Dems, Media, Intel Folks Fall Into ‘No Evidence’ Column on Trump Campaign Collusion with Russia - Breitbart:
"With headlines swirling and lawmakers meeting behind closed doors, it’s not difficult to conclude there is trouble in the Trump White House.
But a deeper dive reveals that lots of people who would not consider themselves Trump supporters admit there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by the Trump campaign regarding alleged collusion with Russians."
Important stuff you won't get from the liberal media! We do the surfing so you can be informed AND have a life!
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Your Reclining Airplane Seat Vs. The Lap Behind You: Who Owns the Air Rights?
Your Reclining Airplane Seat Vs. The Lap Behind You: Who Owns the Air Rights?
"Two law professors conducted an online survey to study the concepts of behavioral economics in relation to the reclining seat debate.
They asked people to imagine they were taking a six-hour flight from New York to Los Angeles and that the airline implemented a new policy allowing travelers to pay the people in front of them to not recline their seats.
One group was asked to reveal the lowest amount they were willing to accept to give up this feature.
Another group was asked to reveal the most they were willing to pay to keep the person in front of them from reclining.
The recliners wanted an average of $41 to give up their right to recline, while the “reclinees,” the people who were theoretically sitting behind them, were only willing to pay an average of $18.
This suggests that the space belongs to the recliner, since they seem to value it more. The Economist explains:According to the theories of Ronald Coase, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1991, the space between airline seats is a scarce resource. Therefore it should not matter who has the initial ownership (assuming there are no barriers to a deal being made). The market will out: whoever values the space more will buy it from the other. (In this case it would normally revert to the recliner.)
But then they flipped the default in another experiment.
In this case, it would seem that ownership belongs to the reclinee, who seems to value that legroom more.
Instead of haggling to give something up, told people they would have to negotiate to get the right to recline in the first place.
They found that, in this case, recliners were only willing to pay $12 to recline while reclinees didn’t want to sell their legroom for anything less than an average of $39.
So what gives? In this case, it would seem that ownership belongs to the reclinee, who seems to value that legroom more.
The profs point to the work of behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman to explain the discrepancy: "People generally don’t like losing things that they have..."
More Than 7 Million Voter Registrations Are Duplicated in Multiple States - Washington Free Beacon
More Than 7 Million Voter Registrations Are Duplicated in Multiple States - Washington Free Beacon:
"More than 7 million voter registrations appear to be registered in two states simultaneously, according to data obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The new voter data was gathered from the Kansas-run interstate voter registration crosscheck program, which is used to identify "possible duplicate registrations among states.""
"More than 7 million voter registrations appear to be registered in two states simultaneously, according to data obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The new voter data was gathered from the Kansas-run interstate voter registration crosscheck program, which is used to identify "possible duplicate registrations among states.""
The FCC Did NOT Vote To Roll Back Net Neutrality | The Daily Sheeple
The FCC Did NOT Vote To Roll Back Net Neutrality | The Daily Sheeple
The Federal Communications Commission’s 2-1 vote Thursday on “Restoring Internet Freedom” was not a repeal of net neutrality regulations as many are reporting.
....Thursday’s vote does not immediately repeal 2015 regulations passed under President Obama’s FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
The vote initiates a notice of proposed rule-making, during which time industry stakeholders, advocates and the general public can submit comments to the FCC.
The 2-1 vote fell down party lines, with freshly appointed Republican Federal Communications Commisions Chairman Ajit Pai and Republican Commissioner Mike O’Rielly voting in favor of the measure.
Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the daughter of Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, voted against the measure.
In 2015, under former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, the FCC reclassified broadband internet access service as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act, which gave the FCC stronger oversight authority.
Known as the 2015 Open Internet Order, the new rules established three “bright line rules” that prohibits internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking legal content over their networks, slowing down internet traffic, and prioritizing traffic from websites that are willing to pay to promote their web content over competitors.
