IT DOES MATTER: Donald Trump takes on Hillary in NEW AD

Donald Trump has a new ad out today attacking Hillary, telling her IT DOES MATTER:

I have to admit I chuckled when I saw the ad the first time because the messaging is so simple and to the point. It’s not dolled up with all of this pomp and circumstance. It’s focus is the message and nothing else.

I did like how they threw in the Whitewater controversy between the emails and Benghazi as a reminder back to the 90s

Via: Red State

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[VIDEO] Wait Till You See What Hillary Just Said In Private Meeting With Black Lives Matter Activists

After watching what Hillary Clinton just did and said in an extraordinary private meeting with black activists, one could reasonably believe that the presumed 2016 nominee for president is trying to ingratiate herself with a radical but potentially viable voting bloc that could help rescue her failing bid for president.

In a just-revealed video of the private, backstage meeting between Hillary Clinton and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists from Boston, Hillary readily agrees with their claims that America is a racist nation that routinely practices “mass incarceration” of black people to keep them subservient and oppressed. Clinton observes that her country “has still not recovered from its original sin” of “anti-blackness.”

She makes no mention of America’s first black president or of the numerous private companies run by blacks or of the hundreds of black athletes whose salaries far exceed what the average American makes.

Hillary listened quietly for more than three minutes to the leader of the BLM group lecture her and complain that “mass incarceration [is an] unfortunate consequence of government practices that just didn’t work.” In fact, not only did she listen intently, but she nodded repeatedly as the activist claimed that America still exploits black people as though they were back on pre-Civil War plantations.

Hillary heard and nodded as the BLM protestor spoke of the “anti-blackness current that is America’s first drug…free black labor and turning black bodies into profit.”

Then, after responding that she has been a lifelong champion of “black kids,” the Democrat front-runner engages in what many might call “political pandering” in the extreme. She claims that “anti-blackness” is a “founding problem in this country.” Clinton goes on to say that there needs to be “a reckoning” for America’s racial sins as she tries to advise the BLM activists how to gain political clout.

She favorably compares BLM to the civil rights movement, the womens movement, the gay rights movement. “Your analysis is totally fair,” says Clinton. “The consciousness-raising, the passion, the youth of your movement is so critical….”

By clicking on the video above, you can see for yourself how the Democrat in the lead for her party’s presidential nomination aligns herself with the radical Black Lives Matter movement and smugly trashes her country in the process.

Via: Western Journalism

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China Tests New Long-Range Missile with Two Guided Warheads

Latest DF-41 flight test indicates deployment near

China conducted a flight test this month of its newest long-range missile that U.S. intelligence agencies say lofted two independently-targeted simulated nuclear warheads, according to defense officials.

The launch of the DF-41 road-mobile missile Aug. 6 was the fourth time the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has been test-fired in three years, and indicates that the weapon capable of hitting U.S. cities with nuclear warheads is nearing deployment.

The DF-41, with a range of between 6,835 miles and 7,456 miles, is viewed by the Pentagon as Beijing’s most potent nuclear missile and one of several new long-range missiles in development or being deployed.

As with earlier DF-41 flight tests, Pentagon spokesmen had no direct comment. A defense official, however, told the Washington Free Beacon: “We do not comment on PRC weapons tests but we do monitor Chinese military modernization carefully.”

The Pentagon has said it expects the new missile to become operational as early as this year.

Deployment of the DF-41 also could coincide with China’s first patrols, slated to begin this year, of submarines armed with nuclear-tipped JL-2 missiles.

The Aug. 6 test is viewed as significant by U.S. intelligence agencies because it confirmed the DF-41’s multiple-warhead capability, said defense officials familiar with analyses of the test.

Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said the repeated flight tests indicate the DF-41 is “nearing operational status.”

“The mobile and solid-fueled DF-41 will be the second MIRV-equipped ICBM to enter PLA Second Artillery Corps service after the currently deployed, liquid-fueled and silo-launched DF-5B,” Fisher said.

“The bottom line is that China potentially is beginning a new phase in which its nuclear warhead numbers will be increasing rapidly,” he said.

