How does a "community" that tolerates murder stop more murder?--------Muskegon County homicides hit 20-year high in 2014; law enforcement, community fight back

Muskegon County homicides hit 20-year high in 2014; law enforcement, community fight back | MLive.com:
"MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – 2014 was a tough year for homicides in Muskegon County.
A Muskegon Chronicle tally shows 12 murders or non-negligent manslaughters in the year just ended, not counting one shooting of an intruder by a homeowner that hasn't resulted in criminal charges and may soon be ruled justifiable.
That compares with nine homicides in 2013 -- also excluding one justifiable homicide as well as three other violent deaths classified as accidental or negligent. In 2012, Muskegon County had only four non-justifiable homicides.
The 2014 tally was up substantially from most years of the last two decades and was the highest single-year toll since 1994, according to Chronicle records.
It was also a year for high-profile homicides that drew an unusually intense degree of public interest:"

Challenging Obama’s Alleged Powers

Challenging Obama’s Alleged Powers:

"We are hoping that the new Congress is going to act on the voter’s expectation that it will restrain Obama’s efforts to push through programs that harm the best interests of the nation. In the long history of the nation, Congress has never encountered a President whose agenda is to do as much harm as possible.

The next two years will likely see many Democratic members of Congress voting with Republicans. They will do so because Obama has wreaked so much damage to the Party and because they are looking at the national elections coming in 2016 and positioning themselves for them if they must run for office.

Obama is not just the enemy of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress. He is the enemy of the people."

Watch: Jaw-dropping Regulations.gov video displays the folly of Congress

Watch: Jaw-dropping Regulations.gov video displays the folly of Congress by Renee Nal:
"Professor Coglianese adds,
Most people think of laws as being created by Congress or maybe through interpretations of the Constitution by the U.S. Supreme Court; but actually by volume and significance, regulations adopted by administrative agencies dwarf the decisions passed by Congress.
Watch the video here:"

Banned from Reading the Bible? In America?

Banned from Reading the Bible? In America?:

"We have witnessed Christianity come under increasing attack as the years have gone by. Over the last two years, it seems as though those attacks are at an all time high. Not only are individuals being forced by the government to abandon their religious beliefs or face fines or jail time, children are also being told in some schools that they cannot read the Bible."

26 Ways the Media Botched Reporting Latest Benghazi Report

26 Ways the Media Botched Reporting Latest Benghazi Report:

"The Washington Post stated that “the panel’s findings were broadly consistent with the Obama administration’s version of events,” though many of the administration’s versions of events have been discredited or proven incorrect.

USA Today portrayed the report as a sweeping effort that “cleared the Obama administration of any wrongdoing” and the Associated Press claimed the report concluded “there was no wrongdoing by Obama administration officials,” though it didn’t examine most aspects of the administration’s actions regarding Benghazi."

The girls silenced by Andrew's friend the sex abuser: As Fergie leaps to defend the Duke, new shock in US court papers

The girls silenced by Andrew's friend the sex abuser: As Fergie leaps to defend the Duke, new shock in US court papers  | Daily Mail Online
The girls silenced by Andrew's friend the sex abuser: As Fergie leaps to defend the Duke, new shock in US court papers

• Paedophile Jeffrey Epstein allegedly tracked down young girls he abused
• Billionaire is said to have promised to 'look after' them if they kept quiet
• Those who did not cooperate with him were harassed, court papers claim
• Scale of the alleged cover-up was revealed as files became public
• Came as Duchess of York sprang to defence of her ex-husband, Andrew
• The Prince is accused of having sex with Epstein's under-age 'sex slave' 
• Yet vital evidence that could put Andrew in the clear is likely to stay secret
• Duke of York fiercely denies all accusations made by Virginia Roberts  

A Nonprofit Restaurant Falls to the Minimum Wage

Michael Saltsman: A Nonprofit Restaurant Falls to the Minimum Wage - WSJ:
"Michigan’s minimum wage rose in September to $8.15 an hour from $7.40 (the minimum wage for tipped employees rose 17%, to $3.10 an hour).
The wage will rise to $9.25 by January 2018.
The law was enacted by a Republican legislature, and signed by a Republican governor to head off a more draconian proposal that left-wing activists were attempting to place on the November ballot.
But the good intentions behind these political machinations didn’t make a difference to Jack Mosley, a pastor who until this fall operated a restaurant in Hillsdale called Tastes of Life.
The increased minimum wage, he told me, was “the straw that broke that camel’s back,” forcing him to close his doors and lay off his 12-person staff."

