I told you so.

Overall, it is not an enhanced experience. Movies are fantasy and the filming is not suppose to remind you of that. I would never recommend this technology for children.

10:45 AM Monday Dec 3, 2012

...But not everyone (click here) was impressed with the new technology.

Some viewers told the Sunday Times that the filming technique made them nauseous and dizzy, with some even complaining of migraines.

One "avid Middle-earth fan", who had flown to New Zealand from Australia for the premiere, said their eyes couldn't take everything in, the Sunday Times reported.

Another viewer commented on Twitter that the technique worked well for the snowy mountain shots, but close-up pictures strobed....

I can't believe they are allowed to experiment on people like this.

These people are going to die. They are primarily women and children without men. They have no status.

And NATO wonders why these turn to the Taliban and carry out violence. Isn't it obvious? What happens to US Aid to the Afghan people? This is outrageous. The West actually believes they are going to have good outcomes with poverty this deep in Afghanistan?

These people are refugees. They are within the borders of their own country, but, they are refugees to any form of civilization.

There is no delivery of food, clothing, shoes or blankets? What the hell is going on over there? We have drones for aircraft carriers, but, we can't even see to the basic needs of the people where we are trying to stop extremists from having influence? 

Excuse me? 

I wouldn't want Karzai as a President either. He has the nerve to ask the people why they keep killing each other? It is better than dying, that's why.

Without shoes

( Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times / November 18, 2012 )

Many children (click here) living in the camps around Kabul are without shoes. Night temperatures are already dipping to freezing or below.

By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times

December 1, 2012, 7:38 p.m.

PARWAN-A-DUH CAMP, Afghanistan — Winter is descending on the Shakur clan.

In the pale gray twilight of late autumn, a sharp wind slaps at the scraps of plastic that Abdel Shakur, the clan patriarch, has installed on his mud hut walls in a futile attempt at insulation. The thin tarpaulins that serve as a roof are held fast by round patties of cow dung and worn auto tires.

Already, night temperatures are dipping to freezing or below. The 10 children of Abdel Shakur pad across the packed-clay floors in bare feet or plastic slippers. He pulls his wool wrap close around his bony shoulders.

"The snows are coming soon, and I'm afraid for the children," Shakur says. "When the snows come, people die."

During last year's exceptionally brutal winter, at least 42 people died of exposure or starvation in Parwan-a-Duh and other makeshift camps on Kabul's shabby fringes, according to the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations. Almost all were children or elderly....

Brinkmanship

Brinkmanship is the inability to govern.

The Republicans are not viewing the world from the point of view of governing, they are viewing from control. There is a huge difference.

The Republicans have been given a lot of concessions over the years, but, threw them away for control rather than governance.

The latest edition of brinkmanship by the Republicans still has no difference in the demands. They learn nothing and they have no way of finding a path to resolution of differences.

The entitlements are not governed by the national budget. 

So.

What is the problem?

If there is lack of revenue for the country, then there has to be more revenue.

There is nothing difficult about this.

Until tomorrow.

Poverty wages contribute to the national deficit and debt.

Bruce Bartlett speaks during a hearing of the House Democratic Steering Hearing on Capitol Hill July 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. House Democrats called experts in the economy to testify about the state of the United State's economy and the possible effects of the nation defaulting on its debt.

I am not familiar with Mr. Bartlett's work and probably should be. I liked what I heard today at Chris Hayes "Up." I need to read Mr Bartklet's book.

I am sure the public library has the book and there is no reason for interested parties not to read these books. Reading is a very important expertise every American should be proud of and practice on a regular basis, either recreational, self-interest, political or business reading. We have a nation that invests in reading for every American and we should use that investment well.

Knowledge is power. I believe that beyond any rational otherwise.

To return to Mr. Bartlett, he stated hacking away at entitlements is ludicrous. I have to agree. It is also surrending our democracy to a plutocratic victory.

