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Dangers to Human Virtue

2012-01-22T15:59:00.000-06:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

The Plain Truth

2011-12-28T20:08:00.000-06:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Social Justice

2011-12-27T10:20:00.000-06:00

What do you call it when someone steals someone else's money secretly? Theft. What do you call it when someone takes someone else's money openly by force? Robbery. What do you call it when a politician takes someone else's money in taxes and gives it to someone who is more likely to vote for him? Social Justice.
---- Thomas Sowell

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Union Consumption

2011-09-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Higher Taxes Coming?

2011-08-31T11:13:00.000-05:00

The confidence that the American people have in Obama is falling fast & furious.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Businesses hire based on demand

2011-08-30T08:57:00.000-05:00

MERRY MEDIOCRITY
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

8/30/2011 9:29:55 AM Eastern Time

"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity."
-Andrew Carnegie

Well, there is one place where mediocrity can be the motivation, and that's the stock market. Of course, when the market has been flushed out of weak sisters and wobbly-kneed uncles, it is much easier to get the kind of session witnessed yesterday. What got the market going?

>; The Fed is still serving as a backstop that will try to jawbone stocks higher or resort to manipulation.
>; Consumers are back, albeit at the expense of savings, but who cares.
>; Valuations are dirt cheap and smart players tripped over each other for a piece of the action.
>; We faced down a once-in-century hurricane and earthquake so what is a little market risk.

There are many reasons for the market being higher because stocks were, and still are, oversold. The best reason, albeit somewhat disingenuous, is the expectations game. Expectations are so low that it means even if we miss on things like the ISM Manufacturing number or the jobs report, the downside will be limited. On the other hand, clearing those low hurdles could have an Olympian impact on the mood of the market and investors. I think the Fed will get in the game in several ways, and if there is a so-called Plunge Protection Team (White House operation to support the stock market) then it's going to get in gear, too. But, there is also another thing in favor of the market.

It's the only game in town to make money. Sure, gold has been amazing and is clearly a smart hedge even at these levels. But, Treasury bond yields are just too paltry in a world where so many people have to play catch up. I find it hard to imagine that a 65 year old person with less than $500,000 in liquid assets can settle for 2% for the next thirty years. But, there is enough fear to keep people in that foxhole a little longer. I will say with the appointment of Alan Krueger to head up the Council of Economic Advisers that scintilla of hope there could be even a slight altering of the grand game plan was dashed. This is another academic that believes in spending a lot of money, gained through a lot of taxes, to go to stuff like alterative energy.

The labor economist is something of a renaissance man, an expert on terrorism, taxes, and happiness, among other things. The problem is he is yet another guy with theories instead of dirty hands from doing the kind of work that America needs. I'm talking grassroots jobs that grow and along the way, enlarge the wealth of communities and the country.
I would have preferred someone that took risks, bet it all, and won. That person's victory and riches triggered a virtuous circle and he/she could bring that firsthand knowledge to the job. Instead, we are going to hear about the virtues of higher minimum wage and how great alternative energy is for the nation and economy. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for academics in searching for solutions.

Yesterday I had Dr. Burt Folsom from Hillsdale College on my 2PM Fox Business Show, and he made great points, many of them from his book: "The Myth of the Robber Barons." He pointed out that the first three railroads in this country were subsidized by the government, leading to massive waste and bankruptcy for all, while a fourth non-subsidized railroad survived. We looked at five alternative energy companies that have gotten millions of taxpayer dollars and visits from President Obama or Vice President Biden. The best performing name was down only 63% from its two-year high. Pull up a chart of these names and ask should they really get your hard earned money?

>; A123 (AONE)
>; Advanced Battery (ABAT)
>; Ener1 (HEV)
>; Evergreen Solar (ESLR)
>; Cree research (CREE)

As we get closer to the latest jobs speech more stuff is being leaked. It looks like the centerpiece of the program is renovating thousands of public schools and tax breaks for new hires. Who can say no to spending on public schools? The heartstrings and finger pointing are all wrapped in a neat bow. Of course, it would be something involving unions and government. I'd much prefer we renovate the insides of public schools beginning with curriculum, bogus tenure, and low expectations. As a sustained job creator this idea gets an F+. Sure, there will be a lot of money floating around and a big chunk will make it back into the Obama Victory Fund, but it's not going to trigger real economic growth.

On the topic of tax breaks for new hires, it's not going to work. Businesses hire based on demand, and save for a few more mall jobs to absorb those public school retrofitting checks no business is going to take the bait. With the new healthcare law kicking in and triggering devastating new taxes, businesses will be looking to save money not hire idle workers. (By the way, even the US Postal Service is getting wise to paying people not to work. While I can't vouch for the speed at the USPS, so far paying workers for "standby time" is down to $4.3 million in the first half of 2011 from $30.9 million in 2009. The story broke in the Washington Post, and it seems to me because of so many looming layoffs such largess, which was heavily abused, can no longer be tolerated or encouraged.)

Fox News is reporting the green jobs program in Seattle is being called a bust after 16 months and $20.0 million; it created just 14 jobs. The program was designed to weatherize homes, but has only been able to upgrade three homes so most of the jobs are administrative. Apparently this is the norm for the Department of Energy, which has allocated $508.0 million to 41 states for its Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. That investment has yielded 600 jobs created or retained, which means it cost taxpayers $846,666 per job.
One year into the program 9,000 homes have had energy audits and some type of upgrade. The goal is 150,000 homes by 2013 to save consumers $65.0 million annually

(Those supposed savings will go away when utilities are forced to close down coal plants...but that's another story.)

The Expectations Game- No Winners

I don't think the market is excited at all about the jobs speech, and that might be the best news because it's all about expectations and low hurdles.

Back to the market, I love the action in part because stuff that was stuck in the mud acted much better. US Steel (X) had a great session, banks rebounded, and retailers acted well, too. But, make no mistake, on weeks that lead up to the jobs report there is normally one big down session. In fact, a healthy pullback sometime between now and Friday will enhance low expectations, thereby building up any kind of beat on jobs.

This game of expectations goes beyond Wall Street and into so many parts of our everyday lives. Washington DC has made the shift from bold promises of sending a man to the moon and creating full employment to the point that a year from now our President will run for reelection on a platform that unemployment is only 8.5% as compared to "almost 10%", and that message will resonate with those that forgot how we used to demand more. I'm living through this game right now with my power company. Our power went out on Sunday and we were told it would take a week to get it back on.

Well, the power came back last night, and we were relieved. Then this morning the power went out again. I have a feeling they are actually rationing power, rotating it among different homes while they play the game of expectations. I'm supposed to be thrilled the company I pay money to each month is half-ass doing their job. With about a week's advance notice this shouldn't be a problem and no one in the modern world, let alone America, should be without electricity for a week, even intermittingly. But, it does remind us to be grateful and never relax or take anything for granted.

Today's Session

The market is going to give back gains at the open, and that's to be expected. The key now is to hold intraday lows from last week and build a new base of support. We sent out profit alerts on three ideas yesterday in part to this wild volatility and the need to be nimble and always have cash. At some point, I will ride out the gyrations for larger, longer term gains but am not sure the risk/reward dynamic has changed enough just yet.

Charles Evens, a voting member of the FOMC, said this morning he "would favor more accommodation" because we would be worse off without QEII. He says commodities are up on demand, not the Fed bludgeoning the dollar. His comments have sent gold soaring this morning but oddly added pressure on stocks. Maybe the sobering reality of the true state of the economy is mitigating the notion of more upward manipulation of the stock market...for the moment.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Pending Homes Sales

2011-08-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

Gmail - WStreet Market Commentary - larrynosneh@gmail.com:

WHAT THE MARKET IS SEEING...THIS WEEK
By WSS Research Desk

8/29/2011 2:15:09 PM Eastern Time

Doesn't it feel like forever ago when the markets were once again freefalling in a similar fashion to the 2008 financial crisis? Well, in actuality, those strong moves to the downside that broke the bullish momentum from Jackson Hole 2010 were only a couple of weeks ago. My oh my how short-term the mindset of investors are these days, or shall I say the mindset of traders.

The market enters this week clinging to a couple of hopes. Hope one is that the August jobs report will surprise to the downside on Friday, spurring the Fed back into the role of Superman at its soon to be super hyped two-day September policy meeting. Hope two is that economic data in August represents a trough in the string of bad headlines prints, such as in the Philly Fed and consumer confidence measures. For if we have an actionable Fed ready to step back into the game of creating moral hazard, plus a slow climb from the summer abyss of bad economic data, it could set the stage for a rally into the end of the year like so many economists continue to anticipate.

So with this as a backdrop, market bulls prepare to enter September with the following fun facts, in addition to the macro arsenal at their disposal:

* The S&P 500'S trailing-twelve month P/E ratio is now hovering around 12.9 times. That's 3.5% less than the average multiple during the 10 contractions since 1949, and a level last reached in 1982.
* At 1,176.80, the S&P 500 is trading at a P/E ratio 10.8 times forward earnings estimates. For the P/E ratio to reach its five-decade average of 16.4 times without shares appreciating, earnings would have to fall to about $71.76 a share, 22% below the last 12 months. Obviously, the bulls contend that such a sizable retrenchment in corporate earnings will not surface due to share buyback activity, emerging market growth, and continued mindfulness by executives on operating expenses.

Market Breathes Sigh of Relief
By: David Silver, Equity Research Analyst

In the pre-market, stocks were poised for a strong open on the back of the less than horrible results from Hurricane Irene. Insurers were among the biggest winners as the massive flooding and wind damage that was feared never really materialized (at least not in the New York area). There were plenty of complaints this morning on the subway getting to work about how slow the MTA was bouncing back, but I am still in the rather be safe than sorry camp. It may have closed businesses for two days and caused some financial hardships, but at the end of the day, it's better to be wrong and have no one to save, then to be wrong and have lives at risk. I left New Orleans hours before Hurricane Katrina hit, and even that Category 4/5 storm didn't generate the type of news that Hurricane Irene caused. Maybe it is just because it was New York and the super-city that is the Northeast, but it also seems that we learned from our mistakes. No one wants to see a replay of Katrina (and if you are in the New York area, no one wants to see a replay of the blizzard that shut down the city for two days). Home Depot (HD), Lowe's (LOW), and some grocery stores definitely benefited from the storm as plywood and batteries were sold out across the Northeast. I ventured into a grocery store Saturday afternoon to see how bare the shelves were. While the grocery store near my apartment is never one to have shelves that were overflowing, the chaos that I walked into blew my mind. I really wish I had taken a picture of it on my phone. There were people fighting over the few remaining bottles of water, one of which was already open and splashing everyone in a ten foot radius. I found it amusing, and now, after the storm, I really hope the people that were fighting over the bottle of water can learn something.

Pending Homes Sales
By: David Urani, Research Analyst

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward looking housing indicator, decreased by 1.3% in July versus June. Expectations are already at rock bottom, so the result won't faze investors too much; it was slightly worse than the -1.0% consensus estimate. The West has put in a decent run of four months of increases in a row, although one has to think that a lot of these are foreclosures or short sales, which there is an abundance of in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Realtors are citing very high mortgage lending standards as a major detriment to getting sales done.

Techs Make a Strong Start to the Week
By Carlos Guillen, Research Analyst

Shares of companies in the technology sector are continuing to make nice gains today after experiencing lots of volatility last week. What appears to be driving technology shares this morning is the rather encouraging consumer spending data. Earlier today the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased by 0.8%, higher than the Street's consensus estimate of 0.5%. Given that consumer spending represents about 70% of GDP and that it also significantly drives electronics sales, tech shares are responding quite positively to the favorable news, and as a result the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) is up close to 3%.

Shares of Micron (MU) are up, tracking gains made by its Asian peers on a rise in spot prices of DRAM memory chips. Spot prices for DDR3 2 Gigabit type DRAM memory chips rose to as much as $1.04 on the DRAM exchange on Monday after increasing 3.6% on Friday.

Youku.com (YOKU) shares were up 7% at $24.95 after the Chinese video-sharing website announced an online distribution agreement for rights to the DreamWorks Animation KungFu Panda franchise films in mainland China. The deal marks the first time DWA titles will be made available through an online platform in China.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

TERM LIMITS

2011-08-29T12:03:00.000-05:00

TERM LIMITS

Barney Frank is the poster child for term limits in Congress.

2000: Frank called the concerns about Fannie and Freddie “overblown” claiming there was no federal liability whatsoever.

2002: Frank said “I do not regard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as problems. I regard them as assets.”

2003: Frank opposed reforms saying he did not “regard Fannie and Freddie as problems.”

2004: With Fannie’s accounting scandal, Frank again insisted they were not in any crisis. “Even if the two went belly-up, he said, I think Wall Street will get over it.”

2008: Frank said the losses and foreclosures was the fault of Wall Street. “The private sector got us into this mess….the government has to get us out of it.”

2010: Frank is now supports abolishing Fannie and Freddie – a little late on seeing the problem.

Fresh eyes on a problem can usually see something that someone close to the problem overlook. Barney Frank obviously overlooked the problem year after year. If you feel this is an important issue please forward this email along with your own comments to your respective Representative/Senator and ask them for their opinion.

