In my estimation, Leslie's status is changing. My estimation has potential for landfall South Carolina - Georgia.

Interestingly enough John and Leslie have close relationships to their latitude. John is at 19 North and Leslie 23.6 North. Central pressures are different Leslie 998 and John at 1001. CLICK HERE FOR 12 HOUR HEMISPHERIC LOOP 

Noted in the article below John is at an unusal place in relation to Baja. 

Indeed.

Could it be push me - pull you along the 5880 isobar? 

September 1, 2012 - 1030:00z

September 3, 2012 - 1030:00z 

11 20.20 -58.40 09/02/03Z 55 998 TROPICAL STORM

12 20.80 -59.50 09/02/09Z 60 994 TROPICAL STORM

13 21.30 -61.10 09/02/15Z 55 997 TROPICAL STORM

The velocity is more north than west, but, the upper mass is changing. I think Leslie is reorganizing and we'll know more about it's direction within the next 3 to 6 hours. But, Isobar 5880 is dominating the southern half of the country. That is a significant change from a few days ago.

14 22.40 -61.30 09/02/21Z 50 998 TROPICAL STORM

15 23.40 -61.70 09/03/03Z 50 998 TROPICAL STORM

16 23.80 -62.10 09/03/09Z 50 998 TROPICAL STORM

Tropical Storm John forms in Pacific far from Baja (click title to entry - thank you)
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/03/4781850/tropical-storm-john-forms-in-pacific.html#storylink=cpy
The Associated Press
Published: Monday, Sep. 3, 2012 - 3:33 am
MIAMI -- Tropical Storm John has formed in the eastern Pacific near the Mexican island of Socorro but far from the mainland.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm formed early Monday near Socorro, part of an island chain about 300 miles (480 kph) south-southwest of the tip of Baja California peninsula.
The storm is forecast to stay at sea and head northwest. It had top sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) with little change in strength expected in the next 48 hours.
In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Leslie was moving north-northwest over open ocean on a track that could take it closer to Bermuda by Saturday. The storm was causing potentially dangerous surf in parts of the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/03/4781850/tropical-storm-john-forms-in-pacific.html#storylink=cpy

What is the difference between the two vehicles?

September 3, 2012 |  2:13 am

...Many of the suicide bombings (click here) and other terror acts in Peshawar have been carried out by the Pakistani Taliban, the domestic insurgent group that for years has been attacking Pakistani security installations along with markets, mosques and other civilian targets. In recent years, the Pakistani Taliban has expanded its agenda to include the West, and was involved in providing training and logistical support for a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent who botched an attempt to detonate a car bomb in New York’s Times Square in 2010.

Despite the continued presence of Al Qaeda-linked militants in northwest Pakistan and the intense anti-American sentiments that pervade Pakistani society, terror attacks against American government entities within Pakistan remain relatively rare, largely because of extensive security measures the U.S. employs at its offices and compounds.

The last attack on U.S. consulate vehicles in Peshawar occurred in May 2011, when a car bomb detonated by remote control targeted a convoy of two American armored vehicles in the University Town area, killing a Pakistani bystander. No American personnel were killed in the blast. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack....

A relatively short distance and the government targeted. The photo to the left is today. The photo below was January 16, 2010. The picture below is in Kashmir. It was by a suicide bomber on foot. My guess is the munition shells used today was obtained when NATO pulled back from the more remote areas of Afghanistan and left behind munitions collected and loaded on donkeys. There is a video about that.

Kashmir Suicide Bomber Strikes Pakistani Soldiers (click title to entry - thank you)

By SABRINA TAVERNISE

Published: January 16, 2010

...The bomber blew himself up as a Pakistani military vehicle passed, wounding two soldiers, a Pakistani military spokesman said. The attack took place near the town of Rawalakot, in the Pakistani part of Kashmir, a Himalayan region at the center of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan.

For years, militant groups had focused their efforts on the Indian side of the disputed territory, some with the support of the Pakistani state, though those attacks have fallen significantly. The Pakistani side had long been free of violence, but a number of attacks in the past year have broken that calm and raised worries that militant groups in Pakistan are widening their fight....

The governments involved with violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan frequently draw lines as to who is causing the deaths and who is responsible for stopping the deaths.

