US Government Shutdown 2013 - "I did everything I could..."

"We all need to do Something, because too many people are still doing nothing!"

----Greg Pitsch - 10/16/2013

Bahrain News Agency | Thousands Evacuate as Volcano Spews Ash in Nicaragua

Bahrain News Agency | Thousands Evacuate as Volcano Spews Ash in Nicaragua

The world is being controlled by sick minded people. The news we all watch is heavily filtered of its content.

What Is the Children Learning? CA Pushes Gay History Into State Curriculum

Never mind that homosexuality is an extremely divisive issue, in California classrooms it is not enough merely to tolerate—teachers are required to advocate.

SB 48, the so-called gay history bill, was signed by California's Governor Jerry Brown with the ironic statement that "history must be honest". Yet this law explicitly prohibits honesty in the classroom.

It was pushed through California's radical legislature supposedly as a further weapon in the war on bullying. But the law says nothing about bullying. Instead it mandates that all social science classes, starting at kindergarten, add curriculum that is positive toward lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual accomplishments in the social sciences, including history. But even more, it outlaws curriculum that "reflects adversely" on these same groups. SB 48 also prohibits a parent opting out of this radical curriculum.

So what harm is there in only saying positive things about a group of people and avoiding saying anything bad? In a social science class, this could present a rather distorted view of the world. Recently a group of gay activists was invited to the White House. Some media outlets found it newsworthy when a few of those activists posed for pictures while making rude finger gestures at a portrait of Ronald Reagan. In California, post SB48, a newspaper story recounting this ugly display would be banned in any school current events class.

Even faithfully liberal voices like the Los Angeles Times criticized the misguided law by noting, "Real history is richer and more complicated than feel good depictions."

A broad coalition is backing a ballot initiative called the CLASS Act. The Children Learning Accurate Social Science Act demands that social science curriculum include individuals based on their contributions to society, not their sexual orientation. And it goes further to require that no person is left out of books or instruction based solely on their sexual preference.

We need your help! There is less than a week left to collect the necessary signatures to put the CLASS Act on the California ballot. Supporters of the CLASS Act need signatures and additional funding to get their message out.

Download and sign a petition today in order to place the CLASS Act on the ballot and let the people decide if this is what they want their children taught in the California schools.

It is easy to see why Californians might take the time to help with this cause, but why would those who live outside the Golden State care? California is not Las Vegas. What happens here rarely stays here. The wonderful and the worst are exported equally to the other 49 states and the world. Defeat SB 48 in California now or look for it in a school near you.

How SB 48 will Impact your Children

Donate to Stop SB 48 from spreading to your state.

Yes, I want to donate $4.80 to Stop SB 48 with the CLASS Act

Yes, I want to donate $48.00 to Stop SB 48 with the CLASS Act

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Analysis: Stockton, California new paradigm for struggling cities

By Hilary Russ | Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stockton, California, the largest city in the United States to ever file for bankruptcy, could create a new template for struggling cities and potentially lift the stigma that scars municipalities if they seek court protection from creditors.

If Stockton, which filed for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy on June 28, can reach consensus with its creditors and craft a plan to exit bankruptcy quickly others may follow suit, legal experts said.

"Successful cases breed more filings," said Andrew Glenn, a bankruptcy partner in New York at Kasowitz
Benson Torres & Friedman. "Municipalities watch these cases closely around the country, and once the template is set up, if other towns have these problems, they're going to follow the template."

Other cities and counties have gone bankrupt because of a bad investment or ill-conceived public works project, like the sewer system that sank Jefferson County, Alabama, into $3.14 billion of debt.

But Stockton may be a new breed of failing city, swamped by routine costs, pension payments, a payroll for city employees, a years-long economic slide and depressed housing tax receipts - the same issues that currently face many other cities still struggling to recover from the cavernous U.S. recession.

"Stockton is a precursor of something very different" from Jefferson County, Glenn said. "That's what makes it sort of a game-changing type of a case."

It will be the first case to test California's mandated mediation process. State lawmakers changed the rules after the city of Vallejo went bankrupt in 2008 and then slogged through a three-year bankruptcy battle that racked up at least $10 million in attorneys' fees.

