C.O.P.S.

No “spanky” monopoly design for US $

2010-09-22T16:44:00.001-07:00

#usdollar #money #euro #economy

The American dollar is in bad need of a makeover. Thanks to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project, we may now have some options.

Organized by creative strategy consultant Richard Smith, the Dollar ReDe$ign Project is soliciting ideas for the dollar bill of the future. "Our great 'rival', the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to rebrand and redesign," the project notes on its website.
Source: Huffy Puffy Post

The worst publicity stunt of the year? Putting President Obama on a dollar bill is simply ridiculous

British graphic design firm Dowling Duncan has come up with a series of controversial ideas for the Dollar Redesign Project, an open competition run by New York designer Richard Smith (and not associated with the US government). According to their ambitious PR spiel: “we want to rebrand the US Dollar, rebuild financial confidence and revive our failing economy.”

The new garish multicolour notes conceived by the firm bear a striking stylistic resemblance to the Euro, and remove America’s Founding Fathers altogether. The company has proposed replacing George Washington with Barack Obama on the new dollar bill, and Benjamin Franklin with Franklin D. Roosevelt on the $100 dollar note.

For a start, Barack Obama has an approval rating in the US that is in freefall, and is swiftly becoming one the most unpopular presidents in modern American history. He isn’t doing much better across the Atlantic either, where his reputation has taken a significant hit over his relentless bashing of BP. Domestically, Obama’s stock has fallen so dramatically in recent months that even his own party increasingly views him as an electoral liability.

Linking the image of Obama to rebuilding financial confidence and reviving the US economy would be regarded as simply ludicrous by most Americans. After all, it is the Obama administration’s big government vision and reckless spending that is threatening economic growth, job creation and a recovery in the housing market, as well as saddling the United States with a staggering debt that threatens to end its status as the world’s only superpower.

And as for using the look and feel of the Euro as an inspiration for a redesigned dollar (as though we need a redesign anyway) – that’s just as foolhardy. The doomed European single currency is hardly the best role model for a hypothetical US dollar revamp as Greece goes up in flames while much of the rest of Europe looks nervously over its shoulders. The dollar will probably be around for centuries, while the Euro might not even survive the next decade.
Source: Telegraph (UK)

We don’t need a “spanky” garish monopoly money design. We don’t need to emulate the Euro. We don’t need to totally eliminate the founding fathers from our currency.

Our mainly Judeo–Christian founding fathers designed a government system that has made us one of the greatest countries in the world. We must not run from that fact. It is not a sin that our country is one of the greatest in the world.

If you want to make our money more colorful, I like the idea of making the main image on the back more photorealistic but leave the dignified greenback front alone including the founding fathers. I like the current redesign of the front of our money.

Of course, the socialistic Obama regime doesn’t think our country to be one of the greatest countries in the world.

KFC buys ad space on women”s butts

2010-09-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

#NOW #KFC #coeds #advertising #college

KFC wants folks to watch its backside.
Or, more precisely, the backsides of female college students it's recruiting to promote its hot new bunless Double Down sandwiches.

Women on college campuses are being paid $500 each to hand out coupons while wearing fitted sweatpants with "Double Down" in large letters across their rear ends.

The nation's largest women's group doesn't like it one bit. "It's so obnoxious to once again be using women's bodies to sell fundamentally unhealthy products," says Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women. What's more, she says, KFC has forgotten something important: Women make more than half the decisions about what to eat for dinner.

But KFC marketing chief John Cywinski says it's an effective way to catch the attention of young men — KFC's key customers and the biggest fans of Double Down.

Source: USA Today

NAG’s Terry O'Neill is being disingenuous since women’s bodies are used to sell a ton of products including “green” products.

GW News: Last truly “green” US light bulb factory closes

2010-09-20T18:08:00.001-07:00

#renewable #green #globalwarming #CFLs #lightbulbs

The last major GE factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sad exit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas Alva Edison's innovations in the 1870s.

The remaining 200 workers at the plant here will lose their jobs. "Now what're we going to do?" said Toby Savolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, making bulbs now deemed wasteful.
Source: Washington Post

Brandy Bridges heard the claims of government officials, environmentalists and retailers like Wal-Mart all pushing the idea of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving and money-saving compact fluorescent lamps.

So, last month, the Prospect, Maine, resident went out and bought two dozen CFLs and began installing them in her home. One broke. A month later, her daughter's bedroom remains sealed off with plastic like the site of a hazardous materials accident, while Bridges works on a way to pay off a $2,000 estimate by a company specializing in environmentally sound cleanups of the mercury inside the bulb.
Source: WorldNetDaily

UK experts have warned that CFL bulbs can trigger migraines, dizziness and loss of focus, as well as increased pain for those with lupus and can cause people with epilepsy to experience symptoms similar to the early stages of a fit.

CFL's operate at high frequency using an electronic switching ballast to chop up the 120 volts -- that's how they are able to use less energy when compared to an old-style incandescent bulb. A typical operating frequency for an electronic ballast would be in the region of 20kHz to 100kHz, a frequency range known to produce adverse effects on one's health.

Professor Magda Havas, one of the world's leading researchers on the biological effects of EMF, has written:

Compact fluorescent lights (CFL) produce radio wave frequencies. These frequencies radiate directly from the bulbs and [also] go on the electrical wiring in the home or school causing poor power quality or dirty electricity. The closer you sit to the bulb the greater your exposure. Because the high frequencies travel along the wire, you can be exposed in other rooms of your home as well as [in] the room that contains the CFL.
Source: Green Earth LED

Unlike incandescent bulbs, which generate light by running a current through a metal filament, CFLs have hundreds of electrical components. The more parts in a system, the greater the opportunities for of one of them to fail, says Conan O'Rourke, technical director at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In a bulb that burns out early, the electronic components may have been inferior in quality or poorly installed, or the bulbs might have been physically damaged in some way during transport from China, where most are manufactured.

The electrical components also complicate the end of life for the CFL. When dying a timely (or untimely) death, a CFL's components may not get the message that the bulb is no longer working, and it continues to let electricity flow through the plastic base to the nonworking bulb. This creates a puff of smoke and an acrid smell as well as a charred blackening that appears at the bulb's base. This pyrotechnic display may also be spurred by a dried-out electrolytic capacitor--the "weakest link" in a CFL, according to O'Rourke. Still, for a large number of situations, the CFL is the best, brightest, most efficient bulb for the job. You just have to know what that job is, what CFL to look for and a few handy tips to make the most of your bulb.

CFLs do not fare well when flicked on and off repeatedly, so they'll last much longer if turned on for several hours--instead of minutes--at a time. "The more continuous the use of a bulb, the longer it'll burn because the most damage to the components is done during starts," says Russ Leslie, associate director of the Lighting Research Center. Accordingly, CFLs are recommended for use in living rooms and bedrooms where the light will stay on for the evening, rather than in closets, where a quick burst of light is the norm. Choose incandescent bulbs in areas where lights are used for short amounts of time.
Source: Popular Mechanics

Is the lifecycle of CFLs “greener” than the lifecycle of the incandescent bulb?

Is the mining of the material for the hundreds of electrical components of CFLs “greener” than the mining of the material for the components of the incandescent bulb?

Is the transportation of the material for the hundreds of electrical components of CFLs “greener” than the transportation of the material for the components of the incandescent bulb?

Is the manufacture of the hundreds of electrical components and then the manufacture of the CFL bulbs with “greener” than the manufacture of incandescent bulb?

Isn’t the energy “cost” of the manufacture of each electrical components about the same as energy “cost” of the manufacture of the complete incandescent bulb?

For a broken bulb, is the Hazmat team for the disposal of a broken CFL bulb “greener” than the broom and dustpan for the disposal of a broken incandescent bulb?

Is the disposal of an unbroken CFL bulb “greener” than the disposal of an unbroken incandescent bulb?

And I have had many CFL bulbs last less than a year.

And I usually am not eco-friendly since I throw the mercury filled CFL bulb in the regular garbage. Is it “greener” doing that than driving a single CFL bulb to the proper disposal site?

Most CFL bulbs are coming from China. How green is that?

And 200 people lost their jobs and many of them most likely won’t get a full time job the rest of their lives.

Since the CFLs interfere with AM radio reception, is this a way for liberals to deal with talk radio?

Note: H. R. 6144 was just submitted and the way I read governmentese it repeals the ban on regular light bulbs.
To repeal certain amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act with respect to lighting energy efficiency. This Act may be cited as the `Better Use of Light Bulbs Act'.

GW News: Huffy Puffy “proves” GW a fraud

2010-09-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Or does it?
#renewable #green #globalwarming

Lars Piloe and his team of archaeologists race against the clock to collect ancient artifacts exposed from the rapidly melting ice in northern Europe's highest mountains.

Hunting sticks, bows and arrows, and a 3,400-year-old leather shoe are some of the discoveries thawing out in Norway's Jotunheimen mountains. In one area, the Juvfonna ice field, 600 artifacts have turned up simultaneously, making the job very difficult for Piloe and his team, as feathers, wool, and leather can turn to dust within days if not collected and stored in a freezer.

According to Reuters, most international climate experts agree that glaciers diminishing from the Andes to the Alps is a result of man-made global warming.
Source: Huffy Puffy Post

If the ancient artifacts are under the glacier, doesn’t that mean the area was warmer 3,400 years ago? And was that warming man-made? Doesn’t it prove the climate goes in natural cycles of warm and cold periods?

The Muslim in a bikini and the Ground Zero Mosque

2010-08-27T09:15:00.001-07:00

#muslim #groundzeromosque #missusa #bikini

Miss USA Rima Fakih, the first Muslim to wear the crown, has come out against putting the Cordoba Mosque in downtown New York, near ground zero.

The 24-year-old beauty queen from of Dearborn, Mich., reportedly told "Inside Edition" over the weekend that the planned mosque near Ground Zero is insensitive to 9/11 victims.

"We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion," said Fakih, who was born in Lebanon but lived in New York until after graduating from high school and enrolling at the University of Michigan.

While she agrees with President Obama on "the statement on Constitutional rights of freedom of religion," she said she also thinks it "shouldn't be so close to the World Trade Center."
Source: CBS News

Since the Imam and backers of the Cordoba Initiative Mosque and Cultural Center are moderates and want to live in peace with the USA, they will be holding a beauty pageant (with a bikini contest) so next year’s Miss USA is also a Muslim.

And if Muslims “like” my photo above of Miss USA, I sure they are “thrilled” with the fake nude picture of Miss Fakih.

Click here to also see fake nudes of Hillary and Sarah Palin. I haven’t had the courage to enter Nancy Pelosi’s name.

Note PC users: click on fake nude web sites at your own risk of possible computer viruses.

I stumbled onto the picture site a couple weeks ago when I was looking for a picture for my blog. When I heard the Muslim Miss USA, I remembered the site.

Ground zero mosque & true meaning of Cordoba Initiative

2010-08-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

#obama #muslim #islam #terrorists

A senior US Democrat has distanced himself from Barack Obama, the US president, over plans to build a mosque and Muslim cultural centre near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York.

The office of Harry Reid, the majority leader in the US senate, weighed in on the issue on Monday, saying the centre should be built elsewhere. "The first amendment (of the US constitution) protects freedom of religion. Senator Reid respects that but thinks the mosque should be built someplace else," Reid's spokesman said.

The project's backers vowed on Monday to press ahead with their plans to build the Cordoba Initiative Mosque and Cultural Centre, denying a report in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, that they were going to scrap the $100m project. Sharif El-Gamal, the owner of the building where the centre would be located, said the report that Cordoba House would be relocated further from Ground Zero, was false.

Haaretz had reported that leaders agreed to abandon the site to prevent an escalation of anti-Muslim sentiment.

The project, planned near what has become known as Ground Zero, has emerged as an emotional issue, with opponents saying the location of the centre is insensitive to the memory of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the September 11 attacks. Some of the victims' relatives, however, are in favour.

Obama gave his support to the mosque during an annual White House dinner marking the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, weighing in on the controversy for the first time. "That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable," Obama added.

Obama has tried to reach out to the global Muslim community since taking office, and the more than 100 guests at Friday's dinner included ambassadors and officials from numerous Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

"Our capacity to show not merely tolerance, but respect towards those who are different from us, and that way of life, that quintessentially American creed, stands in stark contrast to the nihilism of those who attacked us on that September morning, and who continue to plot against us today," he said.