There is common ground between violent militias of extremists throughout Pakistan and the region. There are no borders, there is only defeating any entity other than Islamic rule. There may be some ideological divides between groups of militias, but, for the most part al Qaeda is the umbrella group to the violence. Sure, the Taliban is responsible for the extremism and are foot soldiers, but, for the most part the militias are more tribal than separate interests.

I think NATO makes a mistake in Pakistan. NATO doesn't see much of the violence as a solution to the hate for India as well. An attack on a consulate at the outskirts of tribal Pakistan is no different than an attack anywhere else in the tribal regions.

The death of 'the next bin Laden' is indicative of the 'rock and hard place' the Pakistan ISI and military finds itself. The Pakistan military is used as human shields as well as methods of intelligence gathering for the Taliban and al Qaeda. The fact al Qaeda is intertwined with all forces in the region is very telling. The Taliban rely on al Qaeda, the Haqqani network co-exists with al Qaeda and the Taliban. The coordinating entity is al Qaeda and I do believe finding bin Laden near a Pakistan military university is significant to realize he was more or less the general of all the coordination. I do believe bin Laden received information from within the university military complex and disseminated it to the rest of the militia initiative across the region.

Osama bin Laden was the Commander to the violence against all governments and their miltiary, NATO, Pakistan military, the Pakistan ISI and the Indian military. The fight by the militias in the region is primarily a war between soldiers, not a war to kill the leadership. Bin Laden was successful in harnessing 'the threat' to continue to have power within the ISI and other military structures. 

If 'the soldier' was torn between allegiance to their government and also respected the real 'threat' of dying from fellow soldiers and the mutual military information they shared, it continued and continues the violence. I don't believe the region is separate from the authorities that respect borders. In order to stop the violence the entire region has to ally each other and treat their region as one territory. 

Alliance is not a threat to sovereignty. However, there is a danger to that is the idea there would be a melding of authority to defeat the militias. The more streamlined the hierarchy becomes the less secure a 'singular knowledge' base becomes. The prime example of how invasive these militias are to the region is the chronically divided ISI in loyalty to their elected government.

The entire NATO-Pakistan-India military/policing effort has to be purged of its corruption, return the truth of elections to the people that cast their choice in the promise of peace and make criminal those that challenge the sovereignty of the countries themselves. It is not the military of NATO causing challenges to sovereign authority of Pakistan, it was bin Laden chronically challenging the sovereignty of Pakistan from within. Pakistan's tribal region is dangerous to the Pakistani government and not the other way around.

Why would the people ever believe a singular government would bring peace to their lives when elections never achieve their goals?

Divide and conquer. Warlords and economic strength. Who are you going to give your son to sacrifice his life to God, the person putting food in your belly or those that promise to do it?

Nato blames Haqqani Network for Afghan strikes (click here)

Kabul—The double suicide attack in Maiden Wardak province of Afghanistan on Saturday was the work of the militant Haqqani Network, according to Isaf. The top US and Nato commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen said that Nato believes that Haqqani is behind the Wardak attack which killed 12 people and injured at least 59 others. “We believe this attack bears the mark of the Haqqani network, which continues to target and kill innocent Afghans and blatantly violates Afghan sovereignty,” the Isaf commander said in a statement.

“A number of Afghan civilians were killed and wounded by vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (IED) near a combined Afghan National Security  Force and International  Security Assistance Force base in Sayed Abad district of Wardak province,” he added. While the attack did not breach the base’s walls, the blasts caused widespread damage to the surrounding civilian Sayed Abad area with large numbers of Afghan civilian casualties....

As a bit of a side note, What would Benazir Bhutto do in the tribal regions in cooperation with India? 

By the way, she wore a head scarf as well, why would a television journalist in Egypt not?

During WWII, the USA generals had no use for European generals, but, they won the war together. If it weren't for the autonomy of the Russian generals, the Allied Powers questionably would have stopped the Axis powers.

Sports Authority was basically the same way. Merger after merger after merger.

The link at the title is a version of history of the company. It leaves out the sincere history of the company and how it is now a global entity. Needless to say, Wall Street has no interest in Mom and Pop. Believe it and Believe in Taking Back America again!

