Leave it to liberal media to accentuate the hubris inherent in our politicans. Will they invoke the same debate tactic when we are in General Election? We can only hope, and we can only hope our candidate in that scenario is…Ron Paul. Because Obama will go same route as Romney and Gingrinch tonight, and Paul will make him look equally....well, silly.

Ah yes. A voice of reason among those who could not find it within themselves for the better part of the first half hour of this debate…to make it anything but about themselves. When given the minimal chance to speak however, Paul’s words connected. They had substance and real life solutions that are most important to ALL of us today. I’ll take quality over quantity ANY day. 

For the first half hour, Paul and Santorum were left out of the discussion, due to Brian Williams’ purposely leaving them out, and letting Romney and Gingrinch run the floor. It is the moderators job to, guess what…moderate. Williams did not control the candidates for the first half hour of this debate…he let it go on….and on…and on. His bad.

 Coming back from the first break, he tried to regroup, and let ALL candidates have some time…measured, but that very small window he gave Ron Paul, and yes even Santorum, made our “front runners” look small, and insignificant. Paul was the only one using common sense, and Americans as basis for his arguments tonight…and any night. Santorum was second on that in this debate. What else should we expect though from Brian Williams and NBC? They deliberately pitted Romney and Gingrinch against each other for some heartland conservative red meat…and it fell short. Gingrinch did not “play” tonight, and Romney never knew how to play.

Instead, most important questions for Floridians, and all of us were posed to Paul and Santorum…foreclosures, wars, and economy. Pauls answer on wars spending was loudest, and almost only applause I heard tonight. 

Terry Shiavo? Not to be insensitive, but do the millions of people in Florida out of jobs, in foreclosure, or upside down on their mortgages really hold this as top priority? Come on Brian. NASA? Florida needs it, but country as a whole has to heal first…do you reporters only care about your home state, or our country as a whole? Way to bait the Republican candidates Liberal media…I did like Gingrinch’s answer on private vs government funding though. 

In any case, this was by far the least enlightening debate of all of them. Stupid questions on candidate vs candidate as opposed to our Nations plight, and I wonder why ANYONE considers Brian Williams a serious Journalist. 

Romney, I believe you…you have been successful. I would pat you on the back, but your arm is in the way. Gingrinch, I believe you…you are the single reason for the collapse of the Soviet Empire, and why the Reagan years were so superficially great…I’d pat you too on the back, but your arm is in the way.

Ron Paul. I believe you…I will pat you on the back, because YOUR arm is NOT in the way.

Hubris…excessive pride always comes before a horrific fall. Our choice in this election…who we elect will most definitely define either our strength, or our fall.

People who are both "Pro" and "Anti' the goals of the Occupy Wall Street movement tend to have strong opinions-- but often these are based upon misconceptions rather than actual facts.

This is one of the best presentations I've seen re: the relevant issues-- so I would highly recommend actually watching the video before commenting on it.

Congress would never agree to Republican presidential front runner Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan. Cain’s bold tax plan would put Congress out of its tax-wheeling-and-dealing business, as pork-barrel-tax politics are their stock-in-trade.

 

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The proposal would replace the range of tax deductions for wealthy people, oil companies and other businesses that the president had proposed to end to offset the cost of the job-creation initiatives in his plan.

Democratic leaders said they hoped to bring the revised plan to the Senate floor next week for debate. But assuming they keep all of their votes, they would need at least seven Republicans to vote in favor of any effort just to start debate on the legislation.

 

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"It seems that old habits die hard for Bank of America. After years of raking in excess profits off an unfair and anti-competitive interchange system, Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad their profits by sticking it to its customers," Durbin said in a statement.

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Throughout modern economic history, whether in Western Europe in the 1920s, in the US and elsewhere in the 1930s, or in Japan in the 1990s, every major financial crisis-driven downturn has been followed by premature abandonment—if not reversal—of the macroeconomic stimulus policies that are necessary to sustained recovery.

 

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The U.S. House of Representatives unexpectedly defeated a bill that would fund the federal government past September 30 on Wednesday as dozens of Republicans broke with their party to push for deeper spending cuts. 

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As of September 2010, the Affordable Care Act allowed young adults up to the age of 26 to remain on their parents' health insurance plans. Previously, adult children could stay on their parents' plans only if they remained in college or lived in a state with laws similar to the Affordable Care Act. HHS estimated that 650,000 people would sign up for the new coverage.

However, through the end of March, the number of young adults ages 19 to 25 with health insurance rose by about 900,000.

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US researchers say they have demonstrated how cells fuelled by bacteria can be "self-powered" and produce a limitless supply of hydrogen.

