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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (124432)	2/20/2012 9:01:04 AM
From: Sedohr Nod	5 Recommendations Respond to of 224729

Appreciate the update Kenny, though I suspect that all but the most pretentious of knobs knew what I meant. Using the appropriate term of debt makes it even worse, when you considered that would include interest charges compounded from the time of Martin Van Buren....Amassing a third of that number in 3 years is scandalous beyond belief in a rational world. Creating a lefty paradise a trillion borrowed bucks at a time.....and some of you want to speed that up?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (124432)	2/20/2012 9:59:31 AM
From: longnshort	3 Recommendations Respond to of 224729

Well it has been a whole month! Just weeks after 17-day Hawaii vacation Michelle hits the slopes with daughters on Aspen ski trip By Hannah Roberts Last updated at 6:46 AM on 19th February 2012 With the economy on its knees, many American families have had to forgo their annual holiday just to make ends meet. But barely a month after returning from a luxury Christmas break in Hawaii Michelle Obama is on holiday again - this time at the exclusive Colorado ski resort of Aspen. The First Lady Michelle Obama is spending Presidents' Day weekend in the upmarket resort with her daughters, Sasha and Malia, and was seen hitting the slopes - albeit apprehensively - on Saturday. Cool rider: Michelle Obama, pictured, has gone skiing in Aspen, Colorado with her daughters, Sasha and Malia Easy does it: The First Lady and her daughters Sasha and Malia are in Aspen for Presidents' Day weekend The Secret Service have been in town for the past few days looking for safe places for the family to relax. Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo confirmed Mrs Obama arrived Friday afternoon, saying, 'it's a privilege to have the first lady here.' He told the Aspen Daily News he met with Secret Service officers and has placed seven of his deputies at the service of the First Family. More... Plane stupid? Obama praises Boeing plant he tried to CLOSE during visit to aircraft factory Boost for Obama as Republicans back down and Congress passes bill to extend tax cut for 160m U.S. workers until end of year The Obamas are staying at the home of Jim and Paula Crown, owners of the Aspen Skiing Co, the Daily News reported. Last year the first lady gave a speech at their home, in front of about 150 supporters. Each paid between $1,000 and $10,000 to attend the joint fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and President Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign. Snowtime: The Secret Service have been in Aspen for the past few days looking for safe places for Michelle, Malia and Sasha to stay The holiday is not the first time the first girls have been on skis. Their first attempt came in Feb 2010 when she took the girls to Liberty Mountain Resort, in Carroll Valley, Pa. just is 60 minutes from the White House. And last year Mrs Obama took Sasha and Malia to Vail and Beaver Creek last Presidents' Day just days after the President tried to sell his cost-cutting budget to the American people by asking them to stay at home. Splashing out: Aspen in Colorado is one of the country's most elite and expensive resorts Holiday home: The Obamas are reportedly staying on the estate of Jim and Paula Crown, of Chicago, who own a home on the Tiehack side ‘If you’re a family trying to cut back, you might skip going out to dinner, or you might put off a vacation,’ he said. Once again while Mr Obama returned to the White House after a fundraising trip to West Coast, the rest of his family headed to Colorado – rather than visiting slopes closer to Washington in Virginia or Pennsylvania. Their trip came despite previous criticisms over the family's extravagant vacations, including a trip last summer to Martha's Vineyeard where the family rented a farm estate for around $50,000 a week. Holiday heaven: Mrs Obama raised eyebrows when she left earlier than her husband for their annual Christmas holiday in Hawaii incurring extra costs Mrs Obama also raised eyebrows when for the second year in a row she left earlier than her husband for their annual Christmas holiday in Hawaii, incurring additional expenses of an estimated $100,000. The 17 day holiday is estimated to have cost taxpayers $4milloion. No public events are scheduled for the first lady’s visit to Aspen. Read more: dailymail.co.uk

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (124432)	2/20/2012 10:55:30 AM
From: longnshort	4 Recommendations Respond to of 224729

