murphy's law7

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, testified this week before Congress for two sessions. He continued to insist that there was no plan to nationalize any of the U. S. banks. But the markets continue to worry that it will take place, according to reports. Reportedly the largest bsnks in the country, collectively lost 26 billion dollars last year. Citigroup is still wringling with its losses, some of its perferred stock was converted to common stock and the Federal Government now has an ownership of 36% in the bank. There was talk of making one bank the "Bad Bank", which would absorb all the toxic assets of the other banks so that they could begin to lend more freely to consumers. That is still under consideration, not yet verified as being feasible.

Vice-President Joe Biden, hosted the first meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, at the University of Pennsylvania.
The main message reportedly was about Green Initatives, which will have twenty billion dollars allocated to developing green jobs, and training. There will be tax credits for green home improvements to save energy. These green plans are intended to and should create blue collar jobs as well. Alternative energy research is included in the plans.

After President Obama announced the withdraewal of troops in Iraq by August 31, 2010, Speaker Pelosi and Senate leader Reid were verbally disgruntled. The Republicans seemed pleased, John McCain said he was "caustiously optimistic". Today the Democrats were a little bit quieter. Speaker Pelosi and Mr. Reid now think the President's policy is sound and reasoned.

There was a report released by the Canadian Government, that just before President Obama arrived in Canada, last week, a Russian bomber plane invaded Canadian airspace, and was intercepted by the Canadian Air Force. No report as to whether it was intentional or an accident.

The U. S. economy shrank 6.2%, much more than had been anticipated.

The average price of a home in Detroit, Michigan is reportedly eighteen thousand dollars.

The Governor of Texas is reportedly requesting troops to patrol the border between his state and the Mexican border, because of drug trafficing and crime, that is getting out of control. Some are saying this is the next big problem for the United States.

The Attorney General of New York, has subpoenaed Bank of America officials to turn over the names of the employees of Merrill Lynch who received million dollar bonuses, just before the merger of the two banks. Bank of America's officials reportedly will turn over the names, as long as they are not made public. Better get it in writing.

U. S. Attorney General Holder, has declared that the staTes will be free to make their own marijuana laws, and that there will no longer be raids on the clubs that sell pot in California.

Stevie Wonder was honored at the White House this week and presented with the Medal of Freedaom Award. President Obama said that Mr. Wonder's music was the sound track of his youth. Tony Bennett, and other singers were there as well to honor Mr. Wonder.

The Wheel of Fortune game show celebrated its 5000th show. Reportedly Vanna White has never worn one dress twice on the show. They have given away over one hundred and fifty million dollars in cash and prizes since the show's inception. The late Merv Griffith was the creator of the show. Vanna was a contestant on the Price is Right before being discovered, and put on as co-host with Pat Sajack.

The octuplets need round the clock nurses, they are still in the hospital and may not be released according to reports. There are those who are trying to take the babies away from the mother and put them in foster care. Dr. Phil, hosting the Larry King show, reported that there are those who will supply food, shelter, and care for the children for a period of time, without the mother giving up custody of the children, but the mother is refusing the assistance. The grandmother's three bedroom home, where the six other children are now staying, is being foreclosed on.

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Rainbows can be mental as well, look for them.

Today it was announced that the one-hundred and forty-four thousand American troops in Iraq will be reduced to fifty in 19 months 3 longer than originally planned. President Obama and the Pentagon want to end the war in a safe way. Those troops left in Iraq will train, advise and support the Iraqis.

During the Bush administration, those soldiers who returned in
coffins, as a result of the war, were not allowed to be photographed by the media. Today the Obama administration along with Secretary of Defense Gates changed the rules, and stated that the families of the dead soldiers, would make the decision as to whether their sons and daughters, returning home in coffins would be allowed to be photographed, for newspapers and television news, by the media.

An alledged, Al Queda sleeper agent, Al-Marri, will be charged with providing material support to terrorists. The man has been held for seven years without being charged by the Bush administration. He was never given the chance to defend himself against a charge because he was never charged, just held in prison. He will now be tried in civilian court. One of the military defense lawyers quit in protest over the way the situation at Guantanamo Bay was being handled.

President Obama presented an outline of his proposed budget for the next fiscal year and the out years. The cost of the two wars will now be included in the budget. The President wants the deficit cut in half by the end of his first term.

William Crystal, a conservative commentator, said that the Republicans should try to slow down, stall and do whatever they can to "kill the plans that Obama is laying out, in the crib". Nice, and why don't you go to Canada Mr. Crystal or Russia, and take Rush with you since the two of you want the country to fail in essence.

Senator Harry Reid asked former Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota to stop his quest to overturn the election. He stated reportedly, that regardless if Mr Coleman files an appeal, the Senate will seat Mr. Franken. That seat with Mr Franken in it, will give the Democrats 59 seats in the Senate.

Attorney General Holder announced a major drug cartel bust, arresting multiple drug runners, from the border of Mexico to the state of Iowa.

Joe the Plumber's book has been published, and he had a book signing at Borders, where he reportedly, sold five books.

Sixty-five per-cent of the money alloted for Louisiana to clean up and rebuild after Katrina has not been spent. Those in charge are going very slow, reportedly to keep their jobs.

Tiger Woods was beaten today at the Accenture macth-play tournament. Eighth seed Tim Clark, had a very good day
and ended the tiger's run on the second day. Four top seeds were eliminated.

AIG will reportedly be split into three different tax-payer owned companies, ending their run of a 90 year history as a single owner company.

The San Fransico Chronicle will be filing for bankruptcy or be taken over, reportedly by another company, anothe major newspaper bites the dust.

GM reported more than a 30 billion dollar loss, as CEO Wagoner seeks more funds from the U. S. Government.

Citgroup may be required to acquire private capital alongside the U. S. investment in the company.

North Korea is said to be about one month away from launching its long range missile according to sources. Secretary of State Clinton dispatched a special envoy to the region, in light of the concerns.

