Monday, April 28, 2014

John McCain to host Hillary Clinton in Sedona, Ariz.

John McCain to host Hillary Clinton in Sedona, Ariz.:
"Since leaving the State Department last year, Hillary Rodham Clinton has racked up scores of accolades and appeared on many a big stage. Still, it might come as a surprise that a past Republican presidential nominee -- specifically, the one who is among the loudest critics of Clinton's handling of the Benghazi terrorist attacks -- would invite her to his desert retreat for a lofty conversation about leadership values.
This is precisely what Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has done."

New Poll: Obama’s Approval Crashes; Only 27% Believe Administration is Transparent

New Poll: Obama’s Approval Crashes; Only 27% Believe Administration is Transparent:
"Approval of Obama among Democrats stands at 71 percent, near its 69 percent record low (September 2013). For independents, 28 percent approve, which is also near the 25 percent all-time low among this group (July 2013). And approval of Obama among Republicans hits a new low of five percent."

Sources: Lump sum Detroit pension payment could save Michigan 45%

Sources: Lump sum Detroit pension payment could save Michigan 45% | The Detroit News
Lansing — The state of Michigan could pay nearly half the $350 million Gov. Rick Snyder has pledged toward Detroit pensions to settle the city’s bankruptcy if lawmakers provided the cash up front, The Detroit News has learned.
Detroit’s latest debt-cutting plan spells out for the first time a mathematical method for the state to make a lump sum discounted payment of the present value of $350 million over 20 years, which three sources tell The News would be about $190 million — a 45 percent savings. The sources spoke on condition anonymity because of ongoing confidential negotiations.

Detroit employees skip work ahead of privatization of garbage collection

Detroit employees skip work ahead of privatization of garbage collection | MLive.com
DETROIT, MI -- The upcoming privatization of garbage collection in Detroit has some city employees skipping work, leaving trash pickup services behind schedule, officials said Saturday.
The city's Department of Public Works Director Ron Brundidge issued a statement saying trash collection is about two days behind schedule, in part because of extra bulk trash and yard waste that normally comes this time of year.
There's also been a slowdown due to some workers staying home, he said.
"Due to the upcoming transition to privatized trash collection in the city, we also have been experiencing a large number of DPW employees not showing up for work," Brundidge said.

New IRS bombshell: ‘Most audacious power play yet’

New IRS bombshell: ‘Most audacious power play yet’:
It was the nearly silent bombshell of the IRS scandal, but it may have been one of the most significant.
That is especially true considering the target is primarily known as one of the fiercest critics of President Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, the latter considered the Democrat’s leading presidential contender in 2016.
When the IRS stripped the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, or PHC, of its tax-exempt status, it did not cause splashy headlines and a chorus of the nation’s leading conservatives did not howl in protest.
However, the IRS’ revocation of the center’s 501(c)(3) status may have been the most audacious power play yet by the left in its use of the department to wage war on conservatives."

Why are more women arrested for drunk driving? Number increases nearly 20 percent since 2003

Why are more women arrested for drunk driving? Number increases nearly 20 percent since 2003 | MLive.com:
"LANSING – FBI statistics show a growing number of women are being arrested for driving while drunk as well as for causing more alcohol-related deaths since 2003.

"What we've found is that whether it's judges, probation officers, or treatment practitioners, they are seeing more women going through the system for DWI," Erin Holmes, research scientist with the Traffic Injury Research Foundation in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, said.

According to FBI statistics, between 2003 and 2012, the latest statistics available, annual DUI arrests among women increased from 174,000 to 211,000 – a 21 percent increase nationwide. Conversely, DUI arrests among men dropped by nearly 17 percent nationally from 780,000 to 650,000."

Nearly 2 dozen Detroit police officers suspended for outstanding warrants

Nearly 2 dozen Detroit police officers suspended for outstanding warrants | The Detroit News:
Detroit—Nearly two dozen Detroit Police officers will be suspended after a routine check of their driving records revealed they have outstanding warrants for their arrests.
“Mostly, these were for parking violations in suburban cities; one or two might be moving violations,” Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said.

