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How about defend our borders and deport illegal aliens that are literally sucking our country's limited resources bone dry? The wealthy have no desire or responsibility to be burdened with a disproportionately unfair progressive tax structure. A reasonably fair one they might tolerate. An unfair one they will balk at a... |
the number one problem that all nations face is a governments insatiable appetite for more revenue. every government in every nation will choose the pursuit of more revenue while ignoring the lack of efficiency and poor value for the dollar in every service provided. |
its as though, rather it is, that tax revenue becomes is a market segment that is open for the ruling members and their cronies to exploit for profit. |
the services provided by government will never be efficient or cost effective, the service is so poor and expensive that in every case we are better off without them. |
there is not one service provided by a government which can compete with the same service offered in the private sector. Not in quality of service, not in price. |
the reasons are simple; the government revenues support a parasite class that consists of politicians, civil servants, and their cronnies. |
they will forever concoct new ways and reasons to collect more from the people unde the guise of "providing". |
the only solution is to never, and i mean never let governments grow. |
That's simply a bracket of income that's taxed. Or the most obvious one, corporate. |
The new Republican-led Congress is currently busy picking people to chair its many committees and subcommittees. Guess what! Tea Party hero Senator Ted Cruz is the new chair of the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness. That means he will oversee NASA. Yep—the climate-denying Tea Party hero who tried to de... |
It's may be a bit extreme to say that Cruz hates NASA. But it doesn't really seem like he loves the world's greatest space agency, since he tried to slash its funding a couple years ago. Cruz is also the lawmaker who helped orchestrate the government shutdown, a 16-day-long disaster that did irreparable damage to scien... |
Even though Cruz is from Houston, home of Johnson Space Center, there's reason to believe that he'll continue his pursuit of trying to deflate the space agency. Heck, just look at all the dumb things he's said about science in recent years. |
The McCormick House, located in the Chicago suburbs, was built by Mies van der Rohe in 1952 and is one of only three residences designed by the pioneering modernist architect. In 1994, the steel frame row house was moved to a nearby park where it was restored and opened to public as part of the Elmhurst Art Museum. Whi... |
Yay! The 1997 architect's approach to the house was weird, to say the least. |
Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and Charlie Day are in negotiations to star in New Line’s murderous workplace comedy "Horrible Bosses," according to the Hollywood Reporter. |
The movie centers on three best friends who realize that the only solution to the frustration of their jobs is to kill each other’s bosses. |
Bateman will play a hard-working man who hits rock bottom when he gets passed over for a promotion, while Day will play the kind of guy who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. The third lead will be a ladies’ man who is good at his job, but gets a rude awakening when his boss passes away and gets replaced b... |
As for the titular characters, Aniston will play a sexually aggressive dentist who hits on Day, while the previously announced Colin Farrell is negotiating to play a weaselly scion. |
I wrote coverage on the original script years ago, and while it has obviously changed since then, the basic framework for the premise was there and it provided quite a funny template. Take this with a HUGE grain of salt, but I’ve also heard that Paul Rudd and "Saturday Night Live" star Jason Sudeikis have been mentione... |
Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Matthew McConaughey, Ashton Kutcher, Dax Shepherd and directors David Dobkin, Frank Oz and Roger Kumble have all circled past iterations of the modestly budgeted comedy, which found new life after last year’s success of "The Hangover," which proved the chemistry amongst stars can be more impo... |
Seth Gordon ("The King of Kong") will direct from a script by Jonathan Goldstein and former "Freaks and Geeks" star John Francis Daley, who rewrote Michael Markowitz’s initial spec script. Rat Entertainment’s Brett Ratner and Jay Stern will produce the film, which has been in development for years. |
Bateman appeared in five films last year, including "State of Play," "Extract," "The Invention of Lying," "Couples Retreat" and Best Picture nominee "Up in the Air." He next stars in two films with similar titles — "The Switch" with Aniston and "The Change-Up" with Ryan Reynolds — and he’ll also play a special agent op... |
Day currently stars on FX’s often hilarious sitcom "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and will soon be seen stealing scenes on the bigscreen from co-stars Drew Barrymore and Justin Long in the comedy "Going the Distance." |
