Tuesday, November 25, 2008

THE DEATH OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

This is a portion of a post by Michael Kilgus:


THE DEATH OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

If we don't start forcing our elected officials to pay attention to the people of this country, if we don't start using our heads and learning about our leaders and their policies, we will head our country down the road to financial ruin, and destroy the safety factor for every single American. We need to protect our borders, build up our own resources, and end our reliance upon nations who care little about the US, other than as a "Shopping Center" for outside interests' wealth! Pay attention to who is running for office, learn all you can about them, and vote for the person who truly wants to stand up for us, the citizens of this country, and make our lives better. Stop voting for looks and promises; both will fail with time. Vote for sincerity and honesty, vote for past accomplishments, not promises, and vote for those who have the experience, not the "shadow" of experience, to run this country for the people, not foreign interests who pay for their influence. Vote to rebuild our manufacturing base, not to force it overseas, and to rebuild the pride that once made this country strong.

Michael J. Kilgus


Visit Mike's web site at: http://michaelkilgus.com/

FOOD FOR MY SOUL

The blog that I read everyday is the one by Jon Taplin. I consider it "Food For My Soul"



http://jtaplin.wordpress.com/


My favorite posts are :

America Since Reagan
The Fascist Impulse
Liberal fascism

Monday, November 24, 2008

ARE BIG CORPORATIONS CANCELLING THEIR ENDORSEMENTS

GM has cancelled their endorsements with Tiger Woods. Woods was representing the Buick line. The contract was for 8 million dollars a year. The endorsement has lasted for 9 years.

I wonder what's in store for the other athletes ? Are there endorsements spared or will they be cancelled.

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE OBAMA ELECTION NIGHT RIOT.

This is another account of the goings-on in Jonesboro,Arkansas at the University of Arkansas.




http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2008/11/the_obama_riot_at_asu.aspx

MORE THAN 200 WHALES ARE TRAPPED IN THE CANADIAN ARTIC

There are more than 200 Narwhal Whales in Canada's Artic trapped by winter ice and they face starvation or suffocation. Hunters from the village of Pond Inlet on Baffin Island discovered them near Bylot Island on November 15th.

Local hunters are allowed to harvest only 130 whales each year for food. These are the standards by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.Hunters have been given authorization to cull them because it's unlikely they will survive the winter according to Keith Pelley, department spokesman.

There were over a dozen areas where they could come up for air but they weren't large enough for them to squeeze through.

ARNOLD SCHWARZNEGGER STILL TRYING FOR PRESIDENCY

Arnold Schwarznegger is willing to work for Barak Obama's Admimistration. He says he would be available when his term as governor of California ends in February 2011.Since politicians know that Obama is appointing people across the aisle, everyone is elbowing each other to get the prize.It's like stepping on the head of a drowning man to promote yourself.

G M PLAYING GAMES WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS

General Motors Acceptance Corporation, which is an arm of General Motors, is playing games with their customers. Persons who are paying mortgage payments to GMAC Mortgage are in limbo.

The company has been sold to Midland Mortgage Company. A letter was sent out that explained the situation. The people have been told to make their payments payable to Midland Mortgage Company . The letter stated the address would be enclosed when it was not.

There was a phone number for Midland, but the recording said not to call and do not send them mail because it will take two weeks to get all information on new customers. They said they do not take checks or credit cards. What are the customers to do ? By the time the customers know where to send their payments, there will be a late fee to pay.

Monday, November 17, 2008

ARGENTINA PROPOSING TO NATIONALIZE PRIVATE PENSION PLANS

President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina is proposing to nationalize private pension funds. She has justified spending the proposed seizure of $30 billion dollars in pension assets. Kirchner is accusing the funds of having instrumental "Policies of Plunder". She said Argentina was setting an example of how to deal with the global financial crisis.

U S GOVERNMENT WILL GIVE FARMERS AND RANCHERS $ 77 MILLION

The U S Department of Agriculture will give farmers and ranchers $77 million dollars in Emergency Conservation funds to repair farmland damaged by natural disasters in 2008.

The recipients can use the money to remove debris, restore fences and other structures damaged by floods,tornadoes, hurricanes, storms, wildfires and to correct any emergency water conservation issues after severe drought.

“These funds will allow farmers and ranchers to repair the severe damage to conservation systems caused by disaster conditions from hurricanes Ike and Gustav, as well as the 2008 Midwest floods,” said Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

NEWSPAPER DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE BARAK OBAMA AS PRESIDENT

On November 5th, 2008 ,the Petit Jean Country Headlight News in Morrilton, Arkansas did not print in their weekly edition the winner of the Presidential Election. The headline was "Voters Go For McCain".

The only mention of Barak Obama was that the Obama/Biden ticket received 3,144 votes in Conway County, Arkansas. When their subscribers reacted against it , the next week they put an article and picture in a small corner of the first page.

