Rep. Wolf on Mozilla CEO's Ouster: 'It Was the Silencing of Dissent'

Rep. Wolf on Mozilla CEO's Ouster: 'It Was the Silencing of Dissent' | CNS News:

"The ousting of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich over his views on traditional marriage amounted to the silencing of dissent, the compromising of freedom of speech and religion in America, and “the implications are vast and deeply troubling,” Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said on Monday, likening the incident to "mob rule.""

Supreme Court Rejects Christian Photographer's Appeal Of Lesbian Wedding Verdict

Supreme Court Rejects Christian Photographer's Appeal Of Lesbian Wedding Verdict | CNS News:
"While the Supreme Court is mulling over the religious rights of Hobby Lobby owners the Greens, it decidedly denied those rights Monday morning to a small wedding photography business owned by a Christian couple.
This morning the Supreme Court rejected Elane Photography's appeal to overturn a 2006 New Mexico ruling which said that the Christian business owners violated the state's anti-discrimination laws by refusing to photograph a lesbian wedding ceremony."

Climate 'consensus': Is carbon dioxide the new cholesterol?

Climate 'consensus': Is carbon dioxide the new cholesterol? (Mulshine) | NJ.com

Imagine a public policy issue that could determine the course of millions of lives. 

Imagine the science concerning this issue was complex and confusing. 

Nonetheless, most scientists had reached agreement on certain aspects of it.

And imagine the Washington Post wrote an editorial stating, "Government agencies must constantly make recommendations on the basis of just this kind of incomplete but suggestive evidence, and there is a consensus on what to do."

That sounds like the current debate over climate change, doesn’t it? 

Nope. 

That editorial is from 1980. 

The issue was not levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but levels of cholesterol in the diet.

In that case, the consensus was that the amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol in the diet are related to the levels of cholesterol in the blood and "that reducing the one will lower the other," the Post wrote.

That seemed to be the case at the time. 

But there were dissenters who claimed carbohydrates, particularly refined ones, were the more likely triggers for obesity and heart disease. 

That led the mainstream authorities to hold a "Consensus Conference" in 1984. 

The result was a national policy emphasizing low-fat diets as a means of combating obesity and heart disease.

Soon the market was inundated with low-fat foods. 

But they weren’t having the desired effect. 

By 2002, the cracks in the consensus were so evident that the New York Times Magazine ran a lengthy and well-researched article by noted science writer Gary Taubes headlined "What if it’s all been a big fat lie?"

"It used to be that even considering the possibility of the alternative hypothesis, let alone researching it, was tantamount to quackery by association," Taubes wrote. 

"Now a small but growing minority of establishment researchers have come to take seriously what the low-carb-diet doctors have been saying all along."

Last month, the prior consensus was turned on its head by a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. 

A meta-analysis of 76 studies and clinical trials showed no link between fat, even saturated fat, and increased heart-disease risk.

I discussed this yesterday with Meir Stampfer, who is a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Stampfer said the move to low-fat diets might have actually increased obesity and heart-disease risk.
That’s because people tended to substitute refined carbohydrates for fat in their diets, Stampfer said.

"Basically what happens is the refined carbs are very rapidly absorbed," Stampfer said. "Blood sugar goes up very rapidly and insulin is secreted so it plummets again."

That rapid fluctuation leads to an increase in triglycerides, which in turn can lead to weight gain and atherosclerosis, he said.
So is there a new consensus that "Butter is back" as one op-ed piece in the Times recently stated?

Nope, said Stampfer.
He and his Harvard colleagues disagree with those who are promoting saturated fats from dairy and red meat.
The Harvard crowd argues that people would be better off consuming more olive oil and seafood.

But that’s a healthy disagreement.
As for that prior consensus, the consensus is that it did not hold up.

"This is complicated and the policymakers tried to make it simple," Stampfer concluded.

"But it’s better to be complicated and right than simplified and wrong."

"Science of course is always correcting mistakes. That's what it's all about." Freeman Dyson, the smartest guy in New Jersey - and the universe

It is indeed, and I would encourage my fellow journalists to keep that in mind in light of the highly touted "consensus" on the role of carbon dioxide in promoting global warming.

Climate science is infinitely more complicated than human physiology. 

Once all of the data are in, we may find that atmospheric carbon dioxide‚ actually has the effect predicted by physicist Freeman Dyson of the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton. 
The 90-year-old Dyson, whom many consider to be the smartest guy on Earth, argues that far from harming the planet, atmospheric C)-2‚ may have a positive effect by increasing plant growth.

Perhaps you disagree. 