The Cordoba Initiative, the group behind the project, describes it as a Muslim-themed community centre with a view of making it a hub for interfaith interaction, as well as a place for Muslims to bridge some of their faith's own schisms.
Source: Al Jazeera

Córdoba, Spain was captured in 711 by a Muslim army: in 716 it became a provincial capital, depending from the Caliphate of Damascus; in Arabic it was known as (Qur?uba). In May 766, it was elected as capital of the independent Muslim emirate of al-Andalus, later a Caliphate itself. During the caliphate apogee (1000 AD), Córdoba had a population of roughly 400,000 inhabitants, though estimates range between 250,000 and 500,000. In the 10th-11th centuries Córdoba was one of the most advanced cities in the world, as well as a great cultural, political, financial and economic centre. The Great Mosque of Córdoba dates back to this time; under caliph Al-Hakam II Córdoba received what was then the largest library in the world, housing from 400,000 to 1,000,000 volumes
Source: wapedia

Many consider Cordoba (Qur?uba) to be the greatest example of Islamic society in all history. Some believe the Cordoba Initiative is the latest attempt to be the new greatest example of Islamic society in all history.

Regardless whether the Imam and backers of the Cordoba Initiative Mosque and Cultural Centre are truly moderate Muslims that want to live in peace with Christians and Jews, many Muslims will use the Center as a symbol of the success of 9-11 and the true meaning of the Cordoba Initiative.

The picture shows the construction area of ground zero and the location of the mosque in red in the lower right of the picture.

And a prayer room in the Pentagon is NOT the same as a Mosque next to ground zero.

Update: Liberals and some Muslims are pointing to the time when Muslim Cordoba was a place where Muslims, Jews and Christians supposedly lived together in peace.

Do most Muslims believe that is what the Cordoba Initiative means or do they believe the Cordoba Initiative looks to the Almohad Dynasty for Cordoba and the Ground Zero Mosque?

The Almohads, who had taken control of the Almoravids' Maghribi and Andalusian territories by 1147, far surpassed the Almoravids in fundamentalist outlook, and they treated the dhimmis (non-Muslims) harshly. Faced with the choice of either death or conversion, most Jews and Christians emigrated.

And liberals are trying to get people to stop using the term “Ground Zero Mosque” and get people to use the term “NYC Muslim Cultural Center near where the World Trade Center towers collapsed”.

Finally, liberals say 9/11 was bad but they say we asked for 9/11 with our terrible pre-9/11 treatment of the Arab world.

Some Muslims don’t need an excuse for killing a non-Muslim.

A dhimmi is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Dhimma provides rights of residence in return for taxes. Dhimmi have fewer legal and social rights than Muslims, but more rights than other non-Muslims. The largest school of Islamic legal thought now applies the term (Dhimmi) to all non-Muslims living in Islamic lands outside the sacred area surrounding Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Update 2: Someone did a google search on “What are the consequences to a Muslim if he attends Christian services ?”

In democracies like the US and Iraq, nothing happens (most of the times).

Last Christmas in Iraq, Sunni and Shia Imams attended a Christmas Mass to show support of their Christian brothers.

On the other hand in the US, it is not the government or non-Muslims that they have to worry about. Just ask Rifqa Bary. She fled to Florida to avoid an honor killing for becoming a Christian. In some Muslim countries, just possessing a Bible is a death sentence.

Ancient global warming killed off the wholly mammoth

2010-08-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

#green #renewable #globalwarming #climatechange

Climate change and spreading forests killed off the woolly mammoth and its big mammal cousins - not spear-wielding humans, a major new study has concluded.

The demise of the mammoth and other extinct "megafauna", such as the woolly rhino, giant deer and cave bear, is blamed on the loss of grassland across most of the northern hemisphere.

Findings of scientists from the University of Durham.are part of the most comprehensive study to date of northern hemisphere climate and vegetation during and after the height of the last Ice Age, 21,000 years ago.

The study concludes that a period of post-glacial global warming led to a massive loss of grassland over much of the Earth's surface.

As the prairies and steppes dwindled, spreading forests took their place. The changes made survival impossible for the big grazing herbivores and the predators that fed on them, it is claimed.
Source: UK Press

Post-glacial global warming was not man-made. Climate goes in cycles. There have been several periods where the average global temperature has been warmer than now.

Current global warming “science” is flawed and really is just an excuse to redistribute wealth.

Global Warming News: changing the oil in a wind turbine

2010-08-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

#renewable #green #windfarm #windturbine

For a practical look at what’s involved in a typical wind turbine oil change, talk to someone like Aaron Sage, chief operating officer with Sage Oil Vacuum, based in Amarillo, Texas. The company has been in the wind turbine maintenance business since the mid-1990s. It generally takes two maintenance workers to perform an oil change, one worker on the ground and the other in the nacelle. A 330-foot-long hose is pulled up into the nacelle’s yaw deck just under the gearbox. The hose is connected to the gearbox through a ball valve. A vacuum is pulled using an air pressurizer on the ground. Draining the rate of four to six gallons a minute it can take around 30 minutes to drain the roughly 80 gallons of oil from the gearbox, Sage said. Refilling the gearbox can take another 30 minutes, meaning the total fluid exchange process from start to finish can take as much as two hours.

Sage Oil’s equipment offers either a 250- or a 390-gallon tank, which means that as many as four oil changes can be done each day by a single two-person crew. Sage Oil has fielded 20 oil exchange systems in the United States since 2008. Most of those are in Texas and Iowa, the two states with the largest installed wind capacity.
Source: POWER-GEN WORLDWIDE

Rather than using regular oil made from crude oil, most wind turbines use synthetic oil. Seems like the oil has to be totally replaced every 18 months or so.

Some wind farm operators are sloppy in their maintenance and some of the 80 gallons of oil leaks onto the blades which throws the oil onto the crops that surround the turbines.

Global Warming News: great wind farm noise article

2010-08-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

#renewable #green #windfarm #windturbine

Vinalhaven sits 15 miles off the coast and just over an hour's ferry ride from Rockland, but it has an old-fashioned sense of community rare on the mainland these days. Every driver waves as they pass and it's common for an islander to leave the keys in the truck in case anyone needs to borrow it.

It was with that sense of community that the islanders welcomed the three wind turbines to Vinalhaven last year. Not only did the turbines promise reliable electrical service, which was something long-term residents did not take for granted, but wind power would lower electric rates for everyone. Islanders turned out in strength last November to see the turbines started up, watch the 123-foot-long blades sweep the air and watch grade-school children do a windmill dance to the tune of "I'm a Little Tea-Pot."

Most of the 1,200 or so residents on Vinalhaven approve of the turbines. But within days of start-up a handful of Vinalhaven residents who lived within a mile of the wind turbines on the North Haven Road reported noise problems.

Nine months later, people have taken sides. Fingers are being pointed. Frustration levels are rising. There are rumblings about complainers and how they should move off the island if they don't like it. There are accusations of misinformation and biased noise data collection.

In Maine, the Mars Hill wind farm in Aroostook County and the turbines in Freedom in Waldo County have elicited similar complaints by nearby residents who say the repetitive whump, whump, whump sound of the blades turning causes sleeplessness and anxiety. Some research suggests those symptoms could be related to low-frequency sound waves that impact people as a pressure wave.

Sound seems simple enough: you hear it or you don't; it's audible or it isn't. It turns out that sound is far from simple: not only can a noise that is alarmingly loud to one person be a minor note to another, but some people appear to be affected by low-frequency sound-the bass notes-while others aren't. And the really low frequency sounds (below 20 hertz), the inaudible sound waves, which elephants and whales use to communicate over long distances, can travel hundreds of miles without fading. It's this silent sound that may make birds and beasts aware of earthquakes and tsunamis ahead of any apparent danger, and it may be the cause of a laundry list of human complaints that include sleeplessness, anxiety, exhaustion and depression.

Or it may not be. The jury is out.
Source: Free Press

Article comment by: suzanne sayer

Finally a well written article about wind turbine noises. It shows both sides and talks to some engineers/scientists investigation the issue.
My compliments to the author of the article!

If wind farm noise is an interest to you, read the entire article.

Obama”s steady approval nosedive

2010-08-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

#obama #approval #progressive #approvalrating

The number of voters who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s performance inched up a point to 43% in July. At the same time, the number who Strongly Approve remained steady at 26%.

Those figures generate a full month Presidential Approval Index rating of -17, down one from the month before. That’s the second straight month the president’s ratings have fallen to a new low. Prior to that, the ratings had been stable at -14 or -15 ratings for five of the last six preceding months.

The full month numbers show Strong Approval from 52% of Democrats with Strong Disapproval from 74% of Republicans and 48% of unaffiliated voters.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters now think Obama’s policies are to blame for the continuing bad economy, up three points from last month. Forty-seven percent (47%) say the recession that began under Bush is at fault.

With voters across the country expressing stronger belief that the economy is getting worse rather than better, these new findings spell potential bad news for Democratic candidates this fall. The president is already planning to limit his campaign appearances with candidates because of potential voter backlash.

The number who blame Bush is down from 62% in May 2009.
Source: Rasmussen Reports

Dems “steal” food from poor kid”s mouth

2010-08-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

#foodstamps #economy #unemployment #paygo

ON TUESDAY, President Obama signed a $26 billion bill to help state and local governments cover Medicaid payments and avoid having to lay off teachers and other public employees. In what passes for high drama in Washington, the House of Representatives was called back from its summer recess to vote on the package, and the successful outcome was hailed as a major Democratic victory. “We can’t stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe,’’ Obama said. “That doesn’t make sense.’’

No, it doesn’t. But only by the occluded standards of contemporary Washington could this aid package be considered a victory. What began three months ago as a $50 billion emergency spending bill limped to the president’s desk at half that size and was largely paid for — “offset’’ in the clinical terminology of the budget — by cutting $12 billion from the food stamp program. In other words, a measure designed to help one group struggling in the recession came at the expense of another that is even worse off — and growing rapidly.
Source: Boston.com

I am glad the democrats decided to obey the Paygo law.

But in order to give help to union workers that they hope will then vote for democrats, the Obama regime takes food from the mouths of all the unemployed kids.

Dick "Eddie Haskell" Durbin response is that the democrats are helping union workers by "stealing" the kid's food from 2014 not now.

Example of Obama"s Dept. of Education

2010-08-13T17:14:00.001-07:00

#obama #education #teachers #union

Democrats require tough standards on union teachers!

Ben & Jerry’s not so natural ice cream

2010-08-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

#benandjerrys #icecream #progressive #benjerrys

A U.S. food advocacy group is calling on Vermont ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's to drop the "All Natural" claim on its ice cream and frozen yogurt.

Officials at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington say 48 out of 53 flavors of Ben & Jerry's All Natural ice cream and frozen yogurt contain alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil -- all ingredients that do not exist in nature or have been chemically modified.

For instance, All Natural Chubby Hubby ice cream contains three non-natural ingredients: alkalized cocoa, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and corn syrup. Cocoa processed with an alkalizing agent changes the chemical structure, taste and appearance of cocoa and reduces its acidity and flavonol -- the antioxidants with possible health benefits -- content.

"These ingredients are safe -- only a small amount of partially hydrogenated oil is used -- but it's a stretch to call any of them 'natural,'" Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI, says in a statement. "Ben & Jerry's sylvan labels notwithstanding, these ingredients come from the factory, not the farm. And slapping an 'all natural' label on the products certainly implies that the products are top quality and deserve to fetch a higher price."
Source: UPI

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are liberal and their company started out as a truly “green” company.

But many companies do “green” not because they believe in global warming or other progressive nonsense but because they get more customers and/or higher prices by appearing to be a “green” company.

Unemployment extension status: Tier V & the economy

2010-08-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #jobs #economy #s3706 #paygo

S. 3706
To extend unemployment insurance benefits and cut taxes for businesses to create hiring incentives, and for other purposes. This Act may be cited as the `Americans Want to Work Act'.

SEC. 3. FIFTH-TIER EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF PAYROLL TAX FORGIVENESS FOR HIRING UNEMPLOYED WORKERS AND BUSINESS CREDIT FOR THE RETENTION OF CERTAIN NEWLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS.

