This is a horrible job market for young people who have recently graduated from college

Don't major in fun but useless majors.  The bottom line is that young people are most likely to be unemployed and even if they do get a job it is a low-skilled job that their college degree isn't remotely related to.  From the Associated Press:

. . . The figures are based on an analysis of 2011 Current Population Survey data by Northeastern University researchers . . . . They rely on Labor Department assessments of the level of education required to do the job in 900-plus U.S. occupations, which were used to calculate the shares of young adults with bachelor’s degrees who were “underemployed.”
About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share was at a low of 41 percent, before the dot-com bust erased job gains for college graduates in the telecommunications and IT fields.Broken down by occupation, young college graduates were heavily represented in jobs that require a high-school diploma or less.
In the last year, they were more likely to be employed as waiters, waitresses, bartenders and food-service helpers than as engineers, physicists, chemists and mathematicians combined (100,000 versus 90,000). There were more working in office-related jobs such as receptionist or payroll clerk than in all computer professional jobs (163,000 versus 100,000). More also were employed as cashiers, retail clerks and customer representatives than engineers (125,000 versus 80,000).
According to government projections last month, only three of the 30 occupations with the largest projected number of job openings by 2020 will require a bachelor’s degree or higher — teachers, college professors and accountants. Most job openings are in professions such as retail sales, fast food and trucking, jobs not easily replaced by computers.
College graduates who majored in zoology, anthropology, philosophy, art history and humanities were among the least likely to find jobs appropriate to their education level; those with nursing, teaching, accounting or computer science degrees were among the most likely. . . .

Is our universe inside a black hole?

This is some pretty mind blowing information:

Our universe may exist inside a black hole. This may sound strange, but it could actually be the best explanation of how the universe began, and what we observe today. It's a theory that has been explored over the past few decades by a small group of physicists including myself.
Successful as it is, there are notable unsolved questions with the standard big bang theory, which suggests that the universe began as a seemingly impossible "singularity," an infinitely small point containing an infinitely high concentration of matter, expanding in size to what we observe today. The theory of inflation, a super-fast expansion of space proposed in recent decades, fills in many important details, such as why slight lumps in the concentration of matter in the early universe coalesced into large celestial bodies such as galaxies and clusters of galaxies.
But these theories leave major questions unresolved. . . .

Cross country economic and social statistics to remember - Data

The OECD fact book has a lot of useful cross country data available here, though the latest data is only for 2010.

Gun owner catches two men responsible for a string of fires

From St. Clair County:

The two men charged Friday in a string of six barn and shed arson fires are a "Beavis and Butt-head duo" who just got a kick out of setting blazes, police say.
"They wanted to go out there and start fires and stir up stuff," said Capt. Steve Johnson of the St. Clair County sheriff's office. "It doesn't necessarily make sense why they would do this."
Bryan Boide, 23, of Belleville, and Nicholas Haegele, 19, of O'Fallon, were each charged with six counts of arson. In all, police said they started seven fires for "no apparent reason." They targeted sheds and barns.
Police in St. Clair County have been investigating a string of suspicious fires in the past month. Officers from area departments spent time patrolling backroads in unmarked police cars, during the times of day that the arsonists had struck. They stopped cars to try to obtain information.
The big break came just after midnight Wednesday. That's when Boide and Haegele were nabbed by a property owner on Bay Point Drive who got suspicious when he saw them walking around with flashlights on his property. The man grabbed his shotgun, held the pair at gunpoint and walked them to a neighbor's home. He had the neighbor call police. . . .

Thanks to Allen Boyer for this link. 

Democrats moving to disenfranchise voters who vote against Obama in Democratic primaries

The Weekly Standard has this:

After a poll released this week showed President Barack Obama only beating his Democratic primary opponent John Wolfe Jr. by seven points, 45 percent to 38 percent, in Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District, state Democrats moved to practically disenfranchise Arkansas voters. "[D]elegates Wolfe might claim won't be recognized at the national convention," national party officials are telling state Democrats. Wolfe is being accused of not following the party rules.“They want a coronation,” Wolfe tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “They’re conflating [Obama] with the party. Are we supposed to call him ‘Dear Leader’? Is this some kind of North Korea thing?” . . .

Obama again lectures EU to ease up on austerity

Well our stimulus has worked so well.  Obama is aligning himself with the new French Socialist president on increased spending.  Notice the one country that has controlled spending the most has been doing the best.  From Reuters:

U.S. President Barack Obama will press European leaders to ease up on fiscal austerity and focus on economic growth at a summit on Saturday that will discuss ways to stem turmoil in the euro zone and head off the risk of global contagion.
At the wooded Camp David retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, Obama and leaders from other large economic powers will try to forge a common approach to tackling a crisis that threatens the future of Europe's 17-nation single currency.
Though no major policy decisions are expected from the Group of Eight summit, leaders hope they can bridge enough of their differences to soothe rattled financial markets after worries about the risk of a Greek exit from the euro zone sent European stock prices to their lowest level since December.
"Hopefully we'll get some stuff done," Obama told Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti as he and other summit participants arrived for Friday evening dinner at a lodge at the secluded presidential retreat.
Obama earlier in the day aligned himself with Monti and new French President Francois Hollande by urging a solution to the euro zone crisis that combines fiscal belt-tightening measures with a "strong growth agenda."
On the other side of the debate is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has pushed fiscal austerity as a means of bringing down huge debt levels that are burdening European economies. . . .

