Sunday, June 30, 2013
2013-06-30 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 29, 2013
"The Shard turns into the tallest white elephant in the world"
Apparently large buildings have lost their appeal.
Perhaps too expensive. Perhaps too "risky"...
Alex Hawkes has the story in the U.K. Daily Mail:
"Reaching more than a thousand feet into the air, The Shard was hailed as one of the wonders of the age when it was completed. Yet Britain’s tallest building is almost entirely empty, as its owners struggle to find buyers and tenants for its offices and luxury flats. As our picture shows, London’s 72-storey skyscraper is largely dark in the early evening, while the surrounding buildings are bright with office lights."
Meanwhile - in the U.K. - "Benefit cheat mother convicted for �350,000 fraud..."
The U.K. seems to have quite a few big-time abusers.
I suspect they are not alone with this problem...
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Keith Gladdis recently reported on this case:
"Benefit cheat mother convicted for £350,000 fraud after claiming children were disabled while they were actually on stage in West End musicals Children performed in professional productions on television and on stage She denied 24 counts but was convicted on all but one count Judge has warned her she faces a 'substantial custodial sentence'"
Friday, June 28, 2013
"5-year legal fight over O’Doul’s beer"
See what you think of this...
Steve Hansen posted this on the ABQjournal website:
"Southern’s difficulty started in 2008 when a Tucumcari police officer pulled him over after observing Southern making improper lane crossings when negotiating a turn, records show.
The officer, identified as L.P. Emilio, noticed the open container of O’Doul’s and another open empty O’Doul’s container in the car, records show. Southern told the officer that he was drinking the O’Doul’s, and the officer charged Southern with having an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the car, a criminal offense under state law. He was found guilty before Municipal Judge Joe Dominguez.
Since then, Southern has made several attempts to have his case re-heard. All have been thrown out on procedural grounds, court records show."
"VA disability claims for sleep apnea skyrocket to over $1.2 billion per year"
That being said, something definitely seems wrong here...
At DailyCaller.com, Caroline May recently posted about it:
"In a letter to Miller, first reported by Philpott in Stars and Stripes, Webster explained that as a family lawyer in a military-heavy community, he is seeing first hand 'a very disturbing trend' of “widespread abuse of VA disability claims based upon a single ‘disability’ known as sleep apnea,' (emphasis, Webster’s). 'Virtually every single family law case which I have handled involving military members during the past three years has had the military retiree receiving a VA ‘disability’ based upon sleep apnea,' he wrote, in the letter dated May 6. 'A recently-retired colonel has told me that military members approaching retirement are actually briefed that if they claim VA disability based upon sleep apnea, then they will receive an automatic 50 percent disability rating thereby qualifying for ‘concurrent’ payment status,” he added. According to Webster, none of the sleep apnea compensation recipients he has seen have been disabled at all and most work full time — including retired Air Force pilots that pass flight physicals after retirement in order to get flying jobs. 'But this is just the tip of the iceberg,' Webster told TheDC in a phone interview Monday."
Thursday, June 27, 2013
"The Smoking Gun in Plain Sight"
On the other hand, the premise of the article is certainly plausible...
At AmericanThinker.com, Herbert E. Meyer writes about this, and makes a current comparison:
"Very few people are aware of this, but there is no document -- not one -- linking Adolf Hitler to the Holocaust. Why not? Because Hitler didn't need to sign a document ordering the slaughter of six million Jews. All he needed to do was to demonize his enemy in speeches at the Reichstag, on the radio, and from one end of Germany to the other -- then hire thugs like Herman Goering, Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Eichmann, and Josef Goebbels. They knew what der Fuhrer wanted, and der Fuhrer knew he could trust his henchman to get the job done -- no matter how, no matter what may be the law -- and to not bother him with the gory details."
"Smith & Wesson has record sales, can't meet demand"
The Associated Press reports:
"Although the company continued to increase its production capacity, it was unable to meet the ongoing demand across most of its firearm product lines, resulting in additional growth in the company's order backlog," the Springfield, Mass., company said in its earnings report. Smith & Wesson reported net income of $25.2 million in its fourth quarter that ended April 30, double last year's $12.5 million quarterly profit."
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
"Advance orders surge for Paula Deen's cookbook"
This is reported by Aaron Smith on the CNN.com website:
"The cookbook was ranked 115th on Tuesday, compared to a ranking of 1,592nd on Monday 'Paula Deen's New Testament' is not available until October. Another cookbook, 'Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible,' jumped 114% to Amazon sales rank 350, from 750 in the prior 24 hours."
