Dallas Cops Get Wise to Impending Public Pension Catastrophe, Start Yanking Their Money Out of the System

Dallas Cops Get Wise to Impending Public Pension Catastrophe, Start Yanking Their Money Out of the System - Hit & Run : Reason.com:
"With their pension fund teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, Dallas police officers are grabbing what they can before the whole thing crashes down.
Panic has set in and dozens of officers are pulling their retirement money out of the system as quickly as possible, WFAA reported over the weekend.
One assistant police chief recently pulled $1 million out of the retirement fund and more than $300 million has been withdrawn in recent years, the Dallas ABC affiliate reported, citing unnamed sources.
Like most public pensions systems, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System gives members the option to withdraw a lump sum when they retire or to collect an annual payment for the rest of their lives. 
Think of it as the difference between taking the payout or the annuity in a lottery—the lump sum is probably less than what you'd get with the installment plan (depending on how long you live, of course) but at least you know how much money you're getting.
It seems that many newly retired officers believe that its better to get some money today instead of being promised more money tomorrow. 
That's because tomorrow might not come for a pension system that has been badly managed for decades and is now $5 billion in the red.
According to Moody's, the system will be completely broke in about 20 years.
...Retirees will be eligible to start drawing a pension on October 1, but it looks like many new retirees are planning to pull all their cash out of the city's pension fund as quickly as possible, leaving officials scrambling to figure out how to deal with the loss of assets.
The city poured $29.3 million into the fund this year, but members of the pension board told the city council in May that an immediate infusion of $600 million—equal to 20 cents of every dollar the city spends this year—would be required to keep the fund solvent.
The pension fund expects to earn 7.5 percent annually—a figure that many experts say is too high a target in the current investment environment..."

The Bank For International Settlements Warns That A Major Debt Meltdown In China Is Imminent

The Bank For International Settlements Warns That A Major Debt Meltdown In China Is Imminent
"The pinnacle of the global financial system is warning that conditions are right for a “full-blown banking crisis” in China.  
Since the last financial crisis, there has been a credit boom in China that is really unprecedented in world history.  
At this point the total value of all outstanding loans in China has hit a grand total of more than 28 trillion dollars.  
That is essentially equivalent to the commercial banking systems of the United States and Japan combined.  
While it is true that government debt is under control in China, corporate debt is now 171 percent of GDP, and it is only a matter of time before that debt bubble horribly bursts.  
The situation in China has already grown so dire that the Bank for International Settlements is sounding the alarm…

A key gauge of credit vulnerability is now three times over the danger threshold and has continued to deteriorate, despite pledges by Chinese premier Li Keqiang to wean the economy off debt-driven growth before it is too late.

The Bank for International Settlements warned in its quarterly report that China’s “credit to GDP gap” has reached 30.1, the highest to date and in a different league altogether from any other major country tracked by the institution. 

It is also significantly higher than the scores in East Asia’s speculative boom on 1997 or in the US subprime bubble before the Lehman crisis.

If you are not familiar with the Bank for International Settlements, just think of it as the capstone of the worldwide financial pyramid. 
It wields enormous global power, and yet it is accountable to nobody. 
 The following is a summary of how the Bank for International Settlements works that comes from one of my previous articles entitled “Who Controls The Money? An Unelected, Unaccountable Central Bank Of The World Secretly Does“…

Read on!

Ted Cruz Renews Call to Ban Refugees From U.S.: ‘It Is Past Time to Take Off the Blinders’ | TheBlaze.com

Ted Cruz Renews Call to Ban Refugees From U.S.: ‘It Is Past Time to Take Off the Blinders’ | TheBlaze.com:

"Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) has renewed his call for a ban on refugees entering the U.S. in the wake of the bombings in New York City and New Jersey and the stabbing attack in Minnesota.

A former 2016 Republican presidential contender, Cruz was an ardent critic of the Obama administration’s refugee program while on the campaign trail and introduced the Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act of 2015 in the Senate. His measure would have prevented refugees from any country with an Islamic State, al-Qaeda or other foreign terrorist organization presence be denied entry into the U.S."