The venture capital syndicate led by William Blair Venture Partners and included First Chicago Venture Partners, Bain Capital, Phillips-Smith Venture Partners, Marquette Venture Partners, and Bessemer Securities; bought out large chair stores to create Sports Authority.

Romney was interested in empires, not companies. He was interested in narrowing the competition and creating monopolies which funnel profits to shareholders without interruption. The only competition sincerely left for companies like Sports Authority and Staples are other big box stores. At one point even Walmart was involved with Sports Authority. These empires are global and destroy competition and local economies.

We all know the Walmart hall of fame, Medicaid, Food Stamps, dangerous parking lots, gender and race discrimination, etc., etc., etc. 

This is the paradigm Romney wants to bring to the USA. Low wages, no benefits and poverty. Unless, of course, a person is working for oil and gas companies, then the wages are probably better. 

But, this only proves the Republicans have no ideas. They have greed and oppression. Don't speak the word, 'labor.' Shhhh.....workers rights? What are you crazy?

continued...

THE GART COMPANIES – HISTORY (CLICK HERE)

With a unique ability to identify a need, create demand and then deliver, Nathan Gart started his fishing and outdoor gear shop in 1928.  With help from his brothers, and then his sons, Jerry and Mickey, Papa Gart’s original idea grew into the Gart Bros. Sporting Goods Company.  The firm grew from the original ‘main store’, located in downtown Denver, to a regional chain of over 150 stores by the time the family left the firm in 1992....

The company was founded in 1919 (click here) by Jacob S. Oshman, an orphan Russian immigrant who arrived in Richmond, Texas, in 1914 to live with an aunt. He was only nineteen years old when he opened a small department store with a relative at Richmond in 1919. This store, which sold quality apparel, was followed by others at Bay City, Wharton, El Campo, and Pasadena. In 1932 Oshman moved to Houston, where he acquired the stock of a bankrupt army-surplus store known as Crawford-Austin and liquidated its inventory. He discovered in the process that sporting goods, particularly fishing and hunting supplies, sold well....

Oshman's, acquired Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in 1978 for $1.5 million. That means Sports Authority actually owns Abercrombie and Fitch labels.

Romney's idea of jobs and income is and has been the problem. Not the solution. 

Ryan's government budget while destroying entitlements is the other half this disaster. They certainly know how to dissolve an economy. Why would anyone ever believe they can improve the circumstances of Americans. 

There is nothing like dissolving a government so no one has to pay taxes anymore.The web never ends. The companies absorbed by Romney's companies he boasts 'he created' has dummied down 'the expert' in stores, cheapened the labor market through wages and benefits or lack there of and have been detrimental across the board to the economic outcomes of the USA.

Romney just might be worse than the Koch Brothers. He actually seeks to sign his name to the end of the USA, not just its occupation by the plutocrats.

The pictures are Amercrombie and Fitch.

Quill Corporation was a family owned office products mail order operation wanting to stay that way but was unable to find anyone to continue to run the business.

See, Staples, Inc. doesn't make anything, especially in the USA, but it simply operates storefronts, gobbling up Mom and Pop stores while destroying the free market system the USA thrived on. Its beginnings were nothing but predatory in the 1990s.

The Quill Office Supply Company was an operation begun in 1956 before China was put into manufacturing products with cheap labor.

...Then, without much warning or notice, (click title to entry - thank you) the Millers decided to sell Quill Corporation to Staples, Inc., one of their traditional competitors, in the winter of 1998. All of the brothers were growing older, with Jack Miller set to celebrate his 69th birthday during the year. Many of the company's employees were taken by surprise, as well as industry analysts and other people working in the office supply products industry. According to Jack Miller, the three brothers had wanted to keep the operation a family business; however, there was not one member of the younger generation within the family who was willing to assume the responsibilities and duties necessary to maintain the company's success. In addition, the Miller brothers could not find a suitable candidate from the outside that they thought could direct the firm into the future. Consequently, the three aging entrepreneurs sold Quill Corporation, with sales of $600 million in 1997, to Staples, Inc. for $685 million in stock.

