Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Obama’s Watergates

Obama’s Watergates | National Review Online:
"That too is in accord with the Watergate pattern.
The Nixon administration covered up in Machiavellian fashion the June 1972 Watergate break-in, almost five months before the president’s landslide win.
At least six weeks before the election, the nation knew that there were members of the Nixon administration or the Nixon reelection committee involved in Watergate-related misdeeds — but they found that in comparison to Vietnam, the Chinese initiatives, or the economy, the Watergate news was boring.
Again, that the Obama scandals were successfully kept hushed up before the 2012 election is not unusual."

Imagine that.
A black Nixon!
With all the trimmings......

Why this weekend's Perseid meteor shower should be exceptionally stunning in West Michigan

Why this weekend's Perseid meteor shower should be exceptionally stunning in West Michigan | MLive.com:
"According to NASA, viewing this year should be exceptional if skies are clear, because the moon will be in crescent shape and set early.
Amplifying view opportunities, the moon "will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies from late night until dawn," the agency wrote on its website.
Sunday and Monday nights are expected to be the best for Perseid viewing. "

Newly available wind power often has no place to go

Newly available wind power often has no place to go | McClatchy:
“They’ve connected to the system in our region ahead of planned transmission upgrades,” said Southwest Power Pool’s director of system operations, Don Shipley. “Some of the wind farms have seen fairly significant impacts of up to 50 percent of their projected production.”
In other words, a lot of the power those farms were expecting to generate isn’t making it to the market.
Shipley said the electric market and the wind farms were losing money because of the curtailments, as the pool is unable to sell power that the grid is incapable of transmitting."

Community turns against seven teachers and a board member who showed support for a pedophile teacher

Community turns against seven teachers and a board member who showed support for a pedophile teacher - EAGnews.org powered by Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.:
"“Neal made a mistake,” teacher Sally Campbell wrote, according to the newspaper. “He allowed a mutual friendship to develop into much more. He realized his mistake and ended it years before someone anonymously sent something to the authorities which began this legal process.”

“I am asking that Neal be given the absolute minimum sentence, considering all the circumstances surrounding this case,” teacher Amy Huber Eagan wrote to the court. “I am also hoping that he can stay remanded to custody in the Ogemaw County Jail and not be sent to a prison facility.”

“Neal has plead (sic) guilty for his one criminal offense but he is not a predator,” teacher Harriett Coe wrote. “This was an isolated incident. He understands the severity of his action and is sincere in his desire to make amends.”"

Sick.
And doubly sick that these morons are getting paid to "teach" our children.

Muskegon county election results

CandidateVotesPrecincts Reporting



Muskegon Mayoral Race

Zawdie Abiade41815/15
Steve Gawron140415/15
Jeanette Moore28415/15



Muskegon City Commissioner Race


Joshua EldenBrady9415/15
Donnell Harvey10715/15
Ken Johnson43815/15
Bill Larson59815/15
Lea Markowski43715/15
Mark Molitor46715/15
RayCharles Roberson23015/15
William Snyder25715/15
William J. Springsted13715/15
Dan (Rinsema) Sybenga78815/15
Linda Traylor34615/15



Egelston Township Millages


Fire Dept. Millage
Yes, No
266, 2803/3
Streetlight Millage
Yes, No
241, 3060/3



Hart Millage


Hart Public Schools Millage Renewal
Yes, No

Detroit City Council incumbents fare well in first by-district primary in nearly a century

Detroit City Council incumbents fare well in first by-district primary in nearly a century | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Detroit City Council incumbents fared well, as did former state representatives, in Tuesday night’s historic primary elections, as voters chose their members by district for the first time in nearly 100 years."

Ya caint fix wat the folks dont want fixed.

Woman may have embezzled $338,000 from Whitehall's Viking Tool; sentence hangs on the amount

Woman may have embezzled $338,000 from Whitehall's Viking Tool; sentence hangs on the amount | MLive.com:

EXography: County employees can earn twice as much as residents they serve

EXography: County employees can earn twice as much as residents they serve | WashingtonExaminer.com

Holy crap!

Oakland Township founder of cancer center faces charges in $35 million Medicare billing fraud scheme

Oakland Township founder of cancer center faces charges in $35 million Medicare billing fraud scheme | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Farid Fata of Oakland Township, who in 2005 founded the hematology centers with offices in Bloomfield Township, Troy, Sterling Heights, Clarkston, Lapeer and Oak Park, allegedly oversaw about $35 million in Medicare billings over a two-year period,"

Wait till Obamacare kicks in and see the fraud.
Solandra on meds, dudes!

Gawron, Abiade and four city commission candidates move on to Muskegon's Nov. 5 general election

Gawron, Abiade and four city commission candidates move on to Muskegon's Nov. 5 general election | MLive.com:
"Losing a bid to retain her at-large seat was incumbent commissioner Lea Markowski, who came in fifth by one vote behind Johnson."

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Election 2013 Vote Tracker: See the results as they come in, other live updates | MLive.com

Election 2013 Vote Tracker: See the results as they come in, other live updates | MLive.com:
Candidate Votes Precincts Reporting

Muskegon Mayoral Race

Zawdie Abiade 418
15/15
Steve Gawron 1404
15/15
Jeanette Moore 284
15/15

Muskegon City Commissioner Race

Joshua EldenBrady 94
15/15
Donnell Harvey 107
15/15
Ken Johnson 438
15/15
Bill Larson
598
15/15
Lea Markowski
437
15/15
Mark Molitor
467
15/15
RayCharles Roberson 230
15/15
William Snyder 257
15/15
William J. Springsted 137
15/15
Dan (Rinsema) Sybenga 788
15/15
Linda Traylor 346
15/15

Egelston Township Millages

Fire Dept. Millage
Yes, No
266, 280
3/3
Streetlight Millage
Yes, No
0, 0
0/3

Hart Millage

Hart Public Schools Millage Renewal
Yes, No
240, 148
3/6"

ABC newsman Don Ennis says he’s no longer a woman after transgender ‘misdiagnosis’

ABC newsman Don Ennis says he’s no longer a woman after transgender ‘misdiagnosis’ - NYPOST.com

College Football Will Be Dead in 20 Years

College Football Will Be Dead in 20 Years –:
"College football as we know it will be dead within 20 years, but it won’t be from health/concussion issues, nor will it be because of the “cable sports bubble.”
It will be because colleges and universities as we know them now will cease to exist and when they go they will take collegiate sports with them."

