I Support Fracking.....In Mr Tillersons Neighborhood.

Exxon Mobil is always ready to tell everyone what a great idea it is to do fracking in your back yard. 

I mean could there be a better idea then taking toxic chemicals and pumping them under high pressure into the ground…… Past the ground water…… with the goal of destroying underground rock. 

Then extracting the natural gas and again bringing it past the ground water. 

I mean what could possibly go wrong doing that brilliant idea. 

The CEO of Exxon agrees it is a brilliant idea right up until they want to do it outside of his million dollar home.  Then suddenly his enthusiasm quickly fades. 

In your neighborhood…..Fantastic.  In his neighborhood…..Yeah not so much.

Companies like Exxon love to talk about the need for “tort” reform.  Got to rein in the blood sucking lawyers.  Lawyers do nothing but get in the way of progress.  (Progress means polluting the environment at will.) 

But when the “progress” is going to take place near the CEO’s home….well suddenly those blood sucking lawyers are a CEO’s best friend.   Let sue people.

I hope Mr Tillersons lawsuit is thrown out….. and I hope they are allowed to frack the h*ll out of his neighborhood. 

Karma is a b*tch.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/daily-post/exxonmobil-ceo-doesnt-want-fracking-operation-near-his-backyard

A-10 retirement....

They want to get rid of the A-10. A plane that is cheap and completely successful is the plane they want to get rid of. 

First they retired the F-117 stealth fighter. They did that because they said we have the F-22. Then they stopped making the F-22 because they said we will have the F-35 real soon. But the F-35 totally sucks and is never ready. Now they want to get rid of the A-10 too.

In 5 years when you take your kid to an air show there will be one plane to look at. It will be the F-35 sitting alone on the air field. But don’t expect to see it fly because it probably still won’t be able to. It will be a real quick show for sure.

“Known for its survivability, the A-10 is capable of flying with half a wing, one tail fin, one elevator, and one engine torn off. It’s also cheaper to fly and can fly more frequent missions than the aircraft that the Air Force proposes to replace it with”

“The A-10 was originally built in the early 1970s, and it was designed to combat Soviet tank columns with its enormous seven-barrel 30-millimeter Gatling-gun cannon. Known for its pugnacious looks as the “Warthog,”

the A-10 could also carry a variety of guided and unguided weapons, and it proved its usefulness against a wide range of enemies while flying close air support for troops in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Air Force reported that the 60 A-10s that flew in Iraq had an 86 percent mission success rate.”

It is here. It is paid for, and it works. Yup, so lets get rid of it. Makes sense to me……..

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/dod-aims-to-scrap-a-10-to-keep-f-35-alive-in-new-budget/

Republicans New Tax Plan....Just like their old one.

Republicans once again want to cut tax rates for the rich. 

Since it was so successful the last two times they did it (in 2001 and 2003) why not do it again. 

You remember the last time when the economy blossomed, and everyone got jobs,and the deficit went away, and poor people started to improve their standard of living……..Oh wait. None of that happened!

What did happen is rich people got really, really, really, really, rich. That happened just by dropping the rate from 38% to 35%. Now Republicans want to drop it to 25%.

Today the government is pulling back on everything. The Pentagon is getting chopped. Food stamps has gotten chopped (multiple times). They want to chop Social Security. What will happen when rich pay 14% less then they are paying today?

This article states that the same amount of revenue will be coming in. That is completely false. If that were true what would be the point?

Anyone with a calculator can see that a lot less money will be coming in.

The good news is this plan will probably never see the light of day. But don’t think those pesky Republicans won’t try 40+ times.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/25/us-usa-tax-republicans-idUSBREA1O05920140225

Arizona Land Of Discrimination....

Republicans protecting the right to deny other people their rights under the guise of religion.

If your lifestyle is offensive to a particular religion then I am afraid you will not be served in Arizona.

Yes, yes…..Everyone’s rights are important unless you are gay (in this case).

So where does this end? There are religions that do not approve of woman driving. So I guess in Arizona woman will have to head to the DMV and hand in their driver’s licenses.

