Sunday, March 31, 2013
2013-03-31 - Easter Day
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Bombing the Syrian Reactor: The Untold Story - Commentary Magazine
We really don't know much of what really goes on behind the scenes amongst world powers...
Elliot Abrams tells this story at CommentaryMagazine.com:
"As the civil war in Syria enters its third year, there is much discussion of the regime’s chemical weapons and whether Syria’s Bashar al-Assad will unleash them against Syrian rebels, or whether a power vacuum after Assad’s fall might make those horrific tools available to the highest bidder. The conversation centers on Syria’s chemical weaponry, not on something vastly more serious: its nuclear weaponry. It well might have. This is the inside story of why it does not."
Friday, March 29, 2013
2013-03-29 - Good Friday
A special day...
This is according to Wikipedia. I'm sure there are other, and perhaps better, sources:
"Good Friday (from the senses pious, holy of the word "good"[1]) is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday,[2] or Easter Friday,[3] though the latter properly refers to the Friday in Easter week.
Based on the details of the Canonical gospels, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most likely to have been on a Friday (John 19:42).[4] The estimated year of the Crucifixion is AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 by Isaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon.[5] A third method, using a completely different astronomical approach based on a lunar Crucifixion darkness and eclipse model (consistent with Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" in Acts 2:20), points to Friday, 3 April AD 33.[6]"
Thursday, March 28, 2013
"On the apathy of a nation"
This writer has captured the essence of the problem...
This is from Alex Kersha's opening paragraph from a posting at TeaPartyCommunity.com. There's more:
"As a nation, we've allowed ourselves to become comfortable with status quo to the point of not caring about the inconceivable change introduced in 2008's Presidential election ... and done nothing. As a nation we've allowed the media in all its forms to shape opinion instead of reporting truth ... and done nothing. We've allowed an administration promising as an election platform to be more transparent and ethical to commit some of the most abusive injustices this country has ever seen ... and done nothing."
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Tit for Tat
On the Discovery.com website, Jesse Emspak recently posted the story on this one:
"In the spirit of fooling cameras – and messing with surveillance – Harvey has now come out in a set of hoodies and scarves that block thermal radiation from the infrared scanners drones use. Wearing the fabric would make that part of the body look black to a drone, so the image would appear like disembodied legs. He also designed a pouch for cell phones that shields them from trackers by blocking the radio signals the phone emits. For those airport X-ray machines, he has a shirt with a printed design that blocks the radiation from one’s heart."
"Single mothers have 48% of first births"
On the Washington Times website, Cheryl Wetzstein shares some thoughts:
"Some 48 percent of first births in America are now to unmarried women. This means 'the nation is at a tipping point, on the verge of moving into a new demographic reality, where the majority of first births in the United States precede marriage,' said the study, “Knot Yet: The Benefits and Costs of Delayed Marriage in America,” released by several organizations including the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. This emerging trend is alarming, as social scientists have long linked unwed childbearing with poverty, family instability, school failure, substance abuse and mental-health problems."
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
"Cape Cod community considers taking down wind turbines after illness, noise"
Of course, it's unspoken that someone made money on this.
Sadly, the taxpayer, who paid to place them, will now have to pay to remove them...
At FoxNews,com, Molly Line recently posted about this case:
"The first turbine went up in 2010 and by the time both were in place on the industrial site of the town's water treatment facility, the price was $10 million. Town officials say taking them down will cost an estimated $5 million to $15 million, but that is just what Falmouth's five selectmen have decided to move toward doing.
'The selectmen unanimously voted to remove them. We think it's the right thing to do, absolutely,' Selectman David Braga said."
"DHS built domestic surveillance tech into Predator drones"
Like all things, there are good uses and not so good uses.
In this case, the powers that be will have a lot of power.
Perhaps too much...