Pai has long argued that the 2015 FCC decision to impose Title II utility-style government regulations on internet service providers (ISPs) was misguided and unnecessary.
“These utility-style regulations, known as Title II, were and are like the proverbial sledgehammer being wielded against the flea—except that here, there was no flea,” he said Thursday...
...Opponents of the 2015 order argue that the rules could lead to heavy-handed government interference that hurts business and in turn, hurts consumers. Those same opponents applauded Pai Thursday."
The Federal Communications Commission’s 2-1 vote Thursday on “Restoring Internet Freedom” was not a repeal of net neutrality regulations as many are reporting.
....Thursday’s vote does not immediately repeal 2015 regulations passed under President Obama’s FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
The vote initiates a notice of proposed rule-making, during which time industry stakeholders, advocates and the general public can submit comments to the FCC.
The 2-1 vote fell down party lines, with freshly appointed Republican Federal Communications Commisions Chairman Ajit Pai and Republican Commissioner Mike O’Rielly voting in favor of the measure.
Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the daughter of Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, voted against the measure.
In 2015, under former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, the FCC reclassified broadband internet access service as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act, which gave the FCC stronger oversight authority.
Known as the 2015 Open Internet Order, the new rules established three “bright line rules” that prohibits internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking legal content over their networks, slowing down internet traffic, and prioritizing traffic from websites that are willing to pay to promote their web content over competitors.
Pai has long argued that the 2015 FCC decision to impose Title II utility-style government regulations on internet service providers (ISPs) was misguided and unnecessary.
“These utility-style regulations, known as Title II, were and are like the proverbial sledgehammer being wielded against the flea—except that here, there was no flea,” he said Thursday...
...Opponents of the 2015 order argue that the rules could lead to heavy-handed government interference that hurts business and in turn, hurts consumers. Those same opponents applauded Pai Thursday."
CA Dem leader waves middle fingers, leads 'F*ck Donald Trump' chant at convention - The American MirrorThe American Mirror
CA Dem leader waves middle fingers, leads 'F*ck Donald Trump' chant at convention - The American MirrorThe American Mirror:
"Democrat anger and bitterness were palpable in Sacramento, California on Saturday.
"Democrat anger and bitterness were palpable in Sacramento, California on Saturday.
Outgoing California Democratic Party chairman John Burton left his position by waving his middle fingers in the air and leading the convention hall in a chant of “F*ck Donald Trump.”
Outgoing @ca_dem chair @Johnburton gets standing O w final words to his party, finger upraised: "F@ck Donald Trump!"
Judge Throws Out Clock Boy's Discrimination Lawsuit: Lacked 'Any Facts' To Justify Case | Daily Wire
Judge Throws Out Clock Boy's Discrimination Lawsuit: Lacked 'Any Facts' To Justify Case | Daily Wire:
"Clock Boy" Ahmed Mohamed added another chapter on Thursday when a federal judge threw out the boy's discrimination lawsuit against the City of Irving, Texas, saying the plaintiff "does not allege any facts from which this court can reasonably infer that any [Irving Independent School District] employee intentionally discriminated against Ahmed Mohamed based on his race or religion.""
"Clock Boy" Ahmed Mohamed added another chapter on Thursday when a federal judge threw out the boy's discrimination lawsuit against the City of Irving, Texas, saying the plaintiff "does not allege any facts from which this court can reasonably infer that any [Irving Independent School District] employee intentionally discriminated against Ahmed Mohamed based on his race or religion.""
Life Among the Ants - Hit & Run : Reason.com
Life Among the Ants - Hit & Run : Reason.com
"In the late 1940s and early '50s, GM chief Alfred P. Sloan funded a series of anti-communist cartoons.
(The story behind the films is convoluted, but the compressed version is that Sloan's foundation gave grants to Harding College, an Arkansas-based Christian school, which then paid former Disney animator John Sutherland's studio to make them.)
