konane's Blog

The entire article is a good read if you have time.

Don’t reaccommodate me, bro

".....A flight coupon of $300 or $500 is not worth it to me. But $1200 might be. I know an economist who likes to get bumped on oversold flights, but what he does is write a much larger figure than offered (like $800 of more) on a slip of paper, and hand it to a gate agent or flight attendant (he has done this more than once on a flight he has already boarded, like the man in Chicago). His offer is almost always accepted, since the gate agents have discretion and are in a hurry to get the thing done. In this situation in Chicago, the airline’s last resort should have been to hold an onboard auction, open to all passengers, raising the bid until they got enough volunteers. Even if the price had to go to $3,000, it would be a bargain compared to what United is now going to face.

P.S. It was the late, great Julian Simon who first came up with the compensation scheme for bumped passengers. I can only imagine what Julian would be saying today if he was still with us."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/04/dont-re-accommodate-me-bro.php

Very short video clip on this page. 

WATCH: Sergey Lavrov Shuts Down NBC News's Andrea Mitchell As She Shouts Questions

http://www.hannity.com/articles/hanpr-election-493995-493995/watch-sergey-lavrov-shuts-down-nbc-15734437/

Great cartoon. I hope by getting this issue before the public it will begin addressing actions by TSA which people have stated are also abusive.

Overbooked 04-12-17 (cartoon)

http://michaelpramirez.com/united-reaccommodates-common-sense-goodwill.html

You decide.

James O'Keefe Weighs in on United Airlines Controversy

Stuff's about to get real.

China Warns North Korea Situation Has Hit "Tipping Point", Threatens "Never Before Seen" Measures

"After warnings yesterday, and on the heels of a "very good call" with President Trump, China has escalated its threats to North Korea over its nuclear tests. In another Global Times op-ed, China warns "if the North makes another provocative move this month, the Chinese society will be willing to adopt severe restrictive measures that have never been seen before..."

Yesterday's editorial in the military-focused Global Times tabloid, owned and operated by the Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper, said that North Korea’s nuclear activities must not jeopardize northeastern China, and that if the North impacts China with its illicit nuclear tests through either "nuclear leakage or pollution", then China will respond with force.

“China has a bottom line that it will protect at all costs, that is, the security and stability of northeast China... If the bottom line is touched, China will employ all means available including the military means to strike back. By that time, it is not an issue of discussion whether China acquiesces in the US’ blows, but the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will launch attacks to DPRK nuclear facilities on its own."

This, as the editorial puts it, is the "bottom line" for China; should it be crossed China will employ all means available including the military means to strike back," warned the editorial.

Overnight, Trump and Xi held a call, which Trump said went well... ....."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-12/china-threatens-north-korea-never-seen-measures-if-they-dont-de-escalate

 

Court Ruling Clears Way for Permanent Implementation of San Diego Pension Reform Initiative 

Source: California Policy Center
April 11, 2017/by Marc Joffe

"The 4th Appellate District Court just released a unanimous ruling dismissing the lawsuit brought against the City of San Diego by the union-dominated State Public Employees Relations Board (PERB).  The decision upholds Proposition B – the landmark Pension Reform Initiative passed by 2/3rds of San Diego voters in 2012.

Former San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio, who authored the Prop B Pension Reform Initiative, offers the following statement in light of the ruling:

    “Today the California courts have upheld the right of the voters to impose reform on outrageous government pensions using the citizens’ initiative process.  Prop B will save city taxpayers billions over 30 years and helped save the City of San Diego from bankruptcy.  The labor unions who brought this frivolous lawsuit must learn one simple thing: government belongs to the people, not the special interests.  It is time for the rest of California state and local government to follow San Diego’s lead by reforming their own unsustainable government pension packages that have resulted in billions in debt.”

DeMaio’s Prop B permanently closed the city’s lavish defined benefit pension program to city employees, switched all new employees to 401(k) defined contribution plans, forced city employees to contribute a fair and equal share for the costs of benefits, and capped pensionable pay to reduce pension excesses. The dismissal of this lawsuit today marks the last legal challenge from the labor unions and significantly weakens the presumed power of the PERB board.

Carl DeMaio will discuss the importance of the ruling more today on his daily radio show on NewsRadio 600 KOGO from 3-6pm.  DeMaio has been working with former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed on a state-wide Pension Reform Initiative and this court victory only improves chances of reform statewide.  Individual interviews by appointment.

This release was issued by Reform California.
Share this entry "

http://californiapolicycenter.org/court-ruling-clears-way-permanent-implementation-san-diego-pension-reform-initiative/

Where Are Trumps Tax Returns?

During a recent Trump  stop, a heckler from the audience hollered, "Hey Trump, where are you hiding your tax returns?

The Donald politely responded, "I've found a very secure place that I'm certain they won't be found."

The insistent heckler, then shouted, "And just where is that, dummy"?

The Donald smiled and said, "They are underneath Obama's college records, his passport application, his immigration status as a student, his funding sources to pay for college, his college records, and his Selective Service registration.

"What's your next question?"

