"Required to charge a minimum...."?!!!------California bans plastic grocery bags

California bans plastic grocery bags:
"Yesterday, the Governor of California signed into law Senate Bill 270, which will prohibit grocery stores, drugstores, and convenience stores from providing single-use plastic bags for their customers.
It will first go into effect in large grocery stores next year in July, and to encourage people to use their own bags, stores will be required to charge a minimum of 10 cents each for paper and other kinds of bags. 
This is the first state-wide ban on single use plastic bags in the U.S."

Mosquito Virus That Walloped Caribbean Spreads in U.S.

Mosquito Virus That Walloped Caribbean Spreads in U.S.  - Bloomberg:
"A mosquito-borne virus that can cause debilitating joint pain lasting for years has spread to the continental U.S. after infecting hundreds of thousands of people in the Caribbean and Central America.
The virus is called Chikungunya, an African name meaning “to become contorted.”
While the illness, first identified in Tanzania in 1952, has long bedeviled Africa and Asia, the only recorded cases in the U.S. before July involved patients who contracted the virus abroad."

And this:http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/08/04/the-best-movie-to-watch-during-the-current-ebola-outbreak

One of Eric Holder’s Final Acts Could Pose a National Security Risk | TheBlaze.com

One of Eric Holder’s Final Acts Could Pose a National Security Risk | TheBlaze.com:

"Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder will reportedly ban religious profiling as one of his final actions before leaving office, limiting federal agents access to mosques and providing no national security exemption."

A lotta grump goin' on--------Widow of former Michigan AD Don Canham: 'His legacy is going down the drain'

Widow of former Michigan AD Don Canham: 'His legacy is going down the drain' | MLive.com:
"Recently, the widow of the “father of modern college athletics directors” has begun to add her voice to the chorus expressing concern that the powerhouse built by Canham is in jeopardy of losing its luster.
“I’m just devastated that his lifetime at the school—he was there for 50 years as a student, a coach and an athletic director—to see that his legacy is going down the drain, that’s what I’m angry about,” Margaret Canham-Keeley said."

Jury Convicts New York TV Executive of Beheading Wife

Jury Convicts New York TV Executive of Beheading Wife | Fox News:
"BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The founder of a Muslim-oriented New York television station was convicted Monday of beheading his wife in 2009 in the studio the couple had opened to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan never denied that he killed Aasiya Hassan inside the suburban Buffalo station the couple established to promote cultural understanding.
A jury deliberated for one hour before rejecting his claim that the killing was justified because he was long abused by and afraid of his wife.
Hassan, who's stocky and more than 6 feet tall, acted as his own lawyer during the trial. He said nothing when the verdict was read.
His reaction was blocked from view by a line of sheriff's deputies and court officers standing behind him at the defense table.
The Pakistan-born Hassan, 46, had been served with divorce papers a week before his wife's body was found at the offices of Bridges TV in Orchard Park, where the couple also lived. "

A Chilling Conversation With an Islamic State Terrorist: We Will ‘Make Some Attacks in New York Soon’

A Chilling Conversation With an Islamic State Terrorist: We Will ‘Make Some Attacks in New York Soon’ | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"An Islamic State terrorist vowed in an exclusive interview with VICE News that the militant group is planning attacks in New York City “soon.”
Farah Shirdon, also known as Abu Usamah Somali, is a Canadian citizen who left his native country to fight with the Islamic State in Iraq. He is seen in a recent propaganda video burning his passport and promising to destroy the U.S. and Canada."

