Using Stealthy Tactic, Obama Is ‘on Track to Take More High-Level Executive Actions Than Any President Since Harry Truman’ | TheBlaze.com

Using Stealthy Tactic, Obama Is ‘on Track to Take More High-Level Executive Actions Than Any President Since Harry Truman’ | TheBlaze.com:

"President Barack Obama has signed 33 percent more “presidential memoranda” in less than six years than former President George W. Bush did in eight, USA Today reports. Little-mentioned presidential memoranda has the same force of law as executive orders, but Obama has seemingly been able to downplay the extent of his executive orders by using the former.

Because of this fact, USA Today reports that Obama is “on track to take more high-level executive actions than any president since Harry Truman battled the ‘Do Nothing Congress’ almost seven decades ago.”

Carolinas politicians get payouts from broker

My Way News - AP: Carolinas politicians get payouts from broker:

"CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Soon after taking office, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina accepted six-figure stock payouts from an online mortgage broker accused by regulators of deceiving its customers.
The two Republicans served as directors at Tree.com, the Charlotte-based corporate parent of the website LendingTree.
As board members, they were entitled to large chunks of restricted company stock if they held their positions long enough.
Both resigned after their election victories, which would have rendered their unvested stock worthless had the board not taken special action to provide them early payouts."

Local health advocates to host town hall meeting as Muskegon prepares for 'Wellville' challenge

Local health advocates to host town hall meeting as Muskegon prepares for 'Wellville' challenge | MLive.com:
"Each community is expected to produce new evidence about health outcomes and attract major financial investments to the region in the form of public transit opportunities, food subsidies, school lunch programs and other health-related developments.
HICCup, which will use five metrics to assess each region's success, estimated that the Wellville Five communities will need at least $15 million to implement their goals."

The Small Business Administration's Welfare For The Wealthy

The Small Business Administration's Welfare For The Wealthy:
"Private country clubs, marinas, ski lodges, Napa/Sonoma Valley wineries, aesthetic enhancement clinics, Hollywood limousine chauffeurs, Rolex jewelers,  luxury pet resorts, Lamborghini auto dealers, venture capital companies, and much more receive billions of dollars in SBA subsidized lending.
The motto of the Small Business Administration (SBA) supports entrepreneurial grit and the little guy: “The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses.”
Yet, proponents of Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs will be hard pressed to justify many of the examples cited within our recently released Federal Transfer™ Report- SBA Loans to the Wealthy Lifestyle.
...SBA lending is supposed to “to aid small businesses which are unable to obtain financing in the private credit marketplace.” 
Yet, since 2007, there have been nearly 35,000 “small business” loans between $1 million and $5 million, many to companies who may have been able to obtain credit elsewhere.
....But the deeper, more systemic, problem with the SBA is that the federal government just isn’t very good at picking winners and losers.
When the SBA approves a loan, taxpayer money is used to pit one taxpaying business against another. 
Who decides?  
Not the market, but SBA bureaucrats who clearly have refined tastes.
Consider a few of the businesses that have been subsidized since 2007:
Four private country clubs including Horseshoe Bend Country Club, Marietta, GA ($5.0 million); Crystal Falls Golf Club, Dawsonville, GA ($4.3 million); Stafford Hills Club, Tualatin, OR ($4.3 million); and West Hills Country Club, Middletown, NY ($4.2 million). In fact, 48 exclusive clubs received $110 million in SBA lending."

