I would not underestimate "Frankenstorm"

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October 26, 2012
0930:18z
UNISYS Infrared GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

The decrease in velocity right now is due to the huge front moving toward Hurricane Sandy. Even though this front is moving at a strong velocity, it is not diminishing the capacity of Sandy.

This path historically has resulted in very damaging and deadly storms. The reason for that is because the hurricane gets a lot of 'ocean time.' The water vapor content increases which increases the velocity of the storm.

Typically, the near shore storms of the Climate Crisis are very damaging to the coast lines but are basically fairly puny in wind velocity. The damage comes from the 'length of time' a single area is exposed to the winds.

Once the front moving toward Hurricane Sandy dissipates there will be nothing effecting the velocity of the hurricane, especially over the Atlantic. 

Additionally, the diameter of the storm will bring significant rainfall all along the east coast, when its traverse hooks west it will deliver rains into New York state, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Canada.

The city name of Sandy Hook has taken on an entirely new meaning when it comes to the path of this hurricane. It is really strange that landfall may very well occur at the same time its path heads West. 

It is not all that strange for the inland states to receive a hurricane. In 1961, Michigan received high winds and rain from Hurricane Carla. Carla did not originate in the Atlantic, but, hurricanes have been known to reach into the Mid-west.

It is not completely bad news. The drought will be helped potentially to the Mississippi River. The entire Ohio Valley will receive a relief and will increase the levels of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

People along the path need to be prepared for flooding and duration winds causing damage.

Romney is promoting corruption. This is an example of demoralizing employees of their right to privacy.

Corruption is an easy word to use. In this case it manifests with intimidation. An employee is not suppose to be owned by the company. They are employees, they go home to families and they have the RIGHT to privacy when casting a vote for their leaders.

There is room here for a class action suit against Mr. Romney and his peer group in this phone call. They are invading the right to privacy of citizens to carry out their balloting without intimidation.

The language Romney uses is interesting. "I don't care who you are voting for, me or President Obama, but as an employer you have the right to inform your employees what is best for their jobs." 

Really?

Romney goes on to say, "It is not illegal to advise your employees."

It may or it may not be depending on the state or not. But, if receiving direction in choosing a ballot is in their job description it is highly likely the employers will be suffering lawsuits for intimidation. There is no way an employee has to be pressured to 'perform' in their personal lives according to company demands. The right of privacy of the employee starts at their home and extends into every aspect of their lives including employment. 

The ballot is suppose to be a private act. The way computer balloting is carried out in North Carolina there is an invasion of privacy at balloting. It is easy for someone standing behind you what you are doing. There is little to no privacy in balloting in NC. That fact can be pressure itself. It has been that way since the computer balloting started.

Noting North Carolina, FOX and Right Wing media is reporting a problem with balloting.

Posted on: 9:43 am, October 24, 2012, by Jason M. Vaughn
According to MyFOX8.com Greensboro, (click here) on Monday several voters complained that their electronic ballot machine cast the wrong vote.  All the complaints were made by people who voted at the Bur-Mil Park polling location....

According to radio reports the ballot computers are recording those cast wrong in both directions. Voters choosing President Obama end up on the Romney count and vise versa. They also report it is in calibrations at the beginning of the day. Simple as that. Supposedly if the computers are calibrated correctly at the beginning of the day, there is no problem.

Really? Right.

When I cast my very first ballot as a young woman I walked into a booth, pulled a lever from one side to the other and the curtain closed behind me. I then selected my choices and pulled the level in the opposite direction which not only opened the curtain, but, simultaneously registered the vote and reset the machine for the next voter. 

The point is casting a ballot is a private matter. One of self-contemplation. One of values, morals impacting the future. Seeking a leader who will carry out benevolence to improve the lives of those voting. 

Here again and I have made this point before about the professions, these words are demoralizing. It takes privacy away from the employee, imposes intimidation of their paycheck and places peril in the path to balloting rather than self-reflection, values, morals and privacy in deciding whether or not education is important more so than electing a Wealth Merchant.

