Have A Wondrous Easter
Apr 24, 2011
Apr 17, 2011
This Weeks Sound Off
Georgia Governor To Sign Law Targeting Illegal Immigration
Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia plans to sign into law what may be one of the nation's toughest anti-illegal immigration measures, his spokesman, Brian Robinson, said Friday.
Unmoved by threats of boycotts and lawsuits, the Republican-dominated Georgia Legislature passed the tough law Thursday night, during the final hours of this year's legislative session. Robinson did not say when the governor would sign the measure.
"The bill reflects well the priorities and principles on which the governor campaigned ... last year," he said. "We believe that it reinforces the law in Georgia."
Among other things, the bill allows law enforcement officers to ask about immigration status when questioning suspects in certain criminal investigations. It punishes people who transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime and imposes hefty prison sentences on those who use fake documents to get jobs.
After the vote, the bill's author, Republican state Rep. Matt Ramsey, declared, "We have done the job that we were sent to do."
Ramsey said the bill addresses issues forced on the states because of the federal government's decades-long failure to secure the nation's borders.
The bill passed both chambers after lengthy debate. Opponents argued that the bill could encourage racial profiling and discrimination. They also said the measure could hurt the image and the economy of the state.
Supporters blamed illegal immigrants for overcrowding Georgia's schools and forcing taxpayers to shoulder the burden of paying for emergency room medical care for undocumented residents.
"People come here, legally or illegally, to fulfill the dreams that they have for themselves and their families," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat and an opponent of the bill.
State Sen. Renee Unterman, a suburban Atlanta Republican who supported the legislation, countered, "They are illegals, they are going to use our services."
In the end, neither chamber's vote was close. The state Senate passed the measure by 37 to 19. The Georgia House, which provided final passage for the bill, approved it 112 to 59.
The Thursday vote marks the second time in five years that Georgia lawmakers passed an anti-illegal immigration bill heralded as one of the toughest in the nation. In 2006, the state Legislature passed a bill, later signed into law, requiring government contractors and public employers to run the names of people they hire through a federal database to determine if they are legal residents of the United States.
House Bill 87 requires private businesses with more than 10 employees to use the same database. The system is called E-Verify. The legislation enables state and local law enforcement officers to arrest illegal immigrants. It also imposes prison sentences of up to one year and fines of up to $1,000 for people who knowingly transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime.
Workers convicted of using fake identifications to get jobs could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $250,000.
The business community, including the influential agricultural lobby, strongly opposed the E-Verify provision. In a last-day compromise, however, House and Senate lawmakers added language to the bill exempting businesses that employ fewer than 11 workers from having to use the federal database.
Republican state Sen. John Bulloch, who chairs the chamber's Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, said, "in the end, I still don't like it but it's a good bill."
D.A. King, an anti-illegal immigration activist and longtime lobbyist for tougher laws, called the measure "one of the most well thought-out, potentially effective, immigration enforcement bills in the country."
"On the state level, this will set a new bar," King said.
Protesters held a candlelight vigil outside the Georgia Capitol Thursday evening. At the gathering, 7-year-old Jazlie Camacho, told the crowd, "I am here to make sure they take this law away."
Jazlie is an American-born citizen, but her parents are from Mexico.
Paulina Hernandez, a member of a group called Southerners on New Ground, said her organization will call for a boycott against the state.
"We are not willing to tell the nation that Georgia is a state worth investing in because they don't have the best interests of their people in mind."
Several legal and activist groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, are already planning lawsuits in an attempt to block implementation of the measure. They hope the courts will agree with them.
In Arizona last year, a federal judge halted implementation of that state's anti-immigration law after the Obama administration filed suit. The president's lawyers argued that the federal government, and not the state, has the sole authority to regulate immigration.
Last week, a federal appeals panel upheld the lower court's order blocking the enactment of the most controversial provisions of the Arizona statute, which is known as Senate Bill 1070.
The court rulings have not deterred legislatures in other states from introducing copycat anti-illegal immigration bills. Among them are Utah and Indiana, as well as Georgia.
"The Georgia law is one of the best written and potentially most effective," said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration control. The Indiana bill, meanwhile, has gathered attention because Gov. Mitch Daniels is considered a potential 2012 presidential candidate, Krikorian said.
In Indiana, Daniels would like to see a strong E-Verify provision, but is less adamant about granting law enforcement officers greater authority to question some suspects about their legal status, according to analysts.
Daniels' preference for the E-Verify portion over the law enforcement portion could be because of the recent court of appeals ruling on the Arizona law, analysts said.
"The decision casts new doubt on the constitutionality of the Arizona law, and will likely further dampen efforts to enact S.B. 1070-like bills in other states, where economic concerns have already caused state legislators to reconsider or abandon them," according to an analysis from the Migration Policy Institute. –CNN Politics
Arizona, North Carolina, and now Georgia! When will South Carolina join the real America? It’s time has come … Illegal Alien's, you are not welcomed!
Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia plans to sign into law what may be one of the nation's toughest anti-illegal immigration measures, his spokesman, Brian Robinson, said Friday.
Unmoved by threats of boycotts and lawsuits, the Republican-dominated Georgia Legislature passed the tough law Thursday night, during the final hours of this year's legislative session. Robinson did not say when the governor would sign the measure.
"The bill reflects well the priorities and principles on which the governor campaigned ... last year," he said. "We believe that it reinforces the law in Georgia."
Among other things, the bill allows law enforcement officers to ask about immigration status when questioning suspects in certain criminal investigations. It punishes people who transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime and imposes hefty prison sentences on those who use fake documents to get jobs.
After the vote, the bill's author, Republican state Rep. Matt Ramsey, declared, "We have done the job that we were sent to do."
Ramsey said the bill addresses issues forced on the states because of the federal government's decades-long failure to secure the nation's borders.
The bill passed both chambers after lengthy debate. Opponents argued that the bill could encourage racial profiling and discrimination. They also said the measure could hurt the image and the economy of the state.
Supporters blamed illegal immigrants for overcrowding Georgia's schools and forcing taxpayers to shoulder the burden of paying for emergency room medical care for undocumented residents.
"People come here, legally or illegally, to fulfill the dreams that they have for themselves and their families," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat and an opponent of the bill.
State Sen. Renee Unterman, a suburban Atlanta Republican who supported the legislation, countered, "They are illegals, they are going to use our services."
In the end, neither chamber's vote was close. The state Senate passed the measure by 37 to 19. The Georgia House, which provided final passage for the bill, approved it 112 to 59.
The Thursday vote marks the second time in five years that Georgia lawmakers passed an anti-illegal immigration bill heralded as one of the toughest in the nation. In 2006, the state Legislature passed a bill, later signed into law, requiring government contractors and public employers to run the names of people they hire through a federal database to determine if they are legal residents of the United States.
House Bill 87 requires private businesses with more than 10 employees to use the same database. The system is called E-Verify. The legislation enables state and local law enforcement officers to arrest illegal immigrants. It also imposes prison sentences of up to one year and fines of up to $1,000 for people who knowingly transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime.
Workers convicted of using fake identifications to get jobs could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $250,000.
The business community, including the influential agricultural lobby, strongly opposed the E-Verify provision. In a last-day compromise, however, House and Senate lawmakers added language to the bill exempting businesses that employ fewer than 11 workers from having to use the federal database.
Republican state Sen. John Bulloch, who chairs the chamber's Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, said, "in the end, I still don't like it but it's a good bill."
D.A. King, an anti-illegal immigration activist and longtime lobbyist for tougher laws, called the measure "one of the most well thought-out, potentially effective, immigration enforcement bills in the country."
"On the state level, this will set a new bar," King said.
Protesters held a candlelight vigil outside the Georgia Capitol Thursday evening. At the gathering, 7-year-old Jazlie Camacho, told the crowd, "I am here to make sure they take this law away."
