History for April 28

History for April 28 - On-This-Day.com
James Monroe 1758 - 5th U.S. President, nickname: The Last Cocked Hat, (Nelle) Harper Lee 1926 - Author ("To Kill A Mockingbird"), Saddam Hussein 1937 - Iraqi leader


Jay Leno 1950 - Comedian, television talk show host ("The Tonight Show"), Mary McDonnell 1953 - Actress, Penelope Cruz 1974 - Actress


1789 - A mutiny on the British ship Bounty took place when a rebel crew took the ship and set sail to Pitcairn Island. The mutineers left Captain W. Bligh and 18 sailors adrift.


1914 - W.H. Carrier patented the design of his air conditioner.


1919 - The League of Nations was founded.

1932 - The yellow fever vaccine for humans was announced.


1945 - Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci were executed by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee the country.


1988 - In Maui, HI, one flight attendant was killed when the fuselage of a Boeing 737 ripped open in mid-flight.


1992 - Fail!-The U.S. Agriculture Department unveiled a pyramid-shaped recommended-diet chart.


1996 - Liar!--U.S. President Clinton gave a 4 1/2 hour videotaped testimony as a defense witness in the criminal trial of his former Whitewater business partners.

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:

http://www.libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2016/04/veered-to-left-by-tammy-derouin-ill.html

Veered To The Left

By Tammy Derouin

I’ll never forget the first time I saw an individual openly promoting and supporting a self-proclaimed democratic socialist in my hometown.  I was on a walk and for a brief moment I was surprised.  But, considering everything that has happened over the last several years, it shouldn’t have been that surprising.  When the course of the path offered two options, I had to chuckle when he naturally veered to the left and I went to the right.

I continued my walk knowing that my chosen path would always be freedom and independence which includes capitalism and limited government. I struggle to understand what makes an individual think that more government control is what’s best for this country.  After all, it was the free market which propelled the United States to become an economic world leader. 

Our country was founded on the beliefs of freedom and independence.  Self-reliance was once a positive attribute.  What happened to us?  Did life get too difficult?  Why would we willingly trade our freedom for a life of government control?  Do we need to be told how we should live, believe and think?  That’s not freedom.

It’s been almost a year since the T-shirt he was wearing caused me to pause and once again acknowledge just how much our nation has fundamentally transformed.  Lawns and car bumpers now display campaign signs in hopes of a democratic socialist becoming the President of the United States.  What a transformation!

The Democratic Party has two options..... 

Your Devices' Latest Feature? They Can Spy On Your Every Move

Your Devices' Latest Feature? They Can Spy On Your Every Move | IFLScience:
"Your gadgets could be providing a window that any hacker could see right through to spy on you.
Your laptop has a video camera built into it.
When it’s recording, a little green light blinks on so you’re aware you’re being recorded.
But it can be instructed to videotape your activities without the green camera light being on. 
And this is not just an in-laboratory warning of a hypothetical danger; it has actually been done, by over-eager school officials and by peeping Toms.
At least you can turn off your laptop: when it is shut, the camera can see only “the other side” of the laptop.
But this quick fix doesn’t apply to sound recording devices, like microphones.

• ...Your smart home monitor knows how many people are in your house and in which rooms at what times. 
• Your smart water meter knows every time a toilet is flushed in your home. 
• Your alarm clock knows what time you woke up each day last month. 
• Your refrigerator knows every time you filled a glass of cold water. 
• Your cellphone has a GPS built into it that can track your location, and hence record your movements. 

...Perhaps you don’t care about the privacy of criminals.
But note that surveillance is not just of known bad actors, but also of suspected bad actors.
...And it’s not just law enforcement overreach we have to worry about.
Technologies like Finspy are commercially available today to install malware on your computer or phone and “recruit” it to spy on you.
Such technologies could be used by anyone, including the “bad actors,” without the cooperation of your device manufacturer or service provider.
...Finally, this may feel futuristic, but I assure you it is not. 
The FBI was already using a cellphone microphone to eavesdrop on organized crime as long as a decade ago.
Commercial interests are not too far behind in doing much the same, with the purpose of targeting a better sales pitch.
Our omnipresent networked devices raise big questions that we should openly debate.
How we balance these costs and benefits will determine the type of society we live in."