Arkansas is a red state. The paper chose not to let their readers on Wednesday morning know who the president was. This is a disgrace, that they did not recognize Barak Obama because he is black. I now know that the world knows that the Petit Jean Country Headlight News will not acknowledge President-Elect Barak Obama.

And to think I was going to spend the Christmas Holidays in Morrilton doing my genealogical research. Now I will have to make other plans. I will not contribute to their economy. I could spend less money if I went to Hawaii or Mexico.

Friday, November 14, 2008

WHY ARE JONESTOWN'S REPORT STILL DECLASSIFIED ?

A young neighbor two doors down and her young child perished in Jonestown. After the tragedy people would drive by the house and point and tell the story of the young mother. Her father died here in South Los Angeles a few years ago. He was 90 years old.

One of my friend's mother had invited me to go to a service at the People's Temple. She was a member but I never got around to it.

Time to declassify?


Over the years, there have been rumors of CIA involvement. Some people believe CIA agents were posing as members of the Peoples Temple cult to gather information; others suggest the agency was conducting a mind-control experiment.

In 1980, the House Select Committee on Intelligence determined that the CIA had no advance knowledge of the mass murder-suicide. The year before, the House Foreign Affairs Committee had concluded that cult leader Jim Jones "suffered extreme paranoia."

The committee -- now known as international relations -- released a 782-page report, but kept more than 5,000 other pages secret.

Without those documents, it's hard to confirm or refute the speculations that have sprung up around Jonestown, said Melton, who planned to be in Washington Wednesday to ask for the documents' release.

George Berdes, chief consultant to the committee at the time of the investigation, told the San Francisco Chronicle the papers were classified to assure sources' confidentiality, but he thinks it is time to declassify them.

Paradise becomes a prison
What is known about the end of Jonestown is that on November 18, 1978, Jones ordered more than 900 of his followers to drink cyanide-poisoned punch. He told guards to shoot anyone who refused or tried to escape. Among the dead: more than 270 children.

Only two years before, Jones -- the charismatic leader of the Peoples Temple, an interracial organization that helped the desperate -- was the toast of San Francisco's political circles.

But after an August 1977 magazine article detailed ex-members' stories of beatings and forced donations, Jones abruptly moved his flock to Jonestown, a settlement in the jungle of Guyana, an Idaho-sized country on South America's northern coast.

The plan was to create an egalitarian agricultural community. But Peoples Temple members who worked the fields and subsisted mostly on rice soon learned it was more like a prison, recalls Jonestown defector Deborah Layton.

Dissent was unthinkable, she says. Offenders sweltered in "The Box," a 6-by-4-foot (1.8-by-1.2-meter) underground enclosure. Misbehaving children were dangled head-first into the well late at night. Loudspeakers broadcast Jones' voice at all hours.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

GLENN BECK TO JOIN FOX NEWS

Glenn Beck has signed a multi-year agreement to join Fox News, announced by Roger Ailes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox News beginning next spring. Beck will host a daily program as well as a weekend show on the network.

I for one am elated.I have always felt that he belonged on the Fox Network . Now he is in good company with Karl Rove, Dick Morris,Hannity, Bill O'Reilly ,Huckabee and the other mavericks. The only person missing is Joe Scarborough, he needs to relocate to Fox News.

Now I can enjoy looking at CNN Headline News Channel again. I don't have to listen to his ranting and raving anymore.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

545 PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STATE OF THE US

Charley Reese
Infowars
October 24, 2008

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 235 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation’s responsibility to determine how he votes.



Don’t you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O’Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.

O’neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can’t think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it’s because they want them in Lebanon.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees

EU CALLS FOR "NEW DEAL FOR NEW WORLD " WITH OBAMA

Economic Times | November 6, 2008

BRUSSELS: The head of the European Union (EU)’s executive body, the European Commission, on Wednesday congratulated Barack Obama on his victory in
the US presidential election and called on him to work with the EU to shape a "new deal for a new world".

"This is a time for a renewed commitment between Europe and the US. I want to assure Senator Obama of the support of the European Commission and of my personal support in forging this renewed commitment to face together the many challenges ahead of us," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.



"We need a new deal for a new world. I sincerely hope that with the leadership of President Obama, the US will join forces with Europe to drive this new deal - for the benefit of our societies, for the benefit of the world," he said in a statement.

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, politicians across Europe had expressed the hope that the successor to US President George W Bush - whether Obama or his rival, John McCain - would abandon Bush’s unilateral stance in favour of more cooperation with the EU.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

THE CULTURE WARS ARE OVER

With the election of Barak Obama, Lord Chris Patten, one of the world's leading conservative thinkers has voiced this. The Republicans in the 1980's protected the interests of the very rich. They focused on abortion, gun control, the nastiness of foreigners, and gay marriage to keep from the real issues.