"... Dirty secrets of the worst charities"
At TampaBay.com, Kris Hundley and Kendall Taggart reveal the result of their hard work investigating charities:
"Using state and federal records, the Times and CIR identified nearly 6,000 charities that have chosen to pay for-profit companies to raise their donations. Then reporters took an unprecedented look back to zero in on the 50 worst — based on the money they diverted to boiler room operators and other solicitors over a decade. These nonprofits adopt popular causes or mimic well-known charity names that fool donors. Then they rake in cash, year after year. The nation's 50 worst charities have paid their solicitors nearly $1 billion over the past 10 years that could have gone to charitable works. Until today, no one had tallied the cost of this parasitic segment of the nonprofit industry or traced the long history of its worst offenders. Among the findings:"
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
"America’s Roads Have Been Turned Into A Revenue Generating Surveillance Grid"
On his blog, Michael gives us a thorough well-written recap of what our highway systems have become:
"Back in the old days, the highways of America were great examples to the rest of the world of the tremendous liberties and freedoms that we enjoyed. Americans loved to hop into their vehicles and take a drive. But now government is sucking all of the fun out of driving. The control freak bureaucrats that dominate our political system have figured out that giant piles of money can be raised by turning our roads into revenue raising tools. At this point things have gotten so bad that even some police officers are admitting what is going on. Just check out what a few of them told Car and Driver..."
"Florida Shortens Yellow Lights, Red-Light Camera Tickets Surge"
Here's one of them...
On TheCarConnection.com website, Richard Read reports what's going on:
"Do you live in Florida? Have you received a ticket from a red-light camera lately? There may be a reason for that: according to Tampa's CBS affiliate WTSP, the state recently shortened the legal length for yellow lights. That's caused a surge in red-light citations -- and proved beneficial for Florida's coffers."
Monday, June 24, 2013
"The Weakest President In The History Of The U.S."
The Middle East Media Research Institute recently defined Mr. Obama in an uncomplimentary way:
"'The U.S. is currently living under one of the weakest leaders in its [history]... while Russia has a firm and determined leader. This becomes even sadder when you realize that the U.S. is believed to be supporting the Syrian rebels while Russia [is considered] a supporter of the [Syrian] regime. In this situation, the alliance [between the U.S. and the rebels] is a liability more than an asset... 'The most acute [aspect of] the problem is that Obama is laying down the systematic groundwork for the development of extremism and sectarian violence that will make us miss the Al-Qaeda of George W. Bush's era, while deluding himself that he eliminated Al-Qaeda when he killed Osama bin Laden!'"
"'Fake shops' open up ahead of the G8 summit"
Everyone wants to look good. In these cases, taxpayer money is being used to misrepresent.
That's a form of lying, isn't it?...
In the U.K. Telegraph, Jasper Topping recently reported on this story:
"The large stickers have been fixed to closed down stores near to the Lough Erne resort, in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, which will host next month’s meeting of the leaders of eight of the world’s richest countries, among them Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and François Hollande. The site was selected by David Cameron – as Britain is the current chairman of the G8 – and he said it would be a 'brilliant advertisement' for Northern Ireland. But businesses in the area have suffered in recent years, leaving many vacant sites which are now being disguised by the local council."
Sunday, June 23, 2013
2013-06-23 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Illegal immigrants trying to cross the Rio Grande are arrested by US Border Patrol as it fights massive upsurge in numbers | Mail Online
In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you thought illegal entries have decreased...
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Zac Fine reports what the American media seems to be missing:
"Rio Grande Valley arrests rose 65 per cent last year and they hit 16,000 in March alone, fuelled by human smugglers who pay tax to drug cartels. Attempts to cross the border alone are met with violence. About 70 bodies were found in the area in the six months from October, more than twice as many as the same period in the previous year."
"Plan B is a Big Deal"
Contrary to those differences, laws using age alone as criteria create a "one size fits all" condition that doesn't always work.
And then there are "quick fixes"...
At Townhall.com, Jedediah Bila recently expressed her opinion and gave a lot of detail about this "quick fix" product and it's consequences:
"Does this sound like a drug you'd want your 15-year-old to be able to buy off the shelf repeatedly without a prescription? How many 15-year-olds you know would properly assess preconditions that may make them poor candidates for the drug, as well as responsibly monitor and tend to side effects? How many would read the full prescribing information? Also, if a 15-year-old opts to purchase Plan B in secret, without parental or doctor consent, do you think that same kid would be likely to run to a doctor if uncomfortable symptoms emerge? Would she not be afraid that her parents would find out? Finally, exactly what message are we sending to kids--and society at large? That there's a quick fix to carelessness? That there's no need to think before you act because the drug companies have it covered? If this is where we're at--as a society--then we're in big trouble."
