History for March 24

History for March 24 - On-This-Day.com

Birth anniversary of Mietek Pemper (1920-2011), who with Oskar Schindler and Itzhak Stern, saved 1,200 labor camp inmates on "Schindler's List" during WWII.

Birth anniversaries of animator/producer escape artist Harry Houdini (1874-1926), geologist John Wesley Powell (1834-1902)

And happy birthday to Star Jones, Peyton Manning, Donna Pescow

1720 - In Paris, banking houses closed due to financial crisis.
 

1765 - Britain passed the Quartering Act that required the American colonies to house 10,000 British troops in public and private buildings. 


1832 - Mormon Joseph Smith was beaten, tarred and feathered in Ohio. 










1837 - Canada gave blacks the right to vote 


1927 - Chinese Communists seized Nanking and break with Chiang Kai-shek over the Nationalist goals. 

1938 - The U.S. asked that all powers help refugees fleeing from the Nazis. 


1981 - "Nightline" with Ted Koppel premiered. 


1989 - The Exxon Valdez spilled 240,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound after it ran aground. 



1989 - The U.S. decided to send humanitarian aid to the Contras. 


1993 - In Israel, Ezer Weizman, an advocate of peace with neighboring Arab nations, was elected President. 


1995 - Russian forces surrounded Achkoi-Martan. It was one of the few remaining strongholds of rebels in Chechenia. 


1995 - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a welfare reform package that made the most changes in social programs since the New Deal. 


1998 - In Jonesboro, AR, two young boys open fire at students from woods near a school. Four students and a teacher were killed and 10 others were injured. The two boys were 11 and 13 years old cousins. 

Another Glitch: Newly discovered HealthCare.gov error giving bad info on premium aid | Fox News

Another Glitch: Newly discovered HealthCare.gov error giving bad info on premium aid | Fox News: "A newly discovered glitch in the main ObamaCare website reportedly is giving thousands of people the wrong information about whether they qualify for premium subsidies.

The Philadelphia Inquirer discovered the glitch while entering hypothetical incomes into the calculator on HealthCare.gov. The newspaper found that the calculator is using the wrong year's poverty guidelines -- a simple mistake that, for months, has resulted in would-be enrollees getting inaccurate guidance.

Because of the glitch, some people may be initially told they qualify for subsidies when they don't. Others may be told they don't qualify when they do.

It's unclear how many people have been affected, but the mistake raises the possibility that thousands are giving up the hunt for insurance after being told, inaccurately, that they don't qualify for government aid. "



'via Blog this'

When in doubt, tax the rich

When in doubt, tax the rich | Rare:
"He tells the developing story in Illinois, where Michael J. Madigan, the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, plans to push for a three percent tax hike on the rich.
“Illinois has the most underfunded pension system of any state; it is the third highest state in terms of unemployment.
The solution? 
Let’s just increase taxes on the millionaires,” Boortz commented.
New Jersey tried the same thing and the millionaires left New Jersey."

George F. Will: The left’s half-century of denial over poverty

George F. Will: The left’s half-century of denial over poverty - The Washington Post:
"Critics of Rep. Paul Ryan’s remarks about cultural factors in the persistence of poverty are simultaneously shrill and boring.
Their predictable minuet of synthetic indignation demonstrates how little liberals have learned about poverty or changed their rhetorical repertoire in the last 49 years.
Ryan spoke of a “tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work,” adding:
“There’s a real culture problem here.”
This brought down upon Ryan the usual acid rain of accusations — racism, blaming the victims, etc. 
He had sauntered into the minefield that a more experienced Daniel Patrick Moynihan — a liberal scholar who knew the taboos of his tribe — had tiptoed into five years before Ryan was born."

