10 Ways Scottish Independence Could Transform Europe

10 Ways Scottish Independence Could Transform Europe - Listverse
Geographically and linguistically, Belgium is one of the most schizophrenic countries on Earth. 
Half the population speaks Dutch, nearly half speaks French, and a tiny minority speaks German. 
For decades, the Dutch-speaking Flanders region has been itching to break away from its dominant counterpart. A Scottish “Yes” vote could be the trigger to Flemish secession.

Since the nightmare of the Balkan Wars, Europe has been very wary of allowing countries to break up.
A peaceful “divorce” between Scotland and the rest of the UK (rUK) would create a road map for other regions looking to go solo.
At the very least, it would spur calls for greater devolution in Belgium, effectively splitting the country into two highly autonomous but connected states.
Flanders independence movement is so excited by the prospect that they’ve even sent delegates to Scotland to watch the proceedings.
They’re not the only ones to cotton on.
Brussels is so terrified of the prospect of Flemish nationalism that they’ve threatened to block an independent Scotland’s entry into the EU.

After 2-Year-Old Emails Detailing Impropriety Surface, Los Angeles School Board Votes To Limit Retention To One Year | Techdirt:

After 2-Year-Old Emails Detailing Impropriety Surface, Los Angeles School Board Votes To Limit Retention To One Year

from the accountability-is-for-the-little-people dept

In a set of strange coincidences not unlike those surrounding the IRS/Lois Lerner email disappearance, the Los Angeles Unified school board has decided it will only retain internal emails for one year going forward.

The Los Angeles Unified school board voted Tuesday to buy a Microsoft email archiving service programmed to automatically destroy staff emails after one year.

Why only one year? According to the Chief Information Officer of the school district, the one year limit is mandated by district policy -- which is handy, but likely not the real reason. (Keeping all those bytes is considered "too expensive.") After all, if this policy was already in force, why the vote on retention limits? 

More likely, this decision was prompted by recent events -- namely the publication of emails more than a year old.

The decision comes less than three weeks after KPCC published two-year-old internal emails that raised questions about whether Superintendent John Deasy's meetings and discussions with Apple and textbook publisher Pearson influenced the school district's historic $500 million technology contract.

A half-billion that ultimately went nowhere. Deasy allegedly cozied up to the companies before the district awarded them the tech contract, holding personal meetings with both a year before the plan went up for public bidding. The superintendent claimed he did nothing wrong ("discussed a pilot program that went nowhere") but nevertheless cancelled the program three day after KPCC's story went live. 

What was implemented never worked properly, making this $500 million (which ultimately turned out to be $1.3 billion) project a complete washout.

When the CDC Tells Us to Prepare for the Ebola Pandemic, Things Are About to Get Real

When the CDC Tells Us to Prepare for the Ebola Pandemic, Things Are About to Get Real | Ready Nutrition:

Are you ready for the possibility of an Ebola pandemic that will interrupt the day-to-day life of most Americans?

Because now, the CDC has issued a checklist and said that “Now is the time to prepare.”

You can read the entire document HERE. 

As well, the State Department has purchased 160,000 Ebola Hazmat suits.

The checklist is a directory for hospitals and medical personnel.

“Every hospital should ensure that it can detect a patient with Ebola, protect healthcare workers so they can safely care for the patient, and respond in a coordinated fashion…
While we are not aware of any domestic Ebola Virus Disease cases (other than two American citizens who were medically evacuated to the United States), now is the time to prepare, as it is possible that individuals with EVD in West Africa may travel to the United States, exhibit signs and symptoms of EVD, and present to facilities.”

The CDC’s Ebola virus page is HERE.

The World Health Organization and other agencies have gone to great lengths to avoid releasing information that might cause a panic. 

You can bet that if they’ve gone so far as to issue this warning, things are about to get real.

The state department has purchased 160,000 Ebola Hazmat suits. 

If the government is getting ready for an outbreak, shouldn’t you get ready too?

