Monthly Archives: October 2012

Disabled veteran could change U.S. drug policy on medical marijuana

"Michael Krawitz, one of five plaintiffs involved in a legal case before the court of appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit, told the Guardian that the VA denied him pain treatment after they discovered he had been prescribed medical marijuana while abroad. He told the court in an affidavit that the withdrawal of care by the department, which has rated him 100% permanently disabled and thus eligible for all medical treatment under its auspices, has meant he now has to travel 130 miles from his home to see a doctor for pain relief." Continue reading →

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Romney’s Big Navy Guru Made Millions From Building Ships

"For one of Romney’s most important advisers on Navy issues, a man who oversaw a massive naval expansion for Pres. Ronald Reagan, there’s more at stake than U.S. national security. John Lehman, an investment banker and former secretary of the Navy, has strong and complex personal financial ties to the naval shipbuilding industry. That doesn’t mean that a bigger or better Navy is necessarily a bad idea. But it does complicate Romney’s claim that a larger Navy would merely be 'matched to the interests we need to protect.' A bigger maritime force has the possibility of personally enriching one of the candidate’s top advisers. In fact, it already has." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRomney’s Big Navy Guru Made Millions From Building Ships

McAlester police officer charged with a felony in tasing of handcuffed woman

"According to court records, Williams was given a 10-year suspended sentence for felony assault and battery on a police officer, public intoxication and expectorating on a police officer. She said she has scars on her hands from the handcuffs and on her chest from the probes being pulled out by another police officer. An MPD 'Use of Force Report' written by Taylor after the incident and signed by MPD Capt. David Bailey states: 'Subject had spit on officer and was fixing to spit on officer again force was used to stop action.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMcAlester police officer charged with a felony in tasing of handcuffed woman

FBI: Louisiana woman staged racist attack

"A young black woman in the US state of Louisiana apparently staged a racist attack in which she told police that three men set her ablaze and scrawled KKK on her car, officials said Tuesday. Sharmeka Moffitt, 20, was seriously burned in the incident and remains in critical condition. She called police from a park in the town of Winnsboro on Sunday night and told them three men in white hoodies doused her with a flammable liquid and ignited it. The FBI was called in to assist local authorities because the incident was initially considered a possible hate crime." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI: Louisiana woman staged racist attack

How to Generate Income From the Needs of a Hungry World

"Speculators and hedge funds are hopscotching across the U.S. farm-belt these days, grabbing tracts of land to profit from the rising demand for food. But even better opportunities exist beyond America. Like, for instance, a patch of Earth that has some of the most productive farm and cattle lands on the planet. It’s a place where we can own an asset of true substance and, in a world of near-zero yield, generate additional income. And if the U.S. ever goes pear-shaped, it gives us a place to call home in one of the most-livable countries in the world. Though it’s tiny in size, Uruguay is an ag juggernaut." Continue reading →

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Across Corn Belt, Farmland Prices Keep Soaring

"Farmers are carrying less debt than they were 30 years ago, and low interest rates are also a factor because they make it less costly for farmers to borrow. The federal crop insurance program also plays a role in keeping farmland prices high, by covering a majority of losses in revenue or crop yields. Some lenders have reported that a number of farmers are taking out loans based on the current value of their land to take advantage of the farmland boom. Fed officials and some real estate brokers said these buyers could be in trouble if interest rates rose and crop prices fell." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAcross Corn Belt, Farmland Prices Keep Soaring

Iowa Farms Minting Millionaires as Rich-Poor Gap Widens

"Booming worldwide demand for grain has showered wealth on farmers by tripling Iowa land values in the past decade and setting them up for record profits this year, even in the face of the nation’s worst drought in more than half a century, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects. Land that had long produced boxcars full of corn and soybeans is now yielding a new crop: locally grown millionaires. In doing so, it has brought to the nation’s rural areas the kind of income divide that had long been the province of urban America. Average rents are up 43 percent statewide since 2008." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIowa Farms Minting Millionaires as Rich-Poor Gap Widens

Reverse brain drain: Economic shifts lure migrants home

"The financial crisis that began in 2008 has tested middle-class America's sense of stability and the European right to social welfare. It has also caused many to question whether the developed world is still the only land of opportunity worth migrating to. Emerging economies not only are faring better than most of the developed world in the current recession, they also continue to grow, drawing back their expatriates and, in some cases, even luring new high-skilled citizens of the US and Europe. Those countries losing their allure could also lose their competitive edge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReverse brain drain: Economic shifts lure migrants home

The Nine States with the Most Underfunded Pensions

"According to data released this week by Milliman, Inc. and by the Pew Center on the States, there was a $859 billion gap between the obligations of the country’s 100 largest public pension plans and the funding of these pensions. In 2010, only Wisconsin’s pension funds were fully funded. Nine states, meanwhile, were 60% funded or less — this would mean that at least 40% of the amount the state owes current and future retirees is not in the state’s coffers." Continue reading →

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Official SAMPLE BALLOT: Lancaster County, NE November 6, 2012

View or download and print the Official Nov. 6, 2012 Sample Ballot for Lancaster County, NE. And if you're looking for additional information to make decisions about voting on the items that appear on this ballot, we encourage you to attend our Pre-Election Presentation, scheduled on two dates for voters' convenience. Read the article to get more information. more

Continue ReadingOfficial SAMPLE BALLOT: Lancaster County, NE November 6, 2012