The Independent Blogger

Socrates Quotes

2014-04-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

First posted at Rambling Web - Quotes from Socrates

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

Let him that would move the world first move himself.

Beware the barrenness of a busy life.

My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.

Wisdom begins in wonder.

He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.

It is not living that matters, but living rightly.

I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.

One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him.

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Susan B. Anthony Quotes

Pawuckaway State Park Southern NH

2014-04-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

From Blue Collar Blog...

Pawtuckaway State Park in Nottingham, NH features a popular summer camping spot. It is also is home to three of the most southern "mountain peaks." The quotes are there because at 1200 feet north mountain, the tallest of the three really doesn't qualify as a 'mountain,' but it's not a bad hiking hill. Along with South Mountain, Middle Mountain, and Round Pond, it's a nice spot particularly at off peak times.

Below is a pic of a turtle sunning himself at round pond. There is also rocking climbing/rock climbing training at Pawtuckaway, and not far from this spot.

Other Links of interest.

Photographs from Lake Louise Alberta, Canada

Carol Burnett Show Bloopers and Blunders

Funny Posts from Rambling Web

Nature and the Outdoors

Two Woodpeckers

2013-09-17T11:29:00.001-07:00

Via Rambling Web - Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers

Don't know how unusual this is, but both a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker stopped at my bird feeder the other day at the same time. The larger Hairy Woodpecker is on the right, and the smaller Downy is on the left. They shared the feeder for a decent length of time, enough time for me to snap the pic below.

Tesla Motor Beating Out Preforming Conventional Automobiles

2013-05-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

First Published at Rambling Web - Tesla Motors Outselling BMW and Mercedes - Big Step Forward for Electric and Hybrid Cars

A couple months ago Rambling Web noted that Porsche was breaking the mold for hybrid cars by developing a true hybrid super car - Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Blows Up Stereotypes. Yet the major question was whether the 918 Spyder would sell.

Well Tesla Motors, taking a different tact, is showing the an upscale electric car can sell quite well. According to 'Wall Streets Cheat Sheet,' Tesla's Model S is actually outselling BMW and Mercedes the competing cars in its class.

This is great news for the future of electric and hybrid cars. It shows that as the quality of these cars increases that demand will likely increase too. As 'Wall Streets Cheat Sheet' notes the success of the Model S opens the door for a more affordable model in the future.

Tesla’s Model S Is Shaming BMW and Mercedes

While Tesla faced huge criticisms about the Model S being too expensive, which would result in a stagnancy of demand, it appears the concerns were unfounded, and that the demand is leading the segment. Given the company’s limitations as a start-up with a product that has yet to become mainstream, these figures are especially impressive.

Moreover, the Model S was never meant to be an affordable, mass market car; the company was never aiming to build the next GM Chevy (NYSE:GM) Volt or Nissan Leaf. The Model S was designed from the ground up as a luxury car, meant to compete with the likes of the 7 Series and A8.

The company’s business model suggests that as electric cars become more accepted, and concerns over range anxiety and other problems subside, the high cost of electric car technology will slope downward. And when that happens, Tesla will be ready and waiting with an entry-level, ballpark $30,000 model to market to the masses.

Tesla Motors

Posts of the Day

2013-05-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here's Quite the assortment of blog posts for the day...

Wildlife at Pawtuckaway Lake in Nottingham, NH

Gabriel Gomez Running for Senate in MA

Lovely Animal and Safari Video Photography

Boston Bruins Crowd Sings the National Anthem

Bald Eagle Living in Manchester, NH

2013-05-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

From the Union Leader...

Bald eagle family takes up residence in Manchester

...Such is the home for two of the newest residents of the Queen City - a pair of baby American bald eagles that hatched early last month and are being raised in a nest along the Merrimack River.

The eaglets are the first to be born in Manchester in decades and represent the continuing success of the restoration of the bald eagle, said Christian Martin, a raptor biologist with the New Hampshire Audubon Society.

Martin brought a New Hampshire Union Leader reporter and photographer to a viewing area of the nest with the understanding it would not be pinpointed. Seclusion is needed to prevent distractions and human disturbances to the adults who are tending the eaglets, he said.

