SUMMER JOB CREATION AND GOVERNMENT EVALUATION 6-7-2012 EDITION: OBAMA AND THE SENATE ARE TO BLAME FOR A SUCKY ECONOMY... IT’S NOT ALL OF CONGRESS AND NOT THE HOUSE, THOUGH THEY WANT SALARIES THAT ARE $200 BILLION MORE THAN OUR MILITARY BUDGET, WHICH IS A TOTALLY TOP-HEAVY GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONING UNCONSTITUTIONALLY.... INVESTORS WANT ROMNEY TO PICK UP THE AXE...
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aMGJINGeEwxkP9SYpzTNmhNd_UWDTxm8_3H9a0EJfRA/edit#
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty Let us all fight Obama in our own way: with money, politics, free speech, and assembly !!!!
David Carpenter shared Rick Perry's photo.
Wall PhotosToday, on the anniversary of D-Day, we remember the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy and the thousands who fought & died for our freedom in WWII. Forever in our thoughts are men like Billie D. Harris, who on July 17, 1944 set out on a mission and never returned. His wife, Peggy Harris of Vernon Texas, has stayed faithful to him for over 60 years. She is pictured here with Governor Perry and First Lady Anita Perry on June 6, 2008 (D-Day) in Normandy.
Today we also recognize the young soldiers who returned from the war as men. Their service to our country should never be forgotten. They are true heroes. Be sure you let them know how thankful you are for your freedoms today as a result of what they sacrificed 68 years ago today. Like and share this post because we must never forget the cost of freedom.
By: Rick Perry
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Today in history is day our immediate ancestors fought against Hitler, my grandfathers' generation: LET US MAKE TODAY AMERICANS FIGHT OBAMA!
Aja Brooks
Are you @BarackObama afraid to say #Nazi which lead to your #FauxPas with Poland? Or since your policies so pro-abortion you can't deny it?
@2012_TeaParty on Twitter · via TwitterLike ·
For those of you who are in #NJROTC or those who want to know what #DDay was like, read #ASeparatePeace
"HEY MOORE... hit the road ___ and no more voter fraud, NO MORE, NO MORE, NO MORE, NO MORE" :// "AND DON'T WANT YOU IN CONGRESS NO MORE !!"
11:40 AM - 6 Jun 12 via web · Details
Aja Brooks shared a link.
MAXINE WATERS' ETHICS PROBE PROCEEDS http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Qxvx0/liberty.com/content/testrrrrrr
Explore more. Web pages, photos, and videos | StumbleUpon.com
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StumbleUpon is the easiest way to discover new and interesting web pages, photos and videos across the Web.
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Congress bailed out the AUTO INDUSTRY not @BarackObama
Republicans, like Democrats are equally divided among Party: Romney or Ron Paul, Obama or Hillary Clinton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/03/nancy-pelosi-hillary-clinton-2016-bid_n_1566707.html
JUST SOMETHING FISHY LINGERING FROM THE PRIMARY....
236votes
DP Peer Review: Evidence of Algorithm Vote Flipping in GOP Primary Elections Layman's Executive Summary
Submitted by tgotto1987 on Thu, 03/15/2012 - 13:29in Short Version
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByJAC-sfXwumZzI2bVlON2VTMnFy...
Full Version
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByJAC-sfXwumdkE4d0Y2eWtURTZ2...
The Hill @thehill
@thehill Romney will have to prove worthy of carrying the Tomahawk to Wisconsin and others in the Party. Nomination just means he should.
11:22 AM - 6 Jun 12 via web · Details
Tea Party shifting from 'activists to campaigners'
By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer 8:14 PM Tuesday, June 5, 2012Tea Party membership has tapered off locally since the movement first erupted in 2009 as a conservative reaction to liberal control in Washington, but the core of the group said it remains determined.
The Tea Party has shifted from angry rallies toward a more quiet group of conservatives with aims in the 2012 election of “keeping government in control and ousting politicians who they feel tread on constitutional rights,” local and state leaders of the movement said.
“We’re switching from roles as activists to campaigners,” said Susan McLaughlin, a leader of the Liberty Twp. Tea Party.
Local Democrats said they believe the movement has already peaked and political experts don’t expect the conservative group to gain traction for the presidential election.
Lebanon Tea Party member Walt Davis said when Lebanon’s Tea Party began, it was comprised of 200 “angry and frightened” people. Since 2010, that number has tapered off to 50-60, but the group works together in a more quiet but directed way.
“In order to move the pendulum just a little bit, it takes a lot of work,” Davis noted.
Tea Party members said they are still a force to be reckoned with in campaigns, citing the defeats of Indiana Senator Dick Lugar and U.S. House of Rep. Jean Schmidt of Cincinnati as two examples where Tea Party backed candidates — Richard Mourdock and Brad Wenstrup, respectively — ousted established Washington politicians.
“It’s difficult to say how much an effect the Tea Party will have on the general election,” said Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati. Studies have shown that the most active Tea Party members would be people who were already involved in campaigning, Miller said.
“They are going to vote but the majority would have voted anyway. That being said, you can see them mattering in Republican primaries, like the Indiana Senate Race where Tea Party affiliates can come together and say ‘this is the Republican spirit I support,’” Miller said.
One of the biggest qualities that could hinder the Tea Party movement is one of its defining mantras.
“There is a definite tension between a centralized organizing body trying to gain control and local activists who refuse to recognize that body as their ‘leaders,’” Miller said. “One of their basic tenets is ‘We don’t like DC, we don’t like government. We want local control. Decentralization is good.”
Chris Littleton, a former leader of the Cincinnati Tea Party who is now the Ohio Director of American Majority, cited the November passage of Issue 3, a state-wide initiative that rejected several tenets of the Obama-sponsored health care reforms, as a “defining moment” in what this new Tea Party has become and can accomplish.
“We have to pick a highly targeted objective and go after it,” Littleton said. “That’s how you can effect change in this country.”
Democratic leaders in the area said they are not convinced the Tea Party will prove to be much of a force in the 2012 presidential election.
“I think they were at their strongest in 2010,” said Bethe Goldenfield, chairwoman of the Warren County Democratic Party. “It’s not that they aren’t strong now, but I don’t see them doing more than what happened then.”
The Democrats in Warren County have a similar strategy of door-to-door conversation, Goldenfield said.
“Our goal is to hold the line and increase our margins from last time,” Goldenfield said.
McLaughlin said voters will ultimately decide for change.
“In 2008, people voted for what they thought was the best choice,” said McLaughlin. “It’s difficult to have a one-on-one conversation about that in a rally. We’re going to travel door-to-door and talk to people, ask them ‘Did you get what you asked for from the 2008 election? Did you get a lemon?’ We want to have a serious, intelligent dialogue about the issues and where we, as the local Tea Party, stand on them.”
George Nafziger, vice president of the West Chester Tea Party, said his organization is preparing to disperse more than 12,000 pieces of campaign literature and go door-to-door to hand them out.
“The pieces cover things that occurred during Obama’s administration that we believe are wrong and even unconstitutional,” Nafziger said.
Tom Zawistowski, president of the Ohio Liberty Coalition, a loose affiliation of Tea Parties around the state of Ohio, sees the Tea Party movement as citizens reengaging their responsibilities as citizens to work with governments.
“People are saying we’re not as visible as we were two year ago, but that’s because we’re actively engaged with governance,” Zawistowski said.
Zawistowski said he has been engaged for months trying to determine what actions Tea Parties can and cannot undertake in a national election.
“The rules are daunting and designed to keep the average citizen from participation,” Zawistowski said. “I’ve been working with lawyers for months trying to understand the system for a federal election.”
Tea Party leaders disagree on what the nomination of Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate will mean for the general election. For many, the dislike of Obama and his policies will drive the Tea Party electorate to push for his ouster.
“I think the Tea Party is very pragmatic,” Nafziger said. “We look at Romney — even if he isn’t a perfect candidate — as infinitely superior to Obama. Even if we’re not exactly pro-Romney, we’re wildly anti-Obama.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.
ROMNEY OUTFUNDRAISES OBAMA FOR MAY 2012:
Romney, GOP Rake In $76.8M in May, Top Obama
Thursday, 07 Jun 2012 11:02 AMBy Newsmax Wires
Republican Mitt Romney's campaign says together with the GOP it raised more than $76 million in May for his presidential bid.
It's the first month that the former Massachusetts governor has collected more money than President Barack Obama, who is known for his fundraising prowess. Obama on Thursday reported raising $60 million in conjunction with the Democratic Party in May.
The latest figure of $76.8 million also represents a significant jump in fundraising by Romney. He and the GOP brought in $40 million in April, just short of the $43.6 million the Democratic president and party raised that month.
© 2012 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
9h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @SenOrrinHatch WE ARE DONE DONE DONE WITH OBAMA ORRIN !!!!!!
9h
Tommy Jefferson @PurpleEquity Fear is setting in among Democrats about Obama's re-election chances. #nobama Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
9hTommy Jefferson @PurpleEquity Fear is setting in among Democrats about Obama's re-election chances. #nobama Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@OrrinHatch NO ORRIN WE NEED TAX REFORM NOW NOW NOW !!!!
FYI @__SupaMcNASTY__ Milwaukee Police Department says it’s evaluating anti-Scott Walker death threats posted on Twitter http://twitchy.com/2012/06/06/milwaukee-police-department-says-its-evaluating-t10h
Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin
Michelle Malkin @michellemalkin
Milwaukee Police Department says it’s evaluating anti-Scott Walker death threats posted on Twitter==> http://is.gd/vPAuf4
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
RT @OrrinHatch Not only did Wisconsin's taxpayers, businesses, and economy prevail, but so did our entire nation. #utpol #tcot
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@SenOrrinHatch I know some people have some things to say, but Orrin Hatch does not fail to perform his debate duties/can't say that for all
@SpeakerBoehner this legislation #HR5855 given current budget constraints http://lnk.ms/Wb6nV and no tax reform prior to this bill written
@SpeakerBoehner we are at sunset for #HomelandSec for 10yr. mark -- the levels are unsustainable to carve out for 2014 until 2015...
It is not important who wields the Tomahawk @MittRomney@RepRonPaul @RickSantorum @TexGov but that the charge in battle be one in the same.
@Senate_GOPs NO EXTENSION OF PAYROLL TAXES WITHOUT TAX REFORM -- NO EXTENSIONS PERIOD, WE NEED THAT REVENUE TO OPERATE CONGRESS/HOMELAND SEC
@SpeakerBoehner the scoring is confusing with so many additions and subtractions and tweaking of Homeland Sec bill #HR5855 and what it costs
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Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SpeakerBoehner Table your salaries and Homeland Security Appropriation bill http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr5855rh/pdf/BILLS-112hr5855rh.pdf until 9/1/12
@SpeakerBoehner you must have Payroll tax revenue for 2013 salaries and 2013 Homeland Sec. between you both, your operating costs too much
I favorited a @YouTube video http://youtu.be/cf6AU3PTU0M?a On Second Anniversary of "Recovery Summer," Americans Still
I liked a @YouTube video http://youtu.be/cf6AU3PTU0M?a On Second Anniversary of "Recovery Summer," Americans Still Looking
@YahooFinance We pray to keep it that way, as we tackle job creation and tax reform this Summer... we will be busy as hell until 11/6/12.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
Senate Republicans @Senate_GOPs
2 years since VP Biden declared a #RecoverySummer, Americans still searching for the recovery... http://youtu.be/cf6AU3PTU0M#HeMadeItWorse
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
10h
Amy Kremer @AmyKremer
Hey media, still think the #Teaparty is dead? I've always said, don't judge us by numbers @ rallies, but by what happens on election day.
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
Bomb targets U.S. embassy in Libya http://reut.rs/LlcM6E
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@GovWalker Congratulations on a well-fought battle -- now, we call on #Wisconsin to embrace #Conservatives on #JobCreation sans#Obama !!
10:15 AM - 6 Jun 12 via web · Details
Obamacare remains unpopular. http://bit.ly/LwBHRd. 74% of Americans want the individual mandate thrown out. #tcot #teaparty#tlot
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
John Kline @repjohnklineRead @RepErikPaulsen in @Stribopinion:. House to vote on 30th bill to repeal, defund, dismantle #ObamaCare. http://tinyurl.com/72lnxbe#stribpol
Device tax, if not stopped, will stifle
- Article by: ERIK PAULSEN
- Updated: June 6, 2012 - 9:21 PM
As Minnesotans, we can lay claim to some of the best this country has to offer. In the arenas of education, the arts and enterprise, our state has contributed a lot to the success of our nation over the last 154 years.
One of the brightest spots in our state's identity is our propensity for ingenuity and innovation in the development of life-improving and life-saving medical technologies. We may be the land of 10,000 lakes, but we are also home to more than 400 medical-technology companies that are responsible for more than 35,000 jobs.
We have all come to know the titans of the device industry -- like Medtronic, which began in a Minneapolis garage in 1949. With just a small amount of seed capital from his mother, Earl Bakken started a medical equipment repair shop that would go on to create the first battery-powered external artificial pacemaker, and grow into the largest medical-technology company in the world.
Almost every week I get the opportunity to tour medical-device innovators -- large or small, established or new, profitable or upstarts. Many of them only have five or 10 employees, but it's exciting to see these engineers, doctor, and entrepreneurs passionately developing new products to improve lives and restore health to millions of Americans. The stories are all different, but they share a common theme: a drive to research, develop and innovate.
Unfortunately, this Minnesota success story is under attack by a looming tax on an industry that accounts for 423,000 American jobs.