Friday, June 21, 2013
Polticians - U.S. Representative Jim McDermott
See what you think of this...
At DailyCaller.com, Gabe Finger writes about the congressman:
"McDermott, a Democrat from Washington state, voiced his 'deep concern' about the ad, which shows mug shots of international terrorists, and asked the FBI chief to 'reconsider publicizing' it. According to McDermott, the 'ad featuring sixteen photos of wanted terrorists is not only offensive to Muslims and ethnic minorities, but it encourages racial and religious profiling.'"
"AP president rips 'unconstitutional' Obama investigation"
I'm betting they know it and knew it and did it on purpose to fire a "shot across the bow"...
At DailyCaller.com, Jeff Poor is following this story:
"According to Pruitt, the government investigation overstepped by casting such a broad net under a veil of secrecy. 'Under their own rules, they are required to narrow this request as narrowly as possible so as to not tread upon the First Amendment,' Pruitt said. 'And yet they had a broad, sweeping collection, and they did it secretly. Their rules require them to come to us first, but in this case they didn’t, claiming an exception, saying that if they had it would have posed a substantial threat to their investigation. But they have not explained why it would and we can’t understand why it would.' That was enough for Pruitt to call the government’s actions 'unconstitutional.'"
Thursday, June 20, 2013
"Case Worker: Illegal Aliens Got Food Stamps by the “Vanload”"
Government at work.
Sadly, I think most of us have to expect stuff like this...
Sadly, I think most of us have to expect stuff like this...
The story behind this is on the Judicial Watch:
"For decades the U.S. government has knowingly given illegal immigrants food stamps, according to a former certification case worker who denounced the costly practice back in the 1980s but was essentially ordered to keep a lid on it.
The retired assistant case manager, Craig McNees, was in charge of vetting food-stamp applicants in north Florida and Indiana in the ’80s and says the program was infested with fraud and corruption that was perpetually ignored by management. 'Illegals would come in by the vanload and we were told to give them their stuff,' McNees said. 'Management knew very well they were illegal. It was so rampant that some employees would tell their illegal relatives to come get food stamps.'"
"State Treasurer Martha Shoffner Arrested for Extortion by FBI"
The opportunities and temptations for those in public office must be many.
Even so, it doesn't condone making bad choices like this...
The Arkansas Business website has recently reported on this:
"Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner has been arrested for extortion by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being held in Pulaski County Jail, the Associated Press reported Saturday. FBI spokeswoman Kimberly Brunell told the AP that Shoffner was arrested Saturday at her home in Newport and is scheduled for a federal court hearing Monday. Brunell said Shoffner was arrested on charges of "extortion under color of official right.""
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
"Why the Left hates families..."
On the U.K. Daily Mail website, Melanie Phillips takes it to the left-leaning liberals:
"This resort to crude insult against anyone who dares to challenge their shibboleths is typical of the Left. It doesn’t argue its case. It simply tries to shut down debate by bullying its targets and labelling them as extremists and enemies of humanity in order to frighten people away from listening to them. But they reserve a special loathing for me. This is not just because I refuse to be cowed. It’s because I was once one of them, one of the elect, a believer."
"Farm Bill Irks Conservatives with Food Stamp Allocations"
At PJmedia.com, Fallon Forbush writes about the "farm bill", including much more than this:
"In a new Farm Bill primer released by the foundation, Bakst calls attention to the bill’s 'misleading' title, as 80 percent of the spending in the last Farm Bill was dedicated to food stamps and other nutrition programs, not assisting farmers."
"Chasing (the Next) Reagan"
Recently, at Townhall.com, Steve Deace thoughtfully explains where Republicans might be going wrong:
"Since Reagan left the national stage, we haven’t had a candidate for national office (who didn’t have personal baggage) that possessed Reagan’s comprehensive worldview. What we’ve had instead are a host of candidates who have moral authority on some conservative causes but not others, hence we splinter. Often that splintering is on the basis of which of those conservative causes represent our highest priorities. For example, staunch pro-lifers support the most pro-life candidate regardless of where they stand on limited government, limited government advocates support the best small government person regardless of where they stand on social issues, and those concerned about eroding civil liberties support the candidate best on their issues regardless of where they stand on foreign policy. And so on and so on.
Then we spend the primary cycle calling one another names like 'pro-life statist,' 'RINO,' or 'godless libertarian' because we’re angry our fellow grassroots patriots don’t have the same priorities we do, so that must mean they hate America every bit as much as the Left does. I admit I’ve been as guilty of this at times as anybody else has. Meanwhile, the feckless GOP establishment laughs all the way to the nomination (and usually another general election loss)."
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The Media - Flip-Flop, Bias, or both?
I say both and I'm not surprised...
