My Blog

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • The Media’s Unholy Relationship with Obama

    On the evening of Tuesday, June 30, 2009—just five months into his administration—Barack Obama invited a small group of presidential historians to dine with him in the Family Quarters of the White House. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, personally delivered the invitations with a word of caution: the meeting was to remain private and…

  • Drivers Get Creative to Avoid High Toll Fees

    Drivers fed up with New York City’s expensive toll roads are carpooling to save a few dollars on the George Washington Bridge, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bridge commuters can save $6 a vehicle by using the “carpooling” lane. Because of this, some rogue drivers have started picking up hitchhikers determined to save money…

  • CPS’s Safe Haven Funding Slashed

    With money tight,Chicago Public Schools’summer Safe Haven program will be scaled back and serve fewer students.Last year, the district used $975,000 in federal stimulus funds for Safe Haven, which encompassed 100 churches working with 5,000 students on issues including conflict resolution and anger management, as well as reading programs, tutoring and arts. via Chicago Tribune.…

  • Raise Taxes — Lose Revenue

    The current taxes on a pack of cigarettes in Chicago include $2 from Cook County, 98 cents from Illinois and 68 cents from the city. If Quinn signs the latest increase, the taxes in Chicago will be $4.66 per pack, compared with 99 cents in East Chicago. On Monday, a pack of Marlboros at a…

  • Protests

    Story: Protesters throw fence on police 5:43 p.m. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, dressed in his white uniform and wearing sunglasses, has appeared behind the thick line of police in riot gear. The police are facing off with protesters at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Cermak. A large crowd of protesters is gathered in the…

  • Half of Florida H.S. Students Fail Reading Test

    Nearly half of Florida high school students failed the reading portion of the state’s new toughened standardized test, education officials said on Friday. Results this year from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test showed 52 percent of freshman students and 50 percent of sophomores scored at their grade levels. Students in the 10th grade must pass…

  • Illinois 3rd in Foreclosures Nationally

    This is embarrassing: Foreclosures starts in Illinois are on par with those in other areas but the state’s court-supervised foreclosure system continues to bog down properties in the process. Almost 7.5 percent of all one-to-four-unit mortgage loans in Illinois were in foreclosure in the first quarter, compared with a national average of 4.39 percent, according…

  • Gov. Red Tape Kills Another Biz, Jobs

    Last month when Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced his streamlining of city business licensing procedures, he chose Logan Square Kitchen as the location to herald this new day in better relations between the city and small businesses. And so it’s more than a little ironic that today LSK owner Zina Murray annouced on her website that…

  • Stripping Chicago Spending, Bare Down

    “What do a Chicago strip club and the President’s campaign fund have in common?” ANSWER:  BOTH were paid- with public funds- as “VENDORS” to the City of Chicago. _______________________________________ Yesterday, OpenTheBooks.com upgraded it’s transparency portal to include the City of Chicago checkbook from 2002-2011. It contains $74 billion in vendor payments. Last year 69,800 entities received checks. Here’s what I found while scanning…

  • Wealthy Flee France (Shhh, don’t tell the U.S. Media)

    For those that don’t know, France recently had an election and voted for the most socialist guy on the ballot.  The guy who’s promising to raise taxes on the rich and increase the transfer payments to the poor.  The result?  The rich are leaving…  in droves. France’s high earners feel increasingly unwelcome in a country…

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