Judge Allows Longtime Dem Rep. to Be on Ballot Even Though He Failed to Gather Enough Petition Signatures | TheBlaze.com

Judge Allows Longtime Dem Rep. to Be on Ballot Even Though He Failed to Gather Enough Petition Signatures | TheBlaze.com:
"The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman capped a turbulent day of law and politics and appeared to diminish the possibility that Conyers – No. 2 in seniority in the House – might have to mount a write-in campaign to keep his 50-year congressional career alive.
Conyers needed 1,000 petition signatures to get a spot in the Democratic primary. But many petitions were thrown out because the people who gathered names weren’t registered voters or listed a wrong registration address. That left him more than 400 short."

Why I Blew the Whistle on the V.A.

Why I Blew the Whistle on the V.A. - NYTimes.com:
"PHOENIX — MY decision to become a whistle-blower after 24 years as a physician in a Veterans Affairs hospital was, at first, an easy one.
I knew about patients who were dying while waiting for appointments on the V.A.’s secret schedules, and I couldn’t stay silent.
But there was no response to the two letters I sent to the Veterans Affairs inspector general, one in late October 2013 and one in early February.
Going public would damage an institution I gave more than two decades of my life to, trying to make a better place for veterans to get their care.
But I had to be able to sleep at night."

VA Shuts Down Car Wash Fundraisers; Youth Groups Hardest Hit

VA Shuts Down Car Wash Fundraisers; Youth Groups Hardest Hit | The Federalist Papers:
"For years, car washes have been a fundraising staple for high school sports teams, marching bands and youth groups.
SHUT IT DOWN: You can’t have fundraising car washes in Arlington, Va., anymore. 
In fact, you can’t have any car washes on private property without a permit from the state.
Just get some kids together with buckets and soap, rent out a parking lot, put up a sign and hope it doesn’t rain.
But in Arlington, Va., you also have to hope the government doesn’t catch you.
Charity car washes and car wash fundraisers are now banned there, after the city’s Department of Environmental Services issued new rules for stormwater and water runoff.
The county pins the blame on the Virginia General Assembly, which approved more stringent water regulations last year.
“There is an underlying reason why most types of car washing are not allowed under state and federal stormwater regulations,” DES spokeswoman Shannon Whalen told the Arlington News."

Legislature Lacks Economic, Moral High Ground in Detroit Bailout

Legislature Lacks Economic, Moral High Ground in Detroit Bailout [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"As I noted in a previous blog post, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has suggested that Detroit's lenders in effect deserve to lose their shirts because they should have known the city was "openly and notoriously" driving itself into bankruptcy.

Gov. Rick Snyder took a similar shot at lenders last year on the national "Face the Nation" TV program:

And realistically if you step back, if you were lending to the city of Detroit in the last few years, didn't you understand there were major issues and problems? And look at the yields they were paying compared to other bonds. They were getting a premium.

Neither man seems to recognize that the same criticism could be leveled against city and state officials, who for years knew or should have known that Detroit was rushing toward a fiscal cliff.
Not only did they ignore countless warnings, but state officials actively played enabler to Motown's fiscal malpractice.
Specifically, the borrowing Gov. Snyder criticized would not have occurred if not for a 2010 vote by the Legislature to grant Detroit special permission to go $250 million deeper in debt just to pay its routine day-to-day operating expenses. 
Many of the politicians who approved that "second-mortgage-to-pay-the-light-bill" debt are still in office today — debating a Detroit bailout to fix a problem they helped create!"

George Will: The 2016 presidential candidate we need

George Will: The 2016 presidential candidate we need - The Washington Post:
"“To another inane question, ‘How will you create jobs?,’ my answer will be: ‘I won’t.’ 
Other than by doing whatever the chief executive can to reduce the regulatory state’s impediments to industriousness.
I will administer no major economic regulations — those with $100 million economic impacts — that Congress has not voted on.
Legislators should be explicitly complicit in burdens they mandate."