...In March 1965, Moynihan, then 37 and assistant secretary of labor, wrote that “the center of the tangle of pathology” in inner cities — this was five months before the Watts riots — was the fact that 23.6 percent of black children were born to single women, compared with just 3.07 percent of white children.
He was accused of racism, blaming the victims, etc.
Forty-nine years later, 41 percent of allAmerican children are born out of wedlock; almost half of all first births are to unmarried women, as are 54 percent and 72 percent of all Hispanic and black births, respectively.
Is there anyone not blinkered by ideology or invincibly ignorant of social science who disagrees with this?

WeMOG- Tue Mar. 25- Corrected and bumped

Monthly Meeting

Coastline Deli

March 25, 2014

Meeting starts 1 pm

New time for our monthly meeting is 1 pm, March 25, at the Coastline Deli.

You can come early and bring or buy your lunch at about 12:30 p.m.

We will be planning April Activities and report on possible Spring Trip.

We can play dominos after meeting. Bring dominos.

The  Coastline Deli is on the  7th Floor, Terrace Plaza. 

Directions: 

Shoreline Drive to Third St (only goes one way) to Morris. Turn left onto Morris and you will see big building. Parking lot is in front and side of building facing Muskegon Lake.    

Hope to see you there. 

Maggie Chester questions call Maggie231 780-4009 or email maggie39_56@yahoo.com

DNC Members Can't Think of Single Hillary Achievement

The Obama administration has been a disaster for women

The Obama administration has been a disaster for women | Rare:

"President Obama traveled to Valencia College in Florida in a desperate effort to convince women to stick with Democrats, even though the president’s policies have been a disaster for women.

 “We do better when everybody participates, when everybody’s talents are put to use, everybody has a fair shot,” Obama told them.

True enough, though none of that has happened under his administration. 

He claims that women need a “fair shot” and likes to cite the widely discredited statistic that women only make 77 percent of what men earn.

But as economist and American Enterprise Institute Adjunct Scholar June O’Neill recently pointed out, “[t]he 77 percent statistic … simply compares the annual earnings of women and men who are full-time, year-round workers.” It doesn’t factor in relevant differences such as types of jobs or hours worked."

Saginaw Township State Rep. Tim Kelly calls for review after Ferndale Public Schools cuts 'non-Christian' clause from teacher contract

Saginaw Township State Rep. Tim Kelly calls for review after Ferndale Public Schools cuts 'non-Christian' clause from teacher contract | MLive.com:
"FERNDALE, MI — State Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw Township, is calling for an investigation into a now-removed clause in the Ferndale Public Schools' teacher contract that included language granting employment preference to people "of the non-Christian faith.""

WeMOG- Mon. Mar. 24

Hello WeMOGers

Yes, it is Spring but doesn't feel like it. Weatherpersons are not helping us out at all.... 

We will be walking the Spring Lake Trail on March 24 at 1:30 p.m. 

I have walked it and they are clear of snow and ice.

 Meet at the Mercy Health Center, (east end of the parking lot) near the Spring Lake Bridge on the north side of the street (next door to Arby"s).

 You have two options: 

#1 Walk to the City Park and back will be 3 miles  

#2 Walk to 148 Ave and back will be 5.5 miles. 

After walking we will have hot chocolate/coffee and what ever your pleasure at Arby's. 

 Will cancel by 11 a.m. if weather is undesirable.

 Questions or directions call Bonnie at 616-550-3670  or email bsbonbon@gmail.com

Beijing Hotel Staff Already Reportedly ‘Fed Up’ With Michelle Obama’s Entourage: ‘We Can’t Wait for This to Be Over’

Beijing Hotel Staff Already Reportedly ‘Fed Up’ With Michelle Obama’s Entourage: ‘We Can’t Wait for This to Be Over’ | TheBlaze.com: "
“We can’t wait for this to be over, to tell you the truth,” the staffer said. “We entertain many important people here, but this has been, I think, very different.”

Now the hotel workers are about “fed up.”"