The problems the USA faces is far more profound than simply a balance sheet and I hope Mr. Bartlett is aware of these problems. They are real and remain unaddressed by the country whom leans on capitalism to sustain its sovereignty.

There are many Americans receiving subsidies to their lives because a decent wage cannot be found. These are the working poor. The longer these folks are allowed to be in poverty the worse the economic problems of the country become. It is astounding to me President Obama has been able to turn this country around at all from the 2008 crash. When it occurred, I was fairly well convinced it was the end of a sincere sovereignty of freedom of which the USA has built its national sovereignty. But, that is another discussion.

While American jobs were outsourced the wages of the Middle Class continued to fall and unions were destroyed. It is a paradigm for huge profits and stockholder dividends, but, not an ability to maintain a nation within sovereignty.

A + B does not equal C

A is working Americans

B is the wage they earn

C is the tax base

When Americans are not earning enough to prevent from receiving Food Stamps, Medicaid and other subsidies to maintain a minimal quality of life, the people become a weight on the USA Treasury and the economic growth of the country. While the minimum wage is important it was never meant to support the majority of Americans in a living wage. Even at 40 hours per week the minimum wage will not keep a family out of poverty.

This is not that difficult to understand.

When the minimum wage remains as a majority of income to the USA in a service economy where it cannot be outsourced, the sustainability of the USA Treasury and ultimately the coveted military will end. Ultimately, such an economy will end and the people will be cast into a subsistence economy where any corporation no longer has a basis of survival. The entire economy will collapse.

It can be easily argued at this point, with the lack of corporate investment in the country and the local economies reaching a maximum (at this point), the minimum wage should be looked at again to provide a minimum standard of living outside that of government subsidies.

It really is laughable when the Political Right Wingers rant on and on about the 'virtue' of being employed or better yet self-employed with a small business while they scoff at the poor. They don't bother to reach beyond their own little world to realize it is actually imploding.

What Mr. Bartlett probably appreciates is that the entitlements support the 'baseline' economy of the USA. While there is a sovereign treasury the USA economy does have a bottom of which to support it. I don't consider the entitlements to be a tax base at all. They are not a form of tax base, they are entitlements and those receiving them should not be coveted to 'return to work.' That is more ludicrous than any Republican proposals to change them to date.

I think it was James Carville that I once heard say, "The most important thing a person can provide after love is work." He could not have said it better. He stated that after President Clinton's re-election. My understanding of his meaning was that human labor was valuable to society, to the individual, to the sovereign state of the nation and it was for that reason it has high esteem in any society. Military service is work in that meaning of the word. Military service is the ultimate sacrifice to our country and it needs to have the esteem it has over and above other methods of social value, but, it is work.

Where Republicans ever got the idea it was okay to devalue work to the point of 'the working poor' is beyond my imagination to realize. There has been complete demoralization of labor unions and the distress of the country is obvious in the face of that reality. Labor unions have had their problems with corruption no different than other large organization with large amounts of money, but, it isn't as though it was out of the reach of justice. To the end that labor unions are so corrupt they should not exist is a political fantasy.

There is a 'happy balance' between government and private industry in the USA. That balance has been lost to the idea that capitalism is the answer to all problems imaginable. That is completely wrong. It is a faux philososopy called an ideology and has no basis in reality. Capitalism is a way of conducting the PRIVATE sector based in freedom, but, it is not the answer to effective government conducting the nation's business. The nation does business, but, efficiency has its limits in government structures. Government is necessary and it is necessary to maintain that happy balance.

Government should never be draconian to its people which derives life from a vibrant private sector, but, the private sector should never, ever be allowed to dry up the tax base to a sustainable sovereignty of freedom. Namely the USA.

I don't know if Mr. Bartlett would concur, but, the current working poverty is growing and it will ultimately result in socialism. No doubt in my mind. So, if the political Right Wing wants to maintain its standing at all as the party of capitalism, it needs to be sure there are 'living wages' maintained in the USA. The best entity to provide that living wage are unions. No doubt about it.

