ODD, WEIRD, CORRUPT
THINGS WE LEARNED
THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS
Networks Hit Cain Story 50 Times in Less Than 4 Days; Ignored Clinton Scandals
Saturday, November 05, 2011 Media Research Center
Over a period of just three and a half days, CBS, NBC and ABC have developed an insatiable hunger for the Cain sexual harassment story, devoting an incredible 50 stories to the allegations. In contrast, over a similar period these networks mostly ignored far more substantial and serious scandals relating to Bill Clinton. After Paula Jones held a press conference there was only one report of her allegations. Following Kathleen Willey's claims of being groped by Clinton, there were a mere three reports. For Juanita Broderick, who came forward in February 1999 to say Clinton RAPED her, only three stories... followed. It should be pointed out that all these women offered their names. They were NOT anonymous.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill sells private plane
Sunday, November 06, 2011 ap HENRY C. JACKSON
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has sold a private plane she co-owns with her husband, months after her use of it for official business and failure to pay back taxes created a political headache... First she repaid the government $88,000 after she was criticized for reimbursing herself for use of the plane on official and political travel. Then she paid $287,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest to St. Louis County. ... McCaskill, seeking re-election in 2012, faces a tough race in a state she narrowly won in 2006. Republicans have pounded McCaskill on the plane, dubbing it "Air Claire" .
A funny thing happened on the way to the Herman Cain lynching
Telegraph (UK) ^ | November 5th, 2011 | By Toby Harnden
By any normal rules of politics, Cain should be toast. So what’s going on? The media and Cain’s detractors have over-played their hand. Politico, which broke the original story, published 94 articles on the allegations in under six days. Every other major publication followed suit. Yet despite the maelstrom, Cain’s accusers remain anonymous and the details of the allegations vague. There was a growing sense that Cain was being treated unfairly. Rather than mouthing slick talking points, Cain got angry with the journalists and claimed that he was the victim of a “high-tech lynching”.
Publisher Owned by Catholic Church Reportedly Selling Porn Novels
Foxnews ^ | 11/06/2011 | Tony Paterson
Germany's biggest Catholic-owned publishing house has been rocked by disclosures that it has been selling thousands of pornographic novels with titles such as Sluts Boarding School and Lawyer's Whore with the full assent of the country's leading bishops. The revelations made in the publishing-industry newsletter Buchreport concern Weltbild, a company with an annual €1.7bn (£1.5bn) turnover and 6,400 employees. It is Germany's largest bookseller after Amazon and wholly owned by the Catholic Church. Buchreport revealed that Weltbild's massive assortment of titles available to customers online includes some 2,500 "erotic" books with unmistakably lewd titles including Call Me Slut!.
Foul-ups by the IRS
Boston Herald ^ | November 6, 2011 | Kenneth R. Harney
Remember the federal tax credit programs offering $7,500 and, later, $8,000 to first-time home buyers? The credits were designed to deliver a jolt to the reeling housing industry. And they did: More than 4 million people applied for and have received nearly $30 billion worth of credits.
Most of them, according to the Internal Revenue Service, went to people who legitimately qualified for the credits. But a series of audits has documented foul-ups by the IRS, ranging from credits granted to prison inmates and dead people, fraud schemes involving claimants who never bought a house and even credits for purported home purchases by teenagers and kids as young as 3 years old.
Now a new audit has turned up still more problems. According to the inspector general, the IRS has been sending “incorrect” notices to thousands of taxpayers, either informing them that they owe no repayments on their credits when they actually do, or demanding repayments from recipients who legally owe nothing.
The latest audit found that 61,427 homeowners were sent erroneous notices.
Former Clinton Accuser Kathleen Willey Throws Her Support Behind Herman Cain
November 5, 2011 WASHINGTON -- Kathleen Willey, a former White House aide during the Clinton administration who accused the former President of sexually assaulting her, says she will support GOP frontrunner Herman Cain in the next presidential election. Cain, one of the most popular choices for Republican nominee in the 2012 elections, has been fighting sexual harassment accusations from anonymous accusers for the past few weeks.
Hundreds of Occupy D.C. Protesters Block Conservatives From Leaving Summit
The Blaze ^ | 11/5/2011 | Madeleine Morgenstern
Hundreds of Occupy D.C. protesters descended on the city’s convention center Friday night, blocking the streets around where a conservative group was gathered for an annual summit. Demonstrators staged a “sit in” around the convention center for several hours and barred individuals inside from leaving the area, the Washington Post reported.
Occupy Portland - Outbreak of Lice
YouTube ^ | 11/05/2011 | Youtube
Occupy Portland made an announcement during their general assembly that there is apparently and outbreak of head lice and body lice. And.... The "Honeybucket" port a potty company has advised the OWS encampment that they will be removing the port a potties on Monday due to constant vandalism. The union that is paying for the plastic crap o lets begged the company to leave them through the weekend, but is unwilling to pay the increased rates the company is demanding to deal with the destruction.
Why natural gas beats wind power and other “green” experimental energy technologies
Hot Air ^ | November 6,2011 | ED MORRISSEY
Wind turbines slice thousands of birds of prey in half every year, including white-tailed eagles in Norway, golden eagles in California, wedge-tailed eagles in Tasmania. There’s a video on YouTube of one winging a griffon vulture in Crete. According to a study in Pennsylvania, a wind farm with eight turbines would kill about a 200 bats a year. The pressure wave from the passing blade just implodes the little creatures’ lungs. You and I can go to jail for harming bats or eagles; wind companies are immune.
10-Year-Old Pulls Gun on Woman Who Tried to Take His Halloween Candy
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ^ | Wednesday, November 2 2011 | PHILIP CAULFIELD
Woman says she was joking about swiping sweets when boy pulled 9-mm pistolA 10-year-old trick-or-treater in South Carolina allegedly pulled a pistol on a woman who joked about stealing his sack of Halloween candy. The unidentified woman, 28, told Aiken police that she was out in her neighborhood on Monday night when she spotted some boys she knew going door to door to ask for sweets and teased that she was going to swipe their loot, The Augusta Chronicle reported. But the spoof turned sour when one boy pulled a 9-mm pistol and said, "No you're not," police said.
Word "School" Misspelled on Broward Road Sign
NBC Miami Lisa Orkin Emmanuel
A painted road sign was misspelled to "scohol" instead of school.Spell check needed: A painted road sign near a Broward elementary school was misspelled "scohol" instead of school. Residents in the neighoborhood of 50th street and Pine Island Road, which is one block from Banyan Elementary School, were surprised by the mistake, the South Florida Sun Sentinel said. "It's stupid, stupid, stupid," Jerome Seleznow was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Nadine Drew, spokeswoman for the Broward County School District, said she was glad the misspelling was being fixed. "We are surpised that it happened," she said.
Congress caused the mortgage crisis, not the banks
hotair.com Nov 2 2011 | Ed Morrisey
Mew York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to explain that to Occupy Wall Street protesters this morning, and pointed out the contradiction between their protests and their demands: “I hear your complaints,” Bloomberg said. “Some of them are totally unfounded. It was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis. It was, plain and simple, Congress who forced everybody to go and give mortgages to people who were on the cusp. Now, I’m not saying I’m sure that was terrible policy, because a lot of those people who got homes still have them and they wouldn’t gave gotten them without that. “But they were the ones who pushed Fannie and Freddie to make a bunch of loans that were imprudent, if you will. They were the ones that pushed the banks to loan to everybody. And now we want to go vilify the banks because it’s one target, it’s easy to blame them and congress certainly isn’t going to blame themselves. At the same time, Congress is trying to pressure banks to loosen their lending standards to make more loans. This is exactly the same speech they criticized them for.” Bloomberg went on to say it’s “cathartic” and “entertaining” to blame people, but the important thing now is to fix the problem.
Week Ending 10-31-2011
15% of the U.S. population relied on food stamps
By Phil Izzo
Nearly 15% of the U.S. population relied on food stamps in August, as the number of recipients hit 45.8 million.