In 1998 Staples was operating 582 superstores throughout the United States, with a comprehensive line of office supply products ranging from copy paper to office furniture. The acquisition of Quill, which management decided to run as an operating division under the Quill name and logo, gave Staples access not only to an extremely successful direct-mail catalogue market,...

Staples to Buy Quill in $685-Million Stock Deal (click here)

April 8, 1998

Staples Inc. said it will acquire closely held Quill Corp., which sells office supplies  by catalog, telemarketing the Internet, for about $685 million in stock. Staples, the world's largest operator of office superstores, said the purchase will add about 1 cent a share to its 1998 earnings before a charge of about $32 million, and will add about 2 cents in 1999. The retailer said it will issue about 30 million shares for Quill, which had sales of $550 million last year. Staples' contract and commercial business, which includes mail-order operations and contract stationer services to large corporations, had sales of about $1 billion, or 20% of its total revenue. Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Quill will retain its name, headquarters and management after the transaction, which is expected to close in the summer. Shares in Westborough, Mass.-based Staples rose 56 cents to close at $22.75 on Nasdaq.

Staples, Inc. received it's market share through hostile take over.

• 1982-1991 CEO,  OfficeLand, Inc., Marlboro, MA (click title to entry - thank you)

Worked with the law firms  of Choate, Hall, and Stuart, and Hale and Dorr, Boston 26 store franchise chain acquired by Staples. Prepared all UFOC documents and Franchise Agreements. Attended legal workshops conducted by the International Franchise Association

From 1986 to 1994 Mr. Leonard Faucher trained franchise owners to Officeland, Inc. Officeland specialzed in copier service. Staples bought them out with a great deal of controversy at the time.

Mr. Romney can say what he wants about free market economies,but, that is not how is equity companies worked. They destroyed the free market system and instead forced their competition out of business.

In 2006, Staples, Inc. was found mishandle their stock options.

Staples Announces Settlement of Stock Option Derivative Litigation (click title to entry - thank you)

Category: Corporate

Friday, April 16, 2010 1:45 pm EDT

Dateline:

FRAMINGHAM, Mass

Public Company Information:

NASDAQ:

SPLS

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) announced today that it has reached a global settlement, subject to court approval, of the derivative litigation relating to the company’s historical stock option granting practices. The agreement involves no admission of wrongdoing on the part of Staples or the individual defendants in connection with the allegations and would eliminate the burden, expense, and distraction of litigation that has been pending for more than three years.

The settlement is subject to notice to shareholders and to final approval by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.

As further described in the notice that will be distributed to shareholders, the settlement is premised upon, among other things, the receipt by Staples of $7.25 million in insurance proceeds; the monetary benefit returned to Staples as a result of the corrective adjustments made in 2006 to certain stock option awards; and the adoption of certain additional measures governing the process by which stock options are awarded as compensation at Staples. In conjunction with the settlement, plaintiffs’ counsel will apply to the Court for an order requiring the payment Staples of up to $2.5 million in attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, which application Staples has agreed not to oppose.
If approved, the settlement will resolve all litigation pending against the company, as well as its former and current officers and directors, relating to Staples’ historical stock option granting practices.

About Staples
Staples, the world's largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products and services. Our broad selection of office supplies, electronics, technology and office furniture as well as business services, including computer repair and copying and printing, helps our customers run their offices efficiently. With 2009 sales of $24 billion and 91,000 associates worldwide, Staples operates in 25 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia serving businesses of all sizes and consumers. Staples invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and today ranks second worldwide in e-commerce sales. The company is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples is available at www.staples.com/media.

Contact:

Staples, Inc.
Paul Capelli/Owen Davis
508-253-8530/8468

I hope everyone is enjoying Labor Day Weekend.

One might remember the three day weekend law was passed to improve the economy. 

As we enter the convention week for Democrats it is important to remember the country has improved in many ways since January 20,2012. Working Americans are making more income and the local economy is returning Made in America to the USA. We are doing more manufacturing in the USA and we are experiencing growth rather than deterioration.

We have exited Iraq. NATO in Afghanistan has changed 325,000 Afghan troops and police. The recent increase in violence toward our troops has been discovered. The Afghan leadership has lost members of families and others. They want the violence to end more than ever. The newly recruited members of the Afghan forces are being reassessed for loyalty to the outcomes of their elected government.

