History for January 5

History for January 5 - On-This-Day.com
Stephen Decatur 1779, George Reeves 1914, Robert Duvall 1930 


Diane Keaton 1946, Ted Lange 1947, Marilyn Manson 1970 


1914 - Ford Motor Company announced that there would be a new daily minimum wage of $5 and an eight-hour workday. 


1925 - Mrs. Nellie Taylor Ross was sworn in as the governor of Wyoming She was the first female governor in the U.S. 


1933 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began. 


1940 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) got its very first demonstration of FM radio. 


1948 - Warner Brothers-Pathe showed the very first color newsreel. The footage was of the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football classic. 


1956 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy walked on two legs for the first time. 


1961 - "Mr. Ed" debuted. The show would run for six years. 


1970 - "All My Children" premiered on ABC. 


1972 - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the development of the space shuttle. 


1998 - U.S. Representative Sonny Bono died in skiing accident. 


2002 - A 15 year-old student pilot, Charles Bishop, crashed a small plane into a building in Tampa, FL. Bishop was about to begin a flying lesson when he took off without permission and without an instructor. 

Feds Looking for Company to Run 'National Data Warehouse' for Obamacare, Medicare | The Weekly Standard

Feds Looking for Company to Run 'National Data Warehouse' for Obamacare, Medicare | The Weekly Standard:

"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is looking for vendors to run its "National Data Warehouse," a database for "capturing, aggregating, and analyzing information" related to beneficiary and customer experiences with Medicare and the federal Obamacare marketplaces. Although the database primarily consists of quality control metrics related to individuals' interactions with customer service, potential contractors are to "[d]emonstrate ... experience with scalability and security in protecting data and information with customer, person-sensitive information including Personal Health Information and Personally Identifiable information (personal health records, etc.)." Vendors are also instructed that one of the requirements of a possible future contract would be "[e]nsuring that all products developed and delivered adhere to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance standards."

Audit: $14.5 Billion in Erroneous Earned Income Tax Credits

Audit: $14.5 Billion in Erroneous Earned Income Tax Credits:

"A recent audit showing the Internal Revenue Service handed out $14.5 billion in improper earned income tax credits in 2012 came as little surprise to budget watchers such as Alan Cole.

The fact that the erroneous payouts amounted to about 24 percent of the $63 billion Uncle Sam sent out in refundable earned income tax credits was nothing new as well."

Another American boy, comin' home..........Alabama fighter pilot lost 70 years ago in WWII crash finally coming home

Alabama fighter pilot lost 70 years ago in WWII crash finally coming home - Yellowhammer News
"MONTGOMERY, Ala. – An Alabama World War II pilot who was missing for decades after his plane went down on Guadalcanal Island will finally be laid to rest this week with full military honors.
 Maj. Peyton Mathis, Jr., commander of the 44th Fighter Squadron, will be buried in his hometown of Montgomery, Ala. Saturday, January 3rd.
He was 28 years old on June 5, 1944 when the P-38J Lightning he was piloting went down over Guadalcanal Island after returning from a mission.
Rescue and recovery attempts at the time of the crash were unsuccessful due to the heavy jungle.

It wasn’t until 2013, when local islanders informed Department of Defense crews of a nearby crash site, that the downed P-38 was found, Maj. Mathis still strapped into the cockpit.
When Peyton Mathis III, Maj. Mathis’ nephew, learned his uncle’s lost plane and remains had possibly been found, he contacted Rep. Martha Roby’s (R-AL2) office for help expediting the identification and return process.
Maj. Mathis’ widow, Evelyn, is now in her 90s, and the family understandably wanted the remains to be identified and returned as soon as possible."

Sarah Palin and Ellen DeGeneres Posted Very Similar Pictures; Guess Who Got Attacked

Sarah Palin and Ellen DeGeneres Posted Very Similar Pictures; Guess Who Got Attacked:

"But in July of 2014, lesbian talk show host Ellen DeGeneres posted a similar picture of her daughter using the family dog as a step stool to reach the sink on her Facebook page. While some did question DeGeneres’s decision to let her daughter stand on the dog, there were no personal attacks on DeGeneres herself, but rather mostly concern that the dog may eventually bite, or was uncomfortable. The level of vile, personal attacks on her paled in comparison to what Palin endured."