Paul Krugman thinks that those who oppose increased spending are trying to destroy the country.  Here is Krugman making the case for more government spending.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Krugman: "We have actually had a massive unethical human experiment in austerity doctrine.  Here we have had this view that cutting government spending is going to be good for the economy even when the economy is deeply depressed and we have put it into effect in large parts of Europe and we have put it into effect to a significant effect in the US . . . ."

Paul Krugman on Republicans in Congress: "Sometimes you do wonder if these guys are moles, Manchurian candidates for I don't know who -- if their real job is to bring down America because they're really are doing the best they can."

It is interesting to note that Brazil's stimulus policies haven't been working out too well also.  From the Financial Times:

Brazil’s economic output shrank in March, defying government stimulus measures and surprising economists who had predicted that Latin America’s biggest economy would begin to recover from a prolonged slowdown.
The 0.35 per cent contraction, compared with February, makes Brazil’s growth the second slowest in Latin America in real terms, after Argentina. The news comes as Asia’s major emerging market economies, China and India, are also decelerating.
“The weak … conditions are likely to encourage the authorities to add more fiscal and monetary stimulus to the economy and to remain activist on the foreign exchange front,” said Alberto Ramos of Goldman Sachs in a client note. . . .

Add Justice Breyer to the likes of Mayor Daley, David Brock, Rosie O'Donnell on guns?

As Justice Breyer wrote in the McDonald case:

I can find nothing in the Second Amendment’s text, history, or underlying rationale that could warrant characterizing it as “fundamental” insofar as it seeks to protect the keeping and bearing of arms for private self-defense purposes. . . .

Such concerns cause self-defense advocates to write:

That Breyer demands armed police protection provided at taxpayer expense illustrates no small amount of elitist hypocrisy considering his dissent in the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller case, in which the Supreme Court majority held the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals in federal enclaves to possess a firearm in the home for traditionally lawful purposes, including self-defense. . . .

Seriously, this is considered new information?: ABC News: "Cops, Witnesses Back Up George Zimmerman's Version of Trayvon Martin Shooting"

As far as I can tell, everything in this ABC News discussion was available in the police reports that I wrote about early on in this case.  The ABC News video is incredibly biased against Zimmerman, though the headline and as much of the story as I was willing to read through fits this: "Cops, Witnesses Back Up George Zimmerman's Version of Trayvon Martin Shooting."

Some signs of the times?

Man who fathered 30 kids says he needs a break—on child support

Why do these 11 women keep having kids with this guy if they already know that he has so many kids that he can't provide more than $1.49 a month to many of them?

Postal employee on workers’ comp caught running Boston Marathon

A U.S. District Court in Florida convicted a former Florida postal worker of health care fraud after she was caught participating in more than 80 long-distance races, including the Boston Marathon, all while taking workers' compensation for a back injury.
Jacquelyn V. Myers . . . faces up to 15 years in prison. . . .
In May 2009, Myers claimed to have a lower back injury that prevented her from delivering the mail as part of her job. She was relieved of her mail carrying responsibilities and put on "light duty."
However, photos and videos emerged showing Myers participating in the races, including a triathlon. And in what would ordinarily be considered good news, her race times actually improved after she made her initial injury claim. . . .

John Lovitz on Hannity

"What I find is he's hypocritical with saying, you know, 'the 1% don't get us,' and he's a multi-millionaire now. 'You know, they're not paying their fair share of taxes, now I'm going over to George Clooney's house to get money from millionaires and billionaires,' and he collected $15 million." "Instead of making people victims of people who are successful, we should be telling people look you are having a hard time I feel bad for you, let's look at how you can succeed, let's give you the tools to succeed. Instead of turning everybody into victims. A victim mentality is what he is selling."

Go drink that coffee

From MSNBC:

men who drank at least six cups of coffee a day had a 10 percent lower chance of dying during the 14-year study period than those who drank none. For women, the risk was 15 percent lower, according to Freedman’s work, published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. . . .

More on Elizabeth Warren

Cherokee Genealogist debunks Elizabeth Warren's claim to be a Cherokee. Listen to this at WRKO. There is also more evidence of her using it for personal advantage. From ABC News:

A 1997 piece from the Fordham Law Review lists Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren as the “first woman of color” hired by Harvard Law School, according to reports. The article, which was unearthed by Politico, was titled ”Intersectionality and positionality: Situating women of color in the affirmative action dialogue.” The author, Laura Padilla, who now serves as the Associate Dean of California Western Law School in San Diego, CA., reportedly based her description on a phone conversation with then Harvard Law spokesman, Mike Chmura. . . .

In addition, there is the claim that Elizabeth Warren plagiarized her contributions to a book.

