Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party: October 2011

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Privacy a Concern as Google Links Plus With Its Other Sites
Ron Paul wins both tallies at GOP straw poll in Iowa
Local Tea Party bills mayor because of Occupy Richmond’s preferential treatment
RON PAUL CALLS TSA ‘JACK-BOOTED THUGS’ IN RESPONSE TO HIGHWAY CHECKPOINTS
The Limits of States’ Rights
GOP rivals focus on flat taxes, smaller government
Americans ’Hooked’ on Government Benefits
‘Rogue websites’ bill introduced in US House
Infrastructure at Risk From Feds’ Failure to Share Info, Security Researchers Charge
Measles cases at 15 year high in U.S.

Privacy a Concern as Google Links Plus With Its Other Sites

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 06:32 AM PDT

By Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News

Google’s work to integrate its Google+ social networking site broadly with its other services could raise red flags for users who want to closely guard their privacy.
Google wants Google+ to be more than a stand-alone social network. It envisions Google+ integrating with most, maybe all, of its Web applications and sites to provide social sharing capabilities and possibly a uniform online identity.

But there is a crucial difference between Google+ and other company services like Gmail, whose users have long been able to use pseudonyms to protect their privacy, if they wish. Google+ currently requires all members to use their real names — a policy on which it has said it will bend, but not how or when.

There may be a risk that people who use their real name in Google+ but use pseudonyms in other Google services may inadvertently expose their real identity by linking Google+ with those services.

Already there are glimpses of how Google+ integrations are altering identity elsewhere on Google. For example, Google has set up a tight integration between Google+ and its Picasa Web photo management service.

To read more, visit:

Ron Paul wins both tallies at GOP straw poll in Iowa

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 06:29 AM PDT

By Shannon Travis, CNN.com

Des Moines, Iowa – Ron Paul has won two separate tallies for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies Presidential Straw Poll.

Paul won both the Iowa-voters-only count at the Saturday convention in Des Moines as well as a tally of non-Iowans who participated.

In the Iowa voters result, Paul took 82%. Following him were Herman Cain with 14.7%, Rick Santorum with 1%, Newt Gingrich with 0.9%, Michele Bachmann with 0.5%, Rick Perry with 0.5%, Gary Johnson with 0.2%, with Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman 0%.

The total number of votes cast in that tally was 430.

Local Tea Party bills mayor because of Occupy Richmond’s preferential treatment

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 06:23 AM PDT

By Alix Bryan, CBS6 WTRV.com

RICHMOND, Va-— Members of the Richmond Tea Party delivered a bill to the mayor's office on Friday. They then asked a clerk to make copies to be provided to all the city council representatives, per the request of Councilman Charles Samuels.

"We brought a letter up for the Mayor's office and city council regarding our invoice for fees to be paid for three years for our Tax Day Rally," Gilbert Wilkerson said, board member of the Richmond Tea Party.

The political group has said they feel like there is a double standard towards the treatment of the Occupy Richmond demonstrators, who have been camped in Kanawha Plaza for two weeks.

The Tea Party has worked with the city and paid fees to host their rallies at the same plaza. Wilkerson said that they have paid around roughly $8,000 in fees over the past three years.

RON PAUL CALLS TSA ‘JACK-BOOTED THUGS’ IN RESPONSE TO HIGHWAY CHECKPOINTS

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 06:07 AM PDT

By Liz Klimas, The Blaze

A week ago, Tennessee became the first state to team up with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to implement highway checkpoints for random searches in a move to counter terrorism.

Ron Paul's response? That the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program with its "sinister, military-style acronym" is violating Fourth Amendment rights with random highway checkpoints by "jack-booted thugs." He writes on his website:

So first we are told by the U.S. Supreme Court that American citizens have no 4th amendment protections at border crossings, even when standing on U.S. soil. Now TSA takes the next logical step and simply detains and searches U.S. citizens at wholly internal checkpoints.
[...]
The real tragedy occurs when Americans incrementally become accustomed to this treatment on the roads just as they have become accustomed to it in the airports. We already accept arriving at the airport 2 or more hours before a flight to get through security; will we soon have to build in an extra 2 or 3 hours into our road trips to allow for checkpoint traffic?

The Limits of States’ Rights

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 08:28 AM PDT

By Gary Bauer, Human Events

By invoking "states’ rights," some Republican presidential contenders argue that national efforts to protect normal marriage and unborn life betray the federalist principles at the heart of conservatism.

I've always believed that the government that's closest to the people governs best. But the definition of society's most vital institution and the protection of its most vulnerable persons are so basic to our understanding of democracy that they must be taken up nationally.

Herman Cain recently told David Gregory on “Meet the Press” that if elected President he "wouldn't seek a constitutional ban for same-sex marriage." Cain was reiterating a position he stated in the June Republican debate, when he and Rep. Ron Paul declared their opposition to a federal marriage amendment.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former Massachusetts Gov. Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have all at different times during the campaign made similar arguments for states' rights on marriage or abortion, or both.

To read more, visit: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=47058

GOP rivals focus on flat taxes, smaller government

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 08:24 AM PDT

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — On jobs and taxes, the top Republican presidential rivals are locked in a fierce game of one-upmanship. They’re all trying to outdo each other in offering the boldest economic plan for the campaign to unseat President Barack Obama next November.

Despite some notable differences in the blueprints, they all are built around the central theme that Obama’s stimulus programs haven’t worked and his job creation record is dismal. Example No. 1: Unemployment is holding at a painfully high 9.1 percent.

