Sounds as though Governor Cuomo needs to break up the utilities companies.

The Governor has an opportunity to identify the regions of the state underserved. He should disenfanchise the companies unable to provide good service and find smaller companies that can competently take over the responsiblity. I hope he does something to end the large corporations that are unable to provide expert service. 

Originally published: November 8, 2012 12:49 PM

Updated: November 8, 2012 6:57 PM
By LAURA FIGUEROA  laura.figueroa@newsday.com

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, calling the state's utility system "archaic and obsolete," continued to blast LIPA officials for a "failed" and slow-moving response, as tens of thousands of customers remained without power Thursday. News 12 Long Island (Nov. 8, 2012) (November 8, 2012 8:42 PM

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, (click here) describing the state's utility system as "archaic and obsolete," continued to blast LIPA officials for what he called a "failed" slow-moving response as tens of thousands of LIPA customers were still without power Thursday.

"They have failed the consumers," Cuomo said. "The management has failed consumers."

While 90 percent have power back since Sandy hit last Monday, Cuomo said it meant little to the 10 percent of customers still left in the dark....

It sounds like Iran is inching up on Kuwait air space.

The USA was involved in the Persian Gulf War I because of infringement on Kuwait. We do not want another incursion into an allies air space or otherwise. The USA has the responsibility of surveillance in regard to our allies. Iran has no right to interfer. We do not want another ground war over Kuwait. We also don't want jet confrontations with Iran rather than sending drones. The last time USA jets flew in this region regularly, it was to enforce a north and south no fly zone over Iraq. We don't want to go back there, again.

Posted November 9, 2012

11:00 AM (UTC-4)

Iran has confirmed a Pentagon report (click here) that two Iranian warplanes fired on an unarmed U.S. drone in the Persian Gulf last week.

Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted on the Iranian Students' News Organization website as saying that Iran's armed forces took action against an anonymous plane that entered the country's airspace – countering the Pentagon's contention that the U.S. aircraft was over international waters.

Iran also vowed to confront any other aircraft that enters its airspace. According to FARS news agency, Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Massoud Jazayeri said Iran would “give a decisive response to any aerial, ground or sea aggression.”

Pentagon spokesman George Little said Thursday that the unmanned Predator was outside Iranian waters on a routine classified surveillance mission on November 1 when an Iranian military plane fired at, and missed, the drone....

Iran needs practice more than they know. They need to practice on STAYING IN THEIR OWN AIR SPACE!!

Iran to hold air defence drill (click here)

Thursday November 08 2012

Iran's military is to hold "massive" air defence manoeuvres in the east, starting this weekend.

Farzad Esmaili, head of Iran's air defence headquarters, said the drill will include Iranian jet fighters, drones, air defence systems and about 8,000 troops.

He is quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that the area of the war games will cover nearly the entire eastern half of Iran. The exercise will start on Saturday and last seven days....

Iran doesn't know how to conduct themselves with these exercises? They are playing with fire. Iran needs to conduct themselves as professionals and not type casting for Top Gun.

Speaker "Bay-Near" (as in the bay meets the ocean) has the tax increase completely "W"rong.

House Speaker John "Bay-Near" states he is relying on the ideas of Ernst and Young to stop any and all tax increases. He states there is going to be 700,000 jobs lost.

Ernst and Young (click here) is not the source of information we need. Ernst and Young is an accounting firm. It is Wall Street. Evidently, the Republicans were all set to turn the government into a private sector disaster if Romney were in the White House. I don't think so.

No one hates to say  this more than me, but, Bernanke may be doing something to help return function to the banking system. When purchasing toxic assets (which he wanted to do from the beginning in 2008 but never had the time to establish it) will provide room within the banking structure to lend to businesses to expand their markets and drive employment.

By Joshua Zumbrun - Sep 13, 2012 6:46 PM ET

...Bernanke is enlarging his supply of unconventional tools (click here) to attack unemployment stuck above 8 percent since February 2009, a situation he called a “grave concern.” The decision immediately provoked a renewed backlash from Republicans, including Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, who said Bernanke’s policies damage the Fed’s credibility while doing little to spur the economy.

The FOMC also said it would probably hold the federal funds rate near zero “at least through mid-2015.” Since January, the Fed had said the rate was likely to stay low at least through late 2014. The Fed said “a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after the economic recovery strengthens.”

