History for April 21

History for April 21 - On-This-Day.com:
Friedrich Froebel 1782 - Teacher, author, toy maker, invented kindergarten in 1837, Anthony Quinn 1915 - Actor ("Viva Zapata! [1952]," "The Guns of Navarone"), Elizabeth II (Elisabeth Mary) 1926 - Queen of the United Kingdom


Patti LuPone 1949 - Actress ("Evita", "Driving Miss Daisy"), Tony Danza 1951 - Actor ("Who’s the Boss," "Taxi," "Angels in the Outfield"), Andie MacDowell (Rosalie Anderson) 1958 - Actress ("Groundhog Day", "St. Elmo’s Fire," "Four Weddings and a Funeral")


753 BC - Today is the traditional date of the foundation of Rome.


1789 - John Adams was sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President.



1836 - General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. This battle decided the independence of Texas.


1898 - The Spanish-American War began.


1918 - German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red Baron," was shot down and killed during World War I.


1943 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt announced that several Doolittle pilots had been executed by the Japanese.


1967 - Svetlana Alliluyeva (Svetlana Stalina) defected in New York City. She was the daughter of Joseph Stalin.


1986 - Geraldo Rivera opened a vault that belonged to Al Capone at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Nothing of interest was found inside.

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2016/04/april-20-2016-guidance-policy-by-tammy.html

Guidance Policy

By Tammy Derouin

It’s good to see that more of the underhanded tactics of our government have come to light over the past couple of weeks.  Of course, if the press was still free and independent, we would have known about this a long time ago. But then again, if we still had a free press which acted like the government watch dog they used to be, would we be dealing with all the scandalous activity which has taken place in the current administration?  Would we be dealing with the outrageous absurdities of the Left?

The State of Michigan Department of Education released a “Guidance” policy for public schools concerning Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) students, back in February.  Did you hear anything about this?  Although a guideline at this point, such a policy would undoubtedly have disastrous effects on our children and our society as a whole.  This policy would allow students of any age to choose their gender, change their name and use the restroom of their choice, without parental knowledge.

Have we completely lost our minds?  The Left will apparently stop at nothing.  Politics aside, this is just plain wrong.  Those on social media have been weighing in quite heavily on this issue. Fathers and husbands are not happy.  Women are deeply concerned.  Just suggest the idea to an adolescent and see how far you get.  Talk about sincere honesty; they’ll tell you the idea is stupid in no uncertain terms.  Of course, they are shocked that such a thing would even be suggested.  After a moment fear settles in as they consider the possibility. You can see the concern in their eyes.

Seriously, does the Michigan State Board of Education really believe that’s its fine to allow individuals who identify with the opposite sex, but are not that sex, into the restroom of their choice?  Males, who identify themselves as females, at any age, could use the girl’s restroom.  Our children, our society is at high risk.  Are we still enjoying the fundamental transformation of America?

The guidance policy states:..... 

What kinds of taxes do Americans pay?

What kinds of taxes do Americans pay? | pgpf.org:
"Too often, debates about the federal tax code confuse or misrepresent important facts because they focus on only one part of our federal tax system — usually the individual income tax — and ignore the fact that Americans pay many other taxes."

Is the Pope Infallible? It depends.

Is the Pope Infallible? It depends. | Intellectual Takeout:
Since Pope Francis has seemingly jumped into the American presidential election with his comment about Donald Trump and building a wall on the southern border of the United States (see below), it’s worth clarifying what the Catholic Church actually teaches on papal infallibility.

“‘A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,’ Francis said when a reporter asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico.”

Understandably, there’s been quite a bit of furor over Pope Francis’ comment. Even here at Intellectual Takeout, we felt compelled to point out that quite a few popes have engaged in wall building.

In all the discussion, though, we noticed a number of comments about papal infallibility. Is the pope always right? Simply put, no.

So what does papal infallibility mean and how does it work? For that answer, we turn to Catholic Answers, an organization setup to answer those kinds of pressing questions about Catholics. Here’s the short answer:

“Papal infallibility means that the pope is protected from error when he ‘proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals’ (CCC 891). This does not mean that he is impeccable (incapable of sin) or inerrant (incapable of error).”