ABOLISH

I am also in favor of abolishing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac along with the retirement of old worn out politicians.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Personal Income & Spending

2011-08-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

POST IRENE, THE WORLD LOOKS SUNNIER...FOR NOW
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

8/29/2011 9:51:09 AM Eastern Time

Personal Income and Spending

Personal income climbed 0.3% in July, which was in line with some estimates, and slightly below other consensus readings. On the other hand, personal spending surged by 0.8%, which is well above the 0.5% the Street expected. Spending came at the expense of savings, which tumbled to 5.0% from 5.5% month to month.

Friday sees the latest on employment, and it's one of those deals where the number could be miserable but also beat the Street. One thing for sure is our employment situation is dismal, especially among young adults and men of all ages. Only 48.8% of the youth (16 to 24) are employed, this is the lowest percentage ever, since this series has been kept. Back in 1969, more than 95% of men ages 24 to 55 worked; today, that number has plunged to 81.0%. So any kind of "positive" could move the market needle, although we need robust numbers to turn the country around.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Gmail - WStreet Market Commentary

2011-08-27T14:15:00.000-05:00

ALL SORTS OF HURRICANES ON THE LANDSCAPE TODAY

By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

8/26/2011 1:38:43 PM Eastern Time

These days there seems to be a new shocking poll out every day, but there was news this morning from Gallup that speaks volumes about why the economy isn't moving. When asked the best long-term investments the reply was overwhelmingly...gold!

This is incredibly interesting stuff, but says Americans have lost faith in this country and in the powers that have the ability to keep it great. Interestingly, Ben Bernanke took a poke at Washington today, but it's the fact the Fed and the Administration are so fixated on short-term bounces in the economy that the longer term potential is dimming. Rising debts and a weaker dollar are the one-two punch that ultimately hurts bonds, savings, and eventually stocks. People seem to understand this more than the experts.

There is an element of our future wrapped around an inner belief things are going to get better. It's a self-fulfilling destiny that makes success possible in part because we know it's going to happen. These days there are too many unknowns to be confident, and what we do know doesn't suggest greatness. We know the government has grown in size and intrusiveness. We know this Administration wants to greet hard-earned success with harsh rhetoric and higher taxes. We know this Administration is trying to create a medical system that will dilute care and send costs soaring. We do know the Fed has no qualms printing money and probably will continue to do so.

Things have changed dramatically in the past ten years. There was a time when Americans invested in war bonds. There was a time you knew owning a piece of land in this country was the bedrock of future wealth. From what I understand, this is the first time Gallup has included gold as an option in this survey. There is no doubt years ago it would have had a negligible impact as witnessed in the organization's 2003 survey on the best long-term investments.

Wired Friday
By: Brian Sozzi, Equity Research Analyst

Between you, me, and the lamppost I am supremely charged up today. Maybe it was the buildup to the Bernanke J-Hole speech. Maybe it's the fact that my native Long Island could be known as the Lost Land of Long Island by Monday morning due to Hurricane Irene. Or, like the steroid using former baseball slugger Manny Ramirez, maybe it's just me being me. So, I leave you with these thoughts going into the weekend.

Bernanke at J-Hole
Market talked down this event all week, yet there clearly were people long into the speech. Stocks went down the drain as Bernanke did not come out and utter "by Monday, QE3 will be reality." However, Bernanke did once again reiterate that further unconventional easing was an option, and the extension of the next FOMC meeting to two days in September suggests a real probability for an announcement. That sent the market higher as risk was priced a bit more as if the dual spigots (low rates until mid-2013) that pump out easy money will be back in action, instead of one spigot as is currently the case.

Hurricane Irene
Hopefully, this won't be the final time you get to read my musings on all things the stock market. I am smack in the heart of Hurricane Irene according to weather reports, and plan to ride this sucker out with a package of beef jerky, candles, and sugar free Red Bull. I think there is downside risk to the August same-store sales reports from specialty apparel retailers as mom and dad shifted spending to hurricane stock up purchases. Yes, I know there are no hurricanes on the West Coast, but the East Coast is prime locale for many major retailers.

August Consumer Confidence
What confidence? I continue to look at consumer expectations for income when evaluating the future potential of retail stocks. With no break in the downward spiral on this metric, it continues to be difficult to say the bottom is in for the S&P Retail Index. As for the holidays, which I am getting a fair amount of inquiries on, I am not sure how things will unfold to be honest. The consumer remains very volatile month to month and to date, the action in the sector stocks tell me the holidays are an unknown quantity as well.

Consumers Sentiment Ramps Lower
By: Carlos Guillen, Research Analyst

The latest news reflecting the state of the consumer was released earlier during this morning's trading session, and it conveyed a continuous deteriorating state of morale from the consumer at large. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment August final result landed at 55.7, which was a tad lower than the Street's expectation of 55.8, decreasing from the 63.7 reached in July. This month's reading was the lowest since that reached in November 2008. While it was a bit discouraging to see consumer sentiment continuing to ramp lower, it was more discouraging to see that consumer expectations notched lower as well. This was reflected by the survey's gauge of consumer expectations as it decreased to 47.4 from the prior 56.0 level.

The rather sharp decline in consumer sentiment is very troublesome, particularly as this tends to be a leading indicator. The consumer is losing hope very fast as they continue to see their financial situation deteriorating with no hope of any improvement. This sense of hopelessness is increasing the belief that another recession is well on its way. Quite surprisingly, the consumer's main reason for feeling so pessimistic about their financial outlook was that it perceived the government as not playing a stronger role in pushing the economy along. Consumers overwhelmingly made a u-turn in terms of their optimism and are now significantly more pessimistic, as they have lost faith in the government's ability to use fiscal and monetary mechanisms to stimulate growth. Consequently, consumers are now pulling back on their expectations for consumption, and this can certainly derail all efforts to keep the economy from sinking.

Awaiting Irene
By David Urani

To begin with, I will say that my logic/intuition tells me that Irene is not going to be a major disaster for New York City. Although the projected path charts this thing going straight over Manhattan, hurricanes are unpredictable, and there is a good probability that it veers away, weakens, or both. However, as someone who lived in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina (my home was flooded and everything I owned there ruined), I now know never to write off once in a lifetime events (I consider the 2008 financial crash here on Wall Street as one of those, too). Before Katrina hit, for me and most everyone else I knew, it felt a lot like other hurricanes that threaten to hit the city but never follow through. In fact, other weaker hurricanes had hit not long before, and merely caused temporary flooding in certain places.

By no means do I think this is on the same scale as Katrina; it is not as strong and there are no levies looming over any big cities. That said, it is not so much a killer hurricane as much as it is potentially very damaging. The last major hurricane to hit the city was in 1821. It caused a 13 foot water surge that flooded the entire area from Battery Park up to Canal Street. You can only imagine what kind of damage that would do nowadays. That hurricane was a category 3 or 4 though, while this one is category 2 now and may go up to 3 near the Carolinas (but is very likely to be category 1 or less by the time it nears NYC). However, they say the 1821 hurricane could have been much worse if it wasn't during low tide. This hurricane would come during higher tide.
This could never match the devastation I saw in New Orleans, but certainly if it is still on course come Saturday, I will buy some duct tape for the windows and head to the grocery store for a day or two worth of water and food. If nothing else, it may be very disruptive.

Note: I want to wish the best for those in the Carolinas who are likely to see the worst of this.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Gmail - WStreet Market Commentary

2011-08-27T14:07:00.000-05:00

WHAT WOULD BUFFALO BILL DO?
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

8/26/2011 9:15:47 AM Eastern Time

Europe continues to be the eye in the global economic storm, and for the life of me I can't understand why we would continue to deploy an economic game plan that mirrors the lost continent.

As we brace for word from Ben Bernanke on what the Fed might do to help goose the economy, it's worth noting many people have become cynical. Some don't think there's much left in the Fed's toolbox and if there is any help, it will go straight into banks and stock manipulation. There is a similar feeling about the White House, although it's not that anyone expects the Administration to come to the rescue as much as they hope it simply gets out of the way. Lost in all of this is the notion that America can lift itself up by the bootstraps as it's been done throughout history. Yesterday's news was dominated by two self-made billionaires that have only-in-America stories.

For now, this is an important element that separates America from Europe. Yesterday I decided to check out the richest 100 people in the world. Most of the Americans on the list were self-made, people that pulled themselves up by the bootstraps, found an idea, took a chance, and made history. Of the twenty-one Europeans in the top 100 only eight are self-made, and most of them are more than 70 years old.

>; Bernard Arnault of France.
>; Amancio Ortega of Spain was a railway worker and gofer at a shirt store.
>; Karl Albrecht of Germany inherited a corner grocery store.
>; Ferrero of Italy makes the chocolates I can't keep in my house.
>; Leonardo Del Vecchio of Italy began as an apprentice mold-maker and now rules the glasses industry.
>; Peter Kellner of the Czech Republic is the youngest self-made billionaire on the list.

The list above is very thin, and underscores the kind of impact long-term class warfare has on entrepreneurism and generating significant wealth. Make no mistake, when someone becomes a millionaire they create jobs for others and when they become a billionaire, they create jobs that pay mortgages and college tuitions as well as launch additional businesses. We've witnessed a flood of IPOs this year from businesses largely started by young Americans with bright ideas and a willingness to take a shot. It's a mindset that is the exact opposite of thinking the government owes you a check.

In fact, escaping from government handouts is so liberating. Russia has more billionaires than all those western European nations, with 15 in the top 100 alone. India has seven, and Brazil three, and I think every single one is self-made. I reiterate this now because soon in what is being hyped as the most important speech of his presidency, President Obama will make a pitch for taxing people making more than $200,000 a year in a way that will make them seem selfish and greedy.

Back at the Ranch

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody helped to put Wyoming on the map with his antics that included guiding hunting parties, Wild West shows, and tours that saw a Yale paleontologist come through to visit Yellowstone and the Big Horn Basin area. Today, Wall Street hopes Ben Bernanke can get a little wild and trigger a hunting party in the stock market. I realize the Fed Chairman got the highest SAT score in South Carolina history and then went to Harvard, but I hope the open spaces of Jackson Hole take him outside his bookish world and into the real world. As much as I'd love a spike in the market, I'd like the market to rally on improving economic circumstances.

The market is beginning to crumble ahead of a session that sees no help from the Fed and no hope from Washington. Tightening that knot in our stomachs is Hurricane Irene which is being touted as the storm of the Century. Lets watch is shakeout from the sidelines.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

OBAMA Flyover

2011-08-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

What We All Know About Obama Now

2011-08-22T08:20:00.000-05:00

What We All Know About Obama Now

Why Business sits on the Sidelines

Right now, American businesses are sitting on enormous cash reserves, estimated at $1.93 trillion as of last September. The Obama team just can’t understand why business doesn’t want to get in the game. It would sure make their lives easier.

In February, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson complained that "even a portion of the $1.93 trillion invested in developing and installing new pollution control technology would result in good jobs right here for American workers.” Jackson made those remarks at a gathering of labor unions and environmental activists at something called the BlueGreen Alliance national conference in Washington, D.C. last February.

This is the same EPA that just finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule that will cause power plants to close that generate up to 17% of America's most affordable energy and will result in soaring increases in energy costs for consumers and businesses. Worse, it will cost jobs at a time when we're supposed to be adding them.

In July, the New York Times trumpeted the good news while gushing that there would be "an additional cost to utilities of less than $1 billion a year"! Imagine that.

The usually reliable Obama ally Unions for Jobs and the Environment estimates that this will lead ro a loss of a quarter of a million jobs, while others estimate the total will be much steeper: up to 2.5 million lost jobs and as much as $7 trillion decline in economic output by 2029.

By last week, even the lap dogs at the New York Times seem to have seen the light. An article on Thursday headlined Number of Green Jobs Fails to Live Up to Promises reported that "Federal and state efforts to stimulate creation of green jobs have largely failed, government records show.

Two years after it was awarded $186 million in federal stimulus money to weatherize drafty homes, California has spent only a little over half that sum and has so far created the equivalent of just 538 full-time jobs in the last quarter, according to the State Department of Community Services and Development."

Even Maxine Waters has come to the conclusion that the White House jobs policy is just "a lot of talk".

The worst part of it is that none of it matters. Even if the entire Western Hemisphere completely eliminated all carbon dioxide emissions, the effect on global emissions would be offset by increased emissions from China within ten years. So why are we doing it?

Get the Motor Running

Want those jobs back? Get out of the way.

Work with Congress to quickly slash corporate tax rates to single digits or less, and make American companies want to be American companies again and not have to take jobs and profits offshore.
Suspend onerous regulations (like those proposed by the EPA) for five years to ten at least, and quit trying to push socialism under the cover of green.
Encourage real energy jobs in the oil fields of the Northwest and let the natural gas industry fulfill its potential. Leave the green job fantasy to the hippies and radical leftists.
Quit trying to convince the voters that we need to spend more money on stimulus or raise taxes: they see through all that.
Perhaps most importantly, commit to a sensible program that ends uncertainty and lets the indomitable motor of American enterprise begin to pull us out of the ditch.