Ranking Each State’s Highway Conditions and Cost-Effectiveness

Reason Foundation - Ranking Each State’s Highway Conditions and Cost-Effectiveness: Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota Are Best; Hawaii, Alaska and New Jersey Are Worst

Reason Foundation’s 21^st Annual Highway Report’s overall performance and cost-effectiveness rankings are: 

1. Wyoming 
2. Nebraska 
3. South Dakota 
4. South Carolina 
5. Kansas 
6. North Dakota 
7. New Mexico 
8. Mississippi 
9. Montana 
10. Kentucky 
11. Texas 
12. Missouri 
13. Georgia 
14. Ohio 
15. Wisconsin 
16. Maine 
17. Tennessee 
18. Iowa 
19. Arizona 
20. North Carolina 
21. Alabama 
22. Oklahoma 
23. New Hampshire 
24. Nevada 
25. Virginia 
26. Oregon 
27. Illinois 
28. Minnesota 
29. Utah 
30. Idaho 
31. Florida 
32. Michigan 

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/21st-annual-highway-report#sthash.lqQos6eC.dpuf

41 maps (and charts) that explain the Midwest

41 maps (and charts) that explain the Midwest - Vox

Government Insider Warned of HealthCare.gov Security Risks

Government Insider Warned of HealthCare.gov Security Risks:
"Government insiders who flagged security issues prior to the launch of HealthCare.gov were right to be concerned. That’s according to a new audit by the Government Accountability Office, which concluded that security weaknesses are putting “the sensitive personal information” contained by HealthCare.gov and its related systems at risk."

General: ‘We Don’t Have a Replacement’ for A-10, U-2

General: ‘We Don’t Have a Replacement’ for A-10, U-2 | Defense Tech:
"The Air Force does not have a suitable replacement for the planned divestiture of the A-10 Warthog aircraft and U-2 spy plane, senior service leaders said Sept. 16 at the Air Force Association Air and Space Conference, National Harbor, Md.

“I don’t want to cut the A-10 and the U-2 – we don’t have a replacement,” said Gen. Michael Hostage III, Commander, Air Force Air Combat Command.

As part of its budget request for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, the service proposed retiring its entire fleets of A-10 attack planes and U-2 spy planes, and partial inventories of other aircraft. The proposed budget cuts to the A-10 and U-2 fleets are described by service officials as budget-driven necessities given current fiscal pressures.

The recommendations were driven in a large part by automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. Sending the close-air-support aircraft to the bone yard would save an estimated $4.2 billion over five years alone, Air Force officials have said."

Who’da Thought? Millennials Overwhelmingly Oppose Affirmative Action

Who’da Thought? Millennials Overwhelmingly Oppose Affirmative Action:
"Writing in the University of Georgia’s The Red & Black, Katelyn Umholtz cannot seem to reconcile how Millennials can believe in a colorblind society … and also oppose affirmative action (my emphasis):
A survey conducted by MTV asked 3,000 Millennials ages 14 to 24 their thoughts on race-related issues, including affirmative action for college acceptance, in May.
And what it found was seemingly paradoxical: 90 percent of Millennials surveyed “believe that everyone should be treated the same regardless of race,” yet 88 percent opposed affirmative action.
Thomas Greneker, a senior University of Georgia biology major from Valdosta, said it’s a “tricky debate” because diversity is so important.
However, he said he does not think affirmative action is the fairest route to take when creating a diverse community.
“It’s not an equal approach in a push for equality,” Greneker said.
Seriously: why the phrase “seemingly paradoxical” and the word “yet” when comparing the belief in colorblindness to opposition to affirmative action?
Only those obsessed with diversity could see a contradiction between the two."