Beware: Putin the wounded animal

Beware: Putin the wounded animal—commentary:
"Vladimir Putin is not a good man and not a good leader.
There, I said it … and the U.S. government basically began saying that eight months ago, when it joined with other Western nations in imposing a series of economic sanctions on Putin's Russia.
The sanctions hurt Russia a bit, but now oil's freefall is causing the ruble to crash and slamming that nation with a guaranteed recession or even depression.
This would be something worthy of extreme vigilance for the U.S. government and investors alike even if Russia were a true democracy governed by at least semi-responsible leaders.
But it's worse.
Much worse.
Vladimir Putin has always been a lot more like a petty Latin American dictator than a statesman. Think about it:
He made his bones in the secret police, consolidated his power with a ring of super wealthy backers, and he claps political opponents in jail at a moment's notice.
In short, Putin is like a Augusto Pinochet or a Juan Perón … but with much more steely resolve, a massive military, and nuclear bombs.
But even with Putin's extremely visible and frightening track record before us, it's clear the Obama administration and even the investment community is still not prepared for the extent of the damage the Russian leader can unleash on his own people, on his neighbors, and on the U.S. financial markets.
There is nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal.
Vladimir Putin is wounded — and he's not known for holding back.
His entire adventure in Ukraine this year is example of just how destructive and unpredictable Putin can be, and that all happened when oil was still trading at $100 a barrel.
So what could he do now?
For all we know, Putin has already done a lot of the following things, but here's just a partial list:
1. Launch another attack on Ukraine or another neighboring nation
2. Cut off energy supplies to the rest of Europe
3. Launch an all-out cyber war on Western and U.S. companies and government agencies
4. Nationalize foreign-owned or -controlled businesses inside Russia"

‘We Try to Make It Really High’: Philadelphia Tax Boss Admits to Making Up a Man’s $280K Tax Bill, Judge Rules He Has to Pay Anyway | TheBlaze.com

‘We Try to Make It Really High’: Philadelphia Tax Boss Admits to Making Up a Man’s $280K Tax Bill, Judge Rules He Has to Pay Anyway | TheBlaze.com:

"When Nathan Lerner got a $280,772 tax bill from the city of Philadelphia, he knew something fishy was going on.

In fact, he claimed he didn’t owe the city a cent — and Philadelphia’s revenue manager essentially backed him up.

But last week, as the Patriot-News reported, a judge reluctantly ruled that Lerner couldn’t challenge the fabricated bill, all because Lerner had tried to represent himself in court and bungled a bureaucratic order."

Muskegon Heights to receive $1.8 million to fight blight; part of state's $75 million in federal funding

Muskegon Heights to receive $1.8 million to fight blight; part of state's $75 million in federal funding | MLive.com:
"MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, MI – Muskegon Heights will be given $1.8 million to demolish more than 200 homes blighted beyond repair, officials said Tuesday, Dec. 16.
City manager Natasha Henderson said Muskegon Heights, the Muskegon County Land Bank and county treasurer Tony Moulatsiotis turned in a strong application to the state in short order.
  "It was definitely another example of collaboration and Muskegon County at its best," Henderson said.
The money will be used to knock down decaying homes, with an emphasis on those near schools, to make the community safely walkable, Henderson said.
Empty homes in disrepair are viewed as a danger by law enforcement.
"It'll be utilized specifically for demolition," she said.
"We went through a tedious process of ensuring these homes are actually beyond repair.""

The Land of Magical Thinking: Inside Putin’s Russia

The Land of Magical Thinking: Inside Putin’s Russia | World Affairs Journal:
"Russia’s mortality rate is horrific.
According 2012 World Health Organization statistics, a fifteen-year-old Russian male has a life expectancy that’s three years less than a fifteen-year-old Haitian boy’s.
The life expectancy of a fifteen-year old Russian female is sixty-one, three years less than in Cambodia.
Russians die from cardiovascular disease and from accidents, murder, and suicide.
They smoke, they drink, they despair.
Russia’s great wealth is based on extraction of oil and gas.
Even so, the value of Russia’s exports in 2013 barely exceeded Belgium’s. 
And energy prices are falling.
...“Long-term economic progress,” says Eberstadt, “depends on improving productivity through new knowledge . . . Patent awards and application provide a crude but telling picture . . . Consider applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty . . . Russia comes in No. 21—after Austria—racking up less that 0.6 percent of the world’s total. 
The population of Russia is more than fifteen times that of Austria.
Russia’s ‘yield’ of patents per university graduate is vastly lower than Austria’s—thirty-five times lower.
By this particular metric Russia is only fractionally better placed than Gabon.”

