Obama, Congress guilty of 'dereliction of duty'

Time to charge them all with treason, except Rand Paul!

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City Retiree's Plan to sue Stockton

A group of Stockton retirees is seeking a restraining order against the bankrupt city's efforts to cut their health benefits, part of the city's "pendency plan" aimed at keeping it solvent while it seeks protections from creditors.

The city informed retirees by letter they must pay their premiums by July 30 or "medical coverage will be canceled retroactive to July 1."

Promises of lifelong health benefits have been blamed in part for Stockton's failure, which was also brought on by the housing bust, unemployment and borrowing for downtown development that did not bring expected results.

PHOTOS: California cities in bankruptcy

Dwane Milnes, who was Stockton's city manager from 1991 to 2001, has been widely criticized for giving retirees full retirement healthcare in return for agreements from unions not to seek raises. The unfunded liability for those benefits is $417 million.

Milnes now represents the retirees in bankruptcy-related negotiations.

"It is not unfair to make changes in the retirement plan," Milnes said. "The world changes and when the world changes you have to adapt. But the question is, how do you change it in a way that is respectful of those most in need?"

Plaintiff Alfred Seibel, 58, a retired parks worker, said he can't afford the premiums and can't afford to lose coverage.
With the city's cuts, Seibel's health insurance costs would be $1,126.66 per month, or about 51% of his net income.

"I am already taking generic meds for cholesterol and triglycerides against my doctor's advice, I can't afford the $70 co-pay. My wife cries all the time. She don't understand how when they promise you all this stuff, then they [can] just take it away," he said in court documents.

A retired parks caretaker who worked for the city for 31 years, Seibel also suffers from a work-related herniated disc and enlarged lymph nodes that doctors say are from chemicals he used on the job.

The suit seeks class-action status covering all retirees, but Milnes said he and other managers with higher incomes would be willing to give up their benefits.

"The ones we're talking about are the ones who worked for us for years. For crying out loud, we know them, we know their families. We know about their breast cancer, their husband's diabetes," he said.

The budget the Stockton City Council adopted slashed contributions to current employee and retiree health benefits and eliminated benefits for employees with fewer than 10 years of city service. It eliminates city-funded medical benefits for retirees by July 2013.

There are about 2,400 city retirees, about 1,000 of whom receive health benefits. Two-thirds of the city retirees do not meet poverty requirements for California's low-income healthcare program but cannot afford private insurance, Milnes said. Those who are over 65 can get Medicare, but they must pay for medications and doctor's office visits.

Stockton Vice Mayor Kathy Miller said the lawsuit was not unexpected.

"All I can say is that there is a group of retirees who think it's more important for the taxpayers to pay 100% of their retirement than to keep police officers on the street," she said. "They know the situation. They know 80% of our discretionary income is for public safety. There is no way we can close the budget gap without these cuts. But they think they should come first."

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— Diana Marcum

Sunday Scramble

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Bernanke to Congress: We're Much Closer to Total Destruction Than You Think

Official Congressional budget estimates understate the peril of rising debt, Fed chair Ben Bernanke told the Budget Committee on Capitol Hill today.

Warning that our nation's fiscal health has deteriorated appreciably since the onset of the financial crisis and the recession, Bernanke called upon lawmakers to confront the long term fiscal challenges sooner rather than later. If lawmakers don't confront them, they'll find themselves confronted by them.

From Bernanke's prepared remarks:

By definition, the unsustainable trajectories of deficits and debt that the CBO outlines cannot actually happen, because creditors would never be willing to lend to a government with debt, relative to national income, that is rising without limit. One way or the other, fiscal adjustments sufficient to stabilize the federal budget must occur at some point. The question is whether these adjustments will take place through a careful and deliberative process that weighs priorities and gives people adequate time to adjust to changes in government programs or tax policies, or whether the needed fiscal adjustments will come as a rapid and painful response to a looming or actual fiscal crisis.

Bernanke explained that the Congressional Budget Office's calculations miss an important reality. As the government's debt and deficits rise, the economy will slow down—an effect not taken into account by the CBO. So, for instance, when the CBO says that federal spending for health-care programs will roughly double as a percentage of GDP in the next 25 years, it is probably being too optimistic. If debt keeps, rising, GDP will be much lower than the CBO estimates—which will mean that health care spending will be a much larger percentage of the overall economy.

Here's Bernanke on the effect of rising debt:

Sustained high rates of government borrowing would both drain funds away from private investment and increase our debt to foreigners, with adverse long-run effects on U.S. output, incomes, and standards of living. Moreover, diminishing investor confidence that deficits will be brought under control would ultimately lead to sharply rising interest rates on government debt and, potentially, to broader financial turmoil. In a vicious circle, high and rising interest rates would cause debt-service payments on the federal debt to grow even faster, resulting in further increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio and making fiscal adjustment all the more difficult.

In short, the official estimates members of Congress hear from their budget office are under-estimating our dire economic predicament. If fiscal policy is not brought under control, things will be much, much worse.

Presidential Candidate Ron Paul Speaks in Berkeley, CA

There's The Phone, Hey Mom!

Gas prices climb again, topping $3.76

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The nationwide average for gasoline prices rose for the 26th straight day Sunday, topping the $3.76-a-gallon mark, according to the motorist group AAA.

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline climbed 0.7 cent in the latest 24-hour period. The price of gas is up from $3.47 a month ago and $3.69 a week ago. Last year at this time, gas was $3.49 a gallon.

