Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Teacher breaks wall of silence at state's Muslim public school

Teacher breaks wall of silence at state's Muslim public school: "Why does the Minnesota Department of Education allow this sort of religious activity at a public school? According to Zaman, the department inspects TIZA regularly -- and has done so 'numerous times' -- to ensure that it is not a religious school."

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

My Way News - NY Union Members Charged With Extortion

My Way News - NY Union Members Charged With Extortion: "A dozen leaders and members of a construction union were arrested Tuesday and charged with a decade of attacks against nonunion workers and their families, and prosecutors said some of the crimes were aided by the local's access to state motor vehicle records"

GAO: Millions Wasted on Gov't Cards

GAO: Millions Wasted on Gov't Cards: "Federal employees charged millions of dollars for Internet dating, tailor-made suits, lingerie, lavish dinners and other questionable expenses to their government credit cards over a 15-month period, congressional auditors say."

Obama Delegate Resigns After Remark

Obama Delegate Resigns After Remark: "'I calmly said the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys.'
The mother of one boy called police.
Cmdr. Michael Kilbourne said Tuesday a ticket was issued because the ordinance bans conduct that disturbs or alarms people. One of the boys told police he was scared by her comment and a mother said she was disturbed, he said."

Monday, April 07, 2008

JS Online: Pension twist costs county millions

JS Online: Pension twist costs county millions: "Hundreds of Milwaukee County workers have pumped up their pensions by a total of at least $50 million through an obscure program that skirted county laws and federal tax rules, a Journal Sentinel investigation found."

Chicago Boyz » Blog Archive » Britain and Electricity

Britain and Electricity: "There is a looming electricity crisis that is about to overtake the United States. While our demand for electricity continues to increase due to construction, computers (data centers take up a significant portion of electricity demand), and potentially even electric cars, essentially no new “base load” supply of electrical generation is being added to the market."

Confederate Yankee: MSNBC Games McCain Speech with Irrelevant "Breaking News"

MSNBC Games McCain Speech with Irrelevant "Breaking News": "MSNBC needs to justify this 'breaking news' event by proving that they have broken into other live events on their network to cover minor Green Zone mortar attacks during the campaign season.
Somehow, I doubt they can."

College Isn’t Worth a Million Dollars

College Isn’t Worth a Million Dollars
"the shocking conclusions that American higher education today has gotten too expensive for what it produces; that it has become too costly for the typical student ... that education (a college degree) does not pay!”"

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Cattle feeders feel effects of ethanol's need for corn

Cattle feeders feel effects of ethanol's need for corn
"Ask John Van Pelt his thoughts on ethanol, and he's likely to pull out his adding machine and let the numbers speak for themselves.
Van Pelt, the manager of a cattle feedlot in this town 50 miles south of Amarillo, is now paying $215 a ton for cattle feed — double what he spent just three years ago. With 20,000 cattle in his yard, that works out to about $25,000 per day, just in feed, and what could become several million dollars in added costs this year."

VA employees rack up $2.6 billion in credit card charges

VA employees rack up $2.6 billion in credit card charges
"Veterans Affairs employees last year racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in government credit-card bills at casino and luxury hotels, movie theaters and high-end retailers such as Sharper Image and Franklin Covey — and government auditors are investigating, citing past spending abuses.
All told, VA staff charged $2.6 billion to their government credit cards."

Saturday, April 05, 2008

The Climate Project

The Climate Project

Feeling the bite of food prices

Feeling the bite of food prices: "High oil prices, the push for alternative fuels and global demand for food are driving the trend.
'I've just started to think about using coupons,' said Taryn Reed, a Minneapolis mother and sometimes Kowalski's shopper, who says she has already begun shopping at supercenters more often and buying store brands.
Faced with $8-a-gallon organic milk and more than $2 for a dozen large eggs, consumers are changing their behavior"

Drink Absolut Vodka-- Bring Back Mythical Aztlan


Drink Absolut Vodka-- Bring Back Mythical Aztlan: "'In an Absolut World anything can happen including getting the US-Mexico border straight once and for all.'

...You may become so drunk you might even imagine you're in Aztlan.
*Hic*"

Fast-tracking climate policies

Fast-tracking climate policies : "The new report probes the edges of executive orders and lays out the authority the next president could use to introduce global-warming policies without waiting for legislation to wind its way through the notoriously slow congressional machine"

Backpack snags on fence; man strangled | Seattle Times Newspaper

Backpack snags on fence; man strangled Seattle Times Newspaper: "In the backpack, an officer found about a dozen 40-ounce bottles full of beer, the report said."

