This Kid Made an App That Exposes Sellout Politicians

This Kid Made an App That Exposes Sellout Politicians | VICE United States:

With US politics swimming in so much corporate money that it's pretty much an oligarchy, it can be hard to keep track of which particular set of lobbyists is trying to milk more cash out of health care, fossil fuels, and other very important issues from one week to the next.

But thanks to 16-year-old Nick Rubin, keeping track of just how much politicians have sold out has become a lot easier. He created Greenhouse, a new browser plug-in that operates under the motto "Some are red. Some are blue. All are green." The plugin aims "to shine light on a social and industrial disease of today: the undue influence of money in our Congress." It sounds like a bit of a lofty aim for an app, but it's actually pretty simple and effective—it provides a breakdown of a politician’s campaign contributions when that politician's name comes up in an article.

History for July 25

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

Happy Birthday! Illeana Douglas, Matt LeBlanc, Nate Thurmond

1394 - Charles VI of France issued a decree for the general expulsion of Jews from France. 


1587 - Japanese strong-man Hideyoshi banned Christianity in Japan and ordered all Christians to leave. 


1866 - Ulysses S. Grant was named General of the Army. He was the first American officer to hold the rank. 


1871 - Seth Wheeler patented perforated wrapping paper. 


1909 - French aviator Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel in a monoplane. He traveled from Calais to Dover in 37 minutes. He was the first man to fly across the channel. 


1943 - Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was overthrown in a coup. 


1946 - The U.S. detonated an atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. It was the first underwater test of the device. 


1956  - The Andrea Doria sank after a collision with the Stockholm, another luxury liner. During the ordeal 1,634 people were rescued, including the captain and crew.


1978 - Louise Joy Brown, the first test-tube baby, was born in Oldham, England. She had been conceived through in-vitro fertilization. 



1984 - Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space. She was aboard the orbiting space station Salyut 7. 

Behind All The Scandals Is A Lie So Big That It Could Utterly Destroy Obama

Behind All The Scandals Is A Lie So Big That It Could Utterly Destroy Obama:
"In the age of Obama, we have witnessed the complete metamorphosis of the media, no longer objective journalists but partisan liberal activists who control, manipulate, and even create news to support a left-wing political agenda."

VIDEO: Ted Cruz Warns Obama; Obama Backs Down

VIDEO: Ted Cruz Warns Obama; Obama Backs Down:
"Responding to the announcement that the Obama regime would be providing millions of dollars of “aid” to Hamas, a terrorist group that is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, Senator Cruz said to Sean Hannity that, “the Obama Administration is the most anti-Israel administration this government has ever had,” and accused Obama of trying to “strong arm the nation of Israel.”
Cruz asked Hannity:
“Is the Obama administration giving 47 million dollars that will go to Hamas who is actively trying to kill civilians while simultaneously imposing millions of dollars of economic harms on our friend and ally Israel? "

ISIS Militants Reportedly Force Iraqi Shop Owners to Cover-Up Mannequins’ Faces | TheBlaze.com

ISIS Militants Reportedly Force Iraqi Shop Owners to Cover-Up Mannequins’ Faces | TheBlaze.com:
"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the extremist group that has taken control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and formally declared a caliphate has reportedly issued a mandate that stores cover up mannequins’ faces."

This Time Is Not Different: Why The Market Is Heading For A Fall

This Time Is Not Different: Why The Market Is Heading For A Fall | David Stockman's Contra Corner:

The 2008 Wall Street meltdown is long forgotten, having been washed away by a tsunami of central bank liquidity. 

Indeed, the S&P is up nearly 200% from its March 2009 low. 

Yet four cardinal measures of Main Street economic health convey nothing like a 2X pick-up from the post-crisis bottom.

To wit, in June the count of  breadwinner jobs was 68.5 million or 5% below were it stood as the crisis got underway. Likewise, business investment in real plant and equipment is still 5% below its late 2007 peak. So too with the real median family income at about $53k—its still down by 6%. And unlike past cycles where safety net programs like food stamps shed recipients as the recovery gained momentum, there are still nearly 47 million Americans in the program compared to 30 million in March 2009.