Jazlie is an American-born citizen, but her parents are from Mexico.
Paulina Hernandez, a member of a group called Southerners on New Ground, said her organization will call for a boycott against the state.
"We are not willing to tell the nation that Georgia is a state worth investing in because they don't have the best interests of their people in mind."
Several legal and activist groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, are already planning lawsuits in an attempt to block implementation of the measure. They hope the courts will agree with them.
In Arizona last year, a federal judge halted implementation of that state's anti-immigration law after the Obama administration filed suit. The president's lawyers argued that the federal government, and not the state, has the sole authority to regulate immigration.
Last week, a federal appeals panel upheld the lower court's order blocking the enactment of the most controversial provisions of the Arizona statute, which is known as Senate Bill 1070.
The court rulings have not deterred legislatures in other states from introducing copycat anti-illegal immigration bills. Among them are Utah and Indiana, as well as Georgia.
"The Georgia law is one of the best written and potentially most effective," said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration control. The Indiana bill, meanwhile, has gathered attention because Gov. Mitch Daniels is considered a potential 2012 presidential candidate, Krikorian said.
In Indiana, Daniels would like to see a strong E-Verify provision, but is less adamant about granting law enforcement officers greater authority to question some suspects about their legal status, according to analysts.
Daniels' preference for the E-Verify portion over the law enforcement portion could be because of the recent court of appeals ruling on the Arizona law, analysts said.
"The decision casts new doubt on the constitutionality of the Arizona law, and will likely further dampen efforts to enact S.B. 1070-like bills in other states, where economic concerns have already caused state legislators to reconsider or abandon them," according to an analysis from the Migration Policy Institute. –CNN Politics
Arizona, North Carolina, and now Georgia! When will South Carolina join the real America? It’s time has come … Illegal Alien's, you are not welcomed!
Locally Speaking
Not Your Ordinary Attraction
Don't look for Dorothy and Toto standing outside WonderWorks even though everything sits upside down on the tilted exterior, like a tornado just dropped it near U.S. 17 Bypass and 21st Avenue North.
The same upside-down scenario applies in the lobby, with its stairway, light fixtures, and a cabinet with a lamp on top, to make your head turn in curiosity.
However, with a walk through an inversion tunnel just past the admissions desk, the whole scene inside this scientific playground for all ages turns right side up and level.
Robert Stinnett, general manager, led a tour last week of what he described as an "amusement park for the mind," as contractors continued setting up and polishing the more than 100 interactive exhibits spanning four floors to prep the attraction for an early April opening.
The construction project started last May from the ground up on the site of the former Crab House Restaurant at Broadway at the Beach. Stinnett said the 10-story structure reaches 404 feet at its apex. It's the company's fourth site, in addition to Orlando and Panama City Beach, Fla., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Interaction galore
Exhibits range in subject and style, and are sure to appeal to visitors of all ages who have a variety of interests.
The Xtreme 360 sounds like a roller coaster, but it's a suspended bicycle contraption that when pedaled with enough strength, will flip the rider all the way around.
With the season starting, baseball fans might like the Velocity Ball pitching machine, where they can not only measure the mustard of their speed, but opt for their opponent on a life-size screen.
"You pick the Major League player to throw to," Stinnett said.
Power hitters Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, who was in Myrtle Beach on Tuesday for an exhibition game at BB&T Coastal Field, or the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols, can step into the batter's box.
Climbing each floor, visitors will see how each step contains artwork; for example, the face of Benjamin Franklin on the first flight up, leading to a corridor honoring such scientists as Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur and Nikola Tesla.
"All of our stairwells are artgalleries," Stinnett said.
Bed of nails
Don't look for Dorothy and Toto standing outside WonderWorks even though everything sits upside down on the tilted exterior, like a tornado just dropped it near U.S. 17 Bypass and 21st Avenue North.
The same upside-down scenario applies in the lobby, with its stairway, light fixtures, and a cabinet with a lamp on top, to make your head turn in curiosity.
However, with a walk through an inversion tunnel just past the admissions desk, the whole scene inside this scientific playground for all ages turns right side up and level.
Robert Stinnett, general manager, led a tour last week of what he described as an "amusement park for the mind," as contractors continued setting up and polishing the more than 100 interactive exhibits spanning four floors to prep the attraction for an early April opening.
The construction project started last May from the ground up on the site of the former Crab House Restaurant at Broadway at the Beach. Stinnett said the 10-story structure reaches 404 feet at its apex. It's the company's fourth site, in addition to Orlando and Panama City Beach, Fla., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Interaction galore
Exhibits range in subject and style, and are sure to appeal to visitors of all ages who have a variety of interests.
The Xtreme 360 sounds like a roller coaster, but it's a suspended bicycle contraption that when pedaled with enough strength, will flip the rider all the way around.
With the season starting, baseball fans might like the Velocity Ball pitching machine, where they can not only measure the mustard of their speed, but opt for their opponent on a life-size screen.
"You pick the Major League player to throw to," Stinnett said.
Power hitters Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, who was in Myrtle Beach on Tuesday for an exhibition game at BB&T Coastal Field, or the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols, can step into the batter's box.
Climbing each floor, visitors will see how each step contains artwork; for example, the face of Benjamin Franklin on the first flight up, leading to a corridor honoring such scientists as Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur and Nikola Tesla.
"All of our stairwells are artgalleries," Stinnett said.
Bed of nails
Upstairs, a bed of 3,596 nails awaits anyone willing to recline for a moment.
"It teaches you about the dispersion of your weight," Stinnett said, showing up close the tubes for each nail that extend upward for the demonstration. "You lie on it, and the attendant will push the table up."
Another pointy feeling awaits at the WonderWall, where people can press against a panel of 40,000 pins for a three-dimensional impression. Stinnett said plans already are under way to enlarge this apparatus so whole families can team up to make a dent.
Nearby, two simulators offer a choice for a guest to design a virtual roller coaster or subway ride.
"You can go up, down, sideways and around," Stinnett said of the 360-degree flexibility in customizing such a thrill.
The Bubble Lab will put its own stretch on physics.
"You can put your whole body in a bubble," Stinnett said. "Kids love this room."
A machine that focuses on the flipping of a coin notes the 50-50 chance, of course, of seeing it land heads or tails. Press the button to flip the coin five times, and see which side wins the most, then go once more.
The top level, the Space Room, houses a rope course 40 feet high, as well as an arcade and laser-tag area.
Family appeal
Stinnett, whose employer, WonderWorks Management, opened Soar & Explore last year at Broadway at the Beach with an outdoor Zipline Adventure and Ropes Challenge Course, said adding WonderWorks as a neighbor fits in with Myrtle Beach as a family destination.
He said anyone can look at some scientific oddity and learn something.
"The whole family can share the experience," Stinnett said. "You share with your kids things you learned in school."
Walking around the building, including the outdoor half of the cafe, the world turns upside down again. Peer upward to see the detailing that went into making the exterior look like its frame is fractured from end to end. In front, no dog will ever come close to the lone, red fire hydrant dangling, but affixed, in a corner.
Bill Richards, a contractor from Florida, stood on a ladder in the chilly sunshine adding more fine features with his brush on the front wall. He pointed upward to each window behind pillars made to look like they bear cracks, and smiled at so many little details that appear more grand from afar.
"I love art," Richards said. "I love this."
Joking about making the building appear as though a twister dropped it in Myrtle Beach upside down, then welcoming people to right their world again inside with experiments in force, speed and effects, Stinnett said the goal centers on stimulating the mind with awe.
"When you learn, you have fun," he said. –Myrtle Beach Online
Ragbag Headliners
Japanese nuclear agency "provisionally" raises the threat level from a stricken power plant from 5 to 7, the most severe category.
The 1986 Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union also rated a 7 on the International Nuclear Events Scale, which equates to a "major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures."
