By Ann Marie Cox | theguardian.com | June 24, 2014
American politicians have long sought to identify with the working class, but it's rare that they've claimed actual bankruptcy. When Hillary Clinton told Diane Sawyer this month that her family – the Clinton family – was "dead broke" upon leaving the White House, that giant sucking sound you heard was the Democratic party holding its breath.
The gaffe probably comes too early in the cycle to truly damn Clinton's presidential aspirations, but her stiff recovery – she amended the assessment to "not truly well off" in an interview with the Guardian published over the weekend – is a stark reminder that Hillary, whatever her qualifications and accomplishments, is not the campaigner her husband was. She is hobbled by a tendency to think that her own crystalline analysis should overwhelm criticism. Hillary's a lot like Mitt Romney in her lack of self-awareness – except she pays her taxes. (Though even that distinction is shrinking; last week brought the news that the Clintons have used trusts to shimmy out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in estate taxes, and Chelsea isn't helping anything.)
By refusing to acknowledge her wealth, Clinton continues in an American tradition of defining "middle class" as whatever one's family is worth, regardless of the country's actual average or median income. But whereas that misidentification has usually been aspirational – 40% of Americans making under $20,000 a year still say they're middle class – Hillary's denial only reminds the less well-off of their delusion. She has always been willing to use her resumé as a reason to vote for her, so why won't she brandish the family bank account as yet more proof of the Clintons' intelligence and hard work?
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Police trashed innocent business owner's truck while searching for drugs... then left a NOTE to explain
By Daily Mail Reporter | The Daily Mail | June 8, 2014
- Matthew Heller attended a concert in Tampa Florida in February and left his truck parked in the venue's parking lot
- When he returned, Heller found that his truck had been ransacked and damage had been done in the process
- In addition to the damage, Heller found a note from the Tampa Police Department explaining that they searched his car for marijuana while he was in the concert
- No marijuana was found in his vehicle
A Florida business owner left his vehicle in an amphitheater parking lot as he attended a hip-hop concert earlier this year. When he returned to the vehicle after the show, he found that his truck had been broken into and vandalized.
It wasn't until Matthew Heller found a note in his trashed vehicle outside the Ybor Amphitheater in Tampa that he discovered that it wasn't your typical thief who'd broken into and damaged his truck - it was the police.
'Sir, your car was checked by TPD K-9,' the note left by police states. 'The vehicle was searched for marijuana due to a strong odor coming from the passenger side of the vehicle. Any questions call Cpl Fanning.'
15 Emerging Neurotechnologies That Will Change The World
By Andres Agostini | LinkedIn | June 6, 2014
The Human Connectome Project has led to new, faster, better ways to map the brain.
Below are technologies related to neuro and cognitive under three key areas of accelerating change: Neural Network Computing, Extended Cognition and Neural Interfaces. Neural network computing will lead to improvements in computer vision and analysis, such as detecting emotions and moods, which may have safety and security applications. Extended cognition involves more direct connection to people's brains, allowing mood, thought patterns and information to be altered in the brain. Neural interfaces get information out of people's brains more efficiently, ultimately allowing a machine-enabled form of telepathy.
We have included predictions based on consultation with experts of when each technology will be scientifically viable (the kind of stuff that Google, governments, and universities develop), mainstream (when VCs and startups widely invest in it), and financially viable (when the technology is generally available on Kickstarter).
The Human Connectome Project has led to new, faster, better ways to map the brain.
Below are technologies related to neuro and cognitive under three key areas of accelerating change: Neural Network Computing, Extended Cognition and Neural Interfaces. Neural network computing will lead to improvements in computer vision and analysis, such as detecting emotions and moods, which may have safety and security applications. Extended cognition involves more direct connection to people's brains, allowing mood, thought patterns and information to be altered in the brain. Neural interfaces get information out of people's brains more efficiently, ultimately allowing a machine-enabled form of telepathy.
We have included predictions based on consultation with experts of when each technology will be scientifically viable (the kind of stuff that Google, governments, and universities develop), mainstream (when VCs and startups widely invest in it), and financially viable (when the technology is generally available on Kickstarter).
