End of Issue #91


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Editorial and Rants

Many people have to pass a drug test in order to be employed and PAY taxes, but now you can't be drug-tested in order to RECEIVE the benefits from those same taxes!  See the Jew...

Florida Welfare Drug-Testing Law Blocked by Judge

October 24, 2011 - From: wsj.com

ORLANDO, Fla.--A federal judge temporarily blocked Florida's new law that requires government-assistance applicants to pass a drug test before receiving the benefits on Monday, saying it may violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

Judge Mary Scriven's ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union that claims the law is unconstitutional.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a 35-year-old Navy veteran and single father who sought the benefits while finishing his college degree, but refused to take the test.

Nearly 1,600 applicants have refused to take the test since testing began in mid-July, but they aren't required to say why.  Thirty-two applicants failed the test and more than 7,000 have passed, according to the Department of Children and Families.  The majority of positives were for marijuana.

Supporters say applicants skipped the test because they knew they would have tested positive for drugs.  Applicants must pay $25 to $35 for the test and are reimbursed by the state if they pass.  It's unclear if the state has saved money.  During his campaign, Gov. Rick Scott said the measure would save $77 million, but it's unclear how he arrived at those figures.

Under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the state gives $180 a month for one person or $364 for a family of four.

Those who test positive for drugs are ineligible for the cash assistance for one year, though passing a drug course can cut that period in half.  If they fail a second time, they are ineligible for three years.

The ACLU says Florida was the first to enact such a law since Michigan tried more than a decade ago.  Michigan's random drug-testing program for welfare recipients lasted five weeks in 1999 before it was halted by a judge, kicking off a four-year legal battle that ended with an appeals court ruling it unconstitutional.

Illinois...  What a shithole.  I "hope" we don't ever elect anyone in charge there President!

Note that this story was also online at ABC News for a day or two, then was quickly deleted.  Change!  The original URL was: abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/deadbeat-state-ill-owes-billions-unpaid-bills-14744210

Deadbeat State: Illinois Owes Billions in Unpaid Bills

October 16, 2011 - From: dailyherald.com

by Christopher Wills

Drowning in deficits, Illinois has turned to a deliberate policy of not paying billions of dollars in bills for months at a time, creating a cycle of hardship and sacrifice for residents and businesses helping the state carry out some of the most important government tasks.

Once intended as a stopgap, the months-long delay in paying bills has now become a regular part of the state's budget management, forcing businesses and charity groups to borrow money, cut jobs and services and take on personal debt.  Getting paid can be such a confusing process that it requires begging the state for money and sometimes has more to do with knowing the right people than being next in line.

As of early last month, the state owed on 166,000 unpaid bills worth a breathtaking $5 billion, with nearly half of that amount more than a month overdue, according to an Associated Press analysis of state documents.  Hundreds of bills date back to 2010 and the actual amount owed is likely higher because some bills are still in the pipeline.

While other states with budget problems have delayed paying their bills, the backlog in Illinois is unmatched, experts say.  Year after year, Illinois builds its budget on the assumption that it will pay its bills months late -- essentially borrowing money from businesses, schools and nonprofits that have little choice but to suffer the financial hardship.

The unpaid bills range from a few pennies to nearly $25 million.  In early September, for example, Illinois owed $55,000 to a small-town farm supply business for gasoline, $1,000 to a charity that provides used clothing to the poor, $810,000 to a child-nutrition program.

Even death involves delays in Illinois.  Funeral homes were waiting for $2.8 million in overdue reimbursement for burying indigent people.

Leigh Ann Stephens wrote a letter in August "asking, pleading" for $50,000 the state owed to the DuPage Center for Independent Living, where she is executive director.  It was the third time in two years that she had sent a hardship letter warning the center, which helps people with disabilities live outside of costly nursing homes, would close if it wasn't paid.

The letter got results, for now, but it hasn't reversed cuts.  Stephens has laid off one of eight employees, stopped opening on Fridays, cut back hours for part-time workers and reduced salaries 7.5 percent for herself and the other full-time worker.  Like their clients, most of the employees are disabled, coping with blindness, loss of hearing, cerebral palsy and more.

