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

Real estate investment trusts (REIT) were created during the Eisenhower administration to help companies that concentrate their business in real estate holdings by reducing or even eliminating the payment of corporate taxes. Typical REITs are companies that own shopping centers, malls, office buildings, apartments and mortgages. But now Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is using REIT status as a “golden ticket” to reduce its tax bill.   read more

Over a four-year period (2007-2011), more than 16% of those living in nine Appalachian states resided at or below the federal poverty line, compared to 14.3% of all U.S. residents during the same time period. Statistics compiled by the Appalachia Regional Commission showed two states’ Appalachia region endured poverty levels exceeding 20%: Kentucky (24.8%) and Mississippi (22.9%).   read more

Paul Kevin Curtis, the man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and others before charges were dropped, wasn’t the only Elvis impersonator arrested lately. A 53-year-old Elvis impersonator from Iowa, Michael Reed (stage name “Micky King”), was jailed in Iowa after firing a shotgun at police.   read more

Officials with Mars One have made it clear that the seven-month journey is strictly one-way: Due to the difficulties of traveling so far through space and the lasting effects of being on Mars, the mission would not include a way to return home to Earth. Living in such an environment would cause significant physiological changes to the astronauts, impacting everything from bone density to circulation.   read more

The federal government was concerned because ABI already controlled nearly 40% of the U.S. beer market, and gaining control of Modelo’s brands, which include Corona, would mean a virtual monopoly for the company that already sells Budweiser, Busch, Michelob, Beck’s and other popular beers. The administration also alleged that the deal would result in consumers paying more for beer and would limit innovation in the beer market.   read more

Under rules established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), fertilizer plants are required to report when they have 400 pounds of ammonium nitrate. It turned out the West Fertilizer Co. contained 270 tons of the substance—meaning the plant had 1,350 times the amount allowed by the government.   read more

The weapons slated for improvements are B61 gravity bombs stockpiled in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Turkey. About 200 of the bombs would also be given new tail fins that would turn them into guided weapons that could be delivered by stealth F35 fighter-bombers, according to one nuclear weapons expert.   read more

The most commonly diagnosed cases stem from salmonella (7,800 cases and 33 deaths), which comes from the feces of chickens and other animals and contaminates water and produce. The deadliest pathogen was listeria, with 13 of 121 cases resulting in death. In 2011, an outbreak of listeriosis, caused by cantaloupe from Jensen Farms in Holly, Colorado, led to the deaths of 30 people, making it the worst food-borne outbreak in more than 25 years.   read more

In the annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government ® survey, 80% of the Senior Executive Service (SES) agreed with the statement: “Promotions in my work unit are based on merit.” Employees don’t see things the same way, with only 30% agreeing with the above statement.   read more

The Boston Marathon Bombings raised many fears and questions. Two notable questions emerged, “who is responsible for these attacks?” and “what/who is a reliable news source?” The investigation of these attacks turned into what was described as a game of “racist Where’s Wally,” played by social media and mainstream media alike. In the four days after the explosions took place, five different people were wrongfully identified as suspects. Here are their stories.   read more

The specific boondoggles include addition of sun rooms to housing for senior officers in Stuttgart, Germany; a $10 million museum in South Korea praising the U.S. Army; and $2.9 million worth of netting around an Army golf course at Camp Zama, Japan. A little-known rule lets local American commanders waive these payments in return for work of an equivalent value performed by the host country—without approval from Congress or even the Pentagon itself.   read more

Wall Street is certainly pushing boundaries on securitized commercial mortgage-backed securities, in which a pool of commercial mortgages are mixed together into bonds So far in 2013, banks have issued $33.5 billion in such bonds, slightly more than they did in early 2005. Before the 2008 crash, 57% of the outstanding money in such securities was in high-risk interest-only loans, a number that fell hard and fast, to just 11% two years ago. Today, that number has more than tripled to 34%.   read more

Even as 15 million Americans continued to look for work and the average wage barely kept up with the cost of living, the 25 best paid hedge fund managers raked in a total of $14.14 billion, an average of $565.6 million per year. The top ten took home $10.1 billion, and top manager David Tepper—who did not even make the top 25 last year—made off with $2.2 billion, equivalent to $1,057,692 an hour, as much as the average American family makes in 21 years.   read more

The plaintiffs alleged that a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Petroleum, the parent company of Shell Oil, supported the Nigerian government in torturing and killing people protesting against the company’s construction of a pipeline in the Ogoni region in the 1990s. But the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Nigerian plaintiffs, although they are now resident in the United States, could not sue in American courts.   read more

Some senators, such as Republican Dan Coats of Indiana, accepted donations from pro-gun groups as recently as three weeks ago. Of the current members of the Senate, the ones who have benefited the most from the largesse of the NRA since 1990 are Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) with $60,550 in campaign contributions; Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) at $56,950; John Thune (R-South Dakota) with $48,605; and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) at $46,600.   read more

Unlike earmarks, darkmarks (technically, programmatic requests) are directed at specific projects or programs, not specific recipients, and thus the earmark disclosure rules do not apply. If a member of Congress makes a programmatic request asking for more funding for line 3 of the Army aircraft procurement budget, taxpayer money will go to General Atomics. If the member wants to direct money to Raytheon, he or she can make a request regarding line 7 of the Army missile procurement budget.   read more