The Obama Box

The Obama Box | Washington Free Beacon:
"The dramas the president favors are soap operas with sophisticated vocabularies.
Left unmentioned is the difference between the shows Shears poo-poos and the shows Obama watches.
It is the same difference between a juicer bought at Wal-Mart and one bought at Williams-Sonoma: the latter is a luxury good.
It takes cash to afford the cable connections, premium channels, and Netflix subscriptions required to watch all of the titles on the president’s viewing list.
It is also necessary to have leisure time, which, disturbingly, the president seems to have a lot of. 
No wonder he finds out about everything from the newspapers."

Kim Jong-Un had uncle stripped naked, thrown into a cage and eaten alive by dogs

Kim Jong-Un had uncle stripped naked, thrown into a cage and eaten alive by dogs | Mail Online:
"How Kim Jong-Un killed his 'scum' uncle:
-Dictator had him stripped naked, thrown into a cage and eaten alive by pack of dogs
-A pack of 120 starving dogs were set on Jang Song Thaek and five aides
Kim Jong-Un and 300 officials watched horrific execution
-Punishment, called 'quan jue', or execution by dogs, lasted an hour
-Uncle was accused of treachery and corruption by the brutal regime
Kim has carried out a 'massive purge' of threats to consolidate his grip"

IMF paper warns of 'savings tax' and mass write-offs as West's debt hits 200-year high

IMF paper warns of 'savings tax' and mass write-offs as West's debt hits 200-year high - Telegraph:
"Much of the Western world will require defaults, a savings tax and higher inflation to clear the way for recovery as debt levels reach a 200-year high, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF working paper said debt burdens in developed nations have become extreme by any historical measure and will require a wave of haircuts, either negotiated 1930s-style write-offs or the standard mix of measures used by the IMF in its “toolkit” for emerging market blow-ups.
“The size of the problem suggests that restructurings will be needed, for example, in the periphery of Europe, far beyond anything discussed in public to this point,” said the paper, by Harvard professors Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff.
The paper said policy elites in the West are still clinging to the illusion that rich countries are different from poorer regions and can therefore chip away at their debts with a blend of austerity cuts, growth, and tinkering (“forbearance”)."

Yikes! There may be hope for Dead City------Detroit police chief: Legal gun owners can deter crime

Detroit police chief: Legal gun owners can deter crime | The Detroit News

Detroit— If more citizens were armed, criminals would think twice about attacking them, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Thursday.

Urban police chiefs are typically in favor of gun control or reluctant to discuss the issue, but Craig on Thursday was candid about how he’s changed his mind.

“When we look at the good community members who have concealed weapons permits, the likelihood they’ll shoot is based on a lack of confidence in this Police Department,” Craig said at a press conference at police headquarters, adding that he thinks more Detroit citizens feel safer, thanks in part to a 7 percent drop in violent crime in 2013.

Craig said he started believing that legal gun owners can deter crime when he became police chief in Portland, Maine, in 2009.

“Coming from California (Craig was on the Los Angeles police force for 28 years), where it takes an act of Congress to get a concealed weapon permit, I got to Maine, where they give out lots of CCWs (carrying concealed weapon permits), and I had a stack of CCW permits I was denying; that was my orientation.

“I changed my orientation real quick. Maine is one of the safest places in America. 
Clearly, suspects knew that good Americans were armed.”

Isn't being mugged and taxed to death "not humane" too?-------------NYC Aims to Ban Horses, Create Stable of Electric Cars

NYC Aims to Ban Horses, Create Stable of Electric Cars | CNS News:

When it comes to horse-drawn carriages in NYC, Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio says, “It’s over.”

Sworn into office by Bill Clinton yesterday, de Blasio aims to replace the horse-drawn carriages that have historically pulled visitors through Central Park with electric cars.

Antique-style design electric cars are currently what are being considered. The mayor's team says the plan to go retro in style and modern electric in horsepower will help save the carriage workers' jobs that would otherwise end with the ban.

So possibly in the near future, during a trip to NYC tourists can look forward to - getting into an electric car.

“No tourist comes to New York City just to ride on a horse carriage," Allie Feldman, executive director of NYCLASS, an animal rights group, told CNN.

De Blasio says horse carriages are “not humane” and are cruel to the animals.