Latino assemblyman: Asians not ‘people of color’

Latino assemblyman: Asians not ‘people of color’ | CalWatchDog
The increasing rift between Latino and Asian Democrats over Latinos’ newly revived interest in gutting Proposition 209 took a funny twist in the Sacramento Bee
So much for the Rainbow Coalition — it turns out that one lawmaker thinks Asian-Americans are no longer “of color”:
AlejoAll our fears came true,’ said Alejo, a Democrat from Watsonville. ‘Once it went into effect, we saw dramatic drops in the numbers of students of color being able to attend some of our most prestigious graduate and professional schools.’”
But of course there haven’t been overall “dramatic drops” of “students of color” if you include Asian-Americans.

Silicon Valley’s Giants Are Just Gilded Age Tycoons in Techno-Utopian Clothes

Silicon Valley’s Giants Are Just Gilded Age Tycoons in Techno-Utopian Clothes - The Daily Beast
The $300 million payout from tech giants like Google and Apple to settle a lawsuit brought by employees makes it clear that Silicon Valley is out for profit, not to change the world.
Silicon Valley’s biggest names—Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe—reached a settlement today in a contentious $3 billion anti-trust suit brought by workers who accused the tech giants of secretly colluding to not recruit each other’s employees. The workers won, but not much, receiving only a rumored $300 million, a small fraction of the billions the companies might have been forced to pay had they been found guilty in a trial verdict. 
The criminality that the case exposed in the boardrooms the tech giants, including from revered figures like Steve Jobs who comes off as especially ruthless, should not be jarring to anyone familiar with Silicon Valley.  It may shock much of the media, who have generally genuflected towards these companies, and much of the public, that has been hoodwinked into thinking the Valley oligarchs represent a better kind of plutocrat—but the truth is they are a lot like the old robber barons.

6 Kids Get Arrested In Wisconsin: The Reason Why Is Absurd

6 Kids Get Arrested In Wisconsin: The Reason Why Is Absurd:
"Few boys in American history made it through adolescence without at some point embracing the common pastime of pretending to shoot guns. With the advent and prevalence of Nerf brand toys in recent generations, that childhood propensity has become both safer and more fun for millions of kids.
Naturally, however, the push to erase any semblance of firearms – no matter how innocent – from communities across the U.S. has led to a crackdown on even the most harmless of playthings."

Forget a Porsche, drive a Prius if you want to attract the ladies

Forget a Porsche, drive a Prius if you want to attract the ladies | New York Post:
Forget the Porsche — guys who really want to attract women should be driving a Prius.
Sexy models draped over sports cars at the New York Auto Show aside, most women prefer a man who drives something more practical, according to a new survey.

Ya can't fix what ya don't want fixed------Political Fraud About Voter Fraud

Robert Popper: Political Fraud About Voter Fraud - WSJ.com:
These arguments themselves are bogus.
Consider the two studies from which Mr. Obama drew his statistics.
The first, which he said "found only 10 cases of alleged in-person voter impersonation in 12 years," is a 2012 report issued by News21, an Arizona State University project.
The News21 website explains.....
Election officials and state attorneys general admitted that they did not track voter fraud.
Crucially, News21 noted that "nearly all the data" it received had "some vital piece of information that had been requested specifically but that was missing." Responses lacked "important details about each case—from whether the person was convicted or charged to the circumstances of the alleged fraud to the names of those involved."
Given these limitations, it is hard to believe any valid conclusions about voter fraud can be drawn from this study.
...In court papers filed last year, Virginia noted that a limited cross-check with 21 other participating states—which did not include California, Texas or New York—showed that 17,000 voters were registered in three or more states. Imagine if the cross-check were extended to all 50 states and if Virginia's results were typical.

Toyota to move jobs and marketing headquarters from Torrance to Texas

Toyota to move jobs and marketing headquarters from Torrance to Texas - latimes.com:
"Toyota declined to detail its plans.
About 5,300 people work at Toyota's Torrance complex. 
It is unclear how many workers will be asked to move to Texas.
The move is expected to take several years."

Report: Pentagon to destroy $1B in ammunition

Report: Pentagon to destroy $1B in ammunition:
The services hold an annual conference to share information about surplus ammunition and swap bullets and other munitions as needed. Data about ammunition left over after the meeting disappears from the books, resulting in an unknown amount of good bullets headed to the scrap heap.
The Army, although required by regulation, had not reported annually on its missile stockpile until last month, shortly before the GAO study was to be released."

