Author: Admin

Local 21 News – by Chris Rapst

HARRISBURG — Imagine buying a house, but having someone else pay the mortgage. It sounds great, right? Well, what if that someone else was you?

It sounds unbelievable. But CBS 21 has learned some of our elected officials may be using a flawed per diem system as an investment vehicle to buy houses – courtesy of the taxpayer.

“I’m disgusted,” said Susan Newcomb. “We’re struggling, barely making it. And somebody is going to do that? It’s just wrong.”   Continue reading “Per Diem Loophole Allows Lawmakers to Abuse System”

Forbes – by Samantha Sharf

Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released yet another disappointing jobs report.

Employers added 113,000 jobs in January, well below the 185,000 economists expected. The unemployment rate, which is drawn from a different survey of households, was down slightly to 6.6% from 6.7% in December. The labor force participation rate ticked up to 63% from 62.8%, which was the lowest rate in more than three and a half decades. The employment-population ratio was up to 58.8% from 58.6% in the prior month.   Continue reading “Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Added 113,000 Jobs In January, Unemployment Down To 6.6%”

The Washington Free Beacon

A former member of Michael Bloomberg’s gun control groupclaimed this week that the group’s objectives are far more radical than it has let on.

John Tkazyik, the mayor of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said he quit the former New York City mayor’s group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, after he realized its objective was outright confiscation of firearms from law-abiding citizens.   Continue reading “Former Bloomberg Ally Says ‘Mayors’ Group’s Goal Is Gun Confiscation”

Freeman’s Perspective – by Paul Rosenberg

I see you standing here, asking for help, about once a week. You are always polite, and I respect that. I’d like to do something for you… something that would matter long-term. Giving you a few notes or coins now and then may be fine, but I’d really like to improve your situation more permanently.

In other words, I’d like to give you a job.

I used to hire people, and I especially liked hiring people who had been denied breaks. I did that whenever I could. If you and I could be transported back in time, I’d hire you. And I’d feel good about it, because I think having a job would do you a lot of good.   Continue reading “A Frank Letter to the Homeless Man Under the Bridge”

USA Today – by Susan Davis

WASHINGTON–House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday joined the Senate’s top Republican in suggesting an immigration overhaul this year is unlikely, citing a lack of trust among the GOP towards President Obama.

“There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws, and it’s going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes,” Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters Thursday.   Continue reading “Boehner: Distrust of Obama drags down immigration bill”

WGME 13 News

AUGUSTA (WGME) – Safety and security at your schools is firing up debate at the Maine State House. A new bill would make it a crime for students to have fake guns on school property.

Maine State Senator Dawn Hill (D-District 1) proposed a new law that would prohibit non-firing, replica firearms, in other words, fake guns, from being on or near school property. Students who are caught with them could be sent to jail for six months and fined up to $1,000.   Continue reading “Fake firearm bill fires up debate in Maine”

Sonoma County Gazette

Legislation authored by Senators Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles) and Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) to regulate the appearance of toy, imitation or “copycat” guns passed out of its first policy committee with a 4-1 vote.  In an effort to stem a reoccurring tragedy involving toys being mistaken for real firearms Senate Bill 199, the Imitation Firearm Safety Act, would amend California law to define what an imitation firearm is and what those imitations must look like to differentiate real guns from fake guns.  Currently, toy guns such as airsoft and bb guns are not included in California’s legal definition of imitation weapons.    Continue reading “Bill to Regulate Toy Guns Advances in CA Senate”

Bloomberg – by Joshua Brustein

Banks have been consistently uninterested in providing financial services to poorer Americans, but others are increasingly jumping at the chance to do so. The latest is the United States Postal Service (pdf), whose inspector general published a paper last week detailing how serving the so-called unbanked with savings accounts and small-scale loans could provide a valuable public service while shoring up the finances of the vulnerable agency.   Continue reading “Would the U.S. Postal Service Make a Better Banker for the Poor?”

The Blaze – by Jason Howerton

A former Republican lawmaker has contacted the FBI over allegations that Cover Oregon project managers misled the federal government about the progress of the state health insurance exchange in order to get millions of dollars in funding.

More specifically, KATU-TV reports that project managers allegedly “initiated the design of dummy web pages to convince the federal government the project was further along than it actually was.”   Continue reading “‘If It’s True, Someone’s Going to Prison’: Serious Allegations Hit Oregon’s State Health Insurance Exchange”

The Daily Caller – by Eric Owens

Administrators at a school in the South Suburbs of Chicago are up in arms over a state law (House Bill 0183) that requires schools to post small signs announcing that guns cannot be carried in schools.

The new law relates to a new concealed-carry license law, reports the SouthtownStar, a suburban newspaper. Schools in Illinois did not allow guns previously. Now, though, schools — and churches, government agencies, liquor stores and certain other organizations — must post 4-by-6-inch stickers as visible reminders that guns are forbidden on premises.   Continue reading “School officials deeply troubled over guns appearing ON SIGNS BANNING GUNS”

The Daily Caller – by Caroline May

The Obama administration has issued new exemptions to a law that bars certain asylum-seekers and refugees who provided “limited material support” to terrorists who are believed to pose no threat from the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department published the new exemptions Wednesday in the Federal Register to narrow a ban in the Immigration and Nationality Act excluding refugees and asylum seekers who had provided limited material support, no matter how minor, to terrorists.   Continue reading “Obama admin unilaterally changes law to allow immigrants with ‘limited’ terror contact into US”

New York Times – by CORAL DAVENPORT

WASHINGTON — On the heels of the Senate’s passage of a long-awaited farm bill, the Obama administration is to announce on Wednesday the creation of seven regional “climate hubs” to help farmers and rural communities respond to the risks of climate change, including drought, invasive pests, fires and floods.

White House officials described the move as one of several executive actions that President Obama will take on climate change without action from Congress.   Continue reading “Next Phase of Obama’s Executive Push: Climate Hubs”