Facebook Hoax Claims Children Of Congress Members Don't Pay Back College Loans

 

Myths and untruths are passed around on Facebook every now and then, but it's still a surprise when thousands of people at a time fall for unverified statements posted by random users.

One of the latest cases of a questionable Facebook post going viral is a photo with a with a lengthy caption that claims Congress members' children do not have to pay back their college student loans.

Uploaded on Jan. 2 by a user who goes by the moniker "Actof Courage" (sic), the photo has more than 75,000 Likes and more than 280,000 shares on the social network.

Below the photo, Actof Courage claims that "the staffers of Congress family members are exempt from having to pay back student loans. This will get national attention if other news networks will broadcast it."

The post goes on to propose a 28th Amendment to the Constitution:

Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States

A similar claim was posted -- and debunked -- on Facebook in 2011.

Politifact gave the claim a "Pants on Fire" rating on Jan. 7, 2011, after receiving a chain email about the alleged loan forgiveness. The fact-checking group contacted the U.S. Department of Education, which responded thus: "There are no provisions under Title IV (federal student aid programs) that provide loan forgiveness for Members of Congress or their families or staff (beyond what any other borrower would be eligible for)."

The Annenenbreg Public Policy Center also did a similar analysis of the claim in 2011 and rated it "Not true."

"Some congressional employees are eligible to have up to $60,000 of student loans repaid after several years — just like other federal workers. But that’s not the case for members of Congress or their families," the Center wrote.

Will Facebook users ever tire of sharing posts with friends before independently researching theories or outrageous claims? Not this month.

Facebook Hoax Claims Children Of Congress Members Don't Pay Back College Loans

How Trump could turn the presidency into a ‘litigation circus’

 

Kathleen Meese, an upstate New York schoolteacher, plunked down $25,000 five years ago for “Gold Elite” courses at Trump University — a for-profit educational outfit owned by Donald Trump that promised prospective students it would teach them how to “make a killing” in the real estate market.

But Meese later complained to New York state regulators she was conned. Her Trump University instructor — supposedly an “expert” who was “handpicked” by Trump — turned out to be a failed businessman who had filed for bankruptcy and was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, according to court records.

Her Trump University “mentors,” who she was told would counsel her about real estate deals, were unreachable; their phone numbers disconnected, she asserted. Even a promised photo session with Trump never materialized. What she got instead: a photo of herself with “a cardboard cutout” of Trump, she says.

“Donald Trump received $25,000 of my money,” Meese wrote in a sworn affidavit filed with the New York attorney general’s office, reviewed by Yahoo News. “For $25,000, I have a lifetime membership to nothing!”

Meese is one of more than 150 former Trump University students whose complaints are the basis for a $40 million lawsuit against Trump brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The number of complainants — all potential witnesses against Trump — has more than tripled since Schneiderman first brought the case two years ago, according to state officials. The suit, still active in the New York courts, accuses Trump of pocketing $5 million in profits while running “an unlicensed, illegal educational institution” that “intentionally” misled students and engaged in a “pattern of deceptions” that included false advertisements, “bait and switch tactics” and other “misrepresentations and fraudulent practices.”

The lawsuit filed by Schneiderman, a Democrat, is on top of two other class action claims that have been filed against Trump by former students in federal court in California — one of which accuses the billionaire real estate mogul of a “pattern of racketeering activities.”They are being vigorously contested by Trump and his army of lawyers, but threaten a continuous toll on his crowded schedule. Just last week, sources confirmed to Yahoo News, Trump was due to be deposed in one of the California cases, but the scheduled grilling was put off until the fall to give the plaintiffs’ lawyers more time to seek evidence.

“Mr. Trump has no concerns about testifying in this case, whether it is today, tomorrow or next year,” said Jeffrey Goldman, one of Trump’s lawyers, who is defending him in the case. “None of it is true. No one was defrauded,” adds Alan Garten — Trump Organization’s general counsel, who heads up the real estate mogul’s vast legal team — about the allegations in the lawsuits against Trump University. (After receiving warnings from the New York Education Department that it was not a licensed educational institution, the school was later renamed “the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative” and is no longer conducting any business.)

“The people that take these classes go into it with their eyes open,” said Garten. “A lot of people did very well with [Trump University.] A lot of people enjoyed it. But like everything else, if people don’t put the effort into it” they don’t succeed.

Read more:   How Trump could turn the presidency into a ‘litigation circus’

Fiat Chrysler CEO again pushes merger with GM

 

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is taking another swing at trying to promote the idea of a merger with General Motors.

Marchoinne, in a story published Sunday evening by Automotive News, asserts that a merger between the two automakers could generate up to $30 billion annually in earnings before taxes.

The idea isn't new, but Marchionne's estimates of potential profits and his forceful tone are. The outspoken CEO sent GM CEO Mary Barra an email earlier this year outlining his idea for a merger of the two automakers and the reasons it makes sense. Since then, Barra has said both publicly and privately the Detroit automaker has no interest in exploring the idea.

"We already have scale and we are leveraging that scale," Barra said in June. "When you look at the last several years we have been merging with ourselves."

By mid-summer, it appeared that Marchionne was backing away from the idea -- at least in the near future. But he took a more aggressive tone in an interview published by Automotive News..

"Look, the combined entity can make $30 billion a year in cash. Thirty. Just think about that [expletive] number," Marchionne told the publication. "In steady-state environments, it'll make me $28 to $30 billion," at a seasonally adjusted annual selling rate of 17 million new cars and trucks in the U.S.

Marchionne stopped short of saying he is pursuing a hostile deal with GM but said the automaker's board and executives cannot avoid a discussion of the potential cost savings.

"Not hostile," he told the publication. "There are varying degrees of hugs. I can hug you nicely, I can hug you tightly, I can hug you like a bear, I can really hug you. Everything starts with physical contact. Then it can degrade, but it starts with physical contact."

GM said it has already reviewed Marchionne's proposal.

"Our management and board are always working to maximize shareholder value. After we completed a thorough review of a possible merger with FCA, we concluded that executing our current plan is the best way to create value for GM stockholders," GM said in an emailed statement Sunday.

Fiat Chrysler CEO again pushes merger with GM

Campaign Filings for Tricia Smith

All debts are owed to the candidate, Tricia Smith.

Tricia Smith was a large 2006 contributor to Jim Hursh:

 

Above is from:  http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/D2Quarterly.aspx?id=579715

Campaign Filings for Michelle Courier

 

All the debts are owed to Chris and Michelle Courier. 8238 Shaw Road, Belvidere, Il

Above is from:  http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/CommitteeDetail.aspx?id=20252

Here’s Why The Bernie Sanders Iowa Surge Should Terrify The Koch Brothers

 

The Koch brothers should be terrified by the Bernie Sanders surge in Iowa because it demonstrates that the movement is growing to take the country back from the billionaire class.

According to the latest Des Moines Register poll, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is surging in Iowa and attracting new voters.

