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After hearing a street rumor (something common around these parts it seems), about M&W being closed, I spoke with the owner today about a welding project & was told that his land & building is for sale but the business is open.  I ask if the business was closing and was told no.  Mickey will be providing services as usual.  If the property sells, he expects to continue operations in the future.

Good thing as I've always received quality work at a fair price.

[Don't get to issue a $4,000,000 school bond? Have an elitist agenda and can't win with the voters?No problem! Stack the school board with a bunch of spendthrifts, have a meeting within hours of a failed school bond vote, and raise the local taxes by 4 mil!]

Don't get to issue a $4,000,000 school bond?  Have an elitist agenda and can't win with the voters?

No problem!  Stack the school board with a bunch of spendthrifts, have a meeting within hours of a failed school bond vote, and raise the local taxes by 4 mil!

At least that's what you do if you're in the USD 282 District.  And with increasing property values, the dollar cost to taxpayers in the long run won't be pretty.

Dammit all, cut some costs, fix the roof, fix the AC, pay for good teachers, and focus on education!  The rumpus room can wait.  The majority of our kids won't be making their future livings in the sports arena.  Watering systems for ball fields and new gyms indeed!

And for the board member who was overheard threatening to move their kid to another district... go for it!  You won't be missed all that much.

Learn from recent history, people.  Do some study on education in the US over the last 3 or 4 decades.  Increased spending on 'education' doesn't always result in better educated, or better prepared students.

We finally get the county to begin cutting taxes and looking at better management ideas, and the spoiled brats move their patsies to the school board and keep hijacking the taxpayer for their pet progressive projects.

Recall elections?  I'm in.

Remember, it's the Board of Education, not the Board of Big Spenders.

Again......

$4,000,000 School bond election unofficial count:

> YES        300
> NO         561
 
> The canvass will be Monday, June 23rd at 8:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Room of the Courthouse.

Source: http://www.elkcountyks.org/clerk.asp

[ECONOMY, n. Purchasing the barrel of whiskey that you do not need for the price of the cow that you cannot afford.LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.LITIGATION, n. A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.PRESIDENCY, n. The greased pig in the field game of American politics.RADICALISM, n. The conservatism of to-morrow injected into the affairs of to-day.SENATE, n. A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and misdemeanors.VOTE, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.]

Interesting definitions by Ambrose Bierce:


ECONOMY, n. Purchasing the barrel of whiskey that you do not need for the price of the cow that you cannot afford.

LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.

LITIGATION, n. A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.

PRESIDENCY, n. The greased pig in the field game of American politics.

RADICALISM, n. The conservatism of to-morrow injected into the affairs of to-day.

SENATE, n. A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and misdemeanors.

VOTE, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.

See more:  http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2014/02/20/tbt-37-definitions-from-a-dictionary-youll-actually-want-to-read/

Yep, our public education system is in fine shape.  Not!

1 in 4 Americans unaware that Earth circles Sun
AFP 2/14/2014 4:26:04 PM

Americans are enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it, with one in four unaware that the Earth revolves around the Sun, said a poll out Friday.

The survey included more than 2,200 people in the United States and was conducted by the National Science Foundation.

Ten questions about physical and biological science were on the quiz, and the average score -- 6.5 correct -- was barely a passing grade.

Story:  http://www.breitbart.com/system/wire/6e49b254-fc12-4176-8ab6-c6146611c372

[or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, also as part of this Constitution,]

Congress isn't the only way to amend the Constitution.  This may be the option of last resort to clean up the unconstitutional mess in Washington, D.C.

Article V of the Constitution says:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution,  or,  on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states,  shall call a convention for proposing amendments,  which,  in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes,  also as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states,  or by conventions in three fourths thereof,  as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress...
[Emphasis added]

Learn more:  http://www.conventionofstates.com/news/mark-meckler-breitbart-article-v-emergency-solution-hidden-plain-sight

It's time!  Put down the local rag for a minute & read this:  http://www.http://conventionofstates.com/

Delaware doctor denied stepdaughter food, bathroom use -mother
Reuters
By Lacey Johnson February 6, 2014 3:15 PM

GEORGETOWN, Delaware (Reuters) - A well-known Delaware doctor would punish his stepdaughter by making her stand for hours with her arms outstretched, depriving her of food and forbidding her from using the bathroom, the girl's mother told a court on Thursday.

