If you haven’t contacted your Senator about HB 4111 NOW is the time.. We don’t want to give them the excuse they did not know the wishes “of the people.” *The rules were suspended bumping up HB 4111 to a probable vote tomorrow MICHIGAN SENATE DAILY CALENDAR Wednesday, March 6, 2013… <<<<<<<<<< 9 >>>>>>>>>>> …
"Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon and other Portuguese cities Saturday to protest against the government's austerity measures. The rallies were organised by a non-political movement which claimed 500,000 marched in the country's capital and another 400,000 in the main northern city of Porto. But the mood of the crowd was clearly political, calling for new elections with banners declaring 'Portugal to the polls!' and 'If you fall asleep in a democracy, you wake up in a dictatorship'. Another banner showed a picture of centre-right Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho with the caption: 'Today I am in the street, tomorrow it will be you.'" Continue reading →
"Italy's comedian turned protest politician, Beppe Grillo, has told German news magazine 'Focus' that he believes the country's political system could crumble within the year. 'I'd give the old parties another six months - then it will be all over here,' Grillo said in excerpts of the interview released on Saturday ahead of Focus' publication. 'Then they won't be able to cover pension payments or public sector salaries anymore.' Grillo, a populist who pledged a referendum on Italy withdrawing from the euro during the country's recent election campaign, said that Italy's national debt was becoming unsustainable and that its terms had to be renegotiated." Continue reading →
"The recovery exists only in the official measure of real GDP, which is deflated by an understated measure of inflation, and in the U.3 measure of the unemployment rate, which is declining because it does not count discouraged job seekers who have given up looking for a job. No other data series indicates an economic recovery. Neither real retail sales nor housing starts, consumer confidence, payroll employment, or average weekly earnings indicate economic recovery. Neither does the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. The Fed’s expansive monetary policy of bond purchases to maintain negative real interest rates continues 3.5 years into the recovery." Continue reading →
"The Fed Chairman has been talking about tightening for some time. In 2010, he said, 'As the expansion matures, the Federal Reserve will need to begin to tighten monetary conditions to prevent the development of inflationary pressures.' Back then, the same mainstream analysts were predicting recovery and a reversal of quantitative easing (QE). Instead, we have subsequently seen QE2, Operation Twist, and now QE3 to eternity. While these mainstream commentators are at best guessing as to why or when the Fed might reverse course, I understand that it is extremely unlikely to do so for the foreseeable future. In fact, I've bet my net worth on it." Continue reading →
"Housing prices are climbing at near double digit rates. The stock market just hit a new high. At some point price inflation kicks in. How is Bernanke going to land his helicopter? If he stops printing, it all crashes." Continue reading →
"The regulator of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac detailed plans Monday to begin contracting their business while merging their securitization operations. Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco said the two, rescued by the government in 2008 in a $180 billion bailout after the housing market collapse, needed to begin reducing their dominance of the market as private financing makes a comeback. One effort planned for this year is to raise the fees they charge to mortgage lenders for guaranteeing their loans, reducing the market’s near-complete dependence on the two." Continue reading →
"The tasty little lunch pictured above conforms to newly proposed federal regulations aimed at foods and drinks served in the nation’s public schools. Among other mandates, these regulations would cap serving sizes and calorie counts. Ironically, these proposals are part of the second round of regulations deriving from the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, a laughable bureaucratic misnomer if ever there were one. The proposed regulations will also place a hefty fiscal burden on school districts and their long-suffering taxpayers. It is estimated that they will cost $127 million and require 926 thousand hours of paperwork to comply with." Continue reading →
"According to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, police were entitled to arrest, taze, and beat a teenager for the supposed crime of walking with his mother on a street in front of their own home. A police officer accosted the young man when he saw him approaching a woman who was walking a dog. It was quickly established that the woman was his mother. The trial court in the case also acknowledged that the victim was 'a fine young man, an excellent student, and active in sports, clubs and church activities.' The trial court ordered the victim of the unwarranted police attack to serve one day in detention." Continue reading →
"Attorney General Eric Holder can imagine a scenario in which it would be constitutional to carry out a drone strike against an American on American soil, he wrote in a letter to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. 'It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States,' Holder replied to Paul’s question about whether Obama 'has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial.'" Continue reading →