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2010
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December
(27)
- Barker's New Year's Eve Newsbites: 12/31/2010
- Happy, Happy, Happy New Year...!!!
- Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, December 30, 2010
- Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, December 29, 2010
- Barker's Newsbites: December 28, 2010
- Happy Birthday, Jesus...!!!
- (*GRITTING MY TEETH*) (*BLOOD PRESSURE RISING*)
- Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, December 23, 2010
- Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, December 22, 2010
- Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, December 22, 2010
- Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., Dec. 18 & 19, 2010
- Please Read Nick Carey's Full Piece
- Barker's Newsbites: Friday, December 17, 2010
- Absolutely Irresponsible; A Pox on Both Their Houses
- Who's Lying?
- Two Californias (by Richard Davis Hanson)
- Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, December 16, 2010
- This "Newsbite" Deserves Its Own Stand-Alone Post!
- Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, December 15, 2010
- Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, December 14, 2010
- Barcelona Travelogue
- What It Means To Be Bill
- Back From Barcelona... (and Milan!)
- Barker's Pre-Vacation Newsbites: Friday, Dec. 3, 2010
- Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010
- As Everyone Who's Anyone Knows...
- Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010
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December
(27)
About Me
- William R. Barker
- Pearl River, NY High School Class of '81; Northeastern University, Boston, MA Class of '87.
7 comments:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703886904576031721223090348.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond
A Senate deal to fund the federal government until early March doesn't include money to enact the health-care "overhaul" or stepped up "regulation" of Wall Street...
(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
Democrats last week sought $1 billion to expand federal agencies... That measure died after Senate Republicans closed ranks against it...
(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
The $250 billion deal to pay for the government until March 4, which is expected to come to the Senate floor for a vote Tuesday, freezes spending for most government programs at 2010 levels.
* IF THAT'S THE BEST THAT WE CAN GET UNTIL THE NEW REPUBLICAN HOUSE IS SWORN IN AND NEW REPUBLICAN SENATORS ARE SWORN IN, SO BE IT; I EXPECT ACTUAL SPENDING CUTS IN THE COMING YEAR, THOUGH!
http://www.cnbc.com/id/40752176
The rise in oil prices could be just getting started...
(*SIGH*)
Consensus estimates are for oil prices to rise to the $100-a- barrel range for 2010...
* AGAIN, FOLKS, OIL IN THE $50-$60 RANGE (PER BARREL) SHOULD BE THE TARGET. (I'VE EXPLAINED WHY MANY TIMES IN THE PAST.)
"At current levels, a gradual increase of $10 a barrel over the next couple of years is no big deal for the global economy," said Zach Pandl, economist at Nomura Securities in New York.
* HMM... I WONDER HOW MANY ZEROS ARE ON MR. PANDL'S YEARLY PAY/BONUS TOTAL? (*SMIRK*) HELL... I WONDER IF THE BASTARD EVEN PAYS FOR HIS OWN GAS OR IF IT'S EXPENSED ALONG WITH A COMPANY CAR!
* FOLKS... UNDERSTAND... THE SAUDIS PRODUCE OIL FOR SOMETHING LIKE $7/BARREL! IF MEMORY SERVES, EVEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE OIL (IN TERMS OF DRILLING COSTS) "COSTS" WELL UNDER $50/BARREL TO GET OUT OF THE GROUND!
* FOLKS... THINK ABOUT THIS: WHAT I'M TELLING YOU... YOU KNOW, PRODUCTION COST VS. MARKET COST... WHY IS IT YOU'LL READ ABOUT THAT HERE ON MY LITTLE BLOG BUT YOU'LL RARELY HEAR SUCH ANALYSIS - OR REPORTING ON THE UNDERLYING FACTS - COMING OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA...???
(*SMIRK*)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8212994/Christmas-travel-plans-ruined-for-half-a-million-air-passengers.html
Snow and ice grounded the vast majority of flights in and out of Britain, with Heathrow the worst-affected airport.
* GLOBAL WARMING... (*SMIRK*)
The airport cancelled all incoming flights on Sunday (December 19) after the authorities were unable to de-ice the taxiing areas and stands where planes are parked.
* GLOBAL WARMING... (*SNORT*)
Forecasters warned that parts of Britain could see record low temperatures this week of -26C (-15F). Heathrow will experience lows of about -9C (16F) tonight and further snowfall is expected in the South East during the evening rush hour. Motorists continued to struggle. The M25 was closed in both directions for about six hours while drivers on the M40 in Oxfordshire suffered severe delays. Commuters were warned to expect treacherous conditions with thick ice and freezing fog today. Train passengers also face delays and cancellations, particularly in the North. Eurostar services between London and Paris have also been affected.
* G*L*O*B*E*L W*A*R*M*I*N*G... (*SNICKER*)
* SEE ALSO: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/theres-a-mini-ice-age-coming-says-man-who-beats-weather-experts-20101221-1945a.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704034804576026233823935442.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop
Oregon raised its income tax on the richest 2% of its residents last year to fix its budget hole, but now the state treasury admits it collected nearly one-third less revenue than the bean counters projected.