Neville Chamberlain Would Have Been a Perfect Fit for Obama’s Foreign Policy Team

Neville Chamberlain Would Have Been a Perfect Fit for Obama’s Foreign Policy Team - Michael Schaus - Townhall Finance Conservative Columnists and Financial Commentary - Page full:
"On this day, in 1938, the British and French Prime Ministers signed the Munich Pact with Adolf Hitler in an effort to avoid the onset of another world war…
Spoiler alert: It didn’t work.
Someone once said that history doesn’t always repeat itself, but that it often rhymes. 
Well, brace yourself for some poetry:
By fall of 1938 Hitler had already managed to annex Austria into Germany, and was already trying to “stand up” for the Russian German speaking portions of Ukraine Czechoslovakia. The eventual conquest of Czechoslovakia was a part of Hitler’s grand plan to reestablish the “greatness of Germany”; and his National Socialist Party was pretty darn focused on making such outcomes possible.
By the second half of September, Hitler had demanded the immediate cession of the Sudetenland to Germany, and Czechoslovakia had responded by mobilizing troops. The world looked on as it seemed that war was merely weeks away. France – realizing that such an outbreak of violence could be detrimental to their security in the near future – immediately began fabricating white flags.
The incorrigible Neville Chamberlain was dispatched to Munich, along with the Prime Minister of France, to hash things out with that “totally understanding” fellow from Germany. (Maybe Neville should have just imposed some sanctions on rich German cronies, and called it good.)
Well… An accord was struck. Signatures were put to paper, and the Socialists with guns got their way. (That seems to happen a lot in recent European history.) Hitler, understandably, was pretty excited about getting a good chunk of a sovereign nation without firing a shot; Chamberlain was ecstatic about the political optics of working things out with a young and charismatic dictator; and the French seemed less than thrilled about the precedent set in the agreement. I mean, when even the French are a little trepidatious about giving in to a trigger happy “leader”, that should catch your attention.
Chamberlain returned home, and declared that his platitudes, diplomacy, and appeasement would be rewarded with “peace in our time”… Someone should have given him a Nobel Peace Prize, right?
Of course the “peace” was short lived. In 1939 Hitler decided the rest of Czechoslovakia should be his as well, and it was annexed.
.......Heck, much like Chamberlain, the Obama Administration seems pained to even contemplate uttering the word “war” in front of a microphone.
.....Chamberlain never fully understand this truth of life. And sadly, in today’s world, such ignorance almost seems to be a job requirement for working in the Obama Administration."

Uncle Sam’s $8 Trillion Annual Debt Churn: Why Washington Is Pertrified Of Honest Interest Rates

Uncle Sam’s $8 Trillion Annual Debt Churn: Why Washington Is Pertrified Of Honest Interest Rates | David Stockman's Contra Corner:
"I know that headline sounds completely outrageous.
But it is actually true.  
The U.S. government is borrowing about 8 trillion dollars a year, and you are about to see the hard numbers that prove this.
When discussing the national debt, most people tend to only focus on the amount that it increases each 12 months.
And as I wrote about recently, the U.S. national debt has increased by more than a trillion dollars in fiscal year 2014.
But that does not count the huge amounts of U.S. Treasury securities that the federal government must redeem each year.
When these debt instruments hit their maturity date, the U.S. government must pay them off.
This is done by borrowing more money to pay off the previous debts.
In fiscal year 2013, redemptions of U.S. Treasury securities totaled $7,546,726,000,000 and new debt totaling $8,323,949,000,000 was issued.  
The final numbers for fiscal year 2014 are likely to be significantly higher than that.
So why does so much government debt come due each year?"

History for October 1

History for October 1 - On-This-Day.com
William Boeing 1881, Walter Matthau 1920, Jimmy Carter (U.S.) 1924 


Roger Williams 1926, Tom Bosley 1927, Richard Harris 1930 


1880 - Thomas Edison began the commercial production of electric lamps at Edison Lamp Works in Menlo Park. 


1890 - The U.S. Congress passed the McKinley Tariff Act. The act raised tariffs to a record level. 


1908 - The Model T automobile was introduced by Henry Ford. The purchase price of the car was $850. 


1938 - German forces enter Czechoslovakia and seized control of the Sudetenland. The Munich Pact had been signed two days before. 