IMF's Property Tax Hike Proposal Comes True With UK Imposing "Mansion Tax" As Soon As This Year

IMF's Property Tax Hike Proposal Comes True With UK Imposing "Mansion Tax" As Soon As This Year | Zero Hedge:

Some taxes levied on wealth, especially on immovable property, are also an option for economies seeking more progressive taxation. Wealth taxes, of various kinds, target the same underlying base as capital income taxes, namely assets. They could thus be considered as a potential source of progressive taxation, especially where taxes on capital incomes (including on real estate) are low or largely evaded. There are different types of wealth taxes, such as recurrent taxes on property or net wealth, transaction taxes, and inheritance and gift taxes. Over the past decades, revenue from these taxes has not kept up with the surge in wealth as a share of GDP (see earlier section) and, as a result, the effective tax rate has dropped from an average of around 0.9 percent in 1970 to approximately 0.5 percent today. The prospect of raising additional revenue from the various types of wealth taxation was recently discussed in IMF (2013b) and their role in reducing inequality can be summarized as follows.

• Property taxes are equitable and efficient, but underutilized in many economies. The average yield of property taxes in 65 economies (for which data are available) in the 2000s was around 1 percent of GDP, but in developing economies it averages only half of that (Bahl and Martínez-Vázquez, 2008). There is considerable scope to exploit this tax more fully, both as a revenue source and as a redistributive instrument, although effective implementation will require a sizable investment in administrative infrastructure, particularly in developing economies (Norregaard, 2013).

We summed this up as follows: "if you are buying a house, enjoy the low mortgage (for now... and don't forget - if and when the time comes to sell, the buyer better be able to afford your selling price and the monthly mortgage payment should the 30 Year mortgage rise from the current 4.2% to 6%, 7% or much higher, which all those who forecast an improving economy hope happens), but what will really determine the affordability of that piece of property you have your eyes set on, are the property taxes. Because they are about to skyrocket."

Sure enough, a week later the Telegraph reports that UK Treasury officials have begun work on a mansion tax that could be levied as soon as next year, citing  a Cabinet minister.

LAFD recruit program is suspended

LAFD recruit program is suspended - latimes.com:
"Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti suspended the city's firefighter recruitment program Thursday amid concerns about mismanagement and nepotism, including new emails that show special recruitment workshops were organized for relatives of department insiders.
"I have determined that the Fire Department's recruiting process is fatally flawed," the mayor said in a statement Thursday.
The action follows a Times report last month that thousands of candidates who passed a written test were excluded from consideration for a new training class because some of their paperwork wasn't received in the first 60 seconds of a filing period last spring. 
Nearly 25% of the 70 recruits eventually hired were related to LAFD firefighters."

12 Most Extreme Cases of Tanorexia (tan addiction)

12 Most Extreme Cases of Tanorexia (tan addiction) - ODDEE:

‘Obama March Madness: Scandal Edition’: College Students Fill Out Their Brackets on Top Obama Scandals

‘Obama March Madness: Scandal Edition’: College Students Fill Out Their Brackets on Top Obama Scandals | Video | TheBlaze.com:
“It’s pretty incredible actually, I didn’t realize how many scandals were going on,” one student said after seeing all the scandals on one board."

ORI Director's Resignation Demonstrates Corruption in Science

ORI Director's Resignation Demonstrates Corruption in Science:
Science is rife with corruption, incompetence, dishonesty and fabrication--and now, thanks to a frank resignation letter by the US's top scientific misconduct official we have a better idea why.

David E. Wright, a respected science historian, has just quit his job as director of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI; part of the Department of Health and Human Services) and is scathing about his experiences there.

In his resignation letter, he accuses his boss HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh of running an organization which is "secretive, autocratic and unaccountable."

He writes to Koh:

In one instance, by way of illustration, I urgently needed to fill a vacancy for an ORI division director.  I asked the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (your deputy) when I could proceed.  She said there was a priority list.  I asked where ORI’s request was on that list.  She said the list was secret and that we weren’t on the top, but we weren’t on the bottom either. Sixteen months later we still don’t have a division director on board.