Judicial Watch Warns 11 States to Clean Voter Registration Lists or Face Federal Lawsuit

".....Based on its review of Election Assistance Commission (EAC) data, and more recent U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey and the states’ voter registration records, Judicial Watch found the following counties have more total registered voters than the citizen voting age (18) population:

    Alabama: Choctaw, Conecuh, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Washington, Wilcox.

    Florida: Clay, Flagler, Okaloosa, Osceola, Santa Rosa, St. Johns.

    Georgia: Bryan, Columbia, DeKalb, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Lee, Marion, McIntosh, Oconee.

    Illinois: Alexander, Bureau, Cass, Clark, Crawford, DuPage, Franklin, Grundy, Hardin, Henderson, Jefferson, Jersey, Massac, McHenry, Mercer, Monroe, Pulaski, Rock Island, Sangamon, Scott, Union, Wabash, Washington, White.

    Iowa: Scott, Johnson.

    Kentucky: Anderson, Bath, Boone, Breathitt, Caldwell, Carlisle, Cumberland, Fulton, Gallatin, Greenup, Han<snip>, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, Livingston, Magoffin, McCracken, Menifee, Mercer, Monroe, Oldham, Powell, Russell, Scott, Spencer, Trigg, Trimble, Wolfe, Woodford.

    Maryland: Montgomery.

    New Jersey: Essex, Somerset.

    New York: Nassau.

    North Carolina: Buncombe, Camden, Chatham, Cherokee, Clay, Dare, Durham, Guilford, Madison, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Orange, Union, Watauga, Yancey.

    Tennessee: Williamson.

In its notice-of-violation letters, Judicial Watch warns that the failure to maintain accurate, up-to-date voter registration lists “required by federal law and by the expectations of [state] citizens” will “undermine public confidence in the electoral process.” .......

http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-warns-11-states-clean-voter-registration-lists-face-federal-lawsuit/

China Threatens To Bomb North Korea's Nuclear Facilities If It Crosses Beijing's "Bottom Line"

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-11/china-threatens-bomb-north-koreas-nuclear-facilities-if-it-crosses-beijings-bottom-l

A US Citizen Of Pakistani Origin Was Arrested For Planning Attacks In New York City

"A US citizen of Pakistani origin was arrested for planning Paris-style attacks on “heavily populated areas” in New York City.

This bombshell arrest resulted from coordination between the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Pakistani authorities....."

http://defiantamerica.com/us-citizen-pakistani-origin-arrested-planning-attacks-new-york-city/

Exclusive: North Korean ships head home after China orders coal returned

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17D0D8

If you're easily offended or triggered don't click the link.

Video embedded in this article which is a worthwhile watch.

NRA vs. NYT

Source Powerlineblog.com

"Get out the popcorn: the nation’s largest and most effective civil rights organization has declared war on the New York Times....."

"....Stay tuned. It sounds as though there is much more to come. In this battle, the NRA starts with a big advantage: it is a great deal more popular and more trusted than the NY Times."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/04/nra-vs-nyt.php

Every Week, Vietnam War Vets Wash Their Memorial Wall. Today, They Had Powerful Help

By Benny Johnson

"..... Veterans visiting the wall during the Clinton-era began to notice that the traffic to the memorial was increasing, yet it was only being cleaned once a month. It was becoming dingy. These veterans got angry and did something about it. The Washington Post reports:

    In 1998, dissatisfied with the job that the National Park Service was doing and upset that bird droppings had filled in some of the engraved names, Jan Scruggs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund took action. He handed 37 toothbrushes to visiting vets from Wisconsin, who scrubbed the filth away.

In order to keep the memorial in pristine condition, local veteran groups offered to help with maintenance of the hallowed ground. The Park Service agreed. Now, approximately once every weekend in peak tourist season (spring and summer), a different veteran group or community service will arrive at sunrise, long before the throngs of tourists show up, to wash the wall.

The labor is intensive but in the end, every inch of the 247-foot wall gets sprayed down, scrubbed by hand and polished.

Many of the men and women who show up to clean are veterans themselves, cleaning a memorial built in their honor.

So it was on the morning of Sunday, April 9, when Virginia and Maryland chapters of Rolling Thunder rode into the memorial before sunrise. Clad in leather motorcycle gear with a colorful array of patriotic patches sewn in, a dozen members of the iconic biker club, most of them veterans, readied for an hour of washing and scrubbing the black wall.

Today, however, they had some extra help. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke would be scrubbing alongside them.

Zinke has taken an immersive approach to his new job, which happens to include oversight of America's national parks and monuments. The Secretary rode a horse into the office on his first day, shoveled snow off the Lincoln Memorial steps after a snowstorm, gave stunned tourists a personal tour of the cavernous cathedral beneath the Lincoln Memorial, and has engaged in international sock diplomacy.

Today, the Trump appointee and Navy SEAL continued his hands-on approach to the office by hand-scrubbing the smudges and bird droppings off the Vietnam War Memorial. This Independent Journal Review reporter was invited to watch. Here is what happened:

6:15 a.m ....."

http://ijr.com/2017/04/843688-every-week-vietnam-vets-physically-wash-memorial-wall-today-powerful-help/

Interesting proposal, his reasoning explained.

De-Unionize the IRS! Dick Morris TV