Why the United States keeps failing to stop terrorism

Why the United States keeps failing to stop terrorism | The Liberty Conservative:
"The threat of terrorism has been a growing problem.
Even though an attack of the magnitude of 9/11 has not been replicated, the idea that terrorism has diminished is ignorant.
Shootings connected to terrorist organizations have occurred both domestically and in foreign countries like France.
The shootings in San Bernardino, California, and Paris, France both included explosives, as well. Now this weekend, a series of explosions in New Jersey and New York have investigators concerned a terror cell is alive and well in the two states.
Despite the fact that we’ve deployed our military in foreign lands, have drones regularly hitting foreign targets, and are spying on people across the country, terrorist activity is continuing to occur and with a higher frequency. 
Why?
It is actually largely due to our foreign policy – although our domestic policy plays a part in it, as well.
The common denominator across the board is ignorance among American leaders.
Military intervention abroad has actually destabilized the region further, resulting in the rise of ISIS and the increase in terrorist activity.
Terrorists use the invasion of those considered infidels as a recruitment tool. It also uses the images of their people slaughtered by foreign invaders as a recruitment tool.
Thus, Saddam Hussein’s removal might have stopped a tyrant, for example, but it arguably created a worse situation.
...It also doesn’t help that the United States government has continued to aid countries with known ties to terrorist activity.
While the government has armed militant extremists in the past, they continue to aid countries like Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has connections to the 9/11 hijackers and has funded terrorism for years.
Saudi Arabia is also currently bombing hospitals and medical facilities as part of its campaign against Yemen, killing many innocent men, women, and children.
...If the United States is to get serious about stopping terrorism, it needs to stop treating innocent Americans like terrorists and start treating terrorists like terrorists. 
The government needs to stop aiding countries like Saudi Arabia that fund terrorism and engage in terrorist activity in other countries. 
Until this happens, terrorism will continue."

Crony capitalist/RINO alert!!-----Dock owners push back on plan to expand port authority in Muskegon

So much wrong here.
Worst may be this RINO proud of all her democrat support.
And no true republicans shouting out her treachery.
Dock owners push back on plan to expand port authority in Muskegon | Fox17
MUSKEGON, Mich. — It's a promise of jobs and economic prosperity along the lakeshore, but not everyone is convinced.
Rep. Holly Hughes, R-Muskegon, is among a group of legislators and business and community leaders pushing to establish a port authority in Muskegon to create more opportunities for shipping goods in and out of West Michigan.
With shipments of raw bulk materials like coal and rock dwindling in wake of the closure of B.C. Cobb Consumers Energy coal power plant and Sappi paper mill, Hughes says there is a need to make up the lost shipments.
“When we lost Consumers Power, we lost 660,000 tons of shipping (coal)," she said.
"We’re slowly making up that tonnage—some of the companies have been—but we want more economic growth, like it used to be before I was born, using our ports.”
Hughes' bill would amend the state's Port Authority Act to allow an authority to be established in communities where the ports are owned by private operators, which is the case in Muskegon.
Current law limits the creation of port authorities to communities where the ports are publicly owned. Detroit is the only publicly owned port in the state.
Hughes said the change would allow for the establishment of a private-public partnership, which would enable the state to compete with maritime commerce in other states.
“It’s basically a framework to concentrate on increasing what we ship into the port and increase jobs," Hughes said, adding her desire to see Muskegon compete with Chicago.
"I think Chicago has plenty of business to spare, so I wouldn’t mind tapping that a little bit.”
Hughes also argues Muskegon's port is at risk of losing federal funding for dredging by not being able to meet a one-million ton shipment threshold established by the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers. Dredging is the process of removing material underwater to keep the primary commercial channels clear for shipping freighters.
But according to a report from the Great Lakes Dredging Team, 13 harbors below the one-million ton threshold received funding for high priority dredging in 2016.
Max McKee, president of West Michigan Dock and Market Corporation, argues the establishment of a port authority would only create unfair competition and encourage the murky use of public funding, like grant money, for projects on privately owned facilities.
“I see this as a question of choosing winners and losers," McKee said.
“It’s about the possibility of another level of government also able to access funds, to then use those funds to compete with docks already in the business, that’s our concern.”
But Hughes contends the proposed amendment is meant to help, not hurt private port owners.
The proposal would provide protections for private port owners, including removing the ability of the authority to condemn property  or authorize a millage request.
The bill would also require direct authorization of a port operator before any port authority could begin work on their property.
McKee says the 'build it and they will come' mantra is irresponsible, adding that the majority of shipments into the area now are bulk raw item materials which don't create dock jobs because the shipments are unloaded by automated machinery.
"People talk about ‘building up the port,’ but we have had roughly 11 foreign cargoes—commercial ships—come through here in the last 20 years carrying something other than bulk shipments,” he said.
“It’s not like there’s a whole lot of congestion out there on the lake."
McKee says any future business would be easily managed by the existing private commercial docking facilities and ample existing port capacity, with no need for involvement from an authority.
"It’s just bad policy, it’s bad for the taxpayers, it’s bad for our state," he said. “Make no mistake, that’s taxpayer money and they’ll be able to determine where that goes and it could go to your competitor."
Hughes disputes the arguments, pointing to the widespread backing her proposed legislation has received from the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Municipal League, Consumers Energy, Muskegon County Road Commission, Michigan Works!, and the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission, among others.
"It’s great not only for Muskegon economic development, but regional economic development too," she said. “I think it will finally make a difference in our port and how it’s being utilized.”
The bill is expected to be approved out of a House committee in Lansing as soon as Sept. 20."