His experiences at ORI, he adds, have confirmed all his worst suspicions about the workings of federal bureaucracy.

We spend exorbitant amounts of time in meetings and in generating repetitive and often meaningless data and reports to make our precinct of the bureaucracy look productive.  None of this renders the slightest bit of assistance to ORI in handling allegations of misconduct or in promoting the responsible conduct of research.  Instead, it sucks away time and resources that we might better use to meet our mission.

Wright's observations go some way towards explaining why so much of the corruption in US science goes either uninvestigated or unpunished.

One example can be found in this letter from Senator Charles “Chuck” Grassley (R-IA) to the ORI about the case of an AIDS researcher at Iowa State University who faked data to obtain nearly $19 million in NIH grant money. The ORI banned the researcher from receiving grants for three years but has apparently made no attempt to recoup the missing $19 million.

This kind of skullduggery is especially prevalent in the fields of "climate science" and environmentalism because so much government, European Union, and United Nations money has been pumped into these fashionable areas of concern.

At UC Berkeley, a researcher named Tyrone Hayes has built a highly successful career on promoting the "endocrine disruptor" scare--doing enormous harm to the US agricultural industry--despite no other scientist having been able to replicate his research.

Or consider the nonsense widely promulgated about the Costa Rican golden toad--a species whose disappearance alarmist scientists frequently ascribe to "climate change," despite overwhelming evidence that it perished as a result of a fungus unconnected with "global warming."

But few branches of science are immune, as this infographic from Clinicalpsychology.net makes clear.

Among its findings:

1 in 3 scientists admits to using questionable research practices

1 in 50 scientists admits to falsifying or fabricating data outright.

71 percent of scientists report that colleagues have used questionable methods

14 percent claim colleagues have falsified data

Among biomedical research trainees at the University of California, San Diego five percent admitted to modifying results and 81 percent said they would fabricate or modify results to win a grant or publish a paper.

And those are just the ones who'll admit it.... 

How to Stop MASS SHOOTINGS

Colion Noir: How to Stop MASS SHOOTINGS (Video) | The Federalist Papers:

History for March 23

History for March 23 - On-This-Day.com: 

Birth anniversaries of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (1910-98) and actress Joan Crawford (1905-77).

  

Happy Birthday, Louie Anderson, Roger Bannister, Keri Russell.

1775 - American revolutionary Patrick Henry declared, "give me liberty, or give me death!" 


1806 - Explorers Lewis and Clark, reached the Pacific coast, and began their return journey to the east. 


1839 - The first recorded use of "OK" [oll korrect] was used in Boston's Morning Post. 


1857 - Elisha Otis installed the first modern passenger elevator in a public building. It was at the corner of Broome Street and Broadway in New York City. 


1912 - The Dixie Cup was invented. 


1919 - Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy. 

1933 - The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act. The act effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers. 






1957 - The U.S. Army sold the last of its homing pigeons. 


1972 - Evel Knievel broke 93 bones after successfully jumping 35 cars. 


1973 - The last airing of "Concentration" took place. The show had been on NBC for 15 years. 


1980 - The deposed shah of Iran, Muhammad Riza Pahlavi, left Panama for Egypt. 






1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that term limits for state lawmakers were constitutional. 


1998 - The movie "Titanic" won 11 Oscars at the Academy Awards. 

‘God’s Not Dead’: Actor Says This Movie Could Convert Agnostics to Christianity | TheBlaze.com

‘God’s Not Dead’: Actor Says This Movie Could Convert Agnostics to Christianity | TheBlaze.com: "The former “Hercules” actor said he thinks the theological themes could speak to those who might question the existence of God and serve as a catalyst for the discovery of faith.

“I think it opens up discussion more than any movie,” he said. “It’s not preaching to the choir … it’s creating a lot of dialogue.”

Sorbo said “God’s Not Dead” tackles both sides of the theological debate, bringing up science that points to God’s existence while also delving into the atheistic view that there is no higher power.

