They are correct, even though THE TRUTH is unpopular. I'll prove it to you now!

January 3, 2012
1615gmt
The temperature map of the USA.


It is cold isn't it?  Right? Very cold in some places. There were predictions that the cold would keep Iowans at home.  Could not be further from the turth, because, just like the continuing drought in the middle of the USA, these temperatures even though cold are not normal.  They are above average.

January 3, 2012
1607 gmt


This is the change that occurred in temperatures across the USA in 24 hours.  What that means is that there were drops or increases based on air movement across the country, but, that isn't the entire picture.  The fluctuations are incredible' from an increase of 34 degrees in the upper midwest of all places to minus 25 in Florida.  Huh?

January 03, 2012 
00 gmt


These were the actual high temperatures across the country.  


But, the 'Departure from Normal' temperatures below is where it really gets interesting.

January 3, 2012

00 GMT


There are degree changes from 29 degrees F in the upper midwest to -21 F in Florida.  There is something very wrong with this picture.

Janaury 3, 2012
00GMT


These were the actual low temperatures for the third of January 2012.  

January 3, 2012
00 GMT


This is the departure from normal temperatures in degrees fahrenheit.


This is climate change, it is a climate crisis.  Growing patterns can literally change and the outcomes for the country is dangerous.  A majority of the country is getting warmer while the east coast of the USA is seeing changes in temperature that are colder.  The reason there is more coldness in the eastern part of the country is because the ground is saturated with water and the chill of the air has penetrated the ground and caused residual cold.  The ground is keeping the east coast colder, but, the air isn't.  The air temperatures are higher than normal for this time of year and we are in winter in the northern hemisphere.


There are lots of evidence, but, the everyday lives of people can measure the change in their own recollection of years past.  If one notices, as soon as the cloudy, cold air leaves for higher latitudes, the air gets warm very quickly.  It is only the arctic blasts that come across the mid-latitudes that is causing any kind of winter, not the fact the planet is actually in winter.


It is here.  The Climate Crisis is upon us.

Janaury 3, 2012
Current Snowcover

I hate to break THE TRUTH to Big Oil, but, North Carolina is going solar. Yep.

LOCAL ECONOMIES, PEOPLE !!!


Stop corporations from dictating your life !

Solar Farm 

Another development during the past year that spans both economic and environmental boundaries was the O2Energies “Mayberry solar farm” project.

It began operations within the last quarter of 2011 on property adjacent to the Mount Airy Wastewater Treatment Plant off U.S. 52-South.

Numerous business leaders and officials gathered in early October for the dedication of the solar farm that placed Surry County on the cutting edge of “clean energy” technology.

O2 Energies, a Charlotte-area company that develops turn-key, ground-mounted solar photovoltaic systems, worked with the city over the previous two years to develop the farm.

Also, more than 20 local and state businesses were involved in its construction.

The 1.2-megawatt solar farm consists of rows of collectors mounted to the ground and will power around 150 homes. The electricity generated by the solar panels will go into the Duke Energy grid to supply local homes.

Turning the state on to solar power  (click here)

Company leads move to sustainable energy

By Elisabeth Arriero

A Lake Norman company is cashing in on the state's burgeoning solar power industry and bringing revenue to the Lake Norman area.

O2 Energies, a 2-year-old Cornelius firm that develops and finances solar-power projects, recently opened power plants in Newland and Mt. Airy.

In Newland, the company converted 6 acres of a 38-acre Christmas Tree Farm into a 1-megawatt solar power plant. In Mt. Airy, O2 Energies created a 1.2-megawatt solar power plant on 6 acres about 3 miles from the city's downtown.

The two plants in Newland and Mt. Airy join a number of other solar plants throughout the state, many of which O2 Energies has helped to develop.

Altogether, the company has developed about 70 solar projects. However, the new plants in Avery and Mount Airy, are the only two that O2 Energies owns.

Those two plans generate more than 3 million kilowatt hours of electricity every year, said Joel Olee Olsen, the company's managing director....