Jim Rome calls marching band dorks, ARMY marching band's response is EPIC

Jim Rome calls marching band dorks, ARMY marching band's response is EPIC -:
"From The Washington Post:
Hey, guys! I just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss this Thursday night tweet from Jim Rome, who had some thoughts about Being Cool:"

Rome later deleted the tweet and attempted to

apologize, but the damage was done, as marching bands from around the country started striking back, using the hashtag #MarchOnRome.

While there were many excellent responses, none were as epic as the Army’s.

ObamaCare Slaps States With $15 Billion In New Costs - Forbes

ObamaCare Slaps States With $15 Billion In New Costs - Forbes:

"According to a report by Milliman consulting actuaries, states that contract with Medicaid managed care plans face up to $15 billion in added costs over 10 years for their share of the law’s tax on private health insurance.

States will pay even if they strongly oppose ObamaCare and are refusing to establish health insurance exchanges or expand Medicaid."

How they "think"-----Anti-Police Progressives: No Justice, No Brunch…Or Something

Anti-Police Progressives: No Justice, No Brunch…Or Something | The Daily Caller

As anti-police protests peter out across the country, progressive activists are becoming increasingly desperate to maintain what they saw as momentum for their cause.
But, as is the case with any dying movement, when the larger crowds dwindle, the only people left are the extremists and radicals who have no appeal to anyone outside of their fellow radicals.

A handful of these radicals took to the restaurants of New York City Sunday morning to demand…attention.
The attention they got they didn’t much care for.

On Twitter under the hashtag “#BlackBrunchNYC,” they “stormed” eateries offering brunch and draw attention to themselves.
Rather than inspire a nationwide movement, they inspired ridicule.

First came the “activism.”

State, local governments face massive, growing budget gaps in 2015 and beyond

State, local governments face massive, growing budget gaps in 2015 and beyond « Watchdog.org:
"As the calendar flips to 2015, fiscal pressures will continue to tax the budgets of state and local governments.
And that could mean higher taxes for many Americans.
Projections released this month by the Government Accountability Office show that state and local governments will see current gaps between revenues and expenditures continue to widen in 2015 and beyond.
In aggregate, those governments are already underwater, and the amount of red ink will continue to grow over the next 50 years, unless changes are made, the GAO says.
Closing the gap will require aggregate budget cuts or tax increases of 18 percent."

Seriously? They goin' all "Onion", all the time?-------Editorial: As 2015 dawns, the MLive Muskegon Chronicle editorial board reiterates its mission

Editorial: As 2015 dawns, the MLive Muskegon Chronicle editorial board reiterates its mission | MLive.com:

But, first, let us introduce ourselves. We are three veteran West Michigan professional journalists with more than 90 years collective experience:
 

• Peg West has been the editor of MLive Muskegon Chronicle for three years and has 22 years journalism experience in West Michigan as a reporter and editor.
• Clayton Hardiman is a retired editor, reporter and columnist for The Muskegon Chronicle with 35 years observing and reflecting on Muskegon. He continues as a twice-monthly columnist for MLive Muskegon Chronicle.
• Dave Alexander is the community engagement specialist for MLive Muskegon Chronicle, where he has been a reporter and editor for the past 33 years.

We meet on a weekly basis to craft editorials that are narrowly focused on Muskegon and its issues. Our editorial philosophy is simple: What is best for Muskegon? We are non-partisan and pragmatically middle of the road.
 