On the CNET News website, Declan McCullagh has the story, beginning with this:
"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has customized its Predator drones, originally built for overseas military operations, to carry out at-home surveillance tasks that have civil libertarians worried: identifying civilians carrying guns and tracking their cell phones, government documents show. The documents provide more details about the surveillance capabilities of the department's unmanned Predator B drones, which are primarily used to patrol the United States' northern and southern borders but have been pressed into service on behalf of a growing number of law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the Secret Service, the Texas Rangers, and local police. Homeland Security's specifications for its drones, built by San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, say they 'shall be capable of identifying a standing human being at night as likely armed or not,' meaning carrying a shotgun or rifle. They also specify 'signals interception' technology that can capture communications in the frequency ranges used by mobile phones, and 'direction finding' technology that can identify the locations of mobile devices or two-way radios."
Monday, March 25, 2013
Meanwhile - Down Under
It seems to me that governments around the world are trying to win a "stupid" contest.
More than one of Australia's ideas are highlighted in the posted article...
More than one of Australia's ideas are highlighted in the posted article...
Mike Shedlock recently called attention to this via the Townhall.com website:
"It's time once again to take a look at happenings down under. Restaurants are closing en masse rather than pay double time and a half to stay open on holidays."
"Only 5.2% of Highway Funds Used to Build New Roads
Seems like something is wrong here.
Maybe the wrong priorities, maybe mismanagement, or maybe it's just government at work...
Maybe the wrong priorities, maybe mismanagement, or maybe it's just government at work...
At CNSnews.com, Patrick Burke begins his posted article with this:
"Approximately 5.2 percent of funds obligated to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) during fiscal years 2009-2011 actually went to the construction of new highways.
An additional two and a half percent of that funding went to new construction of bridges, according to a Jan. 16 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled “Highway Trust Fund Obligations, Fiscal Years 2009 to 2011.”"
Sunday, March 24, 2013
2013-03-24 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, March 23, 2013
"Media Report Arab Heckler as Pro-Pollard Jew"
Is the American media really doing stuff like this?
See what you think...
At Breitbart.com, Joel S. Pollak calls attention to this:
"Israeli website Ynetnews.com reported that the heckler was Rabea Id, who had shouted: 'Have you really come to promote the peace process or to provide Israel with more weapons to kill the Palestinian people?" On your way here did you see the (West Bank security) fence, or the killer of Rachel Corrie?' Sharona Schwartz of The Blaze notes that Id even gave an interview to a radical U.S.-based anti-Israel website, proudly claiming responsibility. Unless there was a second heckler--which has not been reported anywhere--the U.S. media got the story wrong."
"Get me back to Belgravia"
This U.K. Daily Mail story, by Neil Sears and Ben Spencer gives insight as to how the U.K. entitlement system has gone astray:
"A mother of six who had to leave a £4,000-a-month townhouse in Belgravia when housing benefit rules changed is fighting to be rehoused in the exclusive area.
Stephanie Demouh and her children had lived for around three years in a £2million four-bedroom house near Sloane Square.
The estimated £1,200-a-week rent for the three-storey home – which has a garage in an area where a parking space can change hands for more than £100,000 – is believed to have been covered almost entirely by housing benefit."
Friday, March 22, 2013
In the U.K. - the Rich get Richer?
Perhaps, this is just a example of government's excessive involvement.
I know you can't please all the people, all of the time, but something does seem wrong here...
I know you can't please all the people, all of the time, but something does seem wrong here...
Gerrir Peev reported this recent U.K. news on the Daily Mail website:
"Families where both parents work will be given £1,200 a year per child from 2015 to help with nursery fees, the Government confirmed yesterday.
But mothers who choose to stay at home to look after their children will receive nothing.
The childcare tax break for parents who both go out to work – and earn a joint income of up to £300,000 – formed a key part of the Budget."
Thursday, March 21, 2013
"The Media Threat to Democracy"
It truly is a threat that some have experienced before...