A Japanese official says the release of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is about 10% of what was emitted at Chernobyl –CNN Reports
The 1986 Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union also rated a 7 on the International Nuclear Events Scale, which equates to a "major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures."
A Japanese official says the release of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is about 10% of what was emitted at Chernobyl –CNN Reports
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Masturbation May Help To Relieve Restless Legs Syndrome
Apparently, being master of your domain isn't all that it's hyped up to be.
Researchers say that for sufferers of the neurological disorder restless legs syndrome, a little self-pleasure could be just what the doctor ordered.
In a recent letter published by the medical journal Sleep Medicine, Luis Marin and colleagues at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, report the case of a patient who, with masturbation and sexual intercourse, eased the symptoms of his RLS.
"The patient reported that he would get complete relief from RLS symptoms, granting him normal sleep following sexual intercourse or masturbation," the letter read.
RLS is characterized by the constant urge to move the limbs. It afflicts, to varying degrees, between 7 and 10 percent of Americans and Europeans.
California-based sleep specialist and RLS expert Dr. Mark Buchfuhrer says he's encountered at least one to two dozen similar cases -- and estimates that possibly "10 times as many" of his own patients, not surprisingly, decline to discuss their masturbation-induced relief.
But he also cautions against over-reacting to a single case study.
"Since we don't know what causes restless legs, it's very hard to speculate what makes it better," Buchfuhrer told AOL News.
One possible explanation, according to the letter, is that the chemical release of dopamine in the brain triggered by masturbation and sexual intercourse could ease the symptoms, an idea that Buchfuhrer has briefly discussed in his own writings.
"The theory that the release of dopamine with orgasm helps is a very good one and may even be the correct one," Buchfuhrer said. "I'd say that's a very reasonable and plausible theory, but it's no more than a theory."
In fact, the only two drugs currently approved for treating RLS are Mirapex and Requip, both of which are dopamine-based.
Buchfuhrer says he has also encountered cases when masturbation and sexual activity have caused negative effects for RLS patients. So while the dopamine theory is a good one, the five-knuckle shuffle is probably unlikely to catch on as the latest RLS wonder treatment.
As the doctor put it, "It's not something I routinely ask about." -AOL News
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U.S. Appeals Court OKs Decision Blocking Arizona Immigration Law
A federal appeals court on Monday affirmed a previous injunction of Arizona's controversial immigration law, another setback for legislation that has drawn sharp opposition from President Barack Obama's administration.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with the U.S. Justice Department and against Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed the measure known as SB 1070 into law last year.
Among other things, this legislation would have required local law enforcement in Arizona to apprehend and help deport illegal immigrants. The Obama administration sued, arguing that only the federal government has that authority.
That lawsuit led to U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton's decision last July, which temporarily blocked the law's most contested parts just a day before they were scheduled to go into effect. That included the requirement that local police officers should check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws. –Read more at CNN U.S.
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Japan Nuclear Plant Evacuees Demand Compensation
Small business owners and laborers forced to leave their homes and jobs because of radiation leaking from Japan's tsunami-flooded nuclear plant rode a bus all the way to Tokyo on Wednesday to demand compensation from the plant's operator.
People are increasingly growing frustrated with Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s handling of the nuclear crisis, which has progressed fitfully since the March 11 tsunami swamped the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, knocking out important cooling systems. Restoring them will take months.
"I am not asking for anything more than I am entitled to," said Ichijiro Ishikawa, 69, who dug roads and tunnels and is now living in a shelter because his home is in a 12-mile (20-kilometer) evacuation zone around the plant. "I just want my due."
He and about 20 other people who lived and worked near the plant traveled 140 miles (220 kilometers) southwest to hand-deliver a letter to the president of Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO. They said talks with the government over how to compensate victims will take too long to get started and they want money now. A few were near tears.
They met near company headquarters with four TEPCO officials who bowed to them in apology. President Masataka Shimizu later apologized during a two-hour news conference and pledged to do more, saying cash payments would be readied as soon as possible and the company would do its best to get the plant's reactors under control and stop radiation leaks. –Read more at Yahoo News
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Japan Nuclear Disaster Tops Scale
Japan's prime minister vowed to wind down the month-long crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant "at all costs" Tuesday after his government officially designated the situation there a Chernobyl-level nuclear accident.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he wants the plant's owner, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, to produce a timetable for bringing the disaster to an end, "and they will be doing that soon." And a day after his government warned that thousands more people would need to be evacuated from the surrounding region, he pledged to provide jobs, housing and education for those uprooted by the accident.
Japanese leader invokes WWII to urge quake recovery
"The government will not forsake the people who are suffering because of the nuclear accident," Kan told reporters in a Tuesday evening news conference.
Japan declared the Fukushima Daiichi crisis a Level 7 event on the international system for rating nuclear accidents Tuesday, putting it on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union. The top-scale designation was based on the massive release of radioactivity since the accident began, particularly in its early days, and classifies Fukushima Daiichi a "major accident" requiring long-term countermeasures. –Read more at CNN World
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Cultures Clash As Oklahoma's Hispanic Population Surges
Marcelino Garcia's three-decade journey from illegal immigrant to successful businessman has unfolded against an unlikely backdrop -- the deeply conservative state of Oklahoma.
State leaders here have passed some of the country's strictest immigration laws, including some that go beyond the controversial measures approved in Arizona last year. Latino activists said Oklahoma's laws drove tens of thousands of Hispanic immigrants away, although an exact number is difficult to calculate.
But that makes the newest U.S. Census figures even more remarkable: Oklahoma's Hispanic population has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, from 179,000 to more than 332,000.
Latinos now account for 9% of Oklahoma's 3.8 million residents, and are the largest minority group, surpassing the number of Native Americans, who make up about 8.5% of the population. While Oklahoma's population grew about 9% since 2000, the Hispanic population grew 85% and accounted for about half the state's overall growth.
Latinos now account for 9% of Oklahoma's 3.8 million residents, and are the largest minority group, surpassing the number of Native Americans, who make up about 8.5% of the population. While Oklahoma's population grew about 9% since 2000, the Hispanic population grew 85% and accounted for about half the state's overall growth. –Read more at CNN U.S.
Ten Traits We Can Learn From The Japanese
1. CALMNESS: No wild wailing or scandalous grief or panic.
2. DISCIPLINE: Orderly gas station & grocery store queues. No rough word or crude gesture.
3. RELIABILITY: Buildings swayed but didn’t fall; thanks to architects' & builders' reliable work.
4. GRACIOUSNESS: Folks bought their true immediate needs only, while thinking of others' needs.
5. DECENCY: No looting. No honking or overtaking on the roads. Consideration for others.
6. LOYALTY: Workers stayed to work on the N-reactors despite health risks and possible death.
7. BENEVOLENCE: Restaurants cut prices. No hoarding or price gouging. The strong helped the weak.
8. GOOD TRAINING: Everyone--young and old--knew exactly what to do.
9. HONEST MEDIA: Restraint in news bulletins. No sensationalized reporting.
10. INTEGRITY: When the power went out, people put back things on store shelves and left quietly.
2. DISCIPLINE: Orderly gas station & grocery store queues. No rough word or crude gesture.
3. RELIABILITY: Buildings swayed but didn’t fall; thanks to architects' & builders' reliable work.
4. GRACIOUSNESS: Folks bought their true immediate needs only, while thinking of others' needs.
5. DECENCY: No looting. No honking or overtaking on the roads. Consideration for others.
6. LOYALTY: Workers stayed to work on the N-reactors despite health risks and possible death.
7. BENEVOLENCE: Restaurants cut prices. No hoarding or price gouging. The strong helped the weak.
8. GOOD TRAINING: Everyone--young and old--knew exactly what to do.
9. HONEST MEDIA: Restraint in news bulletins. No sensationalized reporting.
10. INTEGRITY: When the power went out, people put back things on store shelves and left quietly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Japanese demonstrated how a genuinely civilized society should behave, especially in time of disaster.
