History for September 5

History for September 5 - On-This-Day.com:
Jesse James 1847, Darryl F. Zanuck 1902, Jack Valenti 1921


Bob Newhart 1929 - Actor, comedian (The Bob Newhart Show), Freddie Mercury (Queen) 1946, Michael Keaton 1951 - Actor ("Batman")


1698 - Russia's Peter the Great imposed a tax on beards.


1774 - The first session of the U.S. Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. The delegates drafted a declaration of rights and grievances, organized the Continental Association, and elected Peyton Randolph as the first president of the Continental Congress.


1836 - Sam Houston was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.


1881 - The American Red Cross provided relief for disaster for the first time. The disaster was the Great Fire of 1881 in Michigan.


1906 - Bradbury Robinson executed the first legal forward pass in football. Robinson threw the ball to Jack Schneider of St. Louis University in a game against Carroll College.


1914 - The Battle of the Marne began. The Germans, British and French fought for six days killing half a million people.


1939 - The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality in World War II.

1945 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino was arrested. D'Aquino was suspected of being the wartime radio propagandist "Tokyo Rose". She served six years and was later pardoned by U.S. President Ford.

Social Security Administration Confirms: Illegal Aliens To Begin Collecting Benefits In 2017 - Breitbart

Social Security Administration Confirms: Illegal Aliens To Begin Collecting Benefits In 2017 - Breitbart:

"We learned about that crisis thanks to an inquiry from Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), who also asked the SSA to run the numbers on how many of our New Americans would be collecting benefits legally after Obama illegally dismantles our citizenship laws. The chief actuary responded that he expects about 16,000 “New Americans” to begin collecting Old-Age, Survivor’s, and Disability Insurance benefits by 2017, with the total rising steadily over the next four decades until it hits 695,000.

As Ryan Lovelace at National Review observes, even this estimate is absurdly optimistic, because it assumes the flow of illegal aliens will decrease after 2016. In reality, we’ll be hit by wave after wave of new illegals looking for their piece of the amnesty pie."

The environmental crowd knows no compromise

Rex Murphy: The environmental crowd knows no compromise | National Post:
"The environmental protesters who are determined to throttle Alberta’s oil industry are so invested in the narrow, regressive world of their own doom-laden vision of the future, and the fanatic, narcissistic righteousness that is the hallmark of that vision, that they see themselves as having a licence to to do just about anything, no matter how morally reprehensible, in the pursuit of their cause.
Civilized debate, respect for one’s opponents, listening to differing opinions and good manners: these are the practices and mores of every other social and political exchange, and are necessary for reasoned debate to take place in a democratic society.
Yet the anti-pipeline zealots seems to think that these standards don’t apply to them.
...They were only three protesters.
But these three hooligans are a perfect example of the holier-than-thou mentality the pervades the modern environmental movement. 
Storm a meeting, scream slogans, insult the industry, play the victim, taunt the police, harass, intimidate and act like a thug — you may call it protesting if you wish, but bullying and boorishness are far closer to the mark..."

Dem Senator: It's 'Sexist' to Question Hillary's Health

Dem Senator: It's 'Sexist' to Question Hillary's Health | PJ Media:

CHAT 57 COMMENTS

"Eight years ago, when John McCain was only three years older than Hillary will be on election day, the MSM was using actuarial charts to prove that he was probably not going to live through his first term if elected (update: he's still alive). 

Now it's sexist to wonder if a woman who suffered a head injury and often shows signs of not being all there is healthy.

Welcome to identity politics at its most evil.

Side note: notice how hard Andrea Mitchell works to lay the groundwork for the response she wants Sen. Klobuchar to give her."

Clinton Email Scandal: A Catalog Of Lame Excuses From The FBI Report | Stock News & Stock Market Analysis - IBD

Clinton Email Scandal: A Catalog Of Lame Excuses From The FBI Report | Stock News & Stock Market Analysis - IBD:

"Clinton's attempts to avoid responsibility became particularly strained when the topic turned to classified material she said never showed up on her email server. The report is replete with so many different attempts to duck blame that we thought it would be helpful to categorize them.

The Blanche DuBois Excuse:  Like the character from "Streetcar Named Desire" who famously says that she "depends on the kindness of strangers," Clinton says that she depended on anyone emailing her to know the rules of classification. If there was a problem, it was their fault, not hers."