SEC. 5. INCREASE OF BUSINESS CREDIT FOR THE RETENTION OF CERTAIN NEWLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS.
Source: Thomas (LOC)

The employment picture in the U.S. remained bleak last month as the nation's payrolls fell for a second straight month, with private-sector businesses adding a disappointingly scant number of new jobs. The jobless rate held steady at 9.5% in July, the government said on Aug. 6.

The Labor Department said that private employers added just 71,000 new net jobs in July. Meanwhile, the federal government laid off 143,000 temporary census workers, and with budget-strapped local governments also cutting back, the total number of American jobs last month fell by 131,000 from June.

What's more, Labor statisticians revised down the job figures for June, saying that total payroll jobs fell by 221,000 that month instead of 125,000 previously estimated.

Overall, the latest snapshot of the U.S. economy indicates no momentum building in the crucial job market, which underpins consumer spending and confidence on the part of individuals and businesses. After adding 200,000 private-sector jobs on average in March and April, the labor market has weakened – producing just 51,000 jobs on average in each of the last three months. The data are consistent with other economic indicators such as housing and retail sales that have softened since late spring.
Source: LA Times

Pelosi said they didn’t need to obey the Paygo law and add the cost of the unemployment extension to the national debt because the UI checks were the best economy stimulus and would offset the cost of the UE.

The Obama regime’s economy polices have been in place for 19 months. Do you see the economy recovering?

For those that need Tier V and are really trying hard to find a job, I hope you get your Tier V extension.

On the other hand, there was another article this week about employers that can’t fill their job openings. One main reason is some unemployed job “seekers” are not really looking for a job. They are getting as much “free” UI money as they can. Some employers are concerned about Tier V giving more reasons for job “seekers” not really looking for a job.

Why work if you can make more money sitting on your butt collecting a UI check?

Note: S3706 does not insist the Paygo law be ignored.

Update: The House bill HR6091 for Tier V can be found here.

Obama’s regime “apologizes” for Hiroshima

2010-08-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

#nuclearbomb #atomicbomb #hiroshima #nagasaki

Diplomats from the United States, Britain and France have for the first time attended a Japanese event to mark the dropping of an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.

A temple bell rang out to begin a one-minute silence at 8.15am, the time a US bomber aircraft dropped the device on Hiroshima, killing tens of thousands of people.

The US decision to send its ambassador, John Roos, to the ceremony was seen as potentially paving the way for Barack Obama, the US president, to visit Hiroshima, which would be unprecedented for a sitting US leader.

Al Jazeera's Steve Chao, reporting from Hiroshima, said many Japanese felt the US presence at the ceremony was an affirmation of Obama's seriousness in working towards a nuclear-free world, but warned that it would be an immense task to achieve.

"People here are under no illusion of the challenges ahead, the fact that it might be difficult for the US congress to approve the stepdown in terms of the nuclear stockpile and other challenges posed by nations like North Korea, and also the fact that there remains 25,000 nuclear warheads in the hands of various nations around the world.

Katsuko Nishibe, a 61-year-old peace activist, said she welcomed the US decision to send Roos, but added that it should not lead to an acceptance that it was the right thing to do. "I don't think it was necessary," she said. "We have a very different interpretation of history. "But we can disagree about history and still agree that peace is what is important. That is the real lesson of Hiroshima."
Source: Al Jazeera

The US Embassy Tokyo said "Ambassador Roos attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony today to express respect for all the victims of World War II.".

Roos’s statement should have specifically acknowledged the Pearl Harbor victims that started the Pacific War.

Roos’s statement should have acknowledged the millions of Chinese victims.

Roos's statement should have acknowledged the victims of the Bataan death march the Japanese inflicted on their pow's.

Truman’s advisors told him that stopping the Japanese initiated war by invading Japan would have cost a million US military lives and 2 million Japanese military and civilian lives. Would this have been preferable to lives lost at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

7 million votes voided by activist judge

2010-08-07T11:11:00.001-07:00

#homosexual #gay #gaymarriage #religion

A US court has struck down a ban on same-sex marriages in the state of California on constitutional grounds, ruling that gays and lesbians have a right to marry.

Vaughn Walker, a US district court chief judge, said on Wednesday that opponents of the voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8 "demonstrated by overwhelming evidence" that it violates due process and equal-protection rights under the US constitution.

"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license," Walker wrote in the conclusion of his 136-page opinion.

The federal judge ordered the ban to stay until a decision is made on a request by supporters for it to be retained pending appeal, leaving gay men and lesbian couples unable to marry for now.

Supporters of the ban, which California voters passed 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent in November 2008 after one of the most expensive ballot-measure campaigns in US history, expressed confidence they would ultimately prevail.

"There aren't five votes on the Supreme Court for gay marriage," Maggie Gallagher, chair of the National Organisation for Marriage, said of the high court's conservative 5-4 majority.

Legal scholars said the decision has wide implications for nearly 40 states with similar laws, making it more difficult to defend those measures in court on the basis of moral grounds or social tradition.

Margaret Russell, a law professor at Santa Clara University, told the Reuters news agency that if Walker's opinion is sustained, it would have broad consequences beyond California. "Any marriage ban based on moral disapproval of gays would fall under that reasoning," she said.
Source: Al Jazeera

Now, in all 600+ of the world’s languages, there is a word equivalent to “marriage” in English, and in all cases, without exception, this word means a union between a male and a female.

Most religion says homosexuality is abnormal and immoral. Politely stating this belief is NOT homophobic. And currently until Obama cancels the 1st amendment, those who hold that religious belief have a right to state that fact.

If the activist judge’s ruling stands, what will be next?
Will a man have the right to “marry” ten wives?
Will a woman have the right to “marry” her 10 year old son?
Will a NAMBLA member have a right to “marry” their 8 year old lover?
Will the ground zero mosque be performing gay “marriages” if the ruling stands?

HR6000: The “Stop HC coverarge denial” act

2010-08-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

#obamacare #hci #hcr #insurance

H. R. 6000
To provide for criminal liability for the denial of health care coverage of a treatment or an individual, and for other purposes. This Act may be cited as the `Thou Shalt Not Kill Thy Customers Act'.

The term `denial of coverage' means, with respect to a health plan offered by an insurance entity in the case of an individual enrolled in or benefitting from such plan, denying coverage of or care for a treatment for such individual; or in the case of an individual seeking enrollment in or benefit from such plan, the denial of coverage of or care for such individual under such plan.

Any responsible officer or employee of an insurance entity that engages in a denial of coverage under a health plan offered by such entity in violation of the provisions of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and such insurance entity, shall be fined, imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
Source: Thomas (LOC)

For those who’s only hope of living is an operation/medicine that some insurance companies refuses, I can see the need for this law.

But this should be rewritten to apply specifically only to that question. Since it doesn’t say anything about deaths unrelated to the denial, I can see a slick lawyer say the insurance company can’t deny most operation/medicine.

And will the atheists complain about the biblical reference to shame people into supporting this bill?

Unemployment extensions status: Done until November

2010-07-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #hr4213 #economy #s3520 #hr5618 #paygo

U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo voted to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 90 days without raising the national debt. The amendment, S. Amdt 4492, would have used unspent stimulus funds to cover the three-month extension. Democrats voted the amendment down by a 56-42 margin.

“There has never been a question whether unemployment benefits should be extended. The issue has been if we add an additional $34 billion to our skyrocketing national debt or shift funds from elsewhere to cover it,” said Risch. “Clearly the majority party has decided to borrow and spend today to the detriment of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren’s future.”

“The amendment that was voted down would have reduced the deficit by $7 billion instead of increasing it by $34 billion, and unemployment benefits would have been extended for those who need them,” Crapo said. “This amendment was offered as a compromise, yet it was still voted down on a party-line vote. It is unfortunate that far too many believe that the Republicans have not supported an unemployment benefit extension; it just should be one that is paid for.”
Source: Senate (Risch)

During the signing of The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) today:
Obama said, "When we continue to spend as if deficits don't matter that means our kids and our grand kids may wind up saddled with debts that they'll never be able to repay."
Source: MSNBC

“With the President’s signature today, our nation takes a critical step forward for fiscal discipline. The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act will save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars by cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending, identifying and eliminating improper payments, and recovering lost funds that federal agencies have spent improperly.

“This legislation is part of our broader effort to restore fiscal responsibility and uphold our commitment to accountability and transparency. This Congress has made pay-as-you-go spending the law of the land and cracked down on wasteful spending in Medicare and Medicaid. And the House has passed a budget that requires cuts of $7 billion below the President’s request.
Source: House (Pelosi)

On Tuesday, Reid could have passed the standalone extension HR5618 bill. Obama would have signed the continuation of your unemployment checks by Thursday morning.

Instead Reid and Pelosi wanted to use your pain to pass the bigger HR4213. In addition to your unemployment extensions, the bill includes stuff like changes to the satellite TV regulations. If you have an “S” corporation and don’t pay social security taxes, you will now have to pay more taxes thanks to HR4213. Also, HR4213 changes corporation tax laws.

When liberals whine why the cost of the extensions absolutely MUST be added to the national debt and MUST ignore the Paygo law, one reason they point to are the republicans and Bush giving tax cuts to the rich. Well, I read this morning the democrats are considering extending the Bush tax cuts to the rich for two years. The article said they are afraid of stopping the tax cuts because it would hurt their mid-term election chances.

The lame duck congress will have to take this issue up again in November.

Congratulations to the unemployed that now will be getting UI checks.

Unfortunately, the democrats insisted on sticking it to your kids and grandkids with as Obama said “saddled with debts that they'll never be able to repay”.

UPDATE: It seems HR4213 was changed at the last moment to a standalone unemployment extension bill. No “S” corporation tax changes. No satellite TV regulations. No tier V. Etc. That is the reason the House was able to vote on the senate version of HR4213 so quickly.

Unemployment extensions status: As of July 19th

2010-07-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #hr4213 #economy #s3520 #hr5618 #paygo

Republicans pushed back Monday against President Obama’s harsh criticism of the GOP over a stalled extension of unemployment benefits.

As the president slammed Senate Republicans in the Rose Garden for having held up legislation extending the benefits, the GOP sought to turn up the heat on Obama about the deficit.

“The president knows that Republicans support extending unemployment insurance and doing it in a fiscally responsible way by cutting spending elsewhere in the $3 trillion federal budget,” said House GOP leader John Boehner (Ohio). “At a time of record debt and deficits made worse by Washington Democrats’ massive spending spree, that’s the right thing to do and the right way to do it.”
Source: The Hill

At 2:30pm tomorrow, the senate will be voting on the unemployment extensions. Reid says he has the 60 votes needed. But he is not voting on the house version of HR5618 the standalone unemployment extension bill.

If Reid chooses to vote on the house version of HR5618 and it passes, it would be signed into law by this Wednesday.

But Reid is choosing to vote on a larger HR4213 that Congress has not been able to pass since last December. Not even the House and Senate democrats can agree on what should be in HR4213. It has been amended from the last version approved by the House.

Since both the House and Senate have to vote on the exactly same worded bill, the House would have to approve the Senate version before Congress goes on it’s third summer vacation, the august recess. They may be leaving early July 30th and returning in September.

If your unemployment checks do not continue until September, blame Reid for choosing HR4213 rather than HR5618.
For the common liberal responses,
how does GOP/Bush own spending spree prevent unused stimulus funds from being used to pay for the extensions?

For those that hate money being spent in Iraq and Afghanistan, how does that prevent unused stimulus funds from paying for your UI checks?

Unemployment extensions status: As of July 15th

2010-07-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #hr4213 #economy #s3520 #hr5618 #paygo

From House floor before passage of standalone extension bill HR5618:
Mr. CAMP (R-MI):

What we've been hearing most of today is really a false choice, that we either do this bill unpaid for or do nothing at all. And in a $3 trillion budget, we can't find the $34 billion to pay for this bill?

As I said before, I have supported the extension of unemployment benefits. I've voted for the extension of unemployment benefits. But given the fiscal shape this country is in now, we believe that it's important to offer these benefits and also pay for these benefits so that we don't help today's unemployed at the expense of tomorrow's future job seekers.