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Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Moody’s Analytics Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said last week that the U.S. economy would get a boost of up to 2 percent under Obama’s plan.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said the proposal would create 1.9 million jobs and lower the unemployment rate by one percentage point compared with current policy. He forecast it would add 2 percent to next year’s GDP . 

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 President Barack Obama staked his presidency on a $447 billion jobs plan presented to Congress Thursday night, and a surprisingly large chunk of that plan -- some $65 billion -- is devoted to payroll tax cuts for employers.

When it comes to creating an economic turnaround, however, those generous cuts may well be the weakest ingredient in the pot. They may be easier to sell to business-friendly Republicans, but according to some economists, such employer tax breaks tend to offer significantly less value than, say, infrastructure spending or unemployment benefits.

The president's plan would slash by 50 percent the taxes that employers pay on their first $5 million in payroll, capped so that the benefits would fall mostly to small businesses. The plan would also eliminate those taxes altogether for businesses that brought on new workers or increased the wages of their existing workers.

"Pass this jobs bill [15 Xs] and all small business owners will see their payroll taxes cut in half next year," Obama told lawmakers. "You should pass it right away."[6 Xs]

THE real reason for America’s Great Regression was political. As income and wealth became more concentrated in fewer hands, American politics reverted to what Marriner S. Eccles, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, described in the 1920s, when people “with great economic power had an undue influence in making the rules of the economic game.” With hefty campaign contributions and platoons of lobbyists and public relations spinners, America’s executive class has gained lower tax rates while resisting reforms that would spread the gains from growth.

Yet the rich are now being bitten by their own success. Those at the top would be better off with a smaller share of a rapidly growing economy than a large share of one that’s almost dead in the water. 

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

For the first time maybe since the Vietnam War or certainly since the civil rights movement, there are some darkening storm clouds on the civility horizon. A growing number of voices are continuing to suggest that if this economy doesn't turn around, and people can't start feeling optimistic about their futures again, we could be headed for some ugly scenarios. A new CNN poll says 48 percent of Americans think the country is headed for another Great Depression in the next twelve months. That is a stunning number.

James Carville, who in 1992 told Bill Clinton, "It's the economy stupid," says the current economy is so bad, there is a heightened risk of civil unrest. And unless things start changing for the better, it's a distinct possibility.

Iran will shift its production of higher grade uranium to an underground bunker and triple its production capacity, it said on Wednesday in a defiant response to accusations it is trying to produce atomic bombs.

 

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"The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world," a high-powered commission whose members include former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan warns today.

 

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NATO jets pounded Libyan ports overnight, destroying eight of Moammar Gadhafi's warships, an alliance spokesman said Friday.

NATO targeted the ships in Tripoli, Al-Khums and Sirte after it was apparent that Gadhafi's forces were increasingly using naval vessels to launch attacks on civilians, said Mike Bracken, NATO's military spokesman. He said Gadhafi was indiscriminately mining waters in Misrata and hampering the flow of humanitarian aid.

 

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"These numbers point to a mortgage market on the mend," said Jay Brinkmann, MBA's chief economist. "Foreclosure starts are at the lowest level since the end of 2008 and had the second largest drop ever. The percentage of loans somewhere in foreclosure is down from last quarter's record high and also had one of the largest drops we have ever seen."

 

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Two years ago, when President Barack Obama spoke to the Muslim world in Cairo, he devoted 12 paragraphs totaling more than 1,000 words to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Promoting democracy in Muslim countries mustered a mere three paragraphs totaling 375 words.

When Obama delivers an address at the State Department on Thursday that many are billing as “Cairo II,” his text is expected to reflect how much the Mideast has changed. The urgent need for democratic change in the Arab world will stand front and center, while the foundering peace process recedes in prominence, White House officials signaled. The president and his aides are eager to capitalize on the burgeoning Arab Spring pro-democracy movement and the killing of Osama bin Laden as promising opportunities to wrest young Muslims from the path of radicalism.

 

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North Korea and Iran appear to have been exchanging ballistic missile technology in violation of sanctions, a leaked UN report shows.

The report, obtained by Reuters, said regular transfers had been taking place through "a neighbouring third country", named by diplomats as China.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an interview published Tuesday denounced China's clampdown on dissent as a "fool's errand," saying Beijing was trying to stop the course of history.

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Some 200 members of Syria's ruling Baath party are reported to have resigned over the violent crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrations.

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Thousands of anti-government protesters are standing their ground in the capital of Yemen, despite a deal that would see the president step down. Protesters occupying a permanent camp in Sanaa say they don't trust President Ali Abdullah Saleh to keep his promise to leave office.

Troops in Syria are said to have shot dead at least five protesters at mass rallies against the government in towns across the country.

Injuries have also been reported in the Damascus suburb of Douma and in the city of Homs, witnesses said in reports that could not be verified.