'Chicken and waffles' racial stereotypes won't move Detroit forward

Susan J. Demas: 'Chicken and waffles' racial stereotypes won't move Detroit forward | MLive.com:
"But the fact that Finley, who's unquestionably intelligent, chose to trot out the loaded "chicken and waffles" line about an African-American in the year 2013 is jaw-dropping. "

OK.
The list of words-white-people-dare-not-utter now includes "chicken" and "waffles"?
What's gonna happen if a bird says "Polly want a cracker"?
PETA SWAT team?

Muskegon woman gets jail for biting off another woman's finger in fight over 50 cents, cigarettes

Muskegon woman gets jail for biting off another woman's finger in fight over 50 cents, cigarettes | MLive.com:
"MUSKEGON, MI – Senta Marlice Staffney got six months in jail for chomping off and spitting out another woman’s ring finger in a fight over 50 cents and a cigarette."

Detroit and the Special-Interest State

RealClearPolicy - Detroit and the Special-Interest State:
Capture by faction has become endemic. 
As government has grown and budgets and regulatory empires have expanded, economic and ideological factions have carved off satrapies in the agencies and congressional subcommittees. 
The true greens control EPA. Unions have Labor and the NLRB. 
The banks have the Fed and Treasury. 
The energy companies used to have the Department of Energy, but now it is in the hands of the green crony capitalists. 
Farm policy is controlled by a coalition of agricultural interests and food-stamp advocates. 
HUD serves housing industry and urban constituencies. 
HHS and its state satellites are a tool of the health-care industry -- my state senator in Montana deals with 63 health-care lobbyists, all of them focused on one thing: more money from the state. 
Academia, teachers' unions, and the consulting industry control the Department of Education. 
Public employees have become a powerful interest group in themselves. 
And so on.
Conservatives keep arguing about Obama's political philosophy, but they miss the point. His strength is that he has none. He has no views on environmental or labor or health or education policy; whatever the interests that have been given that part of the government want is all right with him. His job is to assure each member of his coalition that it will indeed be given freedom of action, to mediate the occasional conflicts, and to serve as a mouthpiece when interest-group talking points are put on his teleprompter.
The system of capture by faction is also leading to huge and growing systemic corruption, as the beneficiaries tithe to whoever promises to keep the benefits flowing. Business has given up on efforts to support a market economy and devotes itself to competitive crony capitalism. For example, as George Gilder recently wrote in Knowledge and Power, the alternative-energy scams are ruining Silicon Valley by triggering a "general Gadarene rush for green subsidies" and "transform[ing] venture capitalists from heroic contributors to American innovation . . . into a pack of grubby petitioners for pork."
Only the Koch Brothers hold to the ideal of the free market without cronyism, which is why they are so thoroughly excoriated by the Progressives.

Study: U.S. Debt Obligations $70 Trillion

Study: U.S. Debt Obligations $70 Trillion:
"A new study by University of California-San Diego economics professor James Hamilton finds that the United States has over $70 trillion in off-balance sheet liabilities--an amount nearly six times the on-balance-sheet debt figure.
The Treasury debt outstanding is $16.74 trillion. Of that, $4.84 trillion is money the U.S. owes itself.
For that reason, explains Matt Phillips of Quartz, “many analysts tend to focus on the $11.91 trillion in debt that is publicly available to be traded.”
Hamilton’s study, however, examined the federal liabilities that are not included in the government’s officially reported numbers.
Specifically, he examined the federal government’s “support for housing, other loan guarantees, deposit insurance, actions taken by the Federal Reserve, and government trust funds.”
Not surprisingly, Hamilton found that Medicare and Social Security represent the bulk of future U.S. debt obligations, coming in at $27.6 trillion and $26.5 trillion respectively.
The study's $70 trillion debt estimate may actually be overly optimistic."

Chicago sees pension crisis drawing near

Chicago sees pension crisis drawing near:
"The pension fund for retired Chicago teachers stands at risk of collapse.
The city's four funds for other retired city workers are short by $19.5 billion.
At least one of the funds is in peril of running out of money in less than a decade."

Drunk walking leads to pedestrian fatalities

My Way News - Drunk walking leads to pedestrian fatalities:
"Thirty-five percent of those killed, or 1,547 pedestrians, had blood alcohol content levels of .08 or higher, the legal limit for driving, according to data reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by state highway departments.
Among the 625 pedestrians aged 25- to 34-years-old who were killed, half were alcohol impaired. Just under half the pedestrians killed who were in their early 20s and their mid-30s to mid-50s were also impaired. Only among pedestrians age 55 or older or younger than age 20 was the share of those killed a third or less.
By comparison, 13 percent of drivers involved in crashes in which pedestrians were killed were over the .08 limit."

New paper finds climate change over decades primarily determined by the oceans

New paper finds climate change over decades primarily determined by the oceans — Published in journal Nature | Climate Depot:
"A new paper published in Nature finds climate change over timescales longer than 10 years is “primarily determined by the ocean,” which skeptics, including famed Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Science Dr. William Gray, have been saying for years.
According to the paper, “the ocean significantly affects long term climate fluctuations, while the seemingly chaotic atmosphere is mainly responsible for the shorter-term, year-to-year changes.