Can’t have woman offending certain people’s religious sensibilities. Sorry ladies but you will have to take the bus.

Also you will have to buy a burqa and cover up. All that skin you are showing is against some religion as well.

Republicans are all about the intent of our founding fathers.

When talking about the 2nd amendment there is no going against the founding fathers. Yet when the founding fathers specifically spoke of the separation of church and state suddenly Republicans have amnesia.

The founding fathers knew full well that ALL religions have some views that are a little south of sanity. They knew it was critical to keep those fringe beliefs out of public policy. Yet Republicans consistently want to throw their specific religious beliefs into the public discord.

You either believe what they believe or it is ok to discriminate against you. Then they wrap up their discrimination in pretty wrapping paper and pretend it is really about protecting rights.

They wonder why the American people have been consistently heading to the exits on their Party.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/us/arizona-anti-gay-bill/

Fannie Mae and Government shady accounting....

The Federal Reserve spends over 1 trillion dollars buying Mortgage backed securities (propping up the stock market). As a result the big banks unload all their crap investments on to the taxpayers. 

Then Fannie Mae pays back 121 billion and acts like the tax payers have made out awesome!

Look the 2008 bailout money is all paid back. Everything is now even.

You’re welcome!

Pay no attention to those mountains of sh*t mortgages you (Mr and Mrs Taxpayer) now own. Good luck with those.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-fannie-mae-bailout-profit-20140221,0,3944800.story#axzz2tyLOiy9o

Nuclear Power....Alive and well.....

The Obama administration is full steam ahead with the first new Nuclear power plant to be built in America in 30 years. 

The reason a new plant hasn’t been built in 30 years is because 35 years ago the 3 mile island accident happened. That little problem caused everyone got spooked on Nuclear power. Then 7 years later Chernobyl happened and that didn’t help the Nuclear cause.

Reagan couldn’t get any new plants approved. The first Bush couldn’t get any new ones approved. Clinton couldn’t do it. The second Bush couldn’t do it either.

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/02/19/dept-of-energy-oks-6-5-billion-for-georgia-nuclear-power-plant/

Ah…. but here comes Obama. Mr Solar panels and Wind Mills. Wink, wink. One smile and we are moving ahead with new Nuclear Power Plant. Dick Cheney must be blushing. He could only dream of pulling such a thing off.

But hey it is time. Nuclear power is very safe. Just ask the people of Japan how safe Nuclear power is. Make sure you put on your protective suit before you go over though.

Also…..Pay no attention to the “Massive” radiation leak happening right now at a nuclear waste site in New Mexico. That should be none of your concern. Nuclear power is very safe.

http://www.theeasterntribune.com/story/2964/massive-radiation-leak-detected-at-nuclear-waste-plant/

Also…..Pay no attention to the multiple radiation leaks at the San Onofre Nuclear Power plant in California. They are now closing that plant down permanently…..You know….Because it is so safe.

http://rt.com/usa/california-nuclear-leak-onofre-269/

Yes…Yes….It is all very very safe. Just close your eyes and think happy thoughts.

Happy Anniversary NAFTA....

In 1994 NAFTA became law. 

At the time there were people who said that was a terrible idea. Ross Perot and Al Gore went and debated the issue on Larry King Live. Ross Perot said this would lead to “a Giant sucking sound” as jobs went south. The media declared Al Gore the winner. Yay Al!

Al went off to make a Hundred Million dollars. The US Economy has swirled down the bowl. Today you don’t see Al Gore giving interviews talking about what a great deal NAFTA turned out to be. There are no victory laps. He would rather you not remember he was completely wrong. He said NAFTA would fix the US economy. It ididn’t. He said it would stop illegal immigration. It didn’t.

Today Obama agrees NAFTA did some bad things. His solution is to make the same NAFTA mistakes again except this time make them even bigger. More lost jobs. More pollution. More destruction of the environment. More …more…..more. And lets do faster with fast track authority.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/nafta-barack-obama-trade-mexico-103701.html

Every free trade agreement always ends up with Americans getting beaten over the head with a hammer. Yet Obama (Man of the people, savior of the working class) wants more. Why? Because he is working for the corporations. Just like the Republicans.