Pauline Morse testified that she refrained from intervening in order not to undermine her celebrated husband, Dr Melvin Morse, a best-selling author on near-death experiences.

Melvin Morse is standing trial on child endangerment charges. He was arrested in 2012 after the girl, then 11, told authorities that she had been waterboarded on four occasions.

Full story:  http://news.yahoo.com/delaware-doctor-denied-stepdaughter-food-bathroom-mother-201502673.html

[Sorry bout that... internet faux pas.]

Sorry bout that... internet faux pas.

[Could you be next? Wake up citizens!]

Could you be next?  Wake up citizens! 


TSA Agents Interrogate Jewish Author For Reading Conservative Newspaper
Federal goons assume role of political thought police

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
February 7, 2014

Award winning Jewish author Phyllis Chesler was questioned and had her bag searched at New York's JFK Airport as a result of a TSA agent's suspicions over the fact that she was reading a conservative newspaper.

The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon after Chesler's flight to Florida was delayed due to the recent ice storms.

As soon as Chesler pulled out a copy of The Jewish Press, a popular English language weekly with a conservative political bent, a TSA agent eyed her with suspicion, approached the author and asked to see the newspaper.

After the TSA agent scrutinized the cover of the newspaper and showed it to another security official, Chesler was ordered to open her luggage, which the two agents then proceeded to rifle through.

During the search, Chesler was interrogated by the two TSA workers. As her luggage was being searched, Chesler noticed that a Muslim woman wearing a niqab that covered her entire face apart from her eyes was allowed through security with no questions asked and with no one even bothering to verify her identity.

Chesler was left alone after the two agents found nothing more deadly than a bottle of water.

Full story:  http://www.infowars.com/tsa-agents-interrogate-jewish-author-for-reading-conservative-newspaper/

Sadly, many "moderate" Republicans & Independents fall into the fact-free leftist liberal ways of thinking too...


Fact-Free Liberals: Part I
Thomas Sowell | Jan 21, 2014

Someone summarized Barack Obama in three words -- "educated," "smart" and "ignorant." Unfortunately, those same three words would describe all too many of the people who come out of our most prestigious colleges and universities today.

President Obama seems completely unaware of how many of the policies he is trying to impose have been tried before, in many times and places around the world, and have failed time and again.

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2014/01/21/factfree-liberals-n1781568


Fact-Free Liberals: Part II
Thomas Sowell | Jan 22, 2014

Words seem to carry far more weight than facts among those liberals who argue as if rent control laws actually control rents and gun control laws actually control guns.

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2014/01/22/factfree-liberals-part-ii-n1781570

Fact-Free Liberals: Part III
Thomas Sowell | Jan 23, 2014

Since this year will mark the 50th anniversary of the "war on poverty," we can expect many comments and commemorations of this landmark legislation in the development of the American welfare state.

The actual signing of the "war on poverty" legislation took place in August 1964, so the 50th anniversary is some months away. But there have already been statements in the media and in politics proclaiming that this vast and costly array of anti-poverty programs "worked."

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2014/01/23/factfree-liberals-part-iii-n1781571

Fact-Free Liberals: Part IV
Thomas Sowell | Jan 24, 2014

One of the things that attracted me to the political left, as a young man, was a belief that leftists were for "the people." Fortunately, I was also very interested in the history of ideas -- and years of research in that field repeatedly brought out the inescapable fact that many leading thinkers on the left had only contempt for "the people."

That has been true from the 18th century to the present moment. Even more surprising, I discovered over the years that leading thinkers on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum had more respect for ordinary people than people on the left who spoke in their name.

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2014/01/24/factfree-liberals-part-iv-n1781573

[https://app.box.com/s/dv5frjad5ddra6i3fn51]

Hypocrisy & arrogance from the elite progressives among us... for a good time, follow the link in the quote below. Hear for yourself what the local 'power brokers' really think of you.  And then imagine what you haven't heard.

I have posted a couple of audios, the audios (an MP3 format) are conversations that were recorded at the January Elk County Commissioners Meeting, for your benefit of knowledge. Please read the note first.

Click here: https://app.box.com/s/dv5frjad5ddra6i3fn51 for the recordings.

Make of them, what you will.

[Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.Thomas JeffersonGovernment, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.Thomas Paine]

According to at least one local Forum poster, we're supposed to just 'trust' our elected officials to 'do their best'!  Bullspit, from the President down to our county officials & school board members, wise citizens should be watching and evaluating their performance from the second they're elected until the second they leave office.  Read the following and see if you can think of any other foxes in the hen houses of government...


ObamaCare... I know nothing I see nothing.
Benghazi... I know nothing I see nothing.
IRS scandal... I know nothing I see nothing.
NSA Spying... I know nothing I see nothing.
Phone tapping the media... I know nothing I see nothing.
Fast and Furious... I know nothing I see nothing.
GSA gone wild... I know nothing I see nothing.
Solyndra... I know nothing I see nothing.
Tapping of Merkel's phone... I know nothing I see nothing.

And this list could go on and on...
Obama the Seargent Shultz of politics.
And the media is Col. Klink running the concentration camp...

Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
Thomas Jefferson

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
Thomas Paine

[Californians Sign Petition Allowing U.S. Troops to Commandeer Their Homes]

Stupid otta hurt!

Californians Sign Petition Allowing U.S. Troops to Commandeer Their Homes

Steve Watson & Paul Watson
Infowars.com
January 13, 2014

Illustrating once again how many Americans' knowledge of the Bill of Rights is virtually non-existent, Californians signed a petition to repeal the Third Amendment and allow U.S. troops to commandeer their homes.

The unbelievable footage was captured recently in California by activist prankster Mark Dice, a regular Infowars contributor.

Dice managed to persuade several passers by to sign their names up for scrapping the Third Amendment, which states "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

Video & the full story here:  http://www.infowars.com/californians-sign-petition-allowing-u-s-troops-to-commandeer-their-homes/

[And the biggest lie of all...]

From the President Resident of the United States

Obama's world...

1. I will have the most transparent administration.
2. I have Shovel ready jobs.
3. The IRS is not targeting anyone.
4. If four Americans get killed, it is not optimal.
5. There are going to be bumps in the road. (referring to Libya and Egypt protests/attacks).
6. ObamaCare will be good for America.
7. You can keep your family doctor.
8. Premiums will be lowered by $2500
9. You can keep your current healthcare plan
10. Just shop around, for that healthcare I claimed you wouldn't lose.
11. I am sorry you lost your healthcare, (you know the health care you have to shop around for, ya the same health care I said you could keep, yup, that's the one).
12. I did not say you could keep your health care. (Regardless that 29 recorded videos show I did)
13. ObamaCare will not be offered to illegal immigrants.
14. ObamaCare will not be used to fund abortions.
15. ObamaCare will cost less than 1 Trillion Dollars.
16. No one making under $250,000 will see their taxes raised one dime.
17. It is Bushes fault. (this can be inserted in between every statement).
18. It was about a movie.
19. I will fundamentally transform America. (This one sadly is very true)
20. If I had a son.
21. I am not a dictator.
22. I will put an end to the type of politics that "breeds division, conflict and cynicism".
23. You didn't build that.
24. I will restore trust in Government.
25. The Cambridge police acted stupidly.
26. I am not after your guns.
27. The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. The BHO of (2006).
28. I have been practicing...I bowled a 129. It's like -- it was like Special Olympics.
29. "If I don't have this done in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition.
30. I do think at a certain point you've made enough money.
31. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.
32. The Public Will Have 5 Days To Look At Every Bill That Lands On My Desk
33. It's not my red line it is the worlds red line.
34. Whistle blowers will be protected.
35. We got back Every Dime we Used to Rescue the Banks, with interest.
36. I am good at killing people.
37. I will close Gitmo. (but instead built them a $750,000 soccer field).
38. The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't, but she is a typical white person
39. I am not spying on American citizens.
40. By, on, on, by, Friday uh afternoon things get a little uh, uh challenged uh, uh ( when his TelePrompTer broke and he was left to think for himself).
41. I am a Christian.
42. John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.
43. It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy.
44. UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems. (Attempting to make the case for government-run healthcare).
45. What's good for illegal immigrants is also good for people who are losing their health insurance because of Obamacare.

And the biggest lie of all...

I Barrack Hussain Obama pledge to preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

[ObamaCare's New Year's Day Surprise: Deep Cuts to Medicare]

For starters, dump AARP and consider AMAC instead. What say you, citizens?

