Soros, Bloomberg, Steyer, and other billionaires make huge donations to Democrats to help out with Senate and House elections

It is interesting to see Senator Harry Reid complain about wealthy individuals helping out Republicans when it appears as if Democrats are getting more donations from billionaires than are Republicans.  Harry Reid should know as these donations are also going to Harry Reid's own Senate Majority PAC.  From Politifact:

We cross-checked the Open Secrets list of the top 100 individuals donating to outside spending groups in the current election against the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires and found that, as of June 19, there were 22 individuals on the Open Secrets list who were billionaires. Of those 22 billionaires, 13 -- or more than half -- gave predominantly to liberal groups or groups affiliated with the Democratic Party. The other nine gave predominantly to conservative groups. (A list of billionaires and how much they donated can be found here.) . . .

From Politico: 

STEYER: Climate-change activist Tom Steyer gave the biggest super PAC donation in this month's reports: $7.5 million to his own group, NextGen Climate. Steyer, who made his fortune as a successful hedge-fund manager, also spread some of that money around. NextGen gave a half-million dollars to Senate Majority PAC, the biggest Senate Democratic super PAC, and $150,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, another environmental group. 

BLOOMBERG: Michael Bloomberg is staying plenty active in his post-mayoral days. Aside from funding his gun-control-focused super PAC, Bloomberg has written checks to Senate Majority PAC and super PACs that backed GOP Sens. Thad Cochran and Lindsey Graham during their primary battles. Most recently, the former New York City mayor donated $2 million to Women Vote!—the largest contribution the EMILY's List super PAC has ever received. Only Steyer has given more money to super PACs this election season. 

SOROS: Democratic financier George Soros's checkbook has been active this summer: The prolific donor gave $500,000 apiece to House Majority PAC and the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund. But that million dollars wasn't his family's only big outlay so far this summer. Soros's daughter, Andrea Soros Colombel, gave $250,000 to Planned Parenthood Votes. . . .

Information on six other billionaires is available here.  The list leaves out Tom Steyer's brother, Jim.

Georgia dad files lawsuit to allow him to carry gun when visiting his daughter's school

Georgia's current law about schools and gun-free zones seems pretty clear, but there was sufficient ambiguity that a court decision is necessary to clear things up.  Well, it looks like that such a legal challenge might be at hand.  From Fox News:

A Georgia father has filed a lawsuit after he says the principal at his daughter’s elementary school told him he was not allowed to bring his gun on school grounds. 

MyFoxAtlanta.com reported Friday that the lawsuit claims that the principal told Hugh Myers that he could not bring his gun onto the campus of Beulah Elementary School other than when he is dropping off or picking up his daughter. The principal allegedly threatened to have him arrested if he did so. 

Myers’ attorney John Monroe is arguing that Myers is allowed to bring his gun under a new Georgia law that took effect last month, according to MyFoxAtlanta.com. . . .

Four new nutty examples of political correctness and the school year is just getting started

-- Student punished and thrown out of class for saying "bless you" to a fellow classmate who sneezed.
-- Boy Arrested and suspended for a week for writing a fictional story about shooting a dinosaur in school project.
-- Cookies served for 40-years in Elyria, Ohio banned from public schools by federal government because "It has too many calories."

-- Now something from a college:  University of Mary Washington's student newspaper has been called "The Bullet" since 1922, but political correctness has caused them to change the name to "The Blue & Gray."

“The editorial board felt that the paper’s name, which alludes to ammunition for an artillery weapon, propagated violence and did not honor our school’s history in a sensitive manner,” the release said. “The board intends to remain faithful to the history our university stands upon, and we continue to honor this history both in a respectful and meaningful way.”

Bullet "alludes to ammunition for artillery weapon"?  Seriously?  Well, there is no violence associated with the Civil War, right? For those University of Mary Washington alumni or others who are disappointed with the decision (it won't be official until sometime this coming week), you can let the school president know your feelings by clicking on the link here.

