The Morning Star

From Vega came Adele

2012-01-15T06:39:00.000-08:00

What Broken Heart?

2012-01-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

Adele - Set Fire To The Rain (Live At The Royal Albert Hall) - Free Music Videos

Federal Reduction In Force, Silently

2012-01-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

Most Federal agencies are offering early retirements and / or buyouts, strange how both Democrats and Republicans want to cut the Federal/Postal workforce and slash benefits and freeze pay, that is, make major reductions in Federal benefits and FERS , the Federal Employees Retirement System, yet there is a substantial pay raise looming for the President, Senate and House (in 2012 ) whom also receive those so called 'Luxurious" benefits for Federal Employees, this brings up a history trivia question; "Who was Marie Antoinette?".
The Postal Service was grossly mismanaged, by the previous Postmaster General , Potter, and the Current one, Patrick Donahoe, as with the Wall street debacle/collapse, when the banks and other companies that were bailed out , prior to and after that, numerous executives received millions in Bonuses, Incentives and Severance pay, so did the Postmaster General, Potter , as will the current Postmaster, yet it is the Craft and Unions to blame for all, by the Congress and the overpaid management in the USPS, craft employees make in the low 50's ( 53K) at the top step, managers ( lowest supervision) 60k and up, so is this comparable to private industry, in effect, unless someone can show other facts to the contrary, UPS and FEDEX may have better pay and benefits, and easier access for upper mobility.
The question remains, if all agencies are offering the VER, the Voluntary Early Retirements and Buyouts,and currently virtually every agency to speak of, then
why does the USPS have to wait for this refund of over payments, to offer the craft employees the options to leave early, meaning those who are close to retirement, but need the no penalty offer to leave, that which makes business sense is never applied to the Post Office, which states it is run like a business, if so ,then what are they waiting for?.

As DC (Rome) Burns

2012-01-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

Think about it, Michelle Obama looks like Marie Antoinette, and Obama Like Nero, they just held a big blowout party in the White House, Michelle hired Director Tim Burton and Actor Johnny Depp, and a slew of others, this has been my argument, even though it was money allotted from tax dollars for President's spending, with so many destitute and/or out of work, are the DC idiots asking for a French Style Revolution, or for the Decline of Rome/USA ?
The Question comes back, like a Boomerang, why do people not vote in a third party?,
It will take a Bernie Sanders,from new England,Bob Barr(former Congressman) from Georgia, Sara Palin, Donald Trump from New York etc., why not get these and the many others together, and form the legitimate Third Party, the true Independent Party, what rights do you think you still have since 911 ?, not many,

, read the "new" Patriot Act, at any time a Swat Team, local or Federal, can break down your door, kill your family and pets, and walk away with immunity, why?, they thought you were doing something to aid or abet terrorism, same as they thought you were "using " drugs, not just selling them, it may not be too late, but Obama and the GOP frontrunner hopefuls , all believe in this Patriot Act, Twitter and Email your friends, we need to save ourselves from our leaders.

PayPal Donate Button

2012-01-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

PayPal Donate Button

Where did all the Trillions go?, why the bailouts and stimulus never reached those who truly needed it.

2012-01-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

We bailed out banks who failed, they issued credit cards to consumers, why did Congress not bail us out ?,we should have a forgiveness of debt just like we gave God Forsaken Wall street, Bernie Madoff, AGI ,Chase, Citibank etc.

,I have no faith in the American economy, nor in any local, county, and State Governments, and definitely no faith in ,nor respect for ,the Federal Government, to all of you who cannot pay credit cards, go bankrupt , screw this greedy country, the good people get trampled upon, and the Bernie Madoff's on Wall street get all the funds and help from the Federal Government and then they fail, the next collapse will be worse than the first, all the printing presses will not save it this time ( the economy), greed not capitalism runs this country, and when the walls fall ( the only class left besides the wealthy, the working class), do not think you can hide and it will go away or get better, when truly the Working class is given the "Stimulus" which never evolved for them, and bailed out from their debt, then maybe there is a glimmer of hope.

The Morning Star: 2012, History paralleling itself

2012-01-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

The Morning Star: 2012, History paralleling itself: History parallels itself, this is the second time in our history that two Senators were elected to the two highest offices, Kennedy never ma...