Lunch video-----THE CLINTON LIE RATCHET

Noon-toon

Obama Blames Conservative Media’s ‘Misinformation’ for Close Presidential Election | TheBlaze.com

Obama Blames Conservative Media’s ‘Misinformation’ for Close Presidential Election | TheBlaze.com:

"President Barack Obama says the campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump wouldn’t even be close were it not for conservative media espousing “misinformation.”

Obama made the comment during a Democratic fundraiser attended by about 65 donors in New York City "

To fight soda tax suit, Philadelphia budgets $1.6 million for lawyers

To fight soda tax suit, Philadelphia budgets $1.6 million for lawyers | City & State PA: "Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration has budgeted $1.6 million to fend off a legal challenge from the beverage industry to the city’s recently approved soda tax. 
Prominent lawyers Mark Aronchick and Ken Trujillo, both former city solicitors, were selected this week to represent the city in its defense.
“The contracts still aren’t final, but they’ve agreed on a rate,” said Kenney spokesperson Lauren Hitt, in an email.
“There is an $800,000 cap for both firms.
...Meanwhile, anti-tax opponents are grumbling that the selection of the two men constitutes a “no-bid” contract, and are alleging political influence is at play – even though no one would put their name next to the allegation.
...While acknowledging that the contract was not competitively bid out – professional services are exempt under city charter – the Kenney administration rebuffed questions about the lawyers’ selection..."

More than 800 immigrants mistakenly granted citizenship

More than 800 immigrants mistakenly granted citizenship:
"WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has mistakenly granted citizenship to at least 858 immigrants from countries of concern to national security or with high rates of immigration fraud who had pending deportation orders, according to an internal Homeland Security audit released Monday.
The Homeland Security Department's inspector general found that the immigrants used different names or birthdates to apply for citizenship with U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services and such discrepancies weren't caught because their fingerprints were missing from government databases.
...In an emailed statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the findings reflect what has long been a problem for immigration officials — old paper-based records containing fingerprint information that can't be searched electronically.
DHS says immigration officials are in the process of uploading these files and that officials will review "every file" identified as a case of possible fraud.
Roth's report said fingerprints are missing from federal databases for as many as 315,000 immigrants with final deportation orders or who are fugitive criminals. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not reviewed about 148,000 of those immigrants' files to add fingerprints to the digital record..."

Grim news from a French poll: One in four Muslims there is in "revolt" against secular laws

Grim news from a French poll: One in four Muslims there is in "revolt" against secular laws - Zip Dialog:
"There is some positive news in the survey. 

It shows that most Muslims accept restrictions on the public expression of religion, something France adopted in the nineteenth century to limit the power of the Catholic Church. 

