Many Parents Have to Pay Off Dead Kids' Student Loans - Families often have little legal recourse in these cases

Many Parents Have to Pay Off Dead Kids' Student Loans - Families often have little legal recourse in these cases:
"Probably the last thing parents mourning a deceased child want to do is deal with late notices from creditors—especially when those notices are for a student loan taken out by their lost loved one.
That's what happened to pastor Steve Mason, who found himself saddled with a $100,000 bill after his 27-year-old daughter died five years ago, leaving him and his wife to raise their three grandkids on the relatively modest salaries they both earn at a local church, reports CNN.
As a co-signer on his daughter's private student loans, Mason was on the hook for her IOU, which turned into $200,000 after interest and late fees piled up."

Why Obama Is Concocting An Impeachment Threat: Because He Has Nothing Else.

Instapundit » Blog Archive » KYLE SMITH: Why Obama Is Concocting An Impeachment Threat: Because He Has Nothing Else. It’s as i…: "
Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 6:43 pm"

KYLE SMITH: Why Obama Is Concocting An Impeachment Threat: Because He Has Nothing Else.

It’s as if our president has read all of the disappointed head-shaking opinion pieces by Very Serious Liberals and is responding, “Hey, I’m not sad. I’m ridiculous!”

Because in the last couple of weeks Barack Obama has reached his Basil Fawlty stage.

Instead of John Cleese’s Fawlty rushing around a dismal English hotel trying to avoid insulting his German guests by squawking, “Don’t mention the war,” we have Obama stumbling around the country crying, “Don’t mention impeachment!”

The president is, of course, the only American of any standing whatsoever talking about impeachment.

At least Basil Fawlty had an excuse for his dizzy behavior: He had just been clocked in the skull with a frying pan.

Sadly, this is the most benign explanation. 
A scarier one is that it’s battlespace-prep because he’s planning something really awful and when serious people start talking impeachment he can say “they were planning it all along!”

A $15B upgrade for utilities: New EPA rules stoke Consumers, DTE move to wind and gas

A $15B upgrade for utilities: New EPA rules stoke Consumers, DTE move to wind and gas | Crain's Detroit Business
The EPA proposed in June that power plant carbon emissions be cut 30 percent by 2030. The proposal, coupled with previous rules that aren't friendly to coal, put natural gas front and center as the new leading candidate for a base-load fuel. 

A fracking-induced glut of it has soaked the markets, and natural gas produces half the carbon emissions as coal from a power plant, according to the EPA, making it a natural choice for utilities as a coal replacement. 
Wind is cheap and available in Michigan, making it the top choice for renewable energy power, industry executives said. 

Even without the new EPA proposal, utilities had reason to move away from coal. They have been adjusting their power generation arrangements to meet existing EPA rules, such as Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that utilities must meet by April of next year, unless granted extensions. At the state level, Gov. Rick Snyder in December went on the record saying Michigan should become less reliant on coal, which makes up more than half the fuel used to produce power in the state. 

The utilities say they are working on it. Consumers plans to shutter seven coal-fired units in 2016, leaving its five largest units in operation. DTE is also weaning itself away from coal. (See map, below.)

California school district gets rid of mandatory geography class, look at what class is replacing it

California school district gets rid of mandatory geography class, look at what class is replacing it | Young Conservatives:
"Welcome to Obama’s America kids.
Geography?
Not important.
“Diversity and Inclusion”?
Very important."

"I don’t know why I am even surprised by this kind of thing anymore."

From NRO:

El Rancho Verde Unified School District will stop requiring its high-school students to take geography and instead require them to take a class on diversity and inclusion.

ERUSD president Aurora Villon said the class is necessary because minority students “need to feel validated.”

“When you negate their culture, they feel less than other students,” she said in an e-mail to Whittier Daily News.

Keep reading…

“When you negate their culture, they feel less than other students”.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t it be hard to “negate” a kid’s culture when the little fella can’t even find their home country on a map?"

EAA - The Spirit of Aviation photos, pictures and videos on CrowdAlbum

EAA - The Spirit of Aviation photos, pictures and videos on CrowdAlbum

History for August 4

History for August 4 - On-This-Day.com:

United Kingdom: "Lights Out"--marking the start of World War One by turning off lights from 10 pm to 11 pm. #LightsOut

United Kingdom and Belgium: First World War Centenary Opening Day, locations in Scotland, Belgium and England. See https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-world-war-centenary

Coast Guard Day

Sturgis Rally begins at Sturgis, SD (Aug 4-10). 74th annual. See www.sturgis.com

Birth anniversary of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1821).