ObamaCare's New Year's Day Surprise: Deep Cuts to Medicare

by Andrew Mangione – As if ObamaCare's botched website, coverage cancellations, and higher costs were not bad enough, the Obama Administration has quietly dealt yet another blow – this time striking millions of the nation's most vulnerable seniors.  Specifically, the Obama Administration has decided to deeply cut funding for the Medicare program's home health benefit as a way to help pay for ObamaCare.

The Administration made this announcement very quietly, waiting to do so until the very end of the last Friday before Thanksgiving, perhaps thinking that most people would not be looking.

To be sure, the timing of the Administration's quiet announcement did keep it out of sight – for a while.  That ended on December 12th, however, when the Washington Examiner broke the story in an article headlined "ObamaCare forcing 14 percent cut in Medicare's home health program."  FOX News and the Daily Caller have also picked up this story, so full attention is now being paid to this unprecedented cut – and the harm it will do to frail seniors across America.

As the Examiner's Richard Pollock wrote, "An estimated 3.5 million poor and ill homebound senior citizens will wake up on New Year's Day to discover ObamaCare has slashed funding for their home health care program."  He's right: on January 1st, the Obama Administration will sharply cut Medicare funding for home healthcare services.

Totaling a whopping 14 percent between 2014 and 2017, this cut is the maximum allowable under the ObamaCare law.  The Administration had the discretion to cut less, or even to make no cuts at all.  But they decided to impose the deepest cut made possible by the Affordable Care Act (shouldn't we be calling this the "Horrible Care Act"?) legislation.  And in doing so, they will shift billions of dollars from Medicare to ObamaCare.

This cut is not only unprecedented in its magnitude – it will have a direct and devastating impact on the millions of ailing seniors who want to stay in their homes and not have to move to a facility.

This year, Medicare home health services were delivered to approximately 3.5 million Medicare beneficiaries.  According to the federal government's own data, these seniors are older, poorer and sicker than the Medicare beneficiary population as whole.  Many of these seniors also reside in rural communities, where home health care is especially important because other sources of treatment are often located many miles away.

The Medicare home health benefit is also of critical importance to younger Americans.  Families across America depend on home health services to help them care for their aging parents.  Having a skilled nurse come to their homes to deliver needed treatment not only means that Mom and Dad don't have to go into a nursing home – it also means their adult daughters and sons can balance caring for their parents with raising a family and earning a living.

In light of its importance to millions of seniors and their families, the Medicare home health sector has been one of the nation's leading creators of new jobs.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, thousands of Americans find employment every month in the home health field.  Just as important, these jobs are being created by small businesses, which constitute more than 90 percent of all providers of home health services.

But all that's about to change.

Hidden on page 117 of the regulation that the Obama Administration quietly released on that Friday evening is a stunning admission: "approximately 40 percent" of all providers of home health services face net losses as a result of this Medicare cut.  Put more plainly, 4-in-10 of all the providers on whom homebound seniors depend face the threat of bankruptcy and closure as a result of ObamaCare.

To my knowledge, this is the first time that any regulation has been issued by any Administration with the knowledge that it would put nearly half of the people it impacted out of business.  Indeed, this ObamaCare cut to Medicare is so severe that thousands of small businesses may be forced to close, and hundreds of thousands of quality jobs could be lost – directly impacting the millions of homebound seniors who depend on them.

The impact that ObamaCare's Medicare cut will have on seniors, families and small businesses is widely projected to be severe.  What is not yet known, however, is the impact this cut will have on U.S. politics.  In 2010, the revelation that ObamaCare would slash Medicare funding so angered senior voters, that they helped give Republicans control of the U.S. House of Representatives.  Now that these cuts are being imposed, the Democrats who voted for the Affordable Care Act face the possibility of losing their Senate majority when senior voters return to the polls in November.

Indeed, with Medicare so negatively impacted by ObamaCare, an important question will soon be put to the millions of seniors, families, and providers who care deeply about home health: what answer will they have to ObamaCare's New Year's Day surprise? (Emphasis added)

Link:  http://amac.us/obamacares-new-years-day-surprise-deep-cuts-medicare

[The duty of government is to leave commerce to its own capital and credit as well as all other branches of business, protecting all in their legal pursuits, granting exclusive privileges to none.]

