Speaker Boner is talking junk. He stated yesterday he and the President have the same job.

NOT !


Does the House actually believe they are the Executive Branch?  I mean really.  The 'Fantasy Football' team in the House needs to be playing with a full  deck.  I think that might be in question.


Perhaps the House and their Speaker need to read the US Constitution.


Article I.

Section. 7.

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Something about Aryan Nation. (click title to entry - thank you)

Lunx Gaede at age 19. Photo via ABC News (click title to entry - thank you)

Teen twins Lamb and Lynx Gaede are denouncing the hate filled songs that once made them infamous.

As part of the singing duo Prussian Blue, the girls started their “hate rock” career at the age of 11, singing songs with lyrics like, “Aryan man awake, how much more will you take, turn that fear to hate, Aryan man awake,” and “too many white men choose wrong over white over the fight.”

But Lamb and Lynx, age 19, are singing a different tune and have put their Aryan Nation days behind them.

The link at this title goes to a video about the violence.

Toward the end of the video is a tour of the scene shortly after the bombing.  It is initially deadly quiet.  The scene is not as debris laden as I would expect it to be so it was probably a huge concussion bomb of some kind.  Not that it didn't do damage, but, the debris outside the building is morely glass and paper with little structural integrity noted to be scattered about.  The concrete and metal seemed to have held up fairly well.  Of course, concrete and steel holds up better than flesh.


The bomb blast reached a great distance, but, I didn't notice any crater.


There is one car chasis in the film, it could be the vehicle or perhaps not, simply a vehicle at the scene.  I don't think so though unless the gasoline ignited in the explosion.  The damage to that vehicle is considerable and does not seem to match the damage to the buildings.


I would not trust the structural soundness of the buildings for more than a day or so.  These events usually show up structural damage after a settling of the blast.  Even a concussion bomb would 'rattle' the 'seams' enough to start a significant deterioration of the structure in a couple of days to a week.  


Sort of like that of an earthquake, but, localized to one small area.  


My sympathies to such a wonderful country as Norway.  So, sorry to hear such terrible, terrible news.

A Norwegian Christian Conservative is responsible for the bombing attacks today? Seriously? Wow.

The Facebook Page doesn't seem to be available right now.

...A Facebook Proflie (click title to entry - thank you)  for an Oslo man of that name and age includes a profile photo identical to the one being used by Norwegian media. In the profile, he lists himself as "single," "Christian" and "conservative" and says he is director of Breivik Geofarm...

He reminds of McVeigh and Rudolph.  Ideologues with no real value system except their own.


…The account has no posts.   Twitter account apparently for Behring Breivik uses the same profile photo and has but one tweet, dated July 17: 

"One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100000 who have only interests."(click here for his twitter account)…


What are the scares about?  His chin?  Why in the name of ... did he ever dream this one up?

NESLANDET, Norway - Norwegian teenagers (click here) at a lakeside summer camp fled screaming in panic, many leaping into the water to save themselves, when an attacker dressed as a policeman began spraying them with gunfire.

Police said at least 10 of the youngsters, attending a camp run by the governing Labour Party, were killed in Friday's attack, shortly after a blast in the capital Oslo killed seven people in Western Europe's worst bombing since 2005.

"I just saw people jumping into the water, about 50 people swimming towards the shore. People were crying, shaking, they were terrified," said Anita Lien, 42, who lives by Tyrifjord lake, a few hundred metres (yards) from Utoeya island, northwest of Oslo.

"They were so young, between 14 and 19 years old," she said.

Utoeya is an island about 500 metres long, clad with pine trees. Lien said the shooting sounded like automatic gunfire....

He must have staged his bombings from that island and was out to kill everyone that could be a witness.  

...Norwegian police in the Buskerud county found explosives (click here) on a small island, where at least 10 people were shot dead by a gunman earlier in the day.

The police conducted a thorough search after the shooting incident, which occurred about two hours after the government building quarters in downtown Oslo were shaken and damaged in a powerful bomb explosion.

At a press conference called late Friday night, Sveinung Sponheim, a police officer, refused to say anything about what type of explosives were found on the island of Utoeya, which lies about 40 kilometers west of Oslo.

The gunman, who was arrested after the shooting incident on the island, is a 32-year-old Norwegian citizen, said the police officer.

The explosion in downtown Oslo took at least seven lives and two of the 16 injured were in critical condition.....

He thought the people on the island were contained, so if he killed them all there would be no witnesses.  That is the only thing that makes sense to me.  He didn't expect anyone to make it off the island.

