Free Republic

Wall Street: Dumb as It Ever Was November 06, 2009 | about: DIA / QQQQ / SPY Todd Kenyon I had to take a few moments away from shouting at the circus-of-the-inane on CNBC to vent. All the focus on this jobs number this morning should confirm to any rational person that the great majority of what goes on in Wall Street is a complete waste of time at best and a criminal destruction of value at worst. Being trained as a scientist in a former life just makes it harder to watch this garbage. Yesterday afternoon some random NYSE...

By now, Sekou Jackson is used to the questions: Why does he need to leave a work meeting to pray? Don't black Muslims convert to Islam in jail? Why would you even want to be Muslim? "It's kind of a double whammy to be African-American and Muslim," said Jackson, who studies the Navy at the National Academy of Science in Washington. "You're going to be judged." Jackson's struggle may have gotten harder when the FBI raided a Detroit mosque Wednesday, saying its leader preached hate against the government, trafficked in stolen goods and belonged to a radical group that wants...

WASHINGTON - During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass an amendment offered by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions. The Waters amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages" to join Federal banking regulators in advising the...

The Sweet Singer's verse is concerned to a large extent with total abstinence and violent death -- the great Chicago fire, the railway disaster of Ashtabula, the Civil War, the yellow fever epidemic in the South. She sings death by drowning, by smallpox, by fits, accidents by lightning-stroke and sleigh. "Julia is worse than a Gatling gun," wrote Bill Nye; "I have counted twenty-one killed and nine wounded, in the small volume she has given to the public." She also greatly relishes normal infant mortality, especially in cases where the little victim possesses blue eyes and curling golden hair; but...

Liberal Editor Suggests Making the Recession ‘Worse’ Thursday, October 15, 2009 By Edwin Mora (CNSNews.com) - Emily Douglas, Web editor for The Nation magazine, said Wednesday that making the “recession worse” and making goods “more expensive” for Americans are means to reduce consumerism and preserve the environment. Douglas was one of three journalists participating in a panel discussion, “Covering Climate: What’s Population Got to Do With It,” which was held at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. The other two panelists were Dennis Dimick, executive editor of National Geographic, and Andrew Revkin, environmental reporter for The New York Times...

Reporting from Sacramento - The influential lobby group Consumer Electronics Assn. is fighting what appears to be a losing battle to dissuade California regulators from passing the nation's first ban on energy-hungry big-screen televisions. On Tuesday, executives and consultants for the Arlington, Va., trade group asked members of the California Energy Commission to instead let consumers use their wallets to decide whether they want to buy the most energy-saving new models of liquid-crystal display and plasma high-definition TVs.

Charlie Rangel is trying to prove that you can go home again, or at least pork can go home again. In the latest defense bill Charlie Rangel slipped in a $3 million dollar earmark for CCNY. The defense department didn't want the project. Rangel's association with the school was strengthened years ago with his vanity earmarks surrounding the Charles Rangel School of Public Service at CCNY. This Charlie Rangel “Monument to Me” project was partially funded though US Government grants, directed by the Ways and Means Committee Chairman: Two years after creating a center in his own name at City...

Glenn repeated some of the prayer, it kind of sounds like the Lords prayer only to Obama, to be released to the internet in 15 minutes ... It's a group of community organizers praying to him as if he were God.

"Hear our cry, Obama." "Deliver us, Obama." Video at link.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A woman charged in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping who was court-ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment will have a competency review hearing next month. A Utah district court calendar shows Wanda Eileen Barzee will appear before Judge Judith Atherton on Oct. 23. It will be the first time Barzee has appeared in court since doctors at the Utah State Hospital began to forcibly medicate her in May 2008 in an effort to make her competent. If Barzee remains incompetent for trial, the state could seek to have her civilly committed.