Washington Wants To Regulate ... Everything
By IBD Editorials | June 18, 2014
Regulatory Excess: How much more control does the EPA want over an ostensibly free America? Given that it's set its sights on rain-swelled ditches and soggy gullies, it seems there are no limits to its confiscatory ambition.
Under the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency have authority over the navigable waters of the U.S. But apparently that isn't enough for this administration. It wants more private land to fall under federal control.
Both the EPA, which has launched the Obama administration's war on coal, and the Army Corps of Engineers want to expand the definition of waters that would be under their regulatory boot. It looks like a scheme that will give them dominion over anything that's already wet — and anything that might become so. We don't exaggerate the plan's potential intrusiveness.
"The EPA is proposing that puddles, ponds, ditches, ephemerals and isolated wetlands fall under the Clean Water Act and expand the regulatory authority to the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," the Journal Gazette & Times Courier, which serves an agricultural community in Illinois, reported last week.
On Friday, Iowa Farmer Today noted that under the agencies' proposal, "any area of your field or yard that may see standing water, even if it's for a short period, could be considered navigable waters subject to federal jurisdiction."
Under the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency have authority over the navigable waters of the U.S. But apparently that isn't enough for this administration. It wants more private land to fall under federal control.
Both the EPA, which has launched the Obama administration's war on coal, and the Army Corps of Engineers want to expand the definition of waters that would be under their regulatory boot. It looks like a scheme that will give them dominion over anything that's already wet — and anything that might become so. We don't exaggerate the plan's potential intrusiveness.
"The EPA is proposing that puddles, ponds, ditches, ephemerals and isolated wetlands fall under the Clean Water Act and expand the regulatory authority to the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," the Journal Gazette & Times Courier, which serves an agricultural community in Illinois, reported last week.
On Friday, Iowa Farmer Today noted that under the agencies' proposal, "any area of your field or yard that may see standing water, even if it's for a short period, could be considered navigable waters subject to federal jurisdiction."
Monday, June 16, 2014
9 financial risks everyone should understand
By Chuck Jaffe | MarketWatch | June 16, 2014
I could have given him the usual answer — that I’m not a financial adviser and that I don’t pick investments for people — but instead I answered his question this way:
“That may be what you want to know, but what you need to know first is ‘What’s your greatest financial fear?’”
Mike, a pilot, immediately answered that he’s worried about another layoff. Chris, to his right, is scared of the market having a repeat of the meltdowns he saw in 2000 and 2008. Bob said he worries about outliving his money or needing long-term care.
And so it went for a few minutes, each guy coming up with a few legitimate things to fear, or nodding in agreement with the concerns cited by someone else, as the worries ran from current socio-economic events to providing for a special-needs child, to fear of missing out on the market’s gains, to not being able to pay to put the kids through college and more.
Finally, Mike said, “Maybe you just say that what I fear the most is losing money or mismanaging money.”
The problem with all of these concerns is that even if you work to solve your biggest fear, you may still feel vulnerable to other worries.
A University of Virginia study tracked teenagers for one decade and found that teenagers who were considered "cool" at a young age had more problems as adults. University of Virginia psychology professor Joseph Allen, who led the study, discusses the research on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero.
If losing money in the market is your biggest fear and you go to all cash in response, you assuage the big worry, but over time you will have a growing scare that your money isn’t keeping pace with inflation or, perhaps, that you will outlive your nest egg.
Moreover, if you take that kind of all-or-nothing position, having everything in cash could leave you afraid that if the market doesn’t have a comeuppance soon, you’ve lost real opportunities to grow your savings.
While an individual’s financial fears morph and evolve, risks don’t. Certain dangers may be more or less present based on current events and conditions, but the underlying risks don’t change.
As a result, it’s important for investors to see how their worries align with the various types of risk.
My friend Mike grabbed my arm as he barged into the conversation I was having with some other guys.
“What I really want to know, is where do you think I should invest now?” I could have given him the usual answer — that I’m not a financial adviser and that I don’t pick investments for people — but instead I answered his question this way:
“That may be what you want to know, but what you need to know first is ‘What’s your greatest financial fear?’”
