Obama Presses for Action on Bank Rules

"President Obama urged the nation’s top financial regulators on Monday to move faster on new rules for Wall Street, telling them in a private White House meeting that they must work to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. Administration officials and some lawmakers have expressed frustration that critical parts of Mr. Obama’s overhaul of the financial system, which was voted into law three years ago and is known as the Dodd-Frank act, remain unenforced as an alphabet soup of federal agencies wrangle over how to adopt it." Continue reading

Continue ReadingObama Presses for Action on Bank Rules

Health Insurance Costs: $16,351 a Year per Family

"This is what the typical premium costs for families whose health insurance is paid for by their employers. The main advantage is that this is not taxable income. For workers whose employers provide health insurance coverage, this is a huge tax loophole. Here is a chart on what it costs families. The costs have skyrocketed over the last decade. Health insurance is regulated heavily by state governments and the federal government. Costs are rising relentlessly. ObamaCare will make them rise even more. When the government comes to help you, beware. 'Keep your hand upon your wallet, and your back against the wall.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingHealth Insurance Costs: $16,351 a Year per Family

UK: Fire chief told policeman to leave ‘drowning’ man in 3ft deep lake [2012]

"The father of a man who drowned in 3ft of water after emergency crews were ordered not to rescue him has hit out at health and safety rules that ‘hinder’ the 999 services. David Burgess, whose son Simon lay floating face down in a lake for more than half an hour while firemen, police and paramedics watched, said it was impossible to ‘eliminate all risk’ for the emergency services. A fire crew claimed safety rules stopped them from going more than ‘ankle-deep’ into the water [..] And a policeman and a paramedic who both volunteered to jump in were given orders not to do so by a fire station watch manager." Continue reading

Continue ReadingUK: Fire chief told policeman to leave ‘drowning’ man in 3ft deep lake [2012]

Oakland citizen activist says city worker assaulted him

"The resident, 36-year-old Joshua Daniels, is recovering from a black eye and broken eye socket that required 10 stitches at Highland Hospital to close a wound that he said he suffered when a city worker, who was cleaning up the plaza, attacked him during a confrontation. Daniels, a regular activist at Oakland City Council meetings and no stranger to many city officials, said the confrontation began about 8:30 a.m. as he was walking through the plaza and spit his gum into a trash bin that was being used by city workers. [..] 'Truthfully, when I pulled out my phone and started filming, that's when it escalated,' Daniels said." Continue reading

Continue ReadingOakland citizen activist says city worker assaulted him

San Francisco bans helmet cams after firefighters captured running over victim

"The Associated Press reported on Monday that video from Battalion Chief Mark Johnson’s helmet camera shows a fire truck running over 16-year-old Ye Meng Yuan, who was lying on the ground following the crash. The discovery of the footage led Chief Joanne Hayes-White to expand a 2009 order banning cameras on department grounds to include helmet cameras, citing concerns over firefighters’ safety. 'Why would anybody not want to know the truth?' attorney Anthony Tarricone. told the AP. 'What’s wrong with knowing what happened? What’s wrong with keeping people honest? That’s what the helmet cam did, in effect, in this case.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingSan Francisco bans helmet cams after firefighters captured running over victim

Farming Experts Predict Food Safety Laws Will Destroy Local Foods Trend

"The most wonderful aspect of going local with your diet, is the opportunity to meet pioneers of organic, sustainable agriculture. There is tremendous work being done by farmers like Mike Tabor. Yet, a gross lack of understanding by public interest groups on what really constitutes food safety has led to increasing federal control over our food supply. Now, the FDA is dictating farming practices, packaging and sterilization steps that threaten to choke out small producers. Here is what two farmers have to say about these food safety laws and this ominous regulatory trend." Continue reading

Continue ReadingFarming Experts Predict Food Safety Laws Will Destroy Local Foods Trend

TV’s Unnatural Monopolies

"The big loser in the battle between Time Warner Cable and CBS is not the cable company, the network or the viewers who lost access to their favorite shows. The big loser is Washington, whose efforts to regulate what used to be called television grow more futile with every new video technology. The absurdity of the current laws is clear: A regulatory system designed to keep local broadcasts available to viewers is causing disputes between cable companies and broadcasters, leading to the very blackouts the regulations were supposed to prevent. It's past time to deregulate video distribution." Continue reading

Continue ReadingTV’s Unnatural Monopolies

The Drug War Murders a Toddler

"Joshua Hill didn’t know that his July 25 visit with his daughter Alexandria would be the last he would enjoy. Four days later the two-year-old child was killed by the state-licensed foster mother who had been given custody after Joshua’s daughter was seized by the Texas Child Protective Service. Why was this child taken away from loving and capable parents? Last November, the state confiscated the infant from her home because the parents admitted to using marijuana on occasion. This was described as 'neglectful supervision,' a charge that permitted the child-snatchers to deliver the infant into the hands of an aggressively abusive individual." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThe Drug War Murders a Toddler

Brooklyn family accuses NYPD of causing father’s fatal heart attack

"The Brooklyn District Attorney will launch an investigation into a botched raid by New York City police following accusations by the Brooklyn family involved that it led to their father suffered a fatal heart attack. WABC-TV reported that 43-year-old Carlos Alcis died early Thursday morning after police entered his family’s home allegedly looking for a suspect in a street attack in the area.Alcis’ family said he collapsed and went into seizures shortly after police entered. One of the victim’s sons, Imaunel alcis, told NY1 that one officer started pumping his heart and asked him to perform CPR, which runs counter to police reports saying officers assisted him." Continue reading

Continue ReadingBrooklyn family accuses NYPD of causing father’s fatal heart attack

“Why Did You Call the Police? They Don’t Help”

"In May of last year, Los Angeles resident Veronica Cornejo called the Sheriff’s Office to report that her mentally ill brother was severely agitated and potentially dangerous to himself and his family. The department responded by sending three deputies to the residence, who broke into the home without warning, drew their firearms, and dragged all five members of the family outside. After Veronica began to cry and plead with the deputy not to beat her ailing father, he threw the man on top of his daughter and then all three deputies began to beat both of them. Three members of the family were arrested for resisting arrest. The cases were dismissed." Continue reading

Continue Reading“Why Did You Call the Police? They Don’t Help”