How to put an end to joy rides by parking valets: "New Corvette will record every move a valet driver makes"

This is one tempting car to drive.  But valets aren't going to be taking any joy rides with these Corvettes.  From the LA Times:

Attention valet drivers: Don’t get frisky with the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette -- big brother is watching. 

General Motors is offering next year’s model of the famous sport coupe with a data recorder that captures video, audio and driving data from the vehicle when switched into a special “Valet Mode.” 

The Vette’s owner can come back from dinner and check out if the valet was testing the sports car’s 3.8 second zero to 60 mph time. The car will have recorded data such as speed, engine RPM, which gears have been used and the highest level of g-force incurred on that joy ride to the parking garage. . . . 

A video of driving hanky panky will be captured by a high-definition camera, which records the driver’s point-of-view through the windshield. Audio of any other hanky panky will be caught by a microphone in the cabin. It all can be viewed or heard instantly on the Corvette’s 8-inch color touchscreen when the car is parked, or downloaded to a computer. . . .

The new Democrat US Senate candidate looks to be pretty anti-gun, especially for Montana

This Republican ad using Amanda Curtis' own words seems to be pretty damning (more of her videos are available here).  Did the Democratic nominating committee actually look into this candidate before they nominated her?  I guess the question is whether she will drag down other Democrats who are running for office in Montana.

Here is some more information on her.

[Montana Shooting Sports Association] tracked 24 gun-related votes cast by Curtis in the Montana House last session.  Curtis voted anti-gun on 23 of 24 opportunities.  For that, she scored a miserable 2.6%.  A 59% score would have earned her an "F" on gun issues.  She is well below F-, if there is such a thing.

Curtis  voted:
NO on a bill to encourage manufacturers to move to Montana and create new jobs if those manufacturers make firearms (HR5).
NO on two bills to protect hunters' hearing by allowing sound reduction for hunting (HB205 & HB27).
NO on a bill to prohibit the university system from suspending the Montana Constitution (HB240).
NO on a bill to allow investigators working for public defenders to carry firearms for self defense (SB133).
NO on a bill to exempt from criminal “disorderly conduct” charges a hunter who fires a shot at a deer or elk (even the Governor disagreed with her on this bill) (HB446).
NO on a bill to allow people located inside city limits the same ability for self defense as those outside city limits (HB304).
NO on a bill to allow a person eating at a restaurant that serves beer to provide for his or her self defense (HB358).
NO to medical privacy for gun owners (even the Governor disagreed with her on this bill) (HB459).
NO to preventing newspapers from publishing the private information about people who have been issued a concealed weapon permit by the local sheriff (the Governor disagreed with her on this bill too) (SB145).

Even the New York Times notes that Obama's unilateral decision making is drawing all the lobbyists to the White House

Big surprise here.  If the president has all the poser because he can make laws on his own, why should lobbyists bother with Congress.  From the New York Times:

. . . the process of drafting what will likely be the only significant immigration changes of his presidency — and his most consequential use of executive power — has been conducted almost entirely behind closed doors, where lobbyists and interest groups invited to the White House are making their case out of public view.

Mr. Obama’s increasingly expansive appetite for the use of unilateral action on issues including immigration, tax policy and gay rights has emboldened activists and businesses to flock to the administration with their policy wish lists. It also has opened the president, already facing charges of executive overreach, to criticism that he is presiding over opaque policy-making, with the potential to reward political backers at the expense of other interests, including some on the losing side who are threatening to sue. 

“We look at what they’ve been doing with executive action and are deeply concerned, and have focused a lot of our energies on how we can roll back these things,” said Geoff Burr, the vice president of federal affairs for Associated Builders and Contractors, whose member companies do 60 percent of federal construction jobs. 

Mr. Burr said an executive order issued by Mr. Obama last month that would block companies with a history of workplace violations from receiving federal contracts had prompted his group to contemplate “the virtues of a litigation strategy.” . . .

Apparently, Obama thinks it is OK for him to unilaterally make these changes because he is now talking to others about his changes.

White House officials say Mr. Obama has been inclusive as he looks to wield his authority, reaching out to an array of lawmakers, experts and business leaders for a wide range of perspectives to inform his plans for executive actions. . . .