Unless Congress or the Supreme Court steps in by the end of the year, a new $29 billion tax on American medical devices will be triggered. This tax is part of the president's health care law and includes all types of medical devices, from heart stents and implantable defibrillators to artificial hips and wheelchairs. Suddenly, our medical-device industry will face one of the highest tax rates of any industry in the world. This is not a tax on profit; it's a 2.3 percent excise tax on revenue, regardless of whether a company is profitable.
This is nothing more than a tax on U.S. medical innovation, and it will hit states like Minnesota hard. These medical-technology companies will be forced to reduce investments in the industry's lifeblood: research and development.
Recently, I visited BridgePoint Medical, which produces state-of-the-art medical technologies for removing life-threatening cardiac blood clots and has grown from 15 to 45 employees in the last 14 months. However, as an early-stage company with high-growth potential, BridgePoint Medical does not project profitability for at least six more quarters.
The company's CEO, Denis Harrington, is frustrated. He's building a company, adding high-paying jobs and saving lives -- but with the new tax looming, Denis is pausing to consider what cuts must be made to address this financial burden. Job creators like Denis should be able to focus on patient care and the growth of their business.
After hearing countless stories like BridgePoint's, it's evident that this new tax is putting our state's global leadership in this important industry in serious jeopardy.
Some studies estimate the new tax will cost our nation as much as 10 percent of the medical-device industry's workforce -- including thousands of jobs right here in Minnesota.
At a time when our economic recovery is still fragile, we should not be placing extra burdens on entrepreneurs and startups that have the potential to grow from a garage, a back yard or a laboratory into the next generation of Medtronics. We should be encouraging these courageous innovators to ensure that Americans have access to new, potentially life-saving technologies well into the future.
Soon, Congress will take up the Protect Medical Innovation Act, my bipartisan legislation to repeal this onerous and wrong-headed tax. With 239 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, now is the time to stop this tax on innovation and defuse this ticking time bomb before it's too late.
--------------------
Erik Paulsen, a Republican, is a member of the U.S. House. He represents Minnesota's Third Congressional District.
@SpeakerBoehner THAT'S RIGHT - I WANT MY BUSINESS TO THRIVE, THE ECONOMY TO IMPROVE, SO I DON'T HAVE TO BE STUCK UP CONGRESS' -SS ALL DAY!!
Republicans, like Democrats are equally divided among Party: Romney or Ron Paul, Obama or Hillary Clinton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/03/nancy-pelosi-hillary-clinton-2016-bid_n_1566707.html
@SenJohnBarrasso Alarming premium increases are causing college students to not be able to pay for their own coverage #Obamacare not reform!
Since we should do tax reform @SpeakerBoehner @GOPLeader and you have committed this day, we must be expedient, let us say 9/6/12.
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Brent Teichman @BrentTeichman
So, 300K more people voted in #WIrecall than 2 yrs ago, and Walker won by a wider margin. #ThisIsWhatDemocracyLooksLike
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WATCH LIVE @10AM EST: GOP leaders press conference re: need to stop #smallbiz tax hike #4jobs http://speaker.gov/live
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
@__SupaMcNASTY__ idle threats are not viewed as such, whether they be tweets or not, cutting budget and bills are one thing,#DontTweetThat
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Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty 11h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@woodhouseb @GOP if Democrats would've had their way, they tried their hardest to muck up the GOP Primary too
@woodhouseb @GOP Well when people are still in line an hour after polls close, I'm sure the Democrats came out to pad the polls #DeadOnes
@ClintonTweet NO EXTENSION OF THE BUSH TAX CUTS -- PAYROLL TAXES ARE A REGULAR PART OF THE BUDGET THAT FUNDS CONGRESS THAT MUST BE CUT TOO!!
WHAT EXACTLY IS VENTURE CAPITALISM?
Venture capital (VC) is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk,growth startup companies. ...Venture capital is a subset of private equity. Therefore, all venture capital is private equity, but not all private equity is venture capital.[1]
WEAKER COMPANIES SUBJECT TO CORPORATE MANAGEMENT TAKEOVER OR HOSTILE TAKEOVER... MEANING, THE EMPLOYEE STOCK IS NOT WORTH MUCH, OR AN INVESTOR BUYS MOST OF THE STOCK TO PREVENT THE COMPANY FROM COLLAPSING, BY GOBBLING UP ITS DEBT IN EXCHANGE FOR CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF A BUSINESS THAT THEY DID NOT CREATE, MANAGE, OR MAKE A PRODUCT.
In addition to angel investing and other seed funding options, venture capital is attractive for new companies
with limited operating history that are too small to raise capital in the public markets and have not reached the point where they are able to secure a bank loan or complete a debt offering. In exchange for the high risk that venture capitalists assume by investing in smaller and less mature companies, venture capitalists usually get significant control over company decisions, in addition to a significant portion of the company's ownership (and consequently value).
IF VENTURE CAPITALISM IS VULTURE CAPITALISM....
GOP Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker Boehner jointly announced 6/6/2012 that we will pursue Tax Reform this Summer, as it is needed to not show favoritism to the rich, not overlook churches who are not truly charitable but MEGA-CHURCH-FOR-PERSONAL-GAIN organizations, and to deal with the lack of sales tax revenue in a stagnant economy while reviewing how government funds and disperses for the needs of the truly impoverished. The GOP finally realized after a 6-month Bain Boycott and huge pressure from the Tea Party that they must commit to Tax Reform to compete and create jobs because revenue is down. Unemployment has dried it up, as most have been unemployed to where they can’t even apply for unemployment anymore, falsely lowering the true unemployment levels.
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @politico44 @POLITICO that means that impeaching him was good or bad thing, as he never works, except to hack me from a Blackberry !!!
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Politico 44 @politico44 Fundraising record: Obama spent eight of 24 workdays - a third - on the road and raising cash http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/06/obama-spends-record-amount-of-time-fundraising-125445.html via @POLITICO
In addition to angel investing and other seed funding options, venture capital is attractive for new companies
with limited operating history that are too small to raise capital in the public markets and have not reached the point where they are able to secure a bank loan or complete a debt offering. In exchange for the high risk that venture capitalists assume by investing in smaller and less mature companies, venture capitalists usually get significant control over company decisions, in addition to a significant portion of the company's ownership (and consequently value).
IF VENTURE CAPITALISM IS VULTURE CAPITALISM....
GOP Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker Boehner jointly announced 6/6/2012 that we will pursue Tax Reform this Summer, as it is needed to not show favoritism to the rich, not overlook churches who are not truly charitable but MEGA-CHURCH-FOR-PERSONAL-GAIN organizations, and to deal with the lack of sales tax revenue in a stagnant economy while reviewing how government funds and disperses for the needs of the truly impoverished. The GOP finally realized after a 6-month Bain Boycott and huge pressure from the Tea Party that they must commit to Tax Reform to compete and create jobs because revenue is down. Unemployment has dried it up, as most have been unemployed to where they can’t even apply for unemployment anymore, falsely lowering the true unemployment levels.
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty @politico44 @POLITICO that means that impeaching him was good or bad thing, as he never works, except to hack me from a Blackberry !!!6h
Politico 44 @politico44 Fundraising record: Obama spent eight of 24 workdays - a third - on the road and raising cash http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/06/obama-spends-record-amount-of-time-fundraising-125445.html via @POLITICO
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WHILE WE ARE SURE THAT PRESIDENT ROMNEY WOULD SHOW UP TO WORK EVERY DAY, LET LINGERING DOUBTS ABOUT HOW HE WOULD PERFORM BE DISPELLED.... as in? You may be asking: SO.... WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT VENTURE CAPITALISM???
Venture capital is also associated with job creation (accounting for 2% of US GDP),[2] the knowledge economy, and used as a proxy measure of innovation within an economic sector or geography. Every year, there are nearly 2 million businesses created in the USA, and 600–800 get venture capital funding. According to the National Venture Capital Association, 11% of private sector jobs come from venture backed companies and venture backed revenue accounts for 21% of US GDP.[3]
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
LET'S BE EXCITED ABOUT JOBS! @MittRomney talk to people about how we go from unemployment lines to ribbon-cutting ceremonies for businesses!
14h
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Let us pray for our Nation, as we work with @MittRomney @TexGov@RickSantorum to create jobs and get us back to work
Sara @SGLawrence @RightCandidates Bill Clinton just penned a new 2012 Romney Bumper Sticker: "Bill thinks I'm Sterling but Ann & Wisconsin think I'm Gold."
8hSara @SGLawrence @RightCandidates Bill Clinton just penned a new 2012 Romney Bumper Sticker: "Bill thinks I'm Sterling but Ann & Wisconsin think I'm Gold."
Doug Ray @RightCandidates RT @SGLawrence Bill Clinton just penned a new 2012 Romney Bumper Sticker: "Bill thinks I'm Sterling but Ann & Wisconsin think I'm Gold."
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
11:48 AM - 6 Jun 12 via web · Details
IN OTHER WORDS, ROMNEY NOT OBAMA, HAS THE POLITICAL CONNECTIONS, POLITICAL STAR POWER, AND BUSINESS EXPERIENCE TO REVERSE THE CURRENT UNEMPLOYMENT STATISTICS...
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty We have 13 million unemployed, 10 million who can't reapply past 3rd tier unemployment and 7 million underemployed or 10 million part-time
1:11 PM - 4 Jun 12 via web · Details
Flashback: Biden sees up to 200,000 new U.S. jobs next month
(Story from April 2010)
My Two Cents: So it’s been over a year, where are they? End Two Cents.
*Taken from Reuters.
Vice President Joe Biden predicted on Friday the U.S. economy would create 100,000 to 200,000 jobs next month, with a rise to 250,000 to 500,000 jobs per month soon afterward, according to a press pool report.
“We caught a lot of bad breaks on the way down. We’re going to catch a few good breaks because of good planning on the way up,” Biden told a political fundraiser in Pittsburgh, the pool report said, as he hailed the Obama administration’s recovery efforts.
President Barack Obama has insisted that boosting jobs is his top domestic priority, mindful that persistently high unemployment could mean heavy losses for his Democrats in November’s congressional elections.
U.S. employers created 162,000 jobs in March, the fastest rate in three years and widely seen as another sign the recovery from deep recession was moving onto solid footing.
But the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent, the Labor Department said.
“All in all, we’re going to be creating somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 jobs next month, I predict,” Biden was quoted as saying, while acknowledging he “got in trouble” for a job growth prediction in March.
“Even some in the White House said ‘Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself.’ Well I’m here to tell you some time in the next couple of months we’re going to be creating between 250,000 jobs a month and 500,000 jobs a month.”
It is also a way in which public and private actors can construct an institution that systematically creates networks for the new firms and industries, so that they can progress. This institution helps in identifying and combining pieces of companies, like finance, technical expertise, know-hows of marketing and business models. Once integrated, these enterprises succeed by becoming nodes in the search networks for designing and building products in their domain.[4]
ROMNEY WILL NOT ONLY MAKE SURE THAT 600-800 NEW BUSINESSES ARE CREATED YEARLY AT CURRENT LEVELS, WHICH PRODUCE AN AVERAGE OF 160,000 JOBS PER MONTH, HE WILL EXPAND THIS PROCESS AND IMPROVE COMPANIES WHERE IT WON’T TAKE 10YRS.
TO GET THE JOB GROWTH IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT WILL TAKE TO REDUCE THE DEFICIT WITHOUT JOB CREATION AND REVENUE.
Wealth Creation Is Not the Enemy
Obama's critique of Romney's work in private equity betrays a misunderstanding of capitalism.
Jacob Sullum | May 30, 2012
President Obama accuses Mitt Romney of putting profits above people by striving to create wealth rather than jobs during his 15 years at Bain Capital. This critique of Romney's work at the private equity firm, which Obama says will be central to his re-election campaign, betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of capitalism.
While private equity firms are a "healthy part of the free market," Obama said at a press conference last week, "their priority is to maximize profits, and that's not always going to be good for businesses or communities or workers." By contrast, he said, "My job is to take into account everybody, not just some."
Anti-Romney ads amplify this theme, focusing on people who lost their jobs after GST Steel, a Kansas City company acquired by Bain in 1993, went bankrupt eight years later. "His experiences were about creating wealth—wealth for himself, his partners and his investors," Obama adviser Stephanie Cutter told reporters. "GST workers really lost out, and Romney and his partners did not."
Another adviser, Robert Gibbs, put it more succinctly on Face the Nation last Sunday. "He's very good at making money for his partners," Gibbs said of Romney, but "he's not so good at creating jobs." In fact, said former "car czar" Steven Rattner in a New York Times op-ed piece, "any job creation was accidental."
But as Rattner, who co-founded his own private equity firm, surely understands, that is true of every successful business. A company that sees job creation, as opposed to profit, as its goal will not stay in business long.
While the goal of making a profit leads a company to minimize costs, the goal of creating jobs means maximizing costs: rejecting every labor-saving innovation, shunning organizational efficiencies, and hiring people just for the sake of putting them to work, even if the work is not worth the wage. A company operated that way eventually would employ no one.
Since a private equity firm makes money by buying and selling companies, it has a strong incentive to make those businesses more valuable. That might mean an expansion that requires hiring more people, or it might mean cost cutting that includes layoffs. Sometimes—as in the case of GST, which was in serious trouble before Bain bought it and ultimately could not compete with low-cost foreign manufacturers—turnaround efforts fail.
Obama wants to avoid the pain that inevitably accompanies this profit-driven, competitive discovery process. To get an idea of the alternative he has in mind, consider his $840 billion stimulus package, the success of which he measured by jobs "created or saved," regardless of whether those jobs were worth doing.
Unlike a private equity firm's turnaround plans (or any other company's investment decisions), this approach prizes inefficiency. As far as Obama is concerned, the more people it takes to accomplish a given task, the better. The same employment-focused logic explains his embrace of the broken planet fallacy, which holds that global warming is an economic boon because it creates "green jobs."
