Saturday, September 21, 2013

Dutch Welfare State Unsustainable, King Willem-Alexander Declares

Amazing.

The Netherlands realizes that the European-style welfare state is totally unsustainable, at the same time that the increasingly-socialist U.S. just keeps digging itself in deeper.

You can't make this stuff up.

Seriously. We're a freakin' nightmare. To say nothing of the world's sickest joke under this administration

Blazing Cat Fur reports, "Dutch King Willem-Alexander declares the end of the welfare state":
King Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th century is gone.

In its place a "participation society" is emerging, in which people must take responsibility for their own future and create their own social and financial safety nets, with less help from the national government.

"The shift to a 'participation society' is especially visible in social security and long-term care," the king said, reading out to lawmakers a speech written for him by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government.
So, the Dutch are announcing the aspirations toward a "participation society" based on personal responsibility, while the U.S. is consolidating a "dependency society" based on rapidly-expanding welfare-state freeloading and Democrat class-warfare demonization. That's real progress.

Leftists Cheer as Anthem Blue Cross Boots Michelle Malkin From Company's Individual Insurance Market

Here's Michelle on Twitter, "The Anthem letter informs us open enrollment begins Oct. 1. Look what they're advertising: Obamacare exchanges!"

And she writes further, "Obamacare is destroying the private individual market for health insurance. By design, not accident."

Yep. And the leftist ghouls are loving it.

At Twitchy, "Liberals gleefully berate ‘whining losers’ forced to switch health plans."

Things are really coming into focus. Have your liberty destroyed, and your health choices ruined, and leftists couldn't be happier.

Depraved. But you knew that.
Anthem photo BUsFjRhCYAEtz4Q_zpsba091f0d.png

IDF Sergeant Tomer Hazan Kidnapped and Murdered in West Bank

He got lured away to his death?

At the Times of Israel, "IDF soldier Tomer Hazan, 20, kidnapped and killed in West Bank":
An IDF soldier was murdered by a Palestinian acquaintance who lured him to a village near Qalqilya in the West Bank, Israeli authorities said Saturday. The soldier was named Saturday night as 20-year-old Bat Yam native Sgt. Tomer Hazan.

Hazan, a sergeant in Israel Air Force, was lured on Friday to the village of Beit Amin, south of Qalqilya, by a 42-year-old Palestinian resident of the village, Nidal Amar. Amar worked illegally at an Israeli restaurant, in Bat Yam, where Hazan also worked part-time.

Amar was arrested and confessed to killing Hazan, the Shin Bet security service said.

According to the Shin Bet, Amar recounted how he picked up Hazan in a taxi on Friday after convincing him to accept a ride. He took the Israeli to an open field, killed him and threw his body in a well, the agency said.

Israeli forces raided Amar’s home early Saturday and interrogated Amar and his brother.

Relatives seen near the house of murdered IDF soldier Tomer Hazan in the coastal city of Bat Yam in central Israel on September 21, 2013 (Photo credit: Gideon Markowicz/Flash90)

The Shin Bet said Amar confessed to intending to trade Hazan’s body for the release of another brother, a member of the Fatah Tanzim terror group, who has been serving time in an Israeli jail since 2003 for his role in several terror attacks, including planning a suicide bombing by a female bomber that was thwarted.

Amar showed the Israeli forces where Hazan’s body was hidden. The agency did now say how Amar convinced the soldier to join him on the ride Friday.
More at that top link.

And at the New York Times, "Israeli Soldier Is Lured to West Bank and Killed":
The kidnapping of soldiers in Israel, where military service is mandatory for most Jews, is among the most profound fears for Israelis. In late 2011, Israel agreed to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, a soldier who had been abducted five years before by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military recently reported a sharp rise in Palestinian plots to kidnap soldiers in hopes of trading them for some of the 4,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. A total of 37 such plans have been thwarted so far this year, more than in all of 2012, according to Colonel Lerner.

Israel released 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners last month, and is expected to release about 75 more in three phases, as part of the Washington-brokered peace talks that started this summer. Right-wing politicians who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state seized on the killing to bolster their argument.

