Tuesday, December 31, 2013
"Missouri bill would gut Obamacare"
In this Washington Times article, Michael Boldin tells what's going on, as well as this:
"Based on the long-standing principle known as the anti-commandeering doctrine, the legislation is on strong legal grounds. In four major cases from 1842 to 2012, the Supreme Court has consistently held that the federal government cannot 'commandeer' states, requiring them to enforce or expend resources to participate in federal law or regulatory programs."
Monday, December 30, 2013
"Social workers are taking away children from parents who feed them too much"
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Sophie Jane Evans writes about this:
"Social workers are weighing in and taking away children from parents who give in to their cravings and feed them too much"
"Antarctic global warming expeditionists trapped in ice may have to be rescued by helicopter"
On Michelle Makin's website, Doug Powers reminds us:
"The place where the ship is trapped in unusually thick ice is in an area where Mawson was able to move by ship 100 years ago."
Sunday, December 29, 2013
2013-12-29 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Governor Bentley Announces Over $1 Billion in Historic Savings - WRBL
Deidre Johnson posted this on Alabama's WRBL website:
"MONTGOMERY–Governor Robert Bentley on Monday announced the State of Alabama has reached over a billion dollars in annual savings one year earlier than expected thanks to extensive efforts to reduce costs to state government and increase government efficiency."
"Electric cars leave winter drivers out in the cold"
Interestingly, the national media rarely if ever, mentions that using the heater in an electric car, serious limits the life of a battery charge...
Guiseppe Macri included this in his post at DailyCaller.com:
"For now, Tesla customers have taken to new December forums listed on an MIT Technology Review report with titles like 'Winter driving warning' and 'Another way to stay toasty on long trips without running heat,' where owners recommend winter motorcycle wear and snowmobile suits."
Friday, December 27, 2013
"CNN Poll: GOP has edge in early midterm indicator"
Political polls go up and down.
Even so, the time frame here is pretty short and corresponds to the Obamacare rollout.
I think that might be telling us something...
Even so, the time frame here is pretty short and corresponds to the Obamacare rollout.
I think that might be telling us something...
On CNN's Political Ticker blog, Paul Steinhauser writes about this:
"Two months ago, Democrats held a 50%-42% advantage among registered voters in a generic ballot, which asked respondents to choose between a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district without identifying the candidates. That result came after congressional Republicans appeared to overplay their hand in the bitter fight over the federal government shutdown and the debt ceiling. But the Democratic lead evaporated, and a CNN poll a month ago indicated the GOP holding a 49%-47% lead. The new survey, conducted in mid-December, indicates Republicans with a 49%-44% edge over the Democrats."
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Motorist checkpoint in Reading (PA) draws questions
See what you think of this...
Don Spatz recently reported this on the Reading (PA) Eagle website:
"A private firm with a federal contract - and backed up by city police - forced motorists off Laurel Street and into a private parking lot Friday to question them about their driving habits and ask for a swab of their mouth."
"Fact and Fiction About Right-to-Work: A Reality Check at the One-Year Anniversary"
James M. Hohman and Jarrett Skorup tell us about the results on the Michigan Capitol Confidential website:
"Over the longer-term, according to federal data, in the past decade right-to-work states have had an increase in jobs of 3.5 percent while non-right-to-work states have had a job decrease of 2.6 percent. And adjusted for the cost of living, employees in right-to-work states have 4.1 percent higher incomes than forced unionization states and 14 percent higher incomes than Michigan workers."
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
2013-12-25 - Christmas Day
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
"A Manufactured Epidemic"
Our society has evolved into one that embraces the easy way out, and when backed by ever increasing "control drugs", we seem to readily accept that method...
On the National Review website, Rich Lowry recently called attention to this:
"Conners called the overdiagnosis of ADHD “a national disaster of dangerous proportions,” telling the Times that the rising number of cases 'is a concoction to justify the giving out of medication at unprecedented and unjustifiable levels.' This isn’t bomb-throwing from an outsider, but a critique from the namesake of the Conners ratings scale widely used to evaluate kids for ADHD."
"Death by Renewables"
In our "feel good" society, renewables deserve a reality check...
In her Townhall.com article, Marita Noon writes about renewables and shares some of the real impact:
"'Even green projects have an impact on their surrounding environment.' Green energy, specifically so-called renewables, has been sold to the American public as the answer to a host of crimes against the planet. But, as Lex Berko points out in her post on Motherboard, “even green” has its downside. Biomass may be 'renewable,' but burning it releases CO2. Then, it’s expensive: 'A 100% renewable-energy mix from in-state sources could cost up to five times more,' reports the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). And, energy from wind and solar sources kills birds."