The nest is located about 90 feet up a white pine tree. During the visit Friday, one adult sat on the nest and glared at the human visitors, who spied the birds with binoculars and telephoto lenses about 500 feet from the nest.

Most of the time, the gray fuzz of the eaglets lay at the bottom of the nest, resembling little more than an accumulation of dust. But occasionally, a wing would poke out awkwardly. At other times, a long neck, more fitting for an ostrich, would stretch up, a beak at its crown.

"They look like fuzzy aliens," said Peter Gray, a Bedford resident and Audubon volunteer who first observed and photographed the eaglets on April 20.

Surprise in Massachusetts Special Election

2013-05-01T12:38:00.004-07:00

An upcoming election to watch started with an upset in the Republican Primary last night. Massachusetts Senate seat special election Republican candidate is Gabriel Gomez. He will face off against long time Democrat Congressman Ed Markey.

From the National Review Gomez’s Upset Victory Shakes Up Mass. Senate Race

Massachusetts voters will fill Secretary of State John Kerry’s Senate seat on June 25. The choices couldn’t be more of a contrast. Democrat Ed Markey is a 66-year-old liberal who was first elected to Congress in 1976, when eight-track tapes were the rage. Republican Gabriel Gomez, is a 47-year-old with an MBA from Harvard, who is the son of Columbian immigrants and a former Navy SEAL. He raised $1.2 million in yesterday’s GOP primary, which enabled him to buy TV ads that led to an upset 51 percent to 36 percent victory over Michael Sullivan, a conservative former district attorney.

Massachusetts is a deeply blue state but surprises can happen in elections that don’t feature presidential levels of voter turnout. Four of the last six governors have been Republicans, and in 2010 Scott Brown shook the political world with his upset special-election victory. He went on to lose his reelection bid in 2012, as Barack Obama swept the state.

Boston Skyline

2013-04-16T08:27:00.004-07:00

From Rambling Web, Boston Love

Here We Go...

2013-04-15T12:32:00.001-07:00

Changes are coming for this Independent Blog. For now, here are some interesting photography and quotation links...

Photographs of Bennington Vermont

Witty Will Rogers Quotes

Nature Photographer Russell Graves - Texas Parks and Wildlife

Nature Photographer Wyman Meinzer - Insight Into Photographing the Land and Sky

From the Rambling Web Blog, newly revamped worth a look...

Site Launch... Rambling Web

2013-04-01T12:56:00.002-07:00

A new blog Rambling Web Blog is preparing to launch. While still in the experimental phase, Rambling Web brings fun, interesting information to the reader. A family friendly G-rated site that posts unique content from around the web. Whether it is famous quotes, classic television clips, nature videos, cute/funny animals, or original stories, Rambling Web brings upbeat, light-hearted posts to the viewer.

The Women's Vote

2012-04-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

The Women's Vote Vs. The Men's Vote - Game On pokes fun at what issues are 'supposed' to be 'men's issues' or 'women's issues.'

The most commonly claimed women’s issue – reproductive health. Fine, we are the ones to get pregnant, so that one goes in our column.

Following that logic, I declare ‘beer and guns’ a men’s issue. Now I like beer, but the numbers are what they are, beer and guns go to the men.

Consequently, the environment goes to the ladies. You ever tried to get a dude with a rifle to drive a Prius? Good luck – we’re taking the environment.

So since the guys have the guns, the military goes to the men – that’s only fair.

However, that also means foreign relations goes to the women. Don’t want the cowboy with the beer and the weaponry trying to talk to the ambassadors of Israel and Saudia Arabia about ‘Peace in the Middle East.’

The economy is more challenging. Concerns about gas prices will have to go to the men since they’re driving the hummers, and the women are driving the hybrids. Jobs are tricky, the women are at home barefoot and pregnant, so they may not need the job. However, are you going to hire the guy who pulls up to work in his Hummer with a 40 in one hand and a rocket launcher in the other? I’m thinking the women are more employable, so that means men are more concerned about the lack of jobs, and the women are more concerned about favorable economic conditions for businesses. Hence cost of gasoline and unemployment concerns go to the men. Deregulation and lower taxes go to the women.