"This is not just a job for me.  It's a way of life," Stephens said.  "I can be angry.  I can be sad.  I can be so mad that I cry.  I have thrown things across the room."

The delays have prompted relatively little public outcry, perhaps because so much attention has been focused on other budget battles or there is no one politician or agency to blame.  It also reflects resignation from some vendors who no longer expect the corruption-plagued Illinois government to function properly.

"We've become accustomed to it.  Being angry is not going to change it," said Suzanne Young, who has had a hard time getting the state to pay her business, Rockford Map Publishers.

Illinois leaders join in bemoaning the crisis but haven't been able to find a solution.

"God, how much more can our people take?" said Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, a veteran politician responsible for trying to pay a seemingly infinite stack of bills with the finite amount of money approved by legislators and the governor.

"I really feel terrible every day that we can't pay these bills and people are going to be hanging out there for six months, seven months," Topinka said.

Delaying payments during tough times is nothing new for Illinois, though past delays were shorter and more limited.  Under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, big spending collided with a recession that sent state revenue spiraling downward.  Illinois could no longer afford to pay its bills and the backlog exploded.

The backlog continued to grow even after Blagojevich was impeached and later convicted on corruption charges that included trying to sell or trade President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.  He is awaiting sentencing.

Blagojevich's replacement, Democrat Pat Quinn, raised income taxes and trimmed spending, but that money was gobbled up by other needs, primarily rising pension costs.  Under budget agreements with legislative leaders, all Democrats, bills continued to go unpaid.

As recently as June 2008, Illinois paid its bills seven days after state agencies finished the paperwork.  A year later the delay had reached 99 days.  It stood at 118 days in June of this year, the comptroller's office said.

The General Assembly has accepted the unpaid bills as an unpleasant necessity while Illinois claws its way out of deficits that once topped $13 billion.  Lawmakers of both parties rejected Quinn's proposal to borrow money so the state can pay its overdue bills, although he says he'll try again when lawmakers meet later this month.

Instead, Illinois has turned businesses, schools, charities and local governments into unwilling short-term lenders, using their money to operate government and disguise the depth of the state's financial problems.

Who gets paid sometimes depends on who complains the loudest or can get a politician to step in.

Illinois grants "expedited payment" to vendors who say they're on the verge of shutting down if they don't get their money, but the process lacks clear rules.  The Illinois governor and comptroller each say the other makes the final decision on payments, and documents show a letter of support from a legislator -- Republican or Democrat -- can often shake loose money for vendors.

Many states use the budget gimmick of delaying payments when money is tight, but Illinois is seen as the worst.

"I think you win the championship," agreed Elizabeth Boris, an expert on nonprofit groups at the Urban Institute think tank.

California, another state notorious for budget troubles, had to issue IOUs to vendors at one point.  But that was a temporary problem, not the way of life it has become in Illinois.  California groups and businesses could get by with short-term loans.

But many Illinois groups have maxed out their lines of credit and still don't know when state money will start flowing smoothly again or how much to count on as they plan their financial year.

Illinois ranked No. 1 in the country in the percentage of nonprofit groups facing payment delays, an Urban Institute survey found.  Eighty-three percent said late payments from state and local government were a problem in Illinois, compared to a nationwide average of 53 percent.  That survey was conducted in 2009, when Illinois' backlog was still in the middle of its dramatic rise.

"We are basically bankrolling the state.  It's a ridiculous situation," said Abha Pandya, CEO of Asian Human Services, a Chicago organization awaiting payment on $609,000 in bills, some of them stretching back to November of last year.  "It's just absolutely awful and there seems to be no end in sight."



The White House isn't a mud hut in Kenya!

There are members of al-Qa'ida with more respect for our Founding Fathers than this teleprompter-reading idiot.