Here’s a longer answer:

UnitedHealth Exits Most ObamaCare Exchanges, Citing Over $1 Billion In Losses - Breitbart

UnitedHealth Exits Most ObamaCare Exchanges, Citing Over $1 Billion In Losses - Breitbart:

"Some of these providers have made it clear that only substantial premium increases – which taxpayers will be looted without mercy to subsidize, so ObamaCare enrollees don’t panic and drop their coverage – will keep them in the program.

The AP also reports that the Administration is planning to rewrite the Affordable Care Act yet again, presumably through regulatory fiat or executive orders, to make it harder for customers to “sign up for coverage outside regular enrollment windows and then dump expensive claims on their books.” UnitedHealth evidently didn’t want to stay in the game for another year to see how that new adventure in hyper-regulation worked out."

Students, faculty call University of Washington police racist, demand they be disarmed

Students, faculty call University of Washington police racist, demand they be disarmed - The College Fix:
"A vocal group of students and faculty at the University of Washington have demanded that campus police be disarmed, saying officers are racist and the department is guilty of institutional racism.
The recent unrest largely centers on an incident on campus Sunday, March 6, in which an officer arrested a visiting male on a felony warrant, The Daily student newspaper reports.
The arrested man was among a small group of Seattle Center College students visiting the campus with Amman Girma, a black academic adviser in the Department of Global Health.
Girma claims officers racially profiled his friends, held them at gunpoint, and “humiliated” them, 
The Daily reports, adding Girma is currently on leave..."

'Orwellian,' 'ghettoization': Criticisms mount against UConn's dorm wing for black males

'Orwellian,' 'ghettoization': Criticisms mount against UConn's dorm wing for black males - The College Fix:
The University of Connecticut has been on the receiving end of growing criticism over its plans for a wing dedicated to housing black males inside a new dorm building.
It’s billed as a living-learning community for black students, some sort of safe space, with campus officials suggesting such an arrangement will help them get through college.
...“We know our African-American males have the skills and knowledge to excel, and this initiative builds on that by engaging their potential with programs and services that better help them incorporate into the daily grind of college,” she said.
The dorm wing, expected to open this fall, is called the ScHOLA2RS House initiative.
It stands for Scholastic House of Leaders who are African American Researchers and Scholars.
...But the News Times reports that “critics said if UConn is trying to improve the low 55 percent graduation rate for black men — compared to the 83 percent graduation rate for all students — the solution should promote integration, not segregation.”...

Noon-toon

Retired Lt. Colonel BLASTS Obama For Sheltering Saudis: 'Where Are The Politicians With Integrity?'

Retired Lt. Colonel BLASTS Obama For Sheltering Saudis: 'Where Are The Politicians With Integrity?':

"Retired military intelligence officer Lt. Col. Ralph Peters argued on “Fox and Friends Weekend” that 28 classified pages of the 9/11 Commission report hadn’t been released primarily to spare Saudi Arabia from any repercussions of shocking revelations. “Where are the politicians with integrity, who will stand up for Americans and say, ‘Hey Saudi [Arabia], game over’?

Congressman Massie's 500-Yard Run That is Driving Congress Crazy

Congressman Massie's 500-Yard Run That is Driving Congress Crazy - Michael Esch - Liberty.me:
"Recently, Congressman Thomas Massie came to speak at the University of Cincinnati.
He was the keynote speaker for the Young American for Liberty’s Ohio State conference. Massie gave an eye opening speech on how the House of Representatives works.
One of his most revealing stories centered around his 500-yard run that he frequently makes from his office to the House floor.
For those that are not aware, Congress passes a lot of bills!
In the 112th Congress, there were 561 bills that passed in one year.
If we do some basic math, Congress is in session for 132 days and in that time they pass 561 bills, meaning they are passing roughly 4 bills a day.
An example of one of these bills is the 600-page Highway Flood Student Loan bill that was given to the Senate the day of the vote.
On top of that the bill had 23 additional amendments.
Congressman Massie explained that voice votes are frequently used to pass motions, amendments, and resolutions.
There are several problems with taking voice votes on important issues. 

