[As winter sets in on the old and poor.]

The Daily Caller – by Alex Pappas

Taxpayers shelled out millions of dollars in 2013 when the golf-addicted President Obama took Air Force One to Florida on vacation and played a round of golf with Tiger Woods, according to a new government study.

From Feb. 15-18 in 2013, the president went on a four day trip that included an official speech in Chicago and some leisure time in Palm Beach, Florida.   Continue reading “Taxpayer Tab For Obama Trip That Included Golf With Tiger Woods: $3.6 Million”

LA Times

Short of troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago, the California National Guard enticed thousands of soldiers with bonuses of $15,000 or more to reenlist and go to war.

Now the Pentagon is demanding the money back.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers, many of whom served multiple combat tours, have been ordered to repay large enlistment bonuses — and slapped with interest charges, wage garnishments and tax liens if they refuse — after audits revealed widespread overpayments by the California Guard at the height of the wars last decade.   Continue reading “Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war”

CBS 46 News

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA (CBS46) – Lawrenceville police are investigating a claim that involves a Democratic National Committee tour bus illegally dumping human waste into a storm drain between campaign stops.

The incident happened on Grayson Highway Tuesday morning after the bus left a campaign stop near the Gwinnett County Board of Elections Office where hundreds of voters were lined up to take part in Early Voting.   Continue reading “Witness: DNC tour bus dumps human waste into storm drain”

Washington Examiner – by Paul Bedard

First lady Michelle Obama’s star status on the 2016 campaign trail is prompting top Democrats back home in Illinois to ready an effort to recruit her to run for the Senate or mayor of Chicago.

Should she run and win, Obama would join only Hillary Clinton in the rare class of former first ladies to swap out the “volunteer” public service job for an elected position.   Continue reading “Michelle Obama recruited to run for Senate, Chicago mayor”

The Daily Caller – by Eric Owens

Amazon.com will not deliver a toy cowgirl playset to Chicago residents, apparently because of a municipal law in the city forbidding replica toy firearms.

The hot pink ensemble — “everything a kid needs to be a ‘real’ Western cowgirl!” — comes with a child-size cowgirl hat, a holster festooned with a silhouetted horse and rider and a six-pointed badge with a shirt clip and space for a name.   Continue reading “Chicago Gets Serious About Sky-High Murder Rate By Banning WESTERN COWGIRL PLAYSET, Other Toys”

Chicago Tribune

A thousand more people have been shot in Chicago this year compared with the same time last year after a weekend that saw eight people killed and at least 40 wounded, according to police and data compiled by the Tribune.

At least 3,475 people had been shot in the city as of shortly after midnight Monday compared with 2,441 people shot this time last year, an increase of 1,034, according to Tribune data. There have been at least 595 homicides this year compared with 409 this time last year, an increase of 186.   Continue reading “1,000 more people shot in Chicago compared with same time last year”

LA Times

Los Angeles police are searching for several suspects in connection with the mass shooting at a restaurant in the West Adams district that left three people dead and 12 others wounded.

Detectives are searching for at least three suspects in the shooting, said LAPD Capt. Peter Whittingham. Police took into custody two “persons of interest” — a man and a woman, who was among those injured — but neither has been formally arrested.    Continue reading “‘A bloody scene’: 3 killed, 12 wounded in gun battle at West Adams restaurant”

Daily Star – by Joshua Nevett

The defense readiness condition, dubbed DEFCON, is an alert system used by the US military to indicate the risk of nuclear war.

The system has five levels of readiness, or states of alert, increasing in severity from DEFCON 5 – the least severe – to DEFCON 1 – the most severe.   Continue reading “US nuclear attack warning ‘upgraded to level 3’ as Russian threat goes ‘beyond Cold War’”

The Federalist Papers – by C.E. Dyer

As the mainstream media and establishment Republicans have concerned themselves with an 11-year-old video of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, the national debt shot up to just under $19.7 trillion.

As Zero Hedge reported, the national debt rose $170 billion in just eight days, which means that as the media obsessed over Trump, the country dramatically plunged dramatically further into debt.   Continue reading “While The Media Obsesses Over “Trump Tapes;” THIS Just Happened…”

Military Times – by Leo Shane III

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain told veterans groups this week that he’ll oppose controversial plans to limit federal hiring preferences for individuals with military experience, an advantage advocates argue is critical in helping them find employment.

Earlier this year, Senate lawmakers approved a draft of the annual defense authorization bill which included limiting veterans preference in federal hiring procedures to a one-time use. Veterans who applied for a second federal job or a transfer from their first position would be evaluated by hiring officials as just another civilian federal worker under the plan.    Continue reading “McCain agrees to drop veterans hiring preference changes from NDAA”

Campus Reform – by Anthony Gockowski

The University of Wisconsin-Stout is scrapping a longstanding tradition of honoring a homecoming king and queen in favor of awarding eight students with a gender-neutral “Spirit Award.”

The school announced Thursday that, for the first time in 80 years, it will not crown a king and queen for its October 8 homecoming in order to avoid being held down by the dated gender binary.   Continue reading “UW-Stout replaces homecoming court with gender-neutral ‘Spirit Award’”

WQAD News 8

(CNN) — Another 102 prison inmates learned Thursday, Oct. 6 their sentences are being reduced by a stroke of President Barack Obama’s pen, the latest batch in a record-setting effort by the White House to reverse harsh sentences for mostly nonviolent drug offenders.

A handful are from Iowa and Illinois, including Christopher Simmons from Moline. Simmons was given life in prison in 2009 on charges of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. His sentenced has been commuted to a term of 188 months in prison – or just under 16 years in prison – and 10 years of supervised release.   Continue reading “Obama reduces 102 inmates’ sentences”

Washington Examiner – by Paul Bedard

In the latest partisan escalation on the Federal Election Commission, a top Democratic commissioner has ripped a Republican commissioner’s bid to protect books, radio and Internet media from regulation as “pitiful.”

Ann Ravel, a former FEC chairwoman, joined other Democrats at a meeting this month to block Republican Lee Goodman’s proposal to explicitly expand the “press exemption” from regulations to books, satellite radio and Internet-based news media.   Continue reading “FEC war: Dems reject call to protect Internet news, talk radio from regs”