Medicare Withholds New Heart Procedure

Medicare Withholds New Heart Procedure - MediBid:
"In the past, the only way to repair a damaged aortic valve was open-heart surgery.
In 2011, the FDA approved a medical device to repair the heart using a catheter in the leg artery called the Sapien 3.
The cost of the new valve is the same as cracking the chest, but has lower risks and is an easier procedure to perform. 
Medicare fears that more elderly patients will want their hearts repaired with this new technology, so strict coverage rules have been set in place.
...Studies show that the replacement valves are superior to risky open-heart surgery, including mortality and risk of stroke.
...As the government continues to regulate medicine and ration care, medicine cannot evolve with scientific advancement..."

Sears Makes Shocking Announcement... Welcome to Obama's America

Sears Makes Shocking Announcement... Welcome to Obama's America:

"Sadly, the 130-year-old retail icon, founded in Chicago in 1886, wasn’t the only one cutting jobs or stores. Another two retail giants, Macy’s and JCPenny, shuttered 12 and 39 stores, respectively.

According to WND, among the other stores that have closed locations in the past year are Abercrombie & Fitch, Barnes & Noble, Chico’s, Children’s Place, Coach, Fresh & Easy, Gymboree, JCPenney, Macy’s, Office Depot, Pier One and Pep Boys."

Students demand UW raise sports ticket prices to fund diversity efforts

Students demand UW raise sports ticket prices to fund diversity efforts
"...University of Wisconsin Madison students demanded more funding for diversity initiatives at an open forum Monday night, even though the administration has already succumbed to many of their previous demands.
One student at the forum, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, suggested that the university raise ticket prices for athletic events in order to help fund opportunities for disadvantaged students.
The forum was called after hundreds of UW students staged a walkout last week to protest the recent arrest of a classmate who allegedly vandalized several on-campus buildings, costing the university $4,000 in repair, and was billed as an opportunity for the administration to address their concerns.
...At last week’s walkout, for instance, students added “community control” of the UW police department to their list.
Over the past year, though, the university has responded to several student demands by establishing a cultural competency program for incoming freshmen and increasing the number of mental health counselors available to minority students..."

Steyn vs the Big Climate Enforcers

Steyn vs the Big Climate Enforcers :: SteynOnline:

Recently Mark gave an interview to The New Criterion's Ben Weingarten about the increasingly open totalitarian nature of Big Climate. 

Here's a snippet:

More from The New Criterion's climate conference here.

*Speaking of Dr Curry:

Prof Judith Curry, the former chair of Earth and atmospheric sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, added: "It is inappropriate to dismiss the arguments of the so-called contrarians, since their disagreement with the consensus reflects conflicts of values and a preference for the empirical (i.e. what has been observed) versus the hypothetical (i.e. what is projected from climate models).

Lots more at link. 

Lunch video-----Emirates A380 and Jetman Dubai Formation Flight

Noon-toon

The Chinese Just Tested A Missile That Can Reach Any Part Of The US

The Chinese Just Tested A Missile That Can Reach Any Part Of The US:

“Chinese President Xi Jinping has unveiled the most significant changes to his nation’s military in over 60 years, laying out plans to boost combat readiness and make the world’s largest army better equipped to radiate force beyond the country’s borders, according to state-backed news media.”

News of the test flight of the long-range missile caused waves around the globe, as the aerial vehicle could not only reach the entire United States, according to sources, but could also deliver weapons to obliterate European cities such as London in 30 minutes."