Look, if a business man/woman has to use these tactics to stay in business or pay for their elaborate personal lives, then they should not be in business. Just that simple.

Romney is promoting corruption. In this case, he is removing privacy from the selection of balloting. It is a demoralizing act. It applies pressure to people to move in directions that may very well be adverse to their best interests. 

There are all sorts of things to decide about while deciding where to place your vote. There are Education, Tax Reform, Increasing Taxes to pay the National Debt, Gay Rights, contraception and end war. There are many, many issues at hand other than one's job. While jobs are important they are not the only consideration in deciding what candidate will protect the quality of life valued.

One hearing from these CEOs in LEVERAGING a personal choice with the threat of losing a job, remember President Obama is not interested in having people lose their jobs. Honestly, he isn't.

Hello?

I met a soldier's mother.

She was on the Carolina Line when I was traveling by train. 

She was lower income and we struck up a conversation, she was sitting in the seat across the aisle only one row forward. Don't know how we did, maybe it was her smile or her body language, but, before you know it we were talking about her son. We had aisle seats. Maybe it was because my seat mate with the window seat was fast asleep. That might have had something to do with it.

But, her son volunteered for eight dedicated years in the military. He recently finished as a Marine Sargent and got an apartment outside of the LeJeune Gates. It is not unusual at all for LeJeune soldiers to do that. Some never leave the city surrounding the base.

She hadn't seen him for six years. He was not married. And she was worried about him not being able to find the bus station where she was arriving. I told her the mobile services would probably work since the WiFi was working so well. She stated she didn't have a mobile phone. So, I pulled mine out and gave it to her. I told her to talk as long as she wanted.

She knew the phone number and while on the phone asked one of the attendants where exactly the bus station would be. She was looking for an address. The attendant stated she didn't know exactly, but, would find out and hastily went to the front of the train car.

The attendant came back in a few minutes with the address written down and handed it to her.

She spoke to her son for about 10 minutes before she said, "Oh, a nice lady gave me her mobile phone to call you." Her son realized she didn't have a mobile phone and was wondering how she reached him while still traveling.

When she got off from her stop my mobile phone was in my possession and she hugged me. She waved to me as the train left the station. I know if I meet her again we will recognize each other and I'll hear more about one of our finest soldiers and how well he is doing in life.

Thank you Secretary Powell. I think President Obama has been a remarkable President. Thank you, so very much.

By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON | Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:27am EDT

(Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (click here) on Thursday endorsed Barack Obama in his bid for re-election, citing the Democratic president's efforts to wind down the war in Afghanistan and tackling terrorism.

"And so I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on," the Republican, who also backed Obama in 2008, told "CBS This Morning."

The move comes just days after Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney clashed over foreign policy in the third and last presidential debate ahead of the November 6 election....

Third Party Candidates have incredibly important message.

The Green Party's Jill Stein, from left, the Justice Party's Rocky Anderson, the Constitution Party's Virgil Goode and Libertarian Gary Johnson debate Tuesday in Chicago. (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune)

They must stay on track and push for significant elections of 2014.

Thank you, Larry King! The man is better than ever.

Libertarian Gary Johnson, (click here) the Green Party's Jill Stein, Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party met in a debate moderated by Larry King, late of CNN.

The event, hosted by a group with links to a self-styled, Chicago-based, anti-tax crusader, was held at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, ground zero for so much politically inspired chaos in 1968.

This time, however, it was unlikely the whole world was watching....

Finally, a Presidential Debate Tackles Climate Change, Drones, Drugs, and Civil Liberties (click here)

By Will Oremus

 | 

Posted Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, at 11:57 AM ET

It took a cast of political eccentrics with no hope of winning the election, but Tuesday night finally brought a presidential debate that addressed climate change....

...All four also piped up for civil liberties, criticizing laws that allow for the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without trial. Anderson calling the National Defense Authorization Act "the very definition of tyranny."...

Some minimalists believe Hurricane Sandy will hit the USA next week? Really?