“We knew ultimately that the 2012 election was going to be a big referendum on the president,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office who was the chief economic adviser to Arizona Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “But Republicans also have to say what they would do. It’s not enough to say we don’t like what’s going on.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry teased rival Herman Cain — “I’ll bump plans with you, brother” — when both rolled out ambitious proposals for a single-rate flat tax. That’s a concept hailed by numerous Republicans and some Democrats for its simplicity, yet it never has managed to attract much congressional support. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the lone major GOP contender not calling for a flat or flatter tax.

The 2012 contenders also are serving up a platter of familiar conservative fare: calls for deep spending cuts, reduced government regulation and an emphasis on private enterprise as the true engine of job growth and prosperity.

Americans ’Hooked’ on Government Benefits

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 08:21 AM PDT

By Brian Faler – Bloomberg.com

Political dysfunction is often blamed for Congress's inability to curb the U.S. budget deficit. An even bigger obstacle may be the American public.
A record 49 percent of Americans live in a household where someone receives at least one type of government benefit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And 63 percent of all federal spending this year will consist of checks written to individuals for which the government receives currently no services, the White House budget office estimates.
That's up from 46 percent in 1975 and 18 percent in 1940.

Those figures will climb in coming years. The 75 million baby boomers have only begun their long march into retirement, while President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul will extend insurance coverage to more than 30 million additional people.

"The more households that are benefiting from the programs, the more difficult it is to rein in their costs," said Bob Bixby, head of the Concord Coalition, an Arlington, Virginia- based group that promotes balanced budgets. "It's a troubling phenomenon" and "it explains why it's politically difficult to deal with these things."

The increasing reliance on the federal safety net comes as a congressional supercommittee — charged with coming up with a plan by Thanksgiving to find $1.5 trillion in savings in the U.S. budget — faces mounting pressure to pare back spending. If the panel fails to meet its goal, $1.2 trillion in across-the-board domestic and defense spending cuts will be triggered.

‘Rogue websites’ bill introduced in US House

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 08:18 AM PDT

From Breitbart.com

US lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday that would give US authorities more tools to crack down on websites accused of piracy of movies, television shows and music and the sale of counterfeit goods.
The Stop Online Piracy Act has received bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and is the House version of a bill introduced in the Senate in May known as the Theft of Intellectual Property Act or Protect IP Act.

The legislation has received the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, the Business Software Alliance, the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of Commerce and other groups.

But it has come under fire from digital rights and free speech organizations for allegedly paving the way for US law enforcement to unilaterally shut down websites, including foreign sites, without due process.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, said the bill “helps stop the flow of revenue to rogue websites and ensures that the profits from American innovations go to American innovators.

“Rogue websites that steal and sell American innovations have operated with impunity,” Smith said in a statement.

“The online thieves who run these foreign websites are out of the reach of US law enforcement agencies and profit from selling pirated goods without any legal consequences,” he said.

Infrastructure at Risk From Feds’ Failure to Share Info, Security Researchers Charge

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 08:14 AM PDT

By Kim Zetter, Wired.com

LONG BEACH, CA — If the government really wants to protect the nation's electrical grid and critical infrastructure from hackers and other attackers, it's got to change the way it communicates with the people in charge of securing those systems.

That was the message sent this week from security professionals to the people running the Department of Homeland Security's Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, the federal group tasked with helping to secure critical infrastructures in the U.S. by disseminating information about vulnerabilities in them as well as known attacks against them.

The forthright comments occurred at DHS's Industrial Control Systems Joint Working Group (ICSJWG) conference, an event established to improve communication between the government, security professionals, industrial control system vendors and the companies who run the systems, also known as "asset owners."

For years, preventing hacks into systems that control industrial equipment remained a niche interest in the security world, which largely focused on threats to IT servers and personal computers. But that's changed radically in the aftermath of Stuxnet, an intricate worm that was designed to derail Iran's nuclear ambitions by targeting a Siemens industrial control system connected to that country's centrifuges and sabotage their operation.

Measles cases at 15 year high in U.S.

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 08:11 AM PDT

From CNN Health

There have been 220 cases of measles so far this year in the United States, more than triple the usual 60 to 70 cases per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Europe had more than 26,000 cases reported from January through July of this year, with nine deaths, according to the World Health Organization. So far, no deaths have been reported in the United States this year.

The CDC found of the 220 reported U.S. cases 87% of the people infected didn’t get the vaccine, while the other 13% were too young to get it. Most of these cases were people who traveled overseas to Western Europe, Africa or Asia. Even though 91.5% of the U.S. population is immunized, those who are not, are putting themselves and others at risk, says Patsy Stinchfield Director of the Infection Disease Department at Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota.

Two-doses of the measles vaccine is estimated to be 98-99% effective at preventing the disease and provide lifelong immunity. For those who are unvaccinated and exposed to measles, they can be expected to get measles at a rate on the order of 90% or higher, according to the CDC.

Some adults are not vaccinated by choice or because they don’t realize they haven’t been vaccinated. When it comes to teens and children, 72% aren’t immunized because of their parents religious beliefs or personal reasons, according to the CDC.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Poll: Most oppose assault weapon ban
Cain builds on Tea Party base in N.H.
Bachmann blames Perry for tea party trashing
Michelle: GOP Would Curb Freedom of Speech, Religion
It’s open (enrollment) season on tax savings
States struggle to pay for Medicaid
Hi-tech new sat-nav projects a ‘line’ into the landscape that shows you where to drive
Big-hearted snakes offer clues to healing humans
Chicago may decriminalize marijuana
Ron Paul Does Not Rule Out A Third-Party Run

Poll: Most oppose assault weapon ban

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 06:08 AM PDT

From CBSNews.com

A new poll indicates that more and more people now have guns in their homes, and that America’s attitude towards gun-control may be shifting.
According to a new Gallup poll, 47 percent of Americans report having a gun on their property, up from 41 percent a year ago.