Next election (TAX INCREASE) Feb. 25, 2014-----Muskegon County Clerk

Muskegon County Clerk:

Barry wants to up it to $30 BILLION????? -------------------Americans Spent $7.45B in 3 Years Helping Other Countries Deal With ‘Climate Change’

Americans Spent $7.45B in 3 Years Helping Other Countries Deal With ‘Climate Change’ | CNS News:
 "American taxpayers spent $7.45 billion to help developing countries cope with climate change in fiscal years 2010 through 2012, according to a federal government report submitted to the United Nations on a subject that Secretary of State John Kerry described as “a truly life-and-death challenge.”

That sum of $7.45 billion, which reached more than 120 countries through bilateral and multilateral channels, met President Obama’s “commitment to provide our fair share” of a collective pledge by developed nations to provide a total of nearly $30 billion in “fast start finance” (FSF), the report stated."

Important news! -----------------Dogs Poop in Alignment with Earth's Magnetic Field

Dogs Poop in Alignment with Earth's Magnetic Field | Motherboard:
"Dogs seem to have an awful lot of ritual before hunkering down and soiling the sidewalk.
It’s not uncommon to see a dog owner—plastic bag in hand—rolling his eyes as his furry companion sniffs and spins, getting just so before hunkering down to do the least considerate thing possible.

But for whatever its worth, all that spinning is far from arbitrary. 
What dog owners witness is a small and furry version of the aurora borealis and a link between species and environment that’s as holistic and beautiful as a dog pooping can be.
A team of Czech and German researchers found that dogs actually align themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field when they poop."

Inept socialists can't even run a little power plant-------Lansing outage sparks calls for more oversight

BINGO!
Lansing outage sparks calls for more oversight | The Detroit News:
"Power issues remain for the utility, which is overseen by an eight-member board appointed by Lansing’s mayor and approved by the council. "

Is ANYONE surprised?-------------'They had no idea if my insurance was active or not!': At Virginia hospitals, Obamacare confusion reigns as frustrated patients walk out

'They had no idea if my insurance was active or not!': At Virginia hospitals, Obamacare confusion reigns as frustrated patients walk out | Mail Online:
"'They had no idea if my insurance was active or not!': Obamacare confusion reigns as frustrated patients walk out of hospitals without treatment
MailOnline spoke with patients who were told they would have to pay their bills in full if they couldn't prove they had insurance
One was faced with a $3,000 hospital room charge and opted to leave the hospital after experiencing chest pains
'Should I be in the hospital?
Probably,' she said
Another, coughing in the cold, walked out without receiving a needed chest x-ray
Consumers face sticker-shock from medical costs under the new Obamacare system, made worse if they can't prove they're insured
As many as one-third of new enrollees' applications have seen problems when the government transmits them to insurance companies"

Walgreens, WalMart Offer Free Prescriptions to ObamaCare Customers

Data Goldmine: Walgreens, WalMart Offer Free Prescriptions to ObamaCare Customers
In what you can interpret as either an act of corporate altruism, corporate lobbying, or a mix of both, two giant retailers -- Walmart and Walgreens -- have agreed to save the Obama Administration from who knows how many horror-story anecdotes by agreeing to fill 30 days of free prescriptions for ObamaCare enrollees. 
The question is, though, what happens to the data and patient information these retailers collect?

When you have two of the biggest retailers in the country collecting untold amounts of personal health information from who knows how many people seeking free prescriptions, in the wake of revelations surrounding domestic NSA and Justice Department spying (on reporters!), it is not unreasonable to worry about this.
We also know that a number of large corporations have apparently cooperated with the federal government's data grabs.

According to one Walgreens pharmacist Breitbart News spoke with Tuesday, in April the DEA started requiring pharmacies to ask an increased number of medical questions and show a photo ID for certain medications. 
There have also been reports that through ObamaCare the federal government is compiling data based on a series of new and intrusive question doctors are required to ask.

Big Business has already shown a willingness to share data with the government and to help big government programs like ObamaCare succeed and there is just no question that the federal government is escalating its intrusion into what should be the most personal information of all -- the status of our personal health. 

