"The USDA is mulling buying 400,000 tons of sugar to prevent defaults by sugar processors. Sugar prices have fallen dramatically since the USDA began a government price-support program, and loaned $862 million to the processors, reports WSJ." Continue reading →
"Why are high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil in everything? Answer: Corn and soybean subsidies from the period 1995 - 2011 totaled $108 billion. Corn and soy make up almost half of all U.S. farmland. Most of this is GM (genetically modified) foods, allowing the agricultural industry to serve its masters who are the beneficiaries of political-business alliances under the Big Biotech umbrella: Monsanto, Syngenta, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and Tyson." Continue reading →
"Without the Army Corps of Engineers' dredging and building, the cane growers wouldn't have the soil or the irrigation they need. Without Washington's decades of rigging the labor market, the companies wouldn't have had the workers they needed before mechanization. Now the industry says it deserves to be protected from foreign competition. And the growers are putting their profits behind the fight." Continue reading →
"In the United States today, the health care industry is completely dominated by government bureaucrats, health insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations. The pharmaceutical corporations spend billions of dollars to convince all of us to become dependent on their legal drugs, the health insurance companies make billions of dollars by providing as little health care as possible, and they both spend millions of dollars to make sure that our politicians in Washington D.C. keep the gravy train rolling. Meanwhile, large numbers of doctors are going broke and patients are not getting the care that they need." Continue reading →
"EMS officers in New York are posted pictures of injured and dead people online, according to the New York Post. One such officer, 34-year-old Lt. Timothy Dluhos, posted the picture of a woman in a wheelchair — along with the with caption 'Wide Load' — on social media websites. The act is likely a violation of federal law. When confronted about his online activity, he broke down crying, saying his life was ruined. The newspaper also uncovered other EMS and EMT officers who published pictures of those they were supposed to be helping. The pictures were often accompanied by mocking comments or collected as 'trophy' shots." Continue reading →
"The former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida was sentenced Wednesday to one-and-a-half years for stealing $125,000 in party funds, completing the fall of a man who once was one of the most powerful political figures in the state. Jim Greer was sentenced in Orlando, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single county of money laundering. Prosecutors said Greer funneled almost $200,000 to a company he had formed with his right-hand man, Delmar Johnson. He kept $125,000 of the money funneled to Victory Strategies for himself." Continue reading →
"UPS Friday agreed to forfeit $40 million and implement a compliance program after a Department of Justice probe found the company delivered drugs on behalf of illegal online pharmacies. The agreement followed an investigation that showed that UPS was shipping drugs on behalf of Internet pharmacies that were distributing controlled substances and prescription drugs that were not supported by a valid prescription. Despite being on notice from employees that such illegal shipments were being delivered, UPS 'did not implement procedures to close the shipping accounts of Internet pharmacies,' said a Department of Justice statement." Continue reading →
"Despite sequestration and Big Sister's threats that the reduced growth of the TSA's budget -- not its actual operating one -- will delay passengers in hours'-long lines, the agency signed a $50-million contract with VF Imagewear for uniforms. Yes, those ugly, neon brown-sorry, blue polyester shirts that the thugs at the checkpoint wear cost a pretty penny. But this is old news. I'm bothering you with it because VF Imagewear is 'better known for its Lee and Wrangler brand jeans.' Additional lines include 'Vanity Fair®, ... The North Face®, and JanSport®.'" Continue reading →
"Officials in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana are moving forward on plans to refund $4.7 million in red light camera tickets. About 284,000 tickets were issued in the program until it was suspended over ethical concerns on January 27, 2010 -- long before the Chicago scandal broke. In light of the early revelations of impropriety, a third of recipients threw their photo tickets in the garbage. Redflex had paid a 3.2 percent cut of the firm's profit on each ticket issued to lobbyist Bryan Wagner, a former New Orleans city councilman, who in turn shared the funds with the wife of District Judge Robert Murphy." Continue reading →
"Oklahoma businesspeople, academics, and politicians are collaborating through an organization named USA-OK, which aims to make the heartland state the focal point of American UAV development. A quasi-affiliated group, the Governor’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Council (PDF), was formed via an executive order from Governor Mary Fallin in 2011. Both organizations are lobbying for commercial drone test sites in Oklahoma and increased government assistance in luring more large military contractors to the state. Oklahoma is already home to approximately 15 companies servicing the UAV industry." Continue reading →