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Thursday TOON Roundup 1 - The Stench is back for a day
Thanks to everyone for the appreciation thread!
How the US last paid off its debt: Stealing land from Native Americans
The ongoing political scramble over how to avoid the fiscal cliff has put everybody in a somewhat wondrous mood about the level of US government debt, currently hovering around $16 trillion. How did it get that big? Did the US always have it? Has the US ever paid off its debt before?
On that last point, it’s worth noting that yes, the US did indeed hammer its debt-load down to nearly nothing. As you might have spotted if you looked at our recent complete history of US debt in one chart, President Andrew Jackson’s single-minded focus on debt reduction knocked the US debt load from more than $58 million in the year of his election, 1828—mostly a hangover from the obligations incurred to fight the War of 1812—down to essentially nothing. It was just $38,000 on Dec. 31, 1834 (pdf—see table 19). As a share of GDP, the debt load went from about 5% in 1828 to effectively, well, bupkus in 1834-36.
In the context of the current US economy, that would be more than $800 billion of debt reduction. That’s impressive, but that was still a smaller amount than the $1 trillion that the Congressional Budget Office says the US needs to trim its debt load by over the next 10 years just to stabilize its borrowing. Also in the context of the current fiscal cliff debate, Goldman Sachs says allowing tax rates to rise and other policies to expire for people with incomes over $250,000 would boost revenues by a bit more than $800 billion over a decade beginning in 2013.
So how did Jackson do it? Well, for one thing, he collected more cash—sorry, raised revenue—by jacking up import tariffs. But something else also happened. Uncle Sam balanced his budget on the back of an unsustainable, wildly-speculative land-buying frenzy that occurred during Jackson’s stint at the White House. Federal receipts from the sale of lands surged from $1.5 million in 1829, the first year of the Jackson administration, to $14.8 million in 1835. Expenditures stayed roughly flat over the same period. That’s a recipe for instant, sizable surpluses.
more
http://qz.com/31144/how-the-us-last-paid-off-its-debt-by-stealing-land-from-native-americans/
A 35-Mile Laser Rainbow Illuminates New York As A Memorial To Sandy’s Victims
Last night, New Yorkers looking up into the cloudy sky saw something quite out of the ordinary. Streaming across the skyline was a crisp rainbow, pointing from Manhattan’s west side and headed southeast toward the Rockaways. Pedestrians stopping to snap photos might have been excused in thinking it was a strange natural phenomenon, or some new viral marketing campaign. But the lights--which will be seen for the next two nights over the city, were in fact a memorial for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
The project, called Global Rainbow After the Storm, by artist Yvette Mattern, is situated in the Standard Hotel, on the High Line. It points toward the devastated coast of Brooklyn. If conditions are right, the lights--which are projected from lasers--can be seen for 35 miles, so should extend far past the still-recovering areas and far out to sea. These photos were snapped by Drew Anthony Smith, our online photo editor.
more
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680979/a-35-mile-laser-rainbow-illuminates-new-york-as-a-memorial-to-sandys-victims#4
The Needless Tragedy of Student Loan Defaults
For the first time on record, the delinquency rate on student loans has jumped above the rate for credit cards, car loans, or any other kind of consumer loan. The tragedy? Many of those loans will default, with stunningly harsh consequences, even though there are many good options for debt relief—deferment, forebearance, or reductions in monthly payments.
“There is actually no rational reason for a borrower to be delinquent or default on their loans,” says Mark Kantrowitz, president of MK Consulting in Cranberry Township, Pa., and operator of the FinAid.org website.
Borrowers who are unemployed, in the military, or back in school can ask for up to three years or full or partial deferment on repayment of a federal loan. For those who have a job but don’t earn enough to cover the monthly payment, there are six options: graduated repayment, extended repayment, income-based repayment, income-contingent repayment, income-sensitive repayment, and pay-as-you-earn repayment. In other words, the federal government will do just about anything to keep borrowers from giving up and walking away completely.