At least 80 people died when a gunman opened fire at an island youth camp in Norway, hours after a bomb attack on the capital, Oslo, police say. (click here)

Oslo police are questioning a 32-year-old Norwegian man in connection with both attacks.

The man was arrested on tiny Utoeya island outside Oslo, where police say he opened fire on teenagers.

The earlier bomb attack killed at least seven people. The attacks are the worst Norway has seen since World War II.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, whose Oslo offices were among those badly hit by the blast, described the attacks as "bloody and cowardly".

Hundreds of young people were attending the summer camp organised by the ruling Labour Party on Utoeya island.

Eyewitnesses described how a man dressed as a policeman opened fire indiscriminately. People said that after the gunman started shooting, campers jumped into the water to try to escape the hail of bullets.

Police say they discovered many more victims after searching the area around the island.

What kind of an extremist group was it?  

continued...

The President has done all he can do to bring the Debt Ceiling under control.

House Minority Leader Pelosi needs to have a back up plan, which she probably does, with enough Republican support to pass the House.


There is a lot "W"rong with the Republican resolve in regard to the debt ceiling.  Rep. Joe Walsh is an example of the arrogance that is attempting to call themselves experts in regard to the crisis.  


He stated today he knew what had to be done to maintain the nation's credit rating because he spoke to Standards and Poors himself.  Does he actually think he was the one to approach the rating agencies?  It was Moody's who threatened to downgrade the USA by today.  I am more than confident Secretary Geithner speaks with the ratings agencies on a regular basis, so there is no reason to believe the President is not informed.  Heck, Secretary Geithner attends conferences with people in the financial community, what makes anyone believe he does not have his pulse on this entire situation.  Why do people see the President earnest to end this stalemate while protecting the vulnerable in this country? 


The Republicans, especially the Freshman, are arrogant without any understanding of government, power and how to govern.  They are unwilling to be lead.  


If the country is allowed to be pushed over the edge there is a chance all the entitlements will go with it and that is exactly what the Republicans want.  What else is there to say?  About a week ago I stated the President should prepare for default.  It will happen, unless Minority Leader Pelosi can pull enough Republicans on the side of what is best for the country and pass a bill that will pass the Senate and the President will sign.


It is astounding the Speaker of the House as abandoned all talks regarding this national emergency.  It is irreverent to the people, the Constitution and the office of the President.  This is nothing short of a bloodless coup then ever occurred in the USA.  


The Republicans have no corner on authority.  They are a danger to this country and this is still another example.  I hope the Justice Department is keeping up with the degree the Republicans in the House are irreverent to the USA Constitution and their oath of office.

Updated 6:05 p.m. Eastern Time

...House Speaker John Boehner (click title to entry - thank you)  has walked away from negotiations with President Obama over a deal to raise the debt limit.

"In the end, we couldn't connect. Not because of different personalities, but because of different visions for our country," Boehner said in a letter to colleagues. He said Mr. Obama " is emphatic that taxes have to be raised" and "adamant that we cannot make fundamental changes to our entitlement programs."

"For these reasons, I have decided to end discussions with the White House and begin conversations with the leaders of the Senate in an effort to find a path forward," he said....

The Ryan Path to Prosperity makes some very glaring errors.

The most outstanding error is the fact Paul Ryan believes he can take the Simpson-Bowles Commission findings and rearrange it to suit himself and the GOP lifestyles.


The current debt talks may be making the same error.  I do know I heard the President state, he disagreed with the military budget cuts of the Bowles-Simpson Commission.  


That is not an option and I find it astounding as to how a President can be sucked up into believing the military cannot do more with less.


The Simpson-Bowles Commission recommendations were never meant to be used as individual measures, they were to be used as a harmony of changes in regulations.  


Paul Ryan self-righteously decided he could move the tax base to 23% as if nothing else needed to be touched except of course the entitlements of which he would like to gut if he could.  The fact of the matter is the only way Simpson-Bowles can be implemented is to apply all the changes at once.  The President is making a gross error if he believes he can gut mortgage deductions on the income tax schedule without bringing down their tax rates at the very same time.