And the effect on the debt, and I could go through the litany. Obviously, it didn't start last year. But if you look at what has happened since January of 2009, a $410 billion supplemental that included 8,500 earmarks, a $1 trillion stimulus, a $1 trillion health care bill. We've got hundreds of billions of dollars in unspent stimulus that isn't being returned to the taxpayers that could be redirected to pay for these unemployment benefits that isn't.

So what I hear is, We just need to spend. And this is an important need, but why not let us offer an amendment to find a way to pay for these extended unemployment benefits?

Mr. CAMP (R-MI):

Mr. Speaker, this debate has shown the length the majority will go to in order to avoid paying for any government spending, even calling the eighth extension of unemployment benefits an emergency. One would hope that even the Congress would see this coming after the first seven times.

We could pass this bill with broad bipartisan support if Democrats would just agree to pay for the spending. Instead, their refusal to pay for these benefits will mean hundreds of thousands of unemployed Americans are losing unemployment benefits at a time when the unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent, and it shouldn't be this way, because this bill is going nowhere.

The American people know we must pay for the spending, and the Senate appears to have heard that message. Just last night the Senate rejected this bill, so it has no hope of being signed into law.

Given the Senate vote, this isn't just an exercise in fiscal irresponsibility; it's an exercise in futility.

The unemployed are facing a personal emergency, and our country's facing an emergency that affects us all and future generations. The mountain of debt this bill will only add to.

If we want to help those who are out of work, let's pass something that might actually pass the Senate and won't increase the deficit, such as the motion to recommit that I'll be offering in a moment.

Source: Congressional Record

How does the republicans giving tax cuts to the “rich” prevent unused stimulus funds from being used to pay for HR5618 the standalone unemployment extension bill?

How does the republicans bailing out Wall Street prevent unused stimulus funds from being used to pay for HR5618 the standalone unemployment extension bill?

How does the republicans funding Iraq and Afghanistan prevent unused stimulus funds from being used to pay for HR5618 the standalone unemployment extension bill?

The democrats are the party of NO when it comes to even considering using unused stimulus funds to pay for your unemployment extensions.

Pelosi said “Now, let me say about unemployment insurance, we talk about it as a safety net and the rest. This is one of the biggest stimuluses to our economy.” Even more than the unused stimulus funds?

Both parties say they want the unemployment extensions. The democrats are being politically pigheaded by insisting the cost of the extensions be added to the national debt. The republicans are being politically pigheaded by insisting the cost of the extensions be paid for now.

Reid and Pelosi say the republicans don’t really care about the unemployed. Well, they should “prove” it by giving what the republicans “supposedly” want. Reid and Pelosi should amend HR5618 to be paid for with only unused stimulus funds.

Why are they afraid to do that? If the funds were truly needed in the future, they could create a new stimulus fund bill. Is it because they want the unused stimulus funds available as a political slush fund to “buy” votes for the mid-term elections? Is it because they are afraid the extension bill would be approved and they couldn’t use this as an issue in the mid-term election so they can remain the majority party?

So what is the status of your unemployment checks?

Reid is waiting for Byrd’s replacement at 2:15 tuesday. Then at 2:30, if he can get some republicans to wimp out and vote for an unamended HR5618, you could get your checks a couple days later. Otherwise since both the House and Senate have to vote on the exactly same worded bill, it will most likely be after Congress’s third summer vacation, the august recess. They may be leaving early July 30th and returning in September.

Sorry for the pigheadedness of both parties if you have to wait to September to get your next check.

Unemployment extension status: Byrd’s death not stumbling block

2010-07-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #hr4213 #economy #s3520 #hr5618 #paygo

When members of Congress return from their Fourth of July break Monday, they'll find a big challenge waiting for them right where they left it. The issue is unemployment — specifically an extension of benefits for people who've lost their jobs. The debate has turned into a high-stakes, election-year stand-off over deficits.

More than 2 million people have had their benefits cut off in the six-plus weeks since lawmakers began debating the bill.

Ever since the Eisenhower administration, Congress has approved jobless benefits that go beyond the usual half-year for up to two years of benefits during times of high unemployment.

Democrats want to extend those now-expired benefits another six months. At about $300 a week per beneficiary, that would cost around $34 billion. All but two Senate Republicans say they won't extend those expired benefits unless Congress cuts spending elsewhere; they say they don't want to add to the deficit.

Shortly before he voted to block consideration of an extension, Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown said the issue was about "not burdening future generations." "That will allow us to provide for the needs of our citizens without putting more debt on the credit card," he said. "It's the checking account versus the credit card."

Democrats argue that Brown and 11 other Republicans had no problem adding $33 billion to the deficit to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The other argument Democrats make is a moral one: With very few jobs to be had out there, the larger society should provide long-term unemployment benefits until the job situation gets better.
Source: NPR

For those of you unemployed, do you want your kids to go through unemployment when they grow up? That is the moral question the democrats should be answering. Continue with Obama’s and the democrat’s uncontrolled spending and it will be guaranteed that your children will face unemployment.

Liberals whine about Bush’s and republican’s spending spree. Why do you think the GOP lost control of Congress? Many of the spending spree republicans lost their seats.

Liberals whine about the extensions have always been treated as an emergency. Just because you put the extensions on the nation’s credit card in the past doesn’t mean you are required to continue increasing the national debt.

Liberal media is whining that the Byrd replacement will delay the extensions. No it won’t if the democrats stopped voting NO on the GOP’s versions of the unemployment extension bills where the extensions are paid for with unused stimulus funds.

Remember since before the Memorial Day recess, the republicans have put forth standalone unemployment extension bills and amendments where the benefits have been extend through November and where the extensions were paid for now. In these cases, it is the democrats that is the party of NO and voted against extending your unemployment insurance.

One liberal media whines about the 17 multi-millionaire GOP senators not voting for the unpaid extensions. The article doesn’t talk about the almost same numbers of multi-millionaire democrat senators willing to endanger your kid’s future by adding the cost of the extensions to the national debt.

For those of you unemployed, HR4213 has been changed so I believe the House will have to vote on it again without making any more changes. Remember both the House and Senate have to vote on the same wording of a bill before it can be sent to the president.

Kudos Mr. Prez 4 opening Alaskan Oil Drilling

2010-07-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

#bigoil #bpoilspill #oilspill #renewable

The Interior Department is offering oil and gas leases on 1.8 million acres of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve while promising to protect critical migratory bird and caribou habitat.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the Bureau of Land Management will offer 190 tracts with bids to be opened Aug. 11 in Anchorage. The sale is one of dozens, mostly in Western states, that Salazar announced in November.

The petroleum reserve covers 23 million acres on Alaska's North Slope. That's an area slightly smaller than the state of Indiana.
Source: Huffy Puffy Post

Even with the Obama’s administration inept handling things, it would not take months to stop an oil blowout at a new Alaskan oil well.

If you are a conservative, you will love reading many of the comments to this article.

Wind turbine noise: private vs. govt. studies

2010-07-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

#renewable #green #windfarm
Another major government organization has found that there is no scientific evidence that wind turbine sound is damaging to human health.

Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council released a public statement on wind turbine sound July 3. Among its findings:

-"While a range of effects such as annoyance, anxiety, hearing loss, and interference with sleep, speech and learning have been reported anecdotally, there is no published scientific evidence to support adverse effects of wind turbines on health."

- "The situation is ... complicated by findings that people who benefit economically from wind turbines were less likely to report annoyance, despite exposure to similar sound levels as people who were not economically benefiting."
Source: REVE

A former resident of Waubra, west of Ballarat, has commissioned a study into the inaudible noise coming from a 128-turbine wind farm.

Noel Dean owns a farm at Waubra but moved to Ballarat because he says low frequency noise from the turbines was making he and his family sick.

He paid a Queensland-based noise expert $43,000 to investigate the phenomenon. Mr Dean says the investigation confirmed that infrasound from the turbines is present on his farm in high levels.

"The levels are higher outside but inside you get more resonation," he said. "You get a more of a pulsing affect inside, bounces off the walls and it's going up and down in these frequencies that make you unsettled, probably anxious and you just want to get out of there because it's going in and out of your hearing threshold."

Mr Dean says the farm's owner, Acciona Energy, needs to take action.
Source: ABC.net (AU)

It is interesting that government may ackwheowledge people’s complaints but say they are not enough to stop wind farms.

Unfortunately, some people are efffected a lot while others are not effected at all.

Unemployment extensions status: Dem votes No again

2010-06-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #hr4213 #economy #s3520 #hr5618 #paygo

June 29, 2010 – Today, Senator Ben Nelson (D-NB) issued this statement on the need for additional unemployment benefits, and said that they should be paid for and not add to the high federal deficit and national debt:

“Recently, Nebraska state officials estimated that our unemployment had improved slightly and was down to 4.9 percent. I am very sympathetic to the many Nebraskans who remain out of work and recognize that the federal government should extend unemployment benefits to help them.

“Before the vote last week on the tax extenders bill, which provided unemployment benefits, I informed Senate leadership that I was willing to vote for new spending as long as it is paid for. I believe this can be done and that the votes are there to pass it.

“The bill has been revised several times already and each time the deficit spending was less. Tough choices are possible and necessary to not add to the deficit.

“Some also say we need more emergency spending now to keep the recovery going. But in my view it could jeopardize the recovery and would add to our already enormous deficit, likely to be around $1.4 trillion for the second year in a row.

“I’d note that on April 13, 2010 the Nebraska Legislature adopted LR538, a resolution noting that the national debt has continued to grow, generating concern from economists, legislators and taxpayers across the country and that stated, ‘The Legislature remains committed to seeking a federal balanced budget.’

“Further, $1 billion of the $1.5 billion Nebraska is to receive from the Recovery Act hasn’t yet been spent, according to the state’s recovery website. That includes about $250 million in state fiscal stabilization funds that will be spent in fiscal year 2011.

“It’s important to note that the state of Nebraska delayed using Recovery Act funds for unemployment benefits for a year, and then only after the Legislature took the initiative to act on it.

“So, Congress should provide additional unemployment benefits but not as a bailout to the states that worsens the deficit and passes the bills onto our children.”

Source: Senate (Ben Nelson)

Senator Ensign (R-NV -- 2:24 PM 6/30) on Senate floor:

"Well, a lot has been said on the issue of extending unemployment benefits. And while this issue has become one of political fodder and partisanship, the facts on this issue have been left out in favor of high-strung rhetoric and political opportunity. Let me take a moment to explain to my constituents the real debate on this issue. I, along with my Republican colleagues, believe that extending these benefits for the unemployed should be a top priority here in the Senate. I think both sides of the aisle agree on that. And I know that we can pay to extend these benefits now by cutting spending in other areas and redirecting some stimulus funds which have had little impact on the economy in my state and across the country.

Despite what some of my other colleagues may say here on the floor, there is no debate on extending the benefits for those who have fallen victim to a downturn economy. The debate on this issue actually lies with the fact that those on the other side of the aisle would like to take the easy way out, and they would like to avoid paying for this important legislation because it's tough to make cuts. Instead, we're going to add another $30 billion on to our record-breaking national debt. I know the $30 billion is just another number to those on the other side of the aisle, but it's one that could easily be paid for now by just adhering to their own policy of pay-as-you-go."

Source: Senate Floor updates

Both parties want your unemployment extensions continued but democrats insist that the costs of the extensions be added to the national debt.

Republicans are not only concerned about your unemployment. They are concerned about your kid’s future unemployment. If you have been listening to the news, you know Greece is having a serious economic crisis because of their government’s overspending. Greece’s unemployment increased 15.6% this year. If Obama’s and the democrat’s spending spree doesn’t stop, we will be in the same situation as Greece. We will have a continuing unemployment problem for years to come so your kids may not find a job after high school or college.

When versions of the unemployment extension bill with the costs totally paid for were voted on, republicans voted YES. Most democrats voted NO for continuing your unemployment extensions.

You can contact the Senate GOP and tell them to ignore the Paygo law, risk your kid’s future and pass S3520 or HR5618 with the cost added to national debt.

Or you can contact the Senate democrats and tell them to obey the Paygo law, protect your kid’s future and pass S3520 or HR5618 with the cost of the extensions paid for now.

Regardless of which bill is passed, it has to go thru the other congressional body and be voted on. It will not get done before the July 4th two week recess.