In less than one hour, (click here for O2energies) the sun provides as much energy to the Earth as the Earth’s entire annual energy consumption! However, less than 0.02% of the electricity we consume comes from solar energy....

Blackrock is purchasing elections. This is Blackrock's answer to "Buy Gold."

This is the Nightly Business Report for yesterday, the Blackrock 'jock' Bob Dole appeared on the program tonight, January 5, 2012.

Blackrock is a liquidity company.  They buy and sell real companies and now they are predicting the year 2012 will return the government to only Republican leadership.  So, let me see, if I invest with Blackrock they can guarantee I will have Republicans to corrupt the government, contort morality, increase the number impoverished and increase the holdings of million - billionaires.  Oh, yeah, and of course that means returning the energy sector to Big Oil.  Sure, why not.


Since when does a very wealthy group of people have this kind of power over the American elections.  Literally, Blackrock wants to dissolve Medicare and change the dynamics of 'Old Age' in the USA with the next elections.  Wouldn't they like to get their hands on as much liquidity as they can.  There has to be some type of violation here.  Oh, wait, this is more of the Citizen's United boondoggle?  


The Plutocracy is determined to own the USA, harness the military and intimidate the world for their profit margins.  If this isn't proof, don't ask me what is.

...10.  Republicans capture the Senate, retain the House and defeat President Obama. (click here)

Predicting elections is always treacherous and assessing the impacts is even more precarious.  At this stage, our view is there is a strong chance the Republicans retain the House of Representatives while losing a few seats, a reasonable chance they capture the Senate and, while a very different call, win the Presidency.  The last part of this prediction is especially difficult given the President’s advantage of incumbency and campaign war chest and the uncertainty as to the eventual Republican nominee.  Critical to the President’s re-election chances are his approval ratings and the unemployment rate, neither of which are currently in his favor.  From a markets perspective, we would point out that, historically, equity returns have been strongest under Republican control of Congress regardless of the President’s party.

The United States of America owned and operated by Blackrock and Associates

President Obama needs to provide more recess appointments. He has only averaged half or less of other presidents.

Martin J. Gruenberg, (click here) Sheila C. Bair, Chairman (seated), John C. Dugan, Thomas J. Curry, and John M. Reich (standing, left to right)

The USA Government is becoming immobilized by the Senate Republicans and Director Cordray will need qualified people to work with.  




In this example, of one of many still needing confirmation, is Martin J. Grunberg.  Mr. Gruenberg is nominated for Chief Officer of the FDIC.  

This is a very bad time for the FDIC to be without a leader and Mr. Gruenberg is highly qualified.

Martin J. Gruenberg (click title to entry - thank you) Martin J. Gruenberg was sworn in as Vice Chairman of the FDIC Board of Directors on August 22, 2005. Upon the resignation of Chairman Donald Powell, he served as Acting Chairman from November 15, 2005 to June 26, 2006. On November 2, 2007, Mr. Gruenberg was named Chairman of the Executive Council and President of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI)....

The President is responsible for the smooth functioning of the federal government. That is why it is called The Executive Branch.  The lack of the ability of the USA Senate to confirm or deny Presidential nominations is becoming a burden to the people as their government lacks qualified people in LEADERSHIP appointments.  


This is ridiculous as these people are not only qualified they are eminently qualified and have worked in their careers for a significant amount of time to achieve such standing.  


The lack of qualified leadership is hurting the USA for the sake of political gamesmanship.  Those that oppose the multiple nominations in the Senate have NO GOOD REASON for doing so, are hurting the nation and should be impeached and/or recalled whichever is more expedient!

Also awaiting nomination is Thomas Hoenig.  He is nominated for the FDIC Vice Chairmanship.


Thomas M. Hoenig (click here) was president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and a member of the Federal Reserve System’s Federal Open Market Committee from 1991-2011. He retired on Oct. 1, 2011, due to age requirements for regional Reserve Bank presidents....


Also awaiting confirmation is Tomas J. Curry.  He can be noted in the picture at the top of the page as well.