We need to be the voice for those who many times are left out of the conversation and at the same time question and challenge our collective community values. We will champion what is good about this community but hold our leaders' feet to the fire.

Harvard Faculty Upset By Rising Health Insurance Costs | The Daily Caller

Harvard Faculty Upset By Rising Health Insurance Costs | The Daily Caller:

"The complaints are also curious given Harvard faculty’s general support for Obama and his policies.

According to an analysis conducted by Campus Reform in 2012, 585 Harvard faculty donated to presidential candidates that year. Of those, 555 contributed a total of $400,000 to Obama."

SmartVideo for YouTube Fixes Buffer Problems on Slow Connections

SmartVideo for YouTube Fixes Buffer Problems on Slow Connections

History for January 6

History for January 6 - On-This-Day.com
Jedediah Smith 1799, Tom (Thomas Erwin) Mix 1880, Danny Thomas 1912 


Loretta Young 1913, Earl Scruggs (Bluegrass Boys, Foggy Mountain Boys) 1924, John Z. DeLorean 1925 


1759 - George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis were married. 


1838 - Samuel Morse publicly demonstrated the telegraph for the first time. 


1941 - Richard Widmark made his debut on radio in "The Home of the Brave." 


1942 - The first commercial around-the-world airline flight took place. Pan American Airlines was the company that made history with the feat. 


1945 - The Battle of the Bulge ended with 130,000 German and 77,000 Allied casualties. 


1952 - "Peanuts" debuted in Sunday papers across the United States. 


1975 - ABC-TV debuted "A.M. America." 


1982 - William G. Bonin was convicted in Los Angeles, CA, of being the "freeway killer" who had murdered 14 young men and boys. 


1994 - Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the right leg by an assailant at Cobo Arena in Detroit, MI. Four men were later sentenced to prison for the attack, including Tonya Harding's ex-husband. 

Meet the Republicans Who Will Vote Against Boehner | TheBlaze.com

Meet the Republicans Who Will Vote Against Boehner | TheBlaze.com: "

The ten that have come out against Boehner have said for years that Congress needs to change the way it operates, and believe that passage of the $1.1 trillion spending bill last month was just the latest example of how Congress has failed to tackle the big issues. In addition to giving members just a few days to read the giant bill, many GOP members blasted the bill for continuing to fund Obamacare, and doing nothing to stop President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration."

Mia Love Pulls No Punches When Asked Where She Stands on Obamacare | Video | TheBlaze.com

Mia Love Pulls No Punches When Asked Where She Stands on Obamacare | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"Martha Raddatz of ABC News’ “This Week” sounded and looked a bit incredulous on Sunday when she asked newly-elected House Republican Mia Love if she supports Sen. Ted Cruz’s plan to “do everything humanly possible to stop Obamacare.”

Sarah Palin to PETA: ‘At Least Trig Didn’t Eat the Dog’ | TheBlaze.com

Sarah Palin to PETA: ‘At Least Trig Didn’t Eat the Dog’ | TheBlaze.com:

"Sarah Palin hit back at PETA on Saturday for criticizing the photos of her son Trig standing on the family dog.

“Dear PETA,” Palin posted on Facebook. “Chill. At least Trig didn’t eat the dog.”

UK Teachers to Tattle on Toddlers at Risk for Becoming Terrorists

UK Teachers to Tattle on Toddlers at Risk for Becoming Terrorists | Truthstream Media
(Truthstream Media) Just three years ago, we found out that children in Britain as young as three could be “blacklisted” — labeled “racist” on their permanent file for such evil thought crimes as calling a fellow classmate a “broccoli head.”

When my brother was six and I was 12, he called me a “carnival head.” I always thought it was because he was being a six-year-old little brother. 

I never knew until today that it was because he was totally racist… 

You know, against… uh… theme parks??

But I digress…

Now according to a new government directive from UK’s Home Office, teachers including nursery school staff have been handed a serious “duty” to “prevent people being drawn into terrorism.”

