Our basement has been flooding since Friday. It doesn’t look too bad in this photo, but that may be because we’ve already burned out three pumps trying to clear out the water. Off to the hardware store in Billerica where a rumor has it that truckload of pumps will be delivered at noon. I feel like I’m living in a disaster zone! Oh wait, I am!
Meanwhile I came across this hilarious video over at Hillary is 44. It’s from the Olympics fiasco of the Autumn, but I think, along with the gals at Hill44, that the health care reform fiasco will be obama’s next huge humiliation. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. I have a list of congressional reps who are on the fence and should be contacted daily to urge to vote no. I will try to post it when I get back from O’Connor’s. Wish me luck.
Please share links and useful info about the health care push, or anything else that’s happening in the world this week.
{ 74 comments… read them below or add one }
Swannie 03.15.10 at 11:21 am
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/broad-support-for-australian-sharia-law/story-e6frfku0-1225838340625 I feel compelled to share this .. this is beyond unacceptable.. why is it men think it is alright for them to decide about womens lives?? We need to change that thinking …
and Murphy please beee careful darlin ..
My parent basement used to flood like that until they installed a permanent sub pump ..NO FUN …..
sistermoon3 03.15.10 at 11:38 am
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/14/AR2010031401389.html
great article, the illusion of health reform
scarlet 03.15.10 at 11:52 am
America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009
2309 pages
http://budget.house.gov/doc-library/FY2010/03.15.2010_reconciliation2010.PDF
Pelosi – “we have to pass the health care bill, so that you can find out what’s in it…”
411 on the 111 pumapac forum:
http://pumapac.org/forums/411-on-the-111/comment-page-7/#comment-423865
The bill is now over 2700 pages, but there really is no new bill. Congress will be voting on a reconciliation package, but they are supposed to pass the Senate version first. The changes are not in the Senate bill.
Our legislators will be voting on a bill they have never read. And, they don’t know how much it will cost.
scarlet 03.15.10 at 12:13 pm
David Axelrod dared the GOP on NBC’s Meet the Press yesterday to try to repeal obamacare once it is approved. Axelrod said it would be politically impossible to successfully challenge the health care plan once it is in place because of the compassionate provisions…
No ‘benefits’ will kick in until 2014 although taxes to pay for obamacare will kick in immediately–this year. Thus, there is absolutely nothing preventing the GOP from repealing something that hasn’t even taken effect and won’t take effect for 4 more years.
Axelrod on NBC Meet the Press – “The one thing I am sure of is that the American people don’t know or care much about the sequencing of parliamentary procedures.”
Is he saying that Americans are too stupid too care about congressional procedures?
simofish 03.15.10 at 12:16 pm
…… and Obama won the Gold Medal for that performance !!!
sistermoon3 03.15.10 at 12:23 pm
axelrod and obama havet his idea we are all stupid
FLBarbara 03.15.10 at 1:04 pm
I wonder where they got the impression the American people are stupid? Could it be they believed hopey changey? And elected no experience no qualifications as President?
Me thinks that is voting stupidly.
murphy 03.15.10 at 1:07 pm
sistermoon — what a jerkoff. I hate it when the morons act all smug and condescending about the dumb little sheeples.
ugh.
FLBarbara 03.15.10 at 1:16 pm
Hey Murphy
Sorry about your flooding. Its a diaster here too. Rained alnight again. Today rain, wind and more trees falling.most of the streets blocked off. Me I am a rebel I drive right thru the yellow tape!!
Me and Lilly are fearless nothing stops us.
Heading out
DancesWithPumas 03.15.10 at 1:27 pm
Justice Thomas’ Wife to Increase Visibility, Join Tea Party Rallies
The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is jumping on the
Tea Party bandwagon with the launch of a new conservative lobbying group and plans to attend some high-profile Tea Party rallies in the coming weeks.