Mr. President, if you announced a program like this, the markets would jump, unemployment would start to drop significantly within 60 days, GDP would begin to grow again. And it wouldn’t be “unexpected”

Best of all? You and Michelle could stay at the Vineyard until January 2013, and then everyone would be happy.

Gallup Poll: Obama Approval

2011-08-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

71% disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Transforming America: How long will it take?

2011-08-17T16:51:00.001-05:00

It is suggested that one should read Rich Lowry's article entitled "President Obama's Program In Shambles: Economy slip-sliding away" published May 1, 2011 to gather some background and appreciation for the opinions expressed here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA

In my opinion, President Obama has stayed true to his convictions he espoused during the 2008 presidential campaign: He appears engaged and motivated to pursue the transformation of America into a vision of George Soros's New World Order.

Obama's transformation agenda for America is:

to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels (by whatever means necessary)
to significantly increase employee Union power and influence
to significantly redistribute wealth to the poor (by whatever means necessary)
to reduce the long-term global influence of America financially, politically, and militarily.

What methods Obama intends to use to complete his agenda:

thru legislation (ObamaCare) (Dodd-Franks) (Cap-and-Trade) - to increase entitlements - to put financial institutions under more federal control - to increase the cost of fossil fuels
thru EPA regulations (federal register) - to prevent oil and gas companies from drilling - to prevent utility companies use of fossil fules - to increase the price of gasoline
thru Federal Reserve: - to weaken the dollar - to encourage asset inflation -
thru NLRB - empower unions and curb corporate management's ability to control employees and costs
by demonizing Republicans (there is more to come if he is re-elected) to produce fear of any changes they suggest to social entitlements or financial controls of Wall Street - to produce class envy - to discredit any effort to alter his agenda as a racist attack
by taking advantage of any opportunity to promote his agenda by using stealth, andobfuscation (Middle East unrest) (lack of immigration reforms)
President Obama took advantage of the financial crisis during the Great Recession to successfully put America on the path to hopefully complete his agenda
Increase income taxes on the most productive people

Evidence of his intentions and motivations to complete agenda :

the credentials and ideological background of his czars (communists, radicals, liberation theology, etc.)
the credentials and ideological background of his political advisers and associates (communists, liberation theology, etc.)
his public comments about redistribution-of-wealth during the last campaign
his public support of cap-and-trade legislation (raising the cost of fossil fuels)
his association with Bill Ayers and Van Jones and numerous other radicals (he openly admits to seeking out radicals in college)
his acknowledged emotional support of SEIU and reliance upon their organizational support
his professorial arrogance (he knows and understands more than anyone else and thus he does not need to consult or listen to the peasants)
his apparent inattention to any racial issues - why does he not?
his willingness to blame America for the ills of the world - Cairo, Egypt speech
his indirect, yet continuous, inter-connectivity with George Sorros and/or George Sorros funded organizations
his apparent inattention and leadership of the consequences of the large federal debt and budget deficits
lawsuits filed against any state daring to interfere with his agenda
Obama has almost tripled the amount of our national debt and about doubled the amount being spent on entitlement programs since he was elected
he never offers a olive-branch to the other side to negotiate in-good-faith

Consequences to American citizens if this agenda is allowed to be fully implemented:

reduction of wealth and prosperity
reduction of America's global interests
less long-term investment
employment stagnation
economic class warfare
reduction in the standard of living
ethnic polarization - the balkanization of America!
ally distrust
permanent increase in the cost of fossil fuels
more regulation of personal liberties, freedoms, and speech

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

The Economy

2011-08-16T11:27:00.000-05:00

Political Cartoons - Political Humor, Jokes, and Pictures, Obama, Palin ~ August 16, 2011 - 90799

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Jobless Claims

2011-08-12T08:21:00.002-05:00

Gmail - WStreet Market Commentary -

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

No Dent in Deficit Anytime Soon - Seeking Alpha

2011-08-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

Bill Gross: No Dent in Deficit Anytime Soon - Seeking Alpha

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Obama's re-election

2011-08-06T07:38:00.000-05:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Oklahoma City Weather

2011-08-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Latest Editorial News, Opinion, Michael Ramirez, Political Cartoons - Investors.com

2011-08-03T06:44:00.000-05:00

Latest Editorial News, Opinion, Michael Ramirez, Political Cartoons - Investors.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

The debt-ceiling deal in one flowchart - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post

2011-08-01T12:01:00.000-05:00

The debt-ceiling deal in one flowchart - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

The economy is crashing

2011-07-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Fast and Furious Failure

2011-07-21T21:19:00.000-05:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Where are the Democrats plans?

2011-07-21T11:18:00.000-05:00

How high can Obama count?

2011-07-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Foreign Oil

2011-07-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

A PLEDGE TO AMERICA

2011-07-05T22:47:00.000-05:00

A PLEDGE TO AMERICA

America is more than a country.

America is an idea – an idea that free people can govern themselves, that government's powers are derived from

the consent of the governed, that each of us is endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights to life,

liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America is the belief that any man or woman can – given economic,

political, and religious liberty – advance themselves, their families, and the common good.

America is an inspiration to those who yearn to be free and have the ability and the dignity to determine their

own destiny.

Whenever the agenda of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to institute

a new governing agenda and set a different course.

These first principles were proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, enshrined in the Constitution, and

have endured through hard sacrifice and commitment by generations of Americans.

In a self-governing society, the only bulwark against the power of the state is the consent of the governed, and

regarding the policies of the current government, the governed do not consent. .

An unchecked executive, a compliant legislature, and an overreaching judiciary have combined to thwart the

will of the people and overturn their votes and their values, striking down long-standing laws and institutions

and scorning the deepest beliefs of the American people.

An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates, and enacts

laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many.

Rising joblessness, crushing debt, and a polarizing political environment are fraying the bonds among our

people and blurring our sense of national purpose.

Like free peoples of the past, our citizens refuse to accommodate a government that believes it can replace the

will of the people with its own. The American people are speaking out, demanding that we realign our country's

compass with its founding principles and apply those principles to solve our common problems for the common

good.

The need for urgent action to repair our economy and reclaim our government for the people cannot be

overstated.

With this document, we pledge to dedicate ourselves to the task of reconnecting our highest aspirations to the

permanent truths of our founding by keeping faith with the values our nation was founded on, the principles we

stand for, and the priorities of our people. This is our Pledge to America.

We pledge to honor the Constitution as constructed by its framers and honor the original intent of those

precepts that have been consistently ignored – particularly the Tenth Amendment, which grants that all powers

not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the

states respectively, or to the people.

We pledge to advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity, a robust defense, and national

economic prosperity.

We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form

the core of our American values.

We pledge to make government more transparent in its actions, careful in its stewardship, and honest in its

dealings.

We pledge to uphold the purpose and promise of a better America, knowing that to whom much is given, much

is expected and that the blessings of our liberty buoy the hopes of mankind.

We make this pledge bearing true faith and allegiance to the people we re

The Declaration of Independce

2011-07-04T22:03:00.002-05:00

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connecte3d them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the cause's which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among,\ men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, then to right themselves by abloslig\shing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpation, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government.

The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary of the public good.
He has forbidden his governnors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large district's of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has endeavored to present the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has made judges depedent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

The Bill of Rights - Amendment VI

2011-07-02T21:43:00.001-05:00

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Ayn Rand

2011-06-26T10:44:00.000-05:00

Social Networking, Toss the Rules and Get Real

2011-06-25T08:14:00.000-05:00

Social Networking, Toss the Rules and Get Real

A number of rule lists, portrayed as inviolable, are circulating for how to properly use social media networks to build business. I have a problem with these “rules” because social media is evolving so fast, the list seems outdated before you have a chance to apply it. In this light, I offer the following observations on social media networking.

1. Think of your social media network as a business party. Here is a chance to interact with a lot of people in a fairly casual setting, who might be good business contacts in the future. Behave accordingly, this is a getting to know you a little more intimately chance, not a sales seminar or the moment to tell anyone everything about you.

2. Parties and conventions can lead to lots of new business and ideas, or can be a complete waste of time. Working almost always leads to more work, so work first, party later on a limited basis.

3. As in any casual business gathering, sales and results usually come slowly over time. And those successes are generally built on somewhat random chance encounters. Increase your odds by selectively limiting your network and interactions to those that are likely to pay-off, but patience and being ready for opportunity count most.

4. Direct sales pitches are supposedly forbidden on social media. Forget this notion. Regional businesses have used Twitter, Facebook and MySpace with great success for special events and promotions. This is the trick, don’t try to disguise a direct sales appeal as social interaction. Know the difference and be honest and upfront about it. If you can create a killer sales campaign delivered on social networks, go for it, just don’t try to disguise it as chit chat.

5. Don’t think chit chat is selling or will lead to sales. It might. But unless you are Oprah, nobody cares where you ate lunch.

6. Control your exposure. When you post yourself on a social media network, you expose yourself to the world. Polish that image, remember this is a big business party, your house slippers and sweats aren’t appropriate, nor are nutty family details.

7. Don’t combine family and close friends on the same site as business. Even if you have the most absolutely lovely photogenic perfect family. Keep business and family life separate to keep both sides happy.

In summary. The rules for social networking aren’t new. They are the same rules that have governed interpersonal communications for centuries. When presenting yourself as a businessperson, pay at least a little attention to crafting the best image possible. If it is a casual getting to know you kind of site or communication, don’t be a pushy sales person. When you are doing a direct sales appeal, don’t try to pretend that you are just sharing the details of your marvelously cool life. It’s all about honesty, treating others in a fair and considerate manner, and understanding the difference between your personal life, business life, and those areas where the lines begin to blur.

7 Commodity Stocks Worth a Look - Seeking Alpha

2011-06-22T19:32:00.000-05:00

7 Commodity Stocks Worth a Look - Seeking Alpha: "

Quote from Jim Rogers

“I am long commodities, long currencies, and short stocks. But we will see what happens. You should invest in only what you know, otherwise keep your money in cash. The reason people lose money is because they keep jumping around investing in things they don’t have a clue what they are doing. Normal people should just wait. Wait until there are good opportunities and take advantage of them. There are plenty of opportunities besides banks. Cotton is going through the roof, corn is making all time highs. Invest in farmers. Invest in agriculture. I think agriculture is going to be one of the great industries of our time.”"

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

The FED under pressure to get Obama Re-elected in November 2012

2011-06-22T13:22:00.001-05:00

The FED under pressure to get Obama Re-elected in November 2012

Jim Rogers said:

"Mr Bernanke he has been out of ideas since he went to Washington , what's wrong with you , you kidding , why do people think that he knows anything for God's sake and he has never been right , please go back you should have somebody do a study how wrong he has been for the past seven or eight years so yes he says everything is OK but he also says he is going to stop QE2 I take him at his word cause he said it so many times but what's going to happen is when thing starting going tough again later in the year or next year when they are going to come back with more the same because that's all they know it's the wrong the wrong thing to do but they do not know any better , remember there is an election in 2012 and he knows where is his bread and his butter and Mr Obama knows there is an election in 2012 enormous pressure to get Obama reelected , Hold it ( The economy ) together for November 2012 that's everybody's plan right now , not my plan but their plan - in Yahoo Finance"

Dividend Income

You Made The News

Twitter

Larry Henson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

YAHOO! FINANCE TRADING RESOURCES

2011-06-20T21:41:00.000-05:00

YAHOO! FINANCE TRADING RESOURCES

Biggest Gainers

U.S. Economic Calendar

Global Economic Calendar

Larry Henson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Master Limited Partnership (CLICK for list of MLP's)

2011-05-28T21:52:00.006-05:00

Three Good Buys
Possibly Play
Attractive Yield
Big Payout Good Prospects
List of MLP

Master limited partnerships are restricted by the U.S. government to natural resource companies and some real estate enterprises. However, there are certain indirect methods of investing in MLPs and avoiding the tax complications. The MLP Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) also has a counterpart called Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) that holds units of KMP and whose quarterly payout is treated like a regular dividend instead of a partnership distribution. Another alternative is closed-end funds like Kayne Anderson MLP (KYN) and BlackRock Global Energy and Resources Trust (BGR). KYN is currently trading at a 15.22% premium to net asset value (NAV) and a yield of 9.17%. In contrast BGR is trading at a 13.16% discount to NAV and a yield of 8.61%.

Most MLPs tend to be concentrated in the energy sector but there are always exceptions such as the private equity firms The Blackstone Group (BX) and Fortress Investment Group (FIG), which also happen to be set up as MLPs.

As an MLP, KMP must distrubute at least 90% of its income from qualifying sources such as natural resource activities, interest, dividends, real estate rents, income from sale of real property, gain on sale of assets, and income and gain from commodities or commodity futures. Much of the distrubution is typically treated as 'return of capital', which causes a downward adjustment to U.S. taxable investor's cost basis. It is not taxable in the year it is recieved, but increases capital gains taxes in the year the MLP units are sold.