This will include making sure school staff are trained to watch their students closely in order to “identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and challenge extremist ideas which can be used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups,” The Telegraph reported yesterday. 

Did I mention this includes nursery schools? 

I did?

You know…with all those toddlers running around sporting all those terrorist-sympathizing, extremist ideals....…"

The Private Sector, Not Obama, Created This Recovery

The Private Sector, Not Obama, Created This Recovery:

"This isn’t a story of government-directed growth, but the opposite—Washington’s role in the economy starting to shrink after years of Obama administration activism. The private sector is starting to take over.

Let’s start with the positive news."

Princeton student say he’s victim of microaggression over way he says ‘Cool Whip’ (he’s totally serious)

Princeton student say he’s victim of microaggression over way he says ‘Cool Whip’ (he’s totally serious):
It’s come to this.

In the pages of the Daily Princetonian comes a white, male, Ivy League student – the trifecta of so-called privilege – who has finally himself been the victim of a “microaggression” and so bemoans the pain of it all – apologizes for any hurt he inadvertently caused in the past, and that he may cause in the future, through microaggressions of his own doing – and encourages his classmates to be very careful about what they say from now on, lest they prompt some of their peers into a life of binge drinking and Xanax popping.All this because his friends teased him about how he says “Cool Whip.” 
I kid you not.

Enter one Newby Parton, a freshman at Princeton University who hails from McMinnville, Tenn., and likes to put his Hs in front of his Ws when he talks, as some are apparently apt to do in his hometown. His Jan. 4 column in the school newspaper starts with a long-winded explanation of why that is so, but eventually he gets to the heart of the matter.

“I say my ‘wh’-words in the traditional way,” Parton writes. 

“I never thought twice about it before coming to New Jersey. 

Here, my peers make a spectacle of it. 

‘Say Cool Whip,’ they’ll tell me, in reference to the Family Guy gag in which one character pokes fun at another for his /hw/ pronunciations. 

I’ll say ‘Cool Whip.’ 

They’ll repeat it back to me with exaggerated emphasis on the /h/. 

I’ve been pulled into this conversation several times now, and each time I grow a bit more self-conscious. Very few people like to have their speech mocked.”

‘Black Brunch’ Restaurant Protesters Disrupt ‘White Spaces’ in NYC, Oakland | Video | TheBlaze.com

‘Black Brunch’ Restaurant Protesters Disrupt ‘White Spaces’ in NYC, Oakland | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"One tweet posted by the New York City group read “every 28 hours a Black unarmed civilian is murdered by the State. This is why we disrupt.”

On Sunday about three dozen protesters disrupted patrons at Manhattan spots such as Lallisse, Maialino and Pershing Square, Yahoo News said, adding that protesters called them predominantly “white spaces.”

Report: Police officers killed by firearms jumped 56% in 2014

Report: Police officers killed by firearms jumped 56% in 2014 | Ars Technica:
"Firearms-related deaths of law enforcement officials in the US increased 56 percent in 2014 over the prior year, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has concluded.
About one-third of the deaths were a result of an ambush, the fund said.
The 2014 Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities Report [PDF] said 50 officers were killed by guns in 2014 compared to 32 the year before. 
Fifteen were killed by ambush, according to the report.
In the Digital Age, no longer is it just the watchers watching the watched.
The increase comes amid a flurry of anti-police sentiment following the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri and the choke-hold death of Eric Garner by the New York Police Department.
Garner's arrest was captured on video, and it was among one of dozens of clips featuring police misconduct to widely circulate on the Internet in 2014."

See How Police Spurn Mayor de Blasio Yet Again | TheBlaze.com

See How Police Spurn Mayor de Blasio Yet Again | TheBlaze.com:

"They saluted him at Saturday’s wake.

On Sunday, the shunning resumed.

Thousands of city police officers turned their backs Sunday as they watched Mayor Bill de Blasio eulogize an officer shot dead with his partner, repeating a stinging display of scorn for the mayor despite entreaties from the police commissioner not to do so."