October 25, 2012
0930:18z
UNISYS Infrared GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)

I could never understand why anyone would down play deadly storms. It is like it isn't suppose to happen or something. This story from Bloomberg was 22 minutes ago. I don't think so.

This is the infrared satellite and not even the water vapor satellite. I down played the reality of the storm by using IR. And still there is a major storm already at the shores of the USA.

By Brian K. Sullivan - Oct 25, 2012 5:22 AM ET

Hurricane Sandy, (click here) which closed businesses and airports in Jamaica as it moved north in the Caribbean, may strike the U.S. East Coast next week with the potential to cause millions of dollars in damage.

Sandy’s maximum sustained winds reached 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour as it moved inland over southeastern Cuba, according to a U.S. National Hurricane Center advisory at 5 a.m. Eastern time. It was about 40 miles east of Holguin, Cuba, and moving north at 18 mph.

“The table is set for some pretty major weather,” Henry Margusity, an expert senior meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania, said yesterday. “Is it going to be an epic storm or is going to be just your typical nor’easter? We will have the answers next week.”...

In case the media needs to know where to look for pertinent information, it might save lives. The Weather Channel focuses on this stuff, ya know?

Hurricane Alerts (click here)

Tropical Storm Warning for: 
Coastal Broward
Coastal Miami Dade
Coastal Palm Beach
Coastal Volusia
Coastal Waters From Fernandina Beach To St. Augustine Fl Out 20 Nm
Coastal Waters From Jupiter Inlet To Deerfield Beach Fl Out 20 Nm
Flagler Beach To Volusia-brevard Line 0-20 Nm
Indian River
Lake Okeechobee
Martin
Northern Brevard
Sebastian Inlet To Jupiter Inlet 0-20 Nm
Southern Brevard
St. Lucie
Volusia-brevard Line To Sebastian Inlet 20-60 Nm
Waters From Fernandina Beach To St. Augustine Fl From 20 To 60 Nm
Waters From Jupiter Inlet To Deerfield Beach Fl From 20 To 60 Nm
Waters From Ocean Reef To Craig Key Fl From 20 To 60 Nm

Tropical Storm Watch for: 
Duval
Flagler
Monroe/upper Keys
Nassau
St. Johns

Just a personal opinion, but, I betcha the Tropical Storm Watch turns into Tropical Storm Warnings within a couple of hours.

I always love to tell the story about Hurricane Floyd. So, I'll tell it again. I was listening to the weather reports back in those days and the prediction was Floyd would not hit Wilmington for another 24 hours. That was midnight. The sky was clear, I could see the stars, who was I to question.

At 5AM a knock came to the door and as I woke I could hear something slapping against my bedroom window. It was on the second floor of course. I dashed to the door in my bathrobe to be greeted by a frantic neighbor from the downstairs apartment waking everyone to the reality that Floyd had hit. 

I went to the balcony and there sat my beautiful new Dodge Avenger (I liked the name) in over a foot of water.

See, the 'eye' of the storm wasn't reaching Wilmington for 24 hours, but, that storm was huge and the outer bands reached us a lot sooner.

See, the 'eye' isn't where all the rain is. 20 people died in that storm, a few were from surrounding low lying towns to Wilmington. Wilmington would be an island again in about 12 more hours. My family and I barely got off the coastal plain before all access roads to Wilmington were closed. The traffic was so heavy that when my oldest son driving his car and I our 4X4 Chevy the water was becoming stronger over Interstate 40. We communicated through it by hand held closed circuit band radios. We were all lucky. The rest of the family was already west of Raleigh.

So, when it comes to large RADIUS storms, the media needs to be 'on the ground' reporting and not waiting for the eye of the storm to pass over to marvel at the fact there is NO RAIN IN THE 'EYE' OF THE STORM!

Below is the UNISYS Water Vapor image at October 25, 2012 at 0930:18z (click here for 12 hour loop). Just for the record.

Hurricane Sandy in the past nine hours. Dropping eight millibars of central pressure and moving north 2.2 degrees latitude with winds increasing by 20 knots and returning to an increase of 15 knots.

