Minimum wage battle heats up in Michigan, US

Minimum wage battle heats up in Michigan, US | MLive.com:
LANSING — The battle over the minimum wage is heating up in Michigan and nationally, as activists consider a potential ballot proposal and President Barack Obama is expected to discuss income inequality during his State of the Union this evening.

A coalition of labor and civil rights groups on Monday announced it had formed a committee that could push for a ballot proposal to raise Michigan's minimum wage. The coalition hasn't announced specific numbers yet, but wants to raise both Michigan's $7.40-per-hour minimum wage as well as the $2.65-per-hour rate for tipped employees.

Michigan is among 21 states with a minimum wage above the federal level of $7.25.

The dark side of Pete Seeger

The dark side of Pete Seeger - Baltimore History | Examiner.com

However, there is a dark side to Pete Seeger, one that isairbrushed out of all the effusive hagiography. Seeger was a dedicated Stalinist and has not renounced his devotion to communism, a political ideology, which according to the Black Book of Communism, responsible for the murder of over 94 million people. When you speak out against communism you get booed, when you’re a cheerleader for its mass murderers you get a Kennedy Center tribute and presidential praise.

Seeger was a member of the Communist Party from the 1930s through the 1950s. He left the party but never gave up the faith. He told the Washington Post in 1995 “I am still a communist.” Like his comrades and fellow travelers Seeger twisted and turned with every pronouncement from Moscow. Seeger supported the Nazi-Soviet Pact, a curious position for a noted “anti-fascist.” In 1941 Seeger along with Guthrie was a member of the Almanac Singers, a communist folk group. The group put out the anti-war album Songs from John Doe, containing songs that labeled Franklin Roosevelt a war monger. 

New Jersey Taxes Could Eat Up All of Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl Earnings

In the News: New Jersey Taxes Could Eat Up All of Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl Earnings:
"No matter who wins the Super Bowl this Sunday, Peyton Manning will lose big on his gameday paycheck thanks to New Jersey’s “jock tax.”
A jock tax is levied on a player’s earnings for the entire calendar year — not just for any games actually played in the state.
As K. Sean Packard explains for Forbes.com, if Manning doesn’t win his second Super Bowl ring, the quarterback could pay more than 100 percent of his earnings from the game to the Garden State:

“If Manning is able to play next season, his New Jersey income tax would be $46,989 on $92,000 for winning the Super Bowl, or 51.08%.
If they lose and he is able to play in 2014, he will pay New Jersey $46,844 on his $46,000 which amounts to a 101.83% tax on his actual Super Bowl earnings in the state—and this does not even consider federal taxes!”"

Muslims demand Sharia student loans because paying interest goes against Islamic law

Muslims demand Sharia student loans because paying interest goes against Islamic law | Tea Party Crusaders Tea Party Crusaders:
"Muslim groups are calling for a separate student loan system because the interest due to be charged will conflict with rules of Sharia law.
The changes to tuition fees, which come into force next year, will see students charged higher rates of interest on the loans they take out to pay for university.
Until now they have paid the market rate of inflation but the reforms mean students who go on to earn more than £21,000 will have to pay interest of up to 3 per cent.
But in some interpretations of Sharia law, which is Islam’s legal system and governs every aspect of Muslim life, loans are forbidden.
The National Union of Students has said it could be two years before an alternative system is worked out, leaving some Muslims fearing they cannot go on to further education."

First-Class Islam: Eric Holder Puts Muslims Above Terror Suspicion

PJ Media » First-Class Islam: Eric Holder Puts Muslims Above Terror Suspicion:
"Now, the Obama administration — led by Holder — has decided that Islam is a “race,” and therefore to examine or even to adduce a Muslim’s Islamic beliefs about jihad, beheading, violence against kuffar (“infidels”), or re-establishing a caliphate is tantamount to racism.
This administration behavior is rationalized because “federal authorities have in particular singled out Muslims in counter terrorism investigations and Latinos for immigration investigations.”
It is difficult to express just how willfully ignorant of reality these statements and accompanying policies are."