One of the shorts is Albert in Blunderland, a 1950 attack on the planned economy.
It presents communism as an anthill society—literally, with actual ants.
"In the late 1940s and early '50s, GM chief Alfred P. Sloan funded a series of anti-communist cartoons.
(The story behind the films is convoluted, but the compressed version is that Sloan's foundation gave grants to Harding College, an Arkansas-based Christian school, which then paid former Disney animator John Sutherland's studio to make them.)
One of the shorts is Albert in Blunderland, a 1950 attack on the planned economy.
It presents communism as an anthill society—literally, with actual ants.
While just about everyone involved in funding this film hailed from the political right, the cartoon was clearly aimed at a union-friendly working-class audience; it defends independent trade unions and warns that state factories will be able to impose harsh speed-ups with impunity.
In a precursor of sorts to the Hard Hat Riot, it ends with a blue-collar worker beating up a socialist:
In a precursor of sorts to the Hard Hat Riot, it ends with a blue-collar worker beating up a socialist:
(For past editions of the Friday A/V Club, go here. I haven't featured any of the Sloan/Harding/Sutherland films in the A/V Club before, but their 1948 effort "Make Mine Freedom" has turned up elsewhere on this website.)
Photo Credit: John Sutherland Productions
DELINGPOLE: 'Penises Cause Climate Change'; Progressives Fooled by Peer-Reviewed Hoax Study - Breitbart
DELINGPOLE: 'Penises Cause Climate Change'; Progressives Fooled by Peer-Reviewed Hoax Study - Breitbart:
"Gender studies is a fake academic industry populated by charlatans, deranged activists and gullible idiots.
"Gender studies is a fake academic industry populated by charlatans, deranged activists and gullible idiots.
Now, a pair of enterprising hoaxers has proved it scientifically by persuading an academic journal to peer-review and publish their paper claiming that the penis is not really a male genital organ but a social construct.
The paper, published by Cogent Social Sciences – “a multidisciplinary open access journal offering high quality peer review across the social sciences” – also claims that penises are responsible for causing climate change.
The two hoaxers are Peter Boghossian, a full-time faculty member in the Philosophy department at Portland State University, and James Lindsay, who has a doctorate in math and a background in physics.
They were hoping to emulate probably the most famous academic hoax in recent years: the Sokal Hoax – named after NYU and UCL physics professor Alan Sokal – who in 1996 persuaded an academic journal called Social Text to accept a paper titled “Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity”.
Sokal’s paper – comprising pages of impressive-sounding but meaningless pseudo-academic jargon – was written in part to demonstrate that humanities journals will publish pretty much anything so long as it sounds like “proper leftist thought;” and partly in order to send up the absurdity of so much post-modernist social science..."
Legalized marijuana turns Colorado resort town into homeless magnet | Fox News
Legalized marijuana turns Colorado resort town into homeless magnet | Fox News:
"The picturesque town near the New Mexico border, once a vibrant, upscale community dotted with luxury hotels, is being overrun by panhandlers – thanks, in part, to the legalization of marijuana.
The town suddenly became a haven for recreational pot users, drawing in transients, panhandlers and a large number of homeless drug addicts, according to officials and business owners.
Many are coming from New Mexico, Arizona and even New York.
“Legalized marijuana has drawn a lot of kids here from other states and the impact has not all been good,” said Marinseck, 58, while holding a cardboard sign asking for “help.”
Several people holding cardboard signs could be seen along the streets of Durango now.
Some just ask for marijuana, or imply that’s what they want with a photo of a green pot leaf.
But it’s not just pot users being drawn to Durango.
“[The] city really started freaking out when they started seeing needles in the streets” said Marinseck, a self-avowed former hippie..."
Read on!
"The picturesque town near the New Mexico border, once a vibrant, upscale community dotted with luxury hotels, is being overrun by panhandlers – thanks, in part, to the legalization of marijuana.