The new Obama order in the US, you must be so proud Ken you helped him. Something to tell your grand kids about. Pro-Life Priest, Pastor Arrested For Praying In Front Of White House; Occupy Gets Pass Pro-lifers gathered in Washington DC last week, to protest the Obama contraception mandate. A pastor, priest, and pro-lifers who were peacefully praying in front of the White House were arrested. “Occupy Wall Street protesters have been occupying federal property for months, but when we kneel in prayer, the police are called in and we are arrested,” said Father Wilde, one of the protesters.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (124432)	2/20/2012 1:54:58 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	2 Recommendations Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 224729

Get Ready for $5 Gasoline Gasoline prices are headed for $5 a gallon in many locations in the United States this year, says John Hofmeister, founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy and the former CEO of Shell Oil’s U.S. operations. Global demand will rise and pressure supply, while U.S. politicians aren't doing anything to ease prices at home such as allowing for significantly more drilling. "What's really unprecedented is developing countries, particularly China and India, have this insatiable need for more oil and that has not been taken into account when we think of public policy in this country," Hofmeister tells CNBC. "So while we may be producing a bit more oil in this country, and while demand is down a bit, on a global basis, I'm afraid we face a continuing onslaught of prices creeping ever higher," Hofmeister says. The Obama administration has allowed for more drilling to boost supply although red tape often prevents those projects from getting off the ground. Furthermore, by halting expansion of the Keystone pipeline project from Canada into the United States, the Obama administration further missed an opportunity to increase energy supply, while natural gas production needs to increase as well. "We have not had the kind of public policy support for domestic natural resource production increases that would carry through into market prices in the United States given the global demand and geopolitical uncertainty that comes out of the [Persian] Gulf daily," Hofmeister says. Prices may start causing some pain well before summer, or even before Spring Break. The average price for regular gasoline at U.S. filling stations rose 15.57 cents to $3.7101 a gallon in about three weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey, Bloomberg reports. Blame refinery closures and downtimes in the United States and in the Caribbean on top of seasonal hikes, while Iran's threats to close the Strait of Hormuz and crimp the world of a crucial supply line has pushed up Brent crude prices, a key unit for European consumers but a driver for energy markets worldwide. "It is a fact that refiners are more sensitive to what European grades of crude such as Brent do than WTI," Trilby Lundberg, president of Lundberg Survey, tells Bloomberg, referring to West Texas Intermediate, a U.S. crude. "We are seeing strong dynamics in the crude oil market beyond our shores." Iran factor Some experts say should tensions between Iran and the West escalate to the point that the Islamic republic comes closer to developing nuclear weapons and Israel attacks it, oil could shoot up as high as $300 a barrel. George Friedman of the private-intelligence Website Stratfor, gives the odds of Israel attacking Iran's nuclear technology sites at 25 percent. An attack would require U.S. military assistance and money — unlikely in an election year. Plus, Iran's nuclear installations are underground and well-concealed. High-tech defense systems protect them as well, and if attacked, Iran would likely make good on closing the Strait of Hormuz as well as take out oil tankers in the area. "In such a circumstance, Israel would find itself as isolated from much of the world as Iran is presently," Friedman tells Barron's. "Israel may regard a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat, but that's not necessarily true of the U.S., EU or most other developed nations. Oil priced at $300 a barrel would be a heavy price to pay for delaying Iran's crossing the nuclear arms threshold by a mere couple of years and giving Israel temporary peace of mind." Should such a nightmare scenario play out, it would be tough to say how high oil prices would climb, but they wouldn't stay sky-high for long as demand would plummet, others say. "We would certainly go to a rationing point. I don't think anybody could predict how high we would go and how long we would sustain there. The only break on prices not staying at that level is that every 50 cents up on petroleum prices takes almost $150 billion or almost 1 percent out of GDP," Joe Petrowski, Gulf Oil CEO, told CNBC when asked about the possibility of oil approaching $300 a barrel. "As you approach $4 or $4.50 you are going to see a consumer that severely cuts back." Still, expect gasoline prices to climb as the summer driving season approaches. "With the refinery closings on the East Coast and in the Caribbean and with some financial problems with refineries in Europe, and really nothing we are doing about dampening demand or switching to natural gas in the U.S. and now we are hearing natural gas wells are being shut in, I think we are going to approach $5 this summer," Petrowski says. Read more: Former Shell CEO: Get Ready for $5 Gasoline