Birth anniversary of Louis Armstrong (1900-1971).

In 1892, merchant Andrew Borden and his wife were found dead at their Fall River, MA, home. Daughter Lizzie Borden was arrested for the ax murders but later ruled innocent in a jury trial.

Happy Birthday, President Barack Obama!

Happy Birthday! Richard Belzer, Jeff Gordon, Billy Bob Thornton

1735 - Freedom of the press was established with an acquittal of John Peter Zenger. The writer of the New York Weekly Journal had been charged with seditious libel by the royal governor of New York. The jury said that "the truth is not libelous." 

1790 - The Revenue Cutter Service was formed. This U.S. naval task force was the beginning of the U.S. Coast Guard. 


1914 - Britain declared war on Germany in World War I. The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality. 


1921 - The first radio broadcast of a tennis match occurred. It was in Pittsburgh, PA. 


1922 - The death of Alexander Graham Bell, two days earlier, was recognized by AT&T and the Bell Systems by shutting down all of its switchboards and switching stations. The shutdown affected 13 million phones. 


1944 - Nazi police raided a house in Amsterdam and arrested eight people. Anne Frank, a teenager at the time, was one of the people arrested. Her diary would be published after her death. 


1958 - The first potato flake plant was completed in Grand Forks, ND. 


1958 - Billboard Magazine introduced its "Hot 100" chart, which was part popularity and a barometer of the movement of potential hits. The first number one song was Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool." 


1972 - Arthur Bremer was found guilty of shooting George Wallace, the governor of Alabama. Bremer was sentenced to 63 years in prison. 


1977 - U.S. President Carter signed the measure that established the Department of Energy. 


1983 - New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball during warm-ups and accidentally killed a seagull. After the game, Toronto police arrested him for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal." 


1984 - Upper Volta, an African republic, changed its name to Burkina Faso. 


1987 - The Fairness Doctrine was rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission. The doctrine had required that radio and TV stations present controversial issues in a balanced fashion. 

No More Cease-Fires: Netanyahu Promises ‘Full Scale’ Assault Against Hamas | Video | TheBlaze.com

No More Cease-Fires: Netanyahu Promises ‘Full Scale’ Assault Against Hamas | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue waging war on Hamas Saturday afternoon, saying Israeli operations would continue “at full scale” in order ”to bring back the quiet, peace and calm to citizens of Israel and severely harm terrorist projects.”

End of world warning: Violent solar flares could destroy the earth at any moment

End of world warning: Violent solar flares could destroy the earth at any moment | Nature | News | Daily Express:
"VIOLENT solar superstorms could destroy life as we know it at ANY MOMENT, shocked scientists have warned today.
It is “only a matter of time” before a catastrophic eruption on the surface of the sun hurtles towards the planet with devastating consequences.
The Earth could be the target of an explosion equivalent to “10 billion Hiroshima bombs exploding at the same time”.
It has emerged crisis meetings have been held to discuss how to limit the damage of solar superstorms which present a “long-lasting” threat to all forms of life.
Scientists warn communication systems will be crippled, vital services such as transport, sanitation and medicine will close, and loss of power will plunge the planet into darkness.
Ashley Dale, member of international task force SolarMAX set up to identify the risks of a solar storm, said: “Without power, people would struggle to fuel their cars at petrol stations, get money from cash dispensers or pay online.
“Water and sewage systems would be affected too, meaning that health epidemics in urbanised areas would quickly take a grip, with diseases we thought we had left behind centuries ago soon returning.”"

Obama Administration Is ‘Not to Ever Second-Guess Me Again’: Israeli Prime Minister Lashes Out | TheBlaze.com

Obama Administration Is ‘Not to Ever Second-Guess Me Again’: Israeli Prime Minister Lashes Out | TheBlaze.com:
"After a U.S.- and U.N.-brokered cease-fire fell apart hours after it began — because, Israeli officials said, Hamas “flagrantly violated” the truce —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at President Barack Obama’s White House, instructing the administration, “not to ever second-guess me again.”

