Steal column, get suspension

Obama Promises to Work With GOP
The AP reports: Honolulu (AP) — President Barack Obama says Democrats and Republicans must work together in the new year and share responsibility for moving the country forward. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said Saturday that lawmakers must return to Washington next week prepared to make serious decisions about how to grow The Economy in the short run and stay competitive in the future. “I’m willing to work with anyone of either party who’s got a good...

Republicans to enjoy new clout and face pressure
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans roared to victory in the November congressional Elections by targeting President Barack Obama's fiscal policies and asking, "Where are the jobs?" Once they take power from Obama's Democrats in the House of Representatives when the new Congress convenes on January 5, they will be held accountable to answer this and other questions. How will they keep their promise to cut federal spending and reduce the federal Deficit? What will they do to pump new life into th...

Who or What Is Watching You?
By John Ballard A story in todays NY Times reminded me of a couple others in recent memory. Follow me. ►Satellite-based software has been around for several years capable of monotoring weather details, sending emergency alerts to lifeguards when swimmers might be in trouble or sharks and riptides are in the neighborhood. ►Technology for covertly making cell phones into listening devices is also nothing new. Everyday folks don't worry about their phones becoming "hot mikes" wh...

David Gorodyansky: Web Privacy: Consumers Have More Control Than They Think
Instead of relying on federal Regulators to safeguard their online Privacy, millions of Americans are taking the matter into their own hands. For weeks, media outlets have detailed the debate surrounding Internet Privacy, an issue brought to the fore by a report the Federal Trade Commission, issued December 1 and promising to take action against companies that do not respect consumer privacy. The commission calls for a "Do Not Track" mechanism similar to the Do Not Call registry for telemarket...

Big Brother: The Police State Mentality in the Electronic Age
© unknown "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790), American inventor, Journalist, printer, diplomat, and statesman (1775) "Americans used to roar like lions for liberty; now we bleat like sheep for security." Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993), American Christian preacher and author "A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he is alon...

Police store data of 999 callers
Millions of innocent people who have reported a crime have their details stored on police databases, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. The Press Association study found forces in England and Wales have kept data on people who called them. Senior officers said gathering data was necessary to fight crime, protect the vulnerable and ensure concerns were dealt with properly. But Privacy campaigners including Big Brother Watch expressed their concerns. Evidence of the police databases wa...

Michael Bader, D.M.H.: The Biggest Myth About Therapy that HBO's In Treatment Promotes
Oh, right. Paul Weston isn't a real therapist. He's just a character on the HBO series In Treatment. So, I suppose it's rather silly when my wife and I -- both psychologists -- react to stuff he does with exclamations like "Good interpretation, Paul!" or "Christ! He keeps missing the boat." No sillier, I suppose, than when the American Psychoanalytic Association once held a panel discussion about film and television depictions of psychoanalysis and had the actress who played a Psychiatrist on ...

What's in the Manning/Lamo WikiLeaks Chat Logs?
Glenn Greenwald has been warring with Wired over Wired's supposed responsibility to release more of the chat logs between arrested-but-not-convicted alleged WikiLeaker Bradley Manning and Adrian Lamo, the man to whom he supposedly confessed his Crime and who turned him in. Here is Wired explaining why they have released all they ought, and why Greenwald is a hypocrite, a bad Journalist, and any number of other yucky things. Here is Greenwald's response to Wired (including suggestive accusations...

Borders delays payments to some publishers
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Shares of Borders plunged nearly 15% in premarket trading Friday after the cash-strapped bookseller said it is delaying payments to some publishers. The news came just weeks after the nation's second-largest bookseller said a Third Party lowered the value of its inventory in the event it had to sell the company or go out of business. That weighed on Borders' borrowing capacity and forced it into discussion with senior credit facilities to refinances its Debt. Email Prin...

2011 Predictions
Tags: 2011 predictions, What are your hopes for 2011?, What do you think will happen in 2011? Just for fun, chime in on this thread with anything you think will happen in 2011. Nothing is too ridiculous to note. Just go with your gut and say what you think is going to happen. (1) Andrew Breitbart is going to bring down Obama with the Pigford Black Reparations expose he’s pushing.  Breitbart is a dog with a bone and will not stop.  Michele Bachmann, Steve King, and Darryl Issa a...

Top Stories of 2010 #4: The Fragging of Dan Maes
It's been said that in the weeks between Maes' victory in the primary and the events of the week of September 3rd, "new information" reportedly surfaced that changed the minds of Republican leaders--who had been slowly Lending nominal support to Maes prior to this. We are here to tell you that this is a load of crap: the basic facts of everything, certainly enough, of what Maes had either failed to disclose or embellished from his past, as well as his famous campaign reimbursement troubles, were...

Dear G.O.P.
If you nominate Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney in 2012 I will officially disown you. I will disregard all warnings against supporting a Third Party. I will throw all the weight I have behind the most conservative, probably Libertarian, Candidate that I can find and I’ll drag as many voters with me as I can muster. I can assure you that I won’t be the only one to do this. If I may offer one bit of advice, it is this: Do not assume that the Tea Parties were your midterm lackeys, a mere s...

The Empire Strikes Back
Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do when they come for you? Nobody saw this coming: FBI Raids Texas Company in Hunt for Anonymous The FBI has raided a Texan hosting company and seized equipment believed to have been used in the distributed denial of service attacks that targeted supposed “enemies” of Julian Assange and Wikileaks, which included the likes of PayPal and MasterCard. It was actually PayPal that set the wheels in motion, as investigators working for the company suppli...