TaxProf Blog: The Top 10 Tax Stories Of 2014

TaxProf Blog: The Top 10 Tax Stories Of 2014

1. A Wounded IRS
2. The Long Wait for Extenders
3. The ACA Looms Large
4. The IRS Scandal Continues
5. The Final Chapter of Loving
6. … Or Is it?
7. A Taxpayer Bill of Rights
8. Tax Reform Fizzles
9. Corporate Inversions

‘Black Brunch’ Restaurant Protesters Disrupt ‘White Spaces’ in NYC, Oakland | Video | TheBlaze.com

‘Black Brunch’ Restaurant Protesters Disrupt ‘White Spaces’ in NYC, Oakland | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"One tweet posted by the New York City group read “every 28 hours a Black unarmed civilian is murdered by the State. This is why we disrupt.”

On Sunday about three dozen protesters disrupted patrons at Manhattan spots such as Lallisse, Maialino and Pershing Square, Yahoo News said, adding that protesters called them predominantly “white spaces.”

Five things to remember about climate science in 2015 | WashingtonExaminer.com

Five things to remember about climate science in 2015 | WashingtonExaminer.com:

"As the New Year dawns, old challenges hang on.

One of the biggest challenges relates to the ambience of climate-change science.
So many folks are invested in an expectation of disastrous geophysical conditions resulting from modern lifestyles that are fueled by ancient energy sources. So, the big money (in the trillions of dollars) is on the continuation of supposed wacky weather, hustled as proof of long-term, global climate change.

But here are five reasons to remain unconvinced that humans are culpable for such acts of nature."

Worth your time. Sumtin wrong with that nerd------Jimmy Carter Promotes Sharia for the Islamic Society of North America

New challenge for chefs: making pot taste good

New challenge for chefs: making pot taste good | Local News | The Seattle Times:
"Cooking with pot faces two big problems:
It’s hard to control how high people get when they eat marijuana, and it really doesn’t taste that good. 
BOULDER, Colo. —Recreational marijuana is both illegal and controversial in most of the country, and its relationship to food does not rise much above a joke about brownies or a stoner chef’s late-night pork-belly poutine.
But cooking with cannabis is emerging as a legitimate and very lucrative culinary pursuit.
...Major New York publishing houses and noted cookbook authors are pondering marijuana projects, and chefs on both coasts and in food-forward countries such as Denmark have been staging underground meals with modern twists like compressed watermelon, smoked cheese and marijuana-oil vinaigrette.
“It really won’t be long until it becomes part of haute cuisine and part of respectable culinary culture, instead of just an illegal doobie in the backyard,” said Ken Albala, director of the food-studies program at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco.
Two problems, however, stand in the way: First, it’s hard to control how high people get when they eat marijuana. And second, it really doesn’t taste that good."

VIDEO: California Starts Issuing Drivers Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

VIDEO: California Starts Issuing Drivers Licenses to Illegal Immigrants:

"Thanks to California’s Safe and Responsible Drivers Act, a valid social security number is no longer required to obtain a license and as many as 1.4 million illegals are expected to obtain the privilege to drive in a country they entered illegally."

Fmr. leader: Wisconsin teachers union lost 60% of members after Scott Walker’s reforms

Fmr. leader: Wisconsin teachers union lost 60% of members after Scott Walker’s reforms - EAGnews.org:
"..He used the analogy of a tree, and he said before their troubles began, he thought that the Wisconsin Education Association tree was solid. 
Its core was strong.
The roots were in the ground and nothing could topple it.
But then along came that mighty, mighty storm, and quickly the 100,000-member Wisconsin tree was toppled, just like that.
In one fell swoop, they lost everything.
Gone.
The tree that they thought was solid and would never fall fell, and fell hard.
Where three years ago there were over a hundred thousand members, today, there are 40,000. 
Where once they had a staff along the same lines as OEA, they now have a staff of less than 20.
Their power and influence, he says, are virtually gone.....

School’s Chick-fil-A biscuits fall victim to Michelle O’s ‘Twinkie Police’