Monday, August 05, 2013

Detroit City Council needs to get its priorities straight

Feedback: Detroit City Council needs to get its priorities straight | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"I find it interesting, if not mind-boggling, that the Detroit City Council has the time and finds the need to pass a resolution calling for a federal investigation into the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
With all of Detroit’s problems, bankruptcy, crime, blight, political corruption — to name just a few — they find the time and need to spend on a legally settled trial in another state?
Give us a break.
Is that the most important thing the council has to be concerned with?
Greg Arceri
Northville"

Michelle O’s L.A. school lunch menu: potato-chive waffles and a ‘black bean mountain’

Michelle O’s L.A. school lunch menu: potato-chive waffles and a ‘black bean mountain’ - EAGnews.org powered by Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.:
"The school district estimates students threw away more than 8 million meals last year, according to the paper.
It’s just the latest example of a string of problems created by the federal overhaul of school lunches."

Snake kills 2 N.B. boys after escaping store, RCMP say

Snake kills 2 N.B. boys after escaping store, RCMP say - Windsor - CBC News:
"New Brunswick RCMP have launched a criminal investigation into the deaths of two young boys killed by a python that reportedly slithered through ventilation shafts after it escaped from a reptile store, though police say it's too early to determine whether charges will be laid.
Police confirmed that the store owner also resides in the upstairs apartment in Campbellton, N.B. where the two boys, aged five and seven, were found dead Sunday morning."

Monday afternoon links | AEIdeas

Monday afternoon links | AEIdeas:
"3. The unreliability of wind power could mean Scotland will have to import energy from England – leaving it with the highest household bills in the world.
Is that why it’s called “green” energy – it takes so much “green” to pay for it?"

Guards allegedly forced into union day before right-to-work implemented

Guards allegedly forced into union day before right-to-work implemented | Fox News:
"The federal government is investigating a Michigan labor group and company for forcing three employees into the union on the eve of the state's implementation of right-to-work"

WHY DOGS DON’T LIVE AS LONG AS HUMANS

WHY DOGS DON’T LIVE AS LONG AS HUMANS | TechNudge
Jeepers, grab a hankie if yer gonna read this one.

Dem Polling Firm PPP Names Registered Dem George Zimmerman Among Potential 2016 GOP Nominees

Dem Polling Firm PPP Names Registered Dem George Zimmerman Among Potential 2016 GOP Nominees: "Yes, that George Zimmerman--the acquitted shooter of Trayvon Martin.
Why George Zimmerman, a registered Democrat who voted for President Obama in 2008?
And why would PPP list Zimmerman, 29, in polls for a presidential election in which he wouldn't even be eligible, at 44 years old? "

Poll: Michigan voters wary of gay marriage legislation, ballot measure

Poll: Michigan voters wary of gay marriage legislation, ballot measure | MLive.com:
"LANSING, MI -- A slim majority of likely Michigan voters would oppose legislation or a ballot measure seeking to allow same-sex marriage in the state"

The Rise of Al-Qaeda and Why the Administration Lied about Benghazi

Roger L. Simon » The Rise of Al-Qaeda and Why the Administration Lied about Benghazi:
"For nearly a year, we have had no answer to why the administration lied about Benghazi — why it told the world, not to mention the parents of our murdered SEALs at the funeral of their sons, that the cause of that fatal conflagration was an anti-Islamic video no one saw, when the various arms of our executive branch (White House, State and intelligence) already knew, or strongly suspected, it was a terror attack orchestrated by al-Qaeda affiliates.

You only have to read the now infamous talking points to know that.


That this lie was deeply immoral is obvious.
What still eludes us is the cause of that lie, other than the equally obvious desire to avoid embarrassment weeks before a presidential election."

For some, college not worth the debt

For some, college not worth the debt: Column:
"In their recent book, Academically Adrift, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa note that many students show little actual learning in college.
Some students -- especially those from poor and minority households -- actually come out of college doing worse on assessment tests than when they went in. "

EMU's strategy of new buildings, classes attracts students; freshmen GPA on rise

EMU's strategy of new buildings, classes attracts students; freshmen GPA on rise | Crain's Detroit Business

Third Woman’s Burned Body Found On Detroit’s West Side

Third Woman’s Burned Body Found On Detroit’s West Side « CBS Detroit

Granholm and econuts in Muskegon MI 8 5 2013 - YouTube

ATTENTION AL SHARPTON: Black Dude in White Hoodie Viciously Stabs White Teenage Girl

ATTENTION AL SHARPTON: Black Dude in White Hoodie Viciously Stabs White Teenage Girl - Doug Giles
"Did you hear about the seventeen-year-old Queens resident, Natasha Martinez, who was stabbed eleven times last week by a black male wearing a white hoodie?
Yep, just a few days ago, as this young lady was walking home from her job at Mickey D’s, and right in front of her house, Natasha was jumped by a black dude in a white hoodie and suffered eleven stab wounds -- she is in serious condition.
Her state was so grave the doctors at Jamaica Hospital had to remove her spleen and confiscate a vein from her leg and implant it into her arm.
Back to my original question: Did you catch that story last week?
You didn’t?
Yeah, I didn’t think so."

Top 10 College Towns 2013

Top 10 College Towns 2013 - Boulder, CO | Livability

Genesee County delaying bond sale, Wayne County rating cut shows Detroit bankruptcy penalty spreads

Genesee County delaying bond sale, Wayne County rating cut shows Detroit bankruptcy penalty spreads | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Standard & Poor's may adjust ratings on general-obligation bonds from issuers throughout Michigan depending on how Detroit's debt is dealt with in bankruptcy, Jane Ridley, the New York-based company's primary Detroit analyst, said in an online presentation Thursday."