On the NewsBusters website, Noel Sheppard posts about this:
" As NewsBusters has been reporting, it's been a hoot this week watching the same liberal media members that were apoplectic in 2005 when George W. Bush's domestic surveillance program was revealed contort themselves into almost impossible positions defending Barack Obama's far more intrusive scheme seven and a half years later. Glenn Greenwald, the liberal author who first broke the news of this program, spoke to Howard Kurtz on CNN's Reliable Sources about this blatant hypocrisy"
"Everest: waiting time two hours"
I guess this was inevitable.
Sometime in the future we'll probably hear that moon shuttles are outdated and overcrowded...
Sometime in the future we'll probably hear that moon shuttles are outdated and overcrowded...
Joe Shute recently reported in the U.K. Daily Telegraph how times have changed on Mt. Everest:
"Compare this to a new photograph in the June issue of National Geographic magazine, showing the traffic jam of climbers at the Hillary Step, a 40ft near-vertical rock face at 29,000ft that is the last obstacle to the summit. Such is the extent of overcrowding on the mountain that deaths (including four last year) have been blamed on people using up their oxygen supplies and losing body heat as they wait in line in the ''death zone’’ – where the available oxygen in the atmosphere is not enough to sustain human life – to reach the top. In some places, such as on the Lhotse Face at 25,000ft, up to 200 climbers can be waiting in a thin line that snakes down the mountain."
Monday, June 17, 2013
"Britain should have voted against 'crazy' EU rule on serving olive oil, say MPs"
The European Union wants to control every aspect of life.
It does make you wonder...
In the U.K. Daily Telegraph, Bruno Waterfield and Rowena Mason write about this:
"James Clappison, MP for Hartsmere and a member of the European scrutiny committee, said the ban seemed 'crazy', adding: 'It is an example of how we are swamped with regulation.'
'Our officials can only deal with so much and this clearly got past them. It is no business of the EU how restaurants serve olive oil. All to often we have to go along with these things solely because officials are swamped on so many fronts.'"
U.S. Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms - Bloomberg
"Everything" is being watched, recorded, and who knows what else...
On the Bloomberg.com website, Michael Riley reports some amazing stuff:
"Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information and in return receiving benefits that include access to classified intelligence, four people familiar with the process said. These programs, whose participants are known as trusted partners, extend far beyond what was revealed by Edward Snowden, a computer technician who did work for the National Security Agency."
"Senators skip classified briefing on NSA snooping to catch flights home"
For what it's worth...
At theHill.com, Alexander Bolton reported this:
"A recent briefing by senior intelligence officials on surveillance programs failed to attract even half of the Senate, showing the lack of enthusiasm in Congress for learning about classified security programs.
Many senators elected to leave Washington early Thursday afternoon instead of attending a briefing with James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA), and other officials."
Sunday, June 16, 2013
2013-06-16 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 15, 2013
"Police Peddle 'Stolen' iPhones, Arrest Buyers: Don't Cops Have Better Things to Do?!"
Perhaps that's the issue in this case.
Everyone is doing their job, but no one has the "big" picture...
Ted Balaker discusses San Francisco's priorites at Reason.com:
"Capt. Joe might want to take it easy with the hyperbole, especially when Apple picking is a crime that he himself equates with purse snatching, and when San Francisco's finest could be spending more time on more serious crimes. Around the time the SFPD was cooking up its iPhone task force, The San Francisco Examiner revealed that the department had more than 1,000 unsolved murders and about 900 unsolved rapes on its hands. A year later, San Francisco Attorney General George Gascon, who was police chief at the time of the revelation, told a reporter he had 'forgot' about his department's unfinished business."
"Wind Farms Get Pass on Eagle Deaths"
The beat goes on and on and on...
I saw this in an article by Dina Cappiello at ABCnews.com:
"The Obama administration has charged oil companies for drowning birds in their waste pits, and power companies for electrocuting birds on power lines. But the administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind-energy company, even those that flout the law repeatedly. 'What it boils down to is this: If you electrocute an eagle, that is bad, but if you chop it to pieces, that is OK,' said Tim Eicher, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement agent based in Cody. It's a double standard that some Republicans in Congress said Tuesday they would examine after an Associated Press investigation revealed that the Obama administration has shielded the wind power industry from liability and helped keep the scope of the deaths secret."
Friday, June 14, 2013
"Fox News Chairman Ailes awarded Bradley Prize"
Roger Ailes seems to be very much his own man. It's refreshing to see...
This is from Roger Ailes on the FoxNews website. Of course, there's more:
""My remarks tonight are my own, and don’t necessarily reflect those of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch or Fox. I will say, however, that I didn’t give up my citizenship to create and run a news organization. I speak here with the highest authority and title anyone could ever aspire to -- citizen of the United States."
