Posts
What The National Pamphleteers Don't Report:
Baird's STOCK Act gains new, vital life
Daily News Editorial
November 17, 2011
Baird's insider trading bill finally gets noticed
One year removed from completing six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, former 3rd District [Washington State] Rep. Brian Baird may have discovered a secret for getting things done in the Nation's Capital: Use a public forum to embarrass someone, particularly someone big and important. Baird was a longstanding proponent of a measure he called the STOCK Act — an acronym for "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge." If enacted, the bill would prevent members of Congress and their staffs from using information not available to the public to guide them in making or selling investments. This sort of "insider trading" is patently illegal for most Americans, but the prohibition has never been extended to Capitol Hill. As a congressman, Baird was always a sheriff in search of a posse on this issue. Even though he took to introducing the STOCK Act in every session of Congress, no more than six other House members ever signed on as co-sponsors. As a retired congressman, Baird finally had his day in the famous Court of Public Opinion. CBS Television's "60 Minutes" took up the story and Baird was a willing interview. In a broadcast Sunday night, Baird helped outline the nature and possible extent of the problem and CBS reporters identified former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and current Speaker John Boehner as persons [....]
http://tdn.com/news/opinion/baird-s-stock-act-gains-new-vital-life/article_1af1a2cc-10a5-11e1-b116-001cc4c002e0.html
Is economy best birth control?
US births dip again
By MIKE STOBBE
November 18, 2011
ATLANTA (AP) — The economy may well be the best form of birth control. U.S. births dropped for the third straight year — especially for young mothers — and experts think money worries are the reason. A federal report released Thursday showed declines in the birth rate for all races and most age groups. Teens and women in their early 20s had the most dramatic dip, to the lowest rates since record-keeping began in the 1940s. Also, the rate of cesarean sections stopped going up for the first time since 1996. Experts suspected the economy drove down birth rates in 2008 and 2009 as women [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/economy-best-birth-control-us-births-dip-again-213808194.html
Zuccotti Park had own 'ghetto': Samantha Bee
By Matt Cantor,
Newser Staff
November 17, 2011
(Newser) – Just like the society it criticizes, Occupy Wall Street suffers class divisions of its own, and none other than the Daily Show investigated the depths of it on the day protesters were booted from Zuccotti Park—even uncovering divisions in the layout of the park. With its drum circles and “downwardly mobile” protesters, one end was downtown to the other end’s uptown, where Occupy’s elite had “their library, Apple pop-up store, and bike-powered espresso machines,” Samantha Bee [....]
http://www.newser.com/story/133571/daily-show-samantha-bee-reveal-occupy-wall-streets-class-divisions.html
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-november-16-2011/occupy-wall-street-divided?xrs=share_copy
Too Big to Fail Accounting Explained
by Jeff Carter
Townhall.com
November 12, 2011
MF Global blew up because it made really dumb bets on European debt, and levered them 40:1. Lehman and Bear Stearns blew up in 2008, because they made highly levered bets on home mortgages and were levered 30:1.
Yesterday, Goldman ($GS) and Morgan Stanley ($MS) are considering accounting changes that will allow them to lever up their balance sheets.
Currently, Goldman and Morgan carry loans on their balance sheets at a mark to market value. This means that when do their books, they find the actual market price of the [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/jeffcarter/2011/11/12/too_big_to_fail_accounting_explained/page/full/
Ghost alps of Antarctica reveal their secret
AFP
Nov 17, 2011
For more than half a century, geologists have wrangled over the origins of an astonishing range of mountains found beneath ice up to three kilometers (two miles) thick in East Antarctica. Named after the Soviet geophysicist who detected them in 1958 during the first International Polar Year exploration, the Gamburtsev mountains are 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) long, with jagged peaks up to 2,700 meters (8,900 feet) high intersected by deep troughs and valleys. How this chain came into being is one of the many mysteries of the great white continent. The Gamburtsevs are located at high elevation and on a continent that geologically is [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/ghost-alps-antarctica-reveal-secret-181520334.html
Stock experts’ tips can puncture your portfolio
Buying what others are touting is not investing
By Chuck Jaffe,
MarketWatch
November 13, 2011
LAS VEGAS (MarketWatch) — Tom Lydon had just finished a speech at the American Association of Individual Investors Conference here when a woman came up to him, pen and paper in hand, with a simple question: “Would you tell me what ETFs you invest in?”
Lydon, editor of ETF Trends, graciously shared the ticker symbols of his portfolio positions. The woman scribbled notes, thanked him and left.
I asked Lydon what he thought she would do with the information.
“I don’t think she’ll buy all of them,” he said with a laugh, “but she will at least go look at them.”
What’s in your wallet?
That’s the problem. Members of AAII typically are motivated, self-directed investors. But put 1,200-plus of them together for a conference and you still get plenty of “Can you give me that ticker symbol?” behavior. That’s where someone [....]
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-experts-tips-can-puncture-your-portfolio-2011-11-13?siteid=nwhpf
Vikings’ Allen assists wounded veterans
By Jason Cole,
Yahoo! Sports
November 10, 2011
Army veteran Josh Bullis is too young to have to be put back together. At age 22, he should worry about finding a good tattoo parlor, not whether his new house has a roll-in shower for a wheelchair. Fortunately for Bullis, through the charitable work of Minnesota Vikings star Jared Allen, some of Bullis’ concerns have been alleviated. Through Allen’s “Homes for Wounded Warriors” program, Bullis is the latest veteran to get some assistance in life as a triple amputee. “It’s more like the mental aspect, this allows me to be independent and feel independent again,” said Bullis, who lost both legs and his left arm [....]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-cole_direct_snap_jared_allen_vikings_veterans_day111011
The $200,000-a-Year Mine Worker
By John W. Miller
The Wall Street Journal
November 17, 2011
MANDURAH, Australia — One of the fastest-growing costs in the global mining industry are workers like James Dinnison: the 25-year-old high-school dropout from Western Australia makes $200,000 a year running drills in underground mines to extract gold and other minerals. The heavily tattooed Mr. Dinnison, who started in the mines seven years ago earning $100,000, owns a sky-blue 2009 Chevy Ute, which cost $55,000 before a $16,000 engine enhancement, and a $44,000 custom motorcycle. The price tag on his chihuahua, Dexter, which yaps at his feet: $1,200. A precious commodity himself, Mr. Dinnison belongs to a class of nouveau riche rising in remote and mineral-rich parts of the world, such as Western Australia state, where mining companies are investing heavily to develop and expand iron-ore mines. Demand for those willing to work 12-hour days in sometimes dangerous conditions, while living for weeks in dusty small towns, is huge. "It's a historical shortage," says Sigurd Mareels, director of global mining for research firm McKinsey & Co. Not just in Australia, but around the world. In Canada, example, the Mining Industry Council foresees a shortfall of 60,000 to 90,000 workers by 2017. Peru must find 40,000 new miners by the end of the decade. Behind this need for mine workers is a construction boom in China and other emerging economies that has ramped up the demand for iron ore, used to make steel, and other metals used in construction, such as copper, typically used for wiring buildings. The manpower dearth comes with a hefty price tag. "Inflationary pressures are driving up costs and wages at mining hot spots like Western Australia, Chile, Africa," said Tom Albanese, CEO of Rio Tinto PLC the world's third-biggest miner by sales. "You're seeing double-digit wage growth in a lot of regions." The shortage is [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the--200-000-a-year-mine-worker-.html
Obama's Newest Excuse: Lazy Americans
by John Ransom
townhall.com
November 11, 2011
Obama took his You Don’t Love Me Enough reelection tour on the road to the 57th state this weekend on his way to a less hostile, foreign audience. No, the stopover wasn’t in Kenya. It was in Hawaii on his way to Bali, Indonesia, as a part of a new election strategy that aims to capture the entire foreign vote for Obama and the Democrats.