Obama's job fetish was also apparent in his response to Romney's recent remarks about the importance of increasing productivity, or output per worker. "The problem isn't that the American people aren't productive enough," Obama said. "You’ve been working harder than ever."
Hard work is not an end in itself. A farmer who tills his field by hand indisputably works harder than one who relies on machines. And because the old-fashioned method is less productive, it increases employment in the agricultural sector. That does not mean we would be better off with Stone Age farm technology.
Contrary to Obama's message, wealth creation is not just the obsession of rich investors; it is the key to prosperity. Precisely because of the discipline imposed by the possibility of failure, individuals concerned only about their own profits create more jobs accidentally than central planners who "take into account everybody" can hope to create on purpose.
Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason and a nationally syndicated columnist. Follow him on Twitter.
Venture capital firms and funds
[edit]Venture capitalists
A venture capitalist is a person or investment firm that makes venture investments, and these venture capitalists are expected to bring managerial and technical expertise as well as capital to their investments. A venture capital fund refers to a pooled investment vehicle (often an LP or LLC) that primarily invests the financial capital of third-party investors in enterprises that are too risky for the standardcapital markets or bank loans. Venture capital firms typically comprise small teams with technology backgrounds (scientists, researchers) or those with business training or deep industry experience.
A core skill within VC is the ability to identify novel technologies that have the potential to generate high commercial returns at an early stage. By definition, VCs also take a role in managing entrepreneurial companies at an early stage, thus adding skills as well as capital, thereby differentiating VC from buy-out private equity, which typically invest in companies with proven revenue, and thereby potentially realizing much higher rates of returns. Inherent in realizing abnormally high rates of returns is the risk of losing all of one's investment in a given startup company. As a consequence, most venture capital investments are done in a pool format, where several investors combine their investments into one large fund that invests in many different startup companies. By investing in the pool format, the investors are spreading out their risk to many different investments versus taking the chance of putting all of their money in one start up firm.
Diagram of the structure of a generic venture capital fund
[edit]Structure
Venture capital firms are typically structured as partnerships, the general partners of which serve as the managers of the firm and will serve as investment advisors to the venture capital funds raised. Venture capital firms in the United States may also be structured as limited liability companies, in which case the firm's managers are known as managing members. Investors in venture capital funds are known as limited partners. This constituency comprises both high net worth individuals and institutions with large amounts of available capital, such as state and private pension funds, university financial endowments, foundations,insurance companies, and pooled investment vehicles, called funds of funds[edit]Types
Venture Capitalist firms differ in their approaches. There are multiple factors, and each firm is different.[27]
Some of the factors that influence VC decisions include:
- Business situation: Some VCs tend to invest in new ideas, or fledgling companies. Others prefer investing in established companies that need support to go public or grow.
- Some invest solely in certain industries.
- Some prefer operating locally while others will operate nationwide or even globally.
- VC expectations often vary. Some may want a quicker public sale of the company or expect fast growth. The amount of help a VC provides can vary from one firm to the next.
[edit]Roles
Within the venture capital industry, the general partners and other investment professionals of the venture capital firm are often referred to as "venture capitalists" or "VCs". Typical career backgrounds vary, but, broadly speaking, venture capitalists come from either an operational or a finance background. Venture capitalists with an operational background tend to be former founders or executives of companies similar to those which the partnership finances or will have served as management consultants. Venture capitalists with finance backgrounds tend to have investment banking or other corporate finance experience.
Although the titles are not entirely uniform from firm to firm, other positions at venture capital firms include:
- Venture partners — Venture partners are expected to source potential investment opportunities ("bring in deals") and typically are compensated only for those deals with which they are involved.
- Principal — This is a mid-level investment professional position, and often considered a "partner-track" position. Principals will have been promoted from a senior associate position or who have commensurate experience in another field, such as investment banking, management consulting, or a market of particular interest to the strategy of the venture capital firm.
- Associate — This is typically the most junior apprentice position within a venture capital firm. After a few successful years, an associate may move up to the "senior associate" position and potentially principal and beyond. Associates will often have worked for 1–2 years in another field, such as investment banking or management consulting.
- Entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) — EIRs are experts in a particular domain and perform due diligence on potential deals. EIRs are engaged by venture capital firms temporarily (six to 18 months) and are expected to develop and pitch startup ideas to their host firm although neither party is bound to work with each other. Some EIRs move on to executive positions within a portfolio company.
[edit]Need of venture capital
- There are entrepreneurs and many other people who come up with bright ideas but lack the capital for the investment. What these venture capitals do are to facilitate and enable the start up phase.
- When there is an owner relation between the venture capital providers and receivers, their mutual interest for returns will increase the firms motivation to increase profits.
- Venture capitalists have invested in similar firms and projects before and, therefore, have more knowledge and experience. This knowledge and experience are the outcomes of the experiments through the successes and failures from previous ventures, so they know what works and what does not, and how it works. Therefore, through venture capital involvement, a portfolio firm can initiate growth, identify problems, and find recipes to overcome them.
[edit]Structure of the funds
Most venture capital funds have a fixed life of 10 years, with the possibility of a few years of extensions to allow for private companies still seeking liquidity. The investing cycle for most funds is generally three to five years, after which the focus is managing and making follow-on investments in an existing portfolio. This model was pioneered by successful funds in Silicon Valley through the 1980s to invest in technological trends broadly but only during their period of ascendance, and to cut exposure to management and marketing risks of any individual firm or its product.
In such a fund, the investors have a fixed commitment to the fund that is initially unfunded and subsequently "called down" by the venture capital fund over time as the fund makes its investments. There are substantial penalties for a limited partner (or investor) that fails to participate in a capital call.
It can take anywhere from a month or so to several years for venture capitalists to raise money from limited partners for their fund. At the time when all of the money has been raised, the fund is said to be closed, and the 10-year lifetime begins. Some funds have partial closes when one half (or some other amount) of the fund has been raised. "Vintage year" generally refers to the year in which the fund was closed and may serve as a means to stratify VC funds for comparison. This[28] shows the difference between a venture capital fund management company and the venture capital funds managed by them.
From investors point of view funds can be traditional where all the investors invest with equal terms or asymmetric where different investors have different terms. Typically the asymmetry is seen in cases where there's a investor that has other interests such as tax income in case of public investors[29].
[edit]Compensation
Main article: Carried interest
Venture capitalists are compensated through a combination of management fees and carried interest (often referred to as a "two and 20" arrangement):
- Management fees — an annual payment made by the investors in the fund to the fund's manager to pay for the private equity firm's investment operations.[30] In a typical venture capital fund, the general partners receive an annual management fee equal to up to 2% of the committed capital.
- Carried interest — a share of the profits of the fund (typically 20%), paid to the private equity fund’s management company as a performance incentive. The remaining 80% of the profits are paid to the fund's investors[30] Strong limited partner interest in top-tier venture firms has led to a general trend toward terms more favorable to the venture partnership, and certain groups are able to command carried interest of 25–30% on their funds.
[edit]Main alternatives to venture capital
Because of the strict requirements venture capitalists have for potential investments, many entrepreneurs seek seed funding from angel investors, who may be more willing to invest in highly speculative opportunities, or may have a prior relationship with the entrepreneur.
Furthermore, many venture capital firms will only seriously evaluate an investment in a start-up company otherwise unknown to them if the company can prove at least some of its claims about the technology and/or market potential for its product or services. To achieve this, or even just to avoid the dilutive effects of receiving funding before such claims are proven, many start-ups seek to self-finance sweat equity until they reach a point where they can credibly approach outside capital providers such as venture capitalists or angel investors. This practice is called "bootstrapping".
There has been some debate since the dot com boom that a "funding gap" has developed between the friends and family investments typically in the $0 to $250,000 range and the amounts that most VC funds prefer to invest between $1 million to $2 million. This funding gap may be accentuated by the fact that some successful VC funds have been drawn to raise ever-larger funds, requiring them to search for correspondingly larger investment opportunities. This gap is often filled by sweat equity and seed funding via angel investors as well as equity investment companies who specialize in investments in startup companies from the range of $250,000 to $1 million. The National Venture Capital Association estimates that the latter now invest more than $30 billion a year in the USA in contrast to the $20 billion a year invested by organized venture capital funds.[citation needed]
Crowd funding is emerging as an alternative to traditional venture capital. Crowd funding is an approach to raising the capital required for a new project or enterprise by appealing to large numbers of ordinary people for small donations. While such an approach has long precedents in the sphere of charity, it is receiving renewed attention from entrepreneurs such as independent film makers, now that social media and online communities make it possible to reach out to a group of potentially interested supporters at very low cost. Some crowd funding models are also being applied for startup funding, for example, Grow VC. One of the reason to look for alternatives to venture capital is the problem of the traditional VC model. The traditional VCs are shifting their focus to later-stage investments, and return on investment of many VC funds have been low or negative.[24][31]
In industries where assets can be securitized effectively because they reliably generate future revenue streams or have a good potential for resale in case of foreclosure, businesses may more cheaply be able to raise debt to finance their growth. Good examples would include asset-intensive extractive industries such as mining, or manufacturing industries. Offshore funding is provided via specialist venture capital trusts, which seek to utilise securitization in structuring hybrid multi-market transactions via an SPV (special purpose vehicle): a corporate entity that is designed solely for the purpose of the financing.
In addition to traditional venture capital and angel networks, groups have emerged, which allow groups of small investors or entrepreneurs themselves to compete in a privatized business plan competition where the group itself serves as the investor through a democratic process.[32]
Law firms are also increasingly acting as an intermediary between clients seeking venture capital and the firms providing it.[33]
HOW WE HAVE COMMITTED TO WORK WITH MITT ROMNEY AS THE GOP NOMINEE TO MAKE HIS PRESIDENCY SUCCEED:
THE TEA PARTY CHIEF HAS A REVELATION ABOUT THE END OF OBAMA’S CONTROL WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT...
#Putin let us work together-shield is up #Hezbollah will stop at nothing if they feel #Ahmedinejad is weak or that they can take over #Syria
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
#Putin conflict within #Syria is a double-edged sword, as #Russia and#China are both trying to avoid #NuclearConflict with Hezbollah groups
We must #ResistWar stay out of Jerusalem, no matter Obama trying to piss off #Ahmedinejad or trying to police #Israel -- they can handle it
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty For no one knows the hour http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24&version=GNT but the time or period of the black beast will end 5/21, 7/13, or 9/19 all significant dates5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty New Moon of September will solidify Romney as President, for people fear another government shutdown by Sept. 30th despite efforts otherwise
So change of leadership or people's minds about Obama occurred May, we must #ResistWar before 7/13/12 and by Sept 19 people will want Romney
7/13/12 is 10 days after the full moon or 6 days prior to the New Moon http://www.horoscopeswithin.com/moons.php and Sept. 19 3 days after the New Moon
If it is by lunar calendar, like the Jews kept time from 3yrs. 195 days http://www.horoscopeswithin.com/moons.php solar eclipse took place for May calculation
3yrs. and 195 days.... which will be on 7/13/12 of that time - if we calculate by election date 5/21/12 inauguration day 2009 then Sept. 19
I am not scared of #Iran -shield is up: I do not want to undermine the sovereignty of #Israel or underestimate #Hezbollah coup#Ahmedinejad
God told me @MittRomney is coming to chop you down@BarackObama (Eze. 30:25-26 and 31) http://www.facebook.com/groups/thesynthesis/doc/167467459985257/
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Abomination -- Obama is the bête noire (the black beast)
Racist graffiti spray-painted on church sign
Posted: Jun 05, 2012 5:45 PM EDTUpdated: Jun 05, 2012 5:45 PM EDTBy Aungelique Proctor, FOX 5 reporter - bio | email
Meriwether Sheriff's Investigators are trying to find out who spray painted anti-white graffiti on a sign at Faith Baptist Church in Greenville, Ga.
GREENVILLE, Ga. -Meriwether Sheriff's Office investigators are trying to find out who spray painted anti-white graffiti on a church sign.
It happened at Faith Baptist Church in Greenville, Ga., not far from Columbus.
Officials believe that the vandals were likely responding to the pastor's views on issues like gay rights, interracial marriage and religions other than Christianity.
Southern Baptist preacher Billy Ball admits that the messages he put on his church sign are provocative, but he says they are all Biblically based.
"I had a message that said ‘Perverts loves perverts.' Before that I had ‘Obama loves pervert,'" said Ball.
Ball says, however, the anti-white graffiti that someone spray painted overnight on his church's sign goes too far.
"It had to be a white person that did it because we have been taught, and our job is to respond to the teaching, that no minority could ever be a racist, so I'm sure it was white people that did it," Ball said, tongue-in-cheek.
Ball says his beliefs and sermon are intolerable of three groups.
"Illegal Mexicans, sodomites, and radical Islam are the most protected group. They can do anything they want to and if you say anything against them, it's hate," said Ball.
Ball pastors 130 members of Faith Baptist Church in Greenville, Ga., and believes individuals should primarily marry within their own race and religion. As far as the culprit who vandalized the sign,
"I'd love to see them get right with God. I'd love to see them come in here…and say, ‘Pastor, I did a bad thing, would you forgive us?' That'd be the end of it. I'd invite them to church on Sunday and preach to them," said Ball.
The Meriwether Sheriff's Office said that they are investigating the vandalism and have several suspects they are checking out.
4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Obama, in his foolishness, has tried his damndest to betray #Israel piss off #Ahmedinejad and fund terrorism through #CAIR --#ResistWar !!!
4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Many times, Native American images, such as eagle are mistaken for idols. We do not believe the eagle answers our prayers, but Great Spirit.
4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
The Bible is a book of warning to those who understand what it means: we must stay out of Jerusalem, or Muslims will think it's the End.
