Hard Times that Need Hard Answers

I am paying more for everything these days and this is brought home to me every time I go to the supermarket and contemplate buying anything from an avocado to a London broil. I can’t imagine what it must be like to feed a family with two or three children.

Liberty Counsel Seeks to Intervene to Protect Marriage in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Today, Liberty Counsel filed a Motion to Intervene in Brenner v. Scott and Grimsley v. Scott, lawsuits initiated by homosexual activists seeking to declare Florida’s marriage laws unconstitutional. Liberty Counsel filed the intervention on behalf of Florida Family Action, which actively organized a statewide grassroots effort to pass the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment. This was the largest grassroots effort in the history of Florida and the first constitutional amendment to reach the 60 percent threshold required for passage.

Public Safety Alert, Break-and-enters into homes during funerals, Update, Two more break-and-enters

The Toronto Police Service would like to make the public aware of a number of residential break-and-enters that have occurred during daytime hours.

Looking for Answers to the Autism Epidemic in All the Wrong Places

Just last week, on March 24, 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC) released its latest data on autism. After surveying medical and school records from 11 states, the CDC found that autism has more than doubled since the new century began only 14 years ago. Today the condition affects one out of 68 children--five times as many boys as girls. Alarmingly, there was a 30 percent climb in its incidence between 2008 and 2010.

Further Insights into My 86-year-old Black Dad

It occurred to me that my 86-year-old black dad is a man of “firsts” -- a born pioneer, boldly going were no other black had gone before.

Safety stonewall: Government Motors sure sounds like the same old GM

Remember when then-General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner went to Capitol Hill and told members of Congress that GM had to be saved by the taxpayers because, in part, it had been part of the "arsenal of democracy" that made tanks instead of cars during World War II? Why, you couldn't let a virtuous company like that go out of business.

Supreme Court strikes down limits on overall campaign donations - cue the left-wing hissy fit

If you've heard a strange rumbling sound today, don't worry. It's probably not an Earthquake. It's the thunderous roar of crazed left wingers who are losing their minds over today's Supreme Court ruling striking down aggregate limits on campaign donations.

Wasserman Schultz: Dems need to address the ACA's problems, but there are no specific problems to address

Yesterday, everyone's favorite DNC Chair - Debbie Wasserman Schultz - hauled herself onto the set of Chuck Todd's MSNBC show for an interview. There, she said that Democrats want to "address any problems" with ObamaCare. So, Chuck Todd asked her the obvious question:

Secret Service chief: Relax, agents protecting the president don't usually get drunk and pass out

Secret Service director Julia Pierson has her job in large part because the agency's culture was out of control under her predecessor, and as recently as two weeks ago three agents were sent home from Europe for drinking on the trip - and one was found passed out in a hallway.

Israeli mom’s invention gets cerebral palsy kids walking

A Jerusalem child named Rotem was the inspiration for an invention that allows mobility-challenged little ones to experience walking, while tethered to an adult.

Suzuki SX4 S-Cross

First impressions matter. In business it is that care and attention to appearance, dress and general conduct that makes a lasting impression.

National Pecan Month – And Speaking of Nuts . . .

Why is that nuts are almost universally derided? “Nuttier than a vegetarian’s cutlet,” claimed Richard Gordon, popular author and physician. “Health nuts are going to feel stupid some day, lying in hospital and dying of nothing,” opined comedian Tommy Cooper. In popular parlance, somebody may be described as, “Nuttier than a squirrels nest.” All of which – and there are plenty more – are a gross insult to a permanently producing and valuable food crop and pecans in particular.

Orwellian verbiage

It was brought up to me that the politicians of the world may or may not be aware they’ve been caught in a lie. But, they keep following the old saw paraphrased: if you tell a lie, tell one big enough and often enough so nobody actually believes anybody could tell such a whopper. Therefore it must be true. Joseph Goebbels was a cheerleader of the Holocaust based on this theory.

An artist's own unique commemoration of WW1

A British artist has produced his own unique commemoration for the centenary of Britain’s Great War.

Florida's Capital City Serves Up 3rd Annual Restaurant Week & Concert Series

Tallahassee, Fla. – Celebrating the diverse selection of dining options and the city’s growing reputation as a culinary destination, Visit Tallahassee presents the 3rd Annual Capital Cuisine Restaurant Week and Concert Series, May 15 – 27, 2014.

Unequal Pay for Equal Work: Fixing Ottawa's Pay Problem: C.D. Howe Institute

TORONTO, - Federal public servants have pension guarantees in their defined-benefit pension plans that are mispriced, causing Ottawa to seriously underestimate the cost of the pension plans and the total compensation of its employees, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In "Evaluating Public-Sector Pensions: Are Federal Public Servants Overpaid?" respected pension expert Malcolm Hamilton says this advantageous situation for members of the main Public Service Pension Plan exacerbates the growing compensation gap between federal public-sector employees and their private-sector counterparts.

From Martian rocks, a planet’s watery story emerges

After 18 months on Mars, the rover Curiosity has taken more than 120,000 measurements of surface rocks and soil, painting a more detailed image of how much water was once on the Red Planet. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) describes the technique scientists are using to analyze the rocks and what they’ve found.

A wristband for a different kind of cause — environmental health

From “Livestrong” to “Purple Paws,” trendy wristbands have come to represent causes from cancer to ending cruelty to animals. Add a new wristband of a different sort: one that could close the loop on determining the potential disease risks of exposure to substances like pesticides. Scientists reported the development in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

The science of champagne fizz: How many bubbles are in your bubbly?

The importance of fizz, more technically known as effervescence, in sparkling wines and champagnes is not to be underestimated — it contributes to the complete sensory experience of a glass, or flute, of fine bubbly. A scientist has now closely examined the factors that affect these bubbles, and he has come up with an estimate of just how many are in each glass. The report appears in ACS’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

‘3D’ test could reduce reliance on animals for testing asthma and allergy medications

To determine whether new medicines are safe and effective for humans, researchers must first test them in animals, which is costly and time-consuming, as well as ethically challenging. In a study published in ACS’ journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, scientists report that they’ve developed a simple, “3D” laboratory method to test asthma and allergy medications that mimics what happens in the body, which could help reduce the need for animal testing.