Yearly Archives: 2013

Detroit Bus Co. moving in the right direction

"In early 2012, when Detroit's dysfunctional bus system was all over the news, Andy Didorosi founded the Detroit Bus Co. with three buses and the hope he could do something to help our carless citizens who wait in frustration for buses that can be hours late and sometimes don't come at all. He got lots of press and even a citation from Detroit City Council for stepping in to help. Now a year and a half into the bus biz, Didorosi has found a way to give Detroiters a service they really need. The Detroit Bus Co. is building a program to pick up kids at 'safe spots' and drive them to summer and after-school programs and bring them safely home. The buses run on biodiesel." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetroit Bus Co. moving in the right direction

New York City bike share tech woes enrage normally even-keeled New York bikers

"More than 38,000 New Yorkers have paid $103 for a year-long subscription, but many are still awaiting their blue key — needed to access the bikes. Officials have said 'batches of keys' are going out daily to fix the problem. But those with weekly and day passes are also dealing with spotty problems. Sometimes, docking stations in popular neighborhoods are full and users cannot park their bikes. Other times, the locking mechanisms do not work. And near busy Midtown offices, it is sometimes impossible to find a bike at night. And at some stations, payment via debit or credit card — the only way to purchase a short-term pass — does not function." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew York City bike share tech woes enrage normally even-keeled New York bikers

Copenhagen Bike-Sharing Program To Be Most High-Tech Yet

"For the next generation of bike-sharing innovations, take a look at Copenhagen and smile. Trains and a bike-sharing program working as one travel option now offer a GPS built into the bike. Not only do you know where to pick up your next connection – you have a schedule of all local train times between your front bars. The Europeans and Copenhageners (again) increase a bike lover’s convenience in transit with this new innovation. With an Android tablet offering a built-in GPS, real-time train departures and ticket integration, and real-time info on available bikes and docks in the area, one glides easily from destination to destination." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCopenhagen Bike-Sharing Program To Be Most High-Tech Yet

Housing Vouchers: Equal Opportunity Crime-Sharing

"There is an alliance. Libertarians do not like tax-funded education, so they oppose vouchers. The teachers' union does not like inter-school academic competition, so they oppose vouchers. Suburban parents do not like forced integration, so they oppose vouchers. All in all, vouchers have been a gigantic failure. After 50 years of failure, HUD has decided to use another form of vouchers: vouchers that are not subject to local voting. HUD has broadened the scope of vouchers. Entire families will be granted tickets out. HUD will offer subsidies of all kinds to persuade cities to let the inner cities of America spread into the suburbs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHousing Vouchers: Equal Opportunity Crime-Sharing

Obama Seeks to Reshape Neighborhoods With Housing “Diversity”

"The Obama administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is under fire after announcing a proposed executive decree to make American neighborhoods more 'diverse.' Under the new HUD policy, dubbed 'Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing,' the federal government will gather and track data on 'segregation' and 'discrimination' across America before deploying a wide range of social-engineering schemes to ensure more 'diversity' in U.S. neighborhoods. Among the many federal targets in enforcing centrally planned diversity: local zoning regulations, public transportation, land-use policies, government housing agencies, and more." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Seeks to Reshape Neighborhoods With Housing “Diversity”

Taxes Even Impact When We’re Born and When We Die

"Let's look at some truly remarkable examples of how taxes influence things that – at first glance – seem completely impervious to fiscal policy. Would anyone think, for instance, that taxes could impact the day people are born? This study isn’t an outlier. Other research has reached similar conclusions. Indeed, in some case the impact of taxation is found to be much larger. Let’s close by recycling some research that shows how taxes even influence when people die. When Australia repealed the death tax back in the 1970s, researchers found that people lived longer in order to protect family assets." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaxes Even Impact When We’re Born and When We Die

Common Core Exams Put on Hold

"The common core curriculum mandates a common core system of exams. Most students will flunk these exams. This is inevitable. The results in New York are the canary in the coal mine. The failure rate was 69%. Blacks and Hispanics failed at an 84% rate. Parents are up in arms. The common core curriculum will not redeem the public schools. It will instead expose the public schools as utter failures. This will not be tolerated by local politicians, who take the heat for the failures in public schools. They will demand that the educrats turn down the heat. The tests are in the first stage of a roll-back. The Obama Administration is blaming the sequestration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCommon Core Exams Put on Hold

Attorney General hits up Donald Trump for donations while probing his school

"Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s campaign hit up Donald Trump and his pals for contributions while he was investigating the real-estate mogul’s for-profit trade school for illegal business practices. The investigation began in May 2011 and, for more than two years, Trump aides claim Schneiderman’s office told them the case was 'very weak' and would 'go away.' While the probe was under way, Trump aides said their boss, his family and his associates were repeatedly approached for thousands of dollars in campaign donations by Schneiderman’s political operation. Trump aides say now they’re being informed Schneiderman’s office is filing a civil suit against the school." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAttorney General hits up Donald Trump for donations while probing his school

Tea partier at Ted Cruz town hall: ‘Canada is not really foreign soil’

"The Texas Tribune caught up with on of those birthers, Republican voter Christina Katok, at a tea party rally where Ted Cruz was speaking earlier this week. Earlier this week, Cruz released his Canadian birth certificate to The Dallas Morning News, proving that he was definitely born in a foreign country to an American mother. But Katok told the Tribune that she wouldn’t hesitate to vote for Cruz. 'As far as I’m concerned, Canada is not really foreign soil,' she explained, adding that she was more worried about the president’s 'strong ties to Kenya.' For his part, Cruz has vowed to renounce his Canadian citizenship, which could require a security check and an eight-month waiting period." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTea partier at Ted Cruz town hall: ‘Canada is not really foreign soil’