The duty of government is to leave commerce to its own capital and credit as well as all other branches of business, protecting all in their legal pursuits, granting exclusive privileges to none.

Andrew Jackson

Do we have elected officials who are willing to pander to private companies to give them special advantage?

"I don't mind doing things to help a guy out."  Commissioner KR Liebau regarding special treatments by county government of certain persons in the now defunct Neighborhood Revitilization Plan. 

[It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society — the farmers, mechanics, and laborers — who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government.]

It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society — the farmers, mechanics, and laborers — who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing.[/b]

Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States

[Think again. Thanks to Progressives, Moderates & Konnected types of both 'parties' from Howard to Hoboken, there's one helluva train wreck coming. Wake up, citizens... you ain't never seen a wreck like this before! Fasten your seat belts, and see if these numbers make you feel better...]

Think again.  Thanks to Progressives, Moderates & Konnected types of both 'parties' from Howard to Hoboken, there's one helluva train wreck coming.  Wake up, citizens... you ain't never seen a wreck like this before!  Fasten your seat belts, and see if these numbers make you feel better...

83 Numbers From 2013 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe
By Michael Snyder, on December 16th, 2013

#1 Most people that hear this statistic do not believe that it is actually true, but right now an all-time record 102 million working age Americans do not have a job.  That number has risen by about 27 million since the year 2000.

#2 Because of the lack of jobs, poverty is spreading like wildfire in the United States.  According to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, an all-time record 49.2 percent of all Americans are receiving benefits from at least one government program each month.

#3 As society breaks down, the government feels a greater need than ever before to watch, monitor and track the population.  For example, every single day the NSA intercepts and permanently stores close to 2 billion emails and phone calls in addition to a whole host of other data.

#4 The Bank for International Settlements says that total public and private debt levels around the globe are now 30 percent higher than they were back during the financial crisis of 2008.

#5 According to a recent World Bank report, private domestic debt in China has grown from 9 trillion dollars in 2008 to 23 trillion dollars today.

#6 In 1985, there were more than 18,000 banks in the United States.  Today, there are only 6,891 left.

#7 The six largest banks in the United States (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley) have collectively gotten 37 percent larger over the past five years.

#8 The U.S. banking system has 14.4 trillion dollars in total assets.  The six largest banks now account for 67 percent of those assets and all of the other banks account for only 33 percent of those assets.

#9 JPMorgan Chase is roughly the size of the entire British economy.

#10 The five largest banks now account for 42 percent of all loans in the United States.

#11 Right now, four of the "too big to fail" banks each have total exposure to derivatives that is well in excess of 40 trillion dollars.

#12 The total exposure that Goldman Sachs has to derivatives contracts is more than 381 times greater than their total assets.

#13 According to the Bank for International Settlements, the global financial system has a total of 441 trillion dollars worth of exposure to interest rate derivatives.

#14 Through the end of November, approximately 365,000 Americans had signed up for Obamacare but approximately 4 million Americans had already lost their current health insurance policies because of Obamacare.

#15 It is being projected that up to 100 million more Americans could have their health insurance policies canceled by the time Obamacare is fully rolled out.

#16 At this point, 82.4 million Americans live in a home where at least one person is enrolled in the Medicaid program.

#17 It is has been estimated that Obamacare will add 21 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.

#18 It is being projected that health insurance premiums for healthy 30-year-old men will rise by an average of 260 percent under Obamacare.

#19 One couple down in Texas received a letter from their health insurance company that informed them that they were being hit with a 539 percent rate increase because of Obamacare.

#20 Back in 1999, 64.1 percent of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance.  Today, only 54.9 percent of all Americans are covered by employment-based health insurance.

#21 The U.S. government has spent an astounding 3.7 trillion dollars on welfare programs over the past five years.

#22 Incredibly, 74 percent of all the wealth in the United States is owned by the wealthiest 10 percent of all Americans.

#23 According to Consumer Reports, the number of children in the United States taking antipsychotic drugs has nearly tripled over the past 15 years.

#24 The marriage rate in the United States has fallen to an all-time low.  Right now it is sitting at a yearly rate of just 6.8 marriages per 1000 people.