School’s Chick-fil-A biscuits fall victim to Michelle O’s ‘Twinkie Police’ - EAGnews.org
"LEXINGTON, S.C. – A school’s sure-fire way to raise funds for its parent-teacher organization may be coming to an end as South Carolina grapples with the Michelle Obama-inspired federal school lunch rules.
One day a month, Lexington’s Midway Elementary School PTO volunteers could sell some 500 Chick-fil-A biscuit sandwiches to students on the school sidewalk in 30 minutes, netting a profit of $625 for the organization, according to The State.
But now, the sandwiches don’t meet the federal guidelines regulating school fundraisers.
“The kids love them,” parent Ashley Cooper says.
“They can eat them now or save them for a snack. 
I mean it’s a Chick-fil-A biscuit. 
It doesn’t have bacon or cheese or all of that stuff on it.”
Organizers hoped a smaller version – a Chick-n-mini – would be allowed by the Feds. 
That, too, fell out of compliance.
While some parents and school leaders are seeking common sense leniency, others are doubling down and are trying to block any exemptions to the rules.
State Superintendent Mickey Zais refers to them as the “Twinkie Police.”
“We need to ensure that the healthy choice is the easy choice for our schoolchildren,” Beth Franco, executive director of Eat Smart Move More, tells the paper.
“The best way to do this is to guarantee that there are zero exemptions to Smart Snack guidelines in all of South Carolina’s schools.”
“Good habits learned as a child are easy to maintain, but poor habits are difficult to change,” Dr. Bruce Snyder, past president of the S.C. Medical Association, adds."

Michigan State Gets Comeback Win Of The Bowls

Michigan State Gets Comeback Win Of The Bowls:
"When a team enters the fourth quarter behind 41-21 against the 5th ranked team in college football, after being behind on all but the first possession of the game, and giving up more yards than any team that ever played in the Cotton Bowl, the expectation is that they would lose the game – beat by a better team. 
Add the fact that your team of deficit depends on the quarterback who is having his worst game of the season.
Add then, by the way, that the only other FBS playoff teams they played this season (Oregon and Ohio State) beat them just as expected, like the better team.
For future bowl games in this new playoff era, the expectations under similar facts and circumstances would be met 99.9% of the time.
But when mostly teenagers have a few 20-somthings with high-level leadership skills, taught by a mature coaching staff, and a very talented quarterback and receivers, a win is still possible.
The team of deficit is Michigan State.
That deficit was erased by a stunning three touchdown comeback in the final quarter against the very talented Baylor Bears.
The referenced quarterback is Connor Cook.
He was last year’s Rose Bowl MVP but entered the fourth quarter as just the opposite in this year’s Cotton Bowl.
The comeback was completed only after a series of improbabilities became realities.
Michigan State would have to hold Baylor to zero points in the fourth quarter.
Baylor had more yards than any other team ever to play in this storied bowl game.
But that first improbability became reality......."

This has got some serious stink on it--------(GOP Illinois) Gov.-elect Rauner, allies back agenda with $20 million

New meaning to "pay to play"
"Pay to get played"
Gov.-elect Rauner, allies back agenda with $20 million - Chicago Tribune: "
Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner and two key allies pumped $20 million into the Republican's campaign fund Wednesday to buttress lawmakers who follow the new chief executive's as-yet unstated agenda after he takes office in mid-January.
The move is an unprecedented use of personal wealth by an Illinois governor but follows a pattern for Rauner, who as a first-time candidate provided more than $27.5 million in personal funds for his successful 2014 campaign out of a record-setting $67.1 million fund..."

Military Vet Sought Treatment for ‘Insomnia’ — Days Later, NY Police Officers Were Knocking on His Door: Lawsuit | TheBlaze.com

Military Vet Sought Treatment for ‘Insomnia’ — Days Later, NY Police Officers Were Knocking on His Door: Lawsuit | TheBlaze.com:

"Montgomery claims in his lawsuit that officials violated his constitutional rights during the ordeal. He also accuses the hospital of violating his privacy by giving his medical records to state police.

Montgomery is seeking monetary damages, legal fees, and the “striking down and rendering void” of New York’s “Mental Hygiene Law” on grounds that it represents an “unconstitutional violation of the Second, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments."

15 Must-See Charts From 2014

15 Must-See Charts From 2014:

The 10 Best Washington Photos of 2014 - Photos - 1 of 11

The 10 Best Washington Photos of 2014 - Photos - 1 of 11 - POLITICO Magazine - POLITICO Magazine:

History for January 4

History for January 4 - On-This-Day.com
Jakob Grimm 1785, Louis Braille 1809 - Inventor of a reading system for the blind, Charles "Tom Thumb" Stratton 1838 

Jane Wyman 1914 - Actress, Floyd Patterson 1935 - Heavyweight boxing champion, Dyan Cannon 1939 - Actress 


1884 - The socialist Fabian Society was founded in London. 


1885 - Dr. William Grant performed the first successful appendectomy. The patient was Mary Gartside. 


1896 - Utah became the 45th U.S. state. 


1944 - The attack on Monte Cassino was launched by the British Fifth Army in Italy. 


