Month: May 2016

Dear Beltway Media: Speech Transcripts Have Nothing To Do With Releasing Tax Returns

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

In a primary contest like the one Bernie and Hillary have been waging, it was fair game to ask for Hillary’s speech transcripts to be released since his campaign has made Wall Street and campaign financing big issues. However, Hillary has no obligation to do so since it has never part of the lexicon of requirements… Continue reading “Dear Beltway Media: Speech Transcripts Have Nothing To Do With Releasing Tax Returns” →

Snapchat Sued for Injuries in Car Accident

~ susie

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This is interesting:

Snapchat is social media’s newest darling because it allows users to post videos using previously unavailable filters and snaps automatically delete after they are opened by the recipient. This has created a sense of urgency in users to view snaps once opened because they are available for a limited time.

One of the newest filters in the Snapchat app is the speed filter, which allows users to post selfies while the app records the speed that was driven while it was being taken. This filter is not just being used by passengers in vehicles. This can be especially dangerous for less experienced drivers using the app.

A Georgia man, Wentworth Maynard, was seriously injured, in September 2015, after being hit by a driver using Snapchat’s speed filter. The driver, Christal McGee, drove in excess of 100 miles per hour so that her speed would be recorded as such when taking the selfie.
Continue reading “Snapchat Sued for Injuries in Car Accident” →

‘The Conjuring’s True Story: New Enfield Poltergeist Featurette Interviews Accused Ghost Hoaxers, Including Lorraine Warren

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

One of the more obnoxious peccadilloes of modern horror movie marketing is the insistence that everything is based on true stories. Numerous movie sites, used to regurgitating press releases, have parroted the “true story” behind The Conjuring, Annabelle and now The Conjuring 2, remolding Ed and Lorraine Warren from dubious attention-seekers into frontline warriors in an… Continue reading “‘The Conjuring’s True Story: New Enfield Poltergeist Featurette Interviews Accused Ghost Hoaxers, Including Lorraine Warren” →

The stark disparities behind school money

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Via Pro Publica:

Why do many school districts fail to meet the needs of their students? One commonly cited response is our country’s disparate school funding system: because most districts rely heavily on local property tax for funding, schools in poor districts are often left with fewer resources than schools in wealthier areas. Even though school funding issues play out on a local level, in recent decades, it’s risen to the forefront of national issues. This past year, for the tenth year in a row, a national Gallup poll found that Americans view lack of financial support as the largest problem facing America’s schools.

But can more money really fix America’s struggling, poor schools? That is exactly what NPR’s Cory Turner and a team of over 20 NPR member-station reporters wanted to find out. After six months of investigating, Turner and his team published a series of stories digging into school funding disparities from Chicago to Sumter County, Alabama. ProPublica education reporter Annie Waldman spoke with Turner to learn more about their investigation.

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