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Gov't acknowledges one-time surveillance problem | Fox News: "the Obama administration acknowledged Friday that the government's surveillance efforts have exceeded legal limits on at least one occasion."
"Will the response be just? Will it be the same as if a private person made the same admission?"
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Obama, Romney views have evolved toward gun rights | Fox News
Obama, Romney views have evolved toward gun rights | Fox News: "As they expressed shock and sorrow over the bloodshed at a Colorado movie theater, neither [President Barack Obama nor Republican challenger Mitt Romney] suggested that tougher gun control could make a difference, a notion that has faded from political debate."
Free Speech Codes on Campus: Political correctness run amok? | Fox News
Free Speech Codes on Campus: Political correctness run amok? | Fox News: " One stipulation in the code requires that students may only "express opinions" within a free speech zone"
"if you want to tell your friend that you think it's hot outside, you have to go to the zone to do it"
"IUS's code also requires university approval for acts of 'expressed opinions' by submitting an application at least five days in advance.
But the school defended the speech code, expressing concern the exercise of First Amendment rights outside designated zones could disrupt others' pursuit of an education."
"if you want to tell your friend that you think it's hot outside, you have to go to the zone to do it"
"IUS's code also requires university approval for acts of 'expressed opinions' by submitting an application at least five days in advance.
But the school defended the speech code, expressing concern the exercise of First Amendment rights outside designated zones could disrupt others' pursuit of an education."
Friday, July 20, 2012
Boston mayor vows to keep Chick-fil-A out of city | Fox News
Boston mayor vows to keep Chick-fil-A out of city | Fox News: "Mayor Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald on Thursday that he doesn't want a business in the city "that discriminates against a population."
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press this week that his privately owned company is "guilty as charged" in support of what he called the biblical definition of the family.
The fast-food chicken sandwich chain later said that it strives to "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.""
So the Mayor will discriminate against at company that he thinks discriminates but actually just disagrees!
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press this week that his privately owned company is "guilty as charged" in support of what he called the biblical definition of the family.
The fast-food chicken sandwich chain later said that it strives to "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.""
So the Mayor will discriminate against at company that he thinks discriminates but actually just disagrees!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Calif bullet train faces funding, legal challenges | Fox News
Calif bullet train faces funding, legal challenges | Fox News: "$2.6 billion in bonds for construction of the initial 130-mile segment of the bullet train in the Central Valley. The move allows the state to tap $3.2 billion in federal funds for the project."
$44 million dollars/mile!
$44 million dollars/mile!
Texas honor student jailed for truancy likely spent night with 'hard-core' criminals | Fox News
Texas honor student jailed for truancy likely spent night with 'hard-core' criminals | Fox News: "Diane Tran, an 11th-grade honor student at Willis High School near Houston, was sent to jail for 24 hours last Wednesday by Judge Lanny Moriarty and ordered to pay a $100 fine for excessive truancy."
"Tran, who works full-time at a dry-cleaning business and part-time for a wedding planner, has been supporting her brother and sister since her parents separated and her mother moved away."
"the girl likely spent her 24-hour jail sentence at Montgomery County Jail surrounded by suspected murderers, drug addicts and prostitutes.
"It's hard-core," he said of the jail, noting that past clients whom he has defended described it as "the worst experience of their life." "
""If you let one run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of them? Let them go, too?" [Judge] Moriarty told the station."
Perish the thought that people will work hard to support their family! We can't have that!
"I think the public policy of making kids attend school is necessary and 24 hours in jail would be pretty minimal and should get the point across," "
The policy is to ensure that children get a good education so it doesn't make sense to punish someone who is doing well in school!
"Tran, who works full-time at a dry-cleaning business and part-time for a wedding planner, has been supporting her brother and sister since her parents separated and her mother moved away."
"the girl likely spent her 24-hour jail sentence at Montgomery County Jail surrounded by suspected murderers, drug addicts and prostitutes.
"It's hard-core," he said of the jail, noting that past clients whom he has defended described it as "the worst experience of their life." "
""If you let one run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of them? Let them go, too?" [Judge] Moriarty told the station."
Perish the thought that people will work hard to support their family! We can't have that!
"I think the public policy of making kids attend school is necessary and 24 hours in jail would be pretty minimal and should get the point across," "
The policy is to ensure that children get a good education so it doesn't make sense to punish someone who is doing well in school!
RI MD admits guilt in NY rare-coin case with twist | Fox News
RI MD admits guilt in NY rare-coin case with twist | Fox News: "Still, Weiss was criminally implicated because he believed what he had were illegally obtained coins."
If ignorance of the law isn't a valid reason for breaking the law, why is someone guilty if they incorrectly thought they were breaking the law?
If ignorance of the law isn't a valid reason for breaking the law, why is someone guilty if they incorrectly thought they were breaking the law?
