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Excuse Me While I WHIP THIS OUT!

post from HIT THE BOBBY STURGELL "EJECT" BUTTON on 20 November 2009 01:14:00 PM. © HIT THE BOBBY STURGELL "EJECT" BUTTON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Friday, November 20, 2009
Contact: Quiet Rockland, 1-845-480-1088

FAA NADIN COMPUTER CRASH IS MISGUIDEDLY BLAMED ON PARTS NOT PEOPLE
QRNewswire/Rockland County, NY:

From Quiet Rockland Attorney John J. Tormey III, Esq.: ?Regrettably but predictably, this week?s FAA recidivist inability to maintain its own flight-control equipment has already been mischaracterized by special interests seeking to further their own political agendas ? including mischaracterization by New York Senator Charles Schumer.

?The self-dealing touts would have you believe that the solution to FAA management incompetence is to throw US$35,000,000,000 more of YOUR dollars at the problem in the form of an ill-conceived 2009 FAA Reauthorization Bill (S. 1451/HR 915). By their logic, because 1,000 monkeys have trouble writing ?Hamlet? on Smith Corona typewriters, we should buy each monkey a Gateway 700XL instead.

?FAA?s failure is the failure of humans. Corrupted humans. Not corrupted files. The failures include an FAA ?Administrator? named Randy Babbitt - college drop-out and dim political hack. A ?COO? UAL plant named Hank Krakowski who led a fellow stunt-pilot to his death in Illinois in 1999. A drama major-now-?Redesign Project Manager? named Steven Ray Kelley who helped snuff out 6 innocent lives in a mid-air 2-plane crash over New Jersey in 1985.

?Yet other humans have let us down, too. Almost a full year after an Administration change, the remainder of the federal government has still failed to effect the timely thorough Oberstar-urged ?Top-To-Bottom? clean-out of inept vampiric FAA personnel still lurking the halls of 800 Independence. These residual aeromercantile malefactors are vestiges of the failed Marion Blakey/Bobby Sturgell era of revolving-door cozy relationship between agency and industry. After Thursday?s NADIN debacle, the American people are once again reminded that the ?regulator? and the ?regulated? are still one ? and that they still suck. Now they want to use their own incompetence as the pretextual basis to suck-out US$35 Billion more of your American dollars. That?s THEIR bail-out. That?s THEIR stimulus.

?We were promised change. Yet our current landscape is populated by invisible federal judicial appointments at standstill, medical panels providing harmful misinformation regarding cancer screenings, banking regulators who cannot explain why bonus-babies are high-fiving each other on Wall Street, slip-of-the-tongue law enforcement officials promising terrorist death-penalties before the trial commences, and Sturgell-hangover FAA personnel who can do nothing but fulfill their infamous Tombstone Agency culture by mishandling systems and technology thereby risking the death of innocent Americans. We again urge Congress and the federal government to terminate S. 1451, say ABSOLUTELY NO! to the requested US$35 Billion Dollars of wasted FAA Reauthorization money, and fire feckless FAA management en masse. Let Randy Babbitt and his pack of fellow agency imposters now step aside in favor of responsible professionals who can actually regulate professionalism, and who can actually remember where they left the keys to the tech-room!?
http://www.faafollies.com/?p=1510#comments
http://gettheflick.blogspot.com/2009/11/broken-pieces-of-puzzle.html
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Read The Full Article:
http://ejectsturgell.blogspot.com/2009/11/excuse-me-while-i-whip-this-out.html

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The Week in Health and Fitness

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 20 November 2009 01:12:56 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

I have been posting the links to articles about health, fitness and nutrition, along with healthy recipes in ek hornbeck's daily news round up. Since life is now making greater demands on my time both on and off line, I thought a weekly separate essay at[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/GNteN39DVVc/the-week-in-health-and-f
itness

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Fix Needed for State Opt-Out Provision of Public
Option

post from TalkLeft on 20 November 2009 01:04:00 PM. © TalkLeft

McJoan at Daily Kos explains what needs to be fixed in the Senate version of the public option in the health care bill: It's the date on which the states can opt out. First,

There's no requirement of a waiting period before states can opt out, which in this political environment means the battle is taken directly to the states, because insurers will have until 2014 to get state legislatures to pass those laws. That could lead to as much as a third of country being left out, according to CBO estimates [pdf] (h/t Jon Walker).