Mike, a pilot, immediately answered that he’s worried about another layoff. Chris, to his right, is scared of the market having a repeat of the meltdowns he saw in 2000 and 2008. Bob said he worries about outliving his money or needing long-term care.
And so it went for a few minutes, each guy coming up with a few legitimate things to fear, or nodding in agreement with the concerns cited by someone else, as the worries ran from current socio-economic events to providing for a special-needs child, to fear of missing out on the market’s gains, to not being able to pay to put the kids through college and more.
Finally, Mike said, “Maybe you just say that what I fear the most is losing money or mismanaging money.”
The problem with all of these concerns is that even if you work to solve your biggest fear, you may still feel vulnerable to other worries.
How long does the 'cool kid' effect last?
A University of Virginia study tracked teenagers for one decade and found that teenagers who were considered "cool" at a young age had more problems as adults. University of Virginia psychology professor Joseph Allen, who led the study, discusses the research on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero.
If losing money in the market is your biggest fear and you go to all cash in response, you assuage the big worry, but over time you will have a growing scare that your money isn’t keeping pace with inflation or, perhaps, that you will outlive your nest egg.
Moreover, if you take that kind of all-or-nothing position, having everything in cash could leave you afraid that if the market doesn’t have a comeuppance soon, you’ve lost real opportunities to grow your savings.
While an individual’s financial fears morph and evolve, risks don’t. Certain dangers may be more or less present based on current events and conditions, but the underlying risks don’t change.
As a result, it’s important for investors to see how their worries align with the various types of risk.
Now IRS claims Lois Lerner emails lost to computer crashl
By Washington Examiner | Examiner Editorial | June 14, 2014
Just when it might appear that the IRS scandal cannot descend any lower, it has taken on the distinct odor of the Watergate cover-up with the most politically convenient computer crash in history. Naturally, the Obama administration waited to release the damaging news on Friday afternoon to minimize its impact. The alleged crash means the federal tax agency can only produce copies of emails to and from Lois Lerner and other IRS employees for the period January 2009 to April 2011. So all emails Lerner sent during that period from her official IRS account to anybody outside the agency -- like the White House, the Justice Department, the Federal Election Commission, Democrats in Congress or political activists in liberal nonprofits -- have vanished into a digital black hole.
The period involved just happens to be when Lerner and others in the Obama administration and key Senate Democrats hatched and began carrying out the targeting and harassment of Tea Party and conservative nonprofit applicants during the 2010 and 2012 campaigns. Included in the targeting and harassment was the illegal sharing of confidential tax information with individuals outside of the IRS. It also involved an attempt to gin up a political prosecution of doubtful merit by the Department of Justice against selected critics of President Obama.
Just when it might appear that the IRS scandal cannot descend any lower, it has taken on the distinct odor of the Watergate cover-up with the most politically convenient computer crash in history. Naturally, the Obama administration waited to release the damaging news on Friday afternoon to minimize its impact. The alleged crash means the federal tax agency can only produce copies of emails to and from Lois Lerner and other IRS employees for the period January 2009 to April 2011. So all emails Lerner sent during that period from her official IRS account to anybody outside the agency -- like the White House, the Justice Department, the Federal Election Commission, Democrats in Congress or political activists in liberal nonprofits -- have vanished into a digital black hole.
The period involved just happens to be when Lerner and others in the Obama administration and key Senate Democrats hatched and began carrying out the targeting and harassment of Tea Party and conservative nonprofit applicants during the 2010 and 2012 campaigns. Included in the targeting and harassment was the illegal sharing of confidential tax information with individuals outside of the IRS. It also involved an attempt to gin up a political prosecution of doubtful merit by the Department of Justice against selected critics of President Obama.
WH to honor young illegal immigrants
By Rebecca Room | The Hill | June 16, 2014
The White House will honor 10 young adults on Tuesday who came to the United States illegally and qualified for the president’s program to defer deportation actions.
Each person has qualified for the government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, which delays removal proceedings against them as long as they meet certain guidelines.
They will be honored as “Champions of Change,” the White House said in a statement Monday because they “serve as success stories and role models in their academic and professional spheres.”