The Japanese conducted themselves with extreme decency and dignity after the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis rolled into one.
Compare that to how people in New Orleans behaved after hurricane Katrina hit the USA --- there were widespread lawlessness, disorder, greed, selfishness and outrageously uncivilized conduct; quite a stark contrast and big difference!
Source Unknown
The Japanese conducted themselves with extreme decency and dignity after the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis rolled into one.
Compare that to how people in New Orleans behaved after hurricane Katrina hit the USA --- there were widespread lawlessness, disorder, greed, selfishness and outrageously uncivilized conduct; quite a stark contrast and big difference!
Source Unknown
Union Battle In The Midwest A Pull For Political Power
The labor fight blazing in Madison, Wis., and other state capitals is more than a feud over budgets or the rights of government employees. It is a battle that could fundamentally change the practice of politics in this country, with enormous consequences in 2012 and beyond.
By striking at organized labor, a pugnacious group of Republican governors is hitting at the heart of the Democratic Party, which banks heavily on union money and manpower. That explains the resistance from the White House, Democrats in Congress and, most fiercely, their liberal allies from New York to California.
"This is all about pure political power," said Paul Maslin, a party strategist whose office is just a block from Wisconsin's Capitol. "If they break the unions here, it will spread state by state, nationwide."
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has proposed deep cuts in benefits for most state workers, saying the belt-tightening is necessary to help close a projected $3.6-billion deficit. Labor unions have agreed to cuts in retirement and healthcare plans; if givebacks were the only issue, the impasse would presumably have ended by now.
But Walker, a newly elected Republican, has gone further by seeking to strip state employees of most of their collective bargaining rights. He would also make it harder for unions to organize state workers and collect dues, moves that could diminish labor's clout and deplete its coffers, ultimately hurting Democrats who lean on that support.
Republican governors in Ohio and elsewhere are eyeing similar moves, in what amounts to the greatest threat to organized labor since President Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in the early 1980s.
Walker and his allies see the moves as a necessary corrective after years of generous contracts that have grown economically unsustainable. "It's not about busting unions, but going back to elementary high school math," said Phil Musser, a GOP consultant and former director of the Republican Governors Assn. "You have [government workers] essentially enjoying an outmoded set of benefits that have no bearing on the macroeconomic situation, either in the states or nationally."
But Democrats see something more insidious: an attempt to undermine the party and its candidates by toppling one of its financial pillars. It is all the more alarming, they say, after last year's landmark Supreme Court decision freeing corporations, which heavily support the GOP, to make unlimited campaign contributions.
"It's very simple. Wealthy individuals and corporations can still give six-, seven-, eight-figure checks to all the candidates, state parties and causes they want to," said Michael Fraioli, a Democratic strategist who works closely with organized labor. "If you take away unions and their ability to organize … you cut at the heart of our financial support."
He and others point, for instance, to the billionaire Koch brothers. One of the groups they financially back, Americans for Prosperity, has been organizing pro-Walker demonstrations in Madison.
Republicans, fueled by the fervency of the budget-cutting "tea party" movement, made big gains in November, seizing control of the House, winning a majority of governorships and fortifying their ranks in state legislatures. They see their victory as a mandate to shrink the size and scope of government, including the number of state and federal workers.
The Midwest has become a focal point of that effort for good reason.
No region of the country has suffered a more devastating loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs or private-sector union positions, which makes the ranks of unionized government employees — with their job security, healthcare and guaranteed pensions — a source of resentment.
"There may have been a time when government employees needed protection and needed reform, but that was a long time ago," Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a prospective GOP presidential hopeful, told Ohio Republicans in a speech Wednesday night. He is waging his own fight with unions back home, over legislation that includes a bill to limit collective bargaining for teachers.
"Public jobs grew while private jobs were lost," Daniels said. "Public salaries went up while private sectors are shrinking. It's time to interrupt that loop, in the public interest."
There is the danger, of course, that Republicans are overreaching, as they say President Obama and Democrats did after their big victories in 2008.
Walker, for one, seems to have overstated things by claiming he campaigned on his collective bargaining proposal "all throughout the election."
"Anybody who says they are shocked on this has been asleep for the past two years," he said.
However, a scouring of the record by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and PolitiFact Wisconsin found no public statements in which the governor outlined his controversial position before taking office.
More broadly, it is not clear whose side voters are on.
A USA Today/Gallup Poll found that 61% of those surveyed would oppose a law in their state similar to the Wisconsin proposal denying public workers most of their bargaining rights.
And while public attitudes toward organized labor are not especially favorable — just 45% expressed a positive view in a recent Pew Research poll — attitudes toward big corporations were similarly middling, at 47% positive.
That is why union leaders have highlighted the behind-the-scenes role of the Koch brothers, who heavily contributed to Walker's campaign, and seek to portray the fight in Wisconsin and elsewhere as a battle against corporate greed.
"This is a payback to the big CEOs and to lobbyists that spent billions of dollars in the last election going after the workers in various states," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," with some hyperbole.
Finding solace where they can, Democrats point to the passion in their ranks — MoveOn.org and other liberal groups have announced plans for demonstrations Saturday in all 50 state capitals, including Sacramento — and say it bodes well for turnout in 2012. "People aren't happy, but it's got them fired up," said Fraioli, the Democratic strategist. "It's almost like they needed something like this to get their chins up off the ground after the 2010 election."
Still, he conceded, it is never a good thing to fight from a defensive crouch. "We're not working for jobs, or trying to advance things," Fraioli said. "We're just trying to hang on to what we've got." -LA Times
By striking at organized labor, a pugnacious group of Republican governors is hitting at the heart of the Democratic Party, which banks heavily on union money and manpower. That explains the resistance from the White House, Democrats in Congress and, most fiercely, their liberal allies from New York to California.
"This is all about pure political power," said Paul Maslin, a party strategist whose office is just a block from Wisconsin's Capitol. "If they break the unions here, it will spread state by state, nationwide."
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has proposed deep cuts in benefits for most state workers, saying the belt-tightening is necessary to help close a projected $3.6-billion deficit. Labor unions have agreed to cuts in retirement and healthcare plans; if givebacks were the only issue, the impasse would presumably have ended by now.
But Walker, a newly elected Republican, has gone further by seeking to strip state employees of most of their collective bargaining rights. He would also make it harder for unions to organize state workers and collect dues, moves that could diminish labor's clout and deplete its coffers, ultimately hurting Democrats who lean on that support.
Republican governors in Ohio and elsewhere are eyeing similar moves, in what amounts to the greatest threat to organized labor since President Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in the early 1980s.
Walker and his allies see the moves as a necessary corrective after years of generous contracts that have grown economically unsustainable. "It's not about busting unions, but going back to elementary high school math," said Phil Musser, a GOP consultant and former director of the Republican Governors Assn. "You have [government workers] essentially enjoying an outmoded set of benefits that have no bearing on the macroeconomic situation, either in the states or nationally."
But Democrats see something more insidious: an attempt to undermine the party and its candidates by toppling one of its financial pillars. It is all the more alarming, they say, after last year's landmark Supreme Court decision freeing corporations, which heavily support the GOP, to make unlimited campaign contributions.
"It's very simple. Wealthy individuals and corporations can still give six-, seven-, eight-figure checks to all the candidates, state parties and causes they want to," said Michael Fraioli, a Democratic strategist who works closely with organized labor. "If you take away unions and their ability to organize … you cut at the heart of our financial support."
He and others point, for instance, to the billionaire Koch brothers. One of the groups they financially back, Americans for Prosperity, has been organizing pro-Walker demonstrations in Madison.
Republicans, fueled by the fervency of the budget-cutting "tea party" movement, made big gains in November, seizing control of the House, winning a majority of governorships and fortifying their ranks in state legislatures. They see their victory as a mandate to shrink the size and scope of government, including the number of state and federal workers.