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Why run if you can walk, why walk if you can sit, why sit if you can lie down? Longevity comes with moderation.

Last evening President Barack Obama gave his first speech as President, to a joint session of Congress. It was definitely, a historical moment in time, but there were those who took it to a level of absurdness. Specifically two Congressmen, there probably were more, but these names were uncovered as it were. Congressmen Dennis Kuchinich and Eliot Engle, both Democrats naturally, don't think that any Republican would have been this excited over a new Democratic President, no matter who he was. In order to make sure they each had a seat on the aisle where President Obama would be coming through the Chamber, they sat for hours waiting. Representative Kuchinich reportedly sat in his chosen seat for nine hours, Representative Engle sat for twelve and one-half hours. Now we would certainly like to know if they had bills that they read while they sat for hours in the empty Chamber, since it is always a problem for the lawmakers to read the bills that they vote for sometimes. Ladies and gentlemen, these are your tax dollars hard at work. CNN gave the report on Anderson Cooper 360, and Congressman Engle responded to Mr. Cooper, in the New York Daily News, saying it was in essence, a shame that Mr. Cooper did not have his enthusiasm for the significance of the event. Certainly we do Congressman, but Mr. Obama is going to be President hopefully for four years, you will see him up close and personal again, so that you may shake his hand in the future. We are in a crisis, remember, you should be working, not sitting in a seat for hours.

President Obama annouced his third choice for Commerce Secretary today, he is the former Governor of Washington state, Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American nominee for
Secretary of Commerce.

Speaker of the House Pelosi, was interviewed by Rachael Maddow of MSNBC, regarding the Reconciliation Commisssion being called for by Senator Patrick Leahy, to determine if there were crimes committed by the Bush Administration in connection with torture, wire tapping and any other things that were out of line. Mrs. Pelosi stated that they were waiting for a report from an Inspector General, who is reviewing the evidence and information, to see if there were possible crimes committed. They are also negotiating with the former Bush administration, the Obama administration and the courts. Once the report is received, she said, the determination will be made to as to how to proceed. She stated as well, that no one is above the law.

CPAC, a leg of the political conservatives, will be having their meeting this weekend, and some of their seminars will be: Banking on Big Business, "Are We All Socialists Now"?, and "The Hysteria of Global Warming". Should be a fun meeting, for sure.

Former Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice will be writing three books, on a memoir of her time in the Bush administration and two others. The books are set to be released in 2012.

Former President George Bush has a new job, he will be giving speeches around the world. His first speech will be given in Calgary, he will then speak in Europe and Asia. Reportedly Mr. Bush will receive one-hundred and fifty thousand dollars per speech. He has ten speeches scheduled for this year so far. No comment.

Tiger Woods came out swinging today, in Arizona at the Accenture golf tournament. It was match play and his opponent
was Brendan Jones. Tiger won the match 3-2. His first holes were a Birdie and an Eagle, heee's bacckkk!

Congress passed a four-hundred and ten billion dollar bill to keep the Government operating for the rest of the fiscal year.

Congress passed a bill, proclaiming the outstanding work of the late Actor Paul Newman.

President Obama is trying to address the health care problem, by reportedly, putting six-hundred and thirty-four billion dollars in a reserve fund, specifically for health care costs.

A Turkish airliner crashed in Amsterdam, after missing the runway, the plane broke into three parts, nine people were reportedly killed including the pilot. There were one-hundred and thirty-four people on board.

You may know this already, but a good friend wrote a story about a young man who was seriously burned on his face, losing partial sight in one eye, after taking a cup of boiled water out of the microwave, and having it splash up out of the cup, from the energy build-up in the cup. Put a wooden stirrer in your cup while it is boiling or leave it the cup in the microwave, till it cools down a bit. Very dangerous. Thanks for the story, Skipper.

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If you see an injustice, try not to turn your head, unless you endanger yourself somehow, then you might want to find an authority figure.

It has been reported that Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, has decided, whether by choice or by force, to reimburse the state of Alaska, for the nine trips that her children took with her during Government business trips that she took during her tenure. So what about the per diem paid to the Governor for the days that she was in her own home and slept in her own bed?
Maybe that comes next.

President Obama gave his first joint session of Congress address tonight, outlining some of the things his administration will be doing in the near and far future, to bring the countries economy back to it's feet, and to sustainability. He will tackle, based on his speech energy, health care and education. Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat from California, was asked to rate the President's speech and she said the speech was, a home run, a touchdown and a three pointer.

Governor Bobby Jindal, Republican of Louisiana, gave the Republican reponse to the President's speech. Nice man, sort of a commentary more than a response. His theme was "America Can do Anything."

Former NBA basketball player and sports commentator, Charles Barkley, has been sentenced to five days in jail, after being arrested for drunk driving. Will he still try to run for Governor of Alabama, I wonder?

Rupert Murdoch, has apologized for the cartoon, of a chimpanzee, being shot to death by two policemen, in the New York Post last week. The Post issued an apology last week, that was judged by some to be a non-apology, apology. Reverand Al Sharpton and Julian Bond, head of the NAACP, have lead protests outside the offices of the New York Post, and the protests are supposed to comtinue. Mr. Sharpton had stated that there are rules in place that call for diversity in news and journalism, that are not being followed by Mr. Murdoch
and his companies. Mr. Murdoch has also received certain waivers, so that he can operate his businesses, which Mr. Sharpton points out should be reversed because Mr. Murdoch is not in adherence with the rules that are required to be followed when you have those waivers. Stay tuned.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of New York, is trying to get former CEO Thaine of Merrill Lynch, to testify regarding the bonuses, that were paid to some of the employees of Merrill Lynch, after they had lost billions of dollars, how could they have afforded to pay such bonuses, is what Attorney General Cuomo wants to know. Alert: Mr. Thaine arrived at the Attorney General's office today, reportedly, to testify regarding the bonuses.

Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke testified before Congress, today that the stress tests which are going to be applied to the nation's banks will not be used to force nationalization of the banks. He also reportedly said that there should be a positive chabge in the economy by the end of 2009.

Microsoft has dropped it's case to try to recover the severance money it paid, in error, to employees who were fired.

AIG is applying, it is reported, to the Government for additional money, but is not saying what it is for or how much is needed. An amount of tens of billions of dollars was bandied about, but not verified.

Tiger Woods is returning to the PGA tour circuit this week, appearing at the Accenture tournament in Arizona. He said in an interview that he is nervous. Tiger had knee surgery and has not played golf in eight months.

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Confidence breeds confidence, just as success breeds success.

A New York Times/CBS poll shows that President Barack Obama has broad support for his leadership, which spans party, class and region. A majority of people surveyed in both parties, Democrat and Republican, said that Mr. Obama is striving to work in a bi-partisan way, but most Americans faulted the Republicans for their response, or lack of response to the President. Rush, can you hear me now? Keep up the good work guys.

President Obama will deliver his first address to Congress, on Tuesday evening, against a backdrop of deep economic anxiety,
among the public. The address will be televised at (.p.m. est. The stock market closed around 7,114, lowest reportedly since 1997, a reflection of the fear in the air.

President Obama selected Earl E. Devaney, a former Secret Service Agent, and an Inspector General, a specialist who
previously uncovered white collar crime, to be a watchdog
to make sure the stimulus money is spent wisely.

Any money that the Republican Governors are saying they do not want, from the stimulus package, is ready to be taken by the Governors of Michigan and California and two Senators from New York who wrote an open letter, stating that their state would be perfectly willing to accept the share that those Governors are refusing.

Benjamin Netanyahu, chosen by the currrent Prime Minister of Israel to form a coalition Government, has been unable to bring Livni, the Foreign Minister and leader who ran against him into the fold, to pull the Government together.

A spokesman from Morgan Stanley reportedly said that businesses will face widening curbs due to regulations, coming out of Washington. Just a bit late, wouldn't you say?

J. P. Morgan reportedly slashed its dividend 97%, as a
precautionary measure, in order to preserve capital.

Goldman Sachs may reportedly cut jobs in Japan.

In reviewing the trip made by Secreatary Clinton to Asia, one anyalyst on the news, made the remark, that Secretary Clinton had requested that China continue to purchase United States Treasuries, which caused the analyst to remark, that eventually China will want some concessions, from the U. S., what they will be, who knows, but one thing might be the removal of U. S. troops from Japan and Korea according to this individual.

Bejing is reported stuck with an overabundance of Hotels built for the Olympics, which are now mostly unoccupied, and losing revenue, with the drop in tourism, and the slumping global economy.

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How will you ever know what lies at the end of any road, if you never travel down that road for yourself?

The owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News announced that the papers would be filing for bankruptcy.
The papers will reportedly continue publication, while under going restructuring. Sign of the times with the internet
and loss of interest in newspapers by the public, as many other newspapers are sadly going through the same thing.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her first trip in her new position, returning home from Asia. She stated that there has to be cooperation between China and The United States to try to solve the global economic problems.

President Obama met today with the state's Governors, to outline what the administration's plans will be for dealing with the country's economic problems. He hosted a Fiscal Responsiblity Forum and told the Governors that he wants to cut the budget deficit in half by the end of his first term. Other parts of the adminstration's plans include ending two wars, reducing entitlement costs and allowing the the tax cuts on the wealthy to expire.

Israel's current Prime Minister has asked Benjamin Netanyahu
of the Liqud Party to form a new Government immediately, so the decision has been made that Mr. Netanyahu, a hard liner in Israel's Government will be the new leader in the country, after having a one vote difference with the Foreign Minister of the country, in the election held recently.

President Obama will address a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening at 9:00 p.m., it will be televised.

Economists reportedly, are projecting that there will be slow growth in 2009, just over 2.0%, and that the unemployment rate will reach 9.0% during the year.

Some interesting "stuck in defict mode" Republican Governors
are saying they're not interested in receiving the stimulus
money being allocated for the states. Very logical thinking woudn't you say? Such fiscally reponsible individuals.

The United States Govenment will reportedly take a 40% additional claim in Citibank to help the bank survive. The shares of Citbank are down 92% in the last year. The markets reacted slightly favorably to the news, as the threat of nationalizing the U. S. banks was a worry to many investors last week.

Authorities have announced that they are very close to making an arrest in the murder of the intern, Chandra Levy. Currently in prison, the person supposedly confessed to the killing to another inmate, he was a suspect in the beginning but was dismissed. The man is nearing release, he is a 27 year old Salvadorian immigrant. Represenative Gary Condit was reportedly involved with Ms Levy at the time of her death, but was evidently ruled out as a suspect in the murder.

The 81st Academy Awards show was held last evening, Slumdog Millionaire was the winner for best picture, Sean Penn won for best Actor, Kate Winslet for best Actress. Penelope Cruz won for best supporting Actress, while Keith Ledger, post-humously
won for best supporting Actor. Hugh Jackman was the host and did a good, if not great job.

U. S. Airways will stop charging passengers for sodas as of March 1st.

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Try to preserve your friendships, true friends are hard to find.

Of the fifty United States, all but four are suffering from budget deficits. Some of those states, with the largest deficits, reportedly include New Jersey, 6.1 billion, Florida, 8.1 billion, New York, 15.4 billion, and California, 39.6 billion. When the states recieve the funds from the stimulus package, the deficits will hopefully be lessened.

Secretary of State Clinton is said to be close to naming a special Envoy to North Korea.

Venezuela has barred the Directors of the Stanford Bank, from leaving the country, based on the ongoing investigation into the bank fraud by its President Allen Stanford, who was on the run but has been located in the U. S. by the FBI. Reportedly the fraud totals possibly eight billion dollars. Clients have closed their accounts at the bank, but have not been able to receive their cash. Mr. Stanford reportedly has a two billion dollar fortune.

