tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130313522024-03-12T23:08:01.448-07:00Mainstream IowanThoughts, editorials and opinions on events from a conservative working-class, midwestern family in central Iowa. Different perspectives from the family's husband and father, wife and mother, and yes, even their kids. Musings, rants and raves mixed with hyperbole and satire of how they think, feel, and view issues, all the while trying to adjust to living in today's world. <a href="http://mainstreamiowan.blogspot.com/2005/05/this-blogs-terms-and-policies.html">
Terms and Policies</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger296125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-33830887124482824292009-02-19T08:55:00.000-08:002009-02-19T09:17:52.312-08:00Reaping What We Sow...<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">What Is Happening To Our Country -<br />Why Is The Crisis Worsening?<br /><br /> </span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">The answer is simple: "<em>Our nation is now dealing with the consequences of it's own actions and conduct."</em> </span></div><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">***</p><div align="left"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Enough said. The Mainstream Iowan blog has been around for a number of years and we have decided to move on to other things. The blog will be going away. While many of our visitors liked us, many did not, but that is okay.<br /><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">We extend our thanks to all our visitors!<br />Regards and Best Wishes...</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span> </div><div align="center"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-55536671281443454352009-02-18T04:13:00.000-08:002009-02-18T04:17:26.129-08:00Principal In The News<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>Principal Financial's Ratings</strong><br /></span></div><p align="left"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Fitch Ratings has downgraded and placed on Rating Watch Negative the ratings of Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG) and its subsidiaries. The downgrades and watch assignments include the insurer financial strength (IFS) ratings of PFG's primary life insurance company subsidiaries to 'AA-' from 'AA' and its holding company senior debt rating to 'A-' from 'A'. A full list of rating actions follows at the end of this release.<br /><br />The downgrade reflects Fitch's ongoing review of PFG's exposure to the current credit market turmoil and expectation of continued deterioration in 2009.<br /><br />The Negative Rating Watch reflects Fitch's concern over PFG's ability to successfully refinance a $455 million holding company debt maturity due later this year without drawing upon its insurance subsidiary capital. Fitch believes the adequacy of insurance company capital at the current 'AA-' insurer financial strength level will be tested in 2009 due to expected investment losses, without the added pressure of making significant dividend payments to the holding company. Therefore, Fitch will closely monitor the refinancing prospects for PFG. Inability to successfully refinance could result in a one-notch downgrade. Successful refinancing could result in an affirmation of current ratings with a Negative Outlook reflecting Fitch's industry view. </span><a href="http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090217006675&newsLang=en"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Prinicipal+Financial+Group" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Prinicipal+Financial+Group" />Prinicipal Financial Group</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-1151744842103411812009-02-17T04:15:00.000-08:002009-02-17T04:20:59.690-08:00The Beginning of the USSA<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Obama To Sign Stimulus Bill Today</span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Indebting The Next Generation</span></strong></div><p><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign the $787 billion economic stimulus plan into law at a ceremony in the western city of Denver, Colorado on Tuesday. Mr. Obama calls it a "major milestone on the road to recovery" for the U.S. economy, while critics insist it is too expensive and will create fewer jobs than proponents insist.<br /><br />The bill, which includes government spending and tax cuts intended to help push the U.S. economy out of recession, is the president's first big legislative victory since taking office last month.<br /><br />Moody's Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi who also appeared on Fox News Sunday said President Obama's contention that the stimulus plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs is optimistic.<br /></span><a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-17-voa5.cf"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Stimulus" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Stimulus" />Stimulus</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Obama" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Obama" />Obama</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Socialism" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Socialism" />Socialism</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-11015013418728304862009-02-16T04:05:00.000-08:002009-02-16T04:13:26.710-08:00Immigration Fraud In Iowa Displacing American Workers<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">A Scheme That Displaced American High Tech<br />& Advanced Computer Programming Workers<br /><br /></span></strong></div><p align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker, who represents Iowa's Southern District, says Vision Systems Group Inc. brought foreign workers to the U.S. to fill temporary high-tech jobs.<br /><br />The company filed documents claiming the workers were employed in Iowa, but Whitaker says they were actually located on the coasts. Whitaker says the move saved the company money as the foreign workers were paid lower wages in Iowa than they would have been paid in places like New Jersey and California.<br /><br />In addition, prosecutors allege the tactic displaced American workers that were qualified to fill those positions in those coastal locations. Whitaker calls Vision Systems Group an I-T company and says the foreign workers were hired for advanced computer programming positions.<br /><br />"These fraud schemes are not only very sophisticated in their use of Iowa as a location to drive down the prevailing wage that they can pay their workers - and then farm them out to more higher-wage, populated areas - but also how lucrative it is for the individuals that are behind these schemes," Whitaker said. The indictment claims the illegal maneuver may have saved the company more than seven-million dollars. Whitaker called the 18-month long investigation the "tip of the iceberg" and expects similar arrests in the future.