Barney Frank on Obamacare rollout: 'They just lied to people'

Barney Frank on Obamacare rollout: 'They just lied to people' - Washington Times:
"Former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank questioned President Obama’s honesty regarding the rollout of Obamacare in a recent interview.
He told The Huffington Post on Friday that he was shocked at the mishandling of the new health care law.
“The rollout was so bad, and I was appalled—I don’t understand how the president could have sat there and not been checking on that on a weekly basis,” the former Democratic congressman told the website.
“But frankly, he should never have said as much as he did, that if you like your current health care plan, you can keep it. 
That wasn’t true. 
And you shouldn’t lie to people. 
And they just lied to people,” he added.
Mr. Frank told The Huffington Post that Mr. Obama should have better explained the situation to the American people, and laid out the possibilities of losing their existing plans.
“He should have said, ‘Look, in some cases the health care plans that you’ve got are really inadequate, and in your own interests, we’re going to change them.’
But that’s not what he said,” Mr. Frank said."

The New York Times Runs a Full-Page Ad for a Marijuana Review Site

The New York Times Runs a Full-Page Ad for a Marijuana Review Site - Hit & Run : Reason.com:
"Last week The New York Times called for the legalization of marijuana.
Today it's running a full-page marijuana ad.
More exactly, it's advertising a website—Leafly—that reviews different strains of pot and directs you to the dispensaries, doctors, and stores that will help you get ahold of them.
The most striking thing about the ad is that it isn't striking at all. 
It would be easy to flip past this quickly without recognizing that it's about cannabis—and even if you do pause long enough to see what's being advertised, the idea of an ad for a marijuana review site in The New York Times just doesn't sound all that bizarre anymore.
That's when you know a social revolution is succeeding: when it starts to feel banal."

Finally,a "#1"that ain't in the toilet------- Where to Find the Fastest Wi-Fi on the Road

Where to Find the Fastest Wi-Fi on the Road - Airfarewatchdog

Here is the complete list of airports, hotels, and beaches with the fastest Wi-Fi. Click to see an infographic with more stats.

Top Airports with the Fastest Wi-Fi:

1. Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Michigan (4.63 mbps)

2. Denver International Airport, Colorado (4.33 mbps)

3. Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida (3.74 mbps)

4. Los Angeles International Airport, California (3.29 mbps)

5. Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia (3.09 mbps)

6. Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, Arizona (2.88 mbps)

7. LaGuardia Airport, New York (2.67 mbps)

8. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia (2.66 mbps)

9. Logan International Airport, Massachusetts (2.51 mbps)

10. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Minnesota (2.45 mbps)

11. McCarran International Airport, Nevada (2.41 mbps)

12. San Francisco International Airport, California (2.29 mbps)

Oh, goody.......Marijuana initiatives have enough signatures to make November ballots in Saginaw, Clare and Harrison

Marijuana initiatives have enough signatures to make November ballots in Saginaw, Clare and Harrison | MLive.com:
" Voters in Saginaw and two northern Michigan communities are expected to vote on marijuana decriminalization in November.
In addition to a ballot measure headed to Saginaw city voters, campaign supporters announced that similar measures will come to ballots in Clare and Harrison, as well."

What This Republican Said About the Border Had Nancy Pelosi Charging Across the House Floor | Video | TheBlaze.com

What This Republican Said About the Border Had Nancy Pelosi Charging Across the House Floor | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"One Republican Congressman “hit the right nerve” Friday night — and found himself facing the wrath of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
ABC News called it “an unusual breach of decorum.”

The truth hurts

Hey! The games are in SCOTLAND!!!-------Scottie Dogs At Games 'Disrespectful' To Muslims

Scottie Dogs At Games 'Disrespectful' To Muslims - The Daily Beast
Malaysian politician says that including dogs in opening ceremony was 'disrespectful to Malaysia and Muslims'

The Commonwealth Games, which opened last week in Glasgow, Scotland in the presence of the Queen, was, like all sporting events these days, ushered into existence to the accompaniment of a lavish and visually impressive opening ceremony.
But amidst the dancing mechanical giants and gay kisses, the organizers also sought to celebrate Scottishness by having each team led out by Scottie dogs wearing tartan coats embroidered with the name of the team.
Social media, predictably, fell in love with the doggies, however now political and religious leaders in Malaysia have cried foul, and are accusing the organizers of disrespect towards Muslims by forcing their teams to be led out by a dog.
Matters were aggravated by the fact that the dog assigned to the Malaysian team refused to move and had to be carried around the stadium.
Some Muslims believe that dogs are unclean.
Mohamad Sabu, the deputy president of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, told The Daily Telegraph: 

“This is just so disrespectful to Malaysia and Muslims—especially as it happened during Ramadan. 

Muslims are not allowed to touch dogs, so the organiser should have been more aware and sensitive on this issue.”