Food stamp rolls have risen 8.1% in the past year, the Department of Agriculture reported, though the pace of growth has slowed from the depths of the recession. CThe number of recipients in the food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), may continue to rise in coming months as families continue to struggle with high unemployment.
Colorado voters reject raising taxes to support education
November 1, 2011
In what could be a harbinger of the 2012 election, Colorado voters Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have raised nearly $3 billion for education by temporarily increasing state income, sales and use taxes. With 59% of the projected vote counted, Proposition 103 was trailing 65% to 35%, the Associated Press reported.The debate over the measure closely mirrored recent rancor in Washington over the question of whether more spending will revive a moribund economy or slow down a nascent recovery. A likely swing state in 2012, Colorado is a particularly interesting place to see which argument voters cotton to. Its population is well-educated, with more than one-third of residents older than 25 holding at least a bachelor’s degree. But the state’s unemployment rate has been stuck around 8%, and a solid share of the electorate finds taxes distasteful.
Permit denied for Occupy Madison due to public masturbation
Examiner ^ | 11-1-11 | Timothy Whiteman
The University of Wisconsin's Daily Cardinal campus newspaper reports that protesters have been denied a permit for a public demonstration "due to inappropriate behavior, such as public masturbation, from street protesters." City officials have also stated that future permits will only be allowed if private restrooms are available for the protesters to engage in any anticipated masturbatory sign shaking.
Man arrested for sexual assault at Occupy Dallas camp
wfaa.com ^ | Nov 1 2011 | by STEVE STOLER
DALLAS — Dallas police have arrested a man who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor at the Occupy Dallas campsite downtown. Richard Armstrong, 24, was charged with sexual assault of child and failure to register as a sex offender. Armstrong was identified as the man who police said had sex with a runaway from Garland. The alleged incident happened in a tent at one of the encampments on or before October 23. Police received information that a 14-year-old runaway from Garland was at the camp. Police checked the area and found the girl.
ANOTHER “OCCUPIER” RAPED, IN BALTIMORE
Powerlineblog.com
The Occupier crime wave continues. This time, a young woman was raped in Baltimore. She is now calling for Occupy Baltimore to be raided by police and shut down. What most angers her, she says, is that no one at Occupy Baltimore was willing to help her. Evidently that is what happens when you entrust your personal safety to leftists. The video below is a surprisingly hard-hitting story on a local TV channel. In addition to interviewing the rape victim, the reporters observed evidence of hard drug use and observed the general unattractiveness of the Occupiers.
Cops: School worker asked student to pose nude for picture
Macomb Daily ^ | 11-1-2011 | Gordon Wilczynski
A school contract employee has been charged with trying to get a 17-year-old Harper Woods High School student to pose nude so he could take her picture with a camera phone. Maurice Lamont Bulls of Southfield pleaded not guilty Monday in 32A District Court in Harper Woods to charges of child sexually abusive activity and assault and battery before Judge Dominic LaRosa. Harper Woods Acting Police Chief James Burke said Bulls faces 20 years in prison if convicted. Bulls was released from jail when he posted 10 percent of a $10,000 bond.
Occupy ‘ball’ street: Rush for STD tests
NY Post ^ | 12:26 AM, November 1, 2011 | LAURA ITALIANO, FRANK ROSARIO and BOB FREDERICKS
Occupy Wall Street protesters are flocking to nearby health clinics for STD and HIV testing after getting their freak on in ’60s-style hookups with crusty strangers, sources told The Post yesterday. “Last week was free love,” said a medical professional at a clinic located a short walk from Zuccotti Park, referring to the number of people who organizers have referred for sexually transmitted disease testing. A volunteer at the park admitted concern among protesters about STDs.
Mexico soldiers seize catapults used to fling pot
Houston Chronicle ^ | November 1, 2011
HERMOSILLO, Mexico (AP) — The Mexican army says soldiers have seized two catapults that were being used by drug smugglers to fling packages of marijuana across the border into Arizona. A military statement Tuesday says an anonymous tip led troops to a house in the border city of Agua Prieta where they found a catapult in the bed of a pickup truck and another inside the house.
‘Do abortions or get fired’ hospital told nurses: lawsuit
Life Site News ^ | November 1, 2011 | JOHN JALSEVAC
November 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A dozen nurses have filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey hospital, claiming that the hospital told them that they would either have to assist during abortions, or face the axe. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the nurses by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). “Pro-life nurses shouldn’t be forced to assist in abortions against their beliefs,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “No less than 12 nurses have encountered threats to their jobs at this hospital ever since a policy change required them to participate in the abortions regardless of their religious beliefs.
Greek vote sets off 'pandemonium', engulfs Italy
Telegraph ^ | 01 Nov 2011 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Greece's startling decision to call a referendum on last week's EU summit deal has set off wild tremors across the eurozone, pushing Italy to the brink of a perilous downward spiral. The country's ruling Pasok party appeared to be splintering on Tuesdsay night, leaving it unclear whether the governent of premier George Papandreou can survive a parliamentary vote of confidence on Friday. Signs that the EU's pain-stakingly negotiated Grand Plan is unravelling within days has been a profound shock to confidence. A frantic search for safe havens led to the second biggest one-day fall ever recorded in Europe's AAA bond.
Tribe sues NCAA to let school use name
upi ^ | Nov. 1 2011
The Spirit Lake tribe Tuesday sued the NCAA for blocking its attempt to let the University of North Dakota use the sports nickname Fighting Sioux. Tribal attorney Reed Soderstrom said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court challenges the NCAA's policy banning the use of Native American names and imagery by collegiate athletic teams. He said the suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association was brought on behalf of more than 1,004 members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Deputies: Dead Man In Bathtub Had Been There Since May
wpbf.com ^ | 27 Oct 2011
LAKE WORTH, Fla. -- Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies said a man's body discovered in a bathtub had been there since at least May. Sheriff's office spokesman Eric Davis said Wednesday the identification of the man will not be official until the medical examiner's office confirms it. Davis also said deputies found the victim's wife inside the home when they executed a search warrant Monday. Now detectives want to know why she never reported the death.
Fast and Furious: DOJ Officials Knew About Gun Walking Last April
Human Events ^ | 11/01/2011 | John Hayward
Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News keeps plugging away at the story the Obama Administration very sternly instructed her to drop. Yesterday she published a remarkable new revelation about Operation Fast and Furious, the deadly inter-agency operation that pumped American guns across the border to Mexican drug gangs. It looks like all those Justice Department assurances of blissful ignorance about the crazy misadventures of those Phoenix ATF renegades just became, as they say, “inoperative”: Documents just released this afternoon show the head of the Justice Department's criminal division, Lanny A. Breuer, learned about the tactic of ATF gunwalking as early as April of last year.
Week Ending 10-31-2011
State Department buys $70,000 worth of Obama books
By Jim McElhatton The Washington Times
The State Department has bought more than $70,000 worth of books authored by President Obama, sending out copies as Christmas gratuities and stocking “key libraries” around the world with “Dreams from My Father” more than a decade after its release.A review of the expenditures in a federal database did not reveal any examples of State Department purchases of books by former Presidents George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. The purchases of Mr. Obama’s literary work mostly, but not always, took place in the months after Mr. Obama captured the White House. Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group, said if the federal government is looking to cut costs, eliminating purchases of Mr. Obama’s books is a good place to start. “It’s inappropriate for U.S. taxpayer dollars to be spent on this,” she said. “This sounds like propaganda.”
Barack Obama Led #OccupyChicago – Circa 1988by Joel B. Pollak
Just twenty or so years ago, Barack Obama wouldn’t just have supported the Occupy protests.He would have organized them.
From Stanley Kurtz’s essential Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism, pp. 117-8: In fact, Obama personally helped plan one of UNO’s most confrontational actions of the eighties [in 1988]: a break-in meant to intimidate a coalition of local business and neighborhood leaders into dropping a landfill expansion deal.
Obama was also likely involved with other aggressive UNO protests, including protests for school reform, through which he likely met former Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers. Ayers is involved in the Occupy protests today. In the 1990s, Obama maintained his ties to radical activists, and “channel[ed] foundation funding to his confrontational Alinskyite colleagues.” It’s clear that Obama’s ties to the Occupy movement–its forbears, its tactics, and some of its current luminaries–run deep. This is what “community organizing” looks like.