Hey, and why not?
No one has done more for those thrifty, industrious, hard working foreign countries than Obama has. And under Obama’s executive amnesty program it’ll be easier than ever for foreigners to register and vote for him via absentee ballot. When he said Transforming America, he wasn’t kidding. In the stopover in Hawaii, in anticipation of speechifying to foreigners, the President of the United States revised slightly his grand apology speech on behalf of all of us Ugly Americans who are responsible for the world’s ills. You’ll remember that in return for a Noble “Peace” Prize, Obama toured the world in 2009 apologizing for how great the United States is- and presumably [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2011/11/14/obamas_newest_excuse_lazy_americans
Pakistan bans 'obscene' words on cell phone texts
By SEBASTIAN ABBOT
Associated Press
Nov 18, 2011
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Texters in Pakistan better start watching their language. Pakistan's telecommunications authority sent a letter ordering cell phone companies to block text messages containing what it perceives to be obscenities, Anjum Nida Rahman, a spokeswoman for Telenor Pakistan, said Friday. It also sent a list of more than 1,500 English and Urdu words that were to be blocked. The order was part of the regulator's attempt to block spam messages, said Rahman. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority refused to comment on the initiative. Many of the words to be blocked were sexually explicit terms or swear words, according to a copy [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-bans-obscene-words-cell-phone-texts-122933488.html
HR 822-National Reciprocity Legislation Moves to Floor Vote in Congress
by Alice Tripp
TSRA
November 14, 2011
This week HR 822 is expected to move to the floor of the U.S. House for a floor vote. It is expected to pass, moving to the U.S Senate and taken up for discussion early next year. Below is a document, a myth-buster, offered by NRA-ILA Federal in response to nay-sayers.
H.R. 822: Responding to the Naysayers
H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act,” would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms for lawful purposes. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, H.R. 822 is now being attacked by a few self-proclaimed “gun rights” supporters with no active lobbying presence in any legislature, whose real agendas have little to do with promoting the interests of gun owners. Here are the facts about a few of their claims:
Myth: H.R. 822 would involve the federal bureaucracy in setting standards for carry permits, resulting in “need” requirements, higher fees, waiting periods, national gun owner registration, or worse.
Fact: H.R. 822 doesn’t require—or even authorize—any such action by any federal agency. In fact, since it would amend the Gun Control Act, it would fall under a limitation within that law that authorizes “only such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out” the GCA’s provisions. No federal rules or regulations would be needed to implement H.R. 822, which simply overrides certain state laws.
Myth: H.R. 822 would destroy permitless carry systems such as those in Arizona, Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming.
Fact: H.R. 822 would have absolutely no effect on how the permitless carry states’ laws work within those states. For residents of Arizona, Alaska and Wyoming, where permits are not required but remain available [....]
https://www.tsra.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=344:hr-822-national-reciprocity-legislation-moves-to-floor-vote-in-congress&catid=55:tripp-talk&Itemid=113
Meet Canada’s new high-tech plastic currency
By Mike Wehner,
Tecca; Today in Tech
November 17, 2011
Despite many of us relying on plastic credit and debit cards to make the majority of our daily purchases, the idea of saying goodbye to paper money seems ludicrous. That's just what the Bank of Canada is planning to do, and the first in an all-new line of plastic money will begin rolling out to consumers this month. The bills — made of a single piece of polymer — boast a longer life than paper notes, as well as some advanced security features to keep counterfeiters scratching their heads.
The new, high-tech currency includes two transparent windows that give the bills a strikingly futuristic appearance. The first window — in the shape of a maple leaf with a frosted outline — includes a unique anti-counterfeit feature: When looking through the window at a single light source, a ring of text appears, verifying the value of the note. The second, larger window includes a metallic portrait that mimics the face in the center of the bill. The transparent plastic beneath the smaller portrait is decorated with various digits, and below that is a large picture of a building, carrying a metallic sheen similar to the face above. When tilted, both the face and the building show [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/meet-canada-high-tech-plastic-currency-184640433.html
Europe, the International System and a Generational Shift
by George Friedman
STRATFOR,
November 8, 2011
Change in the international system comes in large and small doses, but fundamental patterns generally stay consistent. From 1500 to 1991, for example, European global hegemony constituted the world’s operating principle. Within this overarching framework, however, the international system regularly reshuffles the deck in demoting and promoting powers, fragmenting some and empowering others, and so on. Sometimes this happens because of war, and sometimes because of economic and political forces. While the basic structure of the world stays intact, the precise way it works changes.
The fundamental patterns of European domination held for 500 years. That epoch of history ended in 1991, when the Soviet Union — the last of the great European empires — collapsed with global consequences. In China, Tiananmen Square defined China for a generation. China would continue its process of economic development, but the Chinese Communist Party would remain the dominant force. Japan experienced an economic crisis that ended its period of rapid growth and made the world’s second-largest economy far less dynamic than before. And in 1993, the Maastricht Treaty came into force, creating the contemporary European Union and holding open the possibility of a so-called United States of Europe that could counterbalance the United States of America.
The Post-European Age
All these developments happened in the unstable period after the European Age and before … well, something else. What specifically, we’re not quite sure. For the past 20 years, the world has been reshaping itself. Since 1991, then, the countries of the world have been feeling out the edges of the new system. The past two decades have been an interregnum of sorts, a period of evolution from the rule of the old to the rule of the new. Four things had to happen before the new era could truly begin. First, the Americans had to learn the difference between extreme power (which they had and still have) and omnipotence (which they do not have). The wars in the Islamic world have more than amply driven this distinction home. Second, Russian power needed to rebound from its post-Soviet low to something more representative of Russia’s strength. That occurred in August 2008 with the Russo-Georgian war, which re-established Moscow as the core of the broader region. Third, China — which has linked its economic, political and military future to a [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20111107-europe-international-system-and-generational-shift?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20111108&utm_term=gweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=e15f0916e3004e5086cb442f9573a004
Crooks find new ways to prey on home woes
By Amy Hoak,
MarketWatch
November 14, 2011
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Fraudsters find a way to scam lenders and homeowners out of money no matter how the housing market is faring, but in recent years they’ve shifted their tactics to profit from the market’s downturn. Today, there’s less identity fraud and misrepresentation of income or employment to obtain a mortgage, mainly because stricter validation criteria when a borrower applies for a loan makes that strategy much less successful, said David Johnson, vice president of fraud and consortium solutions for CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information. But other types of fraud are replacing those scams. Some schemes target distressed homeowners who are looking for a way to save their home from foreclosure. Another tactic: Profiting off of short sales at the expense of the lender.
Foreclosure rescue
Schemes that prey on struggling homeowners heading toward foreclosure are still prevalent, even years into the foreclosure crisis, said Yolanda McGill, senior counsel for the Fair Housing and Fair Lending Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “It’s a crime of opportunity. A lot of people who are participating in [....]
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/scammers-profit-from-struggling-housing-market-2011-11-14?siteid=nwhpf
Man pays off mother's 1954 parking ticket in Nebraska
Associated Press,
November 4, 2011
YORK, Neb. (AP) — A parking ticket issued 57 years ago in southeast Nebraska has finally been paid off. The fine: a dime. York Police Chief Don Klug says a man walked into the station Tuesday with the ticket and payment — mounted and framed. Klug tells the York News-Times (http://bit.ly/uPLvCV ) that the man said he found the ticket among his mother's things and wanted to settle the debt. The ticket was issued on July 13, 1954, to a vehicle licensed in Oklahoma. The man told Klug that he [....]