In 2012, President Obama created DACA through an executive order, which defers any action on the status of people who came to the U.S. illegally as children for two years and can be renewed. DACA doesn’t provide any legal status.
People who qualify include those who came to the U.S. before turning 16, resided in the U.S. continuously since 2007 and people who are either currently in school, have graduated or received a certificate of completion for high school or were honorably discharged from the military.
The White House will honor 10 young adults on Tuesday who came to the United States illegally and qualified for the president’s program to defer deportation actions.
Each person has qualified for the government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, which delays removal proceedings against them as long as they meet certain guidelines.
They will be honored as “Champions of Change,” the White House said in a statement Monday because they “serve as success stories and role models in their academic and professional spheres.”
They emigrated from Mexico, Colombia, Morocco, India, Taiwan and the Philippines and many of them work in professions related to immigration policy or have helped launch initiatives that promote reform.
In 2012, President Obama created DACA through an executive order, which defers any action on the status of people who came to the U.S. illegally as children for two years and can be renewed. DACA doesn’t provide any legal status.
People who qualify include those who came to the U.S. before turning 16, resided in the U.S. continuously since 2007 and people who are either currently in school, have graduated or received a certificate of completion for high school or were honorably discharged from the military.
In Texas' Rio Grande Valley, a seemingly endless surge of immigrants
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Cindy Carcamo Los Angeles Times | June 13, 2014
The call went out on Border Patrol radios just before sundown one day this week: 31 immigrants spotted illegally crossing the Rio Grande on a raft.
No sooner had the migrants been found hiding in the mesquite brush than another report came in: A woman and boy were walking up the riverbank.
The Rio Grande Valley has become ground zero for an unprecedented surge in families and unaccompanied children flooding across the Southwest border, creating what the Obama administration is calling a humanitarian crisis as border officials struggle to accommodate new detainees. Largely from Central America, they are now arriving at a rate of more than 35,000 a month.
Anzalduas Park, a 96-acre expanse of close-cropped fields and woodland that sits on the southern bend of the river, has turned from an idyllic family recreation area into a high-traffic zone for illegal migration.
The number of children and teenagers traveling alone from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador is expected to reach up to 90,000 across the Southwest border by the end of the year, along with a surge of families with children seeking safe passage into the U.S.
"This is the hottest spot in the nation for crossings," said Hidalgo County Precinct 3 Constable Lazaro "Larry" Gallardo, a valley native who said he had never seen a migration wave of such a scale during his 14 years in office. "Something's got to be done because the numbers are just too high."
The call went out on Border Patrol radios just before sundown one day this week: 31 immigrants spotted illegally crossing the Rio Grande on a raft.
No sooner had the migrants been found hiding in the mesquite brush than another report came in: A woman and boy were walking up the riverbank.
The Rio Grande Valley has become ground zero for an unprecedented surge in families and unaccompanied children flooding across the Southwest border, creating what the Obama administration is calling a humanitarian crisis as border officials struggle to accommodate new detainees. Largely from Central America, they are now arriving at a rate of more than 35,000 a month.
Anzalduas Park, a 96-acre expanse of close-cropped fields and woodland that sits on the southern bend of the river, has turned from an idyllic family recreation area into a high-traffic zone for illegal migration.
The number of children and teenagers traveling alone from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador is expected to reach up to 90,000 across the Southwest border by the end of the year, along with a surge of families with children seeking safe passage into the U.S.
"This is the hottest spot in the nation for crossings," said Hidalgo County Precinct 3 Constable Lazaro "Larry" Gallardo, a valley native who said he had never seen a migration wave of such a scale during his 14 years in office. "Something's got to be done because the numbers are just too high."
Sunday, June 15, 2014
'Our Future Rests' on the Success of the DREAMers
By Joel Gehrke | National Review | June 11, 2014
President Obama reminded Democratic donors that “our future rests” on the success of people brought to the United States illegally as children, who would qualify for citizenship if Congress had passed the DREAM Act.
