If you listened to the Governor of Massachusetts Deval " Spend-it-all" Patrick and his buddy in the Oval Office, things are going great for Americans.....Hey, unemployment is down according to these two idjits. In REALITY, (something neither of them want to talk about), people are still hurting and the reason why unemployment is down is that people have fallen off the "official" numbers. If you aren't getting benefits, you're not counted. The Official count in Massachusetts is 8.8%.....the REAL number is closer to 15%.
Then we get to those who have a job...they are doing more as the last three years have been horrific.....Companies have eliminated raises, benefits costs are up, inflation is eating away at what income they are getting and the POLS like Obama says, "Get used to it." That was the official statement from the Administration yesterday....The President said he has little ability to control prices or help the average American family...." Get used to it"....And this feckless idiot wants another 4 years ???? If an employee at your company performed as poorly as the fool in the White House or his buddy Deval, they would have been canned long ago.
So that brings me to the point......I'll be heading overseas for work and many asked me "why?" The number one reason is that it is a good job and I'll be supporting the military. The other side is that I will be getting paid what I am worth. That is something that would likely not happen in Massachusetts as most companies don't want to pay for the experience & knowledge of a seasoned professional. They want the cheapest person they can land & work them like a dog. I'll be working long hours but I'll be making what I am worth. I know there will be people back home working the same hours but at half the pay.
That brings me back to the point....the economy is mortibund and recovering much slower than the POLS will admit....If they were honest with people, then they would have to take responsibility for the mess, something they do not want to do. I'm heading overseas to insure the economic safety that the home front cannot provide. It is a trade-off as time away from home is tough but so would slowly losing ground on all the things my wife & I have worked for over the years because others won't handle their tasks in Washington, DC or on Beacon Hill in Boston. I'll do what is needed as it is the only way forward.
I hope that people wake up and throw out the POLS who won't do their jobs or are incapable, starting with the "Empty Suit" sitting in the Oval office.
State faces 'disappointingly slow' recovery
April 7, 2011
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff
Massachusetts faces a "disappointingly slow" economic recovery, a prediction that economists from several local universities and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston called the "best-case scenario."
These economists, who constitute the editorial board of MassBenchmarks, a University of Massachusetts journal, made the bleak assessment during a recent meeting in advance of the publication of a quarterly economic snapshot off the state. The snapshot, which estimates the growth rate of the Massachusetts economy, is scheduled for release at the end of this month.
The board warned that even a slow recovery could be derailed by a variety of factors, from spreading turmoil in the Middle East, to a worsening of the European debt crisis, to sharp spending cuts and layoffs in state and local government, according to minutes of the meeting released today.
"Any of these factors, or some combination of them, could alter the course of the national and state economic recovery," the board said at its April 1 meeting. "If we are lucky and these risks remain at bay, the state is in store for a steady, but disappointingly slow recovery."
Massachusetts economy has been growing at the same pace as the nation's, which has also been disappointingly slow, the board said. The downturn in Massachusetts was softened by the state's technology industry, which did not experience the same declines as other sectors during the recession.
The board also said earlier views that Massachusetts' economy was rebounding from the recent recession faster than the nation were incorrect. The board said annually revised US Labor Department data showed that the state's economic downturn was less severe than first thought, but the state's recovery has been less vigorous than previously thought.
"The net impact of the revisions places the Commonwealth in the same place," the board said.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Shocker - Lack of "adults" in Washington, DC
The POLS are on a rant about who or who is not an "adult" - Really?
Here's a frickin' clue.....As far as the voters are concerned, NO ONE in Washington, DC acts "adult"
The POLS act like spoiled brats and it makes all of America sick....The people we elect go to Washington and act like petulant teenagers.
We need Leadership, not the crappy adolescents we've elected.....Both parties hold responsibility for the way Washington DC has turned into a mess.....PLEASE, we are asking nicely, get on with the business of managing our countries' business....I know this is tough for you to understand but people's lives are at stake.
The men & women of our military are out at the "tip-of-the-spear" risking everything so you can sit in Washington and carp about how tough things are for you. Yes, there are those who are staunch supporters of our military BUT it comes back to the "spoiled brat" attitude that pervades the halls of government. Those in uniform have greater burdens placed on them than the Pols as they salute the flag and carry out the mission because otherwise people's lives would be lost.
To the elite in DC - Time to MAN UP and get it done. We (the taxpayers) have had enough.....get on with it already.
In Washington, squabbling over who's an adult
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Thu Apr 7, 3:07 am ET
WASHINGTON – Suddenly everyone in Washington wants to be an adult.
President Barack Obama says he wants to have an adult dialogue on the budget. Republican lawmakers contend they're the ones trying to have a grown-up talk. Both sides are pointing fingers yet both have agreed to repeated delays in completing a budget to keep the government open for the last six months of the fiscal year.
The bickering might seem, well, childish, but the stakes are high as each side tries to win public opinion and display the leadership qualities to attract voters at the ballot box through 2012 and beyond.
The rhetoric heated up this week with Republicans and Democrats jockeying furiously for advantage as the prospect of a government shutdown Friday grew more real. Each day that passes with no deal seems to bring more talk of who's an adult and who's not.
Obama on Tuesday emerged from a meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders and proposed "that we act like grown-ups."
That same day House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., released a budget plan calling for dramatic cuts and laid down a challenge to Obama: "Americans are ready for honest talk. They're ready to be spoken to like adults."
When the White House attacked Ryan's plan, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, jumped in to criticize the president.
"If he wants to have an 'adult conversation' about solving our fiscal challenges, he needs to lead instead of sitting on the sidelines," the speaker said Wednesday.