“One does not make peace with terrorists who throw soldiers’ bodies into a hole in the ground,” Naftali Bennett, an Israeli minister, said Saturday. “One fights them without mercy.”
Well, yeah.

Also at Ynet, "IDF soldier's murder: Shin Bet's race against time."

HAT TIP: Israel Matzav, "Angry protesters outside restaurant that hired IDF soldier's killer."

Emily Ratajkowski for Fredericks of Hollywood

At Bro Bible, "25 Photos of Emily Ratajkowski Smoldering in Frederick's Lingerie."




Eagle's Flight

Via Althouse, "Fly Like an Eagle."



Also at Geek, "Camera attached to an eagle creates amazing flight video."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Video: Camera accompanies eagle soaring over France." That's France. It's some of the most beautiful footage I've ever seen.


Modesto Junior College Restricts Constitutional Speech on Constitution Day

Greg Lukianoff of FIRE reports, "“I Bet They Wouldn’t Even Let You Pass Out Constitutions on Constitution Day”":
Robert Van Tuinen, a student at Modesto Junior College in California, had a theory. He believed that the policies at his college limiting protests and expression were so restrictive that the college would try to shut him down even if he tried to hand out copies of the United States Constitution on September 17--Constitution Day.

Sadly, he was correct.
Continue reading at the link.

Also embedded there is this clip from FIRE:



More at Tech Dirt, "California College Tells Student He Can't Hand Out Copies Of The Constitution On Constitution Day."

Keystone Inaction Hurts American Families

From Cathy McMorris-Rogers, for the GOP conference:

WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement today on the 5th anniversary of the first application to begin construction of the Keystone XL pipeline:

"The President's refusal to approve the Keystone XL pipeline is hurting American families. Five years ago today, the first permits were filed to begin construction on the pipeline, and the project remains impeded by the President’s political posturing. And the consequences are significant. To the American people, this means 20,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs that will not be available. It means $7 billion that won't be invested in the U.S. economy. And it means 830,000 barrels per day of North American oil that won't be transported.

"Our economy is in a state of stagnation – and recent numbers only paint a grimmer picture. The Census Bureau just today announced that the percentage of Americans on food stamps has risen yet again. Just days ago, we passed the bitter milestone of 1,000 days where gas prices have hovered around $3 per gallon.

"The President's policies continue to make life more difficult for hardworking Americans – from gas pumps to grocery stores. Approving the Keystone XL pipeline would create shovel-ready jobs and ease the burden on America's working families. They've waited long enough, and they can no longer afford to pay the price for the President's inaction. It's time for the President to put people before politics."

The Consistently Divisive Rhetoric of President Obama

This is something Victor Davis Hanson has been highlighting for years.

See Jay Cost, at the Weekly Standard, "Uncommonly Partisan":
In the wake of last week’s mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, as first responders were tending the victims, police were searching for more culprits, and the nation’s capital was entering lockdown, President Barack Obama gave a speech. This normally would not be news. After all, the president is a loquacious man, and, moreover, the country now expects the president to be therapist-in-chief whenever some sort of disaster, human or natural, occurs.

But Obama’s speech was different from what one would expect. After a few rote words of condolence to the victims, he went after his political opponents with vehemence, charging them with fiscal recklessness and a disregard for the plight of the middle class, and mocking them for wanting to repeal Obamacare. It was a remarkably tone-deaf presentation considering the events of the day. But it was par for the course for this administration, which is one of the most partisan we have seen in the last 60 years.
Emily Miller made similar points on the day of the speech, focusing especially on the gun control angle.

But seriously, Obama's not only the most partisan president we've had in 60 years, he's the worst president. Indeed, he's the worst ever.

What a disgrace.

More at that top link.

Amerisclerosis — and Poverty

From James Pethokoukis, "The Age of Amerisclerosis: Are jobless recoveries here to stay?"

Amerisclerosis photo 092013jobless1-600x346_zps6c22dd7b.jpg
It’s not just Obamanomics. The US is stuck in its third-straight “jobless recovery,” just like after the 1990 and 2001 recessions. And new research suggests this “persistence of unemployment” could mean future US recessions and recoveries will continue to resemble Europe’s 1980s downturn. Even after growth recovered, hiring didn’t. That’s when “Eurosclerosis” was coined.