You are supposed to listen to what he says…… But please, please ignore what he does.

The U.S. trade deficit with South Korea has increased 56% to $20.6 billion since 2011, the year before that trade pact took effect.

Since NAFTA the US trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has increased 556%. Yet Obama wants more.

He will tell you this will help protect the environment…..He is lying. What he says doesn’t match the reality. This will kill the environment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/politics/administration-is-seen-as-retreating-on-environment-in-talks-on-pacific-trade.html?_r=0

F-35 on 60 minutes....

This 60 Minutes story on the Boondoggle F-35 program was interesting. 

In the first part they talk about the amazing aspect of the F-35 is that it can engage the enemy from greater distances. Before the enemy even knows the F-35 is there it is already too late and the enemy is dead.

Later in the story they talk about how the F-35 has cameras all over it. That means the pilot can see all around the plane.

Well if the first part is true (can engage the enemy from far away) then why would it be necessary to see directly below the plane? If the enemy is being engaged from great distance then directly below the plane shouldn’t ever matter. If the enemy is directly below then the F-35 has failed.

In the story they admit the F-35 doesn’t fly faster, or turn better, then existing planes……. so it seems to me the cameras are just a waste of money. Not like anyone is currently saying the problem with the F-15 is it has no cameras.

And not to brag but my minivan has a camera too. It just didn’t cost hundreds of billions of dollars for me to have that technology. Lockheed should buy an Odyssey and check it out.

Pretty much this 60 minutes story just reinforced what I already thought about the F-35. It is a colossal waste of money.

The fact that Lockheed Martin didn’t want to go on 60 minutes (to discuss their most important project ever) also speaks volumes. You would think they would jump at the chance to go on national TV and brag about the good work they are doing. But they wanted no part of that. Having followed the F-35 for many years I can understand their reluctance. Wasting record amounts of money on absolutely nothing is pretty embarrassing.

They should just cancel the entire project and build a fighter drone.

A drone could fly faster, turn quicker, and cost less money. The limitation in today’s fighters are the pilots. If the pilot wasn’t there lots of problems would go away. It will make for a boring Top Gun sequel but at least save tax payers money.

They also talk about how the F-35 is so awesome because of all the advanced programming. The story touches on whether the programming makes the jet susceptible to Chinese hacking. They say it doesn’t.

They forgot to mention it already has. One of the reasons the program is so far behind schedule is because China keeps steeling all the details. They might not want to bring that to your attention….. but I will.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/f-35-joint-strike-fighter-60-minutes/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/19/usa-fighter-hacking-idUSL2N0EV0T320130619

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/02/us-lockheed-china-idUSTRE7517B120110602

The Radioactive USS Ronald Reagan......

The USS Ronald Reagan is one of the newer Aircraft Carriers in the US Navy.  In 2011 it was sent to Japan to assist in the earth quake recovery. 

Despite being a Nuclear powered super ship (with lots of high tech radiation detection equipment) it still ended up being completely contaminated by plumes of radiation from the Fukushima meltdown. 

Today lots of sailors from that deployment are ill and a class action lawsuit has been filed.

The US Government denies anything was contaminated.  They see no issue parking the Ronald Reagan off shore where 4 nuclear reactors are simultaneously melting down.  Why would that be a concern? 

Despite the denials the ship sits in San Diego and hasn’t been out on patrol since 2011.  The problem is no country will let the contaminated ship into their ports. 

Since the ship cost over 4 billion dollars (and took 8 years to build) the only option is to send it back to Japan.  That is the current plan for 2015. 

Japan can’t deny the ship a port because it would be acknowledging the ship was indeed contaminated by them.  That would be a billion dollar admission.

You would think a story like this would get a lot of attention….. but (like with everything concerning Fukushima) there is a complete black out on most information. 

The President never talks about it.  Other politicians never talk about it.  The Main Stream Media all but ignores the issue.

The Nuclear reactors that were so poorly designed came from GE.  GE is currently named in another lawsuit because of the meltdown.  GE is part owner of NBC.  That is why when you watch NBC News you won’t see a lot about Fukushima. 