‘We Have Never Experienced This’: Chilling Drug Cartel-Style Threats Hit Texas Billboards | TheBlaze.com

‘We Have Never Experienced This’: Chilling Drug Cartel-Style Threats Hit Texas Billboards | TheBlaze.com:
"One message read “silver or lead” in Spanish, a threat heard in Mexico signifying pay up or get shot.
“This (message) has historically been used by Mexican drug cartels to threaten or intimidate Mexican citizens, business owners and government officials. However, we have never experienced this in El Paso,” Sgt. Chris Mears, a spokesman for the El Paso Police Department, said in a statement. “The investigation is ongoing, but we do not have any information to suggest this was done to target any individual person or business at this time.”

Doctor: Detroit abortion stats 'like some Third World country'

Doctor: Detroit abortion stats 'like some Third World country' | The Detroit News:
"Nearly one-third of all pregnancies in the city of Detroit end in abortion, a statistic public health officials blame on rising poverty and dwindling access to affordable contraception.
Of an estimated 18,360 pregnancies among Detroit residents in 2012, the most recent year for which data are available, 5,693 ended in abortion, or 31 percent."

2014 Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid

2014 Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid - Indianapolis 500 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

Family of California Mass Shooter Are “Staunchly Against Guns” in Support of Gun Control

Family of California Mass Shooter Are “Staunchly Against Guns” in Support of Gun Control:
"Update: It has been reported that the shooter stabbed 3 people to death at his apartment before he went on a shooting spree.
Anyone think there will be calls for knives to be banned in light of this information?
There has already been strong rhetoric on both sides of the gun control argument regarding the shooting in California last night in which several people died and several others were injured.
It is currently being reported that Elliot Rodger, the son of Hunger Games Assistant Director Peter Rodger, committed the atrocious act.
The Rodger family released a statement saying they believe Elliot was the responsible party.
The family’s attorney has stated that there was no history of guns in the family and it’s unclear where the gun came from in the first place.  
In fact, the family is reportedly “staunchly against guns” and will be devoting much of their time to advocating for more gun control after this event."

Critics call Obama funding plan for health insurer losses a 'bailout' - Los Angeles Times

Critics call Obama funding plan for health insurer losses a 'bailout' - Los Angeles Times:

"The move was buried in hundreds of pages of new regulations issued late last week. It comes as part of an intensive administration effort to hold down premium increases for next year, a top priority for the White House as the rates will be announced ahead of this fall's congressional elections.
Administration officials for months have denied charges by opponents that they plan a "bailout" for insurance companies providing coverage under the healthcare law.
They continue to argue that most insurers shouldn't need to substantially increase premiums because safeguards in the healthcare law will protect them over the next several years."

Hollywood monster--Elliot Rodger's Retribution

Top 10 best and worst states for military veterans

Top 10 best and worst states for military veterans | Rare:
"The bottom of the barrel:
 1) California
2) New York
 3) Indiana
4) Arizona
 5) Illinois
6) Pennsylvania
 7) Michigan
8) Oregon
9)Rhode Island
10) Nevada"

History for May 25

History for May 25 - On-This-Day.com:

Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, Indianapolis, IN. See www.indy500.com.

125th birth anniversary of Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), aeronautical engineer best remembered for his development of the first successful helicopter.

Birth anniversary of author Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82).

Birth anniversaries of tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878-1949), lyricist Hal David (1921-91), jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-91)

Happy Birthday! Tom T. Hall, Mike Myers, Karen Valentine

1787 - The Constitutional convention opened in Philadelphia with George Washington presiding. 


1844 - The gasoline engine was patented by Stuart Perry.


1925 - John Scopes was indicted for teaching the Darwinian theory in school. 


1927 - Ford Motor Company announced that the Model A would replace the Model T. 


1935 - Jesse Owens tied the world record for the 100-yard dash. He ran it in 9.4 seconds. He also broke three other world track records. 


1968 - The Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, MO, was dedicated. 


1977 - "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" opened and became the largest grossing film to date.

1979 - An American Airlines DC-10 crashed during takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. 275 people were killed.


1985 - Bangladesh was hit with a hurricane and tidal wave that killed more than 11,000 people. 


1986 - Approximately 7 million Americans participated in "Hands Across America." 