Ginni Thomas founded the Virginia-based nonprofit Liberty Central back in January. Amy Feather, the group’s director of business development and marketing, told FoxNews.com that “the hope” is that Thomas will make an appearance at a Tea Party rally on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
That event, dubbed the “The People’s Surge Against Obamacare 2.0,” is expected to draw about 2,000 people. Tea Party leaders and other activists are planning to converge on Washington, flood congressional offices and press their representatives to vote against the health care reform bill.
Thomas also plans to attend some high-profile Tea Party rallies in the coming weeks. Feather said Thomas will also speak at one of the dozens of Tea Party rallies on Tax Day April 15, likely in Atlanta. Last month, she spoke alongside other Tea Party activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
http://www.foxnews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/15/justice-thomas-wife-joins-tea-party-groups-launches-new-organization/?
DancesWithPumas 03.15.10 at 1:28 pm
Murphy
sorry about the disaster at your homestead.
gojoyknocks 03.15.10 at 1:29 pm
I just heard the words “parliamentary kerfuffle” come out of my mouth while talking to my congressman’s office. Where the hell did that come from? Back to the couch.
sistermoon3 03.15.10 at 1:39 pm
gojoyknocks, it’s in times like these we make up words, i know i do here are two of my new invented words
preverbious
obstacious
plubverious
they come from frustration with stupidity
simofish 03.15.10 at 1:48 pm
For all the men who say “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” – here’s an update for you – Nowadays, 80% of women are against marriage – WHY??? Because women realize it’s not worth buying an entire PIG just for a LITTLE sausage
scarlet 03.15.10 at 1:49 pm
“parliamentary kerfuffle” – LOL
sistermoon3 03.15.10 at 1:52 pm
LOLOLOLOLOl little sausage LOLOLOLOLOLO
simofish 03.15.10 at 1:53 pm
Murphy – my basement is dry – bring the family
scarlet 03.15.10 at 1:53 pm
NYT runs Obama cross photo:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/weekinreview/15baker.html
scarlet 03.15.10 at 1:59 pm
Cindy Sheehan to start camping out at Washington Monument on Monday
report.com/2010/03/cindy-sheehan-to-start-camping-out-at-washington-monument-on-monday/
BigCatLover 03.15.10 at 2:17 pm
House Budget Committee is just starting a hearing on the budget reconciliation process for the health care bill markup on c-span. The hearing will go until done or until midnight tonight.
John Sratt committee chairman is making his opening statement:
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN_wm.aspx
TerryDo 03.15.10 at 2:22 pm
Sorry about your flooding basement Murphy, I hope most of your stored stuff was above ground. I see a flooded basement and all I can think about is all that fungus that grows from hidden dampness.
Swannie 03.15.10 at 11:21 am
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/broad-support-for-australian-sharia-law/story-e6frfku0-1225838340625 I feel compelled to share this .. this is beyond unacceptable.. why is it men think it is alright for them to decide about womens lives?? We need to change that thinking …
**************************************
why is it men think it is alright for them to decide about womens lives??
**********************
Swannie: Probably because if women decided about their lives on their own, most of these men would not be in it; and you know they can’t permit that…
murphy 03.15.10 at 2:33 pm
Why buy the pig when you can get the sausage for free?
OMG I am honestly laughing mao!
vwade 03.15.10 at 2:34 pm
FYI for those interested. Democratic senators opposing healthcare bill.
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2010/03/politics/health.care.votes/index.html?hpt=Sbin
theamericanway 03.15.10 at 2:38 pm
Quick Barry, borrow more money!
March 15 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. and the U.K. have moved “substantially” closer to losing their AAA credit ratings as the cost of servicing their debt rose, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
snip
Under the ratings company’s so-called baseline scenario, the U.S. will spend more on debt service as a percentage of revenue this year than any other top-rated country except the U.K., and will be the biggest spender from 2011 to 2013, Moody’s said today in a report.
“We expect the situation to further deteriorate in terms of the key ratings metrics before they start stabilizing,” Cailleteau said. “This story is not going to stop at the end of the year. There is inertia in the deterioration of credit metrics.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a0a8xAghPS8I
goofsmom 03.15.10 at 3:22 pm
(((PUMAs)))
Good Samaritan Story
My sister who is disabled, was out with a push mower doing the lawn today. A nice gentleman neighbor came by and said he would mower the lawn for her if she just paid for the gas.