Obamas Weakly Address
From WhiteHouse.gov WASHINGTON - In his weekly address, President Obama resolved to do everything he can to make sure The Economy is growing, creating jobs, and strengthening the Middle Class in the new year.  With each party controlling one house of the Congress, Democrats and Republicans will share the responsibility to move the country forward, and the President reiterated his commitment to work with anyone who has a good idea in either party. ~snip~ This is a farce. Obama has his mind m...

CBI head warns over 'rocky' 2011
The economy faces a "quite rough" start to 2011, the head of employers' organisation the CBI has warned. Sir Richard Lambert said: "The first months of the year are going to be the really bumpy, gritty ones." But he also said there were positive indicators in The Economy, including a strengthening of Private Sector investment. He predicted the "natural elastic" in the economy would help it recover from the Recession. On an interview with BBC Radio 4's Toda...

Republicans to enjoy new clout and face pressure
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans roared to victory in the November congressional Elections by targeting President Barack Obama's fiscal policies and asking, "Where are the jobs?" Once they take power from Obama's Democrats in the House of Representatives when the new Congress convenes on January 5, they will be held accountable to answer this and other questions. How will they keep their promise to cut federal spending and reduce the federal Deficit? What will they do to pump new life into the...

Republicans to enjoy new clout and face pressure
By Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Sun Jan 2, 2011 8:07am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans roared to victory in the November congressional Elections by targeting President Barack Obama's fiscal policies and asking, "Where are the jobs?" Once they take power from Obama's Democrats in the House of Representatives when the new Congress convenes on January 5, they will be held accountable to answer this and other questions. How will they keep their promise to cut federal spend...

Obama: Dems, GOP must cooperate in new year
Source: AP ONOLULU – President Barack Obama says Democrats and Republicans must work together in the new year and share responsibility for moving the country forward. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said Saturday that lawmakers must return to Washington next week prepared to make serious decisions about how to grow The Economy in the short run and stay competitive in the future. "I'm willing to work with anyone of either party who's got a good idea and the commitment to see it th...

R. Lee Ermey Unloads on Obama Administration During USO Benefit Program
And a confused Karoli's head explodes at Crooks and Liars, which makes this doubly good: “… it’s time for Tots for Tots … “I got to tell you folks, we’re having a big problem this year. “The Economy really sucks. “Now, I hate to point fingers at anybody but the present administration probably had a lot to do with that. “And the way I see it they’re not going to quit doing it until they bring this country to its knees. So I think we sh...

Hillary Giving Up Secretary Of State?
Is Hillary Clinton about to resign? A growing number of rumors are saying that Hillary Clinton will resign from her position of Secretary of State in the early part of 2011. Clinton was revealed in the Wikileaks Cablegate Scandal as instructing American Diplomats to get Personal Information from United Nations diplomats, which Top Officials at the UN said may be a breach of international laws. A few days later, Clinton soberly told an audience that her position as Secretary of State would be the...

News links: Car tsar Steve Rattner agrees to $10 million settlement over alleged state pension fund kickbacks
An Obama Administration’s efforts to expand the amount of public lands designated as “wild” — a move that could make the areas off limits to drilling, grazing and Snowmobiles — is angering energy companies, ranchers and sportsmen who say they could lose access to acreage they count on for their recreation and livelihood. Wall Street Journal>>> Former “Car Tsar” Steve Rattner, the investment Banker who led the government takeover of the Auto Industry,

New Years reflection from an electoral activist
Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their New Year! Tom Cleland of Minnesota Tom Cleland is a Third Party Activist and blogger from Minnesota. He was a volunteer for Green Party Candidate Farheen Hakim for Governor. Tom posted at his blog: Main Lesson of 2010 We forced the Recount! The main lesson of 2010 is that if Democrats ignore Green Party issues, they risk losing Elections. The background of the story is in a longer, previous post, where Tom writes: But my proudest accomplishme...

The 2008 GOP Field Need Not Apply in 2012
@momus1978 Right back at ya, homie. Happy New Year (a little early) as well. 19 hours ago @brookedunne Thanks for the follow. I appreciate it very much. 19 hours ago If you nominate Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney in 2012 I will officially disown you. I will disregard all warnings against supporting a Third Party. I will throw all the weight I have behind the most conservative, probably Libertarian, Candidate that I can find and I’ll drag as many voters with me as I can mu...

Indiana Court Case: Servicer Contractually Bound to Federal Servicing Guidelines
Even though the Treasury Department isn’t sanctioning servicers for their failure to comply with HAMP guidelines, it looks like in some cases, the courts could. In a case in the Indiana Court of Appeals, a Foreclosure case was reversed for essentially one reason: I. Whether a mortgagee‘s compliance with federal Mortgage servicing responsibilities is a condition precedent that may be raised as an affirmative defense to the Foreclosure of an FHA-insured mortgage In other words, because t...

Incoming secretary of state had no role in cutting client's campaign-finance fine, official says
Both Gessler, an experienced Elections issues lawyer, and officials with the Secretary of State's office say his taking the reins of the office in January had nothing to do with the department's Dec. 15 decision to cut the $504,500 in fines against the Colorado Independent Auto Dealers Association down to $8,475. But both sides also acknowledge the appearance of potential conflict the situation presents. "Sure, but our job is to be as consistent and fair as possible and not take factors like tha...