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Monday, April 02, 2012
Is The So-Called Student Loan Crisis One Big Exaggeration?
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Romney Falls For Elaborate April Fool's Prank
(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney likes to play the occasional prank on his staff. On Sunday, his aides got him back.
They made him victim of an elaborate April Fool's prank when he was introduced into an empty room, telling him beforehand, "We didn't get much of a turnout this morning."
In on the joke were Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan and Senator Ron Johnson, both of whom have endorsed Romney.
The prank was elaborate.
At a Milwaukee restaurant before a regularly scheduled campaign event, Romney was taken into a basement ballroom and his staff warned him in a holding room that the crowd was small.
"It's really small. But it'll be OK,'" Romney said they told him.
Ryan first went on stage and gave an entire introduction of Romney to the sound of applause piped in over the sound system.
Romney and Johnson then walked out and took their assigned places. The room was completely empty.
Romney said his first thought was, "This is going to look really bad on the evening news."
The prank was a sign that Romney and his staff are feeling good about their prospects in the Wisconsin primary contest on Tuesday, and the overall state of the race. Romney leads Rick Santorum in Wisconsin polls and has a big lead in the state-by-state competition for the nomination.
Romney suggested payback might be in order.
"Not only did they do that but they caught it on camera," said Romney. "This is known as forgive, but remember. We're going to remember this."
Court Rules That Pay TV's Nasty Habit Of Bundling Channels Is Legal
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Analysis: Young U.S. Farmers Coax Crops From Conservation Lands
North Dakota farmer Justin Zahradka will plant wheat this spring on 40 acres that has been off-limits for two decades, protected by a government conservation program that is shrinking as high crop prices make farmland more valuable.
The 18-year-old high school senior leased the land a year ago from a neighbor who opted not to re-enroll it in the federal Conservation Reserve Program, a scheme that pays farmers and landowners nearly $2 billion annually to leave land idle in order to protect wildlife and the environment.
After loosening up the soil with vegetables last year, he has high hopes for a good harvest. His acres are part of a total 1.7 percent rise in the number of acres of U.S. field crops that farmers are projected to plant this spring, according to Friday's annual U.S. Agriculture Department plantings survey.
6 Completely Legal Ways The Cops Can Screw You
For instance, you might be surprised to learn that right now in the U.S., it's actually legal for the cops to...
#6.Steal Your Stuff
Imagine you had your car stolen, but then fortune smiles upon you and the cops find it after the thief used it to smuggle 200 pounds of cocaine across the border, running over 30 children in the process while sexually assaulting the car itself.
You realize you're going to need to get all of its fluids replaced from a mechanic with a soft voice and gentle hands, but you still want it back, because hey, it's your car, right?
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NYC List of Banned Words Goes Public
When I noted in this forum that the New York City Department of Education had banned 50 words from appearing on tests, some of our readers jokingly asked if I was kidding. Unfortunately I was not, and now the NYC Ed Department has published those 50 words, proving it.
Howard Portnoy, over at Hot Air's Green Room reprinted the entire list, which I am copying verbatim here:
Continued Here
Obama Campaign Donor Accused of Fraud
(AP) WASHINGTON - A major donor to President Obama has been accused of defrauding a businessman and impersonating a bank official, creating new headaches for Obama's re-election campaign as it deals with the questionable history of another top supporter.
The New York donor, Abake Assongba, and her husband contributed more than $50,000 to Obama's re-election effort this year, federal records show. But Assongba is also fending off a civil court case in Florida, where she's accused of thieving more than $650,000 to help build a multimillion-dollar home in the state — a charge her husband denies.
Obama is the only presidential contender this year who released his list of "bundlers," the financiers who raise campaign money by soliciting high-dollar contributions from friends and associates. But that disclosure has not come without snags; his campaign returned $200,000 last month to Carlos and Alberto Cardona, the brothers of a Mexican fugitive wanted on federal drug charges.
