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in title, tags, annotations or urlHouse and Land Packages Perth: The Right Choice - 1 views
When I visited Natures Walk's house and land packages Perth, I was impressed by the stunning home designs. As a home buyer, the nice community which features Mandurah houses also provided a surroun...
Italy strike: THREE million protest over austerity package | Mail Online - 0 views
YouTube - The End Of America - 0 views
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More at http://www.theuptake.org ABOUT THIS VIDEO: President Obama's stimulus package is intended not only to shore up the economy, but the U.S. psyche. The American Dream itself. But what if we euthanize the American Dream? The Uptake wants to hear your voice. Submit your own video "letter to the editor." More information: How to submit a video 1) Have something intelligent to say 2) Record it on a video using your real name. 3) Upload it at www.tubemogul.com using info@theuptake.org as your log in and uptake411 as your password. 4) Send an email to info@theuptake.org telling us about your video. Dennis Trainor, Jr is a regular video contributor to TheUptake.org. He was a writer & media consultant for Dennis Kucinich's 2008 presidential campaign & a 2007 "Best of YouTube" nominee for his work as writer/ performer on "The Hermit with Davis Fleetwood." He is currently at work on two books: "My Progressive Dilemma" (chronicling President Obama's 1st year in office) and a novel adapted from his play, "I Coulda Been a Kennedy." Contact: dennistrainorjr (at) gmail (dot) com
How Corporations Buy Congress | BuzzFlash.org - 0 views
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With the November elections quickly approaching, the majority of Americans will be thinking one thing: "Who cares?" This apathy isn't due to ignorance, as some accuse. Rather, working people's disinterest in the two party system implies intelligence: millions of people understand that both the Democrats and Republicans will not represent their interests in Congress. This begs the question: Whom does the two party system work for? The answer was recently given by the mainstream The New York Times, who gave the nation an insiders peek on how corporations "lobby" (buy) congressmen. The article explains how giant corporations - from Wall-mart to weapons manufacturers - are planning on shifting their hiring practices for lobbyists, from Democratic to Republican ex-congressmen in preparation for the Republicans gaining seats in the upcoming November elections: "Lobbyists, political consultants and recruiters all say that the going rate for Republicans - particularly current and former House staff members - has risen significantly in just the last few weeks, with salaries beginning at $300,000 and going as high as $1million for private sector [corporate lobbyist] positions." (September 9, 2010) Congressmen who have recently retired make the perfect lobbyists: they still have good friends in Congress, with many of these friends owing them political favors; they have connections to foreign Presidents and Kings; and they also have celebrity status that gives good PR to the corporations. Often, these congressmen have done favors for the corporation that is now hiring them, meaning, that the corporations are rewarding the congressmen for services rendered while in office, offering them million dollar lobbyist jobs (or seats on the corporate board of directors) that requires little to no work. The same New York Times article revealed that the pay for 13,000 lobbyists currently bribing Congress is a combined $3.5 bil
Jobs Bill Looks Ready To Pass Major Hurdle After GOPers Join Dems | TPMDC - 0 views
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Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) broke with his party and voted with the Democrats. So did Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). It had been uncertain earlier in the day whether any Republicans would help Democrats reach 60 votes and overcome the threat of a GOP filibuster. With Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) out of the Senate after being diagnosed with stomach cancer, Democrats needed at least two Republican votes to overcome a GOP filibuster threat. "Work with us on this," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said moments before the vote. "Show us you're serious about legislating." Reid also warned Republicans: Fail to support this bill, and the minority would "confirm their reputation as the 'Party of No.'" The bill, which is much smaller than some original proposals, would exempt businesses from paying Social Security payroll taxes this year after hiring from the nation's pool of millions of unemployed. The Build-America Bonds Act of 2009 would be renewed by the jobs bill. The scaled-down bill would also extend some tax breaks for small businesses, renew highway programs through December, and put $20 billion in the highway trust fund.