Aniston is currently filming the Adam Sandler comedy "Just Go With It," which co-stars Adam Sandler, Nicole Kidman, Dave Matthews, Heidi Montag and Brooklyn Decker. |
2. Popular support for higher taxes and increased public spending is stronger than it has been for more than a decade, according to a study of social attitudes reported in the FT. Just under half of Britons are now in favour of higher tax and spend policies - the highest proportion since 2004. |
5. Britain's major lenders have been told by the Bank of England that they must set aside a combined £11.4 billion of capital in the next 18 months as a means to protect themselves from the risks of an economic downturn. In its Financial Stability Report - released on Tuesday morning - the bank increased the so-called ... |
OBSERVER Photo by Tonya Dodd Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market held a Grand Opening event under new management. It was also part of a 20th anniversary party as the facility hosts and promotes local farmers, crafters and artisans and their goods. |
WESTFIELD — Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market re-brands itself as an incubator for small business. Cross Roads started 20 years ago with the intent to host and promote local farmers, crafters and artisans and their goods. Under new ownership this year, Cross Roads takes that same concept with a slight tweak and offers sp... |
On Saturday, hundreds of patrons including local government officials, out-of-towners and local customers attended a Grand Opening event celebrating new ownership. Market Manager Lynn Patterson and Sue Poster of the Westfield-Barcelona Chamber of Commerce hosted an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. Many govern... |
In addition to the fresh concept, the new owner gave a fresh face for Building One. A new coat of paint was applied, new flooring and lights were installed, and well-worn booths were repaired. Vendors may rent the physical space and utilities on a weekly basis at a lower rate than in the past — and are no longer expect... |
The wine, fudge, cheese, maple and food vendors have returned and been staple vendors since the start of Cross Roads and appreciate the business with plans to stay. |
Another long-standing vendor is Grape Country Soaps. Owner Laura Harford got her start at Cross Roads 17 years ago and now has soaps in a variety of markets and hospitals throughout Western New York. Her mother JoAnn Martin often tends to her shop at Cross Roads. The store offers soaps that are natural, made up of glyc... |
Two sisters were shopping from out of town and found several beautifully crafted cherry wood furniture pieces from crafter Gene Heil. Sandra Nelson is from Columbus, Ohio and has family vacations in Chautauqua County regularly. She has often come to Cross Roads over the years and is happy the market continues to grow. ... |
The market is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 23 and re-opens for the season again in May of 2018. |
A few weeks ago, we told you that former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick looks to be partnering with the former COO of the bike-sharing startup Ofo, Yanqi Zhang, to bring his new L.A.-based company, CloudKitchens, to China. Kalanick didn’t respond to our request for more information, but according to the South China Morning P... |
He might want to move quickly. Kitchens that invite restaurants to share their space to focus on take-out orders is a concept that’s picking up momentum fast in China. And one company looks to have just assumed pole position in that race: Panda Selected, a Beijing-based shared-kitchen company that just raised $50 milli... |
Little wonder there’s a contest afoot. China’s food-delivery market is already worth $37 billion dollars, according to the SCMP, which says 256 million people in China used online food ordering services in 2016, and the number is expected to grow to 346 million this year. |
And that’s still a little less than a quarter of the country’s population of 1.4 billion people. |
Panda Selected is wasting little time in trying to reach them. While SCMP says that online delivery services already blanket 1,300 cities. Panda Selected, founded just three years ago, says it already operates 120 locations that cover China’s biggest centers, including Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. It claim... |
With its new funding, it expects to double that number over the next eight months, too, its founder, Haipeng Li, tells Bloomberg. That’s going to make it difficult to challenge, especially by any U.S.-based company, given overall relations between the two countries and the ever-changing regulatory environment in China. |
Then again, this may be just the first inning. Stay tuned. |
Nickelodeon will debut a $6-a-month mobile service aimed at preschoolers with content unique from anything on its existing channels. |
The ad-free service, dubbed Noggin, will debut next Thursday on Apple mobile devices. There's no immediate word on an Android version. |
