Book review: The Betrayal of the American Dream, by Laura Clawson 2012 In Review: Grading the Pollsters, by Steve Singiser The least bad option: Going over the cliff, by Armando The fear of young black men, by Denise Oliver Velez The problem with Hagel, by Scott Wooledge The national debt? Republicans built that, by Jon Perr
For once, Your Wonkette presents a story from Florida that is not calculated to leave you shaking your head and saying, “Effin’ Florida, man.” After the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, a pawn shop owner in Seminole F-L-A has decided to get out of the gun-reselling business. Frank James, owner of Loanstar Jewelry and Pawn, said that as he watched the news of the Newtown shootings, “I basically broke into tears and looked up on the wall, seeing the types of firearms I am selling,” and decided that he could no longer continue to sell the kinds of weapons that were used to kill first-graders. His youngest child is six years old. “I dropped my daughter off at school this morning. That was enough for me,” James said. “Conscience wins over making money.”
“I dropped my daughter off at school this morning. That was enough for me,” James said. “Conscience wins over making money.”
Federal authorities arrested a 37-year-old Bronx woman on Thursday after she allegedly concocted a ruse in the wake of the Connecticut mass shooting and posed as a relative of one of the slain children. Nouel Alba is accused of using her Facebook account to solicit money from those wanting to donate to victims' families, claiming that the money was to be used for a "funeral fund," according to a U.S. Justice Department statement. The donors apparently transmitted the money to a PayPal account controlled by Alba, who later allegedly lied about the scam to federal investigators, prosecutors said.
Nouel Alba is accused of using her Facebook account to solicit money from those wanting to donate to victims' families, claiming that the money was to be used for a "funeral fund," according to a U.S. Justice Department statement.
The donors apparently transmitted the money to a PayPal account controlled by Alba, who later allegedly lied about the scam to federal investigators, prosecutors said.
Wanted: a mayor for this tiny South Carolina town. Like many rural communities across the country, Little Mountain has seen its population drop over the decades. Businesses closed on Main Street. Residents moved to nearby Columbia, seeking jobs and a faster pace. Now the one-stoplight town, population 292, faces a more existential threat to its future: Nobody wants to be the mayor. No candidates ran in an election to replace the retiring mayor in November and, more unusual, the top two write-in recipients declined the job.
Like many rural communities across the country, Little Mountain has seen its population drop over the decades. Businesses closed on Main Street. Residents moved to nearby Columbia, seeking jobs and a faster pace.
Now the one-stoplight town, population 292, faces a more existential threat to its future: Nobody wants to be the mayor. No candidates ran in an election to replace the retiring mayor in November and, more unusual, the top two write-in recipients declined the job.
Test your knowledge of the year's news events!