February 6, 2012

Mother and daughter battle homelessness to build a life

SARASOTA COUNTY - With no stove in the modest Days Inn hotel room on Clark Road, Julie Ackermann could not make a Christmas dinner for her 14-year-old daughter Danielle.

Holiday cheer came from two Christmas trees donated by the YMCA.

Now, the artificial trees make an oddly festive sight among bags of clothes and possessions in one corner of the hotel room where the Ackermanns have lived since the start of December.

For two heartbreaking years since Ackermann lost her job, the family has battled homelessness and poverty. Danielle, a freshman at Riverview High School, recently missed an English final exam because her mother could not afford gas to take her to school.

More here:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120205/ARTICLE/120209716/0/API


One of my followers on Twitter posted this story. It's a very moving and well written piece about the homeless problem our fellow Americans are facing in Florida.

February 6, 2012

Romney Team Slams ‘Flawed’ Poll That Shows Mitt Flailing

Mitt Romney’s campaign is publicly arguing that the methodology of a WaPo/ABC poll tainted its finding that his national numbers are tanking. However, polling experts who talked to TPM say that the survey is in line with a broad set of evidence that Romney’s general election appeal is declining — even if the poll’s approach is less than ideal.

The poll in question couldn’t have looked much worse for Romney’s presidential hopes. While it indicated he was still strong in the primary, his national numbers showed a rapid fall with Obama leading him 51-45 among registered voters. Romney pollster Neil Newhouse says these top line numbers should be disregarded because the question came after a series of queries referencing various recent stories surrounding Romney, including whether voters think his wealth is a positive or negative, whether they think he did more to create or cut jobs at Bain Capital, whether they feel his 14% tax rate is fair, and whether his Mormon religion affects their views of his candidacy.

“The poll introduced specific negative information about Governor Romney immediately prior to asking the ballot match-up against President Obama,” Newhouse wrote. “While I certainly understand the difficulty of designing a questionnaire to learn as much information as possible about a campaign, and the compromises that sometimes have to be made, the questionnaire design used by the Post/ABC Poll in this case is seriously flawed.”

Jon Cohen, director of polling for the Washington Post, told TPM in an e-mail that he felt the results held up.

More here:

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/romney-team-says-brutal-wapoabc-poll-was-biased.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

February 5, 2012

Ex-Panama dictator Noriega suffers possible stroke

PANAMA CITY (AP) -- Panamanian police say former dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega has been transported from prison to a hospital, possibly because of a stroke.

A statement issued Sunday from the National Police says Noriega had high blood pressure and apparently a brain hemorrhage. He was taken from the El Renacer prison to Hospital Santo Tomas in the nation's capital.

In December, Panamanian authorities said 77-year-old Noriega had limited mobility due to a stroke.


More here:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_PANAMA_NORIEGA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

February 5, 2012

Bill would limit overtime for high-tech jobs

WASHINGTON High-tech workers could see smaller paychecks under an industry-led campaign to revise labor laws to limit overtime benefits.

Some of the multinationals behind the effort, such as IBM and Intel, say the changes are necessary to keep jobs from going overseas, where workers in technology are paid a fraction of U.S. wages.

Computer workers see it as an effort to squeeze more work out of employees for less pay in an industry notorious for killer hours and all-nighters.

U.S. Sen Kay Hagan, D-N.C., introduced the federal legislation last fall to expand the kind of technology workers who currently are not automatically entitled to overtime. The bill, S. 1747: Computer Professionals Update Act, would expand the pool to those whose job duties include securing, configuring, integrating and debugging computer systems, she said.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/05/2986706/bill-would-limit-ot-for-tech-jobs.html#storylink=cpy



Looks like I will be contacting Senator Hagan's office about this issue. I have a handful of friends that work in IT. These folks deserve every last cent of overtime they work. Was Kay bought out by RTP lobbyists? Sure hope not.

February 5, 2012

Reporter forced to leave Nevada caucus site

The Associated Press

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 | 1:45 p.m.

A Los Angeles Times reporter was forced to leave a southern Nevada caucus location Saturday after some Republican voters accused her of being a spy.

Reporter Ashley Powers said she was thrown out of a community center in suburban Sun City Anthem outside Las Vegas after a Republican volunteer mistakenly told the crowd of voters that members of the media didn't have permission to observe balloting.

Powers said the crowd of elderly voters then booed her. She said she was told security would be called if she didn't leave, so she left the room. When she later tried to re-enter, an elderly man grabbed her arm and pushed her.

Powers said Clark County GOP spokeswoman Bobbie Haseley called her to apologize for the misunderstanding.


More here:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/feb/04/nv-nevada-caucuses-media-1st-ld-writethru/?hpap

February 4, 2012

Jack Kerouac documentary - "Kerouac, the Movie"

February 4, 2012

Police Arrest Naked Man Found Covered in Peanut Butter & Chocolate

LETCHER COUNTY, KY -- The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is one that many people find irresistible, but for one Kentucky man it proved criminal.

According to a Smoking Gun report, Andrew Toothman, 22, was taken into custody on Thursday night after being found inside a Kentucky supermarket naked while covered in chocolate and peanut butter.

The Smoking Gun report says that in addition to the chocolate and peanut butter, Toothman was wearing a pair of black boots.

Police allege Toothman also spread peanut butter and chocolate all over the supermarket’s floor and the store managers office.

More here:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-pbandj-suspect,0,2305442.story

February 4, 2012

Activist in Homs: More than 200 Syrians killed in one day - AC360

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February 3, 2012

Santorum: Iran would nuke Missouri

Rick Santorum warned that if Iran procures a nuclear weapon, it would pose a threat even to Missouri.

“Once they have a nuclear weapon, let me assure you, you will not be safe, even here in Missouris,” Santorum said Friday at a campaign stop in the Show Me State. “These are folks who have been and are at war with us since 1979. This is a country that has killed more troops in Afghanistan and Iraq than the Iraqis and Afghans.”

Santorum’s saber-rattling on Iran is nothing new. In the past he’s said that he would attack nuclear facilities in Iran if the country did not agree to international nuclear arms inspections.


More here:

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/208621-santorum-iraq-wants-to-nuke-missouri



I didn't realize Rick Santorum was such a nut job.

February 3, 2012

Hackers take over law enforcement websites

BOSTON (AP) — The hacking collective Anonymous is claiming credit for defacing the Boston Police Department's website, part of a string of online attacks around the world being attributed to the group.

A message posted on the website Friday said, "Anonymous hacks Boston Police website in retaliation for police brutality at OWS," apparently a reference to the Occupy Wall Street movement. A police spokesman would not confirm Anonymous was responsible.

In Salt Lake City, police say hackers who attacked the department's website on Tuesday gained access to sensitive data, including citizen complaints about drug crimes, including phone numbers, addresses and other personal information.

The attacks come after Anonymous published a recording of a phone call between the FBI and Scotland Yard early Wednesday, gloating in a Twitter message that "the FBI might be curious how we're able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now."

More here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iG8mOcRgTqPjl5teOQF0HV_DeXEQ?docId=e139a6587d8d4230bd77c98fcf4d77d8