Muskegon County Wastewater to take on $4 million more in debt

Muskegon County Wastewater to take on $4 million more in debt | MLive.com: "MUSKEGON, MI – Muskegon County is poised to borrow $4 million and give townships a year off from increasing the wholesale sewer rates it charges them.
The Muskegon County Board of Public Works on Thursday, Sept. 11 gave preliminary approval to a budget for the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System.
The board voted in favor of a plan to sell $4 million in bonds for capital improvements and take a year off from increasing its rates.
The rates would resume at increasing at 4.9 percent per year for 2016-2019 under the plan.
Utility Financial Solutions Vice President Dawn Lund – a third-party consultant brought in to evaluate the wastewater system's finances -- earlier recommended against taking on more debt.
The system has about $65 million in debt and its remaining equity is worth roughly the same amount, she said.
But the Board of Public Works chairman Terry Sabo said that without the $4 million in bond money, the wastewater system's funds for emergency repairs would be a bit thin over the coming year.
"It worries me a little bit," Sabo said."

Student suspended for selling non-diet soda banned by school policy

Student suspended for selling non-diet soda banned by school policy - EAGnews.org:
"ALBERTA, Canada – When 17-year-old Keenan Shaw sees an opportunity, he jumps on it.
And the new diet-only soft drink rule at his Lethbridge, Alberta high school was the perfect opportunity.
“Mr. Shaw arrived at the school last week carrying a case full of pop, which was recently banned from the school,” the National Post reports. “
He began selling it to fellow students, knowing he was flouting the administration’s restrictions on the drink but not expecting the punishment.”
Sales were booming, until school administrators stepped in.
After a week of selling full flavored Pepsi from his school locker, Shaw was slapped with a two-day suspension for refusing to follow the school’s nonsensical restrictions.
“I thought it was a joke,” Shaw told the news site. “I didn’t think they could (suspend) me for selling pop.”
Lethbridge superintendent Sheryl Gilmour told the National Post said selling the illegal pop at school violated the district’s nutritional policy, as well as marketing and distribution rules.
And it wasn’t so much that Shaw violated the rules as it was his refusal to end his burgeoning business that got him in trouble, she said."

My God, EVERYONE in government is listening to ALL of our private communication! And non-government crooks too!-----Who Is Running Phony Cell Phone Towers Around The United States?

Who Is Running Phony Cell Phone Towers Around The United States? | Popular Science
Since filing an amicus brief with the EFF on the first case in the country challenging the constitutionality of "Stingray" surveillance in 2012, the ACLU has used press reporting and analysis of government records to establish that 43 different state and local law enforcement agencies in 18 states have the technology. 
On the federal level, at least 12 agencies have purchased interceptors, including the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and all the branches of the U.S. military. 
But amidst this thicket of government and police surveillance, security experts cannot rule out the possibility that foreign spies or criminal hackers are also using the cell tower simulators in the United States. 
The most sophisticated interceptors cost roughly $100,000, though a skilled, determined hacker could cobble together a basic interceptor for less than $2,000.

ESD America CEO Les Goldsmith says that we don't know for sure who's using the interceptors, but he speculates that owners might be the U.S. government, foreign spies, or possibly criminal hackers.

DISGUSTING, LYING DEMOCRATS------Rush Limbaugh strikes back at DCCC

Rush Limbaugh strikes back at DCCC - POLITICO.com
Glicklich says those remarks were taken out of context. Whatever the case, some people found the DCCC's efforts to fundraise off Limbaught's remarks unseemly. (The email directed recipients to a form where they were required to fill out their email address and had the option of supplying their zip code. After giving their information to the DCCC, they are redirected to ActBlue and asked for a donation, preferably recurring weekly.)

"Using rape to build lists is just wrong, and they'd slam any Republican doing it," one Democratic campaign strategist wrote in an email. "Limbaugh's comments are disgusting, and should be called out, but this is the wrong way of doing it."

Glicklich similarly condemned the DCCC's tactics: "Even for the partisan DCCC, this reprehensible behavior reaches a new low," he said. "They should apologize to women everywhere, and donate the funds they raised by this fiction to the real victims of sexual violence. We are waiting for their explanation."

The full transcript of Limbaugh's remarks, as provided by Glicklich, follows:

"Consent must be freely given, can be withdrawn at any time, and the absence of 'no' does not mean 'yes.'" How many of you guys, in your own experience with women, have learned that "no" means "yes" if you know how to spot it? Let me tell you something. In this modern world, that is simply not tolerated. People aren't even gonna try to understand that one. I mean, it used to be said it was a cliche. It used to be part of the advice young boys were given.   See, that's what we gotta change. We have got to reprogram the way we raise men. Why do you think permission every step of the way, clearly spelling out "why"... are all of these not lawsuits just waiting to happen if even one of these steps is not taken?

