Obama’s Stimulus Plan At Work!
Posted by Michelle Moquin on November 12th, 2009
Good Morning…
Have you seen any of these signs in your neighborhood?
(click on photo to read)
I don’t know if you’ve seen signs like this in your neighborhood but here in San Francisco, Obama’s stimulus package is working….jobs are being created. You want to know if Obama’s stimulus is doing something. I am happy to say that here, it is.
We can bitch at the bank bailouts and wonder just where all of the money is going besides into the pockets of big boys till when ever…I know because I bitch about it too. But there are some good things happening out there, and they deserve the recognition too.
Back in January Obama had a goal to put together a plan that “not only creates jobs in the short-term but spurs economic growth and competitiveness in the long-term.” That stimulus package, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” has come to fruition and is working.
Focusing on providing assistance to low- and middle-income Americans, Obama’s plan from the beginning was to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure by investing in states that are struggling with falling revenues. California currently in a bankrupt state, is one of them. Obama’s goal was to create or preserve at least 3 million jobs over the next two years. Is it working? Is he reaching his goal?
Readers: You tell me. The stimulus plan is working in our beautiful city. How successful it is, how many projects are really being supported by the package, I really don’t know. But I am happy to see that there is some progress…is progress happening in your city? – blog me.
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BTK: How goes it? Are you able to post your comments on The Huff successfully now or what? After I post, I’m gonna trip on over there and read a bit. I have commented myself over there. However, I do need to watch it with my spicy language and ribald badinage :) (That’s a nod to you George – Not George the Bigot :) By the way…loved your dig on Dylan.
Hi Ruth: loved your story. :)
Theresa: Your story was horrifying. Just having a baby or not, I’m pretty connected to down there, not just to the obvious physical part, but I know when my girls happy and when she’s falling apart – pun intended. :) Great write – hope it never happens to me or anyone else – good advice: Anything funny happening down there? Feeling ‘flat’ with no hole? – address it immediately, please.
Anon: You’re right; the woman that you saw at the party doesn’t write this stuff – Yeah my husband is my ghost writer- just like your husband thinks for you- he does for me too.
Zen Lill: No offense taken – why would I? I didn’t know half the people at the party. Anon is obviously not a friend of mine; no woman friend of mine would ever make that kind of statement towards me, and any man that knows me wouldn’t say that about me either. The words had no impact on me what-so-ever. I laughed when I read her comment – Hard to be offended or take Anon seriously when the words are so far from the truth.
In regards to twitter: All it means is that if people know your twitter address, they can follow you unless you block them. I have blocked a few spammers – yes there are spammers here at twitter too. Anybody can chose to follow you just by doing a search to find you and see if you have a twitter address. Your followers can check in to see what you’re up to. Whether you make a comment or not they are still followers if they choose to be or until you block them from following. It’s really very simple and much easier than FB, although FB has its place too I am discovering. Tweet me baby.
Alexander: Let me tell ya, Suzy Wong’s got it goin’. I’m sure Bita would look gorgeous in anything but a little Asian spice is always nice…..garters and stockings underneath…outfit complete…Ready to praise, peel off, and take pleasure in :)
Evelyn: Thank you for your comment and for including your article. When I wrote about Major Hasan, my research did not include that vital piece of info, and I misunderstood my source. My apologies to my readers for the misinformation. Big mistake.
And my apologies to Major Hasan for writing that he turned the gun on himself, and calling him a gutless wonder. Now I’ll just call him a mass murderer.
But much more importantly, big kudos and congrats to Sgt. Munley, the true hero who, didn’t give up despite being shot three times herself….saved the day. Love her courage. Women rock.
Ingrid: Thank you for your comment. I know the feeling. I get anxious about the state of the world myself too. We all should be a little anxious or it means we’re not paying attention to the happenings in this world. Anxiety can be good if it is the impetus for change.
Your statement, “So now the world is full of people willing to kill others who do not believe as they do,” is a truth that has been going on for centuries. When were people not killing each other over some religious belief? Now we are blessed with the internet that gets us the information in split seconds from all over the world. No one has the excuse that they aren’t informed when there are so many ways to be informed. All one as to do is get involved.
Obviously you are involved in the world. I love when I hear people, especially younger people, inspired by me, my blog and the things written here. You are the future of this planet – You do have the opportunity to contribute a different attitude to a better world. You just have to do it. Love….right back at you :)
Mike: Good points. I have been trying to rid my blog of ads that I don’t particularly want to advertise, but I can see from your comment and Libby’s that some are worth running, if nothing else but learning what the other side is doing (knowledge is power), i.e. your words: (1)….”get to see what bulls**t he is exporting and (2) he it cost him money to do it.” I enjoyed your comment and your view – keep it coming.
