increase for MVP’s silver plan — the most popular health plan type "

Panel: Jack Phillips Must Bake Cake for Same-Sex Wedding

Panel: Jack Phillips Must Bake Cake for Same-Sex Wedding:
"On Friday, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled unanimously that Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, must create wedding cakes for same-sex couples, even if doing so violates his beliefs. This victory for government coercion is the latest defeat for liberty and the rights of conscience."

Child abuse!-------------This poor child is confused, not 'transgendered.'

This poor child is confused, not 'transgendered.' | The Matt Walsh Blog

Is this it? 

Have we reached the basement? 

Is this our cultural rock bottom moment? 

.......It’s a story about Jeff and Hillary Whittington, who were given the coveted Inspiration Award at the famed and prestigious Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast (you might remember Harvey Milk as the statutory rapist who had sex with a bunch of drug addicted teenage boys). 

How have the Whittingtons earned such a high and pointless honor? 

Well, they’ve made some YouTube videos and bragged to the media about their daughter, Ryland, who began to “transition” into a boy at the age of two.

A wild claim, you would think.

…If you’re a bigot.

......A tragedy. 

A tragedy of nonsense. 

Horrible, abusive, pathetic, sad, bizarre, tragic nonsense.

This child didn’t ‘choose’ her gender. 

She didn’t choose to cut her hair and dress like a boy. 

Kids that age can only wear what you put on them, sport the haircut you assign them, play with the toys you give them, and mostly believe what you tell them they should believe. 

Tell them there’s a magical fat man who flies down the chimney to bring them presents every Christmas, and they’ll believe it.

 Tell them that they get to choose their own gender like it’s an ice cream flavor at Baskin Robbins, and they’ll believe it.

 Their reality is whatever you construct for them.

They are still years from approaching the age of reason. 

They are not reasonable beings. 

That’s why they can’t be left at home alone. 

That’s why they don’t vote. 

That’s why they don’t own homes or take out loans at the bank. 

They can’t be trusted to refrain from eating your pocket change, yet these parents think they should be able to exercise radical control over their ‘gender identity’?

That’s insane. 

This girl did not choose to be a boy. 

She can’t. 

She also didn’t choose to be a world famous face for the transgender movement. 

Her parents made that decision. 

Her parents decided to make her a ‘boy’ and alert the press.

Detroit conference for men will have to hire police protection, organizer says

Conference for men will have to hire police protection, organizer says | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "Organizers of a controversial conference scheduled to be held in Detroit later this month said they must pay police to provide security during the event, because of threats.
The International Conference on Men’s Issues is scheduled to take place at the DoubleTree Fort Shelby in downtown Detroit on June 26-28, but thousands of people signed a petition calling for it to be canceled.
Dean Esmay is helping to organize the conference put on by A Voice for Men and said the group’s mission is to fight for specific issues confronting men and boys, such as homelessness, suicide prevention and incarceration.
But the group has been critical of feminism, and Esmay said the presumption that one is “guilty until proven innocent” is a problem men have in sexual assault cases and domestic violence cases.
The group’s positions have drawn harsh critics locally and even internationally.
“The threats have escalated to include death threats, physical violence against our staff and other guests as well as damage to the property,” said a letter provided to the Free Press by a group official, who said it was sent by hotel staff."

Hunt for Bowe Bergdahl left 8 US troops dead and 22 wounded

Hunt for Bowe Bergdahl left 8 US troops dead and 22 wounded | Mail Online:

Revealed: Hunt for Bowe Bergdahl left troops unprotected in infamous Afghan battle that left EIGHT U.S. soldiers dead and 22 wounded and produced two Medal of Honor recipients