It’s the highest number Gallup has recorded since 1993.

The poll also found that 53 percent of Americans oppose a ban on assault rifles and semiautomatic guns – the first time more have opposed than supported a ban.

It’s difficult to monitor gun ownership in this country, and the latest increase in self-reported gun ownership could reflect more of a change in Americans’ comfort with stating publicly that they have a gun, than in a real increase in gun ownership.

Cain builds on Tea Party base in N.H.

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 06:01 AM PDT

By Shira Schoenberg , The Boston Globe

Even as the New York Times is reporting on turmoil within Republican businessman Herman Cain's presidential campaign, Cain is working to build up his New Hampshire organization, particularly among Tea Party supporters.

In an email to supporters this week, former New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Jack Kimball threw his weight behind Cain, and announced that Cain will be opening more offices and building up his New Hampshire campaign.

After the Times reported that the Cain campaign often did not have basic supplies like bumper stickers, Kimball wrote that supplies would be forthcoming. "We have two N.H. Cain Campaign Headquarters now and are planning to add more," Kimball wrote. "We are receiving stock items such as bumper stickers, yard signs, literature, and campaign buttons. All supplies will be ramped up shortly and we will be fully stocked going into the final days of the primary."

Cain will next be in New Hampshire Nov. 10 for a "constitutional conversation" at Saint Anselm College, sponsored by the Granite State Patriots Liberty Political Action Committee. The group, which Kimball used to lead, is an umbrella group for Tea Party, Constitutional and other liberty-oriented groups.

Bachmann blames Perry for tea party trashing

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 05:56 AM PDT

By MAGGIE HABERMAN | Politico

Michele Bachmann is blaming a tea party group’s call for her to bow out of the 2012 race on Rick Perry, insisting it was a dirty trick – adding she had no evidence but had heard word of it.

In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Bachmann said that American Majority, which posted a message saying it was time for her to pull the plug on her campaign, calling it not serious.

Bachmann, whose base is the tea party, promptly – without offering evidence of it – blamed the Perry campaign.

“We found out that this is really a misstep on the part of the Perry campaign because these are Perry supporters that came out,” she said. “This was a clumsy move. This was meant to be a stealth move to make it look like this was Tea Party, and apparently, these are Perry supporters that came out and it was just a clumsy move on their part to make this statement.”

“If Governor Perry has something to say to me, he can come out to the debates and he say it. But this was clearly — this egg on the face, unfortunately, for the Perry campaign. It certainly isn’t a blow to my campaign because I’ve had non-stop support coming out of the woodwork from Tea Partiers all across the country ever since this came out.”

When Blitzer pushed for evidence and whether she had any, she said, “No, this is something that people have told us, that these are Perry supporters and they went out with this and this was meant to be a stealth move and it was clumsy.”

Michelle: GOP Would Curb Freedom of Speech, Religion

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 05:20 PM PDT

By: KEITH KOFFLER, Whitehousedossier.com

In a chilling appraisal of President Obama's Republican opposition, First Lady Michelle Obama Thursday suggested a Republican victory in the 2012 presidential election would result in curbs on freedom of speech and religion.

Speaking at a fundraiser at a private residence in Tampa, Mrs. Obama noted the power of the president to appoint members of the Supreme Court. She clearly indicated that a Republican would select justices who would attack basic First Amendment rights, saying, "that's what's at stake" in the election.

From the White House transcript:

Let's not forget about what it meant when my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices — (applause) — and for the first time in history, our daughters — and our sons — watched three women take their seats on our nation's highest court. (Applause.) But more importantly, let's not forget the impact those decisions will have on our lives for decades to come — on our privacy and security, on whether we can speak freely, worship openly, and love whomever we choose. That is what's at stake here. (Applause.)

Mrs. Obama's contention that Republican justices would curtail people's abilities to "love whomever we choose" appears to suggest Republicans would go beyond opposition to gay marriage and move to limit gay relationships. President Obama himself claims he opposes gay marriage, so her suggestion that Republican-selected justices would jeopardize the ability to "love whomever we choose" cannot possibly refer to gay marriage.

As she has previously, Michelle also posits racism on the part of Republicans, indicating their policies would lead to discrimination against children based on "what they look like."

Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to just the few at the top? Who are we? Or will we give every child a chance to succeed no matter where they're from, or what they look like or how their money parents are — have. Who are we?

It’s open (enrollment) season on tax savings

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 05:15 PM PDT

By CANDICE CHOI, sddt.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Grumbling about taxes is a national preoccupation. Yet workers forgo thousands of dollars in tax savings every year.

The oversight happens despite the weeks-long open enrollment period companies give employees to make changes to their health insurance benefits.

Take for example health care flexible spending accounts, which let workers set aside tax-free wages for items such as insurance copays and supplies, such as bandages and sunscreen. A study by the benefits consulting firm Mercer last year found that less than a quarter of eligible workers open these accounts. And just 7 percent take advantage of similar accounts for dependent care, which can significantly offset the cost of day care for working parents.

But if a worker were to set aside the typical total maximum of $10,000 between the two accounts, the savings would amount to $2,500. That’s assuming a 25 percent tax rate.

So at a time when household budgets are under increasing pressure, don’t let another year pass without taking advantage of the tax benefits offered at work.

Here’s what you need to know about taxes and open enrollment:

Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts

The cost of health care goes far beyond insurance premiums; just think of all the co-pays for doctor visits and money spent on items such as aspirin and cold packs for arthritis.