Energy Companies Are Not Sitting on "Inactive" Oil Leases, President Obama | Robert L. Bradley Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary
Energy Companies Are Not Sitting on "Inactive" Oil Leases, President Obama | Robert L. Bradley Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Obtaining a lease is just the first step in producing energy, after which companies must obtain exploration and drilling permits. Leases may appear idle — but only because planned exploration and development are being held up by other federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Ocean, Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.
Throughout the pre-leasing, leasing, exploration, drilling, and production processes, companies have to apply for more than 15 permits and comply with more than 90 sets of federal regulations. A permit just approved in Utah, for example, was four and half years in the making. In an earlier report on lease activity, this land would have been considered inactive.
The more the government stalls, the more oil and gas companies pay. Annual rental fees for leased land can now exceed $100,000 annually — and can increase as the lease goes on. This hardly suggests that companies are somehow incited to postpone drilling and production.
Not to worry, leases also include a "use it or lose it" provision to ensure that oil companies promptly return acreage unworthy of development to the government."
Throughout the pre-leasing, leasing, exploration, drilling, and production processes, companies have to apply for more than 15 permits and comply with more than 90 sets of federal regulations. A permit just approved in Utah, for example, was four and half years in the making. In an earlier report on lease activity, this land would have been considered inactive.
The more the government stalls, the more oil and gas companies pay. Annual rental fees for leased land can now exceed $100,000 annually — and can increase as the lease goes on. This hardly suggests that companies are somehow incited to postpone drilling and production.
Not to worry, leases also include a "use it or lose it" provision to ensure that oil companies promptly return acreage unworthy of development to the government."
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Report: 2M jobs lost if automatic cuts kick in | Fox News
Report: 2M jobs lost if automatic cuts kick in | Fox News: "The study, obtained by The Associated Press, was conducted for the Aerospace Industries Association, but it examined the shared pain for defense and domestic programs from the across-the-board reductions slated to kick in Jan. 2. The cuts would reduce the nation's gross domestic product by $215 billion next year while consumer confidence would plummet, said the report by Dr. Stephen Fuller of George Mason University and Chmura Economics and Analytics."
Sweet! There are no costs to the government spending money! That makes so much sense!
And of course the Aerospace Industries Association has no incentive to say that we should keep government spending -- they don't get any extra benefits from government spending so they can be trusted!
Sweet! There are no costs to the government spending money! That makes so much sense!
And of course the Aerospace Industries Association has no incentive to say that we should keep government spending -- they don't get any extra benefits from government spending so they can be trusted!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Calif. cities eye plan to seize mortgages | Fox News
Calif. cities eye plan to seize mortgages | Fox News: "The idea was broached by a group of West Coast financiers who suggest using the power of eminent domain, which lets the government seize private property for public use. In this case, they would condemn troubled mortgages so they could seize them from the investors who own them. Then the mortgages would be rewritten so the borrowers would have significantly lower monthly payments."
"In this case, supporters say, the public purpose is served because communities battered by foreclosures have seen tax rolls decimated and services gutted and have suffered economic blight."
"Here's how it would work for a hypothetical city:
— The city goes to court and argues that the public purpose is served by having the county own, and ultimately refinance, the mortgage.
— The city pays fair market value to the owner of the mortgage. That is usually a securitization trust, an otherwise passive financial entity used to bundle mortgages and sell pieces to investors that became a bigger part of the mortgage market during the 2000s housing boom.
— The city, the new owner of the mortgage, encourages and helps the homeowner to find refinancing. Now the principal is lower, and interest rates are at historic lows, so the homeowner winds up with easier monthly payments.
— Mortgage Resolution Partners collects a flat fee, $4,500 per loan, for helping the city find homeowners who can be helped and for handling the other mechanics of the process."
The problem is that people owe more than the house is worth, so a company thinks the government should take the loan an refinance it to lower the payments. So it doesn't solve the problem and the company makes *only* $4,500 per house!
"In this case, supporters say, the public purpose is served because communities battered by foreclosures have seen tax rolls decimated and services gutted and have suffered economic blight."
"Here's how it would work for a hypothetical city:
— The city goes to court and argues that the public purpose is served by having the county own, and ultimately refinance, the mortgage.
— The city pays fair market value to the owner of the mortgage. That is usually a securitization trust, an otherwise passive financial entity used to bundle mortgages and sell pieces to investors that became a bigger part of the mortgage market during the 2000s housing boom.
— The city, the new owner of the mortgage, encourages and helps the homeowner to find refinancing. Now the principal is lower, and interest rates are at historic lows, so the homeowner winds up with easier monthly payments.
— Mortgage Resolution Partners collects a flat fee, $4,500 per loan, for helping the city find homeowners who can be helped and for handling the other mechanics of the process."
The problem is that people owe more than the house is worth, so a company thinks the government should take the loan an refinance it to lower the payments. So it doesn't solve the problem and the company makes *only* $4,500 per house!
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