Where a company does business (e.g. owns/manages pipelines) in many states; owners may be required to file income tax returns in each state in which the MLP conducts business, even when no taxes are owed.

MLPs aren't suitable for U.S. investor's IRA accounts because earnings above $1,000 will be considered unrelated business taxable income by the IRS. Tax consequences for foreign owners are generally onerous.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Memorial Day cookout will cost you 29% more this year thanks to inflation | Mail Online

2011-05-27T18:36:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day cookout will cost you 29% more this year thanks to inflation | Mail Online

Who besides Democrats, Obama, and Pelosi do we have to thank for the high prices this Memorial Day?

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Fidelity Investment Information for Investors

2011-05-27T15:00:00.001-05:00

Why wait for interest rates to rise before putting your cash to work?

Not long ago, the conventional wisdom was that interest rates had nowhere to go but up. Then, a series of crises—from euro zone debt woes to conflict in the Middle East and North Africa to the Japanese earthquake—unleashed a flight to quality that actually helped keep rates low, illustrating the difficulty of predicting interest rates, even for veteran investors. That's why, says Ford O'Neil, co-portfolio manager of three Fidelity bond funds, "we haven't made big short-term interest rate bets."

Nor should other investors, in our opinion. But that is exactly what people may inadvertently be doing by leaving too much cash for too long in savings accounts or money market funds, where interest rates are historically low and unlikely to go much lower. Of course, most people need an emergency fund to deal with life's unexpected demands. Others have obligations coming due shortly. Still others need to offset very volatile investments with very stable ones. And for those needs, low-yielding but highly liquid accounts can work well. But if you are an income-focused investor, there are many potentially higher yielding options to consider for money you won't need for three to five years.

What are you waiting for?

So why are investors holding near-record levels of cash in low-yielding accounts? Some may still feel paralyzed from the 2008 market meltdown. Others may have ridden the rebound that took the S&P up 80% from its March 9, 2009, bottom to its April 23, 2010, high, but sought safety in cash during any pullbacks.

If you're one of them, consider this: Since 1926, cash underperformed investment-grade bonds in 66% of all 84 one-year periods, and stocks nearly 68% of the time, according to Fidelity's Market Analysis, Research and Education Group (see chart below). Meanwhile, cash outpaced both stocks and bonds in just 12% of all those one-year periods.

So, ask yourself: Are you holding too much cash? Take the time to revisit your investment mix by using Fidelity's Portfolio Review¹ to help make sure your allocation to stocks, bonds, and cash is consistent with your risk tolerance, investment time frame, and overall financial situation.

Other fixed-income investors may be waiting for interest rates to rise to capture higher yields. Many look at today's low yields, currently about 2.05% for a five-year Treasury bond, and conclude it's hardly worth the effort to move their money out of a very liquid account to lock in such a low rate for such a relatively long time. But at least for the cash you won't need in the next three to five years, the cost of waiting too long in low-yielding accounts may be steeper than many realize—unless rates rise sharply and quickly.

Let's do the numbers

Imagine you have $100,000 to invest, and won't need it for five years. Let's say you kept that money in an extremely liquid investment like a money market fund earning 0.07%. After five years, assuming those rates rose 0.2 percentage points every six months, the $100,000 would be worth $105,580. If you factor in inflation, which is now about 2%, you'd actually be losing money.

Let's suppose, hypothetically, that the money is invested in a five-year Treasury bill, currently yielding 2.05%. If you sell it after holding it five years, it would be worth $110,736 (assuming interest is reinvested annually at 2.05%), enough to keep pace with inflation. But locking up your money for five years at such a low rate bugs you, since you think rates are more likely to rise than fall. (Of course, rates could also go down, but at such low levels currently, they don't have much farther to drop.) So, you leave the money in the savings account with the expectation that you'll shift into higher yielding securities when rates rise and potentially do better over the five-year period.

The problem is there can be a high cost to waiting.

As the table to the right shows, the only way to make money by waiting is if rates go up fast—and even then, you don't come out that much better (see shaded green boxes). For example, if interest rates jump two percentage points in a year, the $100,000 invested would be worth $117,733 after five years, $6,997 more than if you had invested immediately at 2.05%.

But how confident are you that rates will jump that far that fast? After all, the Federal Reserve has been holding interest rates low. Wait two years for rates to rise one percentage point, and the investment would be worth $110,577, $159 less than what you'd have earned if you had bought the hypothetical investment immediately. Wait three years for a one-point rate hike and the hypothetical investment is worth only $108,451, $2,285 less than with an immediate purchase of the five-year Treasury.

If rates don't go up, or they don't go up quickly, you may need to find increasingly higher yields just to generate the same 2.05% return as the five-year Treasury bill. As the graph below right illustrates, if you wait a year, you'd need a rate of 2.48% for the following four years to break even. That's not so implausible. But if you wait two years earning money market rates (which we assume increase 0.2% every six months), the break-even rate for the next three years on the Treasury yielding 2.05% goes up to 3.40%. At three years, it's up to 4.08%, and at four years, 6.67%.

As the graph shows, if you wait a year before investing in a five-year corporate bond, you'd need to earn 3.78% just to break even. Wait two years, and that rate goes to 4.81%. At three years, it's 6.68% and four years 11.89%. Of course, you are taking on more risk with a corporate bond than a Treasury bond.

Consider the alternatives

So what are your options for that longer-term cash that you won't need for three to five years? Like most things, there are trade-offs; in this case, a higher yield may mean lower credit quality as well as less stability and liquidity.

Want high liquidity and safety?

For high liquidity and safety, there are bank checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts. You can withdraw funds quickly. They can be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank. And the value is stable. As of April 26, Bankrate.com reported that rates on money market deposit and savings accounts were averaging 0.672%. But that number includes teaser rates, so money held longer term in these accounts is likely to earn even less. Many checking accounts do not pay interest at all, though there are exceptions.

Or consider money market mutual funds, which are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Money market funds are highly liquid, but generally stable. Though it is possible to lose money in a money market fund, it's rare. Over the 35 years they have been in existence, there have been only two instances of a money market fund "breaking the buck"—that is, paying less than $1.00 per share. But yields tend to track the Fed's target interest rate, which remains in a historically low range. The average retail taxable money market fund yield was 0.3% as of April 26, according to iMoneyNet.

Willing to trade less liquidity for potentially higher yield?

Consider short-term Treasury bonds, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Yields are higher than for shorter-maturity instruments like savings accounts or money market funds, with the five-year Treasury at 2.05%. And you can sell these prior to maturity, though you may end up with less than the face value if interest rates on newly issued bonds have risen.

Another popular option: certificates of deposit (CDs). Bank-issued CDs are FDIC insured, and rates are relatively high: 1.71% for an average five-year CD as of April 26, according to Bankrate, though you can currently find them as high as 2.65%. But they cannot be redeemed prior to maturity without an interest penalty—generally six months' worth. Brokerage firms typically offer brokered CDs, which are deposits at a bank and FDIC insured. While there is no early redemption penalty, brokered CDs will incur a trading charge if sold prior to maturity.

Willing to take on even more risk?

Then you could consider investment-grade corporate bonds. Five-year AA bonds were yielding an average 2.968% as of April 26, according to Bloomberg. Of course, like Treasuries, these carry interest rate risk: if rates rise, prices of existing bonds fall. Corporate bonds also carry credit risk, the risk that the issuer will default and fail to pay coupons and principal as expected. If credit risk rises, the price of the bond in the secondary market would fall. So it's important to keep to very high quality bonds for this strategy.

With individual bonds, you can build a ladder of varying maturities, say, one to five years. That way, if rates rise, you can roll the maturing bonds into higher yielding ones, potentially increasing your total return potential. Of course, if rates fall, you would get lower rates on the new bonds, but you would have locked in the higher rates on the longer-term bonds. Use our online bond ladder tool to help create your own bond ladder by answering a few straightforward questions.

Or, consider a short- or intermediate-term bond fund where professional managers use laddering strategies to help smooth out income and total return potential. An added advantage of a bond fund: you get automatic reinvestment of interest, which is easy to forget when you are managing individual bonds but can add up over time. You also get professional management, diversification, and in the vast majority of cases, lower implementation costs. However, with a bond fund you don't own the bonds outright. If rates rise, the net asset value of the fund is likely to fall.

Likewise, high-bracket taxpayers might consider short-term municipal bonds or bond funds, where interest is free of federal taxes and, in many cases, state taxes too.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

How to Find the Safest Dividend in S&P 500 | Investing Answers

2011-05-27T08:25:00.000-05:00

How to Find the Safest Dividend in S&P 500 | Investing Answers

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

YouTube - Ryan Condemns Divisive Class Warfare

2011-05-25T09:20:00.000-05:00

YouTube - Ryan Condemns Divisive Class Warfare

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

YouTube - Federally Funded NASA 'Educates' Children About Global Warming on 'Climate Kids' Web Site

2011-05-25T09:11:00.001-05:00

YouTube - Federally Funded NASA 'Educates' Children About Global Warming on 'Climate Kids' Web Site

Propaganda of our children with our tax dollars!

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

YouTube - 'KISS-off' of Pre-1967 Israeli Borders

2011-05-25T09:07:00.000-05:00

YouTube - 'KISS-off' of Pre-1967 Israeli Borders

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

YouTube - Ryan Condemns Divisive Class Warfare

2011-05-25T09:04:00.001-05:00

YouTube - Ryan Condemns Divisive Class Warfare

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

YouTube - Ryan Calls for Spending Cuts Greater than President's Debt Limit Hike

2011-05-25T09:00:00.001-05:00

YouTube - Ryan Calls for Spending Cuts Greater than President's Debt Limit Hike

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Boehner and Obama Tangle

2011-05-16T21:26:00.000-05:00

Big Oil's $4B tax break in doubt as Obama, Boehner tangle

President Obama once again calls for the subsidies to end as high gas prices erode Republican opposition.

By Steve Hargreaves, senior writer

CNNMONEY.COM — 04/29/11

President Obama repeated his call Tuesday for an end to $4 billion in oil industry tax breaks as gas prices approach $4 a gallon and after a top lawmaker indicated a possible shift in Republican policy.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the president said the oil industry is profitable enough without the tax incentives and that the money should be spent on alternative energy sources and conservation.
"CEOs of the major oil companies have made it clear that high oil prices provide more than enough profit motive to invest in domestic production without special tax breaks," said Obama. "As we work together to reduce our deficits, we simply can't afford these wasteful subsidies."
This week those profits are going to be front and center. BP is expected to report earnings on Wednesday. Exxon is slated to announce its results on Thursday. Some analysts expect the company's profits to jump 50% from last year. Chevron (CVX) is scheduled to make its earnings announcement on Friday.
The oil industry and many of its supporters in Congress have long argued that the tax breaks encourage domestic oil production and provide jobs for millions of Americans. Republicans in particular have resisted efforts to eliminate these tax breaks, something many Democrats have been trying to do since at least 2008.
But on Monday night, Speaker of the House John Boehner indicated he might be open to taking some of those breaks off the table.
"I don't think the big oil companies need to have the oil depletion allowances, but for small, independent oil and gas producers, if they didn't have this, there'd be even less exploration in America than there is today," Boehner said on ABC's (DIS


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) World News Tonight. "It's certainly something we need to be looking at."
Depletion allowances let oil companies treat the oil in the ground as capital equipment, and they can write off a certain percentage for each barrel that comes out.
On Tuesday the speaker appeared to backtrack from those comments, with an aid telling CNN (TWX


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) that "what the President has suggested so far would simply raise taxes and increase the price at the pump."
Nonetheless, Obama took the chance to pounce, saying in his letter that he was "heartened that Speaker Boehner yesterday expressed openness to eliminating these tax subsidies."
This all comes as the price of gasoline surges above $4 a gallon in many states, making it increasingly difficult politically to defend Big Oil.
As gas prices approach their record highs set in 2008 they are threatening to derail the nation's nascent economic recovery.

The tax breaks in question

The Obama administration is targeting nine tax breaks, according to a paper from the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Four account for the lion's share of the money:
Domestic manufacturing tax deduction: This is the largest single tax break, and would save over $1.7 billion a year if eliminated.
The tax deduction, passed in 2004, is designed to keep factories in the United States. Companies that manufacture here can deduct 9% of their income from operations that are attributed to domestic production.
But some question if that incentive is really appropriate for oil companies. "What are they going to do, move the oil field to the North Sea," said one staffer at the Center for American Progress said in an interview earlier this year.
No, but higher costs in the United States may make them move the drill rigs to the North Sea or some other place.
Eliminating the tax breaks "would actually discourage new energy projects and new hiring in one of the nation's most dependable job-creating industries," the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement at the time, noting the industry currently supports over 9 million jobs.
The percentage depletion allowance: This lets oil companies deduct about 15% of the money generated from a well from its taxes. Eliminating it would save about $1 billion a year.
The deduction essentially lets oil companies treat oil in the ground as capital equipment. For any industry, the value of that equipment can be written down each year.
But critics say oil in the ground is not capital equipment, but a national resource that the oil companies are simply using for their own profit.
The foreign tax credit: This provision gives companies a credit for any taxes they pay to other countries. Altering this tax credit would save about $850 million a year.
Foreign governments can collect money from oil companies through royalties -- fees for depleting their national resources -- and income taxes.
A royalty would be deducted as a cost of doing business, and would likely shave about 30% off a company's tax bill. Categorized as income tax, it is 100% deductible.
Foreign governments long ago grew wise to the U.S. tax code. To reduce costs for everyone involved and attract business, they agreed to call some royalties income taxes, allowing oil companies to take the 100% deduction on a bigger slice of their bill.
Intangible drilling costs: This lets the industry write off about $780 million a year for things like wages, fuel, repairs and hauling costs.
All industries get to write off the costs of doing business, but they must take it over the life of an investment. The oil industry gets to take the drilling credit in the first year.