This renews my belief that their are still good people in the world and at the same time makes me sad because I used to be able to help her by paying for a gardener when mom was still alive.
Having a messed up day… back to lurking… XOXOXOXO’s to you all.
goofsmom 03.15.10 at 3:35 pm
Oops, almost forgot… Wishing all our North Eastern Pumas the best. Hoping their families are all safe and sound.
Sorry to hear about your basement Murphy, hope you were able to buy that pump!
murphy 03.15.10 at 3:40 pm
got the pump, thanks.
going to rent a jackhammer tomorrow so we can dig out a small well for a new sump pump.
fun!
goofsmom 03.15.10 at 3:48 pm
Woo Hoo, sounds like oodles of fun. Just remember to cover the doorway into the house with plastic so the dust doesn’t float into the house and cover everything!
pumacraig 03.15.10 at 3:54 pm
Murphy Sorry about the flood in your home sending prayers!
stoney42 03.15.10 at 4:26 pm
What a mess that storm left behind. Mother Nature sure has been busy this year with bad weather – plus earth quakes.
HP Boston 03.15.10 at 4:41 pm
Sorry to hear your basement is taking on water Murphy.
Mine is dry but the wind blew the whole dang drain pipe off the gutter and onto my car. Scraped up the window,door and killed the mirror!
The main road is closed here, got to find a way out to take my sister to her flight home to Florida tomorrow. We have been huddled in the house for days. Safe and warm with a couple of books read and we had hit the liquor store way before the storm!
murphy 03.15.10 at 4:56 pm
:we had hit the liquor store way before the storm!”
nice! luckily my package store is right across the street!
wasdriving in Billerica earlier today HP, holy smokes!
scarlet 03.15.10 at 5:04 pm
House Budget Committee votes 21-16 to advance Health Care Reconciliation bill; next stop House Rules Committee
scarlet 03.15.10 at 5:22 pm
Islamic group protests Obama’s visit to Indonesia
Witnesses and police said members of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir protested in East Java’s provincial capital of Surabaya, South Sulawesi’s capital of Makassar and three other cities. The group, an international network which believes Muslims should unite in a single global state governed by Islamic law, urged the Indonesian government to reject the American leader’s trip, scheduled for late March.
“We know Obama spent his childhood in Indonesia, but as president his policy contradicts the people’s interests in Indonesia,” protest organizer Nasrudin said in Makassar.
Hundreds of police monitored the protests, which drew around 2,000 people outside the U.S. Consulate in Surabaya and another 2,000 in the streets of Makassar. No violence was reported.
Dozens of demonstrators also rallied in the Java city of Yogyakarta, the West Kalimantan town of Pontianak and the eastern town of Mataram.
Men and women wearing black veils held up yellow banners reading “Reject the visit of Obama” as they marched in the streets of the two larger cities.
“He doesn’t work for a peaceful world … on the contrary, Obama is the same as George Bush, who has destroyed the Muslim world in Iraq and Afghanistan. Therefore we have to reject the visit of Obama to Indonesia,” said Nasrudin, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Most of its nearly 200 million Muslims practice a moderate form of the faith.
The country’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, and its second largest, Muhamadyah, have both welcomed Obama’s visit.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/ap/
scarlet 03.15.10 at 5:23 pm
(((Murphy))) dehumidifiers so you don’t get mold
prplvette85 03.15.10 at 6:02 pm
(((Murphy))) so sorry about your basement. been there done that. it is so frustrating. I went through 3 sump pumps during the last floods. I think it was 2 years ago. ugh.
((gojoy)) ((simo)))
I really needed a laugh. thanks!
