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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.
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from The Blaze (& Glenn Beck)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
Fox News reported on Monday that several emails were released regarding the contentious airport tarmac meeting between former Attorney General Loretta Lynn and former President Bill Clinton while Hillary Clinton was under a criminal investigation being conducted by the Justice Department. According to the outlet, Lynch used an email alias when communicating with various media outlets in order to spin the story in a different direction.
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from Breitbart
More Than 1.1 Million Fewer Americans on Food Stamps Under Trump
More than 1.1 million Americans dropped off the food stamp rolls since President Trump took office in January 2017, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistics on food stamp enrollment. Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dropped to 41,496,255 in May 2017, the most recent data available from the USDA, from 42,691,363 in January 2017 when Trump took office. According to the latest data, SNAP enrollment during the first few months of Trump’s presidency decreased by 2.79 percent. Food stamp participation on average in 2017 has dropped to its lowest level since 2010, and the latest numbers show that this trend is continuing.
Labour’s Corbyn Refuses to Condemn Venezuela’s Authoritarian Socialist Government
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to condemn the increasingly authoritarian socialist government of Venezuela, implying pro-democracy protesters are as bad as President Nicolás Maduro. After finally breaking his silence on the matter, Mr. Corbyn would only speak of “violence on both sides” when asked about the situation, appearing to equate the actions of protestors with the government – who are accused of destroying the economy, fixing an election, and persecuting and attacking opponents.
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from Campus Reform
A University of Georgia professor has adopted a “stress reduction policy” that will allow students to select their own grades if they “feel unduly stressed” by the ones they earned. Similarly, students who feel stressed by "group dynamics" are allowed to walk away from their groups without explanation, and will only be graded on "non-group work." The professor acknowledges that "this policy might hinder the development of group skills and mastery of the class material," but says this is each student's own responsibility.
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from Cascade Golfer (WA)
Starting in 2013, and every two years since, we’ve polled Northwest golf insiders to rank the top-10 public golf courses in the state of Washington. And, in the first two of those polls, it was really no contest. Chambers Bay coasted to victory in 2013, more than doubling the total number of first-place votes of any other course. Things were a little tighter in 2015 — Chambers netted just under 50 percent of the first-place votes overall — but with the U.S. Open on the horizon, it still finished well clear of second place.
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from CNSNews.com (& MRC & NewsBusters)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
PETA Claims Eating Cheese Is As Sexist As Sex Trafficking and FGM
What do the gender pay gap, female genital mutilation, and cheese all have in common? According to PETA, they’re all sexist.
Maryland Suburb Considers Letting Illegal Aliens Vote
A city in Maryland is considering whether or not to allow illegal immigrants to vote. College Park, a suburb of Washington, D.C. and the home of the University of Maryland's main campus, has around 30,000 residents. According to the Baltimore Sun, the proposed measure would allow "non-residents," including undocumented immigrants, to vote on city ordinances and cast ballots for mayor and city council members.
So, Barack Obama Day Is Now a Thing In Illinois
Remember "Change you can believe in?" Well, nothing has changed in the state of Illinois since President Trump took the oath of office in January. State officials continue to obsess over former President Obama. Last week the Illinois state senate voted to make the former president's birthday an official state holiday. Not kidding.
Charlie Daniels: Politics Is No Longer Public Service
Politics is no longer public service. It is a jaded, high stakes game, played by power drunk career politicians who have only two priorities in their lives, and the prosperity and security of the United States is not one of them. Reelection and power have taken the place of patriotism and honor in an atmosphere where betrayal is acceptable and common sense is as scarce as unicorns.
PATTERN OF ‘EXTREMES’ CONTINUES FOR OUR REGION
The Inland Northwest continues to endure one extreme weather pattern after another. Many forecasters and scientists are saying this part of the country has been the most “extreme” for 2017 thanks to the cold and wet winter and spring, and now one of the hottest and driest summers in history.
EVEN A MOUSE CAN CATCH A RAT IN THE RIGHT TRAP
AT&T Update: The Northwest regional people at AT&T called me late last week. Without going into detail, they assured me that the individuals responsible for what I called “high pressure sales techniques” would no longer be a problem in our area. I fully understand that AT&T must be very careful when talking about employees, ex-employees or subcontractors. Suffice it to say that we — my readers, the Coeur d’Alene Press and your Consumer Guy — have taken on the big boys and prevailed. The Peter Sellers movie, “The Mouse That Roared,” comes to mind.
