Editorial: MDOT bungles rail car lease:
"The Michigan Department of Transportation is in a financial bind thanks to the 23 rails cars it is leasing from the Great Lakes Central Railroad.
And the department can’t even use these rail cars for at least four more years. That’s a huge waste of money.
The cars are meant for two commuter projects in Southeast Michigan — a line from Howell to Ann Arbor and another from Ann Arbor to Detroit.
They are to be put into service after tracks along the two lines are upgraded.
...Meanwhile, the cars are sitting idle at a rail yard in Owosso and are costing taxpayers about $3,000 a day.
To date, the department has spent about $11.4 million to lease and refurbish the cars..."
Pamela Geller DESTROYS onslaught of ridiculous attacks from CNN’s Alisyn Camerota » The Right Scoop -: "I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. Instead of finding fault with the attackers that tried to KILL Pamela Geller for using her freedom of speech, CNN’s Alisyn Camerota calls her a bigot and attacks her on-air.
Pamela handled it expertly and destroyed every criticism tossed her way.
Here’s the first part:"(click link to get video)
Texas 5-Year-Old School Girl Forced to Change Clothes, Shoulders Too Sexy Says School Official: "A 5-year-old was forced to change from a sundress to jeans and a t-shirt after Cy-Fair Independent School District officials decided that showing her shoulders was “immoral”.
They also objected to her ankles showing as well.
...Jef Rouner, father of the little girl an a writer for the Houston Press, bought the rainbow color spaghetti strap dress for his five year old daughter a few weeks back.
She had already worn it to church, without objection, and since it was warm, she wanted to wear it to school.
Her father had no problem with the choice or his daughters fashion style.
That was before she got to school.
But a teacher or principal saw the dress, and brought her to the office and made her “cover up” all the skin that was showing..."
Major U.S. Retailers Are Closing More Than 6,000 Stores: "Middle Class U.S. Consumers Are Tapped Out": "If the U.S. economy really is improving, then why are big U.S. retailers permanently shutting down thousands of stores? The “retail apocalypse” that I have written about so frequently appears to be accelerating. As you will see below, major U.S. retailers have announced that they are closing more than 6,000 locations, but economic conditions in this country are still fairly stable. So if this is happening already, what are things going to look like once the next recession strikes? ...If retailers are closing this many stores already, what are our malls and shopping centers going to look like a few years from now?
The list below comes from information compiled by About.com,... As you can see, the number of stores that are being permanently shut down is absolutely staggering…
The truth is that middle class U.S. consumers are tapped out. Most families are just scraping by financially from month to month. For most Americans, there simply is not a whole lot of extra money left over to go shopping with these days.
In fact, at this point approximately one out of every four Americans spend at least half of their incomes just on rent…
More than one in four Americans are spending at least half of their family income on rent – leaving little money left to purchase groceries, buy clothing or put gas in the car, new figures have revealed. A staggering 11.25 million households consume 50 percent or more of their income on housing and utilities, according to an analysis of Census data by nonprofit firm, Enterprise Community Partners...
"But it’s just par for the course with these people. Higher taxes for the rich (as long as you leave me alone)! More charity for the poor (as long as you take it from someone else)! More government spending (as long as it’s someone else’s money)! And the whole time, no one stops for a moment to think, “You know, maybe I should live the way I want others to live.”
Valerie Lee, OSU vice provost and chief diversity officer at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, certainly earned her lengthy title by nabbing the conference:
“The (conference) has become an invaluable source to help keep Ohio State at the forefront of inclusive excellence, providing students and professionals in all walks of life a way to learn best practices, address relevant topics, and understand differing perspectives on diversity.”
“...One of these sessions will be hosted by Debby Irving, the author of “Waking Up White,” and she will be the featured speaker of her sessions. According to the book’s website, the book looks critically at racism in the country and how to properly talk about it...."
“How to properly talk” about race and racism certainly sounds intriguing. Any takers that “properly” means “how Ms. Irving — and (racial) progressives — want you to talk about it”?