Monday, December 23, 2013
"The next Detroit? Atlantic City and Las Vegas facing catastrophic collapse"
Israel Joffe writes about a few of them at MyFoxNY.com:
"With the closure of the recent Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, rumors of the bankrupt Revel being sold to Hard Rock, Las Vegas real estate prices remaining depressed, casinos opening up all around the country and online gambling legislation underway in various states, it seems as if the reasons for the very existence of Atlantic City and Las Vegas are in serious jeopardy."
Sunday, December 22, 2013
2013-12-22 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, December 21, 2013
"A black box in your car? Some see a source of tax revenue"
Advancing technology makes all things like this possible.
It creates a feeling of being watched all the time, even if you have nothing to hide...
It creates a feeling of being watched all the time, even if you have nothing to hide...
In a recent L.A. Times article, Evan Helper tells us about it:
"The usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances. Libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive, and possibly where you drive them — then use the information to draw up a tax bill."
Friday, December 20, 2013
Boskin: ObamaCare's Troubles Are Only Beginning - WSJ.com
Perhaps that will also be noted as a "lie of the year"...
In the Wall Street Journal, Michael J. Boskin recently offered this warning and more in his article:
"The 'sticker shock' that many buyers of new, ACA-compliant health plans have experienced—with premiums 30% higher, or more, than their previous coverage—has only begun. The costs borne by individuals will be even more obvious next year as more people start having to pay higher deductibles and copays."
Thursday, December 19, 2013
The Media - Identifying the Perpetrator
The left-leaning American media is usually purposefully deficient when it comes to "completely" reporting on stuff like this...
AT DailyCaller.com, Elizabeth Vale wonders:
"If a leftist shoots up a school in the woods, does the media make any noise?"
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
"How the West was lost by the selfie president"
Even so, for me, this behavior elicits the same response as the writer...
Michael Goodwin offers this and more in a recent New York Post article:
"But the “selfie” episode also symbolizes the greater global calamity of Western decline. With British prime minister David Cameron playing the role of Obama’s giggling wingman, the 'look at me' moment confirms we have unserious leaders in a dangerously serious time."
"The incredible mile-long floating CITY - complete with schools, a hospital, parks and an airport for its 50,000 residents"
Here's another one...
The U.K. Daily Mail's Peter Simpson recently wrote about this:
"The Freedom Ship is 25 storeys high and would feature a casino, an art gallery, a park and a shopping centre The concept, designed by a Florida-based company would cost $10 billion if was commissioned to be built The vessel could house 50,000 people but it would contain additional space to hold an extra 30,000 visitors The ship would constantly sail around the world - doing a full circuit every two years - but would be too large to enter any ports"
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Government at Work: the EPA
This story is posted by Allapundit on the HotAir blog:
"Revealed: EPA’s highest-paid employee did no work for years, told colleagues he was secret agent for the CIA instead His expertise? Climate change. He defrauded the feds out of nearly $900,000 in salary and expense, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in first-class airfare and high-end hotels that more than doubled his per diem limit but were somehow approved by the EPA anyway."
"Ed Schultz secretly flies on his own fleet of corporate jets"
Charles C. Johnson has the dirt on this guy at DailyCaller.com:
"MSNBC host Ed Schultz, who has repeatedly criticized opponents for owning private jets, owns multiple private jets and conceals his flight data from the public."
Monday, December 16, 2013
"Americans throw away billions of dollars of food each year..."
This doesn't surprise me.
For a long time I've thought the dates on products to be a fear based marketing tool.
After all, when you throw it away, you generally buy another...
For a long time I've thought the dates on products to be a fear based marketing tool.
After all, when you throw it away, you generally buy another...
In a Reuters article in the U.K. Daily Mail the end result is discussed:
"Americans throw out billions of dollars of food every year because they falsely believe 'sell-by' and 'best-before' dates on package labels indicate food safety, researchers have found.
A study published by Harvard Law School and the Natural Resources Defense Council found that dates printed on packaged foods, which help retailers cycle through stocked products and allow manufacturers to indicate when a product is at its peak freshness, are inconsistent.
They confuse consumers, leading many to throw out food before it actually goes bad."
"Darpa's Giant Folding Spy Satellite Will Dwarf All Other Space Telescopes"
Humans dream up some amazing things...