In a statement, Sanders Campaign Manager Michael Briggs pointed out why the billionaires should be worried:

What this new poll shows is that the more Iowans get to know Bernie the better they like him and what he stands for. We’ve seen the same thing in New Hampshire and across the country.

At a time when the middle class continues to disappear and almost all new wealth and income is going to the top 1 percent, the American people want leadership that is prepared to fight for working families and take on the greed of a billionaire class that has enormous control over our economy, our political life and the media.

The poll does show that the Sanders message is resonating and attracting new voters to the caucus. Bernie Sanders is bringing a fire and energy to the campaign that no other candidate in either party has been able to match.

Donald Trump sucks up media attention, but his speeches are rambling exercises in ego that are full of feelings but contain no policy. A typical Trump statement is that illegal immigrants have got to go, but he never explains how he will accomplish this goal.

In contrast, the speeches of Bernie Sanders are loaded with policy ideas. Sanders goes beyond discussing problems. Sen. Sanders offers solutions. The polls are revealing that the Sanders solutions are gaining in popularity with Democratic voters.

Bernie Sanders is drawing record crowds because he is calling out the billionaires. The Senator from Vermont doesn’t just mention them in passing. He discusses the methods that they are using to buy the government, and how he intends to stop them.

Sen. Sanders is tapping into the feelings that the system is rigged towards the rich. Bernie Sanders is more than a protest vote. The Sanders campaign is a movement.

The Koch brothers and the billionaires can no longer afford to laugh off Bernie Sanders. They should be terrified because Sen. Sanders is storming the Heartland of this country with a message that is calling for their defeat.

Millions of people are rallying behind Sanders. His campaign isn’t some isolated blue state uprising. Sanders is going to red states. He is attracting new supporters in places like Iowa where the Kochs have had recent success.

The Koch brothers have the cash, but Bernie Sanders is building an army of voters. Where ever Sanders speaks, he attracts more supporters. It is a populist revolution. The masses are angry, and they are coming after Charles and David Koch.

Here’s Why The Bernie Sanders Iowa Surge Should Terrify The Koch Brothers

Emails Show Koch Industries Backed Effort to Undermine Renewable Energy in Kansas

 

Emails and financial documents released by the University of Kansas on Thursday reveal earmarked funding from Koch Industries to develop research used to lobby against the state renewable energy standard.

On November 12, 2013, Art Hall, the director of the university’s Center for Applied Economics, emailed Koch Industries’ Laura Hands to discuss a grant from a Koch-controlled foundation to fund research on the Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Hall is the former chief economist for Koch Companies Public Sector, the lobbying subsidiary of Koch Industries, the largest privately owned company in America with a significant stake in oil refining, pipelines, gas production and coal. Hands is the current community affairs director at Koch Companies Public Sector.

The Koch money was part of an ongoing project Hall described as an effort to develop “intellectual products” to be used “as a tool in economic policy debates.” Hall’s center also provides special classes to teach about the virtues of capitalism. Koch-controlled foundations approved $40,000 for work that included the renewable energy standard, as well as at least $250,000 to the center in 2008 and $100,000 to the center in 2009.

Following his grant request, Hall testified before the Kansas legislature in 2014 in favor of repealing the state renewable energy portfolio, which calls for major utility companies to use an increasing ratio of renewable energy such as wind and solar.

The emails and financial documents were released in response to a Kansas Open Records Act request filed by KU student Schuyler Kraus, the president of Students for a Sustainable Future.

Hall also helped craft unprecedented tax cuts signed into law by Gov. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and backed by Koch’s local political network. The tax cuts have been viewed roundly as a historic flop, resulting in a downgrade of the state bond rating and drastic education cuts that forced public schools to close early this year. Critics argue that the tax cut and ensuing budget chaos may have hurt employment as bordering states such as Missouri are quickly outpacing Kansas on job growth.

President Barack Obama recently criticized Koch Industries owners Charles and David Koch, scolding the billionaires for “pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards.” In response, Charles Koch said he is opposed to “crony capitalism” in all forms.

Though the Koch Industries chief executive has said that he opposes corporate subsidies or mandates of any kind, the Koch political network has carefully singled out renewable energy while working to preserve government support for fossil fuels. Groups founded and funded by the Koch political network regard repealing oil and gas subsidies as a “tax hike” while deriding renewable energy subsidies as “a textbook case of corporate welfare.” Moreover, Koch’s lobbying campaign to distort climate science and prevent government action on greenhouse gas emissions transfers costs from the company, a major polluter, to the public.

Contact the author:

Lee Fang

Emails Show Koch Industries Backed Effort to Undermine Renewable Energy in Kansas

Scott Walker wants to build a wall — with Canada - MarketWatch

 

Now Canada is a problem for the U.S. too?

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, one of the 17 Republican candidates running for president, says building a wall along the U.S. border with Canada is a “legitimate issue to look at.”

Speaking in an interview aired Sunday with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Walker said he’s been asked about it by some New Hampshire voters.

“Some people have asked us about that in New Hampshire,” he said. “They raised some very legitimate concerns, including some law enforcement folks that brought that up to me at one of our town hall meetings about a week and a half ago. So that is a legitimate issue for us to look at.”

In the interview, he spoke broadly about securing the border against dangers. Catch his remarks on the issue around the 10:30 mark.

In tweets later Sunday, he called a secure border “a legitimate concern for the safety of our nation,” although he didn’t mention Canada. He added:

Until now, Republicans have focused their calls for a wall on the U.S.’s southern border — with Mexico. Illegal immigration from Mexico has been a particular focus of frontrunner Donald Trump, who has broadly characterized Mexican immigrants as criminals. Trump wants Mexico to pay for the construction of that wall.

The length of the U.S.-Canada border, excluding Alaska, is about 3,987 miles across 12 states, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Another 1,538 miles run along the border with Alaska.

The U.S. border with Mexico is estimated at 1,933 miles across four states, the U.S. Geological survey says.

Meanwhile, Chris Christie, another Republican candidate, wants to use FedEx Corp. FDX, -0.35%   package-tracking technology to keep tabs on those who overstay their U.S. visas, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Scott Walker wants to build a wall — with Canada - MarketWatch

General Assembly health benefits cost taxpayers $1.2 million; Rauner “ticked off,” Franks: State should pay Lottery penalty; and more from INN Radio – Illinois News Network

 

Legislators’ health benefits cost taxpayers $1.2 million
Nearly one-fifth of the Illinois General Assembly are refusing to accept health insurance benefits from the state as Illinois taxpayers spent $1.23 million last year to provide the perk. Republican Representative David McSweeney, who joins 33 other lawmakers in refusing to accept the offered health insurance benefits, says there’s no reason for the benefits at a time when the state is hurting financially. McSweeney says the perk should at least be scaled back, if not eliminated. The perk is so generous it is considered a “Cadillac plan” under the Affordable Care Act and in 2018 the state could begin paying an excise tax to the federal government for the benefits. Longtime Democratic Representative Mary Flowers, who makes over $78,000 a year and receives the health insurance benefit, says she couldn’t afford to buy insurance on her own. An Illinois News Network analysis of legislator insurance benefits found that the 143 lawmakers who get the benefit contributed a combined $251,000 toward their premiums while taxpayers paid the rest to the tune of over $1.2 million.

