Repeal Miichigan's Emergency Manager Law - Vote NO!

Public Act 4 went into effect on March 16, 2011 (click here).

In Michigan, if a referendum proposal passes, the law is adopted; if the proposal is defeated, the law will not take effect. This means that voters wishing for PA 4 to take effect would vote yes, while voters opposing PA 4 would vote no.



Posted: Friday, October 12, 2012 4:32 pm
Updated: 4:38 pm, Fri Oct 12, 2012

Proposal 12-1

A referendum on Public Act 4 of 2011, the Emergency Manager Law (click here)

Supported by: Gov. Rick Snyder

Opposed by: State Rep. Woodrow Stanley (D-Flint)

A ‘yes’ vote means: To give approval to the Emergency Manager Law, which allows the Governor of Michigan to appoint emergency managers to take the place of elected government officials during financial emergencies in a city or school district.

A ‘no’ vote means: Repealing the Emergency Manager Law.

 Proposal 1 (Michigan Emergency Manager Referendum) is opposed by Stanley, who argues that an emergency manager would undermine the democratic process of electing government leaders.

 Gov. Rick Snyder supports the law, saying that emergency managers help struggling cities and school districts get back on track....

The girls want an education. Is that so terrible?

Pakistani girls display a poster while sitting at their desk, as their teacher, not shown, talks to them about 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot by a Taliban gunman.(Photo: Muhammed Muheisen, AP)

Putting old heads on young shoulders. The children of Pakistan are building their futures today. They will not settle for oppression, stigma and violence anymore. Their time has come.
President Zadari has every reason to be proud of the children of Pakistan.. They are strong and determined to have a better life. They need the protection and loyalty of the government to insure Pakistan's peaceful future. The late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto would not settle for anything else if she were alive today. The free lancing of violence to insure Taliban social order has to stop.

11:10PM EDT October 12. 2012 -

MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police have arrested (click here) a number of suspects in the case of a 14-year-old girl shot and wounded by the Taliban for promoting education for girls and criticizing the fundamentalist Islamic movement, officials said Friday.

The shooting of Malala Yousufzai along with two classmates while they were on their way home from school Tuesday horrified people in Pakistan and internationally. It has been followed by an outpouring of support for a girl who earned the enmity of the Taliban for publicizing their acts and speaking about the importance of education for girls.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying that the girl was promoting "Western thinking." Late on Thursday, a spokesman for one of the group's branches in the country's north said the top leadership of the Taliban's Swat Valley chapter decided two months ago to kill Yousufzai in a carefully planned attack after her family ignored repeated warnings....

Colorado has some issues.

If Denver is going to move these transients out of their caves, they'll need swat teams. The cave dwellers have the tactical advantage.

There is every reason to believe the caves contain artifacts such as guns, drugs and skeletons of missing people.

...Ridgeway's body was found Wednesday about 7 miles southwest of her home. The remains were found in the Pattridge Park open space area in Arvada, a Denver suburb. The park is located south of the south of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which is known for its abandoned coal mines and often used by road bikers and model airplane flyers. Authorities said the body was not intact, but they did not explain further.

Anxious parents kept close and watched over their children because of potential predator in their midst.

"Our focus has changed from the search for Jessica to a mission of justice for Jessica," Westminster Police Chief Lee Birk said. "We realize there is a predator at large in our community."

Ridgeway began a short walk from her home to Witt Elementary School on the morning of Oct. 5 but never arrived. A massive search by hundreds of law enforcement officers did not start until hours later because Jessica's mother works nights and slept through a call from school officials saying Jessica wasn't there....

Is the air really that much thinner in Denver?

Didn't this happen in 2008 as well?

By Keith Coffman

DENVER
Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:18pm EDT

Denver Police Detective Raquel Lopez (click here) said a worker inside the office called police in mid-afternoon to report that a bullet had shattered a window pane.

"Right now, no one is in custody and investigators are looking at surveillance video to see if a vehicle can be identified," Lopez said.

Lopez said it was a single shot and no one inside was physically injured.

Detectives are not aware of any threats made to the campaign, but are exploring all possibilities, she said.

2008

Assassination scare in Denver (click here)

Three men allegedly discussed shooting Barack Obama, then the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nominee, during his acceptance speech on the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Cousins Tharin Gartrell and Shawn Adolf, and their friend Nathan Johnson, allegedly came to Denver specifically to kill Obama,...