World powers Thursday adopted a landmark resolution seeking to rid the planet of nuclear arms at an unprecedented Security Council summit hosted by US President Barack Obama. "Although we averted a nuclear nightmare during the Cold War, we now face proliferation of a scope and complexity that demands new strategies and new approaches," Obama told the talks which included outgoing UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei. "Just one nuclear weapon exploded in a city, be it New York or Moscow, Tokyo or Beijing, London or Paris, could kill hundreds of thousands of people." The summit came as Iran's suspect atomic...

US President Barack Obama called a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on Thursday "historic," saying that it enshrines international "commitment to a goal of a world without nuclear weapons." With Obama presiding over the session, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a US-drafted resolution aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons, calling for stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament and "reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism." Russia, China and developing nations supported the US-sponsored measure, giving it global clout and strong political backing. "The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our...

Thursday, September 10, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOMELAND INSECURITY WorldNetDaily Exclusive Synagogue holding services with Muslims Interaction comes after canceling seminar on dangers of radical Islam -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: September 10, 2009 8:53 pm Eastern -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WorldNetDaily Beth El Synagogue in New London A group that presents seminars on the threat of radical Islam is raising alarm that a synagogue that previously canceled one of its programs, Congregation Beth El in New London, Conn., now plans to celebrate Ramadan with local Islamic leaders tied to extremist groups. "In 2008, I found it appalling that Jewish organizations including the [Jewish Federal of Eastern Connecticut]...

With today the final day of the Legislature's session, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislative leaders are pushing hard for passage of a law that would require that 33 percent of the power used in California be from renewable energy sources by the end of 2020. The main sticking point is over a bizarre proposal that all this power be generated in-state, even though California is fully integrated into a regional grid that helps keep reliability up and costs down. Our concern is much broader, however. A strong case can be made that the state, the nation and the world...

We don't know how much Kennedy was affected by her death, or what she'd have thought about arguably being a catalyst for the most successful Senate career in history. What we don't know, as always, could fill a Metrodome. Still, ignorance doesn't preclude a right to wonder. So it doesn't automatically make someone (aka, me) a Limbaugh-loving, aerial-wolf-hunting NRA troll for asking what Mary Jo Kopechne would have had to say about Ted's death, and what she'd have thought of the life and career that are being (rightfully) heralded. Who knows -- maybe she'd feel it was worth it.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The man accused of biting out his 4-year-old son's eyes will not stand trial. A Kern County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that Angelo Mendoza is not mentally competent for trial. County mental health officials will recommend whether Mendoza should go to a county or state mental health facility. The 34-year-old man is accused of attacking his son, Angelo Mendoza Jr., in late April. The child, who was discovered by a neighbor lying naked in a bloody heap on the floor of an Ohio Drive apartment, told officers, "My daddy ate my eyes" and "Daddy bit my...

Public health officials are considering promoting routine circumcision for all baby boys born in the United States to reduce the spread of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The topic is a delicate one that has already generated controversy, even though a formal draft of the proposed recommendations, due out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the end of the year, has yet to be released. Experts are also considering whether the surgery should be offered to adult heterosexual men whose sexual practices put them at high risk of infection. But they acknowledge that a circumcision drive...

Depression, disability, and "being a financial burden" could constitute "Lebensunwerte Leben" (Life Unworthy of Life) in U.S. Government end of life planning document "The Death Book for Veterans: Ex-soldiers don't need to be told they're a burden to society" by Jim Towey in today's (August 18) Wall Street Journal says, Last year, bureaucrats at the VA's National Center for Ethics in Health Care advocated a 52-page end-of-life planning document, "Your Life, Your Choices." It was first published in 1997 and later promoted as the VA's preferred living will throughout its vast network of hospitals and nursing homes. After the Bush...

Detroit Police dedicate police squad cars to escort Michael Jackson plush toys to Woodlawn Cemetary. So far as I know, this is NOT an Onion News Network piece.