They call it “laïcité” and it is a central feature of the French constitution, which proclaims France to be a secular republic (Article 1).

Comment: The university-sponsored poll shows France’s policies of immigration and multicultural integration have failed, and failed dramatically. 

This failure is a serious social problem in its own right, but it becomes far more serious when it is combined with the appeal of Islamic terrorism. 

That’s not just a problem in France. 

It reverberates across Europe...

Why do so many French Muslims reject secular laws?

The conventional sociological explanation is that they are marginalized and often poor. 

That’s surely part of the answer. 

But so is another issue that is rarely discussed in polite society. 

The Muslim world never went through the long, painful process of limiting religious institutions’ control over the state. 

In the Christian West, that process began in the 11th century, with the Investiture Controversy between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. 

It continued for centuries and gradually became a common feature of all constitutional governments in the West...

In the Islamic world, by contrast, religious authorities dominated the state from the Prophet onward. There is no textual warrant for their separation or for the dominate role of man-made law (what we in the West call “positive law.”) 

That’s the whole point of ISIS saying it will restore the Caliphate, in which religious rulers dominate society and all law is Sharia..."

Suspected Bomber Charged With Five Counts of ‘Attempted Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer’ | TheBlaze.com

Suspected Bomber Charged With Five Counts of ‘Attempted Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer’ | TheBlaze.com:

"Suspected New York, New Jersey bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami was charged Monday with five counts of “attempted murder of a law enforcement officer,” according to a statement from the Union County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s office."

Should Michigan Cities Be Allowed to Ban Pit Bulls?

Should Michigan Cities Be Allowed to Ban Pit Bulls? [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"The Legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit local governments from banning people from owning pit bulls. 
Senate Bill 239, sponsored by Sen. Dave Robertson, R-Grand Blanc Township, has passed the Senate and is being considered in the House.
According to the Detroit Free Press, 26 towns have enacted ordinances that restrict pit bulls and 14 outright ban them and other dog breeds.
It’s true that pit bulls harm more people than any other type of dog.
According to one report, they have killed a total of 233 people since 1982.
That makes them about 40 percent more likely to kill than Rottweilers — though, when the number of deaths is adjusted to reflect the number of each breed, huskies are actually far more dangerous. 
Other studies have a slightly higher estimate, with approximately 19 people per year dying because of dogs.
But the question is whether pit bulls are dangerous enough that governments should ban them.
While the breed often makes the news, the number of injuries and deaths they cause is still very small.
Evidence suggests that pit bulls are not more inherently dangerous than some other types of dogs. 
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the federal Centers for Disease Control are both opposed to breed-specific legislation because studies show them to be ineffective and harmful.
Other research suggests that while pit bulls are aggressive, other breeds are even more hostile.
In other words, pit bulls are only more dangerous because they are bred that way by their owners, meaning local bans just encourage people to train other types of dogs to be violent.
Many cities have ordinances that restrict residents from having any dog that is dangerous or out of their control.
This policy is much better than a specific ban on pit bulls or other breeds."

AM Fruitcake

History for September 20

History for September 20 - On-This-Day.com
Upton Sinclair 1878, Dr. Joyce Brothers 1928, Anne Meara 1929 - Actress, comdian


Sophia Loren 1934 - Actress, Gary Cole 1957 - Actor, Crispin Glover 1964

1519 - Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan left Spain to find a route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. Magellan was killed during the trip, but one of his ships eventually made the journey.


1881 - Chester A. Arthur became the 21st president of the U.S. President James A. Garfield had died the day before.


1953 - Jimmy Stewart debuted on the radio western "The Six Shooter" on NBC.


1955 - "You'll Never Be Rich" premiered on CBS-TV. The name was changed less than two months later to "The Phil Silvers Show."


1962 - James Meredith, a black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Governor Ross R. Barnett. Meredith was later admitted.


1967 - The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) was launched. It went out of service on November 27, 2008.


1984 - "The Cosby Show" premiered on NBC-TV.


1992 - French voters approved the Maastricht Treaty.