History for December 17

History for December 17 - On-This-Day.com:
Humphry Davy 1778, Joseph Henry 1797, Arthur Fiedler 1896 


William Safire 1929, Ernie Hudson 1945 - Actor, Eugene Levy 1946 


Barry Livingston 1953 - Actor, Sean Patrick Thomas 1970 - Actor, Giovanni Ribisi 1974 - Actor 


1791 - A traffic regulation in New York City established the first street to go "One Way." 


1830 - South American patriot Simon Bolivar died in Colombia. 


1903 - The first successful gasoline-powered airplane flight took place near Kitty Hawk, NC. Orville and Wilbur Wright made the flight. 


1939 - The German pocket battleship Graf Spee was scuttled by its crew, bringing the World War II Battle of the Rio de la Plata off Uruguay to an end. 


1957 - The United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. 


1959 - The film "On the Beach" premiered in New York City and in 17 other cities. It was the first motion picture to debut simultaneously in major cities around the world. 


1969 - Television history was made when Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki Budinger were married on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. 


1976 - WTCG-TV, Atlanta, GA, changed its call letters to WTBS, and was uplinked via satellite. The station became the first commercial TV station to cover the entire U.S. 


1986 - Wayne "Danke Schoen" Newton won a $19.2 million suit against NBC News. NBC had aired reports claiming a link between Newton and mob figures. The reports were proven to be false. 


2004 - U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence gathering in 50 years. The bill aimed to tighten borders and aviation security. It also created a federal counterterrorism center and a new intelligence director.

Michael Mann, Author of Debunked Hockey Stick Graph, Presents Lecture on Scientific Ethics

Michael Mann, Author of Debunked Hockey Stick Graph, Presents Lecture on Scientific Ethics:

"They noted that “It appears that news media and some pro-environmental organizations have the tendency to accentuate or even exaggerate the damage caused by climate change.” However, they found that “the information manipulation has an instrumental value, as it ex post induces more countries to participate in an IEA (International Environmental Agreement), which will eventually enhance global welfare.”

In other words, climate change ethics stipulates that it’s ok to exaggerate and perhaps even lie, as long as you’re doing so to protect the planet."

Obama Using Taxpayers To Foot Bill For Family Christmas

Obama Using Taxpayers To Foot Bill For Family Christmas
In a couple of days, the president and family will head back to the Hawaiian isles for another lavish getaway — their seventh straight Christmas vacation in the president’s “home state.”

Obama says he is “eagerly looking forward” to his time at a pricey, private home he’s rented for the occasion. White House sources say the first family will spend 17 days there. 

---

And who pays for the president’s indulgence? 
Via theblaze.com:
…the president’s family covers the cost of a private beach front residence in Kailua, Oahu, for the span of the vacation, reportedly dubbed a ‘Winter White House’ that costs up to $3,500 a day, or $75,000 a month.
Still, taxpayers help foot the bill for security and travel costs: A similar vacation last year cost more than $1.4 million.

Earlier this year, Judicial Watch issued a report saying that records it obtained show how heavily the portion of the presidential vacation bill can fall on the already burdened backs of taxpayers:

President Obama incurred $7,396,531.20 in flight expenses alone for his 2013 vacations to Hawaii and Martha’s Vineyard and his trip to California to appear on the Jay Leno Show.

And while debates will no doubt arise over numbers of vacation days, it can still be argued that the Obamas have spent more time at lavish and expensive getaways than did predecessors, such has:

• Reagan, who often went to his California ranch;
• George H.W. Bush, who often vacationed at his family home in Maine; or
• George W. Bush, who frequently went to his Texas ranch.