Weeks of protests have reportedly left at least 200 people dead.

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Whether you like him or not, Donald Trump has already served one very useful purpose: reducing Barack Obama for once and for all, to the redundant, to the inane, to the ignorant and self-absorbed, indifferent, out of touch politician he truly is. Come on folks…he’s still saying “we’re in economic recovery, this is our moment, our time…blah, blah, blah.”

Yes, there was a time I fell for Obama-speak. I will admit I got wound up in the flowery spew of Obama “can-do, hope, change, nothing we can’t overcome” messaging. I got over it with his first lame attempt to pretend he was going to do anything that even remotely resembled what he said in trump…uh, I mean stump speeches.

Now, enter Donald Trump. Businessman first, celebrity second…already an improvement over Obama…all he had was celebrity, and given the extraordinary damage he has done in just over two years to our country because of his lack of business experience, well, need I say more?

Yes. Let’s not fall into the same “soaring rhetoric”…the same tapping into our emotions that got Obama elected. Instead, let’s do our homework on Trump. What do we need to look for?

1. Leadership qualities: Does he have them…I’d say yes. Here’s why:
   1. He fires people for underperformance…rewards performance…sorry, I like that novel approach!
   2. He inspires people to work harder than they perhaps ever have…ie Gary Bussey, Brett Michaels, Meatloaf…I could go on and on, but they all love the guy anyway.
   3. He does not ask of anyone what he wouldn’t or couldn’t do himself. Yes, tall order, but why should we accept demands from someone who has done nothing he asks of us? For example…Obama agenda on obesity…google what they served at their Superbowl party, and see if you can find their families’ own BMI results online…probably not, but well, it certainly leaves “example” open to discussion.
   4. He has an enormous ego…you simply cannot survive in Washington without one. Look again at Obama...he just sold us it as “Audacity” instead.
   5. He holds people accountable. One word describes Obama’s definition of that: Geithner. We could also throw “Obama” in there, or “Summers,” “Nepolitano” or really any one of many Obama cabinet members’ names in there…none of them have ANY accountability whatsoever, and whatever happened to that transparency promised by candidate Obama? Noticeably missing, no?
   6. He makes money…something our country would be better off for IF we knew how to do it. The only thing Obama has shown us he knows how to do is spend money with no regard for where it comes from.
   7. He’s decisive…not afraid to put himself out there to get thrashed by anyone, Republicans or Dems alike. Versus placating Obama, not willing to hang his hat on ANY decision, ANY side of an argument.
   8. Billionaire, willing to give it up to fix our country. Maybe…or keep it while fixing country…makes no difference to me just so he shares the intel.
   9. Says Obama is the worst President ever, when his Republican counterparts cringe and shrink away.
   10. Pretty wife…come on…it helps Sarkozy!
   11. Not ashamed of hair and eyebrows…self confident! Doesn’t trim his “Trumps” and does not care what we say about it!
   12. Pissed off, doesn’t want to take it anymore…shouldn’t we all be?

And here’s the kicker…he said we shouldn’t go into fight other countries’ wars unless we get something in return…ie oil from Iraq. I think that’s sound, pragmatic thinking, right?

That being said, while I certainly like what I hear (beyond birther distraction), I'll be one hundred times more diligent this go-around than I was with Obama. Won't make that "blind love" mistake ever again.

But no matter what happens with “the Donald,” shouldn’t we all thank him for whatever he does to enlighten those still hypnotized by Obama empty rhetoric? I mean really…listen to Trump, then REALLY listen to Obama, and there is no denying the difference.

Obama has been playing a risky game of Euchre with our country, and is soon going to get trumped…his hand, and his “poker” face have been exposed.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Service cut its outlook Monday on the United States' sovereign debt, saying there is a one in three chance it will downgrade the rating on the debt in the next two years.

The agency lowered the long-term outlook to "Negative" from "Stable."

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A group of millionaires have banded togethor and are asking the president to raise taxes on the wealthy. Laura Ingraham speaks with a couple of them.

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President Barack Obama said the conflict has become a "stalemate on the ground militarily."

Qaddafi is "getting squeezed" in many ways, Obama said in an interview with the Associated Press. "I think over the long term, Qaddafi will go and we will be successful."

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Thinking reporters were out of the room, President Obama opened up Thursday night about the recent budget talks with Republicans and what he called their efforts to sneak in attacks on Planned Parenthood and his health care bill.

"I said (to Republicans), 'you want to repeal health care? Go at it,'" Obama told backers in a private meeting with an open microphone. "'We'll have that debate. You're not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget.'"

He said he added: "'You think we're stupid?'"