I have been trying to figure a way to get these letters scanned and off to the action center. seems I no longer have word because of the computer issues I had, and I don’t have a disk to re install it. when I do it to a pdf file, I cant email because I don’t know how to do the freakin settings. think I will just snail mail the whole letters to you. I have this thing called open office, and dont know how to use it. looks like word but it’s not
BigCatLover 03.15.10 at 6:06 pm
prplvette85 03.15.10 at 6:02 pm
I have Open Office and it is not interchangeable with Word especially when you send it to someone with Word or vice versa. There is a Word converter software you can download to read Word documents sent to you. Your computer should popup a message telling you that the program is available for download.
normapapuma 03.15.10 at 6:39 pm
Sorry, Murphy! I hate wet basements!
#18 Scarlet
Are you kidding me??? The Obama Times is absolutely ridiculous with the Messiah complex!
DancesWithPumas 03.15.10 at 6:57 pm
murphy 03.15.10 at 3:40 pm
got the pump, thanks.
going to rent a jackhammer tomorrow so we can dig out a small well for a new sump pump.
————–
Don’t forget the ear protection and steel toe slip-on foot protectors.
DancesWithPumas 03.15.10 at 6:58 pm
Good to see you, HP!
DancesWithPumas 03.15.10 at 7:04 pm
Received this in email. I haven’t verified it but I find it interesting, and I think you will too:
Did You Know This?
(You’ll never look at the game the same way again!)
Starting in 1941, an increasing number of British Airmen found themselves as the involuntary guests of the Third Reich, and the Crown was casting about for ways and means to facilitate their escape…
Now obviously, one of the most helpful aids to that end is a useful and accurate map, one showing not only where stuff was, but also showing the locations of ’safe houses’ where a POW on-the-lam could go for food and shelter.
Paper maps had some real drawbacks — they make a lot of noise when you open and fold them, they wear out rapidly, and if they get wet, they turn into mush.
Someone in MI-5 (similar to America ’s OSS ) got the idea of printing escape maps on silk. It’s durable, can be scrunched-up into tiny wads, and unfolded as many times as needed, and makes no noise whatsoever.
At that time, there was only one manufacturer in Great Britain that had perfected the technology of printing on silk, and that was John Waddington, Ltd. When approached by the government, the firm was only too happy to do its bit for the war effort.
By pure coincidence, Waddington was also the U.K. Licensee for the popular American board game, Monopoly. As it happened, ‘games and pastimes’ was a category of item qualified for insertion into ‘CARE packages’, dispatched by the International Red Cross to prisoners of war.
Under the strictest of secrecy, in a securely guarded and inaccessible old workshop on the grounds of Waddington’s, a group of sworn-to-secrecy employees began mass-producing escape maps, keyed to each region of Germany or Italy where Allied POW camps were regional system). When processed, these maps could be folded into such tiny dots that they would actually fit inside a Monopoly playing piece.
As long as they were at it, the clever workmen at Waddington’s also managed to add:
1. A playing token, containing a small magnetic compass
2. A two-part metal file that could easily be screwed together
3. Useful amounts of genuine high-denomination German, Italian, and French currency, hidden within the piles of Monopoly money!
British and American air crews were advised, before taking off on their first mission, how to identify a ‘rigged’ Monopoly set — by means of a tiny red dot, one cleverly rigged to look like an ordinary printing glitch, located in the corner of the Free Parking square.
Of the estimated 35,000 Allied POWS who successfully escaped, an estimated one-third were aided in their flight by the rigged Monopoly sets.. Everyone who did so was sworn to secrecy indefinitely, since the British Government might want to use this highly successful ruse in still another, future war.
The story wasn’t declassified until 2007, when the surviving craftsmen from Waddington’s, as well as the firm itself, were finally honored in a public ceremony.
It’s always nice when you can play that ‘Get Out of Jail’ Free’ card!
I realize most of you are (probably) too young to have any personal connection to WWII (Dec. ‘41 to Aug. ‘45), but this is still interesting.
Story verification: http://blogs.wsj.com/informedreader/2007/11/19/wwii-pows-perk-monopoly-with-real-money/
DancesWithPumas 03.15.10 at 7:06 pm
Lynette Long sent a message to the members of Put a Woman in Statuary Hall.