<br /></span><a href="http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=6C2F40A5-5056-B82A-37D7403A03CA77DA"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/illegal" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=illegal" />illegal</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/immigration" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=immigration" />immigration</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Iowa" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Iowa" />Iowa</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-12405562573756019172009-02-13T04:12:00.000-08:002009-02-13T04:24:00.174-08:00Space Pollution: Is Our Space Safe?<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>Collision Dangers Resulting From<br />Orbiting Satellites, Debris and Space Junk<br /></strong><em>300,000 Hazardous Objects Orbiting Earth<br /></em><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeF67FS1We3sj4TCueUo4xBMV3EuCtLHk7NNW1uqDuNMmBqmXCfKQL6AE9ktveUkYr3Ouo-JGkByEgPQhRRFVIiPDXP3DO3BU_9vAIZ9BmY_e5qqzqmEwq8bPkr8PLxry98zA/s1600-h/debris.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302254482789687954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 87px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 87px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLeF67FS1We3sj4TCueUo4xBMV3EuCtLHk7NNW1uqDuNMmBqmXCfKQL6AE9ktveUkYr3Ouo-JGkByEgPQhRRFVIiPDXP3DO3BU_9vAIZ9BmY_e5qqzqmEwq8bPkr8PLxry98zA/s320/debris.jpg" border="0" /></span> <p align="left"></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">A Russian and a US satellite crashed into each other in an unprecedented collision unleashing clouds of space debris that could threaten orbiting spacecraft, officials said.<br /><br />After more than five decades of human activity in space, the news raises fresh concern over the swarms of hazardous debris orbiting the Earth.<br /><br />A 2008 report by the international monitoring group Space Security Index found that 300,000 objects measuring between 0.4 and four inches (one and 10 centimeters) in diameter and "billions" of smaller pieces orbit the Earth.<br /><br />Some 6,000 satellites have been sent into space since the Soviet Union launched the first man-made orbiter, Sputnik 1, in 1957. About 800 satellites remain in operation, according to STRATCOM.<br /></span><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jvfEVRZaKiQ3lkNywl24bowKy9-A"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Space" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Space" />Space</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Pollution" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Pollution" />Pollution</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Satellites" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Satellites" />Satellites</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-30513349291542062462009-02-12T04:20:00.000-08:002009-02-12T04:32:17.741-08:00The Price Of Partying With Phelps<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Phelps Party Friends Party Pooped<br />- Eight People Arrested - </span></strong></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkTRWY4c93UUxkicQjpFWFejumoS4YL5w_CgFmpKac46rYga733EjfvsuQyOfxOQt82o7cpwfo6iPr420Fy1ZPHpxFdmiwFanBfczYaHISr82Nd1WfSxjrwW0sHl6UzVHgtpe/s1600-h/goldm.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301887356567646802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkTRWY4c93UUxkicQjpFWFejumoS4YL5w_CgFmpKac46rYga733EjfvsuQyOfxOQt82o7cpwfo6iPr420Fy1ZPHpxFdmiwFanBfczYaHISr82Nd1WfSxjrwW0sHl6UzVHgtpe/s320/goldm.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-family:verdana;">Authorities recently executed search warrants at two private homes in Columbia, S.C., and arrested eight people for marijuana possession, in connection with an investigation into the photo of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps holding a bong, ABC News has learned.<br /><br />The British tabloid News of the World published a photo of Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps holding a bong. Phelps, a swimmer who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games in 2008, ackowledged that it was him in the photo and admitted "bad judgment."<br /><br />Armed Richland County Sheriff's Department officers entered at least one of the properties Saturday, Feb. 7, sources told ABC News. Though eight people were arrested, less than an ounce of marijuana was confiscated by sheriff's deputies, the sources said.<br /></span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Stars/story?id=6859306&page=1"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><br /><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Phelps" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Phelps" />Phelps</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Marijuana" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Marijuana" />Marijuana</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Swimming" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Swimming" />Swimming</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-86106537071915080482009-02-11T04:19:00.000-08:002009-02-11T04:25:59.833-08:00And Change Is What The Country Got...<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Dow Jones Fall 382 Points<br />Lack Of Confidence In Stimulus</span></strong></div><p align="left"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Investors are frustrated with the government's latest bank bailout plan — and showing it by unloading stocks. The major stock indexes fell more than 5 percent Tuesday, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which tumbled 382 points. Financial stocks led the market lower, reflecting Wall Street's growing concerns about the government's ability to restore the health of the banking industry.<br /><br />"The economy is in deep trouble. The stimulus plan is not very stimulative. It's not addressing the real problem," Buetow said. "We have an insolvent financial system. The government is trying to find a comprehensive way to save it. They can't afford to just throw money at it. That's what they tried to do in the fall and that clearly did not work."