Friday, April 04, 2008

BeldarBlog: Is Obama still smoking while hiding and denying it?

BeldarBlog: Is Obama still smoking while hiding and denying it?: "Is Obama still smoking while hiding and denying it?"

Obama and King - WSJ.com

Obama and King - WSJ.com: "Martin Luther King Jr. died at age 39; today, the 40th anniversary of his death, is the first time he has been gone longer than he lived.
Figures such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have tried to claim his place on the American stage. But at most they have achieved fame and wealth. What separated King from any would-be successor was his moral authority. He towered above the high walls of racial suspicion by speaking truth to all sides."

Church sues city of Muskegon over denied permit

Church sues city of Muskegon over denied permit
"Planning commissioners cited those comments and also mentioned possible future commercial uses for the former dealership, which they said would be preferable to taking the building off the tax rolls for use as a church.
Acording to the lawsuit, the latter reason for denial is not allowed under a federal law called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act. 'This is a case where the church is being discriminated against in part because of its tax-exempt status -- a clear violation of (the act),' said Dan Dalton, the church's Royal Oak attorney, in a news release."

Muskegon, Ottawa counties receive $1 million (almost) teaching grant - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com

Muskegon, Ottawa counties receive $1 million (almost) teaching grant - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com: "It's really to prepare teachers to be able to better teach traditional American history,' said Jo Ann Webb, spokeswoman for the Department of Education. 'When they can teach it better, then kids can learn it better.'"

Thursday, April 03, 2008

My Way News - States May Free Inmates to Save Millions

My Way News - States May Free Inmates to Save Millions: "Lawmakers from California to Kentucky are trying to save money with a drastic and potentially dangerous budget-cutting proposal: releasing tens of thousands of convicts from prison, including drug addicts, thieves and even violent criminals."

Sense of Events: The soft side of Simon Cowell

Sense of Events: The soft side of Simon Cowell: "The soft side of Simon Cowell

Gerard Van Der Leun says that this is the best five minutes you'll spend today. Righto, that."

DNC stance surprises campaigns

DNC stance surprises campaigns
"But the mere presence of Florida and Michigan on the credentials committee raises the prospect of vote-trading or last-minute maneuvering, creating potential confusion for a convention already shadowed by procedural controversies."

live dangerously be a conservative

live dangerously be a conservative

New Muskegon blog!

Your influence counts, but only if you use it! - mlive.com

Your influence counts, but only if you use it! - mlive.com

Mayor adds to stimulus proposal

Mayor adds to stimulus proposal:
"Under the mayor's plan, the city wouldn't borrow the money, but rather enter into an agreement with the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., a quasi-governmental agency, to borrow the money. The council would have to sign off on an ordinance authorizing the agreement.
After three payment-free years, the city would use the expected growth in casino revenue to make the annual $29 million payments on the bonds for the next 30 years. That's how Kilpatrick's staff said the city could undertake the projects without raising taxes or cutting from the budget."

'Pig Book' tallies $17.2 billion in pork

'Pig Book' tallies $17.2 billion in pork
"the Democrat-led Congress last year broke a promise to slash pork spending and doled out $17.2 billion for pet projects, including $296 million in earmarks by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — the top spender of the three presidential contenders.........
Congress stuffed 11,610 projects into fiscal 2008 spending bills, the second-highest total ever and more than triple the number of projects in fiscal 2007. The $17.2 billion spent reflected a 30 percent increase over the previous year's $13.2 billion expenditure, according to the 'Pig Book.'"

AG - , Track Your Taxes

AG - , Track Your Taxes: "Welcome to Attorney General Mike Cox's
Track Your Taxes Webpage"

AG Cox pushes to put state budget online

AG Cox pushes to put state budget online
"Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox joined several Republican legislators making stops Tuesday in Kalamazoo and elsewhere to push for passage of a bill that would put the state budget online.
Sponsored by Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, R-Texas Township, the bill would require the creation of a Web site that specifies how the state spends money.
Cox called for bringing what's been dubbed the 'track your taxes' bill out of committee and to a vote in the House floor.
'The House has had more than enough time"

Worst States For Jobs - AOL Find a Job

Worst States For Jobs - AOL Find a Job: "1. Michigan


Unemployment rate: 7.1 percent


Population: 10,071,822


Mean annual wage: $41,230"