At R.I. Future.org, Steve Ahlquist writes—Sports economist Victor Matheson: No public subsidies for new ballpark:

Overall, Matheson was not very amenable to the idea. Matheson is an engaging speaker, an economist who specializes in sports. He prepared his remarks and his PowerPoint presentation for the price of a PawSox game, a hotdog and a beer, a far cry from the money Speaker Nicholas Mattiello or Governor Gina Raimondo are spending for their experts. “Let me just lay it on the table here,” said Matheson at the start, “I’m going to be a critic of public subsidies for stadiums.” providence-stadium-rendering-april-2015Showing the ubiquitous artists rendering of the proposed downtown stadium, Matheson said that it “would be a fantastic stadium for the owners to spend their own money on.” Studying stadiums and their impacts, said Matheson, generates the “weird impression that the newer the stadium, the higher the attendance or the older the stadium, the higher the attendance.” McCoy Stadium, where the PawSox currently play, is the one of the oldest stadiums in the country.

So, perhaps Obama’s visit to Nike was to reveal some concrete details about how we would not repeat the mistakes of past trade deals like NAFTA or the Colombian Free Trade Agreement? Or maybe he was going to provide evidence that TPP will not repeat the mistakes of the World Trade Organization of allowing secret tribunals to allow transnational corporations to run roughshod over our nation’s (and other nation’s) democratically enacted laws? Maybe Obama was going to finally let the world know, specifically, why he’s so in love with the TPP? No. The purpose of Obama’s visit to Nike was to provide a forum to bloody his progressive opponents while they are gagged with their hands tied behind their backs. Obama’s visit to Nike was a glitzy public relations stunt to try to persuade all the armchair liberals our there that this is a “new kind of trade deal” and all his critics are “just wrong.” I mean, why else would Obama be making his case from Nike?

I am not kidding. images-1Internal agency documents show for the first time how FBI agents have been closely monitoring anti-Keystone activists, in violation of guidelines designed to prevent the agency from becoming unduly involved in sensitive political issues. [...] Okay, so why is the FBI conspiring with a foreign government to screw American citizens who oppose the foreign pipeline? Oh yeah, they justify it by asserting that the Keystone pipeline is “vital to the security and economy of the United States.” The hell you say? It’s not our pipeline. We don’t even get the oil. I would suspect it would provide the same level of security as having a giant leaky x-ray machine in your backyard to check for burglars coming over your fence. So what do we do about the FBI violating it’s own rules? Two game suspension? You gotta wonder if they are also monitoring President Obama.

In March of this year, DOT officials ordered officials in six cities to shut off ten out of 34 traffic cameras cities had defended on safety grounds. The city of Davenport opted to comply with the DOT ruling, but five other cities asked department officials to reconsider the decision. (Although a reversal was unlikely, exhausting administrative appeals typically precedes legal action challenging a state agency's decision.) This week, DOT Director Paul Trombino notified city officials in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, and Muscatine that the department was rejecting their appeals, because data did not demonstrate that the disputed cameras had improved safety or reduced crashes. [...] Local governments are generally responsible for enforcing traffic laws. I'll be interested to see whether Iowa courts back up the DOT's efforts to restrict those powers on or near major highways. According to Trombino, the Iowa Code allows the DOT to enforce limits on cameras for traffic enforcement. Whatever the courts decide, the state's multi-pronged assault on local control remains an under-reported story of Governor Terry Branstad's fifth and sixth terms.





“No one’s talking about eliminating the income tax,” he said. “I’ve talked about an ever-improving tax situation, where year after year, we have an improving climate and if we can get it as close to zero as we possible, that’s a positive. Because the nine states that don’t have an income tax have double the job growth of the highest-tax states.” He later said his talk of driving the income tax rate to zero is a “direction.” [...] Now that Ducey has been elected, elimination (that severe word) of the income tax appears to be fully on the table. Keep your eye on a guy named Steven Slivinski. He’s a former “senior economist” for the Goldwater Institute (huge red flag) and he has nabbed himself a spot as a “senior research fellow” at ASU’s (wait for it) Center for the Study of Economic Liberty (freedom!). If you guessed from the name of that endeavor that it was funded by the Koch Brothers without looking it up, you win the door prize.

He wrote about it in a book titled "Public Opinion" long before digital excitement began feeding our senses much faster than most people can rationally absorb issues in their entirety. Nowhere is that more apparent than in politics where enormous amounts of money attempt to lead us to pseudo-evidence with which to sustain a preferred public opinion. (One exception to the political palaver: I care not whether a batter hit a homerun off a two-seamer or slider, no matter what I am told by the announcer.) A towering example today is how we've arrived at the sinfully created gulf between the very rich and the middle- and under classes. Reports of the billionaires who are now replacing millionaires while everyone else's income is trapped at a constant level may be squeezed into 90-second report on the network TV news, and we are quickly shifted into the weather and sports. And then forgotten, unquestioned, for another day. [...] The massive greed will be a difficult challenge, but [Hedrick] Smith is undaunted. "The most powerful action that average Americans can take is to organize at the grass roots, as the Tea Party did ... Show up at town meetings with members of Congress...Get out on Main Street and demonstrate for jobs and home s..."