(*SMIRK*)
In 2009 the state legislature raised the tax rate to 10.8% on joint-filer income of between $250,000 and $500,000, and to 11% on income above $500,000. Only New York City's rate is higher. Oregon's liberal voters ratified the tax increase on individuals and another on businesses in January of this year, no doubt feeling good about their "shared sacrifice."
* WAIT FOR IT... WAIT FOR IT...
Instead of $180 million collected last year from the new tax, the state received $130 million.
(*SMIRK*)
One reason revenues are so low is that about one-quarter of the rich tax filers seem to have gone missing. The state expected 38,000 Oregonians to pay the higher tax, but only 28,000 did. Funny how that always happens. (These numbers are in line with a Cascade Policy Institute study, based on interstate migration patterns, predicting that the tax surcharge would lead to 80,000 fewer wealthy tax filers in Oregon over the next decade.)
(*SHRUG*)
The tax wasn't enacted into law until June 2009 but was retroactively applied to January 1, 2009.
* WHICH FRANKLY - ON ITS FACE - I CAN'T COMPREHEND BEING CONSTITUTIONAL.
All of this is an instant replay of what happened in Maryland in 2008 when the legislature in Annapolis instituted a millionaire tax. There roughly one-third of the state's millionaire households vanished from the tax rolls after rates went up.
If Salem officials want to find where the millionaires went, they might start the search in Texas, the state that leads the nation in job creation - and has a top income and capital gains tax rate 11 percentage points lower than Oregon's.
(*NOD*)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703886904576031990025359606.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop
Only days after the President spoke about supporting our troops [in Afghanistan] until they "finish the job," Vice President Joe Biden did one of his famous foot-in-mouth numbers.
Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, the master of subtle diplomatic messaging declared that on July 2011 the U.S. really will begin to leave the Afghan theater. "It will not be a token amount" of troops leaving, Mr. Biden said, adding that "We're going to be totally of there come hell or high water by 2014."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs tried to "clarify" yesterday that Mr. Biden was only referring to the "combat role" of U.S. forces in 2014. But Mr. Biden's remarks will reinforce the view, widely held in Kabul and Pakistan, that the Americans are short-timers and so everyone in the region ought to make their accommodations with the Taliban.
(*NOD*)
* AND, FOLKS... I'M SPEAKING AS AN OPPONENT OF HAVING 100,000 U.S. TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN!
* BASICALLY... JOE BIDEN IS AN IDIOT. I MEAN HE'S BEYOND STUPID. THIS GUY MAKES DAN QUAYLE LOOK LIKE AN ELDER STATESMAN.
Mr. Biden's glib rhetoric implying a lack of American staying power will in particular make it that much harder for General David Petraeus to get the support of Pakistan's military in rooting out Taliban sanctuaries in North Waziristan and around Quetta.
* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... THIS IDIOT IS UNDERCUTTING THE ADMINISTRATION'S OWN POLICY...!!!
As journalists, we [here at the Wall Street Journal] appreciate that Mr. Biden's gaffe-track makes good copy, but our troops aren't laughing.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46665.html
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano might want to take another look at her department's schedule. The Department of Homeland Security is working “24/7, 364 days a year,” Napolitano said Monday in an apparent gaffe.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
“We are thousands of people are working 24/7, 364 days a year to keep the American people safe,” the former Arizona governor said on ABC News.
* JOE BIDEN... JANET NAPOLITANO... ERIC HOLDER... (*SIGH*)
* FOLKS... JUST LOOK AT THE PEOPLE OUR PRESIDENT SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fed-extends-program-to-ease-apf-2324425346.html?x=0&.v=8
The Federal Reserve extended a program set up earlier this year to ease strains from the European debt crisis. The program, which was set to expire in January, will now run through Aug. 1, the Fed announced on Tuesday.
* PLAIN ENGLISH TRANSLATION: AMERICAN TAXPAYER MONEY IS GOING OVERSEAS TO BAIL OUT EUROPEAN WELFARE STATES.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/20/AR2010122005947.html
Since it was founded in 2001, the TSA has spent about $14 billion in more than 20,900 transactions with dozens of contractors.
* THAT'S "BILLION" WITH A "B," FOLKS... (*SIGH*)
For next year, it wants more than $1.3 billion...
[G]overnment auditors have faulted the TSA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, for failing to properly test and evaluate technology before spending money on it. The Transportation Security Administration [for example] spent about $30 million on devices that puffed air on travelers to "sniff" them out for explosives residue. Those machines ended up in warehouses, removed from airports, abandoned as impractical. In addition to beefing up the fleets of X-ray machines and traditional security systems at airports nationwide, about $8 billion also paid for ambitious new technologies.
The GAO has said that the TSA has "not conducted a risk assessment or cost-benefit analysis, or established quantifiable performance measures" on its new technologies. "As a result, TSA does not have assurance that its efforts are focused on the highest priority security needs."
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
A March audit from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general looked at 29 support service contracts that the TSA had issued to buy new technologies for baggage and passenger screening equipment, worth a total of $662 million. It found that the agency "did not provide adequate management and oversight" on the contracts. It concluded that the TSA "did not have reasonable assurance that contractors were performing as required, that it contracted for the services it needed, that it received the services it paid for, or that taxpayers were receiving the best value."
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