Although a few cable channels such as HBO are planning stand-alone subscriptions as alternatives to a cable package, most channels are sticking with existing distributors. In this case, Nickelodeon says it's in talks with pay-TV providers to bundle Noggin with cable and satellite packages. The regular Nick Jr. cha... |
Noggin is the original name of the preschool channel now known as Nick Jr. Nickelodeon owner Viacom says Noggin was chosen partly because moms are already familiar with the brand. |
Charleston native Shepard Fairey is no stranger to political art. He's the man behind 2008's famous "HOPE" poster, after all, which is still one of the most iconic images of President Barack Obama's eight years in office. Fairey, who initially supported Bernie Sanders for president, and later, Hillary Clinton, is back ... |
According to PBS Newshour, this new poster series, "We The People," features three portraits from Fairey, along with one each from Colombian American muralist Jessica Sabogal and Chicano graphic artist Ernesto Yerena. The artists are collaborating with the Amplifier Foundation, a nonprofit that "amplifies" grassroots m... |
Amplifier is also helping get this art into the hands of people who want to use it to protest during the inauguration. Because large-sized signs are prohibited, Amplifier's plan is to buy full-page ads in the Washington Post on Jan. 20 that feature the "We The People" images, which can be torn out and carried by protes... |
Earlier this week Fairey talked to PBS about "We The People." In the interview he says, "There is a lot of division right now. Trump is not a healer. Art, on the other hand, is healing and inclusive, whether topically it celebrates humanity, or whether it’s just compelling visuals to make a human connection." |
Fairey also explains the reasoning behind the portraits he chose to put on the posters, saying, "It’s hard to encapsulate the complexity of what we’re facing, going into this Trump presidency, in three images. But we chose three groups that are vulnerable. In the history of the U.S., there are a lot of people who fled ... |
Read the full interview on PBS Newshour. And if you want to join in protest but can't make it to D.C., head to Charleston's Women's March on Washington, held at Liberty Square at 11 a.m. Sat. Jan. 21. |
ENGLEWOOD — The NFL on Monday announced Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib and Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree will be suspended two games without pay for unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness stemming from their fight Sunday in Oakland. |
According to an NFL source, Talib plans to appeal his decision and go before either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash, officers jointly appointed by the league and NFL Players Association to decide appeals of on-field player discipline. If Talib fails to win his appeal, he is suspended for the Broncos' game at Miami on Su... |
NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan issued the suspensions and in his letter to Crabtree notifying him of the ban, Runyan wrote that the discipline was because he punched Broncos cornerback Chris Harris and then on the subsequent play blocked Talib into the sidelines and "triggered a melee." Runyan als... |
In his letter to Talib, Runyan wrote that he is being disciplined because "you deliberately ripped your opponent's chain from his neck just as you did last year when you played against him" and "aggressively removed his helmet and threw it in his direction, endangering him and various sideline personnel in the near vic... |
Broncos coach Vance Joseph condemned Talib's actions, calling them "unacceptable" and saying "we can't do it." Speaking out about it Monday, Talib said he "came out there to play football on Sunday and I don't really know what (Crabtree) came out there to do. |
"He didn't want to play that game, he wanted to come out and wrestle all day," Talib said of Crabtree. "It's all right." |
Talib and Crabtree, along with Raiders guard Gabe Jackson, were ejected after the incident in the first quarter prompting the Broncos to insert rookie Brendan Langley, who was targeted heavily in coverage. The Broncos waived cornerback Lorenzo Doss last week and now with Talib likely missing time, they might have to ma... |
"We can't lose our best corner in a game like that. It obviously hurt us down the stretch," Joseph. "I told our guys, if we can diffuse those things, we have to diffuse them. We can't fall into the trap of getting into a fight that ends up losing one of our best players. We can't do it. It's unacceptable. We can't do i... |
A beautiful picture of a child running across the beach has won the top award in the 50th birthday photography competition of the National Autistic Society. |
The picture was taken by Melanie Garside and shows her seven-year-old son Dewi who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. |
"This photo is just one of those beautiful 'blink and you'll miss it' moments: a moment of pure joy," says Melanie. "We'd been walking and walking, looking for a beach with just a paper map to guide us. We'd almost given up hope when we turned a corner to stumble upon this deserted paradise - the white sands and turquo... |
