Report says 40 percent of the public breathes unhealthy air (60% - good to go)

Report says 40 percent of the public breathes unhealthy airBy Andrew Restuccia - 04/25/12 02:53 PM ET More than 40 percent of the public lives in regions with unhealthy levels of air pollution, a new report from the American Lung Association says. The public health group, in its annual State of the Air report, said air quality has dramatically improved in recent decades as a result of the Clean Air Act. But it warned that more action is needed to better protect the public from air pollution like smog or soot. The report finds that more than 127.2 million people,...

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AZ Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing Guns in Public Buildings

State senators gave final approval this afternoon to legislation that could let anyone bring a gun into a public building. Current law says posting a sign makes it illegal to enter with a gun. This legislation adds the requirement of having armed guards and metal detectors. Proponents said the signs are obeyed only by law-abiding citizens, leaving them prey to those who ignore the signs. Sen. Al Melvin said society can be broken down into three groups: The unarmed sheep, armed sheep dogs -- and the wolves who are the bad guys. "It takes sheep dogs to protect the sheep...

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Despite recovery, U.S. public employees face more layoffs

Despite recovery, U.S. public employees face more layoffsBy Lisa Lambert Sun Apr 8, 2012 7:13am EDT (Reuters) - Since 2009, the city of Chesapeake, tucked up against the Great Dismal Swamp in southern Virginia, has cut its workforce twice. This summer, nearly three years after the recession ended, the city of 222,209 has plans for a third round of layoffs. **SNIP** State and local governments for a time were able to shield public safety and education workforces from harmful cuts as the recession deepened. The 2009 federal stimulus fund helped offset lost tax revenue, but that money is gone. Now,...

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Are Teachers With Master's Degrees Forced To Take Food Stamps?

The president of the Michigan Education Association claims he talked to a teacher with a master’s degree who was eligible for a Bridge card. Steve Cook, the MEA’s president, said that a teacher he talked to was in his second year and had a master’s degree and made $31,000 a year. The problem? Publically available data of salaries for each district doesn’t back Cook’s claim. Cook didn’t respond to an email requesting the school district that paid a full-time, second-year teacher with a master’s degree $31,000 a year. The Michigan Association of School Boards reported in 2011 that a first-year...

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Report: Public-sector unions using dues to fight political assaults

MADISON — While organized labor’s strength may be waning overall, public-sector unions are retaining their numbers and pumping up their power to push public policy at the taxpayers’ expense, according to a new report by a conservative, free-market think tank. The Manhattan Institute’s pointed report, “Dues and Deep Pockets: Public-Sector Unions’ Money Machine,” released Wednesday, doesn’t mince words. Public-sector unions, unlike other advocacy organizations in the political process, have used mandatory revenue and membership streams through “dues checkoff” rules and “agency shop” laws to build their political base and push policies that sustain themselves and government benefits at ballooning public...

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The American Left and the Erosion of Public Discourse

Much has been made of the precipitous decline in the level of discourse in the United States. Many attribute this to the coarsening of the language and the ever-widening gulf between the various factions in the political spectrum. However, these factors are a symptom of a current underlying and foundational dilemma: the inability of not only the general public, but nearly all of the so-called societal leaders and opinion-makers to generate an original thought, as well as a stubborn refusal to use reason and logic when confronted with irrefutable facts and arguments. These traits can be explained, insofar as the...

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Put Your Phone Down [Music Video]

Hilarious music video about self-absorbed phone zombies in public.WATCH: PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN

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Santorum Bashes Public Schools, Says They're Stuck In Factory Era

Santorum Bashes Public Schools, Says They're Stuck In Factory Era By Mitchell Landsberg February 18, 2012 Reporting from Columbus, Ohio— Republican GOP hopeful Rick Santorum may be the most prominent homeschooler in America. So it might not have been surprising that, on Saturday, he told a conservative Christian audience that he intended to homeschool his children in the White House. In his remarks to the Ohio Christian Alliance, however, Santorum went further, seeming to attack the very idea of public education. In the nation’s past, he said, “Most presidents homeschooled their children in the White House.… Parents educated their children...

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Santorum bashes public schools, says they're stuck in factory era

Santorum bashes public schools, says they're stuck in factory eraBy Mitchell Landsberg February 18, 2012, 12:51 p.m. Reporting from Columbus, Ohio— Republican GOP hopeful Rick Santorum may be the most prominent homeschooler in America. So it might not have been surprising that, on Saturday, he told a conservative Christian audience that he intended to homeschool his children in the White House. In his remarks to the Ohio Christian Alliance, however, Santorum went further, seeming to attack the very idea of public education. In the nation’s past, he said, “Most presidents homeschooled their children in the White House.… Parents educated their...

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North Las Vegas approves new contract with firefighters in 3-2 vote

The North Las Vegas City Council voted 3-2 to approve a new contract with the North Las Vegas firefighters union tonight, in hopes of saving up to $640,000. The new memorandum of understanding, ratified last week by members of the International Association of Firefighters Local #1607, renews the current contracts in place for both supervisory and nonsupervisory personnel. Under the updated contract, good through the end of the fiscal year in June, the chief will have more discretion in the use of brownouts, the staffing of the air resource unit and restricting the number of battalion chiefs on annual leave...

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