The Republicans need to raise taxes on the wealthy, it is after all where they have invested all their political capital. What honestly do they expect? They shot themselves in the foot politically and are becoming a threat to the nation's sovereignty.

Well done.

Kiowa helicopters at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan. Credit: Wiki Commons

...NATO forces spokeswoman, (click here) Lt. Amy Hession said no international forces were killed in the assault.

"We can confirm that insurgents, including multiple suicide bombers attacked Jalalabad airfield this morning. None of the attackers breached the perimeter and there are currently no reports of ISAF [International Security Forces] fatalities," she said.

Hession said there were three suicide bombers involved, and that an investigation was under way....

Test as soon as possible if there is suspicion of exposed.

Confidential testing can occur at any public health clinic. Physicans are required to maintain confidentiality.

The point is the sooner a person is tested, the sooner they can begin a treatment that might very well prevent transmission. 

Don't wait! Don't live with denial! TEST!

What HIV test is used during the window period?

The plasma HIV RNA test (also called a viral load test) (click here) can detect HIV in a person’s blood within 9 days of infection, before the body develops detectable HIV antibodies. he plasma HIV RNA test is recommended when recent infection is very likely—for example, soon after a person has 
had unprotected sex with a partner infected with HIV. 

Detecting HIV at the earliest stage of infection lets people take steps right away to prevent transmission of HIV. (See the Preventing Transmission of HIV fact sheet.) his is important because immediately after infection the amount of HIV in the body is very high, increasing the risk of 
transmission of HIV. Starting treatment at this earliest stage of infection also can be considered....

McConnell's use of the filibuster is abuse. It is unethical use of the power of the Senate.

The history of the filibuster, in one graph (click here)'

I don't know why McConnell's abuse of power as an ethical violation hasn't been invoked.

...The issue today isn’t that we see 50, or 100, or 150 filibusters. It’s that the filibuster is a constant where it used to be a rarity. Indeed, it shouldn’t even be called “the filibuster”: It has nothing to do with talking, or holding the floor. It should be called the 60-vote requirement....

The abuse of power by McConnell is extremely obvious. His use of the filibuster is a change in the word majority. Majority is 50% plus one. The abuse of the filibuster has resulted in a 60 majority vote.

Mr. McConnell is carrying out a single person coupe of the US Constitution. Since when does does the USA tolerate a coupe in any form?

Why is this an abuse of power? Because the filibuster was once a rarity. Being a rarity it means far less than a 50% occurrence. Mr. McConnell has taken a rarity and used it to cripple the USA. His use of the filibuster has gone well over 50% as a majority of the procedures the Senate now carries out. He is in violation of ethical use of the filibuster. When is he going to be held responsible for his unethical use of Senate procedure. When does respect for a fellow Senator, majority leader or not, cross over into abuse? When a Senator enters into unethical standards it needs to be litigated.

Crippling the nation is a matter of national security. The people spoke very loudly this year to their desire to move the nation forward. When are the people going to receive respect rather than a fellow Senator?

"Reparative Therapy" - There is a market for it.

Christine Sun, (click here) right, of the Southern Poverty Law Center, talks with Michael Ferguson, center, and his partner, Seth Anderson, Tuesday in New York. Ferguson is one of four gay men accusing a New Jersey organization of selling "conversion therapy" services.(Richard Drew, The Associated Press)

Psychiatry lends itself to social trends. When women were Stepford wives the practice of psychiatry would treat women for anxiety to their social standing. The list is long and undistinguished and includes children. Other than gay children, the most recent accusation includes higher number of boys receiving ADHD medications. 

The 'reasoning/theory' behind many of these measures is that we all have to 'belong' somewhere and when society does not allow a place for people then it is their 'role' to provide therapy to allow that to happen. At no point in time was the practice of psychiatry suppose to cause Demonstrations for Sufferage, etc. The role of psychiatry has traditionally been to treat people into passively accepting 'their role' in a society that provides for their life.