Comparing cosmetology to policing might say more about cosmetology than policing.

"Comparing cosmetology to policing might say more about cosmetology than policing.
Colin Kaepernick again weighed in on the important topic of police abuse of power this week, stating: “[Y]ou can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training
as a cosmetologist. 
That’s insane. 
Someone that’s holding a curling iron has more education and more training than people that have a gun and are going out on the street to protect us.”
We don’t know what the right amount of training for a police officer is, but the amount of training a person must receive in order to practice cosmetology is certainly insane.
As the Institute for Justice has shown over and over again in its research and litigation, cosmetology licensing is about protecting existing practitioners from new competition, not about ensuring health and safety. 
In IJ’s latest study on the issue, Angela Erickson found that requiring hair braiders to take thousands of hours of cosmetology training does nothing to enhance consumer safety:
“[A]cross seven years and 10 jurisdictions, just nine complaints with health and safety issues were received for unlicensed braiders—just over one per year and just less than one per jurisdiction.
Further, none of the complaints alleging consumer harm were verified by licensing boards.” Cosmetology licensing does seem to do one thing well, though: 
It generates plenty of complaints about the licensing status of cosmetologists—by other cosmetologists." (Heritage Foundation-insider)
**********************************************************
 [Institute for Justice]
Executive Summary
African-style hair braiding is a traditional art and a time-tested way of caring for tightly coiled Afro-textured hair naturally, without scissors, heat or chemicals.
Yet, in most states, people who wish to braid for a living must first obtain a government permission slip—an occupational license requiring up to 2,100 hours of training. 
This study investigates whether the natural craft of braiding poses risks that justify occupational licensing and whether braiding licenses create barriers that keep people out of work..."

Michael Flynn: Stop KKKing Republicans

Michael Flynn: Stop KKKing Republicans | Washington Examiner:
"Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a top adviser to Donald Trump, is fed up with people who try to tie the Ku Klux Klan to the Republican Party.
"Don't try to tie the KKK to the Republican Party or the conservative movement in this country," the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency told CNN's Erin Burnett Thursday evening.
To start the interview, the anchor brought up former KKK wizard David Duke's praise of Trump's immigration speech on Wednesday and asked Flynn to comment on "the fact" that the GOP nominee's message is resonating with white supremacists.
Duke, also a former state representative, is currently a candidate for the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana with very little chance of winning.
"Not only does Donald Trump disavow them, but I think most Americans disavow that line of thinking and those kinds of groups," Flynn assured her. On a personal level, Flynn said "I find them disgusting..."

Lunch video-----CNN Blurs Out Guest's Trump T-Shirt During Interview

Noon-toon

FBI: Hillary Clinton Lost Cell Phones with Classified Emails

FBI: Hillary Clinton Lost Cell Phones with Classified Emails:

"The fact that Clinton’s staff attempted to destroy her old smartphones whenever they could indicates that they knew there was sensitive information on the devices.

FBI director James Comey revealed in July that Clinton had sent and received emails that were marked classified at the time, and contained information that she and her aides should have known was classified.

Federal law prohibits the unauthorized transfer, storage, or destruction of classified information. Federal records acts likewise prohibit the destruction of government documents, which would have included work-related emails on Clinton’s server and mobile devices."

TAMARA KEEL ON HILLARY’S LATEST: This is about as plausible as “the dog ate my homework”.

Instapundit » Blog Archive » TAMARA KEEL ON HILLARY’S LATEST: This is about as plausible as “the dog ate my homework”. She cla…:
TAMARA KEEL ON HILLARY’S LATEST:

This is about as plausible as “the dog ate my homework”. She claimed she didn’t know that the “c” meant “confidential”, that nobody told her that she should retain work emails as they are part of the public record. Further in the article, she throws her staff under the bus, in effect claiming that underlings and minions told the dog to eat her homework.

That’s some Grade A leadership there, right? Makes you wanna sign right up for that outfit, no?

Further, I have an Ivy League lawyer, wife of a former governor and president, who lived in the White House for eight damned years, then went on to be a senator and Secretary of State telling me she didn’t know about classified email and that work-related documents needed to be saved as part of the public record?

Look, I don’t mind you bullshitting me a little bit, Hillary, but don’t you ever lie to me like I’m Montel Williams.