Then the Republican National Committee added its voice, accusing Obama of ducking a meeting on the budget. "Adults don't say one thing and do another," the committee said.
Later Wednesday it was Obama trying to seize back the adult mantle at a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania. Voters, he said, want politicians to "act like adults, quit playing games, realize it's not just 'my way or the highway.'"
For Obama, who first called for an adult conversation on long-term fiscal issues at a press conference in February, it's an attempt to put himself above the partisan fray, demonstrate firm leadership in a chaotic world and remind voters of his promise to change the way politics works in Washington.
For their part, Republicans are trying to set themselves up as the ones who can tackle the tough issues of leading Washington through the economic recovery and bringing down debts and deficits over the long term.
To voters, though, it might sound like the typical Washington back-and-forth, not adult behavior at all.
Yet perhaps for a politician the only thing worse than not acting like an adult, is acting like one, said Jack Pitney, a politics professor at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California.
"Most people would agree that politicians should act like adults by making tough choices even when they are unpopular. So it's popular for politicians to say that they'll do the unpopular thing. But when they actually do the unpopular thing, they are...unpopular," Pitney said. "The lessons of adulthood are seldom happy ones."
Here's a frickin' clue.....As far as the voters are concerned, NO ONE in Washington, DC acts "adult"
The POLS act like spoiled brats and it makes all of America sick....The people we elect go to Washington and act like petulant teenagers.
We need Leadership, not the crappy adolescents we've elected.....Both parties hold responsibility for the way Washington DC has turned into a mess.....PLEASE, we are asking nicely, get on with the business of managing our countries' business....I know this is tough for you to understand but people's lives are at stake.
The men & women of our military are out at the "tip-of-the-spear" risking everything so you can sit in Washington and carp about how tough things are for you. Yes, there are those who are staunch supporters of our military BUT it comes back to the "spoiled brat" attitude that pervades the halls of government. Those in uniform have greater burdens placed on them than the Pols as they salute the flag and carry out the mission because otherwise people's lives would be lost.
To the elite in DC - Time to MAN UP and get it done. We (the taxpayers) have had enough.....get on with it already.
In Washington, squabbling over who's an adult
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press
Thu Apr 7, 3:07 am ET
WASHINGTON – Suddenly everyone in Washington wants to be an adult.
President Barack Obama says he wants to have an adult dialogue on the budget. Republican lawmakers contend they're the ones trying to have a grown-up talk. Both sides are pointing fingers yet both have agreed to repeated delays in completing a budget to keep the government open for the last six months of the fiscal year.
The bickering might seem, well, childish, but the stakes are high as each side tries to win public opinion and display the leadership qualities to attract voters at the ballot box through 2012 and beyond.
The rhetoric heated up this week with Republicans and Democrats jockeying furiously for advantage as the prospect of a government shutdown Friday grew more real. Each day that passes with no deal seems to bring more talk of who's an adult and who's not.
Obama on Tuesday emerged from a meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders and proposed "that we act like grown-ups."
That same day House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., released a budget plan calling for dramatic cuts and laid down a challenge to Obama: "Americans are ready for honest talk. They're ready to be spoken to like adults."
When the White House attacked Ryan's plan, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, jumped in to criticize the president.
"If he wants to have an 'adult conversation' about solving our fiscal challenges, he needs to lead instead of sitting on the sidelines," the speaker said Wednesday.
Then the Republican National Committee added its voice, accusing Obama of ducking a meeting on the budget. "Adults don't say one thing and do another," the committee said.
Later Wednesday it was Obama trying to seize back the adult mantle at a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania. Voters, he said, want politicians to "act like adults, quit playing games, realize it's not just 'my way or the highway.'"
For Obama, who first called for an adult conversation on long-term fiscal issues at a press conference in February, it's an attempt to put himself above the partisan fray, demonstrate firm leadership in a chaotic world and remind voters of his promise to change the way politics works in Washington.
For their part, Republicans are trying to set themselves up as the ones who can tackle the tough issues of leading Washington through the economic recovery and bringing down debts and deficits over the long term.
To voters, though, it might sound like the typical Washington back-and-forth, not adult behavior at all.
Yet perhaps for a politician the only thing worse than not acting like an adult, is acting like one, said Jack Pitney, a politics professor at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California.
"Most people would agree that politicians should act like adults by making tough choices even when they are unpopular. So it's popular for politicians to say that they'll do the unpopular thing. But when they actually do the unpopular thing, they are...unpopular," Pitney said. "The lessons of adulthood are seldom happy ones."
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Birds of a feather....
You are judged by the company you keep.....Obama wants to hang with Al Sharpton.....
Need I say more ??? If you don't get a *cringe* moment when you think about a President of the United States aligning himself with a gutless, unethical idjit like Al Sharpton, I would worry about your moral compass.
The President has shown his true colors and how low into the gutter he is willing to go just to get votes......This shows that Obama has no care about what's right or wrong as no public figure worth anything would want to be seen with a fool like Sharpton.
The United States needs a President that will show true leadership and ethical conduct......Obama has epicly failed.
OBAMA TO APPEAR WITH AL SHARPTON
By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL - Wall Street Journal
Two days after officially launching his re-election campaign, President Barack Obama plans to travel to New York City Wednesday to deliver remarks at the 20th anniversary of the Rev. Al Sharpton's organization.
While the White House said there is no connection between Mr. Obama's 2012 campaign and his decision to attend the National Action Network's annual convention, some of the president's supporters and political observers said the visit marks the beginning of a series of events designed to shore up support among Mr. Obama's base, specifically African-Americans.