Now get ready for Amerisclerosis. US labor markets used to rebound much faster. After the 1981-82 downturn, the jobless rate was back to normal in 18 months. More than four years after the Great Recession’s official end, however, the unemployment rate is only halfway back to where it was in 2007. And even this slow rate of recovery overstates the job market’s true health given the accompanying decline in the labor force participation rate.
The trends aren't new, although I wouldn't discount "Obamanomics" for exacerbating them.

The U.S. might have had a Reagan-esque recovery had the U.S. focused on job creation this last five years, rather than social redistribution, "universal" health care, and blame-the-rich demonization politics. The economy is primed for a surge of growth. Government policy is not only holding it back, but it's keeping people poor. As the New York Times highlighted earlier this week, "Median Income and Poverty Rate Hold Steady, Census Bureau Finds":
The government’s authoritative annual report on incomes, poverty and health insurance, released Tuesday, underscores that the economic recovery has largely failed to reach the poor and the middle class, even as the unemployment rate continues to sink and growth has returned.

Government programs remain a lifeline for millions. Unemployment insurance, whose eligibility the federal government expanded in response to the downturn, kept 1.7 million people out of poverty last year. Food stamps, if counted as income, would have kept out four million.

Since the recession ended in 2009, income gains have accrued almost entirely to the top earners, the Census Bureau found. The top 5 percent of earners — households making more than about $191,000 a year — have recovered their losses and earned about as much in 2012 as they did before the recession. But those in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution are generally making considerably less than they had been, hit by high rates of unemployment and nonexistent wage growth.

Moreover, economists believe that the report understates the degree of income inequality in the United States, by not including, among other things, earnings from capital gains made on rising stock prices.

In one glimmer of improvement, the number of men working full time year-round with earnings increased by one million from 2011 to 2012, to a total of 59 million. Still, the labor market continues to look weak, in particular for less-educated and lower-income men. The labor force participation rate of men has fallen steadily for the past 60 years. In no small part, that is because the median earnings of men working full time have not increased in real terms since the early 1970s.

For women, the earnings stall started about a decade ago, when the gender pay gap stopped closing. “The wage gap hasn’t budged a penny,” said Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women’s Law Center. “After 11 years of no progress on equal pay, policy makers need to get moving to improve the country’s pay discrimination laws, raise the minimum wage and remove the barriers women face in higher-wage jobs.”

The West was the only region that experienced a statistically significant increase in median income, the Census Bureau said, while all other regions were flat. That most likely reflects the relatively strong growth in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah last year. North Dakota, experiencing an oil and gas boom, is the fastest-growing state, though its population is so small that it barely affects the national statistics.

No racial or ethnic group experienced significant changes in income, but that left the gap between Asians, at the top, and blacks, at the bottom, as wide as before. The median income for Asian households was $68,600. For non-Hispanic whites, it was about $57,000, while the typical Hispanic household had an income of $39,000, and blacks were at $33,300.

The poverty rate held steady at about 15 percent in 2012, about 2.5 percentage points higher than before the recession began. Neither the number nor the proportion of people living in poverty changed from 2011 to 2012, the Census Bureau found.
Obama's crony capitalism is keeping higher income households above the heap, while his corrupt socialist redistributionism has actually done nothing but expand the size of government at the expense of individual upward mobility at the lower quartiles. In a word: Abomination.

Hot Saturday Rule 5!

Theo Spark's been on fire lately.

See, "Benghazi Black Friday Totty...," and"Saturday Totty..."

Also, "Bonus Totty..."

Theo's Totty photo BonusS16_zps382e6899.jpg

More at Blackmailers Dont' Shoot, "Pretty Girls on a Thursday, End of Summer Edition."

And Daley Gator, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Nathalia Bodenmuller."

Wirecutter has "Your Good Morning Girl (#1)," and "Your Good Morning Girl (#2)."

At Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

Now over at Pirates' Cove, "If All You See……is a world killing bottle of water, you might just be a Warmist."

And from Subject to Change, "In the Kitchen."

Bob Belvedere has last Saturday's "Rule 5 Saturday: Arianna Sinn." And at A View from the Beach, "Rule 5 Saturday - Naomi Watts Stiff Upper Lip."