Lord Patten is promoting his latest book, "What Next? Surviving the Twenty-First Century" which tackles the big problems of the world-terrorism, nuclear prolifferation, climate change drugs, etc. Conservative governnments are not on top in the English-speaking world, except Canada and New Zealand , not because of conservatism, but because of the incompetence in the US and the UK.

SOUTH AFRICAN SINGER MARIAN MAKEBA DIES AT THE AGE OF 76

Miriam Makeba took ill near the southern Italian town of Caserta following a concert. She fell ill after having sung for half an hour in support of Roberto Saviano, a writer threatened with death by the Mafia, at Castel Volturno, near Naples.

She died at a nearby clinic of a heart attack. Miriam Makeba was South Africa's first superstar,although she was banned and exiled for more than 30 years. She sang for President John F Kennedy and addressed the United Nations. She was granted honorary citizenship to 10 countries.

She married black power activist Stokely Carmichael and moved to Guinea in the 1960's. Makeba was invited back to South Africa by Nelson Mandela in 1990.

FEMA CRITICIZED AT HEARING ON RESPONSE TO HURRICANE IKE

The Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee held a hearing in Austin Texas recently. The state leaders accused FEMA of insensitivity and foot dragging in delivering mobile homes to help victims.

Residents are living in tents and cars on their property. The vouchers FEMA gives them for motels can't be used because no rooms are available. FEMA had promised 300 trailers a week but they haven't received them.

There are 350 mobile homes on individuals properties awaiting sewer and power hookups. A site has to be inspected to verify a mobile home can be placed there.Jack Calley, the state's director of emergency management said he believes FEMA should be removed from the Homeland Security Department and placed under the president.

The lack of housing is causing a problem for refinery and chemical workers whose plants are expanding. FEMA is "running out the clock" for reimbursements on debris removal. So I guess that will be left up to President-Elect Barak Obama to solve the problems.

Friday, November 7, 2008

LEADING ECONOMIST IN THE UK SAYS INTEREST RATES NEED TO BE SLASHED

Charles Goodhart, a founding member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is making the claim that interest rates should be cut to 0% to avoid depression.

Mr Goodhart is a professor emeritus of banking and finance at the London School of Economics and a member of the MPC between 1997 and 2000. Interests went to zero in Japan in the 1990's when the Japanese had a recession or depression which was long and severe.

CHINA HAS BECOME THE BIGGEST PRODUCER OF PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS IN THE WORLD

Bayer, the German company that created aspirin in the 1890's is being produced in China. Rhodia, a company in France makes acetaminophen, which is found in Tylenol is closing down.

China is producing about two-thirds of all aspirin and will soon be the world's sole supplier.

We wonder if China's meds are safe ? If the big corporations are buying it, it's O K .But if an average person goes to Canada or Mexico to buy meds, the government says the meds are not safe.

NEVER IN MY LIFETIME

Never in my lifetime would I have thought that a Black man would be the President of the United States of America. Being from the South, Little Rock, Arkansas, I lived through the sixties. I remember having to ride on the back of the bus, going to the movies in the balcony through a separate entrance, and not being able to sit on a stool at Woolworth's.

When Governor Orval Faubus closed the schools in Arkansas, I missed a year of school. I operated an elevator in the Marion Hotel and washed dishes in a restaurant. Blacks had to come to the back and order food or sit at a table in the kitchen to eat.

The park we had to go to was on the outskirts of town, called Gilliam Park. It was way down in the woods. Now I have heard that the area has been turned into a natural preserve. In one year my family relocated to Los Angeles where I resumed my education.

INTEL CHIEF SEES INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT INCREASE IN NEXT TWO DECADES

U S Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell told an intelligence conference those words in Nashville, Tennessee. Rivalries are most likely to revolve around trade, demographics, access to natural resources,investments and technological innovation .

By 2025 if current trends persist, China will become world's largest economy. A major military power and will likely the world's largest importer of natural resources . India and Russia will be close behind with more wealth and power.

SIX BLACKS WILL HOLD SEATS IN THE IOWA HOUSE OF REPRESENATIVES

It is a milestone in Iowa's history, and they are all Democrats. Iowa will begin a movement that will no more be left or right, but more understanding and tolerant to people of color. Iowa has largely moved beyond race as an issue. There are many minorities that can do the job, they just need an equal playing field.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

CHINA REFUSES IMPORT OF AUSTRALIAN MILK PRODUCT

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said nine tons of Ausnutria milk powder, produced by Tatura Milk Industries in Victoria, failed the standard for Enterobacter sakazaki, a bacteria that in infants can cause meningitis, inflammation of the brain's protective membranes, developmental problems and death.

Reuters reported that more than 14 tons of Pauls milk, produced by Parmalat Australia, a subsidiary of the Italian food giant, also failed a bacteria test.