Subject: Thanks..
“Thanks to all our efforts calling and writing the National Statuary Hall Committee in Ohio, three women, Judith Resnik, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Harriet Taylor Upton, made it to the final three. The Ohio Historical Society is making lesson plans for the Ohio public schools. Now all students in Ohio will learn about these three phenomenal women. Good job. We wish Annie Oakley would have made it four women.”
goofsmom 03.15.10 at 8:31 pm
Dances,
#41 – Loved the Monopoly story!
scarlet 03.15.10 at 9:25 pm
Garrett Fights the Health Care Bill in the Budget Committee
Rep. Scott Garrett who spoke in the Budget Committee against the health care bill today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjQSnODo0zw
scarlet 03.15.10 at 9:40 pm
Health Care Bill “Death Panels” Could Only Be Repealed With 67 Senate Votes
The “Death Panels” is comparative effectiveness = rationing…
Apparently found buried deep in Harry Reid’s last-minute amendment to the health care legislation was this passage changing Senate rules so that the control over doctors and patients given to the Medicare Advisory Panels (government regulators tasked with determining how much of what kind of care you should get when) can only be repealed with a super majority in the Senate.
Or 67 votes.
Upon examination of Senator Harry Reid’s amendment to the health care legislation, Senators discovered section 3403. That section changes the rules of the United States Senate.
To change the rules of the United States Senate, there must be sixty-seven votes.
Section 3403 of Senator Harry Reid’s amendment requires that “it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection.” The good news is that this only applies to one section of the Obamacare legislation. The bad news is that it applies to regulations imposed on doctors and patients by the Independent Medicare Advisory Boards a/k/a the Death Panels.
Section 3403 of Senator Reid’s legislation also states, “Notwithstanding rule XV of the Standing Rules of the Senate, a committee amendment described in subparagraph (A) may include matter not within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Finance if that matter is relevant to a proposal contained in the bill submitted under subsection (c)(3).” In short, it sets up a rule to ignore another Senate rule.
This is problematic for two reasons.
First, if this bill becomes law we won’t be able to get rid of at least parts of it again without a super majority.
Second, changing the rules of the Senate (which this amendment explicitly does per its own language) is itself something that requires a super majority vote. Last time I checked, the Democrats barely eked out the 60 votes they needed for cloture.
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/health_care_bill_death_panels_could_only_be_repealed_with_67_senate_votes/
snowtigerredux 03.15.10 at 9:53 pm
Hello Pumas =hugs=.
Might have more to tell in a couple months.
Been real busy putting something together. Muslim women (primarily) as political activists. Making some head way.
Anyway I just had to pop in and see if you has run into this one yet.
http://www.delawareliberal.net/2010/03/14/impeach-clarence-thomas/
There is a movement to impeach Justice Clarence Thomas because, now get this, his WIFE is going to be setting a up a political org.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Oh and I ran into another PUMA who isn’t active on the board but is fighting ISlam tooth and claw. Won’t tell me her screen name from back then but, I won’t tell her mine either. we all try to keep anyone from making connections. Too many death threats.
NEVER EVER GIVE UP!!!!
Ciao Pumas.
Zee 03.15.10 at 11:40 pm
((((((HP))))))) “We hit the liquor store before the storm.”
CLASSIC.
I hope you can get your sister safely on her way…and ((((((Murphy))))))…good luck with your water damage.
Several of my friends downtown had water damage despite having collectively put in a new roof. Once your home has been breached it never quite feels safe again.
I had to work out of town this weekend and spent several harrowing hours on the highway during the monsoon in white-out conditions with water coming off of speeding trucks like waves and random water slicks sending sprays upwards. It could’ve been described as ethereally gorgeous if it weren’t also so deadly dangerous.
On the up side, my son is back in the country and we shared some nice evenings, both at home and also out celebrating our birthdays!
Zee 03.15.10 at 11:43 pm
((Snowtiger!))