Readers: As always, good to hear your views- blog me – tweet me.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
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November 12th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Hi Mischa, well it’s a start that’s true, though ditch digging doesn’t pay all that well and is hardly enough dough to feed the fam adequately. I’d like to see more progress than that myself but I’m sure everyone else does also. I’m selling but it’s much harder work than it used to be, cool clothing isn’t food, and even my most liberal spenders are thinking it through before buying, might need that second job : ) going to talk to a life coach manana, he heard about me through the grapevine and thinks I sound incredible hmmm, this better not be some bad date set up, I’ll be pissed, I could really use some input abbout where to best utlize my energy and reap the financial benefits of it as well, there’s lots of things to do for money only but I hate having to compromise myself like that, don’t you?
A long time pal sent the following to me in an email with a note that I am well loved and missed a lot, I just thought it was sweet and nice words to live your days by…so I’ll share it and here it is:
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
OK, time to do that working thing, which probably means I’ll be checking in here a lot, hahaha…I’m such a procrastinator and a child (need a break every half hour)!
Luv, Zen Lill
PS loved your response to anon, but I think she and her hub should keep reading here, don’t shoot the messenger(s) people, just live and learn…
November 12th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I joined the newt email and today I got an email from Ann Coulter today. It seems that they are in cahoots.
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Muslim Suffers Bruised Ego in Fort Hood Tragedy
By Ann Coulter
According to witnesses, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan entered a medical facility at Fort Hood, prayed briefly, then shouted “Allahu akbar” before he began gunning down American troops. Now I don’t know which to be more afraid of: Muslims or government-run health care systems.
President Obama honored the victims by immediately warning Americans not to “jump to conclusions” — namely, the obvious conclusion that the attack was an act of Islamic terrorism. As conclusions go, it wasn’t much of a jump.
But the mainstream media waited for no information — indeed actively avoided learning any information — before leaping to the far less obvious conclusion that the suspect’s mass murder was set off by “stress.”
The day after the slaughter, The New York Times ran one editorial and two of three op-eds asserting as much — which was at least one more than the Times usually runs about psycho-killer soldiers going on rampages.
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She stoops so low as to try to make money selling her book off the tragedy.
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The massacre at Fort Hood last week is the perfect apotheosis of the liberal victimology described in my book “Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America.”
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These people are despicable. They are not in it for the politics, they are in it for the money.
Mike
November 12th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
CANCER-CAUSING PLASTIC IN MEDICAL DEVICES
The views about BPA (bisphenol A), the toxic chemical used in many plastic products, is going from bad to worse. Not only is it more dangerous and ubiquitous than previously believed, now we’ve learned it is even used in medical devices. A new investigation is exploring whether patients undergoing such procedures as cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and kidney dialysis are suffering dangerous levels of exposure to this chemical. If this is found to be so, new regulations will be issued — but how much damage has already been done?
THE TOXIC IMPACT OF BPA
BPA is a chemical used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics. In the human body, however, it acts like a hormone and can disrupt normal endocrine processes by mimicking the effects of estrogen. BPA has been linked to hormonal disturbances, reproductive and fetal abnormalities, breast and prostate cancer, neurological changes, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver disorders. While news reports tend to focus on risks to developing fetuses and babies because of their extreme vulnerability, study results published in the September 17, 2008, issue of Journal of the American Medical Association note that adults with higher levels of BPA in their urine also have higher rates of heart disease and diabetes.
In animal studies, toxic effects of BPA occur at even very low concentrations, observes Scott Belcher, PhD, who has conducted research into the health effects of BPA at the University of Cincinnati. Yet US industry continues to produce more than six million pounds of this chemical each year, using it in baby bottles, large water bottles, food storage containers and many other products and to line food and beverage cans. It also is in dental sealants and composites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 90% of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies.
Random daily exposure is bad enough, but it’s truly disconcerting to learn that many medical devices — including not only plastic tubing, such as intravenous (IV) lines and catheters, but even implants that remain indefinitely in the body — also contain BPA. This leads to high exposure over extended periods of time. For instance, In heart surgery, a pump takes over the work of the heart and lungs, circulating and oxygenating blood through plastic tubing while bypassing these vital organs. In dialysis, people with chronic kidney failure have their blood filtered and cleansed through tubes several times each week. The dangers are intensified by the fact that heat causes BPA to leach even more readily from the plastic — and blood, of course, is warm as it passes through tubes and back into the body.