To help offset such expenses, most large companies let you set aside up to $5,000 of pre-tax wages in a health care flexible spending account, or FSA.

States struggle to pay for Medicaid

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 05:10 PM PDT

By Paige Winfield Cunningham, WashingtonTimes.com

Infused with billions of extra Medicaid dollars from President Obama's economic stimulus package, states have largely burned through the aid and are scrounging for a way to support programs bloated by the sluggish economy.

The majority of states have cut provider payments as they try to make up the lost funding and grapple with budget imbalances in fragile economies, according to an annual study of state Medicaid programs released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

It's a double-whammy this year. On July 1, states lost the extra federal funding that reached $100 billion over three years and helped them pay for increased Medicaid enrollment. And while Medicaid growth has slowed, enrollment in the federal-state health-care program for the poor hasn't receded as unemployment remains above 9 percent.

"While the relief was enormously helpful, states are still battling persistently high unemployment rates," said Robin Rudowitz, associate director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

In 2009, Congress sent the states $87 billion in extra Medicaid funding as part of a massive stimulus bill that was intended to mitigate the recession. Legislators extended the aid through July, although it was originally intended to end in December 2010. At that point, states were far from recovery, Ms. Rudowitz said.

"When the relief began in October 2008, compared to when it was scheduled to end in December 2010, all states had higher unemployment rates than when the relief began," she said.

Hi-tech new sat-nav projects a ‘line’ into the landscape that shows you where to drive

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 05:05 PM PDT

By ROB WAUGH ,Dailymail.co.uk

For years, geeks have been enthused about the idea of ‘heads-up’ sat navs – projected onto the windshield like a fighter cockpit readout.

Companies already make very basic units which just project a sat-nav display on screen – but Making Virtual Solid has unveiled a product that paints information ‘into’ the real world you see ahead of you.

It laser-paints a virtual ‘cable’ on your windshield – a red, 3D line on screen. The line hovers above the road, and you simply follow it – making navigating in a car as easy as following a train track (in theory, at least).

The system ‘models’ the road in real time, and projects its data ‘into’ the 3D landscape – so it can also highlight points of interest such as petrol stations.

The projections are fully transparent – and its makers claim, safer because the projections sit ‘in’ the landscape.

The system could also project crucial safety information onto the road by ‘lighting up’ barely visible road signs for drivers at night.

The laser system is far too complex to be housed in a standalone ‘box’ unit – the image you see reflects off a ‘screen’ flush in the dashboard.

Big-hearted snakes offer clues to healing humans

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 05:01 PM PDT

From: Breitbart.com

Snakes get a bad rap for being slimy, cold-hearted creatures, but US researchers said Thursday some actually have huge hearts that could offer clues to treating people with cardiac disease.

The secret to the giant Burmese python’s success is in a massive amount of fatty acids that circulate in the snake’s blood after eating a meal, which could be as big as a deer, according to the study in the journal Science.

Scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that as the snake starts digesting its catch, natural oils and fats called triglycerides spike by more than 50 times the usual level.

But there is no fat deposited in the snake’s heart, due to the activation of a key enzyme that protects the thumping organ as it grows in mass by as much as 40 percent in the first few days after a meal.

Scientists identified the chemical composition of the python’s blood after eating, and injected either the fed python’s plasma or a mixture devised to imitate it into pythons that were fasting.

“In both cases, the pythons showed increased heart growth and indicators of cardiac health,” said the study, noting that Burmese pythons are as thick as a telephone pole, grow to around 27 feet (eight meters) long and can go without food for up to a year.

Researchers then tried the experiment on mice, and found that mice injected with either fed python plasma or the fatty acid mixture showed the same results.

Chicago may decriminalize marijuana

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 10:43 AM PDT

From Breitbart.com

Chicago pot smokers may soon be able to light up without fear of jail time.

Several Windy City councilmen said Thursday they plan to introduce a local law that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in order to cut costs and free up police to handle more serious crimes.

Chicago police make about 23,000 arrests each year for possession of the drug, a misdemeanor which nevertheless carries stiff punishment of up to six months in jail, a $1,500 fine and a criminal record.

Under the new law set to be introduced next week, people caught with less than 10 grams of marijuana would instead face a $200 fine and up to 10 hours of community service.

Marijuana has already been downgraded to a lesser offense in several Chicago suburbs and areas of Cook County patrolled by the sheriff’s department.

Some 11 US states have also decriminalized possession of small amounts of pot and 18 states allow its use for medical purposes, according to the pro-marijuana group NORML.

Ron Paul Does Not Rule Out A Third-Party Run

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 10:33 AM PDT

From Real Clear Politics

Ron Paul would not pledge to rule out a third-party run for president if he did not get the Republican nod. Paul said he is running for the Republican nomination and to make such an announcement now would undermine his current campaign.

Paul was discussing his candidacy with the panel on FOX News’ “Special Report.”

However, Ron Paul hinted several times during the interview that the thought is in his mind. Paul noted that there are more registered Independents than Republicans or Democrats in the state of New Hampshire.

When asked if he would pledge not to run as a third candidate Paul dodged giving a direct answer. “I pledge that I have no intention of doing it,” Paul said cheerfully.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Pearland councilwoman announces bid for Ron Paul’s congressional seat

Posted: 28 Oct 2011 07:02 AM PDT

From YourHoustonNews.com

Pearland Councilwoman Felicia Harris announced Thursday that she has filed to run for the Republican nomination in the 14th Congressional District, which will be vacated by Rep. Ron Paul as he focuses his efforts on running for president in 2012.

"For the past three years, we have seen Barack Obama and his liberal supporters enforce their social justice agenda on our nation," Harris said.