Analysis of July Employment Numbers 1955 to 2013; Full-Time Employment Down Over 5 Million Since 2007

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: An Analysis of July Employment Numbers 1955 to 2013; Full-Time Employment Down Over 5 Million Since 2007:

Michigan left turn gets boost from Wayne State University

Michigan left turn gets boost from Wayne State University | MLive.com:
"DETROIT (AP) — Wayne State University engineers will help spread the gospel of the Michigan left turn around the world, thanks to a grant from the Science Applications International Corp.
The median U-turn is common on Michigan roads as a way to avoid accident-generating left turns at intersections.
Wayne State says it isn't used widely in other states and countries in part because the design isn't yet included in standard manuals and software that highway designers use.
The university says it's received a $78,000 grant from Scientific Applications to develop equations, text and software so the Michigan left turn and three other designs can join the next edition of the Highway Capacity Manual that highway designers use.
Civil engineering department chairman Joseph Hummer heads the effort."

Could this prevent drownings? Bluffton couple proposes beach signage for rip current days

Could this prevent drownings? Bluffton couple proposes beach signage for rip current days | MLive.com:
"Not long after she came up with the idea, Kathleen shared the idea on Facebook, where it drew support from members of the community.
The Community Foundation for Muskegon County also connected them to donors who had an interest in beach safety.
The city, however, was less supportive, according to the Kallens.
Officials, including those from the Planning, Zoning and Recreation Department, told them that city ordinances prohibited them from placing the signs on the beach and that they would be fined if they violated the ordinances, the Kallens said.
Cathy Brubaker-Clarke, the city's department director, did not return phone calls and messages left by MLive and the Muskegon Chronicle."

Futures flat despite upbeat GDP, private sector employment report

Futures flat despite upbeat GDP, private sector employment report:
"GDP growing at a 1.7 percent annual rate, up from the first-quarter's downwardly revised 1.1 percent expansion pace,"

Unions get creative to halt decline in membership

Unions get creative to halt decline in membership | MLive.com:
"Unions are helping non-union fast-food workers around the country hold strikes to protest low wages and poor working conditions.
They are trying to organize home day-care workers, university graduate students and even newly legalized marijuana dealers. 
Members of a "shadow union" at Wal-Mart hold regular protests at the giant retailer, which long has been resistant to organizing."

Brown bag banned | chink in armor

Brown bag banned | chink in armor | language police:
"Here are some prior examples we have considered: Black List, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Rejigger, Providence Plantations, Black Friday, Gobbledygook, Illegal Immigrant, Undocumented Immigrant, Master Bedroom, and even the use of white copy paper.

We also addressed the idiom Chink in the Armor after a sportscaster was suspended and a copywriter (who happened to be married to an Asian woman) was fired for using the phrase in connection with discussing basketball player Jeremy Lin’s on-court weaknesses.
The controversy was contrived, but it drove race into the headlines:"

America: Where Hard Working, Productive Members Of Society Pay For The Health Care Of Everyone Else

America: Where Hard Working, Productive Members Of Society Pay For The Health Care Of Everyone Else:
"It would be bad enough if hard working Americans just had to pay for their own health insurance.
But no, they are also expected to pay for the health care of members of Congress, employees of the IRS and other federal agencies, state and local government employees, their adult kids (because they can't afford health insurance), the elderly, the poor, and now under Obamacare they will also be expected to subsidize the health plans of tens of millions of other Americans that are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.

When you add it all up, the hard working, productive members of society are at least partially subsidizing the health care of well over half of all Americans while having to pay for their own health care at the same time."

The Kindle has turned me off paper books

The Kindle has turned me off paper books | Books | theguardian.com:
"It has been a few years since I read an actual book on a plane, and I was astonished at how cumbersome, how intractably wrong, it felt in my hands.
I found myself – which I have never done before and heartily disapprove of – folding the book in half so that only the page I was reading was visible.
That gave me a cramp in my right hand, and the pages wouldn't stay still, quite, as I read. I found myself swaying slightly, as if at the Wailing Wall. Then I went back to the two-handed double-page-opened position – even describing it makes it seem like an obscure sort of manoeuvre, rather than a natural function – but I still couldn't settle down.
The book was too fat. 
It was too heavy. 
It spread out too widely.
It was as if I had taken an unruly small pet onto the plane and couldn't keep it under control."

Climate Change and the Problem of ‘Press Release Science’

PJ Lifestyle » Climate Change and the Problem of ‘Press Release Science’

Climate change focus of national bus tour

WGVU Broadcasting:
"The bus tour is making stops in 27 states at local communities as part of an effort to promote local and federal action to address climate change.
Sponsored by Progress Michigan, the tour follows recent action by President Obama on climate changes, including limits on carbon pollution, infrastructure improvements to tackle the effects of climate change, and investments in clean energy and energy efficiency.
The “I Will Act On Climate" Muskegon Stop is scheduled for Monday August 5th, at 10:00 AM at the Renewable Energy Center on Viridian Drive in Muskegon. "

Sunday, August 04, 2013

The Truth About Detroit's Bankruptcy

Professor says kids don't need to learn spelling and grammar

Professor says kids don't need to learn spelling and grammar | The Daily Caller:
"Sugata Mitra, a professor of educational technology at Newcastle University in northeast England, announced that traditional language rules are out of fashion, reports the Daily Mail. Kids don’t need to waste time on those things, see. State-of-the-art computers and mobile phones can make the necessary corrections."

Your Help Is Hurting: How Church Foreign Aid Programs Make Things Worse

Your Help Is Hurting: How Church Foreign Aid Programs Make Things Worse - Forbes:
’Your help is hurting’ is an incredibly powerful four-word sentence.
And I’m just kind of wondering, why is it that the philanthropic world is so slow to see this, because I think......., I think a lot of philanthropy is hurting.
A whole lot of well-intentioned help is hurting, and yet global philanthropy is a huge, huge business.
 So why isn’t this whole industry of helping people picking up on the fact that in many cases, their help is hurting?”"

