February 28, 2012

Upper class more likely to be scofflaws due to greed, study finds

Upper class more likely to be scofflaws due to greed, study finds

By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations | February 27, 2012

BERKELEY —
The upper class has a higher propensity for unethical behavior, being more likely to believe – as did Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street” – that “greed is good,” according to a new study from the University of California, Berkeley.


Study finds unethical behavior motivated by casual attitudes to greed
In seven separate studies conducted on the UC Berkeley campus, in the San Francisco Bay
Area and nationwide, UC Berkeley researchers consistently found that upper-class participants were more likely to lie and cheat when gambling or negotiating; cut people off when driving, and endorse unethical behavior in the workplace.

“The increased unethical tendencies of upper-class individuals are driven, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed,” said Paul Piff, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley and lead author of the paper published today (Monday, Feb. 27) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

MORE:
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/02/27/greed/

February 28, 2012

Robert Reich: The loony right is a clear and present danger.

Robert Reich
As Santorum and Romney Battle for the Loony Right, the Rest of Us Should Not Gloat

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They're losing even more Americans now, as the four remaining GOP candidates seek to outdo one another in their race for the votes of the loony right that's taken over the Grand Old Party.

But the rest of us have reason to worry.

A party of birthers, creationists, theocrats, climate-change deniers, nativists, gay-bashers, anti-abortionists, media paranoids, anti-intellectuals, and out-of-touch country clubbers cannot govern America.

Yet even if they lose the presidency on Election Day they're still likely to be in charge of at least one house of Congress as well as several state legislators and governorships. That's a problem for the nation.

........

The Rest:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/as-santorum-and-romney-ba_b_1304978.html

February 28, 2012

Obama: 'I Don't Think Any Parent Thinks Its Snobbery To Hope For The Best Education Possible'

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"We all want Americans getting those jobs of the future," the president said. "So we're going to have to make sure that they're getting the education that they need."

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said "I don't think any parent in America who has a child would think its snobbery to hope for that child the best possible education."

But Carney said he didn't know if Obama was taking a direct swipe at Santorum.

"He was making clear what his position is," Carney said, adding "I don't know if it was specific to that statement."

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/212745-obama-takes-swipe-at-santorum-over-comments-about-college

February 28, 2012

Airplane Poops on N.Y. Couple

MALVERNE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — One Malverne couple was enjoying the mild night Thursday when they became covered by sludge as a plane taking off from Kennedy Airport flew overhead.

“A plane was coming over. Next thing you know she says ‘Oh my God it’s raining.’ I said ‘No it’s not’,” Artie Hughes told 1010 WINS’ Sonia Rincon.

“Some black liquid, black oil came off on her face, and I walked around and I looked and said ‘Oh my God.’ There was quarter-sized, nickel-sized, dime-sized drops all over my deck, my barbecue, my table,” he said.

MORE:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/02/26/l-i-couple-wants-answers-after-lavatory-leak-from-overhead-plane/

February 28, 2012

There Was No Bowles-Simpson Commission Report

There Was No Bowles-Simpson Commission Report

Monday, 27 February 2012 05:16

The New York Times badly misled readers by repeatedly referring to a report of the deficit reduction commission led by former Senator Alan Simpson and Morgan Stanley Director Erskine Bowles. There was no report from this commission.

The report discussed in this article was exclusively the report of the co-chairs. It did not receive the necessary support of 14 members of the commission that would have made it an official commission report, a point noted only in passing toward the end of the piece.

This mis-characterization is extremely important in the context of the piece, because the main point of the article is that President Obama ignored the report of a commission he appointed. Since this commission did not approve a report, the premise of the article is wrong.

The piece also misled readers when it asserted that, "benefits for an aging population soon would increase deficits to unsustainable levels." In fact, the main problem is rising private sector health care costs that were projected to make Medicare and Medicaid unaffordable. The increased costs due to aging alone are quite gradual and affordable.

more:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/there-was-no-bowles-simpson-commission-report?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beat_the_press+%28Beat+the+Press%29


UPDATE:
There WAS A Report?
(I am confused-YOU decide)
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010.pdf

February 27, 2012

Detroit automakers race to keep up with sales

Detroit automakers race to keep up with sales
TOM KRISHER
Published: 25 minutes ago

DETROIT (AP) - Auto sales are growing so fast that Detroit can barely keep up.

