Waiting for that animated 3-D version of The
Fountainhead, I guess

post from Firedoglake on 24 February 2012 04:30:04 AM. © Firedoglake

I guess when you have an audience of dozens yet have hours to fill and an order not to "outsmart" Fox & Friends eventually you settle into a theme of stupidity.[...]

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FINAL: Neutrinos not faster than light after all

post from US Politics | AMERICAblog News on 24 February 2012 03:00:29 AM. © US Politics | AMERICAblog News

It is not yet a fully confirmed result, but the faster than light neutrino anomaly appears to have been explained. The culprit? A loose cable. [Science Insider]:

Physicists had detected neutrinos travelling from the CERN laboratory in Geneva to the Gran Sasso laboratory near L'Aquila that appeared to make the trip in about 60 nanoseconds less than light speed. Many other physicists suspected that the result was due to some kind of error, given that it seems at odds with Einstein's special theory of relativity, which says nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. That theory has been vindicated by many experiments over the decades.

According to sources familiar with the experiment, the 60 nanoseconds discrepancy appears to come from a bad connection between a fiber optic cable that connects to the GPS receiver used to correct the timing of the neutrinos' flight and an electronic card in a computer. After tightening the connection and then measuring the time it takes data to travel the length of the fiber, researchers found that the data arrive 60 nanoseconds earlier than assumed. Since this time is subtracted from the overall time of flight, it appears to explain the early arrival of the neutrinos. New data, however, will be needed to confirm this hypothesis

It was always more likely than not that the result would be due to some sort of experimental error. Other measurements showed neutrinos moving at sub-light speeds. Back in the day such measurements were the basis of experiments to determine if neutrinos have mass.

Experimental physics is hard, often in ways that nobody could expect. One small detail can compromise an experiment people have spent a decade working on.

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Late Night Karaoke

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 24 February 2012 03:00:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

[...]

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Positive German Data Leads to a Boost for the
Euro

post from Jutia Group on 24 February 2012 02:11:52 AM. © Jutia Group

Source: ForexYard Positive German Data Leads to a Boost for the Euro

The euro reversed some of its recent losses yesterday, as positive German data sent investors to riskier assets throughout European trading. The EUR/USD went as high as 1.3340 before staging a downward correction during the afternoon session. Today, the US New Home Sales figure may generate some volatility to close out the week. Any increase in the home sales figure may lead to USD gains vs. other safe-haven currencies.

Economic News USD – Unemployment Claims Signal Continued Growth in US Labor Sector

The US dollar saw mild gains against several of its main currency rivals yesterday, following a positive Unemployment Claims figure that signaled continued growth . . . → Read More: Positive German Data Leads to a Boost for the Euro

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War On Women

post from jobsanger on 24 February 2012 01:07:00 AM. © jobsanger

The political posters above are from Political Loudmouth.

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Stock Market Better Under Dems Than GOP

post from jobsanger on 24 February 2012 01:06:00 AM. © jobsanger

The Republicans claim to be the party that best benefits Big Business and Wall Street. And Wall Street (along with the corporate moguls of Big Business) seem to have bought into that idea -- so much so that they are donating millions of dollars to super-PACs supporting Republican candidates. In January, the Republican superPACs revealed they had received about $47 million -- much of it from the finance and investment industry (Wall Street). From these numbers, it is quite obvious that Wall Street believes it would be best served by returning a Republican to the White House.

But this conventional wisdom that says the stock market is best served by having a Republican in the White House is simply not true. And it's not just a little bit untrue, it's a whole lot untrue. The Bloomberg News took a look at how the stock market has performed under both Republican and Democratic presidents. What they found was that the stock market performed much better under Democratic presidents. They looked at the last fifty years, since the presidency of John Kennedy -- and this is what they found:

* The sum of $1000 "invested in a hypothetical fund that tracks the Standard & Poor's 500 index only when Democrats are in the White House would have been worth $10,920" just a few days ago. That's a gain of about 992% in 23 years.

* That same $1000 "invested in a fund that followed the S&P 500 under Republican presidents . . . would have grown to $2087 on the day George W. Bush left office". That's a gain of about 109% in 28 years.

* Even adding in the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower doesn't bring the Republicans near the gain experienced under Democrats. That would increase the return under Republicans to $4796. That's a gain of about 380% in 36 years -- far less than half of the gain under Democrats in only 23 years.

* The annualized return for the 23 years under Democratic presidents is about 11%.

* The annualized return for the 28 years under Republican presidents is about 2.7%.

* If that $1000 were invested in a fund following the Dow Jones Industrial Average (instead of the S&P 500), the return under Democratic presidents would be $7550. That's a gain of about 655% over the 23 years.