Since after the Memorial Day, Reid has been insisting your extensions be passed as part of HR4213. The House first passed HR4213 back last December. The democrats themselves could not agree on HR4213 in the past seven months. But Reid, rather than voting on a standalone extension bill, wasted time with HR4213. Now you will have to wait at least two or more weeks to get your extensions. And don't bet on Reid cutting their vacation short to work on passing your unemployment extensions.

UPDATE: While I read the Senate was taking a two week recess, SENATE.GOV says the next floor session is Monday July 12th. July 1 Sen. Byrd will lie in repose for six hours in the Senate chamber. They are taking Friday 2nd off. Since the democrats refuse to vote on your extensions that are paid for now, they know nothing would happen so they will go home early and hid from their voters. .

2010 election to finish Obama’s term

2010-06-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

#senate #burris #obama

A little-noticed federal appellate panel ruling may trigger two elections for an Illinois Senate seat on Nov. 2 -- one to fill a new six-year term and, in a stunning development, another to elect someone to finish the remaining days of Barack Obama's original Senate term.

"There is still time to do it right," said Marty Oberman, the former Chicago alderman who is the lead attorney on the case. He argued that the 17th Amendment was violated by not having an election.

Oberman's lawsuit was not aimed at Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), but would have the practical effect of slicing a few weeks off of his Senate tenure, which was set to expire when a new senator from Illinois is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2011.

You may have thought the matter of filling the Senate vacancy created when Obama was elected president was settled when then-Gov. Blagojevich, with much controversy, appointed Roland Burris.
Source: Chicago SunTimes

Unemployment extensions: House tries again

2010-06-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #hr4213 #economy #s3520 #hr5618 #paygo

Camp Floor Statement: H.R. 5618 Federal Unemployment Extension -- Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Here we go again. Another month, another bill extending unemployment benefits and extending the federal deficit.

Only this time the Democrats have now waited almost an entire month since these programs last expired to come up with a plan for how to extend them, leaving hundreds of thousands of long-term unemployed people without needed benefits. And, it is all because Democrats refuse to pay for these benefits despite record federal deficits.

Mr. Speaker, I am one of many on this side who support helping long-term unemployed people. I have voted for these benefits. Even though my home state of Michigan recently ended its four-year run of the highest unemployment rate in the Nation, the pain suffered by our residents remains real.

But the American people know it isn’t right to simply add the cost of this spending to our already overdrawn national credit card. They want to help those in need but also know that someone has to pay when government spends money. That assistance must not put our fiscal house as a nation in even worse shape. And we are already in terrible shape, thanks to the other side. The Democrats’ trillion-dollar stimulus plan created millions of unemployed workers instead of millions of promised jobs. We can and should cut that ineffective stimulus spending to pay for extending UI benefits, as my colleague Mr. Heller of Nevada has proposed. Stimulus hasn’t worked – in its wake nearly 3 million private sector jobs were lost, unemployment soared to 10 percent nationwide, and 48 of 50 states lost jobs. The only thing we stimulated is more government jobs.

Even Democrats now question the wisdom of all that spending, as evidenced by the fact the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee proposed last week to cut some of it to pay for extending other expired policies.

But instead of that common-sense approach, our colleagues on the other side have brought up this unpaid-for bill under a process that prevents any amendment, including any effort to pay for this spending. So this bill will be defeated, and they know that. Not because Members on both sides oppose helping the unemployed – but because Members, reflecting what they are hearing from their constituents, oppose adding another $33 billion to our $13 trillion mountain of debt.

Look around the world. Countries are sinking in debt. Yet the Democrat leaders of this House seem among the last to understand this reckless spending cannot go on forever. I urge my colleagues to oppose this deficit extending bill today, so we can bring up a real bill that allows us to pass and actually pay for these benefits for the long-term unemployed. That is the only road out of the policy dead end into which the other side’s spendaholic ways have driven us.

Source: Ways and Means (GOP)

Sen. Alexander (R-TN) on Senate floor:

The Democrats' runaway spending and debt is a serious crisis ruining the future of our children. That is why we do not want to pass even an unemployment compensation bill that adds to the debt. We want to pass it, but we want to make sure it does not add to the debt.

All the Presidents combined from George Washington to George W. Bush took 232 years to build up a $5.8 trillion debt. President Obama's budgets will double that debt in 5 years and triple it in 10.

The PAYGO or pay-as-you-go rule compels new spending or tax changes to not add to the federal deficit.

New proposals must either be "budget neutral" or offset with savings derived from existing funds.

Both parties want your unemployment extensions continued but democrats insist that the costs of the extensions be added to the national debt. Not only are the republicans concerned about your current situation, they are concerned about your children’s future by having the Paygo law obeyed and have the extensions paid for now.

You can contact the Senate GOP and tell them to ignore the Paygo law, risk your kid’s future and pass S3520 or HR5618 with the cost added to national debt.

Or you can contact the Senate democrats and tell them to obey the Paygo law, consider your kid’s future and pass S3520 or HR5618 with the cost of the extensions paid for now.

Both parties are being hardnosed and consider their position as helping them in the mid-term election. Whether you believe the republicans or you believe the democrats, you should contact Washington.

S3520 is the Senate standalone unemployment extension bill.

Unfortunately, the Senate will have to pass HR5618 in order for the unemployment extensions to get sent to Obama. Or unfortunately, the House will have to pass S3520 or HR4213 in order for the unemployment extensions to get sent to Obama. I doubt it will get done before the July 4th two week recess.

Mayor Daley thumbs nose at SCOTUS ruling

2010-06-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

#crime #violence #guncontrol

The Supreme Court struck down Chicago's ban on hand guns today and extended the reach of the 2nd Amendment as a nationwide protection against laws that infringe the "right to keep and bear arms."

The 5-4 decision voids the 1982 ordinance, one of the nation's strictest, which barred city residents from having handguns for their own use, even at home. The ruling has both local and national implications.

Two years ago, the high court ruled in a case from Washington, D.C. that the 2nd Amendment protects the rights of individuals to have a gun for self-defense. Since the District is a federal city and not a state, the court did not decide then whether the 2nd Amendment could be used to challenge other municipal ordinances or state laws.
In today's decision, the court said the constitutional protection of the 2nd Amendment extends to city and state laws, not just federal measures.

The City Council could consider new gun-control measures as soon as Wednesday, Mayor Richard Daley said last week.
Source: Chicago Breaking News

Chicago had the most restrictive gun control laws in America. Those laws didn’t stop 50some people getting shot in one weekend.

Daley says that just proves the need for more gun control laws. One idea Daley may do this week is to require insurance to own a gun. Of course that discriminates against poor people. And like gang bangers are going to buy insurance for their guns.

When will liberals start treating the problem, not the symptom (guns)? They should ask “Why did people feel the need to shoot fiftysome people in one weekend?”. Instead Daley and liberals focus on how the shooters got their guns.

One of the problems in Chicago is unemployment. Daley, the unions and the city council are finally allowing a Walmart be built in a poor Chicago neighborhood. It will create jobs and should lessen the crime in the area.

S3522: The “criminal (illegal) alien anchor baby” act

2010-06-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

#border #ice #dhs #immigration

S. 3522
To protect children affected by immigration enforcement actions, and for other purposes. This Act may be cited as the `Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act' or the `HELP Separated Children Act'.

When conducting any immigration enforcement action, the Department of Homeland Security and cooperating entities shall notify the Governor of the State, the local child welfare agency, and relevant State and local law enforcement before commencing the action, or, if advance notification is not possible, immediately after commencing such action, of the approximate number of individuals to be targeted in the immigration enforcement action and the primary language or languages believed to be spoken by individuals at the targeted site.

In any immigration enforcement action, the Department of Homeland Security and cooperating entities shall ensure that any parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver of a child in the United States receives due consideration of the best interests of his or her children or wards in any decision or action relating to his or her detention, release, or transfer between detention facilities.
Source: Thomas LOC

With the kids in mind, why didn’t the criminal (illegal) alien give due consideration before breaking our border laws?

And if ICE has to notify people before conducting a raid, they will have few successful raids to capture criminal aliens. But then isn’t that real purpose of this bill?

Biden & the custard man’s smartass answer

2010-06-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

#kopps #custard #economy #biden

Would you call it a disastrous trip?

Maybe not disastrous, but memorable. You will hear about Vice President Joe Biden's trip to the Wisconsin custard shop many times over the course of the next five months. The simple campaign-like stop will give conservatives even more ammunition in an upcoming midterm election season that already looks ominous for President Obama.

Walking into a custard shop and asking where the ice cream is isn’t a huge offense. Homer Simpson would do it. Joe Biden did that when visiting a Kopp’s Frozen Custard store in Wisconsin on Friday.

However, it was the follow-up exchange that’s generating a lot of buzz.

After Biden gets his custard, he asks the store manager how much he owes him. “Lower our taxes and we’ll call it even,” the manager replied.

Biden didn’t acknowledge that. Refusing to even look at him, Biden turned and walked away from the manager, appearing to just blow him off.

A few minutes later, Biden is caught on video again telling the manager: “Why don’t you say something nice instead of being a smartass all the time? Say something nice.”

The manager went on to tell a local TV reporter that the vice president went up to him later and whispered that he was just joking. The manager also said, however, it didn’t appear to him that Biden appreciated the comment.
Source: LA Times

Why is a comment about taxes being a smartass?

On my recent vacation, I went to check out the Butler Ridge Wind Farm. And since Kopps was nearby and was included in one of Food Channel’s best in the country specials, I made sure I eat lunch at Kopps.

The burger was dry. The fries were okay. The chocolate shake was good but not great.

Unemployment extensions: 6/24 update

2010-06-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

#employment #hr4213 #paygo

The democrats and the partisan press have been trying hard to convince you the republicans don’t care about the unemployed. That just isn’t true. BOTH parties want the unemployment extensions to continue.

The republicans have created standalone bills and amendments to HR4213 that would continue unemployment extensions for a month, thru November or thru the end of the year. These bills and amendments pay for the unemployment extensions immediately.

When Reid allowed them to come to a vote, every republican voted to continue your unemployment insurance. For these bills and amendments, it was the democrats that were the party of “NO” and voted to not allow your unemployment insurance to continue.

Democrats in Congress and other liberals whine about money spent on Iraq, Afghanistan, other countries, Wall Street etc. Fine. Tell the Senate democrats to cut costs there and use the money to pay for your unemployment extensions.

There is also plenty of money from pork barrel projects that could be used to pay for your unemployment extensions. The National Institutes of Health has spent over $2 million on a study that, among other things, seeks to increase condom use among intravenous drug users in Kazakhstan. We are sending billions of dollars to foreign countries to do deep water oil drilling. A bunch of the $8,000 first-time homeowner credits went to prison inmates, 9 million dollars worth.

The House first voted for HR4213 and your unemployment extensions back in Dec. 2009. Since then, both parties have been hardnosed about your unemployment insurance. Both parties want the unemployment extensions continued.

But republicans insist the Paygo law is obeyed which means the unemployment extensions must be paid for immediately. The democrats insist the cost of the unemployment extensions must be added to the national debt.

Sen. Alexander on Senate floor:

When it comes to jobs, the difference between our friends on the other side and the Republicans on this side is that we are focused on creating an environment for growing private sector jobs. They are focused on creating more government jobs. About the only place the job creation plans and stimulus plans they have enacted are working are in Washington, DC, where incomes are up and jobs are up. But not in the small towns of Tennessee and not in the small towns across this country, people are out of work. They are out of work because of higher taxes, higher debt, higher spending, too many Washington takeovers, too much focus on more government jobs, and not enough focus on an environment in which to create more private sector jobs.

Let's be very clear. The Thune amendment, which every Republican voted for and attracted a Democratic vote but Democrats voted it down, would have extended the expiring employment provisions until November. It would have extended for 1 year dozens of tax provisions. It would have extended the State and local tax deduction, the tuition deduction, the various disaster relief credits, the flood insurance provision that was just objected to. It would increase the payment the government makes to doctors for treating Medicare patients. The American Medical Association said a little earlier this week that 30 percent of doctors, family physicians, will not see new Medicare patients. This would have taken care of that.

The Democrats' runaway spending and debt is a serious crisis ruining the future of our children. That is why we do not want to pass even an unemployment compensation bill that adds to the debt. We want to pass it, but we want to make sure it does not add to the debt.