"Under their leadership our economy has suffered, our freedoms have been threatened and more Americans than ever are dependent on the government. I am running for Congress to stop this assault on our fundamental principles and fight for a more limited government that spends less, taxes less and owes less debt."

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Stocks Soar 2% on EU Deal, Dow Above 12,000
iRobot becomes a reality as man gets smartphone built into his artificial arm
Ron Paul Challenges Herman Cain for 2nd in CNN/Time Poll of NH Republicans

Stocks Soar 2% on EU Deal, Dow Above 12,000

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 07:09 AM PDT

By: JeeYeon Park, CNBC.com

Stocks jumped sharply Thursday as investors cheered the euro zone’s outline of a plan to solve the region’s sovereign debt crisis and following a handful of encouraging economic and earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to open above the psychologically-important 12,000 level, led by BofA [BAC 6.95 0.36 (+5.46%) ] and JPMorgan [JPM 36.01 1.83 (+5.35%) ], after rallying in the previous session.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also opened sharply higher. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, plunged almost 15 percent to trade near 25.

All 10 S&P sectors rallied at the open, led by financials and industrials.

To read more, visit: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45060274

iRobot becomes a reality as man gets smartphone built into his artificial arm

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 07:06 AM PDT

By EMMA REYNOLDS, Mail Online

iRobot has become a reality after a British man became the world’s first person to have a smartphone dock built into his prosthetic arm.

Trevor Prideaux, who was born without a left arm, can now call and text with ease using the Nokia C7 stuck in his fibreglass and laminate forearm.

His story sounds like it is straight out of the Will Smith sci-fi film, in which the actor plays a man with a high-tech mechanical limb.

Mr Prideaux, from Wedmore in Somerset, was fitted with his first prosthetic arm at three years old.

But the 50-year-old catering manager decided to enlist the help of medical experts and Nokia bosses to create an arm to suit his needs.

‘I think this is the first time this has ever been done in the world – and it is brilliant,’ said the father of one.

‘I can now take calls and make texts just by using my one hand, while the phone sits inside my arm.

‘The phone slots smoothly and securely within my limb and is easily removable, when required.

Ron Paul Challenges Herman Cain for 2nd in CNN/Time Poll of NH Republicans

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 07:02 AM PDT

From The State Column

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is challenging pizza magnate Herman Cain for 2nd place in the latest CNN/Time poll of New Hampshire Republicans. Released on Wednesday, the CNN/Time poll gave Paul 12 percent of the votes for a third place finish. Cain garnered 13 percent of the votes for a 2nd place finish.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney finished in 1st place with 40 percent of the votes. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who held a "first in the nation" townhall in New Hampshire on October 18, is in 4th place with 6 percent of the votes. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich pulled in 5 percent of the votes for a 5th place finish. The rest of the GOP candidates, including Texas Governor Rick Perry, earned 4 percent or less of the votes.

Paul has campaigned hard in New Hampshire, which may be why he is challenging Cain for 2nd place in the latest poll from the Granite State. In a post-CNN/WRLC debate interview, Cain told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he has campaign staff in New Hampshire. "We have a staff of about three people in New Hampshire, and we're in the process of adding more people in New Hampshire," Cain said. Although Romney is likely to win the New Hampshire primary, Paul and Cain could both benefit from a second place finish in the Granite State.

The fight for second place in New Hampshire may come down to who has more money to fund a campaign in the state. Paul raised $8 million in the 3Q 2011, according to CBS News. Cain, on the other hand, raised less than $3 million in the 3Q 2011.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Now BOYS should get the controversial HPV shot, says Government panel
Group to Call for ‘Robin Hood Tax’ at Protests Saturday
Tea Party wants equal treatment as Occupy Atlanta
My Tax and Spending Reform Plan
Gingrich, Cain Accept Tea Party Invite to Debate Fiscal Austerity
More states limiting Medicaid hospital stays
Possible study of anthrax vaccine’s effectiveness in children stirs debate

Now BOYS should get the controversial HPV shot, says Government panel

Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:30 AM PDT

By DAILY MAIL

A government panel is recommending that young boys also get the controversial HPV shot that was previously only recommended to young girls.

The vaccine, which aims to prevent cervical cancer, has gained notoriety as hot-button issue for Republican presidential candidates because it is thought to be associated with sexual promiscuity.

Doctors argue that by attacking the human papillomavirus, the vaccine could protect boys against genital warts and oral, penile and anal cancers.

Group to Call for ‘Robin Hood Tax’ at Protests Saturday

Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:26 AM PDT

By: Reuters, CNBC.com

An anti-capitalist group which sparked the Occupy Wall Street movement has called for global protests Saturday to demand that leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations impose a “Robin Hood tax” on financial transactions and currency trades.

Canada-based Adbusters wants the Occupy Wall Street protest movement against economic inequality to take to the streets to call for a 1 percent tax on such deals ahead of a Nov. 3-4 summit of the G20 leading economies in France.

“Let’s send them a clear message: We want you to slow down some of that $1.3 trillion easy money that’s sloshing around the global casino each day—enough cash to fund every social program and environmental initiative in the world,” the activist group said on its website, www.adbusters.org.

Adbusters put out the initial call for Occupy Wall Street and since protesters set up camp in a park in New York City’s financial district on Sept. 17, they have inspired solidarity demonstrations and so-called occupations around the world. Thousands turned out for a global day of protests on Oct. 15, which were mostly peaceful apart from Rome, where there were riots.