<br /></span><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gHs5OM3gFG_DytQQZFbWfgPT08MAD968V3400"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Economy" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Economy" /><span style="font-size:78%;">Economy</span></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Stock+Market" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Stock+Market" />Stock Market</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Stimulus" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Stimulus" />Stimulus</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p><strong></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-48298686944640078252009-02-10T04:17:00.000-08:002009-02-10T04:27:32.889-08:00More On The Minnesota Senate Race<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Disenfranchised Voters<br />Ballots Not Counted In Minnesota Senate Race</span></strong></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">While Franken wants provisional election<br />certificate to be seated in the U.S. Senate<br /><br /></span></em></div><p align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Smith, the top elections official in Anoka County, dropped a minor bombshell Thursday in the courtroom where a lawsuit over Minnesota's U.S. Senate race was being heard. She testified that the county has found — within the prior 24 hours — a dozen or more ballots that were never counted in the statewide recount that ended last month.<br /><br />While the number is not enough to overcome Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote lead over former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, it suggests there might be other uncounted ballots in other counties. Only a handful of elections officials have testified in the recount trial so far.<br /></span><a href="http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_11640761?source=rss"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Franken" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Franken" />Franken</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Coleman" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Coleman" />Coleman</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Minnesota" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Minnesota" />Minnesota</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-32422622026994443632009-02-09T04:21:00.000-08:002009-02-09T04:28:33.761-08:00Democrats: Pay Your Taxes<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>Obama's Cabinet Appointees Have Tax Problems<br /></strong><em>Shhh.. <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/al_franken_taxes/2009/02/06/179148.html">Don't Forget About Al Franken's Taxes...</a></em></span></div><p align="left"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">America is now nearly three weeks into the Obama presidency and already his administration has been plagued with a few political scandals. Chief among them are the inability of anyone in his cabinet to pay their taxes.<br /><br />Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Obama’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, recently stepped down as the nominee after controversy broke out over the fact that he did not pay $140,000 worth of income taxes to the government.<br /><br />This happened after Nancy Killefer, nominee for Obama’s chief White House performance officer, withdrew her name after it was revealed that she failed to pay unemployment taxes in the District of Columbia. This new cabinet position is ironically supposed to help the president control wasteful spending. Too bad Killefer considers her taxes an example of useless spending.<br /><br />And then there is Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner, who prior to being confirmed to his present job failed to pay $35,000 in self-employment taxes. This is even greater irony, considering it is his job to handle the government’s money.<br /></span><a href="http://media.www.whitworthian.com/media/storage/paper1220/news/2009/02/06/Opinions/Opinion.Tax.Scandals.Of.Appointees.Plague.Obamas.First.Weeks-3618472.shtml"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Tax+Evasion" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Tax+Evasion" />Tax Evasion</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Obama" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Obama" />Obama</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Democrat" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Democrat" />Democrat</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-63758127687969257602009-02-06T04:07:00.000-08:002009-02-06T04:19:39.583-08:00World's Most Gifted Swimmer Blows It Away<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Michael Phelps</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A Gifted And Talented Athlete, While A Poor Role Model </span><br /></span></strong></div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Michael Phelps was suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, the latest fallout from a photo that showed the Olympic great with a a marijuana pipe.<br /><br />The sport's national governing body also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period, effective Thursday.<br /><br />Earlier Thursday, cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. announced it wouldn't renew its sponsorship contract with Phelps, saying his behavior is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg." The swimmer appeared on the company's cereal boxes after his Olympic triumph.<br /></span><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/9186634/USA-Swimming-suspends-Phelps-for-3-months?MSNHPHMA&gt1=39002"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><em><a href="http://www.michaelphelps.com/2004/english.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Visit Michael's Web Site</span></a></em><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Michael+Phelps" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Michael+Phelps" />Michael Phelps</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Olympics" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Olympics" />Olympics</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Marijuana" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Marijuana" />Marijuana</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-69501188040741157892009-02-05T04:19:00.000-08:002009-02-05T04:28:54.255-08:00Employ Americans First In This High Unemployment Crisis<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Information From The</span><br />Coalition For The Future American Worker</strong><br /><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAMRAKf9tZrpMwAsJT8eu39iWSN8SguNyaRXpvcMXw9e_K48NE2fZyrwIT6ZKc8VszDoh82IhQdLrEUUZpJll8NHlmzSj9TmLoWi8nyvCPk-UZ1F5JN1KAiKzEqAw9F5ifJTU/s1600-h/poster.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299287053889373138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAMRAKf9tZrpMwAsJT8eu39iWSN8SguNyaRXpvcMXw9e_K48NE2fZyrwIT6ZKc8VszDoh82IhQdLrEUUZpJll8NHlmzSj9TmLoWi8nyvCPk-UZ1F5JN1KAiKzEqAw9F5ifJTU/s320/poster.