Every one on assistance and voting democrat-------U.N. sending thousands of Muslims to America

U.N. sending thousands of Muslims to America:
"The federal government is preparing for another “surge” in refugees and this time they won’t be coming illegally from Central America.
The U.S. State Department announced this week that the first major contingent of Syrian refugees, 9,000 of them, have been hand-selected by the United Nations for resettlement into communities across the United States.
The announcement came Tuesday on the State Department’s website.
WND reported in September that Syrians would make up the next big wave of Muslim refugees coming to the U.S., as resettlement agencies were lobbying for the U.S. to accept at least 75,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years.
...The State Department announcement makes it clear that the 9,000 refugees represent just the beginning of an extended program to accept more Syrians.
“The United States accepts the majority of all UNHCR referrals from around the world.
Last year, we reached our goal of resettling nearly 70,000 refugees from nearly 70 countries. 
And we plan to lead in resettling Syrians as well,” the statement reads.
“We are reviewing some 9,000 recent UNHCR referrals from Syria.
We are receiving roughly a thousand new ones each month, and we expect admissions from Syria to surge in 2015 and beyond.”
...The State Department works to place refugees in 180 cities across 49 states."

VIDEO: You’ll Stand and Cheer When you See this New Video Released by Ted Cruz About Obama’s Illegal Amnesty

VIDEO: You’ll Stand and Cheer When you See this New Video Released by Ted Cruz About Obama’s Illegal Amnesty:

"Speaking to a crowd in D.C., Tea Party Senator Ted Cruz explained the crisis facing our nation beautifully.

“We are, today, facing a full-fledged constitutional crisis,” Cruz states in the below video.

“22 times President Obama admitted he had no constitutional authority to unilaterally grant amnesty,” Cruz noted.

The video continues with hard-hitting points that highlights that what President Obama has done is not only illegal, but downright dangerous."

Chrysler Group changes its name to FCA US

Chrysler Group changes its name to FCA US | MLive.com:
"DETROIT, MI – Chrysler Group LLC announced Tuesday that it has officially changed its name to FCA US LLC.
The company said the name-change better aligns the Auburn Hills firm with its parent company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., also known as FCA.
The changed moniker has no effect on the location of the company's headquarters in Auburn Hills, nor on its operations, staff or brands there, FCA noted.
...The resulting parent company is headquartered in London but incorporated in the Netherlands."

Nothing to see here..... Rev. Sharpton.....Obama...... where's your outrage? On the golf course?-------Demario Bailey, 15, fatally shot during robbery attempt, police say suspects in custody

Demario Bailey, 15, fatally shot during robbery attempt, police say suspects in custody | abc7chicago.com
CHICAGO (WLS) --
Police are questioning persons of interest in connection with a shooting that left a 15-year-old boy dead during an apparent robbery attempt on the city's South Side.
Demario Bailey was shot and killed in front of his identical twin brother.
Family members say the teen was shot because he would not give up his coat to several people trying to rob him.
At least two people were custody Saturday night.
Bailey was a student at Johnson College Prep.
One of his junior varsity basketball coaches says he's an angel gone too soon.
"One of the best kids in our school," said coach Robin Callahan.
"Very disciplined.
No problems, fun kids.
Always a smile on they face.
If you wanted a kid, that was one of the kids that you wanted."
Bailey was walking down the sidewalk with his brother near 63rd and State just after 12:30 p.m. Saturday when four men came up and tried to rob him.
Police say at some point one of them allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Bailey in the chest.

Long-term effects of marijuana use on the brain

Long-term effects of marijuana use on the brain:
"Abstract:
Questions surrounding the effects of chronic marijuana use on brain structure continue to increase.
To date, however, findings remain inconclusive.
In this comprehensive study that aimed to characterize brain alterations associated with chronic marijuana use, we measured gray matter (GM) volume via structural MRI across the whole brain by using voxel-based morphology, synchrony among abnormal GM regions during resting state via functional connectivity MRI, and white matter integrity (i.e., structural connectivity) between the abnormal GM regions via diffusion tensor imaging in 48 marijuana users and 62 age- and sex-matched nonusing controls.
The results showed that compared with controls, marijuana users had significantly less bilateral orbitofrontal gyri volume, higher functional connectivity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) network, and higher structural connectivity in tracts that innervate the OFC (forceps minor) as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA).
Increased OFC functional connectivity in marijuana users was associated with earlier age of onset..."

Teen Goes on Strike in Drastic Move After Principal Axes Ten Commandments Display | Video | TheBlaze.com

Teen Goes on Strike in Drastic Move After Principal Axes Ten Commandments Display | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"A high school freshman says he’s on strike following his principal’s decision earlier this year to remove a Ten Commandments plaque from the wall of his Ohio high school.