The 9 places where inflation is crushing us

2011-05-16T21:18:00.000-05:00

The 9 places where inflation is crushing us

BY Jeff Reeves,

MarketWatch

MarketWatch — 04/28/11

Meat, gas, even diapers are costing regular folks.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Inflation is far from under control and it’s time that Americans demand our government officials do something about it.
The Federal Reserve would have you believe that everything is fine, focusing on core inflation rates and ignoring broader measures of inflation as they affect food and energy. These commodity-driven prices, as our central banking overlords would have you believe, are naturally more volatile and shouldn’t be overstated.
You would think after Fed bureaucrat William Dudley was castigated for talking up the affordability of iPads while ignoring real family expenses, our Federal Reserve officials would have woken up to reality. But after the publicity stunt by Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday, it’s clear that the Fed — and perhaps many Americans as a result — is in denial when it comes to the inflationary trends crippling U.S. households.

1. Beef

In a revised forecast Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said consumers will see higher price tags on ground beef and steak, projecting 6% to 7% increases year over year. That’s up from a previous forecast of just 4.5% to 5.5% inflation for beef prices. Beef prices have surged in the last several months as supplies shrink, exports boom and grain costs soar.

2. Pork

Don’t think you can just switch from cow to pig to avoid this trend — pork could see retail price increases of as much as 7.5% over 2010 levels according to the USDA.

3. Grains

Even going vegetarian is more expensive than it was a year ago. Corn prices have doubled, from $3.49 a bushel in July to well over $7.70 currently. Wheat prices have rolled back a bit in recent weeks, but topped 2008 highs in February to set a new record and remain very high currently.

4. Gasoline

The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped about 12 cents over the last two weeks to $3.88, with the highest average price for gas tallying $4.27 in Chicago. This is with oil at $112 a barrel — if crude prices reach 2008 peak levels of $145, four bucks for gas may seem cheap.

5. Copper

The price of copper at the end of 2008 was just $1.30 per pound. Currently, copper is trading around $4.30 after setting a record of $4.60 in February. Unlike gold and silver, which are largely used in luxury goods or as investments, copper is used in a wide range of household items — from electrical wiring to air conditioners to water pipes.

6. Diapers

Consumer-products company Procter & Gamble (PG


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) said this week that list prices for Pampers are up 7% on average over last year, with even Pampers wipes up 3%. To be clear, that’s not a retail price hike, just a cost increase to stores. Retailers will decide how much of those price increases to pass along to shoppers. Kimberly-Clark (KMB


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), maker of Huggies, said Monday it plans to raise prices for similar reasons — rising costs for the petroleum products and paper pulp that go into the diapers. It will be the third such announcement for Kimberly-Clark since the middle of March.

7. Paper towels and toilet paper

If you don’t have infants, you’re not off the hook. P&G also said that Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels are both listing for 5% more now with retailers and distributors than they were a year ago. KMB’s diaper price update will also be accompanied by a boost for its flagship Kleenex tissues.

8. Shipping surcharges

Freight shipper United Parcel Service (UPS


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) will be hiking its fuel surcharges from 7.5% to 8.5% as of May 2 for ground freight and from 13% to 15% for air freight. That really hurts small businesses. If you are a storekeeper simply trying to keep your shelves stocked, you have no choice but to pay more and endure smaller margins — or hike prices yourself and add to this inflationary mess.

9. Wages

Perhaps the most insidious factor of our current inflationary spiral is the fact that while all these other items are costing more, household purchasing power is shrinking because wages and salaries aren’t keeping up. While the consumer price index rose 2.7% in March to clock the fastest 12-month pace since December 2009, a staggering 18% of personal income is now made up government transfer payments while wages account for just 50.5%. That’s the lowest since the government started keeping records in 1929.

Obama appoints Muslim Brotherhood to key posts

2011-05-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

Report--Obama quietly appoints Muslim Brotherhood to key posts - National Conservative | Examiner.com

An ex-CIA agent and counter-intelligence expert has revealed in a special report that Barack Obama has quietly appointed members of the Muslim Brotherhood to key posts within the Administration. Dr. Clare Lopez, professor at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, wrote a policy paper in December of 2009 which details the systematic appointment of Sharia-friendly advocates within the State Department and other government agencies.

For example, the Tehran-born Dr. Vali Nasr was appointed to co-direct Obama foreign policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. Former Saudi Arabian supplicant Charles Freeman was appointed by Obama to chair the Administration's National Intelligence Council, but withdrew his name when it was revealed he issued a 2-page screed in which he postulated a conspiracy theory claiming he had been 'victimized' by American supporters of Israel. In addition, John Limbert was appointed to direct U.S. policy toward the Islamist regime in Iran. Limbert, who was taken hostage during the Iranian upheaval of the late 70s-early 80s, is an Iranian sympathizer who advocates negotiation with one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world.

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Is "Leading from Behind" a disassociation from leadership?

2011-05-15T22:18:00.000-05:00

President Obama has had the tag of "Leading from Behind" applied to him on Libya, Immigration, Health Care, Budget Deficit, etc. Is President Obama a leader or a follower, you make the call.............

Leading from Behind affords an unlimited opportunity for "cheap shots" of critics.
Leading from Behind is positioning oneself as a "Monday morning quarterback."
Leading from Behind effectively allows one to avoid direct accountability for any decision or proposal.
Leading from Behind is jurisprudentially an intellectual dishonesty.

When has President Obama ever put himself accountable on the "front end" of any issue? Please be specific.

What legislation has Barrack Obama ever personally proffered for debate and discussion? Please be specific.

Stocks To Watch Today - Barrons.com

2011-05-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

Stocks To Watch Today - Barrons.com

Friday afternoon seems like an inauspicious time to release earnings results. We'll have to wait until Monday to see how the market reacts to Fannie Mae's (FNMA) first quarter results, but the company's assessment of the housing market was grim. Shares fell 9.1% on Friday to 43 cents per share.

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Transforming America: How long will it take? Sooner rather than Later.....

2011-05-15T08:41:00.010-05:00

As further evidence that the transformation of America is still on-going, one should read the May 15, 2011 column of George Will. The National Labor Relations Board [which is supposed to be independent] is continuing its assault upon Boeing and the State of South Carolina for having the audacity of wanting to build Dreamliners in a Right-to-Work state. NLRB waited two years to attack Boeing and IS jeopardizing both jobs and BILLIONS invested in the State of South Carolina. This is how BIG BROTHER is being imposed on citizens just to protect Unions vis-a-vis Business and state sovereignty.

It is suggested that one should read Rich Lowry's article entitled "President Obama's Program In Shambles: Economy slip-sliding away" published May 1, 2011 to gather some background and appreciation for the opinions expressed here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA

In my opinion, President Obama has stayed true to his convictions he espoused during the 2008 presidential campaign: He appears engaged and motivated to pursue the transformation of America into a vision of George Sorros's New World Order.

Obama's transformation agenda for America is:

to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels (by whatever means necessary)
to significantly increase employee Union power and influence
to significantly redistribute wealth to the poor (by whatever means necessary)
to reduce the long-term global influence of America financially, politically, and militarily

What methods Obama intends to use to complete his agenda:

thru legislation (ObamaCare) (Dodd-Franks) (Cap-and-Trade) - to increase entitlements - to put financial institutions under more federal control - to increase the cost of fossil fuels
thru EPA regulations (federal register) - to prevent oil and gas companies from drilling - to prevent utility companies use of fossil fules - to increase the price of gasoline
thru Federal Reserve: - to weaken the dollar - to encourage asset inflation -
thru NLRB - empower unions and curb corporate management's ability to control employees and costs
by demonizing Republicans (there is more to come if he is re-elected) to produce fear of any changes they suggest to social entitlements or financial controls of Wall Street - to produce class envy - to discredit any effort to alter his agenda as a racist attack
by taking advantage of any opportunity to promote his agenda by using stealth, and obfuscation (Middle East unrest) (lack of immigration reforms)
President Obama took advantage of the financial crisis during the Great Recession to successfully put America on the path to hopefully complete his agenda
Increase income taxes on the most productive people

Evidence of his intentions and motivations to complete agenda :

the credentials and ideological background of his czars (communists, radicals, liberation theology, etc.)
the credentials and ideological background of his political advisers and associates (communists, liberation theology, etc.)
his public comments about redistribution-of-wealth during the last campaign
his public support of cap-and-trade legislation (raising the cost of fossil fuels)
his association with Bill Ayers and Van Jones and numerous other radicals (he openly admits to seeking out radicals in college)
his acknowledged emotional support of SEIU and reliance upon their organizational support
his professorial arrogance (he knows and understands more than anyone else and thus he does not need to consult or listen to the peasants)
his apparent inattention to any racial issues - why does he not?
his willingness to blame America for the ills of the world - Cairo, Egypt speech
his indirect, yet continuous, inter-connectivity with George Sorros and/or George Sorros funded organizations
his apparent inattention and leadership of the consequences of the large federal debt and budget deficits
lawsuits filed against any state daring to interfere with his agenda
Obama has almost tripled the amount of our national debt and about doubled the amount being spent on entitlement programs since he was elected
he never offers a olive-branch to the other side to negotiate in-good-faith

Consequences to American citizens if this agenda is allowed to be fully implemented:

reduction of wealth and prosperity
reduction of America's global interests
less long-term investment
employment stagnation
economic class warfare
reduction in the standard of living
ethnic polarization - the balkanization of America!
ally distrust
permanent increase in the cost of fossil fuels
more regulation of personal liberties, freedoms, and speech

Food prices to rise 2 to 3 percent this year - baltimoresun.com

2011-04-28T07:56:00.000-05:00

Food prices to rise 2 to 3 percent this year - baltimoresun.com

Shoppers should brace for higher grocery bills, especially on basics such as milk and ground beef, as food prices are expected to rise this year. Food inflation is expected to accelerate this year to as much as 3 percent after two years of more moderate or declining prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some economists are warning of even higher inflation given the volatile food market. That could add more than $20 to the average monthly food bill for a family of four. Some Baltimore-area grocery stores already have begun to raise prices and cut back on sales. Giant Food, the region's largest grocer, hit customers the hardest with a 4.5 percent increase in prices since October, according to a Morgan Stanley survey that included Baltimore-area grocers. Food Lion raised prices by 4.2 percent in that time, while Walmart held the line with a 0.1 percent increase.

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Drilling Ban

2011-04-26T23:47:00.001-05:00

SHELL SHOCKED DRILLING BAN
As gas prices continue to soar while President Obama tells the American people there is nothing he can do to solve the problem, the Environmental Protection Agency forced Shell Oil Company to scrap plans to drill in one of the most remote locations in the United States this week. Shell had planned to drill 70 miles off the coast of Alaska's North Slope in the Arctic Ocean, but the EPA denied the company a drilling permit after stating the company had failed to calculate greenhouse gas emissions in their assessment of environmental impact. Seems like the Obama Administration and the EPA have overlooked the negative economic impact of this decision. Before the decision by the EPA, Shell had invested nearly $4 billion in the project.

Meanwhile, President Obama has launched an investigation into evil corporations because he believes speculators and oil futures traders are driving the price of oil up through manipulation.

President Obama: How does he solve problems?

2011-04-26T11:48:00.001-05:00

We have some significant problems in the United States

Federal Deficits.
Federal Debt.
Immigration.
Two (now three) Wars
Health Care costs.
Entitlement costs.
World chaos.
Undue Political Strength of Public Unions

How has President Obama gone about solving any one of these problems?

create a committee to generate a report and then ignore the findings
after a lengthy delay, send a diplomat to discuss the issue
make a speech outlining the problem and demagogue anyone offering a solution
acknowledge the problem but do nothing
ignore and avoid the issue entirely

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Headlines in America:

2011-04-26T11:42:00.024-05:00

Headlines in America:
The Headlines stay the same but the message keeps changing --

Trust: Is Obama who he says he is?
The Ages of America is ending
ObamaCare Is Starting To Bleed Insurers Dry - Forbes.com
Obama: Is he working on solving America's problems or his re-election?
Oil production: When should we start drilling again - now or never?
Tea Party: Are they terrorists?
Obama Links America's Greatness With Government Spending -- Again
Fiscal Problems: Are politicians a solution or part of the problem?
Immigration: Killing continues on Mexican Border
Borrowing $ billions from foreign governments $
The Economy: What can we expect in the next twelve months?
Fighting and killing in Afghanistan
Who is able and willing to invest in America?
Bombing and killing in Libya $
Middle East on fire
Environmental Justice
Iran developing nuclear weapons
Value of the American dollar $ declining $
Value of Gold $ increasing $
Food prices $ increasing $
Oil prices $ increasing $
Food converted to fuel American cars
States in budget fiscal crisis $
Health Care costs increasing $
Federal debt increasing by trillions $
Americans living on food stamps $
Payroll taxes increasing $
Obama wants to increase taxes $
Federal Reserve causing inflation $
World Food prices increasing $
More federal regulations being written for Health Care
Congress and Obama negotiating our future
Home foreclosures not declining
Jobless claims not declining
Royal wedding
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needing more billions $
Labor union unrest continues
Personal Income: Who owns it - Uncle Sam or You?
Federal Tax Revenue: Who should be paying?