Psychiatry treats the individual finding themselves in need of belonging. Social acceptance. What can occur by today's standards is empowerment for a person to be an individual while finding a 'nitch' and finding a way of life. I like to think of this new 'place' for an individual as "Open Mike Night." While working 'a job' a person can self-nurture to provide a satisfying place for themselves. Much of this is due to connecting people through the internet. People find each other when they never could before in decades past.

As any rate, that sets an understanding of why Reparative Therapy exists. There is a market for it. Christians in many circles believe homosexuality is the death of their soul. And, of course, that is a desperate idea because a person can die at any moment for one reason or another and their 'forever soul' needs to be ready for that very instance.

When one places their soul before their genetic material there is a market for Reparative Therapy. The argument the 'practioners' will make is that Freedom of Religion provides for a Christian parent to bring their children to therapy to save their souls. That 'idea' has already been tried and failed with parents that refuse medical treatment for their children due to religious bias. There is no room for the argument a religion has the right to determine death of their members. 

Jones' Kool-aid spoke to that loudly. 

But, to realize this form of therapy causes a great deal of emotional pain and has been known to cause suicide there is no way this is therapy for a child. The idea of confronting emotional pain as a choice is an adult concept and not one for a child to have imposed on them.

People made a lot of money being Reparative Therapists. Those same people will be held accountable for their practice. They don't want to lose their income nor their fortunes so there will be all kinds of court challenges to prolong the reality this was a very bad idea which offered nothing in the way of sincere therapy.

The failure and removal of DADT began a the much needed landside of acceptance of 'the rest of our citizens' in the USA. I much rather the idea of a Gay Man serving in the military than one that is ? changed ? because of a bizarre therapy that is not based in genetic reality. I don't want to know the distress Gay Men and Lesbian Women have gone through in order to serve their country over their own sexual satisfaction. It is a bizarre concept and one that lends itself to higher stress levels in people needing to be valued for their talents and social contributions and not their innate identity. 

Reparative Therapy sincerely has no place in the country, but, it will exist. Make no mistake it will continue to exist for the sake of religious choice alone. But, to have children exposed to it is outrageous.

Unionize. There is a model that works.

A rally at a McDonald’s near Times Square on Thursday. Organizers said 200 fast-food workers went on strike in New York City.

UPS. 

The labor force of UPS is unionized. The pay is 'scaled' to reward longevity.

Unionizing will protect the employed. When employees 'stick together' to achieve a living wage it will work. Every fast food employer will benefit from a 'scaled wage' that ultimately provides a living wage of experienced and dedicated workers. 

One of the reasons fast food workers are so poorly paid is because of a high turnover rate and the need to train new employees all the time. Training is considered non-productive hours and adds to the company's expenses. When workers are paid wages that provide a living the repeated training of new people is unnecessary. That increase in profit from longevity of their workers actually belongs to the employees as an incentive to continue production of a good product and good service to the public.

As far as I am concerned, there is a CEO syndrome that is an 'us and them' ideology. It can be noted everywhere and why so much outsourcing goes on. CEOs prefer to think of their ? casual ? employees as disposable and easy to come by. They don't really make the connection to their employees as a means to their profit. It is a way of depersonalizing the employee to think of them as 'human resources' and not 'personnel.' I never considered myself a resource so much as a person offering excellent service to my employer. That does not mean the employer will change their treatment of an employee, but, it does create an ownership of the services with the person that provides a 'line in the sand' to mistreatment. That can interpret into a picket line if the abuse is systemic.

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Published: November 29, 2012

The biggest wave of job actions in the history of America’s fast-food industry (click here) began at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday at a McDonald’s at Madison Avenue and 40th Street, with several dozen protesters chanting: “Hey, hey, what do you say? We demand fair pay.”

That demonstration kicked off a day of walkouts and rallies at dozens of Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, McDonald’s and other fast-food restaurants in New York City, organizers said. They said 14 of the 17 employees scheduled to work the morning shift at the McDonald’s on Madison Avenue did not — part of what they said were 200 fast-food workers who went on strike in the city....