Fine, but you’re disagreeing with a guy who calculated the number of atoms in the sun when he was 5 years old and who’s been at the institute since Einstein was walking the grounds.

Science requires taking the long view, said Dyson when I called him the other day.

"Science of course is always correcting mistakes," he said. 

"That’s what it’s all about."

It is indeed. 

What it’s not about is consensus.

That’s for editorial writers.

NJ State trooper caught shoplifting from Pa. Cabela's store is fined $150

NJ State trooper caught shoplifting from Pa. Cabela's store is fined $150 | NJ.com

A New Jersey State trooper who worked on Gov. Chris Christie's security detail has been fined for shopifting gun supplies from an outdoor recreation store in Pennsylvania,according to a report on NJWatchdog.org.

William Carvounis will have to pay a $150 penalty in addition to court costs, the report said. The trooper must also pay $100 to attend a “STOPLIFT” rehabilitation class and is banned from returning to any Cabela's store, Watchdog reported.

Carvounis remains suspended without pay, Sgt. Brian Polite told The Star-Ledger this afternoon. Polite said he had no information about how long the suspension will last. The Star-Ledger reported in February that Carvounis was suspended following his arrest pending the outcome of the case.

The trooper, who made $110,579.10 in 2013 has also been admitted to a pre-trial intervention program by the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County. If he successfully completes the program, the theft charges will expunged from his record.

In total, Carvounis ended up paying $1,260.38, including restitution and court costs, New Jersey Watchdog reported.

Carvounis was arrested on Jan. 8 at the Hamburg, Pa store. after he put several items in his cargo pants pockets — including some handgun grips, a pistol magazine and a hat — and put a $29.99 binocular strap in a box for a product worth $19.99, police said at the time.

While Carvounis paid for some items at checkout, he allegedly did not pay for the concealed items, which were worth $267.38.

He also allegedly asked local police for "professional courtesy" because he was worried about losing his job, according to previous reports.

Obamacare Era: 50 Worst Months of Employment in Past 25 Years

Obamacare Era: 50 Worst Months of Employment in Past 25 Years | The Weekly StandardIn June 2009, Obama effectively launched the Obamacare era in his major speech to the American Medical Association, during which he offered advice to doctors on how to practice medicine.  
The next month (the first of the economic “recovery”), the employment-population ratio—which shows the percentage of Americans (among those who are free to pursue employment) who are employed—fell to just 59.3 percent. 
That tally was lower than in any month of the 18-month recession that Obama inherited. 
It was also lower than in any month of the George W. Bush administration, any month of the Clinton administration, any month of the George H. W. Bush administration, and any month of the second term of the Reagan administration. 
Prior to the Obamacare era, the last time that only 59.3 percent of eligible Americans were employed was in April of 1984, when we were still recovering from Jimmy Carter.

Alas, 59.3 percent has turned out to be the high-water mark (to date) for employment in the Obamacare era, which has now spanned four and three-quarters years (and counting).  
In other words, the 50 worst months of employment in the past 25 years have all come since Obama launched the Obamacare debate (a debate he now—wishfully, arrogantly, and irrationally—calls “over”). 
Indeed, it’s actually worse than that:  
The 57 worst months for employment in the past 29 years (and 11 months) have all come during the Obamacare era.  
And whereas Joe DiMaggio’s fabled hitting streak ended at 56 games, Obamacare’s streak of 57 consecutive months of historically bad employment is ongoing.
Liberals say the employment-population ratio has dropped not because of Obamacare but because of baby boomers’ retirements, but that claim doesn’t square with the data.  
To be sure, those retirements—which are putting added strain on a pool of potential Medicare funding that’s now being rechanneled, in part, to finance Obamacare—have been a factor.  
But in the Obamacare era, the employment tallies for those between the ages of 25 and 54 have been nearly as bad as for the eligible population as a whole.
According to the BLS, the percentage of eligible Americans between the ages of 25 and 54 who are employed has been between 74.8 and 76.7 percent during all 57 months of the Obamacare era.  
The last time employment for this age-group was that low for any month in the pre-Obamacare era was in August of 1985, when Rambo: First Blood Part II and Back to the Future were in theaters.

These Pictures Of School Lunches Will Show You Exactly Why Kids Are Fed Up With Michelle Obama’s Diet

These Pictures Of School Lunches Will Show You Exactly Why Kids Are Fed Up With Michelle Obama’s Diet:
"Now, students are posting images of the “healthy, hunger-free” lunches on Twitter and Instagram. 
Let’s assume they passed on carrot sticks, salad and steamed vegetables as they made their choices."