2012, History paralleling itself

2012-01-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

History parallels itself, this is the second time in our history that two Senators were elected to the two highest offices, Kennedy never made it to a second term but he would have, what if something happens to Obama, for some reason he does not make it, and like Johnson the VP, Biden the VP takes over, and wins a second term, remember Vietnam, and the Cold War ?, there is another coming but more involved and worldwide, than the latter, watch closely the coming events, the doom and gloom is for profit, this is reality, many events will occur in a short space of time in 2012, take a front seat , history is unfolding before us.

Animal Kingdom , Do not support those who euthanize healthy Animals.

2012-01-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

SPCA, Humane Society, PETA and other animal shelters, are nothing but slaughter houses, they euthanize healthy animals, even if not , they gas them. carbon monoxide !, look at this story, and remember , under the Obama care death panels and your Congress and all those wonderful academic activists, this may be you and your pet!.
Links; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120105/us-fea-pets-no-kill-nation/#,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/west-valley-city-utah-cat,
http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F,%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2011%2F12%2F30%2Fhumane-society-sparks-out_n_1175760.html&title=Humane+Society%E2%80%8E+Sparks+Outrage+By+Euthanizing+Man%27s+Kitten+Over+Money

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) — A stray cat has survived two trips to a Utah animal shelter's gas chamber, leading shelter volunteers to seek a switch of its euthanasia method to lethal injection, which they called more humane.

Volunteers with the West Valley City's animal shelter were expected to appear at a city council meeting Tuesday evening to argue for the switch from carbon monoxide poisoning to injections of sodium pentobarbital.

No one adopted Andrea, a longhaired black cat with white paws and green eyes, in 30 days, so shelter officials tried to put her to death in October. She survived, so they gassed her again.

Shelter officials detected no vital signs and presumed she was dead after the second try, so they put her in a plastic bag in a cooler. But when they checked the bag, they saw she had vomited on herself and had hypothermia, but was alive.

Officials decided to stop trying to kill her.

"It was just one of those things where they thought this cat obviously really wants to live," West Valley City spokesman Aaron Crim told the Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/vCzWqY ). "Let's give it a chance to find a permanent home."

Volunteers with another shelter who took her in after the ordeal said she was a bit "wobbly." But she was adopted Dec. 11, and her new owners reported she was settling in.

Volunteers say euthanasia by lethal injections of sodium pentobarbital would be more humane than the gas chamber, and also cheaper.

Shelter officials still aren't sure why the gassing failed to kill Andrea. The other cats with her in the euthanasia chamber that day all died.

Frustrated?

2012-01-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

GOP leader Cantor: 'I understand people's frustration' with Congress
01/02/12 09:10 AM ET

that voters were frustrated with Congress, but suggested that what voters were seeing was the legislative process at work

"I understand people's frustration, I really do. I mean, there's a lot of people unemployed. A lot of people who've lost hope right now," he said.

Asked by CBS News's Lesley Stahl to explain the "brinkmanship, gamesmanship, one-upsmanship" in the past year's spending fights, Cantor said the high-stakes battles were just part of the legislative process.

"Ultimately this is part of the legislative process... that I know it's frustrating. I live it."

Cantor denied that he had been needlessly confrontational with the White House and Democrats. "There's not… there's no games. What we're trying to do is trying to do what's good for this country, he said.

He also said suggestions he was motivated to deny Obama any legislative achievements or political wins were “just political rhetoric.”

"You know, he is my commander in chief. I respect the man. I like the president, Cantor added.

“You know, the disagreements that we have are policy-based. You know, he's got a lot on his plate. I respect that. And I want to continue to try and work with him."

When asked if he was "ready to compromise," Cantor countered that he had "always been ready to cooperate."

"I would say cooperate is let's look to where we can move things forward where we agree. Comprising principles, you don't want to ask anybody to do that," he added.

Cantor said he "absolutely" worried about the image of Congress in voters' eyes telling Stahl "we're countin' on you to help us get the reality out to address that."

Cantor’s interview was an attempt by the GOP House leader to present a more personal side. The majority leader introduced members of his family including his Democratic-leaning wife and son and revealed that he also listens to hip-hop music.

“I do the Wiz Khalifa stuff and Jaz-Z, Lil’ Wayne,” said Cantor.

Civil War II

2011-12-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

The American Dream cannot be dead, it never existed, all we see today is a long planned scenario to control the people, not all will or can be wealthy, so the Patriot Act, and many other Laws that take away our freedoms, have been enacted by both Political parties, watch out for Muslim extremists pushing baby carriages,
and the IRS is a tool of the Wealthy to intimidate the only other class, the working class, we need a new tax system, yet no one will come forward and change it, we are heading towards a second Civil War.