Thanks for the update. Over at TGW (tn guerilla women) they link to an all-too-scanty story in the Washington Post about activist Muslim Afghan women putting their lives on the line. And African women, too.
DancesWithPumas 03.16.10 at 2:04 am
It could’ve been described as ethereally gorgeous if it weren’t also so deadly dangerous.
———
nice phrasing! Glad you’re safe!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZEE!!!!
Delle 03.16.10 at 5:34 am
It actually gives me the creeps to read about all the crap going on in the White House. It makes me feel dirty!
Finally, some of it may be coming to the surface. I have to add here that I can’t stand Specter, but if he is the one who can start the investigations, I will be thankful:
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/03/16/specter-opens-door-on-white-ho
Notyoursweetie 03.16.10 at 7:05 am
Today’s tabloids
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/tabloids-hcr-without-voting-edwards-again-financial-reform-medicaid/
Notyoursweetie 03.16.10 at 8:46 am
And watch different types of B0bots coming to terms with Obama’s low approval numbers
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/where-is-the-love-b0bots-ponder-obamas-low-approval/
HP Boston 03.16.10 at 8:56 am
Zee Happy Birthday to you and your son, nice celerbrating togther.
Wonderful memories piling up around ya, savor them all.
HP Boston 03.16.10 at 8:57 am
together….nice!!!
HP Boston 03.16.10 at 9:04 am
nice celebrating together.
dam going back to bed…tyops adn pour spellling………
goandersen 03.16.10 at 9:05 am
I guess this may be why Dennis Kucinich was on Air Force One the other day. I guess his vote will be a yes.
**
Included in the bill appears to be the “public option” that was removed from the Senate bill. From page 1167 of the bill:
Subtitle B—Public Health Insurance Option
SEC. 221. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION AS AN EXCHANGE-QUALIFIED HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—For years beginning with Y1, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide for the offering of an Exchange-participating health benefits plan (in this subdivision referred to as the ‘‘public health insurance option’’) that ensures choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high quality coverage throughout the United States in accordance with this subtitle. In designing the option, the Secretary’s primary responsibility is to create a low-cost plan without compromising quality or access to care.
http://www.redstate.com/
TerryDo 03.16.10 at 9:36 am
Zee #47
“On the up side, my son is back in the country and we shared some nice evenings, both at home and also out celebrating our birthdays!”
***********************
Happy Healthy Birthday and a Wealthy Personal New Year Zee, to you and your son!
This is a good month for Pisces astrologically; check out Astrology Zone site listed below….
Some of its’ comments…(snippets)
Pisces, with March you have reached a milestone month where you will walk though a threshold toward one of the most beneficial and exciting periods of your life. Admittedly, most of the time you will be too busy doing things to be aware of just how potent a period March and the months to come truly are for you.
Truly, this year should be spectacular for you. You need to be proactive, though, by scheduling meetings, presentations, first dates, and so forth during this period. You only get seven or eight of this magnitude in a lifetime, as Jupiter only comes by every 12 years. It’s that special!
Think back to 1998-early 1999, for that was your last Jupiter in Pisces year.
Also on the same day as the new moon, March 15, Mercury, planet of news, will combine energies with Uranus, On this particular day your mind will crackle with innovative, original ideas, so be sure to spend time working on a creative project.
Two days later, March 17, the Sun and Uranus will combine energies in Pisces. This aspect is all about breaking the bonds that held you down in the past. You are about to become liberated from some sort of situation that contained or limited you. If your birthday falls near March 17, this aspect will speak directly to you……………
http://www.astrologyzone.com/forecasts/monthly/pisces_full.php
scarlet 03.16.10 at 9:45 am
In 2008, the CBO predicted that the Social Security surplus would disappear in 2017, and the Treasury would have to start redeeming those bonds then. They got it wrong – the day is here.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/gordon/257746
All the lies about the Social Security “lock box” are now on full display. This is the year we will start paying out more from the SS program than we took in. We’ve gotten here even earlier than predicted. This wasn’t supposed to happen until 2017. Whoops…
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration.
It’s time to start cashing them in.
