Daily Archives: October 25, 2011

Happening now: geomagnetic storm above us

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discoverynews:

Epic Geomagnetic Storm Erupts

Right this moment, there’s an epic magnetic battle raging above our heads.

On Monday, at around 2 p.m. ET, a coronal mass ejection (CME) slammed into the Earth’s magnetosphere. According to NASA’s Space Weather Laboratory, the conditions were just right for the CME’s magnetic field to compress the Earth’s magnetosphere so much that, for a short time (between 3:06 p.m and 3:11 p.m. ET), energetic solar wind particles penetrated as deep as geosynchronous orbit — home to hundreds of communication satellites…

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OccupyPolice, OccupyMarines support the 99percent

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via: DareToDemand

IT ONLY MAKES SENSE that the Marines, the rest of the troops, police, firefighters, teachers, small business owners, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers would support Occupy Wall Street and the 99 percent — they are the 99 percent. From Raw Story:

The inspiration for OccupyMARINES came when Marine Sergeant Shamar Thomas confronted police officers who were threatening to arrest OWS protesters in Times Square on October 15,yelling, “Stop hurting these people, man! … How do you sleep at night? There is no honor in this!”

According to Business Insider, members of the new movement began by reaching out to other former marines but “have now called on veterans of other branches of the military to lend their support to help ‘talk sense’ to police and recruit them into supporting the Occupy movement.”

[...] A second organization, Occupy Police, has already been spun off “for police in support of the 99%.” The first posting at its website, dated October 21, states, “We are in open Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and all Occupy movements across the nation. We’re starting off Day 1 with a mass e-mail to all police departments throughout the US. We want them to know that they ARE part of the 99% and to get involved with the movement. We openly support positive communication between Police/People and we encourage you to do the same.”

Both groups have Facebook pages, located at OccupyMARINES and Occupy Police.

Related:

Banks profit outside a free market economy #ows

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The Free-Market Case Against The Big Banks — Tim Carney advances it: 

These banks’ credit is rated higher than they would be in a free market, meaning they profit from the expectation of a bailout, if necessary. So banks profit largely through activities that do not create value or efficiencies. They profit through financial games that rest on government favors. Many Occupy Wall Street protestors demonize all profit. Conservatives defend profit-seeking as the engine that creates prosperity for all of society. But the big banks have rigged the game so that they profit without creating value. In fact, they profit from activities that weaken the economy by creating instability.

The Circle of Bank Profit:

1) create nothing of value
2) create instability and inefficiency, weaken the economy
3) because of weak economy, ask for federal assistance (bailouts, deregulation)
4) profit!

We stand with the 99percent: Tax me

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westandwiththe99percent:

I made millions studying the math of mortgages and bonds and helping bankers pass the Chartered Financial Analyst Exam.

It isn’t fair that I have retired in comfort after a career working with financial instruments while people who worked as nurses, teachers, soldiers, etc. are worried about paying for their future, their healthcare, and their children’s educations.

They are the backbone of this country that allowed me to succeed.

I am willing to pay more taxes so that everyone can look forward to a secure future like I do.

I am the 1%
I stand with the 99%

(Which equals 100% of America.)

Tax me.

Mitch McConnell on the GOP Golden Rule: bailouts for the wealthy, bootstraps for the rest of us

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Jobs Are Not My Job, Man – Mitch McConnell once again showed a keen grasp on Sunday of what his constituents want from a Washington politician.

CNN’s Candy Crowley reminded the Kentucky Republican that a recent Gallup/USA Today poll found that 75 percent of Americans supported President Barack Obama’s plan to provide additional money for teachers, police and firefighters.

“Republicans helped not break a filibuster, if you will, in a procedural vote,” Crowley explained. “You basically got rid of that jobs bill which would have given money to the states, designed to hire or retain fireman, policeman and teachers. When we look at the polling, 75 percent of Americans supported that and yet, the Republicans were against it. So, how do you justify that in your mind?”

“Well, Candy, I’m sure that Americans do,” McConnell remarked. “I certainly do approve of firefighters and police. The question is whether the federal government ought to be raising taxes on 300,000 small businesses in order to send money down to bail out states for whom firefighters and police work. They’re local and state employees.”

“The question is whether the federal government can afford to be bailing out states. I think the answer is no.”

BAILOUTS AND FEDERAL ASSISTANCE (and tax subsidies and cuts) are for banks, big business, and the wealthy. Bootstraps are for the rest of us according to McConnell, even if most of his constituents think otherwise. And that reoccurring meme “but we’d hurt small business!” that the Republicans like to trot out? Another load of crap:

Center for American Progress:

Worried that small businesses would be hurt by the Buffett Rule? Don’t be. Less than 4% of small business owners earn $1M per year.