2016: Obama's America.. Full Movie - Video

2016: Obama's America.. Full Movie - Video:

History for January 29

History for January 29 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary of Thomas Paine (1737-1809).

Birth anniversary American president William McKinley (1843-1901) and comedian and noted curmudgeon W.C. Fields (1880-1946).

  

Happy Birthday! Katharine Ross, Tom Selleck 

1850 - Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a compromise bill on slavery that included the admission of California into the Union as a free state. 


1861 - In America, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union. 


1886 - The first successful petrol-driven motorcar, built by Karl Benz, was patented. 

1940 - The W. Atlee Burpee Seed Company displayed the first tetraploid flowers at the New York City Flower Show. 


1958 - Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married. 


1958 - Charles Starkweather was captured by police in Wyoming.  


1990 - Joseph Hazelwood, the former skipper of the Exxon Valdez, went on trial in Anchorage, AK, on charges that stemmed from America's worst oil spill. Hazelwood was later acquitted of all the major charges and was convicted of a misdemeanor. 

WeMOG Wed 1:00PM

The weather is warming up!

Meet at cross country ski trailhead

North Ottawa Dunes at 1:00 on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

 If others want to snow shoe - same time, same place! 

Plan to ski a couple of hours, unless is

really cold and we do a little less.

I will bring extra hand and toe warmers!

A ban on autos? Major cities consider going carless

A ban on autos? Major cities consider going carless:
"Germany, home of the high-speed autobahn, is perhaps one of the few countries that has had as intense a love affair with the automobile as the U.S.
But in an effort to go green, the country's second-largest city is studying ways to eliminate cars by 2034.
The northern city of Hamburg has laid out an initial concept, named the Green Network Plan, that would expand public transportation and add more routes for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The most controversial aspect of the plan calls for a steady phase-out of automobiles in the center of the city over the next two decades."

(Video) John Wayne On Liberals - FANTASTIC!!

(Video) John Wayne On Liberals - FANTASTIC!! - The Federalist Papers: "“I’m quite sure that the concept of a Government-run reservation… seems to be what the socialists are working for now — to have everyone cared for from cradle to grave…. But you can’t whine and bellyache ’cause somebody else got a break and you didn’t, like those Indians are. We’ll all be on a reservation soon if the socialists keep subsidizing groups like them with our tax money.”- John Wayne"

Why people support Dave Agema

Dave Agema – Why people support Dave Agema:
"They want Republicans to speak with a clear voice, as Agema has done.
 “The Republicans are not really standing for anything anymore,” said Tomas Ojeda, a former U.S. Marine.
“Nothing on immigration, nothing on pro-life and, as you can see, now they can’t say anything about homosexuality.
 “If you’re going to go into politics and you can’t articulate your position, that’s like a Marine that can’t shoot. Those are your bullets.”
 Mark Petzold was there “standing up for what’s right and what’s good,” he said.
 “I know the man and I know his character. Without any problem I’ll stand next to him,” said Petzold, president of River City Patriots and the Sons of Liberty Riders.
“We need more people like him because our country’s problem is not political, it’s spiritual. 
We’re in the midst of spiritual warfare and so somebody like him that’s standing on principle is a way of helping to bring about that (spiritual) awakening because even in spite of the controversy (over Agema’s remarks) the discussion is happening."

UK gov't slashes global warming spending by 41 percent

UK gov't slashes global warming spending by 41 percent | The Daily Caller:
"First, Australia cut global-warming spending and now the U.K. has followed. 
The British government has cut programs to fight global warming by 41 percent, fueling allegations that the country’s environment minister is a global warming “skeptic.”
The U.K. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) will only spend about $28.5 million on “climate change initiatives” this fiscal year.
This is 41 percent less than the government spent on such initiatives in the last 12 months, reports the Independent.
Critics argue that this is further proof that U.K. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson is skeptical of the theory of man-made global warming."