TAKE STEPS TO LIMIT EXPOSURE
At present, there are few if any BPA-free alternatives for these crucial medical products, though Dr. Belcher told me he believes industry will be motivated to develop some if enough outrage gets expressed. The widespread use of BPA makes it difficult to evaluate all potential exposure sources, says Dr. Belcher. He stresses that it is most essential for high-risk groups — including pregnant and nursing women and infants and young children — to seek out products labeled BPA-free. However, limiting exposure makes sense for everyone — so Dr. Belcher offered a few common-sense suggestions on how to do that.
Buy products packaged in glass rather than plastic bottles.
Look for reusable water bottle makers, such as Nalgene and CamelBak, which now offer BPA-free plastic containers.
Don’t reuse plastic bottles (such as for water) unless they are labeled BPA-free.
Don’t drink coffee, tea or other hot beverages from plastic cups or bottles.
Use glass or ceramic to heat foods, rather than plastic.
Only microwave plastic containers that are labeled safe for this purpose.
Enjoy fresh or frozen foods rather than canned.
Source(s):
Scott Belcher, PhD, associate professor, pharmacology & cell biophysics, University of Cincinnati.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Hi Michelle, I have not seen signs like the one posted in your blog today, however I just want to remind us that FDR got us out of a ten-year Depression with his ‘New Deal’ which consisted of constructing Dams, bridges, roads and infrastucture to get Americans back to work and do work that was needed for the future of a growing Nation.
It worked. What President Obama is doing is similar in nature and will get Americans back to work. The ‘American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’ will work. History will repeat itself, using the same tactics as FDR. Mr. Obama is a very intelligent man and if allowed to do all that he has planned, this Country can and will pull itself up and out of the hole it has fallen in during the Republican Dynasty which fed the Wealthy and made them wealthier while the middle class nearly disappeared.
I personally see progress for our Country which has been robbed for the past 30 years.
HOWIE
November 12th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Zen Lill
I’m one of those “ditch diggers” that you mentioned. It does pay pretty good. We are union. But even in the states that are not Obama’s plan pays union wages.
What you and others don’t seem to understand is that the ditch diggers working means that suppliers, small businesses and large are getting orders to supply to the ditch diggers and others involved in the projects.
As these orders come in businesses big and small will need to hire new or rehire old employees to fill the orders. That will put people back to work. I don’t know about your situation, but when a man(I sure this applies to a woman too) has a family to feed, he will take a job whether it is digging a ditch or, well you name it.
Everyone would like to see more progress, but I will take anything that comes down the pipe.And don’t forget someone has to make those tools, parts, concrete ingredients and clothes we have to wear to work. Someone has to feed us those lunches we eat.
So you see Zen Lill, we ditch diggers are but one part of the great ambition to return America back to work.
Jack
November 12th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Okay ladies you can return to Guam now. Obama is getting the federal government to move you ahead of some for federal job rights. Read about it here.
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By Michael Rudolph
GUAM – The Obama Administration has made it easier for military spouses obtain a federal job. A recent executive order will provide spouses a leg up when applying for a job up north at Andersen or down south at Big Navy.
Executive order 13473 went into effect on September 11, 2009. For military spouses the order sets out to “increase their eligibility for referral and consideration for federal jobs, providing they meet the qualifications required for the job,” said Air Force Personnel Center’s Deborah Keating.
To Read more about the new benefits for military spouses, read this release from Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs.
Policy opens federal job opportunities for qualifying military spouses
By April Rowden, Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
11/10/2009 – RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas — A new executive policy has pushed open the door for qualifying military spouses to enter the federal workforce, enabling them to apply for more jobs advertised on USAJOBS.
Executive Order 13473, which went into effect Sept. 11, 2009, identified three groups of qualifying spouses now eligible to apply for temporary, term and permanent employment in all pay grades:
· The spouse of an Airman who has been issued orders for a permanent change of station that requires relocating.
· The spouse of an Airman who retired with a disability rating at the time of retirement of 100 percent; or retired or separated from the Air Force and has a disability rating of 100 percent from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
· The un-remarried widow or widower of an Airman killed while in active-duty status.
“Military spouses that fit into one of the three groups will find more job announcements open to them. While not a promise for employment, the new policy does increase their eligibility for referral and consideration for federal jobs, providing they meet the qualifications required for the job,” said Air Force Personnel Center’s Deborah Keating, program manager of the noncompetitive appointment of certain military spouses.