Oops.in

Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 1:53 pm

Underfunded Pensions: The Expanding and Escalating Challenge

Underfunded Pensions: The Expanding and Escalating Challenge | Mercatus:
"Puerto Rico’s recent financial failures have raised public awareness of underfunded pensions, as well as questions about the federal government’s proper role in pension failures. 
Regrettably, the problem is not unique to state governments—with low interest rates, unrealistic benefit promises, and poor funding, pension plans are under intense financial pressure at all levels of government and throughout the private sector.

...Meanwhile, most states and localities have significantly underfunded their pension obligations, and the potential for shortfalls portends state fiscal crises that may elicit demands for federal intervention.

Political sympathy for retirees runs deep on both sides of the aisle, but federal financial intervention in a major pension failure would have a disastrous impact on the federal government’s credit and debt. 
It would also create a dangerous disincentive for the responsible and prudent administration of pensions at all levels.
Below is a brief overview of recent developments related to failing pensions, the mounting shortfalls faced by the federal government’s PBGC program, and the challenges faced by state pension plans 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

While early pension challenges have been relatively small, the way in which they are handled sets an important precedent for the exponentially larger pension challenges that lie ahead. Specifically, it is likely that a combination of benefit cuts, premium increases, and better future funding will be necessary to shore up failing pensions. While painful for current beneficiaries of failing pensions, this precedent could help remove expectations for federal bailouts, reinforce the understanding that individual pension plan sponsors are responsible for their own financial solvency, and prompt pension administrators to make the difficult—but critical—decisions necessary to address shortfalls. Further, such a precedent could help PBGC and state and local governments to avoid a large and painful insolvency.

• The Detroit bankruptcy deal. The City of Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013 after a series of state-ordered financial reports found that the city was insolvent. The resulting bankruptcy deal set a precedent by allowing a pension sponsor, the City of Detroit, to cut benefits in order to maintain the solvency of the pension plans. Retirees’ pension payments were reduced by 4.5–20 percent.

• The Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. The Kline-Miller Act, named for its bipartisan cosponsors, Representatives John Kline (R-MN) and George Miller (D-CA), empowered private multiemployer pension plans to cut benefits to a minimum of 110 percent of what PBGC insures if doing so would avert insolvency (e.g., for 30 years of service, PBGC’s maximum guarantee is $12,870 per year and may be less). The law, prompted by the increasing number of large multiemployer plans facing insolvency, envisioned that multiemployer pension funds would remain self-sufficient rather than relying on government assistance.

• Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican debt crisis is the result of decades of government profligacy and inadequate pension funding and was ignited by a downgrade of the US territory’s debt to junk status in early 2014. Puerto Rico’s pension system was 96 percent unfunded with a $44 billion shortfall in 2014, according to the US Treasury. In dealing with the tension between government retirees and bond holders, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has stated, “We’ve never said that pensions should be made senior to all debt.” Lew prescribed, and Congress legislated, a fiscal oversight board for Puerto Rico with “the discretion to make the trade-off decisions,” including cuts to pension benefits.
Read on.
Lots here!

TOO DUMB TO BE PRESIDENT? Clinton told FBI she didn’t understand classified intel. Related...

Instapundit » Blog Archive » 
TOO DUMB TO BE PRESIDENT? 
Clinton told FBI she didn’t understand classified intel. 
Related: FBI…:
"TOO DUMB TO BE PRESIDENT? 
Clinton told FBI she didn’t understand classified intel.

Hillary is either dishonest or dumb—there is no third choice.
By giving her the Comey get-out-of-jail-free card in spite of this — and by scheduling this release for the Friday before Labor Day Weekend — the FBI has demonstrated that it doesn’t deserve its position either.

Plus: Clinton, aides told FBI conflicting stories about email use."

Hillary Clinton ‘Could Not Recall’ 39 Email Details for FBI - Breitbart

Hillary Clinton ‘Could Not Recall’ 39 Email Details for FBI - Breitbart:

"Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeatedly could not “recall” the answers to 27 different questions from the FBI about her private email server and communications habits. Clinton also specified that she did not “remember” details of her emailing and classification habits at least 12 times.
Below are some of the highlights from the redacted FBI interview transcripts released to the public today."