I take it Congressman Ryan didn't worry about drinking contaminated water.

I suppose there are many reasons for THIRST. Drought, diabetes, hoping to need to pee during a Vice Presidential debate. Maybe dehydration.

Hydraulic fracturing rare in Kentucky, but, Appalachian Forum poses questions about regulation and pollution of gas drilling (click here)

By Ivy Brashear
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues

Geologists, professors, activists and experts came together for the Appalachian Forum on Hydraulic Fracturing last night at the University of Kentucky to discuss fracking as a means of natural-gas extraction in the state.

Kentucky gas wells usually go about 5,000 feet below the surface, much shallower than the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, where there has been the most controversy about hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking....

...The shales in Kentucky have much more clay, and that discourages hydrofracking in the state because water makes clay formations swell, inhibiting the release of gas. Instead, Kentucky drillers frack with liquid nitrogen. “Every shale well in Kentucky is fracked,” said Rick Bender, vice president of BlackRidge Resource Partners, a Lexington firm with gas wells in Ohio. “Without fracking, we couldn’t get the gas out.”...

Close call, huh, Ryan?

Heat stroke, too. A human being can be very thirsty if they are suffering from heat stroke. That is according to The Mayo Clinic.

There is support on the web for Congressman Ryan if he cares to 'commune.'

Yes anxiety (click here) can make you thirsty.  When my anxiety is really high I have the same problem. 

Try and calm yourself down and try and focus on something positive.  The goal is to reduce your anxiety and then you should notice that you aren't so thristy anymore.  Don't obsess over the anxiety because as you know that only makes it worse. 

Good Luck....

Poor man. How close does he get to pushing the button on the nation's nuclear weapons?

There is a reason why Romney appears humble through his generosity.

"Wow, Romney paid somebody's medical bills. I think Paul Ryan just implied that Romney would pay for all of our medical bills! Yay!"

I am not going to give a pass to the generosity issue with Romney. The topic of generosity isn't really the kind one carries out in the lives of average Americans.

The donations Romney takes off his taxes is to his church. He already stated, their donations are his 10% tithing. So, it isn't as though another million or half a million is given to the American Cancer Society or the American Lung Association. Romney's deductions as donations is for his tithing.

Romney is also some kind of big shot in the church. A minister or something like that. Like Huckabee. 

So, while he helps at every turn, including with his partner when his daughter was missing, that is a role and/or moral obligation he has. No different than Joe Biden's advocacy for the Middle Class. It is a core to his morality. So, when Ryan liked to say, 'Sure Mitt has big bucks, he also has a big heart.'

Yes and no. 

I sincerely believe Romney doesn't 'brag' for a couple reasons, but, the one that seems obvious to me is that his 'compassion' is based in his religion and easily scrutinized as a role he has to take in his capacity of a Mormon minister. So, he is more or less compelled to act as he does.

In all sincerity if Romney doesn't want to brag about his generosity in the role as minister or his deductions actually are his tithing, then Ryan should respect that.

According to the Right Wing on FOX today, the attack in Benghazi is proof of Obama foreign policy failing.

To begin with this is an extension of the Islamophobia the Right Wing chronically pedals as fact with fortune teller accuracy about the future.

The fair and balanced network never features someone like Arianna Huffington in split screen with Rove so the display of FOX's power to relay fortune telling ability is mute.

But, it goes like this. The morning after the Benghazi attacks, President Obama abandoned his post. He cancelled a meeting with his daily security team, stopped to dry the tears of the State Department and went to Las Vegas for a fund raiser.

I dare Karl Rove to state fund raisers are not important.

Obama alone: This president does not need intel briefers (click here)

By Marc A. Thiessen, Published: September 13

...The president was scheduled to hold the intelligence meeting at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, the day after the attacks, but it was canceled so that he could comfort grieving employees at the State Department — as well he should. But instead of rescheduling the intelligence briefing for later in the day, Obama apparently chose to skip it altogether and attend a Las Vegas fundraiser for his re-election campaign. One day after a terrorist attack.

Excuse, Mr. Thiessen, your assessment falls a little short, honey. If I may?

Breaking: Marine Fast Team Being Sent From Spain To Libya To Re-Secure U.S. Embassy (click here)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 8:13 AM

A team of about 50 Marines has been dispatched to the Libyan city of Benghazi to secure the U.S. Consulate after attacks Tuesday left four Americans dead including the U.S. ambassador, a senior U.S. military official told Fox News.