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Rising food costs upset Valley shoppers - Business - fresnobee.com

2011-04-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

Rising food costs upset Valley shoppers - Business - fresnobee.com

The cost of everything from the cheese on your pizza to the corn in your cornflakes is on the rise, and experts say food prices are expected to keep going up. A combination of bad weather that stunted crops worldwide, growing fuel costs, and rising prices in food ingredients are driving the increases. For months, supermarkets and restaurants have held back on passing the higher costs along to cash-strapped consumers. Now it appears they can't hold back anymore. In January, the average price of a USDA Choice boneless sirloin steak in the western U.S. was $1.84 a pound more than it was a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks prices. A half-gallon of ice cream went up 87 cents, and broccoli rose 36 cents a pound.

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Food prices at 'dangerous' levels: World Bank - World - CBC News

2011-04-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

Food prices at 'dangerous' levels: World Bank - World - CBC News

The World Bank said Tuesday food prices have hit "dangerous levels" that could contribute to political instability, push millions of people into poverty and raise the cost of groceries. The bank's president, Robert Zoellick, said in Washington rising prices have hit people hardest in the developing world because they spend as much as half their income on food.

he bank, in a report released Tuesday, said that global food prices have jumped 29 per cent in the past year, and are just three per cent below the all-time peak hit in 2008.
On Feb. 3, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization said prices are already there.
Its food price index rose in January by 3.4 per cent from December to 231 points. The rise was the seventh straight monthly increase.
The index measures monthly price changes for a basket of foods including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar.
High prices sparked rioting in 61 countries in 2007 and 2008. Back then, the FAO index was at 200 points for all of 2008.
Wheat prices have traded at record levels recently as commodity traders worry about the quality and quantity of the global wheat supply, given continuing drought in China, and after devastating floods damaged Australia's crop. Last year, yields were affected by drought in Russia and Ukraine and by flooding in Canada.
Wheat futures for May delivery retreated by 3.8 per cent Tuesday, to $8.70 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. A day earlier, the price touched $9.15 a bushel, its highest since Aug. 22, 2008.

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Charles Krauthammer - Obama's Louis XV budget

2011-04-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

Charles Krauthammer - Obama's Louis XV budget

Five days before his inauguration, President-elect Obama told The Post that entitlement reform could no longer be kicked down the road. He then spent the next two years kicking - racking up $3 trillion in new debt along the way - on the grounds that massive temporary deficit spending was necessary to prevent another Great Depression.

To prove his bona fides, he later appointed a deficit reduction commission. It made its report last December, when the economy was well past recession, solemnly declaring that "the era of debt denial is over."
That lasted all of two months. The president's first post-commission budget, submitted Monday, marks a return to obliviousness. Even Erskine Bowles, Obama's Democratic debt commission co-chair, says it goes "nowhere near where they will have to go to resolve our fiscal nightmare."
The budget touts a deficit reduction of $1.1 trillion over the next decade.
Where to begin? Even if you buy this number, Obama's budget adds $7.2 trillion in new debt over that same decade.
But there's a catch. The administration assumes economic growth levels higher than private economists and the Congressional Budget Office predict. Without this rosy scenario - using CBO growth estimates - $1.7 trillion of revenue disappears and U.S. debt increases $9 trillion over the next decade. This is almost $1 trillion every year.

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The State of America: HEADLINES

2011-04-26T09:38:00.043-05:00

Headlines in America:

Obama: Is he working on solving America's problems or his re-election?
Oil production: When should we start drilling again - now or never?
Tea Party: Are they terrorists?
Fiscal Problems: Are politicians a solution or part of the problem?
Immigration: Killing continues on Mexican Border
Borrowing $ billions from foreign governments $
Fighting and killing in Afghanistan
Bombing and killing in Libya $
Middle East on fire
Iran developing nuclear weapons
Value of the American dollar $ declining $
Value of Gold $ increasing $
Food prices $ increasing $
Oil prices $ increasing $
Food converted to fuel American cars
States in budget fiscal crisis $
Health Care costs increasing $
Federal debt increasing by trillions $
Americans living on food stamps $
Payroll taxes increasing $
Obama wants to increase taxes $
Federal Reserve causing inflation $
World Food prices increasing $
More federal regulations being written for Health Care
Congress and Obama negotiating our future
Home foreclosures not declining
Jobless claims not declining
Royal wedding
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac needing more billions $
Labor union unrest continues

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Medicare Should Evolve

2011-04-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

Why shouldn't Medicare get out of the business of making direct payments for medical services and just become an agency that solicits and discusses with private insurance's companies to proliferate the number of policies, choices, options, and plans available to people in the market.

Medicare should not be negotiating prices with doctors hospitals and drug companies. They should just be negotiating with the insurance companies.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Solving USA's Financial Problems

2011-04-14T11:06:00.000-05:00

I hope this is viewed by many Americans to make sure they understand the issues and problems with getting our fiscal house in order.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Obama's Mystery Links to Qaddafi Uncovered - Rev. Wright - Fox Nation

2011-02-24T08:52:00.000-06:00

JERUSALEM - As pressure mounts on the White House to intervene to stop Moammar Gadhafi's bloody crackdown in Libya, many commentators have been wondering why Barack Obama has been cautious in his criticism of the dictator after the U.S. president so fervently supported the removal from office of U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. But Gadhafi has been tied to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's spiritual adviser for more than 23 years. The Libyan dictator also has financed and strongly supported the Nation of Islam and its leader, Louis Farrakhan. Obama has ties to Farrakhan and his controversial group... Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of Obama's longtime Chicago church, went with Farrakhan to visit Gadhafi in 1984.

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American Legion Children's Home to stay open under new ownership | Tulsa World

2011-02-23T12:25:00.000-06:00

American Legion Children's Home to stay open under new ownership | Tulsa World

Instead of closing a children's home in Ponca City and uprooting dozens of foster children, the American Legion will transfer its ownership, officials confirmed Monday. The American Legion had planned to close the home last year, until the state Attorney General's office won a court injunction to keep the facility open temporarily. Now the attorney general and the American Legion have reached a permanent arrangement that will save the home, but under new management.

Details are still being worked out, officials said, but the American Legion has agreed to transfer the home and all of its assets to a new organization created specifically to operate the home. "It's a total victory," said Diane Beekman, a volunteer at the facility who helped set up a Save the Children's Home group. "We were always optimistic that it would work out somehow, we just didn't know how," she said. Established in 1928 for children of World War I veterans, the home now houses 44 foster children. The Oklahoma Legion board voted last fall to close the home, saying state budget cuts were threatening to make the facility a financial burden on the American Legion.

Supporters countered that the home did its own fundraising and received little if any support from the state Legion chapter. In a letter last year asking the attorney general to intervene, Beekman suggested that the American Legion wanted to divert the home's assets toward other causes.

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PressTV - 'Iran, Ecuador revolutionary nations'

2011-02-23T12:22:00.000-06:00

PressTV - 'Iran, Ecuador revolutionary nations'

He said the days of the current world order are numbered, and that Iran and Ecuador play a key role in creating a new world order. "Those who ruled the world for 300 years should not be allowed to impose themselves on nations again with a new façade," said the president. The Ecuadorian parliament speaker, for his turn, said the two countries are on the same front when it comes to fighting imperialism and reclaiming their rights, and that Tehran and Quito follow common goals in the international arena.

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PressTV - Iran censures brutality of 4 Arab states

2011-02-23T12:21:00.000-06:00

PressTV - Iran censures brutality of 4 Arab states

Members of Iran's Parliament (Majlis) have condemned the recent violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters by the governments of Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and Morocco.

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Recent revolts vow declining US power

2011-02-23T12:20:00.000-06:00

PressTV - Recent revolts vow declining US power

Senior Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi has described recent regional developments as a sign of declining US power in the region and the world. The chairman of the Iran's Majlis (parliament) Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy said the deep and strategic developments in the region were in the interest of regional nations.

Boroujerdi made the remarks in a meeting with Ecuador's Parliament Speaker Fernando Cordero on Wednesday, Fars News Agency reported. Following the collapse of the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, waves of pro-democracy protests are spreading across the Middle East.

At least 1,000 people were killed in Tripoli on Monday by airstrikes conducted by the Libyan military in a desperate effort meant to quell the popular uprising, according to some reports. The International Federation for Human Rights says as many as 400 others have also been killed since the onset of protests in the North African country on February 15.

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EU Parliament seeks Iran Majlis ties

2011-02-23T12:18:00.000-06:00

PressTV - EU Parliament seeks Iran Majlis ties

Chair of the European Parliament's Iran delegation Barbara Lochbihler has called for the expansion of ties with Iran and cooperation with Iran's Parliament (Majlis). In a meeting with the Spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Parliament (Majlis), Kazem Jalali, the European Parliament official called for the expansion of economic ties with the Islamic Republic as a "stable country in the region," IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Jalali, who is in Germany on a three-day visit, briefed the European officials on Iran's stance toward the recent revolutions in North African and Arab countries. Jalali also recommended that Iran's Parliament and the European Parliament exchange views on important issues such as the latest developments in Afghanistan, Iraq, North Africa, as well as on counter-narcotic strategies, energy security, terrorism, and regional security.

Lochbihler, who is also the representative of Germany's Green Party in the European Parliament, welcomed the proposal. On Saturday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle met with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi in the Iranian capital city, Tehran, stressing the importance of promoting dialogue and cooperation with the Islamic Republic. The German minister also expressed his country's willingness to hold talks with Iran in the future, saying Berlin seeks ways to expand relations with Tehran on international issues.

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Wisconsin Budget Gap: Blame Politicians or Teachers' Unions? - TIME

2011-02-23T08:21:00.009-06:00

Wisconsin Budget Gap: Blame Politicians or Teachers' Unions? - TIME

Unions support Tax increases

Budget Shortfall

Conspiracy?
Share the Pain
Sick Teachers?
Bargaining Rights Poll

How beholden are Democrats to Public Sector Unions?

Are Democratic elected officials working as hard for Taxpayers as they do for Public Sector Unions?

Are Public Sector Unions working for Taxpayers, or just the opposite?

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Natural Debt as Budget Cuts Loom - TIME

2011-02-23T07:16:00.000-06:00

Environmentalists Warn of Natural Debt as Budget Cuts Loom - TIME

Ask any Republican — from the Speaker of the House to a local sheriff — what the biggest problem facing the country is today and you're sure to get the same answer: Debt. Conservatives believe a public debt of $14 trillion and growing is crippling the economy and condemning future generations to penury.

In Wisconsin, new Republican governor Scott Walker says that a $137 million deficit leaves him no choice but to force public unions in the state to accept drastic benefits reductions and curtailed bargaining rights — a stance that has brought tens of thousands of protesters to the streets of Madison. In Congress, the Republican-controlled House has passed a budget that would slash $60 billion in government spending, most of it from discretionary programs. "We're broke," Speaker John Boehner told Meet the Press last week. "It's time to get serious about how we're spending the nation's money."

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State Approves Detroit Schools' Cuts - WSJ.com

2011-02-22T12:49:00.000-06:00

State Approves Detroit Schools' Cuts - WSJ.com

The state of Michigan approved a plan for Detroit to close about half of its public schools and increase the average size of high-school classrooms to 60 students over the next four years to eliminate a $327 million deficit. The plan was submitted in January by Robert Bobb, Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager, as a last-ditch scenario if the district couldn't find new revenue sources, which it hasn't so far.

Final approval came after Mike Flanagan, the state superintendent of public instruction, cleared Mr. Bobb's initial plan with some new requirements, including that the district not file for bankruptcy protection during Mr. Bobb's remaining months in office. The state approved the plan in a Feb. 8 letter, which the Detroit public-schools district released Monday.

Mr. Bobb said the deep cuts were necessary if the district hoped to be solvent again without additional state aid. But he said the strategy was ultimately ill-advised because it will likely drive even more students away, depriving the district of needed state funds, which Michigan apportions on the basis of enrollment. "This is the route we're forced to take under state law," Steven Wasko, Detroit Public Schools' assistant superintendent for communications, said Monday. "However we continue to look for longer-term plans so we can avoid this."

Mr. Bobb is now moving to shrink the district to 72 schools from 142, as enrollment is expected to decline to 58,570 students by 2014 from about 73,000 students today.

