Thursday, February 10, 2011

Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, February 10/ 2011


One of my "family shows" which I watch with the Poops.

If the show's version of this Dylan classic gets pulled (for copyright violation) just tune in to the show's opening credits one Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m.

And now... follow me... it's newsbite time!

8 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/cag3/na.html

The average temperature in January 2011 was 30.0 F. This was -0.8 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average...

* GLOBAL WARMING... (*SMILE*)

http://southeastfarmpress.com/management/georgia-eyes-coldest-winter-ever

Cold temperatures and heavy snow crippled north Georgia in January. ... Georgia’s temperature was significantly below normal last month. ... If colder-than-normal temperatures continue into February, this winter could possibly set records for the coldest winter ever in some parts of Georgia. Record low temperatures were set at Macon, Savannah and Alma Jan. 14. Macon reported 16 degrees, breaking the old record of 19 degrees set that date in 1970. Savannah and Alma reported 18 degrees, surpassing the old records of 20 degrees set at both locations in 1964.

* MORE GLOBAL WARMING...

http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/bartlesville-ties-oklahoma-state-record-for-low-temperature%2C-tulsa-ties-city-record

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Records amount of snow have fallen across the state, and now records for low temperatures are starting to fall too.

In fact, some temperatures across the state Thursday morning were lower than North Pole, Alaska, which was a balmy 16 degrees.

In Bartlesville, the National Weather Service recorded the temperature reaching 28 degrees below 0, setting an all-time city record.

The Oklahoma Mesonet released a statement saying Nowata reached -31 degrees.

Whichever temperature is recorded, it will be an all-time low for Oklahoma.

The previous state record was -27 in Watts in 1930 and -27 in Vinita in 1909.

* GLOBAL WARMING... GLOBAL WARMING... GLOBAL WARMING...!!!

William R. Barker said...

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/09/news/economy/postal_service/index.htm

The U.S. Postal Service warned Wednesday that it may default on some of its financial obligations later this year after reporting yet another quarterly loss.

* YEP! YOU READ THAT RIGHT, FOLKS!

The USPS, a self-supporting government agency...

* OH, PLEEEASE...! IF IT WAS "SELF-SUPPORTING" THEY WOULD HAVE GONE UNDER YEARS AGO! (SEE... THIS IS WHAT I MEAN ABOUT THE MSM!)

...that receives no tax dollars...

(*ROLLING MY EYES*)

* IT DEPENDS WHAT YOU MEAN BY THE WORD "RECEIVES" AND WHAT YOU MEAN BY "TAX DOLLARS."

(*SMIRK*)

* SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... WHAT NONSENSE. (SCARIER STILL... WHO KNOWS IF THE REPORTER AND EDITOR ARE SIMPLY SO FRIGG'N IGNORANT THAT THEY JUST BOUGHT THE PRESS RELEASE HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER.)

The USPS...suffered a loss of $329 million in the first quarter of federal fiscal year 2011. That compared with a loss of $297 million a year earlier.

* KIDS. WE'RE TALKING QUARTERS...!!! (TWO QUARTERS OUT OF FIVE QUARTER...!!!) (SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT THE MSM...?!?!) HOW MANY BROWSING THE STORY WILL COME AWAY THINKING THE USPS "ONLY" LOST $297 MILLION DURING THE ENTIRE LAST YEAR - VS. JUST THE FIRST QUARTER OF LAST YEAR?

Despite ongoing cost-cutting efforts, the USPS said it expects to have a cash shortfall this year and to hit its federally mandated borrowing limit by September...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

William R. Barker said...

http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/rightnow?ContentRecord_id=bf06cba5-dace-4930-8499-4f282403a1a0

Testifying today before the House Budget Committee, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf confirmed that the health care law will reduce the number of jobs in the labor market.

The Budget and Economic Outlook released by CBO in August projected a 0.5% reduction in the labor market as a direct result of the health care law.

Director Elmendorf responded in the affirmative when asked by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan whether CBO has found that the new health care law will reduce jobs and decrease labor force participation.