"The Mystery of the Missing Crime Data"
According to this article "the shooting murder rate declined 49%, despite an estimated 32% increase in the civilian firearms inventory".
The media would have you think differently...
The media would have you think differently...
Howard Nemerov has all the charts and graphs that reveal what is true:
"Many corporate media outlets have been reporting on the new Department of Justice (DOJ) report titled 'Firearm Violence, 1993-2011,' which reports that shooting homicides have declined dramatically during the last two decades. Many outlets published an Associated Press report that drew attention away from the possibility that firearms ownership might reduce crime:"
Thursday, June 13, 2013
"Identical twin studies prove homosexuality is not genetic"
Mark Ellis recently posted this and some details at HollandDavis.com. :
"Eight major studies of identical twins in Australia, the U.S., and Scandinavia during the last two decades all arrive at the same conclusion: gays were not born that way."
"Peter Mandelson admits Labour brought migrants here after losing working class votes"
Hello America. Is anybody listening?...
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Richard Littlejohn has this and also the details:
"It was an astonishing admission, the first time someone at the very heart of the New Labour project has confirmed that Britain’s border controls were cynically dismantled. When former Labour adviser Andrew Neather said three years ago that mass immigration was a ploy intended to ‘rub the Right’s nose in diversity’ his claims were categorically rebutted by Labour leaders. Mass immigration was never once mentioned in any Labour manifesto. No one voted for it. A policy which was to change the face of Britain irrevocably was smuggled in under the radar purely for long-term electoral and short-term economic advantage. The assumption was that the new arrivals would all become naturalised and return the favour by voting Labour."
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
"Founder of Greenpeace Worries that Modern Environmentalists are too Extreme"
At OilPrice.com, Charles Kennedy recently included this paragraph in his article on the subject:
"Real Clear Energy wrote an interesting paragraph about the founder of Greenpeace and his views of modern environmentalists: 'As Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace, explains, the ‘80s ushered in the age of environmental extremism. The basic issues, for which he and Greenpeace fought, had largely been accomplished, and the general public was in agreement with the primary message. In order for the environmentalists to remain employed, they had to adopt ever more extreme positions. Moore says: 'What happened is environmental extremism. They've abandoned science and logic altogether.' Their message today is 'anti:" anti-human, anti-science, anti-technology, anti-trade and globalization, anti-business and capitalism, and ultimately, anti-civilization.'"
"Unsustainable and Unconstitutional General Welfare Spending"
Current government policies are NOT sustainable, and the price will eventually have to be paid...
At Townhall.com, Brian Vanyo wants us to know this, and provides a history lesson as to how we have gone astray from the intent of our founding fathers:
"Obviously, there is a spending problem in Washington, D.C., and the reason for it is no mystery. The largest expenditure in Obama's budget -- and the largest federal outlay in every budget since 1970 -- is an expense item labeled 'payments for individuals,' which includes spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, disability payments, and other federal welfare subsidies. These payments constituted 65 percent of all federal spending in 2012 and are expected to grow to 70 percent in 2016. (By contrast, national defense spending was 19 percent of the federal budget in 2012 and will decrease to only 14 percent in 2016.) The federal government has essentially become a wealth-redistribution center, for it collects enormous sums of money through taxation ($2.45 trillion total in 2012) and then distributes this money to select people in countless 'payments for individuals' ($2.3 trillion spent in 2012). The leftover money isn't nearly enough to pay for the interest on the national debt, not to mention the other government functions that must also be funded, like national defense. So the federal government borrows more and more money by the day just to keep operating. This level of spending and borrowing simply cannot be sustained,..."
"D.C. dirty tricks in Part II of unfolding David Gregory mystery-drama"
Whether it was political power, favoritism, or anything else, the law was clearly disobeyed...
Emily Miller is following this story for WashingtonTimes.com:
"Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton is determined to use the lawsuit to shine a light into this black hole. He told me in an interview Tuesday that, 'We want the complete record of this controversial decision not to prosecute Gregory or NBC News, and one of the key documents is the affidavit.' Mr. Fitton is referring to the MPD affidavit that the attorney general’s office has refused to release to any of us. The attorney general’s decision to let the powerful TV anchor get off after knowingly and blatantly violating the city’s firearms laws smacked of favoritism. The ensuing cover up just exacerbates the injustice."
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Wildfires and the reporting about them
I also think there has been an attempt to link them to global warming.
BUT, factually, wildfires are historically low, occurring significantly less than the ten-year average...
The National Fire Information Center keeps wildfire statistics:
"May 3, 2013 Wildfire activity remains light throughout the US."