The Coming Storm for Global Financial Markets

The Coming Storm for Global Financial Markets - Bloomberg View
"Global growth is weak, and will be eroded further by Brexit.
Oil prices are low, and likely to plunge further.
The world has excess capacity and a wage-depressing labor surplus.
Corporate profits are shaky.
And deflation is laying bare the impotence of central banks.
So where would you logically expect financial markets to be going, given that economic, financial and political environment?
You’d expect to see increased demand for safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, a soaring dollar, falling commodity prices, and increasing investor aversion to junk bonds, emerging market debt and equities and other low-quality securities.
But that’s not the case..."
...But Europe offers an example of what might happen if things reverse.
The region's benchmark Stoxx 600 index is down more than 5 percent this year, erasing almost all of 2015's gains.
In this environment, investors should hold universally-large cash positions until there's a clearer picture of what comes next."

AM Fruitcake

History for September 4

History for September 4 - On-This-Day.com
Henry Ford II 1917, Paul Harvey 1918, Dick York 1928 


Mitzi Gaynor 1931 - Actress, Damon Wayans 1960 - Actor, comedian ("My Wife and Kids"), Beyoncé Knowles 1981 - Singer (Destiny's Child) 


1886 - Geronimo, and the Apache Indians he led, surrendered in Skeleton Canyon in Arizona to Gen. Nelson Miles.


1899 - An 8.3 earthquake hit Yakutat Bar, AK.


1923 - The first American dirigible, the "Shenandoah," began its maiden voyage in Lakehurst, NJ.


1957 - The Ford Motor Company began selling the Edsel. The car was so unpopular that it was taken off the market only two years.


1967 - "Gilligan's Island" aired for the last time on CBS-TV. It ran for 98 shows.


1967 - Michigan Gov. George Romney said during a TV interview that he had undergone "brainwashing" by U.S. officials while visiting Vietnam in 1965.


1972 - Swimmer Mark Spitz captured his seventh Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay event at Munich, Germany. Spitz was the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.


1998 - While in Ireland, U.S. President Clinton said the words "I'm sorry" for the first time about his affair with Monica Lewinsky and described his behavior as indefensible.

University official wants answers on whether climate professors are 'indoctrinating' students - Washington Times

University official wants answers on whether climate professors are 'indoctrinating' students - Washington Times:

"DENVER — The University of Colorado professors who shut down climate change debate in class have landed on the radar of a top school official, who says he wants to make sure students are being “educated, not indoctrinated.”
John Carson, a member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents, said he plans to make inquires Thursday about an email from three University of Colorado at Colorado Springs professors who advised students to drop the class if they dispute climate change.
“I have a lot of questions after reading this reported email sent to students,” Mr. Carson told The Washington Times. “We should be encouraging debate and dialogue at the university, not discouraging or forbidding it. Students deserve more respect than this. They come to the university to be educated, not indoctrinated.”"

UNL students restricted by new 'respect' policy

UNL students restricted by new 'respect' policy - The College Fix:
"‘Nonnegotiable’ list of expected beliefs about diversity and inclusion

Add caption

Calling the University of Nebraska Lincoln a place that “values acceptance,” the institution kicked off the fall semester with its newly installed chancellor essentially telling new students they should not say or do things that might be offensive or cause people to feel disrespected, calling the stance “nonnegotiable.”
...“We do not tolerate actions of hate and disrespect.”
The policy, being called by campus leaders a set of “belief statements” on diversity and inclusion, is also spelled out on its website.
Green’s comments come as Christianity and conservatism — even support of Donald Trump — is accused of being intolerant, hateful and racist on campuses nationwide.
Green did not define, neither in his speech or the written policy underscoring it, what an action of disrespect might be, leaving it widely open to interpretation.
The vague set of beliefs also comes a time when accusations of microaggressions, or unintentional slights some interpret as racist acts, have a vice grip on universities.
“We all share in the responsibility to create a positive culture here and to safeguard equity, inclusion, diversity and respect,” Green continued in his speech.
“ … We take action when we observe something or someone being treated unfairly or in a demeaning manner.
It’s our core belief as a university here at the University of Nebraska. It’s nonnegotiable. That’s who we are.”