1940 - The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened as the first toll superhighway in the United States. 


1946 - The International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg sentenced 12 Nazi officials to death. Seven others were sentenced to prison terms and 3 were acquitted. 


1949 - Mao Tse-tung raised the first flag of the People's Republic of China when the communist forces had defeated the Nationalists. The Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan. 


1961 - Roger Maris (New York Yankees) hit his 61st home run of the season to beat Babe Ruth's major league record of 60. 


1962 - Johnny Carson began hosting the "Tonight" show on NBC-TV. He stayed with the show for 29 years. Jack Paar was the previous host. 


1971 - Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, FL.


1972 - The Chinese government approved friendly relations with the United States. 


1979 - The United States handed control of the Canal Zone over to Panama. 


1995 - Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine other defendants were convicted in New York of conspiring to attack the U.S. through bombings, kidnappings and assassinations. 

Terror Expert Claims 'Khorasan Group' Is An Obama Admin Lie

Terror Expert Claims 'Khorasan Group' Is An Obama Admin Lie:
"Writing for National Review, McCarthy said Khorasan is a made-up group designed by the Obama administration “to deceive us.” In part, says McCarthy — a former federal prosecutor who went after terrorists — the deception was necessary to maintain the fiction that Obama’s actions have wiped out al Qaeda.
On the Fox News show “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said the Khorasan cover story is all part of the Obama administration’s attempt to control the media narrative and downplay the war on terror."

Rick Perry Believes Oklahoma Beheading Was More Than ‘Workplace Violence'

Rick Perry Believes Oklahoma Beheading Was More Than ‘Workplace Violence':

"During Monday’s interview on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” Perry said, “I think Americans are confused about what this is.”
“This is a clear case of an individual going in and doing something that does not meet their definition of ‘workplace violence’ so I think any rational thinking American is going to look at this and go, ‘This is more than just normal workplace violence,'" Perry said."

Liberal Warmists seeking therapy!-----This year, sea ice records are being set in the Antarctic

This year, sea ice records are being set in the Antarctic | Ars Technica

College Editorial Who Decried Bras as Racist Now Whine for Criticism to Stop Stating This HUGE Lie

College Editorial Who Decried Bras as Racist Now Whine for Criticism to Stop Stating This HUGE Lie:
"It was just over two and a half weeks ago that news broke of an editorial from the University of Oklahoma’s newspaper editorial board. In the editorial, they made the argument that common objects from bras to band-aids to make-up are racist. Why? Because they come in colors such as ‘nude’ or ‘flesh tone’.

I kid you not."

Death Row Cop Killer to Deliver Goddard College Commencement Speech Sunday

Death Row Cop Killer to Deliver Goddard College Commencement Speech Sunday | The Gateway Pundit:

On December 9, 1981, at approximately 3:55 a.m., Officer Danny Faulkner, a five year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, made a traffic stop at Locust Street near Twelfth Street. The car stopped by Officer Faulkner was being driven by William Cook. After making the stop, Danny called for assistance on his police radio and requested a police wagon to transport a prisoner. Unbeknownst to him, William Cook’s brother, Wesley (aka Mumia Abu-Jamal) was across the street. As Danny attempted to handcuff William Cook, Mumia Abu-Jamal ran from across the street and shot the officer in the back. Danny turned and was able to fire one shot that struck Abu-Jamal in the chest; the wounded officer then fell to the pavement.

Mumia Abu-Jamal stood over the downed officer and shot him four more times at close range, once directly in the face. Mumia Abu-Jamal was found still at the scene of the shooting by officers who arrived there within seconds. The murderer was slumped against the curb in front of his brother’s car. In his possession was a .38 caliber revolver that records showed Mumia had purchased months earlier. The chamber of the gun had five spent cartridges. A cab driver, as well as other pedestrians, had witnessed the brutal slaying and identified Mumia Abu-Jamal as the killer both at the scene and during his trial.