America's high school seniors' reading and math scores have hit a wall

America's high school seniors' reading and math scores have hit a wall - LA Times: 
"America’s high school seniors' reading and math test scores are barely holding steady or slumping, according to national standardized test results released late Tuesday.
Between 2013 and 2015, on average, students dropped slightly in math and held steady in reading.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as NAEP, is a test administered by the federal government. 
It is considered the gold standard in measuring what students really know, because the results don't have consequences that could encourage teachers or test takers to game the process.
In math, the average score dropped from 153 to 152, out of 300 points.
On the 500-point reading test, scores dropped one point to 287--a decease"

How “Rules of Engagement” Get U.S. Soldiers Killed

How “Rules of Engagement” Get U.S. Soldiers Killed — on The Glazov Gang | Jamie Glazov Productions:
This special edition of The Glazov Gang was joined by Stephen Coughlin, the co-founder of UnconstrainedAnalytics.org and the author of the new book, Catastrophic Failure.

He came on the show to discuss How “Rules of Engagement” Get U.S. Soldiers Killed, unveiling the disgraceful and deadly cost America pays for obeying Islamic laws in Afghanistan.

These Anti-Vaccine Parents Were Found Guilty in the Death of Their Toddler

These Anti-Vaccine Parents Were Found Guilty in the Death of Their Toddler | VICE News:
"An Alberta couple has been found guilty of failing to provide their son with the necessaries of life, four years after he died of bacterial meningitis.
The parents, whose preference for natural remedies over traditional medicine is said to have caused the child's death, could spend up to five years in jail.
David and Collet Stephan were charged a year after their 19-month old son Ezekiel died in March, 2012.
The six-week trial concluded on Monday, with the jury, who were instructed by the judge not to make their decisions based on "sympathy, prejudice or fear," wrapping up deliberations in Lethbridge, Alberta in just two days."

Watch: Target Store Manager Confirms to Man He Can Use Women's Bathroom - Breitbart

Watch: Target Store Manager Confirms to Man He Can Use Women's Bathroom - Breitbart:

"The manager confirmed to Park that he could indeed use the women’s bathroom if he wanted to, and told him if any of the women had a problem then he would “speak to them” about it."

I’ve Earned A Say About Social Insecurity

I’ve Earned A Say About Social Insecurity | The Arts Mechanical:
"I ran into a brochure from AARP recently. 
The brochure is advocating, as should be no surprise that the elderly “Keep Social Security Strong.” 
Unfortunately while it get some of the facts right, the brochure doesn’t contain the most import fact of all.
That is that there is no more money for the Ponzi Scheme anymore.
That’s  the problem with all pyramid, schemes, whether it’s Bernie Madoff, Multi Level marketing or Social Security. 
The big difference being that the government put Madoff in jail and points guns at people’s heads to make them pay ever higher taxes until things collapse."

AM Fruitcake

History for April 27

History for April 27 - On-This-Day.com:
Edward Gibbon 1737 - Historian, author, Samuel F.B. (Finley Breese) Morse 1791 - Inventor (electromagnetic telegraph), Ulysses S. Grant 1822 - 18th U.S. President, Lt. General in command of all Union armies during the U.S. Civil War, nickname: Hero of Appomattox


Wallace Hume 1896 - Chemist, inventor, credited with invention of nylon, Walter Lantz 1900 - Animator, creator of Woody Woodpecker, Casey Kasem (Kemal Amin Kasem) 1932 - Radio announcer, DJ, host ("American Top 40), character voice of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, actor ("Hawaii Five-O")


1521 - Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.


1805 - A force led by U.S. Marines captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli.


1813 - Americans under Gen. Pike capture York (present day Toronto) the seat of government in Ontario.


1861 - U.S. President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.


1960 - The submarine Tullibee was launched from Groton, CT. It was the first sub to be equipped with closed-circuit television.


1965 - "Pampers" were patented by R.C. Duncan.


1978 - Pro-Soviet Marxists seized control of Afghanistan.






2005 - The A380, the world's largest jetliner, completed its maiden flight. The passenger capability was 840.

Obama Hails ‘Most Progressive Era in Human History’ - Breitbart

Obama Hails ‘Most Progressive Era in Human History’ - Breitbart:

“We are fortunate to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history,” Obama boasted during a speech in Germany today.