The Media And Black Homicide Victims
Shapiro, the president of indie cable broadcaster IFC, should pose the same question to Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and every member of the black protest establishment: Why don’t you protest more black crime victims? The answer would be the same in all cases: Because the only black victims who interest the race industry and its mainstream media handmaidens are blacks who have been killed by “white” civilians, including honorary whites like Martin’s killer George Zimmerman, or blacks who have been killed or offended by the police (black officers will do here in a pinch).
Unfortunately, there are very few such victims. Ninety-three percent of all black homicide casualties from 1980 to 2008 were killed by other blacks, and are thus of no interest whatsoever to today’s race advocates, because they fail to support the crucial story line that blacks remain under siege by a racist white power structure.
The coverage of New York City’s West Indian Day Parade in September 2011 exemplifies this rule. The New York Times and other local outlets spilled an enormous amount of ink on an altercation between a black city councilman, Jumaane Williams, and the New York Police Department. Williams had tried to cross a police line, and, when he was not allowed to pass, got into a scuffle with some officers. He was then handcuffed and held until the police verified his identity. The city’s Public Advocate, a New York State Assemblyman, and Williams charged the police with racism, claiming that the treatment of Williams exemplified the “siege mentality” with which the police treat black men in New York City. To this day, the Williams detention is regularly mentioned by the New York Times in its constant coverage of the alleged racism of the NYPD.
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DELEGATE MIKE MCDERMOTT: PRESS RELEASE 4-2-12
On March 15th, 2012, the House Ways and Means Committee heard HB 966 - Wicomico County - Board of Education - Selection of Members - Straw Ballot. This bill, sponsored by Delegate Michael A. McDermott (Worcester and Wicomico Counties), would simply allow the people of Wicomico County to voice their opinions about the selection method of the members on the Wicomico County Board of Education. It proposes a non-binding referendum that would ask whether voters favor changing the selection method of school board members from being appointed by the Governor to a direct election by county voters.
What has happened since the hearing on March 15th? Absolutely nothing. In response to this, Delegate McDermott is asking the citizens of Wicomico County to urge the Ways and Means Committee Members to vote on this bill. In particular, please contact the Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman:
Delegate Sheila E. Hixson
Phone Number: 410-841-3469 or 301-858-3469 or 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3469
Address: Room 131, House Office Building, Annapolis, MD 21401-1912
E-mail: sheila.hixson.annapolis@house.state.md.us
Fax: (410) 841-3777, (301) 858-3777
Delegate McDermott is also asking the citizens of Wicomico County to contact the members of the Wicomico County Delegation who did not support this bill:
Delegate Norman Conway
Phone Number: 410-841-3407 or 301-858-3407 or 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3407
Address: Room 121, House Office Building, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
E-mail: norman.conway@house.state.md.us
Fax: (410) 841-3416, (301) 858-3416
Delegate Rudolph Cane
Phone Number: 410- 841-3427 or 301-858-3427 or 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3427
Address: Room 364, House Office Building, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
E-mail: rudolph.cane@house.state.md.us
Fax: (410) 841-3780 or (301) 858-3780
If the people of Wicomico County want the right to simply ask a question at the ballot box, they must act now!
Mattel To Manufacture Bald Barbie Doll
(CBS News) - Big news for the campaign for a bald Barbie: Mattel has agreed to manufacture a hairless doll.
Mattel company spokesman Alan Hilowitz told HealthPop that the company will produce a friend of Barbie that will have wigs, hats, scarves and other accessories to give children "a traditional fashion play experience." The kids will have the option to remove the wigs and head coverings.
The company stated that they will not be selling the dolls at stores, but instead will donate them to children's hospitals and other hospitals, as well as the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.
Jane Bingham, a photographer and the co-founder of the Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let's see if we can get it made Facebook group, said that she's never thought her efforts to create a doll to help girls dealing with hair loss would gain so much support.