"Anytime you run for re-election, the first places you go are your base and your foundation of support—you try to make sure that's tight," said Assemblyman Keith Wright, chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Committee. "If your base and foundation are not solid, there's a chance there could be some chinks in the armor."
The visit also comes amid a bruising Capitol Hill budget battle with Republicans.
By sharing the stage with Mr. Sharpton at the outset of his reelection campaign, the president is sending a signal that the reverend has become a key ally, both in terms of policy and politics, observers say. That marks a stark contrast from the 2008 campaign, when Mr. Obama's aides initially viewed any partnership with Mr. Sharpton, who has been accused of inflaming racial tensions, as potentially damaging.
In an interview, Mr. Sharpton said the president's appearance for his organization's anniversary is a "good thing for us."
Mr. Sharpton said Mr. Obama shouldn't take the black community "for granted" in his re-election bid, but added that he doesn't believe the president faces any significant weakening of support among African-Americans.
"Are there people that are concerned and want to see more? Yes," Mr. Sharpton said. "But there always are."
The reverend said the event with the president will focus on policy, specifically education. "It's not about politics," he said. "You know how nonpolitical I am," he joked.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, voters nationwide disapprove of the job Mr. Obama is doing by a 48% to 42% margin, and by 54% to 41% say he does not deserve to be re-elected next year. Both are all-time lows for the president.
Among black voters, 89% approve of his job performance, the poll showed.
In New York City, the president's support is robust. City voters by 70% to 26% approve of the president's performance, and among black voters his job approval is 91%, a Quinnipiac survey from last month showed.
Still, there are some signs that members of the African-American community are unhappy. A headline about the president's New York fund-raising trip last week in the Amsterdam News, a Harlem newspaper, read: "Obama returns: Harlem gives president mixed reception."
Nellie Bailey, a 65-year-old Harlem activist, said she believes many disenchanted African-Americans will stay home on Election Day.
"The blinders are off," said Ms. Bailey, who doesn't plan to vote for Mr. Obama. "Black America is no longer willing to accept the president symbolically without any substantial platform and programs to address the crisis of rising homelessness and joblessness."
Costas Panagopoulos, assistant professor of political science at Fordham University, said the economic meltdown has had a "disproportionate effect" on African-Americans. "The president has not lost sight of that, and he's kicking things off by reaching out to that core constituency," he said.
The president's administration will be well represented at Mr. Sharpton's convention.
In addition to Mr. Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan are slated to attend. Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the president, and David Axelrod, who recently left the White House, are also on the schedule.
Kevin Lewis, a White House spokesman, said the president agreed to attend Mr.. Sharpton's convention prior to deciding to launch his re-election campaign this week. Mr. Lewis said "there's no connection" between his re-election effort and his attendance.
"The president has a positive relationship with Rev. Sharpton," said Mr. Lewis. "The president seeks guidance from various places, but he values the guidance that he gets from Rev. Sharpton."
State Sen. Bill Perkins, a Harlem Democrat and one of the president's earliest New York supporters in 2008, praised the president for returning to New York. "He's going back to the base, to mobilize the base, to excite the base, to be accountable to that base," he said. "It's very smart."
Write to Michael Howard Saul at michael.saul@wsj.com
Need I say more ??? If you don't get a *cringe* moment when you think about a President of the United States aligning himself with a gutless, unethical idjit like Al Sharpton, I would worry about your moral compass.
The President has shown his true colors and how low into the gutter he is willing to go just to get votes......This shows that Obama has no care about what's right or wrong as no public figure worth anything would want to be seen with a fool like Sharpton.
The United States needs a President that will show true leadership and ethical conduct......Obama has epicly failed.
OBAMA TO APPEAR WITH AL SHARPTON
By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL - Wall Street Journal
Two days after officially launching his re-election campaign, President Barack Obama plans to travel to New York City Wednesday to deliver remarks at the 20th anniversary of the Rev. Al Sharpton's organization.
While the White House said there is no connection between Mr. Obama's 2012 campaign and his decision to attend the National Action Network's annual convention, some of the president's supporters and political observers said the visit marks the beginning of a series of events designed to shore up support among Mr. Obama's base, specifically African-Americans.
"Anytime you run for re-election, the first places you go are your base and your foundation of support—you try to make sure that's tight," said Assemblyman Keith Wright, chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Committee. "If your base and foundation are not solid, there's a chance there could be some chinks in the armor."
The visit also comes amid a bruising Capitol Hill budget battle with Republicans.
By sharing the stage with Mr. Sharpton at the outset of his reelection campaign, the president is sending a signal that the reverend has become a key ally, both in terms of policy and politics, observers say. That marks a stark contrast from the 2008 campaign, when Mr. Obama's aides initially viewed any partnership with Mr. Sharpton, who has been accused of inflaming racial tensions, as potentially damaging.
In an interview, Mr. Sharpton said the president's appearance for his organization's anniversary is a "good thing for us."
Mr. Sharpton said Mr. Obama shouldn't take the black community "for granted" in his re-election bid, but added that he doesn't believe the president faces any significant weakening of support among African-Americans.
"Are there people that are concerned and want to see more? Yes," Mr. Sharpton said. "But there always are."
The reverend said the event with the president will focus on policy, specifically education. "It's not about politics," he said. "You know how nonpolitical I am," he joked.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, voters nationwide disapprove of the job Mr. Obama is doing by a 48% to 42% margin, and by 54% to 41% say he does not deserve to be re-elected next year. Both are all-time lows for the president.
Among black voters, 89% approve of his job performance, the poll showed.
In New York City, the president's support is robust. City voters by 70% to 26% approve of the president's performance, and among black voters his job approval is 91%, a Quinnipiac survey from last month showed.