The home in which the octuplets were to live, which is owned by their grandmother, is reportedly being foreclosed on. The home went into default on February 8.

Saab auto manufacturing company is reportedly going to file for bankruptcy, It is a subsidiary owned by GM.

A key base in Afhganistan, crucial to the U> S. troops is being closed by Kyrgyzstan's Parliament. The Russian government is supposed to pay more for the use of the base than the United States. Secretary Gates said the U. S. would be willing to pay more, but not the asking price requested. The price requested was one billion dollars.

The New York Times reports that the United States banks are like "dead men walking", most of them are insolvent, including Citigroup and Bank of America, reportedly. Many in Congress and elsewhere are calling for the banks which cannot survive to go out of business, and let the strong ones continue.

A U. S. court has overturned a lower court's ruling that would allow the Federal Government to let seventeen Guantanamo Bay prisoners to be returned to the United States.

GE's stock slide below ten dollars.

The woman in Conneticut, who was a victim of a champanzee attack may need a face transplant, she was transferred to the hospital which did a full face transplant last year. The woman lost both eyes, her nose and part of her jaw. At last report, she was in critical condition.

Anyone out there who is a fan of the Young and the Restless,
do write or call CBS, in protest, if you like the show. It is reported that the show may be cancelled. We all have our vices.

China arrested seventeen Tibetians who called for the return of the Dalia Lama.

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Go out and marvel at the colors of the butterfly and its flight.

Senator Hillary Clinton continues on her first foreign trip as Secretary of State, and has encountered her first tricky situation with North Korea. It has been reported that the leader of North Korea has had a stroke which has one side of his body immoveable. With this being the case, his youngest son is being prepared to take over the leadership of North Korea. The young man is in his mid-twenties. At the same time North Korea is threating to test a long range missile, the missile is supposedly being fueled for launch. Senator Clinton has requested that North Korea not test the missile. But the thought by some analysts is, that North Korea wants to show that it is capable of being a threat in the world, and that the launching would reinforce that message. The latest message from the country is that "their troops are ready for an all out war". Senator Clinton will be in Bejing, China tomorrow.

President Obama traveled to Ottawa, Canada today for lunch with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Canada being the largest trading partner of the United States, President Obama followed tradition, by making Canada, his first official trip outside the United States. The agenda is supposed to be related to NAFTA, which the President has inferred, will be adheared to as usual, and environmental issues.

Ambassador Holbrooke made news when he reportedly said that Iran could be helpful in assisting in Afhganistan.

President Obama unveiled a seventy-five billion dollar mortgage plan to try to help those facing foreclosure. The center of the plan revolves around getting the lenders to restructure the mortgages, by reducing the interest rates so that the homeowners can afford to pay the mortgages. Also reinfinacing some of the mortgages of those who have equity in their homes. Some nine million homeowners could receive assistant under the program. Citi-group and J. P. Morgan have temporarily suspended foreclosing on their delinquent mortgages.

The lawmakers in the state of California, were able after sleeping in chambers and staying up all night, to try to reach an agreement on the state's forty-nine billion dollar deficit. They needed one Republican to vote for the bill as it stood and they found him, Abel Maldonado, asked for and received certain concessions, one of which was to end the extra twelve cents paid, per gallon of gas, state residents were charged, and the bill was passed, ending California's slide into default, the layoff of thousands of government workers and the ending of hundreds of projects, which could have cost the state, four hundred million dollars to stop and restart.

First Lady Michelle Obama continues on her listening tour. She will visit the Department of Agriculture today.

President Obama is considering Governor Kathleen Sebelius as a candidate for Health and Human Services Secretary. Also being considered reportedly, is former Senator Bill Bradley.

Police are looking into the possibilty of filing criminal charges againist the owner of a chimpanzee, who mauled a woman in Conneticut, and left her in critical condition. The animal was killed after it tried to attack the police.

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Try to stay away from people who can never find a positive thing to talk about, you may start to do the same thing.

Once upon a time, there was a noncomforming
sparrow, who decided not to fly south for the winter.
However, soon the weather turned so cold that he
reluctantly started to fly south. In a short time
ice began to form on his wings and he fell to the earth in
a barnyard, almost frozen. A cow passed by and crapped
on the little sparrow. The sparrow thought it was
the end. But, the manure warmed him and defrosted his wings. Warm and happy, able to breathe, he began to sing. Just then a large cat came by and hearing the chirping,
investigated the sounds.
The cat cleared away the manure, found the chirping bird and promptly ate him.

The moral of the story:

l. Everyone who shits on you is not necessarily your
enemy.
2. Everyone who gets you out of the shit, is not
necessarily your friend.
3. And, if you are warm and happy in a pile of shit,
keep your mouth shut.

Credit to an anonymous source

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Fourteen time Olympian Gold Medal winner, Michael Phelps will not face drug charges. The South Carolina Sheriff, of Richland County, in charge of the investigation announced, that they do not have sufficient evidence to charge Mr. Phelps.

The stimulus bill was signed by President Obama today in Colorado, which is the up and coming state, gearing up production of new green jobs. Plans by the administration to save the banks and the housing market will be disclosed tomorrow.

The Japanese Prime Minister. resigned after speaking at the G-7 and seeming to be intoxicated. He said he had been taking medicine.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, requested that North Korea not test a long range missile, as they have previously announced. Secretary Clinton will travel to Indonesia, South Korea and China, before returning home.

President Obama says the war in Afghanistan is still "winnable", he will be sending seventeen thousand new troops to the area, reportedly.

An aide to President Obama reportedly said, that the restrictions on Corporate salaries may be flexible.

GM and Chrysler will request an additional 21.6 billion
dollars from the Government. They will reportedly cut fifty thousand jobs. GM will cut four top executive's salaries by 40%.