• First, the voice vote does not hold politicians accountable for their votes. Many of our congressmen that we send to Washington are voting against what they ran on, but we do not have a record of all of these votes. 
• The second problem with this method of voting is that it is solely at the discretion of the House Chair. Under normal circumstances, this would be Speaker of the House John Boehner. He is the only one that is allowed to interpret the vote.

The House is supposed to have something called a “quorum” to have a vote. A quorum is defined by at least 218 congressmen.
The way that Boehner decides if there is a quorum is by squinting his eyes and declaring he thinks he sees 218 people.
Congressman Massie said sometimes there will only be ten congressmen present.
There are about 500 yards in between Massie’s office and the house floor. 
When the speaker starts to do voice votes when no one is in the house, Congressman Massie will sprint from his office to the House floor and demand a recorded vote.
When Congress has a recorded vote, it forces there to be a quorum and politicians to be held accountable for their votes.
Massie said that he had done this a lot since he was elected in 2012.
One of the most memorable votes was in December of 2014.
The speaker indicated that the Congress was over, so all the congressmen left. 
It just so happened that Massie’s flight had been canceled, when he went back to his office he saw that the house was passing bills with no one present.
He made the 500-yard dash, and when he got onto the house floor they were conducting a voice vote on whether or not to allow President Obama to arm Ukraine’s military.
They recessed before he could make a point that a quorum was not present. 
The next day, after he left, they passed more bills by voice before adjourning the 113th congress.
This is clearly something that Congress should debate since the results could lead to a global conflict.
We have seen how joining into global conflicts has unintended consequences. 
For example, Hillary’s War in Libya, and the McCain/Graham’s support for arming ISIS in Syria. These should be heavily debated and open to the public..."

Rap Song Threatens Riots, Trump Assassination; Media Celebrates

Rap Song Threatens Riots, Trump Assassination; Media Celebrates » Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!:
A new viral rap song that encourages the assassination of Donald Trump and calls for riots of he wins the presidency is being celebrated by the music media.

Entitled ‘F**k Donald Trump’, the track was performed live in front of 20,000 people at the Coachella music festival this past weekend by hip-hop artists YG and Nipsey Hussle.

The lyrics for the song openly invoke death threats against Trump and vows to stage violence if he takes the Oval Office.

Here are some choice excerpts;

All the niggas in the hood wanna fight you

Surprised El Chapo ain’t tried to snipe you

Surprised the Nation of Islam ain’t tried to find you

Have a rally out in L.A., we gon fuck it up
Home of the Rodney King riot, we don’t give a fuck

You built walls? We gong prolly dig holes
And if your ass do win, you gong prolly get smoked
F**k nigga, f**k you!

When me and Nip link, that’s Bloods and Crips
Where your L.A. rally? We gon crash your shit

The song also explicitly encourages criminals to commit voter fraud with the line, “And if you been to jail you can prolly still vote.”

Much more at link.

Uncovering the Hidden Truths of 9/11

Uncovering the Hidden Truths of 9/11 | Observer
For nearly 15 years, ever since jihadists took down the Twin Towers and killed nearly 3,000 Americans, many have wondered how a bunch of novice terrorists—several of whom could barely fly an airplane, much less a big jetliner—could pull off such complex and audacious attack.
What al-Qa’ida termed their ‘Planes Operation’ was meticulously planned prior to execution—but by whom, exactly?
That key question remains partly open, and the American public has never received the full explanation from our government that they deserve.
I know what they have not been allowed to see: 
When 9/11 happened I was a counterintelligence officer with the National Security Agency and part of my purview was looking into state connections to international terrorism.
I was one of the few officials in our Intelligence Community seriously looking into al-Qa’ida’s links to foreign intelligence before the Twin Towers fell.
In the months after the attacks, a complex intelligence picture emerged of who secretly aided al-Qa’ida in the run-up to 9/11—large portions of which were kept highly classified.
Why they remain classified still is a good question that needs to be asked.
Regrettably, the 9/11 Commission, which was established to get to the bottom of that national tragedy, dodged certain key questions—though in fairness to its members the Commission was not allowed to see some important evidence.
Read on!