The official said a Marine “fast team” is being sent from the U.S. Naval base in Rota, Spain. They are not yet on the ground.

The move comes after President Obama ordered “all necessary resources” provided to Libya to support the security of U.S. personnel in the country.

In a statement, Obama also said he’s directed his administration to “increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe.”...f

Where all this Right Wing Propaganda really gets interesting is to realize FOX News was the first to report the fact President Obama immediately addressed the security issue in the State Department.

Published September 12, 2012

FoxNews.com

Two Navy guided missile destroyers (click here) are being deployed off the coast of Libya, after attacks Tuesday on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi left four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador, military officials told Fox News. 

The destroyers are for "contingency purposes," a military official said.

In addition, officials said a "fast team" of 50 Marines was being sent from the U.S. Naval base in Rota, Spain. They are expected to go to Tripoli. According to a U.S. official, there are no U.S. personnel left at the consulate in Benghazi which was attacked. 

A U.S. military aircraft is also expected to leave Libya soon with the dead and wounded onboard. ...

I call this type of Right Wing Propaganda fabricated by those at the top of the propaganda food chain like Rush and Rove, "Truth or Consequences."

If the Right Wing propagandist EXPERTS at FOX and across the spectrum actually tell the truth there will be political consequences they cannot afford.

Now, I am confident President Obama immediately upon getting the news about Ambassador Stevens didn't turn over and go back to sleep. I am quite confident he immediately took the elevator to the Oval Office and called in all the security detail as well as his cabinet to immediately handle the crisis. It would have been remiss of President Obama to wait until 10:30 AM to handle the crisis, therefore, there was no reason to hold the meeting at all.

The Right Wing Propagandists, especially those at the fair and balanced network need to apologize to President Obama, the family of Ambassador Stevens, Secretary Clinton, the State Department staff deployed abroad and to the American people for using their good names for political fodder inconsequential to reality and facts in order to place their loyalty vote to good government in the wrong political column, namely Republican.

.

In anticipation of normal winter temperatures, the next insult to the Middle Class is the petroleum industry. AGAIN.

It doesn't matter the product, the petroleum industry, in all their wisdom to drill and frack 'at home' still exploits a nation entrenched in carbon based fuels rather than alternatives.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Households (click here) will spend more for heating oil and natural gas this winter than last, as temperatures return to "roughly normal" compared with the unusually warm winter seen last year, according to the Energy Information Administration's monthly Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook report released Wednesday....

Where is Howard Hamm and Romney on this. The idea a glut of any petroleum product will reduce the price is hideous. Currently, there is more natural gas being produced than needed in the USA. So much is being produced in the USA that Howard Hamm and his buddies want to sell it abroad. 

Supposedly, in a FREE MARKET SYSTEM, if a product is in more abundance than demand the price falls. Not the case in the petroleum industry. Just the opposite happens.

Posted on October 12, 2012 at 5:30 am by  Bloomberg in General, Natural Gas

...Gas may reach (click here) $4 per million British thermal units for the first time since September 2011 as winter heating demand picks up after mild weather a year ago, according to Mizuho Securities USA Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Prices have jumped 8.7 percent to $3.488 since July as electricity generators used record amounts of the fuel.

A production boom that’s put the nation on course for energy independence drove gas to below $2 per million British thermal units in April for the first time in 10 years, encouraging power plants to buy the fuel instead of coal. Gas jumped 18 percent July through September as record heat in the lower 48 states stoked air-conditioning use. The market surged 33 percent in the previous three months....

So, for the Cheney Energy Committee extending regulation free fracking has the citizens of the USA gotten reasonable energy costs? NOooooo. They received seismic activity, dirty water supplies and higher energy prices. 

Wake up America. The Romney energy plan isn't about providing cheaper energy prices to consumers it is about lining the pockets of cronies.

The Democrats are "Right on the Money," the country needs competition from alternative energies to bring better prices to the consumer. It is well worth the money to develop Alternative Energies before the cost of energy takes Americans paychecks.

Natural Gas has the lion share of the energy to heat homes. A change in price to the natural gas supplies will enhance or remove economic growth. The more expensive natural gas is the economy will reduce its consumer vitality in all other areas. Food prices increase, too.