California's Governor set to lay off ten thousand Government
employees, due to the budget deficit.

Kansas solved its budget problem, by allowing the Governor to borrow from another state fund, to close the gap in a second fund, for employees pay and state rebates.

Daimler auto manufacturers, reported a loss of 1.2 billion eu's in the 4th quarter.

Intercontinental Hotels lost 43% in revenue, the CEO expects tough going through the balance of 2009.

Japan's stock market is the lowest in twenty-five years, reportedly as recession deepens.

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Always try to be a good listener, as well as a good talker, you may just learn something valuable.

Great Britain and France announced that two nuclear submarines,
one from each of their respective countries, collided off the Northern Alantic Ocean, on the 4th of February. The two countries stated that the nukes on board were armed, but the warheads were not harmed. Analysts said the two subs were using passive sonar, which made them more ambigious than normal.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Asia for her first formal trip in her new position. She visited Tokyo, Japan, where she praised the stimulus progam put in place by China. She will travel to Indonesia, China and South Korea before heading home.

There will not be a Car Czar to assist in the restructuring of the auto industry, according to reports. Instead President Obama has set up a Task Force lead by Larry Summers and Tim Geithner along with Ron Bloom, of the United Steel Workers.

The big three auto manufacturers will be talking to Congress tomorrow, explaining how they will repay the monies alloted to them by Congress.

GM will reportedly sell four of its plants, two in Germany, one in Sweden and one in Belgium.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and seven other Democrats jetted off to Italy, after passing the stimulus bill. Much needed rest?

There is an investigation, possibly underway by the lawmakers in Illinois, to determine if Senator Roland Burris lied to the Senate, whan testifying about the appointment made by former Governor, Ron Blagojevich.

The Democrats and President Obama may be headed for a showdown over investigating the Bush administration. President Obama has said previously that no one is above the law, if crimes were committed, but he wants to move forward. Senator Patrick Leahy, head of the Judiciary Committee, reportedly said that they want to find out what happened, and they want individuals to come forward and talk to them, regarding all things that they want to know. But only for bringing out the truth, not for a gotcha game. Good intentions, right?

The State of Kansas has suspended state tax refunds, due to its budget deficit.

The State of California, with a huge budget deficit of its own, will have to reportedly pay two million dollars, for the birth and care of the octuplets.

President Hugo Chavez, of Venezuela, can now serve in office indefinetly, as the term limit in the country was lifted by voters over the weekend.

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Never open your mouth, if you don't know what is going to come out.

After much back and forth, and sound bits denounching the stimulus bill, the House of representativs and the Senate passed the bill, the last Democrat, returning from Ohio for his mother's funeral, cast his vote on Friday night around 11;00pm. or so. Three epu The bill will now be sent to President Obama's desk to be signed possibly on Monday of next week. Only three Republicans in the Senate signed on to pass the bill. This bill may be thought of as huge by regular standards, but there are those who think, including moi, that is is just a drop in the bucket. This problem that the U. S. is facing a much, much larger problem, than most people can imagine. An analyst at CNBC said last year that the financial could run into a cost of seven trillion with a "T". But the bill is a start and let's just hope that once it is set in motion, things will show a small sign of improvement.

Nobel economic prize winner, Paul Krugman, also writer for the New York Times, stated on MSNBC's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, that if there had been no bill passed, all hell would have broken loose. He also said, in another interview on Bloomberg News, that the bill will add three to four million jobs that we would not have and reduce the unemployment rate by one to one and half points. The size of the bill is not proportionate to the size of the problem, he further added.

Larry Summers, reportedly says that President Obama's mortgage plan will focus on reducing monthly payments.

The Peanut Butter Corporation of America, has filed for bankruptcy. Nine people have died so far from salmonella poisoning, linked to the company's products, with hundreds being sickened. The plant owned by the Corporation in Texas has been shut down due to inspection problems.

A Continental airliner, Flight 3407, crashed into a home in New York, killing fifty people, forty-nine in the plane and one person on the ground. It is thought that the plane had serious icing problems on the windshield and other parts of the plane. A spokeswoman for the wives of the victims of those killed on 9/11 was on the flight. She was a strong advocate for the those left behind, and helped to fight for the 9/11 commission.

Sirius XL may be looking into filing for bankruptcy.

Citi-group and J. P. Morgan will be freezing foreclosures on a temporary basis, reportedly.

Air France may cut two thousand jobs, due to greater than anticipated losses in the quarter.

Donald Trump and his daughter, resigned from the board of directors at Trump Entertainment, as the board is supposed to force the company into bankruptcy next week.

President Sarkosy of France reportedly popped the question to his now wife Carla Bruni, the first night they met, oh that
love at first sight.

A message from the Supreme Court, reportedly stated that the pancreatic cancer that Justice Ruth Ginsberg is sufffering from, has not spread to her lymph nodes. She is expected back on the bench later this month. Best wishes for better health.

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Remember to take counsel with yourself, before you try to counsel others.

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Today marks the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth. The 16th President of the United States will be remembered around the country, with speeches, displays and ceremonies in honor of Mr. Lincoln. There wil be a service at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C., as well as in Springfield, Illinois. President Obama will visit Springfield some time today. There will be a newly designed penny
being distributed, which has the same face on the penny, but the reverse will feature four different designs, depicting four different eras of Lincoln's life. An auction will be held to sell the original four page acceptance speech given by Mr. Lincoln in 1864. The price is expected to bring over three million dollars.

The House and the Senate reached an agreement on the size and the scope of the stimulus package. The vote on the final bill will be held soon. The President is expected to have the bill on his desk, sometime early next week.

A bit of a controversey arose between Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Mrs. Pelosi thought, it is reported, that Mr. Reid moved too quickly, when he said the bill had been agreed to, when it had not yet been vetted. Well Madam Speaker, you can't expect a former wrestler to reveal all of his moves before hand, now can you?