1992 - Jay Leno debuted as the new permanent host of NBC's "Tonight Show." 


2009 - North Korea announced that it had conducted a second successful nuclear test in the province of North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security Council condemned the reported test.

You Won’t Believe How Al Sharpton Defended his Racist Rants!

You Won’t Believe How Al Sharpton Defended his Racist Rants!:

"Of course, Harry Reid won’t take to the Senate floor and condemn him. Barack Obama won’t hold a press conference and say that his pal Al acted stupidly. Nancy Pelosi won’t say this is all about a black man hating white people. No, there will be silence as the Left continues to practice selective moral outrage while they turn their backs on heinous statements and activities from their own."

Bernie Sanders on VA Bill: We Should Know What’s In It Before We Vote on It | CNS News

Bernie Sanders on VA Bill: We Should Know What’s In It Before We Vote on It | CNS News:
"Current law allows Senior Executive Service (SES) workers, a group representing most VA senior leaders, “to be disciplined and fired, but there are considerable amounts of red tape involved and the process can drag on for long periods of time,” according to a press release on Rubio’s website.
Sanders and Democrats in the Senate blocked Rubio’s bill – the VA Management Accountability Act of 2014 – which “gets rid of these hurdles in order to give the VA secretary authorities similar to those Members of Congress have to fire employees from their staffs.”

Bogus Poll: Voters, DTE customers overwhelmingly support clean energy expansion

Poll: Voters, DTE customers overwhelmingly support clean energy expansion | Crain's Detroit Business:
A poll released today by the Sierra Club of Michigan shows 62 percent of DTE Energy Co. customers and Michigan voters support replacing utility-owned coal burning power plants with such renewable energy sources as wind and solar.
The majority of voters and DTE customers are concerned about “asthma attacks and other potential health problems from soot, smog and other pollution from coal-burning power plants,” said the renewable energy poll. 
They are also concerned about water pollution and fish kills caused by coal-fired plants, the poll found.
.....The energy telephone poll, which was conducted by Public Policy Polling, surveyed 798 Michigan voters who are DTE Energy customers and a representative sample of 670 Michigan voters statewide by telephone May 5-6.

Limbaugh Says You May Be Missing the Point on White House’s Alleged Response as ‘Terrorists Were Unleashing Hell’ in Benghazi | TheBlaze.com

Limbaugh Says You May Be Missing the Point on White House’s Alleged Response as ‘Terrorists Were Unleashing Hell’ in Benghazi | TheBlaze.com:
"Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is claiming that a classified email that he’s reviewed indicates that the White House contacted YouTube within hours of the Benghazi terror attack to warn the video sharing website about posting the anti-Muslim video. Critics allege the email shows the White House was almost immediately tying the video to the attack, even before real intelligence started coming in."

Walmart Just Revealed How Poor U.S. Shoppers Are

Walmart Just Revealed How Poor U.S. Shoppers Are:
"Ten years ago, roughly 50% of Walmart shoppers cited low prices as the most important reason to shop at Walmart; today that number is 75%, said Andy Murray, Walmart senior vice president, creative, speaking at the Shopper Marketing Summit this week.
Walmart shoppers are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the price of gas, to small tax increases or to anything that adds another $20 burden to a household in any given week.
Budgets are tight and getting tighter all the time, in spite of a slowly recovering economy."

Did the Obama administration defraud purchasers of GM shares?

Blog: Did the Obama administration defraud purchasers of GM shares?

When a controlling shareholder in a corporation sells shares to the public, and the corporation subsequently discloses damaging information known to it at the time of the sale, the SEC normally gets to work investigating a possible crime. Withholding such data can be a crime, defrauding investors by withholding material information.

 It would appear that something like that happened when the federal government sold GM shares to the public. In the private sector, it would be time to call in the criminal defense lawyers.

Writing at The Federalist, Sean Davis notes, “GM Sure Recalled A Lot Of Cars Right After The Feds Sold Their Shares”:

…at least GM acted as soon as it knew there was a problem. Because it’s not like the company would sit on the information and do nothing about it, right? Right?

Not so much.