So, once again, the Republicans have it "W"rong and the USA needs to raise taxes on those most easy to pay them to PAY THE BILLS !!!

It would appear as though the liquidity of money to lend is a hurdle yet to be adequately addressed and perhaps this is the real progress we need. Bernanke wanted this earlier, but, never engaged it in a way that mattered before. The Republicans are wrong. There is no reason to wait to raise taxes. 

End the Bush Tax Cuts.

President Obama should never pull his punches on Cabinet Appointments

The USA needs wonderfully talented people to lead it's Executive Branch, Susan Rice is one of those people.

The controversy surrounding Benghazi, Libya is not about the truth or improving the circumstances of our ambassadors, it is about politics.

There are members of the Intelligence Community in the USA that have openly stated, the TIMELINE, of the Benghazi uprising was in line with the idea the film caused violence. The Egyptian riot at the USA Consulate started hours before the Benghazi attacks.

Ambassador Rice was more than correct in her assessment of the situation with the information available to her and the speculation by USA intelligence as being unable to rule out the film as an impetus to the violence. 

The fact there are organized militias in Libya allowed for what appeared to be al Qaeda, but, it has been proven to be something different. These militias, especially those of the extremists, were virtually unknown to global intelligence. They were spawned by the People's Revolution in Libya. 

Previous to the recent violence in the Middle East, the Salafists were always known to be pacifists within the conservative religions. This is a drastic change in their priorities. They have never been political or violent.

The attacks by the right wing political animals in the USA is about the elections of 2016 and the fact there is a Clinton at the top of the State Department. It has absolutely nothing to do with the United States and national security. It was about destroying the legitimacy of Secretary Clinton and any future political aspirations even though she has said otherwise. 

I know how these people work. The very high political directive of the Republicans is to destroy the brain trust of the Democrats and any other political opposition to their continued power grabs. Their attacks span decades, not simply within a political campaign for office.

President Obama needs to believe in his expertise and the people within his values for the USA. Ambassador Rice is every bit the qualified person she needs to be. She is well respected in the international community and brings a wonderful personality to her job. I encourage him to make the appointments and nominations he needs to for his new Cabinet. I am sure Secretary Clinton has her recommendations as well for her successor. 

I wish all well and thank Secretary Clinton for her dedication to her country. If political aspirations are to be her future I hope she reflects on those possibilities and makes the best decision for herself, her family and her country. 

We need the best, not just the politically acceptable.

Tribute to the Captain of the ship.

There is much chat about the emotional speech to the President's Re-election Staff. That is a bit of a window on his soul. He takes his place in history very seriously. He is alone. He knows the brevity of his decisions and the place where the American people find themselves. It isn't just about minorities. It is about the struggle. He accepted his place in the timeline that is this democracy. He cares about everyone of us. I know that for a fact. His policies have never been about anything except expanding the longevity of this democracy and the private industries within it. He is an incredible person. We are lucky he came to the decision to make his expertise count among us and not making a six or seven figure salary at a high end law firm touting their minority numbers. We are very lucky to have him. President Obama needs to continue to speak to the people that need him the most and setting the ship back on its course.

Karl Rove opposes freedom of speech while failing to satisfy customers.

Karl, Megan's question is "What can you do about that?"

Remember Karl, you are the guy with all the big bucks that can buy any election. So, in the face of failure, short of ending freedom of speech, what's the deal already?

Karl. Your million-billionaires were unable to destroy Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in their bids. When will you learn there is a negative effect on Republican outcomes when you are involved?

No 3:00 AM phone call?

Really?

I guess that is why they aren't President!

"More Takers than Makers"

Excuse me!

Corporate welfare is OVER!

The problem is not the number of 'makers' in the USA, it just that the 'takers' take a lot!

Corporate welfare deprives Americans of pensions, vacations, GOOD PAY, medical benefits that actually provide benefits and the list goes on.

I don't think so!

Speaker Boner is manipulative and lying.

Speaker Boner stated, "We are willing to consider new revenue if it is in growth and reform."

Hm?

That is simply stating the GOP House is completely resistant to new revenues.

The nation needs to start now and begin to write to their House members demanding they get over their ideology, rescind the pledges they signed and PAY THE NATION'S BILLS!!!!!!!