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"We began to encourage this squeeze, with plans of getting very short again," Deeb Salem, a trader in the structured product group, said in a 2007 self-evaluation excerpted in the report. Swenson, Salem's supervisor, sent e-mails in May 2007 urging traders to offer prices that will "cause maximum pain" and "have people totally demoralized."

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British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged Wednesday that Britain and France will leave "no stone unturned" as they look for ways to help Libya's rebels topple Muammar al-Qaddafi.

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Here are two numbers to keep in mind when thinking about the House Republicans' budget plan: They want to cut spending on government programs over the next decade by $4.3 trillion. And they want to cut tax revenues over the same period by $4.2 trillion.

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Donald Trump says he will "probably" run for president as an independent if he doesn't win the Republican nomination.

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Two Bahraini Shia activists who were detained after weeks of anti-government protests have died in police custody.

The interior ministry said Ali Issa Saqer, 31, had died when guards tried to restrain him for "causing chaos".

Another detainee, Zakaraya Rashed Hassan, 40, had died of sickle cell disease, the ministry added. It was the second such death in a week.

Several Shia activists have complained of being tortured while in custody. The government denies the allegations.

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So the pundits who praised this proposal when it was released were punked. The G.O.P. budget plan isn't a good-faith effort to put America's fiscal house in order; it's voodoo economics, with an extra dose of fantasy, and a large helping of mean-spiritedness.

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Oil is a good short-term bet for another five months due to upcoming peak U.S. summer driving season, while prices in the long-term are likely to double along with gold in five years, said a leading fund manager.

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As federal officials began formal preparations for, the Obama administration told House members on Tuesday that their version of a short-term spending budget was a no-go...

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The first export of oil from rebel-held areas of eastern Libya for almost three weeks is due to begin later.

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The U.S. will reach its $14.29 trillion legal debt limit no later than May 16 unless Congress acts before then, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said today, and he warned of "severe hardship" for Americans if lawmakers fail to act.

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But back to Professor Muller. His climate-skeptic credentials are pretty strong: he has denounced both Al Gore and my colleague Tom Friedman as "exaggerators," and he has participated in a number of attacks on climate research...Not surprisingly, then, climate deniers had high hopes that his new project would support their case.

You can guess what happened when those hopes were dashed.

Just a few weeks ago Anthony Watts, who runs a prominent climate denialist Web site, praised the Berkeley project and piously declared himself "prepared to accept whatever result they produce, even if it proves my premise wrong." But never mind: once he knew that Professor Muller was going to present those preliminary results, Mr. Watts dismissed the hearing as "post normal science political theater." And one of the regular contributors on his site dismissed Professor Muller as "a man driven by a very serious agenda."

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Sustained gunfire rang out near Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's heavily fortified compound in Tripoli on Friday and residents said they saw snipers on rooftops and pools of blood on the streets.

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...look at the sheer volume of wealth controlled by the top 1 percent in this country, it's tempting to see our growing inequality as a quintessentially American achievement—we started way behind the pack, but now we're doing inequality on a world-class level

...we'll be building on this achievement for years to come...what made it possible is self-reinforcing. Wealth begets power, which begets more wealth...Virtually all U.S. senators, and most of the representatives in the House, are members of the top 1 percent when they arrive, are kept in office by money from the top 1 percent, and know that if they serve the top 1 percent well they will be rewarded by the top 1 percent when they leave

...a tax bill cannot emerge from Congress unless big tax cuts are put in place for the wealthy...this is the way you would expect the system to work.

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A poll just published by Reuters/Ipsos found 48 percent of respondents describing Obama's military leadership as "cautious and consultative." Another 36 percent chose "indecisive and dithering."

I would argue that the combined 84 percent are basically saying the same thing — that this president is anything but impulsive. And next year, with an improving economy in a world where the United States is held in much higher regard, most people will probably choose a president who takes time to get it right, rather than one who is afraid to dither for a good outcome.

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...data Thursday showed the improvement in the labor market was becoming sustained, with new claims for jobless benefits falling last week and the four-week moving average dropping to it lowest level in more than 2-1/2 years.

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A regional showdown over Bahrain is exacerbating the split between Iraqi Shi'ites and Sunnis, who see the machinations of their neighbors through the lens of the sectarian divide that led to years of war in Iraq.

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Using tanks, heavy artillery and airstrikes, forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi began a sustained assault here on Tuesday, seeking to rout a ragtag army of insurgents and would-be revolutionaries holding the last defensive line before the rebel capital of Benghazi.

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A military force from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations moved into Bahrain Monday to shore up the nation's Sunni rulers in the face of escalating Shiite-led protests seeking to break the monarchy's hold on power.

Bahrain's main opposition groups immediately denounced the outside intervention as an "occupation" that pushed the tiny Gulf kingdom dangerously close to a state of war.