Department of the Air Force positions being advertised on USAJOBS using this authority will list the authority on the “Qualifications and Evaluations” tab. With the specific job announcement open, select the “Qualifications and Evaluations” tab, and under the “Qualifications Required” heading, look for “Appointment of Certain Military Spouses.” This indicates that the position is open to spouses meeting the qualifications listed above.
The timing of the executive order coincides with the Year of the Air Force Family.
“This executive order is clearly another positive step that takes care of the
military family. Military spouses face many life-changing events during a military career that can significantly impact the household income,” said Brenda Liston, chief of Airman, Family, Wounded Warrior and Community Operations at AFPC. “By giving military spouses expanded job opportunities, the President is providing an opportunity that can help restabilize the family budget and start military spouses in a portable career.”
Once a spouse becomes eligible, they have a two-year window to use this benefit.
For spouses who relocate through a PCS, the eligibility period starts the date the orders are issued.
“If an Airman received their PCS orders with an issue date in March 2008, and the spouse meets all the qualifications, including moving with the Airman and being married to the Airman on or before the date of the orders, they are eligible until March 2010 to apply for federal jobs using the military spouse appointment authority,” Ms. Keating explained.
The eligibility phase for spouses of Airmen with a service-connected disability of 100 percent is based on the date of the documentation verifying the 100 percent disability.
Un-remarried widows or widowers have two years from the date of the documentation verifying the member was killed while in active-duty status. Ms. Keating emphasized the date of documentation starts the clock, not the date of death.
Similar to other status candidates, such as veterans, non-Department of Defense transfers or prior federal employee reinstatements, the hiring official within each office has the discretion to use this hiring authority. To ensure the new spouse benefit is included with positions announced for “status candidates,” applicants should review the job announcement carefully.
With contractor-to-civilian conversions, new organizations standing up and overall increases in positions, the Air Force is hiring more than 9,000 new positions in fiscal year 2010. The Air Force is projecting an even larger hiring surge in fiscal year 2011 with an estimated 25,000 new positions by fiscal year 2013. Positions are already appearing on USAJOBS.
“This is the perfect time for spouses to visit their local Airman and Family Readiness Center to get professional assistance with creating resumes for vacancies listed on USAJOBS,” Ms. Liston said. “If our professionals find that the spouse is missing critical skill sets in the desired career field, we can help the spouse build those skills by guiding them to the proper education or volunteer channels.”
For specific details on the noncompetitive appointment of certain military spouses, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/ and Quick Search “RIN 3206-AL73″.
For more information on the noncompetitive appointment of certain military spouses, call the Total Force Service Center at 800-525-0102.
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Hafa adai
Anna
November 12th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Howie & Jack
You two guys have it nailed down. The big and the little picture. I could start to like this blog.
Donald
November 12th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I’ve learned why Bita wanted to go to the year 2003. She is a movie star fan. She wants to see people she admired when she was in the 7th grade. I am aghast. We are spending enormous energy to return to a time to see Movie Stars.
What happened in that time that any of you could be interested in politically? Is there something you would like to know more about? I ask this because we are going to to back to 2003 because I want Bita to be happy. A happy woman is more generous with her gifts.
But the visit need not be a total loss for purposes of political education. I will be watching the players as they do what they did in 2003. Get the inside form me while I get inside Bita. OOOOOu not good huh? Shoot me. Oh, that’s already been done.
So Ask.
AH
November 12th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
As I try to point out on the Huff Post. The republicans are always supporting a war, but they seldom support the medical needs of the children of others they send to war. Here is another case in point.
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A raft of reforms that U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai’i, chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, has been working on for months is now tied up by one of the Senate’s most ardent fiscal hawks.
Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn chose the week of Veterans Day to block the legislation with a Senate procedure known as a “hold.”
Many of the blocked reforms are meant to improve the quality, availability and delivery of health care to veterans.
“When Congress votes to send troops to war, we have an obligation to provide them with the care and benefits they need,” Akaka said.
The reforms Akaka and many Republicans are pushing would cost $3.7 billion over five years. But lawmakers have not yet found a way to pay for that through budget cuts elsewhere.
Coburn insisted that even the best intentions on Capitol Hill must be paid for.
“I believe we have an obligation to meet the needs of all our nation’s wounded veterans,” Coburn wrote in a letter to the Democratic Senate leadership. “I do, however, oppose any increase in federal spending that is not paid for, and increases the debt burden on our children.”
The deadlock comes as the Department of Veterans Affairs faces new challenges dealing with wounded warriors from two conflicts. Almost 40 percent of the veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have sought help through the VA health system, with 300,000 reporting mental health conditions. Suicides among veterans who saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have spiked in recent months.
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Oh and I’m with you jack any job in a storm.