Rauner “ticked off” no budget in place
The frustration levels for Illinois’ Republican Governor are up with the absence of a state budget. Joining a live WMAY Springfield broadcast to raise money for the American Red Cross serving South Central Illinois Thursday Governor Bruce Rauner addressed his irritation that lawmakers still do not have a balanced spending plan.

“I am so ticked off we don’t have a budget I can’t tell ya. But we need reforms, we can’t just raise taxes on everybody, we need structural reforms so we can grow. But we’re working hard.”

It’s now Day 60 of the new fiscal year with no budget in place. The Governor says he’s continuing to meet with lawmakers to find a budget solution but said there must be structural reforms instead of only tax increases. Meanwhile the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget says the look forward to continued advice from their outgoing budget advisor. Donna Arduin was on contract to work on the budget and GOMB says she helped engineer the elimination of an inherited $1.5 billion budget deficit from the previous fiscal year without a tax increase.

Franks: State should pay penalty to waiting big lotto winners
Big winners of the Illinois Lottery are out of luck until a full state budget is in place and one state lawmaker says that means the state should pay winners a penalty in what’s become the latest fallout of the state not having a fully balanced budget. A statement from the Illinois Lottery says that winners of prizes $600 or less can claim their cash at lottery retailers. If a winner’s take is under $25,000, the prize can be claimed at one of Lottery’s prize centers located in Chicago, Des Plaines, Rockford, Fairview Heights or Springfield. Anything over $25,000 is on hold. A spokesperson for Illinois Lottery says all winners will get paid in full once the Illinois Comptroller has the legislative authority to do so. Democratic Representative Jack Franks says selling tickets and not paying is tantamount to a fraud and that the state should have to pay the waiting winners penalties for the late payments.

“If you owe the state some money we’re not going to say ‘wait, we’re going to hold off until you get your budget taken care of at home and then just give us a call and then you can pay us.’ Because that’s not how it works in the real world. And the Lottery ought to be paying penalties to these folks who are owed money.”

Franks puts the blame on the Governor saying he didn’t have to veto the appropriation for the Lottery. The Comptroller’s office says they are not allowed by law to pay anything during the budget impasses without a continuing appropriation, court order or consent decree. The Comptroller’s office also says they do not have any vouchers from the lottery currently in their system.

IDES to distribute $16 million credit among nearly 13,000 businesses
The State of Illinois plans to credit nearly 13,000 businesses a total of $16 million because of difficult wage reporting rules. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says rules implemented in 2013 as part of a Medicaid reform law required employers with 25 or more employees to file wage reports electronically but many Illinois employers had problems with the transition and incurred penalties and interest charges for late reports. New rules adopted in 2014 removed the penalties and retroactively waved up to the first two quarters of the penalties for late monthly reports. The state says they have already credited $1.5 million to around 4,000 employers with the remaining $14.5 million in credits expected by the end of the 4th quarter. IDES Director Jeff Mays says the Department will continue to explore ways to enhance wage reporting systems to prevent unemployment insurance benefit fraud.

Ives pleads for building to be named after U.S. Army Staff Sgt., not Brueder
A state representative is pleading with a public community college to not name any buildings after a disgraced former college president. In an open letter to the College of DuPage Republican Representative Jeanne Ives says the college should ensure that no building at the school bears the name of Robert Breuder. Most importantly, Ives says the colleges’ Homeland Security Education Center should not be named after the former president. Ives’ letter requests the building be named after U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert James Miller who was killed in Afghanistan back in 2008. Brueder was dismissed from the College of DuPage after questions surrounding various perks and a three-quarters of a million dollars severance package agreed to behind closed doors.

Rauner encourages business to prepare for emergency
Illinois’ Governor is putting the call out to businesses around the state to prepare for emergencies. Beginning this week the Illinois National Guard and other first responders are conducting drills simulating a 7.7 magnitude earthquake called the Prairie Assurance Exercise. During a fundraiser for the American Red Cross serving South Central Illinois on WMAY Springfield Governor Bruce Rauner highlighted the importance for businesses to be ready for disasters.

“Business folks, some of them understand how important this is, others are so busy with their head down that they don’t look. We need everybody to stay conscious of the fact we’ve got a lot of challenges and the potential disasters that could hit us, we need to think about it and talk about and communicate with the National Guard to be ready for it.”

The Governor also says that every summer he’ll be working with the Illinois National Guard on every issue that could come about like storms, floods and even dirty bombs.

“We’ve got to be worried. There are a lot of bad people out there trying to hurt American citizens and we’ve got to be ready for the eventuality”

Meanwhile the Governor applauded the work the Red Cross does in helping families in times of need like fires and other disasters. The Rauner Family Foundation has been a major contributor to the American Red Cross for years.

The Illinois News Network is an independent project of the Illinois Policy Institute.

GA health benefits cost taxpayers $1.2 million; Rauner “ticked off,” Franks: State should pay Lottery penalty; and more from INN Radio – Illinois News Network

Illinois Governor Signs Bill Making School Discipline Policies More Effective, Less Exclusionary : News : ISchoolGuide

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has approved a new law changing the state’s school discipline policies. The new state law removes zero tolerance explusions and suspensions, and requires schools to exhaust all other means of intervention before suspending or expelling students.

>>

(Photo : Scott Olson| Getty Images News) Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate Bruce Rauner

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner (R) signed on Monday a new law that reforms the state's school discipline policies, making it more effective and less exclusionary. The new state law, which takes effect in September of 2016, suspended students who have returned would be allowed to catch up on school work. Students suspended for more than four days would be offered support services, such as mental health consultation and academic counseling.

The Senate Bill 100, sponsored by state Representative Will Davis and Senator Kimberly Lightford, removes the "zero tolerance" expulsions and suspensions. It also requires schools to use all other means of intervention before they suspend or expel students. In addition, the bill bans fees and fines for misbehavior, and mandates schools to inform parents about the disciplinary measures being used, Christina Wilkie of The Huffington Post wrote.

"The students who are being tossed out of the school environment are the very students who should be kept within school boundaries at all costs," Lightford said in April. "We need to keep young people in school learning how to succeed and off of the street corner learning how to fail."

The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights reported that the state has among the widest disparities across the country between suspended white students and black students. The Huffington Post said Chicago Public Schools suspended 32 of every 100 black students during school year 2012-13, compared to the five of every 100 white students.

Beginning next school year, Illinois schools would have to come up with ways to implement the new state law, which applies to all public schools and charter schools.

"For too long, harsh school discipline practices have contributed to the under-education and over-criminalization of young people, and especially youth of color," said Dalia Mena, member of Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, the organization that supported the bill. "Illinois now provides more tools for schools to create environments where all students are valued and supported in their learning."

