New Jersey residents, others upset about flying flags half-staff for Whitney

cause To honor one of the state’s greatest pop stars, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had state buildings fly flags at half-staff (usually reserved for military or politicians) ahead of Whitney Houston’s funeral this past Saturday.
reaction Reactions to the decision have been strong — one New Jersey town basically ignored the order and a Michigan man (whose son was killed in Iraq back 2005) burned a replica of the state’s flag on his outdoor grill.
response Christie defended his decision last week, prior to Houston’s funeral: “For those people who say, ‘I don’t think she deserves it,’ I say to them, ‘I understand that you don’t think that. I do, and it’s my executive order.’” source

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$11M the amount the main pro-Newt Gingrich Super PAC, Winning Our Future, raised in January
$5M of that total came from Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate with deep pockets
$5M of that total came from Adelson’s wife, Miriam; they know a thing or two about gambling source

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If the unions win the recall, there will be no stopping union power.
Billionaire David Koch • Speaking about the Wisconsin recall efforts against Gov. Scott Walker. Koch made the comments during a recent speech after a benefit dinner, and were quickly backtracked by his spokeswoman, who clarified, “[Koch Industries thinks] the best workplace relationships are fostered when the employer works directly with its employees. It is a mischaracterization of our principles to say this means we oppose unions or want to dismantle all unions.” The Koch brothers find themselves under ever-increasing scrutiny for supporting political causes around the country, most notably the recall campaign of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. source

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$140 million one estimate as to how much economic impact Mardi Gras has on the New Orleans area each year
$500 million another estimate; “There’s no way to know for sure because we don’t sell tickets,” a historian says source

» A massive party with a massive impact: “There are a lot of municipalities all over the world that want to copy what we do here in New Orleans because it drives tourism,” claims Barry Kern, whose float-building studio is busy year-round getting designs ready for the event and other similar events elsewhere. And with good reason, too. While the party itself is free, the 100,000 people riding the floats each year can spend as much as $2,000 to $3,000 on costumes, throws and fees. Then when you throw in the thousands of others who spend money on parties, king cakes and other revelry, and the financial impact adds up fast each year.

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20 Feb 2012 20:43