In subsequent questions, Elmendorf confirmed that CBO projects that household employment will be about 160 million in 2021, therefore the 0.5% reduction in the labor market resulting from the health care law will equal roughly 800,000 full time employees.

William R. Barker said...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110210/ap_on_re_us/us_breast_pumps_taxes

The cost of breast pumps will now be considered tax-deductible medical expenses under a ruling issued by the Internal Revenue Service Thursday.

* OBAMACARE - THE LEGISLATION... THE LAW - MADE BREAST PUMPS TAXABLE. BEYOND THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT THE IRS HAS THE CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY TO OVERRIDE THE LAW IN THIS FASHION, THE BOTTOM LINE IS - IF THEY'RE ALLOWED TO DO SO - THIS WILL BE YET ANOTHER OBAMACARE "WAIVER."

(*SHRUG*)

William R. Barker said...

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/jon-kyl-to-announce-retirement.html?hpid=topnews

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl (R) announced his retirement at a press conference in Phoenix Thursday afternoon.

"I will not seek reelection the United States Senate but will retire from public service in January 2013," Kyl said.

(*JUMPING TO MY FEET; APPLAUDING, WHISTLING, SHOUTING MY APPROVAL*)

* ANOTHER RINO BITES THE DUST. (THE PROBLEM IS... HE CAN STILL DO A LOT OF DAMAGE FROM NOW TILL JANUARY 2013.)

Republicans likely to take a serious look at running include former Rep. John Shadegg and Rep. Jeff Flake.

* I'D BE THRILLED TO DEATH TO HAVE EITHER MAN SERVING IN THE SENATE!

William R. Barker said...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-10/republicans-promise-100-billion-in-spending-cuts.html

Confronted with a rebellion of tea party-backed conservatives insistent on deeper spending cuts, House Republicans are promising to cut more than $60 billion from the budget as they draft legislation funding the government through Sept. 30.

Thursday's announcement by Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers comes just a day after he failed to sell a smaller package of cuts in a closed-door GOP meeting.

"Our intent is to make deep but manageable cuts in nearly every area of government, leaving no stone unturned and allowing no agency or program to be held sacred," Rogers said in a statement.

* YOU'D BETTER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!

Driving the move is a promise made in last fall's campaign to cut $100 billion from President Barack Obama's proposals.

(*NOD*)

William R. Barker said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/elections/ct-met-chicago-mayor-race-0210-20110209,0,4788617.story

[Chicago mayoral candidate and former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm] Emanuel [supports] "reparations" for descendants of [slaves].

* JUST ANOTHER "MAINSTREAM" DEMOCRAT, HUH, FOLKS...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

William R. Barker said...

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110210/NEWS01/702109884/0#get-ready-for-higher-food-prices

[T]he U.S. Department of Agriculture [has] reported that global demand had pushed U.S. corn supplies to their lowest point in 15 years.

The price of corn, which has doubled over the past six months, affects most food products in supermarkets. It's used to feed the cattle, hogs and chickens that fill the meat aisles. ... Turned into syrup, it sweetens most soft drinks and many foods.

Shoppers could see higher grocery bills as early as three months from now, though most of the impact won't be felt for another six months, said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economics professor at the University of Illinois.

Chicken prices are among the first to rise because the bird's life span is so short that higher feed costs get factored in quickly, he said. Price hikes for hogs take about a year and cattle two years. Prices on packaged foods take six or seven months to rise.

Tyson Foods, the nation's biggest meat company, said chicken, beef and pork prices are expect to rise this year, if only slightly, as producers seek to cover costs.

ConAgra Foods Inc. - the Omaha-based producer of brands including Healthy Choice, Banquet and Chef Boyardee - is raising prices on some of its products because of higher costs for corn and fuel, said Teresa Paulsen, a spokeswoman.

Corn prices have risen over the past six months from $3.50 a bushel to nearly $7.00 [a bushel].