Illinois Governor Signs Bill Making School Discipline Policies More Effective, Less Exclusionary : News : ISchoolGuide

Controversial NLRB Ruling Could End Contract Employment As We Know It - Forbes

 

The National Labor Relations Board, as expected, determined that Browning-Ferris Industries is a “joint employer” obligated to negotiate with the Teamsters union over  workers supplied by a contract staffing firm within one of its recycling plants.

In so doing, the board’s Democratic majority reversed several decades of practice where companies had to exercise “direct and immediate” control over workers with a new regime in which regulators will examine each case for signs a company has the potential to affect pay and working conditions. It will have a large impact on how franchisers like McDonald MCD +0.00% do business, since they can potentially be held liable for hiring and firing decisions by any of their thousands of individual franchisees. Even routine business decisions, like whether to fire a contractor or how to structure operations, will now be examined in light of how they affect union organizing efforts.

“If this goes into effect then the franchiser has to step in and have a standard for hiring, human resources, payroll, everything,” said Jania Bailey, a board member of the International Franchise Association and chief executive of FranNet, a consulting firm that matches franchisees and franchisors. “It basically nullifies this independent business model.”

The decision by the board’s three Democratic appointees was fiercely disputed by the Republican minority, who said it reverses several prior decisions that established a clear standard for whether a company is an employer, all of which had been approved by powerful federal courts of appeal.

Under the board’s new standard — which the majority, to be clear, maintains is the old standard, revived — the test is whether a company has the potential to exercise control over a worker’s wages and working conditions, regardless of whether that control is used. That potential can be based on the economic power in the relationship, which unions argue can limit the ability of a contractor to raise wages, as well as modern technology allowing franchisers to monitor the productivity and output of employees at franchisees.

The majority board members, led by Chairman Mark Gaston Pierce, a former union lawyer, said they they were merely returning to the standard established under a 1982 decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, also involving Browning-Ferris, which the board subsequently tightened “without explanation.” The additional requirements overturned today “significantly and unjustifiably narrow the circumstances where a joint-employment relationship can be found” and leave the board “increasingly out of step with changing economic circumstances,” the majority said. Key among the requirements was that a joint employer exercise “direct and immediate” control over workers.

Controversial NLRB Ruling Could End Contract Employment As We Know It - Forbes

Illinois fires head football coach Tim Beckman

August 28, 2015

Illinois fires head football coach Tim Beckman

The University of Illinois has fired head football coach Tim Beckman, one week before the start of the 2015 football season.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Illinois Lottery to winners: We'll pay you when the state has a budget

Lottery officials say that because lawmakers have yet to pass a budget, the comptroller's office does not have legal authority to release lottery winnings of more than $25,000 and winners are getting sent an IOU instead.

Suburban Democrats key in Rauner vs. unions battle - DailyHerald.com

 

Mike Riopell

Lawmakers have set up a potential showdown with Gov. Bruce Rauner over a proposal he's called a "direct frontal assault on the taxpayers of Illinois."

Suburban Democrats could be key to who wins.

If they don't all vote with the Democratic majority to override Rauner's veto of a plan that would outlaw a strike by the state's largest employee union for the next four years, the new Republican governor could have a hope for victory.

Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks of Marengo says he's still trying to decide which way he'll go. And he says he's not the only undecided person.

"I'm still weighing my options on it," Franks said. "I'm looking at the whole thing."

The whole thing is legislation that would outlaw a strike or lockout by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union for the next four years and eventually send stalled talks to an arbitrator. Rauner and the union are deadlocked, having missed their deadline to come up with a new contract by a couple months now.

Both sides see the legislation as critically important and have fought hard for it.

The count

To override Rauner's veto, House Democrats would need each of the 71 members to both show up in Springfield next week and vote against Rauner, unless one or two union-friendly Republican lawmakers decide to break with the governor. That's why Franks and any other undecideds are so important to both sides.

Most other suburban Democrats voted for the plan its first time through, but Franks didn't vote either way. Still, he says, he's not the only Democrat out there who is open to convincing by either side.

Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan has told reporters there's enough support to override Rauner, and when asked if he'd call an override vote said: "Why wouldn't I?"

A vote could come as early as Wednesday.

No hints

Franks won't hint at which way he's leaning, giving some credence to both sides. For one, he agrees with Rauner that AFSCME has too much political power.

On the other hand, he says he doesn't believe an override would cost the state as much money as Rauner claims it will.

This issue is somewhat separate from the ongoing dispute between Republicans and Democrats on a state budget that is almost two months overdue but has been largely implemented anyway by court orders.

Stay tuned.

Suburban Democrats key in Rauner vs. unions battle - DailyHerald.com

New Report Highlights Koch Brothers' Role In Hurricane Katrina Damage

 

Groups backed by the conservative billionaires helped to worsen the impact of the storm and hinder the recovery process.

Marina FangAssociate Politics Editor, The Huffington Post

Posted: 08/27/2015 06:19 PM EDT | Edited: 08/27/2015 06:26 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- A new report from the Democratic opposition research group American Bridge's Bridge Project describes the way Charles and David Koch, the influential conservative billionaires, put their vast resources into actions that exacerbated the impact of Hurricane Katrina and stalled the Gulf Coast’s recovery.

The report, released Thursday, highlights the Koch brothers' influence on the region before and after the storm, including constructing and operating pipelines that destroyed wetlands south of New Orleans and attempting to obstruct legislation that would have aided the recovery.

The report describes a federal class-action lawsuit claiming that Koch Pipeline Company and other major oil companies were “partly responsible for the destruction of 1 million acres of marshlands and also for millions more acres of dying marshland.” The destruction of the marshlands eliminated New Orleans' "natural protection against hurricane winds and storm surges,” according to the lawsuit. The case was later dismissed because a judge deemed it “ambitious.”

Mario Tama via Getty Images

The Bridge Project also details an unsuccessful Koch-backed legislative effort to oppose a bill that was intended to promote recovery by limiting premiums for flood insurance. The Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act sought to place a limit on rate increases for people at higher risk of being affected by hurricanes and other damaging storms.

The Koch-funded conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity and other conservative organizations signed a letter in February 2014 urging GOP lawmakers to oppose government intervention in the flood insurance market by voting against the bill. (The legislation had the support of then-Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), whom AFP supported in his successful 2014 Senate campaign.)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

As the Bridge Project report points out, AFP defended itself by touting its support for an amendment to the bill that would have slowed down the insurance rate increases. However, the conservative groups sent the letter opposing the bill a month after the amendment had been shelved.

Though some of the findings in the report have been documented previously, it highlights the Kochs' extensive political and economic influence. The findings add to the long list of instances of the brothers' network of conservative groups attempting to obstruct environmental legislation. Koch-backed groups have advocated against state-level proposals that incentivize companies to invest in renewable energy. On the business side, their companies have shut down oil refineries and factories in several states, which many critics have alleged were efforts to avoid incurring environmental cleanup costs.

New Report Highlights Koch Brothers' Role In Hurricane Katrina Damage

Science Crusader, Penn Stater John Mashey Leads Seminar On Campus - Onward State

 

By Ben Berkman on August 28, 2015 at 6:05 am News

Distinguished computer scientist, entrepreneur, climate crusader, and Penn Stater John Mashey delivered a special seminar through the Earth Systems Science Center Thursday at the Walker Building. There, he articulately and engagingly connected invisible dots between think tanks, climate change deniers, tobacco companies, the media, and even universities.

