Ladywriter

I've seen stuff about this on Monster Quest and whatnot. Just too weird.

really good article A large-scale stimulus program is the only action that can possibly do the job. excerpt: A Green Public-Investment Stimulus Recessions create widespread human suffering. Minimizing the suffering has to be the top priority in fighting the recession. This means expanding unemployment benefits and food stamps to counteract the income losses of unemployed workers and the poor. By stabilizing the pocketbooks of distressed households, these measures also help people pay their mortgages and pump money into consumer markets. Beyond this, the stimulus program should be designed to meet three additional criteria. First, we have to generate the largest possible employment boost for a given level of new government spending. Second, the spending targets should be in areas that strengthen the economy in the long run, not just through a short-term money injection. And finally, despite the recession, we do not have the luxury of delaying the fight against global warming. To further all these goals we need a green public-investment stimulus. It would defend state-level health and education projects against budget cuts; finance long-delayed upgrades for our roads, bridges, railroads and water management systems; and underwrite investments in energy efficiency -- including building retrofits and public transportation -- as well as new wind, solar, geothermal and biomass technologies. This kind of stimulus would generate many more jobs -- eighteen per $1 million in spending -- than would programs to increase spending on the military and the oil industry (i.e., new military surges in Iraq or Afghanistan combined with "Drill, baby, drill"), which would generate only about 7.5 jobs for every $1 million spent. There are two reasons for the green program's advantage. The first factor is higher "labor intensity" of spending -- that is, more money is being spent on hiring people and less on machines, supplies and consuming energy. This becomes obvious if we imagine hiring teachers, nurses and bus drivers versus drilling for oil off the coasts of Florida, California and Alaska. The second factor is the "domestic content" of spending -- how much money is staying within the US economy, as opposed to buying imports or spending abroad. When we build a bridge in Minneapolis, upgrade the levee system in New Orleans or retrofit public buildings and private homes to raise their energy efficiency, virtually every dollar is spent within our economy. By contrast, only 80 cents of every dollar spent in the oil industry remains in the United States. The figure is still lower with the military budget. 1 2 3 Next page »

Watchdog panel is empty; unfinished monitoring report misses deadline In the six weeks since lawmakers approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders.Along the way, the Bush administration has committed $290 billion of the $700 billion rescue package. Yet for all this activity, no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed. "It's a mess," said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing." In approving the rescue package, lawmakers trumpeted provisions in the legislation that established layers of independent scrutiny, including a special inspector general to be nominated by the White House and a congressional oversight panel to be named by lawmakers themselves. Squabbling and logjams Some lawmakers and their aides fear that political squabbling on Capitol Hill and bureaucratic logjams could delay their work for months. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office, which also has some oversight responsibilities, is worried about the difficulty of hiring people who can understand the intensely complicated financial work involved. The legislation grants the special inspector, who is expected to be the primary overseer of the program, a budget of $50 million. The measure calls for him to conduct audits and investigations of how the government spends money under the bailout program, including on equity investments in firms. In particular, he is to report about any assets acquired and their value, plus an explanation of why they were acquired and details on individuals or companies involved in the transactions. The leading candidate for the post is Neil M. Barofsky, a federal prosecutor in New York, and his nomination could come as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter. Barofsky, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, is the chief of the office's mortgage fraud group and the lead prosecutor in the $2.4 billion accounting-fraud case against former executives of the collapsed financial firm Refco. He was formerly a white-collar criminal defense attorney in New York. It is unclear that Barofsky would be confirmed by the Senate, as required, anytime soon. One complicating factor is a battle between the Finance and Banking committees over which has jurisdiction over the confirmation process. Spokeswomen for both panels said the issue has not been resolved and may not be until after President Bush names his choice.Nonetheless, the finance committee has scheduled a hearing for Monday afternoon in the event that a nominee is named. Several congressional aides, however, said they did not understand how the Senate could possibly do all the proper vetting for such a critical appointment in just a few days. Thorson's confirmation process, for example, took nearly a year. But Treasury officials and Senate aides worry that if the nominee is not confirmed next week, when Congress is back in town for a lame-duck session, then the process might be delayed well into next year. 1 | 2 | Next >

BUSTED: AIG CAUGHT LIVING HIGH ON THE HOG WITH TAXPAYERS' MONEY (AGAIN) By Ben Armbruster, Think Progress AIG CEO Edward Liddy should be in jail. http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/106801/ so fuckin sick of these bastards its time to put these pricks in jail

stupid attempt to get their names in the paper and get rich quick

vS2haAKBOEY Off Topic: I never saw anybody in these vids besides Ollberman:p

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WHY THE PROP 8 GAY MARRIAGE BAN WON By Richard Kim, The Nation The Christian right outmaneuvered gay rights activists when it came to reaching out to California's huge minority populations. http://www.alternet.org/sex/106178/ ELECTION RESULTS ARE BITTERSWEET FOR GAYS By Deb Price, AlterNet In a reminder that time always sides with those fighting for equality, a majority of young people voted against the gay marriage ban in California. http://www.alternet.org/sex/106360/

couldn't have said it any better cVUecPhQPqY unlike him I do have gay and lesbian friends

sugeeeeeeeeee

lol

Added: October 22, 2008 American Militia Leader Speaks to Senate FqXDY2rsk5s KvS6OQdBda8 QE-EuuKFuCY American Militia - MEDIA SPIN Added: April 06, 2008 pt 1&2 there is more JzJ7VfCsvEc JoN6FPw-i4s Phil never looked like a bigger ass. What a tool.