On July 2, 1982, after being tried before a jury of ten whites and two blacks, Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering Officer Danny Faulkner. The next day, the jury sentenced him to death after deliberating for two hours. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania heard the defendant’s appeals and upheld the conviction on March 6, 1989.

On Sunday October 5th, Mumia Abu Jamal will deliver the commencement speech at Goddard College in Vermont. His speech was prerecorded by Prison Radio.

For Those Still in Denial, Picture Proves Obama’s Claim That There was No IRS Corruption to be a Blatant Lie

For Those Still in Denial, Picture Proves Obama’s Claim That There was No IRS Corruption to be a Blatant Lie:

"Then, there was Barack Obama’s claim during an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly before the Super Bowl in 2013. He adamantly stated that not only was there no corruption in regards to the IRS targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups, but there was not even a smidgen of corruption."


It's easy to find.  Just follow the trail.

"Why I Blew the Whistle at EPA"

Why I Blew the Whistle at EPA | Heartlander Magazine:
Endangerment Finding’s Impact

"The Endangerment Finding led directly to EPA’s proposed regulations for reducing CO2 emissions from power plants earlier this year. 

The new EPA proposed regulations are even worse than I expected in 2009, perhaps because the blueprint for them was actually written by an environmental organization. 

First of all, they are illegal, as per any reasonable reading of Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. 

They impose many aspects of the Waxman-Markey bill despite Congress’ rejection of it, and try to force red states to adopt the usual market-distorting preferences for power generation promoted by radical environmentalists. 

The regulations will have major adverse effects on the U.S. economy, all for no or more likely negative benefits, and will result in higher costs for electric ratepayers, with particularly adverse effects on lower income groups. 

They will also lead to potentially extremely costly electric grid instability and load shedding when electric power is most needed. EPA is effectively trying to rewrite the Clean Air Act without consulting Congress or observing the law or the Constitution."

When You Read How Many Tickets One Speed Camera Issued in a Single Day You’ll Realize Why It’s Being Called ‘Fishy’ | TheBlaze.com

When You Read How Many Tickets One Speed Camera Issued in a Single Day You’ll Realize Why It’s Being Called ‘Fishy’ | TheBlaze.com:

"The speed camera is located near an exit ramp where the speed limit drops from highway speeds to 30 mph. On one day in July, the camera resulted in 1,551 tickets worth a grand total of $77,550, according to data from the city’s Department of Transportation reported by the New York Post."


It's just another tax.  They don't care about safety.

The rot expands. And NO one seems to give a hoot!-------Obamacare insurance navigator with sketchy history gets even more taxpayer money

Obamacare insurance navigator with sketchy history gets even more taxpayer money « Watchdog.org:
"NASHVILLE — The federal government is giving an Obamacare insurance navigator Seedco, which has a reported history of fraud, $1.4 million to operate in Tennessee this fiscal year
Last year, Seedco received $1.2 million for the same services in Tennessee.
As reported, the federal government sued Seedco on the grounds it faked at least 1,400 of 6,500 job placements under a $22.2 million federally funded contract with New York City.
Seedco, according to National Review, had to settle that lawsuit.
Meanwhile, state Comptroller Justin Wilson reported last year certain Memphis residents participating in the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families program falsified paperwork and wrongly received almost $30,000 in taxpayer money through a Seedco subcontractor."

MSNBC Host Calls Muslim Convert’s Beheading of Woman in Oklahoma Food Plant ‘Workplace Violence’ | Video | TheBlaze.com

MSNBC Host Calls Muslim Convert’s Beheading of Woman in Oklahoma Food Plant ‘Workplace Violence’ | Video | TheBlaze.com:

“It is a story that I read as a workplace violence story,” Harris-Perry said during her Saturday morning show, adding that Nolen’s Muslim faith is no more importance in this case than what she ate for “breakfast that morning.”