Senators Outraged U.S. Borrowing Big From China While Also Giving It Aid
By Jim Angle Published October 24, 2011 | FoxNews
China is one of the biggest economies in the world and grew at more than 9 percent over the last year. It also has loaned more than $1 trillion to the U.S. to fund its deficit-spending.But at the same time, the U.S. sends foreign aid to China, which lawmakers of all stripes say is just plain nuts. "Why in the world would we be borrowing money and then turn around and giving it back to the countries that we're borrowing it from?" Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said. "If they have enough of a surplus to loan us money, they have enough of a surplus to take care of their own needs." Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia asked the same question in a recent appearance on Fox News: "Hey, in the crisis that we're in right now, should we really be continuing to send American taxpayer dollars over to China for these purposes?"
Mexican ID Becomes Valid ID in Sonoma County
Mexican nationals will be able to show ID from their home country in Sonoma County.
By Chris Roberts | Monday, Oct 24, 2011
In Sonoma County, a California driver's license is accepted as valid identification -- but so is a card issued by the Mexican consulate. Mexican nationals will be able to give their country's state-issued identification cards as valid ID to Santa Rosa police officers and Sonoma County sheriffs, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. The idea is to reduce the immigration-related duties of local cops, the newspaper reported. Accepting Mexican consulate-issued cards will reduce the number of people booked into jail for lacking ID, and ergo, will reduce deportations from Santa Rosa County Jail, the newspaper reported.
Police Investigating Possible Sexual Assault Of Teen At Occupy Dallas
October 24, 2011
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – CBS 11 News has learned of an investigation into the possible sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl at the Occupy Dallas campsite. Some members of the group told CBS 11 they never knew the girl was 14 and that she had claimed to be 19 years old. Police were alerted after someone recognized the girl from a picture seen on a flyer asking for help locating a missing teen.
Shootings way up in two weeks
By BRAD HAMILTON October 23, 2011
Bullets are flying over Broadway -- and everywhere else in the city. The number of people shot surged 154 percent two weeks ago -- to 56 from 22 over the same week last year -- and spiked 28 percent in the last month. Last week tallied another increase in victims -- 22 people had been hit through Friday, including the three victims gunned down outside a Brooklyn school Friday. Last year, only 17 shooting victims were logged for the entire week. The recent gunplay has now pushed the number of shooting victims this year slightly above last year’s tragic tally -- to 1,484 from 1,451 -- through Oct. 16.
Mandatory Sex Ed Details May Be Too Racy for Parents:
The lessons are expected to begin next spring. Monday, Oct 24, 2011
Details about the new sex education curriculum in New York City public schools are out -- and some are concerned the lessons are too racy.The New York Post obtained workbooks that will be used for the new recommended curriculum, which begins in middle schools and high schools around the city next spring. Parents, they say, may be shocked by details of the work. Middle school students will be assigned "risk cards" that rate the safety of different activities, the paper says, from French kissing to oral sex. The workbooks for older students direct them to a website run by Columbia University, which explores topics such as sexual positions, porn stars, and bestiality.
Does Sex Ed Undermine Parental Rights?
By ROBERT P. GEORGE and MELISSA MOSCHELLA Published: October 18, 2011
IMAGINE you have a 10- or 11-year-old child, just entering a public middle school. How would you feel if, as part of a class ostensibly about the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, he and his classmates were given “risk cards” that graphically named a variety of solitary and mutual sex acts? Or if, in another lesson, he was encouraged to disregard what you told him about sex, and to rely instead on teachers and health clinic staff members? That prospect would horrify most parents. But such lessons are part of a middle-school curriculum that Dennis M. Walcott, the New York City schools chancellor, has recommended for his system’s newly mandated sex-education classes. There is a parental “opt out,” but it is very limited, covering classes on contraception and birth control.
Libya to use Islamic law as source of legislation
Monday, October 24, 2011 Associated Press ^ | Oct. 24, 2011
CAIRO (AP) -- Libya's new leaders said they intend to make Islamic Sharia law the main source of legislation and will nullify any laws that contradict its tenets, giving the country a more Islamist character in the post-Moammar Gadhafi era. Islamic law, or Sharia, is enshrined as the basis of the constitution in a number of Middle Eastern countries with Muslim majorities.
Naked Ex-Postman Superglues Himself to Desk in Job Centre Protest
Monday, October 24, 2011
Ian Robinson, 43, had to leave his job after developing arthritis, but the authorities have ruled he is not entitled to disability benefits and he must now try to survive on Jobseeker's Allowance. Mr Robinson decided to demonstrate how angry he was about the decision by staging a bizarre protest in front of shocked staff at Bridlington Job Centre. 'When I started taking my clothes off, a man said "You can't do that in here", so I went over and glued myself to his desk. Nobody tried to stop me, it was too late by that point.
Merrill Lynch Warns of Another U.S. Debt Downgrade
The United States is in for another credit downgrade by year’s end if Congress fails to agree on a long-term plan to tame the nation’s $14.8 trillion debt, Merrill Lynch warned.
In a research note, the Bank of America unit predicts that either Moody’s or Fitch will move to downgrade the U.S. AAA rating. Standard & Poor’s cut the nation’s bond rating in August, causing the stock and bond markets to swoon, after months of bickering by Congress on how to best reduce spending and cut the deficit. The United States spends about 40 percent more annually than it collects in taxes.
Indiana man, 87, nabbed with 228 pounds of cocaine, police say
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Yahoo (Reuters)
An 87-year-old Indiana man was arraigned on drug charges in federal court in Detroit on Monday after police found 228 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $2.9 million in his pickup following a routine traffic stop. A state trooper patrolling Interstate 94 near Ann Arbor pulled over Leo Earl Sharp on Friday for following too closely and executing an improper lane change, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
Tennessee Electrified Truck Terminal Files for Bankruptcy After $400,000 Stimulus Injection
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Fox News Jonathan Serrie
Tennessee Electrified Truck Terminal Files for Bankruptcy After $400,000 Stimulus InjectionBy Jonathan Serrie FoxNews.com Published October 19, 2011 DANDRIDGE, Tenn. – Just months after obtaining more than $400,000 in federal stimulus funds, TR Auto Truck Plaza off Interstate 40 sits idle. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) handed out the $424,000 Environmental Protection Agency stimulus grant for electrical hookups so that truckers wouldn't have to burn diesel fuel while resting. Both the state and EPA were apparently unaware that owner Rick Lewis had a history of legal and financial problems and had filed for bankruptcy.
Europe to destroy traditional family and sexual identity
Traditional words 'father' and 'mother' will be replaced with official terms Parent 1 and Parent 2 in Britain. The terms will be used in official documents. The authorities decided to make such a "politically correct" move to accommodate same-sex couples. Experts are sure, though, that the matter is not about the requirements of certain social groups. The decision is another step towards the destruction of traditional families.
The words 'father' and 'mother' will be removed from British passport applications before December 2011. This became an achievement of Stonewall group, which defends the rights of sex minorities. The US State Department tried to do the same before, but it was eventually decided not to remove the two words from US passport applications.
Cupcake-Tossing Wife Charged With Battery
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Alleged Confectionary Attack Escalated From Verbal ArgumentA Chicago woman was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery Sunday after police said she threw cupcakes at her husband and hit him over the head. Dawn Montesdeoca, 60, is accused of tossing the treats at her 56-year-old husband in their home Saturday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
FDA Chemist Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 JeSSICA GRESKO
A chemist with the Food and Drug Administration pleaded guilty Tuesday to using a confidential drug database to earn nearly $3.8 million by trading the stock of companies with new drug applications.
Keith Olbermann: Paid $10 Million to Lose Viewers
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
http://www.bnet.com
Keith Olbermann is not in the witness protection program, but he might as well be. His show on Al Gore’s Current TV (America’s least watched network) has lost nearly a third of its viewers in four months. Pretty impressive result for $10 million a year. That’s just his salary.
