History for June 11

History for June 11 - On-This-Day.com:
150th birth anniversary of German composer  Richard Georg Strauss (1864-1949).


Birth anniversary of undersea explorer and Oscar-winning filmmaker Jacques Cousteau (1910-97):“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.”



Birth anniversaries of Ben Jonson (1572-1637), Vince Lombardi (1913-70), William Styron (1925-2006).


Happy Birthday! Adrienne Barbeau, Joe Montana, Jackie Stewart



1509 - King Henry VIII married his first of six wives, Catherine of Aragon. 



1770 - Captain James Cook discovered the Great Barrier Reef off of Australia when he ran aground. 


1880 - Jeanette Rankin was born. She became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. 


1895 - Charles E. Duryea received the first U.S. patent granted to an American inventor for a gasoline-driven automobile. 


1919 - Sir Barton became the first horse to capture the Triple Crown when he won the Belmont Stakes in New York City. 


1930 - William Beebe dove to a record-setting depth of 1,426 feet off the coast of Bermuda. He used a diving chamber called a bathysphere. 


1934 - The Disarmament Conference in Geneva ended in failure. 


1937 - Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a purge of Red Army generals. 






1947 - The U.S. government announced an end to sugar rationing. 



1982 - Steven Spielberg's movie "E.T." opened. 

1987 - Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office. 

1991 - Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted. The eruption of ash and gas could be seen for more than 60 miles. 


1993 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people who commit "hate crimes" could be sentenced to extra punishment. The court also ruled in favor of religious groups saying that they indeed had a constitutional right to sacrifice animals during worship services. 

Obama Unleashes his Wrath on Arizona Using Children as Pawns

Obama Unleashes his Wrath on Arizona Using Children as Pawns:

"Barack Obama’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) agency has been taken to a disturbing practice. Upon apprehension at the Rio Grande border, rather than sending illegal aliens back home, they are sending them to Arizona, Oklahoma, and other places within Texas. Arizona, however, has received the largest influx of illegal aliens with, to date, 48,000 illegals being sent via plane and bus to the state.  Thousands of these individuals are children who have been sent here as unaccompanied minors, housed in warehouses with little security available, virtually no place to sleep, with many areas being quarantined because of diseases that many are carrying. "

County Sheriff’s Chilling Justification for Bringing Former Military Vehicles to Local Police Forces | Video | TheBlaze.com

County Sheriff’s Chilling Justification for Bringing Former Military Vehicles to Local Police Forces | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Pulaski County, Indiana, is home to less than 14,000 people. In all of 2012, they saw only 11 larceny or theft incidents, one murder and a grand total of 17 property crimes.
Yet, their police force has a mine-resistant ambush protection vehicle at their disposal."

Chicago Public Schools prom slogan: ‘This Is Are Story’

Chicago Public Schools prom slogan: ‘This Is Are Story’ - EAGnews.org powered by Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.:
"It’s hard to deny just how poorly Chicago’s public schools are performing when it hits you in the face. Such is the case with Paul Robeson High School’s 2014 prom theme: “This is Are Story.”
That image came from veteran investigative reporter Chuck Goudie, who posted this image on his Facebook page.
Some people might enjoy mocking the irony of the gross misuse of vocabulary.
But unless the organizers of the prom festivities planned the wording this way as a joke, there’s nothing funny about the situation.
Paul Robeson High School is located in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. The high school also is part of the failing Chicago Public Schools, or CPS, system.
Four out of 10 CPS freshmen do not graduate.
If they do graduate, 91 percent have to take remediation courses in college because they do not know how to do basic math and school work. 
Just 26 percent of CPS high school students are college-ready, according to the ACT subject matter tests."

Andrew Puzder: Why Young People Can't Find Work

Andrew Puzder: Why Young People Can't Find Work - WSJ:
The main culprits are policies that make new jobs more expensive.
In President Obama's speeches this year, a steady theme has been creating jobs and economic opportunity for Americans.
...Yet during the more than five years Mr. Obama has been in office, young people have been especially hard-hit by the slow and virtually jobless recovery. Given the destructive effect this has on individual initiative and the prospects of a productive and rewarding working life, the continuing struggle of young Americans to find jobs, start building families and contribute to society is no longer simply a matter of politics or policy. On a deeply human level, it's profoundly sad.
...These disturbing numbers raise a simple question: Where are the entry-level jobs?