In An article posted at AmericanThinker.com, J.T. Hatter presents this and more:
"Today, the mainstream media -- ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, the LA Times, Newsweek, Time, and all the other mainstream media outlets -- are unabashedly liberal. They have also been integrated into the inner workings of the Democratic Party and the United States government. The Obama administration tells the mainstream media what to report and how to report it. We now have a government-controlled press, not a free press. Our Founding Fathers knew that if the government controlled the news media, that the people would only hear the political news the government wanted them to hear. The government could control what the people believed and valued. Such is the reality of the media in today's America. The government-controlled media shapes the message, frames it and delivers it to the people."
"Rich pay staggering share of total income taxes"
The numbers presented hear are actually quite alarming...
Betsi Fores has some statistics in her article at DailyCaller.com:
"The top 10 percent of taxpayers paid more than 70 percent of the total income tax revenue collected in 2010, according to research from the D.C.-based Tax Foundation. 'That’s up from 55% in 1986,' CNN notes.
The remaining 90 percent paid just 30 percent, with 47 percent having no income tax liability.
'There’s been a huge myth created that the rich aren’t paying anything,' William McBride, the Tax Foundation’s chief economist, told CNN. 'The rich pay a much higher rate than the poor.'"
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
"Al Qaeda releases guide on how to torch cars and make bombs before naming 11 public figures it wants 'dead or alive' "
I thought we were told they were "defeated".
Something isn't matching up here...
Leon Watson tells what's going on in the U.K. Daily Mail. It's not encouraging:
"Al Qaeda has released the latest edition of its English-language propaganda magazine advising would-be militants on how to torch parked cars and cause traffic accidents. The Islamist movement's most active branch Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, published the tenth edition of its glossy quarterly called Inspire on militant websites this month. Along with tips on terrorism, it also warns France to pull back from Mali and lists 11 public figures in the West, including author Salman Rushdie, who it says are 'wanted dead or alive for crimes against Islam' and carries articles commemorating 'martyrs' who have died for its cause."
Texas Navy Veteran Memorizes Names of 2,200 Slain Military Members"
I found this ABC News story on the WFJA Classic Hits website:
"(FORT WORTH, Texas) — It was a solemn scene Thursday as U.S. Navy veteran Ron White stood at a black wall in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, and wrote in white the full name and rank of each of the 2,200 military members who had died in Afghanistan.
What made the act even more moving was that White had no list. He had memorized the 2,200 names and ranks, more than 7,000 words."
"Ted Cruz on America's Economic Problems"
David Brody has this story on the CBN.com news blog:
"Brody File Exclusive: Ted Cruz on America's Economic Problems: 'An awful lot of Republicans failed to stand for principle and contributed to getting us in this mess'"
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
"Gun ban alert: Feinstein holds hearings on gun and magazine ban..."
There don't seem to be any statistics or studies that support the meme that gun control laws prevent or change anything.
That's because the fact remains that criminals don't obey such laws...
That's because the fact remains that criminals don't obey such laws...
At DailyCaller.com, this account of recent Judiciary Committee hearing is posted. It's quite revealing:
"Sen. Cornyn expressed doubt that S. 150 would reduce crime, for at least two reasons. First, as he pointed out, the congressionally mandated study of Feinstein’s 1994 ban determined that 'The evidence is not strong enough for us to conclude that there was any meaningful effect [of the ban on crime]; i.e., that the effect was different from zero.' Second, he noted that 'out of 76,000 denied background checks, the FBI referred to the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco, Firearms, a verdict or plea was reached in 13 cases,' a track record he described as 'abysmal.'
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) disputed Walsh’s claim that Feinstein’s 1994 ban had not been sufficiently evaluated–a claim that put Walsh at odds with Feinstein, who claims that studies show that the 1994 ban reduced crime. Sen. Cruz said, “The Department of Justice has funded at least three studies, on whether that bill had any positive effect. In 1999, the DOJ had concluded that the Assault Weapons Ban, quote, ‘Failed to reduce the average number of victims-per-gun incident, or multiple gunshot wound victims.’ In 2004, the [National] Institute for Justice concluded that the Assault Weapons Ban produced, quote, ‘No discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence.’ And then, in 1997, the [congressionally mandated study by the Urban Institute] likewise concluded that there was no evidence to say any meaningful effect different from zero.’ Are you aware of any empirical data to the contrary? We have three studies concluded from the Department of Justice that the prior ban had no effect.”