The Pentagon’s latest annual report on China’s military, published in May, stated that the DF-41 is “possibly capable of carrying MIRVs”—the acronym for multiple, independently-targetable reentry vehicles. The Pentagon calls the DF-41 the CSS-X-20 missile.

MIRVs (Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles) are considered state-of-the-art nuclear warhead technology because their use vastly increases the potential killing power of a single missile.

The annual Pentagon report states that China’s missile force, called the Second Artillery Corps, “continues to modernize its nuclear forces by enhancing its silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and adding more survivable, mobile delivery systems.”

When deployed, the DF-41 is expected to significantly enhance China’s force of between 50 and 60 ICBMs that include DF-5, mobile DF-31, DF-31A, and submarine-launched JL-2 nuclear missiles.

Mark Stokes, a former Pentagon expert on China, said the DF-41 “marks a significant evolution in the Second Artillery’s force modernization program.”

“The DF-41 is one of a number of PLA ballistic missile systems in the advanced stages of research and development,” Stokes, now with the Project 2049 Institute, said. “Few details on deployment plans technical characteristics are currently available. Once fully operational, the DF-41 is expected to be the PLA’s most sophisticated ICBM to date.”

China’s first suspected multiple warhead flight test for the DF-41 was carried out in December 2014, when an unknown number of dummy warheads were thought to have been used. Earlier DF-41 flight tests took place in December 2013 and July 2012.

The new multiple-warhead missile is likely to renew debate over the size of China’s nuclear arsenal. Current U.S. intelligence estimates put the total number of Chinese warheads at around 240 warheads. Other analysts, however, say China’s warhead arsenal is far larger, with perhaps as many as 1,500 warheads, and base their assessments on the growing size of China’s missile forces, the addition of multiple warhead technology, and its large-scale nuclear material production capabilities.

The DF-41 is assessed by U.S. intelligence agencies as being able to carry up to 10 warheads on a single missile.

The location of the latest test was not disclosed. Past DF-41 flight tests, however, were carried out from the Wuzhai Missile and Space Testing facility, located about 250 miles southwest of Beijing.

Via: WFB

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CHICAGO: ‘Social justice’ protesters launch hunger strike to save school with 10% student proficiency

CHICAGO – Parents and social justice activists in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood are starving themselves in an attempt to force Chicago Public Schools to adopt their “global leadership and green technology” plan for Dyett High School.

CPS voted to close Dyett High School in 2012 because of years of abysmal academic performance and declining enrollment, with plans to reopen the campus in 2016-17 as a new school,Progress Illinois reports.

According to school data on Niche.com, Dyett High School boasted a graduation rate of 42 percent, with roughly 10 percent of students proficient in math or reading. WGN-TVreports 13 students received diplomas in its graduating class last year.

CPS is currently reviewing three proposals for the site: one from the “Coalition to Revitalize Dyett High School,” which includes Teachers for Social Justice, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Journey for Justice Alliance and others; another from the nonprofit Little Black Pearl for an arts school; and a third from Dyett’s former principal Chares Campbell for a sports career academy, according to Progress Illinois.

Crisis over the CPS budget, driven primarily by employee pension costs, forced officials to reschedule a meeting on the three proposals set for last Monday to mid-September – Progress Illinois reports officials set a hearing for Sept. 10, while WGN-TV reports the date is Sept. 15. Either way, that’s apparently way too long for the social justice warriors to wait.

They marched out to Dyett High School and staged a hunger strike Monday to get their point across that the “global leadership and green technology” plan they cooked up is the only plan they’re interested in.

The protestors told WGN-TV they were under the impression their plan would be considered in a final meeting this month and would receive a vote Aug. 26.

So for now, a dozen angry social justice protesters are sitting at the school and consuming only water and “light liquids” until CPS officials give in to their demands.

“This is what it has come to,” Erana Jackson Taylor, 1981 Dyett graduate, told the Hyde Park Herald. “We will be out here all day … as long as it takes to get the message across to CPS about their fragmented process.”

“We are tired of our voices not being heard,” said fellow hunger striker Jitu Brown, who is a KOKO member along with Taylor. “There has to be accountability to the public for the destabilizing of schools in our community and the sabotage of our children’s education.”

