MuskegonPundit

Friday, August 12, 2016

Post-Bankruptcy Detroit Hasn't A Clue How Much Comp Time It Owes Employees

Post-Bankruptcy Detroit Hasn't A Clue How Much Comp Time It Owes Employees [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"The Detroit News has reported that "glitches" left about 1,600 Detroit city employees without a paycheck in the first week of August.
The city had 8,588 employees as of its last audited statement in June 2015.

A city spokesman said that the problem was caused by an antiquated payroll system, according to The Detroit News.
The city stated an upgrade would be implemented by fiscal year 2017.
ForTheRecord says:
This is a bad sign for anyone who hoped for improved stewardship from Detroit officials following the city's emergence from bankruptcy in 2014, assisted by a state taxpayer bailout.
In 2012, Detroit and the state Treasury department agreed that the city needed to upgrade its payroll system.
According to bankruptcy-related filings by the city in June 2013, Detroit contracted with a vendor to transition to a modern payroll system with the work to be completed in March 2014.
Two years after that deadline passed and more than four years after the city and state agreed that the city needed to modernize, the last word from Detroit is "wait until next year..."

Pope Francis, Father Hamel & West’s Decline | National Review

Pope Francis, Father Hamel & West’s Decline | National Review:

"Pope Francis made comments last week that reveal the most important single thing you need to know about the modern world: The most dynamic religion of the last hundred years has been leftism. Not Christianity and not Islam. Leftism.

Leftism has taken over the world’s leading educational institutions, the world’s news media, the world’s popular entertainment, and it has influenced Christianity (and Judaism) far more than Christianity (or Judaism) has influenced anything."

STUDY: Michelle O’s school meals ‘making students more at risk of being overweight’

STUDY: Michelle O’s school meals ‘making students more at risk of being overweight’ | EAGnews.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – First lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to address the nation’s youth obesity epidemic is actually making kids fatter, according to a new study.

Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences professor Wen You found that the longer kids eat government-funded school meals, the more likely they will be overweight, which means low-income kids the program seeks to help are the most at risk, Eurekalert.org reports.

The study, published in the journal of Health Economics, also points out the most obvious problems with the federal school food regulations championed by Michelle Obama: government regulations don’t help students understand why it’s important to eat healthy, or make the unappetizing result of the regulations more bearable..."

AM Fruitcake

History for August 12

History for August 12 - On-This-Day.com
Cecil B. DeMille 1881, Cantinflas 1911, Jane Wyatt 1912

William Goldman 1931, George Hamilton 1939 - Actor, Pete Sampras 1971 - Tennis player

1851 - Isaac Singer was issued a patent on the double-headed sewing machine.

1865 - Disinfectant was used for the first time during surgery by Joseph Lister.

1898 - The Spanish-American War was ended with the signing of the peace protocol. The U.S. acquired Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Hawaii was also annexed.

1939 - "The Wizard of Oz" premiered in Oconomowoc, WI. Judy Garland became famous for the movie's song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The movie premiered in Hollywood on August 15th.

1953 - The Soviet Union secretly tested its first hydrogen bomb.

1981 - IBM unveiled its first PC.

1992 - The U.S., Canada, and Mexico announced that the North American Free Trade Agreement had been created after 14 months of negotiations.

2000 - The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sank and its 118-man crew died during naval exercises in the Barents Sea.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Feds Will Struggle to Recoup Loans to Failed Obamacare Co-Ops

Feds Will Struggle to Recoup Loans to Failed Obamacare Co-Ops:

"The federal government is unlikely to recover all of the taxpayer funds lent to failed Obamacare co-ops, according to an audit by the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services.

The 23 co-ops that were created under Obamacare received $2.4 billion in taxpayer funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, of which $358 million were designated for “startup” loans."

'Classic Pay-to-Play': Giuliani Blasts 'Corrupt' Clinton Foundation

'Classic Pay-to-Play': Giuliani Blasts 'Corrupt' Clinton Foundation | Fox News Insider:

Aug 10, 2016 // 9:57am
As seen on Fox and Friends

Rudy Giuliani says that if he were still a federal attorney, he would open an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
He explained that money being given to the foundation in exchange for favors from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's State Department could constitute racketeering.
"You have tapes that they were hiding that show that millions of dollars were given to Clinton Foundation, and the State Department did favors for those people that they knew had given millions of dollars," Giuliani said. "That’s called illegal, it's called criminal."
He said that's "classic pay-to-play," declaring the Clinton Foundation a "corrupt organization."
Watch more from Giuliani above."