New piece at Fox News: What Zimmerman, Martin medical reports tell us and the media didn't

UPDATE: Photos from George Zimmerman investigation


My new Fox News piece starts this way:

The new medical reports on the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case tell us a lot. And it is not just for what they find, but also what they don’t find.
First, the reports provide striking evidence that Zimmerman did not start the fight with Martin, and that Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense. Martin’s injuries were two-fold: broken skin on his knuckles and the fatal gunshot wound.
Zimmerman’s injuries involved: a fractured nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury.
It takes considerable force to break the skin on multiple knuckles. The large range of injuries on Zimmerman indicates that the Martin’s attack was prolonged. . . . .

The South Florida Criminal Lawyers' Blog has this very useful discussion (the whole post is definitely worth reading).  Note also that this post is from April 13, 2012 and my guess that the new evidence would 

. . . the "provocation" theory is shaky, at best. F.S. 776.041 provides that the "Stand Your Ground" law is not available to a person who: "Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself." . . .. . . First, even if Zimmerman "provoked" the incident, he may still justifiably use deadly force, if: "Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant." According to Zimmerman and at least one witness, Trayvon Martin was on top of Zimmerman. What is more, Zimmerman claims that Martin bashed his head on the concrete, which caused Zimmerman to fear death or great bodily harm. If the State cannot contradict this version of events, Zimmerman likely can establish that he "exhausted every reasonable means to escape," (he claims he was pinned to the ground), and he reasonably feared Martin's use of force would "likely cause death or great bodily harm."
Second, it is far from clear that following Trayvon Martin while speaking with the police constitutes "provocation." The second exception to "provocation" states that if the provocateur "In good faith...withdraws from physical contact" and communicates his desire to "withdraw from physical contact," but the other party "continues or resumes the use of force," then the provocateur may rely on the "Stand Your Ground" law. What is important to note, is that F.S. 776.041(2)(b) presumes that the "provocation" includes "physical contact." However, based on the evidence that is public thus far, there is no evidence that Zimmerman initiated "physical contact." What is more, there is no precedent in Florida law indicating that conduct short of "physical contact" provides justification for the use of force, or amounts to "provocation."
Make no mistake: George Zimmerman has a real chance of avoiding a jury. All he has to do is convince a judge, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he acted in justifiable self-defense.

The medical reports strengthen the argument that Zimmerman did not initiate physical contact and Zimmerman's yelling for help surely falls under the heading that he "communicates his desire to 'withdraw from physical contact.'" See also this post entitled "Probable Cause Affidavit in George Zimmerman Case Woefully Inadequate" on the same blog.

Newest piece at National Review Online: Obama and GM Cook the Books

My newest piece at National Review starts this way:

Would you hire President Obama as your financial adviser? Three years ago his administration invested more than $100 billion in taxpayer money to bail out General Motors. On Tuesday, the entire company, not just what the government owns, was worth less than $34 billion. By anyone’s definition, that investment is a glaring failure. Yet over the last few days the Obama campaign, in a $25 million marketing blitz, has flooded the airwaves with ads in battleground states, claiming the bailout should be counted a rousing success.
Unfortunately, assertions that “all loans have been repaid to the federal government,” that the bailout “saved more than one million American jobs,” that “U.S. automakers are hiring hundreds of thousands of new workers,” that GM is again the “number-one automaker” — all are based on creative accounting. . . .

Peter Ferrara reviews "Debacle"

Peter Ferrara's discussion of our new book at the American Spectator starts this way:

Obama has already succeeded in fundamentally transforming America, from a prosperous nation that draws people the world over, voting with their feet, to a rapidly declining former superpower on the fast track to a third-world status similar to Argentina or Venezuela. That is effectively what is argued by the new book Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain our Future, by leading taxpayer activist Grover Norquist and economist John Lott. . . .

Zimmerman's nose was broken, Martin's knuckles had broken skin

The news is as important for what it says as what it doesn't say.  Martin had broken skin on his knuckles, but note that there was no mention about Zimmerman having similar bruises on his knuckles. What does that tell you?  It means that Martin was hitting Zimmerman sufficiently hard and often to break the skin on his knuckles, but that Zimmerman didn't hit Martin back.  That means Zimmerman didn't throw the first punch.  That means that it is that much harder to believe that Zimmerman started the fight.  And that is extremely important.  It looks as if Zimmerman stopped following Martin when it was suggested, but even if he didn't, even if he asked Martin what he was doing, that doesn't justify Martin attacking him. From ABC News: 

A medical report compiled by the family physician of accused Trayvon Martin murderer George Zimmerman and obtained exclusively by ABC News found that Zimmerman was diagnosed with a "closed fracture" of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Martin during an alleged altercation. . . .

WFTV in Florida reports on Martin's injuries, but again it is what injuries aren't reported that is also important.

WFTV has learned that the medical examiner found two injuries on Martin’s body: The fatal gunshot wound and broken skin on his knuckles.
When you compare Trayvon’s non-fatal injury with Zimmerman's bloody head wounds, the autopsy evidence is better for the defense, Sheaffer said. . . .

So despite already facing being overcharged, the Obama administration continues to go after Zimmerman:

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said federal prosecutors would have to prove the hate crime to charge Zimmerman, though.
“What the government would have to prove is that Mr. Zimmerman acted out of hatred toward African-Americans. That's why he came into contact with him. That's why he shot and killed him," Sheaffer said.
Sheaffer said a federal hate crime murder charge could bring more serious consequences than the second-degree murder charge Zimmerman faces now.
“Mr. Zimmerman could be punished by up to life in prison or even the death penalty,” said Sheaffer. . . .