Still, there are some signs that members of the African-American community are unhappy. A headline about the president's New York fund-raising trip last week in the Amsterdam News, a Harlem newspaper, read: "Obama returns: Harlem gives president mixed reception."
Nellie Bailey, a 65-year-old Harlem activist, said she believes many disenchanted African-Americans will stay home on Election Day.
"The blinders are off," said Ms. Bailey, who doesn't plan to vote for Mr. Obama. "Black America is no longer willing to accept the president symbolically without any substantial platform and programs to address the crisis of rising homelessness and joblessness."
Costas Panagopoulos, assistant professor of political science at Fordham University, said the economic meltdown has had a "disproportionate effect" on African-Americans. "The president has not lost sight of that, and he's kicking things off by reaching out to that core constituency," he said.
The president's administration will be well represented at Mr. Sharpton's convention.
In addition to Mr. Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan are slated to attend. Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the president, and David Axelrod, who recently left the White House, are also on the schedule.
Kevin Lewis, a White House spokesman, said the president agreed to attend Mr.. Sharpton's convention prior to deciding to launch his re-election campaign this week. Mr. Lewis said "there's no connection" between his re-election effort and his attendance.
"The president has a positive relationship with Rev. Sharpton," said Mr. Lewis. "The president seeks guidance from various places, but he values the guidance that he gets from Rev. Sharpton."
State Sen. Bill Perkins, a Harlem Democrat and one of the president's earliest New York supporters in 2008, praised the president for returning to New York. "He's going back to the base, to mobilize the base, to excite the base, to be accountable to that base," he said. "It's very smart."
Write to Michael Howard Saul at michael.saul@wsj.com
Taliban Rioters Burn Qurans.....why aren't they being held in contempt??
The author interviews an Afghan Teacher who makes a good point......Why do Afghanis feel it is OK to burn down a school if by doing so, burn 10 Qurans???
Here's a little hint.....THE TALIBAN ARE IDIOTS....Hypocritical fools who only want to terrorize and control the population of Afghanistan....Zealotry is not based on right or wrong but being out-of-touch with reality.
Those who burn down schools and kill innocents should be held accountable for their actions.
Taliban Exploit Tensions Seething in Afghan Society
By ROD NORDLAND - NY Times
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — If the protesters who pushed this city to the brink last weekend were really worried about Koran burning, wondered Layloma Popal, the headmistress of this city’s biggest girls’ school, “then why did they try to burn down my school?”
“There were 10 Korans at least in there,” Ms. Popal said, pointing to the charred remains of the Peace Room, where students learn about peace strategies for their war-torn country. “If we have more security in Kandahar these days, as they say, where was it?”
For three hours, the rioters — many members of the Taliban or their sympathizers — marauded around the campus of the Zarghona Ana High School for Girls, while the students hid in the bathrooms. “We never saw the Afghan Army or the police or the foreign forces until after the rioters left,” Ms. Popal said.
They were busy elsewhere. In an effort to quell the two days of disturbances, on Saturday and Sunday, the Kandahar police shot more than 123 protesters, and by the time the wounded either stabilized or died, the death toll had reached at least 13, according to hospital officials.
Thousands of young men, waving Taliban flags and shouting slogans honoring the Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, rampaged through the streets, setting tires on fire, looting and in some cases opening fire on the police. Two officers were killed.
The rioting exposed a fundamental quandary for the American war effort in Kandahar, the heartland of the insurgency, which Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top allied commander, has called “one of those very important places where Taliban momentum has been reversed.”
If the insurgents have indeed retreated from crucial districts, and if security in the city is better than it was just months ago, when the Taliban carried out daily assassinations, then there is still a deep undercurrent of unease and discontent caused by the foreign presence, which the Taliban and their sympathizers were able to ignite with the simple spark provided by the burning of a Koran by a pastor in Florida.
The heavy security that has come with the influx of American and Afghan troops has tamped down the daily violence that once plagued the city, but it has done little to resolve those underlying tensions, said Shahbuddin Akhundzada, a prominent religious scholar who has generally supported the American role in Afghanistan. “Now the people of Kandahar are under so much threat, there’s so much pressure on them, they are afraid to do anything, they’ll be arrested or killed,” he said. “Then the slightest chance, like the Koran burning, and it all blows up.”
There is a palpable sense of fear. A visiting male foreigner is asked to wear a head covering so as not to look like a foreigner. Mr. Akhundzada asked to meet in a neutral place, where no one would see him receiving foreign journalists.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/asia/06afghanistan.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
Here's a little hint.....THE TALIBAN ARE IDIOTS....Hypocritical fools who only want to terrorize and control the population of Afghanistan....Zealotry is not based on right or wrong but being out-of-touch with reality.
Those who burn down schools and kill innocents should be held accountable for their actions.
Taliban Exploit Tensions Seething in Afghan Society
By ROD NORDLAND - NY Times
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — If the protesters who pushed this city to the brink last weekend were really worried about Koran burning, wondered Layloma Popal, the headmistress of this city’s biggest girls’ school, “then why did they try to burn down my school?”
“There were 10 Korans at least in there,” Ms. Popal said, pointing to the charred remains of the Peace Room, where students learn about peace strategies for their war-torn country. “If we have more security in Kandahar these days, as they say, where was it?”
For three hours, the rioters — many members of the Taliban or their sympathizers — marauded around the campus of the Zarghona Ana High School for Girls, while the students hid in the bathrooms. “We never saw the Afghan Army or the police or the foreign forces until after the rioters left,” Ms. Popal said.
They were busy elsewhere. In an effort to quell the two days of disturbances, on Saturday and Sunday, the Kandahar police shot more than 123 protesters, and by the time the wounded either stabilized or died, the death toll had reached at least 13, according to hospital officials.
