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The Buried Lede of the Inspector General’s Report

Source: The American Spectator

Buried in Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz’s report on the Clinton email investigation lies a disturbing passage concerning information obtained by the FBI alleging that Attorney General Loretta Lynch attempted to put her thumb on the scales of justice to exonerate Hillary Clinton.

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With the summer travel season heating up, people nationwide will have to decide whether or not to purchase travel insurance. But a lot of consumers might already have what they need in their wallet. To help travelers choose wisely, WalletHub today released its 2018 Credit Card Rental Car Insurance and Credit Card Travel Insurance studies, along with the results of its 2018 Credit Card Travel Benefits Survey.

WalletHub’s findings include:

• Best Credit Cards for Rental Car Insurance – Credit cards from Citi, Chase and USAA top the list.
   
• Don’t Rent – Trucks, full-size SUVs and large vans if you want to use credit card insurance.
   
• Keep Your Rental Period Short – 2 in 5 cards only cover domestic rentals for up to 15 days.
   
• Best Credit Card for Travel Insurance – Chase Sapphire Preferred covers you up to $500K for travel accidents, $3K for lost luggage, $10K for trip cancellation, $500 for delayed trips, and $500 for delayed luggage.
   
• 36% of people have had purchases declined due to suspected fraud while traveling.
   
• Only 47% of people realize credit cards offer rental car insurance.
   
• 54% trust credit card companies more than car rental companies.
   
• 26% of people want price protection from their credit card, making it the most popular secondary benefit.
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• U.S. Supreme Court Rules in favor of Mark Janus in Janus v. AFSCME

  Statement by Jeanne Allen, Founder & CEO

   

  It’s a great day in Washington, DC! The high court’s decision strikes a blow for the freedom guaranteed to individuals under the constitution. No citizen of the United States can be compelled to support speech that he or she does not believe in or endorse, and by upholding that constitutional protection, the court has affirmed a critical principle of freedom. 

  This is good news for the nation, for thousands of educators who have long been exploited by the teachers unions, and for families whose educational opportunities have been compromised by their political activity. When it comes to education, the most fundamental of all policies that shape our futures, no longer can the union compel people to support activities and positions regardless of principle.

  In affirming the position of Mark Janus, the United States Supreme Court finally ends the decades-long assault on worker freedom. While unions, particularly the teachers’ unions, have and will continue to decry the ruling, they would do well to look beyond the revenue-generating dollars-and-cents loss that it will entail and see the opportunity that it presents – the opportunity to secure support for their work based not on coercion, but on voluntary support from those who truly believe in the in the ideas, actions and pronouncements of any association to which they now may truly choose to belong.

  Education in America is in the midst of a major transformation, which is struggling to realize its full potential in the face of limiting contractual and oppositional forces. From apathy to lack of knowledge to deliberate impediments created by unions, these obstacles have kept education from advancing into 21st century.

  The unions now have a chance to join the movement, and embrace the cause of improving education for parents seeking new opportunities for their children, and for children in need of opportunities for innovative individualized learning options, or they get out of the way entirely. While hope springs eternal, we doubt, sadly, that wither will occur. Thankfully, however, teachers will now be able to exercise their own power in impacting the needs of children and families in the education process and policies supporting it.

  Kudos to the Court, to Mark Janus, to Rebecca Friedrichs who began the journey before him, and to all who are engaged in the fight for liberty and justice.

   

   

  Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.

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  With summer being peak moving season, the personal-finance website WalletHub took a close look at 2018's Best Beach Towns to Live in.

  To determine the most livable beachside communities, WalletHub compared 205 cities across 58 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing costs to share of for-sale waterfront homes to quality of beach water.

  Our study divides beach towns into two categories, those by the ocean and those by lakes.
   

  Top 10 Best Ocean Beach Towns in America

   

  Top 10 Best Lake Beach Towns in America

  1

  Lahaina, HI

   

  1

  Traverse City, MI

  2

  Naples, FL

   

  2

  Eden Prairie, MN

  3

  Sarasota, FL

   

  3

  Folsom, CA

  4

  Mill Valley, CA

   

  4

  Highland Park, IL

  5

  St. Augustine, FL

   

  5

  Mequon, WI

  6

  Santa Monica, CA

   

  6

  Holland, MI

  7

  Boca Raton, FL

   

  7

  Alpena, MI

  8

  Kihei, HI

   

  8

  Bay Village, OH

  9

  Westport, CT

   

  9

  Mercer Island, WA

  10

  Key West, FL

   

  10

  Redmond, WA

  Best vs. Worst

  Ocean Beach Cities:

  • La Porte, Texas has the lowest median home price as a share of income, 1.79, which is 8.6 times lower than in Malibu, Calif., the city with the highest at 15.42.
     
  • Wailuku, Hawaii has the lowest median annual property taxes, 0.16 percent, which is 18 times lower than in Shirley, N.Y., the city with the highest at 2.88 percent.
     
  • Savannah, Ga., Port Royal and Beaufort, S.C., all share the fewest disaster declarations (since 1953), 11, which is six times fewer than in Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Palos Verdes Estates and Malibu, Calif., the cities with the most at 66.
     
  • Rye, N.Y. has the lowest property crimes per 1,000 residents, 3.85, which is 35.8 times lower than in Myrtle Beach, S.C, the city with the highest at 137.93.

  Lake Beach Cities:

  • Port Huron, Mich., has the lowest median home price as a share of income, 2.14, which is 3.8 times lower than in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., the city with the highest at 8.11.
     
  • Morgan City, La., has the lowest median annual property taxes, 0.25 percent, which is 15.5 times lower than in Zion, Ill., the city with the highest at 3.87 percent.
     
  • Traverse City and Alpena, Mich., have the fewest disaster declarations (since 1953), three each, which is 17 times fewer than in Lake Elsinore, Calif., which has the most at 51.
     
  • Bay Village, Ohio, has the lowest property crimes per 1,000 residents, 3.05, which is 39.3 times lower than in Branson, Mo., the city with the highest at 119.73. 

  To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
  https://wallethub.com/edu/best-beach-towns-to-live-in/36567/