Energy consumption in the USA

Natural gas

Households: 58.7 million

Change from last year: Up 0.6 percent

Share of total: 49 percent

Electricity

Households: 45 million

Change from last year: Up 2.6 percent

Share of total: 38 percent

Heating Oil

Households: 7 million

Change from last year: Down 2.8 percent

Share of total: 6 percent

Propane

Households: 5.6 million

Change from last year: Down 1.8 percent

Share of total: 5 percent

Wood

Households: 2.6 million

Change from last year: Up 3 percent

Share of total: 2.2

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

The Democrats have been correct on the money issues.

That is the heart of the entitlement COMPLAINTS. The Affordable Care Act has extended the health of Medicare for another decade.

There is only one option to change SSI. People may be living longer, but, there are citizens in the USA that cannot extend their working longevity. The working poor in the USA are in worse health than the rest of the country. That reality, especially after 16 years of NO health care policy since Contract with America, demands the allowance of retirement at age 65. Those folks are not retiring in pristine health to ride motorcycles all over the place and living their dreams of retirement. They are literally allowed to rest rather than burn the candle at both ends.

The only option on SSI retirement is to create an option of higher payments if a person seeks their SSI payments at a later age. In other words, if a person retires at age 66 their payments can be a couple percent higher, if they retire at the age of 67 their payments can be 4 to 5 percent higher, etc. The only option for raising the retirement age is to make it an option with incentive to move in that direction. Once the populous is healthier at age 65 with less retiring at that age, then and only then, can the mandatory age be moved back to age 67 or later. The retirement age of SSI has to be in response to the reality of the nation and not an arbitrary decision.

Health care premiums are not yet realized as the State Exchanges won't be in place until 2014 when the individual mandate takes its constitutional place in the Affordable Care Act. So, the COMPLAINTS about premium prices at this point needs to be aimed at the insurance companies themselves. The 15% administrative cost is now in effect and we know for a fact there will be people in this nation receiving a rebate on their premiums. No one ever hears about that fact from the Political Right either. They complain about the expense of the premiums and never amend that complaint to reflect the fact there are rebates coming FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY.

The Right Wing has no ideas except more of the same victimization of the Middle Class while extending the poverty dynamic to swallow up more citizens year after year. 

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

You have been and will always be the champion for the Middle Class. It is your legacy. Without a doubt. 

To champion the Middle Class is to champion the nation and no one does it quite like Joe Biden.

The Vice President is eminently qualified to handle the responsibilities he has without breaking a sweat.

Former Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist receives divorce papers.

Randy and Robie Stenoien, Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist and wife Karyn. Photo was taken at George Washington University on May 18, 2003.

So what is the problem? Certainly something serious. It isn't another South Carolina Governor problem now is it? When his spouse received a lot of support from the women's community of politics she did fine. This is very sad news.

Wife of former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist files for divorce (click here)

Monday, September 10, 2012 at 3:33pm

Karyn Frist filed for divorce from former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist last Friday due to irreconcilable differences.

Along with the divorce complaint, the former senator responded in his own filing that he “admits, with sadness, that irreconcilable differences have arisen between the parties that will prevent them from living together as Husband and Wife.”

Both sides agreed upon a “marital dissolution agreement.” The two married in 1981 in Lubbock, Texas.

Bill First represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007.

Secretary Clinton needs to order an internal investigation to the priorities of the RSOs in the Middle East

The attacks on our embassies in the Mideast looks too much like Green on Blue attacks in Afghanistan. The attack today in Yemen had intelligence as to the activity of the embassy security officer. There needs to be an internal investigation to the priorities of the RSOs and what they are doing with our embassies in violent areas of the world.

I don't think anyone can adequately comment on this until such an investigation is conducted.

Regional Security Officers (click here)

Diplomatic Security special agents, assigned to U.S. diplomatic missions overseas as regional security officers (RSOs), serve as the personal advisor to the ambassador or chief of mission on all security issues and coordinate all aspects of a mission's security program. They develop and implement effective security programs to protect our employees from terrorist, criminal, and technical attack both at work and at home. RSOs receive valuable assistance in this effort from other Diplomatic Security personnel, Marine Security Guards, U.S. Navy Seabees, local and cleared American guards, local investigators, and security engineering officers, and host government officials. In addition, RSOs provide unclassified security briefings and other professional security advice to U.S. business executives overseas.

RSOs serve as the primary liaison with foreign police and security services overseas in an effort to obtain support for U.S. law enforcement initiatives and investigations.