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Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, is to meet with leaders of Libya's opposition council during a trip to the Middle East next week, she has told US lawmakers.

Clinton's statement of intent comes as France on Thursday became the first major European country to recognise Libya's opposition National Council based in Benghazi as the country's legitimate representative.

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France recognized the Libyan National Council, a rebel body fighting to oust Muammar Gaddafi, as the legitimate representative of Libya's people Thursday, the first country to make the move.

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NATO has launched around-the-clock surveillance flights of Libya as it considers various options for dealing with escalating violence in the war-torn country, America's ambassador to the organization told reporters Monday.

Representatives of key Western powers also highlighted the possibility of establishing a no-fly zone in Libya.

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Rebels in Libya warned Monday that the Moammar Gadhafi regime will try increasingly desperate measures if the West doesn't intervene urgently.

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The waiting game still is not over, but it may be soon.

The nation's employers added 192,000 jobs in February, up from a gain of 63,000 the previous month, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

While February's number represented the fastest growth in nearly a year, it was partly the result of a bounce back from unusually depressed hiring in January, when major snowstorms shuttered offices and factories around the country. Taken together, the job growth for the first two months of 2011 has not been much better than it was last fall.

Tweets calling for Sunday 'strolls' around China is an effective psychological weapon, sending security forces chasing at shadows.

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a small group of young pro-Gadhafi fighters were captured outside Libya's eastern city of Brega, which is controlled by rebels...the youngest boy was about 13 and said he was from Niger...

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The U.S. ordered two warships and 400 Marines to the waters off Libya on Tuesday, but a top Obama administration official stopped short of saying the forces would intervene in the country's growing civil war.

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Locked in a standoff with forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi, opposition leaders here debated Tuesday whether to request foreign airstrikes against the longtime ruler's military installations and other key facilities.

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On the Chinese Internet, anonymous calls for a "Jasmine Revolution" -- modeled after the pro-democracy demonstrations in the Middle East -- have been squelched by authorities. Words like "Egypt" and "Tunisia" have been blocked on some Web searches and social networking sites have been made inaccessible.

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Some of the biggest savings could be achieved by consolidating the government's computer data centers, which have multiplied from 432 to more than 2,100 in little more than a decade. Some computer servers have utilization rates of just 5 percent. A private sector study estimates that consolidating data centers could save the government as much as $200 billion over 10 years.

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Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and their wives have been taken from their homes by security forces, reports suggest.

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"We have never seen a government bomb its own people like this," Ali Essawi, who quit as envoy to India, told Al Jazeera television. The envoy said Kadafi "lost his legitimacy" and called for him to step down.

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"I was speaking to the minister of justice just a few minutes ago... he told me personally, he told me he had joined the supporters. He is trying to organise good things in all cities," he said.

Jibreel also told Al Jazeera that key cities near Libya's border with Egypt were now in the hands of protesters, which he said would enable foreign media to now enter the country.

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Multiple eyewitnesses have reported that Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, was in the hands of protesters and their military allies after several days of unrest in the nation.

Some of the military dropped allegiances to longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, according to the report.

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The United States slammed Iran's "hypocrisy" for arresting opposition figures and the blocking of world media outlets as TV networks focus their attention on the uprising in Egypt and the widespread unrest in other parts of the Arab world.

"For all of its empty talk about Egypt, the government of Iran should allow the Iranian people the same universal right to peacefully assemble, demonstrate and communicate in Tehran that the people are exercising in Cairo," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said Friday.

"Governments must respect the rights of their people and be responsive to their aspirations."

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Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has said he will stay in office and transfer all power only after September's presidential election.

His comments in a national TV address confounded earlier reports that he was preparing to stand down immediately.

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The Muslim Brotherhood is a religious and political group founded on the belief that Islam is not simply a religion, but a way of life. It advocates a move away from secularism, and a return to the rules of the Quran as a basis for healthy families, communities, and states.

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For those who thought the Tea Party was a passing fad, it might be time to reconsider:

For starters, it seems like the Tea Partiers may be among the only people in Washington who are serious about reining in government spending.

While Democrats and Republicans talk... and talk... and talk about cutting spending and reducing our skyrocketing deficits and $14 trillion national debt, some in the Tea Party have real solutions.

Newly elected Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is proposing cutting $500 billion from federal spending in just one year. To be sure, he has some drastic suggestions - including cutting $42 billion from the food stamp program and $16 billion from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Egyptian police have been fighting protesters in intensifying clashes, and demonstrations have [been] reported from Yemen and Gabon – a sign that defiance against authoritarian rulers in the Middle East is spreading.

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that Congress was causing a "crisis on my doorstep" by failing to approve a key spending bill, inaction that could create a funding shortfall hurting the military.