Hate crime?  Against a person who donated his time to mentor black kids?  Against someone who is part black himself?  Against a guy who tried to help his neighbors, some of whom are black, by volunteering to be the community watch leader.


Enough already!  Leave the guy alone!

Bizarre zero tolerance policy gets Detroit grounds keeper fired

A grounds keeper and his foreman were both fired.  Chevilott wanted to give the gun to the police, but they didn't arrive so he had to give it to the police after he was done with work.  From Fox News:

A Detroit groundskeeper, who turned in a loaded handgun he found hidden in weeds while working, was fired by the Wayne County Department of Public Services, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.
John Chevilott, who is just two years shy of retirement, found the loaded snub-nosed revolver on May 3 when he and his crew were mowing a lawn in Wayne County. Chevilott secured the gun, waiting for police to drive by so he could hand it over to them. . . .
According to a Wayne County spokeswoman and the rules, employees aren't allowed to possess a weapon on work property.
Chevilott says he didn't bring a weapon to work. He found it on the job. . . .

While defending Obama's tax policies, Will Smith is stunned to learn about what Frances' new president plans to do to tax rates

See Will Smith's reaction at 1:20 into the clip.

Germany's economy grew at a 2 percent rate in the

So much for Krugman's predictions about Germany and their austerity policy. From the Financial Times:

The German economy grew five times faster than expected in the first quarter of the year, jumping 0.5 per cent. . . . The year on year increase was 1.7 per cent, beating expectations of a 0.8 per cent jump, and the German statistics office said growth was supported by an increase in net trade as exports to outside the eurozone gained. But this is still more a tale of divergence than cheer as French GDP came in flat and the Netherlands GDP fell 0.2 per cent as the country remained in technical recession. And while German’s performance could be the basis for a beat (with Austria providing some more support after it found 0.2 per cent growth in the first quarter), eurozone GDP is predicted to fall 0.2 per cent with the data due later this morning. . . .

Yet more bogus information on Wikipedia

From The Atlantic:

A woman opens an old steamer trunk and discovers tantalizing clues that a long-dead relative may actually have been a serial killer, stalking the streets of New York in the closing years of the nineteenth century. A beer enthusiast is presented by his neighbor with the original recipe for Brown's Ale, salvaged decades before from the wreckage of the old brewery--the very building where the Star-Spangled Banner was sewn in 1813. A student buys a sandwich called the Last American Pirate and unearths the long-forgotten tale of Edward Owens, who terrorized the Chesapeake Bay in the 1870s. These stories have two things in common. They are all tailor-made for viral success on the internet. And they are all lies. Each tale was carefully fabricated by undergraduates at George Mason University who were enrolled in T. Mills Kelly's course, Lying About the Past. Their escapades not only went unpunished, they were actually encouraged by their professor. . . .

So if private businesses are too big to manage what does that say about government?

David Boaz has a thoughtful post here.

More adventures of the most open and transparent administration in history: Confiscating donor cell phones before fundraising dinner

Even former Hillary Clinton staffers are calling this policy "absurd." It just goes to show you how hard it is to campaign when you are constantly saying something in public that tries to hide how incredibly leftwing a person really is. Reason.com has this:

Pool reporter David Nakamura of the Washington Post reported that at a $35,800 a head fundraiser at the home of Blackstone COO Hamilton “Tony” James in New York City Monday night, the 60 attendees were asked to place their phones in plastic bags by the door. An Obama aide called the move it "standard operating procedure," but veterans of a range of other campaigns said they'd never heard of the practice, which is common in secure White House spaces where there are concerns of espionage, but unknown in contexts in which only political secrets are discussed. The new prevalence of sophisticated audio and recording capacities in mobile devices owned by virtually anyone wealthy enough to write a check to a political campaign, however, has put a new pressure on campaigns concerned with staying on a public message. Former aides to presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Rick Perry, and Jon Huntsman all expressed surprise at the practice, and they've never seen an instance where a campaign asked donors to surrender their cell phones. The former Clinton aide called the Obama policy "absurd," suggesting that the Obama policy is almost certainly a response to the infamous 2008 fundraiser where Obama described voters in rural Pennsylvania as "bitter."

Vet loses guns to DC police as he travels through nation's capitol

A wounded Vet gets thrown in jail after stopping at Walter Reed for medical treatment. The legal costs and time in jail are something you don't want to put anyone through. Even after the charges were dropped, DC refused to return his guns. From The Washington Times:

