In a first, gas and other fuels are top US export
By CHRIS KAHN

NEW YORK - For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world's biggest gas guzzler, is - wait for it - fuel.

Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels.

Just how big of a shift is this? A decade ago, fuel wasn't even among the top 25 exports. And for the last five years, America's top export was aircraft.

The trend is significant because for decades the U.S. has relied on huge imports of fuel from Europe in order to meet demand. It only reinforced the image of America as an energy hog. And up until a few years ago, whenever gasoline prices climbed, there were complaints in Congress that U.S. refiners were not growing quickly enough to satisfy domestic demand; that controversy would appear to be over.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111231/APA/1112310594

13 Occupy Oakland protesters arrested
Ellen Huet


Oakland police arrested 13 protesters Friday in two Occupy-related incidents.

Police arrested three protesters who tried to put up tents at Frank Ogawa Plaza outside Oakland City Hall around 1 a.m. Friday, police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said.

Protesters gathered again at Frank Ogawa Plaza around 2 p.m. Workers from the Department of Public Works tried to enter the plaza to clean up the camp area, and protesters resisted, Watson said. Police were called to assist and arrested 10 protesters, Watson said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/30/BA7J1MJAJC.DTL#ixzz1i6OUEwHS

“You control our world. You've poisoned the air we breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and copyrighted the food we eat.

We fight in your wars, die for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect you.

You've liquidated our savings, destroyed our middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your unending greed.

We are slaves to your corporations, zombies to your airwaves, servants... to your decadence.

You've stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders, and abolished our basic human rights as human beings.

You own our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our unions.

You've profited off of disaster, destabilized our currencies, and raised our cost of living(while lowering our wages).

You've monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education, and have almost extinguished our flame.

We are hit...we are bleeding... but we ain't got time to bleed. We will bring the giants to their knees and you will witness our revolution! WAKE UP AMERICA! SUPPORT OCCUPY!

2012 Presidential Matchups
Election 2012: Romney 45%, Obama 39%

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Mitt Romney has now jumped to his biggest lead ever over President Obama in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup. It’s also the biggest lead a named Republican candidate has held over the incumbent in Rasmussen Reports surveying to date.

The latest national telephone survey finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters favor the former Massachusetts governor, while 39% prefer the president. Ten percent (10%) like some other candidate in the race, and six percent (6%) are undecided.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/2012_presidential_matchups

Maybe letting the Banksters off the hook wasn't such a good idea after all

No its not my handiwork

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/rnr/2773556488.html

We can no longer afford to shutter countless factories adding untold Millions to the Unemployment roles to profit the select few Wealthy Elite on Wall St. under the guise of Free Trade. We can not afford the largest Trade Imbalance in the World for decades on end while $Trillions of American Wealth is siphoned off from Working Class Americans.

We can not afford to finance our War Debts with Wall St’s concocted schemes of selling American Debt in the form of Mortgage Derivatives to Foreign Governments. We can not afford a Military Industrial Complex that absorbs 54% of every dollar surrendered to the Federal Tax Coffers. We can not afford Defense Contractors with little or No Allegiance to the United States or by the Constitution for which it stands to corrupt and influence our elected representatives in the House and Senate.

We can no longer afford to shield graft and corruption in this country’s Banking system. America’s Laws are a reflection or the morals of our society and the means to protect the Rights of the Citizens of this country. When the Federal Government “Shields and Protects” those that have deprived the Rights of our Citizens for the profits of the few, that branch of Government has violated the intent and purpose of the Constitution of the United States

Repubs drove the Chevy until the economy screamed
Them Good Ol' Boys trashed the Economy again
and we were singing like a Bankster with impunity dreams

Bye Bye Mrs American Dream

can you all help me finish the lyrics

Luther Findley, 55, tries to explain to the Bank of America via speaker phone that his wife wants to die in their house as he asks for an extension on his eviction from the house they have lived in since 1996. "My wife is a quadriplegic and I have no place to move her," he says. The voice on the other end says it doesn't look good but they will get back to him a few days later. The Findley's dual medical and financial crisis brought them to the brink of homelessness in what doctors say are Claire's final months of life. Barely able to speak Claire Findley wants to die at home. At 59, she is in the end stages of ALS, which she has had for the past 5 years. Only months remain. Her husband, Luther, a contractor, quit work to take 24-hour care of her, and they fell behind on the mortgage of their Fair Oaks house. They lost the house to foreclosure in March.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/17/4129973/medical-and-financial-crisis-daunts.html?mi_rss=Lifestyle%20Galleries#storylink=cpy

Will Public Outrage Finally Force The President To Prosecute Outlaw Bankers?
By Richard RJ Eskow

The President has adopted the language of the 99 percent, and it's paying off for him. He's surged from a position slightly behind Mitt Romney in last month's CNN polling to a 52 percent-45 percent lead against the Republican this week. While other factors were involved, his new rhetoric about income inequality and forcing everybody to "play by the same rules" resonated especially well with voters who have seen their government enforce one rule of conduct for Wall Street and another for the rest of us.

Unfortunately, his Administration hasn’t backed up that rhetoric with action. It has steadfastly refused to investigate and prosecute the bank crimes who brought this economy to its knees. So have the chief law enforcement officials for most states. Instead they’re trying to cut sweetheart deals that would let crooked bankers go with a slap on the wrist.

more at link
http://crooksandliars.com/richard-rj-eskow/will-public-outrage-finally-force