Economic fascism---Stop the bailout, now

Charles Krauthammer: Stop the bailout, now - The Washington Post
First order of business for the returning Congress:
The No Bailout for Insurance Companies Act of 2014.
Make it one line long: “Sections 1341 and 1342 of the Affordable Care Act are hereby repealed.”
End of bill.
End of bailout.
End of story.

Why do we need it?
On Dec. 18, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers was asked what was the administration’s Plan B if, because of adverse selection (enrolling too few young and healthies), the insurance companies face financial difficulty.

Jason Furman wouldn’t bite.

“There’s a Plan A,” he replied. 

Enroll the young.
But of course there’s a Plan B. 

It’s a government bailout.

Hmmmm. I'm thinkin' we'd know this if W was President.

Frozen Out: 98% of Stories Ignore That Ice-bound Ship Was On Global Warming Mission

They mostly lie by omission.
Frozen Out: 98% of Stories Ignore That Ice-bound Ship Was On Global Warming Mission | NewsBusters

A group of climate change scientists were rescued by helicopter Jan. 2, after being stranded in the ice since Christmas morning. But the majority of the broadcast networks’ reports about the ice-locked climate researchers never mentioned climate change.

The Russian ship, Akademic Shokalskiy, was stranded in the ice while on a climate change research expedition, yet nearly 98 percent of network news reports about the stranded researchers failed to mention their mission at all.
Forty out of 41 stories (97.5 percent) on the network morning and evening news shows since Dec. 25 failed to mention climate change had anything to do with the expedition.

In fact, rather than point out the mission was to find evidence of climate change, the networks often referred to the stranded people as “passengers,” “trackers” and even “tourists,” without a word about climate change or global warming.

Chris Turney, the expedition’s leader, is a professor of climate change at the University of South Wales. 

According to Turney’s personal website, the purpose of the expedition is to “discover and communicate the environmental changes taking place in the south.”

The Five Biggest Myths About Income Inequality

The Five Biggest Myths About Income Inequality - Forbes

Myth No. 2: People at the bottom of the income ladder are there through no fault of their own.

In a study for the National Center for Policy Analysis, David Henderson found that there is a big difference between families in the top 20 percent and bottom 20 percent of the income distribution:
Families at the top tend to be married and both partners work.
Families at the bottom often have only one adult in the household and that person either works part-time or not at all:

• In 2006, a whopping 81.4 percent of families in the top income quintile had two or more people working, and only 2.2 percent had no one working.
• By contrast, only 12.6 percent of families in the bottom quintile had two or more people working; 39.2 percent had no one working.

The average number of earners per family for the top group was 2.16, almost three times the 0.76 average for the bottom.

Henderson concludes:

“…average families in the top group have many more weeks of work than those in the bottom and, in the late 1970s, the 12-to-1 total income ratio shrunk to only 2-to-1 per week of work, according to one analysis.”

Having children without a husband tends to make you poor. 
Not working makes you even poorer. 
And there is nothing new about that. 
These are age old truths. 
They were true 50 years ago, a hundred years ago and even 1,000 year ago. Lifestyle choices have always mattered.

The other Christmas "miracle". The miracle of capitalism----Christmas shopping 1958 vs. 2012 illustrates the ‘miracle of the marketplace’ which delivers better and cheaper goods

Christmas shopping 1958 vs. 2012 illustrates the ‘miracle of the marketplace’ which delivers better and cheaper goods | AEIdeas

Christmas shopping 1958 vs. 2012 illustrates the ‘miracle of the marketplace’ which delivers better and cheaper goods

This was posted last year on CD, and I haven’t had time to do an update for 2013, but thought I would re-post it again for those who might have missed it last year.

One way to illustrate your good fortune of being a holiday shopper today is to measure the cost of consumer goods by the number of hours it takes working at the average hourly wage to earn enough income to purchase typical consumer products at their retail prices, and then compare the “time cost” of goods from the past to today’s “time cost” for similar items. (Don Boudreaux has been featuring some similar comparisons in a series on Café Hayek titled “Cataloging Our Progress,” which inspired this post.)