What's wonderful about this picture is that, apart from being very well taken it is also the type of picture many families have in their photo albums - a child enjoying life and exploring the world. Yet as with many pictures, there is much more to it than that. |
"For me, the photo shows how Dewi can find such joy in his own company, by making a friend out of his shadow," says Melanie. "He's a really happy little chap, he just loves nature, bugs, beaches and exploring the wilds alongside his shadow. |
"What you don't see in the picture is that behind the camera, the rest of the family are all together, playing a big game of cricket. Dewi isn't taking part as his autism means he can find group activities or being around others difficult. |
"This picture makes me so proud of him. It was Dewi's way of capitalising on our island idyll. There are no footprints in the photo - it's just Dewi in flight, at peace with himself. "What Dewi knows though is that there is a whole family who love him there, right behind him, watching his back. |
"Friendships can be hard for many people with autism. What amazes me is Dewi's ability to do what so many others in our world can find so difficult - his ability to find a friend in himself." |
Another picture that was selected from the shortlist, this time in a public vote, was a delightful photograph titled, Mr Elephant and James. Yet again it was taken on the beach, a place of wonder for all children, by James' mum, Annie Elliott. |
"This is a photo that encapsulates one of the most extraordinary friendships I have ever seen," says Annie. "James struggles with children his age and usually prefers to be on his own. He has trouble relating to the world around him and can be quite fearful of unfamiliar places. |
"That's why it was such a huge surprise when we were out one day shopping and he just lunged out to grab Mr Elephant from the shelf. Ever since that day, they have been inseparable. Mr Elephant has become not only James' best friend, but also his guide to the world. If Mr Elephant goes somewhere that James fears, James... |
"The day this photo was taken was the first time we had ever managed to take James to the beach - in the past he'd just been too nervous. But this time, we had Mr Elephant on our side. We spent a whole two hours in the sun and it was just the most joyous family day. Now, when I look back at this photo, I see nothing bu... |
"This picture itself even has its own part to play in the story. Since we took it, James has used the picture to learn how to say his own name and looking back at the picture, far from fearing a trip to the seaside, he can't wait to go again." |
The competition shows how photography can be used to do far more than simply record a moment. "Judging this photo competition gave us an incredibly valuable glimpse of some of those special experiences and unique moments in time that mean so much to families whose lives are touched by autism," says photographer John Sw... |
Another judge, Jay Blue, an amateur photographer and autistic writer and poet adds, "I am really pleased that so many of the entries in this competition challenged some of the common misconceptions that go with autism. These photos will strike a chord with so many people whose lives are touched by autism. The entries i... |
Here are some more of the pictures that were short listed for the award. |
Image caption Melodie Blake: "This is a picture of my youngest son Jay with his cousin Kobi and Amy. They are the beautiful best friends of my son Kai, who has autism. This was taken one sunny January day when we were out on the downs but Kai actually isn't in the photo - he's running around somewhere just off camera. ... |
Image caption Susan Child: "Clarice is the only one of our children who hasn't got any medical complications. But, living with two brothers with autism can be hard on her too. She can't do 'normal' things like have friends over for tea, we don't really go on days out and we've never been able to take the kids through t... |
Image caption Nicola Brooke: "This photograph captures a really special moment for my family. For me, it shows that age is no barrier to friendship. I can get quite emotional looking at the photo. Lellys was a wonderful lady and she always went the extra mile during the festive season - we called her the Queen of Chris... |
Image caption Fleur Scholey: "For me this photo says that despite autism, you should never underestimate your children, ever. You do start to self-doubt and think things won't progress or change, but look at these two friends, singing in the rain. Absolutely amazing kids." |
Great lots north of Enterprise, lot # 836 and lot # 837. Seller would like to sell both lots together. This is an amazing place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Property has amazing views of mountains with fishing 25 minutes away at New Castle Reservoir. Perfect for outdoor recreation of every kind. ... |
Oyster.com is making the transition from exclusively providing hotel reviews to becoming a hotel-transaction website in the vein of Expedia and Orbitz. With the help of a third-party inventory provider, Oyster is poised to debut comparison-shopping features in conjunction with advertisers. However, only rooms in certai... |
