j_b

At least, some people aren't taking all this betrayal lying down: Irked at Democrats, Firefighters Suspend Federal Contributions Let's hope that this movement widens, which would cause some Democrats to remember how they got elected.

JayB is still struggling with the idea that DLC Democrats are neoliberal corporatists like most right wingers. In that context, it is clearly difficult to make sense of the "Democrats are shoshalists" moronic propaganda. JayB probably didn't notice either that Democrats are pushing austerity measures and cutting social programs at state levels like right wingers do. Neither does he seem to notice that blue dogs are pushing for privatization of public schools, implemented the GOP plan for health care reform, are pursuing as many wars as neocons, voted for tax breaks, etc. You'd think that by now, JayB would have figured out that he should pay attention to what pols do and not what they say but that would demand taking off the ideological blinders so that probably won't happen.

Should we be weary of giving exact locations for these sightings as some people don't always have the best intentions? anyway, something to consider perhaps.

AIM FOR THE BAGGY EYES!

pro flute players ought to know these things

no worries mate:

[video:youtube]vEeQEILqI1Q

btw good luck with the courts from now on if you sign any of the fine print (although it was on the internet so you probably don't believe it): Average Americans Stripped of their Day in Court, California Consumer Group Says SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today's U.S. Supreme Court decision in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, invalidating California's protections against unfair provisions in contracts effectively eliminates the right of consumers to join together to fight powerful corporations in court and will lead to enormous abuses of consumers by corporations, Consumer Watchdog, a California non-profit consumer advocacy organization, said today. Ignoring the plain language of the Federal Arbitration Act, the Supreme Court's decision today says that any time state contract or consumer protection laws interfere with sending a case to arbitration, the state laws are overridden. Arbitration clauses are in the fine print of contracts for cell phones, cables, credit card and virtually every other product sold in America, yet most consumers never see them until they are the victims of a rip-off, fraud or other thievery. Only then, when they go to court to try to get their money or property back, does the consumer learn that they are barred from bringing a lawsuit by an arbitration clause or from joining together with other aggrieved consumers to fight the defendant. Instead, arbitration provisions ban court cases by one consumer or a group of consumers who are instead required to present their case to someone hired by the company to be a 'judge,' in a complex private process that has few of the protections of the courts. Experience has shown that few lawyers will represent consumers in arbitration cases, a fact that the conservative majority of the Court used in support of its finding against consumers today. A "Bush vs. Gore" Decision on Consumer Rights "This decision means it will be open season on consumers," said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, a California-based advocacy group that has sued AT&T and other large corporations for overcharges. "It slams the courtroom doors shut on Americans who are nickeled and dimed by big corporations. Knowing they can never be held accountable, American corporations will be emboldened to fleece their customers. This is the 'Bush vs. Gore' moment in American consumer law. It just reinforces the belief of many Americans that the government protects only the wealthy and Wall Street." Supreme Court Arbitration Ruling

I am not arguing for more regulations. I am arguing for regulations that work, not the free for all clusterfcuk that you propose. You clearly can't read AND you are wrong about the risks posed by counterfeit electrical products. Anyway that was just an example of the need for regulations at only one level of the building industry. Classic. A long stupid diatribe against regulations followed by a call for inspection that entails some kind of building standards. LOL if the drywall vendor isn't insured, and has no assets, you are shit out of luck ... which implies some type of regulations.

"According to the US CBP, 13 percent of all counterfeit products seized are electrical products, ranking them second among all category totals. Why does product counterfeiting exist? Why is it escalating exponentially? It’s called profit. Entities operating outside legal and ethical bounds are continually finding ways to circumvent detection. Counterfeiters intentionally mislead the public and everyone along the supply chain. UL adds that it’s difficult to pinpoint where bad products are originally made, where the shipments originate, and who is responsible for exporting the product. Generally, counterfeiters don’t go to the expense of having products tested and verified by an approved third-party testing lab designated as a nationally recognized testing laboratory (NRTL) such as UL, FM Approvals, and TUV America, Inc. to name a few. Counterfeiters lower their costs by eliminating third-party testing, but go to great lengths to produce “fake” approval logos. To lower costs, counterfeit products typically have substandard design, materials, and/or manufacturing quality, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). Consequently, the likelihood that a counterfeit electrical product could malfunction is much higher. NEMA says this can lead to shock, burns, fires, explosions, and incidents that can cause property damage, injury, or death. NEMA also warns that manufacturers, distributors, and installers of electrical products could face legal risks for trading in counterfeit products—even if they are victims of counterfeiters. Although manufacturers sometimes can avoid liability for products they did not make, the focus can shift to distributors, retailers, contractors, and installers. Determining the authenticity of electrical products is becoming increasingly important to everyone in the supply chain in order to avoid liability risks. Some of the electrical products affected by counterfeiting that NEMA, UL, and other organizations have identified include: * Circuit breakers * Control relays * Control switches * Extension cords * Electrical connectors * Electrical receptacles * Fuses * Ground-fault circuit interrupters * Ground rods * High voltage surge arrestors * Lamp ballasts (fluorescent lamps) * Lighting fixtures (luminaires) * Small electric motors * Motor control centers * Welding electrodes and other welding consumables * Wire and cable (including telecommunication wire and extension cords)" why we need regulations