4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
http://bible.cc/matthew/24-15.htm The Roman army is called an abomination, for its ensigns and images, which were so to the Jews.
4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty The Roman army is further called the "abomination" on account of the images of the emperor, and the eagles, carried in front of the legions4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty The abomination of desolation means the Roman army, and is so explained by Luke 21:20.4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty It will be Obama literally in the Temple of Jerusalem or the presence of American armies (the new Rome) in Jerusalem4 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Jesus says so: The abomination of desolation - This is a Hebrew expression, meaning an abominable or hateful destroyer. (Matt. 24)
That is why prophecy of the end being last year, requoted again was wrong, because the #AbominationofDesolation is the sign of fulfillment
The question of Bible prophecy is when did it occur exactly? It lasts 1,290 days = 3yrs. and 195 days.... which will on 7/13/12 of that time
Now you see the fulfillment of the meaning the #AbominationofDesolation -- Book of Daniel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abomination_of_desolation
It is not coincidence in phonetics obama-nation is exactly like#ABOMINATION the a - ah is just like the African "O" sound....
Do you hear #JosephPrince? Where the #gospel of Christ is: there is#health and #wealth and where it is denied, #sickness #poverty =#Obama
Obama: Mitt Romney is a… Radical Libertarian? | The Right Sphere http://www.therightsphere.com/2012/06/obama-mitt-romney-is-a-radical-libertarian/ via @theRightSphere
THE AUDACITY OF THE CAMPAIGNER-IN-CHIEF.... DETHRONED OBAMA INTENDS ON SKETCHING ROMNEY AS A RADICAL LIBERTARIAN, WHEN APPARENTLY, HE HAS FORGOTTEN JUST HOW FAR LEFT HE WENT FROM CLINTON AS CLINTON’S SURROGATE...
Obama: Mitt Romney is a… Radical Libertarian?
Posted by Brandon Kiser in Blog, Politics on June 5, 2012 11:34 am / no comments
President Barack Obama is previewing his next strategy in the 2012 campaign — an audacious effort to paint former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the majority GOP as radical libertarians that have abandoned mainstream American politics.
Since 2000, “we [Democrats] haven’t moved that much… What’s changed is the Republican Party,” Obama told a group of wealthy donors gathered Monday night at a New York mansion owned by Marc Lasry. Lasry is a billionaire equity-capitalist who runs a $20 billion fund that buys up the shaky assets of failing companies.
Republicans “have gone from a preference for market-based solutions to an absolutism… [to] a belief that all regulations are bad; that government has no role to play,” said Obama [...]
The president’s divisive strategy is designed to persuade swing-voters that the former governor of Massachusetts is a radical libertarian, even though Obama has repeatedly said his health-sector law is modeled on Romney’s Massachusetts law.
Obama has also suggested recently that GOP legislators and supporters are irrational, unhinged and sick.
President Obama surely must be delusional to cast his presumptive opponent as a radical libertarian. It’s Mitt Romney we’re talking about here. The guy who was a moderate governor of a blue state, who once said he doesn’t want to go back to Reagan-Bush and not to mention the guy who imposed a decidedly not libertarian mandate in his state which the President says he emulated to beat back Republican attacks on his own health care law.
When it comes to the Republican Party as a whole, maybe Obama is correct that the party has become more libertarian since the Bush era. But I would argue Bush-era “compassionate conservatism” was the movement from the norm. This libertarian change is the GOP getting back to its roots.
But then, the same party nominated Mitt Romney to be President, so how “radical” could it be? If this is Obama’s next line of attack he needs to get the kinks ironed out or get laughed. Probably both.
@CnservativePunk @theRightSphere #MittRomney is the King of Babylon that will chop down Obama #Pharaoh King of Egypt (Eze. 30:25-26 and 31)
12:11 PM - 5 Jun 12 via web · Details
WHY ELSE DOES VENTURE CAPITALISM BENEFIT JOB CREATION AND MAKING AMERICA AN ECONOMIC SUPERPOWER AGAIN??
United States
Venture capitalists invested some $29.1 billion in 3,752 deals in the U.S. through the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a report by the National Venture Capital Association. The same numbers for all of 2010 were $23.4 billion in 3,496 deals.[36] A National Venture Capital Association survey found that a majority (69%) of venture capitalists predicted that venture investments in the U.S. would have leveled between $20–29 billion in 2007.[citation needed][edit]Israel
As of 2010, Israel led the world in venture capital invested per capita. Israel attracted $170 per person compared to $75 in the USA.[37]About two thirds of the funds invested were from foreign sources, and the rest domestic.
A Republican majority is pointless if it isn't achieved with conservatives who will fight to stop the spending and debt. #txsen
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty 5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SpeakerBohener TELL #RepGeraldConnolly THAT IT COSTS 5 PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS TO PAY FOR 1 PUBLIC SECTOR JOB@SenatorReid PASS JOB BILLS
5 Jun
MBKing @imsure
Conservatives slam David Axelrod for calling Marco Rubio 'an insult to the Hispanic community' http://twitchy.com/2012/06/05/conservatives-slam-david-axelrod-for-calling-marco-rubio-an-insult-to-the-hispanic-community/
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty 
You need to make cuts to operating costs @SpeakerBoehner if you must shut down the Senate fine-I'm all for that, they haven't worked for 1yr
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
You would have to take the rest of the military budget@SpeakerBoehner to pay yourselves and the Payroll tax cuts you keep giving out,...
You are still considered #Judiciary under legislative@SpeakerBoehner which exceeds http://lnk.ms/Wb6nV budget by $1 trillion.
#TableHR5882 While I do not want a government shutdown this September @SpeakerBoehner we must make cuts, create jobs, fire Holder and Obama.
#TableHR5882 @SpeakerBoehner until 9-1-12, so that Obama doesn't dig us a Great Wall of China with #Iran or #Syriahttp://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20120604/BILLS-112hr5882rh.pdf
#HSA to be accepted 12-31-12 as alternative to insurance or business requirements according to IRS? http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20120604/CPRT-112-HPRT-RU00-HR436_xml.pdf then approve #HR436
Not receiving $25-$50 per week per child, it causes the household to be in debt @SpeakerBoehner = #foreclosures #JudicialCosts#WelfarePgms
I support #HR4282 @SpeakerBoehner to appropriate #Judiciaryfunding as allocated http://lnk.ms/Wb6nV beginning 10-1-13#DataExchange
June 3, 2012, 4:04 p.m. ET
The Surprising Truth About Senate Obstructionism
The real cause of the current gridlock is the majority's desire to avoid difficult votes.
BY BRIAN REARDON AND ERIC UELAND
There's a growing chorus complaining that the Senate is broken, that Republicans are to blame, and that the rules of procedure need to be changed. This argument has any number of flaws, but at its core it relies on a general misrepresentation of how the Senate, and the filibuster in particular, works.For example, here's how Politico's congressional reporter Scott Wong characterized the situation as part of a recent story on a lawsuit brought against the Senate by Common Cause to declare the filibuster unconstitutional:
"From 1981 to 2006, both parties used the filibuster when they were in the minority. ...
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty Until @MittRomney rescinds #HR4872 in writing, AND individual unconstitutional mandate we will support @RepRonPaul http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-pushed-individual-mandate-massachusetts-health-care-law-144554113.html5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
I favorited a @YouTube video from @slaboehttp://youtu.be/Nelp96w97Nc?a "The Great Destroyer" -- David Limbaugh -- Sean H
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
I liked a @YouTube video from @slaboe http://youtu.be/Nelp96w97Nc?a "The Great Destroyer" -- David Limbaugh -- Sean Hanni
The Lord has answered me:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/thesynthesis/doc/167467459985257/ (Ezekiel 30:25-26 and Ezekiel 31) The Lord will chop Obama down like a tree.
NO MORE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS PASSED FOR A SENATE WHO REFUSES TO SERVE THE PEOPLE TO CREATE JOBS@SenatorReid @SpeakerBoener
I object #EqualPayAct does not create jobs @SpeakerBoehnerFAILURE TO MAKE CUTS/DEFICIT taking women's wealth#INFLATION@SenatorReid
@SenDeanHeller I stand in objection Sec. 10a to appropriate@SenatorReid for #EqualPayAct as it was relevant in the 1960's and not now
AND SO BE IT
RT @McConnellPress: White House Continues to Ignore GOP Student Loan Rate Solutions - http://bit.ly/MxWHfz
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
SO BE IT
WE ARE NOT GOING TO WASTE OUR SUMMER OR CONVERSATION ON SENATE WHO REFUSES TO LEAD AND PASS JOB BILLS @SenatorReid @SpeakerBoehner
You want to blame it on #TeaParty @SenatorReid@SpeakerBoehner then fine: #FuckIt no more Senate Appropriation Bills w/o passing Job Bills!!
HOUSE REFUSES @SenatorReid @SpeakerBoehner TO PASS OR APPROVE SENATE APPROPRIATION BILLS UNTIL REID CONCEDES OBSTRUCTION/PASSES JOB BILLS
We will not move forward with FUNDING ANYTHING @SenatorReid@SpeakerBoehner UNLESS IT GOES THROUGH HOUSE COMMITTEES - ALL BILLS TO BE DENIED
#DENIED @SenatorReid @SpeakerBoehner no permission given on Senate Appropriations--no bills to be passed--until passage of House job bills
I object #EqualPayAct does not create jobs FAILURE TO MAKE CUTS/DEFICIT taking women't wealth #INFLATION not#DISCRIMINATION@SenatorBoxer
I object @SenatorShaheen #EqualPayAct does not create jobs FAILURE TO MAKE CUTS/DEFICIT taking women's wealth#INFLATION not #DISCRIMINATION
UNEMPLOYED WOMEN- NOW IS THE TIME-START YOUR OWN BUSINESS BEFORE GOVERNMENT TAKES REST OF YOUR WEALTH AND GIVES IT TO THOSE NOT CONTRIBUTING
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SpeakerBoehner To not disrespect any working woman as I own my own business now #INFLATION is to blame, not #PayDiscrimination #ObjectS3772
There is a reason this bill died @SenatorReid this is pure politics/does not deserve $15 million thrown at it or more http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/s3772/text
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
I stand in objection Sec. 10a to appropriate @SenatorReid for#EqualPayAct as it was relevant in the 1960's and not now #CaseByCaseBasis
5 JunTea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@PattyMurray Pay discrimination must be through appropriate federal lawsuits, it is a case-by-case basis. Women cost more/take more time off
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@PattyMurray Are you going to reimburse me for costs of taking care of bastard children and dispossessed men the past 10yrs.?#DontThinkSo
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
WOMEN: IF YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED, START YOUR OWN BUSINESS BEFORE GOVERNMENT TAKES THE REST OF YOUR WEALTH AND GIVES IT TO THOSE NOT CONTRIBUTING
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
@SenatorBarb With all due respect #SenatorMikulski we working and responsible women are tired of carrying the burdens for the irreverent
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
LET US #ResistWar with Iran, let us not assist #Israel who can fend for themselves, let us not let MONEY dictate the daily sacrifices to God
Jesus died after giving this prophecy - A.D. 70 : Titus and his Roman legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem -- it is relevant today
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
If you really stood with us @SenatorReid your state website would not redirect you to unemployment benefits, you'd pass job bills, MAKE CUTS
5 Jun
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaParty
Thank you #Putin now all the cards are on the table, I left nothing to anyone's imagination from last newsletter http://teapartychief.blogspot.com/
#Syria Live: #Russia says it is not committed to #Assad regime remaining in power http://bit.ly/L0lCEq | #MENA
U.N. monitors try to reach "massacre" village
By Mariam Karouny and Erika Solomon | Reuters – 17 mins ago
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BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N. monitors tried on Thursday to check reports of a massacre of at least 78 villagers by forces loyal toPresident Bashar al-Assad - killings that prompted another U.S. demand for the Syrian leader to cede power and leave the country.
Opposition activists said up to 40 women and children were among the dead in Mazraat al-Qubeir, near Hama, on Wednesday, posting film on the Internet of bloodied or charred bodies.
Confirmation will pile pressure on world powers to act, but they have been paralyzed by rifts pitting Western and most Arab states against Assad's defenders in Russia, China and Iran.
Syria's pro-government Addounia TV said U.N. observers had arrived in Mazraat al-Qubeir. The chief of the U.N. mission said earlier that Syrian troops and civilians had barred them.
"They are being stopped at Syrian army checkpoints and in some cases turned back," General Robert Mood, the head of the U.N. observer mission, said in a statement. "Some of our patrols are being stopped by civilians in the area."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the latest reported massacre, which follows one in which 108 people were slain in the Syrian town of Houla on May 25, as unconscionable.
"We are disgusted by what we are seeing (in Syria)," she told a news conference during a visit to Istanbul.
YEMEN-STYLE TRANSITION?
Clinton said the United States was willing to work with all U.N. Security Council members, which include Russia, on a conference on Syria's political future. But it would have to start with the premise that Assad and his government give way to a democratic government, she said.
Kofi Annan, the U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, was due to brief the U.N. Security Council in New York later on Thursday.
A senior Russian diplomat said Moscow would accept a Yemen-style power transition in Syria if were decided by the people, referring to a deal under which Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in February after a year of unrest.
"The Yemen scenario was discussed by the Yemenis themselves. If this scenario is discussed by Syrians themselves and is adopted by them, we are not against it," Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
A Syrian official in Hama denied reports from Mazraat al-Qubeir, telling the state news agency that residents had asked security forces for help after a "terrorist group committed ... a monstrous crime", killing nine women and children.
U.N. observers sent to Syria to verify what has proved to be a non-existent truce brokered by Annan investigated the Houla massacre, which the chief U.N. peacekeeper said was probably the work of Syrian troops and "shabbiha" militia.