Obama Greeted in Los Angeles With Street Art Campaign About His ‘Scandals’ | TheBlaze.com

Obama Greeted in Los Angeles With Street Art Campaign About His ‘Scandals’ | TheBlaze.com:
"When President Barack Obama stops by the Los Angeles home of ”Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes for a $32,400-per-plate fundraising dinner Wednesday, he’ll be greeted with a list of some of his own “Scandals” as part of a rogue campaign by an L.A. street artist."

11 out of 12 fake Obamacare applications were accepted in official sting

11 out of 12 fake Obamacare applications were accepted in official sting | Mail Online:

Massive vulnerabilities to rampant waste and fraud': 11 out of 12 fake applications for Obamacare were accepted in official sting

• The Government Accountability Office also signed up for $2,500 a month in tax subsidies, for a combined total of $30,000 year
• GAO tried to enroll six more people in person but got the run around in all but one instance
• Sen. Orrin Hatch called the report 'appalling' and said it shows the 'poorly drafted law’s massive vulnerabilities to rampant waste and fraud'
• A Health and Human Services spokeman said his department is 'examining this report carefully' 

VIDEO: Trey Gowdy Lights Up Obama IRS Commish: ‘Words Have Consequences, Mr. Koskinen!’

VIDEO: Trey Gowdy Lights Up Obama IRS Commish: ‘Words Have Consequences, Mr. Koskinen!’:
"Gowdy begins his questioning with a simple question. He said, “I’m going to read a quote for you from June 2014 and I want you to tell me if you know who said it. Okay? We confirmed the back up tapes from 2011 no longer existed because they had been recycled pursuant to the IRS normal policy.”
He then asked, “Do you know who said that?”

Moron RINOs----New 'spy glasses' video features Michigan Republican with history of undercover work

New 'spy glasses' video features Michigan Republican with history of undercover work | MLive.com

LANSING, MI -- A Michigan Republican Party operative who trained young workers to film Democrats with secret "spy glasses" has a documented history of political subterfuge.

The Michigan Democratic Party on Tuesday evening released new footage from a memory card accidentally dropped on the floor at a Farmington Hills event earlier this month.

Earlier clips shared by gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer showed "trackers" -- commonly deployed by both political parties -- secretly recording one of his private fundraisers.

State goes after Ted Cruz on FAA’s ban on flights to Israel | TheBlaze.com

State goes after Ted Cruz on FAA’s ban on flights to Israel | TheBlaze.com:
"Cruz also noted that Secretary of State John Kerry announced $47 million in additional aid to Gaza this week, which he said is “in effect $47 million for Hamas.”
“Aiding Hamas while simultaneously isolating Israel does two things,” Cruz said. “One, it helps our enemy. Two, it hurts our ally.”

Proposal 1 of 2014: Summary and Assessment

Proposal 1 of 2014: Summary and Assessment [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
Proposal 1 of 2014:

Summary and Assessment

By JAMES M. HOHMAN | July 2, 2014

Download the full study here.

On Aug. 5 Michigan voters will be asked to approve or reject Proposal 1, which would modify the state’s personal property tax. 

The legislation that would go into effect if Proposal 1 were approved by voters creates three new exemptions for certain businesses that are currently subject to the personal property tax; it does not eliminate the personal property tax. 

Commercial and industrial businesses with less than $80,000 of personal property will be exempt, and, eventually, all manufacturing personal property will be exempt. 

These exemptions amount to an estimated $600 million tax cut when fully implemented.