Why do I say it piles up a debt on our children? In January of 2009--if you divide the national debt across each child under 18, in January of 2009 each child's debt was $85,000. By June of 2010, it was $114,000. By January of 2017, it will be $196,000. Because of budgets--and these are the budgets proposed by a Democratic President--during the next 7 years, each child's share of the national debt will more than double, going from $85,000 to $196,000.

Here is another way to think about it. All the Presidents combined from George Washington to George W. Bush took 232 years to build up a $5.8 trillion debt. President Obama's budgets will double that debt in 5 years and triple it in 10. What that means is all 43 Presidents combined, from George Washington to George Bush, ran up a $5.8 trillion debt in 232 years. In 8 years, President Obama will add twice that much to the national debt, tripling the debt.

Source: Senate Floor Updates

Congressional democrats and liberals whine about being stopped from adding the cost of your unemployment extensions to the national debt considering the spending spree of Bush and the republicans. Well, the voters kicked many of the spending spree republicans out and the democrats gained control of Congress and the White House.

Now it is Obama and the democrats that are on a spending spree. Will the voters kick the democrats out for their spending spree?

To those unemployed and those that are concerned about the unemployed, you have two choices:

Write to the Senate republicans and tell them to go ahead and add the cost of the unemployment extensions to the national debt.

Or write to Senate democrats and tell them to stop endangering your children’s future and find money to pay for your employment extensions immediately.

And remember once enough senators from one party gives in and the Senate passes HR4213 or a standalone extension bill, the House will have to vote on it. So you may want to also send your letter/email to your House member and Pelosi.

Unfortunately for those of you unemployed, I doubt that the House will deal with it before the two week 4th of July recess.

UPDATE (from The Hill): Reid blasts Republicans as tax extenders bill sinks in the Senate. The Senate's tax extenders bill, which includes an extension of unemployment benefits, appears on death's door.

If it is on death’s door, Reid is as much to blame for refusing to consider obeying the Paygo law.

John Cornyn (on facebook/twitter): 3 times Senator Reid has tried to pass a "tax extenders" bill with bipartisan support, but for the deficit spending and higher taxes. Senator Thune offered a "paid for" alternative that was rejected. A mystery to me?

Collapse keeps wind farm shut down

2010-06-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

#renewable #green #energy

Investigators haven't been able to determine why a 187-ton wind turbine toppled over in northern New York last December.

The Fenner Wind Farm's 20 turbines have been turned off since the incident as the owner, Enel North America, investigated the collapse.

Top industry analysts hired by Enel found no problems with the foundation supporting the turbine. Enel Spokesman Hank Sennott said the foundation was built to specifications and no corners were cut on materials or construction.

Sennott anticipates the wind farm will be up and running by fall. No projections have been made on how much money the company has lost in the nearly six months it has gone without harnessing any wind energy.
Source: WCAX

Wind and solar are supplementary power not primary sources of power.

Turbines only generate power when the wind is strong enough. Wind doesn’t blow 24/7. Recent reports I have read say wind and solar storage is still in the experimental stage. You need a regular power plant to pick up the load when solar and/or wind is lacking.

The Obama administration has said wind farms on the east coast will replace ALL coal-fired power plants in the US. This is example why that statement is false.

The question I have about this collapse is why the entire farm is down for nearly a year?

Obama regime monitors internet

2010-06-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

Kudos, Mr. President
#terrorism #muslim #islamic

Fighting homegrown terrorism by monitoring Internet communications is a civil liberties trade-off the U.S. government must make to beef up national security, the nation's homeland security chief said Friday.

As terrorists increasingly recruit U.S. citizens, the government needs to constantly balance Americans' civil rights and privacy with the need to keep people safe, said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

But finding that balance has become more complex as homegrown terrorists have used the Internet to reach out to extremists abroad for inspiration and training. Those contacts have spurred a recent rash of U.S.-based terror plots and incidents.

"The First Amendment protects radical opinions, but we need the legal tools to do things like monitor the recruitment of terrorists via the Internet," Napolitano told a gathering of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

Napolitano's comments suggest an effort by the Obama administration to reach out to its more liberal, Democratic constituencies to assuage fears that terrorist worries will lead to the erosion of civil rights.

The administration has faced a number of civil liberties and privacy challenges in recent months as it has tried to increase airport security by adding full-body scanners, or track suspected terrorists traveling into the United States from other countries.

"Her speech is sign of the maturing of the administration on this issue," said Stewart Baker, former undersecretary for policy with the Department of Homeland Security. "They now appreciate the risks and the trade-offs much more clearly than when they first arrived, and to their credit, they've adjusted their preconceptions." Source: Fox News

Until I heard Gen. McChrystal's comments, I have been giving Obama a grade of A- on national security. I wonder about the handling of Obama’s Afghanistan war. I give thumbs up on this story.

On everything else, I give Obama a grade of F. While I want his presidency to be seen as a success, his domestic policies are a disaster and must be defeated.

Unemployment extensions: June 21st status

2010-06-21T18:19:00.001-07:00

#employment #hr4213 #paygo

Yesterday, after seeing the huge tax extenders bill, which includes an extension of federal unemployment benefits, go down in defeat on a cloture vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) tried to pass several of parts of the bill on a standalone basis.

Reid tried to move components of the bill by a process known as unanimous consent. One of the components Reid tried to pass on its own was an extension of federal unemployment benefits, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) objected, saying the provision had to be paid for.

McConnell wanted to have a unanimous consent vote on a Republican "paid-for" bill that would be funded by unused stimulus money. Reid objected.

In order to get enough votes to pass the tax extenders bill, Senate Democrats will need to cut the bill even further to win votes from Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut — both who voted against cloture — as well as at least one Republican.

The Senate is expected to take up the bill again next week. Democratic leaders say they hope to be able to pass something by the July 4 holiday.
Source: MLive

Senator Reid: (2:03 PM)

"Victims of the recession who have been out of work for a long time are struggling to make ends meet while they're looking and searching to find a job. This bill extends the emergency unemployment assistance they need, critical help that for many has expired and dried up. Every day we don't act, those families in Nevada and across the nation continue to suffer unnecessary pain. This will be the eighth week since March the Senate has debated the tax-cutting, job-creating bill currently on the floor. That's two full months, two full months we've been waiting and they have been waiting. The people in our states, for us to respond to an emergency. That's really unacceptable. The richest corporations continue to get richer while the unemployed remain out of work. Every minute we waste gets worse for them. It's our job to debate, not to delay. It's our job to legislate. It's our job to do something about the plight of the people in America."

Senator McConnell: (2:07 PM)

"Republicans offered a fully offset 30-day extension of this bill that didn't just cover its costs, but actually reduced the deficit in the process. Democrats rejected it. We offered an amendment that would have provided a long-term extension of the expired provisions and lower the deficit by $55 billion over ten years. Democrats rejected that too. This should be an easy one, but Democrats are making it difficult because they just can't seem to bring themselves to pay for legislation. But the American people aren't conflicted on this issue, and they want us to show that we're serious. That we're willing to make the same kinds of tough choices they themselves have been forced to make in this recession."

Senator Reid: (2:12 PM)

"I realize very much the financial situation our country finds itself in today. Everyone on this side of the aisle recognizes that. We also recognize the fact that problems dealing with the economy were not created by the Democrats over here or even President Obama. The problems were created, Mr. President, by virtue of eight years of wild spending by the prior administration, a war costing $1 trillion that was unpaid for, tax cuts amounting to more than $1 trillion unpaid for, causing this huge recession. And President Obama has been doing his best working with us to get our way out of that financial situation we find ourselves. So I'm very amazed at the logic of my friends on the other side of the aisle, suddenly see fiscal austerity as the way to go when the wild spending went on for eight years without a word having been spoken."

Senator McConnell: (2:15 PM)

"Our good friends on the other side still don't seem to get it. They're twisting and turning not to cut the debt, but to borrow with as much as they can with the minimum votes to pass this bill. The best part of all is their justification. You guessed it. They want to blame President Bush for their own unwillingness to pay for the bill. They say that they're immune from increasing it themselves. Well, I've got some news for our friends on the other side. Nobody's buying that anymore. Because there just isn't any comparison. When President Obama took office, the deficits he inherited were projected to be $4.3 trillion over the next 10 years. One year later -- one year later -- one year after President Bush left office, the Congressional Budget Office had to put out a revised estimate, after just one year of Democrats controlling Washington, estimated deficits over the next decade had nearly doubled to $8.1 trillion in the middle of a recession. In other words, at a time when projected revenues coming in are actually decreasing."

Source: Senate Floor Updates

The article says both leaders tried to submit standalone unemployment extension bills and the other party leader objected but this article and most partisan press stories say republicans blocked the standalone bill.

Both leaders have repeatedly said they want the unemployment extensions. The republicans want the Paygo law obeyed which says bills like this must be paid for now. The democrats are equally hardnosed saying the extension costs should just be added to the national debt.

Part of the reason the GOP lost their majority in Congress was Bush and the GOP went on a spending spree. The GOP sees Obama’s and the democrat’s out of control spending as an election issue so they are insisting the extensions are paid for.

If Reid and Pelosi really want to prove the republicans are against the unemployed, they should bring a standalone unemployment extension and COBRA bill that extends tier 1-4 thru the end of the year. It should be paid for by cutting unneeded pork programs. The GOP wouldn’t have an excuse for not voting for the bill by saying the Paygo law must be obeyed.

The democrats don’t plan to bring HR4213 to the floor for a vote today. Without paying for HR4213, Reid is looking for something that they can add or cut to get one or more republicans to wimp out and break the Paygo law. Tier 5 will most likely not be included.

Since the Senate amended the bill, the House will have to vote on HR4213 for a third time. Unfortunately for those unemployed, I doubt the House will pass it before the July 4th recess.

Note: The House took a three day weekend this past weekend. The Senate adjourned 2pm Friday and is coming back at 2pm today.

While the House wouldn’t be dealing with HR4213, Pelosi scheduled a busy session today. They apparently convened at 11am. They heard the daily prayer. They said the Pledge of Allegiance. They adjourned at 11:03am to reconvene tomorrow.

Unemployment extensions: June 18th status

2010-06-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

#employment #hr4213 #paygo

Unemployment Benefits and Claims Suffer after HR 4213 Woes. The Senate is hung up on the Tax Extenders Bill (HR 4213). The unemployment extension that is much needed after the June 2nd cutoff for benefits still has not been passed. Cited are fears about deficit spending on the behalf of the US government.

Many think that the concern over deficit spending comes at a very strange time. Why all of a sudden when Americans need money does Congress all of a sudden grow a heart and start worrying about the country’s propensity for overspending?

The Tax Extenders Bill that failed in the Senate would have extended federal emergency unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies to the unemployed until November 30, 2010. Now, those who have exhausted their state’s benefits and are sitting in the tiers of federal emergency unemployment are sitting in limbo.
Source: CNM News Network

In Dec. 2009, HR4213 was proposed. It was a big bill that included stuff like Satellite TV changes. It also included unemployment extensions thru the end of 2010. The House passed it then.

Rather than the Senate passing it, Reid and Pelosi decided to do the unemployment extensions in a series of month extensions. Before Memorial Day recess, they decided to go back to HR4213. Senate had passed it in March with amendments. The House passed it again before the recess with more amendments so the Senate had to vote on it again.

Because of Bush’s and the GOP’s spending spree, republicans didn’t vote for many of the GOP incumbents so they lost control of the Congress. So the GOP has been trying to do what they can to control Obama’s and the democrats out of control spending. As part of that, they have been insisting the unemployment extensions obey the Paygo law and the extensions are paid for with unused stimulus money. The democrats have been equally hard nosed that the unemployment extensions cost just gets added to the national debt. Both parties want the unemployment extensions.

The partisan press has been whining that the unemployment extensions were being held up by a GOP filibuster but are they? The Thune amendment tried to pay for HR4213 now. Republicans voted for the amendment and therefore voted for extending the unemployment extensions. The democrats voted against the amendment and therefore voted against extending the unemployment extensions. So why isn’t that considered a democrat filibuster since they stopped HR4213 from being passed?

Some liberals are whining that the Thune amendment would shut down the government. Why don’t the democrats come up with alternatives so the Paygo law is obeyed and HR4213 gets paid for now? The GOP would then vote for HR4213 and the extensions.

To cut some costs, the unemployment extensions would end Nov. 30th not end of the year. No tier 5.