California state residents are livid, upon learning that the hospital where the octuplets were born, is requesting that the state medicare, reimburse the hospital, over one million dollars for the cost of the birth of the children, reports the L. A. Times. Also reported that the mother paid for her fertility treatment with social security disability funds.
Three of the mother's six other children are said to be disabled. The mother has gone on the internet requesting donations. The doctor who assisted her with the implanting of the embryos is being investigated for unethical behavior in the case, and according to reports may lose his license to practice and/or be sanctioned in some way. How about letting him pay for the children's long term care, since he thought it was such a great idea?

The switch from anolog to digital television, has been moved up to June 12, from a February date by virtue of President Obama signing a bill to that effect, to give people time to
be ready for the change. Five hundred stations will still go ahead with the original date in February. President Obama may request that the FCC not allow the stations to proceed.

A ninth person has died from the salmonella contaminated peanut butter outbreak. Yesterday, the owners came before Congress to explain their behavior in the situation. It was alledged that the owner had pushed his employees to send the contaminated substance out, even though they knew it was unhealty. The owner pleaded the 5th Amendment and would not answer any questions. Their plant in Texas was closed down due to inspection deficiencies. So far three law suits are pending.

Reportedly, Bernard Madoff's wife Ruth withdrew ten million dollars from a company co-owned by her husband, the very day her sons reported his scheme to authorities. She had earlier withdrew five million dollars.

Eight CEO's also appeared before Congress yesterday to testify
regarding how it was possible to fail, take three-hundred and eight seven billion dollars from the Government, yet pay yourself millions in bonuses. No sufficient answers came forth.
There is now a change in the name of the monies paid, the monies will now be called "Retention Awards" instead of bonuses. Interesting. Could retention also be applied in "sent to jail"?

Foreclosures in the U. S. dropped 14%.

Two satellites collided in space, but reportedly will not pose a threat to inhabited areas of earth. Promise?

Brett Favre anncounced his retirement from football, for the last time, according to Mr. Favre.

For Desperate Housewife fans, Edie, will be killed off in a future episode, no crying now. She may come back in a dream sequence, who knows?.

To all those who stopped by this site yesterday, thank you. I am very humbled, and I seriously appreciate your kindness.

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It is also nice, to be willing to lend an ear.

The Israeli election to determine a Prime Minister is in limbo, as two of the candidates have claimed victory. Benjamin Netanyahu and Tizipi Livni, each claimed to have won, but neither have the necessary votes to become Prime Minister.
The third candidate will have to decide who he will throw his support behind, giving the winner enough votes to be a clear winner and ability to start to form a Government.

The Economic Recovery Bill, will now head to Committee, for reconcilation, after the Senate passed it by one vote, 61 to 37. Senator Ted Kennedy was able to come out and cast his vote, pushing the bill over the top. Only three Republican Senators voted for the bill's passage, Senators Specter, Snowe, and Collins. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was said to have stated that there were fairly minor differences between the House version and the Senate version of the bill. They will need to keep the three Republicans, in order to get the bill passed.

President Obama is said to have told Envoy Richard Holbrooke to warn Pakistan about the terroists' havens, in Pakistan.

The U. S. markets reacted today, falling almost 400 points, after Treasury Secretary Geithner announced a revamping of the TARP, bank plan. There were not enough details, according to the Wall Streeters. A columnist for the Washington Post stated on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, that the Wall Street people wanted the Treasury Secretary to roll up with truck loads of cash and pass it out to them, so they were not happy. Secretary Geithner said not going to happen, and by the way how about a "sorry" and a "thank you", for the other money you were given. Steven Pearlman said in essence, they were never going to be happy, but that is not important.

Suicide bombers and gunmen, attacked the Afghan Minstry and the police.

Secretary of State Clinton reportedly said that North Korea should not trigger instability in Northeast Asia.

Wal-Mart will be cutting eight-hundred jobs, according to reports.

GM set to cut ten thousand salaried workers.

Nike will reportedly cut one thousand, four-hundred employees.

The Governor of California is just about ready to fire twenty thousand employees, due to the state's budget deficit.

Australia's wildfires are not yet under control, they are still burning in Victoria. There have been two hundred lives lost and nine hundred and twenty-two homes lost. Four thousand, two-hundred people are homeless. The Government is reportedly going to rebuild all the homes and will not spare any expense in the cost. There will not be any cap on the amount the Government will spend to rebuild the homes, according to authorities. Now there's a Government working for the people.

A Navy diver in a Sydney, Australian harbor, was attacked by a shark, he nearly lost a hand.

An insurer group, reports that the Chevy Silverado was the worst in its side crash test.

AIG will reportedly sell its auto insurance unit to Zurich Financial.

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Try not to overdo anything, even pleasure can turn out to be
painful in one way or another, if overdone.

Wildfires are burning out of control in Australia, especially S. E. Victoria. There was a two week draught, and the dryness contributed to some of the fires, others are thought to have been intentionally set. There have been one-hundred and thirty people so far, who have died as a result of the fires. Some eight-hundred homes have been burned so far. The northern part of Australia is suffering from flooding. Marysville, Australia has been completely destroyed by the wildfires, except for a school building. There has been an anncouncement that a high-level juduciary inquiry will be held to investigate the wildfire origins.

Over one-hundred and thirty fishermen went ice fishing and were caught on a drifting ice flog, when it broke off, in Lake Erie. The Coast guard and other rescue crews, were able to rescue all but one of the fishermen, who fell into the icy water, had a heart attack and perished. The sheriff in the area was very upset that the men went out, and were caught in such a dangerous incident. One of the fishermen said that a boat of some kind had come through and caused the ice flog to break away. Reportedly, the temperature had gotten warmer that day and may have contributed to the breaking off of the ice flog as well. It was an eight mile long ice flog.