Foreign cars more pricey than ever compared to Detroit's
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 USA Today Chris Woodyard
The article says the average selling price for a new imported car climbed to a record high of $31,536 in August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That was $7,614 more than the average domestic-made car, the biggest gap since December 1999. With Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics in short supply, more Americans have turned to Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Fiesta cars.
First Lady Asks for $10K Photo Fee
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 nbcchicago.com
How much would you pay to have your picture taken with First Lady Michelle Obama? When she travels to Chicago next week to tour Chicago food deserts with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and later host a fundraiser at Plumber's Hall, she will be asking for a pretty penny. The going rate for a photograph at the near West Side fundraiser with the First Lady is $10,000 for a family of up to six members.
Couple Married 72 Years Dies Holding Hands
Wednesday, October 19 KCCI* TV
Copyright story. Short synopsis follows: DES MOINES, Iowa -- An Iowa couple who was married for 72 years died one hour apart last week in the hospital as they held hands.
Reid says government jobs must take priority over private-sector jobs
The Hill ^ | October 19, 2011 | Pete Kasperowicz
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday said Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first-responders. "It's very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine.
Bloody Gang Fight Breaks Out At Richmond City Hall
Wednesday, CBS Local 10/18/11 | Staff
A bloody fistfight broke out among rival gang members at Richmond City Hall on Friday, according to police. Seven men from different parts of the city brawled in a third-floor suite that houses the city’s Office of Neighborhood Safety around 12:30 p.m. Friday, department director Devone Boggan said. He said all of the men involved in the melee are enrolled in the office’s “Operation Peacemaker” fellowship.
Poll: One-Third of OWS Protesters Support Violence
Up until now we’ve been relying mainly on the incoherent ramblings of Occupy Wall Street activists to get an idea of what’s driving the movement. But Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen finally gives us some statistical insight into what OWS actually believes, with a must-read column today in the Wall Street Journal.
Schoen’s polling firm interviewed 200 activists in Zuccotti Park last week:
Our research shows clearly that the movement doesn’t represent unemployed America and is not ideologically diverse. Rather, it comprises an unrepresentative segment of the electorate that believes in radical redistribution of wealth, civil disobedience and, in some instances, violence.
Cuba drills where Obama fears to tread
October 19, 2011 by Jazz Shaw
Good news, domestic energy fans! After extraordinary delays, it looks like there will finally be some energy production activity in the Gulf of Mexico once again. This time it’s in the fertile fields to the south and west of Florida, employing some brand spanking new deep-water drilling rigs with all the latest technical features. This is terrific, and I’m sure you’ll all join me in congratulating President Obama for moving forward with this much needed expansion of …
What’s that? We’re not the ones doing the drilling? Then who is?
The Cubans are partnering up with Spanish energy producer Repsol YPF SA and preparing to move a large, semi-submersible ocean going rig built in China into the gulf. They’ll be drilling roughly sixty miles off from the Florida Keys. Given the wide dispersal of that field, we could have already been tapping into those resources, but apparently the oil will go elsewhere. But fear not, sports fans! The president has a plan. He’s going to inspect the rig.
Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000
By Frank Bass and Timothy R. Homan - Oct 18, 2011
Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show. The U.S. capital has swapped top spots with Silicon Valley, according to recent Census Bureau figures, with the typical household in the Washington metro area earning $84,523 last year. The national median income for 2010 was $50,046.
Week Ending 10-16-2011
‘Occupy Denver’ protester on Bush, his administration: ‘Hang them and shoot them’
2011 The Daily Caller
DENVER — “We’re really tired of the government fucking everyone over,” one “Occupy Denver” protester told Daily Caller roving Colorado video reporter Kelly Maher this week.
The young University of Colorado student may appear too young to have much life experience, but yessir — he’s mad as hell and he isn’t going to take it anymore. He sure looks comfortable in that designer jacket, though. (Ladies: Is that Burberry or a knock-off?)
“There’s a lot of stuff that needs to change,” our boy added, “and if it doesn’t, violent revolution will come.”
How to change things for the better? Apparently it just takes a box of bullets and some rope.
“If you get the thirteen families that own the world, including George Bush and his administration, get them in front of the White House and hang them and shoot them, because they deserve that.”
The Communist Party USA also supports the Obama-endorsed Occupy Wall Street Protests.
From the CPUSA website:
This is an exciting time! Thousands of mainly young people have been occupying Wall Street for three weeks already, and the “Occupy Movement” has spread to more than 200 other cities. On Oct. 6 the actions spread to our nation’s capital.
The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) will hold a national teleconference to discuss it:
Arturo Cambron
The Communist Party and the Occupy L.A. Movement
Tuesday, October 11, 8 pm Eastern
Teleconference number: 605-475-4850 (please note this is the corrected number. ignore previous.)
Access code: 1053538#
Southern California Party leader Arturo Cambron will share how the CPUSA and Young Communist League (YCL) are working in “Occupy Los Angeles.”
This movement, also known as the “99% movement,” is being hailed across the country. Movements and organizations are reaching out in solidarity. The AFL-CIO is opening union halls and offering other material assistance. Ordinary people are donating food, money and materials.
Obama-Endorsed Group Sings “F*** the USA”
October 15, 2011 by John Hinderaker
Earlier today in Portland, the Barack Obama- and Nancy Pelosi-endorsed “Occupy the World” movement. The Democrats are crazy to identify themselves with these people, but the fact that they are willing to do so tells us a lot about what they really think.
UPDATE: The unionized public employees of Oregon are among the major supporters of Occupy Portland. It’s nice to see how much they appreciate the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
Occupy Phoenix: Banks Are Evil, Government's Evil, and Jan Brewer's a "Lying Whore" With Alzheimer's
The Phoenix New Times ^ | October 15, 2011 | James King
"Legalize Marijuana. Gov. Brewer Has Alzheimers (sic). Lying Whore." That's what was written on the protest sign that welcomed us to the "Occupy Phoenix" demonstration in downtown Phoenix this afternoon -- and at least that sign was spelled correctly (almost). There were hippies, teachers, communists, anarchists, stoners, militant black guys, people dressed as cows, people dressed as cops, people with guns, and they all have one thing in common: they're mad as hell and they're not gonna take it anymore. What Phoenix's occupiers are mad about varies, depending on who you ask.
American Nazi Party Declares Its Full Support For Occupy Wall Street Protests
Fox Nation ^ | 10-15-11 | staff
There has certainly been no shortage of vile anti-Semitism at the Occupy Wall Street protests. The “Occupy Wall Street” Movement — WhiteHonor: Many racialists are unsure about, and even against, these Occupy Wall Street protests all around the country. It has been pointed out to me that many protesters are non-white and/or “communists.” Well my answer to that is: “WHO CARES?!” They are against the same evil, corrupted, degenerate capitalist elitists that WE are against! Instead of screaming, “6 million more!” The pro-white movementites should be JOINING this Occupy movement and supporting it!
The Upshot | October 14, 2011 | Chris Lehmann
If you're going to spend $2.5 million on a yacht, you'd like it to be able to float. Alas, the SS Jiugang wasn't able to meet that basic requirement. The Chinese vessel made her maiden voyage in the Yellow River. Although "voyage" probably isn't the right word. "Fiasco" is more appropriate, because the boat instantly sank as it was pushed into the water.
Associated Press Via Yahoo News ^ | 10/14/2011 | Martin Crutsinger
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government ran a $1.3 trillion for the budget year that ended last month, the third straight year it has operated more than $1 trillion in the red. The 2011 budget deficit was the second highest on record. It's slightly ahead of the previous budget year's $1.29 trillion deficit but below the $1.41 trillion imbalance record in 2009.
Justice Dept. Sets Up “Hotline” For Illegals to Complain About Alabama’s Immigration Law (CALL!)
By John Hill on October 13, 2011
The Obama Admin. shows once again who its REAL constituents are: ILLEGAL ALIENS. The Department of Justice, which is appealing Alabama’s outstanding new law, has set up a “hotline” number for illegals to report “civil rights” incidents under the new law.