Another protestor told WGN-TV her daughter is in eighth grade this year and if the school doesn’t reopen on time she’ll be forced to travel 16 miles to the next closest high school.

“We feel like we are being pushed to this drastic measure,” Teachers for Social Justice member Prudence Browne told Progress Illinois. “And that’s why I’m out here, because I don’t know what else to do. I helped to write a proposal. I show up to board meetings. I advocate, and it’s not being heard.”

Even defeated Chicago mayoral candidate and Cook County Commissioner Jesus Chuy Garcia showed up to the hunger strike to show his support for what’s “fair and just,” according to the news site.

Garcia told protestors he’s “very moved” by their refusal to eat.

Via: EAG News

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States ration birth, marriage, death certificates after paper company suddenly closes

WASHINGTON –  Someone call Dunder Mifflin: Several states are reporting a paper crisis, after an Ohio company that produces highly specialized paper for vital records closed without warning.

California has been hit the hardest by the shortage, and several counties are now being forced to ration birth, marriage and death certificates. 

In California, the only other company that can meet its needs, under state law, is in Canada. Officials say it would likely take months for Canadian Bank Note Co. to get up to speed with the state’s paper needs – but that’s only after a contract is signed. In the interim, counties are left finding short-term solutions for the growing backlog.

The restrictions “will impact a lot of folks,” Rob Grossglauser, a lobbyist for the County Recorders’ Association of California, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The closure of Sekuworks, the Ohio paper company, has a handful of states scrambling to find a fix, including Minnesota and South Carolina. 

But California law is specific and requires the state to print all vital statistic certificates using a specialized – and some argue antiquated – type of printing, known as "intaglio." Besides Sekuworks, no other U.S.-based companies can handle that type of printing. 

Since the company closed, several California counties there have started to limit residents to one copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate. The restrictions are creating major headaches for people who are realizing just how important the documents are when trying to obtain licenses, handle funeral arrangements or apply to schools.

Intaglio printing is done using ink that is below the surface of the plate. The design is etched into the printing plate, which is typically made from copper, zinc, aluminum and in some cases, coated paper. The benefit of intaglio is that it’s a near-perfect way to prevent counterfeits. Minnesota employs the method for a range of sensitive documents and South Carolina – which recently adopted new standards – used it for death certificates. 

But critics argue it’s too labor intensive, antiquated and expensive.

In central California, Stanislaus County officials are now working with area school districts to provide a free “verification of birth” for people who otherwise would need a copy of their child’s birth certificate to enroll in school.  

California has two types of certified birth notices – an authorized copy and an informational copy. While both are certified copies of the original document, an authorized copy establishes the identity of a person. An informational copy cannot be used for identity purposes and carries an inscription across the face of the document stating, “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY.”

Informational copies are available to anyone who requests one. Authorized copies are not.

County Clerk-Recorder Lee Lundrigan sent letters to school districts notifying them of the change and has been working to provide parents with emergency options.

South Carolina initially addressed its paper shortage by limiting the number of death certificates it issued to five per person.

The move put pressure on funeral homes and handicapped their ability to help families through the difficult process of losing a loved one. While a five-certificate limit might sound like a lot, Pamela Amos, general manager at McAlister-Smith Funeral Homes, told The Post and Courier that most families need at least 10 certified copies of a death certificate and that the state-sanctioned limits caused “a major issue for a lot of families.”

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control – the agency authorized to issue the certificates – was notified on July 9 Sekuworks had laid off most of its employees and was in the process of selling its business. 

South Carolina, though, lifted its five-copy limit on Aug. 11 after the state signed a new contract with supplier R.R. Donnelley, Jim Beasley, a spokesman with the state DHEC, told FoxNews.com. Beasley indicated the state, unlike California, was able to revise its own security standards, and in turn use a different kind of paper. 

“In 2014, we had already begun the process of revising our specifications for security paper to be used on birth and death certificates,” Beasley said. “We had issued a request for proposals from vendors to meet the new standard. Coincidentally, the bids for a new provider were scheduled for opening on July 9, 2015, the same day we were informed of the work situation with Sekuworks.”

The DHEC began processing back-order requests immediately and expects to resume normal operations by Wednesday, he said.

