Monday, July 22, 2013

HUD's New 'Fair Housing' Rule Establishes Diversity Data for Every Neighborhood in U.S.

HUD's New 'Fair Housing' Rule Establishes Diversity Data for Every Neighborhood in U.S. | CNS News
"Under the Fair Housing Act, HUD requires grantees, such as cities, that receive federal housing funds to "affirmatively further fair housing."
Under the proposed rule, the neighborhood data provided by HUD will be used to evaluate patterns of integration and segregation, racial and ethnic concentrations of poverty, and access to "valuable community assets." HUD wants to know if existing laws and policies -- such as zoning, financing, infrastructure planning and transportation -- create, perpetuate or alleviate segregation."

Detroit’s bankruptcy “should never have come to pass.”

This Week at Mackinac
As Fiscal Policy Director Michael LaFaive wrote on our blog soon
after the announcement,
Detroit’s bankruptcy “should never have come to pass.” 
Some 13 years ago LaFaive wrote about specific recommendations 
for Detroit that would have saved the city more than $200 million 
a year and generated a windfall of $2.4 billion from the sale 
of assets and an additional $15 million annually from 
the sale of just two properties. 
Below are links to several analyses and commentaries 
Mackinac Center experts have written about 
 Detroit’s situation over the years.

Detroit Bankruptcy

It should never have come to pass. Read more.

Too Little Too Late

Emergency manager powers not enough to save Detroit. Read more.

Baker’s Dozen

Our suggestions from 13 years ago. Read more.

Flash in the Pan

Flashy projects have not helped Detroit. Read more.

Falling on Deaf Ears

Advice for the new mayor. Read more.

Media Taps Center Experts

What happened, and where does the city go from here? Read more.




Deadline today for Inkster, Buena Vista schools to stay open

Deadline today for Inkster, Buena Vista schools to stay open | The Detroit News:
"Lansing — the financially troubled Inkster and Buena Vista school districts have until 5 p.m. Monday to secure new loans to finance operations next school year or face dissolution."

White House pledges to help Detroit however necessary

White House pledges to help Detroit however necessary | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

How national media are reporting Detroit's bankruptcy

How national media are reporting Detroit's bankruptcy | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

How national pundits view Detroit's bankruptcy

How national pundits view Detroit's bankruptcy | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:

Detroit not alone under mountain of long-term debt

Detroit not alone under mountain of long-term debt | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"From Baltimore to Los Angeles, and many points in between, municipalities are increasingly confronted with how to pay for these massive promises.
The Pew Center for the States, in Washington, estimated states’ public pension plans across the U.S. were underfunded by a whopping $1.4 trillion in 2010."

Fewer Americans Wave First Amendment Banner

Fewer Americans Wave First Amendment Banner - Law Blog - WSJ
"Increasingly, the First Amendment is coming under challenge — by the American public.
More than a third of Americans say the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees, according to a new survey.

MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry Dons Tampon Earrings To Protest Texas Abortion Bill

MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry Dons Tampon Earrings To Protest Texas Abortion Bill | Mediaite:
"Some filibuster abortion bills, some march against them, and some wear tampons on their ears."

EU declares Hezbollah's military wing terror group

My Way News - EU declares Hezbollah's military wing terror group:
 "The European Union placed the military wing of Lebanese party Hezbollah on its terror list on Monday in a major change of its policy toward the region."

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Student Suspended and Chastised for Speaking English |

Student Suspended and Chastised for Speaking English |:
"Nursing program director David Kutzler called her a “bigot” and a “bitch.”  Kutzler proclaimed that Bennett was discriminating against Mexican American students.  (Does anyone else think this guy should have his credentials taken away?)  The unfair treatment of Ms. Bennett, age 50, who was just trying to improve her lot in life and was desirous of learning, is systemic of the way liberals approach teaching.