Ted Cruz Gives Perfect Response to Gay Marriage Question (VIDEO) | RedState

Ted Cruz Gives Perfect Response to Gay Marriage Question (VIDEO) | RedState:

"Senator Ted Cruz was on Good Morning America Monday morning for a live town hall event.  When asked about his feelings on gay marriage, here is what he had to say:"

Watch: College Kids Can't Explain Why a Short White Man Isn't a Tall Asian Woman

Watch: College Kids Can't Explain Why a Short White Man Isn't a Tall Asian Woman:
"...Watch as the students struggle to explain why an adult male shouldn’t enroll in a first-grade class, why he’s not a woman, why he’s not substantially taller, or why he’s not Asian. 
...And we’ve barely dipped our toe in the water of the brave new world, where it’s totally cool if men believe they’re female dragons.
But there’s no trace of regret or humility in the cultural revolutionaries — the people who’ve so profoundly influenced the young people on the video above.
Just keep doing what you want.
If you get hurt, it’s probably some Christian’s fault.
Only intolerance can stop utopia now."

AM Fruitcake

History for April 20

History for April 20 - On-This-Day.com
Daniel Chester French 1850 - Sculptor, created Minute Man statue in Concord, MA, Abraham Lincoln seated in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, Adolf Hitler 1889 - German leader during World War II, Lionel Hampton 1908 - Singer, songwriter, jazz musician, bandleader


George Takei 1937 - Actor ("Star Trek", "Star Trek" movie series), Clint Howard 1959 - Actor ("Backdraft", "Cocoon"), Carmen Electra 1972 - Actress ("Baywatch"), singer/rapper 


1534 - Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, set sail from St. Malo to explore the North American coastline.


1769 - Ottawa Chief Pontiac was murdered by an Illinois Indian in Cahokia.


1902 - Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.


1912 - Fenway Park opened as the home of the Boston Red Sox.


1916 - Chicago's Wrigley Field held its first Cubs game with the first National League game at the ballpark. The Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.


1942 - Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of "true reconciliation with Germany."


1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.


1988 - The U.S. Air Forces' Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially unveiled.

Obama Talked to Putin Monday — but One Major Issue Was Left Out of the Conversation | TheBlaze.com

Obama Talked to Putin Monday — but One Major Issue Was Left Out of the Conversation | TheBlaze.com:

"President Barack Obama spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday, but the leaders did not discuss the issue of Russian attack planes buzzing a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea last week, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Earnest told reporters that the incident “did not necessitate a presidential-level conversation.”"

What Percent Of The Population Is Transgender? The Results May Surprise You

What Percent Of The Population Is Transgender? The Results May Surprise You - Chicks On The Right
"...The way the media talks about it, you’d think that at least a quarter of society identified as LGBT. Seriously.
The propaganda is EVERYWHERE.
Now, almost all of my T.V. shows feature at least one gay romance.
When I was in D.C. last summer, I noticed that the gay hotel ads practically outnumbered the straight.
And look.
 I don’t deny that the LGBT community exists.
That would be silly.
But I don't believe that they’re as big as MSM would like us to think.
The NY Times took some time off from digging into Marco Rubio’s traffic violation history and did a little research on the population of the LGBT community.
I’m sure it was painful for them to publish.
As it turns out, the LGBT community only makes up about 3.5 percent of the population, according to an estimate from the Williams Institute.
Of that, 0.3 percent of the population identifies as transgender. 
That’s less than one half of one percent.
Shocking, isn’t it?
...0.3 percent of society shouldn’t get to determine what the "new normal" is."

Important!-----Where the Streets Have No Jokes (cont)

Where the Streets Have No Jokes (cont) :: SteynOnline:
"...But a few years ago, when Maclean's and I had our triple-jeopardy difficulties with the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission, the Ontario "Human Rights" Commission and the British Columbia "Human Rights" Tribunal, the response of many of my fellow Canadians to the eventual outcome was along the lines of: "Well, I don't know what Steyn was making such a fuss about. The process played itself out and he was acquitted. So the system worked."