• Just 53 U.S. soldiers were left to defend an ammunition depot with no air support or reserves on Oct. 3, 2009 after nearly 350 Taliban attacked a combat outpost and 35 Afghan National Army soldiers fled their posts
• Sources tell MailOnline that 8 U.S. soldiers died and 22 were wounded because additional troops and air cover were diverted to hunt for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl
• 'Those guys didn't have the complete support they needed ... because all the assets and everything were diverted to us,' a member of Bergdahl's platoon said
• Combat Outpost Keating was the site of one of the bloodiest battles during America's engagement in Afghanistan, with 150 Taliban paying for the armed assault with their lives
• Two US Army sergeants won the Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for bravery, in the Battle of Kamdesh in eastern Afghanistan

Here’s Why We Don’t Negotiate with Terrorists

Here’s Why We Don’t Negotiate with Terrorists:
"Now, it appears that Obama can make prison transfers without notifying Congress.
 Andrew Johnson was nearly impeached for significantly less than what Obama has done. Johnsons’s crime? He fired an official without the consent of Congress. For that, President Johnson almost lost the presidency.
 Not only did President Obama not have the authority to make the exchange, but doing so now places a bounty on capturing American soldiers."

History for June 4

History for June 4 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary of King George III (1738-1820).

Birth anniversary of singer Freddy Fender (1937-2006).

Happy Birthday! Angelina Jolie, Michelle Phillips, Dr. Ruth Wertheimer

1792 - Captain George Vancouver claimed Puget Sound for Britain. 


1805 - Tripoli was forced to conclude peace with U.S. after conflicts over tribute. 


1812 - The Louisiana Territory had its name changed to the Missouri Territory. 


1896 - Henry Ford made a successful test drive of his new car in Detroit, MI. He called the vehicle was called a "Quadricycle." 


1939 - The first shopping cart was introduced by Sylvan Goldman in Oklahoma City, OK. It was actually a folding chair that had been mounted on wheels. 


1940 - The British completed the evacuation of 300,000 troops at Dunkirk, France. 


1942 - The Battle of Midway began. It was the first major victory for America over Japan during World War II. The battle ended on June 6 and ended Japanese expansion in the Pacific. 


1944 - During World War II, the U.S. Fifth Army entered Rome, which began the liberation of the Italian capital. 


1946 - Juan Peron was installed as Argentina's president. 






1947 - The House of Representatives approved the Taft-Hartley Act. The legislation allowed the President of the United States to intervene in labor disputes. 


1974 - The Cleveland Indians had "Ten Cent Beer Night". Due to the drunken and unruly fans the Indians forfeited to the Texas Rangers. 


1974 - Sally Murphy became the first woman to qualify as an aviator with the U.S. Army. 


1989 - In Beijing, Chinese army troops stormed Tiananmen Square to crush the pro-democracy movement. It is believed that hundreds, possibly thousands, of demonstrators were killed. 


2003 - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban "partial birth" abortions with a 282-139 vote. 

Obama was Against Negotiating with Terrorists Before He was in Favor of Negotiating with Terrorists

Obama was Against Negotiating with Terrorists Before He was in Favor of Negotiating with Terrorists:
"On Saturday, after negotiating with Taliban terrorists, the Obama regime announced the release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl in a five-for-one swap, trading five GITMO Islamic terrorists for Bergdahl’s release.
However, Obama has not always been in favor of negotiating and making deals with terrorists, at least he said he wasn’t when in 2008 campaign mode."

Imprisoned Marine Calls Glenn Beck From Mexican Prison, Shares Disturbing New Details About His Confinement | TheBlaze.com

Imprisoned Marine Calls Glenn Beck From Mexican Prison, Shares Disturbing New Details About His Confinement | TheBlaze.com:
"U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi has been detained by Mexican authorities since March 31, when he says he accidentally drove across the border with three legally registered firearms in his vehicle. Much of his time has been spent in La Mesa Penitentiary, one of Mexico’s most dangerous and notorious prisons.
On Monday, Tahmooressi called Glenn Beck from prison with the help of his mother, Jill Tahmooressi, for a live radio interview about the circumstances that led to his arrest, and what has happened since. The 25-year-old also divulged a number of disturbing new details about his confinement."