#25 According to a shocking new study, the average American that turned 65 this year will receive $327,500 more in federal benefits than they paid in taxes over the course of their lifetimes.

#26 In just one week in December, a combined total of more than 2000 new cold temperature and snowfall records were set in the United States.

#27 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in the United States has fallen for five years in a row.

#28 The rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen for eight years in a row.

#29 Only 47 percent of all adults in America have a full-time job at this point.

#30 The unemployment rate in the eurozone recently hit a new all-time high of 12.2 percent.

#31 If you assume that the labor force participation rate in the U.S. is at the long-term average, the unemployment rate in the United States would actually be 11.5 percent instead of 7 percent.

#32 In November 2000, 64.3 percent of all working age Americans had a job.  When Barack Obama first entered the White House, 60.6 percent of all working age Americans had a job.  Today, only 58.6 percent of all working age Americans have a job.

#33 There are 1,148,000 fewer Americans working today than there was in November 2006.  Meanwhile, our population has grown by more than 16 million people during that time frame.

#34 Only 19 percent of all Americans believe that the job market is better than it was a year ago.

#35 Just 14 percent of all Americans believe that the stock market will rise next year.

#36 According to CNBC, Pinterest is currently valued at more than 3 billion dollars even though it has never earned a profit.

#37 Twitter is a seven-year-old company that has never made a profit.  It actually lost 64.6 million dollars last quarter.  But according to the financial markets it is currently worth about 22 billion dollars.

#38 Right now, Facebook is trading at a valuation that is equivalent to approximately 100 years of earnings, and it is currently supposedly worth about 115 billion dollars.

#39 Total consumer credit has risen by a whopping 22 percent over the past three years.

#40 Student loans are up by an astounding 61 percent over the past three years.

#41 At this moment, there are 6 million Americans in the 16 to 24-year-old age group that are neither in school or working.

#42 The "inactivity rate" for men in their prime working years (25 to 54) has just hit a brand new all-time record high.

#43 It is hard to believe, but in America today one out of every ten jobs is now filled by a temp agency.

#44 Middle-wage jobs accounted for 60 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession, but they have accounted for only 22 percent of the jobs created since then.

#45 According to the Social Security Administration, 40 percent of all U.S. workers make less than $20,000 a year.

#46 Approximately one out of every four part-time workers in America is living below the poverty line.

#47 After accounting for inflation, 40 percent of all U.S. workers are making less than what a full-time minimum wage worker made back in 1968.

#48 When Barack Obama took office, the average duration of unemployment in this country was 19.8 weeks.  Today, it is 37.2 weeks.

#49 Investors pulled an astounding 72 billion dollars out of bond mutual funds in 2013.  It was the worst year for bond funds ever.

#50 Small business is rapidly dying in America.  At this point, only about 7 percent of all non-farm workers in the United States are self-employed.  That is an all-time record low.

#51 The six heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have as much wealth as the bottom one-third of all Americans combined.

#52 Once January 1st hits, it will officially be illegal to manufacture or import traditional incandescent light bulbs in the United States.  It is being projected that millions of Americans will attempt to stock up on the old light bulbs before they are totally gone from store shelves.

#53 The Japanese government has estimated that approximately 300 tons of highly radioactive water is being released into the Pacific Ocean from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear facility every single day.

#54 Back in 1967, the U.S. military had more than 31,000 strategic nuclear warheads.  That number is already being cut down to 1,550, and now Barack Obama wants to reduce it to only about 1,000.

#55 As you read this, 60 percent of all children in Detroit are living in poverty and there are approximately 78,000 abandoned homes in the city.

#56 Wal-Mart recently opened up two new stores in Washington D.C., and more than 23,000 people applied for just 600 positions.  That means that only about 2.6 percent of the applicants were ultimately hired.  In comparison, Harvard offers admission to 6.1 percent of their applicants.

#57 At this point, almost half of all public school students in America come from low income homes.

#58 Tragically, there are 1.2 million students that attend public schools in the United States that are homeless.  That number has risen by 72 percent since the start of the last recession.

#59 According to a Gallup poll that was recently released, 20.0 percent of all Americans did not have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed at some point over the past year.  That is just under the all-time record of 20.4 percent that was set back in November 2008.

#60 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from 17 million in the year 2000 to more than 47 million today.