What happened at the Presidential debate. That is a statement, not a question.

To the left, statistical analysis.

The media is excited as if they opened their first gift Christmas morning as if something actually happened. Nothing really did.

If I may?

Before the debate the Republican media was screaming about the lousy polls and how they were biased, now they are stating the polls finally got it right. It is a lie. The lies they were speaking before the debates were about one thing and one thing only. 

Momentum. Enthusiasm. The Right Wing media lied before the debates to continued whatever momentum existed and then after the debate when Mr. Mystery Mitt showed up everything was right with the world. That woman commentator, what is her name, not Laura anybody the other one. The mouthpiece for Murdoch, she stated, "If Chris Christi isn't the nominee, then it will be Romney and we will lose." Now she is saying she had it right the entire time that Romney is going to win.

Oddly, President Obama BEFORE the debate when the polls were putting him 13% ahead of his opponent stated, "The polls are eschew." He and his campaign said that.

I think the polls in Ohio are very instructive, but, first I want to comment about Pew.

The Pew Poll doesn't come out that often. Once a month I think it is, if it is that often. Whether they will step it up now that the election is near is another question. I don't know the answer to that. If a commentator doesn't look at statistics well, then it is easy to exploit what seems like the obvious.

Immediately after the debate Pew released a poll which stated Romney did amazingly well, won the debate and was winning the election. Basically. The Pew Poll released previously to that one was taken some time ago, about a month I believe and it stated President Obama was ahead by 10 points. 

The Pew Poll is a conservative think tank polling focus. In my opinion, a swing as wild as that is an outliar. It carries an interesting political impact, but, basically is very inaccurate in both cases.

In the Real Clear Politics statistic, the Pew Poll impacted the overall average of all the polls taken. No other poll had the extensive change Pew had and they did not have a huge swing to increase the balance with President Obama's statistics, so the overall average at RCP reflects PEW's wild card statistic or outliar impact. That may be why PEW has the design to its statistical questions and participants by the way. It could be designed to be an outliar. As a partisan poll it could emphasize 'the trend' rather than 'the reality.

In the weeks before the debate most of the polls were stating when the overall averages were broken down the ONLY place Romney out paced President Obama was on the economy and deficit. When asked by any polling agency most voters stated Romney could better address those two issues. But, on all other topics Romney trailed considerably. 

Ask yourself what was the topic of the debate?

The debate was to cover the economy and other topics including governance. Where did Romney poll better than President Obama? The economy and the deficit. That showed up in the debate. However, the aggressive nature of Romney during the debate effected the moderator and he was scrambling to cover the remaining topics at the every end. Romney aggressively kept 'on topic' of the economy for the greater length of the debate because it was no secret it was the only place he out paced the President. In other words, Romney was cheating the viewership of their debate and made it an hour commercial for the economy. He lied throughout the debate, but, he put on a good show and the people cheered.

Today, if one looks to the Ohio polls it is very instructive. The percentage of voters in Ohio voting for President Obama hasn't changed. President Obama remains the steadfast hero in Ohio and he is polling the same pre and post debate. Mr. Romney is polling higher in Ohio but still behind President Obama. Mr. Romney gained 'interest' by the undecided.

President Obama won the debate on substance. He was true to his positions and policies throughout the debate. He maintained a civil stance and the same ole, same ole demeanor we are used to. He has kept the USA on track to success in over coming the economic collapse of 2008 and he does so by remaining trustworthy, speaking the truth and asking the people of the USA to be involved. He did that during the debate and he'll continue to do that.

President Obama is a great president. When he tossed his hat in the ring for the Democratic nominee he never bargained for the October surprise of 2008 when he was the nominee. It didn't matter. He stepped up to the country's needs, met them and continues to deliver on every one of his 2008 campaign promises even with a hostile and divided Republican House. I find that interesting. The fact that he can deliver on his 2008 campaign promises regardless of the huge change in circumstances he faced when taking office compared to the circumstances he campaigned on as a candidate and then nominee. No one ever remarks on that incredible achievement. It is as if he knew all of what he said during the 2008 campaign was paramount to the nation's best outcomes in the face of a huge economic failure. 