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Traffic congestion cost the U.S. $114.8 billion in time and fuel in 2009 as the average urban driver spent the equivalent of four work days waiting in cars...

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"If banks can afford to pay billions in bonuses, they can clearly afford to be taxed a great deal more. A £20bn Robin Hood tax in the UK would help avoid the worst of the cuts and show we are all in this together," said David Hillman, spokesman for the Robin Hood Tax campaign.

"While bankers wallow in cash, the general public are suffering unemployment and cuts to public services," Hillman added.

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The year 2010 ended on a disappointing note, as the American economy produced just 103,000 jobs in December, suggesting that economic deliverance will not arrive with a great pop in employment.

Rather, many signs point to a long slog of a recovery in the United States job market, with the unemployment rate quite likely to remain above 8 percent — it now sits at 9.4 percent after Friday's report — at least through the rest of President Obama's four-year term.

That could pose a big challenge to Mr. Obama, who on Friday appointed a new head for his National Economic Council, Gene Sperling, to succeed the departing Lawrence Summers.

"This is not a game. You know, the debt ceiling ... is not something to toy with," Goolsbee told the ABC News program "This Week." "If we hit the debt ceiling, that's ... essentially defaulting on our obligations, which is totally unprecedented in American history."

"The impact on the economy would be catastrophic. I mean, that would be a worse financial economic crisis than anything we saw in 2008," he said.

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"Even if you may not have heard of the Peak Oil theory, everyone knows that we'll continue to use more and more gasoline in years to come. Right?

Well, errrrr, no. Maybe not.

Extending the tax rates, of course, garners near-universal acclaim. But Republicans view other parts of the deal, such as the temporary payroll-tax deduction, the $56 billion toward jobless benefits, and myriad Obama-favored tax credits, as hold-your-nose compromises.

For an example of the grumbling, see Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who wrote in a Twitter message Friday that he has "serious concerns." Nevertheless, he will support the agreement because "Americans can't afford tax increases."

While McCain's grudging acceptance appears to reflect the caucus consensus, the whip count is far from certain. Indeed, with the Senate ready to vote Monday on whether to take up the tax agreement, Republicans, especially those who are Tea Party darlings, face a pressing decision: Will they fight?

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The temperature in Washington dipped into the 20s last week, and here in the capital, that seems to be the point when hell freezes over: President Obama reached an agreement on the Bush tax cuts with the Republican Senate leader who said "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

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Angry House Democrats on Thursday voted to reject the tax-cut extension package negotiated by President Obama with Republicans.

In an emotional voice vote in their caucus, Democrats, who have repeatedly attacked the agreement as too generous to the rich, said the package should not come to the floor in its current form. The next step is up to the leadership.

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"In a surprising setback, the nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent in November, a seven-month high, as hiring weakened across the economy."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced this morning that Republicans will block any legislation from coming to the Senate floor until two key economic issues are addressed: funding the government (the "continuing resolution" which must pass to prevent a government shutdown) and the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts.

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Well, Uncle Sam, you delivered. People will second-guess your specific decisions; you can always count on that. But just as there is a fog of war, there is a fog of panic — and, overall, your actions were remarkably effective.

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I have been thinking a lot about how Democracy appears to be broken across the world. From unaccountable governments, to rises in extremism all forms, it does seem that some form of modification to our current models is required.

At the heart of the issue is the ability of politicians, pundits, lobbyists and the general media to shepard the "sheeple" through "truthiness" and emotive subjects. Like any good con artist, the ability to gain trust is vital, to resonate with the mark and have them follow your directions until the goal has been achieved. There is a common thread that runs through all scams, they prey on both the lack of knowledge and the inability to objectively critically analyze a situation.

How do we correct this? How do we focus our nations on the important issues? How do we obtain serious investigative media and drown out the gibberish?

Tough questions.

I feel that there is a solution to our problems. I am sure it will not be popular with some people, but it may raise the standard of debate when we go to the polls. Indeed, such a situation is also economically preferable to the current system. With a significant amount of financial decisions considered in isolation ,to benefit one or more parties, the wider ramifications are being ignored. An excellent example is the deregulation that led to the current economic crisis. The wider implications of such deregulation was ignored and a heavy price was paid by all. The inability of the Democratic system to encourage proper debate amongst a wide audience and have those views represented in government strikes at the very heart of the problem.

In a society where Facebook tops Google's searches, how do we account for the IQ behind a vote?

The answer is obvious, to account for the IQ behind a vote, we need to know that IQ and provide that vote with an average weighting based upon that information. Thus, the vote of intelligent person may be worth ten votes from people unable to read. In an instant, we will have erradicated the ability to oppose reason with irrationality.

We could extend this further by having the representative's vote reflect the weightings of his/her's voters. Thus, if a representative obtained a seat by having a large number of low IQ votes, this would manifest in how much their vote was worth.