Meanwhile in Minnesota, officials at the state’s Department of Health are working to establish a new contract with a new vendor. The state is still about a month away before “everything is in place and a new supply could start flowing,” Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota DOH, told FoxNews.com. Schultz believes there is enough supply statewide to meet the demand if offices cut down on duplicates. 

“Requests for certificates will continue to be fulfilled, but that fulfillment may occur at locations people don’t regularly use, through the U.S. mail or from neighboring county vital records offices,” he said.

Multiple emails, telephone calls and other attempts by FoxNews.com to reach Sekuworks were not successful.

Via: Fox News

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Poll: Only 40% of Teachers Support Common Core

(CNSNews.com) – Less than half of Americans (49 percent) now say they support Common Core State Standards (CCSS). 

Public support dropped 4 percent since last year and 16 percent since 2013, when 65 percent of Americans were in favor of the national education standards, according to the ninth annual Education Next poll released Tuesday.

Only 5 percent of Americans say that Common Core has had a “strongly positive” impact on their local schools, with 19 percent characterizing the impact as “strongly negative.”

The greatest change in opinion was among teachers. Although 76 percent said they were in favor of the Common Core standards in 2013, that percentage “collapsed” to just 40 percent in 2015, a 36-point difference, pollsters reported.

“While support for standardized testing remains strong, the debate over the Common Core State Standards continues to divide both teachers and the general public,” according to the poll, which was conducted in May and June by Paul Peterson and Martin West of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

(See  ednext_2015_poll_1.pdf )

Among teachers and parents, the two groups most directly impacted by CCSS, “respondents who believe the standards have had a negative effect on schools (51%) exceed those who think they have had a positive effect (28%),” researchers noted.

Support for Common Core is down among both Republicans and Democrats. In 2013, 57 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of Democrats said they supported CCSS. But by 2015, that percentage had dropped 20 points for Republicans (to 37 percent) and seven points for Democrats (to 57 percent).

Now exactly half (50 percent) of Republicans responding to the survey say they oppose Common Core, compared to just 16 percent of Republicans who were against it in 2013.

Among Democrats, who are the most likely to support Common Core, opposition over the last two years rose consistently, from 10 percent in 2013, to 17 percent in 2014, to 25 percent in 2015.

Via: CNS News

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[VIDEO] CBS and NBC Fail to Cover IRS Data Breach, Feds Approving Drilling in the Arctic

In Monday evening’s edition of network bias by omission, CBS and NBC neglected to stories concerning a data breach of American taxpayers at the scandal-ridden IRS and the Obama administration finally giving approval for a major oil company to begin oil drilling in the Arctic off Alaska’s coast. Surprisingly, ABC’s World News Tonight picked up the pieces and provided their viewers with coverage of a full segment on the IRS breach and a brief on the future of drilling in the Arctic. 

On the subject of the IRS, anchor David Muir described the information as “a troubling new development in the case of computer hacking at the IRS” as “far more taxpayers’ documents could have been compromised than we first knew.” 

Speaking with Muir, senior Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas reported that “three times as many taxpayers [were] affected” as “[t]he number jump[ed] from 114,000 identified in May to roughly 334,000 possibly targeted.”

Thomas further explained in the time remaining how the information that the IRS has on Americans includes their salary, address, and date of birth to name a few that all could easily enable thieves to “assume your identity” and make hundreds of thousands of people victims of identity theft.

While Telemundo kept their viewers in the dark on this story, Univision’s Noticiero Univision had an 18-second news brief from co-anchor Jorge Ramos on the data breach and the growing number of Americans potentially affected.

Concerning the oil drilling, Muir dedicated a 14-second brief to the long-awaited decision by the Obama administration: 

Tonight, oil drilling set to begin again in the Arctic Ocean. The U.S. government giving Royal Dutch Shell the final permit to drill off Alaska’s northwest coast. The first drilling there in more two decades. Shell bringing in special equipment to comply with environmental regulations.

On the Spanish-language network front, Telemundo and Univision ignored it while the PBS NewsHour and FNC’s Special Report joined ABC in covering this development regarding the future of drilling in the Arctic.