(WATCH: Rush Limbaugh: 'No means yes if you know how to spot it')

UPDATE (4:07 p.m.): Emily Bittner, the Communications Director at the DCCC, emails:

The world according to Rush Limbaugh: women who use the birth control pill are ‘sluts,’ ‘no means yes if you know how to spot it,’ and anyone who dares question him is ‘reprehensible.’ There’s no context where no means yes, and that’s why thousands of Americans are responding to our petition demanding that his sponsors to pull their advertising.

Child abuse!------Debt and Deficits in CBO’s Updated Budget Outlook: 2014 to 2024

Debt and Deficits in CBO’s Updated Budget Outlook: 2014 to 2024 | Mercatus:
"This week’s charts use data from the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) recently released update to its Budget and Economic Outlook to show the trends and components of projected debt and deficit increases.
The charts show that debt and deficits will continue to grow over the coming decade..."

History for September 18

History for September 18 - On-This-Day.com
Samuel Johnson 1709, Greta Garbo 1905, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson 1905 


Robert Blake 1938, Fred Willard 1939, Frankie Avalon 1939 


1759 - The French formally surrendered Quebec to the British. 


1789 - Alexander Hamilton negotiated and secured the first loan for the United States. The Temporary Loan of 1789 was repaid on June 8, 1790 at the sum of $191,608.81. 

1830 - The "Tom Thumb", the first locomotive built in America, raced a horse on a nine-mile course. The horse won when the locomotive had some mechanical difficulties. 


1850 - The Fugitive Slave Act was declared by the U.S. Congress. The act allowed slave owners to claim slaves that had escaped into other states. 


1927 - Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System made its debut with its network broadcast over 16 radio stations. The name was later changed to CBS. 


1947 - The United States Air Force was established as a separate military branch by the National Security Act. 


1955 - The "Ed Sullivan Show" began on CBS-TV. The show had been "The Toast of the Town" since 1948. 


1963 - "The Patty Duke Show" premiered on ABC-TV. 


1981 - A museum honoring former U.S. President Ford was dedicated in Grand Rapids, MI. 


1997 - Ted Turner, U.S. Media magnate, announced that over the next ten years he would give $1 billion to the United Nations. 


1998 - The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted to release to videotape of President Clinton's grand jury testimony from August 17. 

Steal from our veterans. Get a "get out of jail free" card------VA Manager Steals From Veterans To Build Dream House

VA Manager Steals From Veterans To Build Dream House | The Daily Caller:
"A former Veterans Affairs supervisor has been sentenced for stealing up to $20,000 of government property, a recent Justice Department release announced.
From 2010 to 2013, 48-year-old Venita Godfrey-Scott directed her employees to use materials and supplies intended for VA medical center upkeep on her own house.
These taxpayer-funded home improvement projects included “a deck in her backyard, carpet installation, and various kitchen, bathroom and basement improvements.”
She also instructed employees to buy other necessary materials with her government-issued credit card, and had them work on these projects during normal work hours, when they were being paid by the VA.
Godfrey-Scott was a facilities supervisor, responsible for “carpentry, paint, locks, doors, and other minor construction projects,” for the VA Medical Center in West Haven, Conn. (RELATED: VA Medical Center Coke Ring Busted)
She plead guilty to the charges in May 2014.
While she faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, she will serve only four years of probation, and 120 hours of community service. "

Peeling a very expensive onion-----Michigan Supreme Court must hear no-fault FOIA case

Michigan Supreme Court must hear no-fault FOIA case - Politics Blog - The Detroit News:
"Several states have no-fault auto insurance, by which insurers pay the medical bills of people injured in auto accidents regardless of whose fault the accident is.
Michigan is the only state in the nation in which this reimbursement is unlimited.