* If that $1000 were invested in a fund following the Dow Jones Industrial Average under Republican presidents, the return would be $2716. That's a gain of about 172% over the 28 years.

This blows conventional thinking out of the water. We have always been told that the Democrats were better for the poor and working classes, while the Republicans were better for the investor class. But these figures show that Democratic administrations are better for everyone -- including the rich.

So why do the Wall Street bankers favor the Republicans. Because they aren't as bright as many think they are. They are only thinking about tax policy -- not in what is better for them in the long run. They think the lower taxes for the rich touted by Republicans would result in them having more money than under Democratic presidents with the current tax rate. But is that true?

Let's examine the figures using the current 35% top tax rate for Democratic administrations and a 28% tax rate (proposed by Romney) for Republican administrations, and see which would be best:

* The S&P 500 figure under Democrats had a gain of $9920. Taxed at a maximum rate of 35% would leave the investor with $6448 after taxes.

* The S&P 500 figure under Republicans had a gain of $1087. Taxed at the smaller rate of 28% would leave the investor with $783 after taxes.

* The DJIA figure under Democrats had a gain of $6550. Taxed at a rate of 35% would leave the investor with $4257.50 after taxes.

* The DJIA figure under Republicans had a gain of $1716. Taxed at the smaller rate of 28% would leave the investor with $1235.52 after taxes.

As is easily apparent, Wall Street investors would be much better off with a Democrat in the White House -- even if they had to pay a higher tax rate. They would still have more money in their bank accounts. And this would be true even if the Democrats eliminated the 15% capital gains tax rate (the rate that current stock gains would be taxed at).

The fact is that all classes in our society would be better off financially with Democrats in the White House -- whether poor, rich, or somewhere in between. That leads me to wonder -- why would anyone vote Republican?

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Leaning Right

post from jobsanger on 24 February 2012 01:05:00 AM. © jobsanger

Political Cartoon is by Joe Heller in the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

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More Good News For President Obama

Immediately after the elections of 2010 the prospects for Democrats in 2012 were looking pretty dim. The Republicans had taken the House of Representatives, and had their sights set on the Senate and the White House in 2012. The Democrats looked weak and disorganized, and some pundits were predicting even larger victories for the Republicans.

But things have radically changed since them. The Republicans destroyed their party's image with their unpopular actions in the Congress -- attempting to end Medicare, cut Social Security, give the rich more tax cuts, and blocking the president's efforts at job creation. This coupled with a weak presidential field of Republicans who seem determined to destroy each other, has put the Republicans on the defensive -- and on the wrong side of most issues important to Americans.

Now the Democrats have become much more enthused over the coming election, with their enthusiasm surpassing that of the Republicans for the first time in a couple of years. And it seems that there's more good news for President Obama and the Democrats with each passing week. This time, that good news comes in the form of a Gallup Poll that shows the president is much better liked among the general public than any of his possible Republican opponents. Here is what that poll shows:

FAVORABLE RATINGS OF CANDIDATES
President Obama...............50%
Mitt Romney...............39%
Ron Paul...............39%
Rick Santorum...............38%
Newt Gingrich...............26%

And as their nomination race tightens up, the Republicans continue to beat up on each other with negative advertising. That makes it unlikely the Republicans can hope to rehabilitate their image anytime soon. In fact, it will probably get even worse.

And the good news doesn't stop there. Arizona is one of those states that no one thought the president could carry in 2012. But that may not be true anymore. A new Public Policy Polling survey of Arizona voters show that state could well be within reach for President Obama. here are the latest numbers:

Obama...............46%
Santorum...............47%
Undecided...............7%

Obama...............47%
Romney...............47%
Undecided...............6%

Obama...............48%
Gingrich...............44%
Undecided...............8%

Obama...............46%
Paul...............42%
Undecided...............12%

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Missing Link

Political Cartoon is by Bill Day at caglecartoons.com.

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Latest State GOP Polls

Without comment, I bring you the latest polls for upcoming GOP primary states:

WXYZ/DETROIT FREE PRESS POLL (Michigan)
Rick Santorum...............37%
Mitt Romney...............34%
Ron Paul...............10%
Newt Gingrich...............7%
Undecided................12%

AMERICAN RESEARCH GROUP POLL (Michigan)
Rick Santorum...............38%
Mitt Romney...............34%
Ron Paul...............12%
Newt Gingrich...............7%
Other/Undecided...............9%

RASMUSSEN POLL (Oklahoma)
Rick Santorum...............43%
Newt Gingrich...............22%
Mitt Romney...............18%
Ron Paul...............7%
Other/Undecided...............9%

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