Mashey, whose seminar was titled “The Machinery of Climate Anti-Science: Science Bypass and Confusion Tactics Inherited from Big Tobacco,” attended Penn State from 1964-1973 and graduated with a BS in math, and an MS and PhD in Computer Science. Born and raised on a small farm in Western Pennsylvania, Mashey’s career quickly took off. He spent a decade at Bell Labs in New Jersey, developing computer software programming that bore his name. He soon moved to Silicon Valley, working on supercomputers. Through that work, he termed the now popular and widely implied concept of “big data.”

A heart attack quickly slowed Mashey’s career — “my doctors told me to get out of the fast lane, or you’ll stop driving,” he said — and soon developed a second career, one as an investigative blogger that studies climate science and highlights “anti-science” and energy issues, the basis for Thursday’s seminar.

Mashey began his presentation by defining the difference between anti-scientists and pseudo-scientists, both of whom he’s worked diligently to discredit in his career.

If science is a brick wall, anti-scientists, he said, “are folks who think if they can find one flaw in science anywhere, the whole thing falls down.” Pseudo-scientists, meanwhile, draw conclusions based on invalid scientific principals. It’s these approaches that Mashey defined as science bypass: an attempt to throw out all accepted research, while always calling for more research to be conducted. This ploy allows anti- and pseudo-scientists to reject any current scientific findings, be it for climate change, the harms of tobacco (Mashey’s two specialties), or anything else.

“Who can argue with more research,” he hypothetically posited.

Mashey, who now enjoys semi-retirement writing for science-positive websites including the climate change-oriented DeSmogBlog and Skeptical Inquirer, demonstrated how the Koch brothers and tobacco, backed by pseudo-scientific think tanks, essentially fueled the creation of the Tea Party. The significant financial contributions from the incredibly wealthy Koch brothers created misinformation that, Mashey said, “convinces people to support agendas against their own best interest.”

But this flow of misinformation and mysterious funding doesn’t stop at political lobbyists and large corporations, he said, but instead is also found at universities. A center at George Mason University is entangled with the Heartland Institute, a think tank that is in turn supported by the Koch Brothers.

Perhaps his most famous example that demonstrated his unique skill in combining science and journalism was his scathing 250-page critique of the Wegman Report, which worked to validate criticism of new evidence towards climate change. This more or less rebuttal to a rebuttal was featured in USA Today and marked a low moment for the pseudo-scientists that Mashey discredits.

“They don’t like me very much,” he said with a spry chuckle.

Science Crusader, Penn Stater John Mashey Leads Seminar On Campus - Onward State

Obama to seek unity with pope on issues in White House visit - Yahoo News

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweeping into office in 2009, President Barack Obama captured near rock-star status around the world among millions who saw him as the embodiment of a new sense of social purpose. Now, that baton has largely been passed to Pope Francis, whose visit to the White House next month will put his common cause with Obama on vivid display.

Obama has made no secret of his affection for the outspoken pope, calling him a "transformative leader" whose influence has transcended the Roman Catholic community. The pope has embraced many of the issues Obama has sought to advance, including global warming, poverty and diplomacy with Iran and Cuba.

Vice President Joe Biden, a Catholic, said the pope's Sept. 23 visit will mark an important moment not only for Catholics but for all Americans.

"Pope Francis has breathed new life into what I believe is the central mission of our faith: Catholic social doctrine," Biden said in a statement to The Associated Press. Invoking key elements of Obama's agenda, Biden added that Francis "has become a moral rudder for the world on some of the most important issues of our time, from inequality to climate change."

The pope's brief visit to the White House is part of his highly anticipated trip to the U.S. and Cuba. It's a reunion of sorts for Obama and Francis, who first met when the president visited the Vatican last year.

Despite deep differences on some social issues such as abortion, Obama and the pope are expected to focus on areas of agreement. The White House said economic opportunity, immigration and refugees, and protection of religious minorities were high on the agenda.

"It's going to be a come-to-Jesus moment - no pun intended - for the many politicians who want to claim the mantle of Pope Francis," said Michael Wear, a former White House official who led faith outreach for Obama's 2012 campaign.

For Obama, the visit offers a chance to imbue his remaining goals with a sense of moral authority as he approaches the end of his presidency.

Viewed as largely above politics, Francis is extremely popular in the U.S. Tickets to his speech to Congress are such a hot commodity that an overflow crowd of thousands is expected to watch on Jumbotrons from the National Mall.

"In a way, Pope Francis has become a conscience for this age of the world. When President Obama came to office, he too had that aura for at least the first couple of years," said Stephen Schneck, who runs the Catholic politics institute at Catholic University of America. "But Pope Francis' message is moral and religious. He's not going to be talking about legislation."

The White House has praised Francis for involving himself in issues usually left to politicians. In a rare move, Francis personally intervened to help the U.S. and Cuba restore relations, writing leaders of both countries and hosting their delegations at the Vatican for final talks. And on climate change, a cornerstone of Obama's desired legacy, Francis added the weight of the pulpit by publishing a landmark encyclical calling climate change real and man-made.

Yet there are risks for Obama if he glosses over other, stark differences in views.

When he visited Francis early last year, Obama contradicted the official Vatican account of their meeting by saying they hadn't discussed social issues in any detail. Papal aides insisted the two leaders indeed discussed religious freedom, life and conscientious objection - buzzwords for abortion, birth control and parts of Obama's health care law.

"That's the delicate dance," said Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University. "The idea is to point out common areas of concern, rather than say, 'We are total allies.'"

Gay rights presents another area of likely disagreement. The pope's U.S. visit is focused on family issues, and while Francis has emphasized compassion and tolerance for gays and lesbians, he's also affirmed the church's opposition to same-sex marriages - putting him at odds with Obama.

The president's relationship with the Catholic Church has a mixed history. He won the Catholic vote in his presidential campaigns, according to exit polls - a feat even then-Sen. John Kerry, a Catholic, couldn't pull off. And when Obama signed his landmark health law in 2010, he gave the nearly two-dozen pens used to advisers and supportive lawmakers - but set aside one for Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, who played a key role in building support for the bill.

But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed the legislation over provisions on coverage for abortions and birth control. Hundreds of Catholic groups and employers sued the Obama administration over the law, claiming it infringes on religious freedom.

___

Obama to seek unity with pope on issues in White House visit - Yahoo News

McHenry County Board is told how to consolidate townships

Cal Skinner has recently blogged the legal opinion which McHenry County Board received from their States Attorney on the matter. 

If anyone is interesting in the process of changing/abolishing townships GO TO: http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/08/26/states-attorneys-opinion-on-township-consolidation/  Shown below is the page previously referenced.

War of words: Obama v. Koch brothers

 

WASHINGTON — The White House says it's not backing down from President Obama's pointed criticism of the Koch brothers, saying the billionaire industrialists were "squealing" after Obama accused them of hypocrisy for benefiting from oil subsidies while opposing green energy.