Five years of 2% average yearly GDP growth simply doesn't produce enough jobs to absorb the natural increase in the labor force, and over the past eight quarters GDP growth has averaged only 1.7%.
.....The bottom line on labor: Make something less expensive and businesses will use more of it. Make something more expensive and businesses will use less of it. The Congressional Budget Office has forecast a loss of 500,000 jobs should the president's proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour become law.
...ObamaCare is also increasing the cost of hiring inexperienced workers. The health-care law requires that businesses with more than 50 full-time employees offer medical insurance to employees working 30 or more hours a week. The administration knows that the employer mandate will kill jobs and has twice delayed implementing it. With an election on the horizon, American businesses know that these delays were political and that the mandate's economically damaging impact is in the pipeline, coming their way.
ObamaCare gives businesses an incentive to either eliminate entry-level jobs or keep the workers' hours to under 30 a week. It also gives businesses a reason to reduce the hours of experienced employees to under 30 a week. These experienced employees are now working second jobs to compensate for their lost hours—resulting in fewer positions for less-experienced workers.
To get on the ladder of opportunity, America's young people need jobs. Creating disincentives to hire them diminishes the notion that "if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead." The reality is that you can't get ahead if you can't find a job.
I'm not speaking primarily as a business CEO. My company will adjust to new laws. I'm speaking as someone from a working-class family. I started work scooping ice cream for the minimum wage at Baskin-Robbins. To put myself through college and law school while supporting my family, I cut lawns, painted houses and busted concrete with a jackhammer. I know how important these jobs are. For one thing, they taught me—as no lectures from my parents ever could—that I needed a good education so I wouldn't have to settle for low-paying work the rest of my life. Too many young people today are being deprived of even that basic lesson.

White House Breaks Its Silence on Jailed Marine in Mexico | TheBlaze.com

White House Breaks Its Silence on Jailed Marine in Mexico | TheBlaze.com:

 "More than 123,000 people have signed a petition on the White House website calling for President Barack Obama to get directly involved in Tahmooressi’s release. Last week, Veterans of Foreign Wars leader William A. Thien urged Obama in a letter, “A personal phone call from you to Mexican President Nieto can make this happen.”

It All Started Here

It All Started Here - Answers.com:

What’s the Second Biggest Religion in Your State and the Country?

What’s the Second Biggest Religion in Your State and the Country? | TheBlaze.com:

Once again, in the national news. But not in the Muskegon news..........VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System to receive further review from patient access taskforce

And now the same folks want more money for a new project: 
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2014/06/muskegon_county_seeks_funding.html#incart_river


VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System to receive further review from patient access taskforce | MLive.com:
"The Ann Arbor-based health system is one of 112 VA sites that was flagged for further scrutiny by the report.
Outpatient clinics in Lansing and Muskegon will also be receiving follow-up reports.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the decision to more stringently audit certain hospitals and health systems “is based on a review of qualitative responses by front-line staff to questions contained in site audit reports.”
Questions for front-line staff included whether or not patients on a “missed opportunities” list were called to remind them of upcoming appointments and whether a supervisor periodically checks work and gives feedback.
The report noted that the secondary reviews are a “preliminary step” and that “further actions will be taken after the determination of the extent of issues related to scheduling and access management practices.”"

Holi crapoli! She really did damage her brain in that fall-------Hillary Clinton says she understands 'hard life'

My Way News - Hillary Clinton says she understands 'hard life':
"WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she and former President Bill Clinton "fully appreciate how hard life is for so many Americans," seeking to refine remarks she made about the pair being "dead broke" when they left the White House.
...In an interview on the day her book "Hard Choices" was being released, Clinton told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she and her husband left the White House roughly $12 million in debt at the end of his second term in early 2001.
But she also acknowledged that "we've continued to be blessed in the last 14 years."
In response to a question, Clinton told anchor Robin Roberts she wants "to use the talent and resources that I have to make sure" others have the same opportunities.
Clinton's Senate financial disclosure forms, filed for 2000, show assets between $781,000 and almost $1.8 million. 

Art or Vandalism? Street Artist Sabo Creates Edgy Work That Has Made the Left Angry | TheBlaze.com

Art or Vandalism? Street Artist Sabo Creates Edgy Work That Has Made the Left Angry | TheBlaze.com: "After it was announced that actress and noted anti-war activist Jane Fonda would be giving the commencement address at the University of California, Los Angeles’ film school graduation ceremony, Sabo unveiled a new piece to mark the event."

Big election coming up in August. Educate yourselves. Or they'll educate you.