1951 - During the Korean conflict, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul. 


1965 - In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Johnson proclaimed the building of the "Great Society." 


1999 - Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's 37th governor. 


2006 - Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman to hold the position. 

'Challenging the federal government': Sharyl Attkisson sues the DOJ | WashingtonExaminer.com

'Challenging the federal government': Sharyl Attkisson sues the DOJ | WashingtonExaminer.com:

"The now-senior independent contributor to the Daily Signal, a conservative online news outlet based at the Heritage Foundation, alleges that during her final months as a correspondent for CBS News, her personal and work computers were hacked as she continued to produce often unfavorable reports on the Obama administration.

"I am hoping to get information that sheds light on a number of problems I’ve been dealing with," Attkisson told the Washington Examiner's media desk Friday evening. "One of the items the FBI is withholding is information surrounding a case they opened on my computer intrusions, which lists me as the victim."

TEA PARTY HERO Rep. Jim Bridenstine is Standing up to the Speaker! Is Your Rep?

TEA PARTY HERO Rep. Jim Bridenstine is Standing up to the Speaker! Is Your Rep?:

"Since the controversial CRomnibus vote in December, there has been a concerted effort to find a different speaker of the House.  We have seen multiple events and challenges launched asking for the vote to go another way, the way of the People, if you will.  Recently Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) announced that he is spearheading the effort in Congress and that he has at least 16-18 already on board. He needs 30.
Oklahoma Congressman and Tea Party favorite Rep. Jim Bridenstine has announced in an op-ed released today that he is among the Jones alliance.

Here’s more from Rep. Bridenstine in his op-ed in the Daily Signal,"

See This Guy Get Through a DUI Checkpoint Without Saying a Word — Thanks to What He Hung Out His Car Window | Video | TheBlaze.com

See This Guy Get Through a DUI Checkpoint Without Saying a Word — Thanks to What He Hung Out His Car Window | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"When it comes to DUI checkpoints, 2013 and 2014 were both years of belligerent Constitutional confrontations.

Could 2015 be the year those confrontations cool off — thanks to plastic bags hanging out of car windows?"

Smart grid powers up privacy worries

Smart grid powers up privacy worries - David Perera - POLITICO
The next Big Data threat to our privacy may come from the electricity we consume in our homes.
“Smart” online power meters are tracking energy use — and that data may soon be worth more than the electricity they distribute.
The Department of Energy is publishing in January the final draft of a voluntary code of conduct governing data privacy for smart meters, 38 million of which have already been installed nationwide. The meters gather information about household electricity consumption and transmit it wirelessly at regular intervals to the supplier.
It’s a key element in the push for the so-called smart grid, a more efficient way to distribute the nation’s electricity.
But, despite the voluntary code, critics fear consumers will still be cajoled or conned into giving up their data, not just to power companies but to third-party data aggregators.
Too much money is at stake, they say.
And the huge profits to be made could upend the business model of energy utilities.
“I think the data is going to be worth a lot more than the commodity that’s being consumed to generate the data,” said Miles Keogh, director of grants and research at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
All sorts of inferences about people’s private lives are potentially available from detailed energy consumption data. 
The number of people inside a house. 
Daily routines. 
Degree of religious observance. 
Household appliance usage. 
Even, according to two German hackers, what’s on the television, given a fast enough meter refresh rate.
“Very sensitive information can be revealed about homes, and homes are the most sacred privacy environment,” said Nancy King, an Oregon State University business law and ethics academic who’s studying smart meter deployments.
Access and control of that energy usage data will be key, she added.
“Most consumers are just unaware about how their data feeds into the Big Data machine and are powerless to do much about it.”

Michigan must kill prevailing wage at 50

Michigan must kill prevailing wage at 50 - Politics Blog - The Detroit News:
"2015 is a landmark year for prevailing wage in Michigan.
The law was signed in 1965, meaning 50 years of union-driven, artificially hiked construction costs on state-funded projects.
That’s a half-century.
But thanks to the Michigan Supreme Court, 2015 could also see the beginning of the end of these wretched policies, at least at local levels.
...And it is long overdue.
For five decades (and as written here nearly two years ago), workers on state-funded construction projects such as school buildings are paid wages and benefits “that are determined by unions, not by the free market rate – no matter what the lowest bid is for the job.”
So the 18 percent of construction workers in the state of Michigan who are unionized get to set the wages for 100 percent of construction workers.
Those wages are about 60 percent higher than what the market would determine. 
And before even starting the chorus of “but you should thank us for your higher pay,” know that the average free market wage for these jobs is already $23 an hour.
If the prevailing wage was needed before, it isn’t now.
According to a 2013 report by the Anderson Economic Group, these artificially inflated wages significantly raise the costs to build Michigan schools and universities, with an extra $224 million each year out of the pockets of  Michigan taxpayers.

