Blog Heap of Links for the day 15 April 2016

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told lawmakers on Wednesday that implementing a flat tax would be simpler than the current tax system and would save the agency a lot of money.…

…Freedom is good for business in general, but it is not good for an individual business that has already made it to the top. Where freedom and competition thrive, prices fall and good ideas rise. Where government coerces, where government pays the freight, where government grants you "rights" to the labor and products of others, prices soar and good ideas that threaten the status quo are trampled under and left behind.…

…former Republican presidential candidate and Donald Trump supporter Dr. Ben Carson said…

Performance troupe Cirque du Soleil has canceled performances in three North Carolina cities…

…In their new paper published last week in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Kipping and Teachey ask the question: What if another civilization in our galaxy had their own Kepler Mission? What would they see when they observed our star, the Sun?… Kipping and Teachey… explore how we could hide or broadcast our presence. And they argue that other civilizations could already be doing this.…

A Federal court judge has ruled that the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is not a valid religion. In fact the judge ruled that the church is a parody, a parody, can you believe it?!? Don't worry true believers, this is just a minor setback…

An oil-field waste product that poses environmental challenges and is linked to earthquakes could become a valuable economic resource if the efforts of Oklahoma State University researchers are successful.

Biosystems and agricultural engineering professor Nurhan Dunford and her team have spent much of the past five years developing strains of algae that can be turned into biofuels and feedstocks for food or medicines. The researchers also are using the algae to clean water contaminated by agriculture and oil production.…

Mississippi is the latest state to approve legislation that would ban dismemberment abortions tearing unborn babies limb from limb. Today, pro-life Governor Phil Bryant signed the bill into law.…

… Momentum Machines has built a robot that could radically change the fast-food industry and have some line cooks looking for new jobs. …robot can "slice toppings like tomatoes and pickles immediately before it places the slice onto your burger, giving you the freshest burger possible." …"can produce ~360 hamburgers per hour." …will offer "custom meat grinds for every single customer. Want a patty with 1/3 pork and 2/3 bison ground to order? No problem." …"device isn’t meant to make employees more efficient. It’s meant to completely obviate them."

A drug 80 to 200 times more potent than heroin is showing up all over Chicago. Overdoses from a synthetic form of fentanyl are being reported in most collar counties.… Heroin overdose deaths are skyrocketing. In Will County, there were 53 heroin-related overdose deaths last year. This year, that number could double. So far, 18 people have died, with two of them after overdosing on synthetic fentanyl.…

…The only thing that victimizes most people in America is wishful thinking and their own stupidity.

Today, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill into law that not only allows unlicensed, “constitutional carry,” but also sets the foundation to reject and end new federal gun control regulations and executive orders. …

In a major blow to gun companies, a judge in Connecticut on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 10 families affected by the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School against the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle used in the shooting.…

…7.0 quake strikes Japan after earlier one kills 9…
…Thousands march in Harare in rare mass protest against Robert Mugabe.…
…New malware steals $4M at US, Canadian banks.…

…Syrian refugees flee after camps are overrun by Isis but find themselves being shot at by Turkish border troops…

…Canada slides down slippery slope. Americans can not participate.…
…Be careful for what you wish for…
…This guy has a lot of guts or just doesn't care…

Just woke up. Sorry folks, no news today.

…Monarch butterfly migration mystery solved…
…Health update: Eat more chocolate…
…Federal judge calls IRS untrustworthy in tea party case…

Eight Roma suspects have been arrested in connection with a series of thefts at a children’s hospital in Genoa. Some of the gypsies who have been charged are parents of regular patients at the hospital. Items stolen include hand-held devices, small computers, and jewelry. The victims were child patients, their parents, and hospital staff. Much of the stolen material has been recovered, but one item that is still missing is an iPad which held the last photos taken by a little girl before she went blind.

In other news, a military advisor to the UN warns that 250,000 migrants will head to Italy from Libya this year if action is not taken to prevent them. This number would represent a 60% increase over last year’s total.…

…Trump Campaign Blasts Zuckerberg…
…Border Guides Are Literally Phoning In Their Services To Illegals…
…Soros Plan To Flood America With Muslim Refugees…

…If you are from New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina or any of those other states where seeing presidential candidates is old hat, you’ll have to forgive us Central New Yorkers for our unbridled enthusiasm. It’s been years since Republicans had to come through New York and we were pretty damn excited to have Senator Cruz in the house. For you guys in well-campaigned states, it may be no big deal. But for me? I’ve never seen a presidential candidate in person. And for it to be the guy I support, well, let me tell you, it was memorable!…

…After hearing the [Spanish] phrase, Clinton let out an animated laugh, nodded in agreement and even gave a thumbs up.

But a translation by the Washington Free Beacon later revealed the woman was actually saying, “I’m voting for Bernie.”…

Donald Trump calls Ted Cruz to give him a prep interview before his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

…A small core of super-rich individuals is responsible for the record sums cascading into the coffers of super PACs for the 2016 elections… Close to half of the money — 41 percent — raised by the groups by the end of February came from just 50 mega-donors and their relatives… Thirty-six of those are Republican supporters who have invested millions trying to shape the GOP nomination contest — accounting for more than 70 percent of the money from the top 50.…