To read more, visit: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45019789

Tea Party wants equal treatment as Occupy Atlanta

Posted: 26 Oct 2011 05:23 AM PDT

By Joel Provano, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Local Tea Party organizers are threatening to sue the city of Atlanta, saying Mayor Kasim Reed has given special treatment to Occupy Atlanta protesters.

Atlanta Tea Party co-founder Julianne Thompson told Channel 2 Action News that the group, which supports limited taxes and reduced government deficits, has made a request in writing after being denied permission to hold an event downtown because city officials said there was too much red tape and cost involved.

“I think it’s very sad that in the city of Atlanta, we seem to have a mayor who picks and chooses who receives special rights regarding free speech — based on his political ideology,” Thompson told Channel 2.

My Tax and Spending Reform Plan

Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:36 AM PDT

By: Rick Perry, WallStreetJournal.com

The folks in Washington might not like to hear it, but the plain truth is the U.S. government spends too much. Taxes are too high, too complex, and too riddled with special interest loopholes. And our expensive entitlement system is unsustainable in the long run.

Without significant change quickly, our nation will go the way of some in Europe: mired in debt and unable to pay our bills. President Obama and many in Washington seem unable or unwilling to tackle these issues, either out of fear of alienating the left or because they want Americans to be dependent on big government.

On Tuesday I will announce my “Cut, Balance and Grow” plan to scrap the current tax code, lower and simplify tax rates, cut spending and balance the federal budget, reform entitlements, and grow jobs and economic opportunity.

The plan starts with giving Americans a choice between a new, flat tax rate of 20% or their current income tax rate. The new flat tax preserves mortgage interest, charitable and state and local tax exemptions for families earning less than $500,000 annually, and it increases the standard deduction to $12,500 for individuals and dependents.

This simple 20% flat tax will allow Americans to file their taxes on a postcard, saving up to $483 billion in compliance costs. By eliminating the dozens of carve-outs that make the current code so incomprehensible, we will renew incentives for entrepreneurial risk-taking and investment that creates jobs, inspires Americans to work hard and forms the foundation of a strong economy. My plan also abolishes the death tax once and for all, providing needed certainty to American family farms and small businesses.

My plan restores American competitiveness in the global marketplace and provides strong incentives for U.S.-based employers to build new factories and create thousands of jobs here at home.

Gingrich, Cain Accept Tea Party Invite to Debate Fiscal Austerity

Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:31 AM PDT

By Patrick O’Connor, WallStreetJournal.com

Newt Gingrich has always fancied himself a historic figure.

Well, it looks like the former House speaker will get his chance to reprise another famous chapter from history when he and fellow Georgian Herman Cain stage a contemporary version of the Lincoln-Douglas debates to talk Medicare and Social Security reform.

Messrs. Cain and Gingrich have accepted an invitation offered by the Texas Tea Party Patriots to stage a wide-ranging debate on fiscal austerity, as the National Review Online first reported.

During the last Republican presidential debate, Mr. Gingrich called for a Lincoln-Douglas style showdown with President Barack Obama should be come from behind to win the nomination.

An organizer said the debate will be broken into a discussion over how to tame the three major entitlement programs – Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The original Lincoln-Douglas debates, held in 1858, between then-Illinois Sen. Stephen Douglas, a Democrat, and an upstart Republican by the name of Abraham Lincoln captivated the country as the two debated the moral and legal underpinnings of slavery. They have since come to epitomize the high-minded ideal of political discourse in the U.S.

More states limiting Medicaid hospital stays

Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:27 AM PDT

By Phil Galewitz, USAToday.com

A growing number of states are sharply limiting hospital stays under Medicaid to as few as 10 days a year to control rising costs of the health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

Advocates for the needy and hospital executives say the moves will restrict access to care, force hospitals to absorb more costs and lead to higher charges for privately insured patients.

States defend the actions as a way to balance budgets hammered by the economic downturn and the end of billions of dollars in federal stimulus funds this summer that had helped prop up Medicaid, financed jointly by states and the federal government.

Arizona, which last year stopped covering certain transplants for several months, plans to limit adult Medicaid recipients to 25 days of hospital coverage a year, starting as soon as the end of October.

Hawaii plans to cut Medicaid coverage to 10 days a year in April, the fewest of any state.

Both efforts require federal approval, which state officials consider likely because several other states already restrict hospital coverage.

Possible study of anthrax vaccine’s effectiveness in children stirs debate

Posted: 25 Oct 2011 07:21 AM PDT

By: Rob Stein, WashingtonPost.com

The Obama administration is wrestling with the thorny question of whether scientists should inject healthy children with the anthrax vaccine to see whether the shots would safely protect them against a bioterrorism attack.

The other option is to wait until an attack happens and then try to gather data from children whose parents agree to inoculate them in the face of an actual threat.

A key working group of federal advisers in September endorsed testing, sparking objections from those who consider that step unethical, unnecessary and dangerous. The National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB), which advises the federal government, is to meet Friday to vote on its working group's recommendation.

"At the end of the day, do we want to wait for an attack and give it to millions and millions of children and collect data at that time?" said Daniel B. Fagbuyiof Children's National Medical Center in Washington, who chaired the group. "Or do we want to say: 'How do we best protect our children?' We can take care of Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle and Auntie. But right now, we have nothing for the children."

The vaccine has been tested extensively in adults and has been administered to more than 2.6 million people in the military. But the shots have never been tested on or given to children, leaving it uncertain how well the vaccine works in younger people and at what dose, and whether it is safe. Unlike with measles, mumps and other diseases, the chance that children will be exposed to anthrax is theoretical, making the risk-benefit calculus of testing a vaccine on them much more questionable.

"It's hard to believe that it's something that makes a great deal of sense," said Joel Frader, a pediatrician and bioethicist at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "It would be difficult to justify testing it on kids simply on the hypothetical possibility that there might be an attack."