France rolls out 'world's first' driverless buses

France rolls out 'world's first' driverless buses - The Local:
"Driverless minibuses will begin taking passengers in the eastern French city of Lyon at the weekend in a year-long experiment that officials are calling a "world first".
The two electric vehicles, fitted with high-tech equipment including laser sensors, stereo vision and GPS, can ferry around 15 passengers at a top speed of 20 kilometres an hour (12 mph).
The initial route in the heart of the city will last 10 minutes and include five stops.
Manufactured by the French firm Navya and costing €200,000 ($225,000) apiece, a prototype was tested in 2013..."

Putin Denies Russia Hacked DNC: ‘Does It Even Matter Who Hacked This Data?’ | TheBlaze.com

Putin Denies Russia Hacked DNC: ‘Does It Even Matter Who Hacked This Data?’ | TheBlaze.com:

"Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly denied that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee’s data and questioned if it even matters who is responsible.

“Listen, does it even matter who hacked this data?” Putin asked during an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. “The important thing is the content that was given to the public.”"

Hillary Clinton Is Even More Dishonest than You Thought

Hillary Clinton Is Even More Dishonest than You Thought | National Review
"...the Friday before Labor Day, the FBI has released detailed interview notes from its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email practices. 
The Washington Post says the notes don’t contain any “major revelations,” but it’s wrong. 
Very wrong. 
The notes reveal the stunning breadth of Hillary Clinton’s dishonesty and deception. 
First, and most importantly, it’s plain that her team began systematically wiping the server only after news broke of its existence:

...Americans cannot believe a single word that comes out of Hillary Clinton’s mouth. 
She does what she wants, says whatever she needs to escape the news cycle (or federal prosecution), and proceeds right on with her march to power. 
Even worse, she’s consistently done so with the willing and enthusiastic participation and cooperation of the vast majority of the progressive media. 
As a colleague noted, where’s the “Against Hillary” edition of an esteemed liberal publication?..."

FBI: Clinton unable to locate any of 13 personal devices she used

FBI: Clinton unable to locate any of 13 personal devices she used | Washington Examiner:
"Hillary Clinton used 13 different personal mobile devices to either make calls or access her surreptitious email address, including eight she used while working at the State Department, but she was unable to find any of them to assist in the FBI's investigation, according to notes the agency released Friday.
Clinton's law firm, Williams & Connolly, said it was "unable locate any of these devices," the FBI said.
...The FBI's investigation "determined Clinton used in succession 11 e-mail capable BlackBerry mobile devices associated" with two phone numbers, the FBI stated, "eight of which she used during her tenure as Secretary of State."
The bureau added that the investigation "identified Clinton used two email capable mobile devices" associated with one of her numbers during her tenure."

Lunch video-----NRA - Hillary Leaves You Defenseless Commercial

Noon-toon

Hillary Clinton to explain to court who 'recommended' secret email account - Washington Times

Hillary Clinton to explain to court who 'recommended' secret email account - Washington Times:

"— just some of the 25 questions she’ll have to answer, in writing and under oath, to a federal court.
Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest law firm, submitted the 25 questions to Mrs. Clinton Tuesday, and she now has a month to respond under the procedure set by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan.
Among the questions are who “recommended” that she use a secret email account in the first place, whether she ever told the officials responsible for archiving records that she had the secret account, and what steps she took after attempts to hack her account.
Mrs. Clinton could also have to answer whether she destroyed work-related emails."

Hillary Clinton Lies, Progressives Look the Other Way

Hillary Clinton Lies, Progressives Look the Other Way | National Review:
"The media excuse her mendacity because it serves the progressive cause.
Everyone rightly catalogues Donald Trump’s fibs, distortions, and exaggerations: his assertions about his net worth, his charitable contributions, his initial supposed opposition to the Iraq War, or his “flexible” positions on illegal immigration.
After all, he is flamboyant, right-wing in his present incarnation, and supposedly bends the truth either out of crass narcissism or for petty profiteering.
So the watchdog media and popular culture have no problem with ridiculing Trump as a fabricator. 
But not so with Hillary Clinton, whose untruths far overshadow Trump’s in both import and frequency, but are so often contextualized, excused, and forgotten because of who she is and the purpose her outright lying supposedly serves.
Lying in America has become not lying when “good” liars advance alternative narratives for noble purposes — part of our long slide into situational ethics and moral relativism.
Every new bad idea in America today can ultimately be traced to the university.
And it seems to take only about 30 years for academia’s nihilism to filter through the elite institutions and make its way into popular culture.
So it is with our present idea of truth as a mere construct..."
Read on!!