At Soylent, "Weekender: Bare Rug."

Plus, at Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Rozanna Purcell."

Also, from Reaganite, "'Miss Sweden World 2013' is Agneta Myhrman Lilliesköld..."

Still more from Proof Positive, "Friday Night Babe: Kellie Pickler!" And, "Best of the Web* Linkaround."

At Good Stuff's, "GOODSTUFF'S BLOGGING MAGAZINE (115th Issue)." And from the Last Tradition, "Weightlifting prego mother Lea-Anne Ellison gets heavily criticized as selfish for lifting weights up to her 9 month."

At Odie's Place, "Welfare Office ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

And see EBL, "Angie Dickinson Rule 5."

Plus, Postal Dogs has "Heavy Hitters." And from Wine, Women and Politics, "Hot Wednesday Women."

At American Perspective, "House Bunny" Anna Faris - Rule 5."

90 Miles From Tyranny has "Morning Mistress," and "Girls With Guns."

Dana Pico has, "From Around the Blogroll," and "Rule 5 Blogging: At Sea."

Finally, at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Wednesday."

AND IF I MISSED YOUR RULE 5 ENTRY, DROP YOUR LINKS IN THE COMMENTS AND I'LL UPDATE ASAP!

RULE 5 FOREVER!

Islamists Massacre at Least 30 at Nairobi Shopping Mall

Religion of peace update.

Al-Shabaab is suspected.

At the Independent UK, "Nairobi mall attacks: Gunmen 'pinned down' as 22 killed after attackers open fire at Nairobi shopping centre."

And at London's Daily Mail, "All Muslims leave... we only want to kill non-Muslims': Gunmen massacre at least 22 in Kenyan shopping mall after releasing anyone who could prove they were Islamic by reciting a prayer."

Also at the New York Times, "Upscale Mall Becomes War Zone in Kenya Terror Attack":


NAIROBI, Kenya — An upscale mall popular with the Kenyan elite and the foreign diplomats and businesspeople who call Nairobi home turned into a war zone on Saturday, as gunmen opened fire on shoppers in an apparent terrorist attack, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more.

At nightfall, the mall remained sealed off to the public as police officers and soldiers searched floor by floor for the gunmen, who were still believed to be inside with hostages.

Witnesses described hearing explosions and gunfire as they fled, leaving behind blood, broken glass and carnage in what was apparently one of the worst terrorist attacks in the country’s history.

Joseph Momanyi, 26, an employee at the Nakumatt grocery store there, said that as he was running away he heard the attackers shouting that “Muslims should leave” the complex.

The authorities said it was too early to identify the culprits, but suspicion immediately focused on the Shabab, the ferocious Somali militant group that has been linked to past attacks in Kenya, including a grenade and gunfire attack on two churches last year that killed 15 people.

Kenya is widely considered a beacon of stability in an often unstable region. The United Nations has a hub here, as do many nonprofit organizations and corporations. The country’s economy is heavily dependent on tourist revenue, with peaceful safaris and gentle holidays on the coast attracting people from all over the world.

Even before the rise of the Shabab, Kenya was a target for terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda, like the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi and coordinated attacks on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa and an Israeli airliner in 2002. But Kenya has found itself ever more enmeshed in the bloody volatility of Somalia since October 2011, when Kenyan military forces invaded Somalia to help fight the Shabab.

Gen. Abbas Guled, secretary general of the Kenyan Red Cross, said in a phone interview on Saturday that 30 people had been killed and more than 60 wounded. The police had not yet confirmed any fatalities, and there was no claim of responsibility....
Also at Memeorandum.

#ObamaCare and Rape

Via Theo Spark, "Opt Out - The Exam - Creepy Uncle Sam."

And Gateway Pundit, "Creepy Care: Government Gynecologist."



Also at National Journal, "Right-Wing Ad Equates Obamacare and Rape." (The author there, naturally,  does a little editorializing against the group that sponsored the ad, Generation Opportunity.)


#Dodgers Reliever Brian Wilson Slams John McCain on Twitter

I love it.

At Hardball Talk, "Brian Wilson responds to John McCain on Twitter."



PREVIOUSLY: "#Dodgers Celebrate in #Diamonbacks' Swimming Pool."

Parents Remain Gloomy About America's Future While Teens Feel Confident

A Heartland Monitor Poll, sponsored by National Journal, "American Adults Believe Today’s Children Have Fewer Prospects and Opportunities, though Teens Remain Optimistic about the Future, according to the Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll":
Washington, D.C., September 20, 2013— New data from the quarterly Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll shows an American public that overwhelmingly believes childhood and parenthood were better for earlier generations, with 79 percent of poll respondents saying it was better to have been a child when they were young.

Watch a live briefing on key findings from the latest Heartland Monitor Poll today at 8:30 a.m. ET, at http://www.nationaljournal.com/events, featuring Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives Education and the Workforce Committee.

The most recent Heartland Monitor shows that Americans are deeply uncertain about the prospects for today's children. A majority (68 percent) of respondents believe that when today's children are adults, they'll have less financial security, with a poorer chance of holding a steady job and owning a home without too much debt. Almost the same percentage (62 percent) believes their children will have less opportunity to achieve a comfortable retirement. Overall, Heartland XVIII delivers a downbeat vision from parents and non-parents alike, who believe that today's children will display less patriotism, work ethic, and civic responsibility than today's adults.

Yet, in the face of this intense pessimism on the part of adults, teenagers are much more optimistic and clearly feel the older generations have it wrong. For the first time, the Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll also surveyed high school teenagers ages 13-18, and found an optimistic view of the economy: More than half of the teens surveyed (54 percent) say they believe it’s better to be a teenager today than it was when their parents were growing up. A plurality (45 percent) believe that when they are their parents' age, they will have more opportunity to get ahead than the previous generation. Just 24 percent of teens say they will have less opportunity.

“The world looks to America as a beacon of hope to realize one’s dreams. While we see pessimism in this poll, the younger generation feels a sense of optimism about the future,” said Sanjay Gupta, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Allstate. “These findings reinforce a challenging backdrop, but the optimism of the  younger generation gives us hope in the enduring American dream.”

The 18th quarterly Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll digs into the increased concerns about the country's political direction and the economy. American adults say that opportunities for a quality education, access to health care, fair treatment, adequate play time, and sufficient love and attention are accessible to some, but are not guaranteed for the average American child.

This negative view of the future parallels a noticeable chilling of the national mood, with a high percentage (64 percent) of Americans believing that the country is on the wrong track. President Obama's approval rating has hit a low (40 percent), as has that of Congress (13 percent), since this poll's first installment in April 2009. Almost half of Americans (47 percent) say that the Obama administration's actions decrease the opportunity for them to get ahead, the highest percentage since the poll began asking the question in April 2009. Respondents are relatively split on whether the economy will improve (28 percent), become worse (31 percent), or stay the same (36 percent) over the next 12 months.

In the area of education, more teens than adults consider college a worthy investment. While over half of adult respondents (53 percent) still believe the average four-year college education is a ticket to the middle class, and that a degree helps people get good jobs and build successful careers,  a full 39 percent view college as an economic burden. Teenagers, meanwhile, feel that college is a good investment for the future (86 percent), rather than an unnecessary expense that is not worth it (14 percent).

In other areas of the poll, a large majority (69 percent) of adults polled believe parents are too busy with work and their own personal lives to spend enough time with their children or to give them the attention they need to learn and grow.

“The operative definition of the American Dream is that each generation will live better than its predecessor,” added Ronald Brownstein, editorial director of Atlantic Media. "The latest Heartland Monitor survey shows how much the sustained economic slowdown has frayed that expectation among average Americans. While the poll shows that most Americans believe the country is still providing kids with many of the necessary ingredients for success—particularly a quality education—it captures a widespread fear that the economy simply won't provide as many opportunities to future generations as Americans remember from when they were young.”

Key findings from the 18th Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll are also available via PDF. Additional information on the entire polling series can be found at: http://www.theheartlandvoice.com/category/insights.

Key Findings

1. Americans overwhelmingly believe that today's children and parents are facing more difficulties and challenges than previous generations.

79 percent of Americans believe it was better to have been a child when they were young while just 16 percent of American adults believe it is better to be a child in America today.
75 percent believe it was better to be a parent when they were growing up, while just 19 percent of Americans think it is better to be a parent in America today.
This sentiment is remarkably consistent across demographic lines, including age, education, and income.
More than half of teens surveyed (54 percent) say it's better to be a teenager today than it was when their parents were growing up (46 percent).
Teens are less positive about the state of parenthood today - 40 percent think it is better to be a parent today than it was when their own parents were growing up (60 percent).
Overall, Americans overwhelmingly believe that today's children face more challenges (66 percent) than opportunities (25 percent).

2. Looking forward, Americans remain concerned about opportunities and achievement for the next generation.
Just 20 percent of Americans believe that today's children will have more opportunity to get ahead when they are grown, compared to 45 percent who fear that today's children will have less opportunity, and 30 percent believe they will have about the same level.
Today, fewer Americans believe their children will have more opportunities to get ahead than did so a year ago. In September 2012, the Heartland Monitor showed that 32 percent of Americans believed the next generation will have more opportunities, while 32 percent believed they will have less.
Young adults ages 18-29 are the most optimistic, but just 31 percent believe that today's children will have more opportunity when they are grown, a 12-point decline since last September.
Today's teens are more hopeful about their future opportunities, with 45 percent believing they will have more opportunity than their parents had, 24 percent believing they will have less opportunity.
Thinking about the achievements and activities of their own generation, Americans believe today's children will not quite measure up on a number of factors:
68 percent think that today's children will have less financial security;
65 percent think they will have less patriotism and pride in their country;
63 percent think they will have less work ethic and professional motivation;
62 percent think they will have less financial freedom and the ability to afford luxuries;
53 percent think they will have less financial responsibility;
48 percent think they will have less civic and community responsibility.

3. Americans are conflicted on policy approaches related to the cost of raising children and college education.
When considering the idea of shared societal responsibility and sacrifice as it relates to assisting parents and children, a slight majority of Americans express hesitation about asking businesses and non-parents to contribute too much.
51 percent believe that "while the country should be supportive of children and young families, raising those children is the responsibility of the parents.”
42 percent think that "the entire country has a shared responsibility to invest more in children and young families.”
When told the average cost of cost of raising a child totals more than $240,000:
60 percent say that the best approach to making parenting more affordable is "lowering taxes.”
34 percent prefer "increasing public spending” on programs like pre-K, public education, child care, health care and college tuition.
More than half of Americans see college as a ticket to the middle class (53 percent) rather than an economic burden (39 percent).
Teenagers overwhelmingly believe that college is "a good investment for the future" (86 percent) rather than an "unnecessary expense that is not worth it" (14 percent).
Fewer than half of parents with school-age children think it's realistic that they will be able to pay for college education for themselves or their children.

4. This poll shows a decline in the American political environment and a fading confidence in President Obama and the economy.
Just a quarter of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction, a slippage from the 30 percent we measured in May/June. Half of Democrats (50 percent) and only 45 percent of African-Americans now believe things are headed in the right direction.
President Obama's job approval sits at 40 percent, down from 48 percent in May/June and the lowest we've measured across 18 Heartland Monitor polls.
Just 13 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, even lower than the 17 percent we measured in May/June.
47 percent of Americans now believe that the Obama administration will decrease opportunity for people like them to get ahead. This is the high-water mark for this measure of pessimism, up from 43 percent in April and 40 percent in May/June.
Just 28 percent believe the economy will improve 12 months from now, the lowest we've measured from 44 percent last November to 34 percent in April and 37 percent in May/June.

5. Americans continue to occupy a "middle ground" between optimism and concern regarding their personal financial situation.
44 percent rate their own personal financial situation as excellent or good, compared to with to 49 percent in May/June 2013.
43 percent expect their financial situation to improve by this time next year, a slight decline from 47 percent in May/June but notably higher than the 36 percent measured in April 2013.
Click here for methods and contact information.

Friday, September 20, 2013

L.A.'s Department of Water and Power Funneled $40 Million to Union-Controlled Non-Profit Groups

Totally corrupt, but that's what you get these days with morally-bankrupt big-city Democrat machine politics.

At LAT, "DWP says it can't track millions in ratepayer money":
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has directed an estimated $40 million in ratepayer money to two nonprofit groups charged with improving relations with the utility's largest employee union, but the agency claims to have scant information on how the public funds have been spent.

The Joint Training Institute and the Joint Safety Institute, controlled by DWP managers and union leaders, have received up to $4 million per year since their creation more than a decade ago after a contentious round of job cutbacks at one of the nation's largest municipal utilities.

Nearly all of the nonprofits' money comes from DWP ratepayers, records show. About $1 million per year has been used to pay the salaries of a handful of administrators, according to the limited records the utility has provided to The Times under the California Public Records Act. Separate federal tax records offer only summaries of the organizations' outlays, including more than $360,000 spent on travel from 2009 to 2011.

Officials at the nonprofits, the DWP and the employees' union, Local 18 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, declined to be interviewed about the institutes' activities and spending.

Nonprofits' financial records

After inquiries from The Times, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti said the mayor plans to meet with DWP managers in coming days to discuss the issue. "This is ratepayer money and they need to account for it," Jeff Millman said.

The broad purpose of the organizations, city records show, has been to "identify" safety and training as core values at the department, and to promote "communication, mutual trust and respect" between DWP managers and the electrical workers' union.

Ordinances establishing the nonprofits in 2000 and 2002 don't specify how the ratepayer money should be spent.

References to the organizations' work in public records reviewed by The Times give a spotty picture of the groups' activities. A recent report by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education notes that one, the Joint Training Institute, developed an online self-study course, including instruction in basic math and reading comprehension, for prospective DWP employees preparing for Civil Service exams.

Another report posted online in 2004 by a former Joint Safety Institute administrator discussed the need for "ergonomic training" and a "defensive-driving fair" for agency employees. "Probably the most dangerous thing we do every day is drive to and from work," the administrator wrote.

Three representatives of the DWP, including General Manager Ron Nichols, serve on the boards overseeing the nonprofits. Three additional board members come from the union local, led by Business Manager Brian D'Arcy. Board members are not paid for their service.

DWP managers and union leaders have struggled to agree on uses for the money, apparently contributing to an accumulation of cash in the nonprofits' accounts, records and interviews show. The two groups had $13.8 million on hand at the end of fiscal 2011-12, the most recent year for which the tax-exempt organizations' IRS filings are available. The filings do not detail outlays. For example, they don't indicate who traveled or where they went.
Jeez, DWP's a freakin' cash cow slush fund for the unions!

Still more at the link.

House Republicans Vote to Defund #ObamaCare

At NYT, "House approves Stopgap Money, Setting Up Fight." (Via Memeorandum.)

And WSJ, "Health Law Thrust Into Fiscal Fights: House GOP Votes to Strip Money for Insurance Overhaul as Oct. 1 Shutdown Deadline Approaches":


House Republicans on Friday thrust President Barack Obama's health law into the middle of two looming fiscal battles, a strategy that roils Congress's efforts to keep the government solvent this fall and avoid a partial government shutdown in less than two weeks.

The House on Friday passed a Republican bill to keep the government funded starting Oct. 1. That measure, however, also eliminates money for the health-care law. It was a triumph for a wing of the Republican Party that has campaigned for months to convince GOP leaders to make a fight over the health law a top priority.

With the government-funding issue unresolved, House Republicans opened another front Friday. Following a closed-door GOP strategy session, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) set a vote for the coming week on legislation that would link a yearlong postponement of the health law's implementation to a yearlong extension of the government's borrowing authority. The law's online insurance marketplaces are set to go live Oct. 1 for policies that will take effect in January.

Neither challenge to the health law is likely to survive the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The simultaneous showdowns and the injection of the health-care issue risk creating a market-rattling impasse reminiscent of the fight over raising the debt limit in 2011 that resulted in the U.S.'s credit rating being downgraded.

The budget that currently allocates funds to the federal government expires Sept. 30. Then, by mid-October, Congress would need to raise the federal debt limit or the government will run out of ways to keep paying its bills.

Mr. Obama called House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) Friday night to say he wouldn't negotiate on the debt limit, according to an aide to Mr. Boehner, reiterating comments the president made earlier in the day in Claycomo, Mo. The speaker replied that "the two chambers of Congress will chart the path ahead," the Boehner aide said.

"We're not some banana republic. This is not some deadbeat nation," Mr. Obama said earlier at the Missouri event. "So what I've said is, I will not negotiate over the full faith and credit of the United States."

The House bill would cut off all federal spending for implementing and running the health law, including subsidies to help low-income people pay their premiums and federal funding for states expanding their Medicaid programs.

The conservatives' victory Friday could be short-lived. The Senate in the coming week is expected to restore the health-care money and throw the government-funding bill back to the House. Republican leaders are hoping they will build up enough momentum to pressure Democrats to accept health-law cuts or other budget concessions during the debt-limit fight instead.

"The key thing is we are going to negotiate over the debt limit. The president isn't going to be able to say, 'I'm just simply not going to talk with anybody,' " Rep. Tom Cole (R., Okla.) told reporters Friday.

Natalie Portman Steals the Spotlight at NYC Ballet Gala

She's so wonderful.

At London's Daily Mail, "Natalie Portman steals the spotlight from fashionistas Sarah Jessica Parker and Doutzen Kroes at New York City Ballet gala."

#ObamaCare 'Glitches' as Health Law Can't Determine Enrollee Subsidy Eligibility

At Jammie Wearing Fools, "What Could Go Wrong? ObamaCare Exchanges in 36 States Can’t Calculate How Much People Will Pay."

And at Heritage, "Obamacare’s Insurance Exchange 'Glitches'."

Kill the monstrosity, as I always say.

#Dodgers Celebrate in #Diamondbacks' Swimming Pool

Here's Bill Plaschke:


It was the most unusual of clinching celebrations. Yet for the Diamondbacks, it was also one of the most infuriating. Citing security issues, team officials had earlier asked the Dodgers not to return to the field once they entered their clubhouse. Even though the stadium was virtually empty when the Dodgers ran to the pool, the Diamondbacks were furious at what they perceived as the Dodgers' lack of respect for their team, their fans and their building.

"I could call it disrespectful and classless, but they don't have a beautiful pool at their old park and must have really wanted to see what one was like," said Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall, a former Dodgers executive, in an e-mailed statement.
Well, seems like you don't go all hog wild in someone else's house. And it made the front-page of today's paper.



But see, "Why Los Angeles Dodgers jumping into Arizona's pool wasn't disrespectful."

L.A.'s Skidrow Homeless Exploited to Buy iPhones at Pasadena Apple Store

This is sick.

At KTLA, "Homeless People Hired to Buy iPhones for Businessman in Pasadena (VIDEO)."

And at LAT, "Homeless used to buy iPhones in Pasadena left stranded, unpaid (VIDEO)":


Dozens of people picked up on skid row by an enterprising man hoping to secure a load of new iPhones said they were left unpaid and stranded at the Pasadena Apple store.

Dominoe Moody, 43, said he was taken to Pasadena from a downtown Los Angeles homeless mission with several van-loads of people to wait in line overnight for the latest iPhone.

He was promised $40, but said he wasn’t paid because after handing the man the iPhone, the man was taken away by police when people became upset with him.

“It didn’t go right. I stood out here all night,” he said, adding that he has no way to get home.

Pasadena Police Lt. Jason Clawson confirmed that a fight broke out about 9 a.m. as a man left the store with multiple iPhones.

Other people who were in line and hired by the man began fighting with him because they said they weren’t being paid enough, Clawson said. Police escorted the man from the scene, he said.

Most people weren’t paid by the man, Moody said, estimating that 70 to 80 were recruited and driven to the store to wait in line.

“They need to bring him back ... to pick up the people that he brought here,” said Vivian Fields, 49. “We have no way to get home.”

Fields, who is in a wheelchair, said she was approached by recruiters at a homeless shelter on skid row and arrived in Pasadena on Thursday about 7 p.m. She waited overnight at the store.

Pasadena police are not investigating the incident, Clawson said.

"It's not a police issue. It's a business issue," he said.
Actually, it's an exploitation issue.

Pisses me off. Someone should pop the f-ker who stiffed these people.