Activists say pro-Assad gunmen also perpetrated the killings in Mazraat al-Qubeir, moving in to shoot, club and stab their victims, backed by army tanks that shelled the village earlier.
Syrian authorities have also denied responsibility for the Houla killings, blaming foreign-backed Islamist militants.
Footage purportedly from Mazraat al-Qubeir showed the bodies of at least a dozen women and children wrapped in blankets or white shrouds, as well as the remains of burned corpses.
"These are the children of the Mazraat al-Qubeir massacre ... Look, you Arabs and Muslims, is this a terrorist?" asks the cameraman, focusing on a dead infant's face. "This woman was a shepherd, and this was a schoolgirl."
BURNED BEYOND RECOGNITION
A Hama-based activist using the name Abu Ghazi listed more than 50 names of victims, many from the al-Yateem family, but said some burned bodies could not be identified. The bodies of between 25 and 30 men were taken away by the killers, he said.
Shabbiha, drawn mostly from Assad's minority Alawite sect that is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, have been blamed for the killings of civilians from the Sunni Muslim majority. That has raised fears of an Iraq-style sectarian bloodbath and worsened tensions between Shi'ite Iran and mainly Sunni-led Arab states.
Events in Syria's 15-month-old uprising are difficult to verify due to tight state curbs on international media access.
U.N. diplomats said they expected Annan to present the Security Council with a new proposal to rescue his failing peace plan - a "contact group" of world powers and regional ones like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Iran, which is an ally of Syria.
Rebel groups in Syria say they are no longer bound by Annan's truce plan and want foreign weapons and other support.
Western leaders, wary of new military engagements in the Muslim world, have offered sympathy but shown no appetite for taking on Assad's military, supplied by Russia and Iran.
Annan sees his proposed forum as a way to break a deadlock among the five permanent members of the Security Council, where Russia and China have twice vetoed resolutions critical of Syria that were backed by the United States, Britain and France.
It would seek to map out a political transition under which Assad would leave office ahead of free elections, envoys said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday proposed an international meeting on Syria that would include the prime candidates for Annan's proposed contact group, including Iran.
Clinton, however, reacted coolly to that idea, accusing Iran of "stage-managing" Syria's repression of its opponents in which the United Nations says over 10,000 people have been killed.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said it was important to involve Russia in peace efforts on Syria, saying the conflict there could ignite a regional conflagration.
"Assad's regime must know there is no protective hand over these atrocities," he said in Istanbul.
Leaders of a bloc grouping China, Russia and Central Asian states called on Thursday for dialogue to resolve the Syria conflict, rather than any firmer action by the Security Council.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation rejected military interference, "enforced handover of power" and unilateral sanctions, favoring a "broad nationwide dialogue, based on independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria."
France said it would host a conference of the "Friends of Syria" - countries hostile to Assad - on July 6.
(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans in Beirut, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Arshad Mohammed in Istanbul and Balazs Koranyi, Gleb Bryanski and Chris Buckley; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
FOR VIDEOS -- http://www.enduringamerica.com/home/2012/6/5/syria-and-beyond-live-coverage-from-houla-to-douma.html#1345
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: From Houla to Douma
See also Syria 1st-Hand: 4 Days in Idlib Province with the Insurgents
Bahrain Video Feature: The Case for Real Reform
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: President Assad's "Real War"
2039 GMT: Syria. In Damascus, there are protests reported in multiple areas, but heavy gunfire reported in far more areas. The reports, from so many sources, are pouring in at this late hour - it will be a long night for Syria's capital.
2032 GMT: Syria. Meanwhile, protests continue, in the heart of Aleppo, and the heart of Damascus:
Zilal@zilal1#Aleppo: protesters in #Khaldiyeh district chanting in solidarity with the suburbs of Aleppo tonight 5-6-2012 youtube.com/watch?v=RHTDS8… #Syria
5 Jun 12
Free Syrian (Sami)@HamaEchoProtest in Kafarsouseh neighborhood of #Damascus tonight. Vid:youtube.com/watch?v=sQA8-o… #Syria twitpic.com/9t6acn
5 Jun 12
2026 GMT: Syria. Shocking rumors at this hour. There are reports that artillery in the Al Assad Military Academy, and possibly the artillery at the military base in the Ramouseh area of Aleppo (map) is shelling the areas north of Aleppo, the Anadan, Bayanoun, and Anadan suburbs (map). Activist Zilal translates an urgent message posted on an opposition Facebook page run by activists in Aleppo:
"The last post says artilery shelling on Hayan, Bayanoun, some shells fell next to Anadan and Kobtan al-Jabal."
Another Facebook page carries a similar report.
There were a great amount of rumors, as eyewitnesses could see the artillery fire but could not see the shells land. This video claims to show the distant flashes of the artillery guns, taken from the Salahedine district:
The sounds of explosions rock the city, likely from the artillery itself:
The shelling started at a time where there were large protests at Aleppo University and in theSalahadine district.
Syrian Uprising Info@SyriaUprisingProtest in #Aleppo tonight despite the explosions ow.ly/bnEQA#Syria #Russiakills
5 Jun 12
These shells would have been travelling directly over the University, a clear message to the entire city, particularly the students, that the regime will no longer tolerate large protests.
1745 GMT:Egypt. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was found guilty of the charges associated with the death of protesters, but he, his sons, and several of his other officials were found not guilty of corruption charges. This has consequences for the entire Egyptian economy, as the many millions of dollars in assets that have been frozen will now be released:
“In addition, the countries in whose banks the money is deposited can file money laundering charges against the Mubarak family and will then confiscate the money.”
Hossam Eissa, professor of international law and member of the Legal Committee for the Retrieval of Egyptian Money Abroad, said Mubarak’s lawyers will use the verdict to lift the block some countries imposed on the former president’s accounts.
“Keeping the blockade and getting the money were contingent upon a verdict that finds Mubarak guilty of financial corruption,” he said.
1552 GMT: Egypt. Tahrir Square is once again filled with protesters who are dissatisfied with both the Presidential election choices and the recent court decisions that sentenced the former Egyptian President to life in prison but set free some of his high-ranking associates:
Eliminated presidential candidates Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, Khaled Ali and Hamdeen Sabbahi will each lead a march to Tahrir Square as part of the nationwide protests scheduled for Tuesday.
The demonstrations were called for by revolutionary groups to protest against the verdict in the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak and his senior associates as well as the candidacy of Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak’s last premier, in the presidential election runoff.
Leftist candidate Ali will lead the first march from the Fatah Mosque in the Ramses district in central Cairo and will head to the High Court to demand the resignation of the prosecutor-general and reform of the judiciary branch. Ali's march plan to protest in front of the High Court for an hour before heading off to Tahrir Square.
The second Cairo march will begin at the Istikama Mosque in Giza Square and converge on Tahrir Square.
Islamist Aboul-Fotouh and Nasserist Sabbahi will head from Mustafa Mahmoud Square in the Mohandessin district of Cairo to Tahrir Square.
How is turnout so far? We'll let the Tweets tell the story:
Liam Stack@liamstackBig numbers in Tahrir. Lots of MB who are anti-presidential council. One man said it would "rob #egypt of its democratic rights."
5 Jun 12
Tarek Shalaby@tarekshalabyThousands and thousands in the march towards #Tahrirtwitpic.com/9t3t7y
5 Jun 12
Gigi Ibrahim@Gsquare86#revsoc thousands are here marching, feels like jan28 :)twitpic.com/9t3r8o
5 Jun 12
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Tarek Shalaby@tarekshalabyI was expecting a high turnout, but this...this is incredible. Take the streets now!
5 Jun 12
1536 GMT: Bahrain. More fallout from the interview with Al Jazeera's The Stream - Now Nabeel Rajab has been summoned to appear before a Bahraini prosecutor.
Nabeel Rajab@NABEELRAJABI was summoned again now to persecutor tomorrow in new case - it is the fifth in a month and second in a day #Bahrain:pic.twitter.com/uQP7Wo6p
5 Jun 12
Rajab, and others, believe that this newest summons is related to his appearance on Al Jazeera to debate the current human rights situation with Fahad Albinali, of the regime's Information Affairs Authority. On the show Albinali was asked whether he could guarantee that Rajab and others would not be retaliated against for speaking their minds on Al Jazeera, and Albinali promised that would be the case, and yet this is the second incident today where those who challenged the regime during The Stream have been called into the justice system.
"Fifteen soldiers were killed and dozens wounded, while three opposition fighters also died in continuing clashes in several villages of Al-Heffa region in Latakia," the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
The claim raises a question - how can the Observatory know how many regime troops were killed in the attack, as the Syrian government has not released any statements, that we know of, about casualties in the area? However, if the report is true, then the Free Syrian Army appears to have scored a fairly significant hit, as it has only lost somewhere between 3 and 5 fighters.
1444 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordinating Committees, a network of activists based across Syria and outside the country, are reporting that 38 people, including 5 defected soldiers, have been killed by pro-regime forces so far today:
10 martyrs in Lattakia, 10 martyrs in Hama, 8 martyrs in Homs, 6 in Idlib, 3 in Daraa, and 1 martyr in Aleppo.1435 GMT: Bahrain. Mohammad Hasan, who was summoned for questioning by police this morningafter a tweet of his appeared on Al Jazeera's The Stream, has been released.
Mohammed Hasan@safybhOut and physically alright.
5 Jun 12
Hasan adds that he was "accused with 3 charges, writing for websites and newspapers without a license, protesting and tweeting."
Hasan's comment that he is "physically alright" is likely a reference to his arrest in April, during the Bahrain F1. Hasan, who was with a television crew from ITN at the time, told his account to Human Rights First:
There was a small protest, men and women, some elderly people, about 100 people or more. They were chanting and the guys I was with were filming. Then the police ambushed us from behind—as usual they went straight for the guy with the camera. He ran away but they got me. Six or seven riot police dressed in uniform grabbed me and pulled me to the ground. One kicked me in the face, others hit me with batons from behind and I was hit with a gun butt. They kept kicking me in the face, they broke my glasses, broke one of my teeth, kicked me in the groin. They said things about my religious beliefs, about Iran. It went on for about 5 or 10 minutes in all."1400 GMT: Syria. There are many reports that Kafer Zita, north of Hama, has been attacked by "shabiha" and security forces today, and large parts of the town are on fire. The LCCS shares this video ofsmoke rising above the city:
Below, several activists report on their discussions with contacts in the town:
Shakeeb Al-Jabri@LeShaque
@HamaEcho Got contacts in Kfarzeta? I'm getting reports that Shabbiha have torched Abu Bakr Saddiq Mosque thereShakeeb Al-Jabri@LeShaque5 Jun 12
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Free Syrian (Sami)@HamaEchoKafarzita, #Hama was under very heavy and continuous shelling for the past 3 days, it could be heard from Morek village 8KM away#Syria
5 Jun 12
Free Syrian (Sami)@HamaEchoMost residents of Kafarzita fled to nearby towns of Latamneh, Khan Shaikoun and Morek. The town is being burnt and looted now by shabiha.
5 Jun 12
Free Syrian (Sami)@HamaEchoThe last news to come from Kafarzita was shabiha burning and looting shops and homes. Most residents have fled, there is dozens left.
5 Jun 12
Free Syrian (Sami)@HamaEchoThe regime's 4 days heavy shelling, looting and burning of Kafarzita is a punishment for the UN observers visit there. #Hama #Syria
5 Jun 121345 GMT: Syria. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has suggested that Russia is willing to see Assad go if it is part of a peace deal brokered by the Syrians themselves.
"We have never said or insisted that Assad necessarily had to remain in power at the end of the political process," Gatilov told the ITAR-TASS news agency in Switzerland.
"This issue has to be settled by the Syrians themselves."
Gatilov went on to suggest that if the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition could negotiate with each other, a Yemen-style transition deal, with the departure of Bashar al Assad and the establishment of a transitional government, could be a good option for ending the crisis.
While Gatilov is skeptical that there is the political will in Syria for such a change, the penultimate paragraph in AFP's article suggests that Russia may be working towards arranging just such a deal:
Gatilov's comments came as another top Russian official announced that a US delegation headed by Washington's Syria crisis pointman Frederic Hof would be travelling to Moscow later this week.1332 GMT: Syria. Reuters has spoken to a commander of the insurgent forces in the area of Lattakia, and reports that the attacks on Haffeh have been bloody *see previous updates):
Bassel Salow, a spokesman of a brigade of the rebel group the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the area, said at least eight fighters were killed during the clashes which were continuing in Haffeh.
"They have shelled at least 60 villages using helicopters, we have 15 civilians wounded and we cannot rescue any of the them," he said by telephone.
While it's true that protests have been growing in Sunni areas of Lattakia province, particularly over the last several weeks, we're still surprised by the sudden outbreak of violence. A prominent activist believes that the protests were in fact the catalyst for these events:
James Miller (ميلر)@JMiller_EA5 Jun 12@edwardedark Is Haffa a majority Sunni town? Do you know what the motivation for today's attack was?
edward dark@edwardedark@JMiller_EA yes Haffa is majority Sunni, surrounded by Alawi villages in the mountainous regions of Latakia, attacked because of protests
5 Jun 12Whatever the cause, if the fighting in Lattakia intensifies then that could have large implications for Syria. Will fighting in the region stoke sectarian tensions? Will we see more "shabiha" attacks on protesters of Sunni residents? And, perhaps most importantly, can the Assad regime handle yet another front in its already costly crackdown?
1312 GMT: Bahrain. Another court hearing has been held in the "retrial" of 21 activists, 13 of them serving long prison sentences.
Lawyer Mohsen al-Alawi said several of the defendants claimed Tuesday they were beaten and abused by police and others as part of a crackdown on the protests from February 2011.