VA hospital may have infected 1,800 veterans with HIV - CNN.com

VA hospital may have infected 1,800 veterans with HIV - CNN.com:

"(CNN) -- A Missouri VA hospital is under fire because it may have exposed more than 1,800 veterans to life-threatening diseases such as hepatitis and HIV."

The History of U.S. Government Spending, Revenue, and Debt (1790-2015)

The History of U.S. Government Spending, Revenue, and Debt (1790-2015) - Metrocosm:
"Through most of its history, the federal government did not have the power to tax incomes.
How was it funded before the income tax?
Today’s national debt is big by historical standards, but it has been bigger.
When was the country’s deepest debt, and how long did it take to pay back?
From the time it was founded until relatively recently, the U.S. government consistently spent about 3% of GDP each year.
Today, the government spends roughly 20% of GDP per year. Where is all that extra money going?
A look through the history of U.S. government finances reveals some surprising facts. 
Scroll down to see how U.S. taxes, spending, and debt have evolved from 1790 to today."
Much more at link!

A Candidate's Death Could Delay or Eliminate the Presidential Election

A Candidate's Death Could Delay or Eliminate the Presidential Election | US News:
"The presidential election could be delayed or scrapped altogether if conspiracy theories become predictive and a candidate dies or drops out before Nov. 8. 
The perhaps equally startling alternative, if there's enough time: Small groups of people hand-picking a replacement pursuant to obscure party rules.
The scenarios have been seriously considered by few outside of the legal community and likely are too morbid for polite discussion in politically mixed company.
But prominent law professors have pondered the effects and possible ways to address a late-date vacancy.
"There's nothing in the Constitution which requires a popular election for the electors serving in the Electoral College," says John Nagle, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, meaning the body that officially elects presidents could convene without the general public voting.
"It's up to each state legislature to decide how they want to choose the state's electors," Nagle says.
"It may be a situation in which the fact that we have an Electoral College, rather than direct voting for presidential candidates, may prove to be helpful."
Both major parties do have rules for presidential ticket replacements, however, and Congress has the power to change the election date under Article II of the Constitution, which allows federal lawmakers to set dates for the selection of presidential electors and when those electors will vote.
But Congress would be up against a de facto December deadline, as the Constitution's 20th Amendment requires that congressional terms expire Jan. 3 and presidential terms on Jan. 20. Though it's conceivable to split legislative and presidential elections, they generally happen at the same time. And if the entire general election were to be moved after Jan. 3, Congress effectively would have voted themselves out of office.
Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar considers in a 1994 article in the Arkansas Law Review the possibility of a special presidential election being pushed to after Jan. 20, with the speaker of the House serving as acting president until an election could pick "a real president for the remainder of the term."
...Amar recommends an up to four-week postponement of Election Day if a candidate dies just before voting, or even if there's a major terrorist attack.
The possible last-minute replacement of a candidate attracts some cyclical coverage, but this year the scenario would play out after consistent conjecture about the health of Democrat Hillary Clinton and possible hidden agenda of Republican Donald Trump..."
Lots of options and confusion here.
Read on!

The liberal establishment’s Clinton obsession is blowing up in its face | New York Post

The liberal establishment’s Clinton obsession is blowing up in its face | New York Post:

"Hey, Democrats, where were you? Hey liberals, where were you? The potential train wreck that is the Hillary Clinton candidacy didn’t just become evident last week when ill-chosen words about 25 million “deplorables” and a public near-collapse tanked her polls to make this a tied presidential race.

No, Democrats and liberals, the possibility of Hillary crashing and burning was there from the outset of her candidacy. And yet you stood there and let it happen."

DTE CEO's concern: Energy reserve margin

DTE CEO's concern: Energy reserve margin - Crain's Detroit Business
"Gerry Anderson believes Michigan's electric industry is at the start of a fundamental shift in the way power is produced and delivered.
Anderson, chairman and CEO of Detroit-based DTE Energy Co., and other Michigan utility executives are warning policymakers of an approaching problem:
That the number of aging coal-fired power plants going offline within the next decade could leave the state short of the necessary electricity reserves to power all of their customers’ needs.
...He referred to a recent projection by the Midwest's grid operator, called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, that predicts the region's electricity reserves could fall short of a recommended 15 percent by 2018 and continue sliding through 2026.
Yet MISO's projection does not include plans for any new power plants.
...Anderson's point, though, is that it takes utilities at least four years — if not longer — to plan for a new power plant..."

