Hmmm, what is rich then??? Lets look at some simple examples on some income levels: Example 1: "Rich family" makes 480k per year, breaks down to 40k per month. 40k to have taxes taken out, pay the mortgage, pay the bills, pay the car payment, save from. $40,000 per month. Income. Example 2: Working family making 48k per year, breaks down to 4k per month. 4k to have taxes taken out, pay the mortgage, pay the bills, pay the car payment, save from. $4,000 per month. Income. Example 3: Working si...

Today, the House will begin consideration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, H.R. 1, working from priorities shared with President-elect Barack Obama. This recovery package is the first crucial step in a concerted effort to create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, jumpstart our economy, and transform it for the 21st century. This means real change: it will strengthen the middle class, not just Wall Street CEOs and special interests in Washington. Text of Bill: (Link) To put people...

The following is from a speech he made on the Senate Floor that day: I spoke earlier today about this legislation, which is called the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, and said then that I am probably part of a very small minority in this Chamber, but I feel very strongly that this is exactly the wrong bill at exactly the wrong time. It misses all the lessons of the past and, in my judgment, it creates definitions and moves in directions that will be counterproductive to our financ...

Figuring out labour costs is tremendously complicated because the contract has many provisions that change based on U.S. auto sales and production rates. Also, GM is estimating costs for the Japanese automakers. But GM, which negotiated the four-year deal that serves as a template for UAW deals with Chrysler and Ford, says its total hourly labour costs dropped six per cent this year from pre-contract levels, from $73.26 in 2006 to around $69 per hour. The new cost includes wages of $29.78 per h...

I am sorry, I cannot forget all that we have been through. I know President Obama wants to promote bi-partisanship and says we are a purple America. But this very blue American has a deep rooted seething hatred for some red Americans. Even on our greatest triumph in decades, the right wing has STOLEN the basic civil rights of AMERICANS in the state of California. Even thou we won, they have suppressed thousands of votes and are trying to tell Al Franken he is bad for wanting a rightly entitled...

LOOK AT THE ELECTORAL MAP: (Link) Let them steal CO. Let them steal OH. Let them steal MO. Let them steal NM. Let them steal NV. Kerry states + Iowa = 259 Electoral votes: (Link) They are not going to steal any Kerry states or IA. We have just too much of a huge lead in those states. The great thing is we only need ONE of the following combinations: VA or OH or NC or FL or MO or GA (don't laugh) or SC + NM or NV or WV or ND(don't laugh) CO + NM or NV or WV or ND We need 11 electoral vote...

Roll Call Thread #2 (Link) Democracy in action as it happens!!!! Yes we can!!!

"There’s a few hedge fund managers out there who are masters at knowing how to exploit the peak theories and hot buttons of supply and demand and by making bold predictions of shocking price advancements to come, they only add more fuel to the bullish fire in a sort of self fulfilling prophecy." — National Gas Week, September 5, 2005 as reprinted in the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ report, "The Role of Market Speculation in Rising Oil and Gas Prices," June 27, 2006 There...

There was something interesting missing from Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner's introductory remarks to journalists at his regular news briefing in Baghdad on Wednesday: the word "Iran," or any form of it. It was especially striking as Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman here, announced the extraordinary list of weapons and munitions that have been uncovered in recent weeks since fighting erupted between Iraqi and U.S. security forces and Shiite militiamen. Among other things, Bergner cited 20,000 "ite...

VIENNA, Aug. 10 (MNA) -- Iran possesses nuclear fuel cycle technology, a capability which it is using exclusively for peaceful purposes, according to a statement issued by the Islamic Republic on Tuesday evening at an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has issued a fatwa (religious decree) declaring that the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons are all forbid...

Thank you Randi for being one of the most informed people out there. Thank you Randi for standing up against the Bush administration all these years. Thank you Randi for being a leader in the anti-war movement and giving a voice to the movement heard by millions. Thank you Randi for joining Cindy in a ditch in Texas. Thank you Randi for speaking the truth about CACI and winning the lawsuit against them. Thank you Randi for being the C-SPAN junkie that you are. Thank you Randi for always te...

We love you and are very grateful for all your work on our behalf. (Image) (Image)

E.G. Sawyer didn't speak these words. Instead, he typed them out on a plastic spelling board that had become his only means of communication since the day his life had changed six years before. It was a December evening in 1984, and my client and I sat on the ninth floor of the Buncombe County courthouse in an otherwise empty courtroom that overlooked the art deco cityscape of downtown Asheville, North Carolina. Only an hour before, I had completed my closing argument in an intense two-week tria...

Key Judgments A. We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program1; we also assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons. We judge with high confidence that the halt, and Tehran’s announcement of its decision to suspend its declared uranium enrichment program and sign an Additional Protocol to its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement, was directed primarily in resp...

A great starting point is always Wikipedia: (Link) He wrote a book about 4 of his biggest trials: (Link) Here is an excellent article from 2001 on his career: (Link) No we he was not an "ambulance chaser": "By sheer virtue of his skill as a lawyer, Edwards had been able to avoid taking the kinds of cases the public detests. During the campaign, opponents tried unsuccessfully to criticize him for turning away 35 to 40 cases for each one he accepted. But such was the demand for his service tha...

pages 140 and 141 of Al Gore's Assault on Reason: In late August 2001, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almidhar bought tickets to fly on American Airlines Flight 77 (which was flown into the Pentagon). They bought the tickets with their real names. Both names were then on a State Department/INS watch list called TIPOFF. Both men were sought by the FBI and CIA as suspected terrorists, in part because they were observed at a terrorist meeting in Malaysia. These two passenger names would have been exac...