The word "Growth" by Boner is to be linked to new jobs. Fine. Then make it retroactive to the entire amount of jobs lost since September 2008 moving forward. If that is the case there are lots of job growth under the Obama Administration to define GROWTH. The USA economy has not lingered in tragedy since the GOP crashed the global economy.

There has been nothing but growth so it is time to raise taxes on those that can afford it.

REFORM?  Really?

There is $750 million coming out of BOTH military and domestic programs as of January 1st. That is plenty of reform to begin to build tax incomes from those best to pay them. 

Reform DOES NOT include destroying Medicare, Medicaid, S-CHIPP, Veterans Programs, Social Security or Social Security Disability.

I have an idea, why not simply do what we did last time and pull another 1.5 million in sequester in addition to what is already agreed upon. Then we could send it to a Super Committee and decide where BEST the New Revenues are coming from.

Sounds like a plan!

The Bush Tax Cuts are to EXPIRE ! 

Tax reform committees need to be established by the House and Senate to end loopholes, restructure the tax rates and return revenues to the USA Treasury. The goal to finish the tax reform is before the elections of 2014. That is out of committee, introduced to the floor, voted and signed and enacted no later than Fiscal Year beginning 2014. The date I believe is November 1, 2014.

Florida, the ultimate voter suppressor.

Voters in St. Petersburg, Fla., wait at polls as they open Tuesday morning to decide which presidential candidate will get Florida’s 29 electoral votes. (credit: Edward Linsmier/Getty Images)

There were only two times the USA needed the signatures of every state of the union; when the Declaration of Independence was written and then followed by the USA Constitution. 

Electing the President of the USA only requires 270 electoral votes. In this case, President Obama has not only enough electoral votes without Florida, he has the popular vote. 

Florida is dangerously close to being irrelevant.

The citizens of Florida have a right to have their votes count.

November 7, 2012 11:54 AM

MIAMI (AP) — Elections officials in nine Florida counties (click here) are still tallying absentee ballots, after the presidential race was decided nationally.

President Barack Obama held a slim lead in Florida early Wednesday, but he didn’t need the largest swing state to win re-election. Instead, he captured several other battleground states.

State elections officials said absentee ballots were still being tallied in nine countries across the state.

They included Miami-Dade County, where elections officials counted through the night and had about 20,000 absentee ballots left to tally early Wednesday.

Pinellas County officials say they’ll reconvene Wednesday at 9 a.m. to tally more than 9,000 absentee ballots received on Election Day.

It is the First Lady's fault.

Now Allen West wants to use the 'poor disenfranchised voter' as his excuse. Where was he before?

It is amazing to watch angry men grapple with their failures rather than their anger.

The Republican Party was not the place to find reasons for complaining about voter suppression. The Democrats have been the champions of the under served in this election while the Republicans have attempted to estrange every voter other than white men.

Allen West needs to do two things if he is angry. First, complain to the Florida governor Rick Scot. Second, 'If he can't live within the laws of the USA he needs to leave.' I am sure the Middle East would appreciate the talents of an angry retired USA general. 

MATT SEDENSKY

Associated Press

November 8, 2012

...The conservative congressman (click here) has refused to concede, but Murphy seized on the projections of several news organizations, declaring himself the victor after a long and often vicious campaign. It was unclear what effect West's actions could have on Murphy's 2,456-vote lead in the unofficial count, but the Republican's hopes appeared to be fading.

"You can always file a lawsuit," said constitutional lawyer Bob Jarvis of Nova Southeastern University, "but I don't see that as a viable option."

Murphy had 50.4 percent of the vote, giving him a margin of about three-quarters of a percentage point. That is above the threshold for a recount under state law. All precincts had reported their tallies but West held out hope for a surge of support from provisional and other outstanding ballots. That looked increasingly unlikely....

The man who never blinked.

I have watched David Axelrod be harassed, verbally attacked with attempts to make him eat his words and he never blinked. He simply kept the faith through impossible scrutiny.

It was Rodney Dangerfield who said, "I never get respect." 

Go, David, Go.

2012 above - 2008 below

The difference was North Carolina, Nebraska, Indiana and possibly Florida. President Obama held his ground. Some of the electoral college numbers are different, but, not enough to matter.

I understand Alan Grayson made a historic return to the US House.