Math is hard-----Muskegon revives street light assessment idea, this time for LED fixtures

Muskegon revives street light assessment idea, this time for LED fixtures | MLive.com:
OK.
City experts promise $355,000/yr savings with new lights.
Also promised cost of conversion to new lights is $2.73 million.
Let's see $2.73 million/$355 thousand=7.69 year payoff.
Why is an assessment needed?
The promised savings pay the entire bill in 8 or so years!
Something stinks in city hall.
Again!
************************************************************************
"...The city currently pays about $585,000 per year for its approximately 2,900 high pressure sodium vapor lights, according to city figures.
That cost would drop to about $230,000 with a two-year phase-in of LED fixtures, or $243,000 with a five-year phase-in.
Savings over 15 years are estimated at between $5.1 million and $5.9 million depending on a 2-year or 5-year phase in.
City staff is suggesting an $18 assessment for 10 years for each property owner in the city.
...The $18 assessment would raise an estimated $272,985 per year, according to city estimates.
The cost of converting to LED lights is estimated at $2.73 million.
Last October, a divided commission, on a 3-3 vote, rejected a $26-per year assessment to offset sodium vapor lighting costs.
This year's plan is more proactive and aimed at a long-term reduction in the city's costs, most commissioners agreed..."

Lunch video-----Where Your Electricity Comes From

Noon-toon

Dallas cop files lawsuit against Black Lives Matter, Obama | Fox News

Dallas cop files lawsuit against Black Lives Matter, Obama | Fox News:

"A Dallas Police sergeant filed a lawsuit on Friday against Black Lives Matter and its supporters, alleging the group is inciting a race war.

Sgt. Demetrick Pennie, a 17-year veteran of the force, is seeking between $500 million and $1.5 billion in the complaint filed in federal court, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The defendants in the class-action suit include Black Lives Matter; President Obama; Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton; the Rev. Al Sharpton; Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and billionaire activist George Soros."

NYC Kills Public Internet Kiosks Because Public Uses Them for Porn

NYC Kills Public Internet Kiosks Because Public Uses Them for Porn | PJ Media:
"New York City thought it was stepping into the 21st century when it launched its public internet kiosks. 
They envisioned yet another "free" public service being used for good and noble purposes. After all, the internet makes so many amazing things possible, right?

Unfortunately, the folks of NYC forgot that the public -- who were taxed to pay for the "free" internet -- is made up of people. 
They used the internet for their own purposes, and those purposes weren't what the city envisioned:

Eight months after the appearance of the first LinkNYC hubs, which are -- or were -- internet kiosks meant to help bring the Big Apple into the 21st Century, the city has taken a step back.

Some of these kiosks were not used to “save data on their mobile plans, call relatives across the country, and get a much-needed quick charge” as they were originally intended. Instead, they were used to watch pornography.

And this is shocking ... how?

Point me to any Democratic Party, taxpayer-funded project for "community enhancement," I'll point you to the new local hotspot for pervs or addicts.

Brand new park by the river? 
Brand new site for drug addicts and dealers.

Shiny new public restrooms on Sunday? 
Filthy "communal prostitution center" by Saturday.

With the kiosks, the official blame from New York City was directed at homeless people, who were unable to watch porn at home for obvious reasons:

Per an announcement from the LinkNYC team, “We … know that some users have been monopolizing the Link tablets and using them inappropriately, preventing others from being able to use them while frustrating the residents and businesses around them. The kiosks were never intended for anyone’s extended, personal use and we want to ensure that Links are accessible and a welcome addition to New York City neighborhoods.” Which, as it turns out, they were not, particularly along Manhattan’s 8th Avenue, where abuse of the kiosks was particularly rampant.

The decision was released shortly after Motherboard published its own report examining the prevalence of homeless men stationing themselves in front of the LinkNYC hubs to use the internet. Evidently, the hubs have also become hotspots for public drinking and drug use—  the opposite of the hubs’ original intention to “improve the quality of life.”