Smart enough to realize that he had been cornered, Walsh simply contradicted the clear evidence..."
"Second-grader suspended for having breakfast pastry shaped like a gun"
So, do you think common sense might have intervened here, somewhere between the act and the response?
This is the 2nd-grade!
Please excuse me while I research the definition of "overreacting"...
This is the 2nd-grade!
Please excuse me while I research the definition of "overreacting"...
Eric Owens has the details on this at DailyCaller.com:
"Josh Welch, a second-grader at Park Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland, was suspended for two days because his teacher thought he shaped the strawberry, pre-baked toaster pastry into something resembling a gun. WBFF, the FOX affiliate in Baltimore, broke the story."
"Facebook Gets a Multibillion-Dollar Tax Break"
No taxes, and a refund!
The American Tax System leaves a lot to be desired...
The American Tax System leaves a lot to be desired...
At BusinessWeek.com, Peter Coy recently reported this:
"Even though Facebook (FB) reported $1.1 billion in pre-tax profits from U.S. operations in 2012, it will probably pay zero federal and state taxes—and even receive a federal tax refund of about $429 million—according to a Feb. 14 statement from Citizens for Tax Justice."
Monday, March 18, 2013
"Blame Congress, Not Illegal Immigrants"
This writer is spot on.
As with many problems we face, the laws and/or the people who make them are the true culprits...
As with many problems we face, the laws and/or the people who make them are the true culprits...
Patrick Osio recently wrote about Congress's failure to manage immigration at AmericanThinker.com. He began with this:
"In the coming U.S. immigration reform debate, there is a simple solution: the United States must return to the idea that governed through the 19th century and much of the 20th. To wit: immigration policy must be based on what is good for the nation, not the immigrant.
This means to stop blaming illegal immigration on the people who illegally cross the border in search of economic opportunities not present in their home countries. The blame lies with political decisions made by past and present members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate -- or their silence on the issue.
At the core, these politicians have refused to engage in any rational immigration policy. They have essentially ignored the issue for the benefit of political campaign contributions and favoritism to business interests since the early 1940s."
You know about Zion Curtains, don't you?
Perhaps you've heard of these, but I never did.
I'm just labeling this idea as different...
I'm just labeling this idea as different...
Utah's Standard Examiner gives their opinion:
"We completely agree with Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, who calls Zion Curtains, partitions that prevent patrons from viewing bartenders and open liquor bottles at restaurants, “weird.” They are very weird, and their presence in eateries makes Utah look silly."
Sunday, March 17, 2013
2013-03-17 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, March 16, 2013
In Our World - the "new" Ice Cream Man?
The video says it all...
The U.K. Daily Telegraph has the video and story on their website:
"CCTV footage released by West Midlands Police shows dozens of people running to be first in line as a drug dealer arrives in a Birmingham street."
Meanwhile - the European Union governs
Here are two U.K. Daily Mail stories about the upcoming European law that allows all newcomers to claim benefits immediately when they relocate to a different country.
The U.K.'s liberal benefits programs are likely to be a magnet for immigrants.
This does not inspire a feeling that it will work out well...
The U.K.'s liberal benefits programs are likely to be a magnet for immigrants.
This does not inspire a feeling that it will work out well...
The first one is by Matt Chorley with this title:
"Britain faces a 'crisis' as it battles against Brussels demands to offer benefits to MORE migrants from the EU"
And the second one by Louise Eccles has this header:
"Gangs of migrants congregate around the town's tower blocks in intimidating fashion.
400 Romanians and Bulgarians have moved into one tower block.
Neighbourhood is now a hotspot for crime and anti-social behaviour.
Duisburg council tell Britain to be on their guard as the migrants will move to take advantage of our benefits system"
Friday, March 15, 2013
In Our World - Semi-Automatic Pastry?
We're nuts!...