Unionist goes off on National Right to Work awareness campaign

Unionist goes off on National Right to Work awareness campaign - EAGnews.org powered by Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.:

"WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Illinois Education Association celebrates the efforts of union board member Annice Brave, who upon receiving a notice from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation that she has the right to a refund of the portion of her dues that is used for political activities, sent this response:"

Italian Climate Nut to Live on Iceberg to ‘Prove’ Global Warming

Italian Climate Nut to Live on Iceberg to ‘Prove’ Global Warming | Somewhat Reasonable:
"The next alarmist PR debacle will come from Italian adventurer Alex Bellini.
He plans to live on an iceberg in a kevlar boat/shelter for eight to 12 months to “to demonstrate just how quickly things are changing” in the arctic.
His plan is to park his boat/shelter on an iceberg off Greenland this spring, and float around for a while “documenting the melting process as [the iceberg] disappears completely.”

Bellini might be up there a while.
Arctic sea ice levels are up 30 percent this winter, and ice levels at both poles combined is above the long-term average.
But here’s the thing: Ice builds in the arctic every winter, then as spring and then summer comes, those icebergs melt. 
Bellini will only be dramatically “documenting” something that is entirely natural and happens every year."

Cows With Guns

We are wasting precious resources on a fake warming scam whilst the "big one" is ready to pounce--- Forget global warming, worry about the Earth's MAGNETOSPHERE

Forget global warming, worry about the Earth's MAGNETOSPHERE | Mail Online

Forget global warming, worry about the MAGNETOSPHERE: Earth's magnetic field is collapsing and it could affect the climate and wipe out power grids

• Earth's magnetic field has weakened by 15 per cent over the last 200 years
• Could be a sign that the planet's north and south poles are about to flip
• If this happens, solar winds could punch holes into the Earth's ozone layer
• This could damage power grids, affect weather and increase cancer rates
• Evidence of flip happening in the past has been uncovered in pottery
• As the magnetic shield weakens, the spectacle of an aurora would be visible every night all over the Earth

Guess What Group is Getting Food Stamps at an Alarming Rate

Guess What Group is Getting Food Stamps at an Alarming Rate:
"While overall food stamp use grew by 53 percent between Fiscal Year 2007 and Fiscal Year 2010 (from about 26 million to nearly 40 million), it more than doubled among able-bodied adults without dependents during this time–from 1.7 million to 3.9 million–an increase of  roughly 127 percent.

Food stamp spending today is roughly $80 billion, double what it was in Fiscal Year 2008."

Democrats thrive on a culture of hate

Democrats thrive on a culture of hate | The Minority Report Blog:
To Democrats, “tolerance” is nothing more than a front behind which they can build a culture of hate. 
There is no room for any opinion but their own. 
You can see it happening on issue after issue.

On college campuses, the left has created a virtually absolute zone of intolerance against conservative professors; you can’t get into a tenure track job in any department if you’re not “progressive”. Conservative students face lower grades for speaking up about their views in class and conservative organizations are outcasts.

Laws or rules against “hate speech” are really against “conservative speech”.
Republicans are constantly accused of waging a “War on Women” or “Minorities” or whoever the progressive group du jour happens to be and the media are willing accomplices with the Democrats.

The problem is, it’s the Democrats who are at war. 
It’s been exposed time and again, and in political races you can bet the second panic sets in the stream of vile hate starts.

Today we’re looking at the latest expose by Project Veritas. James O’Keefe does great work. 
He got into a meeting of Battleground Texas, a progressive group that is an offshoot of Organizing for America, the President’s political arm – a 501c group that the IRS won’t investigate.

