Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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National Debt (Strangely) Unchanged for 70 Days
The U.S. national debt for the past 70 days has been stuck at exactly $16,699,396,000,000, CNSNews.com reports, citing the Daily Treasury Statement for July 26.“That is approximately $25 million below the legal limit of $16,699,421,095,673.60 that Congress has imposed on the debt,” the report notes.Fed debt subject to the legal limits imposed by Congress first…
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More Bankruptcy Coming (to a city near you)
The top 10 biggest U.S. cities on the brink of pension bankruptcy. #1 Philadelphia – Unfunded liability of $9 billion, $16,696 per household, only 1 year before the pension accounts are empty #2 Chicago – Unfunded liability of $44.8 billion, $41.966 per household, money runs out in 4 years #3 Boston – Unfunded liability of…
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Feds Ask Web Firms For Account Passwords
The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users’ stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed. If the government is able to determine a person’s password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could…
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Welfare-Funded Groceries Shipped to Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti
Food stamps are paying for trans-Atlantic takeout — with New Yorkers using taxpayer-funded benefits to ship food to relatives in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Welfare recipients are buying groceries with their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and packing them in giant barrels for the trip overseas, The Post found. The practice is so…
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IRS Chief Met with Obama 2 Days Before New Targeting Rules
The Obama appointee implicated in congressional testimony in the IRS targeting scandal met with President Obama in the White House two days before offering his colleagues a new set of advice on how to scrutinize tea party and conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. IRS chief counsel William Wilkins, who was named in House Oversight…
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Da Mare’s Private Road to McCormick Place
A $43 million busway built to whisk conventioneers between downtown hotels and McCormick Place has turned into “the mayor’s road” and should be opened to taxicabs in exchange for a surcharge, Ald. Robert Fioretti, 2nd said Monday. Fioretti suggested turning the 2.5-mile busway into a money-maker after Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg lifted the veil…
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IL Public Pension Debt at $133 Billion
Ten U.S. states have public pension liabilities that are at least as big as their annual revenues, according to a Moody’s Investors Service report released on Thursday that found the Illinois pension bill was equal to 241 percent of its revenues. … According to Moody’s, Illinois has the largest net pension liability in the country,…
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Survey of 15,000 Law Enforcement on Gun Control
The survey, which was conducted in early March 2013, received 15,000 responses from law enforcement professionals. It found that the overall attitude of law enforcement is strongly anti-gun legislation and pro-gun rights, with the belief that an armed citizenry is effective in stopping crime. Response percentages varied only slightly when analyzed by rank and department…
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Defend Yourself from Crazy People
This is blatantly lifted from Second City Cop. No need to correct perfection. – – – – – – – Here’s some brilliant freaking idea coming out of a “police executive” group. Confronting an attacker leads to less casualties: The speed and deadliness of recent high-profile shootings have prompted police departments to recommend fleeing, hiding…
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FBI Admits Warrantless Cellphone Tapping
FBI investigators for at least five years have routinely used a sophisticated cellphone tracking tool that can pinpoint callers’ locations and listen to their conversations — all without getting a warrant for it, a federal court was told this week. The use of the “Stingray,” as the tool is called, “is a very common practice”…
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