More Florida Voter Fraud? 3000 Registrations List UPS Stores As Residence

More Florida Voter Fraud? 3000 Registrations List UPS Stores As Residence | Conservative Infidel Conservative Infidel:
If there is one thing I learned in the 2012 election cycle, it was about voter fraud. 
My conservative warrior associate, Katherine Engelbrecht, and her organization, True the Vote, took up the mantle against the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections, Gertrude Walker, who admitted to sending “questionable” results to the Florida Secretary of State. 
It was somewhat disheartening that the Florida Secretary of State and Attorney General sat back, watched the news reports, and did nothing.
With that background, I’d like to share a story written by Gregg Prentice: “Voter Fraud? 
If they’re not catching the easy stuff, what else are they missing?”
Prentice asks, are some of Florida’s Supervisors of Elections skirting the law? Supervisors are tasked with maintaining an accurate voter roll. One of the requirements of the Supervisors is to ensure voters provide a legal residence address. Yet a December 2013 analysis shows more than 3,000 voter registrations statewide listing their residence address at a UPS store, potentially illegally.

Facing protests, Eric Holder cancels Oklahoma City speech - CBS News

Facing protests, Eric Holder cancels Oklahoma City speech - CBS News:
"I do not think our state has ever asked a federal official who is currently in Contempt of Congress to speak to our graduates," Lankford, who is also running for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2014, said in a statement. "Given his numerous questionable decisions, his unwillingness to cooperate with congressional investigations and his Justice Department's opacity under this President, he would not be my first choice to stand as this Administration's example of justice, leadership and integrity.""



Students Scared Straight About Being Liberal Arts Majors (VIDEO)

Students Scared Straight About Being Liberal Arts Majors (VIDEO) | The Federalist Papers

History for April 28

History for April 28 - On-This-Day.com
Birth anniversary of 5th president of the US, James Monroe (1758-1831).


Birth anniversaries of Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) and Oskar Schindler (1908-1974).

Happy Birthday! Ann-Margret, Jay Leno, Mary McDonnell

1686 - The first volume of Isaac Newton's "Principia Mathamatic" was published. 


1789 - A mutiny on the British ship Bounty took place when a rebel crew took the ship and set sail to Pitcairn Island. The mutineers left Captain W. Bligh and 18 sailors adrift. 



1914 - W.H. Carrier patented the design of his air conditioner. 



1919 - The League of Nations was founded. 






1945 - Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci were executed by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee the country. 


1967 - Muhammad Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army and was stripped of boxing title. He cited religious grounds for his refusal.


1974 - The last Americans were evacuated from Saigon. 


1988 - In Maui, HI, one flight attendant was killed when the fuselage of a Boeing 737 ripped open in mid-flight.


1992 - The U.S. Agriculture Department unveiled a (bogus, unscientific) pyramid-shaped recommended-diet chart. 


1996 - U.S. President Clinton gave a 4 1/2 hour videotaped testimony as a defense witness in the criminal trial of his former Whitewater business partners. 



1997 - A worldwide treaty to ban chemical weapons took effect. Russia and other countries such as Iraq and North Korea did not sign. 







Sunday, April 27, 2014

The Bill Obama Says Would Help Millions of Americans ‘Right Now’ — and Why Republicans Don’t Support It | Video | TheBlaze.com

The Bill Obama Says Would Help Millions of Americans ‘Right Now’ — and Why Republicans Don’t Support It | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Republicans contend a minimum wage hike would have undesired effects, including eliminating thousands of jobs.
In an April 1 report, the Senate Republican Policy Committee cited a Congressional Budget Office report that estimated that “once fully implemented in the second half of 2016, the $10.10 option would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers, or 0.3 percent.”"




Meet the Army Veteran Who Could Once and for All Destroy One of the Left’s Key Gun Control Arguments | TheBlaze.com

Meet the Army Veteran Who Could Once and for All Destroy One of the Left’s Key Gun Control Arguments | TheBlaze.com:
"Since the 1950s, all but two mass shootings have occurred in locations where victims were restricted from carrying weapons for self-defense, his work says. This stunning statistic led the university to question the effectiveness of so-called “gun free zones.”
The methodology of the research is fairly simple and rooted in common sense, Dietz claims. It takes into account four separate scenarios involving an active shooter:"




Ex-DHS watchdog put on leave after critical report | CNS News

Ex-DHS watchdog put on leave after critical report | CNS News:
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson put his agency's former internal watchdog on leave within hours of the publication of a Senate report that concluded the employee was too cozy with senior agency officials and delayed or classified some critical reports to accommodate President Barack Obama's political appointees.
Charles K. Edwards had been allowed to quietly resign as acting inspector general and transfer to another post within the Homeland Security Department in December, just before Johnson took office. But after Johnson reviewed the 27-page report from a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs oversight subcommittee Thursday he put Edwards on leave."