One has to ask if the services provided by outsourcing actually provides better service? No. It provides cheap labor. Outsourcing victimizes the customer whom does not have a choice to their outcome. CEOs are very competent at taking customers as hostages to their profit margin. I did say 'margin.' A company is suppose to have expenses and the 'margin' left over is their profit. Weaseling profits from mistreatment of customers and employees should never be tolerated.

Fast food workers cannot be oursourced. Organizing as unions will work. It is not a simple accomplishment because CEOs always want to stop expenses to their profit margins. Profit margins are important, but, so are employees providing excellent service consistent with the goals of profit to stockholders.

Apple needs to defend its apps, unless of course there are copyright issues.

Editorial alliance mulls lawsuit against Apple

Updated: 2012-11-30 21:16

By Tang Yue (chinadaily.com.cn)

Print Mail Large Medium  Small 0

Apple needs to have a frank conversation with its users. Sincerely.

Updated: 2012-11-30 21:16'

By Tang Yue (chinadaily.com.cn)

An alliance of publishing houses (click here) and periodicals are considering filing lawsuits against Apple for offering pirated content of their works on its App Store, a senior official of the China Written Works Copyright Society said on Friday.

"We will support the move by the publishing houses and periodicals to defend their rights against Apple," Chen Jiangong, president of the society, said at the International Seminar on the Collective Management of Copyright in the Digital Environment held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Zhang Hongbo, director general of the society, said the lawsuit could be filed "very soon" but he declined to reveal the list of the publishing houses and the amount of the compensation.

The United States tech giant has recently been entangled in similar controversies....

A drone for aircraft carriers.

A launch crew prepares a Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator for its first land-based catapult launch in this US Navy handout photo taken at Patuxent River, Maryland Nov 29, 2012. The Navy's first-ever steam catapult launch of the pilotless X-47B ensures the vehicle can structurally handle the rigors of the aircraft-carrier environment. [Photo/Agencies]

Now, about that New Year's Eve sequester. There is a reason to stop it?

Russia believes it is being infiltrated.

Yekaterina Samutsevich in Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky Court
18:46 30/11/2012

MOSCOW, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - Yekaterina Samutsevich, (click here) a member of the female punk group Pussy Riot, has appealed a court ruling that the group’s videos are extremist and the decision to ban access to them, the RAPSI news service reported Friday.

“Though Samutsevich is not involved in the litigation, she submitted a cassation appeal against the November 29 court ruling,” said Yevgenia Pazukhina, a spokeswoman for Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky Court.

The judge earlier refused to grant Samutsevich’s request to consider her an interested party in the extremism case.

The court ruled on Thursday that four Pussy Riot videos, including the “punk prayer” in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, were extremist on Thursday....

Georgia is training activists? Why? Russians don't know how to demonstrate? If Russia invades Georgia because it aggravated the issue, the USA is not sending troops.

19:09 30/11/2012

MOSCOW, November 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian opposition activists (click here) who were allegedly plotting to orchestrate anti-Kremlin unrest were "trained" abroad, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.

Markin said the opposition activists were “specially trained outside Russia to organize and carry out mass riots aimed at overthrowing the regime as happened with 'color revolutions' in other countries.”

In October, Leonid Razvozzhayev, an ally of Russian Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov,confessed to organizing mass disorder together with other opposition members, and said the effort was bankrolled by Georgian politician Givi Targamadze.

The charges against Razvozzhayev, an aide to opposition lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, stem from grainy footage aired by the pro-Kremlin television channel NTV in early October....

I thought Vladimir was getting strange. Georgia needs to develop diplomatic relations with Moscow. Seriously. Georgia doesn't need to be involved with Russian activists. This is creating a Cold War that Europe will regret if it continues. Innocent people are being imprisoned for no reason. When Russia should be seeking civil rights expansion, it is now closing down any strides made toward individual freedoms. 