“About 30 to 40 percent of the kids in this school, by the way, are DREAM kids,” Obama said Wednesday evening. “You wouldn’t know it looking at them, because they are as American as apple pie. But every single one of these kids, you might not be able to tell the difference, but a whole bunch of them — they’re worried about whether or not they’re going to be able to finance their college education of their immigrant status. They’re worried about whether, in fact, this country that they love so deeply loves them back and understands that our future rests on their success. Why wouldn’t we want to give them that certainty that you are part of the fabric of this nation, we’re counting on you, and we’re going to make sure you succeed? Why wouldn’t we want to do that?”
Obama made the comments at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser in Massachusetts, in reference to students at Worcester Tech. “So these young people are graduating, ready to go to college, but also certified nurses, EMT folks. Many of them are choosing to join the military and will contribute to our country in this way,” he said. “And looking out as I was speaking to them and then shaking their hands, and giving them hugs and high-fives and all the things that kids do on a graduation, I thought to myself: How could we not want to invest in these kids?”
President Obama reminded Democratic donors that “our future rests” on the success of people brought to the United States illegally as children, who would qualify for citizenship if Congress had passed the DREAM Act.
“About 30 to 40 percent of the kids in this school, by the way, are DREAM kids,” Obama said Wednesday evening. “You wouldn’t know it looking at them, because they are as American as apple pie. But every single one of these kids, you might not be able to tell the difference, but a whole bunch of them — they’re worried about whether or not they’re going to be able to finance their college education of their immigrant status. They’re worried about whether, in fact, this country that they love so deeply loves them back and understands that our future rests on their success. Why wouldn’t we want to give them that certainty that you are part of the fabric of this nation, we’re counting on you, and we’re going to make sure you succeed? Why wouldn’t we want to do that?”
Obama made the comments at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser in Massachusetts, in reference to students at Worcester Tech. “So these young people are graduating, ready to go to college, but also certified nurses, EMT folks. Many of them are choosing to join the military and will contribute to our country in this way,” he said. “And looking out as I was speaking to them and then shaking their hands, and giving them hugs and high-fives and all the things that kids do on a graduation, I thought to myself: How could we not want to invest in these kids?”
Iraq A Preview Of A World Without America
By Investors.com | June 13, 2014
National Security: That Islamists chose now to make their move against Iraq's fragile representative government is no coincidence. American impotency, in word and deed, has been more and more obvious.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the less-than-satisfactory 2008 Republican presidential nominee, may be wrong a lot. But on Friday he couldn't have been more right.
"The fact is, we had the conflict won" in Iraq, he told MSNBC. "The surge had succeeded," but "then the decision was made by the Obama administration to not have a residual force in Iraq."
Led by Gen. David Petraeus and his innovative counterterrorist methods, U.S. forces turned things around in Iraq in 2007. At the time, we strongly supported that much-criticized effort, arguing the consequences of the U.S. losing another war after spending so much time, effort, blood and fortune would be catastrophic, extending far beyond the Middle East.
Now the surge might as well have not happened. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, an al-Qaida associate, has taken Mosul, Iraq's second-biggest city, and threatens Baghdad and the U.S.-backed government. The U.S.-trained Iraqi army seems largely ineffective.
National Security: That Islamists chose now to make their move against Iraq's fragile representative government is no coincidence. American impotency, in word and deed, has been more and more obvious.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the less-than-satisfactory 2008 Republican presidential nominee, may be wrong a lot. But on Friday he couldn't have been more right.
"The fact is, we had the conflict won" in Iraq, he told MSNBC. "The surge had succeeded," but "then the decision was made by the Obama administration to not have a residual force in Iraq."
Led by Gen. David Petraeus and his innovative counterterrorist methods, U.S. forces turned things around in Iraq in 2007. At the time, we strongly supported that much-criticized effort, arguing the consequences of the U.S. losing another war after spending so much time, effort, blood and fortune would be catastrophic, extending far beyond the Middle East.
Now the surge might as well have not happened. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, an al-Qaida associate, has taken Mosul, Iraq's second-biggest city, and threatens Baghdad and the U.S.-backed government. The U.S.-trained Iraqi army seems largely ineffective.
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