History for February 25 - On-This-Day.com

History for February 25 - On-This-Day.com

Birth anniversary of American statesman John Foster Dulles (1888-1959).

Birth anniversaries of Anthony Burgess (1917-93),  George Harrison (1943-2001) and Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).

 1570 - England's Queen Elizabeth I was excommunicated by Pope Pius V. 

1836 - Samuel Colt received a patent for a "revolving gun". 


1901 - The United States Steel Corp. was incorporated by J.P. Morgan. 


1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It authorized a graduated income tax. 


1919 - The state of Oregon became the first state to place a tax on gasoline. The tax was 1 cent per gallon. 


1928 - The Federal Radio Commission issued the first U.S. television license to Charles Jenkins Laboratories in Washington, DC.
 

1933 - The aircraft carrier Ranger was launched. It was the first ship in the U.S. Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. 


1948 - Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. 


1964 - Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) became world heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Sonny Liston. He was 22 years old.


1986 - Filippino President Ferdinand E. Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule after a tainted election. 


2005 - Dennis Rader was arrested for the BTK serial killings in Wichita, KS. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 life prison terms.

News from The Associated Press

News from The Associated Press: "SEAFARING DRUG SMUGGLERS CHALLENGING COAST GUARD"

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- While security has tightened at the U.S. border, drug smugglers are increasingly turning to the high seas.

The area where boats were seized off California and the northwest coast of Mexico tripled to a size comparable to the state of Montana during the 2013 fiscal year, which ended in September. Off South America, traffickers over the years have been traversing territory so big the continental United States could be dropped inside of it.

Pentagon Plans to Shrink Army to Pre-World War II Level - NYTimes.com

Pentagon Plans to Shrink Army to Pre-World War II Level - NYTimes.com:



WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to shrink the United States Army to its smallest force since before the World War IIbuildup and eliminate an entire class of Air Force attack jets in a new spending proposal that officials describe as the first Pentagon budget to aggressively push the military off the war footing adopted after the terror attacks of 2001.

Piers Morgan and CNN Plan End to His Prime-Time Show

Piers Morgan and CNN Plan End to His Prime-Time Show - NYTimes.com:
There have been times when the CNN host Piers Morgan didn’t seem to like America very much — and American audiences have been more than willing to return the favor.
 Three years aftertaking over for Larry King, Mr. Morgan has seen the ratings for “Piers Morgan Live” hit some new lows, drawing a fraction of viewers compared with competitors at Fox News and MSNBC.

Heating up: Climate change advocates try to silence Krauthammer

Heating up: Climate change advocates try to silence Krauthammer | Fox News:

"He does, however, challenge the notion that the science on climate change is settled and says those who insist otherwise are engaged in “a crude attempt to silence critics and delegitimize debate.” 

 How ironic, then, that some environmental activists launched a petition urging the Post not to publish Krauthammer’s column on Friday.

 Their response to opinions they disagree with is to suppress the speech.

Brad Johnson (@ClimateBrad), the editor of HillHeat.com and a former Think Progress staffer, boasted on Twitter that 110,000 people had urged the newspaper “to stop publishing climate lies” like the Krauthammer piece."

16 Depressing Photos Of A Dead Mall

16 Depressing Photos Of A Dead Mall - Business Insider:
"Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio, is the latest of hundreds of malls across the U.S. to lose its last retail store after years of trying to stay afloat.
A JCPenney outlet store was the last remaining retailer in the mall, until Dec. 31, 2013, when it closed down for good."

Russian Ships Carrying Soldiers Said To Be En Route To Sevastopol

Russian Ships Carrying Soldiers Said To Be En Route To Sevastopol | Zero Hedge:
 "Those tracking the developments in the Ukraine, and specifically the Russian response to this weekend's coup, will be interested to note that according to the Russian flot.com website, the large landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov, previously known for its participation in the Syrian naval arms build up, is expected to arrive in the Crimean port of Sevastopol carrying 200 armed soldiers, sent from the nearby Black Sea town of Temryuk. "

Lookback: For 'Snurfing' inventor Sherman Poppen, 'tis the (winter sports) season

Lookback: For 'Snurfing' inventor Sherman Poppen, 'tis the (winter sports) season | MLive.com:

"The longtime Muskegon resident has deep ties to the sport.

He invented a primitive version of the snowboard, the Snurfer, in 1965 and is widely acknowledged as the farther of snowboarding.

 Poppen became the first inductee into the Snowboarding Hall of Fame in Banff, Canada, in 1995.

He was humbled by the ceremony and the honor propelled his interest in taking up the sport.