Ms Bennett was then suspended from the school and her reputation besmirched (Also the way liberals react when they know they are in the wrong) and told she could not return until she received counseling….for speaking English!!!!  "

Welcome to Chicago -- now give me that iPhone

Welcome to Chicago -- now give me that iPhone - chicagotribune.com: "
"He just kept saying, ‘We didn't take your phone, you white b------, leave us alone,' '' said Tammy."

Illinois rewarded for misspending only $52 million on food stamps

Illinois rewarded for misspending only $52 million on food stamps « Watchdog.org:
"Dabrowksi said Illinois saw its food stamp population jump 11.5 percent last year."

Killer salt and other ‘scientific’ disasters

Killer salt and other ‘scientific’ disasters - Daily Inter Lake: Frank:
"Does this mean we are going to be seeing a spate of malpractice lawsuits filed against doctors who have been putting their patients on low-salt diets with as little as half a teaspoon of sodium per day?
Um, probably not, but it ought to at least teach us that “accepted science” is unbelievably fluid. 
What science tells us is incontrovertible fact today may well be an old wives’ tale by tomorrow."

Kite Patch makes you invisible to mosquitoes

Kite Patch makes you invisible to mosquitoes | Crave - CNET:
 "From $35, backers can send 10 patches to Uganda and receive 10 for themselves.
The patch is designed to be durable, affordable everywhere, and can be put not only on clothing but bags, baby strollers, or whatever else you're using.

Phil Mickelson Wins British Open---And California Taxes It

Phil Mickelson Wins British Open---And California Taxes It - Forbes

DC Democrats Sell Minority Students’ Education Short

DC Democrats Sell Minority Students’ Education Short | FrontPage Magazine:
"But the notion that the U.S. spends too little on public education is a blatant falsehood. American taxpayers already spend some $600 billion per year on public elementary and secondary schools, with average per-pupil expenditures nationwide currently at an all-time high of about $11,000—a nearly fourfold increase (in constant present-day dollars) since 1961.
But even this figure is dwarfed by the $29,400 per-pupil cost of a public elementary and high-school education in Washington, DC. 
That astounding sum is nearly as much as the yearly cost of an undergraduate education at Harvard.
But as evidenced by the dismal academic performance of DC students, American taxpayers are getting essentially nothing of any value in return for their enormous outlays."

Lying as a Way of Life

Belmont Club » Lying as a Way of Life:
"Take for example, Chicago’s new crime-fighting strategy. “Chicago police are going to hand deliver letters to people suspected of committing or being victims of gun crimes in an effort to stem violence in the city, according to a new report. ”
This is a triumph of PR over policy, fiction over reality and madness over sanity. Yet all the same everyone will sign up to the letter scheme like it might actually work even though they know it hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell. "

New York food stamp recipients are shipping welfare-funded groceries to relatives in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti

New York food stamp recipients are shipping welfare-funded groceries to relatives in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti - NYPOST.com:

Mayor McGinn goes all out on Whole Foods over worker pay

Mayor McGinn goes all out on Whole Foods over worker pay | Local News | The Seattle Times:
"But the reason McGinn gave for coming out against the mixed-use development was unprecedented. It was that the anchor tenant for the complex, Whole Foods, doesn’t pay its workers enough.

“I’m setting a new standard here, that we are going to look at the wages they pay, and benefits, when a company wants to develop with land that involves public property,” McGinn told me in an interview.

“This is the first time anyone has used this justification when making these kinds of decisions,” he added.

McGinn contended in a letter that the nonunion Whole Foods pays “significantly lower” wages and benefits than other grocery stores, including some already in West Seattle. So the idea of allowing Whole Foods to go in there violates the city’s social and economic justice goals."

Florida Gators LB Antonio Morrison arrested for barking at police dog

Florida Gators LB Antonio Morrison arrested for barking at police dog - ESPN: "GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida Gators linebacker Antonio Morrison has been arrested for the second time in five weeks, this time for allegedly barking at a police dog and resisting arrest, and will miss at least the first two games of the season after being suspended from the team Sunday.

Morrison's defense was the dog barked first, according to a police report."