Now, unless they declare a fiscal emergency, California municipalities must participate in mediation before they are allowed to file for bankruptcy.

Each state has different requirements for cities and towns that want to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Some use budget commissions, receivers and other measures to try to help resuscitate cities before allowing them to go bankrupt as a last resort. Nearly half of U.S. states don't allow municipal bankruptcies at all.

James Spiotto, a partner at Chapman and Cutler in Chicago, said California is the only state that requires mediation prior to a Chapter 9 filing. A similar proposal failed to pass the Illinois legislature this session, he said.

He also noted in a recent national survey of Chapter 9 state provisions that California labor unions supported the mediation law as "a reaction to the difficulties they experienced in the city of Vallejo Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceeding."

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U.S. Sells Citizenship to Wealthy Immigrants

By Sarah McBride | Reuters – Fri, Jun 29, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shera Bechard, the Canadian-born former girlfriend of Playboy Enterprises founder Hugh Hefner, would not be an obvious candidate for the special visas that the U.S. government reserves for "individuals with extraordinary ability."

Playboy magazine named Bechard Miss November in 2010, and she also started an online photo-sharing craze called "Frisky Friday." Neither seems quite on the level of an "internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize," which the government cites as a possible qualification.

But Los Angeles immigration lawyer Chris Wright argued that Bechard's accomplishments earned her a slot. The government ultimately agreed.

That kind of success has put Wright on the map as the go-to visa fixer for both Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It also highlights the use of so-called genius visas known as O-1s and EB-1s, which have largely escaped political controversy and are now the immigration solution of choice for many entrepreneurs.

[Related: 102-year-old man becomes U.S. citizen]

As many immigration lawyers see it, the paucity of immigration options for the most entrepreneurial foreigners mean they must use any avenue they can. This approach, along with seeming flexibility in Washington on what constitutes "extraordinary ability," means the O-1 is gaining traction in technology circles. Wider use could ultimately land it in political trouble.

For example, the H-1B visa, which allows employers to hire foreigners temporarily in certain specialized fields like technology, has drawn accusations from union groups and others that companies use it to bring in lower-skilled labor.

The O-1 visa allows individuals of "extraordinary ability" to come to the United States for up to three years, and can be extended. British journalist Piers Morgan used one when he replaced Larry King on his late-night TV show, Wright said.

The EB-1 is similar, but leads to a green card and permanent residency rather than a temporary stay, with "extraordinary ability" being one of the ways to qualify - along with being an outstanding professor or researcher, or a multinational executive.

[Related: Ariz. implements immigration law as feds push back]

Foreign entrepreneurs have another option - the Immigrant Investor Program, or EB-5 visa - but it requires a capital investment of at least $500,000 and the creation of at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
By contrast, no proof of personal wealth or investment in the United States is required for the O-1 or the EB-
1.

There is also no cap on the number of O-1s that the government can award each year; about 12,280 were approved in 2011, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said, up from 9,478 in 2006. It issued about 25,000 EB-1s last year, below their cap of 40,000.

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Romney May Be Finished

It's already been a very record-breaking hot year

By SETH BORENSTEIN | Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's been so warm in the United States this year, especially in March, that national records weren't just broken, they were deep-fried.

Temperatures in the lower 48 states were 8.6 degrees above normal for March and 6 degrees higher than average for the first three months of the year, according to calculations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That far exceeds the old records.

The magnitude of how unusual the year has been in the U.S. has alarmed some meteorologists who have warned about global warming. One climate scientist said it's the weather equivalent of a baseball player on steroids, with old records obliterated.

"Everybody has this uneasy feeling. This is weird. This is not good," said Jerry Meehl, a climate scientist who specializes in extreme weather at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "It's a guilty pleasure. You're out enjoying this nice March weather, but you know it's not a good thing."

It's not just March.

"It's been ongoing for several months," said Jake Crouch, a climate scientist at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Ashville, N.C.