9 Tragic Theme Park Deaths

9 Tragic Theme Park Deaths - ODDEE

The worst theme park accident in U.S. history occurred on May 11, 1984, at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. There, fire took the lives of eight teenagers trapped inside the Haunted Castle attraction.
The castle was made of 17 interconnected commercial trailers and plywood frames. It had no fire protection, and many safety features were unusable. The exit lights were burnt out, and fire alarms were vandalized and never replaced. Exit doors were allegedly chained and emergency exits were fenced in and not accessible by patrons.
A 14-year-old was alleged to have sparked his lighter. While doing so, he bumped into the polyurethane covered wall, and the fire spread quickly due to the flammable props. Patrons poured out of the structure, but eight did not make it. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition, so much that firefighters were initially unsure if they were real or mannequins.
Six Flags was indicted for aggravated manslaughter, but denied any culpability, contending that the fire was arson and that no precautions would have saved lives.
The trial jury found the defendants not guilty."

State Dept. Releases New Batch of Emails Clinton Failed to Turn Over | TheBlaze.com

State Dept. Releases New Batch of Emails Clinton Failed to Turn Over | TheBlaze.com:

"The government found the newly disclosed messages during a search of agency computer files from longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

In one instance, Clinton exchanged messages with a senior Morgan Stanley investment executive whom she met with later that year at her office in Washington. They were among 246 pages of Abedin messages turned over to Judicial Watch.

Clinton campaign officials did not immediately answer questions about the issue."

Federal report says Detroit Veterans Affairs Medical Center wasted $300,000 on unused TVs

Federal report says Detroit Veterans Affairs Medical Center wasted $300,000 on unused TVs - WXYZ.com:
"(WXYZ) Detroit - Federal inspectors have uncovered what they say is more than $300,000 in wasteful spending at The Detroit VA Medical Center.

Image result for Detroit Veterans Affairs Medical Center

A report by the Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General found the purchase of 300 television sets, for patient use, was improperly done.
The units, have gone unused for nearly three years, sitting in the boxes they were delivered in.
The report says the items were purchased before an installation contract was awarded, and it was later determined the units were not compatible with design plans.
The VA spent nearly $20,000 to adjust their installation design, but still, the majority of the units have not been installed.
Adding further to the frustration, the warranties have since expired, which could lead to additional costs down the road should the units malfunction..."

WOMAN CRIES After Seeing How Easily Our Votes Are Stolen By Electronic Voting Machines

WOMAN CRIES After Seeing How Easily Our Votes Are Stolen By Electronic Voting Machines [VIDEO] » 100percentfedUp.com:

“There are people out there who are giving their lives trying to make our elections secure and they’re being called conspiracy theorists and technophobes. And these vendors are lying and saying ‘that everything’s alright’ and it’s not alright. It’s as though our country is one country and pretending to be another country. How can this be happening in our elections?”

Watch:

Lunch video-----This Video Will Get Donald Trump Elected

Noon-toon

CHILD RAPE VICTIM COMES FORWARD=> Hillary Clinton Is a "Liar" Who "Does Not Care about Women and Children"

CHILD RAPE VICTIM COMES FORWARD=> Hillary Clinton Is a "Liar" Who "Does Not Care about Women and Children":

"In the 1980s as a young lawyer in Arkansas, Hillary Clinton took a case in which she represented a man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl.

In the interview obtained by the Washington Free Beacon Hillary Clinton discussed the case with Arkansas journalist Roy Reed:"

SHOCK PHOTO: Multiple staffers help unstable Hillary up stairs

SHOCK PHOTO: Multiple staffers help unstable Hillary up stairs - The American MirrorThe American Mirror:
The questionable health condition of Hillary Clinton should be a major issue of the 2016 campaign.

The latest evidence comes in the form of Clinton being helped up a set of stairs by multiple individuals outside what appears to be a home.

The photos, published by Reuters and Getty, show the 68-year-old candidate with aides holding her arms as she ascends the stairs.

The other shows as she makes it to the top, but not without assistance.

At what point is the mainstream media going to question Clinton’s health status?

Kaspersky discovers new state-sponsored spyware capable of stealing data from offline PCs

Kaspersky discovers new state-sponsored spyware capable of stealing data from offline PCs
"Security researchers from Kaspersky Lab announce the discovery of "ProjectSauron", a top-level espionage platform that seems to be supported by a nation state as the piece of spyware is extremely advanced and likely cost million of dollars to develop.