BillytheKidd
November 12th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Michelle
Where you aware that the 20 Democrats that voted for the Stupak amendment were all males?
11.09.2009
Many Previously Pro-Choice Dems Voted for Stupak Amendment
by Nate Silver @ 5:52 PM
Share This Content
When I first learned that the Stupak Amendment, which would prevent abortion from being covered under health care plans included in the health care insurance exchanges, had passed by a 240-194 margin in the House, I assumed that something like the following happened: anybody who was either pro-life or who disapproved of the health care bill in general had voted for it.
Certainly, that description is apt for the half-dozen or so generally pro-choice Republicans, all of whom voted both for the Stupak Amendement and against the health care bill. But it doesn’t really hold for the Democrats.
Rather, I was surprised at the number of Democrats who have solid pro-choice voting records but who nevertheless voted for Stupak Amendment. And the vast majority of these Democrats voted for, not against, passage of the underlying health care bill.
The below chart lists the ‘yea’ votes on Stupak among those representatives who had a rating of 67 in 2007-08 according to Planned Parenthood, and a rating of 33 or lower according to the National Right to Life Committee. (Note: no freshmen representatives are listed on this chart as they have not been rated yet.)
As you can see, 17 of the 20 Democrats who fell into this category voted for final passage of the health care bill. So what gives?
I’m sure there are idiosyncratic explanations in a number of cases, but I take this as a sign that they’re worried about the re-election environment they’ll face in 2010. 11 of the 20 pro-choice Democrats who voted for Stupak reside in districts that are rated as vulnerable according to Cook Political (note: candidates who are leaving the House to run for Senate or governor are rated based on those races instead). And, interestingly, they seem to think that a pro-choice vote would render them more vulnerable than a pro-health care vote, even though the pro-choice position is generally more popular than the health care bill on the table at the moment (although some recent polls have shown the pro-choice position losing ground).
Certainly, on health care, some of this may be a consequence of the logic that James Carville and others have espoused: Democrats know — or believe — that they’ll be damned if don’t pass a health care bill, so why not take the chance that things will turn out OK if they do? But there may also be something more here. Whereas the pro-life (anti-choice) movement is very well organized and has a long history of delivering votes, the anti-health care movement is somewhat disjointed, seemed to be limited in its electoral reach in NY-23, and carries a lot of baggage — Glenn Beck, Michelle Bachmann, town hall screamers, and the like. And it may also be revealing of how they perceive their own base: whereas health care is a sine qua non for most Democratic base voters, they seem to be betting that the pro-choice position might no longer be.
…see also abortion, health care, house democrats
November 12th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
As a Real Estate developer and a builder I must agree with Jack on the ditch digger issue. There has been a broad attempt by Wall Street and Lobby groups over the past 30 odd years to turn the idea of the backbone of society, or Main Street, to the iconic godlike ideal of Wall Street as the saviors of America and the American dream only to see that Wall Street accounts for nothing. Their selfish, greed and corruption account for ZIP andy make no goods and offer no service besides the manipulation of money. Now we are seeing that Wall Street doesn’t even need Main Street to make money, bu they certainly will take it through carefully orchestrated bailout programs with tax payer dollars. Wall Street has the real swine flu…
Blue collar is the backbone of American society and it always has been. We came from an agrarian society only to have the Nixon administration begin the slow demise of the farmer. Carter tried to keep a hold only to see Reagan and his cuts solidify and corporatize (my new word) the food of America and the rest of the world through the UN, WHO, ADM and Manzanto. I watched many of my childhood friend’s families go down due to corporate American taking over the backbone of our society and turn family farms into corporate ghosts.
It is happening again. The CEO’s managers and engineers of America are taught how to create and develop a product. They learn this process in American schools and then are told by American corporations to go to China, or India to find the best way to make the product most cost effective. These companies in turn are now firing those same engineers, managers to out source their work for even more cost cutting.
When a ditch is dug, a water line, gas line, or a fiber optic line gets laid in the ground for Americans to have a communications network for their small business, or to be able to flush their toilet for their 10 employees. The foundation for the cell phone towers need people to run the backhoe, tie the rebar and pour the concrete so modern America can ask their friends and business associates if they can hear them now…
When a street is in good shape people like to drive on it and park on it and shop near it creating commerce on a local level which keeps neighborhoods in tact and safe for our children to go to the school that has the new wing built for the theatre and band departments so our children can learn and appreciate the arts. The playground on the school was installed by union ditch diggers so that their kids and generations of future children will enjoy their neighborhood and want to stay and learn and grow and spend their money at the local shops where the shop holder just got the lease to have their 5 employees work at her clothing store. The store needs renovation and hires more ditch kind of folk to help her get her business running…
I could go on and on…What we have witnessed as of lately is the fact that Wall Street found themselves walking down Main Street with their pants down. The pride and heart of Main Street didn’t want to believe what was happening in front of them, but they have and they recognize and they are tired.