China’s terrifying debt ratios poised to breeze past US levels – Telegraph Blogs

China’s terrifying debt ratios poised to breeze past US levels – Telegraph Blogs:
"The China-US sorpasso is looming. I do not mean the much-exaggerated moment when China’s GDP will overtake America's GDP – which may not happen in the lifetime of anybody reading this blog post – as China slows to more pedestrian growth rates (an objective of premier Li Keqiang.)
The sorpasso may instead be the ominous moment when China’s debt ratios overtake the arch-debtor itself.
I had presumed that this inflection point was still a very long way off, but a new report from Stephen Green at Standard Chartered argues that China’s aggregate debt level has reached 251 per cent of GDP, as of June."

Kinda the only thing he does well..............Democrats Defend Obama's Fundraising Swing

Democrats Defend Obama's Fundraising Swing:

WASHINGTON — President Obama has continued on an aggressive fundraising schedule in recent weeks, despite an ongoing crisis at the border, the downed plane in the Ukraine, and the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

House Democrats, including the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, defended the Obama’s decision to keep his fundraising commitments. In the current astronomical fundraising environment, they argued that the president is just doing what he has to do.

“We live in a world right now where every day can interfere with many things and President Bush was out there fundraising on tough days and President Obama has tough days where he’s also fighting for the middle class,” DCCC chairman Steve Israel told BuzzFeed. “And the best way he can fight for the middle class is to have a Democratic House of Representatives.”

Ummm. Won't more movie visits result in more popcorn and candy consumed?------Should USDA Reward Food Stamp Recipients With Free Movie Tickets for Making Healthy Choices?

Should USDA Reward Food Stamp Recipients With Free Movie Tickets for Making Healthy Choices? | Fox News Insider:
"“It’s not about bashing the recipients, I think that this program actually insults the intelligence of the recipients, saying, ‘Hey, you know what? You’re too dumb to know the difference between a vegetable and something that is not good for you,’” Charles Payne said."

‘Biggest Knife in the Back’: What the U.S. Did Yesterday to Israel Has Glenn Beck Furious | Video | TheBlaze.com

‘Biggest Knife in the Back’: What the U.S. Did Yesterday to Israel Has Glenn Beck Furious | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Glenn Beck on Wednesday tore into the Obama administration for plunging “the biggest knife in the back of Israel” with the FAA’s temporary flight ban to the country.
“They gave a win to Hamas,” Beck said on his radio program. "

Earth would suffer '20-year-long winter and worldwide famine' after nuclear war

Earth would suffer '20-year-long winter and worldwide famine' after nuclear war | Mail Online:

Life after a nuclear war revealed: Computer models reveal Earth would suffer a 20-year-long winter and worldwide famine

• Researchers from Colorado studied the effects of nuclear conflict on Earth
• They used climate models to predict what would become of the planet
• Their research looked at the detonation of 100 'small' nuclear warheads
• In their paper they conclude humanity would have been affected for decades
• There would be worldwide famine, deadly frosts and huge ozone losses
• The results would be the death of hundreds of millions or billions
• They hope their research will be an incentive for superpowers to disarm

This is for the little guys..... right......Michigan primary 2014: $5.6 million raised to battle confusion about statewide ballot proposal

Michigan primary 2014: $5.6 million raised to battle confusion about statewide ballot proposal | MLive.com
LANSING, MI -- Two of Michigan's largest employers -- Ford Motor Company and Dow Chemical -- are also the largest financial backers of Proposal 1, a statewide primary ballot measure that would phase out personal property taxes both companies pay on large machinery.
......The Michigan Manufacturing Association, which represents companies around the state, kicked in another $1.6 million, and MMA CEO Chuck Hadden is serving as treasurer for the ballot committee.

History for July 24

History for July 24 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary of Alexandre Dumas (1802-70), author of The Three Musketeers.

Birth Anniversary of aviator Amelia Earhart (1897-1937?).

Happy Birthday! Ruth Buzzi, Lynda Carter, Kristen Chenoweth

1701 - Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac landed at the site that became Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit.


1847 - Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah. 


1847 - Richard M. Hoe patented the rotary-type printing press. 


1923 - The Treaty of Lausanne, which settled the boundaries of modern Turkey, was concluded in Switzerland. 