New York Times Sells Boston Globe at 93% Loss

New York Times Sells Boston Globe at 93% Loss:
"After purchasing the Boston Globe in 1993 for a then-record $1.1 billion, the financially troubled New York Times just announced it sold the 141 year-old paper to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry for a mere $70 million.
That's a straight 93% loss.
 Figuring in two decades of inflation would only make it worse -- as does the fact the Times retains the Globe's pension liabilities, estimated at over $100 million."

City of Detroit switching to high-deductible health care plan for employees

City of Detroit switching to high-deductible health care plan for employees | Crain's Detroit Business:
"City employees will see increased deductibles under a new health care plan proposed Friday by Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr designed to save $12 million per year in the city's budget.
Annual deductibles for a single city employee with no dependents would increase from $200 to $750.
 There would be a $1,500 cap on annual out-of-pocket expenses.
For a married city employee with a family, the annual deductible would increase from $500 to $1,500.
The cap on out-of-pocket expenses would increase from $3,000 to $4,500."

Trip to update paperwork strands immigrants at the Ambassador Bridge

Trip to update paperwork strands immigrants at the Ambassador Bridge | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"The bus, chartered by the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, was carrying 47 Mexicans who live in Michigan to the Mexican Consulate in Detroit so they could update their immigration paperwork.
The bus driver took a wrong turn and accidentally took the Ambassador Bridge exit off I-75.
Federal border officials took all the immigrants, six of them children, into custody and detained most of them for 12 hours.
Three were arrested and sent to the Calhoun County jail, where they remain. 
Others were given notices that could lead to future court dates."

"Immigrants"?

North Pole Sees Unprecedented July Cold – Arctic Sees Shortest Summer On Record

North Pole Sees Unprecedented July Cold – Arctic Sees Shortest Summer On Record — ‘Normally the high Arctic has about 90 days above freezing. This year there was less than half that’ | Climate Depot:
"North Pole Sees Unprecedented July Cold
 – Arctic Sees Shortest Summer On Record
 —‘Normally the high Arctic has about 90 days above freezing. 
This year there was less than half that’"

Saturday, August 03, 2013

Ken Braun: Michigan's Certificate of Need helps hospitals, hurts patients

Ken Braun: Michigan's Certificate of Need helps hospitals, hurts patients | MLive.com:
"But in Michigan, we have the Certificate of Need Commission.
The job of this powerful but obscure bit of meddling is to determine how much medicine is too much medicine.
On its website, the Michigan Department of Community Health says the CON program balances “cost, quality and access issues, and ensures that only needed services are developed in Michigan.”
In plain-English, this means even highly-qualified medical providers must beg for permission before adding hospital services ranging from MRI scanners and transplant surgery, down to just basic hospital beds.
If the CON Commission thinks too many hospital beds or MRIs exist already, it will say “no.”

Shocking: Black Teen Unemployment Rate 41.6%

Shocking: Black Teen Unemployment Rate 41.6%:

More Bankruptcies Won’t Solve Cities’ Crises

More Bankruptcies Won’t Solve Cities’ Crises - Bloomberg:
"That is why, despite their well-documented pension problems, the three recent California bankruptcies either didn’t seek (Vallejo) or aren’t currently seeking (Stockton and San Bernardino) pension cuts through the Chapter 9 process.
Detroit is seeking pension cuts in bankruptcy as a result of the state’s emergency-manager law, not the bankruptcy process itself."

New Proposal Could Singlehandedly Cripple Free Speech Online

New Proposal Could Singlehandedly Cripple Free Speech Online | American Civil Liberties Union

Villainous Company: Racism, Conversations, and the Sound of One Hand

Villainous Company: Racism, Conversations, and the Sound of One Hand Clapping:
The racial experiences of blacks are poignant and touching: the young man who feels alienated by the suspicious glances of complete strangers, the father who finds it exquisitely painful to explain to his teenaged son that he mustn't give the police cause to arrest him, are meant to elicit sympathy.
The racial experiences of whites, on the other hand, are deemed not germane to this "honest" and frank racial discussion.
For reasons not explained, they simply don't signify. 
Actual experiences like being robbed or threatened illustrate no larger theme about race relations in America. 
In this, they are different from the woman clutching her purse or the click of a car door. 
These more privileged experiences clearly underscore Deep, Racial Truths. 
The experiences of white folk, on the other hand, are treated as isolated incidents with no deeper meaning. Bringing them up is Not Helpful - it can only lead to forbidden thoughts and proscribed ideas (like the notion that people of all races are slow to forget unpleasant experiences, or that we all have an unfortunate tendency to generalize from particulars). 
The President is right to think purse-clutching women are indicative of some larger problem. 
Hanson is wrong to think that menacing teens are symbolic of anything.

Allen Park Churches, Unions Team Up To Promote Tax Increase

Allen Park Churches, Unions Team Up To Promote Tax Increase [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:
"When it comes to local politics, churches often stay on the sidelines.
 That was not the case in Allen Park where the city's two largest churches staged a "unity rally" in support of a tax increase request.
Allen Park is being overseen by an emergency manager for overspending — most notably on union contracts and a film studio deal that went bad."