The ONLY way America will get back into shape is when Wall Street gets NO money, and the trickle theory begins from the bottom. It is proven time and again, that top down holds no water. The world runs from the sweat and backs of third world, on through the blue collar of America and ends at Wall Street. What Wall Street is trying so hard, as the Repugnicants are as well, is to backtrack and brainwash the American people that they have any worth and ideas…we ain’t listening any more!
There is a stain and a permanent ring around the white collar!
November 12th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Hi Donald (#7). Jack says a man will dig ditches in order to put food on the table for his Family when times are tough.
I agree 100%. Everyone will find their niche when work starts happening again. We will need Butchers and Bakers and Candlestick makers. We will need lots of construction workers and Administrative jobs to keep things organized. We will need secretaries and when people have some extra cash in their pockets, they will spend it on Haircuts, to look good, Buy new clothing for work and the economy will grow in every direction.
We must learn a lesson from this. America needs to keep its industry within our borders. We need the jobs. Companies can get incentives to stay in America such as Tax breaks. Workers can be treated as assets instead of liabilities since without them, you do not have a company.
We will have better Health Care in the U.S. and things can change for the better.
I look forward to some positive changes brought on by our President. We proved that not thinking the future almost toppled our Empire. We are the only Superpower left in the World. Do we need a Superpower? Why can’t we work as one World since it is the only one we have and should treasure it. Why fight constantly? It only brings sorrow, death and pain for all sides involved. Let’s spend our money on important things such as Manufacturing and making new jobs again so we can be #1 == not Superpower #1, policing the entire World.
HOWIE
November 12th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Jack, I didn’t mean it as a knock, I’m also doing what needs to be done to feed the little one, thank you though for highlighting a very good point. I’m just still iritated that the US gave away all our manufacturing but I guess I better get over it now. I am always willing to see new opportunities and I stand corrected (even though I was not belittling blue collar people, I grew up blue collar, why would I do that?) bc Doug, you’re correct, blue collar workers are the back bone of the United States. So, yes Jack and Howie and Doug, I’m with ya : ) sorry if sounded otherwise, that was not my intention, wasn’t really thinking deeply about the effects of it, I was busy procrastinating my own workday, ah well…Next time I’ll think it through before I speak, that’s a promise…ZL
November 13th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Sorry the names didn’t print. Here is the link. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/11/many-previously-pro-choice-dems-voted.html
Are men just loony?
Linda
November 13th, 2009 at 3:30 am
Howie
My brother says you are an example of a man that thinks things through. He is always bragging about how when a man makes a comment on this blog he does it “impassionately” his word supposed to mean with logic only.
Okay, Howie, as his big hero, you tell me do you think the men on this blog(a blog I recommended to Brad(my smart ??? big brother) are more unemotional when they give their thoughts?
Christina
November 13th, 2009 at 3:32 am
Alexander
I want to know who Bita gets to see. Is she Japanese? My best friend Zuki says she thinks she is. I wish you would allow her to comment.
Lois
November 13th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Michelle
It is too difficult to get on your blog. I am starting to feel like BTK when he has trouble getting on the Post. I have been writing to your blog for 9 weeks and I haven’t made it on once. While I see the regulars on almost every day. Do I have to join something to get on.
My comments have been all over the board so it can not be what I am commenting on. I know your blog backwards and forwards so I know that it can not be what I said.
Me mates have gotten on, yet you keep me off. WHY?
This is my last try. If you do not let me on, I am removing you blog address from my bar.
Today I wish to address my comments to Alexander Hamilton.
Mr. Hamilton
we, my school follows your exploits and we love you. we are so glad that you did not die. we are like you, we are renaissance boys. we are in a special school for Mensa kids.
We wish they would not separate the girls from the boys but they do. we like you spend many hours trying to connect with our girl Mensa girls. There is this one part oriental beauty that I fancy. I would do whatever it takes to make it happen too. She once hid in her mother’s car boot so we could meet when she dropped off her brother.
Here in England(we are forbidden from telling where we are in the country) we are studying the effects the United States had on the economy. We are very interested about what the motivation was behind some of the financial moves made during that period.
we would be grateful for any thing you could find out.