Instead of mentioning either one of these stories, CBS Evening News fill-in anchor Charlie Rose promoted viral video of a dump truck driver in Saudi Arabia driving with the container up when it crashed into a highway sign.

Via: Newsbusters

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EPA HIDING DATA FROM TOXIC SPILL IT CAUSED IN COLORADO

The Environmental Protection Agency insists it needed to take over a gold mine in Colorado. But — now that it’s caused a massive pollution spill — the agency refuses to furnish proof that it ever needed control of the mine.

Not only did the EPA coerce the mine owner to grant it access on threat of a $35,000 per day fine and then fail to take common sense precautions to check the water pressure behind the Gold King mine when it began removing debris from the portal, now the agency is hiding the data related to the before and after effects of the spill.

On Friday Breitbart News posed eight specific questions to the EPA regarding the pollutant levels and exfiltration rates at the Gold King mine and the Red and Bonita mine during the period before and after the August 5 spill into the Cement Creek and Animas River in Colorado. The agency failed to offer any response by our Monday evening story deadline.

Those questions are:

1. What was the rate of exfiltration in GPM (gallons per minute) from the Gold King portal before the spill?

2. What is it now?

3. What was the rate of exfiltration in GPM from the Red-Bonita portal before the spill ?

4. What is it now?

5. What was the PPM (parts per million) for arsenic, cadmium, lead and copper in the exfiltrating water from the Gold King portal before the spill?

6. What is it now?

7. What was the PPM for arsenic, cadmium, lead and copper in the exfiltrating water from the Red-Bonita portal before the spill?

8. What is it now?

Dave Taylor, the retired geologist who predicted the EPA project that caused the toxic spill would “fail in 7 to 120 days” tells Breitbart News EPA’s failure to provide this information is troublesome.

“These are simple questions with simple answers that they undoubtedly have at their fingertips. If not, then there is something they don’t want us to know,” Taylor tells Breitbart News in an exclusive interview.

“Forget about what happened during the spill. Comparing this before and after information will tell us EXACTLY what has occurred and what changes the spill may have caused,” Taylor says.

Dr. David Lewis, a former EPA scientist and currently the director of research for theFocus for Health Foundation, tells Breitbart News that he is finalizing plans for his independent analysis of current Animas River pollution levels available for public review by as early as next month.

Republican Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson is scheduled to visit Durango, Coloradoon Tuesday to find out more details about the toxic spill into the Animas River caused by EPA incompetence.

Via: Breitbart

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WATCH LIVE: Scott Walker Reveals Obamacare Alternative

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) is scheduled to make a speech from Minneapolis on Tuesday morning in which he lays out his plan to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. “If you’ve had it with Obamacare and you want someone who is going to do something about it, I am your candidate,” the Republican presidential candidate said in prepared remarks released ahead of the speech.

According to Politico, Walker aims to replace Obamacare with a plan “that would return authority to the states and provide sliding-scale tax credits directly to consumers who don’t get coverage at work to help them buy insurance.” In addition he would “give states greater say over Medicaid, which he would break into separate plans for different groups, such as poor families, people with disabilities and low-income seniors.”

Watch live stream video below, via NBC News:

VIDEO LINK

Via: Mediaite

Obama: Earning Contempt, at Home and Abroad

From Thucydides’s Athens to 21st-century America, appeasement is not a winner. 

The common bond among the various elements of the failed Obama foreign policy — from reset with Putin to concessions to the Iranians — is a misreading of human nature. The so-called Enlightened mind claims that the more rationally and deferentially one treats someone pathological, the more likely it is that he will respond and reform — or at least behave. The medieval mind, within us all, claims the opposite is more likely to be true. 

Read Gerhard Weinberg’s A World at Arms or Richard Overy’s 1939, for an account of the negotiations preceding World War II, and you will find that an underappreciated theme emerges: the autocratic accentuation of the human tendency to interpret concession and empathy not as magnanimity to be reciprocated, but rather as weakness to be exploited or as a confession of culpability worthy of contempt.