10A  18.70  -76.40 10/25/00Z   75   968 HURRICANE-1

  11  19.40  -76.30 10/25/03Z   80   954 HURRICANE-1

11A  20.10  -75.90 10/25/06Z   95   957 HURRICANE-2

  12  20.90  -75.80 10/25/09Z   90   960 HURRICANE-2

Just give everyone a fighting chance, okay? Is that too much to ask for the right to broadcast all the 'power plays' of elections? Huh?

Oprah Winfrey tops the list. Her story is just amazing. Congrats.

4:03 PM, Oct 2, 2012
New York, NY -- Oprah Winfrey (click here) tops the Forbes list of the highest paid women in entertainment. Forbes estimates that Winfrey made $165 million in 12 months. That's nearly as much as the next three women on the list combined. Brittany Spears took in $58 million, a million more than Taylor Swift. Ellen DeGeneres is tied with Rihanna for fourth place with $53 million. Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez are a million behind them. The top ten ends with a three-way tie. Gisele Bundchen, Katy Perry and Judge Judy each made $45 million. 

American Citizens want their Post Offices!

Barnstable Town Councilwoman Ann Canedy listens while Michael Foley, project coordinator for the U.S. Postal Service, explains the recent review of Cummaquid Post Office.

CUMMAQUID - It is not often (click here) the much maligned U.S. Postal Service gets praise or applause, but that’s what it got Oct. 18 when postal officials announced to a school gymnasium full of Cummaquid residents that everything would remain the same at their favorite neighborhood gathering place, the tiny Cummaquid Post Office on Route 6A.

“There are no changes being made at all,” said Michael Foley, project manager in charge of reviewing the future of small post offices like Cummaquid in the eastern half of the state. The crowd of more than 80 post office customers broke out in applause. “Cummaquid is not on the radar now for any discontinuance or suspension,” he said....

Secretary Clinton is barred from political engagement.

She doesn't want a return of the disaster resulting from a video. No one can doubt there was a severe reaction in the Middle East against our Consulates due to an irresponsible You Tube Posting.

Scott Stearns

October 24, 2012

STATE DEPARTMENT — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (click here) says an Internet claim of responsibility that followed last month's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, is not hard evidence of who killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.  The Obama administration's handling of the event has become an issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.

Within hours of the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, a State Department clearinghouse for publicly available information notified U.S. officials that the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia claimed credit for the violence in posts on Facebook and Twitter....

I mean for real, already.

The jury is still out about the impact the video has on Benghazi. And agency representative was on MSNBC recently stating there could have been an impact on the Benghazi attack by the video. The attack, while well implemented on September 11th, occurred after the reaction in Egypt against the USA Consulate there. The Egypt incident was directly related to the video.

The attack in Benghazi was on the heels of a revolution with a power vacuum and the rise in power of the Salafists. There has been some evidence so the understanding the militia involved was an extremist wing of the Salafists from the attacks in Sirte from the February 11th militia. Sirte was Kaddafi's hometown, where he was found and killed. The intelligence about the Salafists is relatively new. They haven't been a threat to this extent before in the Middle East.

The Salafists have an agenda and it is only taking shape now.

Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is greeted by Palestinians at cornerstone laying ceremony for a new centre providing artificial limbs in the northern Gaza Strip.Pool Photo

Salafists in bid to break Hamas's grip on Gaza (click here)

Hugh Naylor

...One of those rewards was yesterday's landmark visit by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar's emir. Sheikh Hamad was the first head of state to visit Gaza since Hamas came to power five years ago.

"Hamas has become a one-party dictatorship in Gaza," Mohammed Abu Jamiaa, an Al Nour Party leader, said at the group's headquarters in Khan Younis earlier this month. "But we respect democratic politics and all we seek to do is enter the political system in a democratic and peaceful way, and we seek to implement Sharia in a democratic way."

Still, Hamas could be forgiven for being wary of Salafism....

