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2010
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December
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- 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.
10 comments:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101219/ap_on_go_co/us_gays_in_military;_ylt=Aov7nSuOclQ5BzyGi8acfVCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNqcmVnNGJ1BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAxMjE5L3VzX2dheXNfaW5fbWlsaXRhcnkEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMyBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNzZW5hdGV2b3Rlc3Q-
In a historic vote for gay rights, the Senate agreed on Saturday to do away with the military's 17-year ban on openly gay troops...
* GOOD.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," Obama said in a statement. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
* WHEN HE'S RIGHT, HE'S RIGHT. AND... HE'S RIGHT.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he welcomes the change. "No longer will able men and women who want to serve and sacrifice for their country have to sacrifice their integrity to do so," he said. "We will be a better military as a result."
* THERE WILL BE PROBLEMS, BUT ON THE WHOLE... THE "BENEFIT" IS WELL WORTH THE "COST."
Republicans who voted for repeal said the Pentagon study on gays and assurances from senior military leaders played a crucial role.
* MY CONCERN IS HOW WELL OUR TROOPS - AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES IN GENERAL - CAN DO THEIR JOBS. PERIOD.
http://www.koco.com/r/26162860/detail.html
Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of regulations.
The examiners came to Perkins, Oklahoma last week.
[T]he team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller’s counter and buttons that say "Merry Christmas, God With Us." were inappropriate.
* FOLKS... THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS...
* FOLKS... WE'RE LOSING OUR COUNTRY!
[T]he feds [claimed] the symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. According to the clause, "...the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication ... express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion."
* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... THIS IS BULLSHIT. THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS - NOT A GOVERNMENT OFFICE. IF THEY CHOOSE TO CELEBRATE CHRISTIANITY - OR ISLAM, OR JUDISM, HINDUISM, OR WICHISM FOR ALL I CARE - THAT'S THEIR BUSINESS. IF CUSTOMERS DON'T LIKE IT, THEY CAN BANK ELSEWHERE. UNLESS THE BANK WAS TURNING AWAY OR TREATING NON-CHRISTIANS DIFFERENTLY - IN A DISCRIMINATORY FASHION - THAN CHRISTIANS, THERE'S NO DISCRIMINATION!
* THE BANK SHOULD TELL THE FEDS TO GO F--K THEMSELVES AND LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY.
* UPDATES -- http://www.koco.com/news/26174152/detail.html AND http://www.koco.com/news/26174849/detail.html
The small-town bank in Oklahoma will be able to restore its Christian signs and symbols after all, thanks in part to public outcry against the Federal Reserve.
The president of Payne County Bank, Lynn Kinder, said he spoke with the second in command at the Federal Reserve late Thursday evening. Both sides agreed to work out the issue.
"The federal reserve immediately took action, " Kinder said in a statement. "And allowed us to restore our Christian display of items and verses on our television and website until a final determination is made. It appears that the matter will be resolved."
* GREAT... BUT... THE POINT REMAINS - THE FEDS SHOULD HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO "DECIDE" WHAT THE BANK CAN DO IN THIS REGARD ONE WAY OR THE OTHER! IF SOMEONE WANTS TO SUE BECAUSE THEY FEEL THEY'RE BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST, THAT'S WHAT COURTS ARE FOR. (HAS ANYONE AT THE FED EVER READ THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE BILL OF RIGHTS...?!?!)
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas issued a joint letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday...“This is an all-out assault on the faith, values and rights of the bank, its employees and the people of Perkins they serve,” Inhofe said. “It is absolutely ridiculous for the regulation to be interpreted this way, and it unduly discriminates against a person’s faith in Christ and their constitutionally protected freedom to publicly express that faith. It is simply another case of liberals in Washington overstepping their bounds and intruding in the lives of individuals. I expect the Federal Reserve to rectify this situation quickly.”
Lucas also responded and said, “The recent actions taken by the Federal Reserve at Payne County Bank are of great concern to me. I do not agree with its interpretation of Regulation B in this circumstance and believe that it infringes upon fundamental constitutional rights afforded to all Americans.
* HEAR! HEAR!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/us/politics/19immig.html
The Senate on Saturday blocked a bill that would have created a path to citizenship for certain young illegal immigrants...
* GOOD! THANK GOD!