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20111104/NEWS08/111104011/Man-pays-off-mother-s-1954-parking-ticket-Nebraska?odyssey=mod
High stakes in backroom battle
by Financial Times Management,
October 11, 2011The leadership is in transition, and changes to the political system are under discussion, says Jamil Anderlini. When former Chinese President Jiang Zemin stepped out on to the stage this month at a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of imperial rule, the entire country stopped to take notice. The man who occupied the top spot in the Communist hierarchy from 1989 to 2002 had not
been seen in public for at least a year and was rumoured to be dead or at least in a coma. Although he could not stand up or walk without support and was clearly very sick, his appearance was highly symbolic for a country and ruling party in transition.
About this time next year, virtually all of China’s top leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, will step down from their party posts after a decade as the unelected rulers of the world’s most populous nation. In a tightly choreographed ceremony, their successors will walk out on to the stage in the Great Hall of the People just off Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and assume responsibility for 1.3bn people and an economy that is the world’s second largest. The procedure by which this new generation of leaders will be chosen is a mystery to all but a tiny handful of power brokers in the party. But the public appearance of the ailing Mr Jiang was a sign of the vicious jockeying going on behind closed doors, as past and present leaders attempt to place allies and acolytes in positions of influence. He was there to encourage the remnant members of his faction and show his
opponents he still wields some power from behind the scenes.
The positions of president and premier are the only ones that seem to have been settled – with Vice-President Xi Jinping very likely to succeed Mr Hu and Vice-Premier Li Keqiang expected to fill Mr Wen’s shoes – but the other seven slots on the all-powerful nine-member standing committee of the Communist party politburo are still up for grabs. The stakes in the backroom political battles could not be higher. China is approaching a number of crucial points in its rapid rise on the world stage and its next generation of mandarins will be confronted by some of the most difficult decisions in decades. After 30 years of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, the party knows that its economic and political models as well as its strategy for dealing with the world are all approaching the end of their usefulness.
First, the export-led, investment-driven model that has served the country so well is increasingly seen by domestic and international economists as running out of steam. At home, a rapidly ageing workforce and soaring costs for everything from land to labour mean the low-cost manufacturing model that has driven growth for decades is increasingly untenable. With much of the developed world facing the likelihood of renewed recession and with protectionism rising among important trading partners, the days of ever-growing exports are nearly over. Meanwhile, a more recent housing-led construction boom looks increasingly unsustainable and many observers are worried about a real estate bubble that could pop, causing terrible damage to the financial sector and to headline growth. The government has identified the problems and made “transformation of the pattern of economic development” [....]
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/0763661a-fdda-11e0-b6d9-00144feabdc0.pdf
A Blueprint for America's Survival During the Next 50 Years (Part 1 of 2) [Part 2 follows]
by Cliff Ennico
Townhall.com
October 18, 2011
A lot of people are worried about America's future right now. And they are right. Things have changed so quickly in the past few decades that only a handful of people -- and I'm not sure about them, either -- have an idea of what it even means to be an American right now. What values do we uphold? Does our Constitution continue to make sense? Does it matter that we may soon no longer be the No. 1 economy in the world? This is a column for entrepreneurs, not political junkies, but you can't write for business owners without at least thinking about the political, economic and environmental climate that is healthiest for them. I try to do this from time to time, hopefully without getting too personal about my own opinions. That's why I thought it might help the current debate to point out a few self-evident, if inconvenient, truths about what America will need to do -- not just the government, but all of us as Americans -- if our country is to survive the next 50 years on Earth.
-- We have to maintain leadership in technology.
We no longer can be the world's manufacturer; many countries have proven that they can make stuff cheaper and better than we can. If America has an economic future, it is as the world's research-and-development department. We must maintain our leadership in innovation and the development of new technologies, ideas and business models that will rule the future. If we let China, India or anyone else take that away from us, we're toast.
-- We have to maintain our military might.
We live in an increasingly dangerous world. A nationalistic China is building its military technology, hacking into the world's computers, shooting down space satellites (so far, only its own) and providing arms to Iran and other troublemaking nations. It is not our friend, folks. We all hope the Arab Spring revolts will lead to greater democracy in the Middle East, but they could just as easily lead to a rise in Islamism, anti-Western sentiment, and attacks on Israel, Christians in Egypt, and other non-Muslims throughout the world. Long-term demographic changes, failing economies in the Mediterranean countries, and rising Russian nationalism (Vladimir Putin's back in town, although he never really left, did he?) may lead to destabilization in Europe as well. For those reasons alone, maintaining world [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/cliffennico/2011/10/18/a_blueprint_for_americas_survival_during_the_next_50_years_part_1_of_2/page/full/
A Blueprint for America's Survival During the Next 50 Years (Part 2 of 2)
— Everyone — but especially the government — needs to get behind business.
As a former president once said, "The business of America is business." For a few years now, government has treated business as an enemy, something that must be tolerated in order to create jobs and tax revenue. That has to stop. Government needs to get behind businesses, especially entrepreneurial ones, and create the environment they need to grow — even if it means cutting taxes, and even if it means removing regulations, or limiting them to publicly held companies. The only jobs government can create are government jobs. Unless we want massive bureaucracies like they had in czarist Russia (and remember what happened to them?), all of us need to get behind private enterprise. Stop protesting in public parks about the evils of capitalism. Go back to school, learn how businesses work, and then get out there and start some.
— We need to balance our freedoms and our values.
The current debate between political liberals and "values" conservatives is a little like that old beer commercial of the 1980s: "Tastes great, less filling!" The message, of course, was that there was no conflict between the two: You could actually drink a lower-calorie beer without sacrificing taste. People from all over the world want to come to America, even to the point of violating our immigration laws to do so. And they're not coming here for the weather or to take advantage of our social welfare programs. (Many come from countries where such features are far superior.) They come here for the freedoms and opportunities — the ability to be [....]
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/business-and-finance/succeeding-in-your-business/a-blueprint-for-america-s-survival-during-the-next-50-years-part-2-of-2.html
Until Next Sunday....
Showing posts with label Jared Allen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jared Allen. Show all posts
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Sunday 'Report;' 11/13/2011
What The National Pamphleteers Don't Report:
4 quick rituals for a better day
by Stephanie Booth,
Real Simple Magazine
Eat the Same Breakfast Every Day
There's something to be said for consistency. Knowing exactly what you're going to eat-and when-decreases stress and sets you up for a less harried morning. Plus, your mood won't determine what you put on your plate (making it less likely that you'll find yourself eating a glazed doughnut). Choose a healthy dish that you enjoy: an omelet with vegetables, oatmeal with seeds and nuts, or Greek yogurt with muesli and fruit, for example. You'll begin your day with energy as well as certainty. --Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., is a registered dietitian.
Savor Your Coffee
How long did it take you to down your last cappuccino? Next time, take a cue from the Japanese, whose formal tea ceremony can last four hours. Before taking a drink, participants [....]
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/5-quick-rituals-for-a-better-day-2597996.html
The Left's Many Double Standards
by David Limbaugh
townhall.com
November 11, 2011
Today's liberals would have you believe they occupy the moral high ground on every political and cultural issue. But have you ever taken inventory of their double standards? The left's inconsistency in applying their principles based on the party affiliation of those they're judging, gives fuller meaning to the concept of moral relativism. The only thing that's consistent is their reliable inconsistency, whether in the area of economic, social or national defense issues.