Ya can't make this stuff up. It is real and it is the reality Secretary Clinton faces regularly.

They still haven't learned what it is to grow.

Published: Oct. 23, 2012 at 4:58 PM


NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Stocks took a beating (click here) in New York Tuesday with investors pondering disappointing third-quarter reports and ongoing economic struggles.
In a two-day stretch without a significant economic report to divert anyone's attention, investors were contemplating DuPont's July through September results, the latest in a string of blue-chip firms that came in under expectations.
By close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 243.53 points, 1.82 percent, to 13,102.53. The Nasdaq composite index shed 26.49 points or 0.88 percent to 2,990.46. The Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 20.71 points or 1.44 percent to 1,413.11.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 825 stocks advanced and 2,222 declined on a volume of 3.5 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 15/32 to yield 1.764 percent....

I have to laugh at the Republican rhetoric surrounding the issue of the economy. Now, if I remember correctly, the Bush Tax Cuts were suppose to give the high income earners EVERY ADVANTAGE to grow their businesses, put people back to work and spawn economic prosperity. Isn't that what was suppose to happen? Am I mistaken?

Now according to the Republicans, the Bush Tax Cuts had to stay in place for the wealthy past their expiration in 2009. Right? They were suppose to expire January 1, 2010. 

But, the Republicans were so insistent that keeping the Bush Tax Cuts beyond 2010 would return benefit to the economy, President Obama signed the bill passed by the House and Senate to maintain them two more years.

HAS IT WORKED TO RETURN ECONOMIC GROWTH?

I don't think so. So, what exactly did the Republicans' Bush Tax Cuts caused with the USA economy? Growth? No. Deficit. Deficit that has caused national debt and caused a diminished credit rating of our country.

By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON

Published: October 28, 2009

IF you make more than $200,000, or $250,000 as a married couple, (click here) your income tax rates will almost certainly go up in 14 months. But there are some steps you can take to ease that burden, and if you act in the next two months you could save twice as much.
That’s because the tax cuts sponsored by President George W. Bush lapse at the end of next year. Those cuts will have saved individuals, and cost the government, $2.34 trillion, according to calculations the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research institute, made for The New York Times. The Bush and Obama administrations have called the center’s past calculations reliable. Interest on the money borrowed to finance those tax cuts equals a month worth of income taxes paid to the government by individuals....

Now, the Republican Plan to grow the USA economy, was to cater to Wall Street and the wealthy and HAS IT CAUSED ROBUST ECONOMIC GROWTH?

NO. It has not caused robust economic growth. It has caused huge huge deficits in our national budget and increased in huge amounts our National Debt. The Republican demands for Tax Cuts for the wealthy has FAILED to cause robust economic growth in the USA.

Now, why is that? And where has economic growth occurred and why? The reason the Republican plans have caused hardship on the USA economy is because the wealthy did not invest in the USA. They bankrolled their monies and sought other places in the world to invest. Offshore accounts and risk taking causing Morgan billions in equity.

When is the American electorate going to call this irresponsible policy and hold responsible the Republicans for the lack of robust growth? When is that going to happen? Their legislative agenda has not returned robust growth to the USA economy in over a decade since President Clinton finished his second term. 

Hello? 

What have others stated would be best for the country, both morally and economically? What has Warren Buffet stated? What has George Soros stated? Economic growth requires reinvestment by the government to spawn a re-vitalized economy in a new paradigm that will work for Americans and the generations to come.

How long are Americans going to be lead down a path of no return and further hardship?

Wall Street is not optimistic lately. Well, how much of the USA have they invested in to spawn growth of the USA populous purchasing power?

Example: The car industry. They are seeing record sales this year, one might wonder why. Is it because there are actually very gainfully employed citizens of the USA purchasing new cars that have work within this industry? It certainly looks that way. And do those well employed Americans spend their money on real estate, pay property taxes, purchase items in their local economies, spawn growth in their spending, growth that employs more Americans THAT BUY NEW CARS, TOO?