The Midwest has become a focal point of that effort for good reason.
No region of the country has suffered a more devastating loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs or private-sector union positions, which makes the ranks of unionized government employees — with their job security, healthcare and guaranteed pensions — a source of resentment.
"There may have been a time when government employees needed protection and needed reform, but that was a long time ago," Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a prospective GOP presidential hopeful, told Ohio Republicans in a speech Wednesday night. He is waging his own fight with unions back home, over legislation that includes a bill to limit collective bargaining for teachers.
"Public jobs grew while private jobs were lost," Daniels said. "Public salaries went up while private sectors are shrinking. It's time to interrupt that loop, in the public interest."
There is the danger, of course, that Republicans are overreaching, as they say President Obama and Democrats did after their big victories in 2008.
Walker, for one, seems to have overstated things by claiming he campaigned on his collective bargaining proposal "all throughout the election."
"Anybody who says they are shocked on this has been asleep for the past two years," he said.
However, a scouring of the record by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and PolitiFact Wisconsin found no public statements in which the governor outlined his controversial position before taking office.
More broadly, it is not clear whose side voters are on.
A USA Today/Gallup Poll found that 61% of those surveyed would oppose a law in their state similar to the Wisconsin proposal denying public workers most of their bargaining rights.
And while public attitudes toward organized labor are not especially favorable — just 45% expressed a positive view in a recent Pew Research poll — attitudes toward big corporations were similarly middling, at 47% positive.
That is why union leaders have highlighted the behind-the-scenes role of the Koch brothers, who heavily contributed to Walker's campaign, and seek to portray the fight in Wisconsin and elsewhere as a battle against corporate greed.
"This is a payback to the big CEOs and to lobbyists that spent billions of dollars in the last election going after the workers in various states," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," with some hyperbole.
Finding solace where they can, Democrats point to the passion in their ranks — MoveOn.org and other liberal groups have announced plans for demonstrations Saturday in all 50 state capitals, including Sacramento — and say it bodes well for turnout in 2012. "People aren't happy, but it's got them fired up," said Fraioli, the Democratic strategist. "It's almost like they needed something like this to get their chins up off the ground after the 2010 election."
Still, he conceded, it is never a good thing to fight from a defensive crouch. "We're not working for jobs, or trying to advance things," Fraioli said. "We're just trying to hang on to what we've got." -LA Times
Wasp Spray
Even if you have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you....and you can carry it in your car with no problem!!
Did you know this? I didn't. I never really thought of it before ...
I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat.
Wasp Spray
A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.
The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection.
Thought this was interesting and might be of use..
On the heels of a break in and beating that left an elderly woman inToledo dead, self defense experts have a tip that could save your life.
Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at Sylvania Southview High School. For decades, he's suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed.
Glinka says, "This is better than anything I can teach them."
Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray. The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says "spray the culprit in the eyes". It's a tip he's given to students for decades.
It's also one he wants everyone to hear. If you're looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray.
"That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save a life.
Source Unknown
Did you know this? I didn't. I never really thought of it before ...
I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat.
Wasp Spray
A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.
The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection.
Thought this was interesting and might be of use..
On the heels of a break in and beating that left an elderly woman inToledo dead, self defense experts have a tip that could save your life.
Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at Sylvania Southview High School. For decades, he's suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed.
Glinka says, "This is better than anything I can teach them."
Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray. The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says "spray the culprit in the eyes". It's a tip he's given to students for decades.
It's also one he wants everyone to hear. If you're looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray.
"That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save a life.
Source Unknown
The Breadwinner
A local news reporter recently talked to an Emergency Room physician in an Illinois hospital, who told the reporter that a pregnant woman in her 20s once came to the ER with her eighth pregnancy. She told the ER physician, "My momma told me that I be the breadwinner for the family."
When asked to explain what she meant, she told the doctor that her mother (the pregnant patient's children's grandmother) told the patient that she should make babies because babies get money for the family.
In a nutshell, it goes like this: the pregnant patient's mother (the child/children's grandmother) calls the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) and reports that the unemployed daughter is not capable of caring for the eight children. The DCFS agrees, but requires the children to go to foster care. The grandmother then volunteers to be the foster parent; and the grandmother is then paid by the government $1,500.00 per child per month (x 8 children) = $12,000.00 per month total!
The family's total yearly TAX-FREE income is $144,000.00 plus:
FREE healthcare (Medicaid);
FREE groceries monthly (Food Stamps);
FREE 250 cellphone minutes per month; and
FREE benefits from WIC and other welfare programs.
Indeed, Momma/Grandma is correct in saying that her fertile daughter is the family's "breadwinner".
Imagine how many families there are "on welfare" nationwide, and how much taxpayers' dollars are spent on welfare programs.
And do not forget the millions and billions of taxpayers' money spent on criminals, foreign aid [to countries, many of whom even hate the USA], and many other "social programs" which are mere incentives for people to freeload and be social parasites.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sebastian J. Ciancio, M.D., Urologist,
Danville Polyclinic
Danville, Illinois
When asked to explain what she meant, she told the doctor that her mother (the pregnant patient's children's grandmother) told the patient that she should make babies because babies get money for the family.
In a nutshell, it goes like this: the pregnant patient's mother (the child/children's grandmother) calls the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) and reports that the unemployed daughter is not capable of caring for the eight children. The DCFS agrees, but requires the children to go to foster care. The grandmother then volunteers to be the foster parent; and the grandmother is then paid by the government $1,500.00 per child per month (x 8 children) = $12,000.00 per month total!
The family's total yearly TAX-FREE income is $144,000.00 plus:
FREE healthcare (Medicaid);
FREE groceries monthly (Food Stamps);
FREE 250 cellphone minutes per month; and
FREE benefits from WIC and other welfare programs.
Indeed, Momma/Grandma is correct in saying that her fertile daughter is the family's "breadwinner".
Imagine how many families there are "on welfare" nationwide, and how much taxpayers' dollars are spent on welfare programs.
And do not forget the millions and billions of taxpayers' money spent on criminals, foreign aid [to countries, many of whom even hate the USA], and many other "social programs" which are mere incentives for people to freeload and be social parasites.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sebastian J. Ciancio, M.D., Urologist,
Danville Polyclinic
Danville, Illinois
Apr 10, 2011
Ragbag Headliners
Archaeologists Find First Known Gay Caveman Near Prague
An unusual burial may have outed the world's first known gay caveman, whose bones were discovered outside Prague in a grave that indicates he was homosexual or possibly transgendered.
During the Copper Age 5,000 years ago, men were traditionally buried facing the west, along with weapons and knives. But archaeologists in the Czech Republic say the skeletal remains of the newly discovered caveman were found facing the east, along with household items like water jugs and pots, funeral rites almost always reserved for women in the region during that time.
"From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously, so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake," archaeologist Kamila Remisova Vesinova told reporters Wednesday, according to London's Telegraph. "Far more likely is that he was a man with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transsexual."
Researchers said they'd seen other graves from the period in which female warriors were buried using rites usually afforded to men, but never a grave in which a man was buried in the style of a woman. Katerina Semradova, another researcher, said the discovery is one of the earliest known cases of a "third-gender grave," according to the Daily Mail.
Archaeologists also found an oval-shaped pot near the man, an artifact generally buried with women. "What we see here does not add up to traditional Corded Ware cultural norms," Vesinova said.
The man, who lived sometime between 2900 and 2500 B.C., is believed to be part of the Corded Ware culture, which flourished in the area now known as Europe. –AOL News
An unusual burial may have outed the world's first known gay caveman, whose bones were discovered outside Prague in a grave that indicates he was homosexual or possibly transgendered.
During the Copper Age 5,000 years ago, men were traditionally buried facing the west, along with weapons and knives. But archaeologists in the Czech Republic say the skeletal remains of the newly discovered caveman were found facing the east, along with household items like water jugs and pots, funeral rites almost always reserved for women in the region during that time.
"From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously, so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake," archaeologist Kamila Remisova Vesinova told reporters Wednesday, according to London's Telegraph. "Far more likely is that he was a man with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transsexual."
Researchers said they'd seen other graves from the period in which female warriors were buried using rites usually afforded to men, but never a grave in which a man was buried in the style of a woman. Katerina Semradova, another researcher, said the discovery is one of the earliest known cases of a "third-gender grave," according to the Daily Mail.
Archaeologists also found an oval-shaped pot near the man, an artifact generally buried with women. "What we see here does not add up to traditional Corded Ware cultural norms," Vesinova said.
The man, who lived sometime between 2900 and 2500 B.C., is believed to be part of the Corded Ware culture, which flourished in the area now known as Europe. –AOL News
<><><>*<><><>
N.C. House OKs Mexican ID Ban
House members voted 66-50 Wednesday to pass and send to the state Senate a bill that would bar local and state officials from accepting the Mexican government's matricula consular and documents like it as valid ID.
The margin was short of what supporters would need to muster to override a gubernatorial veto, should one be forthcoming if the bill clears the Senate.
Republicans lined up solidly in favor, but House Democrats were against it 50-1. A veto override takes three-fifths of the members present and voting, 72 votes in the House if all 120 members participate. The GOP in a full chamber is four votes short of holding a veto-proof majority.
Wednesday's vote came four months after Durham's City Council voted unanimously to endorse the city Police Department's practice of accepting the matricula. The bill's wording would explicitly override that decision.
Supporters of the anti-matricula bill discounted assurances from Mexican diplomats that the ID, issued to Mexicans living abroad, is reliable proof of the bearer's identity.
One of the bill's chief sponsors, N.C. Rep. Mike Hager, R-Rutherford, told fellow legislators that the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice regard the document as being "highly susceptible to fraud."
"Who do you believe is protecting American's values, the Mexican consulate ... or the FBI, the Justice Department or the TSA?" Hager said, including the federal Transportation Security Administration in the list of agencies legislators should look to for guidance.
Hager's mention of the FBI alluded to testimony a mid-ranking agency official gave to Congress in 2003.
The card is nonetheless accepted by a variety of government agencies in this country, including the Internal Revenue Service, Mexico's consul general for the Carolinas, Carlos Flores-Vizcarra, told members of a House committee earlier this month.
Opposition to the matricula is a major cause for groups who say they oppose illegal immigration, such as Americans for Legal Immigration, based in Raleigh. They contend that the card merely serves to legitimize illegal immigrants.
Democrats, however, said law-enforcement groups have been conspicuously silent about the bill. That, to them, lent credence to the idea that accepting it isn't really a problem.
"We ought to be hearing it from the horse's mouth, or 1/8GOP legislators3/8 ought to be giving us the documents they say support their arguments -- neither of which has occurred," said N.C. Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange. "If all those folks show up and say this is a problem that needs to be addressed and this is a correct solution for it, I'll take the next step and vote for 1/8the bill]."
Faison tried to have the bill sent back to committee, but Republicans blocked that on a party-line decision. Come the final vote, the only legislator to cross the aisle was N.C. Rep. Tim Spear, D-Washington, who voted for passage.
Two Republicans, N.C. Reps. Jeff Barnhart, R-Cabarrus, and Danny McComas, R-New Hanover, switched positions on Wednesday. They'd voted against the bill in a preliminary ballot the day before.
That got them a denunciation from Americans for Legal Immigration, which on its website branded the pair "traitor Republicans." The group also lumped Spear in with Democrats it said had voted to stand "with illegal alien invaders."
One of the bill's opponents, N.C. Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland, blasted the group during Wednesday's floor debate. He termed its criticism of Barnhart and McComas "despicable" and "an attack from the very margins of society."
Glazier also denounced the bill in no uncertain terms, calling it an "ugly, ugly" piece of legislation. –The Times News
The Pelosi Abuse
Under the Freedom of Information Act, the USAF has released documents which detail Pelosi's use/abuse of United States Air Force aircraft in a 16-month period between March 2009 and June 2010, while she was the U.S. Speaker of the House. The data are published in the Judicial Watch Verdict of December 2010, Volume 16, Number 12.
According to the USAF documents, the passengers in several flights included Ms. Pelosi's grown children, grandchildren, in-laws, friends, and political [Democratic Party] "hangers-on". And 95% of the trips were between the West Coast and Washington, DC or what one might call a "commute between home and office".
TOTAL NUMBER OF TRIPS during the 16-month/68-week period:
85 [average of 1.25 trips per week]
TOTAL AIR MILEAGE:
206,264 miles [average of 2,427 miles per trip]
TOTAL FLYING TIME:
428.6 hours [average of 5 hrs per trip]
COST OF FUEL/FLIGHT PERSONNEL:
$2,100,744.59 for the 16-month period;
$27,715.00 per trip;
COST OF FOOD & BEVERAGE:
$101,429.14 for the 16-month period;
$1,193.00 per trip.
On one junket to Baghdad, she had the aircraft bar stocked with Johnny Walker Red Scotch, Grey Goose Vodka, E&J Brandy, Bailey's Irish Creme, Maker's Mark whiskey, Courvoisier Cognac, Bacardi Rum, Jim Beam Whiskey, Beefeater Gin, Dewars Scotch, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Jack Daniels Whiskey, Corona Beer and several varieties of wine. This was supposedly for a very important "gubment bidness" [government business] trip.
Evidence generally speaks for itself, and in Ms. Pelosi's case, it speaks the language of abuse and (evidently) a serious drinking problem because in a single year, according to the USAF report, she and her spawn drank an amount way in excess of the gross income of an average American worker! When she said, "...If the stimulus doesn't pass, five hundred million people might lose their jobs..." she unintentionally and unknowingly revealed her ignorance, but on second thought, she could have more likely been "pickled in alcohol".
Fortunately, now that she is no longer "Madame Speaker of the House", she [hopefully] can no longer abuse the USAF and/or the American taxpayers. Now, she can either fly her own broom or Southwest Airlines which allows her and other passengers' bags to fly free.
EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER HAS THE RIGHT TO KNOW HOW [SOME] U.S. POLITICIANS USE --- ABUSE & MISUSE --- THEIR POWER and PRIVILEGES!
Source Unknown
According to the USAF documents, the passengers in several flights included Ms. Pelosi's grown children, grandchildren, in-laws, friends, and political [Democratic Party] "hangers-on". And 95% of the trips were between the West Coast and Washington, DC or what one might call a "commute between home and office".
TOTAL NUMBER OF TRIPS during the 16-month/68-week period:
85 [average of 1.25 trips per week]
TOTAL AIR MILEAGE:
206,264 miles [average of 2,427 miles per trip]
TOTAL FLYING TIME:
428.6 hours [average of 5 hrs per trip]
COST OF FUEL/FLIGHT PERSONNEL:
$2,100,744.59 for the 16-month period;
$27,715.00 per trip;
COST OF FOOD & BEVERAGE:
$101,429.14 for the 16-month period;
$1,193.00 per trip.
On one junket to Baghdad, she had the aircraft bar stocked with Johnny Walker Red Scotch, Grey Goose Vodka, E&J Brandy, Bailey's Irish Creme, Maker's Mark whiskey, Courvoisier Cognac, Bacardi Rum, Jim Beam Whiskey, Beefeater Gin, Dewars Scotch, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Jack Daniels Whiskey, Corona Beer and several varieties of wine. This was supposedly for a very important "gubment bidness" [government business] trip.