Let's consider just a few examples:
-- When "bimbo eruptions" threatened to derail Bill Clinton's campaign, his hit squad, the commander in chief of which was Hillary Clinton, eviscerated every accuser, inventing tales to destroy their character and distorting the facts of what occurred. When Ken Starr accused Bill Clinton of lying under oath, liberals turned their venom on him, accusing him of sexual perversion just for delving into the subject. When Republicans argued that Clinton's serial sexual exploits, some of which had then occurred quite recently, demonstrated poor character, Democrats defiantly dismissed his actions as irrelevant to the performance of his presidential duties. These guardians of the fairer sex -- watchdogs of government corruption -- didn't care that Clinton's taking advantage of an intern in the Oval Office was a quintessential case of sexual harassment, given the power disparities between his station and that of Monica Lewinsky's. They even defended Clinton's perjury concerning the matter. Some argued that it was almost virtuous that he chose to lie under oath and protect his family rather than take the easy way out and come clean.
Today, liberals are in high dudgeon and probably higher conspiracy over sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain that supposedly occurred 14 years ago. CNBC's GOP presidential debate moderators pointedly asked Cain and one of his rivals Mitt Romney, whether a man guilty of such conduct had the requisite character to be president of the United States.
-- Democrats maligned former President George W. Bush's economy for the better part of his two terms, despite the robust growth, unemployment below 5 percent and a 2007 deficit less than 10 percent of what it is today. They tell us that President Obama's horrendous economy, on the other hand, is not even his fault.
-- Frustrated with their inability to succeed in talk radio and the resulting loss of their decades long national media monopoly, liberals have resorted to demonizing conservative talk radio and Fox News Channel, saying they habitually engage in [....]
http://townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/2011/11/11/the_lefts_many_double_standards/page/full/
If Cain wins, the tea party loses
By Jack Hunter
Blogger for "Paulitical Ticker"
November 10, 2011
I’ve been a conservative my entire adult life. During that time, I’ve watched the conservative movement fail. Sure, I’ve seen supposedly limited-government candidates win elections and promise to shrink government. What I haven’t seen is government shrink. Ever.
It was the public’s frustration with such never-ending government growth that gave birth to the tea party movement. If you will recall, many liberals initially dismissed the tea party as simply a partisan reaction to President Obama’s election, but it was actually President Bush’s “Troubled Asset Relief Program” that first sparked the movement’s fire. In May 2010, Utah tea party leader David Kirkham explained:
"I think it’s a matter of fiscal or financial responsibility … What the tea party people are about and the vote for TARP and the vote for the bailout was, in our opinion, pretty fiscally irresponsible, and that’s what’s raised the ire of most people."
At the time, Kirkham’s group was working to unseat Republican Senator Bob Bennett, who had voted for TARP. When asked if the TARP-supporting incumbent deserved to lose his seat over just one vote, Kirkham replied:
"That one vote was pretty toxic. That one vote affected a lot of things, changed the rules of the game. President Bush said that where we have to abandon free market principles to save the free market, and fundamentally, we just don’t agree. There’s just no way."
Bennett was voted out and replaced with a tea partier, Senator Mike Lee. As Washington would soon learn, the rules had changed. Yesterday’s “conservative” Republicans, who had failed to produce results, were no longer acceptable. D.C. doublespeak would no longer be tolerated. The fiscally serious conservative movement [....]
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/08/if-cain-wins-the-tea-party-loses/
The Best Day of the Week to Buy Everything
by Seth Fiegerman
MainStreet.com
November 9, 2011
Most MainStreet readers likely know that the price of any given product can vary significantly based on the time of year (peak season vs. off season, for example), but the day of the week has a significant impact on prices as well, at least online. Extrabux, a price comparison website, analyzed prices for more than 100,000 products sold online at thousands of retailers and found that the price of TVs, computers and other consumer products can vary by anywhere from $20 to $40 from one day to the next. As a general rule the best day to buy each of these products is Monday.
Computers cost an average of $1,210 on Mondays, their lowest price of the week, and cost $1,256 on Fridays, their most expensive day of the week. That $46 difference marks the biggest dollar amount fluctuation of any product on the list and the reason, according to the report, is that computer manufacturers generally roll out their rebates and discounts at the beginning of the week. Television prices follow a similar trend, with TVs selling for [....]
http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-113740-11534-3-the-best-day-of-the-week-to-buy-everything?hp=true?ywaad=ad0035&nc
The Cities Where Foreclosure Rates Are Skyrocketing
November 9, 2011
247wallSt.com
10. Columbus, Ohio
Quarterly increase in foreclosures: +32%
# of Foreclosures Q3 2011: 2,273
Unemployment: 7.6%
% home value down from peak: -12.42%
Columbus hit its median home value peak in the first quarter of 2006. Since that time, home values have declined a relatively modest 12.4%, including a 3.4% drop last year. By the second quarter of 2012, Fiserv projects that homes in the area will lose another 2.3% of their value. Median family income in Columbus is above the national average, and unemployment is just 8%, a full percentage point less than the national average. Despite [....]
http://247wallst.com/2011/11/09/the-cities-where-foreclosure-rates-are-skyrocketing/2/
Wal-Mart Black Friday circular: See the deals
By Jessica Dickler
CNNMoney.com
November 10, 2011
They may as well call it Black Thursday.
Joining a slew of other national retailers, Wal-Mart said it too will open its doors nationwide on Thanksgiving night. Not to be one-upped by Target, which recently announced it would open at midnight on Black Friday, Wal-Mart said it will kick off its Black Friday deals at 10 p.m. on Thursday. "Our customers told us they would rather stay up late to shop than get up early, so we're going to hold special events on Thanksgiving and Black Friday," Duncan Mac Naughton, Wal-Mart's [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wal-mart-black-friday-circular-102300150.html
Three Pillars of Reform for the Super Committee
By Alison Acosta Fraser,
Patrick Louis Knudsen,
Mackenzie Eaglen
November 3, 2011
As the “super committee,” created by the contentious Budget Control Act (BCA), grapples with its mandate to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction savings, many are urging it to “go big.” And no wonder. Since July 31, the eve of the BCA’s enactment, the federal government has continued to hemorrhage debt to the point that debt held by the public has increased by $371 billion since then. By November 23, the super committee’s reporting deadline, debt held by the public will have increased by approximately $490 billion. Every day the nation is racking up $2.2 billion in new debt. Congress must get serious about the nation’s spending and debt crisis now.
Budgets are about setting priorities.
Sadly, there is not enough emphasis on this point emanating from the super committee. Instead it seems to be cobbling together a collection of disparate good and bad policies, desperately trying to arrive at its $1.5 trillion target. The super committee must set priorities and make bold decisions to solve Washington’s spending and debt crisis, preserve its ability to protect the nation, and assist a return to a strong, vibrant economy—without raising taxes.
How Large Is the Challenge?
The federal budget is in crisis. At $1.3 trillion, the deficit for fiscal year (FY) 2011 was the third consecutive year of deficits exceeding $1 trillion. These deficits are larger than the largest deficit during World War II when adjusted for inflation. Even under President Obama’s February budget, which includes many unrealistic assumptions and budget gimmicks, the deficit [....]
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/11/Three-Pillars-of-Reform-for-the-Super-Committee
Why Your Tax Bill Might Surge Next Year
by Bob Jennings
FoxBusiness.com
November 9, 2011
In a recent tax planning meeting with one of our clients, we shocked them with what their income tax future looked like for 2013 if -- on the off-chance -- Congress continues to do nothing to provide a long-term permanent set of tax laws. They had no idea what tax breaks were expiring this year and next year, and how much it would cost them personally in extra income tax. But they aren't alone, many Americans and even tax professionals aren't aware that their tax bill could rise dramatically next year. These clients are your average American family and their situation is a good example of the law changes that will affect all of us. Here's their tax situation with a table summarizing the expiring tax laws that are scheduled to occur in 2011 and 2012.
Meet the Smiths: 26-year-olds Bill and Joan have been married for five years and have two young children. Bill earns about [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/113757/higher-taxes-next-year-foxbiz?mod=taxes-advice_strategy
The Rising Threat from Nigeria's Boko Haram Militant Group
by Scott Stewart,
StratFor Global Intelligence
November 10, 2011
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, issued a warning Nov. 5 indicating it had received intelligence that the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram may have been planning to bomb several targets in the Nigerian capital during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, also known as Eid al-Kabir, celebrated Nov. 6-8. The warning specifically mentioned the Hilton, Nicon Luxury and Sheraton hotels as potential targets.
The warning came in the wake of a string of bombings and armed attacks Nov. 4 in the cities of Maiduguri, Damaturu and Potiskum, all of which are located in Nigeria’s northeast. An attack also occurred in the north-central Nigerian city of Kaduna. The sites targeted in the wave of attacks included a military base in Maiduguri and the anti-terrorism court building in Damaturu. Militants reportedly attacked these two sites with suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). The Nigerian Red Cross reported that more than 100 people were killed in the attacks, while some media reports claimed the death toll was at least 150. According to AFP, a spokesman for Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks Nov. 5 and threatened more attacks targeting the Nigerian government until “security forces stop persecuting our members and vulnerable civilians.” On Nov. 7, a Boko Haram spokesman claimed that his group employed only two suicide operatives in the attacks and not 12 as reported by some media outlets. Though Eid al-Kabir passed without attacks on Western hotels in Abuja, a deeper examination of Boko Haram is called for, with a specific focus on its rapidly evolving tactical capabilities.
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful” in Hausa, was established in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno state. It has since spread to several other northern and central Nigerian states. The group officially is known as [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20111109-rising-threat-nigerias-boko-haram-militant-group?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=111110&utm_term=sweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=ad39a6c508e749699c83039ab5cea2c8
We Warned You: FHA Bailout Coming
by Elizabeth MacDonald
FoxBusiness.com
November 11, 2011
Two years ago, in November 2009, we warned you that U.S. taxpayers would likely have to bail out yet another big government housing agency, and it wasn’t Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. We said it was the Federal Housing Administration, which sells lenders a 100% guarantee against defaults on home mortgages typically for lower income people. FHA has seen defaults skyrocket on these loans. But the Federal Housing Administration fought us vigorously on our story. So did liberal economic research groups.
Turns out they were wrong.
As the FHA is now set to soon release its annual report, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School estimates that the FHA faces around $50 billion in losses in coming years. Last year, economists from New York University and the New York Federal Reserve also warned the government agency would need a taxpayer bailout.
Back in 2009, we found FHA only had a “teacup” of money against a flood of potentially bad loans out of the seven million it insures. Today it only has $31.7 billion in reserves, out of which only $2.8 billion is set aside to back its $1 trillion book of business. Thanks to [....]
http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2011/11/11/warned-fha-bailout-coming/
Alabama county files biggest municipal bankruptcy
by Melinda Dickinson
Reuters,
November 10, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy court protection on Wednesday in the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Commissioners for the county, which is home to Birmingham, the state's biggest city and economic powerhouse, voted 4-1 to declare bankruptcy after meeting behind closed doors for two days in a last ditch-attempt to restructure its debt out of court. A tentative deal reached with creditors in September to settle $3.14 billion in red ink had been widely expected to avert bankruptcy. But the deal fell apart [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/alabama-county-seeks-file-biggest-municipal-bankruptcy-001117903.html
How to spot the web’s top 3 biggest scams
by Tecca
Today in Tech
November 9, 2011
Don't be fooled by these internet scams that can steal your money, data, and even your identity
Necessity is the mother of invention, they say, and it's forced the current generation of scammers to get just a little more creative when they're trying to convince you to part with your hard-earned cash or valuable personal information. As people continue to move away from email, these criminals have shifted their focus to social networking services. Twitter, Facebook, and other online communities are plagued with spambots and other nasties ranging from annoying to downright dangerous. We've rounded up the worst offenders to show you how to stay safe online.
1. The Facebook flim-flam
This scam has cost well-wishing friends millions of dollars around the world and is often spread via Facebook, although it's made the rounds on Gmail as well. This one assumes [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/spot-top-3-biggest-scams-004950662.html
Military widows forced to remarry to get benefits
The ‘widow’s tax’ penalizes spouses who choose not to remarry
by Jeanette Pavini
MarketWatch.com
November 8, 2011
This is Part 1 in a two-part series on a law known as the widow’s tax. Part 2, on how and why the law came to be, will appear later in November. Award-winning broadcast journalist and author Jeanette Pavini writes the Buyer Beware column for MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — On the morning of Sept. 6, 2010, Vivianne Wersel made breakfast for her two teenage kids as they wished her a happy 57th birthday. “It was just another day for me,” Wersel says now. “Nothing special, no special Entenmanns pastry for breakfast.” Those pastries were a tradition Wersel had once shared with her husband Rich, an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, who died of a service-related heart attack in 2005 at the age of 43 — just a week after he returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq. “I had just erased the recorded messages from our answering machine that I saved while he was in Iraq,” Wersel says. “Sometimes I would play them just to hear him say, ‘hello dear’ in his deep voice. Since I had him home there was no reason to save them, so I erased them. He died the next day.”
Since her husband’s death six years ago, Wersel has been receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This is compensation or reparation to widows and widowers for the death of their military spouse. Most surviving spouses receive $1,154 a month. But when she turned 57 in September 2010, Wersel became eligible for another monthly benefit under one condition: she must remarry. Military widows and widowers can receive an additional monthly annuity through the Department of Defense called the Survivors Benefit Plan (SBP), but — because of a perplexing and logic-defying federal law known as “the widow’s tax” — only if they [....]
{Blogger Note: This article illustrates a travesty and should be forwarded to every member of the government on every level; from the dogcatcher to the "Clown Prince" and everyone in-between!! Not just the congress, EVERYONE!!!}
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/military-widows-forced-to-remarry-to-get-benefits-2011-11-08?siteid=nwhpf
Nations challenge SC immigration law
by Jim Davenport,
Associated Press,
November 8, 2011
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sixteen Latin American and Caribbean nations on Tuesday asked to join the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against South Carolina's new illegal immigration law amid fears it would lead to their citizens facing state-sanctioned discrimination. Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile were among the nations filing papers Tuesday, asking to join the litigation filed by the Justice Department last week in Charleston.
In the complaint, federal lawyers asked the court to stop the state from enforcing a law that takes effect in January. The measure would require law officers who make a traffic stop to call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. The measure bars officers from holding someone solely on that suspicion. Opponents railed against the measure as encouraging racial profiling. The nations state in their filings that their relationships are with the United States and that relationship should not be affected by what states do. They've filed similar challenges to Alabama's new law. Mexico said it "has an interest in protecting its citizens and ensuring that their ethnicity is not used as the basis for state-sanctioned acts of bias and discrimination." That was a view shared in a separate request to join the litigation by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Lawyers filing the papers referred questions to the Mexican embassy in Washington. In a subsequent statement, the Mexican government said some of the law's "provisions would criminalize immigration and could lead to the selective application of the law. Its enforcement could adversely affect the civil rights of Mexican nationals living in South Carolina or visiting that state." Mexico said it would "continue to make use of all available means and channels in order to firmly and immediately respond to any violation of the fundamental rights of Mexicans, regardless of their immigration status."