GM knew about serious problems with the ignition switch for years, going back to at least 2007. At that time, GM had hard data from multiple crashes showing that some of its ignition switches had failed to function properly. The U.S. government officially bailed out the automaker in December of 2008. Throughout the five-year period of U.S. government ownership, nothing was done to address the deadly switch. According to one timeline of events, GM’s new CEO, Mary Barra, claims she did not even learn of the problem until December of 2013, which just so happens to be when the federal government sold its final shares of GM stock (at a loss of $10 billion, naturally).

Even though the company had data demonstrating a faulty ignition switch for years, it didn’t initiate a full investigation or recall until February of 2014, two months after the government sold its stake in the company. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) didn’t initiate a full investigation of the issue until later that month, even though the U.S. government had owned the company for 5 years. The Justice Dept. also showed up late to the party, confirming that same month that it had initiated a criminal probe into the matter.

The timing of claimed knowledge of the problems is so suspicious that a full scale criminal probe by the SEC is warranted. That would be the case if any private shareholder had sold shares under similar circumstances.

Law professor and Instapundit blogger Glenn Reynolds sarcastically remarks, “I’m sure the SEC will be right on this.”

Mind the Gap: French Trains Too Wide for Many Platforms

Mind the Gap: French Trains Too Wide for Many Platforms - WSJ.com: "
PARIS—France's state-run railway system Wednesday admitted failing to mind the gap, after realizing that a fleet of new trains it has ordered are too wide to fit many of the country's stations.
Confirming a report in satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné, train operator Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer and network owner Réseau Ferré de France said about 1,300 of France's 8,700 railway platforms must be trimmed to make way for the wider rolling stock.
......."We discovered the problem a bit late," RFF spokesman Christophe Piednoël told French radio.
"It's as if you bought a Ferrari and when you come to park it in your garage you realize your garage isn't exactly the right size for a Ferrari because you didn't have a Ferrari before."

Second-Grader Assigned to Draw What He Sees in the Clouds. When He Returned With This Picture, It Triggered a ‘Behavioral Report’ | Video | TheBlaze.com

Second-Grader Assigned to Draw What He Sees in the Clouds. When He Returned With This Picture, It Triggered a ‘Behavioral Report’ | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"It started off as your garden-variety, benign school assignment: Go outside, look at the clouds, and draw what you see.
But after second-grader Kody Smith turned in his artwork, his teacher at JA Talbott Elementary School in Widefield, Colorado saw nothing but trouble.
Because what Smith perceived in those clouds was a gun — so the 8-year-old drew one."

Tea Party Victory! IRS Backs Down on Tea Party Fight

Tea Party Victory! IRS Backs Down on Tea Party Fight:
"Now, it seems that the IRS has yielded to the likelihood of a fierce legal fight by nonprofits and has scrapped the proposed rules and regulations that would have broadly defined- and prohibited- “political activity” by nonprofits as a means of curtailing influence of groups that serve a public purpose that may run counter to the Obama agenda.
 The rules would have made it impossible for nonprofits to discuss anything the Obama Administration deemed political- that included speaking of the Constitution, issuing nonpartisan voter guides or mounting nonpartisan drives to register voters."

Jack in the Box Robbed at Gun Point AGAIN. 3rd Time Since Guns Were “Banned” from Store

Jack in the Box Robbed at Gun Point AGAIN. 3rd Time Since Guns Were “Banned” from Store:
"You have to wonder if the CEO of Jack in the Box is kicking himself after making the decision to request all gun owners to leave their guns at home.
It was not even  2 weeks ago that Jack in the Box essentially banned guns from their fast food joints, and now the third armed robbery has taken place since then.
According to Click2Houston, 4 men put on gloves and masks before walking into a Houston Jack in the Box, robbing the restaurant at gunpoint.
The armed crooks robbed both employees and customers who were eating at the fast food place.
Who would have thought that criminals would break the restaurant’s policy? "

Texas Gun Shop Posts a New Sign Every Week — The Latest One Is Pretty Great

Texas Gun Shop Posts a New Sign Every Week — The Latest One Is Pretty Great: ‘Criminals Obey Gun Laws Like…’ | TheBlaze.com: