The Freddie Gray Effect? Police Wonder If They'll Be Arrested for Doing Their Job as Baltimore Gets Bloodier

BALTIMORE — A 31-year-old woman and a young boy were shot in the head Thursday, becoming Baltimore’s 37th and 38th homicide victims so far this month, the city’s deadliest in 15 years.

Meanwhile, arrests have plunged: Police are booking fewer than half the number of people they pulled off the streets last year.

Arrests were already declining before Freddie Gray died on April 19 of injuries he suffered in police custody, but they dropped sharply thereafter, as his death unleashed protests, riots, the criminal indictment of six officers and a full-on civil rights investigation by the U.S. Justice Department that has officers working under close scrutiny.

“I’m afraid to go outside,” said Antoinette Perrine, whose brother was shot down three weeks ago on a basketball court near her home in the Harlem Park neighborhood of West Baltimore. Ever since, she has barricaded her door and added metal slabs inside her windows to deflect gunfire.

“It’s so bad, people are afraid to let their kids outside,” Perrine said. “People wake up with shots through their windows. Police used to sit on every corner, on the top of the block. These days? They’re nowhere.”

Via: Fox News

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Jailhouse Crock: Unfinished prison costs Detroit area taxpayers $1.2M per month

Four years after breaking ground and with construction costs totaling $151 million, the Wayne County Jail sits empty in downtown Detroit. The empty structure is costing taxpayers upwards of $1.2 million in upkeep per month. (AP)

A prison in downtown Detroit that was deemed too expensive to complete is now a construction site frozen in time that still costs cash-strapped local taxpayers more than $1 million a month.

It was supposed to be a state-of-art lockup in the heart of the Motor City, but four years after breaking ground, with construction costs totaling $150 million and no end in sight, the city pulled the plug on the project four years ago.

Now, the Wayne County Jail sits empty among the ruins of a bankrupt city, costing taxpayers upwards of $1.2 million in debt service and monthly upkeep costs for electricity, security, sump pumps - and even off-site storage for pre-fabricated jail cells that will never be used.

“The Wayne County Jail was a mess since it was created,” Rose Bogaert, head of the Wayne County Taxpayers Association and chair of the Michigan Taxpayer Alliance, told FoxNews.com. “At this point, the only thing we should do is cut our losses. If someone is willing to purchase it, we should sell it.

“Everyone knows that these projects never stay within budget, and this one was in a bad location to begin with," she added. "It never made sense. There needs to be more thought put into these projects before they start building.”

County officials have yet to make a decision as to what to do with the facility. But while they dither, the monthly meter is running. According to figures compiled by the Detroit Free Press some of the monthly costs include:

• Security: $10,849
• Sump pump maintenance: $12,852-
• Warehouse space to store pre-cast jail cells: $15,000
• Electricity: $4,000
• Debt service: $1.1 million

Despite the hefty costs of the jail, and the county teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans does not appear to be any closer to making a decision on the building site.

Via: Fox News

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Inside One More Sketchy Sharpton-Family Nonprofit

Al Sharpton’s daughter Dominique has recently grabbed headlines for her $5 million lawsuit against the City of New York over a sprained ankle — but the shakedown may not stop there. New records reviewed by National Review show Sharpton’s daughter and her boyfriend, 

Marcus Bright, together run a shadowy nonprofit that shares corporate donors, board members, and office space with Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, and they won’t answer any questions about it.

In tax filings, Education for a Better America (EBA) states that its mission is “to build a bridge between policy makers and the classroom by supporting innovations in the delivery of education and disseminating information and findings that impact our schools.” The nonprofit’s publications show the group hosting or participating in education-focused assemblies, speeches, summits, and events in New York City, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., among other cities.

“It’s all a scam,” says one source close to the Sharpton family. “It’s a cover for money, basically, to subsidize [Dominique] Sharpton and Bright to do what they do. . . . They put it all on their Instagram and their Facebook. Most of the time, it’s like they’re on vacation. . . . One could argue, being totally objective, that some of what [Al] Sharpton has done in terms of advocacy has helped black people and civil rights. Tell me one thing that Education for a Better America has done to help education.”

Via National Review

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Study Predicts Decades Of Global Cooling Ahead

A new study out of the United Kingdom predicts the Earth is about to go through a major climatic shift that could mean decades of cooler temperatures and fewer hurricanes hitting the United States.

Scientists at the University of Southampton predict that a cooling of the Atlantic Ocean could cool global temperatures a half a degree Celsius and may offer a “brief respite from the persistent rise of global temperatures,” according to their study.

This cooling phase in the Atlantic will influence “temperature, rainfall, drought and even the frequency of hurricanes in many regions of the world,” says Dr. Gerard McCarthy. The study’s authors based their results on ocean sensor arrays and 100 years of sea-level data.

“Sea-surface temperatures in the Atlantic vary between warm and cold over time-scales of many decades,” said McCarthy, the study’s lead author. “This decadal variability, called the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO), is a notable feature of the Atlantic Ocean and the climate of the regions it influences.”

Via: Daily Caller

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Members Living in Their Offices Rent-Free Adds Up

Rep. Joaquin Castro knows a little about real estate, in part because his twin, Julian, is secretary of Housing and Urban Development. So after winning a safely Democratic seat three years ago, he decided buying a condo on the Hill was a smart investment.

He soon started noticing, when walking home at night, how many windows in the darkened House office buildings emanated a distinctive bluish light. Castro guesses the number of his colleagues inside, watching TV while falling asleep, has only grown and easily tops 50 these days.

“I’ve been joking with my brother,” the San Antonio congressman says with a broad grin, “that he should have HUD designate this place a public housing project.”

Humor aside, there’s a strong argument to be made for the conclusion. The dozens of members who sleep in their offices are, in effect, spending their weekdays in 100 percent federally subsidized apartments.

They are not charged any rent. They receive no utility bills. They don’t pay for the daily cleaning services. Microwaves and refrigerators have been installed in most suites. There’s a half bathroom connected to each personal office, and the showers at the members’ gym open at 5:30 a.m.

In short, lawmakers who choose their offices as their crash pads are getting a valuable government freebie — worth 10 percent or more of their $174,000 annual salary.

Zillow, the real estate search engine, on Wednesday listed 50 studio or one-bedroom apartments for lease on Capitol Hill, a solid majority for between $18,000 and $23,000 a year. (The cheapest, 447 square feet on 15th Street Southeast, was $1,100 a month.) Airbnb was offering more than 300 spots in the neighborhood for shorter-term rent, at an average of $152 a night. Even with that arrangement, House members would need to budget $17,000 for lodging on the 110 or so weeknights their schedule says they can expect to be in D.C. this year.

The fact that members are free to freeload off Congress is back in the news this week, as the House voted to maintain the congressional pay freeze for a seventh year. The few lawmakers willing to advocate for a raise inevitably lamented the expense of maintaining places to live in both their districts and high-cost Washington. Those complaints, in turn, revived chatter about the growing numbers who have figured out how to avoid the problem.

No Capitol administrative office claims to keep track of which members bunk next to their desks, but news stories and anecdotal reports suggest the number is at least 45 and may be 70 or higher. No senators appear to be doing so, and the House contingent seems to be exclusively male — and lopsidedly Republican.

Via: Roll Call

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U.S. judge grills lawyer defending Obama's healthcare law changes

Thomson ReutersObama delivers remarks on the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act on the White House campus in Washington

 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday blasted the Obama administration's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives over the implementation of the Democratic president's signature healthcare law.

Republicans in the House filed a lawsuit in November, saying administration officials unlawfully bypassed Congress.

At issue are executive changes authorizing Treasury payments to healthcare insurers without the funding being agreed by Congress and delaying implementation of the law's employer mandate, which required employers with more than 50 employees to provide healthcare coverage.

U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, appointed by Obama's predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, repeatedly interrupted U.S. Justice Department lawyer Joel McElvain during the hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Justice Department lawyers argue that the House lacks standing to sue, citing a section of U.S. law that means the House would have to prove it has been directly harmed.

"So it is your position that if the House of Representatives affirmatively voted not to fund something ... then that vote can be ignored by the administration, because after all, no one can sue them?" she asked.

McElvain argued that the merits of the case were not being discussed at the hearing, and that any perceived injury was "abstract."

"I'm not asking you to give me your brief. I want you to explain ... why it's not an insult to the Constitution?" Collyer said.

Via: Business Insider

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EXCLUSIVE: 'Don't let Bill back in the White House, he abused women and he'll do it again.' Paula Jones warns against voting for Hillary - because she also lied about sex case which almost cost him presidency

She was the woman who almost brought down the president, with her allegations of sexual harassment.

But 21 years after Paula Jones accused Bill Clinton of lurid behavior, she is speaking out against Hillary and insisting that his wife is not fit to be President either - because of her husband's history of bad behavior.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online Jones delivers her own verdict on Hillary's bid to become president, saying that her husband's attitude towards women disqualifies Bill from re-entering the White House - while what she calls Hillary's 'lies' disqualify her from the Oval Office.

'There is no way that she did not know what was going on, that women were being abused and accosted by her husband,' she says. 'They have both lied.'

Jones, 48, became a national figure when in 1994 she sued President Clinton for sexual harassment after an incident in an Arkansas hotel room three years earlier.

Her lawsuit led to Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky being uncovered and led to Clinton being impeached, accused of lying about the nature of his relationship with the White House intern.

Via: Daily Mail UK

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Chairman Priebus Op-Ed: With Florida Visit, Clinton Shows She’s Out-of-Touch

Since declaring her candidacy for president more than a month ago, Hillary Clinton has spent very little time with “everyday Americans”—the people she claims she’s fighting for.

None of her campaign events have been open to the general public. That is probably for the same reason she avoids reporters: She doesn’t want to answer questions about her email scandal, about her record, or about her positions on controversial issues. (In the first month of her campaign, she only answered nine questions from the press.)

Her time has been spent in closed-door fundraisers and carefully choreographed campaign events. The “average” Americans at her “roundtable” discussions are pre-selected by her campaign, and they are often former Clinton or Obama campaign volunteers. Her trip to Florida this week is no exception.

It’s remarkable that Clinton continues to avoid the public because she desperately needs to earn the public’s trust. Polls show a majority of Americans do not believe she is honest or trustworthy. And more and more Americans see the Clintons for what they are: hopelessly out-of-touch with the middle class.

Via: GOP.com

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Nancy Pelosi Has Her Pick In Coveted FL Congressional Race

While the growing Republican field of congressional candidates continues to grow in Florida’s 18th congressional district-setting up what could be a very contentious primary race in 201-  the Democrat king-makers in Washington, D.C., who  seem hell-bent to avoid a potentially bloody primary race, may have already decided on a candidate to throw their support behind, Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay.

The Democrat establishment has already embraced Rep. Patrick Murphy, who announced he would not running for re-election in CD 18, as their Senate candidate to replace Senator Marco Rubio.

Now House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) has settled on McKinlay, as have Florida Democrat state legislators, State Sens. Joe Abruzzo and Jeff Clemens.

McKinlay has just become the newest target for Republicans. I can only imagine the Pelosi-clone attack ads against her.

The Democrats may have decided on McKinlay perhaps because they feel that the young mother of three, who just won her county commission seat race in November 2014, could become the next Rep. Gwen Graham (D).

Graham won her 2014 congressional race against incumbent Rep. Steve Southerland by the closest of margins by running as moderate, when in fact she was significantly more liberal.

Can a woman like McKinlay bring on a second congressional lightning strike for Democrats in another one of Florida’s Republican-leaning congressional district?

If someone like McKinlay becomes the Democrat Party’s nominee in this congressional district, which some believe is almost assured with local and national Democrats backing her candidacy, which Republican from the ever-growing field of D.C. insiders, carpet-baggers, local no-name elected officials, and disabled military veterans will make it out of the Republican primary to challenge McKinlay?

Unlike Democrats, Republicans, for the most part, stay out of contested primary races like this one and allow the political process to run its course.

This has not always been the case. Anyone remember when the establishment Republicans in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. tried to crown then-Republican Governor Charlie Crist as the Republican nominee in the open Florida U.S. Senate seat in 2010?

The result of that ill-advised move by the Republican poobahs was then candidate-Marco Rubio eating both their lunch and dinner.

Via: Shark Tank

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Baltimore Riots Will Cost Taxpayers at Least $20M

According to the Baltimore Sun, estimates put the cost of the city's riots around $20M...so far.

The $20 million figure includes expenses for police and firefighter overtime, damage to city-owned property and payment to other jurisdictions that assisted with policing duties.

Baltimore’s finance director, Henry J. Raymond, said that the city can cover the costs from its rainy day fund, but that it is only a temporary solution and that they are planning on requesting up to 75 percent reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

That's right, Baltimore wants 75% of the costs of the rioting to fall on the backs of the American taxpayer.

"The city remains on strong financial footing,” Raymond told the newspaper. “Hopefully with the FEMA reimbursement, it will reduce the financial stress that we’re under. In terms of the city’s overall revenue structure, we’re on firm footing and we’ll move forward.”

Both the Mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Governor Larry Hogan have asked for federal aid.

The $20 million estimate includes the purchasing of equipment, like riot gear and tear gas and for public works crews to clean neighborhood streets affected by the rioting. Not included is the cost to businesses that were damaged.

So included in the $20M figure are the costs submitted by various city agencies but not other costs like economic impact and lost tax revenue. Other lost revenue include "the loss of conventions, tourism, leisure spending, and revenue from Orioles games that were closed to the public, canceled, or moved to other cities."

Via: Truth Revolt

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ABC’s 20/20 Exposes Rampant Disability Fraud

In a surprising segment, ABC’s 20/20 highlighted several cases of freeloading by people looking to fraudulently claim disability. While the program did not get to the heart of the matter – just how easy it is to claim disability and the skyrocketing cost of the program – noting a major flaw in an expensive government program is rare for a liberal network like ABC.  

The show mentioned people faking or exaggerating toe injuries, ankle injuries, PTSD, and supposed injuries on the job. Through an interview with Byron Tucker of the California Department of Insurance, ABC showed the cost of widespread fraud. Tucker argued that “when people submit fraudulent worker comp[ensation] claims and they get paid for it, well, that causes premiums to rise. John and Jill Public pay those prices.” Disability fraud deserves more attention from the media given the cost of the program; the federal government spends more on disability than it does on food stamps and welfare combined. Credit ABC for reporting on this little-discussed issue.

The transcript below details several more examples of disability fraud. 

ABC
20/20
May 22, 2015
10:00 p.m. Eastern

ELIZABETH VARGAS, ABC News: Good evening. David is off tonight, but 20/20 is on the case, asking the question, who's free loading? People are getting disability from injuries they say keep them from working. Well, on this Memorial Day weekend, a lot of you will be taking it easy and so will they, but with your money. Tonight, they're caught in the act, on tape. Here's Cecilia Vega.

BEAUTY PAGEANT ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, these are your Grand Prix finalists.

CECILIA VEGA, ABC News: Beauty contestant Shawna Palmer appears poised to take home the crown with her bikini-ready body, winning smile and legs that go for miles. Last April, Palmer strutted her stuff on stage in Long Beach, California, hoping to become the next Miss Toyota Grand Prix.

BEAUTY PAGEANT ANNOUNCER: Say hi to Shawna.

VEGA: But put on the brakes. Can you spot the major foot injury that supposedly kept this contestant from being able to do her day job? Palmer claimed she hurt her left big toe working as a supermarket clerk. She said the painful injury left her with, quote, "an inability to bear weight" on her foot. But shortly after going to the doctor, prosecutors say she apparently had no problem working it in a pair of pumps, no less.

BEAUTY PAGEANT ANNOUNCER: And she loves dirt bikes.

VEGA: Insurance investigators arrested Palmer on charges of illegally collecting workers' compensation benefits totaling over $24,000.

VIRGINIA BLUMENTHAL: She did not lie, whatsoever, regarding her foot injury.

VEGA: She pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of fraud.

SHAWNA PALMER: Yes, your honor.

VEGA: You might think suspected offenders of false claims would want to avoid the spotlight, but meet Leroy Barnes, a professional dancer who claimed total disability after getting hurt on a gig. Yet, investigators say he's right here, shaking his tail as one of those dancing hamsters in the Kia car commercials. Barnes stands accused of fraudulently collecting over 50 grand in disability. For now, this hamster's out of his cage. He pleaded not guilty and is free on bail. Then, there's the curious case of Dan Slewoski, a Chicago-area man who said he was unable to perform his job at the Department of Public Works due to a nerve condition.

FIGHT ANNOUNCER: Are you ready?

VEGA: But city investigators say he had the nerve to perform in an extreme wrestling tournament, doing his best Hulk Hogan, climbing the ropes and fake-pummeling some poor sap, all while on government-paid medical leave. Slewoski might look menacing in that ring, but he hid behind his door while answering questions from ABC's I-team in Chicago.

Via: Newsbusters

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Commander in Chief's Job is National Defense, Not Climate Change

A front-page headline in the Wall Street Journal screams out: "Islamic State's Gains Reveal New Prowess on the Battlefield."

The article discusses how the Islamic State recently captured Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in Iraq. The Islamic State victory, according to the report, involved the execution of a complex battle plan "that outwitted a greater force of Iraqi troops as well as the much lauded U.S.-trained special-operations force known as the Golden Division."

Flipping to the editorial page, an opinion piece discusses the increasing dominance of Russia, Iran and China in their parts of the world "as the U.S. retreats."

But what is keeping America's commander in chief up at night?

President Obama spent most of his recent address to the graduating class of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy talking about climate change.

According to our president, climate change "constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security."

The president continued to say that the science regarding climate change is "indisputable."

In 2013, the president tweeted, "Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: climate change is real, manmade and dangerous."

But this is false.

Ross McKitrick, an economist at the University of Guelph and a senior fellow at Canada's Fraser Institute, and others have pointed out the dubious methodology used to arrive at the claim that 97 percent of scientists agree on climate change science. It's not even close to being accurate.

Via: Townhall

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COULTER: CURRENT IMMIGRATION POLICY ALL ABOUT IMPORTING DEM VOTERS

Columnist and author of “Adios, America” Ann Coulter argued current immigration policy is “100%” about trying to change the US ” into a direction that is more favorably disposed to vote for the Democrats” on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel.

Coulter began by praising Fusion anchor Jorge Ramos for debating her on his show and doing a “fantastic job” with the interview, something that she said no one else will do.

Coulter added, “One big part of this, is that this is the one debate cannot hear in America. You can hear both sides of the abortion debate, both sides of global warming, both sides of the Iraq War. You cannot hear both sides of the immigration debate, and I am just asking for a debate.”

She continued that her book was about exposing, “not only the media cover-up which is massive, but the government cover-up. Not giving us basic information about the people they are bringing into this country in order to change it into a direction that is more favorably disposed to vote for the Democrats.”

Coulter also stated that she thinks current immigration policy is “100%” about importing voters and said of Republicans who oppose closing the border, “They are looking at their short-term interests, they will win elections for the next five years and then it will be nothing but a Democratic country.

Via: Breitbart

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Clinton Foundation paid Blumenthal $10K per month while he advised on Libya

Some officials at the charity grumbled that his hiring was a favor from the Clintons.

Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime confidant of Bill and Hillary Clinton, earned about $10,000 a month as a full-time employee of the Clinton Foundation while he was providing unsolicited intelligence on Libya to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to multiple sources familiar with the arrangement.

Blumenthal was added to the payroll of the Clintons’ global philanthropy in 2009 — not long after advising Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — at the behest of former president Bill Clinton, for whom he had worked in the White House, say the sources.

While Blumenthal’s foundation job focused on highlighting the legacy of Clinton’s presidency, some officials at the charity questioned his value and grumbled that his hiring was a favor from the Clintons, according to people familiar with the foundation. They say that, during a 2013 reform push, Blumenthal was moved to a consulting contract that came with a similar pay rate but without benefits — an arrangement that endured until March.

A Clinton loyalist who first earned the family’s trust as an aggressive combatant in the political battles of the 1990s, Blumenthal continues to work as a paid consultant to two groups supporting Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign — American Bridge and Media Matters — both of which are run by David Brock, a close ally of both Clinton and Blumenthal.

Yet Blumenthal’s financial and personal connections to the Clintons and their allies have emerged as subjects of intense scrutiny as Clinton seeks to gain momentum for her presidential campaign.

Via: Politico

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ALSO ON POLITICO

Hillary Clinton struggles to escape South Carolina scars

GLENN THRUSH

Yet Blumenthal’s financial and personal connections to the Clintons and their allies have emerged as subjects of intense scrutiny as Clinton seeks to gain momentum for her presidential campaign.

[VIDEO] Baltimore Mayor Lashes Out At Fox News Reporter Asking About Violence, WH Answer More Gun Control!

If anyone could shoot the stink eye, that’s Stephanie Rawlings-Blake trying to roast Fox’s Leland Vittert. Then Josh Earnest tries to argue for more gun control to address criminals shooting people. Because criminals are known for paying attention to laws. Maryland already has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. But never let a crisis go to waste…

Via: Weasel Zippers

Examining Trans Pacific Partnership

The TPP agreement is not designed to grow trade because instead it is constructed in a manner designed to carry on, and double-down, on the destructive policies already in place because of the Obama administration

On Constitution Radio with Douglas V. Gibbs on May 23, 2015, over KMET 1490AM, the topic of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement moseyed its way into the arena of discussion.  During the conversation a rare instance in the many year history of the radio program, and on the Political Pistachio blogsite for that matter, emerged where JASmius (my longtime co-host, staff writer, and dear friend) and I disagreed.

While I indicated I felt that the deal is potentially a dangerous one, and I am against Republican support of the Obama supported trade agreement, JASmius stated he supported the spread of capitalism, and that is what the TPP agreement accomplishes.  I responded that I support free trade, but not when it puts the United States, and more specifically “American sovereignty,” at a disadvantage.  I added thatthe secretive nature of this agreement threw up red flags for me as well.

In an examination of what little information is available regarding this “behind-closed-doors” consensus of international political elites, the potentiality of the TPP free trade treaty being a disadvantage for American interests is alarming.  The agreement will facilitate the creation of global economic integration that will empower globalistic schemes, and place American interests at risk.  At first blush, the agreement caters to those that wish to annihilate national sovereignty, hindering America’s position on the global economic stage while redistributing the wealth of nations to other countries that may not be so far up on the world-stage ladder, while positioning global economics into a position to better enable internationalists to ultimately push aside domestic individuality while moving the planet closer to a one world model that can be more easily controlled by a worldwide centralized governing authority.