Our energy resources are finally taking on larger initiatives for alternatives. We have an electric car to be proud of and other hybrids coming along. As Americans we finally have a light at the end of the tunnel for energy independence with Alternative Energies.

This weekend it is time to reassess where our culture has deteriorated from the days when Labor were stars of our society.

By Wilma B. Liebman

September 3, 2012

...In the midst of the Great Depression, (click title to entry - thank you) Congress enacted the Wagner Act in 1935 to guarantee the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers. The express purpose of the law was to equalize the bargaining power of labor and capital and thereby to increase the purchasing power of workers and return the nation to economic prosperity. The act was not intended as a favor to labor, but rather as a way of saving the market economy from its own excesses.

It succeeded in replacing violent labor conflict with orderly procedures established by the law. And for decades, millions of American workers sought union representation and achieved a middle class way of life through collective bargaining....

There is a new banking phenomena. Isn't BOA still a nationalized bank?

It doesn't matter where I am in the USA I always run across someone with a Bank of America mortgage trying to qualify for the government resolution loan. 

And without even being told of their plight, I state, "Don't tell me they have sent you the papers to fill out three times without ever communicating about the process concluding on your loan. AND. You are still struggling financially, not productively contributing to the USA's recovering economy in order to maintain your mortgage from defaulting, declaring bankruptcy, losing everything you own until the next tragic breeze blows through your life and you will have reached your tipping point? Right?" 

Carrot and stick. BOA is thumbing their nose at the government and robbing our economy of cash flow. Not only that, but, who wants to vote for a President that can't make the banks jump through hoops?"

Each bank involved in the refinancing of mortgages to help homeowners keep their dreams alive needs to have a government monitor exclusively available to make sure their banks are operating for the best outcomes to citizens. Sort of like when BP dumped oil and gas all over the Gulf of Mexico and the USA Coast Guard had to give the states governors a companion to answer all their questions, hold their hands and provide communication to those coordinating the operations to be sure everything was being handled well and expeditiously.

I thought this was interesting:

America is facing an historic national mortgage crisis. (click title to entry - thank you) Due to a collapse of home values, one in five mortgaged homeowners owe more than their homes are worth; more than eleven million families are now underwater. Nearly three million of these families are in default and on their way to foreclosures that will depress home prices further, causing still more foreclosures. MRP seeks to stem this tide.  (Click here to see the severity of underwater mortgages in the U.S.) 

As a PS to President Obama and his administration. I have family that works in banking. I am aware of a bank that sought outside 'experts' to assist and expedite their refinancing tasks. A company filed their qualifications, they were hired and given a date to begin the process with the bank. When the day came the company hired didn't have a clue what they were doing yet. So. The bank decided to move back 'in house' and do it themselves and they are making progress. It is not BOA.

There are move bozos pretending to be experts in this disaster than there are circus rings under the tent. BOA is one of the worst banks in the country and have the lowest success rate in their mortgage market and refinancing. They don't want to do it. They are systematic about it, otherwise, I wouldn't be talking to so many people (complete strangers and people the courts would call friendly strangers) from states all over the country having the same exact pattern occurring in their life with the only common denominator being Bank of America. They really have learned to let their bank bones slip at BOA. 

I had laugh when I visited a BOA and there were landscapers planting scrubs and the lobby had new cameras and bullet proof glass, now from floor to ceiling. What are they preparing for, certainly not throngs of customers trying to get in.

Let's hope tomorrow is a new day at BOA.

Now there is a permanent expression of corporate negligence and malpractice.

Victims carry the heaviest burden. Society adds support and seeks justice, but, loses esteem by the lack of prevention in the first place. 

There were a handful of victims in the USA. It is not minor issue when one is a victim. But, Christine Block knows the nightmare and has a lot to say about the plans to find uses for it.

I sincerely hope this expression of sorrow will be followed up by Gruenenthal with sincere relief and comfort for its victims. 

Gruenenthal should not see their contribution to this remembrance as vindication. But, if there is sincere use for the drug and those receiving it are fully informed of its dangers should we seek retribution by causing pain for others.