Auto Sales Seen Near Peak On Economy, Boomers, Price (click here)

By JASON MA, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

 Posted 10/19/2012 05:52 PM ET

...Car sales should top 14 million vehicles in 2012, a leap of nearly 4 million from the 2009 trough. But weak economic fundamentals, demographics, regulations and generational differences could limit remaining growth....

All the naysayers want to predict this is the end of the climb. It sure doesn't look that way.

The only place in the auto industry lacking in sale is on USED CAR LOTS. The stocks of used cars are swelling and it is becoming more difficult to sell them. The difference in fuel efficiency and the future of CAFE standards predicts the best outcomes for new cars.

When is the rest of Wall Street going to catch up with what the Auto Industry already knows, that if they employ Americans they get returns on their investment.

September 11 2012 8:00 AM
The Opening of the Ford Flat Rock Assembly Plant.

The low growth in the USA economy is due to the crash and the degree President Obama has provided a direction of rescue for Americans and their future. Wall Street and the wealthy never did anything. Not to say there are no business owners in the USA that would like to expand their capacity, but, they aren't Wall Street. 

Wall Street is going to have to get used to their own sluggish reality as Americans seek control through local economies with ethical and moral priorities. Good paying jobs with reasonable hours, that provide for a happy family life well educated and loved children when parents are home after work and good health care benefits or state exchanges soon to be in place. 

If Wall Street is not happy, then it is their own fault. Americans are waiting for them to catch up with the auto industry, which is forging ahead as best they can. Sooner or later, Wall Street will learn what it is to abandon Americans and they will change their priorities, but, until then Americans are moving forward.

It is time for the Bush Tax Cuts to expire and pay our debts so our Treasury Bonds are still the best in the world. Economic growth will follow but it won't be because the wealthy invested as promised by Republicans. It will because Americans have set their own path and forged a better future under a President with high ethical and moral standards.

That is the truth. It is time Every American lives with it.

The Republicans have baseless claims to their demands for further tax cuts for the wealthy. They have no sound proof any of that strategy has worked at all for over 12 years. 12 years of mistakes. It needs to end.

Still cleaning up after Wall Street.

Rajat Gupta (c) with his attorneys walks to Federal Court for sentencing on insider trading charges. (click here)

It really is a shame for the loss of ethics within some of the professions.

The Wall Street fat cat who fed inside information to the infamous “Hedge Hog” is going to prison — not Rwanda.

Rajat Gupta, who had pleaded to be allowed to pay for his crimes by doing charity work in the African country, was sentenced Wednesday to two years behind bars.

The ex-Goldman Sachs director was also hit with a $5 million fine in the biggest insider trading case in U.S. history.

U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff said he wanted to send a message to other would-be insider traders that “when you get caught, you will go to jail.”...

Goldman Sachs always seems to have the best gossip.

When I look at the demoralization of the professions it really does point to ethics. In North Carolina when one stops to realize the very little power lawyers have to represent their clients, the criticism belongs to ethics.

A person nearly has be be near death in order for courts to rule favorably in a victims favor. There is dearly little negligence in North Carolina for medical professionals or legal practitioners.

The moral standards by which ethics of a profession is defined as been eliminated in NC. It really is a same. Now, morality is all about church, nothing more.

It is corruption that did that to NC and the nation. This is another example of it.

The big thrust with demoralizing a profession is the promise it will make things less expensive. In the case of the medical profession, the Republicans always want to see Tort Reform. Supposedly, Tort Reform will eliminate some lawsuits that are nuisance (which I don't believe there is such a thing) and lower the cost of malpractice insurance. Supposedly, lowering the cost of malpractice insurance will bring down and keep down the cost of health care. 

Really?

In North Carolina the professions have been so demoralized of their ethical responsibilities they don't need malpractice insurance in emergencies anymore. I would think that would be one of the most expensive areas of the hospital for malpractice insurance. Yet, in North Carolina even being exempt from responsibility in the ER hasn't move the needle one inch on lowering the cost of health care.