This Sunday: 900 Days Without a Senate Budget
Guy Benson Political Editor, Townhall.com
America is greatly in need of strong, competent leadership. Our nation’s total debt is now larger than our entire economy. Unemployment is painfully high and growth is painfully slow. Since taking office, the president has accelerated Washington’s reckless spending spree, added trillions of dollars to the debt, and has refused to present a credible plan to put Washington’s fiscal house in order. Meanwhile, Congress is divided. Republicans control the House, Democrats the Senate. As required by law, House Republicans presented a budget in committee, brought it to the floor, and passed it earlier this spring. It was an honest, detailed, concrete plan to put our budget on the path to balance and our economy on the path to prosperity. But Senate Democrats, during this time of national crisis, failed even to present a budget plan—in open defiance of the law and the public they serve. Senate Majority Leader Reid said it would be ‘foolish’ to have a budget.
Gizmodo ^ | 10-13-2011 | Craig Kennally
If you thought the Blackberry crash was just a major problem for a small segment of humanity, then apparently you've massively underestimated the issue. Yesterday evening, CNN was reporting that "users on almost every planet" were affected. This is a major interplanetary incident! Also, does your iPhone communicate with other planets?
Human Events ^ | Aug 31, 2011 | John Hayward
Warren Buffett, President Obama's pet billionaire, spends a great deal of time calling for tax increases on wealthy people. Funny thing is, it turns out Buffett was being shall we say ... disingenuous when he claimed his "leaders" never got around to asking for his "shared sacrifice." His company, Berkshire Hathaway, has been fighting the IRS tooth and nail to avoid paying its federal tax bill for nearly a decade.
Daily Mail ^ | Oct. 12, 2011 | Wil Longbottom
A 12-year-old Christian girl was kidnapped and repeatedly raped for eight months in Pakistan by a man who then falsified marriage documents with her, it was claimed today. The girl was lured on a shopping trip in Lahore by a friend, before she was driven 120 miles to Tandianwalla and raped by the friend's uncle in January this year. Two days later, she was forced to sign papers consenting to marriage with the man and beaten for refusing to convert from Christianity to Islam. She was then held against her will for eight months, before managing to escape.
OCTOBER 12TH, 2011 | Kevin “Coach” Collins
Muslims are forbidden to touch dogs. They believe any house where a dog is kept will never be entered by God’s angels. If this was all there was to it, who could quarrel with their position? Jews can’t eat pork (Muslims can’t either) Muslims can’t have anything to do with dogs, what’s the problem? Actually, the Muslims themselves are the problem. Muslims, especially the Islamist Muslims can not and will not leave the question of dogs alone. Because they are taught by their religion that “Allah” commands them to kill dogs.
A Vancouver restaurant has come up with an interesting solution to the men-can’t-aim problem: Ban men from peeing standing up. Recently, my wife and I had brunch at the Edible Canada bistro on Granville Island. When I went to use the facilities, I was surprised to see just one unisex bathroom with about six private stalls and a communal sink area Even more surprising, though, was the sign above the toilet, showing a stick man tinkling into a toilet with a line through it.
10/12/2011 | CBS LOCAL
ANNISTON, Ala. -- Officials with the parent company of Olive Garden restaurants say they're sorry if a decision regarding an Alabama Kiwanis club's desire to display the American flag caused any concern. The comments come after 80-year-old Marti Warren of Anniston said she wasn't allowed to bring an American flag into an Olive Garden for a planned Kiwanis Club banquet in the east Alabama town of Oxford.
Week Ending 10-6-2011
Home Wrecker
Investor's Business Daily
Rewind to 1994. While everyone was worried about Clinton socializing health care, he was busy socializing mortgages. To boost minority homeownership, Clinton toughened anti-redlining rules and launched a federal assault on mortgage underwriting standards. He enlisted no fewer than 10 federal regulatory agencies to crack down on prudent lenders. He named his anti-bank SWAT team the Interagency Task Force on Fair Lending. "I want to target new (housing) markets, underserved populations, tear down the barriers to discrimination wherever they are found," Clinton said. "We have to do a better job of reaching the underserved; of eradicating discriminatory practices that prevent minorities from finding, financing or buying the home of their choice. "We can widen the circle of homeownership beyond anything we have ever seen," he added. Indeed, Clinton's policies for the first time threw millions of previously unqualified buyers into the mortgage mix, fueling an unprecedented housing bubble. Between 1995 and 2005, according to a new book, "The Great American Bank Robbery," minorities accounted for nearly two-thirds of household growth and contributed a whopping 49% of the 12.5 million rise in homeowners over the decade.
When bankers resisted being saddled with the risky loans, Clinton tapped Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take them off their books, freeing bankers to make more of the political loans. He directed HUD to hike Fannie's and Freddie's goals for underwriting affordable loans. HUD has the power to enforce their loan programs, and required that at least half of all Fannie and Freddie mortgage purchases benefit poor and minority families — a level that remained in force throughout the 2000s.
Global Meltdown: Investors Are Dumping Nearly Everything
Obama's plan working!!
MSNBCThursday, 22 Sep 2011
With no solution in sight for Europe and new fears of a global recession, investors dumped stocks and commodities and ran to the safety of U.S. Treasurys.
Bill Clinton Breaks With Obama, Says No To New Tax Hikes
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Former President Bill Clinton, who on Sunday was one of the strongest supporters of President Barack Obama's jobs bill, said his tax plan "is a little confusing." In an interview with the conservative website Newsmax, said raising revenues in this economy would be counter-productive.
“I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending until we get this economy off the ground," he said. If we cut government spending, which I normally would be very inclined to do when the deficit’s this big, with interest rates already near zero you can’t get the benefits out of it."
Lost generation of workers
New 2010 census data show wrenching impact of economic downturn on young adults
AP: 9/22/2011
In record-setting numbers, young adults struggling to find work are shunning long-distance moves to live with Mom and Dad, delaying marriage and buying fewer homes, often raising kids out of wedlock. They suffer from the highest unemployment since World War II and risk living in poverty more than others — nearly 1 in 5. Nationwide, employment among young adults 16-29 stood at 55.3 percent, down from 67.3 percent in 2000 and the lowest since the end of World War II. Young males who lacked a college degree — typically black and Hispanic — were most likely to lose jobs due to reduced demand for blue-collar jobs in construction, manufacturing and transportation during the downturn.
Obama’s Operation Fast and Furious Program Linked to Over 200 Murders
Gateway Pundit ^ | 9/20/2011 | Jim Hoft
200 Murders. Obama’s failed Fast and Furious program is linked to 200 murders in Mexico. And the program is linked to at least 11 crimes here in the United States including the murder of US border agent Brian Terry. In a conference call this morning with Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, reporters were told the Attorney General in Mexico has confirmed at least 200 murders south of the border happened as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. Eleven crimes in the United States have been linked to Operation Fast and Furious up to this point.
Ex-labor chief works 1 day, nets $158,000 city pension (Chicago)
Thursday, September 22, 2011 MSNBC ^ | 9/22/11
Ex-labor chief works 1 day, nets $158,000 city pensionFormer president of Chicago Federation of Labor, city officials defend payout as legal msnbc.com news services updated 48 minutes ago A retired Chicago labor leader has secured a $158,000 public pension — roughly five times greater than what a typical retired public-service worker in the Windy City receives — after spending just one day on the city payroll, local news reports said. According to The Chicago Tribune, Dennis Gannon stands to collect approximately $5 million in city pension funds during his lifetime.
US justice department paid $16 for muffins
Senator Chuck Grassley said such spending was why US taxpayers were cynical about government
Muffins costing $16 and biscuits at $10 were among the "extravagant and wasteful" conference spending by the US justice department, a report has found. Critics voiced outrage at the spending shown in the internal audit, including $8 coffees and $32-per-person snacks. The justice department said it accepted the findings, adding that it had taken steps since 2009 "to ensure that these problems do not occur again". The US owes more than $14 trillion and has an annual budget deficit topping $1.4 trillion. The report found that the justice department had spent $4,200 on 250 muffins at an August 2009 legal conference at a hotel near the White House.