It might be possible to allow the Simpson-Bowles Commission recommendations to be phased in so long as the gross tax any 'socio-economic' group pays is receiving the benefits of the commission recommendations as well as the exclusion of deductions.  If the Republicans want to allow the wealthiest in the nation to continue to play games with the tax codes I suggest they should.  Absolutely.  Let's show them to the American people for what they are.  But, if the President wants to eliminate tax deductions for the Middle Class and Poor then he needs to also restructure their tax burden at the same time so their disposable income does not change.  It can be done and it should be done and the Middle Class will carry the importance of being patriotic and doing their best to stem the debt crisis.  At no point in time should the tax deductions for any one tax class be allowed to proceed without lowering their tax burden on the schedule.

The legislation at any level of government written with an ALEC template needs to be litigated.

I find one of the most egregious measures to be the 'instatement' of For-Profit Attorneys conducting state business.  This takes the PRIVATIZATION of government to a level that is not democratic.  While the people may vote for their Attorney General, that does not mean he is the one doing the work.

ALEC developed the Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act (PARSA) (click here) to address the increasing prevalence of government officials hiring outside private attorneys on contingency fee to conduct litigation on behalf of the state. As these hired attorneys are paid only if their case is successful, a profit motive arises where a public-interest motive should take precedence. While there may be certain circumstances under which this practice is justified, its expanded use in recent years and the opportunity for abuse make the establishment of certain hiring guidelines prudent policy.

State legislators across the country have taken up the cause and called for accountability and openness in the state’s hiring of outside counsel. ALEC’s model act requires competitive bidding, oversight, and transparency to guide and limit the contract attorney hiring process for state entities.

It is simply outrageous to KNOW the Attorney Generals of Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska are using private attorneys working for profit, as they only get paid when they win a case, conducting the people's business.  This is a direct assault on the government sector of the USA at the very basis of its existence.  There is no one that should stand for litigation from a template fashioned to serve a plutocratic king.


"States Rights" is not about homogenizing the nation, it is about respecting the individual differences states have in respect to their federal government.  If the States Rights of the USA Constitution were removed the federal government would dictate the 'tone' of the entire nation and be burdened with legislating 'bland' laws that apply to fifty states so they can be easily respected with the differences intact.  The sheer geography of the nation dictates there be State's Rights.  


Institutionalizing our laws destroys democracy and does not uphold it.  ALEC institutionalizes the laws of our nation.  The laws need to be the work of 'the people' not Wall Street.


Kindly note the reference to the article where this hideous template is elevated to worthwhile:


Click here to view a related Wall Street Journal article.


MURDOCH.


I don't think so.

Grover Norquist and the Bush Tax Cuts

One of the definitions of sanctioned is:  "Give official permission or approval for (an action)."

The oath of office is all any publicly elected authority should need to act on behalf of the people who elected him or her.  The oath of office is written 'doctrine' and will stand up in court as the means to insure proper actions are taken by the representative of the people be it Senator, Representative, President or otherwise.

When any President resigned or otherwise a Vice President was given a solemn oath for the office that person was about to take.  The same is true with every elected representative from city council man or woman all the way to President of the USA.  

In the case of the President, the oath of office is written into the Constitution of the USA.  It says, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Simple.  Clear.  Unwavering to its context.  The foundation of our Executive Branch of the USA.

The circumstances the USA faces right now in relation to the Debt Ceiling are very serious.  So, serious that the headlines right now are this: 

California borrowing $5B ahead of US debt deadline (click title to entry - thank you)

Share 

By JUDY LIN
Associated Press

Published: Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011 - 2:31 pm

Last Modified: Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011 - 2:56 pm

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California plans to borrow about $5 billion from private investors next week to protect itself in case the federal government defaults on its debt, the state treasurer's office announced Thursday.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer said he has asked a select group of banks, credit unions  and investment funds for bids Tuesday on private loans to help the state avoid a cash shortage.

Lockyer, a Democrat, said the state needs to act in case talks between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C., remain at an impasse. That could force the federal government to default on loan obligations and shortchange states on health care and educational funding....

The last thing California needed was to have to borrow more money.  It was the last thing any state needed.  

I'll tell you how serious this is, beyond the 'talking points' of the Republican Party.  I believe there is evidence to state, this is Pre-meditated to destroy the USA and divide the states into warring entities and I am not joking.  I have never been more serious in my life.

The Bush Tax Cuts set this country on a path of self destruction and the Republicans knew it when they passed those reductions in the US Treasury income.  They destroyed all the prudent use of the Democratic surpluses in the year 2001 and in the future.  It wasn't as though the USA had NO debt; it was that the tax structure and the budget of the country were, at the time, showing a surplus in income to the Treasury.  The National Debt still had to be paid, so to cut taxes when the USA was still in trillions of dollars of debt should have been more than curious.