Returning to South Carolina on June 30, 2010, Mr. Kim stopped at Walter Reed for a doctor’s appointment. Afterwards, he got lost while driving his two-door Honda Civic in downtown D.C. in the evening. He was pulled over by police. The officer said that his driver’s license had been suspended. He was unaware of this. He found out the next morning that it was wrongly suspended due to a clerical error in which North Carolina incorrectly reported to South Carolina that he didn't pay a speeding ticket. Mr. Kim called and had this cleared up the next morning. However, because of the suspended license, the D.C. police officer called for backup, and told Mr. Kim he would have to go to the police station. Then the cops asked Mr. Kim if they could search his vehicle. The lieutenant agreed because his guns were properly locked in a case in the trunk, in compliance with federal firearm transport laws. Mr. Kim was handcuffed and told to sit on the curb during the search. He recalled that the officers inspected the collection and “were upset about the fact that I had the AR-15, which D.C. considers to be an ‘assault weapon.’” The model of rifle is illegal in the District, but not in his home state. The officers then told Mr. Kim he was in violation for the carrying firearms outside the home (in his vehicle) in the District. The nation’s capital does not acknowledge the right to bear arms, so there are no carry rights. “I told them I had been under the impression that as long as the guns were locked in the back, with the ammunition separate, that I was allowed to transport them,” Mr. Kim told me in an interview. “They said, ‘That may be true, however, since you stopped at Walter Reed, that make you in violation of the registration laws.” It is illegal to possess a firearm anywhere in D.C. other than the home. Mr. Kim’s attorney, Richard Gardiner, said his client was lawfully transporting the firearms, and that would have been his defense if the matter went to trial. “The mistake he made was agreeing to a search of his vehicle,” the attorney explained in an interview. “If the police ask for consent to search, the answer is ‘no.’ If they ask, ‘why not?’ The answer is, ‘no.’” . . .

Was Rev. Wright offered a bribe by Democrats in 2008 to be quite until after the election?

ED MORRISSEY has an interesting discussion here.  The incident raises questions about Obama's honesty.

So how slow is the recovery?: Ask Jerry Brown in California

Just in January, California was predicting that the deficit would be $9 billion.  Now at the beginning of May, just four months later, the estimated deficit has increased by about 74 percent.  The reason according to Bloomberg?

“Tax receipts are coming lower than expected and the federal government and the courts have blocked us from making billions of necessary budget reductions. The result is that we are now facing a $16 billion deficit.” . . .

It would be nice to have a breakdown by reason.  Finally, it is amazing that Democrats think that they can impose taxes and not have it impact people's behavior.

Liberals say that it has been OK to classify yourselves as a minority if you have "one-drop" of minority blood

I guess that I missed the memo that it was OK to classify oneself as a minority with "one-drop" of minority blood.  I really get the impression that this is just trying to cover liberal's tracks on Elizabeth Warren and give her cover.  It seems that if I had done that (and I am 1/32nd American Indian), there were be few claiming that was the right rule to use.  Here is a piece that refers to the "one-drop" rule.  Had I heard of the "one-drop" rule?  Sure, but I thought that this rule was surely objectionable to liberals.  Apparently, I was completely wrong.

NJ judge says that even blind person has the right to own guns

So apparently you don't lose your rights when you are blind.  From CBS 2 News in New York:

. . .  That episode began a legal battle that wound up in Morris County Superior Court. Prosecutors argued Hopler shouldn’t have guns because he’s a danger. However, a judge ruled otherwise, saying his disability shouldn’t take away his constitutional right to bear arms.
Robert Trautman is Hopler’s attorney, and said police singled out his client.
“The state argued that Steve drinks too much.” Trautman said. “It’s just simply that the police didn’t want Steve Hopler to own firearms because he’s blind and they felt that was improper.” . . .

Can you explain the economics error here?

From the UK Independent:

It is the second-lightest element in the Universe, has the lowest boiling-point of any gas and is commonly used through the world to inflate party balloons. But helium is also a non-renewable resource and the world's reserves of the precious gas are about to run out, a shortage that is likely to have far-reaching repercussions.
Scientists have warned that the world's most commonly used inert gas is being depleted at an astonishing rate because of a law passed in the United States in 1996 which has effectively made helium too cheap to recycle.
The law stipulates that the US National Helium Reserve, which is kept in a disused underground gas field near Amarillo, Texas – by far the biggest store of helium in the world – must all be sold off by 2015, irrespective of the market price.
The experts warn that the world could run out of helium within 25 to 30 years, potentially spelling disaster for hospitals, whose MRI scanners are cooled by the gas in liquid form, and anti-terrorist authorities who rely on helium for their radiation monitors, as well as the millions of children who love to watch their helium-filled balloons float into the sky. . . .

Can vulnerable Democrat Senators really separate themselves from Obama on gay marriage?

According to The Hill newspaper, many Democratic Senators in swing states are distancing themselves from Obama on gay marriage.  But here is the problem.  This issue is going to be decided by the Supreme Court.  Does anyone doubt that Obama won't appoint another very liberal member of the court who would rule that there is "no rational basis" for ruling that marriage must be between a man and a woman?