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />My mission for 40 years has been to train Black Americans and find jobs for them. But it has become mission impossible as the government allows more and more jobs to be filled by legal and illegal foreign workers. Now Congress is considering amnesty for millions of illegal foreign workers. Some members see it as an easy way to get votes; some as cheap labor for their supporters. But to Black Americans, amnesty is an immoral seizure of our jobs.</p><p>Black Americans have lost hundreds of thousands of jobs to foreign workers willing to work for next to nothing. And the hiring of low-skilled immigrants is responsible for 40% of the decline in employment among Black American men. Amnesty for illegal workers will further devastate many of our communities. Around 40%of Black American men are without a job today. Why would anybody favor giving American jobs to MORE foreign workers – especially illegal ones?</p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.americanworker.org/">Coalition For The Future American Worker</a></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/O5YvuRKiHKU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/O5YvuRKiHKU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/immigration" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=immigration" />immigration</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Afro+American" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Afro+American" />Afro American</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Unemployment" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Unemployment" />Unemployment</span></a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-76099018788841382752009-02-04T04:13:00.000-08:002009-02-04T04:20:57.470-08:00First They Wanted Gay Marriages Legal - Now They Want A Gay Divorce<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>The Pride of Gay Marriage In Massachusetts</strong><br /><em>Now To End In Divorce</em><br /><br /></span></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHB64iTv0MpUzA_JTQ55HOogtQ0nmgCeGANcBuBrpZrrPILtI6wyiyUnhWWaCHb_ICuknRGj1YdEGydTgJgfxvlsp_oPHEipvqduNEIvaZKpuMUPC09_fiugYpQfllWcOCgr_D/s1600-h/goodridge.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298914548760863122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 278px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 311px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHB64iTv0MpUzA_JTQ55HOogtQ0nmgCeGANcBuBrpZrrPILtI6wyiyUnhWWaCHb_ICuknRGj1YdEGydTgJgfxvlsp_oPHEipvqduNEIvaZKpuMUPC09_fiugYpQfllWcOCgr_D/s320/goodridge.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> A lesbian couple who led the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts has filed for divorce. Julie and Hillary <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Goodridge</span> were among seven gay couples who filed a lawsuit that led to a court ruling making Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriages in 2004. The couple became the public face of the debate in the state and married the first day same-sex marriages became legal.<br /><br />The divorce case was filed last week in Suffolk Probate and Family Court and was not unexpected. The couple announced they were separating in 2006.<br /></span><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D964BOHG2&show_article=1"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Gay+Marriage" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Gay+Marriage" />Gay Marriage</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <strong></strong></span></span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Massachusetts" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Massachusetts" />Massachusetts</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Divorce" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Divorce" />Divorce</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-48241261522366487502009-02-03T04:11:00.000-08:002009-02-03T04:24:03.856-08:00Support Support House Bill HR 735 - The Rangel Rule<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>Bill Would Provide Taxpayers Equal Immunity Protection From IRS -<em>After All, Democratic Politicians Receive Waived Penalties And Interest</em></strong></span></div><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGEil_j_q3rPkLCFJfXtWZrlv4AwrYLRC03P9DleP_UMTkTTooAMunUyDn8OKiMVtNwXYCpbc4RAq2er2Z4gUHL9OvtAmCDWoOZ9cluNhyphenhyphenLDGstLkSx7FMqHoDc4JKVOqu1K0/s1600-h/crangel.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298543680434759186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 261px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 286px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGEil_j_q3rPkLCFJfXtWZrlv4AwrYLRC03P9DleP_UMTkTTooAMunUyDn8OKiMVtNwXYCpbc4RAq2er2Z4gUHL9OvtAmCDWoOZ9cluNhyphenhyphenLDGstLkSx7FMqHoDc4JKVOqu1K0/s320/crangel.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">All U.S. taxpayers would enjoy the same immunity from IRS penalties and interest as House Ways and Means Chairman Charles <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Rangel</span> (D-NY) and Obama Administration Treasury Secretary Timothy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Geithner</span>, if a bill introduced today by Congressman John Carter (R-TX) becomes law.<br /><br />Carter, a former longtime Texas judge, today introduced the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Rangel</span> Rule Act of 2009, HR 735, which would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from charging penalties and interest on back taxes against U.S. citizens. Under the proposed law, any taxpayer who wrote “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Rangel</span> Rule” on their return when paying back taxes would be immune from penalties and interest.<br /><br />“We must show the American people that Congress is following the same law, and the same legal process as we expect them to follow,” says Carter. “That has not been done in the ongoing case against Chairman <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Rangel</span>, nor in the instance of our new Treasury Secretary Timothy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Geithner</span>. If we don’t hold our highest elected officials to the same standards as regular working folks, we owe it to our constituents to change those standards so everyone is abiding by the same law. Americans believe in blind justice, which shows no favoritism to the wealthy or powerful.”<br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/01/the_rangel_rule.asp">Read Article...</a></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/IRS" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=IRS" />IRS</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Taxes" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Taxes" />Taxes</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Rangel" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Rangel" /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Rangel</span></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/John+Carter" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=John+Carter" />John Carter</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-48730619717807788222009-02-02T04:14:00.000-08:002009-02-02T04:25:18.198-08:00The Daschle Question: Tax Cheat, Incompetence Or Honest Mistake?