Some of these people were genuine innocents who've never been caught up in a time-consuming seven-figure legal battle before. But many others were making the argument cynically. They know that, if you can tie up a book or a magazine article in court, then there will be fewer books and magazine articles. As I wrote in my introduction to Geert Wilders' memoir, Marked For Death:

After I saw off the Islamic enforcers in my own country, their frontman crowed to The Canadian Arab News that, even though the Canadian Islamic Congress had struck out in three different jurisdictions in their attempt to criminalize my writing about Islam, the lawsuits had cost my magazine (he boasted) two million bucks, and thereby "attained our strategic objective — to increase the cost of publishing anti-Islamic material."

Just to confirm that, here's my friend Barbara Amiel writing in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo bloodbath:

When in 2011 I had the one and only column of my 37 years of writing for Maclean's spiked, it was on Dutch anti-Muslim immigration politician Geert Wilders. I thought it was pretty milquetoast writing since I was automatically self-censoring and pulling my punches but I really couldn't blame Maclean's. They were suffering from battle fatigue: nothing is more enervating and time-consuming than filling out the endless details and forms that human-rights complaints require. Not to mention the legal fees. "You'd win," said one of my editors. "We know that. But we just can't go there again."

And they never have.

As I said, people who say, well, we have a "strong justice system" so let's let the process play out are either innocents who've never been tied up in court or cold cynics. The German Chancellor can hardly be an innocent in these matters. Like the Canadian Islamic Congress, she has a "strategic objective" and regardless of the verdict this trial will help her achieve it: There will be fewer poems, fewer satirical sketches, fewer jokes - not just about Erdogan, but about Islam in general. To reprise my old line: The process is the punishment.

Don't believe that? First of all, the broadcaster has already deep-sixed the offending joke:

ZDF removed the video clip of Boehmermann from its website two days after it aired.

So the anti-Erdogan gag is history. Even if in Merkel's weaselly evasion "the courts will have the final word", the joke will not be coming back. Will Herr Boehmermann?

The public TV channel has decided not to broadcast his weekly satire programme this week because of the furore surrounding Boehmermann.

Ah. So the poem has vanished, and so has its creator. And, given the backbone ZDF are showing, what are the chances of them or any other German media outlet broadcasting any further provocations to Erdogan in the future?

At this stage, Ankara's strongman doesn't really need to win in court, does he? He's already nuked the gag, and damaged the guy's career. He has, in effect, imposed Islamic concepts of free speech on a major western power. Get used to it, because they've only just begun.

Frau Merkel has also achieved her "strategic objective". As noted earlier this week:

Chancellor Angela Merkel was caught on an open microphone asking Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to curtail speech critical of "the wave of Syrian refugees entering Germany."

So Jan Boehmermann will be put on trial pour encourager les autres. As Barbara Amiel well understood, for every protracted expensive court battle that ends in a free-speech victory there are thousands and thousands of other publishers, editors, writers, comedians, film-makers, playwrights, directors, producers, cartoonists, artists who get the message that discretion is the better part of valour. In my book Lights Out: Free Speech, Islam and the Twilight of the West, I put it this way:

These are the books we will never read, the plays we will never see, the movies that will never be made...

The lamps are going out all over the world - one distributor, one publisher, one silenced novelist, one cartoonist in hiding, one sued radio host, one murdered film director at a time.

Add to that daily lengthening list a German satirist on trial for mocking an authoritarian thug.

In a paradoxically witless suggestion to Congress this week, Bono proposed that we should fight ISIS with jokes - by dispatching Amy Schumer, Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen to Syria. If introducing to comedy to Raqqa sounds a bit of a long shot, maybe Bono could try Germany first..."

White Privilege Activist at White Privilege Conference: Everything Bad Comes from Christianity | TheBlaze.com

White Privilege Activist at White Privilege Conference: Everything Bad Comes from Christianity | TheBlaze.com:

"Everything bad in the world comes from or is tied to Christianity, alleged one speaker at this weekend’s White Privilege conference in Philadelphia, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Activist and author Paul Kivel told the conference that everything from racism and sexism to weakening economies and global warming stem from the ideology of “Christian hegemony.” Essentially, Kivel said all things that are bad in the world evolved from Christian ideals."