Board of Governors Considers Safeguards Implementation in Iran IAEA Chief Talked to the Press on Latest Developments Staff Report 12 September 2007 IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei today spoke to reporters about the latest developments in the IAEA´s work to verify Iran´s nuclear program. He said it was the first time that Iran had agreed on a work plan to address all outstanding issues, with a defined timeline, which "was an important step in the right direction." The Director General s...

From Bush's "surge" speech of January 10, 2007: (Link) The violence in Iraq -- particularly in Baghdad -- overwhelmed the political gains the Iraqis had made. Al Qaeda terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the mortal danger that Iraq's elections posed for their cause, and they responded with outrageous acts of murder aimed at innocent Iraqis." snip The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is security, especially in Baghdad. Eighty percent of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 3...

How on earth can you question him if you know about his career as a lawyer??? I see post after post here about not trusting John Edwards to fight Corporations. How in the hell can anyone say that if you know about his past? He was not born in 1998 you know. A proud product of public schools, John became the first person in his family to attend college. He worked his way through North Carolina State University where he graduated with high honors in 1974, and then earned a law degree with hono...

and there was a part about how the White House controls the GOP fundraising machine that is needed for the vast sums of money needed for TV ads. That got me thinking as to a possible explaination as to why the GOP Senators refuse to vote to end the war and keep filibustering any and everything regarding Iraq. Now, I assume it is safe to assume that Karl Rove pretty much runs the national GOP political machine. Could it be that the GOP Senators fear getting cut off from the GOP machine by Karl...

(Link) Key Judgments We judge the US Homeland will face a persistent and evolving terrorist threat over the next three years. The main threat comes from Islamic terrorist groups and cells, especially al- Qa’ida, driven by their undiminished intent to attack the Homeland and a continued effort by these terrorist groups to adapt and improve their capabilities. We assess that greatly increased worldwide counterterrorism efforts over the past five years have constrained the ability of al-Qa’ida to...

Sicko is about the rest of us who have insurance. The insurance for profit industry has a top priority. Their priority is to NOT PAY CLAIMS. They are constantly inventing new games to DENY PAYMENT OF CLAIMS. Preexisting conditions, mis-filled out forms, going to the wrong hospital or doctor are all schemes they have invented to NOT PAY CLAIMS. Insurance adjusters are PROMOTED if they can deny more claims and save the company more money. One adjuster was in tears as she explained her job and sh...

§ 2207. Vice-Presidential records Vice-Presidential records shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter in the same manner as Presidential records. The duties and responsibilities of the Vice President, with respect to Vice-Presidential records, shall be the same as the duties and responsibilities of the President under this chapter with respect to Presidential records. The authority of the Archivist with respect to Vice-Presidential records shall be the same as the authority of the Arch...

 
Link to Part 2: (Link)

"Fear is the most powerful enemy of reason." (Image) Al Gores attempt in finding out what happened to our democracy is a brilliant analysis of where we are and how we got here. A lot of his analysis concludes that we are spending less time reading and too much time watching TV. In addition, TV has become a one-way street of communication controlled by a select powerful few with a very limited chance for a legitimate two-way discourse. In addition, fear and reason are processed in seperate are...

By Mathieu von Rohr, Hussam Ali, Ala Chalil Nassir and Bernhard Zand (Image) What does daily life look like in the Iraqi capital? What goes through people's minds when yet another bomb explodes, killing and maiming innocent people? SPIEGEL spent time with four Iraqis and describes a day in the world's most dangerous city through their eyes. The sun rises over Baghdad at 6:04 a.m. It immediately begins to blaze in a cloudless sky. There is no dawn. Baghdad, a dusty behemoth of a city, lies on ...

ARE DUers too lazy to use thomas.gov and read Durbins Senate Floor speechs during the week of the IWR? (Link) How about looking up the roll call votes on senate.gov during that time and noticing Durbin proposed an amendment that would make the IWR more restrictive (which was defeated)? (Link) Isnt it common knowledge that he voted against the final version of the IWR? (Link) Did they not watch the Bill Moyers documentary last week where he illustrated how DEMOCRATS WERE IGNORED BY THE MEDI...

Mr. DURBIN . I thank the Senator for his courtesy. When we disagree, he is always courteous in his treatment and fair on the floor of the Senate. I might say to my friend from Connecticut, it is rare we disagree. I am sorry this is one of those cases. But I would pose a question, if he wants to answer it--without yielding the floor. Do you believe that the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is an imminent threat to the United States today? Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank my friend....

ENGLAND and WALES * Gun owners must be licensed. Applicants need two referees, and police are allowed to consult would-be gun owners' doctors. * Guns must be registered. * In the wake of the 1996 Dunblane massacre the government passed a law severely restricting handguns. Anyone in possession of a high caliber handgun faces a maximum 10 years' imprisonment or a $7,285 fine, or both FRANCE * Firearms must be registered, except for sporting rifles. * A Sports Federation license is required to req...