Late last night, the person that runs the "Oregun Shooters" Facebook page announced that "a well organized group" is moving forward with a recall of Senator Floyd Prozanski, the chief sponsor of the background checks measure.

Privilege license tax: “This last year the legislature got rid of the privilege license tax for all cities across North Carolina … for Asheville what that means is a loss of $1.5 million dollars in revenue.” Sales Tax redistribution: “the proposed legislation was absolutely devastating for Buncombe County” But then Manheimer got into the economic weeds and lost track of the broader message. “Absolutely devastating” NC cities is not a byproduct of the legislation. That is the goal.

How many times do I have to say this? What we’re seeing is an extension of the GOP’s “defund the left” strategy of undermining the largest concentrations of manpower and funding that support Democrats. First they went after private-sector unions, then public-sector unions, and teachers, firefighters, trial lawyers, etc. Then with Voter ID they attacked seniors, college students and minorities. They’ve taken away control of Asheville’s airport. They tried to take away Charlotte’s. They’re still trying to take Asheville’s water system to blow a huge hole in the city budget. Collectively, Republicans in Raleigh are hoping to render cities irrelevant in future state and local elections. And with redistricting, they’ve isolated Asheville in House District 114 and won’t even bother running candidates there for now.

Many other people tell us that they didn't learn about the history of the 1862 war and its consequences to Dakota people and they're shocked to learn about the brutal war and its even more brutal consequences: a concentration camp at Fort Snelling, deportation, and the bounties on Dakota people We tend to wonder who grew up with the ability to not-know, not-learn, or to forget. In the last month, there's been a kerfuffle over the text of plaques to accompany a statute honoring Shaynowishkung, or Chief Bemidji, an Anishinaabe leader who died in 1904. One of the plaques would include Myrick's remarks, then explain Shaynowishkung's role in persuading the northern nations from joining Dakota people in the war. One Bemidji City Council member felt that forgetting about Myrick was the best way to not insult white people as well as to silence Myrick's potty mouth forever, the Bemidji Pioneer reported in April's City Council approves Chief Bemidji plaque language: Members vote 4-3 to include mention of atrocities against Indians as part of project.

Mom would be so proud. In sum, Scott used his mother's death as a way to fool the press and the voters prior to an election, into thinking he was now a compassionate human being, when in fact it was a scheme to keep those federal flowing while continuing to deprive Floridians of Medicaid under Obamacare. "Gotcha!" But don't you dare call it a "ruse." Yes, this is the same man who says he refuses to expand Medicaid because he says you "can't trust the federal government."

The Board must have come up with those parentheses while dining at (kōl). Including parentheses in the name of South Dakota’s highest peak may not be hipster nonsense, but it will clutter the map with clinging colonialism. If we’re going to rename a mountain to erase General Harney’s ill deeds, can we not just give the mountain its old Lakota name and let the English-only crowd look the name up or ask an elder what it means? Besides, “Making of Owls” may not be complete:



During the ceremony Basil Brave Heart spoke of a mountain peak in the Black Hills that the Lakota call Hinhan Kaga Paha. The meaning of these Lakota words is difficult to explain though the literal translation would be something like “the mountain of the sacred owl” or “the sacred scary owl of the mountain.” In many Native American traditions the owl is believed to be a messenger and often a messenger of death [M. Timothy Nolting, “Across the Fence: Hinhan Kaga Paha,” Gering Citizen, 2014.06.19]. Sacred Scary Owl, Messenger of Death—I think we could generate some marketing buzz with that.

At Raging Chicken Press of Pennsylvania,writes— Obama Throws Punches at Bound and Gagged Progressives Over TPP At Juanita Jean's of Texas,writes— Hallelujah! I Have Another FBI File! The Next Round Is On Me, Boys! At Bleeding Heartland of Iowa,writes— Iowa DOT insists that cities shut off some of their traffic cameras At Democratic Diva of Arizona,writes— ARIZONA IS BEING GROOMED FOR THE ERADICATION OF INCOME TAX At Grumpy Abe of Ohio writes— Hedrick Smith calls for citizen action to restore American dream At Blue Oregon writes— In wake of gun safety bill passage, Prozanski faces recall effort At Scrutiny Hooligans of North Carolina,writes— Local Taxes: A Low Signal-to-Noise Ratio At Bluestem Prairie of Minnesota, writes— Bemidji City Council lady ready to leave behind butthurt about white people's negative image At Beach Peanuts of Floridawrites— Rick Scott Doesn't Want His Medicaid Ruse To Be Called A Ruse At the Dakota Free Press writes— Sacred Scary Owls: Board Recommends Hinhan Kaga as New Name for Harney Peak