History for May 4 - On-This-Day.com Horace Mann 1796 - Educator, father of public education in the U.S., author, John Hanning Speke 1827, Hosni Mubarak 1928 - Egyptian president
Audrey Hepburn (Edda Kathleen Hepburn van Heemstra) 1929 - Actress ("Monte Carlo Baby", "Breakfast at Tiffany's"), George F. Will 1941 - Columnist ("Newsweek"), editor, Randy Travis (Randy Bruce Traywick) 1959 - Country singer 1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on Manhattan Island. Native Americans later sold the island (20,000 acres) for $24 in cloth and buttons. 1715 - A French manufacturer debuted the first folding umbrella. 1886 - Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter patented the gramophone. It was the first practical phonograph. 1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea commenced as American and Japanese carriers launched their attacks at each other. 1942 - The United States began food rationing. 1961 - Thirteen civil rights activists, dubbed "Freedom Riders," began a bus trip through the South. 1970 - The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded. 1979 - Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first woman prime minister. 1987 - Live models were used for the first time in Playtex bra ads. 1994 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed a historic accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
Two weeks later, after another follow-up disciplinary meeting, the student’s ResStaff contract was terminated in a letter claiming ineligibility due to a class requirement technicality that, according to the student, had been resolved more than a month prior.
But even in the termination letter, the hall directors couldn’t help but reference the incident, telling the student to learn “how to better manage your involvements and to hold yourself accountable for your actions.”
A fellow member who jokingly replied to the student’s question about the acronym with “bad baby walrus” was also called in for a disciplinary meeting, but was not let go. The student himself was also reprimanded as being “racist” for laughing at the joke.
Noticeably absent from any sort of discipline? The woman herself, who vulgarly insulted the student as “f*cking stupid and disrespectful” and threateningly vowed “If we have a problem the next time I see you, DON’T be surprised....”
"Bill O’Reilly referred to Hillary Clinton’s controversies as “The Hillary Dilemma” on The O’Reilly Factor, saying that the Clintons always have a ready defense.
The corruption timeline begins in the 1970’s, when Hillary was working as an attorney investigating the Watergate scandal, when, it has been reported, she was fired for lies and unethical behavior."
The redefinition of the word violence continues among revelations that discounting a sexual partner's feelings and withholding sex constitutes sexual violence at the University of Michigan. The relevant info can be found at the university's "Stop Abuse" webpage:
Examples of sexual violence include: discounting the partner's feelings regarding sex; criticizing the partner sexually; touching the partner sexually in inappropriate and uncomfortable ways; withholding sex and affection; always demanding sex; forcing partner to strip as a form of humiliation (maybe in front of children), to witness sexual acts, to participate in uncomfortable sex or sex after an episode of violence, to have sex with other people; and using objects and/or weapons to hurt during sex or threats to back up demands for sex.
...an interview with the sexual violence support coordinator at Brock University in Canada in which the administrator claims"anything that makes someone feel unsafe" counts as violence.
The New York Times reported that Obama told Jewish leaders in a private meeting last month that he won’t meet with Netanyahu before the June 30 deadline for a final Iran deal.
With the Kerry television interview, excerpts of which were broadcast Saturday night, the Obama administration made its case for the deal directly to the Israeli public.
“I believe that where we are heading will in fact protect Israel,” Kerry said."
Why voters should be offended by Proposal 1 The most offensive aspect of Proposal 1 isn't the enormity of the tax increases proposed. Certainly, the tax hikes are steep enough to upset voters who feel they pay enough already. The sales tax, gas tax and vehicle tax hikes combined would take an additional $2 billion every year, making Proposal 1 the largest tax increase in Michigan since the state income tax was introduced in 1967. But it's not the hundreds of dollars in additional taxes that voters would pay each year that inspires such bitter opposition to Proposal 1. Nor is it the hodgepodge of unrelated spending and regulations thrown into a proposal supposedly for road repair. Voters should be deeply offended by the scare tactics employed by the forces supporting Proposal 1, telling us that anyone — even children — might be injured or killed by flying concrete any day now unless we pass these tax hikes. Any lawmaker who sincerely believes that has a moral obligation to do everything possible to support every alternative and ensure that one way or another, roads will be funded. Neither our roads nor the people on them are anyone's political hostages. And anyone who sincerely believes our road conditions are a life-threatening emergency should find it outrageous that Proposal 1, according to the House Fiscal Agency, puts only $368 million to road repairs the first year, out of $2 billion in new tax money..."