As I work through this premise, no has to keep in mind we had a Texas President.  One that was at least as interested in the autonomy of Texas as the use of war to run up the nation's debt and instill into the USA Treasury crony interests and payoffs.  We not only had a Texas President, but, also a 'in trouble' former CEO of Halliburton.  The stage to destroy the sovereignty of the USA could never be better staffed than that.

It never made sense to keep the Bush Tax Cuts.  We had attacks into the USA on September 11, 2001 and we had to gear up for war.  We needed capital investment into weapons, troops and technology and the nation was changing its spending structure as the planes hit the World Trade Towers.  It never made any sense to continue down a road of tax destruction, stimulus spending, jobs bills one after the other and believe the country in the long run would be okay.  At the very least, when the USA was facing two wars, one in Afghanistan with NATO allies and one in Iraq by choice there should have been an increase back to the Pre-Bush years to safeguard the USA from any fiscal nightmares.  We had plenty emergencies, there was a change in the Presdient's Cabinet to prove how the 'status' of well being of the country changed after 9-11.  There was a lot going on including the reduction of personal privacy, etc.  All that takes money and plenty of it.  There was a new high tech headquarters for the CIA and FBI built to empower the intelligence communities to defend and protect the USA.  Every citizen in the country would have understood a tax increase and yes, while there was a severe implosion of the USA economy after 9-11, it did not last for very long.

To say ideologues are a conspiracy might not be correct, but, if it is not then it is pure idiocy.  The ideological beliefs of 'THE SIGNATORS' of Gover Norquist's Pledge are some of the most foolish people on Earth.  They were elected into office to serve the best interests of the people of the USA and instead they serve the demands of an organization created to do nothing but remove the monies from the Treasury of the USA on a path that never allows those monies to return no matter the emergency in the country.  It is treason.  Absolutely is treason.  I took a pledge before every 4-H meeting.  I took a pledge when we formed a secret club in the tree house.  I took a pledge when I became a professional.  But, I never took a pledge that would put my country on a path to self destruction.  

The Bush Tax Cuts were intended to be irreversible.  They are proven to NOT increase job growth.  They are draconian in nature without reprieve from existence.  ACCORDING TO THE PLEDGE.

When I take a look across the country post "Elections of 2010" and realize the immediate change in the States with Governors crying they have to destroy the basis of having public employees, it causes me a great deal of pause.  Now, we can attribute the SAMENESS of the actions of Republican Governors to ALEC.  We can explain away all the hideous mechanisms that are being put in place to control the outcomes for the private sector through the political corruption of the Republican Party, but, we cannot continue to explain away that reality in the face of the EMERGENCY the country and the states now face. 

The ONLY Republicans breaking ranks with these premises are three in "The Gang of Six."  I find that odd.  Very odd.  Either Republicans are so dependent on these 'PROPS' to their winning elections or there is some kind of 'brotherhood' and 'sisterhood' yet to be revealed that they are devoted to in order to destroy the sovereignty of the USA and elevate each State to its own sovereign authority.  I believe it probably is a combination of both and the 'idea' there is a 'grand plan' for the destruction of the sovereignty of the USA is a myth simply because the Republicans began to 'walk back' all their campaign promises almost as soon as the oath of office was given to them in January of 2011.  That is right, it was only a few months ago all these morons actually touched down in the nation's captial.

The Republicans in the Senate and the House have changed enormously since December of 2010.  There are a large group of Freshman House members dedicated to their ideals.  The problem is that we have an excellent President that inherited an emergency the day he took office.  The path to solving that emergency was not to drop bombs on Wall Street, although some would argue it would be the best thing we could do to solve the problem, but, to drop a MONEY BOMB on the nation to stop its decline and increase its chances of preventing a complete collapse of its fiscal viability which is the same thing as protecting its sovereignty in the year 2009.

It has been my opinion since the underhanded election of George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney that the RNC is a party in decline.  The elections of 2010 only proved that beyond any imagination.  The Norquist Pledge and learning about ALEC only confirms that even more.  But, to simply explain away the Republicans 'position' at a time of emergency as 'a political thing' is just as irresponsible as rolling back the surpluses that could have paid off the debt and secured SSI and Medicare for a very long time.  IF the Bush Tax Cuts never occurred we would have paid for the wars and not borrowed more and more money to engage in them.  

