From our friends at Unleash Prosperity, another fantastic visual aid to rebut the predictable default…
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Image of the Day: Climate Change Causing Wildfires? No.

From our friends at Unleash Prosperity, another fantastic visual aid to rebut the predictable default rationalization that climate change, rather than incompetent leadership, underlies wildfires in California or elsewhere:

 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="874"] Climate Change? No.[/caption]

 …[more]

January 17, 2025 • 07:50 AM

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Home Jester's Courtroom $45 Theft Becomes $10,000 Fine
$45 Theft Becomes $10,000 Fine Print
Thursday, September 11 2014

Several years ago, a bag of Ruffles chips, some Little Debbie Nutty Bars and a set of two-way radios were stolen from a custodial room at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). The total value of the loss was reported at $44.88. Six years later, this incident is costing UNK $10,000.

The gist of the dispute gets down to how the custodial room has been classified by the U.S. Department of Education in its review of the school's campus crime statistics.  UNK maintains the space is a public closet because it had no lock; the Department claims it is a private space because the incident report referred to the area as an "office" -- meaning any theft from it also entailed breaking and entering, which turns an act of larceny into a burglary.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, first enacted in 1990, requires colleges to report crimes that happen on or near their campuses and to warn students and employees about ongoing threats to public safety. Under the Clery Act, the failure to report a burglary (but not a larceny) on a college campus results in a fine of up to $35,000 per violation. Thus, the Department's finding that UNK incorrectly categorized the janitorial theft meant the school violated the law, resulting in a $10,000 fine.

Congress last year expanded the law to include new categories of crimes that must be reported and to mandate training and prevention programs. The Department is in the process of finalizing rules to carry out those changes. According to news reports, many colleges are calling for the current fine structure and process to be changed to properly read campus maps. 

Source: Roll Call

Notable Quote   
 
"In a letter that no doubt sent shock waves through Washington's permanent, untouchable bureaucracy, President Donald Trump's acting solicitor general, Sarah Harris, sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday informing it that the Justice Department will no longer defend the constitutionality of federal laws that limit the ability of the president to remove the heads of 'multimember regulatory commissions…[more]
 
 
— Hans von Spakovsky, a Senior Legal Fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation
 
Liberty Poll   

Which of the following actions regarding the federal Department of Education most closely represents your personal view?