At Wired.com, Allen McDuffee reports on this one:
"Launched as a tightly packed cluster of petals 20 feet in diameter, MOIRE stretches to 68 feet across once it reaches 22,000 miles above the earth. From orbit, MOIRE could view approximately 40 percent of the earth’s surface at once while recording high resolution images and video, making it the ultimate spying satellite (Darpa notes that it could also be beneficial in weather forecasting and disaster response)."
Sunday, December 15, 2013
2013-12-15 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, December 14, 2013
"Cash-strapped colleges gut academics instead of sports, admin or rock climbing"
See what you think about this...
Robby Soave reported on this at DailyCaller.com:
"Confronted with a $5 million budget deficit, Minnesota State University at Moorhead has decided to simply jettison some of its academic departments.
History, English and physics are currently on the chopping block. The university’s administrative division, however, is not.
The same thing is happening at the University of the District of Columbia, where the board recently considered eliminating 20 academic programs–contrary to the wishes of President James Lyons, who preferred to scrutinize the university’s sports budget budget. The NCAA Division II athletic program at UDC loses $3 million each year.
For now, the university is leaving its athletic program intact — and killing off 17 academic programs."
The 97 Percent Figure on Global Warming the Media Won't Tell You About | NewsBusters
So, there's a NEW 97% statistic.
I'll let the writer tell you about it...
I'll let the writer tell you about it...
Recently, at NewsBusters.org, Kevin Mooney writes about it:
"Lawrence Solomon, executive director of Energy Probe and author of The Deniers, carefully explains how dishonest researchers cooked the books:
“The number stems from a 2009 online survey of 10,257 earth scientists, conducted by two researchers at the University of Illinois,” he wrote in a 2010 article. “The survey results must have deeply disappointed the researchers – in the end, they chose to highlight the views of a subgroup of just 77 scientists, 75 of whom thought humans contributed to climate change. The ratio 75/77 produces the 97 percent figure that pundits now tout.”
This rejoinder to the 97 percent figure concerning the so-called “scientific consensus” is not typically reported as it would complicate the political agenda attached to global warming alarmism. But there is a new 97 percent number concerning the latest U.N. report that goes unmentioned. John Droz, a physicist and mathematician, who heads up the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED), has just released an independent study that shows 97 percent of the computer models attached to the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) overestimate the amount of carbon dioxide induced warming. Droz’s study probes into the draft version of the U.N.’s Fifth Assessment, which was released in September.
'How come we don’t see the media publicizing this 97 percent consensus?' he asks."
Friday, December 13, 2013
"'Wind Turbine syndrome' sufferers in Cape Cod sue"
As reported here, wind turbines have drawbacks, and they are BIG...
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Snejana Farberov reports on this one:
"Dozens of residents of a small community in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have filed lawsuits claiming that a trio of large wind turbines located near their homes have been harming their health.
In the summer of 2010, the town of Falmouth and a private company called Notus Clean Energy erected three 400-feet-tall, 1.63 megawatt wind turbines.
Just months later, Sue Hobart, a 57-year-old wedding florist, began experiencing spells of dizziness, bouts of insomnia, ringing in her ears and severe headaches.
At first, Mrs Hobart attributed her symptoms to the onset of old age, but then she noticed that whenever she was away from home, the symptoms vanished."
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Global-warming ‘proof’ is evaporating | New York Post
Using the concept of "put up or shut up", the global warming idea hucksters are not putting anything up, SO...
In the New York Post, Michael Fumento begins his recent article with this, and then writes more:
"The 2013 hurricane season just ended as one of the five quietest years since 1960. But don’t expect anyone who pointed to last year’s hurricanes as 'proof' of the need to act against global warming to apologize; the warmists don’t work that way. Warmist claims of a severe increase in hurricane activity go back to 2005 and Hurricane Katrina. The cover of Al Gore’s 2009 book, 'Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis,' even features a satellite image of the globe with four major hurricanes superimposed.
Yet the evidence to the contrary was there all along. Back in 2005 I and others reviewed the entire hurricane record, which goes back over a century, and found no increase of any kind."
"Jim Flaherty projects $3.7B surplus for 2015-16"
Don't get your hopes up.
This projection is for Canada.
It's proof that it CAN be done!...
This projection is for Canada.
It's proof that it CAN be done!...