He Wrote a Heartfelt Letter Asking to Go Hunting, and Despite One Big Mistake, a South Carolina Sheriff Over 500 Miles Away Answered the Call | Video | TheBlaze.com

He Wrote a Heartfelt Letter Asking to Go Hunting, and Despite One Big Mistake, a South Carolina Sheriff Over 500 Miles Away Answered the Call | Video | TheBlaze.com:

"Decked out in brand-new hunting clothes and toting a fishing pole and a pair of antlers, 9-year-old Alex Collins was all smiles as he walked through Philadelphia International Airport on the last night of 2014.

He was fresh off a whirlwind hunting trip in South Carolina that garnered national attention — and more than a few misty eyes — because of the series of crazy circumstances that made it all happen."

‘Racist’ NYPD Police Are Actually Pretty Good at Their Jobs: NYC Crime Rate Falls to Record Low

‘Racist’ NYPD Police Are Actually Pretty Good at Their Jobs: NYC Crime Rate Falls to Record Low:

"According to a recent report, however, New York’s finest are doing a pretty darn good job providing for a safer Big Apple and creating a safer environment for these protests to occur.

The Daily Mail reports:

The number of murders in New York City last year dropped to its lowest point in recorded history.
The 328 slayings recorded in the city’s five boroughs in 2014 is the lowest figure the NYPD has seen since the department began collecting such data consistently in 1963, the New York Times reports.
The figure is only a slight drop from the 335 murders recorded the year before — but is a huge milestone compared to some of the city’s most dangerous years."

‘They Had a List of Full Names of Christians in the Building’: Masked Gunmen Storm Living Complex and Kidnap 13 Christians | TheBlaze.com

‘They Had a List of Full Names of Christians in the Building’: Masked Gunmen Storm Living Complex and Kidnap 13 Christians | TheBlaze.com:

“They were 15 armed and masked men who came in four vehicles. They had a list of full names of Christians in the building. While checking IDs, Muslims were left aside while Christians were grabbed,” Aziz said, adding that he survived simply because he didn’t open his door.

“I heard my friends screaming but they were quickly shushed at gunpoint. After that, we heard nothing,” said Aziz who said he has three relatives among the hostages."

Our Most Popular Science Image Galleries of 2014

Our Most Popular Science Image Galleries of 2014 | WIRED

New Year Brings New Obamacare Fines

New Year Brings New Obamacare Fines:

"Obamacare’s individual mandate requires citizens to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty. The mandate took effect in 2014 but leveled a comparatively modest fine: either a $95 per person fee or a 1 percent income tax penalty—whichever is higher.

This year, fines increase to $325 or 2 percent of taxable income. And for the first time, citizens will report their health insurance status directly to the IRS."

Why New Yorkers are rushing for the exits

Why New Yorkers are rushing for the exits | New York Post:
"The US Census Bureau announced last week that New York slipped to fourth place in population among the 50 states.
Though babies are still born here every day, and immigrants still flock in, overall population growth lags because New Yorkers are abandoning the state.
Don’t blame the weather.
Blustery Montana and North Dakota aren’t having this problem. New Yorkers are escaping high taxes and dismal job growth.
Other high-tax states like Illinois and New Jersey, which has the country’s second-highest tax burden, are also hemorrhaging residents. 
Families are uprooting and moving to places with lower taxes, more growth and fossil-fuel-friendly policies."

Palestinians File Papers to Join Int’l Criminal Court, Open Door to Having Israel Charged With War Crimes | TheBlaze.com

Palestinians File Papers to Join Int’l Criminal Court, Open Door to Having Israel Charged With War Crimes | TheBlaze.com:

 "The Palestinians could seek to have Israeli military or political figures prosecuted for alleged crimes involving settlement construction on occupied lands or actions by the military that cause heavy civilian casualties.

Mansour said the Palestinians delivered a letter Thursday night to the registrar of the ICC in The Hague requesting that the court consider alleged crimes committed during the Gaza war “and reserving our right for other retroactive crimes committed by Israel.” He said he would be meeting with an official from the registrar’s office in New York later Friday to discuss the issue."

Liberal Idiot caught on Tape

Liberal Idiot caught on Tape