Why Not To Work For the Federal Government.

2011-12-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

The USPS needs an overhaul, in many facets of Postal operations, the corporate dysfunctional culture of us against them, union and /or craft versus uneducated and/ or ill trained management, some privatization is inevitable , such as Parcel Post , overnight and other types of mail as per FEDEX and UPS and other carriers, but the ability of those who deliver every day house to house, and provide a presence of the Federal Government (USPS being a semi independent agency), most "customers", have a feeling of security when they see a Postal Vehicle and/or the Person wearing a United States Post Office uniform, workers of the USPS who are out delivering are as a second set of eyes and ears of Law enforcement community whether in Rural or City areas, just common sense is needed to correct flaws, eventually over time all things experience change, the offering of early retirements especially to those who would go but cannot due to penalties like years and/or age, then incentives to others who can go, if one goes to Govexec.com there is an Agency watch, virtually all Federal agencies are offering buyouts and /or early retirements, offer these and then see where you are, and with the new lower entry wages for new hires, making Postal Workers pay more and more for benefits for decent medical and other insurances ,the same that all of Congress voted for themselves and Federal workers back under the Regan Administration ,is not the answer and will amount to less insurance coverage , stop the Politics and use common and Business sense, see how many workers in the craft want to go, and then offer the VER, the early retirement, which in effect may amount to those who have reached the age to retire but do not have the 30 years under the Federal Employees Retirement System,

or those under the Civil Service Retirement System who may not have the age and/or the years to retire.

The USPS solution , answer to an editorial bashing the workers.

2011-11-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

The Moron who has written this trash must be a wealthy Moron, less than 1/3 of the 7 billion will be used for buyouts, and since those coming in will get little or no benefits and less pay, (PSE's) what else do you suggest, there are many who need a few years due to the penalties on FERS ( Federal Employees Retirement System)
so 25k or 2 years added to service and 25k and 1 year for Civil Service is trivial, unless you had the cash to stash in the TSP ( Thrift Fund) and got the matching funds, most will retire with 15,000 a year and a bridge to Social Security ( your service years, say 27 divided by 40 SS quarters, say your SS is 1500 at age 62, you get approximately 1,000 dollars, so maybe 27,000 minus your medical and insurances and any taxes, maybe 20,000 yearly,), now CSRS the Civil Service Retirement System which preceded FERS, is 2% for every year of Service compared to 15 a year fro FERS, so 30 years in the USPS say at Craft top pay of 53,000 dollars, 30 x 2 = 60 x 53,000 = 31,800, but no Social Security because you did not pay into it, so a buyout is not so great, because most of us will still have to work, the wealthy VS the lower classes, as there is no Middle class, and here we have someone to bash the working and only class besides the Wealthy, what was that they said Marie?, " let them eat Cake" or bread?, what comes is the battle in the streets for survival, the jobs are not there, we have more skilled Immigrants coming over , more and more benefits for education and you name it, for non citizens, yet who cares for those in the lower working class?
, all citizens should have access to education, to get the needed skills, no, we import those skills or give education and housing funds to those who are not citizens, stop the War machine, stop the UN funds, pare down DC and other state Governments, feed the people, stop bashing the places where we work to feed our families, the proverbial shoe may be on the other foot one day, and how will the writer want to treated?.

Even the Post Office ?

2011-09-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

Is it possible?, that the Fanatics in Congress who wish to destroy Unions, want to raid the USPS ?,

this may be Obama's Waterloo, the Postmaster General, a former Union man, wants Congress to abrogate a legal and binding contract between the USPS and the American Postal Workers Union, we know many Postal Workers who stayed the course through many reorganizations, and now when they see retirement, our reward for all those years of work, the rug will be pulled from under their feet, the Postmaster General nor the Congress can take Postal Workers from the Civil Service nor the Federal Employees Retirement System, that would collapse the whole Federal retirement system, and soon, if the Post Office does not give 1.2 Billion dollars to the Office of Workers Compensation and Claims (OWCP), that will collapse, Santa Claus will be on anti depressants, think of all that depends upon this service, offering the incentive of 25k, just like the GAO ( General Accounting Office) and other agencies are doing , but for the leader of an Agency to say layoffs are the answer, when he is building up a multi million dollar golden parachute like his predecessor, this country is on the Hell Bound Train, speak up !, offer these workers a buyout, let them retire and work elsewhere ( as the retirement under FERS is not all that good, way below poverty level), today is a battle not just for the Post Office , but for the dying middle class ( or the upper lower class ), what else will these greedy wealthy politicians take from us ?, hate to guess, they are coming for your neighbor, speak up people !.