AS IF YOU NEEDED MORE EVIDENCE THAT GOVERNMENT IS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL, HERE 'TIS! Humor In The Workplace Solicitation Number: RFI-BPD-09-0028 Agency: Department of the Treasury Office: Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) Location: Division of ProcurementPrintLink Copy or Bookmark this Page Copy the url below for a direct link to this page. Bookmark this page by right-clicking here and choosing "Add to Favorites" Notice DetailsPackagesInterested Vendors ListOpportunity History Original Synopsis Jul 09, 2009 11:28 am Solicitation Number: RFI-BPD-09-0028 Notice Type: Sources Sought Synopsis: Added: Jul 09, 2009 11:28 am This is a sources sought notice and not a...

Utilities: Smart Billing By Staff Reports Published: July 6, 2009 A little more than a year ago, the Wilder administration and the City Council backed off a proposed stormwater fee to underwrite infrastructure projects, many of which the council killed off for financial reasons. This year the council decided it could put matters off no longer, and adopted a budget that included a stormwater fee. City residents have received brochures. In a few weeks, they'll receive the bills, which typically will run in the neigbhorhood of $50 for the year. Businesses will have to shell out, too. Although we're not...

July 1, 2009 Dear William, Thank you for contacting my office about cap and trade legislation. I appreciate hearing from you about this important issue. I certainly appreciate the importance of keeping consumer energy rates as low as possible during these difficult economic times. I worked with my colleagues to include weatherization assistance funding and homeowner tax credits for efficiency and renewable energy projects in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. However, I feel strongly that Congress must act swiftly to curb the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change. In New Hampshire climate change is already altering the beautiful...

....Palin could have gone to a major hospital in Anchorage and delivered the child and still have Trig as an Alaskan. But, no, she had to add an extra risk to her unborn child by ensuring her local hospital and family doctor could deliver the child - even if that extra 45 minutes (like the ten hours that preceded it) could have posed a deathly risk to a special needs infant....It remains true that no one in the MSM will investigate the details of this truly bizarre story.... The one MSM newspaper that tried to report out the story of...

Next on Senate agenda? 'Pedophile Protection Act' 'Hate crimes' law definitions would protect 547 sex 'philias' The leader of a pro-family organization says families across the nation need to contact their U.S. senators now to try to derail a legislative plan that already has passed the U.S. House and is being awaited by President Obama – after a Democrat confirmed it would protect "all 547 forms of sexual deviancy or 'paraphilias' listed by the American Psychiatric Association."

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder says recent violent attacks show the need for a tougher hate crimes law. Holder, speaking Tuesday at a luncheon for civil rights lawyers, noted the recent killings of an abortion doctor in Kansas, a soldier in Little Rock, and a guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington. He called the attacks brazen acts committed in once-unthinkable places, and said it is past time for Congress to strengthen hate crimes laws to prosecute violence based on gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

Welcome to your money at work in PA

Philosopher Bertrand Russell suggested that "Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education." And, it was Albert Einstein who explained, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So which is it -- stupidity, ignorance or insanity -- that explains the behavior of my fellow Americans who call for greater government involvement in our lives? According to latest Rasmussen Reports, 30 percent of Americans believe congressmen are corrupt. Last year, Congress' approval rating fell to 9 percent, its lowest in history. If the average American were asked his opinion of congressmen,...

In a fit of collective insanity, or some type of delusional hysteria, this nation (self-identified liberal: 21%, Conservative: 35-40%) elected the most liberal president ever.He swore he'd close Gitmo. Everybody cheered and voted for him. Now, the nation is 2-1 against closing the facility. 60% of Americans believe the federal government has too much power and spends too much, yet GM President and all time big-spender Barack Obama remains wildly popular.This is schizophrenia on a national level. Maybe the Chinese really are poisoning us with their crappy products, driving us slowly insane. Some think that's what happened to the Roman...

Services were moved to the parking lot of a Rainier Beach church after a naked man smashed through a window Saturday, spattering HIV-positive blood inside and leaving a trail of destruction through the house of worship. Officials believe the 46-year-old suspect was high on PCP during his unholy rampage through the Unity Church of God in Christ - and now the church interior is considered a bio-hazard because of the tainted blood inside.