#61 Right now, one out of every five households in the United States is on food stamps.

#62 The U.S. economy loses approximately 9,000 jobs for every 1 billion dollars of goods that are imported from overseas.

#63 Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs.  Today, less than 65 percent of all men in the United States have jobs.

#64 According to one survey, approximately 75 percent of all American women do not have any interest in dating unemployed men.

#65 China exports 4 billion pounds of food to the United States every year.

#66 Overall, the United States has run a trade deficit of more than 8 trillion dollars with the rest of the world since 1975.

#67 The number of Americans on Social Security Disability now exceeds the entire population of Greece, and the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the entire population of Spain.

#68 It is being projected that the number of Americans on Social Security will rise from 57 million today to more than 100 million in 25 years.

#69 Back in 1970, the total amount of debt in the United States (government debt + business debt + consumer debt, etc.) was less than 2 trillion dollars.  Today it is over 56 trillion dollars.

#70 Back on September 30th, 2012 our national debt was sitting at a total of 16.1 trillion dollars.  Today, it is up to 17.2 trillion dollars.

#71 The U.S. government "rolled over" more than 7.5 trillion dollars of existing debt in fiscal 2013.

#72 If the U.S. national debt was reduced to a stack of one dollar bills it would circle the earth at the equator 45 times.

#73 When Barack Obama was first elected, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was under 70 percent.  Today, it is up to 101 percent.

#74 The U.S. national debt is on pace to more than double during the eight years of the Obama administration.  In other words, under Barack Obama the U.S. government will accumulate more debt than it did under all of the other presidents in U.S. history combined.

#75 The federal government is borrowing (stealing) roughly 100 million dollars from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day.

#76 At this point, the U.S. already has more government debt per capita than Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland or Spain.

#77 Japan now has a debt to GDP ratio of more than 211 percent.

#78 As of December 5th, 83 volcanic eruptions had been recorded around the planet so far this year.  That is a new all-time record high.

#79 53 percent of all Americans do not have a 3 day supply of nonperishable food and water in their homes.

#80 Violent crime in the United States was up 15 percent last year.

#81 According to a very surprising survey that was recently conducted, 68 percent of all Americans believe that the country is currently on the wrong track.

#82 Back in 1972, 46 percent of all Americans believed that "most people can be trusted".  Today, only 32 percent of all Americans believe that "most people can be trusted".

#83 According to a recent Pew Research survey, only 19 percent of all Americans trust the government.   Back in 1958, 73 percent of all Americans trusted the government.

Full atricle:  http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/83-numbers-from-2013-that-are-almost-too-crazy-to-believe

Kan't happen in Kansas?  Think again!  Welcome to the 21st century.  This time, the good guys won.  But remember, the good guys need to win 100% of the time, a terrorist only once.  Are you really aware of what's going on these days?

KWCH News WICHITA, Kan. - 12/13/2013
A 58-year-old Wichita man named Terry Lee Loewen has been arrested for attempting to blow up Mid-Continent Airport in a suicide bombing, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Friday morning.

Lowewn, a white male who worked at the airport, was attempting to use a bomb in a vehicle, Grissom said. He is not believed to be involved with any religious affiliation in the Wichita community.

"The threat was real," said Michael Kaste of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. "But I was to assure you, the public was never at any risk at all."

Link:  http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/press-conference-to-address-national-security-arrest/-/21054266/23471068/-/5bqxyr/-/index.html


And then there's this...

Kansas: FBI reports threat to Wichita water supply
Posted on October 21, 2013

WICHITA, Kansas – Wichita has received information from the FBI regarding a threat to the city's water system.

The agency isn't saying how that threat was received or what it entailed.

However, Wichita isn't alone.

Three other Midwest cities water supplies are also facing a threat, and while the FBI is investigating, they're not naming the others.

FBI agents have been in Wichita investigating our water supply facilities.

"We take any threat to public safety seriously, but it's important to know, there has been no portion of the threat substantiated at this time," said Bridget Patton, FBI spokeswoman.

Wichita spokesman Van Williams said security at the city's system is being increased as a result of the threat.

City officials say the water is safe, and the public will be notified immediately if that changes.

Link:  http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/fbi-reports-threat-to-wichita-kansas-water-supply/

Interesting test...

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/what-if-you-had-to-earn-american-citizenship/309398/