The Morning Star: Wind farms and Pipe Dreams.

2011-06-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Morning Star: Wind farms and Pipe Dreams.: "You want wind, what kind? , too expensive to buy or build turbines, NY Marcellus shale formation, safe fracking ( horizontal drilling) mo..."

Wind farms and Pipe Dreams.

2011-06-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

You want wind, what kind? , too expensive to buy or build turbines, NY Marcellus shale formation, safe fracking ( horizontal drilling) more gas is taken, PA on the border of NY, Gas Boom, state, county, towns and landowners pulling in the big bucks, NY is still stalling though existing wells are spewing forth the gas, billions of cubic feet, generations and generations will use this safe natural energy, why else is China building Natural gas powered cars?, this will allow us to get away from oil, but the politicians in NY and other states do not care, they want to see how much money for them,it is there for the taking, the gas that is.
Wind is good, but it is being hyped because of all the billions lost on pumping up the industry, when that is done then it shows that wind is not the answer, it will help but will not save the economy.

People, Pets, and Politicians

2011-06-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Save the People, Pets, and all those who are not Politicians, we can vote for all those who say that they will save us from the predator called our Government, and normally those politicians become a defender of the Predator called Government, we have on the local levels your own neighbors who will turn you in for an ordinance violation, so someones car breaks down and it becomes a violation, a junk if it stays longer than a specified time, your grass is too high etc., we are over regulated, overtaxed, overburdened, the safety valve is going, going, almost gone, the IRS and the current tax system need to be abolished amongst many other Government agencies, including the archaic Postal Service, even Ron Paul a true Patriot may not be able to save the sinking ship, so if Obama were to win a second term, it will be the end of what we know as the United States of America, our new name will be chosen by the new world Government.

Ammo , Guns , and Money

2011-06-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

The only thing that can come from more Gun restrictions on Law Abiding citizens is the ability of the Federal Government to oppress the people they allegedly serve, an unarmed populace will be the prey for the federal and state Governments, these overseers can then dictate the will of the those who seek to keep the lower classes in their place, they are the Wealthy and/or Wealthy politicians, we the people of the United States of America are in a war here at home ,for our God Given rights and freedoms, when they come for you it will be too late !.

America ?

2011-05-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Becoming a Nation of Starving Masses
and Third World Despots
In response to Joel Bowman’s review on the delightful book on market anarchy, The Market for Liberty, a reader asks:

“Could you complete just one logic path for us? Let’s say everyone that wants to own a gun has one. First, are there no restrictions on what type and how many? Now, I have a gun but I don’t wish to shoot the drug addict that is breaking in to my house. So, I call the local gunfighter with the largest ad in the paper. He gets there in time to shoot the guy but tells me they don’t clean up the mess anymore like it says in his ad. So, with True Liberty, who do I call next? Should I just shoot the people that need to be sued? Is the judge for hire also?”

The judge would indeed be for hire.

We haven’t the space to go through every scenario in a state-free world. That would require a book-length treatment.

Luckily, we have just such a book. Click here to get it now.

Anyway, we already have anarcho-capitalists in our midst. And they use private courts…

Bill Walker explains:

“[T]he wealthy live as anarcho-capitalists, even those dependent on corporate welfare or even holding official positions within a government. They get by without all the “vitally important government services,” even those of the central banks, courts, police, and armed forces. Perhaps this is why so many of the wealthy advocate more socialism; they don’t live under it.

New Hampshire’s judicial branch recently announced an attempt to recapture business law from private arbitration recapture. It’s quite hopeless; even the one judge assigned to the quixotic charge of this judicial Light Brigade admits that he doesn’t expect many businesses to use his court. And they won’t.

Why would anyone leave the relatively rational, honest, quick world of private arbitration for the endless delays and corruption of government courts? They wouldn’t. Even if they disagree with any one decision of a private arbitrator, at least the case will be OVER and they can get on with their business. That doesn’t happen once you sink into the tar pit of the US judicial system (ask my brother-in-law about his four-year divorce case…) As one of the NH Supreme Court judges said, “businesses don’t use state courts.”