Thousands of young men, waving Taliban flags and shouting slogans honoring the Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, rampaged through the streets, setting tires on fire, looting and in some cases opening fire on the police. Two officers were killed.
The rioting exposed a fundamental quandary for the American war effort in Kandahar, the heartland of the insurgency, which Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top allied commander, has called “one of those very important places where Taliban momentum has been reversed.”
If the insurgents have indeed retreated from crucial districts, and if security in the city is better than it was just months ago, when the Taliban carried out daily assassinations, then there is still a deep undercurrent of unease and discontent caused by the foreign presence, which the Taliban and their sympathizers were able to ignite with the simple spark provided by the burning of a Koran by a pastor in Florida.
The heavy security that has come with the influx of American and Afghan troops has tamped down the daily violence that once plagued the city, but it has done little to resolve those underlying tensions, said Shahbuddin Akhundzada, a prominent religious scholar who has generally supported the American role in Afghanistan. “Now the people of Kandahar are under so much threat, there’s so much pressure on them, they are afraid to do anything, they’ll be arrested or killed,” he said. “Then the slightest chance, like the Koran burning, and it all blows up.”
There is a palpable sense of fear. A visiting male foreigner is asked to wear a head covering so as not to look like a foreigner. Mr. Akhundzada asked to meet in a neutral place, where no one would see him receiving foreign journalists.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/asia/06afghanistan.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
When the numbers tell the story.....
Telling....from Politico.com......the numbers tell the story.
Parody gets more views than real Obama launch by Ben Smith
The National Republican Senatorial Committee's parody of Obama's 2012 campaign, released Friday, now has 665,000 views on YouTube.
Obama's real launch video, released yesterday: Just 168,000.
YouTube's metrics tend to lag a bit, but the numbers suggest that -- energy-wise -- we're in 2010, not 2008.
Parody gets more views than real Obama launch by Ben Smith
The National Republican Senatorial Committee's parody of Obama's 2012 campaign, released Friday, now has 665,000 views on YouTube.
Obama's real launch video, released yesterday: Just 168,000.
YouTube's metrics tend to lag a bit, but the numbers suggest that -- energy-wise -- we're in 2010, not 2008.
2012 Elections....How all politics is really local
The Obama Adminstration announced their re-election effort was officially underway yesterday...on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King....nice idea.....I feel that political empty suits use MLK as a political prop for their own self serving interests....POTUS has done so by yesterday's actions......sad.
2012 Election will be a defining moment as the past two years of POTUS' administration have been a serious example of why we should never elect a untested and under qualified community organizer. Obama has be inept, clueless and has made us look foolish on the world stage. He doesn't deserve reelection and we need to find a President that will stand up for the people and make sure that good decisions are made on what is best, not politically expedient.
Now, the other side has issues that will require a candidate that will not be so dogmatic and lock-stepped to the GOP's hard right, they will drive people away.....A candidate that will unseat the President will need to show that he/she can support "the middle" - those of us who are not in either camp but independent.
The challenges are tall - Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan's Tsunami & Radiation, the economy, deficiet, terrorism, entitlements, defense & security, etc. etc. Many have lost hope, something the knucklehead in charge ran on....Issues have gotten worse BUT unless the opposition comes up with a viable candidate who doesn't drive people away, the President will gain a 2nd term by default, not because he has earned it.
We need to do better as the future for our children and our children will be tougher....this is not what we were to leave them.....The choice is ours....Our choice will make that future better or worse........
Getting to the local side of this, my hometown had local elections this weekend and they threw the two incumbents out because they were ineffective....I see that presently in the President but who will be the choice we are offered in his stead???
Choices - Choices are ours and let's hope we get a choice we can follow to a better place than we are now....
It comes back to a famous quote, " Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago??" - If the answer is NO, than the guy in the Oval Office needs to go.....Right now, that seems the way it will be BUT again, what will be the alternative???
2012 Election will be a defining moment as the past two years of POTUS' administration have been a serious example of why we should never elect a untested and under qualified community organizer. Obama has be inept, clueless and has made us look foolish on the world stage. He doesn't deserve reelection and we need to find a President that will stand up for the people and make sure that good decisions are made on what is best, not politically expedient.
Now, the other side has issues that will require a candidate that will not be so dogmatic and lock-stepped to the GOP's hard right, they will drive people away.....A candidate that will unseat the President will need to show that he/she can support "the middle" - those of us who are not in either camp but independent.
The challenges are tall - Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan's Tsunami & Radiation, the economy, deficiet, terrorism, entitlements, defense & security, etc. etc. Many have lost hope, something the knucklehead in charge ran on....Issues have gotten worse BUT unless the opposition comes up with a viable candidate who doesn't drive people away, the President will gain a 2nd term by default, not because he has earned it.
We need to do better as the future for our children and our children will be tougher....this is not what we were to leave them.....The choice is ours....Our choice will make that future better or worse........
Getting to the local side of this, my hometown had local elections this weekend and they threw the two incumbents out because they were ineffective....I see that presently in the President but who will be the choice we are offered in his stead???
Choices - Choices are ours and let's hope we get a choice we can follow to a better place than we are now....
It comes back to a famous quote, " Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago??" - If the answer is NO, than the guy in the Oval Office needs to go.....Right now, that seems the way it will be BUT again, what will be the alternative???
Monday, April 4, 2011
Family of a US Marine makes sure people remember their fallen Hero...via a Bill Board
A good story and one family's way of dealing with the loss of their Marine.....SEMPER FI !!!
Family of marine killed in Afghanistan launch billboard tribute to their fallen hero
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
4th April 2011
The family and widow of a fallen U.S. marine in western New York have helped launch a larger-than-life tribute to their deceased hero on the anniversary of his death in Afghanistan – a massive rotating digital billboard displayed on the Interstate highway.
Marine Sergeant Frank World died one year ago today, falling victim to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The solider was never able to meet his daughter Lilly, who is now 14-months-old.
His family are marking their tragic loss one year later with the dual images which they say not only reflect that Frank World was a family man, but serve as a reminder that real human lives are being lost in U.S. military operations overseas.
'It does give a powerful message to the community that there is a war, and lives are being lost,' Sergeant World's sister Candy World-Rodriguez said.
The digital billboard, which is on display off a heavily trafficked highway near several outlet shops in Niagara, New York, rotates two images of Sergeant World. One is an image of the fallen soldier with his son Jacob, who is now 4-years-old, while the other image displays a tender moment between Beth and Frank World.
‘I'm very proud that my husband is going to be up on a billboard, and this community will be able to recognize that people are dying over there,’ Beth World said.
She began steps toward launching the billboard when she discovered a group called ‘Operation Never Forgotten.’ The organisation is a volunteer national non-profit communications service which looks to connect the U.S. military and civilian worlds via public service announcements.
Family of marine killed in Afghanistan launch billboard tribute to their fallen hero
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
4th April 2011
The family and widow of a fallen U.S. marine in western New York have helped launch a larger-than-life tribute to their deceased hero on the anniversary of his death in Afghanistan – a massive rotating digital billboard displayed on the Interstate highway.
Marine Sergeant Frank World died one year ago today, falling victim to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The solider was never able to meet his daughter Lilly, who is now 14-months-old.
His family are marking their tragic loss one year later with the dual images which they say not only reflect that Frank World was a family man, but serve as a reminder that real human lives are being lost in U.S. military operations overseas.
'It does give a powerful message to the community that there is a war, and lives are being lost,' Sergeant World's sister Candy World-Rodriguez said.
The digital billboard, which is on display off a heavily trafficked highway near several outlet shops in Niagara, New York, rotates two images of Sergeant World. One is an image of the fallen soldier with his son Jacob, who is now 4-years-old, while the other image displays a tender moment between Beth and Frank World.
‘I'm very proud that my husband is going to be up on a billboard, and this community will be able to recognize that people are dying over there,’ Beth World said.
She began steps toward launching the billboard when she discovered a group called ‘Operation Never Forgotten.’ The organisation is a volunteer national non-profit communications service which looks to connect the U.S. military and civilian worlds via public service announcements.
Change in Venue....On the road to Afghanistan again.....
Your kind host here at US NAVY JEEP will be making less "decisive" posts over the next few weeks.....I am "in transit " as they say.
I am going through an INDOC for new employment in Afghanistan. I have the IPAD with me and some local Wi-Fi where I am but I am unable to gather info and pics like I have over the last year or so....Note to Steve Jobs - I like your product BUT not being able to use some of the Blogspot functions as they aren't accessible via Safari.....Not making me happy....
I will be able to post more regularly once I have got to where I am going to be located and I have passed through the process of getting from here (USA) to there (AFGHN)
Keep checking in and I plan on posting some info as possible......I appreciate your feedback and checking in when you do.
Middleboro Jones on the road and seeing where the next adventure takes me......
I am going through an INDOC for new employment in Afghanistan. I have the IPAD with me and some local Wi-Fi where I am but I am unable to gather info and pics like I have over the last year or so....Note to Steve Jobs - I like your product BUT not being able to use some of the Blogspot functions as they aren't accessible via Safari.....Not making me happy....
I will be able to post more regularly once I have got to where I am going to be located and I have passed through the process of getting from here (USA) to there (AFGHN)
Keep checking in and I plan on posting some info as possible......I appreciate your feedback and checking in when you do.
Middleboro Jones on the road and seeing where the next adventure takes me......
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Inside the Massacre at Afghan Compound in MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan
The Wall Street Journal does the world a service by giving us a blow-by-blow run-up on how things went wrong in MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan last Friday.....it gives insight into how difficult it can be to keep the peace in an unpeaceful land..... The events are a world away for most but close by for our troops and others who are trying to help Afghanistan...The outcome of Friday's events were tragic and the enemies of a free country in Afghanistan benefited from these events
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703712504576241110591067484.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703712504576241110591067484.html
MIDDLEBORO VOTES FOR CHANGE - Allin Frawley & Ben Quelle are elected to the Board of Selectmen
Last August, I wrote a piece about how the Town of Middleboro, MA had some pretty poor leadership in our local Selectmen...the post is here.
http://usnavyjeep.blogspot.com/2010/08/all-politics-is-localthat-goes-double.html
Well the Voters decided that " politics as usual" was NOT what they wanted....Selectmen Marsha Brunelle and Muriel "Mimi" Duphily were shown the door as newcomers Allin Frawley and Ben Quelle handily defeated them in town elections Saturday by a margin of 3 to 1 - That's a real arse kicking in local elections where people get to know you well.
For too long, the " That's the way it's always been" crowd have been in charge and now we will have some new leadership. Marsha & Mimi were the poster children for the old way of doing business in town. I spoke with both Allin & Ben and they are committed to change....they understand that Towns like Middleboro have to be run like a business not like the Taxpayer is an unending source of $$$ for waste and entitlements for town employees.
In the Navy, a job well done is signified by the term, BRAVO ZULU or BZ... BRAVO ZULU to Allin & Ben for running good campaigns. You have done well.
Now the real tough work begins....Taking on the town employees who are dedicated to taking as much as possible from the taxpayers and getting rid of the "entitlement mentality" that is too much part of public sector employment. While not all are of that mind, too many have seen the town government as their private piggy bank...Change is needed and long overdue.