California City Fines Couple for Holding Bible Study in Their Home
A southern California couple has been fined $300 dollars for holding Christian Bible study sessions in their home, and could face another $500 for each additional gathering. City officials in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. say Chuck and Stephanie Fromm are in violation of municipal code 9-3.301, which prohibits “religious, fraternal or non-profit” organizations in residential neighborhoods without a permit. Stephanie hosts a Wednesday Bible study that draws about 20 attendees.
World's biggest sperm bank, Cryos, tells redheads: We don't want your semen
The world's largest sperm bank is telling redheads to keep their semen. Demand for ginger-haired donors is so low that Cryos International says they needn't bother donating. "There are too many redheads in relation to demand," Ole Schou, the director of Cryos, told the Danish newspaper, Ekstrabladet, according to London's Telegraph. Men with scarlett manes sell "like hot cakes" in Ireland, Schou said, but that's about it. "I do not think you choose a redhead, unless the partner - for example, the sterile male - has red hair, or because the lone woman has a preference for redheads," he said, the Telegraph reported. "And that's perhaps not so many, especially in the latter case." Men with brown hair and brown eyes are very popular, Schou noted.
Week Ending 9-16-2011
Harry Reid Takes On the Great Issue of Our Day . . . Bike Paths!
Sep 15, 2011
Senate majority leader Harry Reid was in full form this morning, taking on the great issue of our day . . . bike paths! Harry Reid: "Well, for most Americans, [bike paths] are absolutely important. It's good for purposes of allowing people to travel, um, without burning all the fossil fuel on the highways.
Solyndra has gone belly-up, as most analysts predicted it would. President Obama claims that he did not play favorites, yet Solyndra's CEO and founder personally thanked him for getting him the loan. Almost as bad is the claim that approximately 4,000 jobs would be created with the 535 million dollar loan. That's $134,000 per job. But guess what: that all fell through. So now it went from bad ($134,000 per job) to atrocious ($535,000,000 for no jobs).
President Obama's Tax On Soup Kitchens
Yesterday, it was announced that an astounding 1 in 6 Americans are living in poverty. President Obama's response? To demand a tax on donations to soup kitchens and other charities that help people desperately in need. The President's proposal will impact approximately 40% of all the tax deductible contributions, and essentially penalize soup kitchens, hospitals, and churches that provide essential services to those who need them most. It’s no wonder this tax hike has been rejected on both sides of the aisle.
Huge Surge in Bank of America Foreclosures
Bank of America is ramping up its foreclosure processing, sending out far more notices of default to borrowers in August than in previous months, well over 200 percent more month-to-month. A notice of default is the first stage of the foreclosure process in non-judicial foreclosures states, that is, where foreclosures do not go before a judge.
W.Va. Prison Inmates Receive Unemployment Benefits Sep 13, 2011
A legislative audit released Tuesday says around $150,000 in benefits were paid over the last three years on behalf of claimants who were either in prison or jail.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Being behind bars usually means an end to unemployment benefits. But that didn't happen in the case of dozens of West Virginia inmates. A legislative audit released Tuesday says around $150,000 in benefits were paid over the last three years on behalf of claimants who were either in prison or jail. Auditors had WorkForce West Virginia check for the Social Security numbers of all inmates during that time period. The agency oversees unemployment compensation, and found it had paid 700 weeks' worth of benefits on behalf of at least 26 inmates. In one case, the benefits ran for a total of two and a half years.
Shock: No jail time for woman who strangled newborn because Canada accepts abortion, says judge
by Patrick B. Craine Mon Sep 12, 2011
EDMONTON, Alberta, September 12, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Alberta judge has let a woman who strangled her newborn son walk free by arguing that Canada’s absence of a law on abortion signals that Canadians “sympathize” with the mother. “We live in a country where there is no protection for children in the womb right up until birth and now this judge has extended the protection for the perpetrator rather than the victim, even though the child is born and as such should be protected by the court,” said Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition. Katrina Effert of Wetaskiwin, Alberta gave birth secretly in her parents’ downstairs bathroom on April 13, 2005, and then later strangled the newborn and threw his body over a fence. She was 19 at the time. Pro-life advocates have warned for years that widespread acceptance of abortion will open the door to greater societal acceptance of infanticide, beginning with the euthanizing of disabled newborns. Infanticide proponent Peter Singer, a top ethicist at Princeton University, has said, for example, “there is no sharp distinction between the foetus and the newborn baby.” Though he once was considered to be on the radical fringe, Singer’s views are becoming more mainstream. For example, the world’s most prestigious bioethics journal, The Hastings Center Report, published in 2008 an enthusiastic defense of the Netherlands’ practice of euthanizing newborns.
Cenus Bureau Report: U.S. Poverty Rises to 1 in 6 People
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The Census Bureau's annual report offered a dismal outlook for U.S. poverty, as the ranks of America's poor rose to nearly 1 in 6 people last year and the number of uninsured spiked to 49.9 million. (Associated Press) -The overall poverty rate climbed to 15.1 percent, or 46.2 million, up from 14.3 percent in 2009.
Flashback 2007: Tim Russert and Chris Matthews Agree Social Security Is 'A Bad Ponzi Scheme'
By Noel Sheppard | September 13, 2011 Newsbusters.org
On November 5, 2007, the late Tim Russert, and Chris Matthews, while talking about the Democrat candidates on an episode of MSNBC's "Hardball" broadcast exactly one year before America elected its first black president, agreed that Social Security was "a bad Ponzi scheme" RUSSERT: And if you’re going to make tough decisions as a president, you have to answer tough questions. What are you going to do? Show us how you’re going the lead us. Everyone knows Social Security, as it’s constructed, is not going to be in the same place it’s going to be for the next generation, Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives. MATTHEWS: It’s a bad Ponzi scheme, at this point. Yeah. So almost four years ago, NBC News's former Washington bureau chief and host of "Meet the Press," along with the current host of "Hardball," ironically in a discussion about Democrat presidential candidates, agreed that Social Security is "a bad Ponzi scheme." But when a Republican presidential candidate - Texas Governor Rick Perry - said this during a debate roughly four years later, the "Hardball" host and many of his colleagues in the press labeled it as unacceptable anti-American psycho talk.
California incomes plummet, poverty rises
By Phillip Reese The Sacramento Bee Published: Tuesday, Sep. 13, 2011
California’s poverty rate jumped to its highest level in thirteen years during 2010, and state household income dropped by almost 5 percent, according to census figures released this morning. About 16.3 percent of Californians lived in poverty last year, up a full percentage point from the previous year. The US definition of poverty is an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four, and $11,139 for a single person in 2010. Median household income – the middle number in a list of incomes ranked from lowest to highest – in California fell from $57,061 to $54,459. Median household income has fallen 9 percent since 2006, before the economic downturn. California household income dropped about twice as quickly last year as household income nationwide.
Feinstein, Sanchez caught in Solyndra for Dem donors
Dianne Feinstein told Politico that her campaign was "wiped out" by Democratic political operative Kinde Durkee, whom the FBI arrested last week. DiFi explained that Durkee worked on her 1992, 1994 and 2006 campaign. And: "I trusted her implicitly." Worse: Feinstein said she and her campaign staff have been unable to access all their bank records at this point because Durkee alone controlled access to the account, which has made it difficult for them to assess how much money is gone. Two other similarly dissatisfied clients are California Democratic Reps. Susan Davis, who called Durkee "the Bernie Madoff of campaign treasurers," and Loretta Sanchez.Problem: As far back as 2007, The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci reported on Durkee & Associate's role in "Californians for Obama," a group that raised money for Obama without having any connection with the real Obama campaign. Then there was this 2009 story. You have to ask: Did Feinstein, Davis and Sanchez not read the newspaper? Or did they not care? What about their staff? As with the Obama administration's embrace of Solyndra despite a negative PricewatershouseCoopers report, there is no good answer. You cannot help but question these politicians' judgment when it comes to managing other people's money.
