Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Certificate of Need, Citizens Research Council

Certificate of Need, Citizens Research Council [Mackinac Center]
Imagine a law that gave a government board the power to decide whether or not new grocery stores could be built, and whether existing ones could expand or install new equipment.
For example, a law that forced the Meijer’s near your house to go through a complex and lengthy bureaucratic process before it could add some new freezer cases, and prove the new capacity wouldn’t drive up overall grocery prices.
Sound nuts?
Welcome to the bizarre world of Michigan’s health care facility “Certificate of Need” law

Solyndra to Declare Bankruptcy

Solyndra to Declare Bankruptcy NBC Bay Area
Solyndra, a major manufacturer of solar technology in Fremont, has shut its doors, according to employees at the campus.
"I was told by a security guard to get my [stuff] and leave," one employee said. The company employs a little more than 1,000 employees worldwide, according to its website

....The federal government offered $535 million in low cost loan guarantees from the Department of Energy.

Detroit People Mover seeks first fare hike

Wayne County Detroit People Mover seeks first fare hike The Detroit News
Weeks after the City Council trimmed the system's $4.4 million annual subsidy by $1 million

2.9 mile mass transit bliss?

Central Falls receiver cutting pensions further

Central Falls receiver cutting pensions further Rhode Island news projo.com The Providence Journal: CENTRAL FALLS — The state-appointed receiver has sent a second round of letters to 141 retired police officers and firefighters informing many of them that their retirement pensions will be slashed further than he first proposed at a public meeting at Central Falls High School last month.

It can happen here if our county leaders refuse to face the issue of pension and health care underfunding. 

Pending Legislation in California: “The Law to Eliminate Employment of Babysitters in the State”

CARPE DIEM: Pending Legislation in California: “The Law to Eliminate Employment of Babysitters in the State”:
"How will California parents react when they find out they will be expected to provide workers' compensation benefits, rest and meal breaks, and paid vacation time for…babysitters?
Dinner and a movie night may soon become much more complicated.

U.S. Exports to China Grew 4 Times Faster Than Exports to the Rest of the World from 2000 to 2010

CARPE DIEM: U.S. Exports to China Grew 4 Times Faster Than Exports to the Rest of the World from 2000 to 2010
China is the third largest export market for the United States ($92 billion in 2010), behind our NAFTA partners #1 Canada ($248 billion) and #2 Mexico ($163 billion), and head of #4 Japan ($60.5 billion) and #5 U.K. ($48.5 billion).

If you "hate" China, they may just hate you back! 

The Anti-Science Smear

The Anti-Science Smear - Rich Lowry - National Review Online
The last time Republicans were roundly condemned as anti-science, it was for their resistance to destroying human embryos for stem cells.
Their crude religiosity supposedly blocked imminent leaps ahead in medical progress.

Then-vice-presidential candidate John Edwards went so far as to predict in 2004 that because of “the work we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair, and walk again.”

In other words, as a major figure in the self-styled party of science, Edwards made an outlandish assurance worthy of a faith healer

House of Chan, one of Muskegon's oldest restaurants, closing Sept. 6

House of Chan, one of Muskegon's oldest restaurants, closing Sept. 6 MLive.com
Joe Chan, who took the reins of the restaurant from his grandfather, Gin Chan, in 1968, said the sluggish economy was a factor in his decision to shut down on Sept. 6.

Sad on so many levels.

August: Deadliest month for U.S. in Afghanistan

August: Deadliest month for U.S. in Afghanistan - Army News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times
KABUL, Afghanistan — August has become the deadliest month yet for U.S. forces in the nearly 10-year-old war in Afghanistan, increasing pressure on the Obama administration to bring troops home sooner rather than later.

What!
No screaming headlines?
Oh...Barry O'Carter is president......not Bush.....

CHINA BACKING AWAY FROM electric vehicle plans

Instapundit » Blog Archive » CHINA BACKING AWAY FROM electric vehicle plans
“Beijing appears to be rethinking its singular focus on electric vehicles as a way to reduce fuel consumption and seems ready to revise its alternative-energy vehicle estimates as it becomes increasingly evident that the city’s electric vehicle targets were completely unrealistic.
Beijing – and in some ways, the whole of China – had set out to leapfrog conventional engine technology by developing and manufacturing huge amounts of electric vehicles.
In particular, the city had hoped its push to develop plug-ins would give it an advantage over the West in electric vehicle technology.
But hopes and dreams don’t always jive with reality.”
Somebody tell Obama."