The Senate Defense Authorication Bill includes new sanctions in Iran.

By Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:22pm EST

...The new package, (click here) which keeps in place exemptions for countries that have made significant cuts to their purchases of Iranian crude oil, would be the third round of sanctions in a year if passed into law.

The existing sanctions have already hurt Iran's economy, but it is uncertain whether the additional measures will stop or slow Iran's nuclear program.

Washington says Tehran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes.

Senators voted 94-0 to make the new sanctions part of an annual defense policy bill....

The Senate has been busy. They are seeking pressure on an arms exporter in Russia to stop sending arms to Syria.

 

02:40 01/12/2012

WASHINGTON December 1 (RIA Novosti) - The US Senate unanimously (click here) approved a measure that would effectively end the relationship between the Pentagon and Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state run arms export firm which has provided weapons to the Syrian government.

“The American taxpayer should not be indirectly subsidizing the mass murder of Syrian civilians, especially when there are perfectly good alternatives for purchasing these same arms through US brokers,” said Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a statement. Cornyn authored the amendment as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Senators voted on the Cornyn amendment Thursday night. The entire defense authorization bill is scheduled to be voted on by the full Senate next week....

19:43 30/11/2012

MOSCOW, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - The latest version (click here) of Russia's world-famous Kalashnikov assault rifle, the AK-12, has completed a set of preliminary tests, the weapons-making agency responsible for trials of the new gun said on Friday.

Last week, Dmitry Semizorov, head of the Tochmash state arms firm based near Moscow, said the AK-12 “has shown up a range of problems” and “a series of flaws.” He declined to elaborate on what the defects were, saying this was "the developer's confidential information."

The weapon was developed by Izhmash, the Izhevsk-based gun maker which has built Kalashnikov rifles since the 1950s....

my2k

Speak Up to Stop Taxes from going up on the Middle Class (click here)

Tell the White House how a $2000 tax increase ($40 per week) will effect your lives.

Thank you.

US House Speaker Boner states his leadership is not effective. No surprise there.

The Boner House is not capable of bi-partisan work. They have no ideas, no bills that would protect the Middle Class and the obligations to the people of the USA and they refuse to work with those that do.

If an illegitimate House of Representatives thinks they are going to be the tail wagging the dog, they are grossly in error.

The problem in resolving the complaints of the so called "Fiscal Cliff" is not that of the President or the USA Senate, it is the problem of the House which cannot work across the aisle to resolve an agreement to the best outcomes of the American people.

The Boner House is seeking to hold the American people hostage, yet again. Most citizens are serious about paying down the national debt. I doubt they care about the drama.

The taxes to the wealthy is long over due. No more stalling, no more drama; it is time to pay the bills.

It is time to GOVERN and unless I am mistaken the Boner House is incapable of carrying out the responsibilities of their offices. 

The economic methodology of the Republicans is a false face for greed. It is proven. The Republican economic methodology, which prevents the necessary tax increase, is known to do nothing to create jobs or move the American economy forward. I think that is the point, actually. The longer the Republicans can protect their cronies by stalling the best outcomes for the American people the more worthy they appear to their corrupted districts.

By Zachary A. Goldfarb and Rosalind Helderman

Hatfield, Pa. — House Speaker John A. Boner (click here) declared Friday that talks to avert the year-end “fiscal cliff” have reached a “stalemate,” as President Obama insisted that tax rates on the wealthy must rise as part of a deal with Congress.

The president traveled to a toy factory here to follow up his pledge to lobby the American people for his proposals, which include an immediate freeze on tax rates for most Americans while allowing tax cuts benefiting the wealthy to expire....

Excuse me? Republicans are laughing at the President's proposal? They have something better to offer?

Cost of Raising a Child Climbs to $235,000 for Middle Class Income Families (click here)

By SAM HANANEL 06/14/12 06:56 PM ET

WASHINGTON — For $235,000, you could indulge in a shiny new Ferrari – or raise a child for 17 years.