Number of poor hit record 46 million in 2010
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans living below the poverty line rose to a record 46.2 million last year as the U.S. economy struggled to recover from recession, the federal government said on Tuesday. In a report that underscores the daunting economic challenges facing President Barack Obama and Congress, the U.S. Census Bureau said the national poverty rate climbed for a third consecutive year. It rose 0.8 percent to 15.1 percent from 2009, when there were 43.6 million Americans living in poverty. The report said the number of poor Americans in 2010 was the largest in the 52 years that it has been publishing poverty estimates while the poverty rate was the highest since 1993. Median U.S. household income also fell 2.3 percent to an annual $49,445 while the number of Americans without health insurance hovered near the 50 million mark.
22 percent of American children lived in poverty last year
By Liz Goodwin | The Lookout
More than a fifth of Americans under the age of 18 lived in poverty last year, new U.S. Census figures show. The poverty rate for children rose from 20.7 percent in 2009 to 22 percent last year, making kids more likely than any other age group to be poor. For children under the age of 6, the picture is even bleaker--25.3 percent of them lived in poverty last year.
U.S. Poverty Climbed to 17-Year High in 2010
By Catherine Dodge - Sep 13, 2011
The U.S. poverty rate rose to the highest level in almost two decades and household income fell in 2010, underscoring the lingering impact of the worst economic slump in seven decades. Data released by the Census Bureau today showed the proportion of people living in poverty climbed to 15.1 percent last year from 14.3 percent in 2009, and median household income declined 2.3 percent. The number of Americans living in poverty was the highest in the 52 years since the Census Bureau began gathering that statistic. Those figures may have worsened in recent months as the economy weakened. “Families are struggling to put food on the table, and they don’t have the purchasing power to help the economy recover,” said Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
CBO Sees Slower Growth, Continued Unemployment
Published September 13, 2011
The U.S. economy will grow slower than anticipated and joblessness will stay high as the fallout of the deepest recession since the Great Depression takes its toll, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. In testimony to a ``super committee'' of Congress weighing deficit-reduction steps, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said the non-partisan agency sees economic growth of around 1.5 percent this year and 2.5 percent in 2012. That's down from CBO's August estimate of 2.3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. The U.S. unemployment rate, CBO said, now at 9.1 percent, will remain ``close to 9 percent through the end of 2012,'' Elmendorf said. Last month, CBO estimated joblessness at 8.9 percent this year, falling to 8.5 percent in 2012.
Did you know the average unemployment rate under Bush was only 5.3% but with Obama its 9.4!?
The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 4.7% from 2001-2007.
The data clearly shows that the average unemployment rate of 9.4% in the Age of Obama, is much more than during Bush's 8 years!
Week Ending 9-9-2011
FBI raids bankrupt solar company touted by Obama 09/07/11
FBI agents armed with search warrants descended Thursday morning on bankrupt solar company Solynrda. The investigation comes after a request by the Department of Energy's inspector general, FBI spokesman Peter Lee told NBC Bay Area News. Agents arrived at Solyndra at 7a.m. and were examining the factory. Solynrda has a skeleton crew of 100 workers on the scene, who are closing the factory down. Solyndra filed for bankruptcy last week, shocking both workers and the Obama administration, which had given the startup $535 million in low interest loans. Congress has demanded a hearing into the matter.
Miami Herald ^ | 09/06/11 | GARANCE BURKE
SAN FRANCISCO -- More than half of all people sent to federal prison for committing felony crimes so far this year were Hispanic, a major demographic shift swollen by immigration offenses, according to a new government report released Tuesday. Hispanics already outnumber all other ethnic groups sentenced to serve time in prison for federal felonies. Hispanics reached a new milestone for the first time this year, making up the majority all federal felony offenders sentenced in the first nine months of fiscal year 2011, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Arkansas weatherman Brett Cummins found in hot tub with naked dead man wearing 'dog collar': police
By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Wednesday, September 7th 2011
An Arkansas weatherman didn't predict he would wake up in a hot tub with a naked dead man, but that's exactly what police say happened. Now authorities are trying to determine what killed Dexter Williams, whose body was found with a "dog collar" around his neck, according to a police report. The mystery began Monday night, when KARK 4 News meteorologist Brett Cummins arrived at the home of John Barbour around 11 p.m. in Maumelle, just north of Little Rock, the report stated. The 33-year-old weatherman brought Williams, 24, with him. Barbour said he did not know the doomed man. "They then began to drink and use illegal narcotics," Officer Gregory Roussie said Barbour told him. "Mr. Barbour stated he was not sure of the drugs that they were using but that they were snorting them." About two hours later, Cummins and Williams went into the Jacuzzi to have a drink, and Barbour later joined them, police said. Shortly afterwards, Barbour said he left the two and went into the living room, where he fell asleep on the couch. Barbour told police he awoke about 8 a.m. Tuesday and could hear Cummins snoring in the hot tub, the report said. He proceeded to gather glasses in the bathroom and wake up Cummins before realizing Williams was dead. "Dexter's head was lying behind Brett's left shoulder," Barbour told police, according to the report. "After Brett awoke they discovered that Dexter was not conscious and his face was a different color.
"Investors Business Daily ^ | September 6, 2011
Police in Ohio said a man who was seen engaging in sexual activity with an inflatable swimming raft had previous arrests for public indecency. Hamilton police said they arrested Edwin Charles Tobergta, 32, after a witness -- the owner of the raft -- reported he was engaging in sexual activity with the pink swimming accessory in the alley behind his home, the Hamilton Journal News reported Tuesday. The owner told police the man was told to stop, but he fled with the raft.
CBS News Denver ^ | August 26, 2011
An assistant principal from Arvada High School is under arrest and suspected of sex assault on a student. Anthony Alvarez, 40, is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a charge of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. An arrest affidavit from the Arvada Police Dept. states that Alvarez’s wife, Stephanie Alvarez, called the Arvada High School principal on Aug. 25 to report that her husband admitted he had an affair with a student.
NEW YORK (TheStreet ) -- General Electric(GE ) chief Jeffrey Immelt should resign from his position as head of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness because many of his company's goals conflict with the council's goal of boosting U.S. employment and economic output, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) argued Wednesday in a little-noticed press release. Kucinich's statements came in response to a story in the Washington Post describing General Electric's transfer of sophisticated aviation technologies it has developed to a Chinese joint venture. "American taxpayers subsidized the development of this advanced technology, but U.S. taxpayers' investment will end up creating jobs in China.Kucinich also cited General Electric's low tax bill, which, when pointed out by The New York Times in March, ignited a furor that dominated the news cycle for several days. Another statistic Kucinich plucked from that article is that GE has cut a fifth of its U.S. workforce since 2002--Immelt's first full year as CEO--while expanding overseas.
NY Dailynews.com ^ | Sept 6 2011 | BY Reuven Blau, Erin Einhorn AND Tracy Connor
A city sewer worker made more last year than the police commissioner, the schools chancellor and the mayor - combined. Senior engineer Gerald Mistretta's pay was $771,841 - and six of his co-workers raked in nearly as much - thanks to a wage settlement with the city. His bottom line for the fiscal year that ended in June included a base salary of $109,850 a year, $173,000 in overtime - and nearly half a million dollars in back pay. The Brooklyn father of three said the one-shot windfall - which made him the top earner among city employees last year.
Vice-President Biden At AFL-CIO Rally: "You Are The Only Folks Keeping The Barbarians From the Gates"
The opposition is called "son of a bitches" at one Labor rally and "barbarians" at another rally
cnsnews.com ^ | 9-6-11 | Fred Lucas
Just days after the Labor Department announced zero job growth for the month of August, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D.-Fla.), the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said that the economy is “continuing on the upswing" and that every economist "worth their salt" acknowledges that this is the result of the economic stimulus signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009. When Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February of that year, the national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent. As the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week, the national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent
Gallup: Uninsured Have Increased Under Obama and Since Obamacare Was Enacted
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
By Terence P. Jeffrey (CNSNews.com) - The percentage of American adults who lack health insurance coverage has not only increased during the presidency of Barack Obama, but it has continued to increase since Obama signed his signature piece of legislation last year mandating that by 2014 every American carry health insurance, according to a Gallup survey released today.