Meteorologists say an unusual confluence of several weather patterns, including La Nina, was the direct cause of the warm start to 2012. While individual events can't be blamed on global warming, Couch said this is like the extremes that are supposed to get more frequent because of manmade climate change from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

It's important to note that this unusual winter heat is mostly a North America phenomenon. Much of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere has been cold, said NOAA meteorologist Martin Hoerling.

The first quarter of 2012 broke the January-March record by 1.4 degrees. Usually records are broken by just one- or two-tenths of a degree. U.S. temperature records date to 1895.

The atypical heat goes back even further. The U.S. winter of 2010-2011 was slightly cooler than normal and one of the snowiest in recent years, but after that things started heating up. The summer of 2011 was the second warmest summer on record.

The winter that just ended, which in some places was called the year without winter, was the fourth warmest on record. Since last April, it's been the hottest 12-month stretch on record, Crouch said.

But the month where the warmth turned especially weird was March.

Normally, March averages 42.5 degrees across the country. This year, the average was 51.1, which is closer to the average for April. Only one other time — in January 2006 — was the country as a whole that much hotter than normal for an entire month.

The "icebox of America," International Falls, Minn., saw temperatures in the 70s for five days in March, and there were only three days of below zero temperatures all month.

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Oh Zee's Quote of the day

"When we as a country can no longer question the fact that our civil liberties are being stripped, it is time we fight for our rights!" - Oh Zee

RON PAUL MORE ELECTABLE THAN MITT ROMNEY IN LATEST POLL

“PAUL IS THE STRONGEST CANDIDATE WITH INDEPENDENTS, TYING OBAMA WITH THEM WHILE THE REST OF THE GOP FIELD TRAILS BY 6-15 POINTS.”

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul polls better against President Barack Obama in a head-to-head matchup than establishment-choice moderate Mitt Romney, according to a recent survey conducted by Public Policy Polling.

The poll found that Obama defeats Romney by 4 percentage points (48-44) and Newt Gingrich by 8 percent (50-42). While Santorum also joins Paul being within striking distance of the President by 3 points (48-45 and 46-43 respectively), Paul brings Obama a noticeable 2 percentage points further away from the 50 percent a candidate seeks to win on election day. Considering the +/- 3.3-percentage point margin of error, Paul in this poll is statistically tied for the presidency.

Reinforcing the electability case for Paul is that he ties Obama among independent voters, while Romney loses the largest voting segment by 6 percent, Santorum by 8 percent, and Gingrich by 15 percent – a cause for concern whether Paul’s three rivals would even be competitive come November.

While many polls have shown Paul to be the most competitive Romney alternative, it also shows Paul to be making substantial progress and momentum for a general election bid. The new poll reveals that Paul is narrowing the gap between himself and Obama by 5 percentage points since last month’s PPP poll.

Other notables are that among one of the fastest growing voter segments, the Hispanic vote, Paul takes a full third of the Hispanic vote against the sitting President, with no other candidate able to come within 5 points of Paul’s Hispanic support.

Among the largest voter segment, self-identified independents, Paul is viewed favorably by 41 percent, whereas Romney and Santorum are relegated to a melancholy 29 percent and Gingrich further behind with a mere 24 percent favorability. These favorability numbers among independents translate into a clear Election Day advantage unique to Paul, where he would tie President Obama 42 to 42 for their votes.

Young voters, those 18 to 29 years in this poll, have long been considered to be in the President’s court. Yet, in a Paul-Obama matchup, these voters leave Obama and comparatively flock to Paul, backing him with a hefty 40 percent of their support. The range of youth support for Paul’s three competitors in a head-to-head with Obama ranges 22 to 29 percent, meaning about half of Paul’s margin to weak at best.

“The media may find an inevitability about Romney becoming nominee, but it is clear that with anyone other than Ron Paul as nominee a second term for Obama is the inevitability,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

“When polls say ‘Romney is actually not the most electable Republican candidate,’ voters should flock to the candidate who can defeat Obama by winning on true conservative principle. That man is Ron Paul,” added Mr. Benton.

The PPP poll is based on telephone surveys of 900 voters and has a +/- 3.3-percentage point error margin.

To view the poll release online, please click here. To view the complete poll document including questions and tables, please click here.

