January 23, 2016

If I shoot Donald Trump on Fifth Avenue would I get a ticker tape parade?

I don't think I would lose any votes.

Of course I have no intention of shooting Donald Trump, but if he has the First Amendment right to spout such nonsense, then I have the same right.

January 23, 2016

Obama popularity almost the same as Reagan...

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According to a report released Friday by the Pew Research Center, the approval ratings for Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan upon entering their final year of the presidency are similar. Obama has a 46% approval rating; Reagan had a 50% approval rating during the same period, which, when you take into account the margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, could have been even more similar.

This is a similar finding to other polling data from last year: Gallup data show that in 2015, Obama’s approval rating was also quite similar to what Regan’s was at the same point in his presidency.


Still, neither Obama nor Reagan were as popular as Bill Clinton in his last year as president (his approval rating was 56%), though both were significantly more popular than George W. Bush (31%). And thus far Obama’s approval rating over his entire term (47%) doesn’t quite meet Reagan’s (52.8%), according to Gallup data — though Obama still has some time left to catch up.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/barack-obama-is-almost-as-popular-as-ronald-reagan-2016-01-22?link=MW_popular

January 23, 2016

Chris Christie and His Ambitions: A New Jersey Vanishing Act

Mr. Christie spent 191 days entirely outside New Jersey last year, and
since 2016 began, he has held only two public events in the state: his annual
State of the State address, and a joint appearance with legislative leaders to
unveil an agreement on casino regulation.
The governor has also been using his executive powers sparingly, creating
just two commissions and task forces over the past year, compared with the
roughly two dozen he convened in his first term. When he has issued executive
orders, it has most often been to lower the state flag in honor of someone’s
death.
Being criticized for spending more time on the campaign trail than at
home is an occupational hazard for sitting governors running for president,
but Mr. Christie’s absence has been particularly felt in New Jersey.

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/nyregion/in-word-and-deed-christies-ambitions-shrink-at-home-amid-white-house-bid.html?emc=edit_th_20160123&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=70251688

January 22, 2016

NY TIMES EDITORIAL: Depraved Indifference Toward Flint

The 274 pages of emails released under pressure on Wednesday by Gov. Rick
Snyder of Michigan show a cynical and callous indifference to the plight of the
mostly black, poverty­stricken residents of Flint, who have gone for more than
a year with poisoned tap water that is unsafe to drink or bathe in. There is little
doubt that an affluent, predominantly white community — say Grosse Pointe
or Bloomfield Hills — would never face such a public health catastrophe, and if
it had, the state government would have rushed in to help.
At every juncture when state officials could have avoided or reduced the
harm in Flint, they ignored public pleas and made every effort to dismiss the truth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/opinion/depraved-indifference-toward-flint.html?emc=edit_th_20160122&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=70251688&_r=0

January 21, 2016

Feel the love!-- GOP Senator: I'd Vote For Bernie Sanders Over Ted Cruz

Still, Cruz has become such a pariah that one of his colleagues, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, told supporters at a campaign fundraiser for his own re-election that he would vote for liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders for president before Cruz, according to one person who attended the event. Burr did not appear to be joking, said the person, who demanded anonymity to discuss the private gathering.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/republican-senators-dislike-cruz

January 21, 2016

Russia and China plan "floating Chernobyls..."

Opinion: China and Russia plan to cover the oceans with floating nuclear power plants

In an effort to become the largest exporter of nuclear-energy technology, China has started building a reactor housed in a floating vessel, which is scheduled to be finished by 2020. If that sounds alarming, brace yourself: More than 100 additional nuclear reactors are planned for the next decade.

The idea behind this “micro” 200-megawatt reactor (1 megawatt can power 1,000 homes) was to create a mobile energy source for offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as provide electricity, heating, and facilitate desalination for islands and coastal areas.