One is no more important than the other?

An example of an American taking political correctness to an extreme.

Heretic-The conservative case for voting "democrat".

Heretic-The conservative case for voting "democrat".

(Note-This discussion does not include the Presidency or national candidates. Because of unique Presidential powers, "best of the worst" is our only option)

In August of this year, the MSM reported the death of longtime democrat Senator Jim Jeffords.

Coincidentally, his death was one week before the Florida primary election which elected Charlie Crist as the democrat nominee for governor.

It occurred to me that, not long ago, both men were respected republicans.

A review of their political activities shows they were not just turncoats.

They were hardly even moderates.

They were liberals hiding under the cloak of the republican party.

And it worked...for them.

How'd that work out for us republicans?

Today, we face a decision on whether to support the republican nominee for governor, Rick Snyder, and other faux republicans in Michigan.

I can't list all the policies that led me to ask this question, but I'd like to open a discussion about how we conservatives (especially here in Michigan) should respond to the hijacking of our party.

The advice we hear from the media and the establishment party is to "come together" and, if necessary, support the "best of the worst".

Most would agree the Rick Snyder is less liberal than Mark Schauer.

But Gov. Snyder (and other republicans) has enacted some very liberal programs, including the tax increases, expansions of state government and the expansion of (totally unfunded) Medicaid here in Michigan.

All solid liberal democrat concepts.

All solidly pushed through by our republican governor and republican house and senate.

When we fiscal conservatives express dissatisfaction, we are cautioned that if Snyder is replaced by a democrat, terrible things will befall Michigan.

Like more tax increases?

Like more expansion of state government?

Like more union pension bailouts that retain the economically suicidal defined benefit plans?

Like more unfunded expansions of healthcare programs?

Like more, expanded attacks on conservatives within our republican state party?

An argument might be made that if we are getting democrat policies, maybe it would be better if democrats voted for and enacted those policies.

An argument might be made that continuing to support those politicians who have consistently stabbed us in the back is a recipe for more stab wounds.

Here's my topic for discussion:

If we can't support some republicans for elective office, what should we do?

Our choices seem simple:

1. Hold your nose and vote GOP.

2. Vote for a third party.

3. Don't vote for anyone in a particular election.
All the above are simply wasting out vote.
Or this.... 

4. Vote for the democrat-Actually voting to elect a democrat.

 What might the benefits be in actually supporting or electing certain democrats?

1. We would be sending a clear message that we've had enough.

No more naive Charlie Brown hoping (against all evidence) that Lucy will let us kick the football.

In the past we republicans have quietly assured our leaders that how they vote does not matter.

We can be counted on supporting anyone.

Even those who consistently betray our values.

Those days are gone.

Listen and deliver on your promises or you're gone too.

2. We'd get better governance. (at least in Michigan)

Republicans are more effective as a minority.

Republicans have been best at stopping democrat overreach when in the minority.

When in control, they seem to morph into big government, big spending democrats.

Seven republican senators joined every democrat to pass the Medicaid expansion.

Would they have done so if a democrat was governor?

3. Democrats would get FULL credit for enacting their liberal ideas.

When republicans support and vote for liberal policies it gives the democrats cover.

Let democrats take credit for their votes. (See above 7 republicans)

4. We will stop enabling republicans to betray their convictions and their constituents.

If we continue to vote for those who have betrayed us, it will reinforce their belief that they are bullet-proof.

No need to listen to conservatives.

Only moderates.

And even liberals.

Why should we continue to support those who betray us?

5. Liberals will no longer run as republicans.

They will see they can't get elected and move to the party that suits them best.

The chances of electing a Jeffords, Crist (or a Snyder?) will be less likely.

Maybe it was worth surviving the Carter presidency in order to get the Ronald Reagan Presidency.

What about the downside?

1. We could end up like California or Illinois.

But is becoming a "disaster state" because of republican led baby-steps any better than getting there in big leaps by democrats?