From the Associated Press: "Around world, Obama's presidency a disappointment"

Obama promised so much for improving our international relations. "Obama advocates forging a dialogue with foreign publics to create a joint narrative about a shared future. . . .  Obama has suggested by example that cross-cultural knowledge can be used to understand and address societies where extremism has taken hold."  200,000 people flocked to Obama's 2008 speech in Berlin.   The AP reports that a lot of people around the world don't believe that Obama has delivered on his promises:

In Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there's disappointment that he hasn't kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and perceptions that he's shunting blame for the financial crisis across the Atlantic.
In Mogadishu, a former teacher wishes he had sent more economic assistance and fewer armed drones to fix Somalia's problems. And many in the Middle East wonder what became of Obama's vow, in a landmark 2009 speech at the University of Cairo, to forge a closer relationship with the Muslim world.
In a world weary of war and economic crises, and concerned about global climate change, the consensus is that Obama has not lived up to the lofty expectations that surrounded his 2008 election and Nobel Peace Prize a year later. Many in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America were also taken aback by his support for gay marriage, a taboo subject among religious conservatives.
But the Democrat still enjoys broad international support. In large part, it's because of unfavorable memories of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, and many people would still prefer Obama over his presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney. . . . 

James Earl Jones believes people have a right to self defense with guns

From IMDB:

"The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise they will win and the decent people will lose." James Earl Jones

Another reason why people's donations should be anonymous

From the Weekly Standard:

Businessman Frank Vandersloot, the CEO of Melaleuca, has been targeted by the Obama campaign after donating money to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. . . . Mr. VanderSloot was one of the eight, smeared particularly as being 'litigious, combative and a bitter foe of the gay rights movement.'"
The attacks are working. Vandersloot revealed in an interview on Fox News that his business practice is being hurt by the attacks from the Obama team.
"Those people that I know well weren't affected by this [attack]," said Vandersloot. "But for people who didn't know me, who are members of our business or customers, and they were reading this, then we got a barrage of phone calls of people cancelling their customer memberships with us."
"Really?," the Fox News host asked. "How many did that?"
"A couple hundred that we can track," Vandersloot replied.
Again, the host asked, "Really? Do you have any grounds to sue?"
"I suppose we do," Vandersloot said. The businessman says he's been accused of being anti-gay, an accusation he says that couldn't be further from the truth. . . .

Is it serious that people who oppose Obama must be doing this because they are anti-gay?

Actress Jennifer Lawrence: What you see is what you get

Jennifer Lawrence is a real down to earth person.

Pass the squirrel guts on PETA bread, please.The Hunger Games‘ mega-hottie and Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence is apparently as cool in real life as she is playing Katniss, a bowhunting super badass survivor girl in the blockbuster movie.
The 21-year-old beauty gutted a squirrel in the most talked about scene for her role in 2010’sWinter’s Bone, (for which she was nominated). The scene was not faked, she told Rolling Stone magazine: “I should say it wasn’t real, for PETA,” she said. “But screw PETA.”
Prior to shooting Winter’s Bone, (a charming little movie RS describes as “a gritty, gothic, murder story set in Ozark meth country”), Lawrence spent a month in Missouri with a rural family shooting rifles and chopping wood in preparation for the role.
Actor Woody Harrelson, (a real hippy earth-cookie and lovable nut job himself), describes co-star Lawrence in the interview, as “the real deal, who’s not trying to be anyone she’s not. She’s just this frickin’ amazing gal from Kentucky who hit it big.”. . .

Mai Martinez: One reporter who may end up saving a few lives

My research has convinced me that women benefit much more from owning guns then men do, and to the extent that news stories such as this encourage more women to own guns, particularly those in high crime rate places such as Chicago, to own guns, I think that there will be more lives saved.  A write up of this story at CBS Chicago can be found here.

Another electric car catches fire, destroys home and other cars

A Texas man got a rude surprise from his new electric car:

A $100,000 electric car is suspected in sparking a fire at a Sugar Land home last week, according to media reports.
Fort Bend County chief fire investigator Robert Baker said that a newly purchased Fisker Karma sparked a fire that quickly spread to the rest of the home.
“The Karma was the origin of the fire, but what exactly caused that we don’t know at this time,” Baker told the news outlet.
Since the fire was determined to be accidental, Baker said the investigation has been turned over to the insurance companies.
According to his lawyers, Jeremy Gutierrez said his two-week old Karma caught fire soon after he parked the luxury sedan at his home in Sugar Land. The car owner said he smelt rubber rubber before seeing flames coming from the vehicle. The fire spread from the car to the garage before damaging other parts of the home. . . .

"Nearly 200,000 Fla. voters may not be citizens"

This AP story is not surprising.

Florida officials are now saying that nearly 200,000 registered voters may not be U.S. citizens.
Earlier in the week, state election officials announced they had identified more than 2,600 people who are in Florida legally but ineligible to vote.
The Department of State is asking county election officials to verify the information. Election supervisors are contacting voters and if someone is not a citizen, their name will be dropped from the voter rolls.
But an initial list drawn up by the state - and not widely released - shows that a comparison of voter lists and driver's license information turned up a list of nearly 182,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens. . . . .

Zimmerman prosecutor has history of over charging

From Newsmax:

The prosecutor in charge of the Trayvon Martin murder case has won a case in which a woman received a 20-year jail sentence for trying to protect herself against her allegedly abusive husband.
Marissa Alexander fired a bullet into a wall as she tried to flee her husband, who was threatening to strangle her in August 2010.
Immediately, Democratic U.S. Rep Corinne Brown accused prosecutor Angela Corey of “over-charging” Alexander with aggravated assault. “There is no justification for 20 years,” Brown told Corey during a confrontation in the hallway of the Jacksonville, Fla. Courthouse, according to CNN.
Just last week, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax TV in an exclusive interview that Corey is notorious for over-charging cases. . . . 

