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How about that recovery?
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/09/2010 12:29:58

Good Morning.

Well, the job figures are out for December, and they're not quite what the President had in mind. After November, a lot of us were hopeful that maybe things would be a wee bit better this past month. Alas, It was not to be.


The nation can expect sluggish job growth and high unemployment in coming months as tight credit, long-term joblessness, and cautious spending by consumers and businesses weigh on the economic recovery, Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said yesterday.

Rosengren, addressing the Connecticut Business and Industry Association in Hartford, made his remarks shortly after the Labor Department reported that US employers cut 85,000 jobs in December and that more than 600,000 unemployed Americans stopped looking for work. That helped keep the nation’s jobless rate steady at 10 percent, since only those who actively seek work are counted by the Labor Department as unemployed.

The December employment report was a setback to hopes that the national labor market had hit bottom and job growth would resume. Analysts said it was particularly disappointing following November, when the nation added 4,000 jobs - the first job growth in nearly two years, according to revised statistics released yesterday.

“I was hoping for a positive number in December and a new spin on the shape of the recovery,’’ said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial in Boston. “In the end, we’re left just about where we were before: All the pieces are in place for the job market to turn around, but it hasn’t done so yet.’’


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4 comments (Latest Comment: 01/10/2010 15:35:11 by Scoopster)

The Wrong Approach to Terrorism
Author: BobR    Date: 01/08/2010 13:47:42

There have been a lot of interesting discussions over the last few weeks about how to deal with the threat of terrorism. Sadly, the most interesting information is relegated to the lesser known or more biased news networks, so they are either ignored or dismissed out of hand. The mainstream discussion seems to revolve around "stricter restrictions via the TSA", "gitmo-ize the crotch-bomber", and "military action with Yemen". None of this will work, and will likely be counter-productive.

So why won't it work and what might work instead? First we need to look at a little history...
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37 comments (Latest Comment: 01/09/2010 01:33:48 by trojanrabbit)

This might piss you off, but it's gut check time.
Author: Raine    Date: 01/07/2010 18:21:05

My friend Teri wrote the following today and gave me permission to repost.. It's pretty close to how I am feeling these days. I don't want to alienate my online friends, but the following sums things up for me. Yeah, it's 'in your face writing', something I am not very good at.

The question we have to ask, with the understanding of politics in our country today, are we really willing to let the GOP take control again because change isn't happening fast enough? We need to start having a real discussion about how we proceed from where we ARE NOW as opposed to where we want to be. One is reality, the other is wishful thinking. The latter can happen if we if we stay focused and not shoot ourselves in the feet.
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11 comments (Latest Comment: 01/08/2010 17:20:37 by Raine)

Quickie
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/07/2010 13:30:39

Good Morning, everyone!

Raine has advised me that they're without internet this morning in Virginia, and me in my new job here, I don't dare stay on any longer than it takes to open a stubby.

You know what to do.


 
15 comments (Latest Comment: 01/07/2010 18:34:18 by Raine)

Crotch-Bomber Conspiracy
Author: BobR    Date: 01/06/2010 12:16:23

It hit all of us like a slap in the face on Christmas night - another person tried to perform a suicide bombing of a plane in flight. The details were sketchy at first, as one might expect in a situation like this, and changed several times. As time has progressed and more information come to light, one has to wonder if there's more to the story than we're being told.
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32 comments (Latest Comment: 01/07/2010 04:22:15 by livingonli)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/05/2010 11:30:21

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,404th day in Iraq and our 3,101st day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4372
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4233
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3909
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3513
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 144

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 325
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 949
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 619
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,395
Journalists - Iraq: 335
Academics Killed - Iraq: 431


We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 950, 625, 850, 000 .00



We'll start 2010 by checking in with our friends at IAVA. Things have been rather quiet there since before Thangsgiving, but with a new number on the calendar, things are starting to get busy again.

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33 comments (Latest Comment: 01/06/2010 07:37:09 by Scoopster)

Connecting the dots?
Author: Raine    Date: 01/04/2010 13:45:14

You know, I was going to write about Security this morning. I can't -- in looking over the numerous stories about the underwear bomber, the closing of part of Newark Airport yesterday, the disclosure that there was no 'smoking gun' and that we will be doing closer screening for people entering our country -- it is all just a bit too much for me.
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37 comments (Latest Comment: 01/05/2010 04:16:37 by Mondobubba)

What the Rush!?!
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 01/03/2010 15:10:50

A theory in the works, bear with me please. Rush Limbaugh was on a vacation in the birth country of our Socialist President, Hawai'i. Why was he there? Socialist Obama was there also. Also on vacation. ALSO. Coincidence? Rush was playing golf. GOLF! Just like Tiger Woods does - though admittedly, not nearly as well as Tiger. Tiger has numerous affairs with women. Rush can't keep a wife and some say that he dates underage hookers that resemble the children of his many housekeepers and gardeners while under the influence of Viagra. AND.... and there was a terrorist plot done all while Rush and our Socialist President are on vacation overseas while Tiger is NO WHERE to be found!

See! See where I'm going here? Certainly you do.
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8 comments (Latest Comment: 01/03/2010 21:38:06 by Mondobubba)

Resolution Day
Author: TriSec    Date: 01/02/2010 13:22:25

Good Morning.

I'm a bit miffed; the police in this city woke me up at 6:30 by driving up and down the street with sirens screaming and announcing a snow emergency. What, we can't handle 6 inches of snow anymore? Like the rest of my conditioned-drone neighbors, I dutifully went outside and moved the car to the off-street lot a half mile away.

But unlike my neighbors, I'll be posting some letters to the Mayor and my City Councilor. Waltham declares a snow emergency at the drop of a hat; last year we had several where it never even snowed. People aren't happy. I lived in Revere for 8 years before moving 'inland', and we never had any declared snow emergencies there...a period of time that included the Perfect Storm.

But I digress.

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5 comments (Latest Comment: 01/02/2010 17:34:10 by Raine)

Dipping into the Teens Today
Author: BobR    Date: 01/01/2010 14:35:04

Today is the first day of the "teens" for the 21st century. What does this year and this decade hold in store for us? Some of it is pretty obvious, such as this year's election cycle. What else will we see?

We'll continue to see the worship of Saint Sarah, and the blatant racist hatred of Obama, such as in this email image.
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13 comments (Latest Comment: 01/02/2010 02:02:58 by livingonli)

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