While on the surface, the Trans Pacific Partnership claims to be about free trade, it has little to do with trade, and is more about moving chess pieces around for those that have global aspirations.  The United States, in this agreement, joins 12 countries that includes Canada and Mexico, two countries we already have three-quarters of our foreign trade with - and of which is already covered by NAFTA (which has also been proving to be disastrous due to the agreement having similar globalistic provisions that places the United States at a disadvantage).  Growth exports are already covered by NAFTA, so while the TPP agreement is being heralded as a trade agreement, it actually has no significant relevance to our trade relations, or at least not in a manner that improves our position in relation from NAFTA.

Via: Canada Free Press

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[EDITORIAL] IRS shows we're all at the mercy of feds' incompetence

As the financial crisis wreaked havoc on America's economy in October 2008, billionaire investor Warren Buffett made a wise observation about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two institutions at the center of the crash — and the regulatory agency that oversaw them at that time.

"It's really an incredible case study in regulation," Buffett said. "[T]he sole job of OFHEO was to watch over Fannie and Freddie. ... Two companies were all they had to regulate. OFHEO has over 200 employees now. They have a budget now that's $65 million a year, and all they have to do is look at two companies."

Of course, the catastrophic failure of the two tightly-regulated, government-sponsored enterprises is now the stuff of financial legend. Buffett's point stands as a nice antidote to the myth that tight government control can prevent most anything from going wrong. And as Fannie and Freddie were government enterprises, it also shows how government not only fails to prevent catastrophe, but often creates it or makes it possible.

On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service announced that about 100,000 taxpayers had had their personal data stolen from one of the agency's systems. As the Washington Examiner's Sarah Westwood reportedWednesday, this theft comes after years of warnings from the Treasury Department's inspector general about identity theft, which already costs the agency more than $5 billion each year, and which the agency remains incapable of preventing. No one expects the Internal Revenue Service — the supposedly wise guardian of millions of Americans' most private financial data — to be a leaky sieve for identity thieves to exploit. But it is.

Historically, fraudsters have exploited the tax-filing process by claiming the tax refunds of others. The IRS, ever quick to pounce taxpayers for innocent errors, is notoriously slow in dealing with such situations once they have been identified — according to the Government Accountability Office, it can take up to nine months in resolving them. And as the inspector general noted in 2012, the agency has no idea how many identity thieves exploit their processes to make bank.

Via: Washington Examiner

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The Costs of a $15 Minimum Wage

In the 1970s, when oil prices jumped, most liberals embraced a simple solution: price controls. It should be illegal, they thought, to sell oil or gasoline for more than a certain amount. Americans should be able to drive without being fleeced by oil companies and foreign governments.

The impulse was understandable. Gasoline is an essential commodity for most people. When the cost rises, it imposes a heavy burden on consumers, most of whom have few transportation options.

In 1971, in an attempt to tame inflation, Republican President Richard Nixon imposed controls on almost all prices. By 1974, he had lifted most of them. But those on gas remained. Under Democratic President Jimmy Carter, they led to widespread shortages and long lines at service stations -- and didn't keep prices from rising. But the controls lasted until his successor, Ronald Reagan, lifted them in 1981.

Liberals learned an unforgettable lesson: Price controls on gasoline don't work. In recent decades, when gas prices have soared, Democrats have shown no desire to repeat the lesson.

But they embrace a similar approach for another problem: low pay for many workers. Chicago decided last year to boost the minimum wage to $13 an hour by the middle of 2019. Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have gone even higher, raising the floor to $15 an hour in the next few years, and other cities may follow suit. It's a price control on labor.

Their intentions are good. Full-time employment at the current federal minimum of $7.25 an hour provides an income of just $14,500 a year. For an adult supporting one child, that's well below the poverty line of $15,930.

The problem is that a higher legal minimum wage is at odds with the prevailing supply of and demand for labor. If you set the minimum too high, you will get a shortage of jobs. Forbidding employers from paying $9 or $12 an hour means that many of their workers won't get $13 or $15 an hour. They will get zero per hour, because those jobs will disappear.

Via: Real Clear Politics

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