That’s fair, right? Just following the numbers and the facts to their logical conclusion.

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Facebook to List on Nasdaq

2012-04-08T11:43:00.001-07:00

Nasdaq has further cemented it role as the tech stock listing with it winning Facebook's much anticipated entry to the stock market.

"Winning Google further emboldened Nasdaq's reputation as being the exchange of choice for the technology companies," said Jay Frankl, senior managing director, FTI consulting.

"The Facebook listing I've seen as being similar to the Google listing, which had a similar competition between the exchanges, and a similar win for Nasdaq and a tremendously successful IPO for both," Frankl said.

Companies pay annual fees to list their stock and exchanges also garner listings-related income from the sale of market data and ancillary services offered to their listed companies

Last year, listings and issuer services brought in about $372 million for Nasdaq OMX, accounting for about 22% of revenue.

Facebook will list shares on Nasdaq

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Mashable Interview Darrell Issa

2012-03-19T10:42:00.001-07:00

Mashable's interview 5 Questions For Rep. Darrell Issa, SOPA Opponent and ‘Internet Defender’ provides an interesting look, not only at what stopped the SOPA legislation, but also how Washington deals with technology. Essentially they're behind the times, and for the few legislators who do have a grasp on current (or emerging) technologies political party is of little consequence.

When the technology community rallied together in opposition of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Rep. Issa was at the front lines of Congress fighting to kill the bill. And as a former electronics company CEO, he’s one of the few Congressman who seem to “get it” when it comes to technology (Fun fact: Rep. Issa lent his voice to the alarm system for the ultra-sleek Dodge Viper).

The debate around SOPA and other technology bills doesn’t divide neatly along party lines. Do you think technology issues are, in a way, bipartisan?

“Intellectual property and how we deal with that is always bipartisan … Sen. Wyden (D-Ore.) was particularly helpful in this entire debate, he brought his own version [of an intellectual property bill] to the Senate floor. [Rep. Jared] Polis [D-Colo.] was great to have as somebody else who knew the Internet and what it could do.”

You put the draft version of the OPEN Act online for the public to read and comment upon. Do you think that kind of transparency is the future of politics and technology?

“I do believe it is the future. Congress has to be willing to fund it. The Madison project had to be done at an external site because that kind of interactive exchange isn’t allowed under the House’s firewall rule, so we went to an outside storage facility.

“We don’t like to call the people who make the rules in the House and the Senate “Luddites,” but they’re pretty close. They’re very ultra-conservative on what (new technologies) they’re willing to adopt. Congress only went to Outlook Web a year ago — and it was still only a belt-and-suspenders type of access … our whole infrastructure is built around not getting hacked rather than getting access.

“The technology systems in the House are quite archaic, and if you’re dealing with members that have been around for a long time, it’s harder to adopt new platforms than if you’re in the private sector and more comfortable with new platforms. A big part of the House’s bandwidth is actually used for an off-site redundancy, which duplicates every one of our sites for Outlook and all of our servers. We use so much bandwidth for that, I’m still fighting to get (Voice over IP) telephones installed in the House.”

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President Geared up for Reelection Bid

2012-03-05T19:06:00.001-08:00

Obama’s re-election campaign quietly organizes while Republicans fight

"BEAVERCREEK, Ohio—President Barack Obama's supporters waited all of two months after his inauguration to start laying the groundwork here for what has become a re-election machine that is bigger and tougher than his would-be Republican rivals' nightmarish imaginings.

Oh, I'm afraid the Obama campaign will be quite operational when his Republican challenger arrives.

Powerful, the president's re-election effort is: A new NBC News/Marist poll finds Obama trouncing his opponents in hypothetical general-election matchups in this state. He leads Mitt Romney in Ohio by 12 points among registered voters, 50 percent to 38 percent; Ron Paul by 10 points, 48 percent to 38 percent; Rick Santorum by 14 points, 50 percent to 36 percent; and Newt Gingrich by 15 points, 51 percent to 36 percent.

While the seesaw battle for the Republican Party's presidential nomination has grabbed the news media spotlight, the unopposed Democratic incumbent has quietly worked to enlist new supporters and woo back the armies of volunteers and small donors who powered his historic victory in 2008."