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Empathy in short supply: Greece: not a simple fable about ants and crickets | The Economist - 0 views
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"Real, live Germans are not heartless ants, and the Greeks are not broke because they are giddy crickets who sing their summers away. Greece is a grown-up country with grown-up problems: rough, tough politics, and a lot of recent history, not all of it very nice. And it is precisely that recent history, and rough politics, that are at the core of Greece's fiscal woes today. Take the painful question of the huge public sector, and all those civil servants with jobs for life, and unusually generous retirement packages. The existence of those jobs for life is not a cultural quirk, in which Greek officials simply like coffee and backgammon too much to do any work. It is the end result of a brutal, multi-decade power struggle between the left and the right: a struggle that got people killed within living memory."
Time for Democrats to take a risk - CNN.com - 0 views
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Reconciliation was created through the Budget Reform Act of 1974 in an effort to streamline the budget process, strengthen the ability of Congress to make tough decisions regarding deficits, and to make legislative decision-making more efficient. Congress quickly expanded on the types of measures that could be considered under reconciliation until 1985 and 1986, when the Senate passed rules proposed by Sen. Robert Byrd that limited what could or could not be included when using this process. Before moving forward, Democrats must consider two questions. The first is whether using reconciliation to pass health care is legitimate or an abuse of the process. Republicans have charged that this would be akin to forcing the program through the chamber rather than passing the bill through negotiation and compromise. On this question, the answer is easy. Reconciliation has been as much a part of the Senate in the past three decades as the filibuster. According to an article that was published in The New Republic, Congress passed 22 reconciliation bills between 1980 and 2008. Many important policy changes were enacted through this process, including the Children's Health Insurance Program, COBRA (which allows people who switch jobs to keep their health care), student aid reform, expansions in Medicaid and several major tax cuts. NPR's Julie Rovner reported that most of the health care reforms enacted in the past two decades have gone through reconciliation. President Ronald Reagan was one of the first presidents to make aggressive use of reconciliation when he pushed through his economic program in 1981. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker said then that speed had been essential because "Every day that this is delayed makes it more difficult to pass. This is an extraordinary proposal, and these are extraordinary times." Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush all used reconciliation as well. It is worth noting that these presidents, particularly George W. Bush, also made use of sweeping executive power to circumvent Congress altogether. The second question is more difficult and it involves perceptions. If the Democratic leadership wants to use this tactic, they have to convince enough members of their own party that this won't scare off independent voters. This argument was harder to make in 2009 than in 2010. But after a year of dealing with paralysis in the Senate and highly effective Republican obstruction, more Democrats are coming on board. The leadership must be proactive in responding to the criticism about reconciliation. They will have to explain that reconciliation is a legitimate process by pointing to the history. They will also have to connect the dots for voters frustrated with the ineffective government by explaining that the constant use of the filibuster has turned the Senate into a supermajority institution where both parties have found it extraordinarily difficult -- virtually impossible -- to pass major legislation.On this point, Republicans and Democrats actually agree. Indeed, as Democrats make this decision, Kentucky Republican Senator Jim Bunning is objecting to a unanimous consent order and single-handedly preventing the Senate from passing an important bill to assist unemployed workers.
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After the Republicans and Democrats met at the White House summit on health care, it was clear that the parties are very far away from a bipartisan agreement. Indeed, few participants walked away with the sense that they were any closer to a deal. The White House did make clear that it was willing to move forward on health care without Republican support. The choice now becomes whether Democrats should use the budget reconciliation process to pass some parts of health care legislation. According to recent reports, Democrats are considering having the House pass the bill that was already approved in the Senate and then dealing with a package of additional reforms through reconciliation.
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Get that? The current "god" of conservatism - Ronald Reagan - used reconciliation aggressively. So if it was good enough for him ...
The Year Washington Became "Business Friendly" - 0 views
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ot that it was all that unfriendly before. Some would say the bailouts of Wall Street, AIG, GM and Chysler were about as friendly as it can get. In addition, Washington gave windfalls to drug companies and health insurers in the new health bill, subsidies to energy companies in the stimulus package, and billions to domestic and military contractors.