The 21 activists, including leading opposition figures such as Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, Hassan Mushaima, and Ibrahim Sharif, were given sentences of at least five years; eight were condemned to life terms.
Seven of the defendants were convicted in absentia, and one has subsequently been released.
Trial of 21 opposition activists just ended. 3 defendants, inc Ebrahim Shareef described systematic torture they were subjected to #Bahrain
5 Jun 121309 GMT: Syria. Al Jazeera, relying on the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, gives moredetails about today's fighting in Al Haffa, Lattakia:
He said at least five tanks and armoured personnel carriers were destroyed. Rebels have taken over police stations in the city of Haffeh in the countryside of Latakia, he added.
He said "a lot of ambulances" were seen arriving in the city of Latakia carrying government forces casualties.
"Haffeh is totally surrounded right now," said an activist in the city. He said the clashes were in the villages of Bekas, Babna, Jankeel.
A Syrian activist adds more context to what's at stake in Al Haffa, as well as a video of the attack in the city today:
edward dark@edwardedarkfears that regime planning another sectarian massacre at Sunni town of Hifa, Lattakia. Like Houla it's surrounded by Alawi villages#Syria
5 Jun 12So we have more questions than answers. With the report that the Free Syrian Army is engaged in the city, the question of what sparked the fighting is still confused. Did the FSA attack first, prompting the shelling, prompting the defections? Or did defections prompt shelling, which prompted an FSA retaliation?
1255 GMT: Syria. It's 3:55 PM local time, but the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have already been able to confirm 24 deaths so far today:
10 martyrs in Lattakia 5 martyrs were reported in Idlib, 5 in Homs, 2 in Daraa, 1 in Aleppo, and 1 in Hama.It's early, but there is already a shocking twist today. Lattakia is a major port in northwest Syria. Furthermore, Lattakia and the surrounding area is a stronghold for the Syrian regime, and is one of the few areas where Alawites, a minority elsewhere, are found in fairly large percentages. Though we've often argued that simplifying this conflict to sectarian terms is a flawed way of analyzing the uprising, much of Assad's strength flows from Lattakia. It is also true, however, that Lattakia and the surrounding areas are no strangers to protests, but we rarely see this kind of violence there.
The LCCS reports that Al Haffah, approximately 15 miles to the east of Lattakia. It appears that Al Haffah has received the bulk (possibly the entirety) of the violence in the province. 4 hours ago, when the death toll was much lower, the LCCS had this report:
Massive bombing using mortars and heavy machine guns of vertical flight and rocket launchers in the city, in conjunction with tanks progressing in the city. Defection of three senior officers in the city was reported. Lieutenant Fady Halonjy and young Ismaeel Mohammad Ismaeel were martyred from this bombing. This attack counts as a dangerous escalation by the regime to confirm its policy in encouraging civil war.Local Coordination Committees hold the regime full responsibility for any practices that may result from this dangerous escalation, such as any individual revenge or sectarian tension in the area.
What's interesting about the report - the fact that defections are also reported. More recently, in the last 10 minutes, LCC claims that a Brigadier General has defected. All of this raises an interesting question - did the defections prompt the shelling, or did the shelling prompt the defections?
1224 GMT: Syria. Last week, in response to the Houla massacre, many Western governments kicked their Syrian ambassadors our of their countries. Today, the Syrian regime is returning the favor:
"Some states recently informed heads of our diplomatic missions and embassy staff that they are unwelcome," the statement said, adding Syria was now designating the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France and Turkey, among others, as personae non gratae.James Miller takes over today's live coverage. Thanks to Scott Lucas for getting us started today.
1100 GMT: Bahrain. A follow-up to our Video Feature on last night's Al Jazeera English programme on "real reform" in the Kingdom....
Blogger Mohammad Hasan sent in a Twitter message to the broadcast:
Mohammed Hasan@safybh
#AJStream not a single civilian or expat death was attributed to protesters in BICI, unlike @F_albinali claims
Clearly, this went beyond the regime's concept of "reform" for free speech --- Hasan sent further notes this morning:
Mohammed Hasan@safybh
Mohammed Hasan@safybh
After my tweet appeared on @AJStream I received an order to go to the #Bahrain intelligence agency today #AJStream@NABEELRAJAB @Matar_Matar
Going into the CID offices now, I'm not allowed a lawyer so you'll have to wait for updates, goodbye for now #BAHRAIN
1047 GMT: Syria. A clue in this report of the second session of the new Parliament that sanctions on Damascus are having an effect:
Minister of Electricity also indicated that the current crisis in Syria has badly affected the electricity sector due to terminating work by cooperation agreements with a number of world banks financing power-generating projects, and the international, Arab and Islamic banks' non-commitment to financing electricity projects, not to mention the vandalism acts committed by armed terrorist groups targeting infrastructure and power lines.
1042 GMT: Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says regime forces have re-taken Kfar Zita in Hama Province, killing at least six people.
Militiamen looted homes and shops after town residents fled, the Observatory said.
The activists also claimed four civilians were killed overnight in a "huge military operation" in the Kfar Oweid area of Idlib Province.
1039 GMT: Egypt. Addressing protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday night, three former Presidential candidates --- Hamdeen Sabbahi, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, and Khaled Ali --- have called for a Presidential council in lieu of a victor in mid-June's run-off between Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq.
Sabbahi said the call was necessary because of "blatant violations" such as disregard for the Political Disenfranchisement Law, under which Shafiq --- a former Vice President in the Mubarak reigme --- would have been disqualified.
Aboul Fotouh criticised the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces for the "state of deterioration" and led crowds chanting, "Down, down with the military regime" and "People are all one hand". He echoed the demonstrators' demand for the establishment of "revolutionary courts", following last weekend's verdicts, criticised by many, in the cases of former President Mubarak and his associates.
1009 GMT: Egypt. After Saturday's verdicts in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak and his associates, protesters tear down a giant billboard for Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last Vice President and now Presidential candidate, over the 6 October Bridge in Cairo.
0728 GMT: Syria. Al Jazeera English reports on the growing number of Syrian Kurds who are now in camps in Iraqi Kurdistan --- the number is almost 2000 and growing daily:
0658 GMT: Bahrain. An EA correspondent reports that police have thrown tear gas at students at a primary school in Sitra. Footage of Monday's incident:
0651 GMT: Bahrain. Human Rights First speaks with Alyaa Mohammed, a third-year business management student at the University of Bahrain, who says she was repeatedly questioned by university officials over a message, "Down with Hamad", on her mobile phone:
Then last week they told me to come and pick up a letter saying I’d been suspended for a semester. In their letter they say my "crime" was to write "phrases that insult His Majesty the King" on my mobile phone and that I sent them to my female colleagues.
Mohammed maintains that the message was not even about the King but about her boss at law firm, "whose name was also Hamad".
0641 GMT: Yemen. Al Jazeera English reports on the offensive by Government forces to retake areas held by insurgents in the south of the country:
0635 GMT: Syria. Video of a tense meeting on Monday between United Nations observers and the Free Syria Army in Al Qusayr near the Lebanese border. UN Commander Mark Hearns says, "There is no guarantee if we answer every call that the shooting and shelling will stop....There are Syrian people and we are looking to stop that....We understand [your anger] and we are also very frustrated with what we cannot do."
0610 GMT: Syria. The episode of Houla, in which 108 civilians died, is still fresh even though it is ten days old. On Monday, yet another account emerged of how regime shelling after Friday Prayers was followed by the assault of pro-regime "shabiha", who moved from house to house wielding guns and knives to execute dozens, including 49 children.
While the tragedy remains, the conflict moves on. Less-noticed but equally significant developments arise, in this case, the battle of Douma.
For days, there has been serious fighting in the suburb of Damascus. President Assad's military have moved in tanks and other armoured vehicles. They have bombarded the area. And still the resistance has not been broken. Indeed, activists claim that the Free Syrian Army has inflicted numerous casualties on the attackers, with video of burned tanks accompanying the assertion.
There have been other battles like this one, of course. In February, the regime spent weeks in ammunition and manpower to suppress and then occupy the Baba Amr section of Homs. However, it did so only at the cost of turning much of the neighbourhood to rubble and reinforcing the resistance in other parts of the city.
And this latest conflict in Douma is not in Homs, it is just to the east of the seat of power of the Assad regime. A few months ago, the Syrian military faced a similar prospect, as other suburbs like Ghouta were taken over by the insurgents. On that occasion, the regime was able to drive away the opposition.
Now the prospect of an insurgency on the doorstep of the capital is recurring. And the accompanying development, so far, is that the firepower of Assad's men is not able to lift that possibility.
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Alyaa Mohammed, 
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Khaled Ali, 
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Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Ahmed Shafiq, Alyaa Mohammed, Bahrain, Douma, Egypt, Free Syrian Army, Hamdeen Sabbahi, Houla Massacre, Khaled Ali, Mark Hearns, SyriaView Printer Friendly VersionEmail Article to Friend
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Aja Brooks shared a link.
Tea Party Chief @2012_TeaPartyTaliban poisoned schoolgirls, 15 suspects arrested http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-government-alleges-taliban-poisoned-schoolgirls-15-suspects-143057322.html
Afghan government alleges Taliban poisoned schoolgirls, 15 suspects arrested
news.yahoo.com
KABUL - The Afghan government accused the Taliban Wednesday of poisoning schoolgirls by bribing students and workers to sneak toxic chemicals into drinking water or spread it around school grounds, sickening scores. Fifteen suspects have been arrested, officials said.
Aja Brooks shared a link.
PAKISTAN IS BITCHING ABOUT DRONES, BUT AFTER NOT PREVENTING HARBOR OF BIN LADEN PROPAGANDA CENTER, THEY BETTER BE GLAD WE DID NOT DO ALL OF PAKISTAN IN, BUT USE DRONES INSTEADhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/05/us-drone-targeted-al-qaida-deputy
US drone targeted al-Qaida deputy
www.guardian.co.uk
Abu Yahia al-Libi, seen as al-Qaida's second in command, was the target of the CIA drone strike, according to US sources
Panetta visits Afghanistan amid violence, expresses frustration with Pakistan
Published June 07, 2012FoxNews.com
- June 7, 2012: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is greeted by ISAF Commander Gen. John Allen and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Jennifer Griffin, Fox News)
"We are reaching the limits of our patience here," Panetta said during a joint press conference the Afghan defense minister.
A senior U.S. official acknowledged Thursday that the recent increase in drone strikes on insurgents in Pakistan is due in part to frustration with Islamabad. Despite pressure from U.S. commanders, Pakistan remains reluctant to go after insurgents, particularly the Haqqani network, which was likely responsible for recent deadly attacks on U.S. forces.
Panetta added that Pakistan must take action and that there is "an increasing concern that this safe haven exists," Panetta said. "It is very important that Pakistan take steps to deal with this threat."
Lawmakers from both parties have been urging the State Department to designate the Haqqani network a foreign terrorist organization.
Panetta's stop in Kabul caps two days of blunt commentary on Pakistan.
Panetta arrived in Afghanistan on Thursday to take stock of progress in the war and discuss plans for the troop drawdown, even as violence spiked in the south.
He acknowledged the increase in attacks in Afghanistan and that the insurgents appear to be much more organized. But he insisted that the overall level of violence was down, and that commanders had expected the uptick.
Panetta said he wants to get an assessment of the situation from the top U.S. commander, Marine Gen. John Allen, and see how confident he is about NATO's ability to confront the threats both from the Taliban and the Haqqani network.
"I think it's important to make sure we are aware of the kind of attacks they're going to engage in ... as we go through the rest of the summer," Panetta told reporters traveling with him during a stop in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday.
Panetta is arriving just a day after three suicide attackers blew themselves up in a marketplace in southern Afghanistan, killing 22 people and wounding at least 50 others. In the east, meanwhile, Afghan officials and residents said a predawn NATO airstrike targeting militants killed civilians celebrating a wedding, including women and children. A NATO forces spokesman said the coalition had no reports of civilians being killed in a raid.
Allen has to withdraw 23,000 American troops by the end of September, leaving about 68,000 U.S. military personnel in the country. Officials have said the bulk of the 23,000 probably will not come out until shortly before the deadline.
As those troops leave, Allen has said that Afghan forces will be used to fill in the gaps in the eastern and southwestern parts of the country. They will be buttressed by U.S. advisory teams that will work with the Afghan units.
Once the 23,000 U.S. troops depart, Allen is expected to review how the fighting season is going and then will begin to put together an analysis for President Barack Obama on how troop withdrawals will proceed next year.
Panetta also was scheduled to meet with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
The defense secretary also joked with troops at the Kabul airport about the U.S. strike that killed an Al Qaeda leader Monday, saying, "the worst job you can get these days is to be a deputy leader in Al Qaeda."
Fox News' Justin Fishel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/07/panetta-visits-afghanistan-to-discuss-plans-for-troop-drawdown-even-as-violence/#ixzz1x7eGhf1u
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Putin is now relinquishing commitments to #Assad http://news.yahoo.com/syria-bars-diplomats-gunships-action-141149177.html
Syria bars diplomats, gunships in action
news.yahoo.com
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's government banned 17 Western diplomats and its helicopter gunships pounded rebels in a coastal province on Tuesday as President Bashar al-Assad defied international pressure to halt the repression of an uprising against his rule. The declaration of diplomats from the Unite...
MEANWHILE......
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
Democrats, when you hid behind locked doors and passed Obamacare in an obscene display of corruption, you picked a war with America. #tcot
Retweeted by Tea Party Chief
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http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2012/06/05/meanwhile_americans_still_loathe_obamacare
Guy Benson - Meanwhile, Americans Still Loathe Obamacare
townhall.com
With all eyes trained on Wisconsin today, national Democrats and the White House are feverishly
- Scott Thompson likes this.