The decision to bring troops home from Iraq has been delayed by the Pentagon, as the President reviews three options presented to him. Those options involve removing the troops in sixteeen months, eighteen months or twenty-three months.
Afghanistan, according to reports is getting worse on a daily basis, and more troops have been requested, a figure of fifteen thousand has been spoken about, but no decision has been made as to when the troops would be sent there.

President Obama took a trip to Indiana, for a town hall meeting to encourage supporters to push for passage of the stimulus package, as it is urgently needed to create and save jobs among other things. He is also scheduled to travel to Florida for another town hall meeting. Only three Republicans, so far, Senators Specter, Snowe and Collins are supporting the bill. There will reportedly be a test vote today at 5:30 p.m., in the Senate to see where things stand, and then the final vote will be taken tomorrow.

England has possibly discovered a sunken ship, the HMS Victory, which may contain tons of gold. If it is this ship, the contents would belong to the country of England, according to reports.

Space X, has reportedly beat out Boeing for a contract worth over a million dollars, to deliver supplies to the Space Station.

The grandmother of the octuplets has spoken out, reportedly saying that she doesn't know why her daughter had the eight children, she already had six. She thought it was unconscionable, that her daughter would do this, and since they all live with her and her husband, her home has been left a wreck.

Nissan will be cutting twenty thousand jobs in the future, based on expected losses in revenue.

Hot News! A gentleman has decided to draft a porn star named "Stormy" to challenge Senator David Vitter, he of D. C. Madam fame, for his seat in the Senate. Stormy is a Baton Rouge, Louisiana native, and at first didn't take to the idea, but now she states she will travel the state of Louisiana on a listening tour, talking about the economy and other issues, to see how she is received in essence and if it will be feasible for her to follow through. In speaking, she sounded credible and quick, unlike another fresh on the scene candidate of late. Mr. Vitter is a Rhodes Scholar, I believe, and it is reported that he does have a two million dollar war chest, he will not be a pushover. Someone said to Stormy, you are going to attract large crowds, she shot back "I always have". Should be interesting, if Stormy decides to go all the way, no pun intended.

Alex Rodriquez, famed basball player, is being pillared by newspapers, after Sports Illustrated reported that he had been one of one-hundred and four baseball players who had tested positive for steroids in 2003. A-Rod, as he is called had denied ever using such enhancements, it should be noted that there were no penalties at the time he tested positive, but be that as it may, newspapers sell with headlines of heros falling from some sort of grace. The bigger problem is the young people who look up to A-Rod. Note; Mr. Rodriquez today admittted that he did use the drugs, and said that he was stupid to have done so.

Moody's reports that U. S. home prices may reach bottom by the
end of 2009, after dropping 34% so far.

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Remember to always replace your autombile headlights in pairs.

While nearly six hundred thousand people lost their jobs in the United States, in January and the unemployment rate shoots up to 7.6%, some Democrats and many Republicans jump up and down on the Senate floor, while beating their gums together, talking about how this bill is not a stimulus for the economy and there are too many things in it that should not be. It is apparent that these Senators think that they have all the time in the world to fiddle faddle and do much of nothing while the house burns down. California has started requiring state employees to take two days a week off without pay and has run out of unemployment compensation, other states are telling Washington, that if they don't receive funds soon, there will have to be massive layoffs of essential workers. This is, as the President said, not a game. Last year an analyst on CNBC said that the problem facing the United States is in dollars, about a seven trillion dollar problem. Maybe he's right or maybe he's wrong, but be that as it may, if something is not done soon, with the jobs being cut by the thousands daily, it will be a seven trillion dollar problem.
The Senate is wrangling over this, and that, I feel, without a clue as to what will work and what will not, but continue, just
to appear as if they are justifying their existence, to rant on and on and waste time. They don't know, for that matter nobody does, there is no precedent for all systems collasping at the same time. As of the last few minutes, the Senate is reported to have reached a tenative compromise, cutting one hundred billion dollars from the bill. It now stands at $780 billion dollars. They cut out some educational funds. Every day that passes without the money flowing into this economy in the form of job growth, the deeper and longer this awful recession will be. So Senators, please put down your fiddles and stop the chatter, the country is hurting and you are not helping.

Former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card says that President Obama should not disrespect the Oval Office by not wearing a suitcoat. And just what did the wearing of a suitcoat do for your guy Mr. Card? Respect the Oval Office but shred the Constitution, that's lovely.

Officials found the remains of birds in the two engines of the U. S. Airways, airbus that splashed down in the Hudson River.

Rich doesn't always make you sensible. Bill Gates was giving a speech at California Technical College, on malaria, when he opened a jar and let mosquitoes out on the crowd. He said to the people "poor people should not be the only ones who should experience malaria". Mr. Gates has given some one hundred and fifty million dollars toward the cure and prevention of malaria, that does not give you the right to turn mosquitoes out on unsuspecting people.

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Loyalty is never without a price.

Governor Sarah Palin lashed out at the actor Ashley Judd, and the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, for criticising her and the State's policy of promoting the slaughter of wolves by shooting them from helicopters. Governor Palin said in essence that the Alaskan people needed to kill the wolves, for food and their livelihood and that Judd's ad was mis-representative of her state's policy. Well!

President Obama signed a bill today, to extend Children's Health Care in states for four million additional children.

A whistleblower testified before Congress today that he had reported to the SEC that there was a problem with the Bernard Madoff Fund, decades ago and in May of 2000, the man is a Financial Fraud Investigator. At the time he told them, the money being lost would have only been, in the range of five to seven billion dollars. He said the SEC did nothing, why he didn't know, but billions of dollars could have been saved if the SEC would have acted. He stated that he had been in fear for his life, when he reported what he thought was wrong. He also said that he was going to give the SEC another name tomorrow, where there is a problem with possible fraud being committed. Stay tuned.

The founder of Habitant for Humanity has passed away.

Pending U. S. home sales, showed an unexpected rise in the month of December.