If that’s the carrot, here’s the stick: Defaulting is “like a trip through hell with no light at the end of tunnel,” says Kantrowitz. The federal government can garnish up to 15 percent of a borrower’s wages, Social Security disability, and Social Security retirement income without a court order. Unlike other debt, student loans can’t be discharged in bankruptcy. Collection charges of up to 20 percent can be skimmed off the top of payments—enough to turn a 10-year loan into a 19-year loan. To say nothing of the lasting damage to a borrower’s credit score, which will make it hard or impossible to get a credit card, auto loan, or mortgage.
more
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-28/the-needless-tragedy-of-student-loan-defaults
When butt enhancement goes horribly wrong
Video apparently shows implant protruding after botched plastic surgery
She moves it back into place, saying: 'Don't think it's meant to do that'
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 08:43 EST, 28 November 2012 | UPDATED: 13:12 EST, 28 November 2012
A shocking video emerged today showing a grotesque bulge in a woman's buttock apparently caused when her botched silicone implant 'flipped inside out'.
Instead giving her a smooth, plump appearance, the implant has popped out and is left protruding in an ugly disc shape at the back of her cheek.
In the 20-second clip, the unidentified woman slowly manipulates it back into place while explaining: 'This is my implant flipping backwards'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239722/Video-butt-implant-surgery-goes-horribly-wrong.html?printingPage=true
Texas out to seize Warren Jeffs' polygamist ranch
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas wants to take ownership of Warren Jeffs' polygamist ranch where the convicted sect leader and his followers sexually assaulted children, state prosecutors said Wednesday.
The Texas attorney general's office filed a seizure warrant in rural Schleicher County on Wednesday. A judge will determine whether the state can take control of the 1,600-acre property owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said the court filings do not mean FLDS members still living at the Yearning for Zion Ranch must immediately leave.
He said the warrant instead begins the final chapter in the state's five-year prosecution against sect's indicted leaders and followers.
"This is simply the next step," Strickland said.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/texas/article/Texas-out-to-seize-Warren-Jeffs-polygamist-ranch-4073769.php
Girlfriend ‘beat up her boyfriend after bad sex left her unsatisfied’
A 24-year-old woman was arrested yesterday for attacking her boyfriend after he climaxed and she did not, a police report alleges.
Raquel Gonzalez lives in Bradenton, Florida with her boyfriend, Esric Davis, 30. Apparently, the two were engaged in intercourse.
When he finished and she did not, Gonzalez allegedly started punching and scratching him around the nose and eyes.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report, obtained by the Smoking Gun, details the alleged attack at the couple’s shared residence on a quiet Florida cul-de-sac.
The violent post-coital attack allegedly occurred after Davis reached orgasm, but Gonzalez did not.
Apparently outraged, she then ‘began hitting and scratching (Davis), causing scratches near his eyes and nose,’ the police report read.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239452/Girlfriend-beat-boyfriend-bad-sex-left-unsatisfied.html
Scoutmaster's slaying, sexual abuse claims roil New Jersey town
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times
November 27, 2012, 6:44 p.m.
STILLWATER, N.J. — Dennis J. Pegg was happy to pay local boys a few bucks to mow the lawn at his house, which sat atop a hill overlooking the elementary school. He was eager to guide Boy Scouts as they mastered the skills of the great outdoors, and to assist hikers trekking the nearby Appalachian Trail.
Pegg appeared to have no enemies in his close-knit, lakeside town of leafy glens and rolling hills — until last June, when his throat was slit and he was repeatedly stabbed in a killing that has raised questions about whether Pegg exploited his position in the Scouts for years to molest young boys.
"This is a really, really ugly story. The blood of this man is on the hands of many people here," said Carol Fredericks, whose brother-in-law, Clark Fredericks, 46, confessed to the slaying. Pegg, who was 68, had been a local scoutmaster in the 1970s, when, Carol Fredericks said, Pegg sexually abused Clark and others.
Others have since echoed his claims, clouding the image of a man whose online obituary drew sentimental tributes from scores of people who knew Pegg as a bird-watcher; as a "trail angel" who gave food and water to hikers; as a former corrections officer with the Sussex County Sheriff's Office; as an Army veteran and firearms expert; and as a mentor to local youth.
more
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scout-leader-slaying-20121128,0,141445.story
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