Charge: FEC Dems would ban Drudge, NYT, free media on election eve

Charge: FEC Dems would ban Drudge, NYT, free media on election eve | Washington Examiner: "The war between Republicans and Democrats on the politically splintered Federal Election Commission flared late Monday when a Republican commissioner and former chairman charged that the panel's Democrats want to regulate the press and end free election media.
The moves by Democrats "signal an active regulatory effort within the agency, caution press organizations to look over their shoulders, and chill the free exercise of press activity," said Republican Lee E. Goodman in a statement on a recent FEC split vote.
On that vote, the Democrats voted as a block to punish the maker of an anti-Obama movie distributed free before the 2012 election.
The Republicans argued that he should receive the standard media exemption, as Democrats on the FEC have granted liberal moviemakers in the past. 
The split voted blocked any action against Joel Gilbert and Highway 61 films for his Dreams of My Real Father: A Story of Reds and Deception.
Goodman, who has been warning of efforts by Democrats on the FEC to regulate and even block conservative news sites like the Drudge Report, said that a split vote on the anti-Obama movie proves the motives of the Democrats...
..."There is no ambiguity in the point of this curt statement: all otherwise bona fide press entities are subject to investigation by the federal government through either the Commission (or the Department of Justice) based on nothing more than the means they pursue to market and exhibit their otherwise fully protected content," he wrote..."

Heavy Marijuana Use Has Same Effect On Dopamine System Like Cocaine, Heroin

Heavy Marijuana Use Has Same Effect On Dopamine System Like Cocaine, Heroin : News : Nature World News

A recent study has proven that heavy use of cannabis can lead to a compromised dopamine system. Decreased release was found in the striatum, which is the part of the brain that helps in paying attention and memory.
Earlier research has proven that drugs like cocaine and heroin have a major effect on the dopamine release in the brain. However, it is for the first time research proved similar effects on marijuana. Unfortunately, unlike heroin and cocaine, marijuana has been widely accepted in many parts of the world especially among the youth.
Anissa Abi-Dargham, M.D., of Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), said that it's important to look into this issue because of widespread use of weed, especially among youngsters.
Decrease in an individual's dopamine level can result in many problems. 

• First, it leads to an addiction. 
• Deficient dopamine release can also result to Parkinson'a disease. 
• Since dopamine is what controls the brain's pleasure centers, it can also affect an individual's emotional response to things. 
• Heavy use of marijuana can change one's learning ability and behavior.

The study was done on a group of 11 adults aged 21 and 40 years old. All the 11 were matched with heavy controls. It was understood that the group started taking the drug at the age of 16 and became addicted to it by 20. They have been addicted to it since then for the past 20 years. Positron emission tomography (PET) was used by the researchers to scan and identify a radiotracing molecule that is connected to the brain's dopamine receptors.
The marijuana users stayed in the hospital for seven days during this study and did not use the drug. Through this way, the scanning did not measure the effects of the drug.

Lunch video-The Silent Service-----USS Tang 'The Loss of the Tang'

Noon-toon

'Castro Caught Red-Handed' as Cuban Ship Busted Transporting Massive Cocaine Shipment

'Castro Caught Red-Handed' as Cuban Ship Busted Transporting Massive Cocaine Shipment:

"Nearly 900 pounds of cocaine was found Thursday on a Cuban ship in Panama that was headed for Belgium. A U.S. Representative from Florida says the Castro regime has been caught drug trafficking red-handed.

Cuban-American Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) is directly blaming the Cuban government for being involved in the drug shipment, according to Fox News Latino. The claim comes despite any concrete evidence from Panamanian government.

“The Castro regime has once again been caught red-handed violating international law and norms,” Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American, said."

Obama-boat-----5 dead as historic, 20-inch rain swamps Houston area

5 dead as historic, 20-inch rain swamps Houston area:
"Many areas reported over a foot of rain.
One spot near Houston unofficially recorded as much as 20 inches."