One has to remember when Bush started throwing around the word 'billions' as in $84 billion or whatever the amount that was flown into Iraq on an air transport that was an astonishing amount of money.  The word trillion didn't become a common word in the American vocabulary until the banking emergency of October 2008.  So this entire scenario with the Republicans, their assault on the USA Treasury at every turn, their pledges to organizations while not upholding their oath of office and reliance on ALEC instead of their own minds and experience is a huge dynamic that very powerful people are relying on to secure what exactly?  What exactly do Republicans believe they are doing?  Because when everything gets put into one picture what manifests is a party of people committed to their own priorities without the brevity of their oath of office and the well being of an entire nation.  This isn't a minor topic.  This is huge.  It goes to the very competency of our government and the intact state of our nation and states.  

The 'methods' of the RNC and its relationship to the sovereignty of the USA have to be examined and they have to be examined soon.  I do believe the 'pledged' Republicans are impeachable.  I do believe they are doing the worst for the nation and not the best.  The USA has corrupted members all the way to the Supreme Court that are dedicated to destroying the sovereignty of the USA through their casual relationship with their paychecks.  

A person thrust into power for the first time sometimes is swept into believing they are more important than life itself.  They begin to believe they grant life as well as destroy it with a simple signature.  They find themselves in dynamics that control them rather than the other way around and sometimes the pledges they felt exhibited their character in an election have to be the right way of thinking and 'BEING.'  That is not just immaturity, but, a huge mistake.  They are a danger to the USA and not a minor one either.

The RNC is in decline and while we value a two party system in this country, we need to realize where our allegiance lies as citizens and how we have to think for ourselves in realizing there are those qualified to be in office and those that are struggling even as they are in office. 

The USA is in danger by the very people elected in 2010 and while the jubilation of their new office might still exist the brevity of their responsibility of their oath carries more weight than a pledge or ideal they may believe is vital to their election.  The people of the USA need to recommit their allegiance to their country in realizing it does take a certain expertise to be in office and not simply a barage of telephone calls to empty headed representatives.

The Republicans are in serious danger of being treasonous to the USA Constitution as well as their Chief Justice.  They are allowing outside influences to rule their decisions and not what is best for the country.  There is far, far too much proof not to come to these conclusions and abide by what I know to be true.

"Insufficient Funds"

I could not stop laughing when I returned home after an errand and my mother called.  At one point she asked me if I was alright.


My mother stated in an urgently angry voice, "Hey, there is this guy that owns the Republican Party."


I said, "There is?"


She said, "Yeah, he is a son of a bitch."


I said, "Do you want to tell me who bought the Republican Party or should I guess it is Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers?"


She said, "Who?"


I said, "Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers."


She said, "No, no that isn't his name."


I said, "Should I turn the news on right now and find our or is this something your pinochle club discovered?"


TRUE STORY.  I would never lie about my mother.


She stated, "No, this is something I heard on the television about a man that makes the Republicans sign a pledge not to raise taxes and they do it!:"


I asked her if the name was Grover Norquist.  She said, "That's the guy.  He is such a son of a bitch."


I asked, "Ma. Why is he such a son of a bitch?  What did he do wrong?" 


She was still very aggitated and said, "What did he do wrong?  He is blackmailing all the Republicans in the House and Senate.  And if the constituents of these Republicans didn't know they were voting for a 'sanctioned' Republican, then they have a right to repeal their representative.  I mean these Republicans are breaking their oath of office even if their constituents did know they signed this pledge."


I said, "Ya know, Mom, I think you have something there.  They take an oath to uphold the Constitution and not the Norquist Pledge."


She said, "I think I want to start an organization to stop these people from blackmailing Republicans.  I mean people have to know.  Right?"


My mother is 76 years old and one of the most wonderful women I know.  She worked a job for thirty years of her life and fought my father every step of the way when he told her she was never to start a job.  She pushed him to buy houses we lived in.  When they retired it was in comfort for the pension they both had besides their social security.  She is amazing.  When she sets her mind to something she always achieves her goals.  At her advanced age she is going to need help in achieving this goal, so we'll have to see about all that.


But, she honestly never heard of Gover Norquist and she was absolutely in distress when she realized what was occurring in Washington, DC.  She immediately thought President Obama was a saint for having to deal with wayward Republicans that were not doing what needed to be done for the country.  


This is true story. 


I told her we would go to dinner to talk some more and we went to a lovely little bistro where the food is out of this world.  All she could do was to talk about her worry for the USA, for the future of the country,  for the burden the President has including the wars and Mideast unrest, the increasing price of oil that she believed was an international crime of speculators.  She is very bright woman and at one time she and my father were involved in the local Democratic Club when they lived in New Jersey.  She supported every local office my father participated in and never wavered in her love of this country.