PJ Lifestyle » Climate Change and the Problem of ‘Press Release Science’

PJ Lifestyle » Climate Change and the Problem of ‘Press Release Science’

Pontiac Public Schools has financial emergency, review team announces

Pontiac Public Schools has financial emergency, review team announces | MLive.com
A review team has declared Pontiac Public Schools to be in a financial emergency, the last step before an emergency manager could be appointed to take over the district.
......Pontiac Public Schools has a budget deficit of $37.7 million for fiscal year 2012, a 53.6 percent increase over the deficit for fiscal year 2011, the review team found. 
Additionally, the district has $33 million in unpaid bills to vendors and defaulted on a $1.4 million bond payment in May.
The district is also facing a $7.8 million judgment against it for unpaid premiums to the Michigan Education Special Services Association, which provides health coverage for employees. That judgment was spread over a 10-year period

The 50 most dangerous neighborhoods --- a personal note

The 50 most dangerous neighborhoods --- a personal note | WashingtonExaminer.com:
"I note with sadness that the single most dangerous neighborhood, identified as W Chicago/Livernois Ave in Detroit, is within two or three blocks of the church where my parents were married in 1943.
The violent crime rate is reported to be 149.48 per 1,000 people, which suggests that your chance of being a victim of violent crime is something like 1 in 7."

Planned open-carry firearm march reduced to demonstration at request of Grand Haven police

Planned open-carry firearm march reduced to demonstration at request of Grand Haven police | MLive.com: "Instead, the march was cancelled in favor of a stationary demonstration in front of city hall.
Rally organizer Shane Wimer said the change was made at the request of Grand Haven Department of Public Safety, which he ultimately granted.
“I agreed out of respect for the community I live in and because of the respect I have for the law enforcement here,” Wimer said. “Grand Haven has a great police department and I would rather work with them than rub them the wrong way.”"

Friday, August 02, 2013

Rangel assails tea party's 'white crackers,' compares GOP to terrorists

Rangel assails tea party's 'white crackers,' compares GOP to terrorists - Washington Times:
"New York Rep. Charlie Rangel sat down with the Daily Beast and he wants the world to know: The tea party are a bunch of “white crackers.”

“It is the same group we faced in the South with those white crackers and the dogs and the police,” Mr. Rangel told the publication. “They didn’t care about how they looked. It was just fierce indifference to human life that caused America to say enough is enough.”

House Republicans didn’t get off any easier. The congressman likened them to terrorists: “What’s going on is sabotage. Terrorists couldn’t do a better job than the Republicans are doing.”

Rep. Ellison: ‘There’s Plenty of Money, It’s Just The Government Doesn’t Have It’

Rep. Ellison: ‘There’s Plenty of Money, It’s Just The Government Doesn’t Have It’ | CNS News:
“The bottom line is we’re not broke, there’s plenty of money, it’s just the government doesn’t have it,” Ellison continued,
“The government has a right, the government and the people of the United States have a right to run the programs of the United States. Health, welfare, housing – all these things.”

The ‘Inclusive Prosperity Act’ would levy a sales tax on the trading of stocks, bonds and derivatives.
Ellison estimates it would generate $300 billion in revenues annually."

The New York Times fails its readers—and the country

Column: The New York Times fails its readers—and the country | Washington Free Beacon:
"Most of the other questions are constructed so as to provide the president an opportunity to attack the GOP and restate his accomplishments and goals.
Edward Snowden, Lois Lerner, James Rosen, Mohamed Morsi, Bashar Assad, Nouri al-Maliki, Vladimir Putin, Hasan Rouhani, and Hamid Karzai are not mentioned.
Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, and Bob Filner are not mentioned.
Indeed, hardly a single event or personality that has occupied the public imagination over the last six months is mentioned.
The exception is Trayvon Martin, who the president references toward the end of the exchange. "

9-1-1 Calls Depict Chaos, Gangs On Chicago’s Lakefront

9-1-1 Calls Depict Chaos, Gangs On Chicago’s Lakefront « CBS Chicago:
"The operator says they’ll send the beach patrol.
At 9:34 p.m., a caller at the beach says a fight is breaking out: “Yeah, we need the cops down here on Oak Street Beach.
There’s a whole gang of hoodlums fighting and kicking each other in the head and jumping on each other.”
A caller also mentions people trying to escape the chaos by crossing a busy roadway.
“We need cops out here ASAP,” he says.
Later, a caller reports purses being stolen at Division and Oak.
“People are running, things are getting stolen,” the caller says.
“People are hitting the ground.”
Another caller says: “We’re at Oak Street Beach and there are gangs of kids beating up people here.
I don’t know if there’s any cops in the area.”
The Chicago Police Department says its staffing was appropriate on July 4."

Seattle bans words 'citizen' and 'brown bag'

Seattle bans words 'citizen' and 'brown bag' - Telegraph:
"A memo which was circulated within local government in Washington state, before being leaked to local TV station KOMO News, advised state workers that they should refrain from using such phrases in official business.
According to the memo, the word ‘citizen’ is offensive to those Seattlelites who are residents in the city, but not US citizens.
The phrase ‘brown bag’ is offensive for its having been used as a verb during racial segregation in the United States. "

Of 953,000 Jobs Created In 2013, 77%, Or 731,000 Are Part-Time

Obamacare Full Frontal: Of 953,000 Jobs Created In 2013, 77%, Or 731,000 Are Part-Time | Zero Hedge:
 "the US was slowly being converted to a part-time worker society.
This slow conversion accelerated drastically in the last few months, and especially in June, when part time jobs exploded higher by 360K while full time jobs dropped by 240K. 
In July we are sad to report that America's conversation to a part-time worker society is not "tapering": according to the Household Survey, of the 266K jobs created (note this number differs from the establishment survey), only 35% of jobs, or 92K, were full time.
The rest were... not."

New Pelosi Agenda: Moms Free from 'Burden of Child Care'

New Pelosi Agenda: Moms Free from 'Burden of Child Care':
"In an interview on National Public Radio (NPR), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said her new agenda for women will give mothers access to day care so they can “earn without carrying the burden of child care.”

Feds Devote $2.25 Million to Study Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease

Feds Devote $2.25 Million to Study Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease | CNS News

Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America – 2013

Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America – 2013 – Neighborhood Scout:
"We're #1!
......and #2!
......and #3!
......and more!

Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack

Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack – The Lead with Jake Tapper - CNN.com Blogs:
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, whose district includes CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia........