Christine Block (click here) is one of approximately 10 Thalidomide's living in USA . The drug was never approved in the 1960s. She is concerned about the new widened use of thalidomide in North America ....

...It is during this climate of strong activist movements affecting the strict rules of FDA policies that thalidomide is making its return. The drug is used in research for treatment of a variety of diseases, such as ENL (a painful and deforming symptom of leprosy); Tuberculosis; Graft versus host disease, CGVHD, (when the new bone marrow tissue tries to reject its new body and causes such symptoms as blindness, mouth ulcers, loss of teeth and death); Blindness (thalidomide may be useful against eye disorders); Oral and genital ulcers; And finally AIDS and HIV....

I don't want to hear how the over protective FDA could ever cause harm. Never. If it weren't for the protections of USA laws and the people dedicated to them our country would be mourning the effects along with Europe. I don't appreciate some of the panels and their decisions regarding long standing and proven protections from such drugs and procedures when the modifications are made to reduce the cost to insurance companies. I sincerely believe the FDA can make the best decisions upheld by immunity to lobbyists, power and money.

by SCOTT HENSLEY

...Back in the late 1950s,(click title to entry - thank you) the drug was sold in 46 countries, though not the U.S., and was particularly popular in then-West Germany, the U.K. and Australia. But in 1961, the drug was taken off the market after the link to birth defects emerged.

By then, though, thousands of children had been born with deformities. There was a long trial in Germany, where Gruenenthal, the drug's maker, is based, that resulted in the establishment of a foundation to compensate victims. But victims have said the compensation wasn't enough and faulted the company for not apologizing.

Today, more than a half-century later, Gruenenthal for the first time said it was sorry. The occasion was the dedication of a memorial to the victims in Stolberg, Germany, near the company's headquarters. The sculpture features a girl with malformed feet and no arms....

Thalidomide Website (click here)

How did it happen?

Those in corporate and government authority passed it off as 'species specific' malformations. In other words, what happened to bunny rabbits could never happen to humans. They ignored the dangers with profits in the view. There are times I really wish research was left to the universities and not corporate labs. The temptations of corruption are too great.

There is a reason why corporations have foundation grants. Such research should be a high priority for consideration to that paradigm, than seeking profits. It would be far better to have pure research find a reason for profits than profits finding a reason for a drug.

...According to the Catalogue of Teratogenic Agents (Shepard 1976):  (click here) 'several...principles were forcefully illustrated by observations made of the outbreak. The first point was that there existed extreme variability in species susceptibility to thalidomide'. The Catalogue reports that by 1966 there were 14 seperate publications describing the effects of thalidomide on pregnant mice yet nearly all reported negative findings or else a few defects which did not resemble the characteristic effects of the drug. Only in certain strains of rabbit and primate can thalidomide's effect on the human foetus be reproduced....

One of the best reasons why corporations practice their own research and development took place in WWII. Dow Chemical conducted research while all other corporations cut back on any such funding worried the war only left space for manufacturing. 

During WWII, Dow Chemical made a great deal of progress in their research and when the GIs came home their profits soared for the new products they marketed. 

It is a good example of good corporate governance, but, such products are not medications. I know many really competent PhDs that are also professors and they are genuinely dedicated to cutting edge with students graduating with success and not failure. They are so good at what they do and their knowledge is needed in teaching for the future of the our brain trust. Oh, well.

No apologes, please

I don't accept the apology Melissa Harris Perry made to her audience. I thought her passion of the injustice that exists in the USA of the Poor was wonderful.

It was refreshing and to many I am confident it was validating. I do not want her to lose her passion, focus or love for all those without representation in the real world.

Without a spokesperson most of the needy, regardless of the manner in which it takes, is not heard and certainly not understood. We see celebrities throughout our economic spectrum promoting the needy in one way or another. Unfortunately, for The Poor their 'social condition' is disgusting to most, unthinkable to even less in power and so powerless they can be considered disposable by many.

So rarely do The Poor find such passion for their circumstances. They are viewed as hopeless, UNABLE to be rescued and without CAPACITY to 'be like us' that pity is frequently the descriptor used with success by NGOs that find it helpful to have a job in securing something meaningful for them.