[More...]

Here's the current language:

(3)STATE OPT OUT.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may elect to prohibit Exchanges in such State from offering a community health insurance option if such State enacts a law to provide for such prohibition.

(B) TERMINATION OF OPT OUT.—A State may repeal a law described in subparagraph (A) and provide for the offering of such an option through the Exchange.

By 2014, states will have had plenty of time to pass legislation opting out, which means the public option won't ever go into effect in them.

McJoan says:

Changing the opt-out date is an amendment waiting to happen when this bill hits the Senate floor (probably) early next week, and a barring a fix there, a priority for conferees when we finally get to that point.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/uAXlk_5Me_0/1689

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Open Planet

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 20 November 2009 01:00:48 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/LWx1D9U_MMs/open-planet

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Size Does Matter for Fox News and Conservatives

post from Crooks and Liars on 20 November 2009 01:00:43 PM. © Crooks and Liars

DOWNLOADS: (62)
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The new talking point by Fox News and conservatives who are attacking health care reform is to complain about the size of the bill. Last night on Greta Van Susteren's show, for instance, Sen. Orrin Hatch tried to tell us that the very size of the bill ensured that it would be a bad thing. Of course, most appropriations bills are bigger than this thing, and Hatch has not only voted for but sponsored his share of those. Maybe he'd find it acceptable if it were printed on golden tablets or something.

How desperate are they? Very f*&king desperate. The Democrats made a smart move by comparing it to Sarah Palin's book:

There are a lot of analogies floating around about how the Senate health care bill compares in size to other notable writings. Republicans have been hyping them all day.
Here's a new one from the Democratic arsenal: Sarah Palin's book, which runs 413 pages.
"This bill if you put in regular type style is about the same size as Sarah Palin's book," said Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska). "So it is not that big. There is a lot of show and tell and razzmatazz."
Which would be a better read?
"Depends if you want substance or not," he said.
Looks like the Palin line is a Democratic talking point. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told a gaggle of reporters the same thing Wednesday night.

Conservatives were running around trying to wrap the entire bill around DC or something during the House debate.

Fox News jumped in with their usual conservative spin.

Today, Fox News' Live Desk continued the House Republican caucus and Politico's silly obsession with the length and size of the House health care reform bill. During a span of less than 45 minutes, co-host Trace Gallagher repeatedly told viewers the health care reform bill is so long, it makes the Russian novel War and Peace "look like a short story."

This is the time of the day where Rupert Murdoch says Fox News is in its actual "news cycle." If that's true, then why are they actively attacking the length of health care bill? Why does the page count matter to a news organization? Would they rather have a three-page bill handed over to them the way Paulsen did when he asked for $700 billion for Bush?

And Sen. Tom Coburn won't read the health care bill on the floor Saturday.

Republican Senator Tom Coburn is backing off his threat to require that the Senate read the 2,074-page health care bill because some GOP colleagues aren't supporting the effort.
The Oklahoma lawmaker said there's uncertainty about whether reading the bill during Thanksgiving week would be productive. He also said that if the Republicans do decide to tie up the Senate for the dozens of hours it would take, six GOP colleagues have committed to pitching in on reading duty.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/size-does-matter-fox-news-and-conservat

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Utah lawmaker claims he doesn’t
‘mind’ gays, but ‘I don’t want ‘em stuffing it down my throat all the time.’

post from Think Progress on 20 November 2009 01:00:00 PM. © Think Progress

Earlier this month, the Church of Latter Day Saints made headlines when it threw its support behind a measure in Salt Lake City that barred “landlords and employers from discriminating based on sexuality,” making it the first city in Utah to adopt the gay rights measure. Now, the Mormon Church is backing a similar statewide bill, enlisting the help of a variety of lawmakers to help get it passed. One such lawmaker is Sen. Chris Buttars (R), who, despite his adamant support for an earlier proposition that banned same-sex marriage, does believe that sexual orientation deserves protection from employer and landlord abuse. However, while explaining his opposition to allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, he told the press that while he doesn’t “mind” gays, he doesn’t want them “stuffing it down [his] throat all the time“:

BUTTARS: I meet with the gays here and there. They were in my house two weeks ago. I don’t mind gays. But I don’t want ‘em stuffing it down my throat all the time. Certainly not in my kid’s face.