U.S. electricity prices may be going up for good - chicagotribune.com

U.S. electricity prices may be going up for good - chicagotribune.com:

Experts warn of a growing fragility as coal-fired plants are shut down, nuclear power is reduced and consumers switch to renewable energy.
.....But it exposed a more fundamental problem.
There is a growing fragility in the U.S. electricity system, experts warn, the result of the shutdown of coal-fired plants, reductions in nuclear power, a shift to more expensive renewable energy and natural gas pipeline constraints. 

The result is likely to be future price shocks.
And they may not be temporary.
One recent study predicts the cost of electricity in California alone could jump 47% over the next 16 years, in part because of the state's shift toward more expensive renewable energy.
"We are now in an era of rising electricity prices," said Philip Moeller, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, who said the steady reduction in generating capacity across the nation means that prices are headed up.
"If you take enough supply out of the system, the price is going to increase."

More to come?------Sun Unleashes Major Solar Flare

An X1.3-class solar flare (far right) erupts from the surface of the sun on April 24, 2014 EDT  (April 25 GMT).Sun Unleashes Major Solar Flare (Video) | Space.com
The sun erupted with a massive solar flare late Thursday (April 24), triggering a temporary communications blackout on some parts of Earth.
The powerful flare peaked at 8:27 p.m. EDT Thursday (0027 April 25 GMT), and ranked as an X1.3-class solar storm, one of the strongest types of flares the sun can experience, according to a report from the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center. 

How Americans Die-Interactive-Click and marvel!

How Americans Die:


Obama's Economic Policies will Bring a Second Great Depression

Obama's Economic Policies will Bring a Second Great Depression:
"One oddity of the current economic debate is that the more Barack Obama’s incompetent income-redistribution policies have failed, the more the left calls for more government-intervention policies to correct for the deficiencies of the earlier rounds. American middle-income families have lost nearly $3,000 in purchasing power since 2007, and the left’s only solution to get us out of the rut is more debt, more social-welfare spending, more income redistribution and higher taxes on the rich and big business."

TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 353

TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 353:
"Letter From Darrell Issa to Eric Holder (Apr. 23, 2014):
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform continues to examine the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative tax-exempt applicants. "

NAACP Set to Give Lifetime Achievement Award to L.A. Clippers Owner — But That Plan Appears to Be Unraveling

NAACP Set to Give Lifetime Achievement Award to L.A. Clippers Owner — But That Plan Appears to Be Unraveling | TheBlaze.com
Image source: naacp-losangeles.orgL.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, allegedly caught on an audio recording making repeated racist remarks, is scheduled to receive an NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award next month from the organization’s Los Angeles chapter, Deadspin reported.

White House “big data” study to reveal potential for discrimination

White House “big data” study to reveal potential for discrimination | Ars Technica
Next week, White House counselor John Podesta is set to present the results of a 90-day "big data" study, commissioned by President Barack Obama in January as part of a wave of NSA reform announcements.
According to the Associated Press, Podesta's study will hinge largely on the discriminatory potential of the mountains of data accumulated by public and private firms alike.
The study's results could mean changes to federal anti-discrimination laws, particularly in the case of financial and employment policies.
The AP report used private data clustering as an example of potential abuse, describing customers lumped into an "Ethnic Second-City Struggler" category.
Loan applicants could be lumped into that category based on geographic and social-media information, flagging them for higher-interest loans than they'd be offered as anonymous, off-the-street customers.
.....That speech also hinted at the kinds of discrimination stories we may expect from Podesta's report, including the story of a crowd-sourced pothole detection app launched in Boston.

"Because poor people and the elderly were less likely to carry smartphones, let alone download the app, the app wound up systematically directing city services to wealthier neighborhoods," Podesta said.
"We need to pay careful attention to what unexpected outcomes the use of big data might lead to, and how to remedy any unintended discrimination or inequality that may result."

This morning!------Affirmative Action Debate - Jennifer Gratz vs. Shanta Driver