Saturday, February 16, 2013

YOU are invited!


Please let me know by Tuesday, February 19th if you are still interested in serving on the Muskegon County Jail/Juvenile Transition Center Citizens Review Committee.  Thank you. 

Lisa Chalko
Board/EEO Liaison
990 Terrace
Hall of Justice, 4th Floor
Muskegon, MI 49442
Phone: 231.724.8883

Discussion of smart meters in Holland

Discussion of smart meters in Holland | wzzm13.com
""We think there are great benefits to our customers," says Consumers Energy spokesman Roger C. Morgenstern.
 "We actually show over the 20 year life of the meter there will be a 40 million dollar benefit to our customers in terms of energy savings.""

Warning: This Will Get Your Blood Boiling

Warning: This Will Get Your Blood Boiling
"So, not only are taxpayers funding free cell phones, we're also paying for street teams to hawk them at hospitals, soup kitchens, carnivals and shelters. "

Editorial: Farmers Market plan could pave the way to great things in Muskegon

Editorial: Farmers Market plan could pave the way to great things in Muskegon | MLive.com

Experts debate the benefits of a proposed minimum wage hike

Experts debate the benefits of a proposed minimum wage hike - The Hill's On The Money
""If you force employers to pay more than they want, they are less likely to hire teens and low-skilled folks and, instead, will cut workers hours and benefits," Hall said."

Federally Funded Chevy Volt Battery Plant Paid Workers to Play, Not Make Batteries

Federally Funded Chevy Volt Battery Plant Paid Workers to Play, Not Make Batteries | Wired Business | Wired.com

How conservative are Michigan's representatives in Congress? Heritage Action for America ranks them

Ken Braun: How conservative are Michigan's representatives in Congress? Heritage Action for America ranks them | MLive.com:
"On the high side were U.S. Reps. Justin Amash (91 percent), Bill Huizenga (89 percent), Tim Walberg (83 percent) and Dan Benishek (73 percent).
These are also the four Republicans who have served the least amount of time in Washington."

Guns and Self Defense | Cato Institute

Guns and Self Defense | Cato Institute
"Two additional points are worth noting.
First, the map is not comprehensive.
Criminals will often flee the scene when they discover that their intended target has a gun.
With no shots fired, no injuries, and no suspect in custody, news organizations may report nothing at all.
Thus, it is important to remember that news reports can only provide us with an imperfect picture of defensive gun use in America.
Second, when a citizen is able to shoot an attacker or hold a rapist or robber until the police arrive, it is very likely that more than one crime has been prevented because if the culprit had not been stopped, he could have targeted other citizens as well.
The bottom line is that gun owners stop a lot of criminal mayhem every year."
Heres the Cato Institute’s Interactive Gun Map

How to browse the Kindle Lending Library on your PC

How to browse the Kindle Lending Library on your PC - Computerworld
"After all, the $79/year membership lets you check out one ebook per month from the Kindle Lending Library, which is rapidly approaching 300,000 titles."

Question of the Day: Should the Muskegon Big Reds change the name of their mascot?

Question of the Day: Should the Muskegon Big Reds change the name of their mascot? | MLive.com

Five issues could derail Muskegon's financial stability in years to come

Five issues could derail Muskegon's financial stability in years to come | MLive.com

This Isn't Hard, Mr. President: Do You Think You Can Kill Us on American Soil or Not?

This Isn't Hard, Mr. President: Do You Think You Can Kill Us on American Soil or Not? - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic
"It's an easy question.
Answering it wouldn't jeopardize national security in any way.
So why do Obama Administration officials keep dodging it?
Asked the question in a Google Plus interview Thursday, Obama himself said, "Well first of all, there has never been a drone used on an American citizen on American soil."
Duh.
But will there ever be?
He went on to say that it's easier to capture accused terrorists in the United States than abroad.
But he still didn't give a straight answer. "

8 College Degrees with the Worst Return on Investment

8 College Degrees with the Worst Return on Investment - Salary.com

8. Sociology

7. Fine Arts

6. Education

5. Religious Studies/Theology

4. Hospitality/Tourism

3. Nutrition

2. Psychology

1. Communications

House overrides Obama, votes to freeze federal pay for third year

House overrides Obama, votes to freeze federal pay for third year - The Hill's RegWatch
"On Thursday, however, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) argued that freezing the pay of members undermines the dignity of the job.
"I think it's necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded," she said."

Of Carnival Triumph, Media, and Lawyers

Blog: Of Carnival Triumph, Media, and Lawyers
"I laughed so hard on day one of the coverage when the nitwit reporter dude on CNN said, in a breathless dramatic fashion, that on top of all the carnage and devastation wrought by the power outage on board, the ship could also expect "six foot seas!" 
He said this as if the nine-hundred foot long, fourteen-story ship would be lurching about, with water breaching the uppermost decks and crew members battening down all the hatches.
Six foot seas, to anyone familiar with a cruise ship of that size, means very smooth sailing indeed.
The newsjerk was either a moron, or more likely, an alarmist looking to make his assignment the story of the day. 
But as day one became day two I stopped laughing."

Michigan 'fracking' opponents plan to begin voter signature collection effort in April

Michigan 'fracking' opponents plan to begin voter signature collection effort in April | MLive.com
"The Board of State Canvassers on Friday also approved the form of a petition that could be used by a committee called Voters for Fair Use of Ballot Referendum.
That effort seeks to change the state constitution to widen the scope of state laws that Michigan voters can seek to overturn through the referendum process.
If the measure is successful, voters also would be allowed to challenge state laws that include appropriations or spending clauses. 
That is now prohibited by the Michigan constitution.
Some of the more recent laws with appropriations – making them referendum-proof – are Michigan’s right-to-work law and the state’s revised emergency manager law from 2012.
Some critics have questioned whether lawmakers sometimes might include appropriations in controversial bills mainly so voters can't repeal them."

Canada Warns: Registration Leads To Confinscation

Canada Warns: Registration Leads To Confinscation 

Does the Distinguished Warfare Medal degrade military honors?

Does the Distinguished Warfare Medal degrade military honors? | Fox News
"Sound far-fetched?
Look at how the combat action badge is handed out these days."

Gun Training Videos For Women

Gun Training Videos For Women

Friday, February 15, 2013

Obama’s minimum wage proposal a stealth pay raise for unions

Obama’s minimum wage proposal a stealth pay raise for unions | WashingtonExaminer.com:
If President Obama  succeeds in raising the minimum wage law, he’ll have given many unions an automatic pay increase, a new report shows.
“An analysis of union collective bargaining agreements available from the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards indicates that many service, retail and hospitality industry labor unions—such as UNITE-HERE or the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—peg baseline wages to the federal minimum wage,” the Center for Union Facts (CUF) observes.
“Thus, in many cases, raising the federal minimum wage will either trigger wage renegotiations or automatic wage hikes for certain unionized employees.”"

NASA - Asteroids and Comets

NASA - Asteroids and Comets:

Obama: This is the most transparent administration in history

How To Overwrite Free Space Securely in Windows

How To Overwrite Free Space Securely in Windows
"When you delete a file from the recycle bin in Windows, rather than deleting the actual file, the space the file is occupying is simply marked as free so that another file can come and use those blocks on your hard drive.
One way of making sure that your data is not recoverable is to simply overwrite all the free space with random data. "