Wolf has repeatedly gone to the House floor, asking for a select committee to be set-up, a Watergate-style probe involving several intelligence committee investigators assigned to get to the bottom of the failures that took place in Benghazi, and find out just what the State Department and CIA were doing there.

More than 150 fellow Republican members of Congress have signed his request, and just this week eight Republicans sent a letter to the new head of the FBI, James Comey, asking that he brief Congress within 30 days.

In the aftermath of the attack, Wolf said he was contacted by people closely tied with CIA operatives and contractors who wanted to talk.

Then suddenly, there was silence.

No democrats!
Zero democrats have signed on to this simple request!
Shameful!


Harbor Theater under new ownership, set to open in September with renovations

Harbor Theater under new ownership, set to open in September with renovations | MLive.com:
"Ticket prices will be $7 to $7.25 and concessions will be sold at affordable prices, they said."

Lawmakers to Subsidize Own Obamacare Premiums with Tax Dollars

Report: Lawmakers to Subsidize Own Obamacare Premiums with Tax Dollars:
"Members of Congress and their aides will essentially be exempt from Obamacare, as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will issue a ruling that says the federal government can subsidize the health insurance premiums of members of Congress and their aides even though the law does not say so."

From my "friend" Mary......

A Letter From Mary
Trayvon Martin’s death revealed, once again, the deep racial fissure that divides our country.
This time, though, there is a movement afoot to use this event as a catalyst to address some of the challenges facing us.

To further discuss those challenges – and identify solutions – NAACP and Community Members are hosting a rally at
Hackley Park on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 5:00 p.m.

Whenever we come together to learn about our challenges and discuss solutions, everyone wins.

Too often, our African American Brothers and Sisters have faced these challenges alone.  I noticed that rallies across the country have been whites and blacks standing side by side.  I am hopeful that we can achieve that same inter-racial statement right here in Muskegon.
We are still lining up the speakers, but I think you will be pleased with the program.
Please join us
 
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7
HACKLEY PARK
5:00
NO JUSTICE – NO JOBS – NO PEACE
PRESENTED BY NAACP AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS
 
I hope you will be there to join this movement that is sweeping the land – a movement to further equality and peace among all of us.
Copyright © 2013 Mary Valentine, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have shown interest in getting on my list.

Our mailing address is:
Mary Valentine
301 Aue Rd.

Muskegon, MI 49441

Rise in violence 'linked to climate change'

BBC News - Rise in violence 'linked to climate change':
"Marshall Burke, from the University of California, Berkeley, said: "This is a relationship we observe across time and across all major continents around the world.
The relationship we find between these climate variables and conflict outcomes are often very large."
The researchers looked at 60 studies from around the world, with data spanning hundreds of years.
They report a "substantial" correlation between climate and conflict.
Their examples include an increase in domestic violence in India during recent droughts, and a spike in assaults, rapes and murders during heatwaves in the US.
The report also suggests rising temperatures correlated with larger conflicts, including ethnic clashes in Europe and civil wars in Africa."

Orr cuts some Detroit police, fire pay 10 percent

Orr cuts some Detroit police, fire pay 10 percent | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Accrued sick time also has been capped.
Changes also were made to how police will be paid for time spent in court."

Flint restaurant re-opens after air conditioning theft forced closure during heat wave

Flint restaurant re-opens after air conditioning theft forced closure during heat wave | MLive.com:
 "FLINT, MI – Chef Nate’s Wings & Things is back up and running at its East Court Street location.
Nate Brown, the owner of the restaurant, was forced to close temporarily following the theft of an air conditioning unit in the midst of the mid-July heat wave."

Michigan Democrats pushing for Detroit to get fair treatment for federal funds

Michigan Democrats pushing for Detroit to get fair treatment for federal funds | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "
"Dingell, of Dearborn, said once the city comes up with a detailed plan for exiting bankruptcy, the delegation “will be there to provide every available assistance.”
But everyone was careful to note that did not suggest support for a bailout, especially since one hasn’t been requested.
Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation were not at the meeting and have remained largely mum on the subject since Orr filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history — a restriction of $18 billion or more in debts — two weeks ago."

Final tally in Detroit mayoral race could take up to two weeks, clerk's office says

Final tally in Detroit mayoral race could take up to two weeks, clerk's office says | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"Detroit’s top elections officials on Thursday predicted a smooth but slightly later than usual tabulation of votes on Tuesday for the primary election for mayor and City Council.
But final election results, factoring in what’s expected to include a huge number of write-in votes, may not be clear for as long as two weeks."

Detroit gets less in aid from the U.S. govt. than Colombia does

Detroit gets less in aid from the U.S. govt. than Colombia does | Crain's Detroit Business:
"President Barack Obama proposed giving Colombia about $323 million in aid next year, mostly to combat drug trafficking and violence.
Detroit, with an 81 percent higher homicide rate, will get $108.2 million."

Senate panel OKs Medicaid bill, 2 alternatives

Senate panel OKs Medicaid bill, 2 alternatives | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Medicaid covers roughly one in five Michigan residents, mainly low-income children, pregnant women and disabled people but also some poorer working adults.
The legislation, if the federal government signs off on it, would provide Medicaid to nearly a half-million more adults by 2022, cutting the state's uninsured nearly in half."

Detroit moves quickly to outsource trash collection, recycling, Orr says

Detroit moves quickly to outsource trash collection, recycling, Orr says | Crain's Detroit Business:
"The city currently spends about $50 million per year on those services, Orr said Thursday morning during an interview with Crain's.
He said private sector companies told him they could provide better trash collection and recycling services to city residents and businesses for about $35 million, saving Detroit about $15 million per year. "

Thursday, August 01, 2013

Detroit’s death by democracy

George F. Will: Detroit’s death by democracy - The Washington Post:
"What appalled him had fascinated entomologist William Kirby (1759-1850):
The ichneumon fly inserts an egg in a caterpillar, and the larva hatched from the egg, he said, “gnaws the inside of the caterpillar, and though at last it has devoured almost every part of it except the skin and intestines, carefully all this time avoids injuring the vital organs, as if aware that its own existence depends on that of the insect on which it preys!”