Senate.gov says there will be no roll call votes today. HR4213 apparently has been spent back to committee to be rewritten. Once passed, the House will have to vote on it again.

Note: While the House wouldn’t be voting on HR4213, I thought you might like to know that the House is taking today (Friday) off so they have a three day weekend.

The Senate adjourned at 2pm today and will come back 2pm Monday. Apparently, there will be no votes on HR4213 Monday.

Unemployment extensions: June 17th status

2010-06-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

#employment #hr4213 #paygo

The unemployment extension bill failed to muster even a majority in a test vote in the Senate today. The measure was defeated 45-52 as moderate Democrats joined every Republican in voting against the current version of the bill.

Support for the unemployment extensions appears to be losing ground as a eleven Democrats and one Independent voted against the measure.

Democratic Senators will now turn to cutting the costs in the catchall package in an attempt to garner support for a revised bill. They will then introduce a new, scaled-back version of the proposed legislation.

The new version will likely include a cut to the weekly paycheck of those receiving unemployment. A proposal to reduce unemployment payments by $25 per week surfaced yesterday. In an effort to assure passage of the bill, Senator Jon Tester (D -- Montana) introduced the idea. The $25 payments were approved in February of 2009.

Just yesterday, The New York Times weighed in on the unemployment extension, stating in an editorial : "The right thing to do is obvious. The House and Senate should immediately extend unemployment benefits."
Source: Examiner

Both parties want the unemployment extensions but both parties have been stubbornly holding the line on how to pay for them. The GOP want the Paygo law obeyed and have the extensions paid for with unused stimulus funds. The democrats want the cost of the extensions added to the national debt.

And yes, Bush and the GOP had their own spending problems. That is one reason the GOP lost control of the Congress.

In past extensions, enough GOP wimped out and agreed to break the Paygo law. This time, Blue Dog democrats are concerned the national debt will be an election issue so some are agreeing with the GOP that the Paygo law should be obeyed.

Since the Senate has amended the bill, it will go back to the House for another vote after one side wimps out enough to get HR 4213 passed in the Senate.

It seems both sides are playing politics with HR4213 amendments. The democrats seem to be proposing a BP oil spill tax but use it to pay for items in HR4213. The GOP seem to be proposing a freeze to all federal salaries except the military, capping the number of federal employees and imposing a 5% across-the-board cut in government spending for all agencies except the VA and the DOD.

HR4213 is a big bill that started in Dec. 2009. The House has passed HR4213 twice. They will have to pass it a third time after the Senate approves it for the second time. The GOP has tried to get a standalone bill passed to get the unemployment extensions extended another month.

Note (4:45pm 6/17): Moved to refer the House Message to Accompany H.R. 4213 to the Committee on Finance, with instructions.

Unemployment extensions: June 16th status

2010-06-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

#employment #UI

On Tuesday the Senate had a very confusing day if you are watching the progress of HB 4213. After filing for cloture on Monday to push the voting up, Senator Reid has withdrawn his filing. It seems that Democrats are having second thoughts on the deficit spending of this bill, and Mr. Hatch wants to add a drug testing policy to the bill that would require recipients of welfare or the unemployment extension to pass a drug test to continue receiving benefits.

Senator Reid has withdrawn the cloture he filed for an unknown reason. This will set the stage for a vote possibly today or tomorrow on this bill. He may have withdrawn because the votes needed aren’t there yet. A vote is scheduled on the bill for 10:45 A.M. today, if this fails though, there is still hope. They will vote on an alternative amendment that was proposed by Senator Thune that has the measure paid for by unused stimulus dollars.

Meanwhile the Democrats are just now starting to complain about the deficit spending on this bill. Senator Barry Nelson expressed his concerns “Borrowing and deficit spending at the point of a crisis is one thing, but when you’re in recovery, borrowing and deficit spending is another thing, borrowing during a recovery is risky because it may slow down the recovery.” It seems that a few of their party are starting to share his concern.

Senator Orrin Hatch proposed to add a testing policy to the bill that requires all recipients of state welfare or unemployment insurance benefits to pass a mandatory drug test before being eligible. He said “Drugs are a scourge on our society — hurting children, families and communities alike, this amendment is a way to help people get off of drugs to become productive and healthy members of society, while ensuring that valuable taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted.” This amendment isn’t expected to pass into law though.
Source: US Money Talk

HR4213 with unemployment extensions thru the end of 2010 was passed by the House Dec. 2009.

Reid brought HR4213 to the Senate floor beginning of March. The Senate passed an amended version on March 18th.

Pelosi started doing some backroom deals on HR4213 Friday 5/21. She brought it to the floor the Friday before Memorial Day. It passed with amendments and no tier 5. Senate had already left town for the recess.

Reid had the Senate take another long weekend this past weekend.

This bill contains more than just the unemployment extensions. Yesterday, the Senate argued about amendments for HR4213. They approved the Franken Amdt. No. 4311 to establish the Office of the Homeowner Advocate for purposes of addressing problems with the Home Affordable Modification Program.
The amendment also includes:
LIMITATIONS ON FORECLOSURES.--No homeowner may be taken to a foreclosure sale, until the earlier of the date on which the Office of the Homeowner Advocate case involving the homeowner is closed, or 60 days since the opening of the Office of the Homeowner Advocate case involving the homeowner have passed, except that nothing in this section may be construed to relieve any loan servicers from any otherwise applicable rules, directives, or similar guidance under the Home Affordable Modification Program relating to the continuation or completion of foreclosure proceedings.
NOTE: To those who need the extensions, HR4213 has been amended. Once the Senate stops adding stuff like the home buyer credit extension and the Office of the Homeowner Advocate, the House will have to vote on it again. And if they add amendments, it will have to come back to the Senate

The Blue Dog democrats are getting nervous about the national debt so the extensions have been cut from end of the year to the extensions ending in early November.

Monday, the Senate GOP again tried to get a standalone one month extension bill paid with unused stimulus funds to the floor for a vote. Reid wouldn’t allow it to come to a vote.

Nipton, CA: 85% Solar Powered

2010-06-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Big deal!
#renewable #green #solar

Just across the California border, Nipton has unveiled a sun-powered generator that is expected to provide about 85 percent of the town’s electricity over the course of a year.

The solar plant uses a new technology, concentrating solar photovoltaic, known as CPV, which could be a boon in places like Nevada where the sun is strong, but water for power plants is scarce.

Concentrating solar power plants are expected to use far less water than their solar thermal cousins because they lack the cooling requirements and don’t need water to heat for steam. And because they have fewer photovoltaic panels to be cleaned than a traditional photovoltaic plant, they could use less water than traditional photovoltaic arrays.

The 80-kilowatt project is part of the one-time mining camp’s plan to become an eco-tourism mecca. Nipton is on the northern edge of the Mojave National Preserve, home of the popular Kelso Dunes. Many park visitors are “granola and Prius” types, and they usually stay at campgrounds and hotels in Nipton. The town is betting that stepping up its environmental reputation will drive tourism growth.

“We’re in the hospitality business in Nipton,” said Gerald Freeman, its principal administrator. “This is all part of our plan to be an environmentally friendly destination. We’re going to project our environmentalism strongly. That’s the underlying theme of Nipton for the future: to move progressively toward a sustainable, environmentally friendly community.”

And in the Mojave Desert, that means solar panels
Source: Las Vegas Sun

The Nipton system is divided into two sites to the north and south of Nipton Road respectively. The southern site has three (3) Columns with twelve (12) HGS Arrays each, twice as long as the Columns at the VTA Demonstration Project. The HGS Arrays appear to have a system capacity of 1.68 kWp, and the Columns are 20.2 kWp for a combined system capacity of 60.6 kWp. The southern PV Columns will power the hotel, store, restaurant, house, and the water well.

The northern site has another Column with twelve (12) HGS Arrays; the short Column with eight (8) HGS Arrays on the Site Plan was postponed because of the economic crisis. The northern PV Column will power the school and perhaps two houses.
Source: Gunther Portfolio

The “greenies” like the Huffy Puffy Post are making a big deal about a town getting 85% of their power from solar sources. Big deal!

In last night, Obama’s prime time speech pushed replacing oil with renewable sources. His administration has said they plan to replace all coal-fired power plants with wind and solar plants.

The picture above is one of the Nipton’s solar plants. Look at the size needed to power a small hotel, store, restaurant, house, and the water well. Based on that, how big a solar plant would you need to provide 85% of the power for a city like Las Vegas?

I have been trying to find if Nipton’s 85% is only on sunny days. I haven’t found what sort of energy storage they have for nights and cloudy days.

Solar and Wind should only be considered as a supplementary power source.

Unemployment Extensions: Senate taking June 11 off

2010-06-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #employment #PAYGO #hr4213

Unemployment Extension and HR 4213 aka Tax Extenders Bill Benefits Needed. The Senate has HR 4213 in their wings again, and they claim it will be passed “soon.” Just exactly how “soon” is “soon”? We haven’t gotten a straight answer. It was previously promised that the Senate wouldn’t break for Memorial Day without passing the so-called “Tax Extenders Bill” but now it’s almost a week after they re-convened.

It’s also 8 days after benefits expired for millions of Americans in tiers 1-4 of unemployment benefits. These people are also in limbo over their COBRA benefits, which aren’t affordable without the subsidy from the government.

The Senate Bill will likely have to travel back through the House before passage. The benefits in the bill are paid for partially by tax increases also found within the bill. However, the Senate version still has ballooned in cost when compared to the House version.

The Senate bill increases the tax on oil from 34 cents in the House bill to 41 cents. In addition, it increases the percent of interest that investment fund managers can claim under capital gains rates which are much lower than ordinary tax rates. The House bill only allowed 25% of investment fund interest to be taxed at the capital gains rate, compared to 35% in the Senate. This amounts to Millions in tax savings to some of the wealthiest Americans.

Now there are millions in limbo as we wait for the passage of the bill - which will take even longer to go through the red tape because of the changes made to it.
Source: CNM News Network

Did congress pass the unemployment extensions beyond June 2 2010? NO!

To those that need the unemployment extensions, Reid decided the Senate needed another long weekend. While there may be some backroom dealing today, Senate will take up HR4213 at 2pm Monday 6/14. But at democrats.senate.gov, it says there will not be any roll call votes on HR4213 Monday.

Rather than putting the unemployment extensions in a smaller standalone bill, Reid and Pelosi decided to just use a BIGGER bill, HR4213. The House and Senate both passed a version of this bill in March. The House passed the Senate version with amendments on the Friday before the Memorial Day recess. The Senate had already left town.

The GOP is voting against HR 4213 because they want the PAYGO law obeyed. The PAYGO law says the bill must be paid for NOW. They don’t want the debt added to what our children will have to pay. They have not put a hold on this bill.

Both parties want the unemployment extensions.

If some GOP agree to break the Paygo law and join the democrats, the extensions would have passed already.

If enough Blue Dog democrats agree to obey the Paygo law, the extensions would have paased already.

Yes, Bush and the GOP had their own spending spree problems. That is part of why they are no longer in power. But their spending spree was tiny compared to Obama and the democrats.

With the mid-term elections in mind, the Blue Dogs democrats are reluctant to vote for HR 4213. They know the national debt will be a factor in their mid-term elections.

COBRA extension may be excluded from the bill.
To those that think unemployment extension not being extended is totally the GOP’s fault, consider this:

HR4213 with extensions through the end of 2010 was passed by the House in Dec. 2009.

Reid brought it up in the Senate in March. It passed 3/18 with amendments.

Pelosi brought it to the House floor again on 5/28. They passed it again with more amendments.

It most likely will be going back to the House after the Senate gets around to voting on it.

Why wasn’t it completed in Dec. 2009 or January?

Update: The Senate GOP proposed S. 3421 a standalone one month unemployment extension bill paid for with unused stimulus finds. It was submitted before the Memorial Day recess. Democrats wouldn’t allow a vote on it. Today Monday 6/14, the GOP tried to get S3421 brought to a vote again.

Reid wouldn’t allow it to come to a vote. He said one month extension wasn’t worth the effort even though they have been doing month extensions for the last 3 or 4 months.

Update (6/15): Reid didn't bring HR4213 up until 2pm then spent the evening adding amendments for the BP oil spill rather than your unemployment extensions.