I don’t know about you, but this certainly gets my Geiger counter beeping with unease. While some dismiss the danger, saying floating nuclear reactors aren’t all that dangerous — nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers basically fit that description — the truth remains that it’s still a freaking nuclear reactor. History taught us the price we have to pay every time “highly unlikely” disasters happen, and now that another 100 of these will be built in the coming decade, the likelihood of yet another nuclear disaster will increase.

-more-

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-and-russia-plan-to-cover-the-oceans-with-floating-nuclear-power-plants-2016-01-21

The article contains some horrific examples of how bad the record is concerning operations like this, not to mention the terrorism opportunities that these ships would offer.

January 20, 2016

Social Security in the cross hairs... (Stage is being set for cuts to Social Security)

Social Security may be at risk after the November elections. Critics are writing op-eds saying that benefits – relative to previous earnings – are very high, and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has come out with an astounding estimate of the 75-year deficit. The stage is being set for benefit reductions. Cutting benefits would be a huge mistake, given that half the private sector workforce does not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan and that those lucky enough to participate in a 401(k) have combined 401(k)/IRA balances of $111,000 as they approach retirement. Therefore, it is very important to take a hard look at the emerging characterization of the Social Security program. This blog focuses on the 75-year deficit.

The 75-year deficit is the difference between the income rate and the cost rate. The income rate is calculated by adding the current trust fund balance to the present discounted value of scheduled taxes and then dividing by the present discounted value of taxable payroll over the 75-year period. The cost rate is the present discounted value of scheduled benefits divided by the same payroll number. In 2015, the Social Security Trustees Report had an estimated deficit equal to 2.68 percent of taxable payroll. That figure means that if payroll taxes were raised immediately by 2.68 percentage points – 1.34 percentage points each for the employee and the employer – the government would be able to pay the current package of benefits for everyone who reaches retirement age at least through 2089.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/social-security-in-the-cross-hairs-2016-01-20

January 19, 2016

I don't hate Hillary! And I don't love Bernie! And I think there are more on DU like me...

I have supported Hillary throughout the years beginning with the Whitewater witch hunt. I think she is a smart, tough candidate. If she is nominated I will support her 100%.

But she doesn't set me on fire.

When I first heard that there was this guy Bernie Sanders, a Democratic Socialist, running for President, my curiosity was piqued.
I listened to him talking about reining in the banksters with no apologies, getting health care for all under a sane workable and less expensive system, and finally making the one percenters pay a reasonable share of taxes, I started to get excited.

This is the kind of talk that I have been waiting for for the past 40 years, since I starting voting, often feeling despair as we faced Nixon, Reagan, and the Bushes, who courted the worst elements of human nature and attacked liberals incessantly.

I thought that President Obama was going to change everything. I hoped...but that hope was stomped on by Republicans and their phoney Tea Party acolytes. And he unfortunately listened way too much to the Wall Street banksters. It has been discouraging.

I don't hate Hillary and I don't love Bernie. I just really like the fire he puts into his ideas and the way he is unafraid to go where Hillary fears to tread.

January 19, 2016

Supreme Court to review Obama's immigration orders

Source: Marketwatch

The Supreme Court will rule on President Barack Obama's authority to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. The court will likely hear the case in April and issue a decision by late June, reports said. The policy would allow adults in the U.S. illegally to remain if they have children who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.



Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/supreme-court-to-review-obamas-immigration-orders-2016-01-19

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That's all there is at the moment. Wonder who decided to accept this one?

January 17, 2016

I'm beginning to warm up to the Bern...

Working my Sunday volunteer job, talking to a lady who lives in Chris Christie country, and she told me she was surprised that all four of her children were voting for Bernie. This is particularly of note since two of her children are active military and the one that is an Army Ranger and a REPUBLICAN says he is voting for Bernie! He says he cannot vote for Trump or Cruz.

Then on my way home I saw two Bernie bumper stickers. No other stickers of any other type. It's a sign!

I have been favoring Bernie from day one but felt no hope for him to get the nomination. I am beginning to think it is very possible!