[video:youtube]F527LbW84hA

"Tax evasion added $3 trillion to the deficit over the past decade alone, an average of $300 billion a year, according to IRS data. This isn't revenue lost from legal tax write-offs, like the mortgage interest deduction. It's not even, as the IRS notes, "taxes that should have been paid on income from the illegal sector of the economy." That $300 billion represents the amount of revenue lost from people deliberately cheating on their taxes every year. This includes underreporting income, hidden offshore bank accounts, sham trusts, and other ways to illegally stiff the IRS. Put that money in perspective. Tax evasion in the last decade cost an amount roughly equivalent to the Bush tax cuts, the Obama stimulus, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ... combined.[...] Greece is a good example of what happens when tax evasion is ignored. Greece's current status as a near-bankrupt slave grasping at its creditors was caused by many factors, but one of the largest was an endemic culture of tax cheating. Only chumps followed the rules. Emphatic disregard for the tax man became the norm. Michael Lewis did a wonderful job exposing this culture in an essay published last year in Vanity Fair. "Somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of the activity in the Greek economy that might be subject to the income tax goes officially unrecorded," Lewis writes. He continues: "The scale of Greek tax cheating was at least as incredible as its scope: an estimated two-thirds of Greek doctors reported incomes under 12,000 euros a year -- which meant, because incomes below that amount weren't taxable, that even plastic surgeons making millions a year paid no tax at all." In one Greek town, 324 residents admitted to having swimming pools -- an asset that increases property taxes. A satellite photo showed the actual number of pool owners was 16,974. Small wonder Greece found itself where it is today when 98% of the population cheats on their taxes. Could we be next?" Tax evasion

"On a per-vehicle basis, Ford generated about $1,519 in profit worldwide, an increase of 59 percent from the first quarter a year ago, even though revenue per vehicle sold was up only 9 percent, to $22,096." mmm, unless their product is of inferior quality, cost of materials went up. Is this surge in profitability achieved on the back of their employees?

Why should they run when they are already getting most what they want from Obama (cue his beginning negotiations from what should be the compromise solution)? especially since running on the GOP platform would rightfully show them to be cold-blooded psychopaths.

Is that a troll? Because if it isn't, I (rhetorically) hope you built your house with Chinese drywall that you bought from someone who carries no insurance and has no assets. That ought to cure you of the deregulatory disease you appear to have contracted.

I am impressed. Flamenco is hard to play (well) according to classical guitarists I have met.

So, are you going to put up a youtube link for those of us that can't make it to Vancouver? What kind of Spanish guitar music do you play?

http://www.credoaction.com/comics/2011/04/2180/

You should articulate better because I can't quite make out what you are saying: [video:youtube]wsPjL8SUAFc

I don't think the New jersey study took place over just one year like the MAryland data you mention (note that your article says that most of the missing millionaires were likely awol due to the recession, not because they moved). The result of such policy has to be assessed over multiple years to be meaningful.

the drums of "small government" conservatives who introduced 916 anti-choice bills in 4 short months In Four Months, Republicans Introduced 916 Bills Against Women’s Right To Choose

pretty soon it'll cost you more to drive the few extra miles

Do the wealthy relocate to avoid taxes? When anyone brings up new taxes on the rich, the big objections is that such taxes end up being counterproductive because the rich simply flee to places that don’t tax them. This is, in theory, particularly true at the state level. It just doesn’t appear to be true in practice. A few years ago, New Jersey instituted a tax that raised rates on those making more than $500,000. Predictably enough, some clever academics swooped in to test the prediction that all the rich folks would leave. So how’d it fare? Poorly: The study found that the overall population of millionaires increased during the tax period. Some millionaires moved out, of course. But they were more than offset by the creation of new millionaires. The study dug deeper to figure out whether the millionaires who were moving out did so because of the tax. As a control group, they used New Jersey residents who earned $200,000 to $500,000 — in other words, high-earners who weren’t subject to the tax. They found that the rate of out-migration among millionaires was in line with and rate of out-migration of submillionaires. The tax rate, they concluded, had no measurable impact. The study went on to conclude that “the policy effect is close to zero,” though if it exists for anyone, it’s for the over-65 crowd who live off their investments.

"I fully believe that sales of Three Cups of Tea will immediately have gone up following the column inches it has been getting, but [if the rumours are proven to be true] there may well be some much longer-term sales damage to the sort of humanitarian memoir genre in which Three Cups of Tea sits," http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/22/memoirists-lose-trust-book-buying-public