I'd defiantly call the shop in the morning and make arrangements to drop it off. I know it sux but if you can shoulder a big work load it will help with debt. Good luck with the new job I'm sure you'll get the hang of it quick

Do it X'D

link Stem Cell, Climate Rules Among Targets of President-Elect's Team By Ceci Connolly and R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, November 9, 2008; Page A16 Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team. A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition. In some instances, Obama would be quickly delivering on promises he made during his two-year campaign, while in others he would be embracing Clinton-era policies upended by President Bush during his eight years in office. "The kind of regulations they are looking at" are those imposed by Bush for "overtly political" reasons, in pursuit of what Democrats say was a partisan Republican agenda, said Dan Mendelson, a former associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget. The list of executive orders targeted by Obama's team could well get longer in the coming days, as Bush's appointees rush to enact a number of last-minute policies in an effort to extend his legacy. A spokeswoman said yesterday that no plans for regulatory changes had been finalized. "Before he makes any decisions on potential executive or legislative actions, he will be conferring with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, as well as interested groups," Obama transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said. "Any decisions would need to be discussed with his Cabinet nominees, none of whom have been selected yet." Still, the preelection transition team, comprising mainly lawyers, has positioned the incoming president to move fast on high-priority items without waiting for Congress. Obama himself has signaled, for example, that he intends to reverse Bush's controversial limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a decision that scientists say has restrained research into some of the most promising avenues for defeating a wide array of diseases, such as Parkinson's. Bush's August 2001 decision pleased religious conservatives who have moral objections to the use of cells from days-old human embryos, which are destroyed in the process. But Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said that during Obama's final swing through her state in October, she reminded him that because the restrictions were never included in legislation, Obama "can simply reverse them by executive order." Obama, she said, "was very receptive to that." Opponents of the restrictions have already drafted an executive order he could sign. The new president is also expected to lift a so-called global gag rule barring international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal, said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, he rescinded the Reagan-era regulation, known as the Mexico City policy, but Bush reimposed it. "We have been communicating with his transition staff" almost daily, Richards said. "We expect to see a real change." While Obama said at a news conference last week that his top priority would be to stimulate the economy and create jobs, his advisers say that focus will not delay key shifts in social and regulatory policies, including some -- such as the embrace of new environmental safeguards -- that Obama has said will have long-term, beneficial impacts on the economy. CONTINUED 1 22 NextNext >

Using data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the ACLU has determined that nearly 2/3 of the entire US population (197.4 million people) live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders. The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This " Constitution-Free Zone" includes most of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. We urge you to call on Congress to hold hearings on and pass legislation to end these egregious violations of Americans' civil rights. LEARN MORE > Fact Sheet on Border "Constitution-free Zone" > Border Security Technologies > Remarks of Craig Johnson > Constitution-Free Zone: The Numbers ARE YOU LIVING IN THE CONSTITUTION FREE ZONE? Click on your state in the map below to find out how many Americans are currently living with out full constitutional protection. In the News "Public Meeting on Olympic Peninsula Border Patrol Checkpoints," KUOW News (National Public Radio,) November 3, 2008. Online> "Homeland Security Assuming Broad Powers, Turning Vast Swaths of U.S. into “Constitution-Free Zone”," ACLU Blog of Rights, October 22, 2008. Online> "ACLU Assails 100-Mile Border Zone as 'Constitution-Free'," Wired (Blog,) October 22, 2008. Online> "Expanded Powers to Search Travelers at Border Detailed," The Washington Post, September 23, 2008. Online> "Citizens' Border Crossings Tracked, Data From Checkpoints to be Kept for 15 years," The Washington Post, August 20, 2008. Online> "Ferry worker denounces Anacortes patrol agent," Associated Press, June 19, 2008. Online> "Checkpoint Sticks In Forks' Craw," The Seattle Times, March 21, 2007. Online> NPOuj-WzAoA

aww thank you we try to keep it cran free

omfg MWZHTJsR4Bc Internal battles divided McCain, Palin camps Republican running mate appeared to have been catalyst for infighting. Full story | Video so glad Obama Biden won

Politico reports Robert Gibbs, a top aide to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on his campaign and in his Senate office, will be named the White House press secretary, a top Democratic official said. Gibbs was usually the senior official on Air Obama, the campaign plane. As communications director of Obama's Senate office, Gibbs was a key strategist in Obama's rapid move to the national stage. The announcement, to be made shortly, is likely to be viewed favorably by reporters because Gibbs has unquestioned authority, access and institutional memory. Greg Sargent at TPM gets a response from an Obama adviser, who says that the deal isn't done: A senior adviser to Barack Obama tells us that despite earlier reports, the move to make former Obama campaign communications director Robert Gibbs the White House press secretary is not a done deal yet. The campaign's spokespeople aren't publicly commenting right now. Yesterday multiple news outlets reported that Rahm Emanuel had accepted a job as White House chief of staff, but at least two outlets were forced to retract that. In October, Gibbs confronted Sean Hannity over an anti-Semitic guest. Read more about Robert Gibbs. Read about Obama's Cabinet.