Kent
November 13th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Hafa adai
Yes even in Guam we have the two faced, double talking thieves in Guam. But sometimes justice is nice.
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GUAM – Deposed senator. Self-proclaimed surgeon. Unsanitary landlord. Finger-pointing radio talk show host. In the ongoing saga of controversy that surrounds political firebrand Jesse Anderson Lujan comes a new twist.
This time the assets of his development company have been seized. Lujan holds or held interest in Cyfred Ltd., developer of the sewer-less Gil-Baza subdivision in Yigo.
According to the Pacific Daily News, the Superior Court of Guam has seized 85 lots at the subdivision and a Cyfred bank account and has frozen another Cyfred bank account to force payment on the court’s 2006 order requiring Cyfred to pay $580,000 for the installation of sewer lines.
It’s been about seven years since Gil-Baza residents brought suit against Cyfred for infrastructure problems, most notably the lack of sewage pipes. And to this day residents are still using portable toilets, according to the PDN.
As a radio talk show host, Jesse Anderson Lujan presumes the role of watchdog for the people and puts public officials on notice that he’s got them in his “cross-hairs”.
But the reality is that Jesse Anderson Lujan has been pretending to have our best interests at heart while conniving and scheming to advance a personal agenda that shortchanges the public he claims to protect.
Years ago he told us he was a thoracic surgeon. But when called upon for proof, he couldn’t produce. You can see how this lack of certainty might be a problem if someone called for a doctor in the house.
Then he tried his hand at the landlord business. But when called upon to finish the project for his tenants he left them high and dry without a decent place to relieve themselves.
It was about this time that his career as a politician fizzled out.
Now he’s on the radio calling others on their shortcomings. But when called upon to be credible, he leaves us disappointed still.
Perhaps justice is finally being served on a man who for too long has skated by on half truths and bluster. And perhaps this is a chance to right the wrong he’s done some folks who haven’t had his same advantages in life.
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Peter
November 13th, 2009 at 5:53 am
THE FINE ART OF TONGUE DIAGNOSIS
Doctors of Western medicine may ask you to stick out your tongue so they can look down your throat. Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), on the other hand, find your tongue itself to be of great interest. To the skilled eye of a TCM practitioner, the topography of the human tongue is more than a collection of tiny crevasses and multi-hued surfaces — it reveals nutritional deficiencies, flags the presence of infection and also identifies strengths and constitutional weaknesses that can bring on health challenges.
TONGUE TELLS ALL
I recently spoke with Maoshing Ni, DOM, PhD, LAC, author of Secrets of Self Healing and a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Oriental medicine who cofounded Yo San University in Los Angeles. He told me that for more than 5,000 years Chinese medicine has consistently used tongue diagnosis as a fully developed system of assessing health. “The shape, color and movement of tongue body, color, and the texture of the coating all are indicative of body function and pathology,” Dr. Ni explained. “For example, a healthy person should possess a pink tongue body with very little coating. In general, having a red tongue would mean hyperfunctioning (an overreactive system, prone to agitation, fast metabolism and overheating) and a pale tongue hypo-functioning.” A tongue with a yellow coating usually indicates the presence of a bacterial infection elsewhere in the body, while a white coating can be a sign of a fungal infection/mucus condition that sometimes leads to thrush.
Dr. Ni said there are many other specific nuances that a trained professional looks for in tongue diagnosis and that there are other factors that may influence the appearance of your tongue — beyond what you’ve recently put in your mouth — including age, the time of day and season of the year.
MAP OF THE TONGUE
The ancient Chinese concept of energy channels, or meridians, is at the core of tongue analysis, just as it is with acupuncture and reflexology. Different parts of the tongue are associated with different body systems and organs. Dr. Ni explained that if you were to look at a diagram of your tongue with the tip in the southern position and the back of it in the north, your organs would be represented in these areas:
Tip of tongue: Heart
Just behind the heart area: Lungs
Center of tongue: Spleen and stomach
Back of tongue: Kidney, bladder and intestines
Sides of tongue, running from front to back: Liver and gallbladder
Changes in color, coating, appearance, etc., are reflective of issues in the corresponding organs. Extensive research in modern-day China has confirmed this ancient knowledge, Dr. Ni told me.
ARE YOU SHARP-TONGUED?
The shape of your tongue, as well as the way it moves, also may reveal your personality tendencies. “For example,” said Dr. Ni, “a narrow, sharply shaped tongue that moves quickly and with agility indicates someone who is impatient and tends toward anger and flying off the handle — people with this tongue presentation are more likely to be Type A. A more lethargic and flabby, swollen tongue that moves sluggishly indicates a person may be more withdrawn, tired and melancholic.” If you want to try to glean some information from your tongue, take a look at the Web site Beyond Well Being, which provides a guided self-diagnosis (http://beyondwellbeing.com/herbs/tongue-diagnosis.shtml) of the tongue based on color, vein patterns, coating and basic characteristics, including cracks and fissures.