The USA was ravaged of its wealth with the past administration, draining all its resources, pretending owning homes was a real possibility if only all would try. That was not that long ago and we are still realizing the devastation of Hurricane Bush for eight years. I find that descriptor of Bush an insult to hurricanes really, but, given the characteristics of these destructive storms in the years after Katrina, "if the shoe fits wear it."

The newness of that devastation to the USA cannot be dismissed. Not since the early 1900s has there been such vast poverty. Some would like akin it to the Dust Bowl, but, in all honesty the increasing dynamics the Republicans are painting for the PERMANENTLY OPPRESSED actually goes back to the beginning of the last century and resembles the lives of migrant workers.

The Republicans aren't stupid, they know wealth is fun and sustaining and can purchase more wealth. They are building monuments to that truth in placing fiber optic cable across the ocean floor yet again between trading markets in so their wealth can tick up in every 'increment of time' to rob more and more and more from all those unable to gain that advantage. The more these people control wealth, the more there will poverty and suffering.

That is greed. There is nothing else to call it and it is seeking control at every turn. Greedy people are buying up political parties and brainwashing voters in democracies with propaganda. So, let's not hold back our purpose and voice when every person, whether they realize it or not, needs exactly that voice. 

Please, Melissa, don't stop now.

Oh, by the way, I found the experienced voice of wisdom, experience and insight of Bob Shieffer a welcome addition to your panel of guests from week to week. I been reading Bob Herbert forever. Thank you.

Everyone ready?

Time to honor Labor. 

It is time to honor the Middle Class. 

It is time to honor America.

I wonder what the weather is going to be? No matter. It takes more than clouds to rain on the Middle Class Parade!

Hurricane victims, yes. Shooting victims, no.

Trying out their new wings, the plutocrats head to Louisiana to reassure the petroleum dependent state help is on the way.

guardian.co.uk, 
Friday 31 August 2012 13.29 EDT
Ewen MacAskill in Tampa 

...His schedule (click title to entry - thank you) took in a surprise visit to Louisiana to speak to – and be pictured with – the emergency crews dealing with the flood damage created by hurricane Isaac....

By Kristen Hays and Erwin Seba

HOUSTON | Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:24pm EDT

(Reuters) - Most oil and gas companies (click here) in the U.S. Gulf Coast region on Thursday prepared to gradually restart installations there following Hurricane Isaac, while one refinery reported flooding and scrambled to prevent further damage.

Isaac, now a much weaker tropical depression moving north, posed no further threat to most energy infrastructure.

Phillips 66 (Conoco Phillps) said its 247,000 barrel per day (bpd) Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, had been partially flooded. It offered no estimate on when the plant could restart and said personnel were trying to prevent damage by pumping water out....

May 1, 2012 two oil entities resulted out of Conoco Phillips. One kept the name Conoco Phillips and the other Phillips 66. It is a new split so the 'idea' Romney would take personal interest in the area was important. After all, we just don't know what it is going to cost the USA to put the refinery back on line.

4/30/2012 @ 9:58AM 

...It is spinning off its refineries, pipelines and chemicals division as a new company called Phillips 66. In a tax-free distribution,...

...The legacy ConocoPhillips will keep its name, (click here) its Houston headquarters and its oil and gas fields. The new Phillips 66 (its name based on the old brand) will be a giant in its own right. The company will vie with Valero Energy to be the biggest independent refiner in the U.S., with 2.2 million barrels per day of refining capacity and revenues of roughly $200 billion a year. Says Greg Garland, the new CEO,”We’ll be of similar size to Valero, and twice the size of Marathon. We’ll have geographic diversity with 11 refineries in the U.S. and 4 internationally.”...

Phillips 66 profit rises, $1 billion share buyback planned (click here)

By BRADLEY OLSON Bloomberg News 
Published: 8/2/2012  2:20 AM 
Last Modified: 8/2/2012  4:17 AM

Phillips 66, which became the nation's largest independent refiner after its spinoff from ConocoPhillips earlier this year, said Wednesday that second-quarter profit rose 13 percent on higher fuel margins and announced a plan to buy back shares valued at $1 billion.