Elizabeth Edwards will pen a new book in which reportedly, she will discuss her husband John's infidelity.

Disney's profit's drop dropped 32%, due to slow influx to the theme parks.

UPS freezes salaries, and reduces 401(k) retirement matching funds.

Hawker Beechcraft, airplane manufacturers, will cut 2,300 employees.

United Airlines will begin to use luggage tags which contain an RFID chip, for their frequent flyer customers. The luggage can be dropped off, and customers can go straight to the plane. Reportedly the procedure will only take 30 seconds.

Michael Phelphs could face criminal charges, if the sheriff in charge in Florida can prove that he did what the picture in the papers suggested.

Rod Blagojevich former Governor of Illinois was on the David Letterman show and said that he had been wanting in the worst way to be on David's show, Mr. Letterman answered him saying, "well you are on, in the worst way".

Australia battles floods, while crocodiles wash into the cities' streets.

The U. K.'s recession, will last until the 4th quarter of 2009,
reports are stating. Sounds very optimistic.

Brazils economy has come to a virtual standstill, as industrial export output plunges.

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Pleasure should not be a pitfall.

A year of firsts continues, Eric Holder, the first African-American Attorney General, was confirmed by the full Senate today 75-21. It will be very interesting to see how the Justice Department handles the issue of torture in the past administration, when high officials have openly declared that they authorized in principle, the use of torture in the pursuit of information related to the protection of the United States, which is against the principles of the United States Military Code, and is a crime. Attorney General Holder had stated during his hearing, that waterboarding was torture. This was alledgedly one of the methods used to obtain information from some of the detainees.

Forgive the none mention of the breaking of the peace agreement in Gaza and the bombings, and deaths, and the dying in Afganhanistan, it just gets very depressing. There was good news in Iraq, the Provincial elections went off without any violence. Great acheivement.

President Obama, late this afternoon made his choice for the next Commerce Secretary, in the form of Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire. The Democratic Governor of New Hampshire has agreed to replace Mr. Gregg with a Republican.

The President has called upon the numerous supporters around the country to hold "economic stimulus" house parties, to discuss the package, inform others, and to encourage Congress to move the plan along. President Obama is said to be trying to narrow the focus of the package, and to add more money to the infrastucture portion of the plan to bring Republicans on board. The cost is now reportedly up to $890 billion dollars.

President Obama's foreclosure-relief plan, may include government guarantees on loans.

First Lady Michelle Obama made her first speech to a group of educators, at the Department of Education, asking them to roll up their sleeves, as they have a lot of work to do. The First Lady is expected to be involved with working and military families, to try to improve their quality of life. She will also be working, reportedly with volunteers around the country.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along with her husband, daughter and mother by her side, had a ceremonial swearing in, by Vice-President Joe Biden. Words to the effect of. who would have thought that I would be Secretary of State and you would be the Vice-President doing the swearing in, were overheard, during the swearing in of Secretary Clinton. Truth be told, no one. But what Obama wants, Obama gets. Let's just hope it works out well.

Republican Senator Mel Martinez, of Florida, who earlier announced that he would not seek re-election in 2010, may be leaving the Senate sooner than expected. Rumor has it that Florida Governor Charlie Crist may appoint himself to the vacant seat, if and when Mr. Martinez leaves the Senate.

One of the best Super Bowl games played in recent times occurred, in my estimation, yesterday in Florida. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals, but both teams played very well with the exception of tempers a bit out of control a few times. The score was close. This was the Steelers sixth Super Bowl win.

Raphael Nadal beat Roger Federer at the Australian open, stopping Roger's quest to tie Pete Sampras' fourteen Grand Slam, championship titles. It appeared that Roger's temper took away a bit of his control, next time Roger, next time. Serena Williams took the women's title, and along with her sister Venus, won the women's doubles championship title. Serena's win took her to ten championship Grand Slam singles titles, rare company indeed.

Michael Phelps, Olympic swimming winner of eight Gold medals
in 2008, was caught on camera, alledgedly smoking pot. First of all Michael, although pot is used in medical treatment, it is still frowned upon and is illegal to use otherwise. Second of all, choose your friends wisely, they have nothing whatsoever to lose. But they are laughing at you and spending the money that they made selling your picture as you may have inhaled, as fast as they can. Lesson learned with tough consequences.

Bank of America partied down with a Super, Super Bowl party over five days. The bash was aimed at kids, games and such, but was used to court their parents for credit cards. No taxpayer money was used supposedly, and the officials of Bank of America said reportedly that, for every one dollar spent, they expected a return of ten. The cost reportedly for the party was forty-five million dollars.

GM and Chrysler are offering buyouts their employees. Chrysler is offering all its blue collar workers a buyout. Union agreed to the buyouts.

Macy's is said to be laying off seven thousand employees, and reducing its matching funds to employee's 401(k) retirement plans.

Morgan-Stanley will reportedly cut 1,800 jobs.

Citi-group will use stimulus money to spur new lending, twenty-six billion will be targeted to mortgage lending only.

London was viturally shut down by a heavy snow storm on Manday, airlines delayed, roads froze to a halt, and buses were cancelled. Twenty percent of workers did not go to work on Monday. Mainly rain forcasted for Tuesday.

Iceland has its first openly gay Prime Minister, the Prime Minister's first priority reportedly, will be improving Iceland's economic situation.

The Russian stock market has reopened for business.

U. K. Royal Navy Warship, lost in storm in 1744, was discovered in the English Channel.

Australia will cut interest rates to forty-five year low, and add twenty-six billion dollars to ward off the recession.

Deutsche Bank may cut bonuses by an average of 60%, after record loss. Over 30% loss since beginning of 2009 encountered by the bank.

The mother of the eight octupulets, has decided to step out. She has reportedly acquired an agent, and will be making her media debut in the near future. It seems that eight is no longer enough, let's try fourteen.

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Participation can be the difference between living and merely existing.