Best Mandurah Houses - 1 views
I was amazed when I visited Natures Walk house and land packages Perth which have stunning home designs. Homebuyers like me would surely prefer living in this very nice community inside contemporar...
A Road Map to Economic Armageddon - Book Review - Truthdig - 0 views
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By John B. Taylor This review is from a syndication service of The Washington Post. In "Reckless Endangerment," Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner argue that cozy connections between government and the financial industry were the primary cause of the financial crisis. While many economists-including this reviewer-have argued that government actions caused the crisis, Morgenson and Rosner use their investigative skills to dig down and explain why those actions were taken. The book focuses on two government agencies, Fannie Mae and the Federal Reserve. The mutual support system is better explained and documented in the case of Fannie, the government-sponsored enterprise that supported the home mortgage market by buying mortgages and packaging them into marketable securities, which it then guaranteed and sold to investors.
Amazing House and Land Packages in Perth for First-time Buyers - 1 views
As a first-time homebuyer, I looked for house and land packages in Perth that would fit my idea of a dream house. Natures Walk offers stunning home designs; many homebuyers like me were lucky to ha...
Five myths about the debt ceiling - The Washington Post - 0 views
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In recent months, the federal debt ceiling - last increased in February 2010 and now standing at $14.3 trillion - has become a matter of national debate and political hysteria. The ceiling must be raised by Aug. 2, Treasury says, or the government will run out of cash. Congressional Republicans counter that they won't raise the debt limit unless Democrats agree to large budget cuts with no tax increases. President Obama insists that closing tax loopholes must be part of the package. Whom and what to believe in the great debt-limit debate? Here are some misconceptions that get to the heart of the battle.
House and Land Packages with Contemporary Designs - 1 views
When I visited Natures Walk's house and land packages, I have seen the stunning home designs. Homebuyers like me have decided to live in this very nice neighbourhood that has contemporary-designed ...
Mailing Machines for intelligent Mail Package Barcode - 0 views
Joseph A. Palermo: Defeating the Bailout Looks Like Another Republican Ploy - 0 views
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House Republican leaders did not put much pressure on their rank-and-file members to back the rescue package." John Boehner, Roy Blunt and other "leaders" of the House Republicans thought they could strike a public pose as if they really cared about the credit seizure that looms over the country while secretly hoping to pin the bill's passage on Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, (and by association, Barack Obama).
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They wanted Speaker Pelosi to pass the bill without much Republican cover so they could tell their constituents that the Democrats were just "picking the taxpayers' pockets again."
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I agree with the critical flaws in the bill that Dennis Kucinich articulated this morning on Amy Goodman's show, Democracy Now! I don't believe in a government welfare program for Wall Street swindlers who had the audacity to pump up the paper value of one of their hidden, unregulated derivatives, "credit default swaps," from $631 billion in 2001 to $62 trillion in 2008! I think some people should be indicted; some people should go to jail.
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Volcker Rule: 5 Formery Treasury Secretaries Back Obama's Reforms - 0 views
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The ex-Treasury officials, who served both Republican and Democratic administrations, wrote that the reform measure, which would prohibit commercial banks from owning or investing in hedge funds, private equity funds or "proprietary trading" operations, is a reasonable trade for the benefits banks reap from "public support by means of access to the Federal Reserve and FDIC insurance." And while the rule may not alone prevent the next financial crisis, they said it's a crucial part of a more expansive regulatory reform package: "We fully understand that the restriction of proprietary activity by banks is only one element in comprehensive financial reform. It is, however, a key element in protecting our financial system and will assure that banks will give priority to their essential lending and depository responsibilities."
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Boston Globe Online / Nation | World / Man detained six hours for carrying blade - 0 views
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Stories we shouldn't forget ... a few days after 9/11, a traditional sikh from Virginia is arrested for ... dressing like a traditional sikh. Quoting ... "At the police station, Singh was fingerprinted, strip searched, and photographed, and he said that instead of interrogating him, the police asked him questions like 'Why do you look like this?'" Racism, diluted by little other than cultural intolerance.