At Townhall.com, Daniel J. Mitchell thinks something similar and takes the time to explain:
"I weep for my country. We are becoming pathetic fools and total wimps.
Consider these jaw-dropping examples of behavior by adults who work in government schools. I think they must be competing for the Stupid Official of the Year Award.
The contestants include:"
Thursday, March 14, 2013
CT Scanning - Of Mummies?
It does sound a bit gruesome.
Then, there's the interesting aspect that our beliefs about the "cause" of atherosclerosis may not be perfectly correct...
Then, there's the interesting aspect that our beliefs about the "cause" of atherosclerosis may not be perfectly correct...
Damien Gayle elaborates on these points in his U.K. Daily Mail article:
"Researchers scanned 137 mummified corpses to look for evidence of hardening of the arteries.
One third of those examined showed evidence of the condition - including those from ancient cultures believed to live healthy lifestyles.
Scientists say their findings suggest the condition may be a natural part of ageing rather than tied to modern vices like smoking"
Three Brilliant Black Leaders Tuning Out Obama
Here's an interesting article...
At Townhall.com, Katie Kieffer writes about three men who have differences with the President on these issues:
"Three brilliant black leaders are tuning out Obama and the black community needs to tune into these leaders.
1. Niger Innis – Challenging Gun Control
2. Dr. Ben Carson – Challenging Obamacare
3. Harry Alford – Challenging Socialism"
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Meanwhile - in Detroit
There is a lesson to be learned there.
Certain policies just DO NOT work...
On his blog, Doug Powers writes about Detroit and closes with:
"As with most liberal grand plans, somebody else gets stuck paying for their failed schemes. But, to paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, at some point there will be a rude awakening, because eventually they’ll run out of other people’s money. The number of people who have fled the city really struck me late last summer. We went to a Tigers game, and some surrounding areas where previously you might have been afraid to make a wrong turn and get lost were nearly completely abandoned — neighborhoods turned crack dens turned ghost towns. Detroit is like 'The Day After' except instead of a nuke the weapon is progressive politics run amok."
"Why Florida Persists in the Zimmerman Prosecution"
At face value, he likely will dig deep to get at the real facts...
At AmericanThinker.com, Jack Cashill takes the time to summarize what's been going on in Florida. He begins:
"Prodded by a president with a weakness for racial agitation and enabled by a politically complicit media, the State of Florida persists in a prosecution that can come to no good end."
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
"Adam Carolla rips the Huffington Post, media: 'You guys all have blood on your hands' [AUDIO] "
The video contains language NOT suitable to be played publicly or loudly until you've heard it at least once.
I don't post this kind of stuff very often, but in this case I feel it's worth an exception.
This is NOT for family listening...
Jeff Poor posted all about it at DailyCaller.com:
"On his Friday podcast, comedian and top-rated Carolla Digital podcaster Adam Carolla delivered a stern rebuke to all the “hypocritical pussies” out there, in reaction to a March 5 story from Huffington Post-San Francisco’s Robin Wilkey that portrayed his exchange earlier this month with Democratic California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom as racist."
"How typical of the Left to idolise a despot who gloried in attacking America and Britain"
Everyone has a right to their own opinion, AND, everyone has a right to criticize the opinions of others.
That being said, I really don't understand why "bad" guys get favorable treatment and/or credit as described here...
That being said, I really don't understand why "bad" guys get favorable treatment and/or credit as described here...
Michael Burleigh takes issue with it in his U.K. Daily Mail article:
"And yet, because of his defiant stance on the U.S. and his attacks on British ‘imperialism’, he was lionised in this country by the Left and its media mouthpieces, The Guardian and the BBC. (Perhaps that’s not so unexpected — we have to remember that a BBC reporter wept during the funeral of arch Palestinian terrorist Yasser Arafat.)"
Monday, March 11, 2013
"Group: Polls showing support for pathway to citizenship wrong"
Aren't our elected officials supposed to pursue American interests first?...