I don't know how I will vote in November but I sure am tired of being Charlie Brown to my republican party's untrustworthy Lucy.

Jim Riley

Norton Shores MI

Replace the "great melting pot" with multiculturalism and disaster is a probability-----Grand Rapids will be 25 percent Latino by 2040, predicts USC demographer

Grand Rapids will be 25 percent Latino by 2040, predicts USC demographer | MLive.com:
"Future U.S. a 'majority-minority' nation
Based on U.S. Census data, demographers like Pastor predict that by 2043, the U.S. will be a “majority-minority” nation in which the majority of workers will be African Americans, Latinos and Asian Pacific Islanders.
The national level demographic shifting can be seen in West Michigan, where minorities dominated multiple categories of population growth over the past decade while the Caucasian population has either fallen or leveled-out.
The Latino and Pacific Islander populations in particular are surging on a local, statewide and national level, said Pastor.
Populations of both ethnicities nationwide have grown by 43 percent during the period measured by the 2010 Census. 
In Michigan, the Latino population grew by 35 percent in that time, while the Caucasian and African American populations shrunk.
The change is not being driven by immigration, Pastor said, but rather births to immigrants and people of a non-white background already living in the U.S.
“Immigration is slowing down and has been for the last 3, 4 years,” Pastor said, due in part to economic troubles in the U.S., better border enforcement over time, improving economies in Latin American countries and a “sea change” in fertility rates of women in Mexico.
In Grand Rapids, Pastor projected that by 2040, nearly a quarter of the city’s population will be Latino, and “it’s now spilling outside the city into the suburbs.”"

Great idea for ANY one!

The lazy POS missed almost 60% of the meetings NECESSARY to protect our country!!!!!------Obama Has Missed over Half His Second-Term Daily Intel Briefings

Report: Obama Has Missed over Half His Second-Term Daily Intel Briefings:
"A new Government Accountability Institute (GAI) report reveals that President Barack Obama has attended only 42.1% of his daily intelligence briefings (known officially as the Presidential Daily Brief, or PDB) in the 2,079 days of his presidency through September 29, 2014.
The GAI report also included a breakdown of Obama’s PDB attendance record between terms; he attended 42.4% of his PDBs in his first term and 41.3% in his second.
The GAI’s alarming findings come on the heels of Obama’s 60 Minutes comments on Sunday, wherein the president laid the blame for the Islamic State’s (ISIS) rapid rise squarely at the feet of his Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
“I think our head of the intelligence community, Jim Clapper, has acknowledged that I think they underestimated what had been taking place in Syria,” said Obama.
According to Daily Beast reporter Eli Lake, members of the Defense establishment were “flabbergasted” by Obama’s attempt to shift blame.
“Either the president doesn’t read the intelligence he’s getting or he’s bullshitting,” a former senior Pentagon official “who worked closely on the threat posed by Sunni jihadists in Syria and Iraq” told the Daily Beast."

Yes means no. And yes. And maybe. And yer guilty!--------University of Michigan: Withholding Sex, Discounting Feelings are ‘Sexual Violence’

University of Michigan: Withholding Sex, Discounting Feelings are ‘Sexual Violence’
Examples of abuse listed on the University of Michigan’s domestic violence awareness website say “sexual violence” includes “withholding sex and affection” and “discounting the partner’s feelings regarding sex” – definitions that have come under fire by some men’s rights activists.

The terms, found under the heading “definitions,” also suggest verbal or psychological abuse include: “insulting the partner; ignoring the partner’s feelings; withholding approval as a form of punishment; yelling at the partner; labeling the partner with terms like crazy [and] stupid.”

......Currently the higher education world is gripped by the so-called campus rape culture, in which the widely touted yet largely unsubstantiated stat that one in five women will be sexually assaulted or raped while in college is oft repeated during mandated sexual assault seminars at universities nationwide.