In a request filed Monday seeking a permanent halt to the law, the Justice Department argues that only the federal government has the constitutional authority to enforce immigration laws. South Carolina's law also mandates that all businesses use an online system the U.S. government runs to check their new hires' legal status. If they knowingly violate the law, they can lose their business license. It also makes it a felony to create fake identifications or harbor illegal immigrants. U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles in South Carolina said the law violates people's right to [....]
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700195924/APNewsBreak-Nations-challenge-SC-immigration-law.html?pg=1
Vikings’ Allen assists wounded veterans
by Jason Cole,
Yahoo! Sports
November 10, 2011
Army veteran Josh Bullis is too young to have to be put back together. At age 22, he should worry about finding a good tattoo parlor, not whether his new house has a roll-in shower for a wheelchair.
Jared Allen's "Homes for Wounded Warriors" program retrofits houses for handicapped veterans.
Fortunately for Bullis, through the charitable work of Minnesota Vikings star Jared Allen(notes), some of Bullis’ concerns have been alleviated. Through Allen’s “Homes for Wounded Warriors” program, Bullis is the latest veteran to get some assistance in life as a triple amputee. “It’s more like the mental aspect, this allows me to be independent and feel independent again,” said Bullis, who lost both legs and his left arm when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in September 2010. “It makes me feel like I haven’t lost as much.” Bullis officially left the Army in October after more than a year of surgeries and rehabilitation. While Bullis took advantage of the foreclosure market to buy his home in Peoria, Ariz., there were still plenty of costs to [....]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-cole_direct_snap_jared_allen_vikings_veterans_day111011
At Arlington National Cemetery, mementos for latest war dead get more personal
Christian Davenport,
Washington Post,
November 10, 2011
Remembrances for the latest war dead from Iraq and Afghanistan have brought a colorful new poignancy to the cemetery.
The headstones wear Hawaiian leis and Mardi Gras beads.
They are festooned with bottles of Yuengling, flasks full of Jack, boxes of cigars.
In Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60, where those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan lie, the graves aren’t just markers of remembrance; they are canvases decorated with stones, shiny balloons and handwritten notes. In this corner of the nation’s most sacrosanct military burial ground, all manner of ornamentation abounds — one headstone is covered in lipstick kisses — bringing a colorful poignancy to an otherwise monochromatic place of mourning. For the past two years the U.S. Army Center of Military History has been collecting and cataloguing items of interest left at graves in Section 60 of the Arlington National Cemetery — where fallen soldiers from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are laid to rest. Above all there are faces. Arlington may officially consecrate the fallen by marble and etched lettering, but the families of Section 60 have rejected those protocols, covering the graves with photos of the dead. Here they are as children. Here they are with their battle buddies. Here they [....]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/at-arlington-national-cemetery-mementos-for-latest-war-dead-get-more-personal/2011/11/10/gIQA8rws9M_story.html
Until Next Sunday....
4 quick rituals for a better day
by Stephanie Booth,
Real Simple Magazine
Eat the Same Breakfast Every Day
There's something to be said for consistency. Knowing exactly what you're going to eat-and when-decreases stress and sets you up for a less harried morning. Plus, your mood won't determine what you put on your plate (making it less likely that you'll find yourself eating a glazed doughnut). Choose a healthy dish that you enjoy: an omelet with vegetables, oatmeal with seeds and nuts, or Greek yogurt with muesli and fruit, for example. You'll begin your day with energy as well as certainty. --Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., is a registered dietitian.
Savor Your Coffee
How long did it take you to down your last cappuccino? Next time, take a cue from the Japanese, whose formal tea ceremony can last four hours. Before taking a drink, participants [....]
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/5-quick-rituals-for-a-better-day-2597996.html
The Left's Many Double Standards
by David Limbaugh
townhall.com
November 11, 2011
Today's liberals would have you believe they occupy the moral high ground on every political and cultural issue. But have you ever taken inventory of their double standards? The left's inconsistency in applying their principles based on the party affiliation of those they're judging, gives fuller meaning to the concept of moral relativism. The only thing that's consistent is their reliable inconsistency, whether in the area of economic, social or national defense issues.
Let's consider just a few examples:
-- When "bimbo eruptions" threatened to derail Bill Clinton's campaign, his hit squad, the commander in chief of which was Hillary Clinton, eviscerated every accuser, inventing tales to destroy their character and distorting the facts of what occurred. When Ken Starr accused Bill Clinton of lying under oath, liberals turned their venom on him, accusing him of sexual perversion just for delving into the subject. When Republicans argued that Clinton's serial sexual exploits, some of which had then occurred quite recently, demonstrated poor character, Democrats defiantly dismissed his actions as irrelevant to the performance of his presidential duties. These guardians of the fairer sex -- watchdogs of government corruption -- didn't care that Clinton's taking advantage of an intern in the Oval Office was a quintessential case of sexual harassment, given the power disparities between his station and that of Monica Lewinsky's. They even defended Clinton's perjury concerning the matter. Some argued that it was almost virtuous that he chose to lie under oath and protect his family rather than take the easy way out and come clean.
Today, liberals are in high dudgeon and probably higher conspiracy over sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain that supposedly occurred 14 years ago. CNBC's GOP presidential debate moderators pointedly asked Cain and one of his rivals Mitt Romney, whether a man guilty of such conduct had the requisite character to be president of the United States.
-- Democrats maligned former President George W. Bush's economy for the better part of his two terms, despite the robust growth, unemployment below 5 percent and a 2007 deficit less than 10 percent of what it is today. They tell us that President Obama's horrendous economy, on the other hand, is not even his fault.
-- Frustrated with their inability to succeed in talk radio and the resulting loss of their decades long national media monopoly, liberals have resorted to demonizing conservative talk radio and Fox News Channel, saying they habitually engage in [....]
http://townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/2011/11/11/the_lefts_many_double_standards/page/full/
If Cain wins, the tea party loses
By Jack Hunter
Blogger for "Paulitical Ticker"
November 10, 2011
I’ve been a conservative my entire adult life. During that time, I’ve watched the conservative movement fail. Sure, I’ve seen supposedly limited-government candidates win elections and promise to shrink government. What I haven’t seen is government shrink. Ever.
It was the public’s frustration with such never-ending government growth that gave birth to the tea party movement. If you will recall, many liberals initially dismissed the tea party as simply a partisan reaction to President Obama’s election, but it was actually President Bush’s “Troubled Asset Relief Program” that first sparked the movement’s fire. In May 2010, Utah tea party leader David Kirkham explained:
"I think it’s a matter of fiscal or financial responsibility … What the tea party people are about and the vote for TARP and the vote for the bailout was, in our opinion, pretty fiscally irresponsible, and that’s what’s raised the ire of most people."
At the time, Kirkham’s group was working to unseat Republican Senator Bob Bennett, who had voted for TARP. When asked if the TARP-supporting incumbent deserved to lose his seat over just one vote, Kirkham replied:
"That one vote was pretty toxic. That one vote affected a lot of things, changed the rules of the game. President Bush said that where we have to abandon free market principles to save the free market, and fundamentally, we just don’t agree. There’s just no way."
Bennett was voted out and replaced with a tea partier, Senator Mike Lee. As Washington would soon learn, the rules had changed. Yesterday’s “conservative” Republicans, who had failed to produce results, were no longer acceptable. D.C. doublespeak would no longer be tolerated. The fiscally serious conservative movement [....]
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/08/if-cain-wins-the-tea-party-loses/
The Best Day of the Week to Buy Everything
by Seth Fiegerman
MainStreet.com
November 9, 2011
Most MainStreet readers likely know that the price of any given product can vary significantly based on the time of year (peak season vs. off season, for example), but the day of the week has a significant impact on prices as well, at least online. Extrabux, a price comparison website, analyzed prices for more than 100,000 products sold online at thousands of retailers and found that the price of TVs, computers and other consumer products can vary by anywhere from $20 to $40 from one day to the next. As a general rule the best day to buy each of these products is Monday.
Computers cost an average of $1,210 on Mondays, their lowest price of the week, and cost $1,256 on Fridays, their most expensive day of the week. That $46 difference marks the biggest dollar amount fluctuation of any product on the list and the reason, according to the report, is that computer manufacturers generally roll out their rebates and discounts at the beginning of the week. Television prices follow a similar trend, with TVs selling for [....]
http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-113740-11534-3-the-best-day-of-the-week-to-buy-everything?hp=true?ywaad=ad0035&nc
The Cities Where Foreclosure Rates Are Skyrocketing
November 9, 2011
247wallSt.com
10. Columbus, Ohio
Quarterly increase in foreclosures: +32%
# of Foreclosures Q3 2011: 2,273
Unemployment: 7.6%
% home value down from peak: -12.42%
Columbus hit its median home value peak in the first quarter of 2006. Since that time, home values have declined a relatively modest 12.4%, including a 3.4% drop last year. By the second quarter of 2012, Fiserv projects that homes in the area will lose another 2.3% of their value. Median family income in Columbus is above the national average, and unemployment is just 8%, a full percentage point less than the national average. Despite [....]
http://247wallst.com/2011/11/09/the-cities-where-foreclosure-rates-are-skyrocketing/2/
Wal-Mart Black Friday circular: See the deals
By Jessica Dickler
CNNMoney.com
November 10, 2011
They may as well call it Black Thursday.
Joining a slew of other national retailers, Wal-Mart said it too will open its doors nationwide on Thanksgiving night. Not to be one-upped by Target, which recently announced it would open at midnight on Black Friday, Wal-Mart said it will kick off its Black Friday deals at 10 p.m. on Thursday. "Our customers told us they would rather stay up late to shop than get up early, so we're going to hold special events on Thanksgiving and Black Friday," Duncan Mac Naughton, Wal-Mart's [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wal-mart-black-friday-circular-102300150.html
Three Pillars of Reform for the Super Committee
By Alison Acosta Fraser,
Patrick Louis Knudsen,
Mackenzie Eaglen
November 3, 2011
As the “super committee,” created by the contentious Budget Control Act (BCA), grapples with its mandate to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction savings, many are urging it to “go big.” And no wonder. Since July 31, the eve of the BCA’s enactment, the federal government has continued to hemorrhage debt to the point that debt held by the public has increased by $371 billion since then. By November 23, the super committee’s reporting deadline, debt held by the public will have increased by approximately $490 billion. Every day the nation is racking up $2.2 billion in new debt. Congress must get serious about the nation’s spending and debt crisis now.
Budgets are about setting priorities.
Sadly, there is not enough emphasis on this point emanating from the super committee. Instead it seems to be cobbling together a collection of disparate good and bad policies, desperately trying to arrive at its $1.5 trillion target. The super committee must set priorities and make bold decisions to solve Washington’s spending and debt crisis, preserve its ability to protect the nation, and assist a return to a strong, vibrant economy—without raising taxes.
How Large Is the Challenge?
The federal budget is in crisis. At $1.3 trillion, the deficit for fiscal year (FY) 2011 was the third consecutive year of deficits exceeding $1 trillion. These deficits are larger than the largest deficit during World War II when adjusted for inflation. Even under President Obama’s February budget, which includes many unrealistic assumptions and budget gimmicks, the deficit [....]
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/11/Three-Pillars-of-Reform-for-the-Super-Committee
Why Your Tax Bill Might Surge Next Year
by Bob Jennings
FoxBusiness.com
November 9, 2011
In a recent tax planning meeting with one of our clients, we shocked them with what their income tax future looked like for 2013 if -- on the off-chance -- Congress continues to do nothing to provide a long-term permanent set of tax laws. They had no idea what tax breaks were expiring this year and next year, and how much it would cost them personally in extra income tax. But they aren't alone, many Americans and even tax professionals aren't aware that their tax bill could rise dramatically next year. These clients are your average American family and their situation is a good example of the law changes that will affect all of us. Here's their tax situation with a table summarizing the expiring tax laws that are scheduled to occur in 2011 and 2012.
Meet the Smiths: 26-year-olds Bill and Joan have been married for five years and have two young children. Bill earns about [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/113757/higher-taxes-next-year-foxbiz?mod=taxes-advice_strategy
The Rising Threat from Nigeria's Boko Haram Militant Group
by Scott Stewart,
StratFor Global Intelligence
November 10, 2011
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, issued a warning Nov. 5 indicating it had received intelligence that the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram may have been planning to bomb several targets in the Nigerian capital during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, also known as Eid al-Kabir, celebrated Nov. 6-8. The warning specifically mentioned the Hilton, Nicon Luxury and Sheraton hotels as potential targets.
The warning came in the wake of a string of bombings and armed attacks Nov. 4 in the cities of Maiduguri, Damaturu and Potiskum, all of which are located in Nigeria’s northeast. An attack also occurred in the north-central Nigerian city of Kaduna. The sites targeted in the wave of attacks included a military base in Maiduguri and the anti-terrorism court building in Damaturu. Militants reportedly attacked these two sites with suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). The Nigerian Red Cross reported that more than 100 people were killed in the attacks, while some media reports claimed the death toll was at least 150. According to AFP, a spokesman for Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks Nov. 5 and threatened more attacks targeting the Nigerian government until “security forces stop persecuting our members and vulnerable civilians.” On Nov. 7, a Boko Haram spokesman claimed that his group employed only two suicide operatives in the attacks and not 12 as reported by some media outlets. Though Eid al-Kabir passed without attacks on Western hotels in Abuja, a deeper examination of Boko Haram is called for, with a specific focus on its rapidly evolving tactical capabilities.
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful” in Hausa, was established in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno state. It has since spread to several other northern and central Nigerian states. The group officially is known as [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20111109-rising-threat-nigerias-boko-haram-militant-group?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=111110&utm_term=sweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=ad39a6c508e749699c83039ab5cea2c8
We Warned You: FHA Bailout Coming
by Elizabeth MacDonald
FoxBusiness.com
November 11, 2011
Two years ago, in November 2009, we warned you that U.S. taxpayers would likely have to bail out yet another big government housing agency, and it wasn’t Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. We said it was the Federal Housing Administration, which sells lenders a 100% guarantee against defaults on home mortgages typically for lower income people. FHA has seen defaults skyrocket on these loans. But the Federal Housing Administration fought us vigorously on our story. So did liberal economic research groups.
Turns out they were wrong.
As the FHA is now set to soon release its annual report, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School estimates that the FHA faces around $50 billion in losses in coming years. Last year, economists from New York University and the New York Federal Reserve also warned the government agency would need a taxpayer bailout.
Back in 2009, we found FHA only had a “teacup” of money against a flood of potentially bad loans out of the seven million it insures. Today it only has $31.7 billion in reserves, out of which only $2.8 billion is set aside to back its $1 trillion book of business. Thanks to [....]
http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2011/11/11/warned-fha-bailout-coming/
Alabama county files biggest municipal bankruptcy
by Melinda Dickinson
Reuters,
November 10, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy court protection on Wednesday in the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Commissioners for the county, which is home to Birmingham, the state's biggest city and economic powerhouse, voted 4-1 to declare bankruptcy after meeting behind closed doors for two days in a last ditch-attempt to restructure its debt out of court. A tentative deal reached with creditors in September to settle $3.14 billion in red ink had been widely expected to avert bankruptcy. But the deal fell apart [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/alabama-county-seeks-file-biggest-municipal-bankruptcy-001117903.html
How to spot the web’s top 3 biggest scams
by Tecca
Today in Tech
November 9, 2011
Don't be fooled by these internet scams that can steal your money, data, and even your identity
Necessity is the mother of invention, they say, and it's forced the current generation of scammers to get just a little more creative when they're trying to convince you to part with your hard-earned cash or valuable personal information. As people continue to move away from email, these criminals have shifted their focus to social networking services. Twitter, Facebook, and other online communities are plagued with spambots and other nasties ranging from annoying to downright dangerous. We've rounded up the worst offenders to show you how to stay safe online.
1. The Facebook flim-flam
This scam has cost well-wishing friends millions of dollars around the world and is often spread via Facebook, although it's made the rounds on Gmail as well. This one assumes [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/spot-top-3-biggest-scams-004950662.html
Military widows forced to remarry to get benefits
The ‘widow’s tax’ penalizes spouses who choose not to remarry
by Jeanette Pavini
MarketWatch.com
November 8, 2011
This is Part 1 in a two-part series on a law known as the widow’s tax. Part 2, on how and why the law came to be, will appear later in November. Award-winning broadcast journalist and author Jeanette Pavini writes the Buyer Beware column for MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — On the morning of Sept. 6, 2010, Vivianne Wersel made breakfast for her two teenage kids as they wished her a happy 57th birthday. “It was just another day for me,” Wersel says now. “Nothing special, no special Entenmanns pastry for breakfast.” Those pastries were a tradition Wersel had once shared with her husband Rich, an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, who died of a service-related heart attack in 2005 at the age of 43 — just a week after he returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq. “I had just erased the recorded messages from our answering machine that I saved while he was in Iraq,” Wersel says. “Sometimes I would play them just to hear him say, ‘hello dear’ in his deep voice. Since I had him home there was no reason to save them, so I erased them. He died the next day.”
Since her husband’s death six years ago, Wersel has been receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This is compensation or reparation to widows and widowers for the death of their military spouse. Most surviving spouses receive $1,154 a month. But when she turned 57 in September 2010, Wersel became eligible for another monthly benefit under one condition: she must remarry. Military widows and widowers can receive an additional monthly annuity through the Department of Defense called the Survivors Benefit Plan (SBP), but — because of a perplexing and logic-defying federal law known as “the widow’s tax” — only if they [....]
{Blogger Note: This article illustrates a travesty and should be forwarded to every member of the government on every level; from the dogcatcher to the "Clown Prince" and everyone in-between!! Not just the congress, EVERYONE!!!}
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/military-widows-forced-to-remarry-to-get-benefits-2011-11-08?siteid=nwhpf
Nations challenge SC immigration law
by Jim Davenport,
Associated Press,
November 8, 2011
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sixteen Latin American and Caribbean nations on Tuesday asked to join the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against South Carolina's new illegal immigration law amid fears it would lead to their citizens facing state-sanctioned discrimination. Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile were among the nations filing papers Tuesday, asking to join the litigation filed by the Justice Department last week in Charleston.
In the complaint, federal lawyers asked the court to stop the state from enforcing a law that takes effect in January. The measure would require law officers who make a traffic stop to call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. The measure bars officers from holding someone solely on that suspicion. Opponents railed against the measure as encouraging racial profiling. The nations state in their filings that their relationships are with the United States and that relationship should not be affected by what states do. They've filed similar challenges to Alabama's new law. Mexico said it "has an interest in protecting its citizens and ensuring that their ethnicity is not used as the basis for state-sanctioned acts of bias and discrimination." That was a view shared in a separate request to join the litigation by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Lawyers filing the papers referred questions to the Mexican embassy in Washington. In a subsequent statement, the Mexican government said some of the law's "provisions would criminalize immigration and could lead to the selective application of the law. Its enforcement could adversely affect the civil rights of Mexican nationals living in South Carolina or visiting that state." Mexico said it would "continue to make use of all available means and channels in order to firmly and immediately respond to any violation of the fundamental rights of Mexicans, regardless of their immigration status."
In a request filed Monday seeking a permanent halt to the law, the Justice Department argues that only the federal government has the constitutional authority to enforce immigration laws. South Carolina's law also mandates that all businesses use an online system the U.S. government runs to check their new hires' legal status. If they knowingly violate the law, they can lose their business license. It also makes it a felony to create fake identifications or harbor illegal immigrants. U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles in South Carolina said the law violates people's right to [....]
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700195924/APNewsBreak-Nations-challenge-SC-immigration-law.html?pg=1
Vikings’ Allen assists wounded veterans
by Jason Cole,
Yahoo! Sports
November 10, 2011
Army veteran Josh Bullis is too young to have to be put back together. At age 22, he should worry about finding a good tattoo parlor, not whether his new house has a roll-in shower for a wheelchair.
Jared Allen's "Homes for Wounded Warriors" program retrofits houses for handicapped veterans.
Fortunately for Bullis, through the charitable work of Minnesota Vikings star Jared Allen(notes), some of Bullis’ concerns have been alleviated. Through Allen’s “Homes for Wounded Warriors” program, Bullis is the latest veteran to get some assistance in life as a triple amputee. “It’s more like the mental aspect, this allows me to be independent and feel independent again,” said Bullis, who lost both legs and his left arm when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in September 2010. “It makes me feel like I haven’t lost as much.” Bullis officially left the Army in October after more than a year of surgeries and rehabilitation. While Bullis took advantage of the foreclosure market to buy his home in Peoria, Ariz., there were still plenty of costs to [....]
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-cole_direct_snap_jared_allen_vikings_veterans_day111011
At Arlington National Cemetery, mementos for latest war dead get more personal
Christian Davenport,
Washington Post,
November 10, 2011
Remembrances for the latest war dead from Iraq and Afghanistan have brought a colorful new poignancy to the cemetery.
The headstones wear Hawaiian leis and Mardi Gras beads.
They are festooned with bottles of Yuengling, flasks full of Jack, boxes of cigars.
In Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60, where those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan lie, the graves aren’t just markers of remembrance; they are canvases decorated with stones, shiny balloons and handwritten notes. In this corner of the nation’s most sacrosanct military burial ground, all manner of ornamentation abounds — one headstone is covered in lipstick kisses — bringing a colorful poignancy to an otherwise monochromatic place of mourning. For the past two years the U.S. Army Center of Military History has been collecting and cataloguing items of interest left at graves in Section 60 of the Arlington National Cemetery — where fallen soldiers from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are laid to rest. Above all there are faces. Arlington may officially consecrate the fallen by marble and etched lettering, but the families of Section 60 have rejected those protocols, covering the graves with photos of the dead. Here they are as children. Here they are with their battle buddies. Here they [....]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/at-arlington-national-cemetery-mementos-for-latest-war-dead-get-more-personal/2011/11/10/gIQA8rws9M_story.html
Until Next Sunday....
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