San Diego Won’t Punish City Workers Who Say “Founding Fathers”
The effort to make language gender neutral just reached a richly ironic point. The City of San Diego warned its workers in a new manual on “Bias-Free Language” that gender-specific terms such as “manmade” and “the common man” should not be used. Also problematic, according to the manual: “founding fathers.” MORE
Supreme Court Puts Obama's Clean Power Plan on Hold
A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday abruptly halted President Obama's controversial new power plant regulations, dealing a blow to the administration's sweeping plan to address global warming. In a 5-4 decision, the court halted enforcement of the plan until after legal challenges are resolved. The surprising move is a victory for the coalition of 27 mostly Republican-led states and industry opponents that call the regulations "an unprecedented power grab." MORE
Former Sex Slaves Pick up Weapons to Crush ISIS
More Yazidi women who escaped sex slavery under ISIS are now preparing to launch a major assault on the terror group as revenge for the slaughter of their friends and families. The "Force of the Sun Ladies" is comprised of 123 Yazidi women between the ages of 17 and 37. After the siege on Mount Sinjar in August 2014, ISIS militants captured many of the women and sold them into sexual slavery. There are 500 more Yazidi women just waiting for training before they can join the burgeoning force, which already engages ISIS daily. MORE
Shape-shifting 'Superhero' Material Can Lift 1,000 Times Its Weight
Call Wayne Industries! A stretchy new polymer can pack a punch, with a shoelace-size piece able to lift the weight of a liter of soda, its creators say. The material, developed by University of Rochester scientists, can be triggered to change shape when it comes in contact with body heat, and in the process it lifts 1,000 times its own mass. The super-polymer could one day be used to used to stitch you up after surgery and possibly take form-fitting spandex to a whole new level. MORE
How Republicans Can Get More Black Votes
The 2012 presidential election delivered a wake-up call to the Republican Party to improve communication with minorities. The realization that the American presidency can now be won with support of less than 40 percent of white voters – Obama won with just 39 percent – was a bombshell. When Ronald Reagan was elected president in November 1980, 88 percent of the electorate was white. In 2012, when Barack Obama was elected, this was down to 72 percent. MORE
70% of Obama’s Budget Is Writing Checks to Individuals
What is the federal government’s most important function these days? Based on the Obama budget released today, it’s not defense, or roads, or education, or the environment. It’s cutting checks. Buried deep in the president’s annual budget are a series of tables that few ever notice, but that are incredibly illuminating when it comes to understanding the size and scope of today’s federal government. MORE