Freshman Anthony Miller isn’t happy that a copy of Old Testament law, which was positioned in the hallway near a staircase, was taken down at Harding High School in Marion, Ohio, where it had been in display since the class of 1953 gifted it to the school, Fox News reported.

So, Miller — who first noticed the plaque was missing back in early September — is taking action."

Economist: Ilitch Organization Got So Much in Arena Deal With So Little Leverage

Economist: Ilitch Organization Got So Much in Arena Deal With So Little Leverage –  Deadline Detroit
The deal the Ilitch family struck with the city and state to build a new Red Wing arena continues to draw questions and criticism.

The latest pushback comes from Christopher Douglas, an associate professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint and a member of the Board of Scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute in Midland.

Douglas writes in a column in Crain's Detroit Business that the Ilitch family essentially got away with murder in the negotiations with the state and city when it really had so little leverage.

He writes:

The Detroit Red Wings are building a new arena and have released a drawing of the construction plan. Olympia Development -- a company owned by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch -- persuaded state politicians to spend $260 million in taxes for this $650 million project. The arena will cost almost four times more than the construction of Joe Louis Arena did and will be one of the National Hockey League's most expensive ever. But it didn't have to be this way -- the Red Wings and Ilitch had no real leverage over the politicians who voted in favor of this corporate welfare.

In addition to the $260 million state subsidy, Olympia Development struck extra deals with the city of Detroit. The company will no longer owe the city a disputed $50 million to $80 million in television revenue. It will also gain $11 million annually by no longer sharing ticket and concession revenue with the city and keeping all naming rights revenue. When asked about the negotiations between the city of Detroit and Olympia about the revenue, Councilman Gabe Leland said, "It just didn't seem like (Olympia representatives) were willing to budge."

In reality, Olympia had little leverage with the city. Professional sports franchises often extract special favors by threatening to move. But given the market realities of the NHL, the Red Wings could not have made a credible threat to move.

9/11 Mastermind Reportedly Issued a Chilling Prediction During His ’Enhanced Interrogation.’ Some Will Likely Claim He Was Right. | Video | TheBlaze.com

9/11 Mastermind Reportedly Issued a Chilling Prediction During His ’Enhanced Interrogation.’ Some Will Likely Claim He Was Right. | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"Dr. James Mitchell, a former U.S. Navy psychologist reportedly involved in the interrogation of suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, claimed the CIA “saved lives” using techniques that some have claimed were entirely ineffective.

In the wide-ranging interview, he recalled some chilling comments Mohammed once said directly to him:

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed told me personally, “Your country will turn on you, the liberal media will turn on you, the people will grow tired of this, they will turn on you. And when they do, you are going to be abandoned.”



Have we forgotten?  

Media Promotes False Narrative that Schools Will Lose Money on Roads Package

Media Promotes False Narrative that Schools Will Lose Money on Roads Package [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"The statewide news outlet MLive is continuing to present an inaccurate narrative about a House-passed road funding package, perpetuating an assertion that public schools will lose money if the bills become law, according to a Mackinac Center for Public Policy expert.
....“These are complex policy matters but MLive seems intent on scaring readers about school funding cuts,” Hohman said.
.....In addition to the database, the statewide news site has also published conflicting accounts of the House road package in its own stories, including ones appearing on the same day. A Dec. 5 MLive story stated, “…the plan could take $535 million from school funding next year, according to the House Fiscal Agency.”
However, another Dec. 5 MLive story gave a more accurate account of the proposal:
"The House plan, backed by House Speaker Jase Bolger, wouldn’t cut funding for schools or cities, but it would limit future revenue that would otherwise be available."
On Dec. 10, MLive published another story claiming that, “West Michigan schools stand to lose millions,” and cited the same Michigan League for Public Policy that is the main source of the database."