 “I figured I started this thing, I’d better get into it. And then I fell in love,” Poppen said"

Teacher’s Union Fights To Keep Heroin Using Teacher On The Job At Elementary School

Teacher’s Union Fights To Keep Heroin Using Teacher On The Job At Elementary School | Right Wing News:

"A school employee found heroin and drug paraphernalia in the faculty lounge at Benjamin Cosor Elementary School on Fallsburg, N.Y., on two separate occasions, according to Fox News
When police narrowed the list of culprits, the teachers union refused to allow them to be drug tested.
Of the eight the police were investigating, only one non-union employee submitted to testing.
A letter informing parents of the incident only disclosed that an “employee of the District found drugs and related paraphernalia in a school rest room.” 
It failed to mention that the drug was heroin, that it was found more than once and that it was discovered in the faculty lounge."

Teacher union members RULE!--------Police: Substitute Teacher Michelle Childress Showed Up Drunk to Teach Children in Oklahoma

Police: Substitute Teacher Michelle Childress Showed Up Drunk to Teach Children in Oklahoma | Fox News Insider:

"A substitute teacher is facing charges after police say she showed up drunk to school to teach children.
School administrators at Washington Elementary School in Ada, Okla. called police and told them 43-year-old Michelle Childress could barely stand up."

Interesting. The only car is a Honda-----Top 10: Which vehicles will last 200,000 miles?

Top 10: Which vehicles will last 200,000 miles? | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
 "The vehicles and the percentage of them showing at least 200,000 miles
1. Ford F-250 Super Duty, 4.3%
2. Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, 3.6%
3. Chevrolet Suburban, 3.6%
4. Toyota 4Runner, 3.5%
5. Ford Expedition, 3%
6. GMC Sierra 2500HD, 2.7%
7. Chevrolet Tahoe, 2.1%
8. GMC Yukon XL, 1.9%
9. Toyota Sequoia. 1.7%
10. GMC Sierra 1500, 1.6%
11. GMC Yukon, 1.6%
12. Honda Accord, 1.6%"

One tough hombre------Detroit police chief warns gang member who issued death threat: 'We will find you'

A few more like him and Detroit might have a chance at becoming a real city.
Detroit police chief warns gang member who issued death threat: 'We will find you' | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
 "The death threat against Detroit Police Chief James Craig was made through social media by a gang member who is likely part of a criminal narcotic network, Craig said Sunday.
“We need to clap him out,” Craig said the man wrote, which is slang for shooting someone to death.
During a news conference to address the matter, Craig said the threat will not deter the work that has been done to curtail crime in the city, which includes an average of 35 weekly raids on confirmed drug dens.
He said criminals are not happy with him because of the raids that have taken place in Detroit since his arrival last summer.
Shutting down drug dealers shuts down revenue streams for some of these groups, he said.
On Sunday, Craig issued a warning to the man who made the threat on his life:
“We will find you,” Craig said, “and we’re going to dismantle your criminal enterprise.”"

Mainstream media admits smart meters are spying devices

Mainstream media admits smart meters are spying devices | Intellihub News
Mainstream media finally recognizes the smart meter dangers that “conspiracy theorists” have warned of for years

(INTELLIHUB) — For years researchers and activists have been warning about the health and privacy dangers involved with smart meters.  As usual, the mainstream media ridiculed these warnings and insisted that smart meters were harmless.  However, now it is becoming common knowledge that these smart meters can be used to spy on innocent people, and even the mainstream media is starting to catching on.

Shockingly, news organizations like NBC are even picking this story up, in a recent article for NBC News, Matt Liebowitz writes:

Researchers examining the privacy implications of smart-meter technology found that one German provider’s devices contained vulnerabilities that allowed them to snoop on unencrypted data to determine whether or not the homeowners were home.

After signing up with the German smart-meter firm Discovergy, the researchers detected that the company’s devices transmitted unencrypted data from the home devices back to the company’s servers over an insecure link. The researchers, Dario Carluccio and Stephan Brinkhaus, intercepted the supposedly confidential and sensitive information, and, based on the fingerprint of power usage, were able to tell not only whether or not the homeowners were home, away or even sleeping, but also what movie they were watching on TV.

Smart meters are just one piece of the national surveillance puzzle that has been growing in recent decades.

“Over the last several years, traffic-centric surveillance applications were the most prolific,” said Eric Ackermann, sales manager for enterprise solutions and services at Siemens Industry in California’s Orange County. “In the last two years, a vast majority of the demand has come from city water/utility, parks/recreation, police and public works.”