Rush Limbaugh Apology Does Not Stem Calls for a Boycott

2012-03-03T18:25:00.001-08:00

Under pressure due to adverstisers pulling their support, Rush Limbaugh offered up an apology that did little to appease critics. The apology appeared forced and insincere as it barely offered an apology, but instead a criticism of congress. CBS News reported on Limbaugh's "apology."

Limbaugh apologizes to Sandra Fluke

"The storm not only swirled around Limbaugh, he began to feel some of the impact, too. After his statements and subsequent public reaction, three advertisers, including two mattress companies, pulled their ads from his radio program.

Although he apologized, in the same statement the fiery radio host called Fluke's testimony before a mock Congressional hearing "absurd."

"I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress," he wrote, but he added: "I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke."

On his radio show on February 29, Limbaugh elevated the debate to the next level when he said: "What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her?"

"It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute."

"She wants to be paid to have sex," Limbaugh continued on his radio program. "She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception."

The point Limbaugh said he was trying to make was that taxpayers' dollars should not be used for contraception coverage.

Limbaugh was referring to Fluke's testimony before the Democrat-organized mock hearing after being cut from the witness list by Republican leadership at an official hearing on the president's recent decision to require insurance companies provide contraception coverage for employees of religious-affiliated institutions.

Her testimony did not talk about sex at the hearing but discussed the importance of birth control coverage for Georgetown University Law School students for family planning and health reasons."

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Andrew Brietbart Conservative Media Activist Dies Suddenly

2012-03-01T17:33:00.001-08:00

From people of all political stripes, people are remembering the political activist Andrew Brietbart...

From of Guy Benson of Townhall.com Mourning Breitbart

"Andrew was fearless. A reformed Leftist, he made a conscious decision to devote his life to fighting his former ideological brethren with every ounce of his being -- and never looked back. Throughout his lamentably truncated career as a professional political provocateur, his targets came to loathe him with a rage rarely seen, even in today's polarized climate. As I explained in my introduction of him at last year's CPAC gathering, Andrew had attained near-hero status among many conservatives simply for amassing such an impressive roster of enemies. He targeted Planned Parenthood for their noxious criminality, brought down ACORN over similar transgressions, and last year took out a sitting Congressman, almost single-handedly. Andrew's impromptu hijacking of Rep. Anthony Weiner's New York press conference remains one of the most surreal media events in memory.

He delighted in rattling liberals' cages. He relished attacking their sacred cows. And he never once shied away from a fight. In his CPAC speech just last month, Andrew claimed to have obtained old footage of Barack Obama that could impact the upcoming presidential election. So even in death, Andrew Breitbart will continue to torment the Left -- at least for a few more months. He wouldn't have had it any other way. What a loss. Rest in peace."

----

From the Huffington Post Andrew Breitbart Dead: Conservative Blogger Dies Suddenly At 43

"Breitbart came to be well-known for his work with the Drudge Report (he also played an early role with The Huffington Post), and would go on to found the Big Journalism, Big Hollywood and Breitbart.com websites. He was also an author, columnist and ubiquitous commentator in the media.

People from all sides of the political spectrum paid tribute to Breitbart.

Shirley Sherrod, the USDA employee who was fired from her job after Breitbart released an incomplete video of her appearing to say she intentionally discriminated against white farmers —she was actually describing how she overcame such prejudices — sent her condolences.

"The news of Mr. Breitbart's death came as a surprise to me when I was informed of it this morning," she said. "My prayers go out to Mr. Breitbart's family as they cope through this very difficult time."

----

Big Government Andrew Brietbart's own site remembered him with a quote from his book. In Memoriam: Andrew Brietbart (1969-2012)

"Andrew recently wrote a new conclusion to his book, Righteous Indignation:

I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies.

Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night."

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Tight Race in Michigan

2012-02-28T09:21:00.001-08:00

Michigan proving too close too call...