The rejected Australian milk products were part of 2719 consignments of imported food and cosmetics rejected by the administration in the first seven months of this year, China Daily reported.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

AN EXCERPT FROM ONE OF BARAK OBAMA'S SPEECH'S

This is an excerpt from one of Barak Obama's speeches on the last day before election.




"You can put an end to the politics that tries to divide a nation, that pits region against region, and city against town, Republican against Democrat, and asks us to fear when we need hope," he said. "We are at a defining moment in history and you can give this country the defining moment we need."

I WILL NEVER VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN AGAIN !!!

Being an undeclared voter, I vote for a person that I can identify with. It doesn't matter which party they are from. But I will never vote for a Republican again. They will say "I don't condone the actions of this group," or whatever, but they don't come out and speak agains't it.

The Republicans have hit a new low this election year, and it will not soon be forgotten by the masses of the people.

IF I HAD TO STAND IN LINE FOR FIVE HOURS, I WOULD NOT VOTE.

I am sorry to say that , but that's the way I feel. The Election Commission should devise a better way for people to vote. Why don't they give appointments ? Or give out numbers ? They could have people go to stadiums and vote.

I do not think we will ever see another election with crowds like this again.This was a once in a lifetime event. Rachel Maddox said on her show that this was like the poll tax, making it difficult for people to vote.

If these boards are overwhelmed with the crowds and can't handle them, absentee ballots should be made available to everyone.

Monday, November 3, 2008

HOW POLL TAXES AFFECTED ME

Growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, we lived a few blocks from the governor's mansion. But my parent's couldn't afford to vote. They were charged two dollars to vote. My father was a carpet, tile and linoleum worker. He worked for Steinkamp's Furniture Store. He only made fifteen dollars a week.Some of the domestic workers made nine dollars a week.

Thankfully we owned a lot of heirs property, so we didn't have to pay a mortgage or rent. In addition to buying groceries, my father would go to Helms Bakeries for their day-old bread and pastries . We had our own garden where we would get our vegetables and my father would go hunting and fishing to supply food.

We had a few chickens and rabbits.My mother was a housewife and she did ironing for the furniture store owner's wife. Poll Taxes was a tax required for voting in some parts of the U S .It was often designed to disenfranchise poor people, mostly blacks, and keep them from voter registration and voting.

The 24th amendment, ratified in 1964, outlawed poll tax as a pre-condition in voting in Federal Elections.

OBAMA DOES NOT WANT A REPEAT OF THE DEWEY ELECTION

Every one expected Thomas Dewey to win the 1948 election by a landside. Elmo Roper said he would take no further polls because he had something better to do. Harry Truman was called the " little man", he was the underdog, but he won anyway.

Truman traveled 32,000 miles and gave 355 speeches in six weeks. He traveled in his pullman car. The Chicago Tribune wanted to be the first to break the news and put on the cover a Dewey victory. The next morning Truman won. It was an upset.

That's why Barak Obama tells his workers to keep on pushing and don't give up. In 2004, 129,000 voters in Ohio were weary from standing in long lines, and they went home without voting.

DON'T LET THEM PUT THE FEAR IN YOU ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY

The GOP is pushing the idea of privatizing social security. Don't be fooled by their projections that it is going bankrupt.The american public is tired of being told lies.

There is a reason that social security should be in the news right now. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office just came out with its updated analysis of the program's finances (pdf). The analysis projects that social security will be able to pay all scheduled benefits through the year 2049, with no changes whatsoever. Even after 2049, when the program is first projected to face a shortfall, the payable benefit is projected to be more than 30% higher than what the average retiree gets today, and the payable amount would continue to rise from that level every year.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

REPUBLICANS SCOFFED AT COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS, THE LAUGH IS ON THEM

Barak Obama's work as a community organizer has paid off for him. He has had the most thorough campaign ever devised for a presidential election. He has been ruthlessly consistent. People from all over the world have come to the U S to volunteer in his campaign.

I was surprised that kids would travel that far to help in a campaign in a foreign country. I guess that is from the magnetism that Obama gives out. People are naturally drawn to him. When he was a professor , I guess he affected the students the same way.

IF MCCAIN LOSES , IT WILL BE BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PARTY

Elizabeth Dole's attack ad on her opponent, Kay Hagan is the nastiest ad of this whole campaign. Kay Hagan is Presbyterian and a Sunday school teacher. Dole has said Hagan is Godless and doesn't believe in God.

Also many other persons in the Republican party have sponsered ugly ads. This has scared many Republicans and caused them to flee the party and go to other parties. These negative ads have bought many crackpots out of their bat caves. Cartoons such as the Obama dollar and showing Obama with a donkey body.

These ads are degrading. The last time I have seen a polished campaign in the Republican party was in San Diego . The college students were out in mass with their red and white outfits and their straw hats. It was very impressive.