Three years after the U.S. auto industry nearly collapsed, sales of cars and trucks are surging. Sales could exceed 14 million this year, above last year's 12.8 million.

The result: Carmakers are adding shifts and hiring thousands of workers around the country. Carmakers and parts companies added more than 38,000 jobs last year, reaching a total of 717,000. And automakers have announced plans to add another 13,000 this year, mostly on night shifts.

But there's a downside. The newfound success is straining the factory network of the Detroit automakers, as well as the companies that make the thousands of parts that go into each vehicle. This could lead to shortages that drive up prices.

MORE:
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16037/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=5rri6dKr

February 27, 2012

Tree: "Humans Are F__king Morons

February 27, 2012

I am a federal bureaucrat. A professional government employee. And guess what? I’m damn proud of it.

I am a federal bureaucrat. A professional government employee. And guess what? I’m damn proud of it.

...................

Like many federal workers, I have sacrificed: a high-paying job in the private sector; a year of my life (and the first six months of my daughter’s life) spent in Iraq; long hours; high stress; pay freezes. I’m not complaining; in fact, I quite enjoy my career and my life in the Foreign Service. Yet when I hear our politicians talking about “fixing” Washington, I often wonder to myself: whom would they like to “fix?” Is it the guy I see on the Metro every day, heading to work at the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that our food is safe? Is it the woman going into Commerce Department headquarters to support U.S. companies abroad? Or do they mean the thousands of people who support our troops overseas? How about my fellow Foreign Service officers, who put themselves in harm’s way in Baghdad, Kabul, Damascus and hundreds of other places around the world?

I have no doubt that some within the federal bureaucracy simply show up each day to collect a paycheck. I also have no doubt that this happens within any number of multinational corporations, small businesses and law firms. But I know for a fact that most of us do this job not because we want to make a lot of money but because, simply put, we want to serve our country.

There was a time, not long ago, when government service was seen as a higher calling. That’s the reason I decided to join the State Department in 2005 — not because I wanted job security or good health benefits, but because I wanted to devote my life to making this country stronger, to making the world a better, safer place and to have a career I was proud of. Seven years later, I still get excited to come to work every morning. I still get a thrill when I enter the State Department and see the flags of every nation with which we have diplomatic relations. And I certainly get chills each and every time I see the U.S. flag on one of our embassies. I’m fairly sure I am not the only federal employee who feels this way.

So to all our politicians, I implore you: Stop using the government workforce as a political football. Just stop. It demeans you, it demoralizes us, and it is counterproductive to drive away the best and brightest from working for the betterment of this country.

.....................................

the rest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-work-for-uncle-sam-and-im-proud-of-it/2012/02/14/gIQAVDcdcR_story.html

February 27, 2012

End of Republican Party? Party Of Nixon/Reagan/Bushes Staring Down Its Own Demographic Extinction

The End of the Republican Party?

Jonathan Chait: "The modern GOP -- the party of Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes -- is staring down its own demographic extinction. Right-wing warnings of impending tyranny express, in hyperbolic form, well-grounded dread: that conservative America will soon come to be dominated, in a semi-permanent fashion, by an ascendant Democratic coalition hostile to its outlook and interests. And this impending doom has colored the party's frantic, fearful response to the Obama presidency."

the rest:
http://nymag.com/news/features/gop-primary-chait-2012-3/

February 27, 2012

Gingrich to Afghanistan: ‘Figure Out How to Live Your Own Miserable Life’

Gingrich to Afghanistan: ‘Figure Out How to Live Your Own Miserable Life’

NASHVILLE — Newt Gingrich said it is impossible to “fix” Afghanistan and suggested the U.S. should to tell Afghan citizens to “figure out how to live your own miserable life.”

Speaking at a business luncheon here on Monday, Mr. Gingrich amped up his criticism of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan after a string of attacks by Afghan soldiers on American troops. ”We’re not going to fix Afghanistan,” the former House speaker said. “It’s not possible.”

His prescription:”What you have to do is say, ‘You know, you’re going to have to figure out how to live your own miserable life… Because you clearly don’t want to learn from me how to be unmiserable.’”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/02/27/gingrich-to-afghanistan-figure-out-how-to-live-your-own-miserable-life/?mod=e2tw