Mr. Bobb was appointed emergency financial manager for the district two years ago to help close what was then a $218 million deficit, and moved quickly to close schools and root out waste. But the deficit deepened during his tenure, weighed down by salary, pension and health-care obligations. The longtime municipal manager said that without the cuts and cost-savings measures he has made since 2009, the district would face a deficit of more than $500 million today. Meanwhile, many of his efforts to restructure the district's academics and finances were derailed by clashes with unions and with the elected school board, which recently won a court fight to control academics and select the next superintendent.

Anthony Adams, the chairman of the school board, didn't respond Monday to a request for comment. The school board has sought an infusion of funds from the state and an end to outside control of the district. Mr. Bobb has agreed to stay a few more months beyond his appointed term, through the end of June. A spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder said Monday that he was considering appointing another emergency manager to succeed

Mr. Bobb, which would keep the elected board of education largely sidelined on financial matters for the near future.

Organized labor is fighting back. The Detroit Federation of Teachers called for an emergency lobbying day Tuesday in Lansing, the state capital, to protest bills granting emergency financial managers broad power over cities and school districts in financial crisis. Under those bills, emergency managers could toss out union contracts, dissolve school boards and set wage and benefit levels without collective bargaining. Mr. Bobb is generally supportive of the bills, said Mr. Wasko, the assistant superintendent.

Calls to union officials weren't immediately returned Monday.

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Rising Gas Prices

2011-02-22T12:41:00.002-06:00

Graham: Obama role in Wisconsin standoff has been 'inappropriate' - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

2011-02-21T17:48:00.000-06:00

Graham: Obama role in Wisconsin standoff has been 'inappropriate' - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

"When the president talks about Wisconsin I think that really is inappropriate," he said. "The governor of Wisconsin is doing what he campaigned on ... there was an election on his proposals and he won." Obama said last week that the collective bargaining reform proposal "seems like more of an assault on unions." His campaign arm Organizing for America has also helped coordinate protests in Wisconsin. Graham said that Gov. Scott Walker (R) was open about his plans to reform collective bargaining while campaigning and now should be allowed to fulfill that mandate. "He didn't take anybody by surprise," he said. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), though, said that assuming the Wisconsin standoff was about budget austerity was like believeing that United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez was just trying to wrangle a few more pennies per pound on grapes.

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Major Reforms To Entitlements Can't Be Put Off - Investors.com

2011-02-21T17:35:00.000-06:00

Major Reforms To Entitlements Can't Be Put Off - Investors.com: "Procrastination is rarely a cost-free strategy. That is true when it comes to fixing Social Security — as much as the Obama administration and, even more forcefully, its allies on the left may wish to believe otherwise.

Their 'what's the big rush?' message goes like this: The retirement program isn't really contributing to deficits in the short run.

Indeed, its finances are healthy enough so that it can continue paying all promised benefits for more than two decades, until 2037.

Even then, if absolutely nothing is done, Social Security would be able to pay about 75% of promised benefits.

So where's the fire? Here it is. Last year, for the first time in its history, Social Security paid out more in benefits than it received in payroll taxes.

The recession caused this shortfall: Seniors who lost their jobs chose to start collecting benefits earlier, while payroll tax collections fell because of high unemployment and lower wages.

As a general matter, it's true — although less than previously — that Social Security is not a cause of short-term deficits.

In fact, until last year, the surplus in the Social Security trust fund masked the true size of the current deficit. But the 2010 experience is a hint of things to come — soon.

By 2015, Social Security will be increasing the deficit every year, not obscuring it.

Still, that's not the real problem, or the strongest argument against thumb-twiddling. The reason is that making changes now will make it easier to protect the very people that the 'Social Security's not a problem' brigade say they care about.

Need To Act Now

The Social Security trustees make this point every year in their annual report about the system's finances: 'If action is taken sooner rather than later, more options will be available and more time will be available to phase in changes so that those affected have adequate time to prepare.'

The challenge isn't huge, but it is significant. As a useful paper by Charles Blahous and Robert Greenstein for the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative explains, when the trust funds run out, the gap between Social Security revenues and benefit payments will be 1.3% of the gross domestic product — about one-fifth of the projected deficit then.

Yes, Medicare and Medicaid present a bigger challenge, but the Social Security shortfall represents a significant slice of the deficit.

Unlike the health programs, whose solvency ultimately depends on the uncertain enterprise of slowing cost growth, the potential fixes to Social Security are both obvious and reliable.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Obama and Unions

2011-02-21T17:18:00.000-06:00

US must be removed from Islamic world: Khamenei | The New Age Online

2011-02-21T17:13:00.000-06:00

US must be removed from Islamic world: Khamenei | The New Age Online: "Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday called on Muslims to 'remove' the US from the Islamic world.

'The main problem in the Muslim world is the presence of the United States. It is the biggest problem. We need to address that,' he told a gathering of Shiite and Sunni scholars in Tehran for an international conference on Islam.

'It is necessary to remove the US from the Islamic world,' the all-powerful cleric and Islamic republic's commander-in-chief said, adding that the country's arch-foe was currently weak.

Khamenei urged Muslims worldwide to preserve the 'people's movement in Egypt,' saying it was the duty of both the people and dignitaries of Arab nations and the entire Islamic community.

He reiterated that the Arab revolts were 'Islamic' and must be consolidated.

'The enemies try to say that the popular movements in Egypt, Tunisia and other nations are un-Islamic, but certainly these popular movements are Islamic and must be consolidated,' he said.

Khamenei also urged that 'the conspiracy of enemies to create differences between Sunnis and Shiites' be confronted.

On February 4, in his Friday prayer sermon, Khamenei called for an Islamic regime to be installed in Egypt, a week before that country's strongman Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Muslim Cleric Plans White House Protest in Attempt to Spread Sharia Law in America - FoxNews.com

2011-02-21T08:48:00.000-06:00

Muslim Cleric Plans White House Protest in Attempt to Spread Sharia Law in America - FoxNews.com: "A Muslim cleric who called Americans “the biggest criminals” during a recent interview has announced he will hold a protest outside the White House, according to the Daily Mail.

Anjem Choudary, who once said “the flag of Islam will fly over the White House,” says he will lead a demonstration rallying Muslims to establish Sharia law across the United States.

Choudary, 43, called Americans “the biggest criminals in the world today” during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity this month.

Choudary, who is the former leader of the outlawed British-based group Islam4UK, says the March rally at the White House is being organized by the extremist group Islamic Thinkers Society, which is based in New York.

“The event is a rally, a call for the Sharia, a call for the Muslims to rise up and establish the Islamic state in America,” Choudary told London’s Daily Mail in an interview.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Breitbart.tv » Doctors Continue to Fraudulently Hand Out ‘Sick Notes’ to Help AWOL Union Members Play Hooky

2011-02-20T20:12:00.000-06:00

Breitbart.tv » Doctors Continue to Fraudulently Hand Out ‘Sick Notes’ to Help AWOL Union Members Play Hooky: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Lost kids: When foster children reach adulthood | StarTribune.com

2011-02-20T19:30:00.000-06:00

Lost kids: When foster children reach adulthood | StarTribune.com: "Teens stuck in foster care rarely forget the day they become adults.

For Jibe Young, it was the day he turned 18 and his foster parents said he had to move out -- but that his little brother could stay because the state was still paying for him. Destiny Helfrich shoved her foster mother on the day she was told to leave home -- and was arrested and jailed for two nights. Her next stop was a homeless shelter.

'If she's not getting paid, I guess she doesn't love me anymore,' said Helfrich, now 20. 'That's how I felt.'

Every year, 500 to 600 foster children in Minnesota reach adulthood without any parents -- despite the state's efforts to reunite them with their birth families or place them for adoption. Compared to other states, Minnesota has a high rate of children who, like Helfrich and Young, 'age out' of the system after three years or more.

The problem is gaining attention from state and federal authorities, because the consequences are severe. One-third of the youths who age out of foster care are homeless within four years, according to University of Chicago research, and nearly half of the young men spend time in jail.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Neither US Party Serious About Cutting Deficit: Roubini - CNBC

2011-02-16T13:19:00.000-06:00

Neither US Party Serious About Cutting Deficit: Roubini - CNBC

Neither US political party is willing to make the choices needed to bring down the crippling US budget deficits, economist Nouriel Roubini told CNBC.

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Opinion: In the name of James Madison - Roger Hodge - POLITICO.com

2011-02-16T09:34:00.001-06:00

Opinion: In the name of James Madison - Roger Hodge - POLITICO.com

It is high time that American liberals rediscovered the Founding Fathers. This suggestion may come as a surprise, because for many on the left, Madison and the other Founders are an embarrassment. Appeals to their authority are often dismissed as reactionary or inherently conservative. The republican principles of Madison and his great ally Thomas Jefferson usually receive little more than condescension or caricature — as an obsolete agrarianism at best, pro-slavery apologetics at worst.

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Even Democrats are not pleased with Obama

2011-02-16T07:35:00.000-06:00

Dems join GOP criticism of budget - TheHill.com

Democrats joined Republicans on Tuesday in criticizing President Obama's budget request for doing too little to bring down the national debt. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) faulted Obama for not taking on entitlement reform, and during testimony by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jack Lew, suggested the administration was not being serious enough about reducing the deficit.

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Gaddafi tells Palestinians: revolt against Israel

2011-02-15T09:44:00.000-06:00

UPDATE 1-Gaddafi tells Palestinians: revolt against Israel | News by Country | Reuters

TRIPOLI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Palestinian refugees should capitalise on the wave of popular revolts in the Middle East by massing peacefully on the borders of Israel until it gives in to their demands, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Sunday. Gaddafi is respected in many parts of the Arab world for his uncompromising criticism of Israel and Arab leaders who have dealings with the Jewish state, though some people in the region dismiss his initiatives as unrealistic.

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Obama is not providing any Leadership!

2011-02-14T08:47:00.000-06:00

Obama unveils $3.73 trillion budget for 2012 - Yahoo! News

Obama's new budget projects that the deficit for the current year will surge to an all-time high of $1.65 trillion. That reflects a sizable tax-cut agreement reached with Republicans in December. For 2012, the administration sees the imbalance declining to $1.1 trillion, giving the country a record four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits.

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Man charged with 3 counts of murder in Va. attacks - Yahoo! News

2011-02-13T09:52:00.000-06:00

Man charged with 3 counts of murder in Va. attacks - Yahoo! News

MANASSAS, Va. – A Salvadoran man who was ordered deported nearly a decade ago but never left has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in a series of shootings and a knife attack in a Virginia suburb of Washington, authorities said Friday. Jose Oswaldo Reyes Alfaro, an illegal immigrant, was charged in the pair of attacks blocks apart Thursday night that left three people dead and three others injured, Manassas Police Chief Doug Keen said.

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Meet Wyoming’s Anti-Shari’ah Crusader | Religion Dispatches

2011-02-13T08:10:00.000-06:00

Meet Wyoming's Anti-Shari'ah Crusader | Religion Dispatches

In an interview, State Rep. Gerald Gay (R-Casper), sponsor of a resolution in the Wyoming legislature which would, if passed, amend the state's constitution to "forbid courts from using international law or sharia law when deciding cases," said his motivation was "I don't want our laws having origins in other places, foreign religions or foreign countries."

When I asked him whether he considered Islam to be a "foreign religion," Gay hedged: "It's not that it's a foreign religion," he said, "but we do believe very strongly in the separation of church and state which many, many Islamic believers do not believe that to be true. People who believe in shari'ah – shari'ah is church and state under one aegis." That, of course, is simply not true; as Haroon Moghul has written here and explained in this bloggingheadstv episode, shari'ah is a process of engaging with sacred texts, an ongoing conversation, not a set of concrete rules or laws that must be followed.

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American Thinker: Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies

2011-02-12T21:11:00.000-06:00

American Thinker: Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies

Generally, sharia restricts women's social mobility and rights, the more closely sharia is followed. For example, in conservative Saudi Arabia women are not allowed to drive cars. In Iran, the law oppresses women. For example, women's testimony counts half that of men, and far more women than men are stoned to death for adultery.

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Crisis Puts White House in Disarray - WSJ.com

2011-02-12T16:46:00.000-06:00

Crisis Puts White House in Disarray - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON—The defiant tone taken by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak—and widespread confusion about the meaning of his speech—had White House officials stumbling for their next step in a crisis that was spinning out of their control.

Egyptian officials said Mr. Mubarak gave the Obama administration much of what it wanted: the delegation of presidential powers to the vice president, Omar Suleiman. They said Mr. Mubarak had all but been rendered a figurehead leader, precisely the formulation set out by U.S. officials over the weekend. But Mr. Mubarak's language and refusal to yield to what he called the intervention of foreigners left protesters furious, the scene in Cairo precarious and the White House seemingly unable to influence events.

After a extended meeting with his national security team, President Barack Obama released the longest statement of the Egyptian crisis, making it clear the appearances of Messrs. Mubarak and Suleiman on Egyptian state television had muddled the transition process, not clarified it.