The more Britain’s Chamberlain and France’s Daladier in 1938 genuinely sought to reassure Hitler of their benign intentions, the more the Nazi hierarchy saw them as little more than “worms” — squirming to appease the stronger spirit. Both were seen as unsure of who they were and what they stood for, ready to forfeit the memory of the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of their own on the false altar of a supposedly mean and unfair Versailles Treaty. 

Hitler perversely admired Stalin after the latter liquidated a million German prisoners, and hated FDR, whose armies treated German POWs with relative humanity. In matters big and small, from Sophocles’ Antigone to Shakespeare’s King Lear, we see the noble and dutiful treated worse by their beneficiaries than the duplicitous and traitorous. Awareness of this pernicious trait is not cynical encouragement to adopt such pathologies and accept our dog-eat-dog world. Rather, in the postmodern, high-tech 21st century, we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking we have evolved to a higher level than what Thucydides saw at Melos or Corcyra — a conceit that is dangerous for the powerful and often fatal for the weaker.

Via: National Review

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[VIDEO] Rents are rising, but there are ways to stretch your dollar

If you're paying more for rent this year, you're not alone. Rents climbed an average of 15 percent across the country between 2009 and 2014, according to a recent analysis by the National Association of Realtors, and the cost to rent in some markets like New York, Seattle and San Francisco has jumped more than 20 percent.

Renters nationwide can now expect to spend 30 percent of their income on rent, according to a new report from the real estate data firm Zillow, which noted that rental affordability worsened year over year in 28 of the 35 largest metro areas covered by the company.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR, attributes rising rents to "supply constraints" in housing and rentals: fewer rentals means higher prices. And millennial renters have been particularly hard hit, as rents are rising faster than income levels in many markets. "It's very demoralizing," he said.

But that doesn't mean you can't get a good deal—even in high-rent cities. Here's how to get the most for your money no matter where you live.

Expand your search. Rent is often highest in the hottest areas of a city. Even moving a couple subway stops or highway exits away can make a big difference in what you'll pay, said Paul Magyar of Mirador Real Estate in New York City.

For example, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan was nearly $3,200 (in a nondoorman building) in July, according to the latest rental market report from real estate group MNS. But the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Harlem, an area that is rapidly gentrifying, was $2,145—far less than the city's overall average rent and $700 less per month than the average one-bedroom rent in the neighboring Upper West Side neighborhood. And Harlem is only one or two stops away from midtown Manhattan on an express subway line.

Moving a little further outside a city can also save money. But it's worth factoring in the cost of owning a car and paying for gas if you're considering a suburban rental versus living in a city with good public transportation.

Decide your budget and stick to it. Before you start looking, figure out what you can afford to pay each month. Experts suggest spending no more than 25 to 33 percent of your income on rent. "It's not an investment," said Catherine Seeber, a senior financial advisor at Wescott Financial Advisory Group in Philadelphia. And you want to make sure you have enough money set aside for emergencies and other expenses. (A new Zillow analysis found renters with a high burden—those who spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent—have a median savings rate of zero.)

Don't forget incidentals. Be sure to find out what's included in the rent and what's not (like water, heat and laundry). Seeber also recommends making sure your landlord, building superintendent or management company will be easily accessible. Otherwise, if you need an emergency repair, it could end up costing you time—and money, if you pay out of pocket with no guarantee of reimbursement.

Consider a roommate. Splitting the rent with a roommate means you can often afford a nicer apartment than you could on your own. Not only will you save money on rent, but you can split the cost of utilities, Wi-Fi and other bills.

Check the out clause. Find out what's entailed if you or your landlord wants to end the lease early. Not only do you want to know what you might be responsible for if you need to move before your lease ends, but you want to know what to expect if an owner decides to sell the unit or move into it. If that happens, you could end up looking for a new place and paying moving fees before you planned on it, said Brian Morgan a realtor for Citi Habitats in New York City (where you may be on the hook for another broker's fee as well).

You could also consider living in a more reasonably priced city like Detroit, Memphis, Tennessee, or Lexington, Kentucky, where the NAR noted incomes have risen faster than rents. Although the same rules apply there too, of course.

Via: CNBC

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Uncertain local job market awaits Qualcomm workers

As Qualcomm readies to cut thousands from its global workforce, what kind of job market will displaced employees find in San Diego if they want to stay here?