From CNN - Tough talk testament to high stakes in Michigan primary

"The tough talk is indicative of the high stakes in Michigan. Romney has led nationwide polls off and on over the course of the campaign but hasn't been able to seal the deal. Santorum is the latest of Romney's rivals to challenge him for front-runner status by playing on conservatives' reservations about the former Massachusetts governor.

Santorum's hat trick earlier this month propelled him to a lead in national polls and a double-digit lead in Michigan two weeks ago. But he had a lackluster performance in last week's CNN/Arizona Republican debate and has fallen behind Romney in national polls and into a close race in Michigan.

Fifty-nine delegates are up for grabs in the two states vote but momentum will be the bigger prize.

"Mitt Romney's ferocious campaign against Santorum in Michigan is pivot point of the campaign," GOP strategist and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos said.

Both candidates have been spending most of their time in Michigan following the debate, and Castellanos says a Romney win there will greatly boost his campaign."

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Reasons to Leave GoDaddy

2012-02-27T09:49:00.001-08:00

From Broad Side of the Barn Blog - Ditch GoDaddy

"Yet my complaint about Godaddy is due to their customer service and business practices. I strongly recommend looking for another registrar like Network Solutions or NameCheap, because GoDaddy misleads its customers and bleeds money from them through their dubious practices. The most recent example I encountered is of a client who purchased a domain and email service believing they had also signed up for a hosting account. Technically they could 'host' their domain at GoDaddy, but it was a severely limited plan that only allowed for a canned page to be 'hosted' at Godaddy, which left them without the actual service they needed..."

Read more - Ditch GoDaddy at NH Web Development site, Broad Side of the Barn

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Web Site Development

2012-02-25T17:26:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia - HTML5

Following its immediate predecessors HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.1, HTML5 is a response to the observation that the HTML and XHTML in common use on the World Wide Web are a mixture of features introduced by various specifications, along with those introduced by software products such as web browsers, those established by common practice, and the many syntax errors in existing web documents.[citation needed] It is also an attempt to define a single markup language that can be written in either HTML or XHTML syntax. It includes detailed processing models to encourage more interoperable implementations; it extends, improves and rationalises the markup available for documents, and introduces markup and application programming interfaces (APIs) for complex web applications.[3] For the same reasons, HTML5 is also a potential candidate for cross-platform mobile applications. Many features of HTML5 have been built with the consideration of being able to run on low-powered devices such as smartphones and tablets. In December 2011 research firm Strategy Analytics forecast sales of HTML5 compatible phones will top 1 billion in 2013.

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Independents and Moderates A Deciding Factor In 2010

2010-11-23T13:21:00.001-08:00

Post election analysis often reveals itself as partisan spin. However, a WSJ/NBC poll shows the shift in voting from 2008 to 2010 came from moderate Democrats and Independents...

From the WSJ Democrats Try to Crack Mystery of the Missing Voters

A popular theory of this year's midterm election holds that Democrats took a shellacking in part because big chunks of the party's core liberal base, discouraged at the path of the Obama administration, stayed home rather than show up to vote as they did in 2008.

It's an interesting narrative. It also doesn't appear to be entirely accurate.

While it's correct that some key parts of the Democratic coalition—young voters and African-Americans among them—didn't perform as they did in 2008, evidence emerging as the dust settles from this month's election suggests the bigger hole in the side of the Democratic ship came from moderates in the political center who didn't show up. (Those absences were in addition to the wave of independent swing voters also from the center who, exit polls showed, turned out but switched their votes to the Republicans.)

The case of the missing voters is important because how it is resolved will go a long way toward determining how Democrats respond to their midterm woes. If they conclude, as some argue, that the problem was an undermotivated liberal base, then the logical reaction would be a turn to the left and a staunch resistance to compromises with the Republicans who now control the House and hold expanded power in the Senate.