EPA Transfers 1 Million Private Acres Of Wyoming To Indian Reservation

EPA Transfers 1 Million Private Acres Of Wyoming To Indian Reservation - Investors.com:
"We are reminded that just two weeks before he joined the Obama administration as green jobs czar, Van Jones gave a speech on environmental and social justice, long an administration theme.
Jones referenced "our Native American brothers and sisters" who, he claimed, were "pushed," "bullied," "mistreated" and "shoved into all the land that we didn't want."
It was then that Jones thundered, "Give them the wealth! Give them the wealth! No justice on stolen land. ... We owe them a debt."
Apparently the EPA thinks so too."

Obama administration launches 'attack' on Medicare Part D

Obama administration launches 'attack' on Medicare Part D | The Daily Caller:
"The Obama administration is launching an “attack” on the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D programs as part of Obamacare that will result in higher costs and fewer health care options for seniors, according to a U.S. House subcommittee.

The administration is quietly introducing “policies that would undermine the integrity and success of the Medicare Part D program” according to the subcommittee.
President Bush signed Medicare Part D into law in 2003 to subsidize prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries."

NY Times Cartoon Suggests 'Climate-Change Deniers' Should Be Stabbed to Death

NY Times Cartoon Suggests 'Climate-Change Deniers' Should Be Stabbed to Death | NewsBusters:

 "Editorial cartoons often aren't pretty, to paraphrase Steve Martin's observation about the perils of comedy.
 But one found in the Opinion section of today's New York Times is downright ugly."

This Week- public school teachers molesting 13- 14-year-old boys

Public school teachers molesting 13- 14-year-old boys | The Daily Caller:
"The national epidemic of teacher-student sex stories marches on unabated.
Any given week is likely to include several stories, and some are more intriguing than others.
 This week, the sexual proclivities and travails of two teachers are worthy of your valuable time.
In South Carolina, police arrested middle school choir teacher Elizabeth Marie Moss for allegedly sexually assaulting at least one 13-year-old student. 
The incident allegedly included oral sex by Moss on the boy."

WeMOG Today

Plan A

Meet at 1:00 p.m. at the Grand Trunk Parking Area at Lakeshore Drive & McCracken

Ski (or hike) the Bike Trail and out on to Muskegon Lake (conditions permitting)

Warm-up afterwards at our house with food/drink and WeMOG music.

 

Plan B

Will email by 10:00 a.m. to offer up an alternative venue depending on the wind and weather.

Plan C

Hike from your car to the house at 3:00 just for the warm-up!

1418 Lakeshore Drive

Questions?  Call/text or email Donna

616-902-0820

dsecorpenn@gmail.com

The Five Greatest Aircraft Carriers of All Time

Commentary: The Five Greatest Aircraft Carriers of All Time | The National Interest:

And lastly, there's no separating the weapon from its user. 
A fighting ship isn't just a hunk of steel but a symbiosis of crewmen and materiel. 
The finest aircraft carrier is one that's both well-suited to its missions and handled with skill and derring-do when and where it matters most.
Those three indices—brute material capability, fitness for assigned missions, a zealous crew—are the indices for this utterly objective, completely indisputable list of the Top Five Aircraft Carriers of All Time.

History for February 24

History for February 24 - On-This-Day.com

In 1867, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson.

Birth anniversary of mythologist and author Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786-1859), best remembered forGrimm’s Fairy Tales, in collaboration with his brother, Jacob.

Birth anniversaries of artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Apple founder Steve Jobs (1955-2011), WWII Allied commander Chester Nimitz (1885-1966)

Happy Birthday! Floyd Mayweather Jr, Edward James Olmos, Abe Vigoda, Paula Zahn, Billy Zane

1803 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled itself to be the final interpreter of all constitutional issues. 


1839 - Mr. William S. Otis received a patent for the steam shovel. 


1863 - Arizona was organized as a territory. 


1868 - The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson due to his attempt to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The U.S. Senate later acquitted Johnson. 


1900 - New York City Mayor Van Wyck signed the contract to begin work on New York's first rapid transit tunnel. The tunnel would link Manhattan and Brooklyn. The ground breaking ceremony was on March 24, 1900. 


1903 - In Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an area was leased to the U.S. for a naval base. 


1938 - The first nylon bristle toothbrush was made. It was the first time that nylon yarn had been used commercially. 


1942 - The Voice of America (VOA) aired for the first time.
 

1945 - During World War II, the Philippine capital of Manilla, was liberated by U.S. soldiers. 


1946 - Juan Peron was elected president of Argentina. 


1956 - The city of Cleveland invoked a 1931 law that barred people under the age of 18 from dancing in public without an adult guardian. 


1983 - A U.S.congressional commission released a report that condemned the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. 


1989 - Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sentenced Salman Rushdie to death for his novel "The Satanic Verses". A bounty of one to three-million-dollars was also put on Rushidie's head. 