Whale Wars, Obama and lifting commercial whaling ban

2010-06-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

#whalewars #seashepherd #paulwatson #IWC

The White House stated it's in support of the IWC proposal because it believes it will save the lives of thousands of whales by stopping the three countries from illegally hunting them. The administration also hopes that lifting the ban will stop the countries from taking advantage of the loopholes in the policy. Japan currently uses a loophole that permits whale hunts for scientific purposes. It enables them to slaughter a multitude of whales every year.

Environmentalists disagree with the administration's rationalization. They say the whaling ban significantly reduced the number of whales killed each year from between 38,000 - 60,000 down to 1,240 - 1,700. Joel Reynolds of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s marine mammal protection program said, "The deal is a step backward, to a time when it was acceptable to kill whales for profit."

The White House argues that the status quo is not working and a compromise has to be reached between anti-whalers and whalers. This comes after the worst clash between Japanese whalers and activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society this spring. That conflict destroyed the Ady Gil speedboat which was part of the Sea Shepherd fleet and left activist Peter Bethune awaiting trial in Japan.

When PEOPLE.com reached the White House, they said "When it comes to international whaling, the goal of the Obama Administration is to conserve whales. The Administration reaffirms its unwavering support for the commercial whaling moratorium and believes that lethal scientific whaling is unnecessary in modern whale conservation management."
Source: Care2

As you watch Paul Watson and Whale Wars season 3, listen for Watson to call for a change to the lethal “research” whaling law or the proposed law that would open commercial whaling again. You won’t hear it. Search the Sea Shepherd website and you won’t find a petition to the IWC to NOT allow commercial or “research” whaling.

Go to Greenpeace to sign a petition to the IWC to NOT allow commercial whaling.

I will continue watch Whale Wars Season 3 to see how close Paul Watson comes to killing his volunteers by stupidly putting them in extremely dangerous situations.

Unemployment Extensions: Maybe next week

2010-06-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

GOP not delaying HR4213.
#unemployment #paygo #economy

The Senate will not approve a bill to reauthorize several expired domestic aid programs,including extended jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, until sometime next week.

"We fully expect to have the 60 votes to be able to pass this bill by early next week," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

In the meantime, at least 323,400 people who've been out of work for longer than six months will prematurely lose access to the extended unemployment benefits enacted to fight the recession. By the end of next week, Department of Labor data show that that number will reach 903,000.

"We have to remember that every day it takes for this bill to be passed and signed into law, is another day that the long-term unemployed might be going without their unemployment check," said Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the National Employment Law Project, which has been pushing for a longer reauthorization since last year. "By the time they have reached federal benefits, their savings and ability to borrow are likely exhausted, so any period without that unemployment check is extremely scary and stressful for them."

The lapse happened after deficit-wary House Democrats rebelled against the original version of the "tax extenders" bill, which was projected to add $123 billion to the federal budget deficit next year. The vote didn't happen until the end of the week -- after senators had already left town -- and several provisions were removed, including $7 billion in subsidies for COBRA health insurance premiums and $24 billion to help state pay Medicaid expenses.

There are no plans to reinsert the $7 billion COBRA subsidy. "You can't do everything," Schumer said.
Source: Huffy Puffy Post

The Blue Dog democrats know the voters are concerned about the national debt. They are more concerned about this than those that are unemployed. The GOP still want the PAYGO law obeyed but it is the democrats that are delaying the unemployment extensions.

And sorry to those that need the extensions, it seems likely that, when the Senate votes for this next week, they will have changed it. The House would then have to vote on it again.

Whale Wars Season 3 & commercial whaling legal again?

2010-06-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

#whalewars #iwc

A controversial new proposal would allow nations (i.e. Japan, Norway and Iceland) to kill endangered whales. Quotas will be based on politics, not science.

In 1986, commercial whaling was officially banned by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), an entity established to protect dramatically declining whale stocks. Despite this ban, certain nations, most notably Japan, Norway and Iceland, have continued killing whales due to several loopholes in which the international law, as written, does not apply, such as with whales caught through “by-catch”, which is the accidental capturing of a whales in fishing nets or gear.

Now, a new proposal is being crafted — to be voted on next month at the annual IWC meeting — allowing new quotas for whale kills by these three nations. Controversy is already mounting as critics assert that the new rules would encourage more whale killing, and further, that the proposed quotas are not based on scientific data.

A controversial proposal would allow these three whaling nations to continue whaling for the next decade in exchange for narrowing the loopholes in existing law, but scientists and conservationist are not satisfied and fear that more whales will be killed, not fewer.
Source: Planet Save

When you read stories on the IWC allowing commercial whaling, you find Greenpeace ads to petition Obama and the IWC to not allow commercial whaling.

When you watch Whale Wars Season 3, I don’t expect you will see or hear Paul Watson to talking about the proposed new laws or changing the laws to ban “research” whaling.

Go to “get involved” section of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society web site. You will not find one word about stopping the proposed laws or getting “research” whaling banned. Most of the “get involved” section of the Sea Shepherd is aimed at getting more money for themselves.

With the popularity of Whale Wars, Paul Watson and Animal Planet could have a successful petition drive to convince the IWC to NOT allow commercial whaling again.

Don’t give to the Sea Shepherd. Go to Greenpeace and sign their anti-whaling petition.
Senate bill S3116, the International Whale Conservation and Protection Act of 2010, was proposed in March 2010. It urges the IWC to not start up commercial whaling again and to get the IWC to stop “research” whaling. It is still in committee.

Don’t give to the Sea Shepherd. Contact your senator and congressman to vote YES on S3116.

Helen Thomas retires

2010-06-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

- understand her reasoning. #Palestine #Israel #middleeast

In the world of political journalism, it's the end of an era: Helen Thomas has retired just months shy of her 90th birthday.

The longtime White House journalist has covered ever president since Dwight Eisenhower and broke several barriers for female journalists but stepped down from her latest role -- a columnist for Hearst Newspapers -- in the wake of controversial remarks made in late May about the need for Jews to "get the hell out of Palestine" and return to Poland and Germany.

"Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately," read a statement from Hearst Newspapers on Monday. "Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet."
Source: Politico

For those that are old as Thomas, Palestine existed and saw the UN take Palestine to create Israel.

Thomas’s parents were Lebanese and probably had strong opinions about the creation of Israel.

What the Palestinians and Arabs forget is that for most people in the world Israel has always existed and Palestine has never existed. Most of the people can’t understand why Israel should be taken and given to the Palestinians.

Israel should remain and Obama should be supporting Israel.

Unemployment Extentions - Not June 7th

2010-06-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

#unemployment #remployment #UI #economy

Monday, Jun 07, 2010
The Senate convened at 2:00 p.m. and adjourned at 6:44 p.m. 2 record votes were taken.

Confirmation Lucy Haeran Koh, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of California - Confirmed

Confirmation Audrey Goldstein Fleissig, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri - Confirmed

Tuesday, Jun 08, 2010
10:00 a.m.: Convene and expect to ask the Chair to lay before the Senate the House Message with respect to H.R.4213, the tax extenders bill.
Source: US Senate

This time, the GOP had nothing to do with the extensions being delayed.

Rather than put the extensions in a smaller bill, Reid and Pelosi decided to make it part of the larger HR4213 American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010.

HR4213 started in Dec.2009. Both the House and Senate had passed it by March 18th.

A week before their Memorial Day recess, Pelosi started backroom dealing to see if they could get voted to approve the Senate version.

The Friday just before the recess the House voted for HR4213 with amendments. Reid had already sent the senate home.

The Blue Dog democrats are feeling the GOP’s Paygo / national debt pressure. They cut back the extension from end of the year to the mid-term elections. Cobra extension may get totally cut.

Reid didn’t bring HR4213 to the floor today.

To those unemployed and needing the extensions, you will have to wait another day.

Wind Farm "Torture"

2010-06-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

#windfarm #renewable #green

A SMALL group of wind farm opponents has mounted a protest on the steps of the Victorian Parliament, complaining of health problems caused by turbines.

The Waubra residents say the 128-turbine wind farm in their community causes sleep deprivation, headaches, high blood pressure and heart palpitations.

They formed a small rally on the steps of Parliament a week after the opposition announced its election policy for greater controls of wind farms.

Donald Thomas, 51, lives on a farm at Evansford about 3.5km from the nearest turbine in Waubra. "We welcomed the wind farm when it came, thought it was a great thing for the area," he said.

"Having lived there for 12 months I see them now as nothing more than instruments of torture."

Mr Thomas said he suffers headaches, heart palpitations and high blood pressure. His parents, who live within 1km of the turbines, have the same symptoms and also suffer from sleep deprivation.

Mr Thomas has neighbours who have moved out or go elsewhere to sleep. He wants the turbines turned off at night or shut down.

"When the turbines don't go, the symptoms go away. Simple as that," he said.
Source: Herald Sun (AU)

Wind and solar are NOT 24/7. They should only be considered supplementary power sources.

Wind Turbine hit by lightning

2010-06-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

#windfarm #renewable #green

ONE of Verve Energy’s wind turbines at the Esperance Wind Farm was hit by lightning last Saturday week, shredding the blade and making the turbine inoperative.

Technicians were at the site last Friday doing routine maintenance on other turbines and say that the damaged turbine has been made safe for the time being.

“We’ve been up there and cut away what debris we could and there isn’t any danger,” Verve contractor, Brian Helenius from Power Technics said.

“The blades have to come from Denmark in Europe and then they have to be finely balanced with one another, so there is a lot of work involved in replacing it.
“Each blade has a serial number and a weighting so when the three are installed together, they have to be finely tuned.”
Source: Esperance Express

How “green” is it to have a replacement blade come from Denmark to Washingon state?

Wind is NOT 24/7. No wind. No power.

UPDATE: For more information on wind farms and lightning, read this article (PDF). Lightning doesn't have to be a direct hit to damage a turbine. Electrical parts damaged by lightning may not be covered by manufacturerer warranty.

C.O.P.S.

No “spanky” monopoly design for US $

KFC buys ad space on women”s butts

GW News: Last truly “green” US light bulb factory closes

GW News: Huffy Puffy “proves” GW a fraud

The Muslim in a bikini and the Ground Zero Mosque

Ground zero mosque & true meaning of Cordoba Initiative

Ancient global warming killed off the wholly mammoth

Global Warming News: changing the oil in a wind turbine

Global Warming News: great wind farm noise article

Obama”s steady approval nosedive

Dems “steal” food from poor kid”s mouth

Example of Obama"s Dept. of Education

Democrats require tough standards on union teachers!

Ben & Jerry’s not so natural ice cream

Unemployment extension status: Tier V & the economy

Obama’s regime “apologizes” for Hiroshima

7 million votes voided by activist judge

HR6000: The “Stop HC coverarge denial” act

Unemployment extensions status: Done until November

Congratulations to the unemployed that now will be getting UI checks. Unfortunately, the democrats insisted on sticking it to your kids and grandkids with as Obama said “saddled with debts that they'll never be able to repay”.

Unemployment extensions status: As of July 19th

Unemployment extensions status: As of July 15th

Unemployment extension status: Byrd’s death not stumbling block

Kudos Mr. Prez 4 opening Alaskan Oil Drilling

Wind turbine noise: private vs. govt. studies

Unemployment extensions status: Dem votes No again

2010 election to finish Obama’s term

Unemployment extensions: House tries again

Mayor Daley thumbs nose at SCOTUS ruling

S3522: The “criminal (illegal) alien anchor baby” act

Biden & the custard man’s smartass answer

Unemployment extensions: 6/24 update

Collapse keeps wind farm shut down

Obama regime monitors internet

Unemployment extensions: June 21st status

Unemployment extensions: June 18th status

Unemployment extensions: June 17th status

Unemployment extensions: June 16th status

Nipton, CA: 85% Solar Powered

Unemployment Extensions: Senate taking June 11 off

Whale Wars, Obama and lifting commercial whaling ban

Unemployment Extensions: Maybe next week

Whale Wars Season 3 & commercial whaling legal again?

Helen Thomas retires

Unemployment Extentions - Not June 7th

Wind Farm "Torture"

Wind Turbine hit by lightning

Congratulations to the unemployed that now will be getting UI checks.

Unfortunately, the democrats insisted on sticking it to your kids and grandkids with as Obama said “saddled with debts that they'll never be able to repay”.