Your Monday Dose of Doom & Gloom, Gotterdammerung-Sized

PJ Media » Your Monday Dose of Doom & Gloom, Gotterdammerung-Sized

SNAPSHOT ONE: A soldier who never faced combat “snaps” and murders three of his fellow soldiers before turning the gun on himself. This happens on the grounds of one of America’s largest Army bases.

SNAPSHOT TWO: A week after the deadline has passed, nobody can say for sure if a trillion-dollar health insurance overhaul law has actually resulted in a net gain of people with insurance. This is despite executive lenience, if I may coin a phrase, towards who counts as having “purchased” “coverage.”

SNAPSHOT THREE: The American President, having been embarrassed in sequence by having his demands ignored by the leaders of Iran, then Syria, then Russia, finds himself hailed for “facing down the war machine.” This claim is made in the face of Russian preparations for further aggression, continued Syrian foot-dragging on giving up its chemical weapons, the ongoing refusal of Iran to be talked out of its nuclear program, and something close to a crisis in Sino-Japanese relationships.

SNAPSHOT FOUR: America’s equities markets experience broad declines on news that the American economy created nearly 200,000 jobs in March following weeks of bad weather. Wall Street wasn’t looking at America’s stubbornly high underemployment rate, which actually rose slightly. Instead, Wall Street worries that even modestly-good economic news will slow the free money raining down from the Federal Reserve.

SNAPSHOT FIVE: A California state senator and gun control advocate, widely expected to have a long career in politics, is arrested on charges of bribery and trafficking automatic weapons and missiles to Muslim separatists in the Philippines. The mainstream American media for the most part yawns.

SNAPSHOT SIX: Oklahoma, of all places, experiences “record seismic activity.”

You don’t have to be a millenarianist these days to get the sense that the world is coming to an end. Our six snapshots above don’t show a world sucked into itself on the battlefields of Megiddo, but instead flying apart seemingly at random in a million different directions.

Parental revolt against Common Core prompts states to take action

Parental revolt against Common Core prompts states to take action | Fox News:
Many students and teachers saw the standards for the first time this year, as the program was being phased in nationwide. 
And now that they’ve seen it, many are not happy with it, and they’re joining an ever-increasing group of critics who are lining up against it.
Teachers complain the program was pushed through too fast, that there wasn’t time for schools to make the adjustment, there wasn’t additional funding available for new textbooks, and that they just weren’t included in the process when the Common Core was created."

Oh baby, the PORK is gonna pay off now!!!----------------------Programs combating obesity expect to gain under Obamacare as covered patients lose

Programs combating obesity expect to gain under Obamacare as covered patients lose | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Weight-loss outpatient clinics emphasizing healthy diets and bariatric surgery hospital programs in Michigan stand to be big winners under the Affordable Care Act with improved insurance coverage for services and procedures.
With 31.1 percent of the state's population considered obese, Michigan has the 10th-highest percentage of obese people in the nation. 
Louisiana is first with 34.7 percent.
At 31.4 percent, Indiana is the only Midwestern state higher than Michigan, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Michigan insurance experts project that up to 1 million people will either purchase private insurance under the Affordable Care Act's expanded benefits or gain Medicaid coverage through the state's Healthy Michigan program over the next several years.
"Not only will Detroit Medical Center see an uptick in (obesity-related) services, but all hospitals" will generate more business, depending on what health insurance plans they purchase, said Don Gulish, program manager of service line development with Harper University Hospital, which is part of the eight-hospital DMC."

Lines long in democrat controlled cities result in massive vote fraud-----Michigan ranks 6th best for election performance, 6th worst for average voter wait times

Michigan ranks 6th best for election performance, 6th worst for average voter wait times | MLive.com: "While Michigan's 21.9-minute average wait time was one of the longest in the nation, it was still below the 30-minute threshold identified in a 2014 report by the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration.
Only Florida and Washington D.C. had wait times of more than a half hour in 2012.
Michigan is one of 14 states that does not offer either in-person early voting or no-reason absentee ballots, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. 
While such policies could reduce voter wait times, they are not a panacea.
Three Midwest states -- Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois -- that allow both early and no-reason absentee voting had average wait times of between 8 and 12 minutes in 2012.
But Florida, which also offers both voting options, ranked last in the nation with a 45-minute average wait time."