Mr. Curry is nominated for Chairmanship of the OCC.  The OCC is the Office of Comptroller of the Currenty.  (click here)  These nominees are all about the BANKING SYSTEM and the safeguards that exist for the people of this country.  Without the smooth operations of these offices the American people suffer.  These appointees need confirmation as soon as possible.  


Is everyone getting the picture. The BANKS are being protected and allowed to roam free among their consumers without profound leadership at major federal institutions. The reasons seem fairly obvious to me as to the lack of Senate Republicans UNWILLING to perform the responsibilities they were elected to provide.  The Senate Republicans have an acquired incompetency and should be removed from their offices.

Thomas J. Curry

Thomas J. Curry took office on January 12, 2004, as a member of the board of directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a six-year term.

Curry previously served five Massachusetts Governors as the Commonwealth’s Commissioner of Banks from 1995 to December 2003. He served as acting commissioner from February 1994 to June 1995 and as first deputy commissioner from 1987 to 1994.

Curry also served as chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors from 2000 to 2001 and as a member of the State Liaison Committee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council from 1996 to 2003. He joined the Commonwealth’s Division of Banks in 1986. He entered state government in 1982 as an attorney with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office.

Curry is a graduate of Manhattan College (summa cum laude), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from the New England School of Law.


Mr. Curry is an interesting person.  At this webpage he was a member of the Board of Directors of NeighborhoodWorks America. (click here)


One of the many purposes of NeighborhoodWorks America was to offer contacts for people facing foreclosure.


For homeowners (click here) having difficulty paying their mortgage or know they will have difficulty in the near future, it's important for them to act now. NeighborWorks America has developed a robust consumer website, which includes information and links to agencies that can help guide homeowners out of foreclosure.


I thought the motto, which Republicans seem big on these days, of the OCC was more than interesting:  


"Ensuring a Safe and Sound National Banking System for All Americans."


Is anyone NOT getting a clear picture of the ruthless Republican Senators?  I mean 'Really now." Can it be more obvious?

Labor Unions have never been perfect, but, they have always been necessary, especially when the Middle Class is under attack.

Using members due to pay fines is no way for any unions to spend them, however, this is a clear illustration of the fact the courts that hear labor proceedings do not discriminate or favor unions.  They render justice according to the law no different than any other court.

Hawaii judge fines sheet metal workers union over deposition  (click title to entry - thank you)

BY MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE

HONOLULU (Legal Newsline) - A Hawaii federal judge has fined a sheet metal workers union, its principal officer and its attorney for violating the Court's earlier orders.

Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway previously had ordered the union's records custodian to appear for a deposition and produce documents in connection with a National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) investigation of the Union's hiring hall.

Mollway found that the conduct of Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local 293, at the deposition was "tantamount to a failure to appear at the deposition or failure to answer questions."

She also found that the union's attorney "acted with knowledge and with more than recklessness in flouting the court's Oct. 3 order and in inducing Sheet Metal Workers to flout the order" and expressly found both the attorney and the union's custodian of records to have acted in bad faith.

According to the NLRB announcement, the court ordered a fine of $250 per day from October 18, 2011 and continuing until compliance; attorneys' fees and court reporter costs incurred by the NLRB due to the union's non-compliance, to be paid by the union's custodian of records and its attorney, personally; as well $2,500 against each personally....

In anticipation of military cut backs, Boeing is moving the serving of Air Force One from Witchita, Kansas to Texas.  But, the news of how the unions are working to protect their members doesn't stop there.  The military cutbacks are necessary.  Protectionist legislation for Republicans to guard their 'job rating' is not a national security issue.  The national security issue of the USA is over reaching its authority.

Air Force One maintenance moving to San Antonio (click here)

By William Pack, wpack@express-news.net

Updated 01:32 p.m., Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Boeing Co. will move aircraft workers and maintenance of Air Force One to San Antonio as part of a realignment brought about by the closure of its plant in Wichita, Kan.

Mark Bass, vice president of maintenance, modifications and upgrades for the Boeing unit that operates the Wichita plant, said the realignment would move 300-400 jobs to San Antonio and about 800 jobs to Oklahoma City, where Boeing is moving engineering work from Wichita.