For example, the retail price of an automatic Kenmore two-slice toaster advertised in the 1958 Sears Christmas Catalog (available here online, and pictured below on the left) was $12.95, or 6.54 hours of work at the average hourly manufacturing wage of $1.98 in 1958 (wage datahere). Today you can buy a comparable Kenmore two-slice toaster for $25.99, and the “time cost” would be only 1.35 hours of work at the current average hourly wage of $19.19, for a reduction of almost 80 percent since 1958 in the amount of work hours required to earn the income necessary to purchase a standard toaster. Additionally, the Sears website todayfeatures more than 100 different toasters, compared to the Sears catalog in 1958, which only featured a few different models.

OMG! The NYT discovers price elasticity-----Access to Health Care May Increase ER Visits, Study Suggests

Access to Health Care May Increase ER Visits, Study Suggests - NYTimes.com:

Supporters of President Obama’s health care law had predicted that expanding insurance coverage for the poor would reduce costly emergency room visits as people sought care from primary care doctors. 

But a rigorous new study conducted in Oregon has flipped that assumption on its head, finding that the newly insured actually went to the emergency room more often.

The study, published in the journal Science, compared thousands of low-income people in the Portland area who were randomly selected in a 2008 lottery to get Medicaid coverage with people who entered the lottery but remained uninsured. 

Those who gained coverage made 40 percent more visits to the emergency room than their uninsured counterparts. 

But Dr. Baicker and other economists who worked on the study said the increased use of emergency rooms is driven by a basic economic principle: When things or services get cheaper, people buy and use more of them. 

Even Though Legalizing Marijuana Is Inevitable, It’s A Bad Idea

Even Though Legalizing Marijuana Is Inevitable, It’s A Bad Idea - Investors.com:
"As the American Medical Association concluded in recommending against legalization last November, "Cannabis is a dangerous drug and as such is a public health concern."
The association added: "It is the most common illicit drug involved in drugged driving, particularly in drivers under the age of 21.
Early cannabis use is related to later substance use disorders."

And this point, for me, is the most convincing:

"Heavy cannabis use in adolescence causes persistent impairments in neurocognitive performance and IQ, and use is associated with increased rates of anxiety, mood, and psychotic thought disorders.""

They're still pretending the outrage will simply go away----TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 237

TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 237:
"9.  The IRS Overreaches
When a report surfaced in May that the IRS was targeting nonprofits with words like “Tea Party” in their name for increased scrutiny, it looked, momentarily, like President Obama was facing a major political scandal.
Within days, the IRS’ acting commissioner resigned and Republicans were calling for Obama’s impeachment. But things didn’t unfold as expected.
Obama maintained he had no knowledge of the policy, and it soon became clear that the IRS also targeted liberal groups seeking nonprofit status.
Instead, the revelations served as a reminder of the bureaucracy’s potential to overstep its bounds and spurred an internal review that found ongoing malpractice within the agency."

History for January 3 - Birthdays, Sorta Butter, First Slurp, How'd that work out, Great move, Great Dame, Don't Mess with Georgie

History for January 3 - On-This-Day.com:

Happy Birthday! Dabney Coleman, Mel Gibson, Bobby Hull, Robert Loggia, Eli Manning, Danica McKellar, Victoria Principal, Stephen Stills

1871 - Henry W. Bradley patented oleomargarine.








1888 - The drinking straw was patented by Marvin C. Stone.












1925 - In Italy, Mussolini announced that he would take dictatorial powers.











1959 - In the U.S., Alaska became the 49th state.









1988 - Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century.











1990 - Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission. 

Michigan State super fan 'Johnny Spirit' handcuffed then released at Rose Bowl

Michigan State super fan 'Johnny Spirit' handcuffed then released at Rose Bowl | MLive.com

Rose Bowl on field---Yes! &Trophies

Yes!&Trophies - YouTube: "

NFL should be alarmed that three of four playoff games, including Green Bay's home game, still not sold out

NFL should be alarmed that three of four playoff games, including Green Bay's home game, still not sold out | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports:
"It would be a tremendous embarrassment to the league to have three of four playoff games blacked out locally, and likely, the tickets will get sold somehow to avoid that scenario.

But there's a bigger issue here. Is this the most stark example that NFL fans aren't too excited to go to games anymore?
A quick glance at Ticketmaster on Wednesday afternoon showed the face-value prices for the Packers playoff game ranged from $313 and $102, not counting Ticketmaster fees.
If you've attended a NFL game, you know that the cost doesn't end with tickets. 
Parking is outrageously and insultingly high at most NFL games. 
Concessions aren't cheap either. NFL teams have gouged and gouged and gouged, and maybe there's a breaking point."