You'd think New York City -- er, Democrats -- would understand by now that this was a real likelihood.

How a pension deal went wrong and cost California taxpayers billions - Los Angeles Times

How a pension deal went wrong and cost California taxpayers billions - Los Angeles Times:
"It was a deal that wasn’t supposed to cost taxpayers an extra dime. 
Now the state’s annual tab is in the billions, and the cost keeps climbing.
With the stroke of a pen, California Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation that gave prison guards, park rangers, Cal State professors and other state employees the kind of retirement security normally reserved for the wealthy.
More than 200,000 civil servants became eligible to retire at 55 — and in many cases collect more than half their highest salary for life.
California Highway Patrol officers could retire at 50 and receive as much as 90% of their peak pay for as long as they lived.
Proponents sold the measure in 1999 with the promise that it would impose no new costs on California taxpayers.
The state employees’ pension fund, they said, would grow fast enough to pay the bill in full.
They were off — by billions of dollars — and taxpayers will bear the consequences for decades to come.
This year, state employee pensions will cost taxpayers $5.4 billion, according to the Department of Finance.
That’s more than the state will spend on environmental protection, fighting wildfires and the emergency response to the drought combined.
And it’s more than 30 times what the state paid for retirement benefits in 2000, before the effects of the new pension law, SB 400, had kicked in, according to data from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System..."

Why Are Haiti's Coffee Trees So Tall?

Why Are Haiti's Coffee Trees So Tall? - Reason.com:
"...In Haiti, coffee grows on trees.
Well, technically all coffee grows on trees.
The brown beans that go into making your morning cup are actually the dried and roasted seeds of a small red fruit from a tropical tree.
But on the better-managed coffee farms found in much of Central and South America, the plants are rarely allowed to grow much taller than a man. 
This channels the nutrients and energy that plants gather from the sun and soil toward producing beans, which make money, instead of wasting resources sprouting too many woody trunks and branches.
As most coffee is harvested by hand, keeping trees short also means that pickers can easily reach the fruits.
In Haiti, however, it's not out of the ordinary to find 20-foot-tall coffee plants.
...In fact, it is a sign of how long the country has been in crisis: Coffee is known as one of the best cash crops for a tropical farmer, especially one with a small plot of land who has few resources beyond hand tools, organic fertilizers, and sweat.
The majority of Haitians are farmers, and for the foreseeable future agriculture will remain the default economic backbone for the roughly six million people who live in rural districts.
Yet Haitian farmers put almost no energy into tending the small coffee groves that their fathers planted. 
The average yield in Haiti is now just a third of the Central American average..."

Killing of disabled girl “wholly inappropriate” and “extremely troubling” says Autism group – Daily Records

Killing of disabled girl “wholly inappropriate” and “extremely troubling” says Autism group – Daily Records:

"The euthanasia of Nancy Fitzmaurice, a severely disabled child who was not dying, has made international waves with disability advocates especially outraged. Nancy’s mother had requested that her daughter be killed and was granted approval by the British legal system. While the 12-year-old Nancy had significant disabilities, she was able to breathe on her own and did not require life support.

Following the starving of Nancy through the withholding of fluids, the Autism Self Advocacy Network [ASAN] has released a statement slamming this decision, calling it “troubling” and “concerning”.

They said that:"

France Bans All Plastic Dishware Starting in 2020

France Bans All Plastic Dishware Starting in 2020:
"The Associated Press reports that France has enacted a ban on all plastic dishes, cups, and utensils. The ban goes into effect in 2020, after which all disposable utensils and dishes must be made of biological, rather than petroleum-based, material.
Organizations representing packaging manufacturers are fighting the ban, saying that it violates European Union commerce rules.
The ban follows a similar French ban on plastic bags.
Moves against disposable plastic good have slowly gained momentum on the back of environmental concerns.
...Another possible wrinkle for the law is that it mandates disposables must be compostable at home. 
But many currently available plant-based goods only claim that they are compostable in industrial facilities, which generally reach higher temperatures than home composters..."

AM Fruitcake