The aerospace giant announced the closure Wednesday, ending weeks of speculation about the future of a Kansas facility that currently employs more than 2,160 people.

Boeing said in a news release that layoffs at the plant would begin early in the third quarter of this year and the facility would close by the end of 2013. San Antonio will get the future aircraft maintenance, modification and support work that had been performed in Wichita....

I am not quite sure what is behind all this mess, including the South Carolina plant, except Boeings CEO is trying to get rid of unions.  I thought the Dreamliner was a success for Boeing.  Some of this doesn't make sense to me.

Boeingto Close Kansas Plant Employing 2,160 as U.S. Curbs Arms Spending (click here)

By Susanna Ray and Roxana Tiron - Jan 4, 2012 12:05 PM ET

...In a contract signed last month with the Machinists union district in the Puget Sound area of Washington state, Boeing agreed to move the tanker modification work to Everett if it were to shut down Wichita.

Boeing has outsourced more work in recent years and sold its commercial operations in Wichita in 2005, when Sprint AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (SPR) was formed to build fuselages for the 737 single-aisle jet.

That company now also supplies parts to most other planemakers around the world and, at Boeing’s behest, is boosting production of 737 bodies by about a third through 2014 to accommodate demand for the world’s most widely flown jet.

Boeing said today it anticipates “even more work” for suppliers in Kansas, the fourth-largest state in the planemaker’s supplier network....

Sprint Aerosystems are based in the USA, but, they have two overseas plants as well.

Whether you’re a customer, (click here) supplier, current or potential employee, or a community member, Spirit AeroSystems has something to offer you. We are the world's largest supplier of commercial airplane assemblies and components. We offer a diverse line of products and services for aerospace design, build, support and spares/repair needs. With manufacturing and business office facilities on three continents, our capabilities are technologically world-class in both proficiency and capacity....

Locations:  I betcha this company is new throughout.  Let me see.

The Witchita plant is its first location and it has protected itself by expanding into Europe and now Asia.  The company is seeking marketability in all manufacturing markets where there is competition.  In other words, if Boeing were their only customer their viability as a company would  be directly linked to the viability of Boeing.  Hm.  Not bad management to keep a company viable, but, with so many 'ventures' one has to begin to see the danger to USA jobs as well.  

Wichita

The Wichita location, (click here) with its beginnings as the headquarters of Stearman Aircraft and later Boeing Military Airplanes and Boeing Commercial Airplane Group-Wichita Division, builds fuselage sections for all current Boeing programs -- 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787. Wichita is also the home of nacelle production for 737, 747, 767 and 777 airplanes, and strut/pylon production for 737, 747, 767 and 777 as well as the Bombardier CSeries and the Mitsubishi Regional Jet.

The Prestwick plant is in the UK servicing Airbus.  Airbus must demand locations of a company in the EU in order to participate.

Prestwick

Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Limited (click here) is the largest airframe supplier to Airbus and a key supplier of major wing structures with “life of program” contracts. Our Prestwick operation delivers products across the entire Airbus range, including the new A380 aircraft.

Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Limited is based at sites at Prestwick in Ayrshire and Preston, Lancashire. The Prestwick site is home to around 900 employees and is one of the larger employers in the local area. An additional70 staff are based at Preston in Lancashire. Its aviation history in the United Kingdom dates back to the early days of large scale airplane production in Scotland in the 1930s.

The Oklahoma plant seems to be one of the original facilities that service Boeing products.  

Oklahoma

The manufacturing facility in McAlester, Okla., (click here) supports both the Wichita and Tulsa sites with machined parts and subassemblies. The Tulsa and McAlester sites provide world-class structures and service for customers across the globe.

North Carolina

Opened July 1, 2010 (click here)

Spirit AeroSystems formally opened its new 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Kinston, N.C., on July 1, 2010.

The Malaysia plant is just about as new as the France plant.  Kuala Lumpar is a financial hub no different than New York.  It is also a foothold in Asia.  China.  Need I say more?