For my mother to be this alarmed, there had to be something so profoundly wrong, I said to her,"You know, Mom, so many people know about this pledge and it has been around for a long time, but hearing it from you was more refreshing then you know."  


She is a sweet heart and I believe she is more correct about this pledge signing by the Republicans than anyone else I have ever heard speak about it.  The Republicans should be threatened with impeachment for abandoning their oath of office and their loyalty to the USA and the US Constitution.


End.

According to Republicans, Poor is the new Wealthy! They might be correct though.

..

The Heritage Foundation determined to knock down stereotypes have put out a study that is astronomically astounding.


The Poor have ONE television !


It is starting to look like a different country in some social circle, now isn't it?  I mean apartments usually come with some amenities or at least the plugs for them.  Dishwasters and refigerators at the very least.  Usually cable hook ups.  Cable is all anyone can get now.  No antennas remember?

Abstract: For decades, (click title to entry - thank you) the U.S. Census Bureau has reported that over 30 million Americans were living in “poverty,” but the bureau’s definition of poverty differs widely from that held by most Americans. In fact, other government surveys show that most of the persons whom the government defines as “in poverty” are not poor in any ordinary sense of the term. The overwhelming majority of the poor have air conditioning, cable TV, and a host of other modern amenities. They are well housed, have an adequate and reasonably steady supply of food, and have met their other basic needs, including medical care. Some poor Americans do experience significant hardships, including temporary food shortages or inadequate housing, but these individuals are a minority within the overall poverty population. Poverty remains an issue of serious social concern, but accurate information about that problem is essential in crafting wise public policy. Exaggeration and misinformation about poverty obscure the nature, extent, and causes of real material deprivation, thereby hampering the development of well-targeted, effective programs to reduce the problem.


Additionally, since the 2008 Global Economic Collapse and the implosion of the housing market formerly known as the Housing Bubble, the American Dream is more a distant reality for more Americans.

American dream on life support as U.S. moves to 'rentership society'  (click here)

Homeownership rate now below 60%; opportunity for real estate investors?

July 21, 2011 9:19 am ET

The U.S. homeownership rate has fallen below 60 percent when delinquent borrowers are excluded, a sign of the country's move toward a “rentership society,” Morgan Stanley said in a report today.

...The homeownership rate reached an all-time high of 69.2 percent in 2004 as relaxed lending standards fueled home sales and President George W. Bush promoted an “ownership society.” Mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures and tighter credit for housing loans are reducing property buying, Chang said....

I was recently visiting an Aunt and Uncle in Dearborn, Michigan.  They are in good health.  They live is a modest dwelling where they raised their six children.  All are working and successful and have families.  They are retired by many, many years.  A neighbor stopped over the house why I was there.  

A gentleman that works as a prison guard and he was nearly in tears.  He stated, he heard from his employer there would be furlow days for him.  He then went to the bank to find out his options with his investment to date in his family's home.  He was looking for a second job, but, wasn't having luck.  He found out from his bank that the value on his home was more than his mortgage and there were no options open to him other than to continue to make his payments.  

This neighbor stops in to check on my Aunt and Uncle dearly every other day, so they have an on going relationship.  This gentleman has a wife and two school aged children.  He loves him home and his neighborhood.  He was completely devastated by the news.  When are draconian cuts in state budgets going to stop and stop terrorizing our citizens.

I want an federal investigation into the prosecution methods.

There was absolutely NO CASE against this woman and I demand the case to be investigated for political goals with media participation!  

This was a capital murder case where the State was seeking the death sentence.  Immediately upon receiving the new information the prosecution should have moved for a miss trial at the very least.  This is one of the most outrageous prosecutions I have ever witnessed including animated graphics that had NO SUPPORTING evidence in the way of witnesses, testimony of any kind, only IMAGINEERING.  This is a travesty and an outrage.  This case is the most expensive case in the history of the state and there was no basis for it be even begin.  

Casey Anthony Trial: Prosecutors Used False Information on Chloroform Searches (click title to entry - thank you)

...They continued to present this fact even after John Bradley, who built the program the Orange County Sherrif's Office used to establish Anthony's Internet search history, told them that Anthony in fact only searched the term once.

"I gave the police everything they needed to present a new report," Bradley told The New York Times. "I did the work myself and copied out the entire database in a spreadsheet to make sure there was no issue of accesibility to the data."...