For a little background, Democrats desperately want to “Turn Texas Blue” and they were sure they’d found their heroine in Wendy Davis – known in Texas as Abortion Barbie. 
Davis got national attention when she managed to delay a vote in the Texas Senate on a law that required abortion clinics to meet the same medical standards as other out-patient clinics. 
The law was later passes overwhelmingly, it’s supported by the vast majority of Texans, and it was upheld in the courts.
None the less, the abortion lobby is behind Wendy and she was able to raise about $12 million out-of-state dollars to run for governor. 
She’s raised enough in-state for lunch at McDonalds. 
Things were going along swimmingly and a Democrat newspaper reporter who has been frequently featured on MSNBC ripping Texas Republicans to shreds wrote an article about AbortionBarbie and noted that the life story she’s been peddling is a lie, and the long knives have come out.

The presumptive Republican candidate for governor is a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair, and here’s what the Democrats at Battleground Texas – remember, it’s an Obama organization through-and-through, think about a physically disabled Republican who happens to be the current Attorney General of Texas.


Nice, huh?

The left is screaming that the video was “taken out of context”, blah, blah, blah. Judge for yourself.
You can bet this isn’t over.
We’re going to be following AbortionBarbie and her campaign.
Right now things aren’t going well for her and your Curmudgeon will happily toss a few pebbles on the pile.
Tomorrow, we’ll have the Attorney General’s response.

How the Nazis Used Gun Control (Video)

How the Nazis Used Gun Control (Video):

The Weimar Republic’s well-intentioned gun registry became a tool for evil.

The perennial gun-control debate in America did not begin here. The same arguments for and against were made in the 1920s in the chaos of Germany’s Weimar Republic, which opted for gun registration. Law-abiding persons complied with the law, but the Communists and Nazis committing acts of political violence did not.

In 1931, Weimar authorities discovered plans for a Nazi takeover in which Jews would be denied food and persons refusing to surrender their guns within 24 hours would be executed. They were written by Werner Best, a future Gestapo official. In reaction to such threats, the government authorized the registration of all firearms and the confiscation thereof, if required for “public safety.” The interior minister warned that the records must not fall into the hands of any extremist group.

In 1933, the ultimate extremist group led by Adolf Hitler seized power and used the records to identify, disarm, and attack political opponents and Jews. Constitutional rights were suspended, and mass searches for and seizures of guns and dissident publications ensued. Police revoked gun licenses of Social Democrats and others who were not “politically reliable.”

During the five years of repression that followed, society was “cleansed” by the National Socialist regime. Undesirables were placed in camps where labor made them “free,” and normal rights of citizenship were taken from Jews. The Gestapo banned independent gun clubs and arrested their leaders. Gestapo counsel Werner Best issued a directive to the police forbidding issuance of firearm permits to Jews.

In 1938, Hitler signed a new Gun Control Act. Now that many “enemies of the state” had been removed from society, some restrictions could be slightly liberalized, especially for Nazi Party members. But Jews were prohibited from working in the firearms industry, and .22 caliber hollow-point ammunition was banned.

Read the whole thing

The Weimar Republic’s well-intentioned gun registry became a tool for evil.

The perennial gun-control debate in America did not begin here. The same arguments for and against were made in the 1920s in the chaos of Germany’s Weimar Republic, which opted for gun registration. Law-abiding persons complied with the law, but the Communists and Nazis committing acts of political violence did not.

In 1931, Weimar authorities discovered plans for a Nazi takeover in which Jews would be denied food and persons refusing to surrender their guns within 24 hours would be executed. They were written by Werner Best, a future Gestapo official. In reaction to such threats, the government authorized the registration of all firearms and the confiscation thereof, if required for “public safety.” The interior minister warned that the records must not fall into the hands of any extremist group.

In 1933, the ultimate extremist group led by Adolf Hitler seized power and used the records to identify, disarm, and attack political opponents and Jews. Constitutional rights were suspended, and mass searches for and seizures of guns and dissident publications ensued. Police revoked gun licenses of Social Democrats and others who were not “politically reliable.”

During the five years of repression that followed, society was “cleansed” by the National Socialist regime. Undesirables were placed in camps where labor made them “free,” and normal rights of citizenship were taken from Jews. The Gestapo banned independent gun clubs and arrested their leaders. Gestapo counsel Werner Best issued a directive to the police forbidding issuance of firearm permits to Jews.