He admitted that his observation was counter to the media narrative that highlighted bad news in the world, but continued to take the long view of his place in human history.
“If you had to choose a moment in time to be born, any time in human history, and you didn’t know ahead of time what nationality you were or what gender or what your economic status might be, you’d choose today,” he said confidently.

He cited the growth of democratic government, wealth, health and education around the globe combined with a “global economy” that lifted more people out of poverty. He also cited a more “tolerant” planet of different races and sexual preferences."

Navel gazing about gender while the world burns

Navel gazing about gender while the world burns | Intellectual Takeout:
"...Today’s college students
“They have no sense of the great patterns of world history, the rise and fall of civilizations like Babylon and Rome that became very sexually tolerant, and then fell.
If you’ve had no exposure to that, you can honestly believe that ‘There is progress all around us and we are moving to an ideal state of culture, where we all hold hands and everyone is accepted for what they are … and the environment will be pure…’ – a magical utopian view that we are marching to perfection. 
And the sign of this progress is toleration – of the educated class – for homosexuality, or for changing gender, or whatever.
“To me it’s a sign of the opposite, it’s symptomatic of a civilization just before it falls: ‘we’ are very tolerant, not passionate, but there are bands of vandals and destroyers circling around the edge of our civilization who will bring it down.”"...

SC teacher suspended after questioning standardized tests

UPDATE: SC teacher suspended after questioning standardized tests | EAGnews.org: "WESTMINSTER, S.C. – Tracie Happel, a special education teacher in South Carolina, sent a letter to school and district officials today to explain why, exactly, she opposes Common Core national standards and associated standardized testing.
EAGnews spoke with Happel about the letter and outlined her objections – from the millions of dollars wasted on the tests and preparation to the erosive effect the testing has on her learning disabled students’ self-esteem – in blog published today.
Hours after the original story went online, Happel was summoned to the Oconee County School District administration building, where she was suspended with pay and banned from district property. 
Officials told the West Oak Middle School teacher she allegedly violated the district’s confidentiality policy for discussing her concerns about her middle school students.
“They told me that while I have a right to my opinion about Common Core and testing, what I don’t have a right to do is talk about my students,” Happel said.
“I was put on administrative leave. I’m not allowed back on school grounds pending an investigation.”
In Happel’s letter – which was sent to district superintendent Micheal Thorsland, school board chairman Andrew Inabinet, and three administrators at West Oak – the English teacher explained that her special education students struggle with reading and other academics, but are expected to perform at grade level on standardized tests.
Many of Happel’s students also struggle with self-esteem as a result of their learning disabilities, and she believes the pressure from standardized testing only amplifies their issues.
“I object to forcing children to sit through hours of bubble tests when they don’t even understand what they are doing and why they are doing it,” Happel wrote in her letter.
“This is inhumane.”...

The Green War Against the Working Class

The Green War Against the Working Class:

"There was a time in America—and it wasn’t even so long ago—that liberals actually cared about working class people. They may have been misguided in many of their policy solutions (i.e., raising the minimum wage) but at least their heart was in the right place.

Then a strange thing happened about a decade ago. The radical leftwing environmentalists took control. These are people who care more about the supposed rise of the oceans than the financial survival of the middle class. The industrial unions made a catastrophic decision to get in bed with these radicals and now they—and all of us—are paying a heavy price.

The latest evidence came last week when another coal giant in America, Peabody Energy Corp., declared bankruptcy."

AFA exposes PayPal hypocrisy with full-page newspaper ad

AFA.net - AFA exposes PayPal hypocrisy with full-page newspaper ad:
"In a recent Action Alert, I informed you that AFA is no longer using PayPal Inc. because the company chose to boycott North Carolina after the governor signed HB 2, a bill requiring people to use the restroom consistent with their biological gender.
Simply put, this law means men use men's restrooms and women use women’s restrooms. 
This law protects the privacy of women and children, and that is why AFA supports this law.
North Carolina isn't the first state that has experienced corporate bullying by companies like PayPal. Indiana, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi and many others have all experienced corporate bullying in the last year or so.
When states attempt to protect religious liberty via legislation, Fortune 500 companies threaten and bully states into submission. 
Sadly, these companies blindly take their marching orders from the homosexual activist groups like Human Rights Commission..."