For more than two decades, Social Security collected more money in payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits — billions more each year.
Not anymore. This year, for the first time since the 1980s, when Congress last overhauled Social Security, the retirement program is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more.
Sounds like a good time to start tapping the nest egg.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100315/ap_on_bi_ge/us_social_security_ious;_ylt=AtRIED8F5bw4arntVZWV6vYDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTJzdmU2ZW9yBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzE1L3VzX3NvY2lhbF9zZWN1cml0eV9pb3VzBHBvcwMyBHNlYwN5bl9hcnRpY2xlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDc29jaWFsc2VjdXJp
DancesWithPumas 03.16.10 at 9:51 am
March 16, 2010
C-Span Puts Full Archives on the Web
By BRIAN STELTER
WASHINGTON — Researchers, political satirists and partisan mudslingers, take note: C-Span has uploaded virtually every minute of its video archives to the Internet.
The archives, at C-SpanVideo.org, cover 23 years of history and five presidential administrations and are sure to provide new fodder for pundits and politicians alike. The network will formally announce the completion of the C-Span Video Library on Wednesday.
Having free online access to the more than 160,000 hours of C-Span footage is “like being able to Google political history using the ‘I Feel Lucky’ button every time,” said Rachel Maddow, the liberal MSNBC host.
Ed Morrissey, a senior correspondent for the conservative blog Hot Air (hotair.com), said, “The geek in me wants to find an excuse to start digging.”
more at:
nytimes.com
scarlet 03.16.10 at 10:11 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUd-slJc-GY&feature
Obama: Premiums Will Decrease 3000% So You Should Get A Raise When H’care Is Passed (in Ohio yesterday)
—–
Wonder how that works? pffft
FLBarbara 03.16.10 at 11:02 am
Email from Dr Lynette Long via BJ free me now.
Congratulations.
Lynette Long March 15 at 8:26am ReplyThanks to all our efforts calling and writing the National Statuary Hall Committee in Ohio, three women, Judith Resnik, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Harriet Taylor Upton, made it to the final three. The Ohio Historical Society is making lesson plans for the Ohio public schools. Now all students in Ohio will learn about these three phenomenal women. Good job. We wish Annie Oakley would have made it four women.
sistermoon3 03.16.10 at 11:13 am
#60, now we know why he had his college records sealed
we know for sure now he failed MATH!!!! Good grief and then he followed it up by saying the businesses could give them a raise, wow, he just tells everyone what they can do doesnt he? Im still waiting for a great explanation of how taking 500 billion from medicare is gonna make it more solvent. This must truly be the new math cause i dont understand it anymore
Delle 03.16.10 at 11:15 am
I am so sick of this egotistical clown:
http://www.weaselzippers.net/blog/2010/03/goracle-blames-global-warming-for-recent-downpours-in-northeast.html
I lost three trees, some shingles, one glass window pane and two fences during this latest storm. Others had much worse damage.
Now this big headed bloviator is using these storms to earn himself more profits as well as spreading more propaganda!!
Damn! Someone kick this loonie off the stage. His fifteen minutes are over!
Zee 03.16.10 at 11:17 am
FL Barbara, thanks for that news from Dr. Long….and I wish Annie Oakley had made the list, too!!
Zee 03.16.10 at 11:20 am
#60 scarlet
Ugh, lies and bs in every second of that clip….complete with his resurrected fake Southern accent. Barf.
sistermoon3 03.16.10 at 11:27 am
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/15/clinic-cancer-patient-wrote-obama-lose-home-aid/
as soon as i heard Obama had used this woman’s story in Ohio yesterday, i thought well, if she lost her job, (which he didnt seem to think was important at all by the way) if she lost her job, she would probably be eligible for Medicaid, well, duh????????? totally amazing that the clinic that is treating her had to explain themselves, it’s truly boggles the mind at how he gets by with the stories and then we find out she is being taken care of very well, truly amazing
FLBarbara 03.16.10 at 11:27 am
Happy Birthday Zee
Looks like a good year for you. Hoping TerryDo is right on.