Ballot proposal

http://muskegonpundit.blogspot.com/2014/06/an-explaination-sort-ofdont-let-wording.html

Muskegon county board of commissioners meeting minutes

http://www.co.muskegon.mi.us/boardofcommissioners/board_minutes.cfm

Michigan Votes

http://www.michiganvotes.org/VotingIndex.aspx?ID=872

http://www.michiganvotes.org/ListIndices.aspx

http://www.michiganvotes.org/

The Soviet communists opposed the Marshall Plan for the same reason. Freedom and capitalism helping people hurts communism/progressivism.------Leftists Accuse the Koch Brothers of Helping Poor Minorities Go to College

Leftists Accuse the Koch Brothers of Helping Poor Minorities Go to College | Mediaite:

Billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch are prolific philanthropists, patronizing art,science, medicine, education, and public policy. Sounds wonderful, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, their libertarian philosophy isn’t an approved variation of the self-hatred and hypocritical cant required by the progressive left, so their money can do no good to anyone.

In fact, their charitable gifts are even more suspect than if they simply hoarded their money in Scrooge McDuck-like towers of gold coins. It seems the only thing some progressives hate more than libertarians who don’t care about society, the poor, or minorities is… libertarians who do. How else can you explain the outrage (and sometimes protest rallies) that has accompanied their huge gifts to museums, hospitals, cancer research, and (most recently) the United Negro College Fund?

Koch Industries and the Charles Koch Foundation has just donated 25 million dollars to the UNCF. $18.5 million will support a scholarship program, and $6.5 million will support UNCF and member colleges, including $4 million for students whose parents were denied loans. But the gift has generated controversy and furor on the left.

Inside Higher Ed reported attacks on Twitter such as, “#UNCF Literally Sells Their ‘Souls To The Devil’ Accepting Checks From The #KochBrothers” and “#Koch donation to @UNCF tells children everywhere that money is first and integrity is unnecessary.” But criticism also came from liberal professors such as UPenn’s Marybeth Gasman, director of the Center for Minority-Serving Institutions, who says it was “wrong” to accept Koch money, even though “she didn’t doubt that many individual students might benefit from the scholarships,” because the brothers have been “deeply affiliated with the Tea Party.”

Try to follow the logic here: “How dare Charles and David Koch give millions of dollars to help African American students access higher education! They’re libertarians! And libertarianism is bad for black people!” Spot any glaring, borderline crazy non sequiturs here? You can’t take money from people who legitimately earned it if they also believe the wrong things about politics.

An explaination. Sort of........Don't let wording confuse PPT (Personal Property Tax) issue

Let's see.
The media likes it.
The financially mismanaged municipalities like it.
Some businesses like it.
Politicians love it.
What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
Don't let wording confuse PPT issue | Crain's Detroit Business:
(Plus this from FREEP:  http://www.freep.com/article/20140608/OPINION01/306080051/michigan-proposal-1)

The (Michigan) Aug. 5 ballot proposal to replace the personal property tax now paid by businesses is widely supported by both business and the communities that benefit from the tax, but it still faces a hurdle to passage:
How it's worded.
The issue, which will be Proposition 1 on the ballot, is written to fit the technical requirements of changing state law.
But the effect is to make the average reader believe that there must be a hidden tax lurking in it somewhere.
Small wonder.
As Lansing correspondent Chris Gautz pointed out in his May 5 Capitol Briefings, the proposal includes the word "tax" or "taxes" eight times and doesn't include the phrase "personal property tax."
We know that legally, certain requirements must be met.
But is there really no way this proposal could have been made clearer?
In fact, what the proposal does is this: 
Eliminate the personal property tax, essentially a local tax on business equipment, and make local governments and school districts whole in lost tax revenue.
The latter objective will be paid for by increased state revenue tied to the expiration of various corporate tax credits, increasing the amount of the state use tax that is sent to local school districts and establishing a special assessment that only manufacturers receiving a PPT reduction pay.
The PPT has been unpopular for a long time.
Businesses don't like it because it's hard to figure out and it's not charged by most nearby states.
Local governments haven't liked it because the assessments are constantly under appeal by businesses.
Getting rid of it was a priority of Gov. Rick Snyder when he took office, but finding a solution took some time because the tax in some Michigan communities is a comparatively large part of the budget.
The current proposal addresses the concerns of both businesses and municipalities and doesn't raise anyone's taxes.
Let's hope the clunky wording doesn't get in the way.