The great Ebola lie — Outbreak hyped for funding & media attention

The great Ebola lie — Outbreak hyped for funding & media attention | New York Post
The current Ebola outbreak is “the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times,” Ian Smith, the World Health Organization’s executive director, announced at a mid-October press conference.
Huh?
Worse than the “Spanish flu” of 1918-19?
Extrapolated to today’s world population, that would mean 60 million to 150 million deaths.
Worse than AIDS, with its 35 million deaths?
But the media weren’t asking skeptical questions.
The next day, reporting on a separate WHO conference, a New York Times headline blared: “New Ebola Cases May Soon Reach 10,000 a Week, Officials Predict.”
The “soon” in that warning from the WHO’s Bruce Aylward was “by the first week in December.”
Well, the WHO has now reported cases for that period.
Total: 529.
It was no fluke; the average over the last three weeks was 440.
You’ve been lied to, folks.
For months.
In fact, the Ebola epidemic peaked a full month before those press conferences, in mid-September. Says who?
The WHO.
In its data, which is available to anybody with Internet access.
It peaked at the same time the WHO was demanding a billion dollars to prevent the epidemic from getting far worse — and before President Obama pledged $1.26 billion and sent in the troops and the European Union pledged another $1.26 billion....

White House Issues Report Telling Hospitals How to Prepare for Climate Change | TheBlaze.com

White House Issues Report Telling Hospitals How to Prepare for Climate Change | TheBlaze.com:

"The Obama administration released the National Climate Assessment in May, which said that climate change is creating more extreme weather. As part of the assessment, Obama directed the Department of Health and Human Services to create a “Sustainable and Climate Resilient Health Care Facilities Initiative,” which led to the study’s findings release Monday."

'Where Are the Black People' in Downtown Detroit?

Finley: 'Where Are the Black People' in Downtown Detroit? –  Deadline Detroit:
Nolan Finley is among those who see "obvious warning signs," as he puts it, about the whitenesss of New Detroit.

The Detroit News editorial page editor presses that hot button in his Sunday column, describing the race gap as "near the top of the list of the challenges Detroit faces as it starts its post-bankruptcy era."

The question is how to avoid "becoming two cities — one for the upwardly mobile young and white denizens of an increasingly happening downtown, and the other for the struggling and frustrated black residents trapped in neighborhoods that are crumbling around them."

Nobody wants to inject race into the marvelous story of downtown's rebound, driven largely by young creatives who grew up in the suburbs and are now fiercely Detroiters. I don't either. It's a downer. . . .

But with racial tension simmering across the country, Detroit must heed obvious warning signs.

It's a clear red flag when you can sit in a hot new downtown restaurant and nine out of 10 tables are filled with white diners, a proportion almost exactly opposite of the city's racial make-up.

It's a warning signal when you go to holiday events for major Detroit cultural institutions and charities, and you can count the number of African-American revelers on both hands.

It should stop us in our tracks — as it did me the other day — when a group of 50 young professionals being groomed for future leadership shows up to hear advice from a senior executive, and there's only one black member among them.

YOUR ALL-ELECTRIC CAR MAY NOT BE SO GREEN

YOUR ALL-ELECTRIC CAR MAY NOT BE SO GREEN

WASHINGTON (AP) -- People who own all-electric cars where coal generates the power may think they are helping the environment. But a new study finds their vehicles actually make the air dirtier, worsening global warming.

Ethanol isn't so green, either.

"It's kind of hard to beat gasoline" for public and environmental health, said study co-author Julian Marshall, an engineering professor at the University of Minnesota. "A lot of the technologies that we think of as being clean ... are not better than gasoline."

The key is where the source of the electricity all-electric cars. If it comes from coal, the electric cars produce 3.6 times more soot and smog deaths than gas, because of the pollution made in generating the electricity, according to the study that is published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They also are significantly worse at heat-trapping carbon dioxide that worsens global warming, it found.

...The study finds all-electric vehicles cause 86 percent more deaths from air pollution than do cars powered by regular gasoline. Coal produces 39 percent of the country's electricity, according to the Department of Energy.

....But ethanol isn't, with 80 percent more air pollution mortality, according to the study.

"If we're using ethanol for environmental benefits, for air quality and climate change, we're going down the wrong path," Hill said.