Anti-Police Protesters Release List Of ‘Demands’ And They’re Insane

Anti-Police Protesters Release List Of ‘Demands’ And They’re Insane | John Hawkins' Right Wing News:
Fliers are now being handed out during protests in New York under the BlackLivesMatter movement. The fliers are spelling outwhat they are demanding.

One such demand is essentially an end to access to the court system for police officers charged with a crime:

“We demand a total independent investigative body that has full and total investigative powers, and unhindered access to any scene and full access to all evidence,” they write. “This investigative body will have full prosecuting power, and the authority to mete out punishment. This agency will have the power to immediately sequester any and all officers that are involved and/or on the scene.”

Another demand is a direct attack on the police unions, “We demand that any officer found guilty of any crime or violation while on duty be imprisoned and heavily personally fined, and any union that defends that officer be heavily fined with all the money going to the victim.”

Yet another demand is what amounts to the end of the 5th Amendment for police officers:

“We demand any officer that do not (sic) freely come forth and speak about abuse and corruption by fellow officers or the department that they should be aware of, be charged with conspiracy and imprisoned and heavily fined.”

The flier ends with the words, “FREEDOM JUSTICE AND EQUALITY OR DEATH.”

Expert: Most US College Freshmen Read at 7th Grade Level

Expert: Most US College Freshmen Read at 7th Grade Level:
The premise behind the Common Core State Standards is that all public school students will be college and career ready for the theoretical workforce of tomorrow. Even in Texas, which never adopted the Common Core, College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) drive public education today. 

Yet, what is called ‘college and career ready’ may not be preparing students at all because most US college freshman can only read at a seventh grade level.

Education expert Dr. Sandra Stotsky is the formidable figure on the front lines who is questioning what can be done to make sense of Common Core and all this college and career readiness.
She is best known for serving on the Common Core Validation Committee in 2009-10 and refusing to approve standards she called ‘inferior’, along with colleague James Milgram, Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University.
She is also Professor Emerita at the University of Arkansas and is credited with developing one of the country’s strongest sets of academic standards for K-12 students when she was Senior Associate Commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education (1999-2003). 
Stotsky was also responsible for revising or developing the licensure tests for prospective teachers.

13 Most Cringeworthy Democrat Quotes Of 2014

13 Most Cringeworthy Democrat Quotes Of 2014 - The Liberty Eagle
Here are 13 Democrats whose statements on politics in 2014 had Americans scratching their heads:

Mike Dickinson, Congressional candidate, VA

Dear god. Please use Ebola to infect the @NRA and it’s various members. For they are A true virus and true terrorists in America."

Rep. Frederica Wilson, (FL)

Black males are ‘Convicted in the Womb.’ When a Black boy is spotted he is automatically a suspect. Even Black people fear Black boys."

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL)

“What Republican tea party extremists like Scott Walker are doing is they are grabbing us by the hair and pulling us back. It is not going to happen on our watch."
Read 'em all!

A Heavy Hitter Just Announced He’s Challenging John Boehner for Speaker | TheBlaze.com

A Heavy Hitter Just Announced He’s Challenging John Boehner for Speaker | TheBlaze.com:

"It’s official: House Speaker John Boehner has multiple challengers gunning for his job.

Texas Republican Louie Gohmert announced Sunday morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” that he would throw his hat into the ring, saying he’s officially a candidate for the speaker gig."

U.K. Criminalization of Speech Is Really Starting to Scare Me

U.K. Criminalization of Speech Is Really Starting to Scare Me - Hit & Run : Reason.com:
"Earlier this week, British reality TV star Katie Hopkins tweeted some fears about a Scottish Ebola patient coming to London for treatment. 
She's now facing a criminal investigation.  
"Inquiries are ongoing into the nature of these tweets and to establish any potential criminality," a Scottish law enforcement official told the BBC.
"Police Scotland will thoroughly investigate any reports of offensive or criminal behaviour online and anyone found to be responsible will be robustly dealt with."
 Here are Hopkins' possibly criminally offensive statements:"