NATO warns Russia against 'historic mistake' in Ukraine

NATO warns Russia against 'historic mistake' in Ukraine - Yahoo News:
"Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - NATO warned Russia on Tuesday against making an "historic mistake" by provoking a flaring secession crisis in eastern Ukraine that Moscow itself conceded could degenerate into a civil war.
Ukraine's embattled interim leaders have been waging an uphill battle to keep their culturally splintered nation of 46 million together after last month's ouster of a pro-Kremlin regime and subsequent loss of Crimea to Russia.
An eery echo of the Black Sea peninsula's crisis sounded on Sunday when militants stormed a series of strategic government buildings across a swathe of heavily Russified eastern regions and demanded that Moscow send its troops for support."

Obama now probes everyone’s health – in Kenya!

Obama now probes everyone’s health – in Kenya!: "In the latest addition to the Obama administration’s growing aid-to-Kenya portfolio, the U.S. will help subsidize a nationwide citizen-health assessment in every Kenyan county without exception.

While the estimated project cost remains undisclosed, a separate Kenya-based trade-promotion project unveiled late last week came with an additional $70 million price tag.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, with U.S. taxpayer help, will implement the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, or KDHS.

Kenya will coordinate the efforts with United Nations agencies, the U.S. government and “other partners.” The U.S. will fund a KDHS requirement to deploy contractor caravans across the entirety of this East African nation of 45 million.

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s goal is to facilitate the travel accommodations necessary to conduct 45,000 household in-person health surveys of women aged 15-49 and men 15-54."

$45 parking tickets coming to Detroit

$45 parking tickets coming to Detroit | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr officially proposed increasing the cost of parking tickets to $45.
For those of you who haven’t been caught at an expired meter lately, the current tab is $20 — $10 if you pay it within 10 days.
The $45 fee would also apply to parking in no-parking zones, blocking an alley or driveway and a number of other scenarios.
The cost of illegally parking in a handicap spot would jump from to $150 from $100. 
Additionally, if you park at a two-hour meter but stay four hours, you could be ticketed twice."

Man: Easter Bunny says I fondled her

Man: Easter Bunny says I fondled her | WOODTV.com:
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Big Rapids man says he is being accused of fondling a woman dressed in an Easter Bunny costume at a drug store.
“It’s pretty stupid,” Michael Dodge told 24 Hour News 8.
Saturday, Dodge said, he and his wife took their grandchildren to a Big Rapids Walgreens to meet and have photos taken with the Easter Bunny.
The children became upset by the large rabbit costume.
So, Dodge said, he tried to make them more comfortable by taking a few photos with the bunny to show them there was nothing to fear. 
In one of those photos, he hugged the woman wearing the Easter Bunny costume.
The next morning, he got a call from the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety, asking him to come to the station for an interview. 
The woman in the Easter Bunny costume, Dodge says police told him, alleged he had fondled her.

Kim Jong-un executes security minister by FLAME THROWER

Kim Jong-un executes security minister by FLAME THROWER - Mirror Online:
A North Korean security minister has been executed by flame-thrower on orders of the country’s leader Kim Jong-un.
It would take the death-toll purges carried out by dictator Jong-un to at least 12 since he took power as Supreme Leader after the death of his father three years ago.
Deputy Public Security Minister O Sang-hon, was “executed by flame-thrower,” because of links to Kim’s own uncle - killed by firing squad and whose body was allegedly fed to starving dogs.
He was one of the last believed to have been linked to leader Kim’s uncle, Jang Song-taek.

Unintended consequences?-------Marijuana-Stuffed Mail Intercepts Hit Another High, Postal Inspectors Say

Marijuana-Stuffed Mail Intercepts Hit Another High, Postal Inspectors Say - US News:
"The U.S. Postal Inspection Service ended fiscal year 2013 on a high, intercepting 20 percent more pot-packed parcels and tallying 14 percent more arrests and indictments for mailing controlled substances than in the preceding year.
During the fiscal year, which ended in September, inspectors confiscated 45,000 pounds of cannabis concealed within 9,100 parcels, according to Paul Krenn, an assistant inspector in charge at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.
In fiscal year 2012 inspectors found 42,000 pounds of marijuana stashed in about 7,600 parcels."

History for April 8

History for April 8 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary of Olympic gold medal figure skater Sonja Henie (1912-69).

Birth anniversary of former first lady Betty Ford (1918-2011).

Anniversary of the ratification of the 17th Amendment (1913), requiring direct popular election of US senators.

40 years ago, on Apr 8, 1974, Hank Aaron hit the 715^th home run of his career, breaking the record set by Babe Ruth in 1935. Aaron finished his career in 1976 with a total of 755 home runs—a record that stood until Barry Bonds hit his 756^th home run in 2007.

Happy Birthday! Patricia Arquette, Shecky Greene, John Havlicek,

1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain. 