PETA Claims Eating Cheese Is As Sexist As Sex Trafficking and FGM
What do the gender pay gap, female genital mutilation, and cheese all have in common? According to PETA, they’re all sexist.
Maryland Suburb Considers Letting Illegal Aliens Vote
A city in Maryland is considering whether or not to allow illegal immigrants to vote. College Park, a suburb of Washington, D.C. and the home of the University of Maryland's main campus, has around 30,000 residents. According to the Baltimore Sun, the proposed measure would allow "non-residents," including undocumented immigrants, to vote on city ordinances and cast ballots for mayor and city council members.
So, Barack Obama Day Is Now a Thing In Illinois
Remember "Change you can believe in?" Well, nothing has changed in the state of Illinois since President Trump took the oath of office in January. State officials continue to obsess over former President Obama. Last week the Illinois state senate voted to make the former president's birthday an official state holiday. Not kidding.
Charlie Daniels: Politics Is No Longer Public Service
Politics is no longer public service. It is a jaded, high stakes game, played by power drunk career politicians who have only two priorities in their lives, and the prosperity and security of the United States is not one of them. Reelection and power have taken the place of patriotism and honor in an atmosphere where betrayal is acceptable and common sense is as scarce as unicorns.
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from Coeur d'Alene Press
PATTERN OF ‘EXTREMES’ CONTINUES FOR OUR REGION
The Inland Northwest continues to endure one extreme weather pattern after another. Many forecasters and scientists are saying this part of the country has been the most “extreme” for 2017 thanks to the cold and wet winter and spring, and now one of the hottest and driest summers in history.
EVEN A MOUSE CAN CATCH A RAT IN THE RIGHT TRAP
AT&T Update: The Northwest regional people at AT&T called me late last week. Without going into detail, they assured me that the individuals responsible for what I called “high pressure sales techniques” would no longer be a problem in our area. I fully understand that AT&T must be very careful when talking about employees, ex-employees or subcontractors. Suffice it to say that we — my readers, the Coeur d’Alene Press and your Consumer Guy — have taken on the big boys and prevailed. The Peter Sellers movie, “The Mouse That Roared,” comes to mind.
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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
Corruption Rises as Economic Freedom Falls
The corruption of government officials seems to be as old as recorded history. For example, the ancient Roman senate passed laws against such political corruption in the first century, B.C. They defined a corrupt act as “whenever money is taken and a publicly-conferred duty is violated.”
How Legal Activism Stopped the Market from Abolishing Segregation
Hidden in the well-known tidbits of Plessy vs. Ferguson is a surprising story of a market that was moving away from discriminatory practices and toward equal accommodations regardless of race. Of course, this would not have occurred over night. Markets do not always create instantaneous outcomes, but they do push toward equal treatment and the Plessy saga is such a story.
Greens and Big Industry Are the Baptists and Bootleggers of Climate Policy
Environmentalists were joined by a strong coalition of industrialists who saw a vital interest in supporting the global accord. Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, two of the world’s biggest oil producers, both urged Trump to stay in the Paris agreement. But why?
The Market Is More Unanimous Than Democracy
In markets with no, or only minimal, government-imposed restrictions on the terms of exchange or on who is allowed to make, and to accept, offers, the results of voluntary exchanged in free markets reflect unanimous consent.
Blocking Social Media Users is a Human Right
There is no unalienable right to tweet. No matter which branch it is coming from, the federal government and its regulatory habits have absolutely no place in social media. Without the freedom to block such users from our posts, social media would be a free-for-all of trolling without any recourse.
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from The Guardian (UK)
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]
Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 tn per year
A new study finds 6.5% of global GDP goes to subsidizing dirty fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels have two major problems that paint a dim picture for their future energy dominance. These problems are inter-related but still should be discussed separately. First, they cause climate change. We know that, we’ve known it for decades, and we know that continued use of fossil fuels will cause enormous worldwide economic and social consequences. Second, fossil fuels are expensive. Much of their costs are hidden, however, as subsidies. If people knew how large their subsidies were, there would be a backlash against them from so-called financial conservatives.
Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 tn per year
A new study finds 6.5% of global GDP goes to subsidizing dirty fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels have two major problems that paint a dim picture for their future energy dominance. These problems are inter-related but still should be discussed separately. First, they cause climate change. We know that, we’ve known it for decades, and we know that continued use of fossil fuels will cause enormous worldwide economic and social consequences. Second, fossil fuels are expensive. Much of their costs are hidden, however, as subsidies. If people knew how large their subsidies were, there would be a backlash against them from so-called financial conservatives.
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from The Heritage Foundation
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]
Corruption Is Holding Back Democracy and Prosperity in Ethiopia
Little remains of democracy in Ethiopia. In response to domestic and international pressure, in 2016 the government established the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission to investigate abuses. The commission is still largely connected to and dependent upon the government for substantial action.
The Trump Economy
The July jobs report was a blockbuster — solid job gains across the economy, lowest unemployment rate in more than a decade, and a nice bump up in wages. In Mr. Obama’s last year in office, 2016, the economy was barely limping to keep ahead of another recession. Put simply, if the GOP whiffs on the tax cut, it will harm the economy and the stock market. With a pro-growth tax cut 3 percent-plus GDP growth is right around the corner. This won’t just mean more jobs, but pay raises for workers in a tighter labor market.
Work is the Key to Welfare Reform
Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. States have artificially inflated their work rates, which explains recent gains in this measurement. The example of the TANF work requirement should be expanded and replicated throughout the federal welfare system.
Here Are 7 Implications of Ending Obamacare’s Cost Sharing Reduction Payments
Given that insurer exchange participation contracts and premiums for plan year 2018 need to be finalized by the end of September, the administration effectively has a decision window of about one month.
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Corruption Is Holding Back Democracy and Prosperity in Ethiopia
Little remains of democracy in Ethiopia. In response to domestic and international pressure, in 2016 the government established the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission to investigate abuses. The commission is still largely connected to and dependent upon the government for substantial action.
The Trump Economy
The July jobs report was a blockbuster — solid job gains across the economy, lowest unemployment rate in more than a decade, and a nice bump up in wages. In Mr. Obama’s last year in office, 2016, the economy was barely limping to keep ahead of another recession. Put simply, if the GOP whiffs on the tax cut, it will harm the economy and the stock market. With a pro-growth tax cut 3 percent-plus GDP growth is right around the corner. This won’t just mean more jobs, but pay raises for workers in a tighter labor market.
Work is the Key to Welfare Reform
Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. States have artificially inflated their work rates, which explains recent gains in this measurement. The example of the TANF work requirement should be expanded and replicated throughout the federal welfare system.
Here Are 7 Implications of Ending Obamacare’s Cost Sharing Reduction Payments
Given that insurer exchange participation contracts and premiums for plan year 2018 need to be finalized by the end of September, the administration effectively has a decision window of about one month.
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from The Living Church
GATHERING AND SCATTERING IN AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS
For Augustine, the issue was not that there isn’t enough time, but that we are enmeshed in it at all. Our lives have significance, and Augustine’s account of his own life, and the meditation on time and eternity with which it concludes, reminds us that the living of life must be approached with moral seriousness. The alternative to distentio is intentio: scattering and dissolution find their answer in gathering and extension. We live in the midst of many things and through a multiplicity of events, as Augustine says. In time, faithful Christians do well to practice a focused intention and a gathered recollection.
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The Anti-Federalists Were Right
On the eve of the federal convention, and following its adjournment in September of 1787, the Anti-Federalists made the case that the Constitution makers in Philadelphia had exceeded the mandate they were given to amend the Articles of Confederation, and nothing more.
How Government Invented Our Modern, Inefficient Prison System
In the modern legal system, the victim of the crime gets punished twice. In the case of a robbery, for example, the victim gets robbed by the thief and then, if the criminal is actually arrested and imprisoned, the victim gets robbed again by the government to fund the incarceration. This makes the case for a prison industry suspect in a free market legal system. But many libertarians make the case that in a libertarian society, free market prisons would emerge.