Government employees’ unions living parasitically on Detroit have been less aware than ichneumon larvae. "

Photo: Marine Helps Young Boy Separated from Group Finish Race

Photo: Marine Helps Young Boy Separated from Group Finish Race | Washington Free Beacon:
"For the 5k at the Venetian Festival in Charlevoix"

Armed agents raid animal shelter for baby deer

Armed agents raid animal shelter for baby deer | News - WISN Home:
"It was like a SWAT team," shelter employee Ray Schulze said.
Two weeks ago, Schulze was working in the barn at the Society of St. Francis on the Kenosha-Illinois border when a swarm of squad cars arrived and officers unloaded with a search warrant.
"(There were) nine DNR agents and four deputy sheriffs, and they were all armed to the teeth," Schulze said.
The focus of their search was a baby fawn brought there by an Illinois family worried she had been abandoned by her mother."

A new Obamacare flaw: Many could face a precipitous ‘subsidy cliff’ as income approaches certain limits

A new Obamacare flaw: Many could face a precipitous ‘subsidy cliff’ as income approaches certain limits | AEIdeas:

A new Obamacare flaw: Many could face a precipitous ‘subsidy cliff’ as income approaches certain limits

Although this won’t affect everybody, many individuals and households whose income is near 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) will fall off a precipitous Obamacare “subsidy cliff” as soon as their income exceeds the 400% FPL limit by one dollar. The 400% FPL is currently about $46,000 for individuals, $62,000 for a married couple, and $78,120 for a family of three. As income approaches those limits, there may be some perverse incentives to work less, refuse overtime, etc., to avoid falling off the “Obamacare cliff.”
ValuePenguin does the math and finds this serious flaw in the Unaffordable Care Act:
If your income is at or below the above 400% FPL figure for your household size, the government will subsidize your healthcare so that you spend no more than 9.5% of your income. But earn one dollar above the 400% FPL threshold and the subsidies disappear completely. This obviously creates a problem! If insurance costs substantially more than the capped premium for your family, that extra dollar may actually cost your household a huge amount in actual dollars.
Here’s an example for a family of three in New York:
Using insurance premium data released by New York state, lets calculate the pre and post 400% FPL impact on health insurance expenses for a family of three in New York, NY. From the premium data we can see that the second lowest silver plan (this is the plan used to determine subsidies) available on the exchange costs $394.58 for an individual and will cost $1,065 for a family monthly.
On an annual basis, this plan would cost $12,784 before subsidies. As long as the family above earns less than $78,120 they will only be required to spend $7,421, with the government subsidizing the rest. That’s a total savings of $5,363.
$78,120 – $7,421 = $70,699 of take-home income after health insurance.
What happens if the family earns one extra dollar and has income of $78,121? Suddenly they lose the entire amount of the savings and are actually worse off than they were before.
$78,121 – $12,784 = $65,337 of take-home income after health insurance.
Since the subsidies come in the form of tax credits, any dollar amount a household receives is essentially after taxes. Therefore to regain the $5,363 dollars in post tax dollars, the family’s income would actually have to rise greater than that amount once you account for state, federal and payroll taxes.
To illustrate: For a family in this income bracket, they would be responsible for 25% in federal taxes, 6.2% in FICA and 1.45% for Medicare. This family would need to earn $7,962 additional dollars or $86,083 to end up where they were before. For the self-employed because who contribute double to FICA and Medicare they would need to earn $8,983 additional dollars.
Conclusion: Americans benefiting most from subsidies, generally those facing higher insurance costs due to state regulations or age ratings, will find themselves facing peculiar economic incentives as they reach 400% of the FPL. Extra hours, a raise, or even investment income, may end up pushing a household into having less disposable income than they did when they were earning less.
While this will not effect most Americans, for those that this does effect the monetary impact could be significant. The magnitude of the impact will depend on how expensive pre-subsidized insurance costs are for the household. The higher these costs, the more of a subsidy cliff the household will face. Since all Americans will be required to purchase insurance of some form, it is especially important for those people earning at or around the 400% of the FPL mark to be aware of how their income and potential subsidies may impact their actual take-home pay.
MP: Maybe this an example of what Nancy Pelosi meant when she said that “We have to pass the bill [Obamacare] so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.”

Genesee County can't find buyers for large bond sale

Genesee County can't find buyers for large bond sale | Detroit Free Press | freep.com:
"Two weeks after Detroit filed for municipal bankruptcy, Genesee County, the area that includes Flint, has postponed a large bondissue for lack of investor interest, a Wall Street publication reports.
The Bond Buyer reported that Genesee County pulled a $54-million water and sewer bond issue Thursday after investors showed little interest in the deal."

In Newtown, Gun Permits Surge After Shooting

In Newtown, Gun Permits Surge After Shooting - WSJ.com:
"NEWTOWN, Conn.—The number of people seeking permits to buy guns has surged in this town following the December massacre of schoolchildren by a local man, even as the parents of some victims had urged stricter weapons laws nationwide."

M1 awards Calif.-based firm major contract for streetcar project

M1 awards Calif.-based firm major contract for streetcar project | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Because engineering is still underway, a maximum contract price hasn't been determined. M1 believes construction of the grade-level streetcar loop itself between Hart Plaza and New Center will cost $135 million to $145 million, which could drive the total project cost closer to $187 million from a previously estimated $137 million."

Optimism of whites in US lags blacks by big margin

My Way News - Optimism of whites in US lags blacks by big margin