"These loving parents were branded abusers - yet the courts won't let them clear their names..."
The U.K. Daily Mail's Sue Reid informs us about secret courts and a social program that seems out of control:
"'Scores of families have had their lives destroyed by false accusations... They have been convicted on what is medics and social workers' opinion and dogma rather than fact.' - Rioch Edwards-Brown, campaigner for accused parents"
"Bureau of Justice Statistics Firearm Violence, 1993-2011"
The number of firearm related homicides since 1993 has DROPPED by 39%.
The media has made that very clear, hasn't it? [sarcasm]...
The media has made that very clear, hasn't it? [sarcasm]...
The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently posted this:
"WASHINGTON–Firearm-related homicides declined 39 percent and nonfatal firearm crimes declined 69 percent from 1993 to 2011, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. Firearm-related homicides dropped from 18,253 homicides in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011, and nonfatal firearm crimes dropped from 1.5 million victimizations in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011."
Monday, June 10, 2013
"Inside The Mind Of A Scientist Who Made Up More Than 50 Studies"
What is most disheartening is that, in cases like this, decisions may have been made, and consequences experienced, all based on phony data.
The next time you hear what a study says, you may want to think twice...
On the PopSci website, Francie Diep calls our attention to this:
"The magazine profiled Diederik Stapel, a psychologist, former dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and author of at least 55 papers with totally made-up data. He even made up data for the graduate students he supervised. He would tell them he was doing their experiments for them, an unusual move, as many professors prefer to leave that tedium for their underlings."
"In Texas and Nationwide, Many Shales Left to Explore"
Kate Galbraith reports at TexasTribune.org:
"'It is coming, and it is big,' said Greg Wortham, the mayor of Sweetwater, who also serves as executive director of the Cline Shale Alliance, a new economic development group. The Cline Shale, thousands of feet underground in a roughly 10-county swath, is just one of many little-tapped shale formations in Texas and across the nation, geologists say. That means the potential for oil and gas discoveries is theoretically huge, and the reason is technology. The rock-breaking process known as hydraulic fracturing, coupled with the ability to drill horizontally underground, has allowed drillers to retrieve oil and gas from previously inaccessible areas."
Sunday, June 09, 2013
2013-06-09 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 08, 2013
"DHS insider: It’s about to get very ugly"
Considering the current state of affairs here in America, you have to believe just about everything.
See what you think about this...
Doug Hagmann posts on the Canada Free Press website:
"If anyone thinks that what’s going on right now with all of this surveillance of American citizens is to fight some sort of foreign enemy, they’re delusional. If people think that this ‘scandal’ can’t get any worse, it will, hour by hour, day by day. This has the ability to bring down our national leadership, the administration and other senior elected officials working in collusion with this administration, both Republican and Democrats. People within the NSA, the Department of Justice, and others, they know who they are, need to come forth with the documentation of ‘policy and practice’ in their possession, disclose what they know, fight what’s going on, and just do their job. I have never seen anything like this, ever. The present administration is going after leakers, media sources, anyone and everyone who is even suspected of ‘betrayal.’ That’s what they call it, ‘betrayal.’"
The Media - "...14 MONTHS Ago, MSM Refused to Report"
Unfortunately, they have shortcomings.
Maybe it's bias, maybe it's incompetence, or maybe it's FEAR.
Think about it...
On the Pundit Press website, "Aurelius" has posted this:
"In April of 2012, whistleblower William Binney went on the program Democracy Now to reveal that the NSA was lying to the American people about their actions. Binney is a former intelligence agent. He stated that the NSA had '20 trillion transactions' on record. Specifically, transactions are phone calls, emails, internet searches, and credit card purchases made by average citizens. When asked if he believed that the United States government had every single email American citizens had sent, Binney stated that, 'I believe they have most of them.'"
Friday, June 07, 2013
Border Fences
There are fences, and then there are FENCES.
When the political will exists effective border fences CAN be built.
I wonder if the Israelis hire out?...
When the political will exists effective border fences CAN be built.
I wonder if the Israelis hire out?...
At Breitbart.com, Joel B. Pollak tells us about this one:
"This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has touted the success of a new border fence that Israel built along its boundary with Egypt to stop illegal infiltrators. In a statement posted at his government website, Netanyahu reported that illegal crossings had declined 99.9%, from 2,000 per month to only two."
A Peak Behind the Scenes
The concept of this legislation does NOT sit well with me.
To make it even worse, "someone" tried something sneaky.
You can be sure that the action described here is probably happening elsewhere...
To make it even worse, "someone" tried something sneaky.
You can be sure that the action described here is probably happening elsewhere...