More photos:
http://mashable.com/2016/04/18/photos-houston-flooding/#kXQNNNNUmiqa

Sir Ian Botham backs Brexit slamming European Union as a 'corrupt racket'

Sir Ian Botham backs Brexit slamming European Union as a 'corrupt racket' - Mirror Online
Sir Ian Botham has gone to bat for Brexit today, slamming the European Union as "corrupt" and a "racket".
Beefy says it's "insane" that Britain doesn't have the freedom to to reach agreements to trade freely with natural allies in the Commonwealth.
And he said the £350m a week Britain pays the Union in membership fees "staggering".
He used a cricket metaphor to back up his argument.
Writing in the Sunday Times he said: "Cricket is a game where you achieve the greatest success when you are confident in your own ability to go out and stand proud.
Britain has that spirit"
Philip Brown via GettyHe says Britain, like every good cricketer, has the spirit to stand proud on its own
It comes after Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb warned quitting the EU would cause an "economic rupture" with "disastrous consequences for families..."

The Haters!-----Hundreds of anti-Rick Snyder messages chalked outside of governor's downtown Ann Arbor condo

Hundreds of anti-Rick Snyder messages chalked outside of governor's downtown Ann Arbor condo | MLive.com:
"ANN ARBOR, MI -- Hundreds of messages written in chalk littered the sidewalks in downtown Ann Arbor surrounding Gov. Rick Snyder's condo as residents continue to express their anger over the Flint Water Crisis.
Messages ranged from calling for Snyder's resignation to demands that he release emails to claims that he knew of the issue and failed to react properly.
...Susan Fecteau has been leaving chalk messages outside of Snyder's residence since the beginning of January. 
However, Sunday night she had some company.
Approximately 30 people joined her at 11:30 p.m. Sunday to begin leaving messages surrounding the residence. 
The group finished up around 3 a.m. Fecteau said.
"We've been trying to do it the last five Sunday's.
But we've been rained out or snowed out for the last five Sundays," Fecteau said.
"We would have had two to three times the number folks if we did it at a more convenient time."
The messages were written on both sides Main Street from East Washington to East William and down portions of East Liberty. 
In the alley behind Snyder's condo, dozens of quotes from the works of William Shakespeare were chalked as well.
...Although some people may see the chalk as a nuisance, Fecteau said the response has been overwhelmingly positive since she started leaving the messages..."

‘We Have to Have More Dialogue — Not Threats’: N.C. Governor Defends Transgender Bathroom Bill | Video | TheBlaze.com

‘We Have to Have More Dialogue — Not Threats’: N.C. Governor Defends Transgender Bathroom Bill | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday to defend the state’s controversial LGBT bathroom law that has led many businesses to boycott the state for its “discrimination” against transgendered individuals.

McCrory, 59, spoke with host Chuck Todd about the issues concerning House Bill 2 (HB2), which has created significant backlash since it was passed into law last month. This new law creates a statewide policy that excludes gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes under the law, as the News & Observer noted. The law also requires people to use the public bathrooms that correspond with their biological birth gender — not the gender with which they may personally identify."

Another Meijer store is no longer open 24 hours a day

Another Meijer store is no longer open 24 hours a day | MLive.com

WALKER, MI -- Meijer scaled back the hours of a newly opened Wisconsin store this week.

But the Michigan-based Midwest retailer isn't saying why the Wauwatosa store near Milwaukee city limits will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and closed through the night.

A Wisconsin news station suggests an uptick in retail thefts may be the culprit, noting that Meijer representatives met with local police before making the decision.

Police have been called to the store frequently since it opened Aug. 4, reports WISN 12 News

Police have increased patrols in the area and said the calls have declined in recent months but continue. There have been 13 retail theft calls there in the past six weeks.

Joe Hirschmugl, a Meijer spokesman, would only say "the change is based on a variety of business factors."

He added the other three newly opened Wisconsin stores will remain open 24 hours a day, 364 days a year. The chain closes on Christmas.

Only a handful of retailer's 223 locations across six states aren't open 24 hours. Those stores, located in Detroit, Columbus and Chicagoland, are also open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

AM Fruitcake