Greg Northrup resigns as president of West Michigan Strategic Alliance | MLive.com

Greg Northrup resigns as president of West Michigan Strategic Alliance MLive.com: In 2008, the Grand Rapids-based alliance was awarded a $15 million, three-year federal Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED, grant.
The WIRED initiative kicked off under the purview of the U.S. Department of Labor, and was aimed at fostering innovative ways to build regional workforces.
The WMSA release said the $15 million it obtained was used to create more than 1,500 area internships, and helped develop new workforce skills in young people, among others.
In July, Northrup also proposed West Michigan officials install 4,000 electric car charging stations throughout the region.

'Most American Muslims are satisfied Obama backers'

'Most American Muslims are satisfied Obama backers' - The Times of India
In contrast to the majority of the general public dissatisfied with the nation's direction, 56 percent of the estimated 2.75 million American Muslims said they are satisfied, the survey showed.
Seven out of 10 view President Barack Obama's tenure favorably.

Bullying Law Puts New Jersey Schools on Spot

Bullying Law Puts New Jersey Schools on Spot - NYTimes.com
Each school must designate an antibullying specialist to investigate complaints; each district must, in turn, have an antibullying coordinator;

Fight Erupts Over Head Scarves at Playland Park in Rye

Fight Erupts Over Head Scarves at Playland Park in Rye - NYTimes.com
Playland Park, owned and operated by the county, has come under scrutiny in recent years after three people died there from 2004 to 2007, including a 7-year-old girl who was killed on a ride called the Mind Scrambler.

So the taxpayers are on the hook here......great......

Germany Dims Nuclear Plants, but Hopes to Keep Lights On

Germany Dims Nuclear Plants, but Hopes to Keep Lights On - NYTimes.com
He characterized the government’s shutdown decision as “emotional” and pointed out that on most days, Germany has survived this experiment only by importing electricity from neighboring France and the Czech Republic, which generate much of their power with nuclear reactors.

Arrested for Riding Bike to School

Bike Walk Tennessee: Arrested for Riding Bike to School
Arrested for Riding Bike to School
Could you be arrested for allowing your 5'th grade child to ride her bike one mile to school?
That certainly seems crazy as we try to encourage active life styles for our kids.
That certainly seems crazy as we try to promote safe routes to school programs.
That certainly seems crazy as we talk of an obesity epidemic amongst our children.
But that is what police in Elizabethton Tennessee are threatening.

Teresa Tryon said, "On August 25th my 10 year daughter arrived home via police officer, requested to speak to me on the front porch of my home. The officer informed me that in his 'judgement' it was unsafe for my daughter to ride her bike to school."

Ms Tryon called the mayor's office and the chief of police office in order to determine what laws she was breaking by allowing her daughter to ride her bike to school. Her daughter's route to school was reasonably safe.

Major Verran of the police department returned Ms Tryon's call. She said he told me, "He had spoke with the District Attorney's office who advised that until the officer can speak with Child Protective Services that if I allow my daughter to ride/walk to school I will be breaking the law and treated accordingly.

She asked, "What law she would be breaking to which the answer was 'child neglect'".

Ms Tryon confirm with Major Verran that her daughter was indeed breaking no laws at any level, but it was Ms Tryon who was breaking the law by allowing her daughter to ride/walk to school. Even though it only takes her daughter 7 - 9 minutes to bicycle to school, she is expected to ride the bus.

Libya: We're cheering on rebels with AK-47s, who could be worse than Gaddafi

Libya: We're cheering on rebels with AK-47s, who could be worse than Gaddafi Mail Online
Just because existing regimes are bad, it does not follow that their replacements will be any better.
The world has known this since the French Revolution of 1789, when bliss and joy turned to mass murder and dictatorship in a matter of months.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The Green Jobs Myth

The Green Jobs Myth [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
Imagine if the Legislature imposed a windmill and solar energy mandate on electric utilities that required many more workers to produce the same amount of power and also increased your annual electric bills by around $100.

Norton Shores Tim Hortons to open Wednesday morning

Norton Shores Tim Hortons to open Wednesday morning MLive.com
Tim Hortons will open at 6 a.m. Wednesday at its new location, 3334 Henry, near the Norton Shores Meijer supercenter.