#Peach4SilentProtest #Queen #JubileeSpeech #Monica#InducteeSpeech #EricaByfield #CraigLucie &traffic reporter#impeach http://pic.twitter.com/moq021b
Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Thanksgiving Service At St Paul's Cathedral Begins With A Fanfare
PA/Huffington Post UK | Posted: 05/06/2012 11:36 Updated: 05/06/2012 13:46
The Queen's arrival in St Paul's Cathedral was heralded by a tremendous fanfare as Her Majesty entered the historic building for a thanksgiving service in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee.The new trumpet fanfare was written for the occasion and tailor-made for its performance space.
Inside Prime Minister David Cameron and the Prince of Wales were among the famous figures from home and abroad who had gathered to pay tribute. The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled in a nude lace dress, her stylish hat adding an energetic flair to her well-chosen outfit.
KATE’S DRESS WAS PEACH.....
CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF KATE'S SHOW-STEALING MCQUEEN DRESS
Prince William and Kate arrived together, the Duchess of Cambridge in an Alexander McQueen dressand matching hat.
Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs composed the 50-second tune - called Jubilate - and incorporated the cathedral's nine-second echo into the piece.
Crowds gathered as dignitaries paid tribute to the Queen at St Paul's
But the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen's companion throughout her reign, was absent after being admitted to hospital yesterday with a bladder infection.
Crowds began congregating in The Mall from early morning in anticipation of the glittering carriage procession which featured the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Around the precincts of the Cathedral spectators had gathered to see the arrival of the senior members of the Royal Family.
Princess Beatrice arriving at St Paul's Cathedral
The absence of Philip from today's events means Charles and Camilla will now join the Queen in the 1902 State Landau for the procession.
The Queen wore an outfit of fine silk tulle, embroidered with tiny mint green star-shaped flowers embellished with silver thread.
It featured a mint green chiffon drape, scattered with Swarovski crystals on the shoulders.
The crown of the hat was covered in the same tulle and was also draped in mint green chiffon and Swarovski crystals.
The Queen wore a mint green outfit for Tuesday's celebrations
The royals and senior clergy processed through the cathedral but the Queen walked by herself at its rear, behind the Lord Mayor bearing the Pearl Sword.
The seating arrangements had changed and instead of sitting at the very front on her own, the Queen was joined by her eldest son, Charles, on her right.
When everyone had taken their seats, the Very Reverend David Ison, Dean of St Paul's, told the congregation: "We come to this Cathedral Church today to give thanks to almighty God for the prosperous reign of the Queen and to rejoice together in this year of Her Majesty's Jubilee as we celebrate 60 years of her sovereignty and service.
"As we come together as loyal subjects from all parts of the Realms and Commonwealth of Nations, we give thanks for the blessings bestowed by God on our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth, and we celebrate the identity and variety which our nations under her have enjoyed."
During an extended Bank Holiday weekend her 60-year reign has been marked by a serious of spectacular national events - a River Thames pageant watched by more than a million people and a music concert last night where a host of famous names performed.
But today the life of the head of the Church of England was being honoured in a religious context through prayers and hymns.
It was announced this morning that the Queen will give a message of thanks for this weekend's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in a special address to be broadcast this evening.
The address, lasting just over two minutes, was recorded in the Presence Room in Buckingham Palace yesterday before the Jubilee Concert.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was giving the thanksgiving sermon at St Paul's Cathedral today, paying tribute to the Queen's lifelong dedication to her nation.
"To declare a lifelong dedication is to take a huge risk... but it is also to respond to the promise of a vision that brings joy."
In recent days the Archbishop, who will step down from his post in December, has spoken about his experiences of the monarch, highlighting not just her insight and judgment but also her "real personality".
Reflecting fondly on their one-to-one meetings, the Archbishop said: "I found in the Queen someone who can be friendly, who can be informal, who can be extremely funny in private - and not everybody appreciates just how funny she can be - who is quite prepared to tease and to be teased, and who, while retaining her dignity always, doesn't stand on her dignity in a conversation."
The service was a religious acknowledgement of the life of the Queen who has reigned for 60 years and is head of the Church of England.
Take a look at pictures from Tuesday's Diamond Jubilee celebrations below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/05/queens-diamond-jubilee-th_n_1570088.html?just_reloaded=1#s=1057428
I MIGHT ADD HERE THAT 60 YEARS OF PEACE FOR THE QUEEN HAS LEAD TO SOME SERIOUS FASHION EXHIBITION IN A PEACETIME ECONOMY.....
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WE CREATE JOBS !!
STATE-BY-STATE STRATEGIC UNEMPLOYMENT REDUCTION PLAN:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L2ZmGM-izViR2QkN_RRhV9lG82z-n7VZcUpetHQi2F0/edit
30 STATES IN 30 WEEKS: http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm
TEA PARTY SLATES REDUCING FEDERAL WORKFORCE 1/5, REPEAL BY INJUNCTION TO HIRE WITHOUT OBAMACARE, 30 STATE UNEMPLOYMENT REDUCTION STRATEGY BY RETURNING 30 MILLION-150 MILLION ON FEDERAL PAYROLL TO PRIVATE SECTOR WITH GRANTS TO HIRE AND CREATE JOBS...
Federal, state, local employees 150 million relieved to work in private sector/create small businesses
http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm #30states30weeks
WEEKLY TEA PARTY NEWSLETTER FEATURES 1 STATE PER WEEK,
AS ROMNEY TAKES 1 STATE PER WEEK, FOR 30 WEEKS
TEA PARTY BUDGET $2.5 TRILLION ANNUAL REVENUE http://lnk.ms/Wb6nV
The Tea Party is here to REFORM and REVOLUTIONIZE -- D.C. - 37 fed pgms. to be cut/govt. employees don't contribute as private sector employees: it takes 5 private sector employees to fund one govt. employee=Tea Party to shrink federal workforce 150 million employees to private sector.... 150 million federal employees need to get a federal grant NOW, and start your OWN small business, BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR JOB TO CUTS !!!!
CURRENT STATES’ CREDIT RATINGS:
CONSENSUS SEEMS TO BE THE EASIEST WAY TO FIX OUR ECONOMY:
1) REPEAL OBAMACARE AND REPLACE WITH HSA’s
2) REPEAL DODD-FRANK, REPEAL OTHER REGULATIONS, AND REPLACE THEM WITH GRANTS AND TAX CREDITS TO GIVE SMALL BUSINESSES ABILITY TO HIRE, BECAUSE SMALL BUSINESSES DID NOT MAKE ENOUGH OR ARE UNABLE TO COMPLY WITH OBAMACARE LAW OR TAX INCREASES, FOR FEAR OF LOSING THEIR BUSINESS.
3) CONGRESS COMMITTED TO TAX REFORM
***MAY I ALSO NOTE THAT SINCE WE FOCUSED ON CALIFORNIA LAST WEEK, THAT CALIFORNIA IN THE WAKE OF THE WISCONSIN RECALL ELECTION BEING THWARTED THAT THEY TOO, WOULD USE PENSION REFORM TO DEAL WITH THEIR UNGODLY DEFICIT. AS SUCH, THEY SHOULD. STATES ARE SUPPOSED TO FUNCTION AS MODELS SO THAT WE MAY LEARN WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T, AND THEN DO WHAT DOES WORK TO CORRECT THE PROBLEMS.
Two California cities vote overwhelmingly for public-pension reform - Hot Air
hotair.com
Two California cities vote overwhelmingly for public-pension reform
THIS WEEK, WE FOCUS ON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, RANKED 48TH:
STRATEGY:
1) ANALYZE D.C.’S ECONOMIC CAPABILITY/ECONOMIC PROFILE: (this includes natural resources, state government budget, and crime rate)
ECONOMIC PROFILE: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.dc.htm
NATURAL RESOURCES: LOTS OF PEOPLE http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/contact
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a federal district to become the national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The District is therefore not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846.
A new capital city named after George Washington was founded in 1791 to the east of the preexisting port of Georgetown. Congress consolidated the City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area within the District under a single municipal government in 1871. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, located on the country's Pacific coast.
30 STATES IN 30 WEEKS: http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm
TEA PARTY SLATES REDUCING FEDERAL WORKFORCE 1/5, REPEAL BY INJUNCTION TO HIRE WITHOUT OBAMACARE, 30 STATE UNEMPLOYMENT REDUCTION STRATEGY BY RETURNING 30 MILLION-150 MILLION ON FEDERAL PAYROLL TO PRIVATE SECTOR WITH GRANTS TO HIRE AND CREATE JOBS...
Federal, state, local employees 150 million relieved to work in private sector/create small businesses
http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm #30states30weeks
WEEKLY TEA PARTY NEWSLETTER FEATURES 1 STATE PER WEEK,
AS ROMNEY TAKES 1 STATE PER WEEK, FOR 30 WEEKS
TEA PARTY BUDGET $2.5 TRILLION ANNUAL REVENUE http://lnk.ms/Wb6nV
The Tea Party is here to REFORM and REVOLUTIONIZE -- D.C. - 37 fed pgms. to be cut/govt. employees don't contribute as private sector employees: it takes 5 private sector employees to fund one govt. employee=Tea Party to shrink federal workforce 150 million employees to private sector.... 150 million federal employees need to get a federal grant NOW, and start your OWN small business, BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR JOB TO CUTS !!!!
CURRENT STATES’ CREDIT RATINGS:
Comparison of Other States' General Obligation Bond Ratings
State
|
Fitch
|
Moody's
|
S&P
|
| Alabama | AA+ | Aa1 | AA |
| Alaska | AA+ | Aaa | AAA |
| Arizona | NR | NR | NR |
| Arkansas | NR | Aa1 | AA |
| California | A- | A1 | A- |
| Colorado | NR | NR | NR |
| Connecticut | AA | Aa3 | AA |
| Delaware | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| Florida | AAA | Aa1 | AAA |
| Georgia | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| Hawaii | AA | Aa2 | AA |
| Idaho | NR | NR | NR |
| Illinois | A | A2 | A+ |
| Indiana | NR | NR | NR |
| Iowa | NR | NR | NR |
| Kansas | NR | NR | NR |
| Kentucky | NR | NR | NR |
| Louisiana | AA | Aa2 | AA |
| Maine | AA+ | Aa2 | AA |
| Maryland | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| Massachusetts | AA+ | Aa1 | AA+ |
| Michigan | AA- | Aa2 | AA- |
| Minnesota | AA+ | Aa1 | AA+ |
| Mississippi | AA+ | Aa2 | AA |
| Missouri | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| Montana | AA+ | Aa1 | AA |
| Nebraska | NR | NR | NR |
| Nevada | AA+ | Aa2 | AA |
| New Hampshire | AA+ | Aa1 | AA |
| New Jersey | AA- | Aa3 | AA- |
| New Mexico | NR | Aaa | AA+ |
| New York | AA | Aa2 | AA |
| North Carolina | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| North Dakota | NR | NR | NR |
| Ohio | AA+ | Aa1 | AA+ |
| Oklahoma | AA+ | Aa2 | AA+ |
| Oregon | AA+ | Aa1 | AA+ |
| Pennsylvania | AA+ | Aa1 | AA |
| Rhode Island | AA | Aa2 | AA |
| South Carolina | AAA | Aaa | AA+ |
| South Dakota | NR | NR | NR |
| Tennessee | AAA | Aaa | AA+ |
| Texas | AAA | Aaa | AA+ |
| Utah | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| Vermont | AAA | Aaa | AA+ |
| Virginia | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| Washington | AA+ | Aa1 | AA+ |
| West Virginia | AA+ | Aa1 | AA |
| Wisconsin | AA | Aa2 | AA |
| Wyoming | NR | NR | NR |
| TOTAL STATES RATED: | 37 | 39 | 39 |
CONSENSUS SEEMS TO BE THE EASIEST WAY TO FIX OUR ECONOMY:
1) REPEAL OBAMACARE AND REPLACE WITH HSA’s
2) REPEAL DODD-FRANK, REPEAL OTHER REGULATIONS, AND REPLACE THEM WITH GRANTS AND TAX CREDITS TO GIVE SMALL BUSINESSES ABILITY TO HIRE, BECAUSE SMALL BUSINESSES DID NOT MAKE ENOUGH OR ARE UNABLE TO COMPLY WITH OBAMACARE LAW OR TAX INCREASES, FOR FEAR OF LOSING THEIR BUSINESS.
3) CONGRESS COMMITTED TO TAX REFORM
***MAY I ALSO NOTE THAT SINCE WE FOCUSED ON CALIFORNIA LAST WEEK, THAT CALIFORNIA IN THE WAKE OF THE WISCONSIN RECALL ELECTION BEING THWARTED THAT THEY TOO, WOULD USE PENSION REFORM TO DEAL WITH THEIR UNGODLY DEFICIT. AS SUCH, THEY SHOULD. STATES ARE SUPPOSED TO FUNCTION AS MODELS SO THAT WE MAY LEARN WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T, AND THEN DO WHAT DOES WORK TO CORRECT THE PROBLEMS.
Aja Brooks shared a link.
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/06/06/two-california-cities-vote-overwhelmingly-for-public-pension-reform/Two California cities vote overwhelmingly for public-pension reform - Hot Air
hotair.com
Two California cities vote overwhelmingly for public-pension reform
THIS WEEK, WE FOCUS ON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, RANKED 48TH:
STRATEGY:
1) ANALYZE D.C.’S ECONOMIC CAPABILITY/ECONOMIC PROFILE: (this includes natural resources, state government budget, and crime rate)
ECONOMIC PROFILE: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.dc.htm
NATURAL RESOURCES: LOTS OF PEOPLE http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/contact
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a federal district to become the national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The District is therefore not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846.