Evidence generally speaks for itself, and in Ms. Pelosi's case, it speaks the language of abuse and (evidently) a serious drinking problem because in a single year, according to the USAF report, she and her spawn drank an amount way in excess of the gross income of an average American worker! When she said, "...If the stimulus doesn't pass, five hundred million people might lose their jobs..." she unintentionally and unknowingly revealed her ignorance, but on second thought, she could have more likely been "pickled in alcohol".
Fortunately, now that she is no longer "Madame Speaker of the House", she [hopefully] can no longer abuse the USAF and/or the American taxpayers. Now, she can either fly her own broom or Southwest Airlines which allows her and other passengers' bags to fly free.
EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER HAS THE RIGHT TO KNOW HOW [SOME] U.S. POLITICIANS USE --- ABUSE & MISUSE --- THEIR POWER and PRIVILEGES!
Source Unknown
Will You Ever Sell Your House?
Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That's $3,800 on a $100,000 home etc.
When did this happen? It's in the health care bill. Just thought you should know.
SALES TAX TO GO INTO EFFECT 2013 (Part of HC Bill)
Why 2013? Could it be to come to light AFTER the 2012 elections?
REAL ESTATE SALES TAX
So, this is "change you can believe in"?
Under the new health care bill - did you know that all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% Sales Tax? The bulk of these new taxes don't kick in until 2013 If you sell your $400,000 home, there will be a $15,200 tax. This bill is set to screw the retiring generation who often downsize their homes. Does this stuff make your November and 2012 vote more important?
Oh, you weren't aware this was in the obamacare bill? Guess what, you aren't alone. There are more than a few members of Congress that aren't aware of it either. –Read more by clicking here.
When did this happen? It's in the health care bill. Just thought you should know.
SALES TAX TO GO INTO EFFECT 2013 (Part of HC Bill)
Why 2013? Could it be to come to light AFTER the 2012 elections?
REAL ESTATE SALES TAX
So, this is "change you can believe in"?
Under the new health care bill - did you know that all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% Sales Tax? The bulk of these new taxes don't kick in until 2013 If you sell your $400,000 home, there will be a $15,200 tax. This bill is set to screw the retiring generation who often downsize their homes. Does this stuff make your November and 2012 vote more important?
Oh, you weren't aware this was in the obamacare bill? Guess what, you aren't alone. There are more than a few members of Congress that aren't aware of it either. –Read more by clicking here.
It’s Not Polite
While a mother drove her little daughter and the little girl's neighborhood playmate and friend to a children's party, the little daughter asked, "Mommy, how old are you?"
"Honey, you are not supposed to ask a lady her age. It is not polite," the mother replied.
"Oh, all right!" the little girl quipped.
After a moment of silence, the little girl asked: 'Mommy, how much do you weigh?'
The mother replied: "Again, honey dear, it is not polite to ask personal questions because it is really none of your business."
"Oh, all right!" the little one once again quipped.
After yet another moment of silence, the little girl asked, "Why did you and Daddy get a divorce?"
"That's enough questions, young lady! Honestly!" the mother fumed.
There was silence the rest of the time until the mother dropped off the two little girls.
As the girls chatted while they walked together to join the rest of the little kids already gathered at the party spot, the little girl complained to her friend, "My Mom won't tell me anything about herself.'
The little friend, who seemed wise beyond her years remarked, "Well, all you need to do is look at her driver's license. It's like a report card, it has everything in it."
As soon as the little girl got home from the party, and while her mother busily prepared supper, she quietly dug into her mother's purse and fished out the wallet which contained the mother's driver's license.
At the dinner table, after the little girl, her two older sisters, and their mother sat down to eat, the little girl blurted out, "I know how old Mom is. She is 32.'
The mother quite surprisedly asked, "How did you find that out?"
Ignoring the mother's query, the little girl continued, "I also know that she weighs 130 pounds."
The mother---now shocked---asked, "How in heaven's name did you find that out?"
Still ignoring the mother's questions, the little girl announced triumphantly, "I know why she and daddy got a divorce."
"Oh really! Why?" the mother and the older sisters asked in chorus.
"Because Mommy got an 'F' in sex!"
Author Unknown
"Honey, you are not supposed to ask a lady her age. It is not polite," the mother replied.
"Oh, all right!" the little girl quipped.
After a moment of silence, the little girl asked: 'Mommy, how much do you weigh?'
The mother replied: "Again, honey dear, it is not polite to ask personal questions because it is really none of your business."
"Oh, all right!" the little one once again quipped.
After yet another moment of silence, the little girl asked, "Why did you and Daddy get a divorce?"
"That's enough questions, young lady! Honestly!" the mother fumed.
There was silence the rest of the time until the mother dropped off the two little girls.
As the girls chatted while they walked together to join the rest of the little kids already gathered at the party spot, the little girl complained to her friend, "My Mom won't tell me anything about herself.'
The little friend, who seemed wise beyond her years remarked, "Well, all you need to do is look at her driver's license. It's like a report card, it has everything in it."
As soon as the little girl got home from the party, and while her mother busily prepared supper, she quietly dug into her mother's purse and fished out the wallet which contained the mother's driver's license.
At the dinner table, after the little girl, her two older sisters, and their mother sat down to eat, the little girl blurted out, "I know how old Mom is. She is 32.'
The mother quite surprisedly asked, "How did you find that out?"
Ignoring the mother's query, the little girl continued, "I also know that she weighs 130 pounds."
The mother---now shocked---asked, "How in heaven's name did you find that out?"
Still ignoring the mother's questions, the little girl announced triumphantly, "I know why she and daddy got a divorce."
"Oh really! Why?" the mother and the older sisters asked in chorus.
"Because Mommy got an 'F' in sex!"
Author Unknown
Bewear Of The Subtle Changes
It is very important to watch what is subtly going on behind the scenes! Here is one of them.
The U.S. Department of Justice's has changed its web site!
The colorful red, white, and blue U.S. flag decorations on the web page are gone.
The U.S. Department of Justice's has changed its web site!
The colorful red, white, and blue U.S. flag decorations on the web page are gone.
The website colors have been replaced by stark black and white.
And at the top of the page is a rather interesting quote:
"The common law is the will of mankind, issuing from the life of the people."
The quote is from C. Wilfred Jenks, who in the 1930s was a leading proponent of the "international law movement", which had as its goal to impose a global common law and which backs 'global workers' rights.
It is interesting that the Dept. of Justice not only chose to remove the original colors/symbols of America---red, white, and blue--- but also used a quote from someone other than one of America's original founders or forefathers.
This is an example of slow, methodical misuse by the government power to slowly destroy the republic and its original intents and symbols.
Call it Marxism, Progressivism, Socialism or any of those names, it definitely makes the DOJ look corrupt in the new website with Marxist accessories to match.
See for yourself. Click on the link 1, link 2.
Apr 3, 2011
Locally Speaking
The Carolinas | Radiation Found In S.C. Samples Not Harmful
Health officials say air and rainwater samples collected from several locations in South Carolina are showing minor levels of radiation related to the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a news release Friday that the levels of iodine-131 detected are not a health threat.
The agency says the levels are significantly lower than the radiation a person would be exposed to on a round-trip international flight.
Drinking water samples also have been collected from Barnwell, Seneca, Columbia and Jenkinsville and sent to the state laboratory and EPA for analysis. –Sun News
Health officials say air and rainwater samples collected from several locations in South Carolina are showing minor levels of radiation related to the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a news release Friday that the levels of iodine-131 detected are not a health threat.
The agency says the levels are significantly lower than the radiation a person would be exposed to on a round-trip international flight.
Drinking water samples also have been collected from Barnwell, Seneca, Columbia and Jenkinsville and sent to the state laboratory and EPA for analysis. –Sun News
Ragbag Headliners
EPA Boosts Radiation Monitoring After Low Levels Found In Milk
There is no health risk from consuming milk with extremely low levels of radiation, like those found in Washington state and California, experts said Thursday, echoing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"When we have a disaster like we've had with a nuclear power plant in Japan, we're probably going to find things that are truly not a public health risk, but I think it's very difficult for the public to assimilate this information and understand the risks," said Dr. Wally Curran, a radiation oncologist and head of Emory University's Winship Cancer Center.