The answer is not as clear as you might expect.

Some experts say the job market is healthy. The countywide unemployment rate is just 5 percent. Local employers have added 38,500 jobs so far this year. Qualcomm lures top-tier engineers to San Diego from around the globe. There’s plenty of demand from the region’s defense, medical device and software outfits for technology talent with a Qualcomm pedigree, say experts.

“If you have to lose a job, this is probably one of the best times for it to happen,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. “In technology, engineers are in demand, and they can find jobs in San Diego.”

Other experts. however, say the region’s telecommunications and semiconductor sectors are not what they used to be in terms of employment.

Cricket parent Leap Wireless was sold to AT&T and downsized. Nokia has shrunk its footprint locally after being purchased by Microsoft, shedding 129 workers in July alone. Over in Orange County, Broadcom — where skills of Qualcomm employees might best translate — is in the throes of being purchased by Avago Technologies, a Singapore-based serial acquirer that aims to wring $750 million in annual cost savings out of the deal.

San Diego’s semiconductor/electronic components manufacturing jobs declined from 7,700 workers to 5,200 jobs over the past decade, based on data from the Employment Development Department. Telecommunications employment fell from 15,200 to 8,400 over the same period.

Via: San Diego Union Tribune

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Punish and Reform the EPA

The accidental spill of toxic wastewater into Colorado’s Animas River is an ironic case study: The very organization meant to protect Americans from environmental catastrophes was responsible for perpetrating it. How should the Environmental Protection Agency be held accountable?

Colorado, and the states downstream of the spill, should sue the EPA. But, instead of merely recovering the cost of environmental damage, the lawsuit should focus on taming the leviathan the EPA has become.

Created in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, the EPA, at its best, has been an important part of improving air and water quality. Clear standards, enforced in a straightforward way have been successful. The fact that the American environment is cleaner and safer than it has been in a century is partially due to EPA action.

In recent years, however, the EPA has moved away from those clear standards, preferring to exercise vague discretion in a way that is costly and often ineffective.

After the Gulf oil spill, the agency was vindictive in its treatment of BP. It banned the oil company, as well as 21 subsidiaries unconnected to the spill, from obtaining new federal contracts due to a “lack of business integrity.” The ban was lifted only after BP sued the EPA. In total, BP paid $54 billion in settlements, including $5.5 billion to the EPA for violating the Clean Water Act.

To be clear, it is not vindictive to hold BP – or anyone else – accountable for environmental damage. But, it is not responsible for the EPA to strain its authority to engage in a self-serving money grab.

The situation with the Animas provides more evidence that EPA’s desire to expand or protect its power can too often trump environmental stewardship.

For example, EPA Director Gina McCarthy told reporters, “The good news is [the Animas River] seems to be restoring itself.” Imagine the (justifiable) outrage from the EPA had BP made such a claim only a few days after the Gulf spill was capped when much of the damage had yet to be assessed.

And it’s not just British oil companies the EPA targets. The EPA threatened a Wyoming man with a $75,000-per-day fine for building a pond on his own property. Such behavior led a Washington Post editorial to observe, “The EPA is earning a reputation for abuse.”

The EPA often argues that money should be no object when protecting the environment. The same agency, however, has been circumspect about paying the significant costs for the damage it caused.

The wide gap between the cavalier attitude toward businesses and personal property rights and their own squeamishness to hold themselves accountable demonstrates that institutional – rather than environmental – protection is playing a decisive factor in EPA decision-making.

If EPA chooses to protect is own, rather than holding employees accountable, can we accuse Director McCarthy of a “lack of integrity”? To what standard will she be held?

The contrasting way the EPA dealt with BP and its own damage at the Animas River demonstrates that agency motives are not always entirely pure. They are quick to demand others pay and give them power, using the environment as a lever. But when their own funding and power is questioned, they minimize the environmental damage and cost. Director McCarthy even had the lack of awareness to tell the people of Colorado not to worry because the “EPA is here.”

The bottom line is that while the EPA has done much good, it has come to associate environmental protection with its own aggrandizement. Now is the time to make it clear that environmental protection, not a self-serving power grab, is what the public wants.

Via: Real Clear Science

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