[T]he measure would have helped grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students...
* LISTEN... (*SIGH*)... THE DESCRIPTIVE "ILLEGAL" SHOULD TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW. (*SMIRK*) (*SNORT*)
Five Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the bill. They were Senators Max Baucus of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Jon Tester of Montana.
(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*) GOOD FOR THEM!
And three Republicans joined the balance of Democrats in favor of it: Robert Bennett of Utah, Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
* AGAIN, FOLKS... BENNETT, LUGAR, AND MURKOWSKI - WHO IS THE ANTI-PALIN.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/loaded-gun-slips-past-tsa-screeners/story?id=12412458
Last fall, as he had done hundreds of times, Iranian-American businessman Farid Seif passed through security at a Houston airport and boarded an international flight.
He didn't realize he had forgotten to remove the loaded snub nose "baby" Glock pistol from his computer bag. But TSA officers never noticed as his bag glided along the belt and was x-rayed. When he got to his hotel after the three-hour flight, he was shocked to discover the gun traveled unnoticed from Houston.
"It's just impossible to miss it, you know. I mean, this is not a small gun," Seif told ABC News. "How can you miss it? You cannot miss it."
But the TSA did miss it, and despite what most people believe about the painstaking effort to screen airline passengers and their luggage before they enter the terminal, it was not that unusual.
* HEY, FOLKS... WHAT DO YOU THINK... SHOULD THIS INFORMATION BE "CLASSIFIED?" SHOULD WE NOT BE READING IT...??? I MEAN, THAT'S THE LOGIC OF THE ANTI-WIKILEAKS CROWD, RIGHT? WHAT'S THE FRIGG'N DIFFERENCE...??? (*SMIRK*)
Experts tell ABC News that every year since the September 11 terror attacks, federal agencies have conducted random, covert "red team tests," where undercover agents try to see just how much they can get past security checks at major U.S. airports. And while the Department of Homeland Security closely guards the results as classified, those that have leaked in media reports have been shocking.
* AGAIN, FOLKS, AS YOU'RE READING THIS, ASK YOURSELF THE LOGICAL QUESTION: IF WIKILEAKS IS "TREASONOUS" WHY SHOULDN'T THIS ABC NEWS REPORT BE VIEWED AS EQUALLY "TREASONOUS?" HMM...??? ("CLASSIFIED" INFORMATION; "LEAKED" CLASSIFIED INFORMATION...) (*SHRUG*)
According to one report, undercover TSA agents testing security at a Newark airport terminal on one day in 2006 found that TSA screeners failed to detect concealed bombs and guns 20 out of 22 times. A 2007 government audit leaked to USA Today revealed that undercover agents were successful slipping simulated explosives and bomb parts through Los Angeles's LAX airport in 50 out of 70 attempts, and at Chicago's O'Hare airport agents made 75 attempts and succeeded in getting through undetected 45 times.
* FOLKS... THIS IS "HOMELAND SECURITY." CAN'T YOU JUST HARDLY WAIT TO SEE HOW OBAMA'S BUREAUCRATS DO "SAFEGUARDING" YOUR HEALTH UNDER OBAMACARE REGULATIONS... (*SMIRK*)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-17/payrolls-decrease-in-28-u-s-states-led-by-north-carolina.html
Payrolls decreased in 28 U.S. states and the unemployment rate climbed in 21, showing most parts of the world’s largest economy took part in the November labor market setback.
North Carolina led the nation with 12,500 job cuts last month, followed by Massachusetts with 8,600 dismissals, and Ohio with 7,800... Joblessness increased most in Georgia and Idaho, while workers in [Harry Reid's] Nevada faced the highest [unemployment] in the country at 14.3%.
* HOPE... CHANGE... HOPE... CHANGE... (*SMIRK*)
The report is consistent with figures on Dec. 3 that showed unemployment increased last month...
(*ROLLING MY EYES*) AH, YES... THE AGE OF OBAMA... SPIRALING UNEMPLOYMENT... SPIRALING DEBT.
Today’s report showed Texas led states with the biggest payroll gains as employers added 19,100 workers. New Jersey was second with an increase of 10,000.
