SoCalDem
SoCalDem's JournalAdelson is willing to pay 400 million to oust Obama. Would his tax bill be that high?
or would the combined tax bills of the "Billionaire Boyz Club" be as much as they are willing to bribe republicans with?
It amazes me how they whine & boo-hoo-hoo over their need for tax relief, and yet they throw wads of cash (the country really needs) at every sleazy republican they see.
Election cycles are no longer "every 4 years" , with minor ones every year locally. We have a Rube Goldberg Perpetual Election Machine going full throttle 24/7 year-round, and the republican electioneering beast must be fed non-stop. Local/state races are now beneficiaries of the **BBC because every lowly republican elected to small offices all over, may some day be elevated to a pivotal judgeship, congressional seat , senate, or even presidency.
There is always enough money for bribes, but never enough money for taxes.
Finally ! Some good (and interesting) news from Greece.. enjoy
http://news.yahoo.com/subway-unearths-ancient-road-greece-215137746.htmlhttp://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/7Dp1GjVFgvM3RJ6LFU0knw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9NDIwO2NyPTE7Y3c9NjMwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Archaeologists in Greece's second-largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was the city's main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago.
The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for Thessaloniki's new subway system, which is due to be completed in four years. The road in the northern port city will be raised to be put on permanent display when the metro opens in 2016. The excavation site was shown to the public on Monday, when details of the permanent display project were also announced. Several of the large marble paving stones were etched with children's board games, while others were marked by horse-drawn cart wheels.
Also discovered at the site were remains of tools and lamps, as well as the bases of marble columns. Viki Tzanakouli, an archaeologist working on the project, told The Associated Press the Roman road was about 1,800 years old, while remains of an older road built by the ancient Greeks 500 years earlier were found underneath it. "We have found roads on top of each other, revealing the city's history over the centuries," Tzanakouli said. "The ancient road, and side roads perpendicular to it appear to closely follow modern roads in the city today."
[Slideshow: Rare trove of ancient jewelry found]
About 7 meters (23 feet) below ground in the center of the city, the ancient road follows in roughly the same direction as the city's modern Egnatia Avenue. The subway works, started in 2006, present a rare opportunity for archaeologists to explore under the densely populated city — but have also caused years of delays for the project.
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If Issa wants to "investigate", here's a goodie for him
34 Lawmakers Changed Their Investments After Receiving Private Briefings About 2008 Economic Crisis
34 Lawmakers Changed Their Investments After Receiving Private Briefings About 2008 Economic Crisis
By Pat Garofalo on Jun 25, 2012 at 9:33 am
Last November, 60 Minutes aired a report showing that House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) made tens of thousands of dollars trading stock as he was receiving private economic briefings during the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Due to weak insider trading rules, Bachus was cleared of any legal wrongdoing by the Congressional Ethics Committee, but the case still motivated Congress to pass the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which supposedly prevents lawmakers from profiting off information they receive in private briefings with top economic officials.
However, the problem may go far beyond just Bachus. As the Washington Post reported on Monday, 34 lawmakers — including Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) — shuffled their investment portfolios during the financial crisis, after speaking to high-ranking economic officials:
Boehner is one of 34 members of Congress who took steps to recast their financial portfolios during the financial crisis after phone calls or meetings with [Treasury Secretary Hank] Paulson; his successor, Timothy F. Geithner; or Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, according to a Washington Post examination of appointment calendars and congressional disclosure forms. The lawmakers, many of whom held leadership positions and committee chairmanships in the House and Senate, changed portions of their portfolios a total of 166 times within two business days of speaking or meeting with the administration officials. The party affiliation of the lawmakers was about evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, 19 to 15.
After speaking with Paulson, Boehner shifted $50,000 to $100,000 out of a risky mutual fund, and spent tens of thousands of dollars more on a less-risky fund. Other lawmakers who were making investment decisions after receiving private information at the time included Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). The lawmakers contend that their investments are overseen by outside advisers and that the private information had no bearing on their portfolio moves.
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MORE DETAILED shenanigans @
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lawmakers-reworked-financial-portfolios-after-talks-with-fed-treasury-officials/2012/06/24/gJQAnQPg0V_story_1.html
and a graph that shows their stock trades aligned with their phone calls & meetings
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/capitol-assets/congressional-financial-transactions-federal-reserve-schedule/
Aaaw, Zach Wamp's sonny-boy, Weston is following Dad into politics (he's 25)
Morning Joe is asking why he wants to follow Daddy's footsteps..