This has led in part to Michigan’s highest-in-the-nation auto insurance rates. Adding fiscal insult to bodily injury is that victims of auto accidents in no-fault states use more medical services and pay higher prices for the same services used by other patients.

The real problem, however, is the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA.) This legislatively-created body is made up of the state’s automobile insurance companies and manages the state’s catastrophic claims fund. The MCCA figures in order to keep the no-fault pool adequately funded, Michigan auto owners must pay an extra $186 for their auto insurance, per vehicle, per year. In this manner, the MCCA has collected a hefty $15 billion in assets for the state’s catastrophic claims fund. 

The MCCA denied a Freedom of Information Act request for its secret formula filed by the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault (C-PAN) and the Brain Injury Association of Michigan (BIAMI.) Both groups are clearly on the side of keeping no-fault insurance intact, yet they cite a study which shows Michigan auto owners may be paying 15 percent more than we have to to keep the MCCA properly funded. They may be right. In 2012, for example, the MCCA reportedly took in $69 million more than it paid out.

Ted Cruz Says Obama’s Plan for Islamic State is ‘Defined by Its Confusion’ | TheBlaze.com

Ted Cruz Says Obama’s Plan for Islamic State is ‘Defined by Its Confusion’ | TheBlaze.com:
"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had harsh words for the Obama administration’s plan to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, after a hearing in which Obama’s military strategists said there is no military solution to the terrorist group.
“The Obama administration’s plan to combat ISIS is defined by its confusion,” Cruz said after a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, referring to one of the acronyms used for the Islamic State."

Morons teaching our kids. Never heard 'bout this on NPR.........Wisconsin school district spends $167k on lawyers before dropping $8k dispute

Wisconsin school district spends $167k on lawyers before dropping $8k dispute - EAGnews.org
FREDONIA, Wis. – Taxpayers in Wisconsin’s Northern Ozaukee School District are learning a very expensive lesson about public school spending.

Residents of the small town of Fredonia recently learned the district has already spent roughly $167,000 in legal fees on an $8,000 lawsuit over a storm water dispute with a school neighbor, who is also a school board member, Fox6 reports.

Board member and adjacent property owner Kendall Thistle “says it all started back in 2006, when a new residential development caused excess storm water to flow across the school’s property and onto his. So Thistle built a berm to protect his farm,” the news site reports.

“The school district says that berm caused flooding on school property” and created a safety hazard for students, and paid $8,000 to fix the problem permanently, according to Fox6.

The district also voted to sue the Thistles to recover the money in February 2011, and the case has been tied up in the courts since. After three years of legal wrangling, ballooning legal costs eventually convinced school board members to drop the lawsuit this May.

Ozaukee County Judge Paul Malloy scolded district officials over the “imprudent” lawsuit this spring, pointing out the obvious fact that it “never should have gotten this far” and the district elected leaders will “need to answer to their electorate,” Fox6 reports.

Common sense. Not hysteria. What a concept!-------5 Things About Bobby Jindal’s Energy Plan

5 Things About Bobby Jindal’s Energy Plan - WSJ
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana hopes to emerge as a leading policy thinker in the field of potential GOP presidential candidates. He released an energy plan Tuesday that in some ways is more nuanced and moderate than ideas espoused by other candidates. The 43-year-old governor’s energy plan includes a number of proposals championed by other Republicans, including expanded domestic energy production and the elimination of environmental regulations that target coal-fired power plants. Here’s five more surprising things you should know.

1 AMERICA FIRST

2 SUPPORTING EXPORTS, WITH NUANCE

3 GOING AFTER IOWA’S SACRED COW

Mr. Jindal calls to gradually phase out a federal mandate requiring increasingly large amounts of biofuels, mainly from corn-based ethanol, to be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply. Considered the bellwether for presidential politics, Iowa is also the country’s biggest producer of corn and this mandate is considered a sacred cow in the state. Signaling the importance of this mandate to presidential politics the last go-around, then-GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s energy plan supported it in 2012.