“As attacks on the public sector and its workers increase, economic inequality widens and an avalanche of money in the political system undermines fairness, the ideal of a public square is itself under assault,” a press release the union sent to The Daily Caller explained.
The “avalanche of money in the political system” which “undermines fairness” comes from a host of super PACs and other groups. Chief among these organizations is the American Federation of Teachers.
In 2014 alone, the American Federation of Teachers spent $19,499,848 to influence federal, state and municipal elections across the United States,according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Exclusive: Bakers Facing $135K Fine Over Wedding Cake for Same-Sex Couple Speak Out
It was the first time seeing her bakery since the new owners moved in.
“This is really hard,” Melissa Klein said, tears filling up her eyes.
Almost two years ago, Melissa and her husband, Aaron, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, had to close the bakery they built from scratch after declining to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding.
“I did all the flooring in here—this was a collection agency before we moved the bakery in,” Aaron said, peering through the glass window.
...“This country should be able to tolerate diverse opinions,” he said.
“I never once have said that my fight is [to] stop what they call equality.”
...The Daily Signal reported on Friday that an administrative law judge for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries recommended the Kleins be fined $135,000 for the damages they caused for Rachel and Laurel.
...The proposed fine will now go to state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, who can either accept it or adjust the amount in issuing a final order, which is expected to arrive this summer.
...One question concerning the Kleins and their lawyer is why no doctor or medical expert was present during the hearings. To claim $135,000, the couple submitted a list of mental, physical and emotional damages inflicted by the Kleins’ action.
As The Daily Signal previously reported, some of those symptoms include, “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “excessive sleep,” “felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “pale and sick at home after work,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “surprise,” “weight gain” and “worry.”
“There was no expert testimony at the hearing,” Harmon said.
“The witnesses at the hearing were the two women who were requesting a cake, one of their mothers, one of their brothers and another family member. There was no doctor, there was no psychologist, no expert testimony at all.”
In order to account for $135,000, the state isn’t just going after Aaron and Melissa’s bakery.
“The business is gone,” Harmon, their lawyer, said.
“They don’t have business assets so when we talk about [the fine] it’s personal,” Harmon added.
“It means that’s money they would have used to feed their children that they can’t use anymore.”
Aaron said the sum is enough to financially ruin their family....
Marathon Pundit: Newsbusters: NY Times blamed Reagan/Bush for LA riots, but no Obama blame for Baltimore: The Baltimore riots are the worst outbreak of urban violence since the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The liberal New York Times was quick to blame them on President George H.W. Bush and his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, as Newsbusters reports. But the Old Gray Lady isn't pointing the finger at Barack Obama, our first black president. Of course unlike Reagan/Bush, racial animosity has gone up since Dear Leader took office.
"Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. said he received the documents and notes from the State Department Benghazi Accountability Review Board, which was created by the department after the attacks to examine the administration’s response.
It is the first time ARB documents have been turned over to Congress. The documents have not been reviewed by the other groups that investigated the 2012 attacks."
Venezuela to nationalize food distribution - Yahoo News:
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has promised to nationalize food distribution in the South American nation beset with record shortages of basic goods, runaway inflation and an escalating economic crisis. During a rally Friday, on International Workers' Day, the socialist leader allowed a union activist to ask for the nationalization of food and essential-item distribution.
Citing new decree-making powers recently granted by the National Assembly, Maduro said he would carry out such a measure "in the coming days and weeks."
...Venezuela is struggling with a recession, 68.5-percent annual inflation and severe shortages of the basic goods that it relies on oil money to import.
On any given day, people in Venezuela can wait hours to get some subsidized milk, cooking oil, milk or flour -- if they can be found at all.
...Nonetheless, Maduro also announced a 30-percent increase in public wages on Friday.