<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Do All Americans Get The Same Treatment?<br />Former Democratic U.S. Senator Know Better...</span></strong><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3M7c75ecpGMnPWxRp9KOy7_TjbqoSxPbyLbbpyWzMHWARCeXBiAtfFuZwZCf6x1o7Uae8KCj-VhN7wUvak3uIXn3GuruQDYtgLTdIHp1xAInrjjnKWkk8XXJwkR9RqNY1Io5p/s1600-h/daschle.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298173646607153794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 169px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3M7c75ecpGMnPWxRp9KOy7_TjbqoSxPbyLbbpyWzMHWARCeXBiAtfFuZwZCf6x1o7Uae8KCj-VhN7wUvak3uIXn3GuruQDYtgLTdIHp1xAInrjjnKWkk8XXJwkR9RqNY1Io5p/s320/daschle.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Thomas A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Daschle</span>, fighting to defend his nomination to be secretary of health and human services, released a letter early today apologizing to the top lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee for mistakes on his personal income tax returns that resulted in $146,000 in back payments.<br /><br />"I am deeply embarrassed and disappointed by the errors that required me to amend my tax returns," he wrote to Sen. Max <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Baucus</span> (D-Mont.) and Sen. Charles <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Grassley</span> (R-Iowa). "I apologize for the errors and profoundly regret that you have had to devote time to them."<br /></span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR2009020200459.html?hpid=topnews"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Daschle" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Daschle" /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Daschle</span></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Cabinet" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Cabinet" />Cabinet</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Democrat" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Democrat" />Democrat</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Tax+Evasion" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Tax+Evasion" />Tax Evasion</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-17698936211638972992009-01-30T04:03:00.000-08:002009-01-30T04:17:51.327-08:00Does The Stimulous Help Illegal Immigrants?<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>Some Say No, But Read The Details<br />Regarding Use Of Alternative Tax Numbers...<br /></strong><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5lF0_Zs1nHiGypPfI_2V2Te-TFk27B-l541bJ0ROdVa8NyX8Oxzp0N1Fm7sjwlV258tvsp60wXXy_EA2b4CIJETtMVEtuJcaCgl2klKuKn6vjtgfHunglvJ0k_RfxDcUDpZK/s1600-h/illeg.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297057779362020498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 205px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5lF0_Zs1nHiGypPfI_2V2Te-TFk27B-l541bJ0ROdVa8NyX8Oxzp0N1Fm7sjwlV258tvsp60wXXy_EA2b4CIJETtMVEtuJcaCgl2klKuKn6vjtgfHunglvJ0k_RfxDcUDpZK/s320/illeg.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />During the 1700s and 1800s, immigrants who wanted to come to America were lured by the prospect of streets that were “lined with gold.” Well the streets may not have been lined with gold, but for those who had the will and desire to work hard, the possibilities for success were potentially endless.<br /><br />The streets still are not lined with gold – but if Washington liberals get their way, the pockets of illegal aliens could be lined with taxpayer dollars. Part of the economic stimulus bill that was just passed by the House (except for House Republicans and 11 Democrats who voted against it), includes “tax credits” of $500 per person and $1,000 per couple. (Note: if the recipients pay no taxes, it’s not a credit, it’s a handout.) Apparently the wording specifically disqualifies “nonresident aliens” – Washington-speak for illegals – people with no Social Security numbers could still get the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">cashola</span>:<br /><br />Undocumented immigrants [liberal reporter-speak for illegals] who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits.<br /></span><a href="http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.2398/pub_detail.asp"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hnp8mPmpSFnoTWLfdwSUktrOKgjQD960U4HG0"><em><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read The Associated Press Wire...</span></em></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Economy" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Economy" />Economy</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Stimulus" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Stimulus" />Stimulus</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/immigration" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=immigration" />immigration</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><br /></span> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-1323693135747607752009-01-29T04:13:00.000-08:002009-01-29T04:22:23.277-08:00Franken Vs. Coleman Race Still Unsettled<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Minnesota Voters Absolutely Had Their Votes Improperly Taken Away - Recount Seriously Flawed</span></strong></div><p><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">GOP Sen. Norm Coleman’s attorneys pried a key admission from Minnesota’s assistant secretary of state Wednesday, who said some voters “absolutely” had their votes improperly taken away during the controversial recount that awarded the lead to Democratic challenger Al Franken.<br /><br />“It’s something I had no control over,” testified election official Jim Gelbmann, referring to a controversial ruling that effectively gave each campaign the right to veto absentee ballots that they didn’t want counted. “It was an order by the Supreme Court.”<br /><br />Gelbmann’s admission on day three of the election contest, which is being tried in St. Paul before a three-judge panel, appeared to support contentions of the Coleman legal team that the recount process was seriously flawed.<br /></span><a href="http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/minnesota_coleman_franken/2009/01/28/176200.