1873 - Alfred Paraf patented the first successful oleomargarine. 


1913 - The Seventeenth amendment was ratified, requiring direct election of senators. 


1952 - U.S. President Truman seized steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike. 

1962 - Bay of Pigs invaders got thirty years imprisonment in Cuba. 


1975 - Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians became first black manager of a major league baseball team. 

1986 - Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, CA. 


1994 - Smoking was banned in the Pentagon and all U.S. military bases. 

Victory for Gun-Rights Proponents as Open-Carry Bill — Possible Nationwide Model — Approved by State’s Lawmakers

Victory for Gun-Rights Proponents as Open-Carry Bill — Possible Nationwide Model — Approved by State’s Lawmakers | TheBlaze.com:
"Kansas legislators gave final approval Saturday to a bill that would nullify city and county gun restrictions, ensuring that it’s legal across the state to openly carry firearms, the Associated Press reported.

The measure — which the National Rifle Association sees as a nationwide model for stripping local officials of their gun-regulating power — was approved by the state House, 102-19, a day after the Senate passed it, 37-2."

UPS to Union Bullies in NY: You’re Fired!

UPS to Union Bullies in NY: You’re Fired!:
"In a move that may make some union members think twice about attempting to bully companies into personnel decisions, UPS recently fired 250 Queens, NY drivers for walking off the job.
Back in February, a long-time employee, who was a driver for 24 years as well as a union activist, was let go. In response, 250 drivers walked off the job for 90 minutes."

Hate crimes?!!!------Vandals Flip Smart Cars Over in San Francisco

Vandals Flip Smart Cars Over in San Francisco | NBC Bay Area:
"Someone's been vandalizing compact Smart cars in San Francisco, flipping the tiny vehicles on their front and rear ends in the city's streets.
Bay Area found four of the targeted Smart cars between Sunday night and Monday morning.
Two were found in the Bernal Heights neighborhood on Anderson Street, and another was found a bit south on Sweeny and Bowdoin streets, closer to the Portola district.
They were either sitting on their headlights, rear bumpers high in the air, or vice versa.
A fourth Smart car -- a small white one with a faded "Obama-Biden" bumper sticker -- was discovered Monday about 9 a.m. at Coso and Prospect avenues between the Mission District and Bernal Heights. 
Shelley Gallivan was babysitting her friend's smart car after it was left to her by her late father, and was shocked to find it flipped on its right side."

Give and take: $5 billion in tax credits still loom from Granholm years

Give and take: $5 billion in tax credits still loom from Granholm years | Crain's Detroit Business:
Tax credits granted during the Granholm administration are the gifts that keep on giving to the 3,500 state businesses who have earned them, but they're a continuing headache for the group of state employees who have to predict how much money Michigan has to spend.

Sometimes it works out — more than $400 million of the fiscal 2013 $1 billion budget surplus is due to credits the state thought would be claimed but weren't.

But in future years, a bad estimate could end up as a budget deficit, threatening Michigan's ability to fund big-ticket items such as roads, education and public safety.

And the $400 million not claimed in fiscal 2013 could still be claimed in the future.

Eric Holder on Gun Safety

How Many Personal Trips has Eric Holder Taken on Government Planes?

How Many Personal Trips has Eric Holder Taken on Government Planes?:

"It seems that the Obama family are not the only ones in the administration abusing taxpayer dollars with vacations excessive in both numbers and cost. Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder faced questioning during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing over his use of Justice Department airplanes for personal use. In response to a Government Accountability Report, Holder defended his usage of the planes for personal use by stating that, despite the notion that he’s taken over a hundred trips for personal use, he’s only taken 27."

ABC, CNN, MSNBC, PBS All Skip Political ID for 'Shocking' Corruption By Democratic Mayor

ABC, CNN, MSNBC, PBS All Skip Political ID for 'Shocking' Corruption By Democratic Mayor | Media Research Center:
"ABC, CNN, MSNBC and PBS on Wednesday and Thursday all covered the "shocking" corruption involving the Democratic mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Yet, while talking about the tens of thousands of dollars in bribes he sought, none of these networks identified Patrick Cannon's political party. 
Only a Fox News host referred to him as a Democrat.

On ABC's Good Morning America, Amy Robach asserted, "Well, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina has resigned after being arrested during an FBI sting."
On CNN's New Day, Christine Romans informed that undercover FBI agents "got the mayor to take almost $50,000 in bribes in exchange for favorable treatment by the city."
In contrast, Fox News's Jamie Colby revealed, "There's another Democrat in trouble over accusations of corruption." [MP3 audio here.]"