Malaysia

Spirit AeroSystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd (click here) is based on a 75-acre site adjacent to the runway at Subang Airport near Kuala Lumpur. The 242,000-square-foot facility was announced in 2007 and became operational early in 2009. 

The plant in France makes sense because Airbus is a German company.  I am quite sure the company has to have a presence in the EU to qualify for participation.  The France plant has a direct relationship with the North Carolina facility and enhances job stability.  I sincerely doubt the NC Plant is unionized.

Saint-Nazaire - France

Spirit is building the plant in Saint-Nazaire (click here) to receive center fuselage frame sections for the Airbus A350XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) commercial aircraft from its facility in Kinston, N.C., USA. Sections designed and manufactured in North Carolina will be shipped across the Atlantic, received in Saint-Nazaire, and assembled before being transported to Airbus as “Section 15.”

If this is accurate, the holdings on Wall Street only go back to 2007.  The company, if it is as new as it appears, has increased its business model very, very quickly.  I never thought the business was that lucrative.  Privatization only started under President Obama of the aerospace programs.  I doubt that would have impacted this expansion.

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc (click here)

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (Holdings) is an independent non-OEM (original equipment manufacturer) aircraft parts designers and manufacturers of commercial aerostructures to Boeing. In addition, Holdings is a supplier of aerostructures to Airbus....

A couple of things are going on here.  This company literally supplies parts to Airline companies by under cutting the prices the ORIGINAL manufacturers would charge.  They get the specs from who knows where and seek to produce the products to fit the requirement outside of that of the companies that manufactured the original aircraft.  I sincerely wonder the wisdom of that, but, at any rate, this industry undercuts Boeing and Airbus when it comes to supplying replacement parts.  I can't help but wonder their liability in the Air France disaster a couple of years ago, when sensors were found to be malfunctioning and the airline was found negligent.  That is pure speculation.

The other thing is that Boeing and Airbus could have sold out their 'parts' manufacturing to this company because it was not lucrative enough.  I find that hard to believe.  If a company founded in 2007 as this one appears at first glance can produce parts for air plane companies and expand at the rate it has in four years, they are making plenty of money or there are investors seeking to undo Boeing and Airbus.

This is really lousy.  Really lousy.  This company may be the one putting pressure on Boeing to move its manufacturing facility to South Carolina to cut labor costs.  AGAIN, the wisdom of that is highly speculative in producing an excellent vehicle. 

I can't say enough how the people of the USA have to build sold, unshakable local economies that can sustain losses such as this.  Wall Street has become draconian.  I'll explain.

There was a time in the USA when Wall Street CEO's had loyalities to their 'facilities' and the countries they found themselves employing people.  That was the case for a lot of reasons.  It insured their workforce, the education of that workforce and a 'long window' of profits, not short term upticks that provide bonuses every six months to a year.

But, besides that the 'computer age' we find ourselves and the large amounts of money Wall Street now enjoys in their coffers, drastic changes in location can impact a country in a heartbeat.  That in any form is not a stable economy, it also provides for a very volatile stock market.  That dynamic in a stock market CREATES 'bubbles' and it creates opportunity to 'ride the bubble' until it closes.

If this is at it appears on a short analysis, this creates volatility and not security for any company.  A company like this can undercut major manufacturers that supply dynamics to national security and a national economy as well.  This is just bad business and I am very concerned.  The people of the USA have to continue to localize their economies on all venues if this is the outcome to the liquidity Wall Street now enjoys.

The GOP, they can always be counted on to set back the hands of time. (click title to entry - thank you)

Published: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 9:19 AM CST I’m trying to figure out the GOP platform. Their economic policy seems to be the same one they had in 1929, and it didn’t work then, if you remember. Their political policy seems involved. One presidential candidate wants to bring the judicial branch to heel, using federal marshalls if necessary. Another wants to reduce the legislative branch to part time and under control. Those can only lead to an imperial executive branch with no checks or balances. Imagine Republicans promoting Alexander Hamilton’s vision of absolute authority. Robert Farr Ames

The Feds are getting it done. (click title to entry - thank you)

...Arellano Felix (at left) was extradited from Mexico in April 2011 to face drug, money-laundering and racketeering charges. He had been under indictment in the U.S. since 2003 and is one of the highest-profile kingpins to face prosecution in the United States.