While it’s possible to examine your own tongue and make a preliminary assessment based on some common markers and characteristics, Dr. Ni cautions that it’s always best to get a thorough examination by a qualified TCM practitioner, as the nuances of color and texture can be misleading to an untrained eye. And, importantly, a TCM physician will make his/her diagnosis based not only on a tongue examination but also will perform a pulse diagnosis, and combine these assessments with other markers, including what he/she smells, hears and observes. If he/she feels it is needed, a TCM practitioner will not hesitate to order a blood test or an imaging scan if the patient’s condition calls for further confirmation.
Also, Dr. Ni cautioned that you shouldn’t try to “clean up” your tongue by tongue brushing, rinsing or scraping prior to examination by a doctor of TCM, as doing so may mask what’s to be learned. The tongue serves as a barometer for overall health, he said, noting that altering its appearance can impair the doctor’s ability to perform an accurate reading. Note, too, that a simple cup of tea or coffee may bring temporary changes as well, so it might be best to hold off till after your appointment.
Source(s):
Maoshing Ni, PhD, DOM, ABAAHP, is chairman and cofounder of Yo San University (http://www.yosan.edu) in Los Angeles, California. He is a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Oriental medicine, and author of multiple books including Secrets of Self Healing (Avery). Dr. Ni maintains a practice at the Tao of Wellness (http://www.taoofwellness.com) in Santa Monica, California.
November 13th, 2009 at 7:24 am
We went to a concert in London where Bita went back stage to tell the Dixie Chicks that their statement about Bush would mean years of hardship. Natalie was so shocked to see Bita “beam” in she almost went into shock. Adam had to intervene to say the day as usual.
Oh to be an alien.
We sailed ahead to July 22, 2003 and reconnected with the girls again in Santa Monica. Only Emily remembered our previous encounter she was lamenting their lost of sales and all the radio stations that had banned their singles.
Again Bita reassured her that if she held true to their convictions that they would be rewarded. Emily asked Bita to beam in if she set up a separate meeting with Mariie. I wanted to nix the idea but I need the love. Besides Adam could remove the memory.
So I let her go to a party held by a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization called Rock the Vote party with the girls.
Oh, we revisited another idol of hers Angelina Jolie. We had visited her in January. It was then Bita showed Jolie pictures of Billy Bob naked with some woman. This time she was tell her that a 27 year old woman should be happy that she is done with a 47 year old leach.
I sat in a corner wondering why we were doing this? Anyway Bita was telling her that she did not need to despair so much over their adopted kid from Cambodia because her lawyer Laura Wasser would work it all out and that she and Brad Pitt would add considerably to the family. She also told her that she would even survive Brad. That was enough for me. I called Adam and asked him to do his memory thing.
Then to change the subject I asked Adam to accompany me to the Iraq war. Adam smiled and asked me if I wanted to see the Bush propaganda machine at work. I said of course so he took me to July 21, 2003.
We entered Mosul while the bombs were going off everywhere. Eight members of the Baath militiamen were holding Odai, and Qusai Hussein and offering to trade them to the US for safe passage to Jordan with the 800 plus million dollars they had wrested from the two son of Hussein.
They were afraid that Qusai’s Special Republican Guard and Odai’s Fedayeen militia would track them down unless they could claim that they were killed by US forces.
We watched as they were turned over to a US military black ops unit composed of military, CIA, and secret men from within the US and other countries. I was surprised to see Anonz present in a US military uniform.
They took both to separate locations and proceeded to torture them to get them to tell where their father was. They refused to talk and were beat horribly. There fingers and toes were broken one by one and then cut off one by one.
Anonz objected and walked out during the first part of the torture. He went in to see two members of group that had turned them in. He interrogated them about where the caches of money were probably located and left to find them.
We had to decide whether to follow him or to stay to watch the torture of Saddam’s two sons. We stayed. I asked Adam if he could do something he said that these two were not getting anything like they had dished out to thousands of innocent men, women and children.
The two were tortured to death, but they never revealed the location of their father. They died July 22, 2003. Their bodies were dragged to deserted battle location in Mosul and the US media reported July 23, 2003 that they had been killed in a fire fight. The eight thieves were transported to the Jordan border and allowed to “sneak” pass US forces and enter Jordan.
AH