Instead what is occurring in North Carolina is a demoralizing of the professions, permitting victims to be out of the reach of acting against those that have harmed them and caused a great deal of corruption within the professions.  There is dearly no time when anyone is responsible financially for the poor outcome of a victim and auto insurance companies literally get away with paying next to nothing to victims of reckless accidents.

Following Republican precedent in seeking ways to bend down the curve on the cost of health care never worked and will never work. This November it is important to re-evaluate where the country is headed ethically and return morality to our professions. Including the return of ethical conduct to banking, the financial sector and political campaigns. There is nothing ethical about run away spending in elections to purchase a seat of power. Nothing. When ethical standards are dismissed as important, the professions do not have any basis of self-monitoring and they lose their moral core. That is what has happened under Republican leadership and it is why Americans don't recognize the country they once lived in only a decade ago.

President Obama proved his competency as Commander and Chief in the last debate.

His opposition was challenged for competent answers and the Right Wing rhetoric is that any Wall Street Venture Capitalist can become as competent as Obama once in office. I think the Former Senator Obama would disagree with that.

But, I noticed some interesting realities other than the sweat on Romney's brow.

While the debate was transpiring CNN had a 'undecided voter reaction ticker.' It showed some interesting things. The undecided voter was more comfortable with President Obama's answers, but, the women didn't like him 'taking on' Romney. They much preferred to be hearing about this competent answers, the values emulated through his foreign policy and the future of the country.

To some extent both gender voters thought less of the comparisons made to Romney while pointing his deceptions and shortcomings to the electorate. They wanted to hear about the President, his policies, our values in those policies, how he transacts policy and what the future will be like.

it is my opinion that the President needed to address his base as well during the debates and did so by taking on Romney and handling his deceptions. That was just as important if not more so. But, he should consider leaving that dynamic at the debates and address the future of the USA under his continued Presidency with Vice President Biden as Partner and Chief in the White House.

The Undecided Voter, especially the female voter has a softer side that wants to hear positive dialogue without negative attacks. It is my opinion the President and his campaign need to focus more on the future and what the next four years will look like. 

He mastered that debate last night. I congratulate him. There is no doubt we are safer today both domestically and abroad. He is a strong and competent leader with the respect of the international community. i was a little disappointed his Nobel Prize didn't come up because it does reflect his policies. They are policies to support the movement of democracy.

i found it very sad that Mitt Romney was attempting to be the best Obama-wannabee he could. It only proved he is not ready for the presidency and unpredictable in any policy goals. And Ryan should never have been placed that close to the Oval Office.

Have a better day.

I wish you could hear what I heard on the train.

I heard happy talk. People connecting, anticipating their arrival at the station. There were folks waving good bye and not wanting to leave. There was talk about baby showers and getting home. There was talk about their job schedules. 

Lower income Americans having quality of life and making stronger bonds to strength their families. I heard good news. These folks are paying passengers and they have a lifestyle that works for them now. 

It was all good, from start to finish. Not one tear. Smiles were everywhere and they were moving on. They had esteem and status. It was an amazing ride.

I liked Paul Krugman's Op-Ed today.

...Why is recovery from a financial crisis slow? (click here) Financial crises are preceded by credit bubbles; when those bubbles burst, many families and/or companies are left with high levels of debt, which force them to slash their spending. This slashed spending, in turn, depresses the economy as a whole....

Personally, I do not believe the economic recovery has been slow. When one sincerely looks at where the global economy was in 2008 and where the USA is today, it has chugged right along. And it is no surprise it was a V - shaped depression and not an L-Shaped or W-shaped, but as soon as President Obama and the Democratic majority of the House and Senate took office in January 2009 the USA economy IMMEDIATELY started a turn around.

That was no accident and would not have happened at all if they hadn't taken such bold steps. I am proud of them.

It was unfortunate the Republicans were so successful in scaring the country to death in 2010. President Obama's programs work. It doesn't matter the program, they work and they work well. The country should have showed more confidence in him and the Democrats. The depression could have been far worse and unrestrained if it were for them.