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McCain Thanks Supporters

2010-11-21T12:16:00.001-08:00

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Markets and Quantitative Easing Explained with Humor

2010-11-19T10:53:00.000-08:00

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Reduce Debt and Simplify Tax System

2010-11-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

Pete V. Domenici and Alice M. Rivlin the head of the 'Bipartisan Policy Center's Debt Reduction Task Force' take a serious look a debt defiit reduction. As they note, they are likely to receice criticism for parts of their plan from bith sides, just as President Obama's fiscal commission recently did. However, it is good to see ideas come forward, and the natioanal finances taken seriously. Below is an excerpt of their summary published in the Washington Post. The entire article is certainly worth a read - Payroll tax holiday and other measures to reduce the debt

To ensure a more robust recovery, we propose a one-year "payroll tax holiday" for 2011, suspending Social Security payroll taxes for employers and employees. We also would phase in the steps to reduce deficits and debt gradually beginning in 2012, so the economy will be strong enough to absorb them.

We would stabilize the debt held by the public at less than 60 percent of gross domestic product, an internationally recognized standard; reduce annual deficits to manageable levels; and balance the "primary" budget (everything other than interest payments) by 2014.

We would dramatically simplify the tax system, establishing individual tax rates of 15 and 27 percent (from the current high of 35), cutting the corporate tax rate to 27 percent (from 35 today), ending most deductions and credits while simplifying the rest, and ensuring that nearly 90 million households no longer have to file returns. To reduce the debt, we would supplement our spending cuts with a 6.5 percent "debt-reduction sales tax."

We would strengthen Social Security so it can pay benefits for the next 75 years by gradually raising the amount of wages subject to payroll taxes; slightly reducing the growth in benefits for the top 25 percent of beneficiaries; raising the minimum benefit for long-term, low-wage workers; indexing benefits to life expectancy; and changing the calculation of cost-of-living adjustments to better reflect inflation. We would not raise the age at which senior citizens can begin receiving benefits.

We would control health-care costs - the biggest driver of long-term deficits - by reforming Medicare and Medicaid while, starting in 2018, capping and then phasing out the tax exclusion for employer-provided health care. We would reform medical malpractice laws and help address the health costs tied to rising obesity by imposing a tax on high-calorie sodas.

We would freeze domestic discretionary spending for four years and defense spending for five, both at 2011 levels, and then limit their future growth to the rate of growth in the economy.

Finally, we would cap domestic and defense discretionary spending (with tight exceptions for true emergencies) and trigger across-the-board cuts if the caps are breached; enact a strict pay-as-you-go statutory rule for tax cuts or expansions of entitlements; and enact long-term budgets for major entitlements while creating a Fiscal Accountability Commission that would recommend policy changes every five years if entitlements are exceeding their budgets.

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Oil Prices Decline

2010-11-16T13:13:00.001-08:00

Oil prices dropped today as concerns about the economy, and the strength of the recovery grow.

From Yahoo/AP Oil prices slide

Oil prices fell again as investors took profits amid renewed concerns about the global economy. A three-day decline has erased most of the gains for the month of November.

Benchmark oil for December delivery fell $2.52, or 3 percent, to $82.34 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange as traders considered Ireland's ongoing debt problems and worries about higher inflation in Asia.

Meanwhile, pump prices inched higher overnight to a national average of $2.893 a gallon for unleaded regular gasoline, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. The price is about 6 cents higher than it was a month ago and 26 cents more than a year ago.

Oil prices have fallen 6.1 percent since Thursday, when speculation arose that China would take steps to control its economic growth. On Tuesday, South Korea's central bank raised interest rates to curb growing inflation. Add in some concern about Ireland's impact on Europe's economic recovery and investors found good reason to secure some recent profits.

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Stocks Slip Early

2010-11-16T07:50:00.001-08:00

Stocks open lower today...

From Yahoo/AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks retreated Tuesday following new worries about rising inflation in Asia and the possibility Ireland might need a bailout.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 73 points in morning trading. The losses piled up even as shares of two components of the index, Home Depot Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., rose more than 2 percent following improved earnings.

Asian markets fell overnight after South Korea's central bank raised interest rates to curb growing inflation. There has been speculation in recent days that China will have to take similar steps soon.

A report in the U.S. showed inflation at the wholesale level was smaller than predicted. The producer price index rose 0.4 percent last month, half of what economists' expected. The rise was due to a sharp increase in food and energy costs. Stripping out those volatile costs, prices fell 0.6 percent. The report backs up the Federal Reserve's view that inflation remains low because of sluggish growth.

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