If people understand how bad the situation really is there might be a lot of concern.  Especially when people realize the same reactors that melted down over there, also exist in the United States.  There are about 20 of them in the US.

If people understood they might demand the situation be corrected.  That could be a disaster for a US companies like GE. 

That explains the silence.  GE’s CEO is Jeffrey Immelt is good buddies with President Obama.  Immelt ran Obamas Jobs committee during his first term.  They were instrumental in creating no jobs whatsoever. 

But with friends like Obama it explains why companies like GE are so well protected by the US Government. 

They all think it is important for you to be well informed about everything except the Fukushima disaster.  That disaster will continue to unfold (behind the scenes) for the next 1000 years.

If the US Navy can convince 5000 sailors to get back onboard the radioactive USS Ronald Reagan then all the problems will be solved.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-wasserman/us-sailors-sick-from-fuku_b_4759831.html


http://www.internationalpolicydigest.org/2014/02/06/contamination-uss-ronald-reagan-fukushima-response-underreported/

Sam Zell.......

“The 1 percent work harder, the 1 percent are much bigger factors in all forms of our society."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-sam-zell-1-percent-20140206,0,2270803.story

Those are the words from Sam Zell. Sam is a Billionaire and he is feeling defensive. He feels the top 1% are being attacked.

The reality is the bottom 99% are actually being attacked by the top 1%. The 1% is kicking the 99’s azz. Then pretending they are the victim.

It is like the bully on the playground punching the little defenseless kid in the face, and then running to the teacher to complain the little kid hurt his hand.

The top 1% don’t work harder at all. That is a lie.

The rules the top 1% play by are not the same rules that everyone else play by.

The game is rigged in their favor. That is the problem.

A real person who goes to a real job (working 40 hours) will pay 35-39% Income taxes.

A phony baloney rich Billionaire who owns a private equity firm (Like Sam Zell) will pay 15-19% income tax. Is that fair?

This is what Warren Buffett was saying when he claimed he pays a lower tax rate then his secretary. Is that fair?

Why should investments pay less in taxes? Is investing harder then working in a factory? Is Warren Buffett straining himself when he purchases stock?

Politicians said they were going to fix the problem in the last election. Politicians lie. They have fixed nothing.

So Sam Zell makes his money off investing. His investing has been propped up by tax payers through “Quantitative easing”.

So Sam gets to make lots of money (thanks to Tax Payer welfare) then he gets to pay lower income taxes on that free money. Is that fair?

Then he gets to tell you he works harder.

Your problem is you are just too damned lazy. You should work harder like he does…….

This is what he tells you even though American workers are actually very productive.

http://www.ibtimes.com/america-workers-are-more-productive-their-wages-are-flat-some-cases-lower-1393941

Sam complains that regulations are the problem. Actually the opposite is true. The private equity market that Sam works in is not regulated at all.

Sam made lots of money on real estate. When the housing market went up (based on fraud allowed by deregulation). Sam prospered.

When the house of cards came crashing down (because of fraud) the tax payers rushed in with lots of bailouts. Sam prospered again.

Today’s quantitative easing is really the Federal Reserve buying bonds backed by mortgage backed securities. The same cr*ppy mortgages that went belly up, are now owned by the taxpayers. This also helps Sam prosper.

Now how much of any of this helps the bottom 99%? None of it…….

For Sam to be profiting in a system severely tilted in his favor…… and then make fun of the poor b*stards who get none of the benefits…… is incredibly insulting.

Sam Zell can’t see this……But I am currently giving him the middle finger.

Coal Ash in the River....One of the benefits of "Clean Coal"

More of that “Clean Coal” everyone loves so much. 

What could be better to dump into the local river then 82,000 tons of Lead, Arsenic, Mercury and Radioactive Uranium. 

Sounds like a recipe for success.

"How do you clean this up?" he said. "Dredge the whole river bottom for miles? You can't clean this up. It's going to go up the food chain. ... Everything in the ecosystem of a river is connected."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/82-000-tons-coal-ash-spill-plant-north-carolina-river-n23401

NFL Taking Over Prime Time.....