4 A MUTED NOD TO RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable energy, including wind and solar, get a fair bit of ink in the report, but Mr. Jindal’s recommendations don’t include some of the biggest priorities for the industries, including extending the production tax credit for the wind industry or pushing a federal renewable portfolio standard. Still, his commitment to renewables is more than a lot of other Republicans, and his long-term goals for the industry, including reforming the tax code and other financing mechanisms, could help boost renewables.

5 PAYING ATTENTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Mr. Jindal also has a whole section devoted to climate change, which is more than most Republicans have given the issue.
But he takes positions directly at odds with environmentalists—and, likely, with whoever becomes the Democratic presidential nominee—by questioning the role humans play in global warming and calling on the U.S. to withdraw from climate talks led by the United Nations.

He look like Obama's son?------Yolanda Reyes homicide: Witness says co-worker Shawn Jarrett was particularly 'friendly' to victim

What?
No marches?
No wall to wall TV coverage?
No screams of racism?!!!
No.
Just another day of black on white crime in the crazy land we call America.
Yolanda Reyes homicide: Witness says co-worker Shawn Jarrett was particularly 'friendly' to victim | MLive.com:


 "WALKER, MI -- Convicted murderer Shawn Jarrett was particularly "friendly" to co-worker Yolanda Reyes in the days before the Grand Rapids mother went missing and later turned up dead, newly released court documents show.
.....Detectives said Reyes' homicide has many similarities to other crimes that Jarrett committed in the past. 
In two of three assaults, he knew the victims and, in fact, was their next-door neighbor.
Following the 1982 homicide of a neighbor in Pennsylvania, Jarrett tried to get rid of three stolen watches. 
One of those belonged to the victim, police said."

EPA Doubles Number of Coal Plant Closings

EPA Doubles Number of Coal Plant Closings:
"In the run-up to the “People’s Climate March” scheduled for September 21, the non-partisan U.S, General Accountability Office (GAO) just doubled its estimate for coal plants expected to retired to comply with the Obama Administration’s new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the next decade.
EPA recently proposed or finalized four regulations that will negatively impact coal-fired generation that provides 37% of America’s electricity.
New regulations include:

(1) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule;
(2) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards;
(3) Cooling Water Intake Structures regulation; and
(4) Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals regulation.

The GAO in 2012 stated that “between 2000 and 2011, 150 coal-fueled units with a total net summer generating capacity of 13,786 MW have been retired.” The GAO said that in response to regulations and factors such as low natural gas prices, companies might retire or retrofit about 7%, or one in 13 existing coal-fueled plants.
The GAO warned at the time that these actions may “increase electricity prices” and “affect reliability–-the ability to meet consumers' demand—-in some regions.” 
.....The updated impact will result in the loss of 42,192 megawatts, over three times the amount of production shuttered between 2000 and 2011. GAO emphasized “This level of retirements is significantly more retirements than have occurred in the past.”
....Residential utility rates rose in every year of the Obama Administration according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA).

See Which Countries Islamic State Fighters Are Coming From | TheBlaze.com

See Which Countries Islamic State Fighters Are Coming From | TheBlaze.com:
"Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty put together the infographic below, drawn from CIA data, showing how many fighters different countries have contributed to the Islamic State’s 30,000-strong army.
It turns out the U.K. and France are contributing more fighters than many Arab nations including Egypt, Libya and Yemen (though on a per-capita basis, Muslim Arab nations lead the world in numbers of Islamic State fighters)."

OUTRAGE: Principal bans and removes American flags from students’ trucks on 9/11

OUTRAGE: Principal bans and removes American flags from students’ trucks on 9/11 - Wounded American Warrior:
"Excerpted from WND: A South Carolina high school principal’s decision to confiscate American flags from students’ vehicles on 9/11 has promoted meetings this week between school officials and outraged students.
WSPA-TV reported Principal Aaron Fulmer removed the flags from vehicles parked at Woodruff High School in Spartanburg, claiming rules forbid anything that creates a disturbance or draws an “unusual amount of attention.”

Obama: My Plan Makes Electricity Rates Skyrocket