Cyclists Use Tiny Motors to Cheat

Cyclists Use Tiny Motors to Cheat | Hackaday:
"Blood doping is so last decade!
The modern cyclist has a motor and power supply hidden inside the bike’s frame.
We were first tipped off to the subject in this article in the New York Times.
A Belgian cyclocross rider, Femke Van den Driessche, was caught with a motor hidden in her bike.
While we don’t condone sports cheating, we think that hiding a motor inside a standard bike is pretty cool.
But it’s even more fun to think of how to catch the cheats.
The Italian and French press have fixated on the idea of using thermal cameras to detect the heat. (Skip to 7:50 in the franceTVsport clip.).."

Lunch video-----How High Would You Make the Minimum Wage? We Asked L.A. Residents.

Noon-toon

Disturbing reality: Muslim ‘sex-grooming gangs’

Disturbing reality: Muslim ‘sex-grooming gangs’:

"In Britain, they call it “sex grooming.”
In the Netherlands, they’re called “Lover Boys.”

But the phenomenon is the same. A gang of Muslim “Asians” of mostly Pakistani descent seeks out, pursues, chats up and cultivates school girls for sex, turning them into bodies for sale.

A new book is out that the European left is trying its best to ignore. It contains research that blows away the theory, widely reported in the media, that it’s a tiny minority of Muslim men involved in the rape gangs and then only in one British town, Rotherham.

Author Peter McLaughlin argues in his exhaustive study, “Easy Meat: Inside Britain’s Grooming Gang Scandal,” that it’s at least 300 Muslim men who were preying on girls in Rotherham over a 16-year period. And the same type of gangs have been operating in dozens of cities across the United Kingdom, as well as in Muslim areas of the Netherlands and Sweden."

Pushing businesses out of Michigan-----Michigan commission authorizes natural gas rate hike for Consumers Energy

Michigan commission authorizes natural gas rate hike for Consumers Energy - Crain's Detroit Business:
"The MPSC said Consumers' residential customers will see a 1.6 percent rate increase from the last such increase.
General service customers would see an average increase of 4 percent, records show.
Yet Consumers will refund customers a portion of a rate increase it implemented on its own in January, which was $20 million more than what the commission approved Thursday, according to the MPSC. The refund amount will be decided later."

How the ‘New Math’ is Ruining Education

How the ‘New Math’ is Ruining Education | Intellectual Takeout
"By now, you’ve probably seen some of the complaints on the internet about the “new math” being promoted by the Common Core Standards.
Many grade-school children—including, for instance, comedian Louis CK’s children—have come home with math homework that is virtually indecipherable to their parents.
The goal behind the new math, it seems, is to encourage children to not just solve their basic arithmetic problems, but to understand the concepts underlying them.
But according to a fascinating article by educator Martin Cothran titled “Why Johnny Can’t Add,” this approach is wrong-headed, and may even be causing America’s students to regress. 
As Cothran points out, the “old math” worked just fine, and was the basis for many innovations in the past two centuries.
...And where was Cothran’s father taught the math that paved the way for his career in aerospace engineering?
At a poor, one-room schoolhouse in the hills of South Carolina.
There, the students did not spend time learning why 10 + 5 = 15 or 9 – 7 = 2, and they had no fancy textbooks. 
According to Cothran’s father, “We just learned how to figure,” and left it at that. 
As was the experience of many of us, Cothran explains, “They memorized their addition and subtraction facts and their multiplication tables, and mastered long division through repeated drill and practice.” 
They simply memorized these things so that they would have a solid basis for the more conceptual math in later years.
...Now, with the new math, young students are being made to philosophize about 1+1 rather than simply memorizing that it equals 2. 
But as Cothran reminds us, the “new math” isn’t that new. 
He includes this other anecdote of his father:
“I told my dad once about the kind of math they were doing in the early 1990s in schools in Kentucky where I lived. ‘
That sounds like what they were doing in California in the 1950s,’ he said. 
‘In fact, if you give me a report from one of my engineers and told me he was educated in California, I’ll tell you how old he is.’ 
These engineers, he said, would use computers to compute complex calculations, but would make basic mistakes that no good mathematician should make.”
[Current proficiency levels in math for the nation and selected cities as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.]