Arellano Felix was incarcerated in Mexico since his 2002 arrest and was sentenced in 2007 to 22 years in prison on drug trafficking and organized crime charges.

The U.S. indictment says Arellano Felix was the principal organizer and top leader of the Arellano Felix cartel going back to 1986, and that the cartel tortured and killed rivals in the United States and Mexico as it smuggled tons of Mexican marijuana and Colombian cocaine.

The cartel, which was known to dissolve the bodies of its enemies in vats of lye, began to lose influence along California's border with Mexico after Arellano Felix was arrested in 2002. A month earlier, his brother, Ramon, called the cartel's top enforcer, died in a shootout with Mexican authorities.

The average Romney delegate to the Iowa Caucuses made $100K or more.

Reagan didn't have to create an economy, he simply deregulated and let Wall Street 'have at it.'  Once again natural resources was the focus.  The real problem with that methodology is that the USA is depleted of natural resources and results in extremist economics by the petroleum industry as exhibited with hydraulic fracturing.


Reagan instituted the largest homeless population in the USA for his time as a result of the Wall Street focus.


Romney is the choice for the fiscal conservatives.  I would expect the military conservatives to look to Santorum or Gingrick.


Rick Perry draws Texas retirement plus his salary (click title to entry - thank you)


Posted Monday, Dec. 19, 2011

By Maria RecioMcClatchy Newspapers Gov. Rick Perry is double-dipping, drawing retirement income from the 

state in addition to his salary as governor since late January, newly released records show.

Perry's move to begin drawing from his pension early this year while remaining governor, which his staff says is legal and consistent with state retirement rules, was unknown to the public until federal financial disclosures were made public on Friday.

The national news media buzzed over Perry's "retirement," although his staff said he had not retired but had begun drawing his pension.

On a campaign swing through Cherokee, Iowa, Perry was asked why the Employee Retirement System should be paying his retirement while he's still collecting a salary.

"That's been in place for decades. ... I don't find that to be out of the ordinary," Perry said of the practice. "ERS called me and said, 'Listen, you're eligible to access your retirement now with your military time and your time and service, and I think you would be rather foolish to not access what you've earned.'"

Perry has chided federal officials for being overpaid and called for sweeping changes to Social Security for American workers, calling the system a "Ponzi scheme."

The governor's gross annual salary is $150,000; his net salary is $133,000. The net monthly annuity check Perry started receiving Jan. 31 is $7,698. Combined, his net pay from the state is now more than $225,000 annually....



...Perry has a diverse portfolio. He holds fewer than 100 shares of stock in some companies: Coca-Cola, FedEx, Illinois Tool Works, Nordson Corp. and United Parcel Service, with value pegged at less than $5,000 for each company.


He has 100 to 499 shares in other companies including Wal-Mart, Canon, Cisco, Donaldson Inc., Dover Corp. Ecolab Inc., Emerson Electric Co., Sysco Corp., Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corp. and Johnson & Johnson.


Perry has 500 to 999 shares in such companies as energy giant ConocoPhillips, General Electric and Microsoft.


He has a life insurance policy valued from $100,000 to $250,000.


This report includes material from The Texas Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

President Obama provides recess appointment to Consumer Bureau. Do it again !

Richard Cordray: Obama Invokes the Teddy Roosevelt Option (click title to entry - thank you)

By David Weigel

Posted Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, at 10:30 AM ET

...The going theory among Republicans was that Obama couldn't and wouldn't do this. Why? In order to break, in order for there to be a true recess, both Houses need to agree on a resolution of adjournment. Since May 2011, House Republicans have refused to do so. Instead, they've set up pro forma sessions -- every three days, the House must be gaveled in, and that's it. No action, no legislation. Republicans did this and pointed out that no president since Teddy Roosevelt had tried to ram nominees through in anything less than a multi-week recess....

Republicans are horrid.  They seek to violate every venue of decency that exists in the USA legislature.  Is it 2012 yet?