The town suddenly became a haven for recreational pot users, drawing in transients, panhandlers and a large number of homeless drug addicts, according to officials and business owners.
Many are coming from New Mexico, Arizona and even New York.
“Legalized marijuana has drawn a lot of kids here from other states and the impact has not all been good,” said Marinseck, 58, while holding a cardboard sign asking for “help.”
Several people holding cardboard signs could be seen along the streets of Durango now.
Some just ask for marijuana, or imply that’s what they want with a photo of a green pot leaf.
But it’s not just pot users being drawn to Durango.
“[The] city really started freaking out when they started seeing needles in the streets” said Marinseck, a self-avowed former hippie..."
Read on!
Limbaugh: Where Are Comey's Memos From Meetings With Obama? | Fox News Insider
Limbaugh: Where Are Comey's Memos From Meetings With Obama? | Fox News Insider:
"Rush Limbaugh questioned whether the American people will get to see former FBI Director James Comey's memos from meetings with President Barack Obama.
The radio host was reacting to the report from the New York Times, which cited memos written by Comey claiming President Trump pressured him to end the investigation into Michael Flynn.
Congress is now vowing to subpoena the memos and have Comey testify publicly following his firing by Trump.
"If the FBI director's been keeping memos on meetings with everybody and he doesn't run the Department of Justice. I mean, we're not talking about J. Edgar Hoover here, or are we?" Limbaugh asked."
"Rush Limbaugh questioned whether the American people will get to see former FBI Director James Comey's memos from meetings with President Barack Obama.
The radio host was reacting to the report from the New York Times, which cited memos written by Comey claiming President Trump pressured him to end the investigation into Michael Flynn.
Congress is now vowing to subpoena the memos and have Comey testify publicly following his firing by Trump.
"If the FBI director's been keeping memos on meetings with everybody and he doesn't run the Department of Justice. I mean, we're not talking about J. Edgar Hoover here, or are we?" Limbaugh asked."
Journalists' brains function at a lower level than average, study says - Business Insider
Journalists' brains function at a lower level than average, study says - Business Insider
"Journalists' brains show a lower-than-average level of executive functioning, according to a new study, which means they have a below-average ability to
"Journalists' brains show a lower-than-average level of executive functioning, according to a new study, which means they have a below-average ability to
- regulate their emotions,
- suppress biases,
- solve complex problems,
- switch between tasks, and
- show creative and flexible thinking.
The study, led by Tara Swart, a neuroscientist and leadership coach, analysed 40 journalists from newspapers, magazines, broadcast, and online platforms over seven months.
The participants took part in tests related to their lifestyle, health, and behaviour.
...The results showed that journalists' brains were operating at a lower level than the average population, particularly because of dehydration and the tendency of journalists to self-medicate with alcohol, caffeine, and high-sugar foods..."History for May 21
History for May 21 - On-This-Day.com
Plato 427 B.C., Alexander Pope 1688, Glenn Hammond Curtiss 1878
Armand Hammer 1898, Andrei Sakharov 1921 - Soviet physicist, he came to be regarded as the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, Soviet antiwar activist, Mr. T (Lawrence Tero Tureaud) 1952
1881 - The American branch of the Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton.
1881 - The United States Lawn Tennis Association was formed in New York City.
1922 - The cartoon, "On the Road to Moscow," by Rollin Kirby won a Pulitzer Prize. It was the first cartoon awarded the Pulitzer.
1924 - Fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks was murdered in a "thrill killing" committed by Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb. The killers were students at the University of Chicago.
1927 - Charles A. Lindberg completed the first solo nonstop airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip began May 20.
1929 - William Henry Storey registered the trademark for the board game Sorry! in the U.K.
1956 - The U.S. exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean over Bikini Atoll.