Look, the jobs picture today is a mirror reflection of Bush's lack of achievement during his eight years. We had an economy riding high on government money from 2000 - 2008, two wars and exploitation of the American Dream. Even with two wars and all the spending that went with them, Bush could not improve the jobs picture as it is finally improving today under President Obama. After October 2008 the construction industry practically disappeared because it was one of the only industries growing under Bush. The Bush economy was about exploiting the monies one had in equity in their ONLY home and 'dealing that money' into becoming millionaires. Where did the Bush economy collapse? In housing. The construction industry not only deflated it disappeared, until recently and finally with all the help the Obama Administration has provided to the mortgage markets it is finally recovering. And recovering ahead of schedule/predictions, by the way.

Returning to the issue of the debate and its after math, what is disappointing to me as an American in search of a President of the United States, it isn't about substance anymore. It is about putting a winning 'persona' on the stage as if it were some kind of sparing match. The declared winner of the debate is about viciousness and not about the truth. In my opinion, the debates are basically just a dog and pony show where facts, the truth and civility don't matter. It is about showmanship and nothing more, because, Romney lied about nearly every word he spoke, but, it just didn't matter.

Whatever happened to Zogby (click here), by the way?

"Nuns on the Bus" are again carrying the message of the poor to the public.

Sr. Simone Campbell asks attendees to participate in an exercise to demonstrate the changes in Americans’ income from 1980 to 2009 by creating a human graph. (Photo by Sue Ann Rybak)

Democrats and Republicans see the definition of democracy very differently. Democrats believe democracy is about opportunity and 'getting the chance' for it while Republicans define democracy as wealth, having it and keeping it. The differences are clear, what side of the great divide do you sit on?

The problem of poverty will worsen and the economy will reflect it in growth and employment if the GOP has its way after November. This is the America most people distain but they never seem to understand it and how it relates to the future of our economy. Poverty slows economic growth in the USA, while opportunity corrects its course.

The increase in homelessness in New York City also has a ripple effect. The housing no longer with occupants, paying customers if you will, will cause a further deterioration in the economic viability for those buildings. This isn't just a loss of housing for some lazy working bumbs, this is a loss in income across the board including property owners. It should be very obvious how 'opportunity' is necessary for economic growth.

Poverty is not joblessness, it is INCOME.

"Nuns on the Bus" leader calls on Americans to reclaim democracy (click here)

October 3, 2002

by Sue Ann Rybak

Sister Simone Campbell of “Nuns on the Bus” told an audience of about 300 people at Chestnut Hill College that Americans today face the challenge of “reclaiming our democracy.”

Speaking in the college’s Gruber Theater on Sept. 27, Campbell, who is executive director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby in Washington, D.C., recently toured nine states this summer to protest Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget, which gives tax breaks to the wealthy while cutting funds to social programs that benefit the poor....

This is what happens when the 47% are abandoned.

Romney has no basis for his 47% statements. Budget cuts at the federal and state levels are causing the cancellation of local programs that support 'marginal' citizens. This is the working poor. Their jobs are located in areas of cities where rent is unaffordable to them, so they have received subsidies to prevent homelessness. I am not sure where at the NY State level the funding was cut, but, the federal government has provided assistance through the Labor Department and Workforce Development.

The article below made predictions about the loss of subsidies and the correlation to homelessness. These folks simply don't make enough money to support themselves or their families. They never wanted to give up their housing. They just couldn't afford it.

Adults adjust, but, children are an entirely different issue. Putting Americans back to work with jobs that pay this low will not solve the country's poverty problem. These are the people Paul Ryan likes to state have no character and need jobs. That isn't the case. These people work, they work in jobs others don't want, they are marginal in their ability to live within the parameters of a decent life because they are low income, not because they are lazy. This is a return to Reagan when the homeless population across the country skyrocketed and he stated, "In the USA if you want to live on the street it is permitted." Same paradigm. 

The city canceled the program after losing state and federal funding.

Saturday, Feb 4, 2012  |  Updated 9:01 AM EDT

...New York City is cutting off rent-assistance payments (click here) to about 9,000 homeless families following a court decision, and advocates are warning that the move could flood the city's shelter system.

The city canceled the Advantage rent-subsidy program in March after it lost state and federal funding. A court order that was lifted Thursday had forced the city to continue payments while legal challenges to the decision played out.

An appeal is set to be heard next week, but officials said Friday the city plans to stop paying participants' rent immediately....

The Turkey-Syrian border is still volitile. Assad is claiming gains in Damascus.