In 1938, Hitler signed a new Gun Control Act. Now that many “enemies of the state” had been removed from society, some restrictions could be slightly liberalized, especially for Nazi Party members. But Jews were prohibited from working in the firearms industry, and .22 caliber hollow-point ammunition was banned.

Read the whole thing

Everything You Ever Needed to Know about the Left’s View of Income Inequality, Captured in a Single Image

Everything You Ever Needed to Know about the Left’s View of Income Inequality, Captured in a Single Image - Daniel J. Mitchell - Townhall Finance Conservative Columnists and Financial Commentary - Page 1:
"If you want to know why the left is wrong about income inequality, you need to watch this Margaret Thatcher video.
In just a few minutes, the “Iron Lady” explains how some – perhaps most – statists would be willing to reduce income for the poor if they could impose even greater damage on the rich.

This picture is another way of getting across the same point.
 It was sent to me by Richard Rahn (famous for the Rahn Curve), and it uses two pizzas to show how leftist policies would “solve” inequality."

Money for nothing...except to cronies---ObamaCare Dumped $1.2 Billion Into Failing State Exchanges

ObamaCare Dumped $1.2 Billion Into Failing State Exchanges - Investors.com

In late October 2013, the Obama administration sent $41.9 million to Minnesota for its state-built health exchange.

 It was the sixth ObamaCare grant awarded the state, and all told taxpayers ponied up $155 million to help build MNSure.

But just 13 weeks after that last grant arrived, an independent consultant issued a damning report, saying Minnesota should consider scrapping MNSure entirely and starting over from scratch, citing systemic technical and management problems.

A "large gap exists between required functionality and what has been delivered," the report stated . 
The state is now deciding what to do next.

Minnesota isn't alone in wasting federal dollars on failing exchanges.

Here's another impossibly stupid Common Core math worksheet

Here's another impossibly stupid Common Core math worksheet | The Daily Caller:

  

Yet another painfully awful Common Core math worksheet has bubbled up courtesy of Twitter.

This time, the math is for fourth graders, according to Twitchy.

The incomprehensible directions tell the poor nine-year-old souls forced to endure the worksheet to “use number bonds to help you skip-count by seven by making ten or adding to the ones.”
At the top left corner of the worksheet are the all-capitalized words “NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM.”

A subsequent Twitter conversation between the tweeter Lauren, who is trying to make sense of the assignment for her little sister, and someone named Relle is ribald and hilarious.

This awful set of homework problems is the latest in an ever-growing series of stories demonstrating the awfulness of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a curriculum — but don’t call it a curriculum! — currently being implemented by 45 states and the District of Columbia.

The difference between republicans and democrats: We fire our scum. The democrats deify theirs----Cocaine-snorting Republican congressman Trey Radel to resign

Cocaine-snorting Republican congressman Trey Radel to resign | The Raw Story:

Get rid of the bum!
"Trey Radel, the US congressman who pleaded guilty to cocaine possession last year, is resigning on Monday, his office said.

The first-term Republican representing southern Florida was to announce his resignation in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, a Radel spokesman told AFP.

Radel, 37, was arrested in October after he was caught purchasing 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover police officer outside a Washington restaurant."

Radel, a former radio talk show host and newspaper owner, came under pressure from fellow Republicans, including Florida Governor Rick Scott, to step down, but for a few months he stood firm.

Obama “De-Escalation” Policy Requires Soldiers To Carry Weapons Unloaded In Afghanistan

Obama “De-Escalation” Policy Requires Soldiers To Carry Weapons Unloaded In Afghanistan | YouViewed/Editorial:
"” First they want to give medals for “courageous restraint.”
Now they want to tie both hands behinds our soldiers’ backs.
This isn’t suicide, it’s negligent homicide, in my book.
 Commanders have ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons, according to a source in Afghanistan.
American soldiers in at least one unit have been ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, an anonymous source stationed at a forward operating base in Afghanistan said in an interview."