Watch it:

video details and more

In the past, Buttars has said that gay men and women are “the greatest threat to America going down.” “I believe they will destroy the foundation of the American society,” he said in February. “In my mind, it’s the beginning of the end. ? Sodom and Gomorrah was localized. This is worldwide.” Last year, the NAACP called for his resignation because of his comments about a controversial bill: “This baby is black, I’ll tell you,” said Buttars. “This is a dark and ugly thing.”

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/20/utah-senator-shove-throat/

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An end-of-week tribute to Lou Dobbs (confidential
to L.D.: write if you get work!)

post from DownWithTyranny! on 20 November 2009 01:00:00 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

As Sweet Lou disappears in the rear-view mirror . . .

But let's not get too giddy. Our Lou has carved out a constituency among the underinformed and the misinformed. He knows how to whip up hysteria. That makes him a media icon. He'll be back. -- Ken
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http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/11/end-of-week-tribute-to-lou-dobbs.html

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US Session: Sterling Suffers On Dollar Rebound

post from Jutia Group on 20 November 2009 12:45:28 PM. © Jutia Group

G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USDJPY0.05EUR-0.44 CHF-0.53 GBP-0.86 There have been very few newsworthy events in today?s session, and even the handful of scheduled speakers lined up had very little effect on FX markets. The only driver therefore has been the performance of global equity markets; and with both European and US indices in negative territory, the USD has been able to make gains across the board. The hardest hit has been GBP which has tumbled over…Read More …

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jutiagroup/~3/vn6eYKjQXrI/

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Political Controversy Over Colorado U.S. Attorney
Selection

President Obama, upon the recommendation of Colorado's two U.S. Senators and others, has nominated former Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Villafuerte for Colorado U.S. Attorney.

Republicans are having a hissy-fit. The brouhaha is over the criminal case of former ICE agent Cory Voorhis. Voorhis was acquitted of misdemeanor charges that he improperly accessed the restricted NCIC database and passed information contained in it to Gov. Bill Ritter's then challenger, Bob Beauprez, who used it in an ad to attack Ritter as being soft on undocumented residents while District Attorney.

Voorhis' didn't deny accessing the database or passing the information on to the Beauprez campaign. His defense was that he did nothing wrong by doing so and that the charges were politically motivated. [More...]

Villafuerte, who was on a leave of absence from the DA's office and working for the Ritter campaign at the time the Beauprez ad came out, concluded from her search of publicly available databases, that the identity and immigration status of the defendant portrayed in the attack ad could only have come from the restricted NCIC database.

Without any evidence Villafuerte's account is inaccurate, and intent on making Voorhis a hero because of his allegiance to their cause (even though he did pass restricted information on to a political candidate), Republicans are now fighting to keep Villafuerte from being confirmed. Absent any evidence of wrongdoing, they are reduced to complaining she didn't answer questions about her actions to the media.

Villafuerte has now provided this detailed letter of her actions to Senators Udall and Bennett, who have tendered it to the Judiciary Committee.

My view: The complaints against Villafuerte are unfounded and the product of the radical right anti-immigration faction. Cory Voorhis is no hero. His actions may not have been criminal, but they were wrong. Federal criminal agents should not access restricted databases and pass their findings onto political campaigns.

As I wrote here, Villafuerte is qualified, principled and deserving of the job. The Republican attempt to stall her nomination should be seen for what it is, political maneuvering and a misguided attempt at payback.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/t26behV2qHo/37

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Goldman shareholders asking for bonus cuts

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 20 November 2009 12:33:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

I've been wondering how long it would take before shareholders turned on the excessive costs of payouts. With a forecasted average salary of over $700,000 per Goldman worker, it's not surprising that they are being called out first. With a cost of business like that, they better be delivering staggering numbers to shareholders. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes lately including a mild PR effort (surely prodded along by Warren Buffet) to improve their public image. Reining in this excess could also go a long way, even if it is going to be a small change. The Goldman name among Americans could hardly be any lower. Reuters:

Some of Goldman Sachs Group's largest shareholders have asked the company to cut the size of its bonus pool and pass along more of its profits to investors, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Although the shareholders are not pushing for a huge cut, they feel that Goldman should better reward shareholders for this year's rebound, the paper said.