The Global Warming Tipping Point is Near

Blog: The Global Warming Tipping Point is Near:
"In 2004, NASA's chief scientist James Hansen authoritatively announced that there is only a ten-year window to act on AGW (presumably by transferring mass quantities of taxpayer funds to global warmist causes) before climate Armageddon destroys humanity. 
Well, that window has now shut tight, and AGW is AWOL.
Al Gore, the high priest of AGW theory, has closed all of his Alliance for Climate Protection field offices, and laid off 90% of his staff.  
Contributions have all but dried up since 2008."

After Pageantry, Tough Stop and Timely Passes Lift Spartans in Rose Bowl

After Pageantry, Tough Stop and Timely Passes Lift Spartans in Rose Bowl - NYTimes.com:
"Cook threw another interception that was voided by a defensive penalty.
He had at least two other interceptions dropped.
One hit a Stanford cornerback in the stomach.
After the touchdown return, Dantonio found Cook on the sideline.
“You good?” the coach asked his quarterback.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” the quarterback responded.
They bumped fists, and Cook hustled back onto the field."

Pork market prices are expected to rise in 2014

AgriNews: Pork market prices are expected to rise in 2014: "DANVILLE, Ind. —
Steve Meyer, the founder and president of Paragon Economics, said in a recent interview that producers can expect to see some changes in pork figures next quarter as a result of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, which hit first in June and July.

Due to this, he noted, that there will be a reduction in slaughter numbers from where they would have been had the animals not been sick.

The first and second quarters of the new year probably will be down between 2 percent and 4 percent in slaughter production, Meyer said.

The good news for pork producers is that hog prices will be positive.

“Reduce supplies, prices go up,” Meyer said, adding that producers whose hogs were infected with PEDV most likely lost three to four weeks of production."

Plutocracy---The Trillion-Plus Heist

And this is only the Federal government.
Lot's more theft from our state, county and local rulers.
Articles: The Trillion-Plus Heist:
"Recap:
Executive -- 6,546,673 employees; salaries ..... $ 549,126,870,330.
Legislative -- 12,835 employees; salaries ....... 5,250,599,780.
Judicial -- 1,324 employees; salaries ....... 199,418,700.
Agencies -- 5,298,867 employees; salaries ....... 569,886,700,000.
Total = 11,859,699 employees; salaries .... $ 1,124,463,588,810.

The consequences of these stupefyingly large numbers are far more devastating than can be seen directly.
To grasp the extent of that destruction, consider the level of prosperity that employers and employees achieve today despite regulations, taxes, permits, fines, and wasted time on government paperwork.
Because of government confiscation of producers' time and money, gone are the businesses that would have been started with that income.
Never to be recouped is the time that would have been spent on innovations, inventions, discoveries and products that would have been made. 
Never to be retrieved is the prosperity that would have inevitably raised the standard of living, elevated the destitute and eventually wiped out poverty."

Concealed Carry Means Fewer Murders, Says New Study

Concealed Carry Means Fewer Murders, Says New Study - Hit & Run : Reason.com:
"Using data for the period 1980 to 2009 and controlling for state and year fixed effects, the results of the present study suggest that states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murder rates than other states. 
It was also found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level. 
These results suggest that restrictive concealed weapons laws may cause an increase in gun-related murders at the state level. 
The results of this study are consistent with some prior research in this area, most notably Lott and Mustard (1997)."

Five things that could go wrong in 2014

Five things that could go wrong in 2014

The outgoing year certainly earns its place in history as one of the best of times for stocks.

It was pretty much smooth sailing to a new high on the S&P 500 of 1,848—a 30 percent gain with no correction greater than 7 percent. Stocks in the coming year are also expected to make good strides, but no forecasts come close to the performance of 2013. 

But 2013's advantage over the coming year was that the market was able to climb a wall of worry—starting with the fiscal cliff last New Year's Eve, through the government shutdown in October, and up to the Fed's announcement in December that it would pull back on stimulus.

...There are, however, several potential trouble spots to watch, and most of them expect to see a pullback sometime in 2014.

Rising rates. 

Slowing profit growth. 

Inflation. 

Washington. 

Geopolitical risks.

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