And, although Oyster co-founder and CEO Elie Seidman says the site will not make a push towards consumer reviews, the review process will nonetheless remain interactive, allowing visitors to offer their own travel experiences through Facebook Connect. |
The website is set to launch a “relatively” big marketing campaign in the near future. |
Chinese filmmakers Yu Haibo and Kiki Tianqi Yu probe the angst of a peasant-turned-painter who produces replicas of Van Gogh masterpieces. |
One of the most affecting moments in China's Van Goghs unfolds in a small art gallery, where the documentary's protagonists and their friends eagerly gather to watch the 1956 Vincent van Gogh biopic Lust for Life. Their excitement soon turns to dismay when they take in the Dutch painter's struggles; and by the time dir... |
The poignant part is that the audience is not composed of your average cosmopolitan art film buffs: These are working-class men who earn a living producing copies of Van Gogh's paintings in workshops in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. A beautifully shot, well-structured and moving story about art, work and the h... |
After bowing at IDFA in Amsterdam — where the directors first pitched their project in 2014 and received distribution subsidies last year — Yu Haibo and Kiki Tianqi Yu have subsequently toured European and North American festivals before returning home with shows at Beijing and then last week's appearance at Xining's F... |
China's Van Goghs doesn't simply dwell on the differences between these 21st-century Chinese workers and the 19th-century Dutch maestro; its insight is that they are kindred spirits separated merely by time, geography and social class. Veering sharply away from the stereotype of Chinese laborers as a faceless mass seek... |
True, the beginning of the film could pass for a straightforward account of how these self-learned painters run fairly small family operations that have produced hundreds of thousands of cheap Van Gogh replicas over the past three decades. But slowly, the filmmakers show their protagonists as bona fide artists, struggl... |
The action takes place in Dafen, the country's biggest "oil painting village." Established in 1989 by a Hong Kong businessman, the commune has grown from humble roots (200 workers) to a hub hosting around 10,000 people responsible for a yearly turnover of $65 million. This business provides department stores and souven... |
Zhao Xiaoyong is a peasant farmer who arrived in Shenzhen two decades ago and has since overseen the production, by himself and his family crew, of more than 100,000 copies of Van Gogh's iconic works. He's a canny businessman, but he's also good at what he does: He is very knowledgeable about Van Gogh's brushwork and i... |
Other wannabe Van Goghs also figure, such as Zhou Yongjiu, another farmer-turned-painter who claims to have produced a whopping 300,000 replicas during his time in Shenzhen. But Zhao remains the film's beating heart, as he talks about how Van Gogh's emphasis on rural beauty and poverty mirrors his own upbringing. |
The directors bring the painters' link to the land vividly alive when they accompany Zhao as he visits his ancestral village, where farmers still labor like those in Van Gogh's The Harvest and Zhao's crinkled grandmother seems like someone straight out of Portrait of a Peasant. In moments like this, China's Van Goghs t... |
While shot on HD, there's nothing TV-like about the images of cramped downtown workshops or rugged rustic landscapes. Nor do the filmmakers ever stoop to cheap sentimentality or melodrama, even during a finale in which Zhao finally realizes his dream and travels to Amsterdam and Arles to look at Van Gogh's works and mi... |
He is awed by the real paintings at the Van Gogh Museum and quietly breaks down after the visit. Zhao is dismayed by how his copies are sold as non-descript souvenirs at tacky stalls, and realizes he's paid a pittance compared to how much they cost in Amsterdam. But he is overjoyed about the praise he receives when he ... |
Zhao finally finds his calling, as he eventually begins to apply his artistic skills to illustrate the locales he knows and the life he has lived. This chronicle of an artist's epiphany is what sets the film apart. |
After a record-breaking Patch Tuesday in October, November's security update promises to be a bit lighter with six scheduled fixes, three deemed "critical" and three "important." |
This month's patch rollout is expected to have five bulletins addressing remote code execution vulnerabilities, while the remaining fix will address denial-of-service issues. |
The first scheduled fix will be a critical bulletin affecting Vista and Windows Server 2008. The second critical fix affects only Windows 2000. Meanwhile, the third and final critical item touches every Windows OS except for Windows 7. |
Microsoft expects to issue three important fixes, with the first bulletin affecting every OS except for Vista and Windows 7. The remaining two important fixes will address XP-based Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Excel Viewer for Office 2003, 2007 Microsoft Office System, and Office for Mac 2004 and 200... |
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