VIRGO: Saturday's Horoscope

Daily Virgo Horoscope
Saturday, Mar 17, 2012 -- So much has happened in your life over the past couple of months, yet you might not be able to see the changes yet. Although progress continues to be slower than you wish, your life is undergoing a subtle transformation. Instead of thinking about what has gone wrong, direct your energy toward small tasks that you can finish. Instead of working harder, use your brain and work smarter. You have more time than you realize, so don't let self-criticism get in the way of your ultimate success.

Is Stockton Falling off Financial Cliff?

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — A red, white and blue sign declaring Stockton an "All-America City" still adorns City Hall, but the building's crumbling facade tells the real story of the community's recent fortunes.

Since the sign went up nearly a decade ago, Stockton has twice topped Forbes magazine's list of "America's most miserable cities." And now another unflattering title could be headed its way: largest American city to declare bankruptcy.

The city of 290,000 that rode the wave of the housing boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s now finds itself littered with foreclosed homes, saddled with pension, health care and other obligations it can't afford, and unable to pay its bills.

The City Council voted last month to suspend $2 million in bond payments and begin negotiations with bond holders, creditors and unions. A new California law requires that cities begin a 60-day mediation process before filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, though city leaders can file at any time if negotiations stall.

The police union, upset over job cuts and a record murder rate, posted billboards tracking the city's "body count" and giving out the city manager's phone number. One blood-spattered sign read: "Welcome to the 2nd most dangerous city in California: Stop laying off cops!"

The city's deficit now is $15 million — a little more than 9 percent of its annual general fund — and that could double in the next fiscal year.

"We are hanging on by our fingertips," said Mayor Ann Johnston, who has overseen three fiscal emergency declarations and hopes to persuade the city's creditors to forgive some debt.

Founded along the San Joaquin River during the Gold Rush, Stockton has much to boast. It's a gateway to Yosemite National Park and sits atop fertile soil that supports an agricultural industry that built the city and still is its underpinning — the three-day annual Stockton Asparagus Festival draws 100,000 people. It's one of just two deep-water inland ports in California.

During the housing boom, people priced out of the San Francisco Bay area were trundling down Interstate 5, buying up homes in subdivisions built for commuters.

"We became affordable housing for the Bay Area," Johnston said.

City leaders believed the influx of residents and wealth would finally lift the community into its rightful place as a top-tier city. From 2000 to 2005, median home prices quadrupled to $400,000.

The downtown waterfront is a monument to the high hopes of the era. An extensive promenade leads past a 12,000-seat sports arena, a gleaming hotel that opened as a Sheraton and an upscale restaurant, much of it bought with city money.

Today, there are more Canadian geese than people in this part of town. Residents say they avoid the arena because they don't feel safe at night. The Sacramento restaurateur the city lured with generous incentives has closed his doors-- though white tablecloths still adorn the sleek dining room-- and the Sheraton management has also left town.

A developer recently bought the hotel at auction and is refashioning the rooms into dorms for University of the Pacific students.

Though many communities across the country are struggling with their finances and some already have filed for bankruptcy — Pennsylvania's capital of Harrisburg, Jefferson County, Ala., and little Central Falls, R.I. — Stockton's litany of problems stand out.

The unemployment rate has doubled over the past decade and now hovers around 16 percent. A fifth of residents live below the poverty line.
The city has the second-highest foreclosure rate in the nation — it alternates with Las Vegas for the dubious distinction of first place. Home prices have fallen to pre-2000 levels, and as many as half of homeowners owe more than their houses are worth.
The looming bankruptcy was a subject of discussion at Weston Ranch subdivision, where three unemployed neighbors passed a rainy afternoon drinking beer in lawn chairs. All three are underwater on their homes.


Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/In-Stockton-Calif-slow-fall-off-financial-cliff-3396501.php#ixzz1p68OkECr

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States Already Suspected of Voter Fraud so far in 2012

The Headline above makes one consider if running for president isnt some form of odd sport like rowing. At times the waters are choppy, but most of the trip it'll be a smooth sail, and thats if you can row consistently. Otherwise they throw you off the boat, and let the traveling be up to you. This is the point where pointing is no longer an option. How can we as individuals be okay with the FACT that they do not want the majority of the Country to hear Ron Paul Speak, and have him Unite the people again all bound to our constitution, the greatest Declaration known to man. Maybe we will all get to sign it this-time.