Take Me Out To The Ballgame
Outside? Are you kidding me? Inside, the two 8-year-old boys have an Xbox, iPads and personal computers at the ready. Outside?
So I dragged them down to the ball field.
"I need a helmet," one wailed. "Where're the helmets?"
"And what about a heart-guard?" the other one said. "Mom says I have to get a heart-guard before I can play."
"We're just going to practice," I replied. "No danger. Let's just throw the ball around and hit a few."
The boys looked confused.
"But we need helmets!"
The year was 1957, and two Central Nassau little league teams were on the field. There were no helmets. No heart-guards. Just a dusty field with dirty bases and a coach who sat on a splintered bench drinking beer.
I was 7 years old. Billy Weir was on the mound. I was at the plate. He threw; I swung the bat. The ball rocketed into left field. My first hit ever. I'll never forget it.
"OK, I'll hit you guys some grounders, and you throw the ball home. Got it?"
The boys looked even more confused.
"What happens if the ball hits me?" the smarter one asked.
"Pain," I said. "But that's why you have a glove. You catch the ball in the glove, and that protects you."
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Joe Biden: I Wouldn't Want 'A Real Job'
Vice President Joe Biden, long known for making embarrassing verbal gaffes, echoed the cynical criticism many people levy against career politicians, stating he had stayed in the Senate for 36 years because he didn’t want to get “a real job.”
Biden was speaking to a Democratic fundraiser in Chicago Thursday night, when he turned to praise the work of Richard M. Daley, the city’s former mayor of over 20 years.
“I never had an interest in being a mayor, ’cause that’s a real job. You have to produce,” Biden said, according to a White House pool report. “That’s why I was able to be a senator for 36 years.”Biden was elected to the Senate in 1972 directly from the county council of New Castle County in Delaware at the age of 29. He turned 30 – the minimum age to become a senator – less than two months before taking office. Biden then served continuously as Delaware’s senator until 2009, when he became Barack Obama’s vice president.
MoreTexas Lawyers Offer $10,000 For George Zimmerman's Legal Defense
The group represents gun owners involved in self-defense shooting cases, said attorney Blue Rannefeld of Fort Worth, Texas.
Rannefeld said he has not been able to contact Zimmerman, 28, and is trying to reach Zimmerman's attorney, Craig Sonner of Altamonte Springs to make the group's offer of assistance.
Source
Home-school, private-school families win tax break
The House voted 65-49 on a measure supporters say represents a home-grown version of a long-divisive issue fueled by out-of-state money.
Rep. Eric Bedingfield, R-Mauldin, said it's about providing parents choices.
"I don't believe education is a one-size-fits-all proposition," he said. He noted students can get lottery-funded scholarships toward tuition at private colleges in the state: "Why shouldn't we give the choices in K-12?"
Merchandising Trayvon Martin

In the music industry, it’s not about the music; it’s about the t-shirt, the poster and the songbook. In the modern politicized tragedy, it’s not about the dead body; it’s about the hoodie, the t-shirt and the keychain. At a rally in Sanford, Florida, where the whole thing began, a vendor was eagerly selling commemorative t-shirts, shouting, “I’ve got every size.”
Like the concert, the protest rally or the memorial event is a great place to pick up some merchandise. Discriminating consumers can choose from t-shirts that denounce Zimmerman, white racism or the menace that faces every black man in America once he buys some skittles and puts on a hoodie. Then there’s the always popular, “Enough is Enough” shirt which can go on being sold at just about any event when the outrage machine had moved on to the next grievance theater.
Not to be left out of the action, Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mother has applied for trademarks on “I Am Trayvon” and “Justice for Trayvon.” They say that you can’t buy justice, but if the trademark is approved then you will be able to license, “Justice for Trayvon” from her for a reasonable price
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Hollywood Producer Heard Bill Clinton Say Obama Ineligible
Bettina Viviano – who started her own film production company in 1990 after serving as vice president of production for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment – told WND that it was common knowledge among delegates committed to Hillary that the Clintons believed Obama was constitutionally ineligible and that Bill Clinton would eventually disclose his belief to the public.