Net income rose to $1.18 billion, or $1.86 a share, from $1.04 billion, or $1.64, a year earlier, Houston-based Phillips 66 said in a statement. Profit excluding the sale of the Trainer refinery, debt retirement and other one-time costs was $2.23 a share, 55 cents more than the average of 14 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg....

And the price of gas is what? And the price of food is what? And the national debt is what? And the tax income from bloated companies is what?

They want Romney there all right.

The need for unions is steadfast among 52% of Americans according to Gallup.

August 31, 2012

by Jeffrey M. Jones

PRINCETON, NJ -- A slim majority of Americans, (click title to entry for graphs - thank you) 52%, approve of labor unions, unchanged from 2010 and 2011, and up only slightly from the all-time low of 48% in 2009. Americans had been far more approving of unions before 2009 than they have in the last few years....

Here is the ONLY economic strategy Romney is planning on. Meet his Secretary of Energy.

There are no surprises here. Romney has been alluding to this during his entire campaign.

l. Energy independent by 2020.

That will happen anyway. The jobs Romney states he will open up won't happen for ten years or more. The jobs in the petroleum industry will occur no matter whom is President.

2. 12 million jobs

Ditto.

And there was a third parameter. Whatever.

It is all about the petroleum industry. The ads for an "I am an Energy Voter," started a long time ago. The Petroleum Industry is afraid of being out of business if Alertnatives continue to grow as viable sources of energy each year that goes by. 

What's that guys name? Not Hamm, that is his picture to the left, the Romney Energy Secretary. There goes the oceans by the way. So, Romney's insults regarding our oceans is appropriate considering who has hijacked his campaign.

Oh, yeah, Pickens. He wants to put two natural gas powered cars in every garage. It doesn't matter if there are huge explosions in homes, across the highways when accidents happen or at the 'Natural Gas Pump Station." I always wondered how that would be controlled in the neighbood Natural Gas Pumping Station.

Romney's campaign is the last hurrah of the petroleum industry and they want to end the movement toward alternatives. Correction, Jeb Bush in 2016 will be the final hurrah for the petroleum industry.

The petroleum industry won't be able to stop the droughts, won't be able to drill for clean water for citizens, but, they will be able to satisfy their pocketbooks and end the Era of Oil and Gas by draining every drop from Earth. They will export everything Americans won't use and leave nothing for reserves into the future. 

Basically, the military is needs what? Which is why the Department of the Interior needs to withhold lands for future generations TODAY!

Willard Mitt Romney is no genius. He knows how to bring China's jobs opportunities back to the USA with far less pay scales and no benefits. Romney knows how to destroy companies and rob treasuries, but, he has no ideas. This is party of no ideas and long standing cronies. No surprises and the hope he is trying to sell to Americans is a field of oil and empty promises. This is a long planned for campaign by the "Oil Barrons in Oklahoma and Texas." 

Enjoy the show. If the reaction by Romney's family by Eastwood wasn't proof of a hijacked campaign, then I don't know what is. Ann Romney stated it caught her by surprise. She never expected dark humor at the cost of the standing President. 

Oh, one other thing, for those justifying this ? economic ? strategy, the oil barrons actually believe the USA has until 2050 before it has to worry about Human Induced Global Warming. Heck, 38 years is plenty of time to drain the wells.

Last night at the RNC it all makes sense when one realizes Cheney was the script writer.

In all seriousness, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is stating a unilateral strategy for Israel against Iran won't end the nuclear program which is yet to be proven to arm warheads. If that isn't a satisfying thought to the political Right Wing, why would I not be surprised.

The top US military official (click title to entry - thank you) reiterated Washington's opposition to a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran yesterday, saying that it would "clearly delay but probably not destroy Iran's nuclear program."

The comments by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey are only latest of months of such comments from top US officials, intended to tamp down heated rhetoric from Israeli officials about staging a unilateral strike on Iran. Gen. Dempsey himself has made similar statements in the past, although yesterday's were the firmest yet.

His comments came the same day that the International Atomic Energy Agency released its latest report on Iran's nuclear program, which stated that Iran has doubled its number of centrifuges and accelerated its nuclear fuel production – a clear sign that despite international pressure, it is moving forward with its nuclear development (although not a definitive sign that Iran has military intentions)....