Exactly.

Teacher Unions Rock!

...Bennett raised $1.3 million for the race, (click here) four times as much as his Democratic challenger, Glenda Ritz, a veteran teacher who relied mostly on union support. Bennett's donors included major education reform figures, such as Wal-Mart heir Alice Walton, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Los Angeles developer Eli Broad. He also had the advantage of running in a solidly red state, where Republicans up and down the ticket had strong showings.

Yet Ritz won 54 percent of the vote. She argued that Bennett had put too much emphasis on standardized test scores, which rose during his tenure, and vowed to give local schools more autonomy.

Bennett declined to comment.

The result "was definitely a surprise, no doubt about it," said Michael Petrilli, executive vice president at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which last year honored Indiana with the title of the "reformist" state in the nation because of Bennett's work.

"This was the most aggressive reform agenda in the country, and you might say that voters thought things were going too far, too fast," Petrilli said....

Speaker Boner does not have a mandate to oppose President Obama.

Boehner puts down cocktail to shake Koch's hand

Did I make that clear?

Let me write it again to be perfectly clear. Speaker Boner does not have a mandate to oppose President Obama.

Speaker Boner and his majority House is BOUGHT by the plutocrats. He needs to GET OVER It !!!!

What about this election does Boner not understand?

9:37 AM, November 7, 2012
Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite (click here) who ran for the GOP presidential nomination, barely survived her toughest race yet, beating Democrat Jim Graves to earn her fourth term in the U.S. House....

Bachmann is out of there in two more years. Time to get started!

...A July 16 e-mail said she knew (click here) “our time was extremely valuable,” so she wanted “$25, $50, $100 or more” to defeat her opponent, wealthy businessman Jim Graves and “fight leftist Democrats like Nancy Pelosi.”

Two days later she e-mailed that she was “very concerned you haven’t responded” to that e-mail.

On Aug. 17 we got an e-mail noting a headline that morning raising a frightening possibility: “Could Bachmann lose?”

“The answer,” she said, “is without your immediate support, yes.” So she wanted another $25, $50, $100 or more.

On Sept. 25, we got a “Confidential Campaign Update,” since she said we were “one of my best supporters.”...

The Republican House is bought and paid for, if they think for one minute they are going to get away with their corrupt agenda they have another thing coming!

...In late May, KochPAC, (click here) as Koch Industries' PAC is known, donated $10,000 in one day to Bachmann-linked committees—$5,000 to her 2012 congressional re-election committee and $5,000 to her political action committee, MICHELE PAC, according to the most recent records available. (That's short for Many Individual Conservatives Helping Elect Leaders Everywhere PAC.) The two checks weren't KochPAC's first contributions to Bachmann. According to federal campaign records, the committee has given $25,000 to the Minnesota congresswoman since 2006, excluding the May donation....

The electorate REJECTED the Vulture Capitalist that bought his GOP nomination at the top of the ticket. Ryan is a FLUNKEY. Enough! The American electorate will not be held hostage anymore!

Michigan ends the dictatorship of the Emergency Manager Law.

Protesters speak out against Flint's emergency manager on the lawn of Flint City Hall in April.

There is no problem a community has that requires the dismantling of democracy!

The governor's agenda for Michigan has been rejected.



Posted: Nov 07, 2012 1:00 AM EST
Updated: Nov 07, 2012 11:29 AM EST
By Amy Akers

...All six proposals were voted down. (click here)
Proposal 1: Emergency Manager Law

Gov. Rick Snyder says a decision by Michigan voters to reject a proposal that would have retained an emergency manager law he championed will make it more difficult for financially troubled communities to succeed.

The Republican told WWJ-AM on Wednesday morning that everyone wants to see those communities succeed, but the best tool to help them now is off the table.

The law gave state-appointed managers sweeping authority to cancel union contracts and oust elected officials overseeing insolvent local governments.

Michigan voters also rejected five proposals to amend the state constitution to deal with issues ranging from collective bargaining to building a new bridge to Canada.

Snyder had urged voters to reject the proposals to amend the constitution. He says those could have been "devastating" to the state if approved....

This activity is not appropriate.

The storm, termed as the Nor’easter could impact New York City today through Thursday morning.

If the ocean is nothing but sea foam, human beings should not be anywhere near it. You won't find fish there, why would people think they were safe?