The Clintons were the original “birthers,” Viviano told WND in an interview in Los Angeles.
“Everybody who has called this a conspiracy from the Republicans or the tea party, they need to know who started it – the Democrats,” she said.
“It was Hillary and Bill, and it percolated up from there,” said Viviano, who had access to the campaign through a documentary she produced on the claims of delegates that Obama and the Democratic National Committee were stealing the nomination from Hillary.
Our Disingenuous President
We live in an age in which America and the rest of the world has a huge need for electrical power – with no evidence of reduced demand on the horizon. Even though our automobiles, appliances, and tools have become more energy-efficient, we have more devices than ever like smartphones and tablets and our thirst for energy has not and will not subside in the foreseeable future.
President Obama repeatedly attacks his political opponents for not supporting taxpayer-funding of new forms of energy. First he accuses Republicans of being behind the loans given to Solyndra and other “clean-energy” companies – most of which have gone bust during his administration. But then out of the other side of his mouth, he accuses Republicans of being members of the Flat Earth Society for being “against energy innovation.”
This is the same man who enthusiastically extols the benefits of wind-generated power. But when I think of wind energy, I just can’t help imagining a 16th-century Dutch windmill. There’s a reason that this form of energy went out of use – it is grossly inefficient. I’ve had extensive conversations with the owners of wind farms, the quality of whose windmills has vastly improved over the past twenty years. They are far more productive than they’ve ever been, and yet they still don’t come close to the energy density of fossil fuels.
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Student With Cancer Too Ill To Go With Taylor Swift To Awards Show
New York (CNN) -- A cancer-stricken New Jersey student asked by superstar singer Taylor Swift to join her at Sunday's Academy of Country Music Awards is too ill to attend, supporters said.
A Facebook group started by Kevin McGuire's older sister, Victoria, said Saturday that her 18-year-old brother was admitted to the hospital Friday night.
The post continued, saying, "Please continue to pray for Kevin and his health, because that is the most important thing. As for Taylor, she is just as depressed as all of us to miss out on this date, and we are so thankful for the opportunity she has given us."
The country sweetheart took to her Twitter page hours after, confirming the sad news. Swift wrote, "Just talked to Kevin McGuire. He's not well enough to join me at the ACMs. Please keep him in your thoughts. I'll make it up to you, Kevin!"
Understanding The Slave Mentality
This is the problem that we in the Liberty Movement deal with most often in our writings and films. Our confrontation with willful ignorance has been epic, even by far reaching historical standards. The gains in social awareness have been substantial, and yet the obstacles are incredible. Unprecedented. As an activist trend, we have an almost obsessive drive to draw back the curtain so that the public has at least the opportunity to see what is on the other side. Unfortunately, there is another danger that must be taken into account…
It is one thing to bear witness to the rejection of truth in our time and the oblivious attitudes of many towards the growth of totalitarianism. Eventually, though, a second phase in the development of oligarchy arises. I am speaking of the point at which tyranny becomes so blatant that the skeptics have to acknowledge its existence, but after doing so, they choose to rationalize it as necessary. Yes, there are many in this world that will laugh at the prospect of the Orwellian nightmare only to happily embrace it when it arrives in full color.
I was recently looking into the divisive issue of U.S. Marine Sgt. Gary Stein, whose position has come under threat due to his criticisms of Barack Obama and his founding of the ‘Armed Forces Tea Party Facebook Page’. What I discovered was a large number of Americans in support of Stein’s right to speak as a citizen (even under Marine regulations) against the unconstitutional actions of any president or presidential candidate. I also discovered a considerable number who wanted to see the soldier dishonorably discharged, or even set upon a noose as punishment.
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