Tip O'Neill said " All Politics is local "....never more true than here in Middleboro, MA.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Total Unemployment Numbers Worse Than Federal Government's Touted Numbers...Don't believe the hype being put out by the Politicians and the Media
The BS that is being put out by the Administration and the media on improved employment doesn't tell the whole story - 11.7 Million are either on extended benefits or have gone beyond the limit and get no benefits at all....That is the real story....In a country as prosperous as ours, we have over 11 million people unemployed while the stock market roars to new heights...where & when these people will find new work and what type of job they will be offered is anyone's guess.
Total Unemployment Numbers Worse Than Federal Government's Touted Numbers
San Diego, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) March 28, 2011 Extensive data mining and research by the analytical staff of the Rhino Report indicates the actual employment trends and scenario are far from significantly improved relative to cyclical lows reached in 2009. James Brumley, chief analyst of the Rhino Report, has shared details of the true unemployment picture with the newsletter's subscribers.
Select data from the report are being made public for non-subscribers. The key concerns are:
1. While the shrinking number of initial unemployment claims has been falling since the March of 2009 high of 647K to last month's 385K, the total number of people working in the United States as of the end of February is still under the number of employed workers in late 2008. A total of 147 million people were working in December of 2007, and only 139 million U.S. residents are employed now. That's fewer than were working in March of 2009.
2. While the number of regular ongoing unemployment claims has been falling since the early 2009 peak of 6.3 million, reaching 4.3 million as of last month, the government's reported figure doesn't include the 4.4 million unemployed currently receiving emergency benefits. It also excludes the estimated 3 million who stopped receiving any benefit, yet are still not employed.
Brumley adds that even though the unemployment trend is not getting measurably better in the least, it's not inherently a reason to avoid the stock market. In fact, corporations are almost earning as much money now as they were in late 2007. The stocks in the S&P 500 are projected to be earning at record levels by the end of 2011, and have already dramatically improved since lulls in late 2008 even though the number of employed people since than has fallen.
The implication is that the market does not need strong employment to thrive, as companies have been able to squeeze more from the active workforce. To learn more about this study, the portfolio's stocks, and the site's near-term and short-term outlook, go to the Rhino Report web site located at www.rhinoreport.com for more information.
Sad news....More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined..
THIS is not a good trend...and based on POTUS' actions, it will only get worse.
We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined.. By STEPHEN MOORE - WSJ.com
If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government.
It gets worse. More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?
Every state in America today except for two—Indiana and Wisconsin—has more government workers on the payroll than people manufacturing industrial goods. Consider California, which has the highest budget deficit in the history of the states. The not-so Golden State now has an incredible 2.4 million government employees—twice as many as people at work in manufacturing. New Jersey has just under two-and-a-half as many government employees as manufacturers. Florida's ratio is more than 3 to 1. So is New York's.
Even Michigan, at one time the auto capital of the world, and Pennsylvania, once the steel capital, have more government bureaucrats than people making things. The leaders in government hiring are Wyoming and New Mexico, which have hired more than six government workers for every manufacturing worker.
Now it is certainly true that many states have not typically been home to traditional manufacturing operations. Iowa and Nebraska are farm states, for example. But in those states, there are at least five times more government workers than farmers. West Virginia is the mining capital of the world, yet it has at least three times more government workers than miners. New York is the financial capital of the world—at least for now. That sector employs roughly 670,000 New Yorkers. That's less than half of the state's 1.48 million government employees.
Don't expect a reversal of this trend anytime soon. Surveys of college graduates are finding that more and more of our top minds want to work for the government. Why? Because in recent years only government agencies have been hiring, and because the offer of near lifetime security is highly valued in these times of economic turbulence. When 23-year-olds aren't willing to take career risks, we have a real problem on our hands. Sadly, we could end up with a generation of Americans who want to work at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The employment trends described here are explained in part by hugely beneficial productivity improvements in such traditional industries as farming, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. These produce far more output per worker than in the past. The typical farmer, for example, is today at least three times more productive than in 1950.
Where are the productivity gains in government? Consider a core function of state and local governments: schools. Over the period 1970-2005, school spending per pupil, adjusted for inflation, doubled, while standardized achievement test scores were flat. Over roughly that same time period, public-school employment doubled per student, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington. That is what economists call negative productivity.
But education is an industry where we measure performance backwards: We gauge school performance not by outputs, but by inputs. If quality falls, we say we didn't pay teachers enough or we need smaller class sizes or newer schools. If education had undergone the same productivity revolution that manufacturing has, we would have half as many educators, smaller school budgets, and higher graduation rates and test scores.
The same is true of almost all other government services. Mass transit spends more and more every year and yet a much smaller share of Americans use trains and buses today than in past decades. One way that private companies spur productivity is by firing underperforming employees and rewarding excellence. In government employment, tenure for teachers and near lifetime employment for other civil servants shields workers from this basic system of reward and punishment. It is a system that breeds mediocrity, which is what we've gotten.
Most reasonable steps to restrain public-sector employment costs are smothered by the unions. Study after study has shown that states and cities could shave 20% to 40% off the cost of many services—fire fighting, public transportation, garbage collection, administrative functions, even prison operations—through competitive contracting to private providers. But unions have blocked many of those efforts. Public employees maintain that they are underpaid relative to equally qualified private-sector workers, yet they are deathly afraid of competitive bidding for government services.
President Obama says we have to retool our economy to "win the future." The only way to do that is to grow the economy that makes things, not the sector that takes things.