At DailyCaller.com, Neil Munro reported on some recent polling:
"A new poll shows that only 11 percent of likely voters strongly back a conditional amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants, while 39 percent of the voters strongly favor the immigrants’ gradual return to their home countries. The poll of 1,000 likely voters was taken by an immigration reform group, the Center for Immigration Studies, which openly favors a reduction in the annual intake of roughly 1 million immigration."
The Political Class
Rather than emulate high moral and ethical standards, they seem to act far worse than any average person.
Unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, voters don't seem to care...
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Simon Heffer begins his writing with this, and then elaborates on how it came about:
"A glance at today’s political class makes us see all too clearly that the concept of shame has almost disappeared from public life.
Men who have lied to the House of Commons still sit there, some in very senior positions. Peers imprisoned for fraud blithely return to the House of Lords after being released from jail.
Some MPs still draw parliamentary salaries despite having deceitfully fiddled their expenses. One such miscreant, Lib Dem David Laws, even attends Cabinet meetings."
Sunday, March 10, 2013
2013-03-10 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, March 09, 2013
"Rachel Maddow Using Multiple Fake Twitter Accounts To Boost Mentions Of Show?"
Disclaimer: I'm no fan of Rachel Maddow.
That being said, I'm also not a fan of distorting the truth, regardless of persona, as seems to be done here.
Is everybody cheating these days?...
That being said, I'm also not a fan of distorting the truth, regardless of persona, as seems to be done here.
Is everybody cheating these days?...
Dan Riehl calls attention to this on his blog. The actual evidence is at FreeRepublic.com:"
"A poster on Twitter, upon seeing what he thought were very similar posts referencing MSNBC host Rachel Maddow’s show, did some searching and found out that Maddow has been using phony twitter accounts to boost her 'mentions' on the popular website.
As can be seen by screenshots collected by a tweeter named @LeftyBollocks, Maddow has massive amount of accounts posting the exact same claim that 'Confession: I yell at my TV while watching Rachel #Maddow talk about filibuster reform in the same way most people do during football.'"
How Iran Went Nuclear - WSJ.com
David Feith writes about this in the Wall Street Journal:
"Veteran weapons inspector Olli Heinonen on how the U.N.'s 'Stockholm Syndrome' has aided Tehran's drive for the bomb—and why an unsettling secret may be lurking in the Iranian desert."
Friday, March 08, 2013
The Media - in 1993 "NBC go BOOM!"
For those that are not, it's worth considering, BEFORE you believe the media.
They ALWAYS have an agenda, and will do almost anything to attain it...
At WhatReallyHappened.com, William A. Henry III you can read about this:
"Where NBC Went Wrong The network suffers a humiliating bout of confessions and soul-searching after admitting it rigged the crash-and-burn of a GM truck"
Thursday, March 07, 2013
ObamaCare and the '29ers' - WSJ.com
Businesses are reacting to Obamacare in a way that no one likely anticipated, and that's because it was rammed through Congress with minimal review (no one saw or read the bill) of possible consequences.
Now, part-time workers are inconvenienced to say the least, as businesses make adjustments to preserve themselves...
A recent Wall Street Journal article tells us about this:
"It's already happening across the country at fast-food restaurants, as employers try to avoid being punished by the Affordable Care Act. In some cases we've heard about, a local McDonalds has hired employees to operate the cash register or flip burgers for 20 hours a week and then the workers head to the nearby Burger King or Wendy's to log another 20 hours. Other employees take the opposite shifts. Welcome to the strange new world of small-business hiring under ObamaCare."
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Government at Work - Compromising Your Privacy
See what you think about this one.
GP's are General Practitioners, equal to our primary care physicians..
Jack Doyle recently reported this in the U.K. Daily Mail:
"GPs are to be forced to hand over confidential records on all their patients’ drinking habits, waist sizes and illnesses.
The files will be stored in a giant information bank that privacy campaigners say represents the ‘biggest data grab in NHS history’.
They warned the move would end patient confidentiality and hand personal information to third parties."
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
"States Cutting Employee Hours to Avoid Obamacare Costs"
They seem to be making the same changes that businesses are making.