Gee whiz, Joe....Why NOT?
What 25 yr old would NOT want a job where there's always time off..
There's no heavy lifting..
Starting salary is a 6 figure income, and your staff is paid for by the govt..
You get to travel for free..
Your campaign expenses are paid by secret sugar daddies
Pretty sweet deal, to be paid to schmooze and do nothing.
If you are a business-owner and your clientele base ages and dies off, who will buy your product?
I saw this firsthand as my Aunt's boutique clothing business "died" off as she aged. She was as vigorous as ever, and still a crafty entrepreneur, BUT her customers were a very niche-y bunch of women. Right across the street from her shoppe was the Bell Telephone office (chock-ful of most of the women workers in our town ...aside from the waitresses, nurses etc and others who wore uniforms at their jobs). There was also a "business school", where they churned out class after class of "newly liberated" young women who would go on to become secretaries, office managers, stenographers ...think Mad Men..for real).
For about 20 years she had a little goldmine, and more customers than she could accommodate sometimes. She ordered with them in mind, and they paid her back by being loyal shoppers.
During the '60's , I was her one and only employee, so of course she started catering to the teen-set, but we were a fickle bunch, and we shopped all over the place.
But she still had her loyal phone company/business school ladies.
but I digress....................
The one thing she did not figure into her business plan was that slowly but surely automation/mergers and family creation would eat into her sales, and then of course as women "retired" and stayed home with babies, they no longer shopped on their lunch hours and they no longer needed new dresses, shoes, coats & jewelry.
The final blow was, after many years, the women who stayed loyal to her shoppe, started really retiring.
Her shoppe was a small fish in a sea of malls that sprang up, and the death knell probably was due to that as well, but the real business-killer was the fact that her specialty clientele "outgrew" her place, and new customers either were pickier or more fickle or both.
The health care insurance industry is facing a similar fate sooner rather than later, and they should be on their knees, kissing Obama's feet, instead of behind him with a dagger.
WHO WILL PAY THEIR EVER-INCREASING PRICES FOR COVERAGE?
The ONLY thing that has kept them viable & has made their CEOs rich-beyond-all-comprehension is the HUGE pool of Boomer-workers who caught the tail-end of what was left of the "American Dream" job market.
The workers **(C.O.B) who followed the Boomers, are likely to be at opposite ends of the wage-spectrum. A few will be in speculative or highly-prized/paid occupations and will always sit at the front of the Gravy Train, still making big bucks and retaining the ability to pay high premiums, but the majority are having wages lowered/eliminated; they are clinging to a raggedy rope as they are dragged down the tracks behind the caboose and they can no longer even participate in the ponzi scheme.
The "mandate" was the bon mot tossed into the gaping maws of the insurance companies, to force people to continue to "buy" from them. If SCOTUS axes it, the insurance companies have the MOST to lose, since their product ...."permission slips" is becoming too costly for the 99%ers, and the 1%ers don't "need" the coverage.
The "Greatest Generation" is dying off, and they have been on Medicare for a very long time now. The "Largest Generation" is ticking days off the calendar as they too graduate into Medicare, and out of the clutches of **"G.B.I.C."
The "<insert appellations here> Generations" that follow are mostly uninterested and unable to participate in the scheme as we go forward.
Just how on earth does a generation of **"E.C.D" get into the "game"...or even want to play the game.
** Children of Boomers
** Greedy Bastard Insurance Companies
** Extreme College Debt
As usual, semantics is overlooked by most media-types.
Detained vs ARRESTED.
When the ruling on AZ shit-law came down, it was first reported that when ARRESTED, cops could (and should) check immigration status, and that makes "some" sense, since the costs of incarceration could then be shifted to the feds, and AZ could shift the burden to the feds.
NOW the talking heads are saying "DETAINED" people will be forced to prove they are "legal"..
There is an ocean of difference here, since a few cocky cops can say "Hey, that dude over there looks illegal..let's detain him"...vs cops/detectives catch and arrest someone, and as part of booking him/her, they check status.
There needs to be some MAJOR clarification by the court.
Playa del Gulpiyuri.. A Strange (ocean) Beach in the Middle of a Meadow
http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/playa-de-gulpiyuri-a-strange-beach-in-the-middle-of-a-meadow.htmlPlaya de Gulpiyuri – A Strange Beach in the Middle of a Meadow
By Spooky on June 6th, 2012 Category: Pics, Travel
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Tucked away into a small inland hollow, right in the middle of a meadow, Playa de Gulpiyuri is one of the most amazing beaches in the world.