On the Harford Courant website, Christopher Keating reports what went on:
"The highly controversial bill to allow drivers' licenses for undocumented immigrants became more controversial Wednesday.
A sentence that was buried in a detailed 'implementer' bill would have changed the effective date of the drivers' license program — starting the program on July 1, rather than in January 2015. In lengthy debates on the House and Senate floor, legislators had said the state Department of Motor Vehicles needed until 2015 to prepare for the major change, which would mark the first time in state history that undocumented immigrants could obtain licenses.
The switch in dates set off a mad scramble at the Capitol on Wednesday until it was withdrawn."
Thursday, June 06, 2013
"Rubio has long history of blocking immigration enforcement"
I'm thinking he has mastered the PR game, and most of us will never know about his past behavior.
On the immigration issue, it's not pretty...
Charles C. Johnson has gathered a lot of info at DailyCaller.com:
"In 2007 and 2008, Rubio repeatedly kept tough reform bills from getting passed, despite a wave of public support for reforms. Numerous enforcement proposals – ranging from bills requiring employers to check the status of workers to others mandating increased cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies – were blocked by Rubio even though they cleared bipartisan committees. The bills in Florida’s Legislature would have penalized farmers and government contractors caught hiring undocumented workers; placed stricter regulations on public benefits; and required local police to notify federal authorities after arresting illegal immigrants. Rubio also stopped bills from coming to the floor that would have deported illegal immigrants in state prisons and that would have denied food stamps to illegal immigrants. He even stopped a bipartisan proposal that would have allowed the deportation of about 5,000 illegal immigrants in Florida prisons, provided they had served half their sentence and agreed to be deported."
"Good news about coral reefs – they recovered from warming"
And possibly, that may be true in other cases as well, if we just give things some time, before becoming hyper-alarmist...
On his blog, Anthony Watts recently posted about this story:
"The study challenges conventional wisdom that suggested isolated reefs were more vulnerable to disturbance, because they were thought to depend on recolonisation from other reefs. Instead, the scientists found that the isolation of reefs allowed surviving corals to rapidly grow and propagate in the absence of human interference. Australia’s largest oceanic reef system, Scott Reef, is relatively isolated, sitting out in the Indian Ocean some 250 km from the remote coastline of north Western Australia (WA). Prospects for the reef looked gloomy when in 1998 it suffered catastrophic mass bleaching, losing around 80% of its coral cover. The study shows that it took just 12 years to recover."
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
"Lying about the law? How can you tell?"
It demonstrates a major problem with what's wrong with our federal government.
I bet it is purposeful because it allows politicians to cloud, muddle, and confuse what legislation really will do...
At AmericanThinker.com, Robert Potts wrote this paragraph and much more:
"The cryptic language referring to striking this or that in the NCIS Amendments Act is a bill-drafting style used by Congress and abandoned long ago by most state legislatures. That drafting style is called 'amendment by reference,' or 'cut and bite.' On its own, it is unintelligible, which is why state legislatures write bills showing enough of existing law to put the proposed changes in context. State legislatures adopted the radical idea that a bill should be readable and understandable without the need for outside reference."
"35% of German Muslims have multiple wives, all funded by welfare"
Hopefully, taxpayers will get wise to this, and change the way they vote.
Notice, I said taxPAYERS...
This gem is from LiveLeak.com:
"Meanwhile Muslim immigrants have as many as 3-4 wives, perhaps 6-7 children from each wife, and all of this is funded by welfare as none of these wives work."
"USDA Flyer: We Don't Check Immigration Status for Food Stamps"
Tony Lee reported this on the Breitbart.com website:
"Judicial Watch obtained the Spanish-language flyers through a Freedom of Information Act request and announced on Thursday that the promotion of the food stamp program, now known as 'SNAP' (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), includes a Spanish-language flyer provided to the Mexican Embassy by the USDA. A statement on the flyer—emphasized in bold and underlined—reads, 'You need not divulge information regarding your immigration status in seeking this benefit for your children.'"
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
"The Tailor Who Sewed the Obama Empty Suit Has Sewn Others"
The politicians "con" is always on...
At AmericanThinker.com, Bruce Walker begins his writing with this:
"The most glaring fact about our president is that he is an empty suit. The people around him are also empty suits. They believe in nothing, really, but unearned luxury, unmerited adulation, and unaccountable power. Those whom we have come to call "leftists" are in fact nothing but nihilists, and we flatter them when we presume that they value anything beyond their vanities, their avarice, and their selfishness. When tragedy strikes, like in the Boston bombing, these empty suits can look and act appropriately somber and serious, but it is all for show, and the intended audience are Americans who have been carefully cultivated into creatures who emote in response to momentary appearances but who cannot think clearly or remember the past. The left began to drift towards this profound silliness decades ago. FDR, for example, freely acknowledged that he had no real plan to fix the nation's economic distress."