On the Canadian Broadcasting website, Susana Mas recently reported on this:
"The federal government is not only on track to balance the budget by 2014-15, it will also end seven years of deficits to emerge with a surplus by the time Canadians head to the polls in 2015, said Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who was in Edmonton delivering the fall economic and fiscal update.
The government is projecting a deficit of $5.5 billion for 2014-15, with a projected surplus of $3.7 billion in 2015-16. By comparison, Flaherty predicted in his March budget that there would be a deficit of $6.6 billion for 2014-15 and a budgetary surplus of $800 million in 2015-16.
"We promised we would bring the budget back into balance, and that we would do it without raising taxes or reducing funding for health care or other important social programs," Flaherty said in a video presentation to a crowd gathered at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday."
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Government at Work - Bad, Bad, Bad
In the U.K., the Metro recently published this. For what it's worth, I assume they are a tabloid:
"Pregnant woman has unborn baby forcibly removed from her womb by social services | Metro News"
How Often Do Gamblers Really Win? - WSJ.com
Mark Maremont and Alexandra Berzon recently wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal:
"The lightest gamblers—the 10% of customers who placed the fewest wagers over the two years—also had the highest winning percentage. About 17% of them ended up in the black—tough odds but still better than the dismal 5.4% winning percentage of the heaviest gamblers. Among the whole group of 4,222 gamblers, just seven won more than $5,000 (€3,698) over the two years, while 217 lost more than $5,000. That's a 31-1 ratio of big losers to big winners."
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The invisible island where New York buries its poor and unidentified - The Week
At theWeek.com, Christopher Maag recently wrote about this:
"Nearly one million people are buried in mass graves off of the Bronx. But the city prefers you know nothing about it."
Newspaper presses FOIA fight for food stamp payment data - POLITICO.com
It would seem like a non-issue to release it unless it's really embarassing.
I guess I answered my own question...
At Politico.com, Josh Gerstein recently called attention to this:
"South Dakota's Argus Leader newspaper urged a federal appeals court Wednesday to reverse a ruling blocking the newspaper from receiving data on how much the federal government pays to stores that redeeem food stamp benefits.
Jon Arneson, an attorney for the newspaper, told a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit that a lower court judge misinterpreted the law by ruling that a confidentiality provision for retailer applications allowed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to withhold all data on payments to those retailers. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the newspaper requested the data on annual payments to each retailer approved to take part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP."
Monday, December 09, 2013
NFL Bans Super Bowl Ad Defending Second Amendment Gun Rights - Investors.com
This recent Investors.com editorial offers an example:
"While ads featuring violent movies and video games regularly appear on NFL broadcasts, pro football has banned an ad supporting the Second Amendment. The NFL is within its rights, since Item 5 in its prohibited list of Super Bowl ad categories includes 'Firearms, ammunition or other weapons; however, stores that sell firearms and ammunitions (e.g., outdoor stores and camping stores) will be permitted, provided they sell other products and the ads do not mention firearms, ammunition or other weapons.'
But the ad submitted twice by Daniel Defense does not sell firearms or one of the company's popular DDM4 rifles. Daniel Defense has a brick-and-mortar store, where it sells products other than firearms.
In fact, the ad does not sell anything. It's a visual paraphrase of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the right of individuals to keep and bear arms to protect their country, themselves, their property and their families."
Sunday, December 08, 2013
2013-12-08 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Politicians - Colorado State Senator Evie Hudak
If you need to know the priorities of political parties, just read this...
At LegalInsurrection.com, Mandy Nagy has posted this KVDR-TV story:
"State Sen. Evie Hudak has decided to resign rather than risk facing a recall election that, should she lose, would flip control of the senate to Republicans, FOX31 Denver was first to report Wednesday. Later Wednesday morning, Hudak made her resignation letter public."
Friday, December 06, 2013
Orion Crew Module Comes Alive at T` Minus 1 Year to Maiden Blastoff
At UniverseToday.com, Ken Kremer recently wrote about this:
"Orion is a state of the art crew capsule that will ultimately enable astronauts to fly to deep space destinations including the Moon, Asteroids, Mars and beyond – throughout our solar system."
"Family fights to include ‘Jesus’ on grave marker at city-owned cemetery"
Todd Starnes has this story, including the outcome, on the FoxNews website:
"The family of a Colorado preacher’s wife is still fuming after the director of the city-owned cemetery refused to engrave her final resting place with the name ‘Jesus’ because it might offend people. The city eventually reversed course under public pressure.
