politics

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2016/12/02
Students at Hampshire College were upset 02Dec2016 Friday when school officials decided to raise the American Flag once again to full-staff after students demanded it be placed at half-staff because of the election of Donald J. Trump.

Students at the Amherst, Massachusetts college had initially lowered the flag to half-staff in protest against the results of the November 8 election. Days after that move a group of students later pulled the flag down and burned it.

The controversy at the college continued when on Veteran’s Day college officials raised a new flag to memorialize the armed forces, but students again launched into protest. Eventually Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash pulled the flag down entirely and opened a “dialog” on how the flag controversy was affecting the school.

2016/11/26
The Mayor announced his plans to protest in a news release sent to 22News on Saturday:

"Mayor Domenic J. Sarno will attend in support and stand in solidarity with our cherished veterans and our American flag in protest of Hampshire College’s continued refusal to fly the flag, which is so disrespectful to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in order for all of us to live the lives we lead. God Bless America."  read more »

Image courtesy @FoxBusiness

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...the computers that will tally the final vote, saying the outcome is so easy to manipulate that even a monkey could do it.

And they showed video of a monkey hacking the system to prove it.

In the minute-long video produced by Black Box Voting, Baxter the chimp is shown deleting the audit log that is supposed to keep track of changes in the Diebold central tabulator, the computer and program that keeps track of county vote totals.

On October 20, 2016, Otto and Budweiser completed the world’s first shipment by self-driving truck.
The truck drove itself on I-25 from Fort Collins, through Denver, to Colorado Springs.
The driver was out of the driver's seat during the entire 120 mile stretch of highway.

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Image courtesy Voting Machines and lybio.net

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March 20, 2016 - When Pierro asked the TV star why he endorsed The Donald, Baio replied @ScottBaio replied: "It's very simple… the things that he[Trump]'s saying are just common sense stuff." Actor Scott Baio, who last month endorsed Donald Trump for president, wants the billionaire in charge of the country because it does not take a "political decoder ring" to decode what the businessman is saying.
"He's a straight shooter when he talks to me," the 55-year-old "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" star said Sunday morning on Fox News. "When he talks, I understand him." "It's a very sort of direct language," Baio said. "I don't need a political decoder ring to understand what the guy is saying."  read more »

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On July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer under British rule. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term "Declaration of Independence" is not used in the document itself.

John Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The Declaration was ultimately a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The next day, July 3, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: "The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America." But the national birthday, Independence Day, is celebrated on July 4, the date that the Declaration of Independence was signed.  read more »

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NBC News 24 Jun 2016 While the prospect of a Brexit triggering other countries in Europe to follow suit and decide to leave is not an immediate one it would "certainly sow seeds of doubt," according to Paolo Dardanelli, senior lecturer in comparative politics and acting director of the Center for Federal Studies at the University of Kent.

"Denmark and Sweden would be the ones to watch in particular, as their position would be significantly weakened," Dardanelli added via email. "You could argue that the conversation about this could be different in a place like Denmark, or Sweden or the Netherlands, where you're looking at countries with well-functioning political institutions, and economies that are doing fairly well," Nickel said.

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Image courtesy VoxEurop and NBC News

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2016/05/14 Foxnews Ohio Mayor takes a 50% pay cut in my wage to help city’s projected $130,000 deficit. His pay will drop by $34,000. He said he wanted to set an example for other employees because “everybody’s got to help” cut the deficit.

The mayor of a small Ohio city is cutting his salary in half in an effort to solve the city's budget woes. “From now until probably January 1st, I am going to take a 50 percent pay cut in my wage,” Niles Mayor Tom Scarnecchia said after a meeting on how to rescue the city from fiscal emergency.

The state requires that the city balance its budget, as Niles faces a projected $130,000 deficit. With the move, Scarnecchia’s annual salary will drop by $34,000, according to WKBN.

He said he wanted to set an example for other employees because “everybody’s got to help” cut the deficit.

“I think that him making that personal sacrifice should show the citizens that he’s doing the very best he can. He loves Niles,” Councilman Barry Steffey said.

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Image courtesy WKBN, TownMapsUSA, and TribToday.com