Corrupt Feedback Loops: Public Employee Unions

Corrupt Feedback Loops: Public Employee Unions | Jeb Kinnison
"Civil Service rules insulated government employees from political demands, but also made firing the incompetent more difficult.
The final barrier to accountability was the addition of another layer of employee empowerment, the public employee union.
Private-sector unions are not the enormous political force they once were, but public-sector unions have continued to grow until they now control one of the two US political parties and have driven many state and local governments to near-bankruptcy, with underfunded pension and medical coverage for retirees taking a larger and larger share of local government revenues.
How did we get here?..."

Table 1: Public Sector Unions: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates, Parties, and Outside Groups, 2014 Election Cycle. Source: Open Secrets.org Center for Responsive Politics

			To Candidates and Parties			To Outside Spending Groups
Rank	Contributor	Total Contribs	Total	Dem%	Repub%	Total
1	National Education Assn	$24,961,199	$2,183,752	91.1%	8.8%	$22,787,447
2	American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees	$10,002,495	$2,288,816	99.2%	0.3%	$7,717,155
3	American Federation of Teachers	$4,797,032	$2,484,870	98.8%	0.8%	$2,312,162
4	American Federation of Govt Employees	$4,072,005	$1,019,250	94.3%	5.6%	$3,052,755
5	International Assn of Fire Fighters	$2,184,303	$1,948,946	84.4%	15.6%	$235,357
6	National Assn of Letter Carriers	$2,113,796	$1,688,360	94.9%	4.9%	$425,436
7	American Postal Workers Union	$1,007,341	$988,950	98.8%	1.2%	$18,391
8	National Rural Letter Carriers Assn	$735,500	$735,500	76.8%	23.0%	$0
9	National Treasury Employees Union	$681,550	$631,550	96.1%	3.9%	$50,000

Read on!

OBAMA TO BRITAIN On His Legacy: I Saved The World Economy, Made Deal With Iran, Stopped Ebola » 100percentfedUp.com

OBAMA TO BRITAIN On His Legacy: I Saved The World Economy, Made Deal With Iran, Stopped Ebola » 100percentfedUp.com:

"Hey Barry…you forgot to mention that time you parted the seas…oh wait, that wasn’t you. Why not tell Britain the truth? Tell them how you created the most hostile atmosphere towards law enforcement that this nation has ever seen. How your real legacy will be that of the worst racial division since the civil rights era. You also neglected to mention that you destroyed our relationship with Israel (our only true ally in the Middle East), while making “friends” with communist regimes and cutting lopsided deals with radical Islamic nations who openly advertise their hate for America for all the world to see. Don’t kid yourself Barry. Your legacy will be that of the worst President to ever occupy the White House.  

President Barack Obama boasted of his legacy during a town hall in Britain, asserting that he single- handedly saved the world during his presidency."

Senate votes to restore full taxpayer subsidies for windmills

Senate votes to restore full taxpayer subsidies for windmills - Washington Times:
"Hot air still rules on Capitol Hill, where senators voted Tuesday to restore millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for windmills, in a signal that Congress is still eager to pick winners in the emerging renewable energy sector.
A sizable number of Republicans joined most Democrats in backing the subsidy for research on wind energy which, while small in terms of dollars, is considered a major symbolic test of Congress’s commitment having alternative energy sources be part of the mix, even if they aren’t economically viable on their own yet..."

Long-term federal healthcare spending

Long-term federal healthcare spending | pgpf.org:

AM Fruitcake