1982 - The British landed in the Falkland Islands and fighting began.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
DePaul University Passes Referendum Allocating Student Fees To Pay Tuition For Illegal Immigrants | Daily Wire
DePaul University Passes Referendum Allocating Student Fees To Pay Tuition For Illegal Immigrants | Daily Wire:
"Last Friday, DePaul's Student Government Association (SGA) announced the results of the board election for the 2017-2018 year. In addition, it announced the results of the following referendum:"
"Last Friday, DePaul's Student Government Association (SGA) announced the results of the board election for the 2017-2018 year. In addition, it announced the results of the following referendum:"
Chicago Public Schools to borrow $389 MILLION to avoid ending school year early | EAGnews.org
Chicago Public Schools to borrow $389 MILLION to avoid ending school year early | EAGnews.org
"CHICAGO – Chicago Public Schools plans to borrow $389 million to make it through the current school year, money officials hope to pay back with overdue state aid payments.
The borrowing will be expensive because of the district’s junk bond rating, and would only serve to avert a financial crisis until next fiscal year, when CPS will face another massive budget deficit, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Chicago Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown said the board will vote Wednesday on a plan to borrow $389 million to help cover a $721 million payment to the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund.
...District officials are banking on funds from a new $250 million pension property tax levy this summer to cover the rest.
...“They would not divulge the source of the borrowing, sure to resemble a payday loan, its exact amount or the interest rate expected to be paid by a district in which its credit card was believed to have been maxed out,” the news site reports..."
"CHICAGO – Chicago Public Schools plans to borrow $389 million to make it through the current school year, money officials hope to pay back with overdue state aid payments.
The borrowing will be expensive because of the district’s junk bond rating, and would only serve to avert a financial crisis until next fiscal year, when CPS will face another massive budget deficit, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Chicago Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown said the board will vote Wednesday on a plan to borrow $389 million to help cover a $721 million payment to the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund.
...District officials are banking on funds from a new $250 million pension property tax levy this summer to cover the rest.
...“They would not divulge the source of the borrowing, sure to resemble a payday loan, its exact amount or the interest rate expected to be paid by a district in which its credit card was believed to have been maxed out,” the news site reports..."
Tim Scott Revives Police Body Camera Legislation
Tim Scott Revives Police Body Camera Legislation:
"WASHINGTON -- Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is seizing on National Police Week as the right time to re-introduce his legislation to help all departments get outfitted with body cameras for officers.
Scott began his push for the grant program in 2015.
The senator grew up in North Charleston, S.C., where Walter Scott, no relation, was running from police after a traffic stop that April and was shot in the back.
The officer, Michael Slager, was fired and pleaded guilty this month to federal civil rights charges in exchange for state murder charges being dropped.
There was no body camera footage of the shooting, but it was captured on a cell phone camera by a bystander.
Scott intensified his campaign for body cameras after Freddie Gray, a young man in Baltimore who suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody, died in April 2015.
No officers were convicted in his death.
...At least one study shows that public complaints against officers wearing body cameras fell by almost 90% and that officers’ use of force decreased by 60%," he wrote.
...“Our nation has experienced too much pain and heartache from tragedies that could have been more clearly explained if body cameras were in use."...
"WASHINGTON -- Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is seizing on National Police Week as the right time to re-introduce his legislation to help all departments get outfitted with body cameras for officers.
Scott began his push for the grant program in 2015.
The senator grew up in North Charleston, S.C., where Walter Scott, no relation, was running from police after a traffic stop that April and was shot in the back.
The officer, Michael Slager, was fired and pleaded guilty this month to federal civil rights charges in exchange for state murder charges being dropped.
There was no body camera footage of the shooting, but it was captured on a cell phone camera by a bystander.
Scott intensified his campaign for body cameras after Freddie Gray, a young man in Baltimore who suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody, died in April 2015.
No officers were convicted in his death.
...At least one study shows that public complaints against officers wearing body cameras fell by almost 90% and that officers’ use of force decreased by 60%," he wrote.
...“Our nation has experienced too much pain and heartache from tragedies that could have been more clearly explained if body cameras were in use."...
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