Charles Koch told The Politico Tuesday he was "flabbergasted” and "dumbfounded" Obama's speech Monday singling out the Koch Industries owners for opposing solar power. “It’s beneath the president, the dignity of the president, to be doing that,” he said.

But the White House — which had already admitted that the president's use of the word "crazies" that same night was "a little flip"  — wasn't backing down. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday that the Koch response was both "remarkably rich" and "utterly predictable."

"The fact is that Koch Industries has spent at least tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, lobbying Congress -- these are publicly available disclosures -- in support of those kinds of policies, to say nothing of the millions of dollars that they have spent punishing those candidates that didn't side with them," Earnest said.

Koch officials do not deny that the company benefits from federal subsidies and said it doesn't oppose green energy in theory.

"If the question is, ‘Has Koch accepted subsidies?’ the answer is ‘Yes,’ and we’ve been clear about that," said Koch vice president Philip Ellender in a written statement to USA TODAY. He said Koch participates in existing programs so as "not put ourselves at a competitive disadvantage."

"The fact is — and the White House should know this — we have fought against government boondoggles for decades because corporate welfare wastes resources, stifles innovation and has pushed our country to the brink of bankruptcy," Ellender said.

In an interview with USA TODAY in April, Koch said he and brother David does not spend millions on political causes in order to advance Koch Industries' business interests. "We oppose as many or more things that would benefit us than would hurt us," he said.

USA TODAY

Charles Koch: We're not in politics to boost our bottom line

But the Kochs' business success has allowed them to fund a broad range of political causes, founding the libertarian Cato Institute and the conservative Americans for Prosperity.

That's made them a frequent target of Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Charles Koch told the Politico that he suspects Obama's Las Vegas speech attacking him was "kind of a farewell gesture to help Harry Reid,” who's retiring next year. Reid hosted the Clean Energy Summit and introduced Obama at the event.

"When you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by fossil fuel interests, or conservative think tanks, or the Koch brothers pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards or prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding, that's a problem," Obama said at the summit. "That's not the American way."

USA TODAY

Obama hits Koch Brothers for opposing solar power

Until that speech, President Obama had only mentioned the Koch brothers a handful of times in his public speeches — always as a punchline.

"Speaking of conservative heroes, the Koch brothers bought a table here tonight," he told the White House Correspondent's Dinner last year, "But as usual, they used a shadowy right-wing organization as a front. Hello, Fox News."

And at the 2015 dinner, he noted that the presidential campaign was already starting, "and I for one cannot wait to see who the Koch brothers pick."

Earnest said the exchange illustrates the kind of president Obama set out to be.

"This is exactly why the president ran for office, it's why he ran for this office, is that for too long, we saw the oil and gas industry exert significant pressure on politicians in Washington, D.C.," he said. And when Obama fights that influence, "the special interests, including the millionaires and billionaires that have benefited from that paralysis, start to squeal. And I guess in this case, at least one billionaire special interest benefactor chose to squeal to a Politico reporter."

Earnest said the spat would not distract from the one area where the White House and the Koch brothers are making common cause: criminal justice reform. "It certainly is not going to impact the desire of the president or this administration to work with anybody who is interested in bringing greater justice to our criminal-justice system," he said.

War of words: Obama v. Koch brothers

Rauner budget guru set to depart

 

KURT ERICKSON JG-TC Springfield Bureau JG-TC.com

18 hours ago  •  KURT ERICKSON JG-TC Springfield Bureau

(

SPRINGFIELD -- She came to Illinois touted as a "superstar," ready to provide a roadmap to fix the state's budget mess using her high-profile experience working for other Republican governors.

On Friday, however, Donna Arduin's contract as Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget guru expires while the state budget remains unfinished and mired in a divisive political fight.

Despite the lack of a spending plan two months into the state's fiscal year, Rauner's office is praising the controversial adviser as she heads back home to her job as a GOP consultant-for-hire.

"In a state with a horrific economic and fiscal record over the last dozen years, Donna Arduin is playing a major role in attempting to change the mindset in Illinois from one of 'kicking the can down the road' to solving the state’s economic and fiscal problems for the long term," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly noted in a statement.

Although Illinois is budgetless, court orders and various measures approved by the Legislature and the governor have put the state on course to spend as much as $5 billion more than what is expected in revenue this fiscal year.

Arduin's slice of that pie amounts to an estimated $165,000 for nearly eight months of work.

Rauner's hiring of Arduin came as the governor took over a state that had been run solely by Democrats for 12 years. Before heading to Illinois, she helped GOP governors in New York, California, Florida and Michigan.

The amount of her initial contract -- $30,000 per month -- rankled some Democratic lawmakers, who held hearings designed to shine a spotlight on the governor's practice of paying out high salaries to his top aides while he argued that rank-and-file state workers were getting big salaries and excessive benefits.

Rauner defended Arduin’s salary, saying she was “the smartest state government budget person in America.”

Arduin also stirred controversy as one of a cadre of Rauner appointees who weren't actually being paid out of the governor's office budget.

Arduin's contract -- later reduced to $15,000 per month -- was with the Illinois Department of Revenue, leading to catcalls from Democrats that Rauner was "off-shoring" his hires.

But, in her statement, Kelly said Arduin worked across the administration to help get the first Republican governor's staff in 12 years on track.

"Given her background as an economist, she has also worked closely with the Department of Revenue and its economists on revenue policy and evaluating the state’s revenue performance. She has also worked with agencies to help them navigate the current budget impasse, and troubleshoot any concerns, so they can best serve the people of Illinois," Kelly noted.

Kelly said Arduin had a direct hand in crafting the governor's budget proposal, which Democrats ignored and said was $2.2 billion out of balance because it relied on savings from an unconstitutional change in pension law.

State Rep. Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat who chairs a House appropriations committee, said he met with Arduin once and found the two agreed on little.

"If you look at what she did in other states, she recommended Draconian cuts, balancing the budget by cutting higher education and social services. It's not a surprise that she tried to do that here. It's been pretty consistent," Harris said.

Arduin also helped train budget office employees and helped draft budget reforms, which also have been heavily criticized by Democrats because they will reduce state aid to the elderly, poor and disabled.

"In all, she has brought a lifetime of invaluable budgeting experience to Illinois to help grow the economy and make us the most competitive state in the country," Kelly said.

Rauner budget guru set to depart

Chicago Board of Education to vote on budget | CLTV

 

CHICAGO — The Chicago Board of Education is expected to approve on Wednesday a nearly $6 billion budget that counts on $500 million in unguaranteed state funding.

The school board’s vice president issued a strong warning to Governor Rauner and lawmakers, saying that money is a ‘must’ and not an option.

The governor says the state will not bail out CPS, and the school board should consider bankruptcy.

About 100 teachers and parents protested against the budget outside CPS.

The budget doesn’t address the district’s one billion dollar debt, pension crisis, or junk bond status.