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Coleman" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Coleman" />Coleman</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Franken" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Franken" />Franken</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Minnesota" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Minnesota" />Minnesota</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Elections" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Elections" />Elections</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><br /></span><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-21750037270470766242009-01-28T03:59:00.003-08:002009-01-28T04:12:21.705-08:00Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley Right On H-1B Visa Workers<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Finally: American Workers First!<br /></span></span></strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Iowa Senator Asserts American Companies Should Layoff Foreign H-1B Visa Workers Before Layoffs Of Qualified American Workers</span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzus_ByZiImKkejQr8UY30X5rxZYz_nExuh4ptEqkUb3BEmyjmEsGO5mEyQHyJVBLN4ZssMIEkaK6Dq74GGl-iX-kHXGTcIRD5VgZqK9-BReO5a7_EhpjnC66iDzfnwxyxS9l/s1600-h/cgrassley.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296314043793494626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzus_ByZiImKkejQr8UY30X5rxZYz_nExuh4ptEqkUb3BEmyjmEsGO5mEyQHyJVBLN4ZssMIEkaK6Dq74GGl-iX-kHXGTcIRD5VgZqK9-BReO5a7_EhpjnC66iDzfnwxyxS9l/s320/cgrassley.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><a href="http://mainstreamiowan.blogspot.com/2009/01/microsoft-experiences-layoff-for-first.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">See previous Blog Post On Microsoft Layoffs...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span>In a letter sent to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer late last week, Grassley wrote:<br /><br />"I am concerned that Microsoft will be retaining foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American employees when it implements its layoff plan. As you know, I want to make sure employers recruit qualified American workers first before hiring foreign guest workers."The letter continues:<br /><br />"Last year, Microsoft was here on Capitol Hill advocating for more H-1B visas. The purpose of the H-1B visa program is to assist companies in their employment needs where there is not a sufficient American workforce to meet their technology expertise requirements. However, H-1B and other work visa programs were never intended to replace qualified American workers.<br /><br />Certainly, these work visa programs were never intended to allow a company to retain foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American workers when that company cuts jobs during an economic downturn.<br /><br />It is imperative that in implementing its layoff plan, Microsoft ensures that American workers have priority in keeping their jobs over foreign workers on visa programs."<br /><br />In 2007, Microsoft petitioned the United States government for 959 H-1B visas, ranking fifth among the top 100 employers -- including U.S. and non-U.S.-based companies -- who requested the temporary visas to hire foreign workers for jobs in the United States.<br /></span><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/01/senator_quizes.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Visas" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Visas" />Visas</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Grassley" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Grassley" />Grassley</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Economy" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Economy" />Economy</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Layoffs" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Layoffs" />Layoffs</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Immigration" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Immigration" />Immigration</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-79542016377892500102009-01-27T04:04:00.000-08:002009-01-27T04:13:00.759-08:00State of Iowa To Ask Budget Cuts of 6.5%<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Big Cutbacks Coming In State Government Spending<br /></span></strong><a href="http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=230906"><em><span style="font-family:verdana;">Budget Shortfall Could Be As High As $779 million </span></em></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> </span><br /></div></span><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said Monday he will ask the Legislature for a 6.5 percent cut in most state programs and use $200 million in cash reserves to wipe out a huge budget shortfall in the next fiscal year.<br /><br />"Our state's sound fiscal management does not mean we can avoid cuts in government spending," said Culver. "Simply put, just as families and businesses across the state and around the nation are doing more with less, so too must state government."<br /><br />The governor spelled out the broad outlines of his proposed budget in a speech Monday evening to the Iowa Business Council. He will send details of his spending plan to the Legislature on Wednesday, but he made it clear in his speech that there will be big cutbacks in state government.<br /></span><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-xgr-culverbudget,0,876325.story"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Iowa" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Iowa" />Iowa</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Economy" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Economy" />Economy</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Budget" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Budget" />Budget</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-67591577378672812932009-01-26T04:13:00.000-08:002009-01-26T04:28:32.024-08:00Microsoft Experiences Layoff For First Time<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">The Software Giant Posts Falling Profits<br /><br /></span></strong></div><p><span style="font-family:verdana;">Microsoft Corp. last week announced that it will eliminate 5,000 jobs because IT spending in the most recent quarter didn't meet projections.<br /><br />At the same time, the company reported that its profits for its second fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, fell 11%, to $4.17 billion, from the same quarter a year earlier. But its revenue rose 2% to $16.6 billion.<br /><br />About 1,400 workers were laid off immediately, with the remainder to be dismissed over the next 18 months. Posts will be eliminated in IT, R&D, marketing and other departments, Microsoft said.