1929 - U.S. President Hoover proclaimed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war as an instrument of foreign policy
















1956 - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ended their team. They ended the partnership a decade after it began on July 25, 1946. 


1969 - The Apollo 11 astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean. 


1974 - The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Nixon had to turn over subpoenaed White House tape recordings to the Watergate special prosecutor. 

LIBERTY REVIEW

LIBERTY REVIEW:
http://www.libertyreview76.blogspot.com/2014/07/manufactured-crisis-by-tammy-derouin.html

Mexico’s illegal immigration laws are much tougher than the U.S. They too have issues with illegal immigration from the south.  The Mexican president met with the Guatemalan president and together they came up with a rather ingenious way to resolve this issue. Their solution was revealed during a recent press conference to“officially announce an agreement to make it easier for those making the illegal journey to the United States from Central America, to cross into Mexico.”  Isn’t this wonderful!  Mexico will be issuing “Regional Visitor Cards” to help those who would otherwise be crossing through Mexico illegally, now legal.  But only for 72 hours, just long enough to cross into the United States illegally. 

Like the TSA doesn't make air travel nasty enough?-------Family Asked To Leave Southwest Flight After Tweet

Family Asked To Leave Southwest Flight After Tweet « CBS Minnesota:
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Twin Cities man is upset about the way his family was treated on a Southwest Airlines flight because of a tweet.
Duff Watson says he was asked to de-board a flight from Denver to Minneapolis with his two kids on Sunday after an agent didn’t like a tweet he wrote about her service.
....Soon after getting to their seats, the family of three was asked to leave the plane.
“[She said] her safety feels threatened at this point because of what I tweeted,” Watson said.
Watson’s daughter, Lucy, said she feared for her father.
“She said ‘I’m going to call the cops,’” Lucy said. “I like thought something bad was going to happen, like my dad being in jail.”
Watson says at that point, his children started to cry.
He doesn’t understand why his family was targeted.
“There was no use of profanity, there were no threats made. 
There was nothing other than, you know, a terse exchange between a customer service agent and a customer,” he said.
Watson says he was forced to delete the tweet.
“She said, ‘You can’t board the plane unless you delete that tweet,’” Watson said.
Southwest Airlines sent a statement which confirmed that a customer was removed for a short time and continued on to Minneapolis.
They also said the incident is under review.

Free government healthcare!------Chinese city sealed off after bubonic plague death

Chinese city sealed off after bubonic plague death | World news | theguardian.com:
"A Chinese city has been sealed off and 151 people have been placed in quarantine since last week after a man died of bubonic plague, state media said.
The 30,000 residents of Yumen, in the north-western province of Gansu, are not being allowed to leave, and police at roadblocks on the perimeter of the city are telling motorists to find alternative routes, China Central Television (CCTV) said."

Issa’s New Evidence: IRS Knew About Lost Emails Back In February, Not April | TheBlaze.com

Issa’s New Evidence: IRS Knew About Lost Emails Back In February, Not April | TheBlaze.com:
"House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that he has new evidence indicating the IRS knew about Lois Lerner’s lost emails in early February, and that the IRS waited four months before telling Congress."

All "pay to play", all the time.-------GM to add 1,750 jobs, invest $800 million in Michigan

If the politicians are buying these new "jobs" why are they taking credit for "creating" these promised "jobs"?
Gotta love the "planning to add as many as" and "...added or retained..."
Are we as stupid as they expect?
I'm thinkin', yes.
GM to add 1,750 jobs, invest $800 million in Michigan | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"General Motors is planning to add as many as 1,750 jobs at its technical center in Warren and invest an additional $800 million in Michigan in the coming years, according to Michael Finney, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
GM declined to say when the jobs would be filled.
The Michigan Strategic Fund, an arm of the development corporation, revised a tax credit for GM today and incentives for two Chinese manufacturers that are investing in the state — H.A. Automotive Systems and YanFeng Automotive.
GM has added or retained 33,000 jobs under an original tax agreement reached with the state in 2009."