To Obama, not all businesses are bad, not if they are run by Democrats

Demonizing businessmen?  Obama saying nice things about Democratically run firms:

In the early days of his administration, Obama praised JPMorgan as an example of a well-run bank. “You know, keep in mind, though there are a lot of banks that are actually pretty well managed, JPMorgan being a good example, Jamie Dimon, the CEO there, I don’t think should be punished for doing a pretty good job managing an enormous portfolio,” Obama told ABC News in February 2009.  . . . .

In the past, Dimon has been an ardent opponent of tighter regulations on banks. And he’s been able to do so in part because he had outsized sway with Democrats in both Congress and the White House.
In the early days of his administration, Obama praised JPMorgan as an example of a well-run bank. “You know, keep in mind, though there are a lot of banks that are actually pretty well managed, JPMorgan being a good example, Jamie Dimon, the CEO there, I don’t think should be punished for doing a pretty good job managing an enormous portfolio,” Obama told ABC News in February 2009. . . . .

Active Concealed Handgun Permits in Arizona and some other states

There are eleven states listed here totaling 1,907,450 permits, though some of these numbers are a couple of years old.  If you add in the previous posts of 125,000 for Oklahoma; 135,416 for Oregon; 100,000 for Wisconsin; 296,588 for Ohio; 358,335 for Washington; 16,000 North Dakota; 176,448 Kentucky; and a recent call that I made about a month ago to Indiana indicating 420,711; the total is 3,354,116.  I have other data handy for another four states: Idaho (71,249), Iowa (94,516), Pennsylvania (822,762), Texas (512,913) (at the end of 2010 there were 461,724), and Utah (359,987) that adds another 1,861,427 to the total (though some of these last state numbers are a couple years old and undoubtedly underestimate the total).  Bringing in a grand total for just 23 states to 5,397,375.

The link for Arizona data is available here.

For Florida the link is available here.


For Maryland there were about 47,000 active permits in Maryland at the beginning of 2011.

The info for Michigan is available here (318,909).


In Minnesota there are 99,266 active permits as of the end of April 2012.

As of December 31, 2010 there are 4,225 active pistol permits in Rhode Island.

The numbers of South Carolina are available here.  At the end of 2010 there were 119,340 active permits.

There were 49,870 concealed weapons permit holders in South Dakota in 2008.


For Missouri the total as of the end of April is 139,928

Kansas as of May 1, 2012 has a total of 49,497.

Open carry in Oklahoma

There were two interesting pieces of news here: 1) Open carry has passed in Oklahoma and 2) there are now about 125,000 permit holders in the state.  This open carry law is relatively restrictive in that it requires a concealed carry permit.  From CNBC:

A bill to allow Oklahomans with a concealed-carry permit to openly carry their handguns is headed to the governor, who is expected to sign the legislation that passed the state Senate on Thursday.
The bill, approved by a 33-10 vote, would allow those with a concealed-carry handgun permit to openly carry their firearms in holsters from November 1. Those without such permits could obtain a gun permit and openly carry a firearm if they meet legal criteria, pass a background check and undergo firearms training. . . .
 about 125,000 people in the state.
Oklahoma has been one of six states in the country to prohibit the open-carry of firearms, along with Texas, Florida, Illinois, New York and California (handguns only), according to the Brady Campaign, the gun control advocacy group in Washington, D.C. . . .
Some 44 states allow some form of open-carry firearms, with only 11 requiring permits to do so, according to the Brady Campaign. . . .

For some information across states see here, though double check things because there are some errors.

Motel guest shoots robber who tried to break into room

The subheading reads: "Motel guest heard window break before grabbing gun."  From Houston, TX:

Detectives said a man broke a window and then broke down the door to the room.
The motel guest grabbed his gun and shot the man several times, investigators said.
The suspect was rushed to Northwest Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he died. His name has not been released. . . .
"This guy is like a pit bull, fighting and mad," Herness said. "(The motel guest) was hiding behind their bed saying, 'Don't come in here, sir. I have a gun.' Thank God they had a gun. No telling what he would have done." . . .

Continued debate over "Stand Your Ground" Laws

A new poll in Florida shows that Floridians support Stand Your Ground laws by a 50 to 32 percent majority.  Meanwhile Trayvon Martin's mom, Sybrina Fulton, has launched a new attack on these laws:

In the video, released Friday by the Second Chance on Shoot First campaign, Sybrina Fulton urges viewers to send Mother's Day cards to governors nationwide, particularly in the 26 states that have passed "Stand Your Ground" laws, urging them to "re-examine" the legislation. . . .

If someone could help me find something, I would appreciate it.  I thought I just saw a statement from the Martin Family's lawyer saying that Stand Your Ground wasn't relevant to the case.  It would be nice to have the link to that statement. Thanks.

"Millionaire Jason Alexander attends a 99% rally to try and find out how to become a part of the 99%ers movement"

This is actually pretty funny (available here).

Thanks very much to Monica Sanford for this link.

Edwards, Daschle, and Obama involved in discussions to sell public office for campaign endorsement?