From the Brussels Journal comes the mind-blowing story of a left-wing Dutch journalist, Joanie de Rijke, who went to Afghanistan to conduct a sympathetic interview with Taliban jihadists who had just killed 10 French troops. Naturally, she was abducted and serially raped for six days. And now she is angry ... not at the chief Taliban thug — who showed her "respect," though, regrettably, "he could not control his testosterone" — but at the Dutch and Belgian governments who refused to pay the $2 million ransom the jihadists demanded. And of course, in the Netherlands, the media and the government...

Maybe they should just appoint Angelo Mozillo to run the Federal Housing Authority. Read »

The Unified School District of Alameda California has ordered its kindergarten curriculum to incorporate a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) lesson for grades kindergarten through five. The lesson is to be compulsory. That is, parents will not have the right to opt their kids out of the program. Ron Mooney, the School Board Vice President, explained that “the curriculum had to be made mandatory in order to provide a balanced education. Our society is saturated with heterosexual propaganda and social pressure. Some of the worst of it comes from children’s parents themselves. To let parents take their children out...

Earlier this week the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, appointed a Muslim as head of its religious programming department -- a move being hailed as a "radical departure from broadcasting tradition." Aaqil Ahmed, former executive at Channel 4, is the new of Head of Religion and Ethics and Commissioning Editor for Religion TV, a position some call one of the most influential religious roles in the United Kingdom. Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is concerned over the appointment of a Muslim, claiming it comes at a time when Christian leaders worry their faith is being marginalized and criticized...

By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of $20.3 million in "migration assistance" to the Hamas Palestinian refugees and "conflict victims" in Gaza. Has anyone else seen this and does it have validity? When I saw this run across the bottom of the screen, I thought too that it may be attached somehow to H.R. 1388 "The GIVE Act", I am not 100% positive about this though. I did go and scan through H.R. 1388, but did not find anything about the above.

Elizabeth Edwards believes she has a "perfect" marriage - except for that infidelity thing. "This is a really good man who really did a very, very bad thing, but if you take that piece out, I do have a perfect marriage," Edwards said in an interview that aired yesterday on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Giving her two-timing husband, John, the benefit of the doubt, Elizabeth Edwards said, "I think he's probably as surprised at his behavior as I am. "I don't think he knows to this day why it was he said yes" to former lover Rielle Hunter's sexual advances,...

A British woman who allegedly consumed prescription drugs, wine and liquid soap from the lavatory before scuffling with flight attendants on a London-bound jetliner will remain in jail over the weekend in Maine. Prosecutors say Galina Rusanova punched and kicked flight attendants and at one point fell to the floor and began "snapping like a dog" while trying to bite a crew member's leg.

One heck of a dog fight is about to break out on the floor of the Oregon Legislature and for very good reason. Here are some of the more onerous sections of HB 2186 as it stands: Section 3 (1) The Environmental Quality Commission may adopt by rule standards and requirements described in this section to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (2)(a) The commission may adopt low carbon fuel standards for Gasoline, diesel and fuels used as a substitute for gasoline or diesel. This translates to Ethanol folks. It means converting food items like corn into fuel, increasing the cost of...

I'm sure of it.If the world is sane, I'm crazy.

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S PROPOSED FEDERAL SPENDING WILL TOP $4 TRILLION this year, about 29 percent of GDP-exceeded only by spending during World War II. Then there are the Administration’s plans to add $1.9 trillion in new taxes. This heady sum can hardly come from just the so-called rich as he claims. In addition, the cap-and-trade carbon tax will demand another $648 billion and will hit anyone who consumes energy, which means everyone. The President tells us that the higher taxes and enormous public spending are necessary to pay for recovery and deficit reduction. One needn’t look too far to see how...