...Over the past few months advisers to the Romney campaign have mounted a furious assault on the notion that financial-crisis recessions are different. For example, in July former Senator Phil Gramm and Columbia’s R. Glenn Hubbard published an op-ed article claiming that we should be having a recovery comparable to the bounce back from the 1981-2 recession, while a white paper from Romney advisers argues that the only thing preventing a rip-roaring boom is the uncertainty created by President Obama.

Obviously, Republicans like claiming that it’s all Mr. Obama’s fault, and that electing Mr. Romney would magically make everything better. But nobody should believe them.

For one thing, these people have a track record: back in 2008, when serious students of history were already predicting a prolonged slump, Mr. Gramm was dismissing America as a “nation of whiners” experiencing a mere “mental recession.” For another, if Mr. Obama is the problem, why is the United States actually doing better than most other advanced countries?...

The facts are obvious. The Great Recession of 2008 was actually headed into a far deeper depression than anyone had measured at the time. The action President Obama and the Democrats took stopped the decline and the turn around was remarkable.

President Obama has put the USA on a sustainable path of economic recovery with manufacturing returning and consumer confidence increasing with the holidays approaching. Most Americans will have a far better holiday this year than they did in 2008.

President Obama has kept his promises to us. He has saved this country from economic devastation and in doing so supported the global recovery, because when the USA does well the rest of the world does, too.

I road the Amtrak Carolina today. I was impressed.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin are joined by state and local officials as they announce the next phase of high-speed rail construction during a news conference at an Amtrak maintenance building in Chicago.  / AP photo

Amtrak train set to hit 110 mph in test run (click here)

Posted: 10.19.2012 at 9:00 AM

CHICAGO (AP) — In a modest milestone for President Barack Obama's high-speed rail vision, test runs will start zooming along a small section of the Amtrak line between Chicago and St. Louis at 110 mph on Friday.

The 30-mph increase from the route's current top speed is a morale booster for advocates of high-speed rail in America who have watched conservatives in Congress put the brakes on spending for fast train projects they view as expensive boondoggles. But some rail experts question whether the route will become profitable, pose serious competition to air and automobile travel, or ever reach speeds comparable to the bullet trains blasting across Europe and Asia at 150 mph and faster.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn are scheduled to be on board when an Amtrak train hits 110 mph for the first time in Illinois. But it will only maintain that speed for a short time, somewhere along the 15 miles between Dwight and Pontiac, before braking back to more normal speeds...

The Carolina was clean, comfortable with plenty of passengers. It was safe, too. I was greeted by a cheerful station master. She checked our ID and our ticket. Most everyone, without exception, had reservations for their seat. The fact of the matter is, if a person doesn't have a ticket the likelihood of getting a seat is very slim. I only saw one passenger in the entire care purchase their ticket on board.

There were electric outlets for laptops and WiFi that worked. Not once was my computer interrupted during the trip. It was nice.

The other passengers were nice. The passenger conductor was precise in checking every passenger's identity, their ticketing and their destination. There was a lot of diversity on the train, but, no wealthy people and that was unfortunate because it was a scenic ride. Enjoyable. There were staff that recognized regular riders and conversed with them. It was the most interesting experience I have ever had on Amtrak. I was really impressed. 

The stations are in good to excellent condition, some are newly rebuilt through the Recovery dollars. The facilities were secure, well lit. I felt very safe through the entire trip.

The Carolina did not hit 110 mph because there were stops in cities along the way, but, when there was country miles to cover the train moved along nicely. We arrived exactly on time to every stop along the way. 

Oh, and there is a Cafe Car. People like that. There was a lot of movement between the Cafe Car and the rest of the train. There was a brief stop for smokers to step outside before completely their journey.

I will do this again and again. Amtrak has improved 1000 percent under President Obama. A nice ride for a reasonable price. Thank you. Thank you for all those on board today. 

"Morning Papers" - It's Origins (click here)

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

First Quarter

50% Full

October 21, 2012

A first quarter moon rises at noon and is high overhead at sunset. It sets around midnight. (click here)