This has to tell us something...
Joel B. Pollak recently posted about it at Breitbart.com. He begins:
"The costs of Obamacare are not just hitting businesses this year--they are also hitting the government, and public employees as well. Virginia, for example, is about to limit part-time employees to 29 hours per week in order to avoid triggering Obamacare’s requirement that employers provide health insurance to those working 30 hours per week or more. The state cannot afford the $110 million annual cost of insurance."
Government at Work - Railroad Building in Hawaii
Oh, by the way, Oahu is the largest Hawaiian Island, with a population of 953,207. ...
At CNSnews.com, Patrick Burke recently reported this:
"The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that $1.55 billion in new federal tax dollars will be allocated for the first-ever Hawaiian Transit Rail system on the island of Oahu, which will serve downtown Honolulu, at a total federal and state cost of $5.1 billion.
The train circuit will be 20 miles long, with 21 stops on an island that is 30 miles wide."
Monday, March 04, 2013
Meanwhile - in Australia - Transferring Blame
On the U.K. Daily Mail website, Sara Malm reported this story from Australia:
"A morbidly obese man has been awarded £240,000 in damages from his GP because the doctor failed to refer him to a weight loss clinic or arrange a gastric band surgery.
Luis Almario is suffering from terminal liver cancer, weighs more than 300lbs for his 5ft 6in frame, and blames his doctor for his condition.
The 68-year-old Australian was already suffering from liver disease when he began seeing Dr Emmanuel Varipatis in 1997, an illness which progressed into cirrhosis, liver failure and eventually liver cancer."
World Doesn't End, Obama Hardest Hit - WSJ.com
This Wall Street Journal article sort of explains:
"'Just to make the final point about the sequester,' said President Obama at his press conference Friday, 'we will get through this. This is not going to be an apocalypse, I think, as some people have said.' That's a relief, but it is also a major walk-back, since the "some people" who have been predicting apocalypse are the President and senior members of his Administration. Normal Americans awoke Friday to find that the veneer of civilization had not fallen away. If the federal government does end up spending $44.8 trillion over the next decade instead of $46 trillion, they may not notice at all."
Sunday, March 03, 2013
2013-03-03 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, March 02, 2013
FBI — Disability Doctor Peter J. Ajemian Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court for His Role in Long Island Railroad Fraud Scheme
The is from the F.B.I. New York website:
"Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated, “Dr. Ajemian used his medical license to facilitate a massive fraud at the LIRR. By running the functional equivalent of a ‘disability mill’ and fraudulently qualifying hundreds of LIRR patients for undeserved disability benefits, Dr. Ajemian enriched himself and debased his degree. Twenty-one defendants have now pled guilty for their roles in this breathtaking and brazen fraud that cost the Railroad Retirement Board untold millions of dollars.”"
Friday, March 01, 2013
"Did the Dept. of Homeland Security recently request to purchase 21,600,000 rounds of handgun ammo?"
On the DailyCaller website, Mike Piccione explains what happened and straightens things out:
"To directly answer the rumors: Did the Department of Homeland Security just request to purchase 21,600,000 rounds of handgun ammo? No, not by a long shot.
They purchased 240,000 rounds."
This Dog Can Send You to Jail - Reason.com
You'll also learn what the "accuracy" really is...
At Reason.com, Jacob Sullum does a nice job of explaining it all:
"But even if you are neither a lawyer nor a super-libertarian, you might wonder 1) how often this sort of thing happens, 2) how it came to be that police can get permission from a dog to rifle an innocent man’s belongings, and 3) whether that state of affairs is consistent with the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” The answers, in brief, are 1) fruitless searches based on dog alerts happen a lot more often than commonly believed, 2) dogs acquired this authority with the blessing of credulous courts mesmerized by their superhuman olfactory talents, and 3) this dog license is hard to square with the Fourth Amendment, unless it is reasonable to trust every officer’s unsubstantiated claim about how an animal of undetermined reliability reacted to a person, a suitcase, a car, or a house."