<br /></span><a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=332922&intsrc=news_ts_head"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br /></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">***<br /><br /></span></p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Economic Crisis Affects Microsoft In Iowa<br />Microsoft Delays West Des Moines Data Center</span></strong></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Microsoft’s facility in West Des Moines, Iowa dash any hopes that huge data center projects would create jobs in the midst of the economic crisis. Both states each offered significant tax incentive packages to attract these companies, with expectations of a payoff in high-tech jobs.<br /><br />Iowa Gov. Chet Culver “is obviously disappointed by the news that Microsoft has decided to delay their plans for a new data center in West Des Moines,” Culver’s office said in a statement Friday. “This is just one more sign that no one is immune from the economic recession gripping our nation. The Governor remains hopeful that conditions will improve and Microsoft will begin construction on their new facility soon.”<br /></span><a href="http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/01/26/will-project-delays-kill-data-center-incentives/"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Microsoft" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Microsoft" />Microsoft</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Layoffs" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Layoffs" />Layoffs</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Economy" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Economy" />Economy</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Iowa" rel="tag"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Iowa" />Iowa</a> </p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-66171837269499078052009-01-23T04:20:00.001-08:002009-01-23T04:29:20.625-08:00Guess Who Is Replacing Hillary In New York?<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>Not A Kennedy... Not A Cuomo,<br />It's Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand</strong><br /><br /></span></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvYZ9gDTymSAK_-Do6CjfEeeqDp2-a9u2hdQyOmrn78D3BssXE8E_dGBV5hXCgoTKcOTnCbIMJ3W7Dbd6-IKq_b23fpogPL3BO-Y36hL7CWIy_d224R1EGque2Dov_XbP4Lj9/s1600-h/kirbg.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294463480814191266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 241px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvYZ9gDTymSAK_-Do6CjfEeeqDp2-a9u2hdQyOmrn78D3BssXE8E_dGBV5hXCgoTKcOTnCbIMJ3W7Dbd6-IKq_b23fpogPL3BO-Y36hL7CWIy_d224R1EGque2Dov_XbP4Lj9/s320/kirbg.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, a second-term congresswoman from upstate New York, was Gov. David Paterson's pick to fill Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat a day after Caroline Kennedy abruptly withdrew from contention.<br /><br />A Paterson aide said Friday that the 42-year-old Hudson Valley Democrat will be named by the governor at an announcement Friday in Albany. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn't been made. Gillibrand was considered one of the top three or four contenders in Paterson's secretive selection process, where the front-runners were considered to be Kennedy and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.<br /></span><a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-stsena0124,0,6143131.story"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Kirsten+Gillibrand" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Kirsten+Gillibrand" />Kirsten Gillibrand</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Caroline+Kennedy" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Caroline+Kennedy" />Caroline Kennedy</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Andrew+Cuomo" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Andrew+Cuomo" />Andrew Cuomo</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/New+York" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=New+York" />New York</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Senate" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Senate" />Senate</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-3064358197891229882009-01-22T04:31:00.000-08:002009-01-22T04:37:45.943-08:00Obama Takes Oath Of Office Again...<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Oath Number #2<br />From Drudge Report:<br /></span></strong></div><p><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">At 7:35 pm, Roberts administred the oath of office again to obama in the map room. Robert Gibbs said the WH counsel, Greg Craig, believes the oath was fine Tuesday, but one word was out of sequence so they did this out of a "an abundance of caution." "<br /><br />We decided it was so much fun..." Obama joked while sitting on a couch. Obama stood and walked over to make small talk with pool as Roberts donned his black robe. "Are you ready to take the oath?" Roberts asked. "I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.<br /><br />Oath took 25 seconds. After a flawless recitation, Roberts smiled and said, "congratulations, again." Obama said, "thank you, sir." Smattering of applause. "All right." Obama said. "The bad news for the pool is there's 12 more balls."<br /></span><a href="http://www.drudgereport.com/flashoaa.htm"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Obama" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Obama" />Obama</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Oath+of+Office" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Oath+of+Office" />Oath of Office</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Inauguration" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Inauguration" />Inauguration</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-26951990599742291042009-01-21T04:27:00.001-08:002009-01-21T04:33:12.816-08:00We Wish Our New President Well<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">The 44th President Of The United States<br />Barack Obama<br /><br /></span></strong></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh-kqhPFADRPNAeKCXbavLOj0WI9qynvkq_eLALyo4f70BBzwibuDkuaHiWUf1J9y4pcnzTcDOUCdmf9L1kIDnEJyi-qe3uN2BAFbZMz0SzWlRIRL4qBbS0tY64y-KdrpXGlE/s1600-h/bhobama.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293722710327682594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 111px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh-kqhPFADRPNAeKCXbavLOj0WI9qynvkq_eLALyo4f70BBzwibuDkuaHiWUf1J9y4pcnzTcDOUCdmf9L1kIDnEJyi-qe3uN2BAFbZMz0SzWlRIRL4qBbS0tY64y-KdrpXGlE/s320/bhobama.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">On a day rich in history, Barack Obama took office Tuesday as the 44th president of the U.S., urging Americans to stand together amid the "gathering clouds and raging storms" of war and recession.