I am sure we would have more fiscally responsible spending and efficient regulation practically overnight.

This model can also be extended to include additional weightings. For example, if a representative is overwhelmingly supported by a particular faith, the his/her vote on particular bills would reflect this. That is, if a bill was in regards to something like abortion, then those representatives with voters of a particular faith opposed to the bill would have less impact. A government should not represent beliefs, just practicality for good governance.

Further extensions can be applied to account for the representative's beliefs, donors, former employers, etc. In short, any factor which could compromise a vote should be weighted in such a manner that the impact is negligible.

I am sure a lot of people began reading this article with horror, the idea of one man, one vote, or proportional representation is so ingrained in us that any attempt to question its validity as a Democratic model is unthinkable. I am not advocating the removal of anyone's vote, merely that it should accurately account for their knowledge and reasoning skills. Given the global consequences our votes have, we have a responsibility to ensure that sound reasoning and broad support are present in every political action.

This is not an easy choice, nor is it easy to implement, but it would return a sense of sanity to our political systems. In the end, I am sure that was the spirit intended by those that founded the respective systems.

"Cisco's (NasdaqGS:CSCO - News) shares lost 16 percent to $20.57 after the Internet network product provider's CEO, John Chambers, cautioned about "short-term challenges" in Europe and public-sector spending. Late Wednesday, the company forecast revenue and earnings well below estimates.

On a percentage-loss basis, if Cisco closes at that level, this would be the worst one-day percentage drop since July 14, 1994, when Cisco slid 17.71 percent, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.

"America's crumbling infrastructure weakens our economy and leaves the nation trailing foreign competitors in investment, including China, Russia and Europe."

With the weak economy driving voter discontent three weeks out from congressional and state elections, President Barack Obama Monday renewed his call to spend an additional $50 billion on improving the nation's transportation infrastructure.

His plan calls for rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads — "enough to circle the world six times" — laying and maintaining 4,000 miles of railways, restoring 150 miles of airport runways and advancing a new air-traffic control system.

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IT is a safe bet that Asian currency intervention was not on the minds of Republican primary voters in Delaware this month when they selected a Tea Party favorite, Christine O'Donnell, as their Senate candidate. But the pendulum swings in American politics are a key concern of Wen Jiabao and Naoto Kan, the prime ministers of China and Japan, respectively, who both met with President Obama in New York on Thursday, with the loss of American jobs to Asian competition high on the agenda.

Todd Henderson feels like he's barely making ends meet. He's a law professor at the University of Chicago. His wife's a doctor at the school's hospital. Their combined income exceeds $250,000. They have a nice house, a nanny, kids in private school, a retirement account and a lawn guy.

(?!)

(Reuters) - Senate Republicans have enough votes to block President Barack Obama's plan to extend tax cuts for the middle class while allowing those for the rich to expire, a spokesman for the Senate Republican leader said on Monday.

The issue has the Obama administration and Republicans in a political showdown, with Democratic lawmakers caught in the middle as they struggle to keep control of both chambers in November's midterm congressional elections.

After a week mostly focused on Iraq and Mideast diplomacy, it's back to the economy for President Barack Obama, who will deliver remarks Friday on the August unemployment numbers.

Obama hinted at the options on the table on Monday in the Rose Garden, when he accused Republicans of blocking a separate $55 billion legislation package that would cut small business taxes. Senate Democrats hope to pass the package later this month and get it to the president's desk before the election.

Another day, another day of government lies. Today was no different. When I saw this headline, I knew already it was misleading. But I gave it the benefit of my now insurmountable doubt and went in to read the latest lie our government bestows upon us every day. This one hearkens me back to the term “sweeping” financial reform, or “historic” Healthcare ”reform.” False hope packaged and wrapped up with nicely titled bow intended to mislead and offer nothing they promise.

http://realestate.aol.com/article/experian/_a/underwater-borrowers-get-a-lifeline-on-september-7/201009020001

For your loan to qualify, you must meet these conditions:

- Your mortgage must be in a negative equity position.

- You must be current on your mortgage to be refinanced.

- You must occupy the subject property (one to four units) as your primary residence.

- You must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting and your FICO score must be greater than or equal to 500.

- Your existing loan must not be an FHA-insured loan.

- The existing first lien-holder must write off at least 10 percent of the unpaid principal balance.

- The refinanced FHA-insured first mortgage must have a loan-to-value ratio of no more than 97.75 percent.

- If you have other subordinate mortgages (such as an equity line) they must be re-subordinated and the new loan may not have a combined loan-to-value ratio greater than 115 percent.