Yes I wish Annie was there as well. That would have been cool. Annie with a shot gun !!
sistermoon3 03.16.10 at 11:28 am
oooopsy daisy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY zeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeE:)
Zee 03.16.10 at 11:38 am
oh, and HP #53, 54, 55….re “celerbrating”
That must’ve been some run to the liquor store! Did you save me ANY??
;p
But I know what you mean about memories and savoring time together. And hey! It was on my birthday last year I met so many PUMAs…so it’s an anniversary, too. Whoo-hoo!
Well, I must run…bbl….
sistermoon3 03.16.10 at 11:42 am
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/7450237/Barack-Obama-threatens-to-withdraw-support-from-wavering-Democrats.html
LOLOLOLOL if im not mistaken the last three times he’s campaigned for anyone they lost, i guess he didnt notice that
scarlet 03.16.10 at 12:56 pm
The latest e from Obama – they are coming daily…
scarlett –
In 2008, voters in Illinois’s 10th congressional district voted to send President Obama to Washington to fight for change — including for desperately needed health insurance reform. They expected Republican Representative Mark Kirk to reach across the aisle to be a partner for change.
Unfortunately, last fall Rep. Kirk opposed reform and voted to let insurance companies continue jacking up premiums and denying care to sick people. But it’s not too late for him to change his mind and put average Americans and the middle class ahead of corporate and special interests.
The next make-or-break vote on reform is just a few days away, it’s expected to be extremely close, and Rep. Kirk could be critical. So for Day 7 of the Final March for Reform, our plan is to reach out to voters in his district and ask them to call their representative to speak out for reform.
Using our easy online tool, we’ll give you a list of friendly voters and tips on what to say. If we can help even a few of these folks call Rep. Kirk’s office it could make a huge difference — so please take a few minutes and get started now.
Our online Neighbor-to-Neighbor tool makes calling quick and easy. Once you log in (it only takes a few seconds) you’ll get a list of like-minded voters in Rep. Kirk’s district.
Our message is simple: Rep. Kirk can stand with Illinois families and businesses by casting a key “yes” vote or continue on the path of bitter partisanship and suffer at the polls in November.
Today, OFA supporters across the country are calling voters in similar districts as part of our Final March for Reform. It’s not too late for Republican representatives to do the right thing for their districts and the nation — we only hope they’re willing to listen to their constituents.
After so many months of work, a final vote could come any day, and every vote in the House could tip the balance. Please don’t wait — call a few of these critical voters now:
http://my.barackobama.com/Day7
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
P.S. — Would you rather make these calls with other volunteers? This week, OFA supporters nationwide are hosting Final March for Reform events to reach out to voters in critical districts. You can find one in your area here:
http://my.barackobama.com/Day7RSVP
theamericanway 03.16.10 at 1:00 pm
Dear PUMAS,
It’s hard to keep a stiff upper lip right now, but an offer just came my way to brighten thoughts a bit. Via email from Madeline Albright on behalf of the Clinton Foundation, and this is it:
When you make a donation to the Clinton Foundation before March 18, you will be automatically entered to win the chance to spend a day with my great friend, President Bill Clinton.
As a contributor myself, I can assure you that every gift — big or small — will go a long way. And as a long-time friend of President Clinton, I can assure you that a day spent with Bill Clinton, as he works toward creative solutions to global problems, is a day you’ll never forget.
————–
Amen, former SOS Albright.
————–
Murphy how’s it going? Flooding is one of the worst experiences, I’m certain. I expect never to go through it because I live in a trailer on top of a mountain. If it ever comes to me, that would have to be 40 days and 40 nights for everyone else.
theamericanway 03.16.10 at 1:03 pm
#71: we only hope they’re willing to listen to their constituents.
——————-
Hey we’re nearly on the same side here … cuz we’re hoping the Democrats will listen to their constituents. LOL
murphy 03.16.10 at 1:59 pm
thanks theamericanway — still in the basement posted,
take it upstairs!
please bring links for everyone to share!
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