<br /><br />The inauguration of the first African-American to lead the world's most powerful country drew a crowd of well over one million to the National Mall here. In his 18-minute address, Mr. Obama called on Americans to return to the values of "hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity" that have seen the country through past crises<br /></span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123247866100498973.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article... </span></a></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Obama" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Obama" />Obama</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Inauguration" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Inauguration" />Inauguration</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-34965100392427689922009-01-20T04:11:00.001-08:002009-01-20T04:18:05.017-08:00The End Of The Bush Era<div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong>He Kept America Safe...<br />Yet Said To Have Decimated The Republican Brand </strong></span></div><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSR6BkihjGw0dPblDaaaRysgUFyLggT4cKll1K1xOCH4AeBKx5IzVPeA2fRY3bY9U4Yn2g_Wf0ZIiq8k7uqsBTHeSf0ncl9z-Pr2xGbnI5FYTAE5tElY37RgsUEGawVfiyE3wX/s1600-h/gbush.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293347822869073506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 185px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 199px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSR6BkihjGw0dPblDaaaRysgUFyLggT4cKll1K1xOCH4AeBKx5IzVPeA2fRY3bY9U4Yn2g_Wf0ZIiq8k7uqsBTHeSf0ncl9z-Pr2xGbnI5FYTAE5tElY37RgsUEGawVfiyE3wX/s320/gbush.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />George W. Bush leaves the White House with one of the lowest approval ratings in history. According to Gallup, only Richard Nixon and Harry Truman, who suffered the double whammy of a bad economy and the unpopular Korean War, had lower approval ratings when they left the White House.<br /><br />Today, Bush’s legacy to his successor is two unresolved wars, a global image that is deeply tarnished, and the greatest economic crisis in modern times.<br /><br />Conservatives who backed Bush in two successive elections have little to show for their efforts. Bush, in fact, has decimated the Republican brand.<br /></span><a href="http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/bush_requiem/2009/01/19/173041.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bush" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Bush" />Bush</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/President" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=President" />President</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Politics" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Politics" />Politics</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-30664713592151062702009-01-19T05:47:00.000-08:002009-01-19T05:54:48.216-08:00Churches Feeling Effects From Economic Downturn<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Reductions in Giving Include Non-Profits</span></strong></div><div align="left"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Tens of millions of Americans have already suffered substantial financial losses in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and subsequent financial challenges. A new survey from The Barna Group shows that more than 150 million adults said they have been affected by the economic turbulence, and most of them expect it to take several years before the nation fully recovers. Americans are now passing on their financial pain to churches and other non-profit organizations by cutting back substantially on their giving during the fourth quarter of 2008. Those reductions - occurring during the most important quarter of the year for donor-driven organizations - will cripple thousands of smaller and less stable donor-supported organizations.<br /></span><a href="http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=322"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Religion" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Religion" />Religion</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Charity" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Charity" />Charity</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Donations" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Donations" />Donations</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Economy" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Economy" />Economy</span></a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13031352.post-55583759962350262009-01-16T04:20:00.000-08:002009-01-16T04:26:14.663-08:00IBM To Create 1,300 Jobs In Dubuque<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">Good News For Northeast Iowa:<br /> A New Service Center For Dubuque</span></strong></div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Amid a daily stream of layoff notices by companies across the nation, IBM stood out Thursday by announcing it would bring a new service center and up to 1,300 jobs to Dubuque.<br /><br />IBM officials said the company was responding to demand from its business clients by establishing the new technology service delivery center in the northeast Iowa city.<br /><br />"IBM is making a determination that it can best meet the needs of its business clients in the U.S. by being in Dubuque, Iowa," IBM spokesman Jim Larkin said. "It's really about what our clients are telling us they need right now. We are adapting to the needs of our clients."<br /></span><a href="http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2009/01/16/ap-state-ia/d95o27fo5.txt"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Read Article...</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><a href="http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=D7056497-5056-B82A-37966CE4A2EA58D3"><span style="font-family:verdana;">In the meantime RR Donnelley in Spencer to cut 160 jobs...</span></a></div><p align="center"><a href="http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2009/01/15/news/latest/doc496f77c0807a5670739240.txt"><span style="font-family:verdana;">200 at Featherlite to lose their jobs...</span></a></p><p align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Iowa" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Iowa" />Iowa</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Dubuque" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Dubuque" />Dubuque</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Jobs" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Jobs" />Jobs</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Employment" rel="tag"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4em; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=Employment" />Employment</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0