The city's experimental anti-poverty program that pays poor New Yorkers for good behavior like seeing the doctor and attending parent-teacher conferences handed out an average of $3,000 per family in its first year. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration said it is too early to know whether it is a useful tool to fight poverty. Officials say it will take five years for a full evaluation of the program, which is the first of its kind in the nation. But a report released Tuesday by the mayor's Center for Economic Opportunity did contain some preliminary data. It said 80 percent of the...

Time For Mankiw To Resign On Saturday I checked my watch to verify the date. A quick check showed it was April 18. Just to be sure I asked my wife Joanne and she assured me it was the 18th. Likewise my computer said it was the 18th. For a brief moment, I thought we had flashed back in time and it was April 1. April Fool's day was the only rational explanation I could come up with for a column in the New York Times by Gregory Mankiw, professor of economics at Harvard.

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The president's new science adviser said that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing drastic options to cool Earth's air.</p>

Live on C-Span 2, Amendments being voted on @ present.

Moderate Senate Democrats voiced concerns about President Obama's budget Tuesday in a meeting with Budget Director Peter Orzag. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., hosted the meeting, which was the second time moderate Democrats expressed concern over the budget. "I think there's a common concern about getting spending under control and making sure that there's a budget that doesn't have unsustainable requirements in it far into the future," said Sen Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who was one of twelve members at the meeting. Nelson has called the group the "Mod Squad." Sen Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who also attended the meeting, said the group...

We have recently heard many shocking stories of brutal killings and ruthless violence related to drug cartels warring with Mexican and US officials. It is approaching the fever pitch of a full blown crisis. Unfortunately, the administration is not likely to waste this opportunity to further expand government. Hopefully, we can take a deep breath and look at history for the optimal way to deal with this dangerous situation, which is not unprecedented. Alcohol prohibition in the 1920’s brought similar violence, gangs, lawlessness, corruption and brutality. The reason for the violence was not that making and selling alcohol was inherently...

Barack Obama is conducting his own affirmative action program to get more Muslims in the White House. The move began with Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn, who took his oath of office with a hand on the Quran, to solicit the resume of what he considered to be the nation's most qualified adherents of Islam. According to the Denver Post, when White House officials heard about the program, it was put on overdrive. So far, 45 Ivy League grads, Fortune 500 executives and government officials have been submitted for consideration. J. Saleh Williams, program coordinator for the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association,...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kADXWXgxKJk New projections from Ron Paul as his prominence in the mainstream media continues to increase.

By Michelle Malkin  •  March 25, 2009 11:48 AM Have you seen this? It’s the handiwork of an “anti-capitalist vigilante group calling itself Bank Bosses Are Criminals.” The broken window is in the home of Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland. His car was also vandalized. The thugs are threatening other targets: The ex-banker’s £3 million Edinburgh house was targeted in the early hours, with at least four ground-floor windows smashed and a black Mercedes vandalised. Police were called at around 4.15am to Morningside, a leafy suburb of the Scottish capital lined with substantial, stone-built...

The title of this column is also the title of a book by Simon Winchester, published in 1998. The subtitle introduces the three, seemingly unrelated subjects of the book, “A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.” I’d never heard of this book. It was only in the house because it was in Michelle’s apartment in New York. And it was there only because she ran a book sale at her church in Manhattan, and it was an orphan – donated for sale but not bought by anyone. Yet it turned out to be an...

Play Video Video:Bad Value? FOX News Play Video Video:GOP challenges Obama's healthcare plan AP Play Video Barack Obama Video:The weight of AIG Reuters AFP/HO/File – A handout picture shows surgeons performing an operation at an unnamed hospital. Many hospitals are failing … WASHINGTON – Guaranteeing health insurance for all Americans may cost about $1.5 trillion over the next decade, health experts say. That's more than double the $634 billion 'down payment' President Barack Obama set aside for health reform in his budget, raising the prospect of sticker shock at a time of record federal spending. Administration officials have pointedly avoided...