* HMM... (*SMIRK*)... NOW WHAT DO TEXAS AND NJ HAVE IN COMMON? OH! I KNOW! CONSERVATIVE GOVERNORS...!!! RICK PERRY AND CHRIS CHRISTIE!
http://www.projo.com/news/content/CF_REPORT_12-17-10_O6LGEUG_v52.34c8f37.html
Central Falls, Rhode Island's financial problems are so profound that the only way to solve them is through a merger with Pawtucket or a regionalization of city services, the state-appointed receiver said in a report Thursday to the Carcieri administration.
* ANOTHER "BLUE STATE" REAPING WHAT ITS INSANE AND IRRESPONSIBLE LIBERAL FISCAL POLICIES HAVE SOWN.
* BEGINNING IN 2011, DEMS WILL CONTROL 4 OF THE 5 STATEWIDE ELECTED OFFICES IN RHODE ISLAND; DEMS ALSO CONTROL BOTH SENATE SEATS FROM RHODE ISLAND AND BOTH CONGRESSIONAL SEATS.
“Central Falls, in my judgment, cannot remain a stand-alone community as it presently is, unless the state wants to subsidize this into the future,” said retired Superior Court judge Mark A. Pfeiffer, the man appointed by the state Department of Administration in July to run the city...
* FOLKS... YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND... THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS A FISCAL HOUSE OF CARDS. CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND REPRESENTS WHAT'S HAPPENING ON A FAR LARGER SCALE IN STATES LIKE CALIFORNIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ILLINOIS...
(*SIGH*)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576019392355439596.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop
In his book "Three Felonies a Day," attorney Harvey Silverglate describes how the proliferation of criminal statutes has made every American an unwitting felon.
(*NOD*)
* I'VE ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE BEFORE, PEOPLE.
According to a study by the Heritage Foundation and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, from 2000 to 2007 Congress created more than 450 new crimes, leaving companies and individuals to sort through an often opaque and unpredictable legal environment.
The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act alone serves up some two dozen new crimes.
In 2005-2006 when Republicans were last in charge, only about half of the bills making changes in nonviolent, non-drug-related criminal law were reviewed by the Judiciary Committee that has the expertise to evaluate them.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
The effect is a backdoor way of regulating businesses in areas from antitrust to the environment, giving prosecutors the ability to exploit vague laws to criminalize behavior that no one thought was illegal.
In a letter to Republican leaders, former U.S. Attorneys General Ed Meese and Dick Thornburgh have recommended that the House adopt a rule for the 112th Congress requiring that any bill that proposes or modifies a criminal penalty be referred to the Judiciary Committee. This should help mitigate the legal mischief in large bills that are rushed into law and few people have time to read.
Republicans have promised not to allow giant bills and to give Members 72 hours to read bills before a vote. These are sound changes, and the Judiciary referral would help to prevent more mistakes and enhance the rule of law.
(*NOD*)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1729156220101217
Venezuela's parliament gave President Hugo Chavez decree powers for 18 months on Friday...
(*SADLY SHAKING MY HEAD*)
* WELL, FOLKS... ANYONE STILL WANNA DEBATE WHETHER CHAVEZ IS A DICTATOR OR NOT....???
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339149/Big-freeze-Temperatures-plummet-10C-bringing-travel-chaos-Britain.html
Swathes of Britain skidded to a halt today as the big freeze returned - grounding flights, closing rail links and leaving traffic at a standstill.
And tonight the nation was braced for another 10in of snow and yet more sub-zero temperatures - with no let-up in the bitterly cold weather for at least a month, forecasters have warned.
The Arctic conditions are set to last through the Christmas and New Year bank holidays and beyond and as temperatures plummeted to -10c (14f) the Met Office said this December was ‘almost certain’ to become the coldest since records began in 1910.
(*SHAKING MY HEAD IN AMUSEMENT*)
* HEY, ALGORE... HOW'S THE GLOBAL WARMING RACKET WORKING OUT FOR YOU?
(*CHUCKLE*)
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-12-17-rw_donotboard16_ST_N.htm?csp=34
A federal "Do Not Board" list failed at least three times this year to stop travelers with serious, infectious diseases from taking commercial flights, according to information obtained by congressional investigators.
(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
The CDC say no one was sickened by the three travelers, and a Transportation Security Administration spokesman says the loopholes that allowed them to travel have been fixed.
(*RAISED EYEBROWS*)
All three travelers had tuberculosis, said Nina Marano, the CDC's quarantine branch chief.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
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