Didn't it seem like it took forever to build that store?

Reworking union contracts among cost-savers suggested by Muskegon Heights' special panel

Reworking union contracts among cost-savers suggested by Muskegon Heights' special panel MLive.com
More timely financial reporting, restructuring collective bargaining agreements and a possible tax levy for the city's Downtown Development Authority were part of the recommendations issued Monday to Muskegon Heights city officials by a special task force.

Bold.
But will the union employees really help with the problem?

Mental illness rise linked to climate

Mental illness rise linked to climate
RATES of mental illnesses including depression and post-traumatic stress will increase as a result of climate change, a report to be released today says.

This is making me depressed!

Seattle Green Jobs Program Gets $20M, Creates 14 Posts

Seattle Green Jobs Program Gets $20M, Creates 14 Posts FoxNews.com
A green jobs program in one of America's greenest cities is being called a bust 16 months after a $20 million federal grant to weatherize homes in Seattle ended up putting just 14 people to work in mostly administrative jobs and upgrading only three homes in the area.

"The jobs are not there," Todd Myers, who wrote the book "Eco Fads," told Fox News.
"So we're training people for jobs that don't exist."

Seattle is not alone.
The Department of Energy has allocated $508 million to 41 states for its Better Buildings Neighborhood Program and 600 jobs have been created or retained.

Flashback Obama in 2010: New Jobs Plan after Vacation

Flashback Obama in 2010: New Jobs Plan after Vacation CNSnews.com
President Barack Obama, in an Aug. 29, 2010 interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, said he would propose a plan for jobs and economic growth when he returned from his summer vacation, the same claim he made after returning from his vacation this year.

OMG, it's "Groundhog Day" all over again.

A Plan To Actually Bring Jobs

A Plan To Actually Bring Jobs - Investors.com
Some of the specifics of the proposed regulatory relief:
• Delaying air pollution rules for utilities, preventing electricity price increases of as much as 24%.
• Stopping new EPA emission rules for boilers, cement and coal, possibly saving hundreds of thousands of jobs.
• Legislatively keeping the National Labor Relations Board from regulating the relocation of employers — a response to Boeing's wish to build its 787 Dreamliner in the right-to-work state of South Carolina.

VFW Accuses White House Of Snubbing Annual Convention

VFW Accuses White House Of Snubbing Annual Convention FoxNews.com
The Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week will not feature a top-tier official from the Obama administration, a breach in tradition that the group's commander described as an "insult of the highest magnitude."

Roll back the Muslim Brotherhood

GAFFNEY: Roll back the Muslim Brotherhood - Washington Times
Absent a fundamental course correction, America will go the way of Europe and others before it, succumbing to an insidious totalitarian doctrine known as Shariah whose purpose, in the words of its prime practitioners - the Muslim Brotherhood - is to "destroy Western civilization from within."

Federal judge blocks Ala. illegal immigration law

My Way News - Federal judge blocks Ala. illegal immigration law
A federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of Alabama's new law cracking down on illegal immigration, ruling Monday that she needed more time to decide whether the law opposed by the Obama administration, church leaders and immigrant-rights groups is constitutional

She needs more time?
Sup?

Michigan leaders skeptical of unions in budget fight

Politics-State Michigan leaders skeptical of unions in budget fight The Detroit News
A majority of local leaders in Michigan question whether union workers are causing their communities more financial harm than good

When union pay and perks trump the public good, the image sure gets tarnished.

Obama's campaign muddled in name game

Obama's campaign muddled in name game - Washington Times
“It’s astonishing,” said Thomas Fitton, president of the public-interest group Judicial Watch.
Project Vote has a terrible reputation for people who care about voter fraud, but the campaign doesn’t care.”

Voter fraud...what voter fraud.....?

Government Golf Gobbles Up Lansing City Budget

Government Golf Gobbles Up Lansing City Budget [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
At a time when the city of Lansing is laying off police officers and contemplating raising taxes, it is losing about $400,000 a year on city-owned golf facilities.
Lansing lost $431,073 in fiscal 2007-08 and another $398,452 in fiscal 2008-09 on its golf facilities, according to Angela Bennett, the city’s deputy finance director.
The city also had to cover another $431,073 from golf facility deficits from prior years, Bennett wrote in an email.