It also includes $200 million in cuts, 1,500 layoffs and a property tax hike of around $19 million.

“They’re playing roulette right now with the schools,” said Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey.

Chicago Board of Education to vote on budget | CLTV

Capitol Fax.com - Proposed DHS rule changes slammed as horribly biased against the poor

 

Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015

* Progress Illinois…

The Illinois Department of Human Services is holding the second of two public hearings Wednesday over the Rauner administration’s proposals to toughen the appeals process for key benefits programs.

The Rauner administration’s proposed rule changes would impact Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), according to disability advocacy group Access Living.

The group says the Rauner administration is seeking to make the appeals process harder for people who are denied benefits or terminated from those programs.

The Rauner administration’s proposed rules “do not provide customers with due process, are unnecessarily complicated and confusing, and in some cases are in conflict with the federal statutes and regulations protecting the rights of those eligible for the various benefits programs,” Access Living’s advocacy director said in a posting on the group’s website.

SEIU Healthcare Illinois is also speaking out against the proposed changes.

“The Rauner administration is adding a blizzard of new barriers to access services as well as denying due process to the very poor in ways that conflict with existing statutes, regulations and court cases–not to mention Rauner’s own public statements that he is committed to preserving benefits for the vulnerable,” the union said in a media release. “Among the changes, the state would alter the entire premise for Illinois social services and place the burden of proof for aid on those who need help the most — a drastic departure from current conditions — and would move hearings when benefits are denied far away from access points for the poor.”

The proposed rule changes are here. Some criticisms are here.

* From today’s hearing…

See more:  http://capitolfax.com/2015/08/26/proposed-dha-rule-changes-slammed-as-horribly-biased-against-the-poor/

Illinois must disclose which bills it has paid or not paid: judge - Yahoo News

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday gave Illinois until midday on Friday to disclose which bills the state has paid or not paid and why it could not fully comply with a court order to fund services for developmentally disabled residents in the absence of a fiscal 2016 state budget.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman said she was "very disappointed" the state failed to meet an Aug. 21 payment deadline she set in her Aug. 18 order and did not communicate that failure to the court.

"You have to make contact with the court or else you are in contempt of the court order," the judge told attorneys for Illinois' comptroller and two state agency heads.

An impasse between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the House and Senate over a spending plan for the fiscal year that began July 1 ignited a rush to court to seek payment orders. State and federal courts have ordered state money to continue to flow for human services covered under existing consent decrees and for state payroll.

Services for more than 10,000 disabled residents were covered under a 2011 consent decree.

Attorneys for disabled residents on Tuesday asked the judge to find the state officials in civil contempt of court. But Coleman requested a detailed accounting of the state's bill payments instead.

"Human lives are at stake," the judge said, while acknowledging the existence of other court orders competing for state funds.

John Stevens, a lawyer for Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger, said after payments were made on Aug. 21 for debt service on bonds and for pensions, the state lacked money to pay all of its bills.

Benjamin Wolf, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing the disabled, told reporters after the hearing that some clients were about to be thrown out in the street due to the lack of state payments.

(Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Illinois must disclose which bills it has paid or not paid: judge - Yahoo News

Energy company could sue Boone County over proposed wind turbine setbacks - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

BELVIDERE — In January 2011, representatives from Mainstream Renewable Power met with county representatives at Belvidere City Hall to discuss wind turbine development in Manchester and LeRoy townships.

County officials told them they must apply for a special-use permit and comply with zoning regulations before the project could proceed. Mainstream representatives estimated it would take about a year to complete project studies and submit plans to the board for approval.

Four years later, debate over wind turbine development is raging in Boone County, Mainstream is no closer to developing turbines and there’s no clear end in sight.

For months, Zoning Board of Appeals members have mulled over proposed zoning ordinance changes that would essentially ban wind energy development in Boone County.

On Tuesday night, Jim Griffin, a Chicago lawyer who represents Mainstream, testified before the board that the proposed changes are unconstitutional.

"If the amendment is approved, in order to protect its investment and the property rights of land owners who wish to host wind energy turbines, Mainstream will need to consider all options, including litigation," Griffin said.

The changes would increase setback requirements — the determination of how far from property lines the turbines must be to comply with county code — to a half-mile. According to a map made by Mainstream developer Chris Dorman, it would be impossible for any landowner in the county to comply with that setback.

Griffin argued that the issue comes down to agricultural property rights and that the county can't limit the rights of property owners to lease land to energy companies.

Although the proposed changes do include a section that would allow neighboring property owners to waive the setback, Griffin called the clause "legally meaningless."

"Adjacent property owners can't decide what neighbors do with their property," Griffin said. "If a half-mile structure is truly a health hazard, how can Boone County allow it to be waived?"

Supporters of the changes argue that the half-mile setback is necessary to protect people living near turbines from negative health side effects. This spring, Michigan and Illinois property owners who live near turbines delivered hours of testimony to the board claiming health problems and property value decline from turbine development.

Public testimony will continue during a Sept. 22 meeting. Then planning staff will present to the board and another round of public comment from the citizens who proposed the changes will be scheduled.

It could be months before the ZBA votes on whether to recommend the changes to the County Board.

Ben Stanley: 815-987-1369; bstanley@rrstar.com; @ben_j_stanley

Energy company could sue Boone County over proposed wind turbine setbacks - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Retain birthright citizenship: Our view---USA Today

 

Attacks on 'anchor babies' are impractical and unworthy of the immigration debate.

Ratified in 1868 in the wake of the Civil War, the Constitution's 14th Amendment is abundantly clear: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

Thirty years later, the amendment was challenged after Congress passed a law to exclude Chinese immigrants. The Supreme Court held that the amendment confers automatic citizenship on anyone born in the USA. Through multiple waves of immigration since then, it has faced no serious challenge.

Until now.

This week, as part of his unworkable and mean-spirited immigration plan, Donald Trump called for denying citizenship to babies born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants. At least a half-dozen other Republicans vying for the party's presidential nomination have scurried to join him in seeking to either undo or “reinterpret” the 14th Amendment.

In the modern era of porous borders, international tourism and jetliner travel, ending so-called birthright citizenship carries a certain visceral appeal. But the practical and legal obstacles make it at best a distraction from the nation's more serious immigration problems, and at worst an ugly form of anti-Hispanic discrimination.

To undo birthright citizenship would require the monumental task of amending the Constitution or passing a new law and battling constitutional challenges. Either approach would take many years; even if it succeeded, the nation would end up with a flawed system requiring federal involvement in what is now a local issue, the granting of birth certificates.

If history is any guide, many states would balk. In 2005, Congress passed a law to create a national identification system by placing new federal standards on driver’s licenses. A decade later, fewer than half the states have fully complied. If the same happened with birth certificates, citizenship would depend on where a baby was born.

Most politicians pushing the repeal of birthright citizenship have given short shrift to these sorts of real-life complications. Would women in labor need to bring birth certificates or passports to the hospital to prove that they or the baby's father is legal? Would bureaucrats need to check the IDs to determine authenticity before any birth certificates were issued?