“FBI Most Wanted Terrorists”
On the DCclothesline website, Dean Garrison wants us to know:
"I thought I would take a moment to make a point that fails to be made often enough. With all the constant rhetoric about the dangers of the American Patriot and right-wing-Christian terrorists, the facts still remain. The current list of “FBI Most Wanted Terrorists” contains 32 people. 30 of those people are Muslims and two are left-wing liberals. "
"Wife of Former IRS Chief Campaigned for Obama, Questioned Romney's Taxes"
The I.R.S. scandal may be worse than most...
At Breitbart.com, Kerry Picket has a lot of stuff that points to some things that are certainly worth questioning:
"Former Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman is under fire from Congress for his agency's targeting of Tea Party and other conservative organizations. Shulman himself is under suspicion for his numerous visits to the White House compared to other administration officials. Additionally, Shulman's wife Susan L. Anderson reportedly works for the Washington D.C. based liberal organization Public Campaign."
Monday, June 03, 2013
"Fake bomb detector conman jailed for 10 years"
How could anyone do something like this?...
On the U.K. Guardian website, Robert Booth reports on him:
"The judge said that in terms of culpability and harm, he could imagine no more serious case. 'Soldiers, police forces, border customs officers, hotel security staff and many others trusted their lives to the overpriced devices sold by you,' he said. 'Your profits were obscene, funding grand houses, a greedy, extravagant lifestyle and even a yacht. You have neither insight, shame or any sense of remorse.' Prior to sentencing, the court heard statements from British army officers that bomb blasts killing civilians in Baghdad occurred after truck bombs and other explosives had passed through checkpoints manned by security officers using the fake detectors."
"New California Taxes Pay for Pensions, Not Schools"
It appears the voters may have been "tricked" on this...
On the Bloomberg.com website, David Crane reports on where California is spending the revenue from their recently increased taxes:
"Most Californians would be surprised to learn that 100 percent of education’s share of the tax increase proposed by Governor Jerry Brown will go to pensions instead of classrooms. But that would be no surprise to longtime observers of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which administers teacher pensions. “Here’s why: After retirement, teachers are unconditionally guaranteed lifetime pensions by their school districts. Everything works out fine if Calstrs, as the retirement system is known, earns the investment returns it forecasts and from which upfront contributions are derived. “But if they fall short, school districts must make up the difference. Because of compounding, the failure to earn forecasted earnings translates into huge deficiencies down the road. “Unfortunately, 'down the road' is where school districts are now."
"Migrants strangle France alive"
Skeptical me wonders if France can actually follow through on this...
On Pravda's English version website, Sergei Vasilenkov writes all about France, their immigrant issues, and this change in policy:
"After a meeting on the National Immigration and Integration, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced significant changes in the country's migration policy. The government will reduce financial assistance to immigrants, and this reduction will be substantial. Starting March 1 of next year, French immigrant benefits will be reduced by 83 percent. The amount of compensation to immigrants who voluntarily want to return home will be also reduced. If earlier the government paid 300 euros for every adult and 100 euros for every minor, in March of 2013 these amounts will be reduced to 50 and 30 euros, respectively."
Government at Work - on Incapacity Benefits
Do we have any reason to believe that this same situation occurs in the U.S.
Government agencies seem more likely to say "why not", rather than make an effort to weed out unqualified applicants...
Government agencies seem more likely to say "why not", rather than make an effort to weed out unqualified applicants...
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Amanda Williams writes about disability claimants:
"This map of Britain reveals the 'workshy' spots around the country where people claiming incapacity benefit claimants are actually fit enough to work.
The Government introduced tough new health tests for those who claimed to be too unwell to get back into employment two years ago.
Since then some 203,000, 30 per cent, out of 700,000 receiving the old Incapacity Benefit were declared fit to find work."
Sunday, June 02, 2013
2013-06-02 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 01, 2013
Saturday Viewing - Illegals and Our Money
Do you believe this?...
I found this video at FoxNews.com:
"Illegal Immigrant Mother of Seven Given Food Stamps, Meds, Housing, and Social Security - For 20 Years"
Saturday Reading - A different view of crime and it's cause
Some are based on human behaviors which we may not want to readily admit.
See if you can wrap your mind around them...
On the U.K. Daily Mail website, Nick Ross has an thoughtful and interesting article titled:
"'How Jill Dando's death convinced me everything you know about crime is wrong': NICK ROSS tells the shocking truth about the murder of his friend and the real cause of crime"