Assad is not about to stop killing anywhere. He apologized for the border attack, but, he was warned by Turkey when the first incident shot down a Turkish jet took place. This isn't going to end soon, Assad will keep his attacks up while apologizing for each one. 

Syria, Turkey trade fire as clashes rage (click here)

By: AFP | October 08, 2012

...On Wednesday five civilians were killed in Akcakale in a mortar strike that provoked counter-fire, in the most serious incident since Syrian anti-aircraft fire brought down a Turkish warplane in June. That incident caused a spike in tensions between the former allies and renewed fears of a broader conflict. Turkey’s parliament on Thursday gave the government the green light to use military force against Syria if necessary. Akcakale’s mayor was quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as saying Sunday’s mortar hit prompted an immediate response by Turkish artillery. “Thank God there were no victims. Turkish artillery immediately responded to the shots that came from Syria,” Abdulhakim Ayhan said....

Attempted assassination of a 14 year old girl activist by the Taliban could be pivotal in Pakistan.

Perhaps this might make an impression on the Pakistani people how brutal the Taliban can be. This attempted assassination occurred at a bus stop. Both Malala and her girl friend sitting next to her were both shot.

The Taliban expect people to rise up against the activist and justify the actions of the Taliban. If there is hope of ridding the region of this danger the opinion against this brutality has to change.

Attempt to kill activist Malala Yousafzai, 14, could be 'watershed' moment that turns public tide against militants and extremism'

Jon Boone 
Tuesday, 9 October 2012

The Taliban's attempt (click here) to kill a 14-year-old girl, famous for speaking out against the Islamic militants and their attacks on girls' education, has triggered a wave of national revulsion in Pakistan .

Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck while she sat with classmates on a school bus as it prepared to drive students home after morning classes in Mingora, a city in the Swat valley, where the army mounted major operations in 2009 to crush a Taliban insurgency.

She was taken to hospital before being whisked in a military helicopter to an intensive care ward in Peshawar.

Police said a bearded man approached the bus and asked which of the girls was Malala. When one of the girls pointed at her she denied it. The gunman shot both girls, although police say three people were wounded in all....

The GOP rhetoric surrounding the Benghazi incident is wrong.

Secretary Clinton was clear immediately after the incident that this was a separate issue than what was occurring in Egypt. I know because I blogged that fact. She stated the attack itself was a result of militants and not demonstrators.

While the GOP is attempting to make hay out of attack, the State Department was stating the facts clearly. I blogged it right here. I knew when the GOP started their banter they were wrong, but, they and some media were determined to lie about it. Secretary Clinton knew exactly what happened and it was a separate incident all together than what was occurring in Egypt.

State Dept. description of attack in sync with GOP (click here)

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/09/2474638/us-official-in-libya-said-he-wanted.html#.UHUuuRVkynk#storylink=cpy

Tuesday, Oct. 09, 2012

By LARRY MARGASAK and BRADLEY KLAPPER

WASHINGTON — The State Department (click here) says it never concluded that an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya was simply a protest gone awry, a statement that places the Obama administration's own foreign policy arm in sync with Republicans.

That extraordinary message, appearing to question the administration's initial description of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, came in a department briefing Tuesday - a day before a hearing on diplomatic security in Libya was to be held by the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee....

...Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Republican lawmakers have increasingly sharpened their criticism of the administration's initial explanation of the attack. They said they never accepted the original explanation....

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/09/2474638/us-official-in-libya-said-he-wanted.html#.UHUuuRVkynk#storylink=cpy

Officials tell how ambassador Chris Stevens was trapped in safe-room as assailants burnt the compound down (click here)

By EDDIE WRENN

PUBLISHED: 22:24 EST, 9 October 2012

UPDATED: 03:01 EST, 10 October 2012

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/09/2474638/us-official-in-libya-said-he-wanted.html#.UHUuuRVkynk#storylink=cpy

This time last month, it was business as usual at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

A day later, ambassador Chris Stevens and several agents were dead, in an attack which was as brutal as it was deadly.

Officials have now described the overnight attack, which saw agents trapped in the burning compound before finally speeding away as attackers threw grenades and sprayed their armoured vehicle with gunfire from AK-47 assault rifles from a distance of two feet.

Meanwhile, the ambassador was locked in a safe-room as the compound filled with flames.

When the decision was made to escape the diesel-heavy smoke, it was too late, and Stevens never made it out....