1994 - In Los Angeles, Garrett Morris was shot during a robbery attempt. He eventually recovered from his injury. 

2008 - Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president. His brother Fidel had ruled for nearly 50 years
.

Our Economy Is About to Implode

Our Economy Is About to Implode | RealClearPolitics
"Beware the Ides of March,” the soothsayer warned in Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar.”
A Roman religious holiday, the Ides (15th) of March was the day on which Roman consuls assumed office — and the day Caesar was assassinated.

For the United States, and the world economy, the Ides will be around March 4 this year, predicted Grady Means in October 2012.
Mr. Means isn’t a doomsayer who’s predicted 11 of the last two recessions.
He isn’t trying to sell gold, silver or freeze-dried food.
He was managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and wrote well-regarded books on international finance.
And he isn’t alone in issuing warnings.
“We expect the bottom to fall out by the second quarter of 2014,” Trends Research Institute founder Gerald Celente predicted last October.
Because the dollar is the world’s reserve currency, America is, in effect, the real world bank.
Soon there’ll be a run on it, though, because our massive deficits have eroded foreign investors’ faith in the safety of the dollar, Mr. Means said.
The run on the bank “will start suddenly, build quickly and snowball,” Mr. Means said.
“Interest rates will skyrocket, businesses will fail, unemployment will go to record levels.”
It will start when we add “another trillion dollars or so” to our debt, Mr. Means wrote in The Washington Times Oct. 25, 2012.
 The national debt — $16.3 trillion when he wrote those words — is $17.3 trillion now

Michigan Democrat Rep. Gary Peters threatens TV station licenses over Obamacare ad

Michigan Democrat Rep. Gary Peters threatens TV station licenses over Obamacare ad | WashingtonExaminer.com:
"While Julie Boonstra of Dexter, Mich., struggles to survive leukemia, she now also has to cope with being called a liar by the Democrat who wants to be her next senator.

And the campaign of Rep. Gary Peters is also going after television stations airing ads in which her story is featured, threatening their licenses.

The ad by Americans for Prosperity features Boonstra talking about how her insurance was canceled under Obamacare and saying that Peters' decision to vote for the law "jeopardized my health."
The ads are airing in Michigan as Peters seeks the Democratic nomination to replace Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who is not seeking re-election."

It's the culture, stupid!"------Federal crackdown on Medicare fraud in metro Detroit hits it big

Federal crackdown on Medicare fraud in metro Detroit hits it big | Crain's Detroit Business:

"Last year, the Detroit Medicare Fraud Strike Force, deployed here from Washington, and a locally organized Health Care Fraud Unit of prosecutors together brought charges in fraud schemes billing more than $380 million to the federal program.

That's more than double the bad billing amount charged in any preceding year."

Obama/Evita---------WH: 'We Don't Want Deficit Reduction to Come at Expense of Investments'

Banana republics don't need no stinkin' deficit reduction!
WH: 'We Don't Want Deficit Reduction to Come at Expense of Investments' | CNS News:

"So much for deficit reduction. President Obama's Fiscal Year 2015 budget, due out in March, will focus on "investments" for "a stronger future," Obama's top economic adviser said on Thursday.
Savings will be "directed towards the long-term." 
"And I think what we don't want is for our deficit reduction to come at the expense of the investments in the future," Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, told Politico's "Morning Money Breakfast Briefing" on Thursday.
"You want to have a more robust ability to invest in research, in children, in training and higher skills.
Those are things -- infrastructure -- those are the things where one generation invests for a stronger future."
Sperling described the president's budget proposal as "pro-growth.""

Echoes of the IRS in the FCC Snooping Scanda

Echoes of the IRS in the FCC Snooping Scandal | National Review Online:
The IRS targeting scandal is of course multi-faceted, but one of its key elements was the use of comprehensive IRS questionnaires to determine everything from tea-party donor and member lists to the actions and activities of family members and even identifying “persons or entities with which you maintain a close relationship.” 
In other words, the Obama administration IRS was abusing its regulatory authority to essentially discern the inner workings of an entire political and cultural movement.

Just say no to college! Why it’s the worst decision a young American can make

Just say no to college! Why it’s the worst decision a young American can make - Salon.com:

"Let’s start off with the basics.
In 2012, 71 percent of all students who graduated accrued some amount of student loan debt, with the average amount of debt soaring to $29,400.
More than half of student loans officially became delinquent or in deferral in 2013.
New information indicates this trend will only worsen; recent college graduates face the worst unemployment rate in more than 20 years, as well as severe underemployment, with 44 percent of grads saying they could find work but not enough of it.
Not even the vaunted STEM fields are immune from the perils of cheap labor, smartsizing, and the Great Recession. "