But it doesn’t stop there…

Wealthy people and corporations don’t use state facilities of any kind when they can avoid them. The wealthy, including those in charge of inflicting government programs on the rest of us, use private services for themselves:

First and most important, the wealthy send their children to private schools. Even the Clintons and the Obamas sent their daughter(s) to private school, while talking loudly about the importance of keeping school vouchers away from working people. Many private schools may cost less than public schools, but they’re far better for the students in any measurable outcomes. And of course it’s easier to stay wealthy if you have a decent education.

The wealthy don’t get felt up by TSA or blasted with x-rays; they use private aircraft. Because of course private jets [or private suborbital rockets] could never be loaded with explosives and used to take down a skyscraper… errr, um….

The wealthy don’t depend on government police. They have bodyguards and private security for their homes. Private guards, of course, enforce private law… the wealthy don’t have to fear the Drug War unless they forget themselves and stray into “public” territory.

The wealthy may claim to be for gun control, but their guards are their weapons… and their guards are armed. Even when they go overseas in government service, the wealthy are protected by Xe (“the company formerly known as Blackwater”) or some other mercenary group.

The wealthy don’t depend on government health services. They don’t go on two-year waiting lists for treatments or transplant organs. They just fly to wherever the medical services are available. They don’t wait all night to beg a doctor to prescribe an antibiotic for their strep throat, either… they just have a private doctor get out of bed and get them some, or they fly to a country where the pharmacists are actually allowed to practice.

The wealthy don’t depend on government fiat money or bonds for their savings. They diversify into assets in different countries. Even their accounts are hidden in the Caymans or other havens. Inflation can only affect the small amounts they keep for everyday use; most of their money is in ownership of companies with real assets, or in hedge funds. And of course many have an emergency stock of gold.

Unless victim of temporary hormonal insanity, the wealthy don’t end up in four-year divorce cases. They write their own contracts, pre-nups, specify private arbitration, etc.

The wealthy, obviously, don’t depend on Social Security, or unemployment, or the rest of the supposed “safety net.” And that makes them a lot safer.

At this point most people usually stop to point out that most of us aren’t wealthy and that therefore the government must tax “the wealthy” so that absolutely everyone else be provided with things like education and medical care. We’re not sure of the morality of forcing one set of people to pay for other people’s stuff, but it strikes us that this kind of forced transfer of wealth isn’t all that great at providing quality goods and services…or even if it’s all that sustainable.

That was a big point in yesterday’s essay on the Ron Paul candidacy. Social Security for example is increasingly obviously a Ponzi scheme that has always relied on an ever-growing pool of “investors” whose money paid off earlier “investors”. That little jig is just about up, however, and it’s bankrupting the nation (or more specifically the government) in the process. The deficit is growing as the federal government borrows more and more each year to cover its expenses; over a third of those expenses comes from Social Security and Medicare.

Why not just keep taxing “the wealthy” more and more to keep the benefits flowing? You can! It works for a while, generations even, but eventually there’s just nothing left to take. Confiscating profits to pay for other people’s stuff is no way to encourage productivity. But it’s all politicians really know how to do well. Eventually more and more formerly productive people are driven into (government) dependency as the private economy is starved to pay the State economy. And that’s what the Third World and communist countries look like: A bunch of State oligarchs ruling over an impoverished, hopeless people who do just enough to get by.

We can use natural Gas to replace oil use, marcellus Shale Formation in the Twin Tiers of NY and PA , gas pipelines being laid now, we have billions of cubic feet of Natural gas here Chemung NY, Sayre PA, booming !.

2011-04-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

In NY state the Democrats are trying to appease the electorate by pretending to halt drilling using the "Fracking" method, which uses a solution to drill vertically to trap and capture gas in the most efficient matter, but the Department of Energy and Conservation in NY, Corrupt, as usual for NY state, and the State Assembly have banned Fracking for Gas drilling and banned Burning Barrels, the Gestapo is alive and well in NY, overtaxed on all fronts, and the arrogance of some liberal lawmakers, add to mass exodus of young and old alike to states who welcome them without the highest sales, income, property, and school taxes in the nation, as Rome Burns !,

Natural gas is here but until the greedy NY State and Federal politicos find out how to get their unfair share, Burning anything and drilling anywhere in NY state will remain unlawful and the Gestapo will get you, and you will get nothing, we live in a state not of bliss and sunshine, but arrogance and ignorance, wake up America !, before they come for you!.