The security firm says ProjectSauron primarily targets organizations that provide a key role in state services, including government, military, scientific research centers, telecom operator and financial organizations, and that it has a bias towards encrypted communication.
ProjectSauron remained hidden for several years, the researchers believe it has been operational since June 2011 and claim its ultimate goal is to steal confidential and secret information from state-sensitive organizations.
An infection is difficult to detect because ProjectSauron creates a unique footprint on every system that it infects, core implants for instance use different file names and sizes for each target.
Also worth mentioning is that the espionage tool is capable of bypassing air-gapped computers via USB drives...

More details at Kaspersky.

Study: Obama issued $743B in regs

Study: Obama issued $743B in regs | TheHill:
"Since President Obama took office in 2009, the federal government has issued 600 major regulations totaling $743 billion, according to a new study from the conservative American Action Forum.
The Obama administration issues an average of 81 major rules, those with an economic impact of at least $100 million, on a yearly basis, the study found.

That’s about one major rule every four to five days, or, as the American Action Forum puts it, one rule for every three days that the federal government is open.
“It is a $2,294 regulatory imposition on every person in the United States,” wrote Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at the American Action Forum, who conducted the study.
At the current pace of rulemaking, the American Action Forum estimates the Obama administration will issue a total 641 major rules before the president leaves office, bringing the nation’s regulatory bill to $813 billion.
By contrast, President George W. Bush issued 426 major rules during his tenure in the White House.
Public interest groups often dispute studies from the American Action Forum, which they say do not accurately take into account the economic benefits of regulations."

Ex-CIA Agent Outlines ‘High Level of Deceptive Behaviors’ Exhibited by Obama Regarding $400M Iran Payment | TheBlaze.com

Ex-CIA Agent Outlines ‘High Level of Deceptive Behaviors’ Exhibited by Obama Regarding $400M Iran Payment | TheBlaze.com:

"A former CIA agent has charged that President Barack Obama displayed “deceptive behaviors” while addressing a secret $400 million cash payment to Iran.

Phil Houston, CEO of QVerity and a former CIA agent, and his colleague Don Tennant wrote in a piece published in Law Newz on Tuesday that “behavior exhibited” by Obama while he addressed the payment “suggests that it was almost certainly a precondition for the prisoners’ release.”"

Adjusting state incomes for taxes and price levels may change our perceptions of which US states are poor or rich

Adjusting state incomes for taxes and price levels may change our perceptions of which US states are poor or rich - AEI | Carpe Diem Blog » AEIdeas:
$100 Map

"Earlier this week, The Tax Foundation published the map above that accompanies the article “The Real Value of $100 in Each State.”
...The four states with the highest RPPs and where the value of $100 is the lowest are Hawaii ($86.06), New York($86.73), New Jersey ($87.34) and California ($89.05), and all of those states have housing costs that are more than one-third above the national average.
The five states with the lowest RPPs and where the value of $100 is the highest are Mississippi ($115.21), Arkansas ($114.29), South Dakota ($114.16), Alabama ($114.03), and West Virginia ($113.12)...

The Tax Foundation makes a couple of key points:

1. Regional price differences are strikingly large; real purchasing power is 36 percent greater in Mississippi than it is in the District of Columbia. In other words: by this measure, if you have $50,000 in after tax income in Mississippi, you would have to have after-tax earnings of $68,000 in the District of Columbia just to afford the same overall standard of living. Some states, like North Dakota, have high incomes without high prices. Adjusting incomes for price level can substantially change our perceptions of which states are truly poor or rich.

2. Many policies – like minimum wage, public benefits, and tax brackets – are denominated in dollars. But with different price levels in each state, the amounts aren’t equivalent in purchasing power [see related discussion below].

Lots more!

AM Fruitcake

History for August 11

History for August 11 - On-This-Day.com
Robert Ingersoll 1833, Alex Haley 1921, Carl Rowan 1925

Jerry Falwell 1933, Steve Wozniak 1950, Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea 1953

1896 - Harvey Hubbell received a patent for the electric light bulb socket with a pull-chain.

1909 - The American ship Arapahoe became the first to ever use the SOS distress signal off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC.

1934 - Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay, received federal prisoners for the first time.

1941 - The Atlantic Charter was signed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

1942 - During World War II, Pierre Laval publicly announced "the hour of liberation for France is the hour when Germany wins the war."

1954 - Seven years of fighting came to an end in Indochina. A formal peace was in place for the French and the Communist Vietminh.

1984 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan was preparing for his weekly radio broadcast when, during testing of the microphone, the President said of the Soviet Union, "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

1992 - In Bloomington, MN, the Mall of America opened. It was the largest shopping mall in the United States.