Goldman Warns Of 6.5% Japanese GDP Collapse, Worst Since Lehman

Goldman Warns Of 6.5% Japanese GDP Collapse, Worst Since Lehman | Zero Hedge

From Goldman's Naohiko Baba:

Japan Focus of the Week: June wages disappoint; watch for BOJ’s economic assessment 

Slowdown in June wages, special wages disappoint

June total cash wages rose 0.4% yoy, decelerating slightly from May (+0.6%). Basic wages turned to a small growth, but overtime wages decelerated.  Special wage, reflecting summer bonuses disappointed with only a small +0.3% increase.

Real disposable income drops sharply again in June / large negative GDP growth unavoidable for Q2

Based on the Household Survey, Q1 real spending rose 4.6% qoq on rush demand before the tax hike, but the Q2 pullback was higher at -9.4% qoq. One explanation was decline in real disposable income, which declined -8.0% yoy in June and -6% yoy on average for Q2. The difficult income environment is reflecting in consumer behavior.

June production declines far steeper than expected

Production decreased 3.3% mom in June (May: +0.7%), a far steeper decline than the market consensus (-1.2%) and the production outlook (-0.7%). Producer shipments were also down 1.9% mom in June, and this resulted in a sharp rise in inventories (of +1.9%).

Just as Abenomics is preparing to hit its 2-year anniversary, Japan's economy is on the verge of recession. And here is Goldman's punchline, one whose arrival we warned was only a matter of time.

The greater-than-expected weakness in the consumption snapback signals significant downside risk to our forecast of 4.6% decline for Q2 real GDP (sequential annualized).While we expect lower imports, higher inventories, and other factors to support GDP to some extent, we see negative real GDP growth of around -6.5% as likely, based on the data currently available.

Leaked Memo Gives Away Dems' Weather Talking Points

Leaked Memo Gives Away Dems' Weather Talking Points | The Daily Caller:
"Democratic claims that “extreme weather” was becoming more common as carbon dioxide levels increase have been disputed by scientists who say the data tells a different story.
“It is misleading and just plain incorrect to claim that disasters associated with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or droughts have increased on climate timescales either in the United States or globally,” University of Colorado climate scientist Dr. Roger Pielke said in his testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last year.
“It is further incorrect to associate the increasing costs of disasters with the emission of greenhouse gases.”
“Hurricanes have not increased in the U.S. in frequency, intensity or normalized damage since at least 1900,” Pielke added.
“The same holds for tropical cyclones globally since at least 1970.”
But Democrats have not relented in their push to convince the public that extreme weather will continue to get worse. 
The Murray memo cites reports by the Risky Business group and the White House Council of Economic Advisors, both of which argue global warming will put high costs on the economy if nothing is immediately done to tackle the issue."

Today in GR-Seinfeld in Keds-------About Us - The Color Run™ - The Happiest 5K On The Planet!

About Us - The Color Run™ - The Happiest 5K On The Planet!:

Healthiness

While our 5k event is all about having fun, we also focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle. More than half of our participants are first-time 5k runners and the event is making headway on the national focus of improving health and wellness. We hope that The Color Run 5k event will be able to act as a catalyst for our participants to live an active, healthy lifestyle.

Happiness

Seeing how happy The Color Run has made people has been tremendously rewarding for us. It is an event for all fitness levels, ages and backgrounds. Our tag line, “The Happiest 5k on the planet”, was created after seeing the expressions of pure joy from participants. Want to add some happiness to your life? Click here to register.

Individuality

Color Runners vary in demographics and reasons for running. With no winners or official times, The Color Run caters to everyone –first time runners to seasoned athletes. Some Color Runners participate as a celebration and capstone of their healthy living accomplishments, while others participate for reasons unique to them. What are you running for? Tell us here.

Giving Back

As a for-profit event management company, we love the opportunity we have to partner with charities to help shine a light on their amazing work within society and highlight the causes they stand for. We have raised donations for more than 80 local and national charities since 2012. To date, The Color Run has donated more than $3 million to charity. For more information on how The Color Run works with charities, visit our Charity Page. Interested in nominating your charity for the event in your community? Click here.

National Ad Campaign Delivers Tough Message About the ‘True Nature of Hamas’ | TheBlaze.com

National Ad Campaign Delivers Tough Message About the ‘True Nature of Hamas’ | TheBlaze.com:
"A pro-Israel advocacy group in the United States launched a national ad campaign this week in an effort to “educate Americans about the true nature of Hamas.”
Christians United for Israel is placing full-page ads in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today, among other print and online outlets, in an effort to clear up some of the confusion it believes is being reported and perpetuated in media."