Yearly Archives: 2013

Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison

"Army Private First Class Bradley Manning was sentenced on Wednesday morning to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents via WikiLeaks, The Guardian reported. Military prosecutors asked Judge Colonel Denise Lind on Monday for a 60-year sentence for Manning, the second reduction from a maximum sentence of 136 years in prison, following Lind paring that to 90 years on August 6. Based on a 35-year sentence, Davis wrote, Manning will 'likely serve about 8 to 8.5 yrs more in confinement and be out by the time he’s 33 or 34.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison

Welfare Recipients Can Now Earn More Than Teachers

"A mother with two children in New York, for instance, is able to collect $38,004 per year in welfare handouts. This is greater than the starting salary of a teacher in the state. In 33 states, welfare recipients make more than they would at an $8 per hour job. In fact, in 12 of those states, welfare recipients make more than they would at a $12 per hour job. Where is the incentive to work? Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at CATO, said, 'There is no evidence that people on welfare are lazy. But they’re also not stupid. If you pay them more not to work than they can earn by working, many will choose not to work.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWelfare Recipients Can Now Earn More Than Teachers

This Public Preschool Looks Like a Prison

"The front entrance is card key secured, and a thick metal door attached to a gated metal security tunnel with a metal walkway leads back to a hallway of numbered, metal buildings. Every single window, including the little ones on the thick metal doors inside, have metal gratings bolted on the outside of them. It felt like I was walking through a medium security prison facility. Four-year-olds attend this campus. That means these little ones are spending the majority of their weekdays all day long inside this place." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThis Public Preschool Looks Like a Prison

‘Pothole Robin Hood’ Steals Asphalt, Fixes Potholes, Faces Possible Charges

"A man dubbed the 'pothole Robin Hood' is under police investigation for taking asphalt from the city of Jackson, Miss., and filling in potholes on city streets. Ron Chane admits that he takes the asphalt and repairs potholes, and then signs the filled-in holes with the message 'citizen fixed,' he told ABC News. 'It’s sort of like Robin Hood. Once we saw that people were appreciating what we did, we went out again and made a goal of fixing 100 potholes. We’ve actually filled 101 potholes, so our mission has been completed,' Chane said. The Jackson Police Department is looking into how Chane got the asphalt and has not yet made a decision about pressing charges." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Pothole Robin Hood’ Steals Asphalt, Fixes Potholes, Faces Possible Charges

Ten Police Officers Arrest Two Obama Impeachment Sign Wavers

"Survival Doc (the videographer) and Mark M. are arrested for not obeying an officer and Mark was also charged with resisting arrest. Did he resist arrest? You be the judge. Oh, and they never read us our Miranda Rights. We spent 24 hours in the St. Charles Count Jail with Missouri Hwy Trooper Jenkins acting as judge, jury and executioner." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTen Police Officers Arrest Two Obama Impeachment Sign Wavers

The price Gina Gray paid for whistleblowing through ‘proper internal channels’

"Gray is the Defense Department whistleblower whose case I have been following for five years. She was the Army civilian worker who, before and after her employment, exposed much of the wrongdoing at Arlington National Cemetery— misplaced graves, mishandled remains and financial mismanagement — and she attempted to do it through the proper internal channels. Pentagon sources have confirmed to me her crucial role in bringing the scandal to light. For her troubles, Gray was fired. Gray, who worked in Iraq as an Army contractor and Army public affairs specialist, is now unemployed and living in North Carolina." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe price Gina Gray paid for whistleblowing through ‘proper internal channels’

One By One, California Agents Track Down Illegally Owned Guns

"In a recent operation, a caravan of four unmarked trucks traversed the bedroom communities of San Francisco's East Bay. The trucks carry nine state agents wearing bulletproof vests and armed with .40-caliber Glock pistols and Tasers. They'll spend the next six hours looking for illegal guns, explains Special Agent Kisu Yo of the California Department of Justice. Beginning In 2007, California officials began collecting names from court records, medical facilities and lists of known or wanted criminals, then cross-referenced them against the federal instant criminal background check system for gun-buyers. The list is updated every day." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOne By One, California Agents Track Down Illegally Owned Guns

Son of legendary Chinese Communist military leader apologizes for Cultural Revolution

"The son of a legendary Communist military leader and politician in China has publicly apologised for persecuting people at his school during the Cultural Revolution, according to a blog. Chen Xiaolu offered his remorse to teachers, staff and students at his former school in Beijing for leading denunciations and sending people to labour camps. Chen said that while there were moves by some in China to argue in favour of the Cultural Revolution, such 'inhumane violations of human rights should not appear again in any form in China'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSon of legendary Chinese Communist military leader apologizes for Cultural Revolution

Worth $355 million, Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest member of Congress

"Republican Darrell Issa of California was 2012′s richest member of Congress, worth at least $355 million, according to a ranking published Tuesday. The congressman, who made his fortune in car security systems, topped the annual list of the 50 wealthiest lawmakers published by The Hill newspaper, a trade publication about Washington politics. The rankings were based on financial disclosure forms filed by members of Congress. Outside of Congress, President Obama and his wife Michelle Obama were worth between $1.8 and $6.8 million in 2012 according to figures published in May." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWorth $355 million, Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest member of Congress