Ford building $1 Billion manufacturing complex in India
An child walks on a plot of land acquired by Ford India for its new automobile manufacturing plant near Sanand, some 60 kms from Ahmedabad. Ford has started construction on a $1 billion manufacturing and engineering complex on the site. The complex will create 5,000 jobs and be able initially to produce 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines a year from 2014, Ford says. AFP - US auto giant Ford has started construction on a $1 billion manufacturing and engineering complex in India as it bets on the country to help drive global growth, a company statement said on Tuesday. The new manufacturing facilities in Sanand in the western state of Gujarat will create 5,000 jobs, and will be able initially to produce 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines a year, Ford said.
Tuesday, September 06, 2011 12:41:00 PM
La Stampa (Vatican Insider) ^ | 9/6/11 | Marco Tosatti
In France there are more Islamic mosques being built, and more frequently, than Catholic churches, and there are more practicing Muslims than practicing Catholics in the country. Nearly 150 new mosques are currently being built in France, home to the largest Islamic community in Europe. The projects are in various stages of completion, according to Moahmmed Moussaoui, President of the Muslim Council of France, who provided this data in an interview on August 2 with RTL radio.The total number of mosques in France has already doubled to exceed 2,000 in the last ten years.
Week Ending 9-2-2011
09/02/11 | Lisa Rein
The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago. Although undocumented workers are not eligible for federal benefits, the report released Thursday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes that federal law is ambiguous on whether these workers qualify for a tax break based on earned income called the additional child tax credit.
WASHINGTON — Employment growth ground to a halt in August, as sagging consumer confidence discouraged already skittish U.S. businesses from hiring, keeping pressure on the Federal Reserve to provide more monetary stimulus to aid the struggling economy.
Nonfarm payrolls were unchanged last month, the Labor Department said Friday. It was the first time since 1945 that the government has reported a net monthly job change of zero. The August payrolls report was the worst since September 2010, while nonfarm employment for June and July was revised to show 58,000 fewer jobs.
“The bottom line is this is bad,” Diane Swonk, chief economist with financial services firm Mesirow Financial, told CNBC Friday.
The Gibson Guitar saga has taken a sinister turn. It seems that the Department of Justice wasn’t satisfied with merely raiding the law abiding factories of Gibson Guitar with armed agents, shutting down their operation costing them millions, and leaving the American company in the dark as to how to proceed without going out of business. Now, according to CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, agents of the United States government are bluntly informing them that they’d be better off shipping their manufacturing labor overseas.
CBS New York ^ | 08/31/2011 NEW YORK – First responders will not be invited to this year’s 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero. That’s the word from city officials who say there isn’t enough room for the tens of thousands of firefighters, police and other rescue workers.
At a ceremony to honor the opening of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in our nation's capital Friday, the late civil rights leader's daughter Bernice made an historical error that would evoke tremendous ridicule and derision if she were a conservative. "Lincoln remembered for signing the Declaration of Independence"
The federal government has sued a major trucking company for its refusal to hire as drivers individuals with admitted alcohol abuse problems. Alcoholism is classified as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the suit maintains, and therefore emploees cannot be prohibited even from driving 18 wheelers due to their histories of abuse. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed the suit against the Old Dominion Freight Line trucking company on August 16.
NBC is reporting on yet another green scheme going belly-up and this one is a big one. Scott McGrew reports: Solyndra, a major manufacturer of solar technology in Fremont, has shut its doors, according to employees at the campus. "I was told by a security guard to get my [stuff] and leave," one employee said. The company employs a little more than 1,000 employees worldwide, according to its website. Solyndra was touted by the Obama administration as a prime example of how green technology could deliver jobs. The President visited the facility in May of last year and said “it is just a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism and the fact that we continue to have the best universities in the world, the best technology in the world, and most importantly the best workers in the world. And you guys all represent that. ” The federal government offered $535 million in low cost loan guarantees from the Department of Energy.Obama gave $535 million dollars to billionaire George Kaiser who just happens to own Solyndra, Inc. Oh, Kaiser is also a major Obama fundraiser. No conflicts of interests at all.
YORKTOWN, Va. (AP) -- A Chicago man who quickly accelerated in a sport utility vehicle with a cable around his neck decapitated himself after a domestic dispute in Yorktown, authorities said Tuesday. A firefighter noticed a cable around the man's neck that was attached to a tree. When deputies tried to get the man to exit the SUV, he accelerated and was pulled from the vehicle and decapitated.
August 30, 2011 Overall U.S. unemployment is 9.1%. For white adults, it's 8%, and for white teens, 23%. Black adult unemployment stands at 17%, and for black teens, it's 40%, more than 50% in some cities, for example, Washington. Chapter 3 of "Race and Economics," my most recent book, starts out, "Some might find it puzzling that during times of gross racial discrimination, black unemployment was lower and blacks were more active in the labor force than they are today."
As NewsBusters reported Monday, American media almost completely ignored a report that Warren "Raise My Taxes" Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway has been fighting with the IRS for almost a decade over taxes it owes. On Tuesday, the organization digging into Berkshire Hathaway's numbers, Americans for Limited Government, estimated the total could be as much as $1 billion.
Tom Gantert | Aug. 28, 2011 The Jackson Amtrak station will get $1 million in renovations thanks to the American Relief and Recovery Act (the federal stimulus program), according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot. But Wendell Cox, a transit consultant in St. Louis, Mo., questions why an Amtrak station with 78 customers a day would warrant such an expense.
The so called “Bus Tour” was not a bus tour at all !An AP reporter said that Obama might have ridden these expensive buses only one mile at each stop. Therefore, it wasn’t really a “BUS TOUR”! Obama spent most of the “BUS TOUR” on an airplane traveling between stops. It looks like Obama has scammed the American people again……..with the help of the liberal media. It’s no damn telling just how much this “show” cost the American taxpayer.
At a Wednesday breakfast event, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis defended her agreements with Mexico and other countries to apply U.S. labor protections to illegal immigrants. “I protect all workers here in this country,” she told The Daily Caller at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor. “I have a vested interest in protecting all workers that work here in the U.S. Period.” Critics of illegal immigration say Solis’ deals and statements show that she doesn’t value American workers more than foreign workers, and that she’s undercutting U.S. workers’ marketplace clout. “These comments are extraordinarily irresponsible and historically unprecedented,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “This is a classic example of why this administration is so out of touch with Americans."
Standard & Poor’s is giving a higher rating to securities backed by subprime home loans, the same type of investments that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, than it assigns the U.S. government. S&P is poised to provide AAA grades to 59 percent of Springleaf Mortgage Loan Trust 2011-1, a set of bonds tied to $497 million lent to homeowners with below-average credit scores and almost no equity in their properties. New York-based S&P stripped the U.S. of its top rank on Aug. 5, saying Washington politics were making the country less creditworthy.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has just released an important new study on the hiring practices of firms that used stimulus funds. Put simply, stimulus funds caused more job shifting than job creation. Another key finding? Union-friendly wage protections kill jobs.
To show her support for American workers, President Obama's labor secretary, Hilda Solis, has junked the standard black limo and purchased a new Chevrolet Equinox to ride around Washington in. The problem: the crossover SUV is built and assembled in Canada from parts also made in Canada. Solis proudly arrived at a media breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor today in the shiny silver vehicle, which she has dubbed the "bullet."
At a time when the city of Lansing, Michigan is laying off police officers and contemplating raising taxes, it is losing about $400,000 a year on city-owned golf facilities. Lansing lost $431,073 in fiscal 2007-08 and another $398,452 in fiscal 2008-09 on its golf facilities, according to Angela Bennett, the city’s deputy finance director. The city also had to cover another $431,073 from golf facility deficits from prior years, Bennett wrote in an email. The city sent layoff notices this summer to 44 police officers.
The bankruptcies of three American solar power companies in the last month, including Solyndra of California on Wednesday, have left China’s industry with a dominant sales position — almost three-fifths of the world’s production capacity — and rapidly declining costs. Loans at very low rates from state-owned banks in Beijing, cheap or free land from local and provincial governments across China, huge economies of scale and other cost advantages have transformed China from a minor player in the solar power industry just a few years ago into the main producer of an increasingly competitive source of electricity.
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