But there’s another lesson in the FAA furlough fiasco: Whatever politicians control, they will use against you to get what they want. The furloughs weren’t a reasoned effort to save money: They were an attempt to punish voters for not approving tax increases. If the politicians could have shut down ESPN and blamed insufficient revenue, they would have done that, too.
Monthly Archives: April 2013
Sequester: Obama busts out his best ‘dad dancing’ and is serenaded by Justin Timberlake at White House soul concert | Mail Online
President Obama showed off his grooviest ‘dad dancing’ on Tuesday night as he got down to the best of Memphis Soul at a White House show.
The President enjoyed a star-studded concert celebrating the sound of Soulsville as he and wife Michelle belted out the classics performed by artists including Queen Latifah, Booker T. Jones, Cyndi Lauper and Justin Timberlake.
He was also joined on the front row by daughters Malia and Sasha who giggled and shook their heads at their dad’s dance moves.
Timberlake leaned in and serenaded the first couple from the stage with his version of the Otis Redding classic (Sittin’ on) ‘The Dock of the Bay accompanied by legendary guitarist Steve Cropper.
Margaret Thatcher Helped Invent Soft-Serve Ice Cream – Business Insider
Though the Iron Lady is recognized for her vast political and economic impacts, her culinary contribution to the world is less known.
As a chemist for food manufacturer J. Lyons and Co. in the 1940s, Thatcher was part of the British research team that made soft-serve ice possible, according to The Washington Post’s Caitlin Dewey, citing a 1983 New Scientist article.
Thatcher, and colleagues, invented a way to add more air into the ice cream so that it was less dense and used less ingredients, which also made it more cost-effective.
via Margaret Thatcher Helped Invent Soft-Serve Ice Cream – Business Insider.
Firearms Company Relocating To North Texas « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
A firearms company that makes AR-15 style rifles for the iconic brand Colt, will open a plant in Breckenridge in Stephens County. Oregon company Bold Ideas confirmed the development Friday.
Bold Ideas goes by the name Colt Competition, making high accuracy rifles for competition shooting.
The company has not officially announced the opening, but employment applications are already available at the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce. A non-specific, help wanted ad appeared in the local newspaper classifieds earlier in the week.
Sources say Colt Competition will move into a large vacant industrial space on the north side of town, previously used by Karsten Homes to manufacture mobile homes.
The move by Colt Competition into Breckenridge comes as the CEO of Colt Manufacturing in Connecticut has said there will soon be few good answers to keep his company in the state. Connecticut passed some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws this week.
via Firearms Company Relocating To North Texas « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth.
7-year-old faces felony charges for BB gun incident | CharlotteObserver.com
A 7-year-old boy’s alleged errant shots with a BB gun will have him in a Catawba County courtroom this week, facing felony charges for shooting into an occupied vehicle.
Prosecutors in Catawba County have charged Sam Grant, in connection with a February incident off Buffalo Shoals Road near the Catawba community in the southeast part of the county.
Deputies say Sam, who turns 8 on Thursday, was outdoors shooting a BB gun. His parents told WGHP-TV of High Point that their son was shooting at an abandoned house across the two-lane road. However, some of his shots struck passing vehicles. Nobody in the two vehicles was injured, deputies say.
The boy was charged with two felony counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
Family members told WGHP they were shocked with prosecutors’ decision to charge their son. His initial court date is Friday in Newton.
via 7-year-old faces felony charges for BB gun incident | CharlotteObserver.com.
Missouri college no longer accepting students who take out loans | Reuters
College of the Ozarks, which was rated the best education value among Midwestern regional colleges by U.S. News and World Report, no longer cooperates with students or banks in covering costs of attending college with a loan, Davis said.
For instance, a bank may contact the school to certify that a student is enrolled there, he said.
School officials said 99 current students would be affected by the change because they received private loans to help offset boarding or other costs.
“This college has a very low percentage of students graduating with debt, but it has come up a little and we just don’t think that is a good idea,” Davis said. “This a work college, not a debt college.” The school years ago stopped taking students who wanted to get public loans.
At College of the Ozarks, nicknamed Hard Work U, students work across campus in cafeteria, housing, maintenance, landscaping, agricultural and other jobs. The school has working hog and cattle farms, gardens, lodging and a restaurant.
Students work part-time during the school year and most hold 40-hour per week jobs during summers to cover the cost of room and board. Some also work in nearby Branson, a major tourism draw that specializes in music and theatrical shows.
via Missouri college no longer accepting students who take out loans | Reuters.
CURL: The Obamas live the 1 percent life – Washington Times
Sometimes, that perception cuts to the core. Like when President George W. Bush stopped playing golf in 2003, at the height of the Iraq War.
“I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal,” he said years later. “I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them.”
That’s also why Mr. Bush did two other things, without fanfare or praise. First, he never headed home to his Texas ranch until after Christmas, instead going to Camp David for a few days. That way, the hundreds of people revolving around him at all times — White House staff, Secret Service agents, reporters, photographers, all the others — could spend the holiday with their families in and around Washington, D.C. No one ever reported that — until this column.
Second, he rarely attended sporting events, although he once owned a baseball team and was a self-confessed stats junkie. His thinking there was the same: If he went to a baseball game (right down the street from the White House), his mere presence would mean hours and hours of extra security for fans. He once stopped off at the Daytona 500 and the metal detectors through which every fan had to pass left thousands outside in line when the green flag fell; he didn’t attend many sporting events after that.
But something remarkable has happened with these occupants of the White House: Neither President Obama nor first lady Michelle appear to give a damn about perception. They won the White House and, by God, they’re going to enjoy their time there, no matter the cost. And who cares what you think, anyway?
How else to explain the nonstop vacations the pair keep taking during what Mr. Obama calls the “worst financial crisis since the Great Depression”? In 2013, the First Family has already enjoyed three vacations — that’s one a month. (Sorry, Joe America, you might have to forget your week at the beach again this year, but make sure you get those taxes in on time!)
via CURL: The Obamas live the 1 percent life – Washington Times.