The NFL Juggernaut…

Last weekends Super Bowl was the most watched TV program of ALL TIME. That is the 4th time in 5 years the Super Bowl has broken that record. 

The NFL already dominates Sunday Night Football in prime time. Now the NFL is ready to take over Thursday night as well.

Thursday night is the most important night on TV. CBS is the most popular network there is. Put those two together and the competition can just put up the white flag.

CBS is willing to bump their highest rated TV shows (for 8 weeks) to make way for the NFL. That speaks volumes.

Thursday Night football has always been a niche, but that is no longer good enough for the NFL. The NFL wants it all. Looks like they get it too.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/02/05/cbs-thursday-tv-games-nfl-network/5227869/

Deadly Bird Flu in China......

the new H7N9 avian influenza in China are surging alarmingly, flu experts warned this week.

There are now about 300 confirmed cases, with more appearing every day. Roughly a quarter of the victims have died.

The first human cases were reported only last March. By contrast, the H5N1 influenza virus, another lethal strain that jumped from birds to people, first appeared in 2003 and took almost five years to reach the 300-case mark.

“H7N9 is blowing right by H5N1,” said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “I’m really worried about that.”

H7N9 virus had infected people in 10 Chinese provinces and was close to the borders of Vietnam, Cambodia and other poor Southeast Asian nations less adept than China at flu surveillance.

Birds appear to be spreading the H7N9 virus more through their breath than through feces, the normal infection route, Dr. Osterholm said, which means that fecal-sample testing in live markets may miss cases.

Monitoring the spread of the H7N9 and H10N8 viruses is difficult because neither makes chickens sick. Poultry farmers resist testing because a positive test forces them to destroy flocks that appear healthy.

Although human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus has not been confirmed, there have been clusters of two or three cases within families.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/health/cases-of-new-deadly-bird-flu-surge-in-china-experts-say.html?hpw&rref=science&_r=0

Chinese Stealing Seeds.....

Taxpayers subsidize Corporate Agriculture to develop genetically modified seeds. Then the Communist Chinese come over and steal the seeds right out of the fields. Years of research stolen just like that. With the Chinese if it isn’t bolted down they will steal it. If it is bolted down they will still steal it.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/us/chinese-implicated-in-agricultural-espionage-efforts.html?_r=1

Clinton...Behind the Curtain.

This article is very long but very interesting. If you want an inside look at big money and big power this article does a good job.

Bill Clinton would have everyone believe he is going around fighting poverty. But when you take a closer look you realize he is just running around in the Billionaire Boys club. He is hanging around with world royalty and living the good life.

If you think you might run into him on a commercial flight you can forget about it. Clinton is flying around on his billionaire buddies private 757 (nicknamed Air F*ck One….Classy) and probably hasn’t talked to a real person in a decade.

If you want to have a conversation with Bill Clinton it is possible. But you better have a checkbook. The top check better have lots of zeros on it. If not you can forget it.

Bill Clinton left office in 2000 with 10 million in legal bills (from chasing Monica Lewinsky). 14 years later he has over 100 million in earnings. That is pretty impressive.

At $250,000 for a speech who do you think he is speaking too? You think the local homeless shelter is paying that fee? I didn’t think so either.

Bill Clinton…..just an average ordinary guy from Arkansas….fighting for the little guy. At least that is what you should keep thinking.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114790/how-doug-band-drove-wedge-through-clinton-dynasty?google_editors_picks=true

Soup Kitchens doing great.....

In this new economy people want to know where the growth is coming from. 
Well according to the front page of the Hartford Courant the real growth is coming from soup kitchens. 

Across the state soup kitchens have seen a jump of 25% in the number of meals they are serving.

Enfield has seen growth of 32%. Go Enfield…That is impressive growth by any measure.

"I'm seeing more of everything," she said, "Women, children … people who just can't make ends meet; homeless. The soup kitchen gets everybody — and it's children that break your heart."

This new economy is working out great…… Keep sending the jobs overseas.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-soup-kitchen-demand-rises-20140131,0,5203827.story