“Agnostics out there who kind of believe, kind of don’t … these are the independent voters,” Sorbo said. “We want them to come over to the right side.”

As for atheist activists who sometimes react negatively to projects like “God’s Not Dead,” Sorbo believes their responses are often times driven by fear."

Doubling the minimum wage doubles the price of preventing 'disconnected' youth

Ken Braun: Doubling the minimum wage doubles the price of preventing 'disconnected' youth | MLive.com
Local agitators for a $15 minimum wage were again demonstrating by the dozens,briefly blocking the drive-thru at a Detroit McDonald’s on Tuesday. 

......Brookings calculates a figure for ‘disconnected youth,’ which measures young people who are “not working, not in school, and have less than an associate's degree.”
These youngsters with nothing going on are “at increased risk for subsequent poverty and unemployment.”

For 16-19 year olds in the Detroit-area, 9.9 percent fall into the ‘disconnected’ trap, a miserable 82nd out of the 100 largest metropolitan regions. 

It’s worse for the 20-24 year olds, as 22.3 percent score as ‘disconnected’ - 90th out of the 100 regions.

Attie Pollard - Today I think it's a sad day for democracy in...

Attie Pollard - Today I think it's a sad day for democracy in...:
"Today I think it's a sad day for democracy in Michigan.
Don't matter where you stand on the issue of same-sex marriage, we all can agree that active judges should not overrule the will of the people.
If you want to make same-sex marriage the law of the land in the state then you should take the case to the people of the state and have them vote on it at the ballot box, not in the court rooms.
What good is it to have the power to vote if the courts are going to overturn the will of the people."

15 Amazing Colorized Images of Historical Photos

15 Amazing Colorized Images of Historical Photos - ODDEE:

"Two Survivors of the Battle of Gettysburg at the 50th Anniversary Reunion"

School Sends Home Baffling Common Core Math Problem; Check Out This Parents EPIC reply!

Twitter / eli_mari78: A little boy didn't do well ...:

Story of Lacey Holsworth moves beyond the Michigan State community, captures the heart of Jay Bilas

Story of Lacey Holsworth moves beyond the Michigan State community, captures the heart of Jay Bilas | MLive.com:

SPOKANE, Wash. -- In the grand scheme of things, Twitter doesn't mean a whole lot.

So often the source of negative human wrath and anonymous lashing out, it's hard to find the positives.

That was the case for Jay Bilas, who despite having 658,000 Twitter followers himself, followed no one. Until today.

As of Friday, he follows one person in this world, and it's Lacey Holsworth -- the eight-year-old girl from St. Johns, Mich. (@adorablelacey), whose battle with cancer has taken hold of the hearts of Michigan State fans and beyond.

"Wednesday night I was watching Spartan Basketball All-Access," Bilas said in a phone interview with MLive Friday afternoon. "They showed the Michigan State basketball banquet and during Tom Izzo's speech at the banquet, where he had Lacey up on the podium and Adreian (Payne) behind him. He talked about learning lessons from his players and what an inspiration Lacey's been and the courage and toughness she's shown.

"It was really moving and inspiring. If you could watch that with a dry eye, you don't have a heart."

Lacey's unique relationship with Payne has been the lasting image of Michigan State's season. The struggle with cancer became even more difficult as of Wednesday when Lacey suffered a seizure. The fight for her life weighs on Payne as he plays in the NCAA tournament here in Spokane.

"I talked to Lacey and her parents yesterday and it's hard and it's like having a family member that's really sick and ill," Payne said. "The only thing you can do is just play basketball because you can't be there with them. And just knowing that when I play well it makes her happy, it feels like I'm doing something in a way to help her feel better."

With Lacey on his mind, Payne set a new Michigan State NCAA tournament record with 41 points in a win over Delaware Thursday night.

"I was crying watching (her story)," Bilas admitted. "It just motivated me to follow her.

"You see all kinds of stories, but this one seemed different and captured my attention. It captured my heart."