Some always gain with liberal policies. Usually the politically "connected crowd". Why don't we care about those who are hurt by the same policies?------The hidden costs of raising the minimum wage

The hidden costs of raising the minimum wage | WashingtonExaminer.com:
"Most of the debate surrounding the minimum wage has focused on the question of whether raising it destroys jobs.
Conservatives say yes, liberals say no and both eagerly point to various economic studies to buttress their point.
Less attention has been paid to what impact a hike will have on those who will still be working.
After all, even if the hike does cost some jobs, that may still be a worthwhile trade-off if enough other low-income workers benefit.
But will those remaining workers really be better off?
Not necessarily.
They may lose out as employers cut back elsewhere.
Some anecdotal evidence from Seattle, which recently voted to raise its hourly rate from $9.32 to $15, appears to be bearing that out.
There’s also the awkward fact that a higher minimum wage actually benefits some larger businesses by reducing competition. 
Walmart may be able to pay a higher wage, but neighborhood mom and pop stores may not.

...A Center for Economic and Policy Research study from February 2013 argued that the evidence was “either inconclusive … or suggestive of only small economic effects.”
But if that is the case, then how do the businesses that employ people at or near the minimum wage absorb their now-higher labor costs? CEPR, to its credit, offered some answers:
"Some employers may cut hours; others, fringe benefits; still others, the wages of highly paid workers. Some employers may raise prices (particularly if their competitors are experiencing similar cost increases in response to the minimum wage). 
Some employers may see their profits fall (along with those of their competitors), while others may reorganize the work process in order to lower costs."
In other words, the workers will simply lose out elsewhere.
Meanwhile consumers will pay higher prices and the businesses will see lower profit margins.

There's an Intelligence Crisis at the White House

There's an Intelligence Crisis at the White House:
"For years, word has circulated in Washington that the president frequently refuses to take intelligence briefings or chooses to ignore the advice offered in those meetings by intelligence officers."

Why do we pay haters of our country's traditions to indoctrinate our children?--------Controversial Principal Allegedly Strikes Patriotic Song from School Ceremony

Controversial Principal Allegedly Strikes Patriotic Song from School Ceremony | Healthy Living - Yahoo Shine:

A Brooklyn elementary school principal with areputation for banning patriotic songs has reportedly forbidden students from marching into a school assembly to a tune called “Stand Up for the Red, White and Blue.” 
According to a story published Sunday by theNew York Daily News, Public School 90 Edna Cohen School principal Greta Hawkins will not allow 54 pre-K students from walking into a June 19th ceremony to the song which was scheduled to play over the school’s broadcast system. As an explanation, Hawkins, 54, told her staff that no one had asked her permission to play it. 
The song includes lyrics such as, “I’ll always do my part, I love my land that’s free.”
Hawkins did not return Yahoo Shine’s calls for comments, however a school secretary told Shine that the song was never slated for the program. 
The principal, who arrived at PS90 in 2009, has caused controversy in the past. According to the New York Times, in 2012, Hawkins rejected the country song “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood from an end-of-year kindergarten ceremony for being too aggressive for small children. 
A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education pointed to the opening line “If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life…” as one example. 

Map of State Gasoline Tax Rates in 2014

Map of State Gasoline Tax Rates in 2014 | Tax Foundation

History for June 10

History for June 10 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversaries of Saul Bellow (1915-2005), Judy Garland (1922-1969), Hattie McDaniel (1889-1952) 

Happy 93rd Birthday, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh!

Happy Birthday! John Edwards, Bobby Jindal, Tara Lipinski

1801 - The North African State of Tripoli declared war on the U.S. The dispute was over merchant vessels being able to travel safely through the Mediterranean. 


1854 - The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, held its first graduation. 


1898 - U.S. Marines landed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. 


1902 - The "outlook" or "see-through" envelope was patented by Americus F. Callahan. 


1909 - The SOS distress signal was used for the first time. The Cunard liner SS Slavonia used the signal when it wrecked off the Azores. 


1920 - The Republican convention in Chicago endorsed woman suffrage. 


1935 - Alcoholic Anonymous was founded by William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith. 


1940 - Italy declared war on France and Britain. In addition, Canada declared war on Italy.
 




1943 - Laszlo Biro patented his ballpoint pen. Biro was a Hungarian journalist. 


1948 - Chuck Yeager exceeded the speed of sound in the Bell XS-1. 


1971 - The U.S. ended a 21-year trade embargo of China. 






1990 - The Civic Forum movement won Czechoslovakia's first free elections since 1946. The movement was founded by President Vaclav Havel. 


1994 - U.S. President Clinton intensified sanctions against Haiti's military leaders. U.S. commercial air travel was suspended along with most financial transactions between Haiti and theU.S. 






1998 - The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that poor children in Milwaukee could attend religious schools at taxpayer expense.

Joe Biden: We Never Said They Would Be Good Jobs

Joe Biden: We Never Said They Would Be Good Jobs:
"During a jobs event sponsored by the ‘think tank’ Third Way,  attended by community college administrators and business leaders, Biden said, “We’ve grown and made sure no one got left behind. No one got left behind. We didn’t guarantee that every new job was going to be a high-paying job.”