GET OUT OF THERE!

This is the reason I stated  it was far more prudent to wait to begin reconstruction of some projects. This is not the season, necessarily. When an ocean is this churned up there is a reason to wait. 

You know the North Atlantic is famous for its turbulence. As the fishermen / women who know these waters will state. There are just times when there is no sense to trying to accomplish 'dreams' against impossible odds.

By Eugene Robinson, (click here)

NEW YORK
Let me propose an initiative for the next administration, starting with Day One: Get the nation started on the surge barriers, flood walls and other big infrastructure projects that can protect our coastal cities from being ravaged by the next Hurricane Sandy....

Yes and no. There are plenty of models regarding manmade structures causing  more problems than not. Before construction of sea walls and the like, New Jersey is usually held as an example of where 'cement groins' are disastrous and cause beach erosion rather than maintaining them. 

There needs to be some modern day assessments of the tides and beaches to determine what is best for 'The Jersey Shore.' There also exists zoning problems for beach communities in New Jersey. There are well established communities that cannot simply be allowed to be wiped off the map and to that understanding permanent structures have to be established. These areas have to be known ZONED areas where the community takes precedent over the recreation beaches. People have a right to property rights.

The thing with the cement groins in New Jersey is this; they can cause large bathtubs of redundant tides during these storms. The washing back and forth of the storm between these cement groins might be a huge factor in the destruction that resulted. So before any reconstruction takes place New Jersey needs to be defensively assessed to find the best 'tide model' that will actually dissipate powerful tides rather than increase their energy in redundancy of movement between concrete structures.

The local communities will want what is best and will appreciate an approach that actually provides for a good defense of their shoreline. It might be the concrete groins have to be demolished if indeed they have caused tidal damage. That dynamic might be what occurred to make the damage appear to be from a higher category storm, too. 

Much has to be done, but, "The Jersey Shore" is too important to simply reconstruct a disaster in the making. The people of New Jersey have to get it right this time.

NC is looking for a miracle. Ain't going to happen. The only difference is the new Governor won't need to worry about veto overrides.

1:13AM EST November 7. 2012 - RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina voters (click here) put a Republican in the Executive Mansion for the first time in 20 years on Tuesday, extended the party's advantage in the General Assembly and kept control of the Supreme Court in a big day for the GOP....

The State of North Carolina is corrupt from one end of its political system to the other. They are entrenched in old world ideology and the state's economy shows it.

At one time North Carolina had dignity and pride in their land and values; all it has now is groveling politicians to corrupt cronies. It is a prime example of what happens to economies when Romneyites have their way with domestic economies. Its citizens are impoverished and cannot find their way out of their own devastated local economies.

If the USA wants to see what an extremist Republican value system results in when it comes to an economy North Carolina is it. There is no ethical standards in their legal system. They define their morality by church values only. North Carolina lawyers are among the lowest income in the nation. Their teachers among the lowest paid in the nation. 

The economy in North Carolina is completely demoralized in trying to build a better "Boom Machine" out of nothing but pity on their sorry ideas of ? quality of life ?.

The 'deregulated' society has resulted in a destroyed economic infrastructure cutting corners at every turn and exploiting every aspect of life for a buck. The citizens of North Carolina have a chronic battle to maintain any kind of life style including having their homes built of substandard materials. North Carolina is the epitome of Republican deregulation and citizens are left to worry about their ability to survive even in Emergency Rooms.

North Carolina doesn't deserve an economy, they don't even give dignity to the definition.

The new governor might have a chance to having an economy if he gets rid of the North Carolina Foreign Trade Zone (click here).

Neutral, secured areas legally outside of the U.S. customs territory, that offer economic advantages for businesses involved in international trade.

There are six Foreign or Free Trade Zones (FTZ) in North Carolina. Several subzones are also approved for use by individual manufacturers....

They are better named, "Have Pity on Us Zones."

North Carolinians run for office because it pays better than their day jobs.

The state government should actually pay enough to have their own graduates from The Cameron School of Business rather than having them move to major Wall Street firms. They might actually know how to turn the state around. North Carolina is so demoralized they can't even compete for their own graduates.

From Michael Moore's Facebook Page. Thank you, Mr. Moore. We have never had a President that have embraced us so entirely.