A new capital city named after George Washington was founded in 1791 to the east of the preexisting port of Georgetown. Congress consolidated the City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area within the District under a single municipal government in 1871. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, located on the country's Pacific coast.
Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 617,996 in 2011. The city was the24th most populous place in the United States as of 2010. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's population to over one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of nearly 5.6 million, the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country.
The centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are located in the District, as are many of the nation's monuments and museums. Washington, D.C., hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The headquarters of many other institutions such as trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups, and professional associations are also located in the city.
The District is governed by a locally elected mayor and 13-member city council. However, the United States Congress has supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. Residents therefore have less self-governance than residents of the U.S. states. The District has a non-voting, at-large Congressional delegate, but no senators. D.C. residents could not vote in presidential elections until the ratification of the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1961.
STATE GOVERNMENT REVENUE/BUDGET - TOURISM AND RELOCATING SUFFERING FROM D.C. BEING A GANG HUB
D.C. asks for more money to help close Metro's deficit
Washington Business Journal
Date: Friday, March 2, 2012, 2:22am EST
Muriel Bowser
D.C. Councilwoman Muriel Bowser sent a letter this week to Mayor Vincent Gray requesting more money to help fund Metro and close its $116 million deficit for fiscal year 2013, The Washington Post reported.
Bowser said in the letter than Metro's "long overdue maintenance and capital programs," as well as getting ready for the new Silver Line through Tysons Corner to Reston, are efforts that have "large costs." Metro General Manager Richard Sarles has proposed increasing fares for riders on rail and bus, and is asking the three area jurisdictions for more money to close the deficit, according to The Post.
Read More at
The Washington PostRelated:
Banking & Financial Services, Commercial Real Estate, Travel, Logistics & Transportation, D.C., Fairfax County, RestonDEFICIT -
| District of Columbia | 0 | $172 million | $172 million | 2.7% |
SEE CHART AND ALL OTHER STATES: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=711
2) COORDINATE WITH STATE LEADERSHIP: (employment agencies, state government budget balancing, crime reduction/community prevention)
D.C. IS RIDDLED WITH GANG ACTIVITY, DESPITE TOUGHER GUN RESTRICTIONS... IT’S LIKE, WHAT CAME FIRST: THE GUNS OR THE GANGS? WELL RESTRICTING THE GUNS HAS NOT RESTRICTED THE GANGS....
Crime
Main article: Crime in Washington, D.C.See also: Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
Crime in Washington, D.C., is concentrated in areas associated with poverty, drug abuse, and gangs. A 2010 study found that 5% of city blocks contributed to over one-quarter of the District's total crime.[99] The more affluent neighborhoods of Northwest Washington are typically safe, but reports of violent crime increase in poorer neighborhoods generally concentrated in the eastern portion of the city.[99]Approximately 60,000 residents are ex-convicts.[100]
Washington was often described as the "murder capital" of the United States during the early 1990s.[101] The number of murders peaked in 1991 at 479, but the level of violence then began to decline drastically. By 2011, Washington's annual murder count dropped to 108, the lowest total since 1963.[102] Many neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights and Logan Circle are becoming safer and vibrant. However, incidents of robberies and thefts have remained higher in these areas due to increased nightlife activity and greater numbers of affluent residents.[103] While instances of property crime remain high, patterns of theft continue to disperse to the north and east of downtown.[104] City-wide reports of violent and property crimes have both declined by half since 1993.[105]
On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the city's 1976 handgun ban violated the Second Amendment right to gun ownership.[106] However, the ruling does not prohibit all forms of gun control; laws requiring firearm registration remain in place, as does the city's assault weapon ban.[107]
LOCAL CITY PROGRAMS SERVE THE UNINSURED, NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
Over 90% of D.C. residents have health insurance coverage; the second-highest rate in the nation. This is due in part to city programs that help provide insurance to low-income individuals who do not qualify for other types of coverage.[97] A 2009 report found that at least 3% of District residents have HIV or AIDS, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) characterizes as a "generalized and severe" epidemic.[98]
3) CREATE LOCAL JOBS AND ATTRACT INVESTORS: (DETERMINE IMMEDIATE JOB GROWTH AREAS AND ABILITY TO REPAY FEDERAL LOANS) TOURISM, POLITICS, CULTURE, ARTS, SPORTS, MEDIA
Economy
See also: Category:Companies based in Washington, D.C. and Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Washington has a growing, diversified economy with an increasing percentage of professional and business service jobs.[108] The gross state product of the District in 2010 was $103.3 billion, which would rank it No. 34 compared to the 50 U.S. states.[109] The gross product of the Washington Metropolitan Area was $425 billion in 2010, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan economy in the United States.[110] As of June 2011, the Washington Metropolitan Area had an unemployment rate of 6.2%; the second-lowest rate among the 49 largest metro areas in the nation.[111] The District of Columbia itself had an unemployment rate of 9.8% during the same time period.[112]
Eastern Market on Capitol Hill houses food vendors and artisan stalls.
In 2012, the federal government accounted for about 29% of the jobs in Washington, D.C.[113] This is thought to immunize Washington to national economic downturns because the federal government continues operations even during recessions.[114] As 2011, federal employees in the Washington area comprised 15% of the total U.S. government workforce.[115] Many organizations such as law firms, independent contractors (both defense and civilian), non-profit organizations, lobbying firms, trade unions, industry trade groups, and professional associations have their headquarters in or near D.C. to be close to the federal government.[70]The District has growing industries not directly related to government, especially in the areas of education, finance, public policy, and scientific research. Georgetown University, George Washington University, Washington Hospital Center, Children's National Medical Center and Howard University are the top five non-government-related employers in the city as of 2009.[116] According to statistics compiled in 2011, four of the largest 500 companies in the country were located in the District.[117]
Washington became the leader in foreign real estate investment in 2009, ahead of both London and New York City, in a survey of the top 200 global development companies.[118] In 2006, Expansion Magazine ranked D.C. among the top ten areas in the nation favorable to business expansion.[119] Despite the national economic crisis and housing price downturn, Washington ranked second on theForbes list of the best long-term housing markets in the country.[120]
CREDIT RATING:
D.C. Credit Rating Has A “Negative” Outlook Essentially For Being In D.C.
The perks of being the home of the federal government just don't stop coming. According to Moody's, an international credit rating agency, the District's credit rating now has a negative outlook. Thanks to "unique exposure, as the nation's capital, to federal government downsizing and the risk that such a downsizing could have on the finances of the District," the city's AA2 credit rating could fall in the future.Moody's also lists as a "challenge" the very way the District is forced to operate: "Constrained ability to access its tax base, due to large proportion of federal and other tax-exempt property, and congressional prohibition on taxing incomes of non-resident commuters."
Thanks, Congress!
E-mail Shani Hilton • Follow shani_o on Twitter
Moody’s Places U.S. On Review For Downgrade As Debt Talks Stall
By John Detrixhe - Jul 13, 2011 6:01 PM ETMoody’s Investors Service put the U.S. under review for a credit rating downgrade as talks to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt limit stall, adding to concern that political gridlock will lead to a default.
The Aaa ratings of financial institutions directly linked to the U.S. government, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Banks, and the Federal Farm Credit Banks, were also put on review for cuts, Moody’s said in a statement today.
The National Debt Clock is shown in New York, on April 19, 2011. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital, talks about the outlook for Federal Reserve policy and the U.S. economy. He speaks with Carol Massar and Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Blitz, a senior economist at ITG Investment Research, and Joseph McAlinden, chief investment officer at Catalpa Capital LLC, talk about negotiations between lawmakers over raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Moody’s Investors Service put the U.S. under review for a credit rating downgrade as talks to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt limit stall. Blitz and McAlinden also discuss the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy. They speak with Pimm Fox on Bloomberg Television's "Taking Stock." (Source: Bloomberg)
Young Americans for Liberty club member Tony Burke, center, asks UC Irvine students to sign a petition to congress protesting the national debt on April 5, 2011 in Irvine, Calif. Photographer: Jebb Harris/Orange County Register/AP
The U.S., rated Aaa since 1917, was put on review for the first time since 1995 on concern the debt limit will not be raised in time to prevent a missed payment of interest or principal on outstanding bonds and notes even though the risk remains low, Moody’s said. The rating would likely be reduced to the Aa range and there is no assurance that Moody’s would return its top rating even if a default is quickly cured.“It certainly underscores the importance of passing the debt ceiling and not putting us in default status, and making sure there’s a longer term fiscal plan to contain spending and the deficit we’ve been running up over the last few years,” said Anthony Cronin, a Treasury bond trader at Societe General SA in New York, one of the 20 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve. “Maybe it’s the impetus to say we’ll need more of a concession.”
Dollar, Bonds
The dollar weakened and Treasuries were little changed after the Moody’s statement. IntercontinentalExchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six U.S. trading partners, including the euro, yen and pound, slid for a second day, shedding 1.1 percent.The 10-year note yield was little changed at 2.88 percent at 5:31 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices, after increasing earlier as much as eight basis points to 2.96 percent. The yield dropped to 2.81 percent yesterday, the lowest since Dec. 1. The price of the 3.125 percent security due in May 2021 declined 1/32, or 31 cents per $1,000 face amount, to 102 2/32.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said he has taken steps to prevent a federal default until Aug. 2, using accounting measures that involve two retirement funds. The U.S. reached its borrowing limit on May 16.
The Moody’s announcement is a “timely reminder” and that Congress must “move quickly” to avoid default, the Treasury said in a statement today.
Debt Talks
“What we’re looking for is a raising of the limit. It doesn’t matter the process that they get there,” Steven Hess, the senior credit officer at Moody’s in New York, said in a telephone interview. “The rating outlook will be determined by the longer-term debt trajectory.”Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a “last choice option” yesterday that effectively would grant President Barack Obama power to raise the debt limit in installments. McConnell’s plan would let the president raise the limit in three stages unless Congress disapproves by a two-thirds majority, while Obama would also be required to propose offsetting spending cuts. The spending reductions would be advisory, and the debt-ceiling increase would occur regardless of whether lawmakers enact the cuts.
“I think it reflects what we all know -- that this is a serious time and serious discussions and we can’t continue to have people not contribute to solving this problem,” said Senator Patty Murrayof Washington, the No. 4 Democratic leader in the chamber.
Boehner Reaction
“As Speaker Boehner has warned for months, if the White House does not take action soon to address our nation’s debt crisis by reining in spending, the markets may do it for us,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio. “This action by Moody’s today reinforces the Speaker’s warning.”Standard & Poor’s put the U.S. government on notice on April 18 that it risks losing its AAA credit rating unless policy makers agree on a plan by 2013 to reduce budget deficits and the national debt. The firm said at the time that there’s a one-in-three chance that the rating might be cut within two years and that its “baseline assumption” is that Congress and the Obama administration will come to terms on a plan to reduce record deficits.
S&P would lower its sovereign top-level AAA ranking to D, the last rung on its scale if the U.S. can’t pay its payments because of a failure to raise the debt ceiling, John Chambers, chairman of the company’s sovereign rating committee, said June 30. Moody’s said it would probably assign a position in the Aa range, or within three steps of its highest level.
The U.S. is among 17 countries, from Australia to Canada to Switzerland, rated Aaa by Moody’s. S&P gives 18 countries its top ranking.
To contact the reporter on this story: John Detrixhe in New York at jdetrixhe1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net
4) ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRACKING PROGRESS: (DELEGATION OF DUTIES, CONTRIBUTIONS AND ORCHESTRATION BY LEADERSHIP, CUMULATIVE RESULTS)
THESE DUTIES ARE DELEGATED TO HOUSE REP. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON.
http://www.norton.house.gov/
CONTRIBUTIONS BY REPUBLICAN/TEA PARTY LEADERSHIP: TEA PARTY CHIEF AJA BROOKS RECORDS AND UPDATES REPORTS FOR MITT ROMNEY, GOVERNOR PERRY ASSISTS WITH STATE OFFICES, AND RICK SANTORUM IS DESIGNATED TO SPEAK REGARDING THESE MATTERS, AS IS THE ROMNEY CAMPAIGN.
RESULTS: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MAY NEED NEW LEADERSHIP, AND WE ALL KNOW OBAMA DOESN’T NEED TO BE PRESIDENT!
@RobbieCooper Kerry is under threat of censure for continuing to discuss Obamacare though most of it has been repealed and found displeasing
@RobbieCooper Obama has been impeached: his Executive Order Power has been arrested and redelegated in authority to McCain and Kerry.
@ChrisCoons THEN PASS A BUDGET AND PASS THE JOBS BILLS !!!!
4h
Laurie Bailey @LaurieBailey
Senate spent at least $381k since 2011 printing feel-good declarations http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/06/senate-spent-at-least-381k-since-2011-printing-feel-good-declarations/
@moranforkansas THANK YOU : DEFICIT IS HOLDING BACK OUR ECONOMIC GROWTH! IT'S THIS SUMMER OR WE'RE SCREWED !! WOMEN START SMALL BUSINESSES!
THANK YOU @SenatorMoran THE DEFICIT IS HOLDING BACK OUR ECONOMIC GROWTH! IT'S THIS SUMMER OR WE'RE SCREWED !! WOMEN START SMALL BUSINESSES!
@SenatorDurbin American people are pissed: they see Senate not doing a damn thing and getting paid to do NO WORK, and they're on food stamps
@SenatorDurbin WE WOULD NOT BE WORRIED ABOUT POVERTY HAD THE SENATE WRITTEN A BUDGET AND WOULD BE PASSING JOB BILLS ---- CUT YOUR OWN PAY!!!
to read the whole post, go here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aMGJINGeEwxkP9SYpzTNmhNd_UWDTxm8_3H9a0EJfRA/edit#
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