The "cultural Marxists" strike again!  Imagine if they stopped celebrating Muslim or Jewish holidays.  The Jews at the ACLU would be going ape-shit!  But when they ban the White man's holidays - silence.  Note that European explorers are the true indigenous people of North America.  Save a student - don't send them to public school!

Fun Takes a Holiday in Somerville, Massachusetts

October 14, 2011 - From: bostonherald.com

by Jessica Heslam

A Somerville principal has opened fire on cherished American holidays, blasting legendary explorer Christopher Columbus for atrocities and saying we need to be careful about celebrating Thanksgiving in a scathing email to teachers who are already under orders not to let the kids dress up for Halloween.  "When we were young we might have been able to claim ignorance of the atrocities that Christopher Columbus committed against the indigenous peoples," wrote Kennedy School Principal Anne Foley.  "We can no longer do so.  For many of us and our students celebrating this particular person is an insult and a slight to the people he annihilated.  On the same lines, we need to be careful around the Thanksgiving Day time as well."

Mayor Joseph Curtatone said, She raises a fair point.  History is messy.  School Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi said her intention is to be very, very sensitive to all of the many, many cultures of Somerville.  Foley said she just wanted to open up a conversation.  "When I grew up, I was taught from a very European perspective of history and it was both embarrassing and enlightening to me when I learned other perspectives," Foley said.  "I want our children and families to know that we are aware of those other perspectives."  When pressed on the atrocities of Columbus and misdeeds of the Pilgrims, Foley said she wasnt going to dwell on that.

"I have friends who are Native American.  I have friends from the islands in the Caribbean.  I've heard their perspective on different things that we say and do their versions of history," said Foley.  But some historians say the K-8 educator needs to do her homework.  Carol Delaney, author of Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, said the Italian explorer has been terribly maligned.

"He was not the one going off marauding," she said.  There were some atrocities that happened but he was generally not involved.  Charles C. Mann, author of 1491 about the interactions between Indians and Europeans, said Thanksgiving is sort-of a made-up holiday but its his favorite, bringing families together in gratitude.

"I don't see why it's such a terrible thing," Mann said.

U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville) said historical figures shouldn't be judged by todays standards: Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims may have had shortcomings, but they also represent the adventurous, inquisitive side of our heritage and we should recognize that they played key roles in the foundation of our great nation.

Of the Somerville schools ban on Halloween costumes, Pierantozzi said, "For some students families, Halloween is problematic."  He cited its connections to witchcraft, adding, "Some of our students come from cultures where kids are frightened by it."  But Somerville mom Michele Campbell called the holiday hoo-haa joke: Let the kids enjoy them.

The "cultural Marxists" strike again!  Imagine if they stopped students from wearing a Mexican flag.  The Jews at the ACLU would be going ape-shit!  But when they ban the White man's flag - silence.  Why are we even celebrating spic holidays in our public schools?  The judge was James Ware, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.  And yes, he's a nigger...  You can bet there was a little bit of 'racial profiling' in his decision against those White students...

Morgan Hill Students Lose Lawsuit Over Right To Wear Flag

November 11, 2011 - From: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

by Jessica Heslam

MORGAN HILL (CBS SF) - The families several high school students who sued the Morgan Hill Unified School District for violating their free speech rights have lost their case.

On Cinco De Mayo, 2010, students at Live Oak High School were told to remove shirts, hats and other clothing bearing the American flag for fear that the articles would incite violence on campus.

The former principal told the boys to turn the shirts inside-out or go home.  When the refused, the were asked to leave campus.

Parents claim that the demand violated the students' first and fourteenth amendment rights.

A federal court ruled that Live Oak has the right to restrict a student's free speech when it is likely to cause a substantial disruption.

The plaintiffs were John and Dianna Dariano, parents of Matt Dariano; Kurt and Julie Ann Fagerstrom, parents of Dominic Maciell; and Kendall and Joy Jones on behalf of Daniel Galli.  The group was seeking damages including changing school policies to clearly state studentsâ rights, and reimbursement lawyer fees.



These guys would have let you worn a U.S. flag in class.