No, Obama is Not Above the Law

No, Obama is Not Above the Law:
"It was hard enough trying to keep up with the revelations of various scandals that have been the product of the Obama administration, but now into the second year of his second term, the news of its actions—some of which are illegal, some of which ignore Congress’s authority, and some of which seemed determined to destroy our economy and attack our constitutional freedoms–all keep assaulting our comprehension."

Warehousing children to make a political point----Arizona sends supplies to illegal immigrant children 'dumped' in warehouse

Arizona sends supplies to illegal immigrant children 'dumped' in warehouse | Fox News:
"The state of Arizona has shipped mattresses, portable toilets, and showers to a warehouse in Nogales where over 700 illegal immigrant children have been "dumped" by federal agents using the facility as a makeshift holding center.
An official with the Department of Homeland Security told the Associated Press that 2,000 mattresses have been ordered after most of the children spent the night sleeping on plastic cots.
Gov. Jan Brewer's spokesman, Andrew Wilder, said Friday that conditions at the center are so dire that federal officials have asked the state to immediately ship medical supplies there.
DHS started flying illegal immigrants to Arizona from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas last month after the number of immigrants -- including more than 48,000 children traveling on their own -- overwhelmed the Border Patrol there."

Australia’s ‘Reckless’ — or ‘Refreshing’ — Decision About Jerusalem Has Some Palestinians Incensed | TheBlaze.com

Australia’s ‘Reckless’ — or ‘Refreshing’ — Decision About Jerusalem Has Some Palestinians Incensed | TheBlaze.com:
"Palestinian officials are expressing outrage over a decision by the Australian government to stop labeling east Jerusalem as “occupied” territory, and say they are now lobbying Muslim nations to reevaluate their relations with Australia.
One Australian lawmaker called the conservative government’s decision an “extraordinary,” “reckless” and “massive shift” in foreign policy."

A humanitarian disaster!--------Obama’s Amnesty Plan Is Harming Latino Kids, Says Adviser

Obama’s Amnesty Plan Is Harming Latino Kids, Says Adviser | The Daily Caller:
"The wave of illegals now flooding into the U.S will keep growing — and keep causing harm to Central American children — until the president starts leading a response, according to a White House immigration adviser.
“There’s a lack of leadership here… [but eventually] the president will become involved because he can’t avoid it,” said Rev. Richard Ryscavage, who serves on the White House immigration advisory panel.
That wave is building fast, and is already likely to be 50 percent larger by October than officials predicted one week ago, according to a leaked administration memo."

They've got to change the rules for EVERYONE because ONE person is an ass?--------Metro Council wants to prohibit use of profanity, offensive language by speakers

Metro Council wants to prohibit use of profanity, offensive language by speakers:
"Members of the Louisville Metro Council have asked the county attorney’s office to research the options they have in trying to prohibit the use of profanity and offensive language, especially by people addressing the legislative body.
...The action is aimed primarily at one speaker who has used a racial slur more than once in the last year or so, when she addressed the council
...“I am hoping we can specifically prohibit use of the ‘n’ word,” Scott said.
.....The addresses are televised as part of the meeting over the Metro TV station, and usually at least two uniformed police officers provide security at the meetings."

The wrath of Obama!

DRUDGE REPORT 2014®:

One School’s ‘Horrific’ Sex-Ed Photos Are Outraging Parents | TheBlaze.com

One School’s ‘Horrific’ Sex-Ed Photos Are Outraging Parents | TheBlaze.com:
"A middle school sex-ed presentation mixed the birds and the bees with a few crude memes.
Parents were outraged.
“That’s something you can’t unsee,” one parent, who asked not to be identified, told KGTV. “This is definitely more than R-rated. This is X-rated.”

10 Things Liberals Insanely Link To 'Global Warming'

Click and read: 
10 Things Liberals Insanely Link To 'Global Warming' - Daily Surge:
".....But, when it comes to liberal Democrats, it has become an epidemic…and they just cannot contain themselves.
Especially when it comes to the financially driven fear-fest known as climate change…because, you know…we’re all going to die."
Ladies, and Gents, I present to you…
10 Things Liberals Insanely Link To Global Warming:
1) Global Warming Causes Rape
2) The Koch Brothers
3) Rising Beer Cost
4) Global Warming Makes You Cheat
5) Global Warming Makes You Fat
6) The Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
7) HIV/AIDS
8) Cannibalism…Seems Legit…The Guy Who Founded CNN Said So
9) Penguin Sex
10) Child Prostitution