'We were in disbelief,' said Stacy Adams, the daughter-in-law of Linda Baker. 'Who tries to censor Jesus from a cemetery?' Linda Baker lost her battle with cancer last week. She was the wife of Mark Baker, the pastor of Harvest Baptist Church in Ovid.
Adams said her mother-in-law was passionate about her Christian faith and her family. Her final wish was to have her cemetery marker engraved with the ichthys, a symbol of early Christianity. She also wanted the word ‘Jesus’ written inside the fish.
'At first they told us it wouldn’t fit,' Adams told me. 'But after we kept pushing them the cemetery director told us that it might offend somebody. They weren’t going to allow it.' The family was devastated and asked the cemetery director to reconsider. He refused.
'He said, ‘What if somebody wanted to put a swastika?” she recounted.'
Thursday, December 05, 2013
"A Hard Lesson from Motown: They Will Steal Your Pension"
As far as financial security, politicians/elected officials have NOT served us well.
As the author implies, this is likely just the tip of the iceberg...
As the author implies, this is likely just the tip of the iceberg...
At www.Newsweek.com, David Cay Johnston digs into this terrible story in his well-written posting:
"According to Government Accountability Office research, public employees across America may be cheated out of almost a trillion dollars, nearly half the benefits they have already earned, but not yet collected.
Private-sector workers are at risk of losing almost as much, about $840 billion, although at the moment Congress guarantees a portion of company pensions so actual losses could be much smaller."
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
"Global warming gets twice as much money as border security"
Can I use "hard to believe" and "I'm not surprised" in the same sentence?...
On the DailyCaller.com website, Michael Bastasch recently posted about this:
"The White House reported to House Republicans that there are 18 federal agencies engaged in global warming activities in 2013, funding a wide range of programs, including scientific research, international climate assistance, incentivizing renewable energy technology and subsidies to renewable energy producers. Global warming spending is estimated to cost $22.2 billion this year, and $21.4 billion next year.
At the same time, the federal government will spend nearly $12 billion on customs and border enforcement this year."
"Census Bureau: Means-Tested Gov't Benefit Recipients Outnumber Full-Time Year-Round Workers"
Oh my.
This looks like a sinking ship to me...
This looks like a sinking ship to me...
At CNSnews.com, Terence P. Jeffrey recently reported these startling numbers:
"There were 108,592,000 people in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2011 who were recipients of one or more means-tested government benefit programs, the Census Bureau said in data released this week. Meanwhile, according to the Census Bureau, there were 101,716,000 people who worked full-time year round in 2011. That included both private-sector and government workers.
That means there were about 1.07 people getting some form of means-tested government benefit for every 1 person working full-time year round."
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Early Skirmishes in a Race War | National Review Online
That being said, they owe it to their customers to report these occurrences fully, and that includes the race of the parties involved...
At National Review Online, Thomas Sowell recently wrote about this incendiary issue:
"Even when these attacks are accompanied by shouts of anti-white rhetoric and exultant laughter at the carnage, the racial makeup of the attackers and their victims is usually ignored by the media, and public officials often deny that race has anything to do with what happened.
These attacks have sent many people to the hospital, and some victims have died, but the attacks are often carried out in a festive atmosphere. What are called 'troubled youths,' in this and other contexts, are often in fact young people enjoying themselves greatly by creating big trouble for others."
"Barber Bill Barely Takes Anything Off The Top"
And then remember, you don't need ANY training to run for office...
Manny Lopez recently posted this at MichiganCapitolConfidential.com:
"That’s right, as Michigan Capitol Confidential has chronicled, if you want to cut hair in this state you need to spend 2,000 hours training before you can use the shears on strangers. But if you want to put out your shingle in defense of justice, 1,200 hours will do."
Monday, December 02, 2013
The Media - Agenda driven omission?
I confess to being a skeptic. Reporting like this supports my position...
At NewsBusters.org, P.J. Gladnick calls attention to this media bias:
"Today Show Skips Why 'Knockout Game' Perp Was Caught; Shot by Concealed-Carry Permit Holder"
"In 23 Advanced Economies: U.S. Adults Rank 21st in Math Skills"
And I guess there are also many who are not so much...
On the CNSnews website, Terence P. Jeffrey recently reported this and more:
"The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on Friday released the initial results of an international survey of adult skills in literacy and mathematics, revealing that Americans rank 21st in 'numeracy' and are tied for 15th in literacy among adults in 23 advanced economies. American adults also scored below the average in both numeracy and literacy for all respondents in all 23 advanced economies."