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Vatican calls for global authority on economy, raps “idolatry of the market”
What’s A Flat Tax?
Adobe Fixes Flash Privacy Panel so Hackers Can’t Check You Out
Corn Industry: ‘Corn Sugar’ Suit Stifles Speech
Tea Party Nation poll shows 52 percent will vote for Romney if he is GOP nominee
Tea party airs TV ad in Northern Virginia targeting Senate Democrats
Does Sex Ed Undermine Parental Rights?
Merrill Lynch Warns of Another U.S. Debt Downgrade

Vatican calls for global authority on economy, raps “idolatry of the market”

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:43 PM PDT

By Philip Pullella, Reuters.com

The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a "global public authority" and a "central world bank" to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises. The document from the Vatican's Justice and Peace department should please the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrators and similar movements around the world who have protested against the economic downturn.

"Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority," was at times very specific, calling, for example, for taxation measures on financial transactions. "The economic and financial crisis which the world is going through calls everyone, individuals and peoples, to examine in depth the principles and the cultural and moral values at the basis of social coexistence," it said.

It condemned what it called "the idolatry of the market" as well as a "neo-liberal thinking" that it said looked exclusively at technical solutions to economic problems. "In fact, the crisis has revealed behaviours like selfishness, collective greed and hoarding of goods on a great scale," it said, adding that world economics needed an "ethic of solidarity" among rich and poor nations.

"If no solutions are found to the various forms of injustice, the negative effects that will follow on the social, political and economic level will be destined to create a climate of growing hostility and even violence, and ultimately undermine the very foundations of democratic institutions, even the ones considered most solid," it said.

It called for the establishment of "a supranational authority" with worldwide scope and "universal jurisdiction" to guide economic policies and decisions.

Asked at a news conference if the document could become a manifesto for the movement of the "indignant ones", who have criticised global economic policies, Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican's Justice and Peace department, said: "The people on Wall Street need to sit down and go through a process of discernment and see whether their role managing the finances of the world is actually serving the interests of humanity and the common good. "We are calling for all these bodies and organisations to sit down and do a little bit of re-thinking."

What’s A Flat Tax?

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:39 PM PDT

By: Jeanne Sahadi, ClickOnDetroit.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Step aside 9-9-9. A new flat tax proposal is coming to town.

On Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry will propose an economic growth package that includes a flat tax.

“It starts with scrapping the three million words of the current tax code, and starting over with something much simpler: a flat tax,” Perry said last week.

Perry’s not alone. In an email to supporters on Sunday another GOP presidential hopeful — Newt Gingrich — said he would propose an “optional flat tax.”

So what’s a flat tax exactly?

Typically it’s proposed as a replacement for the income tax.

One tax rate: What makes a flat-tax system “flat” is that there is only one tax rate, whereas today’s system has a series of rates.

Adobe Fixes Flash Privacy Panel so Hackers Can’t Check You Out

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:34 PM PDT

By Sean Gallagher, WebMonkey.com

Adobe has made changes to a page on an Adobe website that controls Flash user's security settings—or more specifically, to the Flash .SWF file embedded in the page that opens the Flash website privacy settings panel. The changes are intended to prevent a clickjacking attack that uses the file to activate and access users' webcams and microphones to spy on them.

The change comes a few days after a Stanford student revealed the vulnerability on his website. Feross Aboukhadijeh posted the exploit, along with a demo and a video demonstration, on October 18. He said in a blog post that he had notified Adobe weeks earlier of the problem, reporting the vulnerability to Adobe through the Stanford Security lab.

Through a series of clicks, the exploit was able to clear the privacy settings for Flash's web camera controls and then authorize a new site to activate and access the camera video.The changes did not prompt any pop-ups or other user notifications.

While my test of the exploit still added feross.com to my list of sites in the privacy panel, it was only successfully added with an "always ask" setting for establishing a video link.

Corn Industry: ‘Corn Sugar’ Suit Stifles Speech

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:29 PM PDT

From: FOXNews.com

Sugar makers should compete in the marketplace instead of the courtroom over the use of the term “corn sugar,” a representative for the corn industry said Sunday.

A federal judge ruled Friday that a lawsuit can go forward as the sugar industry seeks to stop the use of the term “corn sugar” for high fructose corn syrup.

Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, accused sugar makers of “attempting to shut down free speech.”

Erickson praised the judge for granting a defense motion to drop individual corn companies as defendants, leaving only the trade association, and dismissing a part of the lawsuit claiming that the corn industry violated California law in addition to federal regulations.

Adam Fox, a sugar industry lawyer who brought the suit, said the judge’s decision was “very encouraging to us.”

U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall issued the ruling Friday in Los Angeles, allowing the false advertising suit brought by plaintiffs that include the Western Sugar Cooperative against the CRA to go forward.

Tea Party Nation poll shows 52 percent will vote for Romney if he is GOP nominee

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:24 PM PDT

By Alicia M. Cohn, TheHill.com

Most self-affiliated members of Tea Party Nation, one of the largest national organizations for the grassroots conservative movement, would vote for Mitt Romney as president if confronted with a choice between him or President Obama, according to a poll of members released to The Hill on Friday.

The group surveyed its members this week in an informal poll posted at the group's website. The question asked was: If Romney is the GOP nominee, what will you do in the general election?

Fifty-two percent of about 1,150 respondents said they would "hold their nose" and vote for Romney if he becomes the GOP nominee, while 23 percent said they would vote for an unspecified third-party candidate. Twelve percent said they would not vote in the presidential election at all if the choice is between Romney and Obama.