If and when Ron Paul wins a state, they tend to not mention it, but talk about how close the second and third place candidates, and never really mention who's in what place, merely how 'close it is between the two. There are lots of Reports from Caucus holders all-across the United States that their numbers were recorded by the State Representatives correctly. Either they were simply not

tallied at all, with a claim that they were lost. In some cases they are even being labeled as being won by other candidates, then telling the people to sit down and shut-up.

Even the Head of the Republican Party is reporting the different fraud cases that are seemingly more reported now than ever.
Karl Rove: "Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum Are meeting behind closed doors to decide whose going up, and who is going down."
These States Have All been accounting credible witnesses to the cover-up the results and tell the Media those counties will be unable to cast their ballots, trying to do anything they can to hold on to the WORLD a little longer: South Carolina
IowaHas now been CONFIRMED!
Nevada Has Now Been CONFIRMED!
Maine Has Now Been CONFIRMED!
Has admitted that in counties where Ron Paul was leading by sometimes double digits, were not counted.Precinct, and County Heads all recorded saying they were calling in their votes, and then seeing different numbers being reported, or giving the results to a different contender. With only 4% of the votes counted they started saying it looks as if Romney was going to win! That would be saying it looks like the Kings will Beat the Lakers after the first possession of the game.

Greed is controlling our whole country, opposing them in any pursuit of profit is extremely dangerous. It will cause these money sucking leeches to die off, when we just don't care about money.

Oh Zee (GP) 2012

Really, Why Not?? RON PAUL MAKES A GREAT POINT

Ron Paul Quotes

“I'm convinced that you never have to give up liberties to be safe. I think you're less safe when you give up your liberties.”
― Ron Paul

“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.”
― Ron Paul, The Revolution: A Manifesto

“Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.”
― Ron Paul

“Failure of government programs prompts more determined effort, while the loss of liberty is ignored or rationalized away...whether is it is the war on poverty, drugs, terrorism...or the current Hitler of the day, an appeal to patriotism is used to convince the people that a little sacrifice of liberty, here or there, is a small price to pay...The results, though, are frightening and will soon become even more so.”
― Ron Paul

“Let it not be said that no one cared, that no one objected once it’s realized that our liberties and wealth are in jeopardy.”
― Ron Paul

“When the federal government spends more each year than it collects in tax revenues, it has three choices: It can raise taxes, print money, or borrow money. While these actions may benefit politicians, all three options are bad for average Americans.”
― Ron Paul

“Don't steal - the government hates competition!”
― Ron Paul, End the Fed!

“It is true that liberty is not free, nor is it easy. But tyranny - even varying degrees of it - is much more difficult, and much more expensive. The time has come to rein in the federal government, put it on a crash diet, and let the people keep their money and their liberty.”
---- Ron Paul

“Ideas are very important to the shaping of society. In fact, they are more powerful than bombings or armies or guns. And this is because ideas are capable of spreading without limit. They are behind all the choices we make. They can transform the world in a way that governments and armies cannot. Fighting for liberty with ideas makes more sense to me than fighting with guns or politics or political power. With ideas, we can make real change that lasts.”
― Ron Paul, Liberty Defined: The 50 Urgent Issues That Affect Our Freedom

Poll: Ron Paul Most Favorable Republican Candidate

Poll: Ron Paul Most Favorable Republican Candidate I agree with this Article, which states Ron Paul is the more favorable Republican Candidate. Not Only Limited to one party, he's the best candidate for the job period. When he participates in the Debates, he is clearly the most intelligent person in the room.

Wise Words From Benjamin Franklin

"Tricks and Treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest!" - Benjamin Franklin

Ron Paul Attracts More Than 1,200 Voters at Tri-Cities Town Hall Meeting

Ron Paul Attracts More Than 1,200 Voters at Tri-Cities Town Hall Meeting