Mr. Moore is senior economics writer for The Wall Street Journal editorial page
We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined.. By STEPHEN MOORE - WSJ.com
If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government.
It gets worse. More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?
Every state in America today except for two—Indiana and Wisconsin—has more government workers on the payroll than people manufacturing industrial goods. Consider California, which has the highest budget deficit in the history of the states. The not-so Golden State now has an incredible 2.4 million government employees—twice as many as people at work in manufacturing. New Jersey has just under two-and-a-half as many government employees as manufacturers. Florida's ratio is more than 3 to 1. So is New York's.
Even Michigan, at one time the auto capital of the world, and Pennsylvania, once the steel capital, have more government bureaucrats than people making things. The leaders in government hiring are Wyoming and New Mexico, which have hired more than six government workers for every manufacturing worker.
Now it is certainly true that many states have not typically been home to traditional manufacturing operations. Iowa and Nebraska are farm states, for example. But in those states, there are at least five times more government workers than farmers. West Virginia is the mining capital of the world, yet it has at least three times more government workers than miners. New York is the financial capital of the world—at least for now. That sector employs roughly 670,000 New Yorkers. That's less than half of the state's 1.48 million government employees.
Don't expect a reversal of this trend anytime soon. Surveys of college graduates are finding that more and more of our top minds want to work for the government. Why? Because in recent years only government agencies have been hiring, and because the offer of near lifetime security is highly valued in these times of economic turbulence. When 23-year-olds aren't willing to take career risks, we have a real problem on our hands. Sadly, we could end up with a generation of Americans who want to work at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The employment trends described here are explained in part by hugely beneficial productivity improvements in such traditional industries as farming, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. These produce far more output per worker than in the past. The typical farmer, for example, is today at least three times more productive than in 1950.
Where are the productivity gains in government? Consider a core function of state and local governments: schools. Over the period 1970-2005, school spending per pupil, adjusted for inflation, doubled, while standardized achievement test scores were flat. Over roughly that same time period, public-school employment doubled per student, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington. That is what economists call negative productivity.
But education is an industry where we measure performance backwards: We gauge school performance not by outputs, but by inputs. If quality falls, we say we didn't pay teachers enough or we need smaller class sizes or newer schools. If education had undergone the same productivity revolution that manufacturing has, we would have half as many educators, smaller school budgets, and higher graduation rates and test scores.
The same is true of almost all other government services. Mass transit spends more and more every year and yet a much smaller share of Americans use trains and buses today than in past decades. One way that private companies spur productivity is by firing underperforming employees and rewarding excellence. In government employment, tenure for teachers and near lifetime employment for other civil servants shields workers from this basic system of reward and punishment. It is a system that breeds mediocrity, which is what we've gotten.
Most reasonable steps to restrain public-sector employment costs are smothered by the unions. Study after study has shown that states and cities could shave 20% to 40% off the cost of many services—fire fighting, public transportation, garbage collection, administrative functions, even prison operations—through competitive contracting to private providers. But unions have blocked many of those efforts. Public employees maintain that they are underpaid relative to equally qualified private-sector workers, yet they are deathly afraid of competitive bidding for government services.
President Obama says we have to retool our economy to "win the future." The only way to do that is to grow the economy that makes things, not the sector that takes things.
Mr. Moore is senior economics writer for The Wall Street Journal editorial page
You can buy almost anything on EBAY....Like time in the Federal Pen !!
Yes - You can buy ANYTHING (well almost anything) on EBAY...looks like this guy got himself a lengthy stay at CLUB FED for his troubles.....He is likely not a member of the local MENSA chapter.
Man arrested in sting operation after selling U.S. spy drone on eBay By Daily Mail Reporter 2nd April 2011
It is said you can buy and sell anything on eBay. But for one Philippine national who sold and mailed a U.S. military drone to undercover agents, the postage and packing could cost him up to 20 years in jail.
Henson Chua, 47, was caught by an undercover Homeland Security agent as he tried to sell the four lb 'Raven' for $13,000. He is now charged with violating the Arms Export Control Act and smuggling and faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted.
It is not known how Chua acquired the hand-launched plane, but according to official documents he allegedly bought it from the Philippine government.
The Raven is equipped with three cameras that U.S. troops use for battlefield surveillance and can be taken apart by troops and then reassembled for use.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, agents with the Homeland Security Department found out last May that Chua was offering a Raven for sale on eBay for $13,000. The listing had nine pictures of the plane that clearly showed an ID tag and bar code proving its authenticity.
Homeland Security agents then began to talk to Chua, who had been living in the U.S. since April 2010 on a non immigrant visa. Agents then called Chua on May 17, where he allegedly claimed to have bought the Raven from the Philippine government, who sold it as abandoned property. U.S. agents then allegedly warned Chua that exporting the plane out of the country was illegal. But in an email exchange, Chua then told them: 'Now, as far as the US permits. yes you're right that could be a bit of a problem for me if this isn't done right.'
'It's tricky because you have to be a registered broker with the state department in order to transfer US military items.
(The Raven and its parts are definitely military items.) Otherwise, you're breaking US law. The agents exchanged messages with Chua over several months, and he sent the Raven to them in separate packages in exchange for the money, officials said. It is claimed he imported an RQ-11B Raven Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAV from the Philippines into the U.S. which is listed on the U.S. Munitions List as a defensive item, 'without having first obtained from the U.S. Department of State a license or written authorisation.' He then 'aided and abetted the attempted export' when he offered to sell it to the undercover U.S. agent outside the country. U.S. arms code prohibits people from buying and selling defence equipment without permission from the government, primarily to prevent people from selling U.S. - manufactured equipment to foreign governments.
Friday, April 1, 2011
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