Twelve percent of those polled said they would "vote enthusiastically" for Romney.

The unscientific results underscore a general lack of enthusiasm for Romney from the conservative wing of the Republican party, but also contrast with a poll taken by the same group in August. In that survey, 45 percent of 1,700 members answered ‘no’ when asked, “If Romney is the nominee, will you vote for him in the General Election?”

"Romney has a huge problem and this flies straight into the face of the idea that he is the most electable candidate," said Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips. "If he is nominated, he will face the same situation [Arizona Sen. John] McCain did in 2008 where conservatives are going to stay home."

Tea party airs TV ad in Northern Virginia targeting Senate Democrats

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:19 PM PDT

By Anita Kumar, WashingtonPost.com

The Virginia Tea Party Alliance's political action committee will begin airing a TV ad Monday targeting Senate Democratic candidates in vote-rich Northern Virginia.

The ad ties seven Democrats to President Barack Obama, accusing them of supporting "Obamacare," "in-state tuition for illegals" and more programs, regulations and taxes.

"Say no to Obama. Say no to the Virginia Obama Democrats,'' the narrator says.

It praises tea party favorite Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) of standing up to Obama's "radical leftist agenda" and singles out six Democratic senators — Sen. George Barker (Fairfax), Toddy Puller (Fairfax), Mark Herring (Loudoun), Chap Petersen (Fairfax), Charles Colgan (Prince William) — and two candidates — Barbara Favola in Arlington County and Shawn Mitchell in Prince William and Loudoun counties.

"Each of these candidates has promoted and endorsed President Obama's policies in the Virginia state Senate," said Karen Miner Hurd, executive director for the alliance. "The implementation of programs like Obamacare would be devastating to Virginia's budget and our economy. They need to be held accountable for their support of the president's destructive policies like Obamacare and extreme environmental regulation by the EPA."

It is the tea party's first TV buy in Virginia, though it has run radio ads in three senate districts — those held by Democratic Sens. Ralph Northam (Norfolk), Roscoe Reynold (Franklin) and Phillip Puckett (Russell).

In September, the alliance announced it would target seven "left-wing" Democrats as the group hopes to help Republicans take back control of the Senate.

Does Sex Ed Undermine Parental Rights?

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:13 PM PDT

By ROBERT P. GEORGE and MELISSA MOSCHELLA, NYTimes.com

IMAGINE you have a 10- or 11-year-old child, just entering a public middle school. How would you feel if, as part of a class ostensibly about the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, he and his classmates were given "risk cards" that graphically named a variety of solitary and mutual sex acts? Or if, in another lesson, he was encouraged to disregard what you told him about sex, and to rely instead on teachers and health clinic staff members?

That prospect would horrify most parents. But such lessons are part of a middle-school curriculum that Dennis M. Walcott, the New York City schools chancellor, has recommended for his system's newly mandated sex-education classes. There is a parental "opt out," but it is very limited, covering classes on contraception and birth control.

Observers can quarrel about the extent to which what is being mandated is an effect, or a contributing cause, of the sexualization of children in our society at younger ages. But no one can plausibly claim that teaching middle-schoolers about mutual masturbation is "neutral" between competing views of morality; the idea of "value free" sex education was exploded as a myth long ago. The effect of such lessons is as much to promote a certain sexual ideology among the young as it is to protect their health.

But beyond rival moral visions, the new policy raises a deeper issue: Should the government force parents — at least those not rich enough to afford private schooling — to send their children to classes that may contradict their moral and religious values on matters of intimacy and personal conduct?

Liberals and conservatives alike should say no. Such policies violate parents' rights, whether they are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or of no religion at all. To see why, we need to think carefully about the parent-child relationship that gives rise to the duties that parental rights serve and protect.

Parents are responsible for bringing new people into the world, bound to them by blood and, ordinarily, deep feeling. These people are incapable of developing their uniquely human capacities on their own, giving parents an obligation to their children and to society to help them reach maturity — one that requires attending not only to children's physical and emotional needs, but their intellectual and moral growth as well.

Merrill Lynch Warns of Another U.S. Debt Downgrade

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 10:54 AM PDT

By Bill McGuire, ABCNews.com

The United States is in for another credit downgrade by year's end if Congress fails to agree on a long-term plan to tame the nation's $14.8 trillion debt, Merrill Lynch warned.

In a research note, the Bank of America unit predicts that either Moody's or Fitch will move to downgrade the U.S. AAA rating. Standard & Poor's cut the nation's bond rating in August, causing the stock and bond markets to swoon, after months of bickering by Congress on how to best reduce spending and cut the deficit. The United States spends about 40 percent more annually than it collects in taxes.

"The credit rating agencies have strongly suggested that further rating cuts are likely if Congress does not come up with a credible long-run plan" to cut the deficit, Merrill's North American economist, Ethan Harris, wrote in the Friday report. "Hence, we expect at least one credit downgrade in late November or early December when the super committee crashes."

Instead of agreeing on spending cuts or new taxes, Congress and the president appointed a bipartisan "super committee" to reach a deal to reduce the U.S. deficit by at least $1.2 trillion by Nov. 23. If there's no deal, automatic across-the-board cuts mostly in discretionary spending would occur. Congress would be free to stop any or all of those reductions, if it chooses and the president agrees.

Moody's Investors Service hasn't said what it will do if there's no deal, but it has placed U.S. credit under review for a possible downgrade.

"It's not that we're waiting just for this committee to decide on the rating," Steven Hess, Moody's lead analyst for the United States, told Reuters last week. Failure to come up with a deal "would be negative information but it is not decisive in our view about the rating."

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Friday, October 28, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

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