The majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump for president; the majority of voters did not vote for Republican candidates for the Senate; and fewer than 51% of voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The Republican Party now controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, no matter how that came to be. I believe it is worth bearing in mind that a majority of U.S. citizens did not support the Republican winners.   read more

In the first 52 months of Obama as president, the government issued a total of 1,229 rules. Bush’s administration produced more rules during the same period of time (1,469), as did the Clinton administration (2,136). Agencies under Obama have issued more “economically significant rules” than earlier administrations did: 259 versus 206 under Bush and 215 under Clinton.   read more

On July 26, 2012, Skype vice president Mark Gillett assured users that, “It has been suggested that Skype made changes in its architecture at the behest of Microsoft in order to provide law enforcement with greater access to our users’ communications. False.” It would appear that Gillett chose his words with unusual care, because the greater access actually took place before the sale to Microsoft.   read more

Other countries, including China, the United Kingdom, Colombia, the Philippines and Germany, have banned the chemical compound. Even the U.S. Department of Transportation considers ammonium nitrate a “hazardous material.” But the EPA, under pressure from the fertilizer industry, has refused to list it as extremely hazardous.   read more

The wages of disabled workers are based on how long it takes them to complete a task in comparison to abled workers. Goodwill’s CEO, John Gibbon, who is blind, has defended this practice, explaining to NBC that “It's typically not about their livelihood. It's about their fulfillment. It's about being a part of something.”   read more

In an under-reported but potentially historic decision last week, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-3 to reject the retailers’ argument, ruling that large corporations may force contractors—and potentially consumers and employees—to waive their constitutional right to a jury trial in favor of private arbitration decided by a firm of the corporation’s choice.   read more

Sen. Dianne Feinstein , chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated that the FAA had helped thwart “a plot to bomb a downtown Chicago bar” that fall. If that is true, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure would require the government to share the results of the surveillance that led investigators to Daoud, yet prosecutors refuse even to confirm or deny the substance of Feinstein’s comments.   read more

ECM is not only part of the market for school insurance in Kansas, it’s a leader, insuring about 90% of Kansas’s 286 school districts. That EMC fears unsustainable liability so much amounts to a non-ideological, dollars-and-cents way of saying that EMC believes concealed carry at schools will lead to tragic shootings and deaths—and that EMC does not want to pay out on them.   read more

The median dollar value of possessions and cash stolen jumped 54% from 1994 to 2011, BJS reported, with the median financial loss going from $389 (adjusted for inflation) to $600. Because the average loss (as opposed to the median loss) in 2011 was $2,116, it would appear that high-end burglars are proving successful. However, low-income households are still victimized at a higher rate that upper-income households.   read more

Emerson finally backed a winner in 1992, when he was Bill Clinton’s California campaign manager. He was rewarded with a White House job, serving from 1993 to 1997 as deputy assistant to President Clinton. A wealthy man, Emerson has donated $225,000 to Democratic candidates and organizations since 1992, and bundled donations from others for Barack Obama to the tune of at least $500,000 in 2012.   read more

A deficiency balance, also known as the “underwater amount,” is the difference between the amount of the mortgage and the actual property value. In New Jersey, lenders have up to 56 years to collect debts and in Massachusetts 60 years. In Pennsylvania, there is no time limit at all. Lenders often wait several years until the homeowner has recovered financially before the they go after the debt. By this time, significant interest has been added to the original debt amount.   read more

Passed in 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was supposed to prohibit discrimination based on “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions." Nearly two-thirds of first-time mothers work while pregnant and, of these, most work into their last month of pregnancy.   read more

According to the Complaint, local and federal records readily available to ICE agents clearly show that Gonzalez is a native-born U.S. citizen born in Pacoima, California. Noting that low-level agents can request holds with no supervision and no finding of probable cause, the Complaint alleges that this has caused 834 U.S. citizens and more than 20,000 legal, permanent residents with no criminal records to be detained—both violations of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.   read more

Convicted murderer Gary Haugen, who has been on Oregon’s death row since 2007, cannot force Gov. John Kitzhaber to put him to death, according to a unanimous Oregon Supreme Court ruling last week. Calling Oregon’s death penalty system “compromised and inequitable,” Kitzhaber also stated that he would not allow any executions to proceed, at least until the state legislature had a chance to consider and enact reforms.   read more

Costos migrated to film and television, working as a senior executive of Revolution Studios in charge of corporate partnerships and promotions from 2002 to 2004. He then founded Eight Cylinders Inc, an entertainment marketing firm. In July 2006, HBO hired Costos to head its new global licensing and marketing division. Costos is in a long-term relationship with interior designer Michael Smith, who was selected by Michelle Obama in 2009 to redecorate the residential quarters of the White House.   read more

The case centered on a 2003 law intended to combat AIDS and other infectious diseases worldwide. It provided $60 billion in funding for public health NGOs—but only if they renounced prostitution and sex trafficking, which can lead to the spread of diseases. Four NGOs that carry out overseas programs sued the government, saying the law undermined their efforts because they sometimes have to work with those involved in the sex trade in order to fight the spread of AIDS.   read more

The Department of the Treasury paid Comerica to provide prepaid debit cards to Social Security recipients who are poor or don’t have bank accounts or don’t trust banks. The bank did well by the switchover, while many Americans suffered. Comerica was paid $5 for every debit card it distributed to Social Security recipients—plus fees. For instance, Comerica was allowed to limit customers to only one free withdrawal a month. After that, a 90-cent fee per withdrawal was levied on the account.   read more