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My Way News - Ariz. governor countersues federal government

2011-02-12T15:51:00.000-06:00

My Way News - Ariz. governor countersues federal government

PHOENIX (AP) - Gov. Jan Brewer sued the federal government Thursday for failing to control Arizona's border with Mexico and enforce immigration laws, and for sticking the state with huge costs associated with jailing illegal immigrants who commit crimes. The lawsuit claims the federal government has failed to protect Arizona from an "invasion" of illegal immigrants. It seeks increased reimbursements and extra safeguards, such as additional border fences. Brewer's court filing serves as a countersuit in the federal government's legal challenge to Arizona's new enforcement immigration law. The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to invalidate the law.

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Weather Changes Man-Made?

2011-02-12T14:54:00.000-06:00

The Weather Isn't Getting Weirder - WSJ.com

We do know that carbon dioxide and other gases trap and re-radiate heat. We also know that humans have emitted ever-more of these gases since the Industrial Revolution. What we don't know is exactly how sensitive the climate is to increases in these gases versus other possible factors—solar variability, oceanic currents, Pacific heating and cooling cycles, planets' gravitational and magnetic oscillations, and so on. Given the unknowns, it's possible that even if we spend trillions of dollars, and forgo trillions more in future economic growth, to cut carbon emissions to pre-industrial levels, the climate will continue to change—as it always has.

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Republicans Seek Spending Cuts In Debt Ceiling Fight - Investors.com

2011-02-12T12:32:00.000-06:00

Republicans Seek Spending Cuts In Debt Ceiling Fight - Investors.com

News the federal deficit will hit a record in 2011 pushed Congress one step closer Wednesday to its first major battle of the year: raising the debt ceiling. The national debt stands at just over $14 trillion and will soon hit the statutory limit of $14.3 trillion. If Congress doesn't raise it soon, the Treasury won't be able to issue debt above that ceiling, which would lead to substantial spending cuts and the eventual possibility of default. Many Republicans are insisting on major spending cuts in return for raising the ceiling. Democrats scoff at the idea. Meanwhile, Tea Party activists are gearing up to fight over the issue. Red Ink Is Expensive

The budget deficit will hit a record $1.48 trillion in fiscal 2011, the Congressional Budget Office predicted Wednesday. Over the next decade, an additional $6.7 trillion in red ink is expected. Meanwhile, the unfunded liability for Social Security and Medicare is $19.1 trillion in present-value terms. With the long-term fiscal picture looking dire and anti-deficit fervor among voters stronger than ever, many GOP lawmakers are demanding major cuts in exchange for voting to raise the debt limit. "We can't afford to kick this can down the road any longer," said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. "We need both spending cuts and spending caps in any deal to raise the debt ceiling." The GOP-led House will likely do just that. But Democrats still control the Senate and White House. It's unclear how a standoff would play out politically.

Meanwhile, Tea Party activists oppose any debt-limit increases. "We think voting for the debt ceiling is a dangerous thing to do," said Mark Meckler, co-coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots. "It's time to cut up the credit card." A few Tea-infused members, such as Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., are steadfastly refusing to vote for a debt-limit hike. But more Republicans, like Flake, see a chance for driving a hard bargain. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., recently said in a speech on the House floor: "When Congress is asked to increase the statutory debt limit, which will likely happen in the next few months, I will vote no, unless — and let me be completely clear here — there is a firm commitment to deal with the larger issue or the vote itself is tied to a plan to put America on a path to financial responsibility."

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Paul gets CPAC crowd on their feet

2011-02-12T12:17:00.000-06:00

Paul gets CPAC crowd on their feet – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

"There is truly a revolution going on in this country. We live in a time where we don't just need a change in attitude and a change in ideas," Paul also said.

"We need to change our philosophy about what this country is all about. " Paul, who ran a quixotic presidential bid in 2008 that caught fire with many fiscal conservatives and libertarians, added the crisis in Egypt is further proof American needs to disentangle from its foreign engagements.

"We need to do a lot less, a lot sooner, not only in Egypt, but around the world," he said. "The people don't like us propping up our dictators no more than we would like it if a foreign country propped up a dictator here."

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New York Stock Exchange Gone?

2011-02-12T11:59:00.001-06:00

Merger Could Take NYSE Out of American Control | NBC New York

A German company is in high-level talks to acquire the New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street's most recognizable institution. According to reports published in both the German and American financial press, Deutsche Borse, a Frankfurt-based stock exchange is seeking to take a 60 percent ownership interest in the NYSE. The merger would create the world's largest financial exchange.

News of the deal sent both NYSE and Deutsche Borse stock soaring Thursday.

If US and European regulators sign off on the plan, the new parent company would have dual headquarters in Germany and America. The merger is not expected to result in major layoffs in New York. However, the ranks of face-to-face stock traders have already thinned considerably on Wall Street in recent years.

"Stock trading is a commodity business. There's just no money in it anymore," said Greg David, director of Business & Economics Reporting at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

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Obama likens budget to family pocketbook choices - Yahoo! News

2011-02-12T11:22:00.000-06:00

Obama likens budget to family pocketbook choices - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON – Portraying his fiscal choices as kitchen table budgeting, President Barack Obama says he is making difficult cuts to allow needed spending increases in education, technology and basic infrastructure like roads and bridges. In a broad preview of his administration's budget for fiscal 2012, Obama says the combination of cuts and new spending will result in an overall freeze in annual domestic spending for the next five years.

"This budget asks Washington to live within its means, while at the same time investing in our future," the president said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address. The White House plans to release his budget on Monday. With public opinion turning against increased spending, Obama is making a concerted sales pitch to cast his initiatives as fiscally prudent. But the dual goal of taming deficits while adding dollars to selected projects comes as the government faces a projected $1.5 trillion deficit this budget year, which ends in September. Republicans are demanding greater deficit reduction efforts and members of the House GOP say they want to cut the current 2011 budget year by $61 billion.

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400 arrested in Algeria at rally demanding reforms - Yahoo! News

2011-02-12T11:00:00.000-06:00

400 arrested in Algeria at rally demanding reforms - Yahoo! News

ALGIERS, Algeria – A human rights activist says more than 400 people have been arrested during a pro-democracy protest that brought thousands of people onto the streets of the Algerian capital. Ali Yahia Abdenour says women and foreign journalists were among those arrested during Saturday's demonstration, which came a day after mass protests toppled Egypt's autocratic leader.

Abdenour, who heads the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, said some 28,000 security forces were deployed in Algiers to block the march and disperse the crowds.

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Tea Party Express Names Snowe as Its Next Moderate Republican Target : Roll Call

2011-02-12T10:13:00.000-06:00

Tea Party Express Names Snowe as Its Next Moderate Republican Target : Roll Call

The Tea Party Express, which raised and spent millions of dollars to knock off moderate Republicans in Alaska, Colorado and Delaware in the 2010 election cycle, is now going after Olympia Snowe in Maine.

The conservative group, arguably the most organized and best funded campaign tool in the tea party movement, announced Thursday afternoon that it plans to fight the moderate Republican's 2012 re-election effort. Snowe enjoys tremendous popularity across the political spectrum in her home state, but she has irritated Maine's small and disjointed tea party movement for her willingness to work with Democrats.

Pine Tree State conservatives have already dubbed "Snowe removal" a top priority for 2012, when Maine's senior Senator will seek her fourth term. But they have struggled to rally around a single challenger. "Olympia Snowe dishonors the notion that the Republican Party is supposed to be the fiscally conservative, constitutionalist political party in America,"

Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer said in a statement. "She voted for the bailouts, the failed stimulus plan, the repeal of tax cuts and showed her disdain for the constitution by voting in favor of the nominations of Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotamayer to the Supreme Court," Kremer said in the statement, which misspelled Sotomayor's last name.

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The Dollar is no longer King!

2011-02-12T10:11:00.000-06:00

IMF discusses plan to replace dollar as reserve currency - Feb. 10, 2011

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The International Monetary Fund issued a report Thursday on a possible replacement for the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

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When Humans, Machines Merge - TIME

2011-02-12T10:04:00.000-06:00

Singularity: Kurzweil on 2045, When Humans, Machines Merge - TIME

Kurzweil believes that we're approaching a moment when computers will become intelligent, and not just intelligent but more intelligent than humans. When that happens, humanity — our bodies, our minds, our civilization — will be completely and irreversibly transformed. He believes that this moment is not only inevitable but imminent. According to his calculations, the end of human civilization as we know it is about 35 years away.

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Al-Jazeera is the Muslim Brotherhood Channel | US Opinion and Editorial Right Side News

2011-02-12T09:36:00.000-06:00

Al-Jazeera is the Muslim Brotherhood Channel | US Opinion and Editorial Right Side News

"Al Jazeera makes a living blaming most problems in the Middle East on the USA and Israel," Bill O'Reilly of Fox News has pointed out. "And any Arab leader who supports America is barbecued on the network, while those who hate America are praised." He added, "Any fair-minded person who follows Al Jazeera knows it is anti-American and anti-Semitic. Only on the far left can it find acceptance." But now, as a result of what is happening in Egypt, Al-Jazeera and its media allies are leading a "Demand Al-Jazeera in the U.S.A." campaign, as if the channel's coverage is somehow objective and worthwhile.

Newsweek gave valuable column space to Wadah Khanfar, director-general of Al-Jazeera, to argue that U.S. cable and satellite providers should make a special allowance for Al-Jazeera English to be carried in more media markets so that "alternative viewpoints" can be presented about "the human realities of war" in the Middle East. He complained about the Egyptian government-owned satellite company having blocked Al-Jazeera's broadcast signal after turmoil emerged in that country without noting that Al-Jazeera is itself owned and financed by an Arab regime in Qatar that is just as authoritarian as Egypt's. The channel is notorious for sparing Qatar's ruling monarchy the scrutiny it selectively applies to other Arab regimes.

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President Obama Invited Muslim Brotherhood; What About Coptic Christians? - Yahoo! News

2011-02-12T08:12:00.000-06:00

President Obama Invited Muslim Brotherhood; What About Coptic Christians? - Yahoo! News

Coptic Christians in America, with the support of other Americans, are concerned for their counterparts living in Egypt. Also in danger could be people of other faiths, including Muslims of unpopular sects. A Coptic Christian is an Egyptian, living in Egypt or abroad, who believes in Jesus Christ. "Coptic" means Egyptian. Coptic Christians follow either the Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant form of Christianity.

Coptics are concerned that while President Barack Obama invited the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in forming a new Egyptian government, neither he nor others in his administration specifically invited Egypt's Christian population or other religious groups to the table. Although White House spokesman Robert Gibbs' Jan. 31 speech called for "nonsecular" participation in discussion of a new Egyptian government, the only religious group invited by name was the Muslim Brotherhood.

Voice of the Copts is a representative body of Coptic Christians in the USA. Its website criticizes Obama's refusal to admit the Muslim Brotherhood is not a threat while he himself states the Brotherhood is well-organized with anti-American ideas. Voice of the Copts informs that there are many kinds of people in Egypt and all must be considered.

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Will Radical Islam Come to Power in Egypt?

2011-02-11T13:15:00.000-06:00

Will Radical Islam Come to Power in Egypt? - World - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com

Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., say the United States has to stop the spread of radical Islam in Egypt. Many Mideast experts worry that Islamic extremists could gain power in the Arab country. One group known as the Muslim Brotherhood is active in Egypt and its writings have revealed that it wants to establish Islamic states. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians continued their call for political change on Wednesday. Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman has begun talks with opposition leaders including members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The brotherhood's participation in decision-making about Egypt's future has become a political issue in the U.S. "I think the primary goal should be to stop the spread of radical Islam," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va. during a news conference on Tuesday. "That is where our focus should be." Many analysts in the U.S. and abroad have been concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood gaining influence in a new Egyptian government.

A brotherhood text titled "Jihad is the Way" details support for the establishment of an Islamic regime. "Jihad for Allah," Mustafa Mashhur, the reported leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from 1996 until 2002, wrote, "is not limited to the specific region of the Islamic countries, since the Muslim homeland is one and is not divided. The banner of jihad has already been raised in some of its parts, and shall continue to be raised, with the help of Allah, until every inch of the land of Islam will be liberated, and the state of Islam established."

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Abdel Moneim Abou el-Fotouh - Democracy supporters should not fear the Muslim Brotherhood

2011-02-11T11:13:00.000-06:00

Abdel Moneim Abou el-Fotouh - Democracy supporters should not fear the Muslim Brotherhood

Contrary to fear-mongering reports, the West and the Muslim Brotherhood are not enemies. It is a false dichotomy to posit, as some alarmists are suggesting, that Egypt's choices are either the status quo of the Mubarak regime or a takeover by "Islamic extremists." First, one must make a distinction between the ideological and political differences that the Brotherhood may have with the United States.

For Muslims, ideological differences with others are taught not to be the root cause of violence and bloodshed because a human being's freedom to decide how to lead his or her personal life is an inviolable right found in basic Islamic tenets, as well as Western tradition. Political differences, however, can be a matter of existential threats and interests, and we have seen this play out, for example, in the way the Mubarak regime has violently responded to peaceful demonstrators.

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