The federal agency said Wednesday it was increasing its nationwide monitoring of radiation in milk, precipitation, drinking water, and other outlets. It already tracks radiation in those potential exposure routes through an existing network of stations across the country.
Results from screening samples of milk taken in the past week in Spokane, Washington, and in San Luis Obispo County, California, detected radioactive iodine, or iodine-131, at a level 5,000 times lower than the limit set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, officials said.
At that level, a person would have to drink 1,000 liters of milk to receive the same amount of radiation as a chest X-ray, said Dr. James Cox, radiation oncologist at Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The I-131 isotope has a very short half-life of about eight days, the EPA said, so the level detected in milk and milk products is expected to drop relatively quickly.
"The good news about iodine is, it has a short half-life," said Curran. "It doesn't dwell in any biologic system, be it an adult, a child, a cow, for any significant period of time, and at those levels there's no evidence that there's any medical significance."
Radiation gets into the milk because it falls on grass eaten by cows. The milk does not itself absorb radiation.
FDA senior scientist Patricia Hansen also said the findings are "minuscule" compared to what people experience every day.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said tests confirmed the milk is safe to drink.
"This morning I spoke with the chief advisers for both the EPA and the FDA and they confirmed that these levels are minuscule and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children," Gregoire said in a statement.
"According to them, a pint of milk at these levels would expose an individual to less radiation than would a five-hour airplane flight."
Similarly, the California Department of Public Health reassured residents that the levels do not pose a threat.
"When radioactive material is spread through the atmosphere, it drops to the ground and gets in the environment. When cows consume grass, hay, feed, and water, radioactivity will be processed and become part of the milk we drink. However, the amounts are so small they pose no threat to public health," the department said.
At least 15 states have reported radioisotopes from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in air or water or both. No states have recommended that residents take potassium iodide, a salt that protects the thyroid gland from radioactive iodine.
Iodine-131 has been found in Eastern states from Florida to Massachusetts as well as in Western states like Oregon, Colorado, and California, according to sensors and officials in those states.
None of the levels poses a risk to public health, they said.
At high levels, the isotope focuses on and accumulates in a person's thyroid gland, Curran said. A medical test for thyroid health involves a person ingesting iodine-131 and undergoing a nuclear scan to examine the gland.
The Japanese plant has been leaking radiation since it was damaged in a tsunami that followed a massive earthquake March 11. –CNN Health
There is no health risk from consuming milk with extremely low levels of radiation, like those found in Washington state and California, experts said Thursday, echoing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"When we have a disaster like we've had with a nuclear power plant in Japan, we're probably going to find things that are truly not a public health risk, but I think it's very difficult for the public to assimilate this information and understand the risks," said Dr. Wally Curran, a radiation oncologist and head of Emory University's Winship Cancer Center.
The federal agency said Wednesday it was increasing its nationwide monitoring of radiation in milk, precipitation, drinking water, and other outlets. It already tracks radiation in those potential exposure routes through an existing network of stations across the country.
Results from screening samples of milk taken in the past week in Spokane, Washington, and in San Luis Obispo County, California, detected radioactive iodine, or iodine-131, at a level 5,000 times lower than the limit set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, officials said.
At that level, a person would have to drink 1,000 liters of milk to receive the same amount of radiation as a chest X-ray, said Dr. James Cox, radiation oncologist at Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The I-131 isotope has a very short half-life of about eight days, the EPA said, so the level detected in milk and milk products is expected to drop relatively quickly.
"The good news about iodine is, it has a short half-life," said Curran. "It doesn't dwell in any biologic system, be it an adult, a child, a cow, for any significant period of time, and at those levels there's no evidence that there's any medical significance."
Radiation gets into the milk because it falls on grass eaten by cows. The milk does not itself absorb radiation.
FDA senior scientist Patricia Hansen also said the findings are "minuscule" compared to what people experience every day.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said tests confirmed the milk is safe to drink.
"This morning I spoke with the chief advisers for both the EPA and the FDA and they confirmed that these levels are minuscule and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children," Gregoire said in a statement.
"According to them, a pint of milk at these levels would expose an individual to less radiation than would a five-hour airplane flight."
Similarly, the California Department of Public Health reassured residents that the levels do not pose a threat.
"When radioactive material is spread through the atmosphere, it drops to the ground and gets in the environment. When cows consume grass, hay, feed, and water, radioactivity will be processed and become part of the milk we drink. However, the amounts are so small they pose no threat to public health," the department said.
At least 15 states have reported radioisotopes from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in air or water or both. No states have recommended that residents take potassium iodide, a salt that protects the thyroid gland from radioactive iodine.
Iodine-131 has been found in Eastern states from Florida to Massachusetts as well as in Western states like Oregon, Colorado, and California, according to sensors and officials in those states.
None of the levels poses a risk to public health, they said.
At high levels, the isotope focuses on and accumulates in a person's thyroid gland, Curran said. A medical test for thyroid health involves a person ingesting iodine-131 and undergoing a nuclear scan to examine the gland.
The Japanese plant has been leaking radiation since it was damaged in a tsunami that followed a massive earthquake March 11. –CNN Health
Growing Up Without A Cell Phone
If you are 36, or older, you might think this is hilarious!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning ... Uphill ...
Barefoot ... BOTH ways … yadda, yadda, yadda.
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter—with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!
4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
6) We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
7) There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror ... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
8) And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent ... You just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!
11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!
12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play ... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside … you were doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!
Regards,
The Over 40 Crowd
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning ... Uphill ...
Barefoot ... BOTH ways … yadda, yadda, yadda.
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter—with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!
4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
6) We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
7) There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror ... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
8) And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent ... You just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!
11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!
12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play ... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside … you were doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!
Regards,
The Over 40 Crowd
British & American Evacuation Efforts In Libya
The British have dispatched the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force (RAF) and their elite Special Air Service (SAS) to evacuate British citizens from Libya. The SAS was ordered into Libya on Thursday to oversee the evacuation of hundreds of British nationals as the government’s response to the crisis.
Nearly 500 Britons were successfully repatriated throughout the day after three RAF Hercules transport aircraft and a Royal Navy frigate were pressed into action. The frigate HMS Cumberland set sail from Benghazi with 200 British evacuees on board. Rescue efforts went underway late into the night, and the government indicated that it was close to getting everybody out.
According to The Daily Telegraph report, British Special Forces were on the ground in Tripoli to ensure that the safe evacuation of all British nationals went smoothly. SAS officers offered support and advice to private security firms drafted to rescue more than 170 oil workers stranded in remote desert compounds.
That is how the government of a world power is supposed to take care of its people!
So, what did Barack Hussein Obama, the Commander-in-Chief of the mightiest military the modern world, do? The 45th President of the United States rented a ferry. Seriously! The U. S. State Department chartered a ferry to take the hundreds of waiting Americans to Malta. However, rough seas have delayed the ferry’s departure.
So, what did Barack Hussein Obama, the Commander-in-Chief of the mightiest military the modern world, do? The 45th President of the United States rented a ferry. Seriously! The U. S. State Department chartered a ferry to take the hundreds of waiting Americans to Malta. However, rough seas have delayed the ferry’s departure.
A ferry? The USA has the biggest navy and air force in the world, and all that the wimp in the White House can do is rent a ferry, as if this were some excursion in the bay instead of an evacuation in the middle of a civil war?
Someone offered the argument in Obama's defense that Obama was not doing more because "he didn’t want to do something that might set Qaddafi off to take revenge on Americans". Really!
That obviously is not a concern to the Brits who sent in their SAS, Navy, and RAF to evacuate their citizens, while the US government rented a ferry. Unbelievable!
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