GATHERING AND SCATTERING IN AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS
For Augustine, the issue was not that there isn’t enough time, but that we are enmeshed in it at all. Our lives have significance, and Augustine’s account of his own life, and the meditation on time and eternity with which it concludes, reminds us that the living of life must be approached with moral seriousness. The alternative to distentio is intentio: scattering and dissolution find their answer in gathering and extension. We live in the midst of many things and through a multiplicity of events, as Augustine says. In time, faithful Christians do well to practice a focused intention and a gathered recollection.
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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]On the eve of the federal convention, and following its adjournment in September of 1787, the Anti-Federalists made the case that the Constitution makers in Philadelphia had exceeded the mandate they were given to amend the Articles of Confederation, and nothing more.
In the modern legal system, the victim of the crime gets punished twice. In the case of a robbery, for example, the victim gets robbed by the thief and then, if the criminal is actually arrested and imprisoned, the victim gets robbed again by the government to fund the incarceration. This makes the case for a prison industry suspect in a free market legal system. But many libertarians make the case that in a libertarian society, free market prisons would emerge.
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from NBC News (& affiliates)
LEFT-CENTER BIAS
Kids as Young as 4 Find Safe Space at Transgender Day Camp
EL CERRITO, Calif. — In some ways, Rainbow Day Camp is very ordinary. Kids arrive with a packed lunch, make friendship bracelets, play basketball, sing songs and get silly. But it is also extraordinarily unique, from the moment campers arrive each morning. At check-in each day, campers make a nametag with their pronoun of choice. Some opt for "she" or "he." Or a combination of "she/he." Or "they," or no pronoun at all. Some change their name or pronouns daily, to see what feels right.
Kids as Young as 4 Find Safe Space at Transgender Day Camp
EL CERRITO, Calif. — In some ways, Rainbow Day Camp is very ordinary. Kids arrive with a packed lunch, make friendship bracelets, play basketball, sing songs and get silly. But it is also extraordinarily unique, from the moment campers arrive each morning. At check-in each day, campers make a nametag with their pronoun of choice. Some opt for "she" or "he." Or a combination of "she/he." Or "they," or no pronoun at all. Some change their name or pronouns daily, to see what feels right.
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from New York Times
Our Broken Economy, in One Simple Chart
Many Americans can’t remember anything other than an economy with skyrocketing inequality, in which living standards for most Americans are stagnating and the rich are pulling away. It feels inevitable. But it’s not. A well-known team of inequality researchers — Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman — has been getting some attention recently for a chart it produced. It shows the change in income between 1980 and 2014 for every point on the distribution, and it neatly summarizes the recent soaring of inequality.
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from Redoubt News
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
Runaway Jury in Bunkerville Retrial?
It was noticed by all parties today that the jury has made a fashion statement for the third time during this trial. 12 of 15 jurors came into the courtroom wearing red clothes. The defense asked the judge to question them, as there have been previous instances where they were unusually color coordinated. Once the majority were dressed in green, and another day they were dressed in blue.
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]
Runaway Jury in Bunkerville Retrial?
It was noticed by all parties today that the jury has made a fashion statement for the third time during this trial. 12 of 15 jurors came into the courtroom wearing red clothes. The defense asked the judge to question them, as there have been previous instances where they were unusually color coordinated. Once the majority were dressed in green, and another day they were dressed in blue.
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from The Spokesman-Review
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from ZDNet
Computers & Internet Website
The evolution of memory technology means we may be about to witness the next wave in computing and storage paradigms. If Hadoop disrupted by making it easy to utilize pooled commodity hardware with spare compute and storage, could the next disruption come from doing the same for spare compute and memory?
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from Zero Hedge
Indonesia Will Barter Coffee, Tea And Palm Oil For Russian Fighter Jets
On Monday Russia warned that it would begin aggressively reducing its dependence on the US Dollar and US-based payment systems, and shortly after it confirmed just that when Indonesia announced that it will barter coffee, palm oil, tea and various other commodities in exchange for 11 Russian-made Su-35 fighter jets, calling U.S. and European sanctions against Russia "an opportunity to boost the Southeast Asian nation's trade."
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