Get the government out of our diapers!------Medicaid Overpays Millions for Diapers

Medicaid Overpays Millions for Diapers | Washington Free Beacon:
"A lack of competitive bidding processes among state Medicaid agencies caused the program to overpay for diapers by about $62 million in 2012, according to a report released by federal auditors on Monday.

Only five state Medicaid agencies have implemented competitive bidding programs for “disposable incontinence supplies,” according to the inspector general for the department of Health and Human Services.
Those states reported saving up to of 50 percent on those supplies, the IG report found."

Devastating: WaPo-ABC Poll Shows Obama Not Trusted to Make Right Decisions by Over 6 Out of 10

Devastating: WaPo-ABC Poll Shows Obama Not Trusted to Make Right Decisions by Over 6 Out of 10 | Independent Journal Review:
"A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that 63% of Americans have either little or no confidence that Barack Obama will make the right decisions for the country.
And half of them find him untrustworthy.

Moreover, 52% of respondents said Obama does not understand the problems of people like them – while 51% also believe he is not a strong leader in general."

The State of the State of the Union

The State of the State of the Union :: SteynOnline:
"The State of the Union is the opposite.
The president gives a performance, extremely animatedly, head swiveling from left-side prompter to right-side prompter, continually urging action now:
"Let's start right away.
We can get this done. . . .
We can fix this. . . .
Now is the time to do it.
Now is the time to get it done."
And at the end of the speech, nothing gets done, and nothing gets fixed, and, after a few days' shadowboxing between admirers and detractors willing to pretend it's some sort of serious legislative agenda, every single word of it is forgotten until the next one.

In that sense, like Beyoncé lip-synching the National Anthem at the inauguration, the State of the Union embodies the decay of America's political institutions into a simulacrum of responsible government rather than the real thing, and a simulacrum ever more divorced from the real issues facing the country."

New Zealand School Abandons Rules During Playtime, Sees Decrease In Bullying

New Zealand School Abandons Rules During Playtime, Sees Decrease In Bullying:

In an unorthodox effort to encourage active play in a New Zealand primary school, a principal has stopped enforcing rules on the playground.According to TVNZ, children at Swanson Primary School in Auckland can be seen “climbing trees, riding skateboards and playing bullrush during playtime." 

Aside from successfully encouraging children to be more active during the time alloted for recreational activities, the study has had some unintended positive consequences. 

Since implementing the new no-rule policy, the school has experienced a decrease in instances of bullying, vandalism and injuries. 

The school even claims that the concentration levels in class have increased as a result of the new policy.

Eat a burger, explode a shed---Flatulent cows start fire at German dairy farm

Flatulent cows start fire at German dairy farm - police - Yahoo News:
"BERLIN (Reuters) - Methane gas from 90 flatulent cows exploded in a German farm shed on Monday, damaging the roof and injuring one of the animals, police said.
High levels of the gas had built up in the structure in the central German town of Rasdorf, then "a static electric charge caused the gas to explode with flashes of flames," the force said in a statement.
One cow was treated for burns, a police spokesman added"

History for January 28

History for January 28 - On-This-Day.com:

Birth anniversary of artist Jackson Pollock (1912-56).

Happy Birthday! Alan Alda

1909 - The United States ended direct control over Cuba. 


1915 - The Coast Guard was created by an act of the U.S. Congress to fight contraband trade and aid distressed vessels at sea.

1922 - The National Football League (NFL) franchise in Decatur, IL, transferred to Chicago. The team took the name Chicago Bears.


1938 - The first ski tow started operation in Vermont.


1986 - The U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded just after takeoff. All seven of its crewmembers were killed.


1994 - In Los Angeles, Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg declared a mistrial in the case of Lyle Menendez in the murder of his parents. Lyle, and his brother Erik, were both retried later and were found guilty. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole.