America's Debt Is Greater than Entire Eurozone's (and U.K.'s) Combined Debt

America's Debt Is Greater than Entire Eurozone's (and U.K.'s) Combined Debt 
As the chart shows, America's debt is currently $15.1 trillion, while the Eurozone (which includes France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and others) has a combined debt of $12.7 trillion. (All dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars, and the data refers to closing 2011 numbers.)
The Eurozone is larger than the United States, so America's debt per capita also exceeds the Eurozone's.

Illinois Is Pension Basket Case You Forgot About

Illinois Is Pension Basket Case You Forgot About - Bloomberg
“If the General Assembly does not continue to provide allof the funding called for in state law, calculations done by TRSactuaries show that the System could become insolvent as soon as 2030....

Will state pension crisis be the tipping point?

Will state pension crisis be the tipping point? - The Hill's Congress Blog
This crisis that has been a long time coming and we are just beginning to grasp the magnitude of the state pension debt tsunami that’s going to hit us within the next decade.
Because virtually all states have some type of balanced budget requirement, it has been relatively easy to ignore the fact that unfunded pension obligations have been purposefully left off state balance sheets.
In truth, those obligations in most states far exceed the total of outstanding state debt, spending, and tax revenues combined.

Swedish Study Finds Laws Banning Texting, Talking On Phones While Driving Are Ineffective

Swedish Study Finds Laws Banning Texting, Talking On Phones While Driving Are Ineffective | Fox News:
...a VTI study found that there was no long-term traffic safety impact for countries that allowed cell phone use with hands-free equipment.

Study: Road deaths up on Tax Day

Study: Road deaths up on Tax Day | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Drivers recklessly racing to the post office to meet the deadline might be one reason.
Or it could be that stressing over taxes distracts motorists and contributes to human error, researchers said.

"Researchers"?

$28M Dearborn rail project moves ahead

$28M Dearborn rail project moves ahead | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
The project is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Hope.....and change........

Maybe this Dearborn gal COULD use a choo choo train: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120410/METRO/204100427/1409/metro/Dearborn-s-former-Miss-USA-faces-drunken-driving-trial

Amendment to postal service law could guarantee the public a chance for appeal building closures

Amendment to postal service law could guarantee the public a chance for appeal building closures | MLive.com
The amendment “would prevent the closing of any postal facility unless there is an opportunity for the public to appeal the closing to the Postal Regulatory Commission and for that appeal to be considered,” Sen. Levin said in an email message today.

Michigan's graduation rate dips slightly for 2011

Michigan's graduation rate dips slightly for 2011 | MLive.com
Some had predicted the class would struggle because it was the first to come under mandatory, tougher statewide graduation requirements that include more math, science and other courses than previously mandated.
But the dire predictions didn't come true,

Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague's decision not to run will have big political impact

Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague's decision not to run will have big political impact | MLive.com
Scolnik said. “While I have a great deal of respect for Tony and the job he did as prosecutor, I think in some instances he was too tough. … We can’t afford to keep so many people in prison and jail.”

Rep. Cleaver faces Bank of America suit, but could be bailed out by taxpayers

Rep. Cleaver faces Bank of America suit, but could be bailed out by taxpayers - The Hill's Floor Action
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), who is facing a lawsuit for failing to pay down a 2002 Bank of America loan that he used to buy a car wash in Missouri, could have a good chunk of the $1.5 million he owes paid off by taxpayers.

American Universities Infected by Foreign Spies Detected by FBI

American Universities Infected by Foreign Spies Detected by FBI - Bloomberg
Michigan State University PresidentLou Anna K. Simon contacted the Central Intelligence Agency inlate 2009 with an urgent question.
The school’s campus in Dubai needed a bailout and anunlikely savior had stepped forward: a Dubai-based company thatoffered to provide money and students.
Simon was tempted.
She also worried that the company, which had investors from Iran and wanted to recruit students from there, might be a front for the Iranian government, she said.
If so, an agreement could violate federal trade sanctions and invite enemy spies.

The CIA couldn’t confirm that the company wasn’t an arm of Iran’s government.
Simon rejected the offer and shut down undergraduate programs in Dubai, at a loss of $3.7 million.

Muskegon blood donations remain on tentative schedule due to labor dispute

Muskegon blood donations remain on tentative schedule due to labor dispute | MLive.com
Local 459 alleges unfair labor practices by the American Red Cross, collective bargaining issues, concerns over health care negotiations and need for improvements in blood-safety practices.

Muskegon blood donations remain on tentative schedule due to labor dispute

Muskegon blood donations remain on tentative schedule due to labor dispute | MLive.com
Local 459 alleges unfair labor practices by the American Red Cross, collective bargaining issues, concerns over health care negotiations and need for improvements in blood-safety practices.

Governor's declaration in Muskegon Heights sets up process for emergency manager appointment

Governor's declaration in Muskegon Heights sets up process for emergency manager appointment | MLive.com
The next steps also are laid out by law:
The school board or its interim superintendent has until April 17 to request a hearing on the determination of a financial emergency.
That hearing will only consider arguments about whether the financial review team's findings "were supported by competent, material, and substantial evidence on the whole record," according to a letter Snyder sent to Muskegon Heights Interim Superintendent Dave Sipka.
If a hearing is requested, it will be held at 10 a.m. April 18 in Lansing before state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan.

• Following the hearing, Snyder will decide whether to "confirm or revoke" his determination of a financial emergency.
• If he confirms the the financial emergency, Snyder must then declare the school district to be in receivership and appoint an emergency manager "to act for and in the place and stead of the governing body and the office of chief administrative officer." Among the manager's powers is the ability to modify collective bargaining agreements.
  The school board has 10 business days to decide by at least a vote of two-thirds of its members to appeal Snyder's decision in Ingham County Circuit Court. The court can overturn his decision if it determines the decision was "not supported by competent, material, and substantial evidence on the whole record," or if it was "arbitrary, capricious, or clearly an abuse or unwarranted exercise of discretion."
• Barring such a court ruling, the emergency manager has 45 days to submit to the state treasurer a financial and operating plan for the district. The plan will be "regularly reexamined" by the emergency manager and state treasurer, and can be modified by the manager.
• Within 30 days of submitting the financial and operating plan, the emergency manager must conduct a public informational meeting on the plan.
• The school district will remain in a financial emergency until the emergency manager declares, and the state treasurer and state superintendent agree, that the emergency has been rectified.

Muskegon County's dog-law oversight turned over to sheriff, treasurer

Muskegon County's dog-law oversight turned over to sheriff, treasurer | MLive.com
As part of the change, the three animal control officers and the clinic clerk will be transferred to the Sheriff’s Office, effective Oct. 1.
Dog licenses are already sold in several of the treasurers’ offices for local cities and townships.
The county Treasurer’s Office already has a working arrangement with those local treasurers’ offices. Therefore, some county officials expect the administration of the dog licensing to be more efficient to operate.

Governor declares financial emergency in Muskegon Heights schools

Governor declares financial emergency in Muskegon Heights schools | MLive.com
"Ensuring a quality education for the students of Muskegon Heights is our top priority," Snyder said in a press release.
 "The appointment of an emergency manager is the next logical step in restoring financial stability to the troubled district and, in fact, is a step requested by members of the Muskegon Heights Board of Education."
The school board four months ago asked that an emergency manager be appointed for the district, which ended last year with an $8.5 million deficit.

Tony Tague won't seek re-election as Muskegon County prosecutor

Tony Tague won't seek re-election as Muskegon County prosecutor | MLive.com
Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election this year.
Tague, 54, has been the county's prosecutor since his first election in 1988. He is now in the final year of his sixth four-year term.
In a news release Tuesday morning, Tague said, "after considerable reflection, I believe it is time to turn over the reins."
BOMBSHELL!

China's cash buys inroads in Caribbean

NYT: China's cash buys inroads in Caribbean - World news - The New York Times - msnbc.com
The new stadium here, Bahamian officials said, was in part a reward for breaking ties with Taiwan in 1997 and establishing and keeping relations with China.
It is one of several sporting arenas that China has sprinkled in Caribbean and Central American nations as gratitude for their recognition of “one China” — in other words, for their refusal to recognize Taiwan, which Chinese officials consider part of their country.
“They offered a substantial gift and we opted for a national stadium,” said Charles Maynard, the Bahamian sports minister, adding that his government could never have afforded to build it on its own.

This is vote buying at the UN.
The USA just drowns small and large countries in money and gets NOTHING back in return.
Except contempt.

Disappearing data doesn't aid union's case

Editorial: Disappearing data doesn't aid union's case | The Oshkosh Northwestern | thenorthwestern.com
Problem is, those old surveys disappeared from WEAC's website.
Representatives from the union did not respond to questions from the State Journal.

Followup to Illinois Pension Issues

Followup to Illinois Pension Issues
"... post on an Illinois state official commenting on the unsustainability of the Teachers Retirement System in Illinois"

amazing dog lifeguard rescues pup

The Big Double Standard

Klavan On The Culture » The Big Double Standard
Some of you may be bothered by the fact that NBC News lied and is now lying about its lies in the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case.
As Breitbart.com reported while all the mainstream outlets except the Washington Post looked the other way, NBC News edited a tape of Zimmerman’s 911 call to make Zimmerman sound like a racist. A full description of the scurrilous edit is at the link.
When they were caught in their dishonesty, NBC News temporized.
When they could no longer temporize, they scapegoated a single unnamed producer, firing him late on the Friday before Easter/Passover weekend so no one would notice.
Then NBC News President Steve Capus released a statement to Reuters saying the deliberate editing of the tape to misrepresent the phone call was “a mistake and not a deliberate act to misrepresent the phone call.”
Some of you may read that statement and say to yourself, “Golly, Klavan on the Culture! How can Mr. Capus keep the word News in his title and not curl up in a ball of shame while tearing at his own flesh with his fingernails and begging God to forgive him for having sunk to depths of disingenuousness unimaginable to any real news person?”

EyeOnMuskegon 4-8-2012

St. Maarten KLM Boeing 747 landing (1080p)

IRS may be given the authority to restrict travel

IRS may be given the authority to restrict travel

Elementary school teacher tells students Republicans are stupid

Elementary school teacher tells students Republicans are stupid | Fellowship of the Minds
On the heels of the Arizona high school teacher who let a lone student stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the Masschusetts elementary school that tried to get rid of the words “God” and “bless” from Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the U.S.A.,” comes another teacher caught behaving badly.

Kalyn McMackin reports for The Daily Caller, April 5, 2012, that a Virginia elementary school teacher told her 6th grade class that “Republicans are stupid” and “they don’t care about anyone but wealthy people and businesses.”
Kristin Martin said this as Republican voters were filing into the halls of Colin L. Powell Elementary School in Fairfax County to vote on Super Tuesday.
One student told The Daily Caller: “It all started when this disabled kid came in and named all the Republicans candidates for Super Tuesday.
She [Martin] said to him, ‘I don’t like them, I think that they are stupid.’”

Detroit's work force lacking job skills; it's called a 'huge problem'

Detroit's work force lacking job skills; it's called a 'huge problem' | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Most major cities see at least 60% of adults participating in the work force, either by working jobs or actively applying for them. In several cities -- Seattle, Charlotte, N.C., and Denver, for example -- more than 70% of adult residents are in the labor force.
Detroit's rate is the lowest among big cities: 49.8%

Sentenced to death for being old: The NHS denies life-saving treatment to the elderly, as one man's chilling story reveals

Sentenced to death for being old: The NHS denies life-saving treatment to the elderly, as one man's chilling story reveals | Mail Online
When Kenneth Warden was diagnosed with terminal bladder cancer, his hospital consultant sent him home to die, ruling that at 78 he was too old to treat.
Even the palliative surgery or chemotherapy that could have eased his distressing symptoms were declared off-limits because of his age.
His distraught daughter Michele Halligan accepted the sad prognosis but was determined her father would spend his last months in comfort.
 So she paid for him to seen privately by a second doctor to discover what could be done to ease his symptoms.
Thanks to her tenacity, Kenneth got the drugs and surgery he needed — and as a result his cancer was actually cured. Four years on, he is a sprightly 82-year-old who works out at the gym, drives a sports car and competes in a rowing team.

HOSPITAL CONSULTANT?

Stabenow honored for helping MI seniors

Stabenow honored for helping MI seniors | WOOD TV8
A ceremony was held at the Grand Rapids Senior Neighbors Center in which Sen. Debbie Stabenow was recognized for her efforts.
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, presented Stabenow with boxing gloves so she can continue the fight.

Sugar shock

BACON: Sugar shock - Washington Times
Once upon a time, there was a medical “consensus” that fats and cholesterol in the blood were major causes of heart disease.
Armed with this “settled science,” the public health establishment moved in the 1970s to expunge the offending substances, beyond a basic minimum deemed to be necessary, from Americans’ diets.
Food bureaucrats established dietary guidelines.
Physicians ordered billions of dollars of blood tests.
Pharmaceutical companies made tens of billions of dollars on drugs that suppressed cholesterol levels. Food companies, castigated in some quarters as soulless merchants of dietary corruption, were compelled to report the nutritional breakdown of their packaged products.
Badgered by public officialdom and the media over the decades, Americans slowly, grudgingly changed their eating habits.
What good did it do them?
Americans are more overweight, more prone to diabetes and more at risk of heart disease than ever before.
Now, it transpires, the public health consensus and settled science might not have gotten it right.
A new wave of scientific research finds that the worst culprit of all is sugar.
CBS‘ “60 Minutes” hit the highlights of that research in a show broadcast April 1, “Is Sugar Toxic?”