A government report released Thursday found that a middle-income family with a child born last year will spend about that much in child-related expenses from birth through age 17. That's a 3.5 percent increase from 2010.

The report from the Agriculture Department's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion said housing is the single largest expense, averaging about $70,500, or 30 percent of the total cost.

Families living in the urban Northeast tend to have the highest child-rearing expenses, followed by those in the urban West and the urban Midwest. Those living in the urban South and rural areas face the lowest costs.

The estimate also includes the cost of transportation, child care, education, food, clothing, health care and miscellaneous expenses....

What exactly are the Republicans laughing at? I don't 'get it.'

What are the Republicans thinking? Do they think at all?

By Tami Luhby @CNNMoney 

September 12, 2012: 3:05 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Middle-class families (click here) continued to suffer in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and the poverty rate fell slightly, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Wednesday.

Median household income fell to $50,054 in 2011, down 1.5% from a year earlier. Income inequality widened, as the highest income echelon experienced a jump, while those in the middle saw incomes shrink....

In 2012 the average individual benefit for Social Security Recipients was $698.00 per month. The average married couple benefit in 2012 was $1048.00 per month. And for this the average citizen in the USA is being asked to wait longer to receive their benefits? And the Republicans are laughing? Really? Where this continues to become more and more ludicrous is the fact those amounts paid to citizens in 2012 are BEFORE the deductions for Medicare insurance. And the Republicans laugh. It looks as though the peasants are suppose to be more so according to Republicans.

The President's proposal is "spot on." It protects the Middle Class and fulfills the USA obligations to the citizens.

Where do the Repubicans get the nerve to laugh at changes in entitlements?

The President's proposals specifically sacrificed changes to the entitlements in the USA to make a deal which includes more than reasonable tax increases on the wealthiest of Americans.

Where do Republicans get off scoffing at changes to OUR entitlements!!!!!!!!

...Republicans are seeking overhauls of entitlement programs (click here) such as Medicare in exchange for accepting higher tax revenue. They want a higher Medicare eligibility age and an alternative yardstick for calculating inflation that would reduce Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, according to a Republican aide who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said today that Obama has made his position clear and that Democrats need a proposal from Republicans on what sort of spending cuts they want.

“This doesn’t have to be a cliffhanger,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California told reporters. “The Senate has passed a bill to extend the middle-income tax cuts,” she said. “Why are you holding this up?” she said, referring to Boehner.

Geithner’s offer, as described by two Republican aides, is based on Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget and his 2011 proposal to the deficit-cutting supercommittee, which was unsuccessful last year in coming up with a plan all sides could accept....

...It would raise taxes on top earners by $1.6 trillion over the next decade with higher rates on income, capital gains, dividends and estates, along with limits on tax breaks. It would call for about $400 billion in cuts to entitlement programs, which Republicans have deemed insufficient....


Those increases are 160 billion per year. That is nothing compared to what they should be paying for over a decade of wealth indulgence while asking the nation to fight two wars and bailing out recklessness on Wall Street that plunged this nation and the global economy into complete chaos. The chaos was very easy for Wall Street to weather while citizens wandered homeless and unemployed.

Where do the Republicans have the nerve to laugh at these sacrifices of the Middle Class?

The Republicans need to GET REAL !!!!!!!!

FORWARD MILLS, CA - Homeowners (click here) living in areas burned by Northern California wildfires last summer are being warned of the risk of mud and rock slides during the impending storms.

Emergency services officials in several counties are cautioning residents that storms expected to drop 7 to 11 inches of rain in some areas could cause destructive mudslides and force evacuations.

The National Weather Service cautioned that ground in burned areas could saturate quickly, causing flooding, mudslides and trees to fall.

In the Forward Mills community where the Ponderosa Fire burned northeast of Red Bluff, the fire burned so hot that trees burned down into the ground, leaving almost nothing to hold denuded soil in place....

The picture to the right was the area before the fire.