- Your total monthly mortgage payment, including the first and any subordinate mortgage(s), cannot be greater than 31 percent of gross monthly income. And total debt, including all recurring debts, cannot be greater than 50 percent of gross monthly income.

- You cannot use the new FHA mortgage to pay off existing debt obligations in order to qualify for the new loan.

http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/fha-insured-loans-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-loan-market-dominated-by-fha/

For the first quarter of 2010, FHA insured loans backed $52.5 billion in home mortgages while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac combined backed $46 billion. This made up 95% of the entire mortgage market. So much for banks lending out their “own” money (which is our bailout money)…

So…if you have an FHA insured loan, you won’t qualify. Forget all the other exclusionary requirements for this “lifeline”…95% won’t qualify on this one alone!!

- Your total monthly mortgage payment, including the first and any subordinate mortgage(s), cannot be greater than 31 percent of gross monthly income. And total debt, including all recurring debts, cannot be greater than 50 percent of gross monthly income.

Yeah…now we’re at 100% won’t qualify. Even without these disqualifying requirements, no one could use this “lifeline”…just another program that is predicated on voluntary bank participation, and negative incentive for them to do so:

To encourage second lien-holders to participate and extinguish fully or partially any second lien, the existing second lien-servicer will be entitled to a onetime incentive of $500 for each successful closing. There also will be an incentive for investors, based on the combined loan-to-value of the existing lien, and all senior liens associated with the mortgage.

Hopefully, these incentives will be enough to encourage your lender to participate.

This poor author who has written more than 25 books appears to thrive on false hope. If banks are not required to participate, are incented by giving them $500 to write down 10% of unpaid principle balance…or extinguish second liens…IT WILL NOT HAPPEN! When are people going to realize every single headline that suggests this administration is doing anything to help stave off foreclosures is a blatant lie. It is downright cruel to promise help when program content clearly shows none exists.

The question is...why? What is the Obama Administrations’ goal in purposefully ignoring the single biggest threat to our overall economy…over and over again? Could it be that their goals are different from the welfare of the American people? It certainly looks like it to me.

This isn’t a“Lifeline”…it’s a noose, getting tighter every day. As I’ve said before many times, there is nothing worse than false hope, but our Government is employing it as a cornerstone of their agenda. Whether it is the foreclosure crisis, financial “reform,” or Healthcare “reform”, Americans (who haven’t already experienced it) are getting set up for a whole big bad bowl of disappointment…dumping more fuel on an already stoked and angry fire.

On August 30th The Guardian reported that Bjorn Lomborg, the Danish scientist who made a name for himself decrying the world's hysteria about climate change, makes a surprising claim in his upcoming book – that confronting climate change should be a global priority, and that a $100 billion per year investment could solve the crisis by the end of the century.

That sounds a little counterintuitive coming from the author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming. But Lomborg, who was on the TIME 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2004, has never said that global warming is a hoax, as have some of the conservative voices his views have been aligned with.

"President Obama should ask for - and accept - the resignations of the remaining members of his economic team, starting with Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers, the head of the National Economic Council," Boehner says in the prepared remarks, which are scheduled for delivery at the City Club of Cleveland shortly after 8 a.m. The mass dismissal, he adds, "is no substitute for a referendum on the president's job-killing agenda...

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The economy's slow growth is sputtering. Forecasters project moderate growth at best for the second half of this year. No one's quite sure what drivers will emerge to propel the bruised and battered economy forward.

Economic uncertainties have rattled Wall Street. On Wednesday (08/11/10). The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip companies fell 265.42 points!

The White House and many congressional leaders want to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for everyone but the wealthy; they'd let tax rates on the rich rise back to 1990s levels. Republicans, and moderate Democrats, want to extend the tax cuts for the wealthy, and may balk at anything short of that.

For many of these long-term unemployed, the financial and psychological damage will last for years. For most other workers, however, the situation has had a perverse, and mostly overlooked, silver lining.

Algae are attracting attention because the strains can potentially produce 10 or more times more fuel per acre than the corn used to make ethanol or the soybeans used to make biodiesel. Moreover, algae might be grown on arid land and brackish water, so that fuel production would not compete with food production. And algae are voracious consumers of carbon dioxide, potentially helping to keep some of this greenhouse gas from contributing to global warming.

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India has unveiled a $35 computer prototype as part of its program to provide connectivity to its students and teachers at affordable prices.

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Politico looks at President Barack Obama, and why he's still viewed as a loser when he keeps on winning

The reality is the opposite. You can argue over whether Obama's achievements are good or bad on the merits. But especially after Thursday's vote you can't argue that Obama is not getting things done. To the contrary, he has, as promised, covered the uninsured, tightened regulations, started to wind down the war in Iraq and shifted focus and resources to Afghanistan, injected more competition into the education system and edged closer to a big energy bill.