We’ve certainly featured some unique places here, on Oddity Central, and even a few incredible beaches, like the hot water beach of New Zealand or California’s glass beach, but none like the beach of Gulpiyuri. Located near the charming town of Llanes, on the northern coast of Spain, Gulpiyuri Beach is unlike anything I have ever seen, or even imagined existed outside of fantasy books or fictional planets. Imagine walking over 100 meters from the sea shoreline and stumbling over a small charming beach right in the middle of a green meadow. And while you may find other beaches completely hidden from the open sea, around the world, this one is actually fully tidal and even has waves bathing the small strip of golden sand.
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video and more pics at link
Man stranded in desert builds motorcycle out of his broken car..EDITED
EDITED with supporting INFO and an additional link woith pics of the man
http://www.odditycentral.com/news/real-life-macgyver-builds-working-motorcycle-out-of-car-that-broke-down-in-the-desert.html
So here’s how it all happened: Emile had left the city of Tan Tan, in Morocco, and was driving his Citroen 2CV across the Sahara. Upon reaching a military outpost, he is informed by the Royal Gendermerie that he cannot continue further, due to new developments in the conflict between Morocco and Western Sahara, in the area beyond Tilemsem.
Left with the option to go back to Tan Tan and asked to take a passenger back with him, the Frenchman refuses invoking an insurance problem that doesn’t allow him to take any passengers. He turns his car around driving at high speed, to make sure he isn’t followed by the military, and decides to by-bass their post by circling around and returning on the original trail later. After venturing off road, on rocky and bumpy terrain, it doesn’t take too long for his car to break down, after brutally hitting a rock. Emile is now stranded in the middle of nowhere.
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Emile Leray motorcycle5 550x380 Real Life MacGyver Builds Working Motorcycle Out of Car That Broke Down in the Desert
Emile in classic desert wear. If you look closely at his right hand, you can see the string he uses to operate the camera
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The adventurer began work on his unique project thinking he would complete it in three days time, but he only succeeded after twelve days of hard work. With only 1/2 liter of water left, he managed to ride his motorcycle (called Desert Camel) out of the desert. On his way to civilization, Leray was actually pulled over by the Gendermerie, for driving an illegal vehicle. Now that’s what I call a real-life story fit for a movie.
Leray's website: http://chameaudacier.free.fr/index.html
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original post below
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/23/man-stranded-in-desert-builds-motorcycle-out-of-his-broken-car/?ncid=txtlnkwbauto00000002
By Jeremy Korzeniewski RSS feed
Posted May 23rd 2012 2:01PM
148796
Comments157
According to Merriam-Webster, ingenuity can be defined as "skill or cleverness in devising or combining" or "cleverness or aptness of design or contrivance." We'd say that's an apt description of a Frenchman named Emile who reportedly found himself stranded in the deserts of Northwest Africa after breaking a frame rail and a suspension swingarm underneath his Citroën 2CV.
What to do? Why, disassemble the broken hulk and build yourself a motorcycle from its pile of parts, of course! As the story goes, Emile was able to use the inventive machine to escape the desert, though not before convincing the local authorities that he wasn't an insurgent and paying a fine for importing a non-conforming vehicle...
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The amazing thing about the Issa Witch-hunt it this
Some democrats are (or seem to be) surprised at his overreach and the vitriol.
T H I S ... I S... H O W... R E P U B L I C A N S.. A R E !!!
They do not crave power to legislate or to make the lives of their constituents better.
They want power so they can bully democrats. It's pretty much always been this way, and it probably will never change.
When power shifts, they scream like little babies and bully the dems into NOT pursuing really scandalous behavior , and seem to always prevail as democrats set out to legislate and eschew the temptation to retaliate. Republicans know that dems do not have the stomach for it, and are proven right every time we take over.
Does anyone even know how many subpoenas were ignored by the Bushies? Ashcroft, Cheney, Rice et al, repeatedly lied to congress, and nothing was ever done TO them...and now a BUSH policy is being tied around the neck of the guy who STOPPED those stupid policies, and he is being blamed for them.
This is all about the fact that his credibility MUST be squashed dead like a bug, so any dealings with voting irregularities can be ignored.
How you handle the Warren/Brown Debate
Warren in one chair, and this one for the pretty-boy. A list of questions in an addressed envelope (placed on the seat) to be mailed to him ( an open-book "test" of sorts).
Elizabeth answers the questions like she always does, and reminds everyone that she is not afraid to be questioned.
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