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, sponsor of a measure to repeal birthright citizenship, says he doesn't "think that would be a big deal." We wonder whether the parents of the 4 million babies born in the USA each year would agree that undergoing a citizenship test is worth the hassle in order to identify the estimated 7.7% who are born to unauthorized immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center.

And to what end?

The scheme would not put much of a dent in the country’s immigration problems. It would surely cause some women to stay away from hospitals, endangering the health of mother and child. Far better if the effort and federal dollars were put toward more efficient ways to fight illegal immigration: tighter borders, better employment verification and dealing with visitors who overstay their visas.

If babies born to undocumented immigrants were suddenly denied citizenship, it would create an automatic underclass of stateless children, unable to attend school or feel allegiance to the country in which they live.

Through past waves of anti-immigrant fervor against the Chinese, Irish, Italians and others, such ideas have never won out. America has thrived by assimilating people from all over the world, people proud to have been "born in the USA."  There is no good reason to change a winning formula now.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

Retain birthright citizenship: Our view

Obama Slams Koch Brothers at Clean Energy Summit for 'Standing in the Way of Progress'

 

President Obama has returned from vacation and he said he feels “refreshed, renewed, recharged” and “a little feisty.” Well, that feistiness was apparent as he delivered the closing address at the 8th National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada Monday. Sun-blessed Nevada is being hailed as “ground zero in the solar boom.” He slammed critics of his energy policies for “wanting to protect an outdated status quo” based on fossil fuels and warned them away from “standing in the way of the future” and his efforts to combat climate change.

He railed against U.S. political and business figures, particularly the Koch brothers, for attempting to thwart the expansion of wind and solar power, which is widely popular among the American public.

“When you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by fossil fuel interests, or conservative think tanks, or the Koch brothers pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards, or to prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding, that’s a problem,” Obama said, marking the first time the President has singled out the Koch brothers in a climate speech. The explosive growth of solar in the U.S. “has some big fossil fuel interests pretty nervous,” Obama noted.

And he pointed out the inconsistency of those who promote free market solutions, except when those solutions point to renewable energy. “Now, it’s one thing if you’re consistent in being free market,” said Obama. “It’s another thing when you’re free market until it’s solar that’s working and people want to buy and suddenly you’re not for it any more.”

Koch-backed groups, particularly the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), have fought renewable energy programs in several states, including pushing for states to withdraw from climate compacts, penalizing rooftop solar installations and repealing renewable portfolio standards.

That’s not the American way. That’s not progress. That’s not innovation. That’s rent seeking. That’s standing in the way of progress,” Obama said. The President’s speech, however, was not all doom and gloom and bashing his critics. Obama spoke optimistically about American ingenuity and with great hope about solar and other renewable forms of energy. “We’re here today because we believe that no challenge poses a greater threat to our future than climate change,” Mr. Obama said. “But we’re also here because we hold another belief, and that is, we are deeply optimistic about American ingenuity.”

Obama said the growth in solar—which is 20 times bigger than it was in 2008, is “like evolving from the telegraph to the smartphone in less than a decade.” And he noted that “solar isn’t just for the green crowd any more, it’s for the green-eyeshade crowd too,” citing the fact that Walmart, Google and Apple are among the largest buyers of renewable energy in the world.

The speech came “as his administration announced a series of measures to encourage solar power construction, including making an additional $1 billion in loan guarantee authority available in a federal program for innovative versions of residential rooftop solar systems,” reports The New York Times.

“We’re going to make it even easier for individual homeowners to put solar panels on the roof with no upfront cost,” Obama said. “So we’re taking steps that will allow more Americans to join this revolution, with no money down.”

And this is all on the heels of the President’s Clean Power Plan, which requires states to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Much of those cuts would come from bringing more renewable energy projects online.

Environmental groups praised the President’s latest efforts. “President Obama’s announcement today is a huge win for American families from coast-to-coast,” said Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce. “These policies will save homeowners money on their electricity bills, put more people to work and empower Americans to act to tackle climate disruption in their everyday lives.”

Obama Slams Koch Brothers at Clean Energy Summit for 'Standing in the Way of Progress'

Mainstream challenges proposed changes in Wind Turbine Zoning as not legal

The Zoning Board of Appeals has concluded the witness phase of their public hearing regarding the amendment to the Wind Turbine ordinance. Only Mainstream gave testimony opposing the ordinance.  Next month “staff” will supply its finding/conclusion and a short (possibly two minute) comment statement will be allowing by individual members of the public.  Then the ZBA board will discuss and vote on its recommendations.

The following are the conclusions submitted by Mainstream and its legal counsel:

Their legal conclusions are based upon these two letters regarding legal presidence submitted earlier:  Schain and Banks letter dated January 23, 2015 http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/01/mainstream-details-their-opposition-to.html  and Schain and Banks letter dated February 20, 2015   http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2015/02/mainstream-renewable-powers-reaction-to.html

 

WORK IN PROGRESS

Mainstream’s full slide presentation will follow.

U.S. tax cuts don't pay for themselves -Republican-appointed official says - Yahoo News

 

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new Republican-appointed director of the Congressional Budget Office delivered some bad news on Tuesday to the party's "Reaganomics" devotees: Tax cuts don't pay for themselves through turbocharged economic growth.

Keith Hall, who served as an economic adviser to former President George W. Bush, made the pronouncement at his first news conference after the CBO reduced its 2015 budget deficit forecast by $60 billion.

"No, the evidence is that tax cuts do not pay for themselves," Hall said in response to a reporter's question. "And our models that we're doing, our macroeconomic effects, show that."

His comment is at odds with lingering economic theory from the 1980s that some Republicans still hold dear: Stronger economic growth generated by tax cuts would boost revenues so much that there is less need to find offsetting savings.

Even though major tax cuts in the early 1980s and early 2000s ended up boosting deficits while also propping up short-term growth, many Republicans cite the growth argument as a major motivation to cut tax rates as part of a tax reform effort.

In a move partly aimed at making the numbers work better, Republicans who control both the House and the Senate appointed Hall to run CBO. He replaced Democratic appointee Doug Elmendorf. Hall was given a mandate to incorporate macroeconomic effects more fully in the agency's cost estimates, a process known as "dynamic scoring."

Thus far, this has had some effect in reducing the estimated costs for some legislation, but the difference has been small.

Under the CBO's traditional "static" scoring method, a bill to extend a package of expired business tax breaks for two years would boost deficits by $97 billion over 10 years. Under dynamic scoring, the increase would be less at only $87 billion, but still a substantial cost to the Treasury.

Hall said the $87 billion figure is likely to be more accurate because it captures macroeconomic feedback, but he noted that this could make the estimate more uncertain because "there's a lot of unknowns there."

The new CBO director, who previously headed the Bureau of Labor Statistics and was the Commerce Department's chief economist, did issue a standard CBO warning that was sure to please Republican fiscal hawks: The ever-rising federal debt is on an unsustainable path.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Dan Grebler

U.S. tax cuts don't pay for themselves -Republican-appointed official says - Yahoo News