Remember Illinois Governor Blagojevich soliciting bribes in exchange for Obama's Senate seat?  Didn't It appears that Obama had these types of discussions with others.  The objection was that the offer to sell the office was too early in the election process.  Doesn't Obama have an obligation to report such a crime? From ABC News:

Hindery, a longtime Democrat operative, was part of Edwards' inner circle and was dispatched to contact Barack Obama's campaign, and later Hillary Clinton's campaign, to strike a deal when it was clear Edwards would not win the 2008 presidential nomination.
On Jan. 3, 2008, the night Obama won the Iowa caucuses, Edwards ordered Hindery to contact Sen. Tom Daschle, an Obama adviser. Edwards wanted to team up with Obama, trading his endorsement for the vice-president slot early in the campaign to strike a death blow to Clinton.
Daschle questioned the Edwards' campaign reasoning for broaching the topic with Obama following the first contest of the campaign and on the night Obama was savoring victory, but brought the proposal to his candidate. Obama rejected the deal.
John Edwards Hoped to Be Appointed to the Supreme Court. . . . 

Voting with their feet to avoid taxes: How much money do you think that the Federal Government lost by this person renouncing his US citizenship?

The US will still force him to pay some taxes (a so-called exit tax), but even with that tax it still pays him to give up his US citizenship.  Is this what you want?  The brightest, wealthiest people to leave the country?  From Bloomberg:

Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire co- founder of Facebook Inc. (FB), renounced his U.S. citizenship before an initial public offering that values the social network at as much as $96 billion, a move that may reduce his tax bill.
Facebook plans to raise as much as $11.8 billion through the IPO, the biggest in history for anInternet company. Saverin’s stake is about 4 percent, according to the website Who Owns Facebook. At the high end of the IPO valuation, that would be worth about $3.84 billion. His holdings aren’t listed in Facebook’s regulatory filings.
Saverin, 30, joins a growing number of people giving up U.S. citizenship, a move that can trim their tax liabilities in this country. The Brazilian-born resident of Singapore is one of several people who helped Mark Zuckerberg start Facebook in a Harvard University dorm and stand to reap billions of dollars after the world’s largest social network holds its IPO. . . .
Saverin’s name is on a list of people who chose to renounce citizenship as of April 30, published by the Internal Revenue Service. Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship “around September” of last year, according to his spokesman.
Singapore doesn’t have a capital gains tax. It does tax income earned in that nation, as well as “certain foreign- sourced income,” according to a government website on tax policies there. . . .

More than twice the cost, able to travel a fraction of the distance: why not to buy electric cars

Component costs alone are $38,462? Add in assembly, shipping, and inventory costs and I guess that the margin is actually lower on this electric car than the gas powered vehicle.  From Bloomberg:

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), the electric-car company led by Elon Musk, fell to the lowest price in more than three months after Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) said its RAV4 sport- utility vehicle with batteries and motor from Tesla costs twice as much as a gasoline version. . . .
“The details of the RAV4 EV that Toyota gave out yesterday were a little disappointing,” said Ben Schuman, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon, . . . . The manufacturer’s suggested retail price “is a little bit high to make it appealing to a larger buyer group.”
Toyota said yesterday the electric RAV4 that goes 100 miles (161 kilometers) per charge will sell for $49,800 when it goes on sale this year in California. The Toyota City, Japan-based company, a Tesla investor, plans to deliver 2,600 units over the next three years, . . . .
The base price of a 2012 RAV4 with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine is $22,650 on Toyota’s website.
Toyota in July 2011 agreed to pay Tesla a total of $100 million to supply lithium-ion battery packs, motors, software and other parts for the RAV4 project, part of a three-year contract, according to a filing by Tesla with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Based on Toyota’s 2,600-unit sales goal for the model, it’s paying $38,462 for components per vehicle. . . .

Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren used to be listed as white, but changed it to native American after she became an academic

Why would she classify herself as white through law school and starting at the University of Texas and then classify herself as Native American after that?  Could it be that she learned how to play the affirmative action game?  From the WSJ:

Democratic Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren listed herself as white in personnel records at the University of Texas and declined to apply to Rutgers School of Law through a minority program, records show.
Ms. Warren, a Harvard Law School professor, is in a tight race with Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who has criticized her for listing herself as a minority in a professional directory from 1986 to 1995 and this week called for her to produce employment records.
. . . . a genealogy expert has said she is at least 1/32 Cherokee [ERROR: he said that she was 1/32nd, but this assumes that the Cherokee was 100% Native American].
The Brown campaign and GOP operatives have raised questions over whether she claimed to be a minority to boost her career.
The University of Texas at Austin, where Ms. Warren worked from 1983 to 1987, released documents showing Ms. Warren listed herself as white on employment records.
In her application to Rutgers Law School, she marked "no" when asked if she was applying as a minority, according to documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal. . . .
Harvard University had touted Ms. Warren as a minority in 1996 when the school came under fire from critics who accused it of being too white and too male. The university has declined to say why it designated Ms. Warren a minority.
Meanwhile, a second school, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where Ms. Warren taught from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, designated her as a minority in a 2005 diversity report that is available online. . . . .