The average price is 35 cents, or about 8.5%, lower than the record high of $4.114 set on July 17, 2008.

Average prices for regular gasoline top $4 a gallon in California, Alaska and Hawaii. At $4.38 a gallon, Hawaii ranks as the nation's high. Prices are within a nickel of the $4 mark in Connecticut, New York and Oregon, according to AAA.

Wyoming became the last state to reach the $3.20 mark, but still has the nation's lowest gas prices, about 3 cents a gallon lower than Colorado.
Gas prices have been rising on the back of soaring oil prices, which have surged 10% over the past month amid fears that tensions with Iran will lead to an all-out war that causes a disruption in oil supplies.

Signs of an improving economy have also boosted oil prices, as has the stock market. All three major indexes hit multi-year highs this week, and the S&P 500 (SPX) has risen by more than 8% in 2012.

But some economists worry that high gas prices could be the tipping point that brings on a new economic downturn. "I don't think for a minute consumer confidence levels can be sustained in the face of sustained high gas prices," said Bernard Baumohl, head of the Economic Outlook Group, a Princeton, N.J., research firm.

As gas prices soar, Republican presidential candidates have tried to tie President Obama's policies to the increase.

On Thursday, Mitt Romney said Obama "should be hanging his head" over his energy policies and accused the president of slowing domestic production. Romney advocated opening federal lands to drilling and easing regulations on fracking, a controversial policy that involves pumping water into rocks to harvest gas.

Also on Thursday, Obama delivered a speech in New Hampshire that stressed that domestic oil and gas production is at its highest point since 2003. But he also emphasized the need to develop new energy sources, as domestic production alone is not enough to keep up with U.S. demand.

The president called on Congress to end the $4 billion in subsidies to the oil industry so as to better incentivize companies to seek out clean-energy technologies.

DuB-B Recordz Is Officially Online

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Break Up Fights And Get Paid

If you are good at breaking up fights and want to get paid for it, then you need to become a mediator! For those of you that don't know, mediators are qualified professionals that assist businesses and residents in solving needless fights and disputes that get ridiculously out of hand. By becoming a mediator, you will earn a very lucrative income - up to $150/hr worked! This is a great reward for the hard work involved, both for you and the parties involved. There are, of course, many great things about becoming a mediator. Some of these are listed below:

1. They are always in need. There are always disputes and fights that need solved, even in a recession!

2. Easy to get started. Full support and training will be provided to you as well as ongoing advice.

3. A brilliant way to bring in additional income. Help you and your family become better off financially, become debt free, or go on that dream holiday....

4. A respected profession & is needed by businesses, employers, and sectors of all levels.

For more information visit http://www.mediatorcash.com

MYSPACE RADIO, ALL OH ZEE 24/7

OH ZEE - FANATICAL DREAMS.mp3

When This Happens I Will be Hard to Reach

As the world as my witness, I will never blame someone else for my shortcomings, however if I have people around that are becoming obstacles, I will hurdle them and continue on my way.  I would like to have help along the journey, but I feel as if I am asking the wrong people to get involved.  Once I get the means to start my successful corporation, I will put Americans back to work.

Everyday that passes only stirs my boiling water, I am in need of the noodles to make my pasta.  Investor's are hard to find and tough to contact.  Once they come forward and help my corporation with a little bit of capital, It's going to be too much for me to try to do all alone.  So this becomes the point where I hire college graduates to use their education daily, and improve the moral and ability to get orders out.  This is where most business owners fail, because they get their first business running well and they think they are done.  Life will be a struggle if they stop here and want to, "BE THE BOSS."  For those of us that know the economy, this is just #1, and now we're ready to go, "on to the next one!"

Truth be told, there is no end in business, especially for one that has yet to truly begin the path to wealth and prosperity.  Time will allow you to continue, but only until you reach a point where you see the peak, at this vista point too many will stay.  And why not?  It's a beautiful view, and there is usually a nice breeze that one will feel.  This is the Catagory you fall into if you are happy with what you have.  I am different, its not that I am unhappy with what I have, I want more, so I have more to give.  I have yet to be described as greedy.

I would like to start my clothing company, capital management company, recycling company, solar-farming company, as well as a shipping company, all with a good amount of employees.  This is just to name a few, eventually I will open Mall's, Business Parks, Retail Strips, Apartment Complexes, my own Airline, Record Labels, a Cellular provider, Television Network, and the list goes on... One Day...  Some Day!

"Some don't deserve what they have, and the rest don't have what they deserve!"

Lets look at a business Idea together and see what we can produce while money isn't involved:

Business Name:  EE (Electronic Experts)
Start-up Date: 9-10-2011
Start-up Costs:  $45,000

What will you do with this money?  
First:  Acquire a 1 year lease for a Retail Shop at least 500 square feet
Second:  Furnish the Store (POS Machines, CPU's, Tables, Lights, Desks)
Third:  Purchase initial Inventory
Fourth:  Advertise on the Radio, On-line, and local Newspapers.
Fifth:  Food and Drinks for the Break-Room.
Sixth:  Put $250 in each Register before we open the first day!

This is all it takes to put people to work, and it will sustain itself as long as you give your customer's a reason to patronize your store (sales, new inventory, public ads, and even promotions).  If we all did a lil-bit to help out this country would be the land we all see in our dreams, but the sad part is the people that have the money, won't put it to work to make more.  But the people that are willing to help anyone, don't have the money.  I have come to the reality that some don't deserve what they have, and the rest don't have what they deserve!!