The Kids Are Getting It

http://www.theyoungcons.com/Young_Conservatives/About_Us.html

Thank God for our children.
In Liberty,
Skeez

Grameen America Week: Grameen U Events!

To raise awareness about Grameen America week, our Grameen U chapters all chipped in to spread the word. Check out what went on at their campuses and maybe they'll inspire you to go out and spread the word too!

University of Wisconsin-Madison

We combined this event with our kickoff meeting for the semester, giving prospective members information about our group and our recent collaboration with Grameen America. We hope to see many of them at our next meeting!

McGill

McGill's SNED (Student network for economic development) hosted a bakesale in the Desaultes Faculty of Management lobby to support Grameen America as part of our celebration and to publicize about our events and the power of microfinance. The yummy treats were all baked by SNED club members and everything sold out!

University of Pennsylvania

We had an activities fair at Penn on the college green, so we thought of it as the perfect place to set up a Grameen U table asking people to donate via the Text2Give Campaign. Above is a picture of a couple of people asking for the details of the campaign and one of my colleagues from Penn MFC explaining the campaign and urging them to donate.

Bucknell

In support of Grameen America week, the Microfinance Initiative at Bucknell ran a campaign called Spread the Thread. The idea behind the campaign was that just like one dollar can create two, one string can make two. So we distributed blue string bracelets with the message “Wear, Tear, Share”. Simply tie it on your wrist, tear it in half, give it to a friend and you can spread the idea of microfinance one bracelet at a time! All in all the event was a huge success and by the end of the week, half take campus had little blue strings dangling off their wrists!

Rutgers

As a group, we are trying to get "official" club status on campus before we can hold events, but we met to work on getting our club formed as well as brainstorming how we could get the Text4Give campaign out there. We posted on facebook, emailed all our friends, classmates, and professors. More to come!

Remember This On November 2nd!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Hat tip to Crusader Rabbit




Remember their words, their actions on November 2nd and vote them out!

The Rest of Everest Episode 140: Pillow Talk

Yesterday brought us yet another new episode of The Rest of Everest, as we continue our virtual journey with the 2009 trekking team that made the journey to Base Camp on the South Side of the mountain. This week's episode is entitled "Pillow Talk," and it deliver, in great detail, on that very topic.

The descent from Base Camp continues this week with the trekkers making their way back, slowly but surely to Lukla. The episode opens where we left off last week, with the group camped near Dingboche, one of the villages along the route that is a popular place to stay both going up and coming back down the Khumbu Valley.

Much of the first part of the episode is spent just chatting with a couple of the trekkers, and while we're not ogling the spectacular scenery, it is an insightful look into what to expect on a trek of this nature. They talk gear, sleeping bags and pads, and of course pillows. (Not to mention Mars Bars!)

Eventually we hit the trail once again, and the trek continues through the Khumbu with the trademark scenery in the background. We also get a free videography lesson from ROE producer Jon Miller as well, which gives us a glimpse of some of the things that you would learn on one of these treks that are a combination of adventure travel and photography/videography workshops.

Highlight of the episode? Jon working hard for a sponsorship from Therm-a-Rest, or just about any other gear company. Well worth watching this portion of the video just for the humor. Or perhaps advice on how to get a gear sponsorship.

New Speed Record Set On Kilimnajaro

Spanish mountaineer and endurance runner Kilian Jornet has set a new speed record for climbing and descending Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, reaching the summit of the 19,340 foot peak, and returning to the base, faster than the previous record, which was held by Tanzanian Simon Mtuy at 8 hours and 27 mintues.

According to this article, which is written in French, and had to be translated via Google, Kilian reached the summit of the Kili in just 5 hours, 23 minutes, and 50 seconds compared to Simon's 6 hours to that point. He then turned and raced back down the mountain, crossing through all five climate zones along the way, and finished with an overall time of approximately 7 hours and 14 minutes! An astounding time for sure.

Upon reaching the base of the mountain, Kilian was greeted and embraced by the former record holder.

Having been to Kilimanjaro and seen the conditions there, this is an astounding feat to me. The tallest mountain in Africa is no easy trek, and to complete it at this kind of speed is remarkable. To put this in perspective, many climbers on Kili make the journey to the summit and back in roughly six days, so Kilian was actually completing a days worth of climbing each hour. Amazing!

Thanks to Louis-Philipe Loncke for sending this my way.

My anti-Israel stance

For today only, I am taking an anti-Israel stance.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2010/09/my-anti-israel-stance/

Speaking tonight at the Prince William County Dinner in Virginia.

eric aka the Tygrrrr Express

NeighborWorks Passes One Million Volunteer Hours Mark

NeighborWorks organizations around the country helped generate more than one million volunteer hours in the last five years, building stronger, vibrant, and more connected communities. Combined through the five years, ending with September 30, 2010, volunteers partnering with NeighborWorks organizations put in more than 1.14 million hours, including more than 322,000 hours this year, the largest number reported by member organizations of the Community Building and Organizing Program (CB&O) at NeighborWorks America.

Learn more and view examples that illustrate the success of community building and organizing.

How To Do 'Yosemite In A Day'

Climber Cedar Wright was recently invited to give a presentation during the Yosemite Facelift 2010 project, which is a massive effort to clean up the entire park. As has been his tradition, he arrived in Yosemite a day early and shot a short film to be included in his talk. The video below is that film, which captures some of the best elements of one of the most spectacular national parks in the U.S., which just so happens to turn 120 tomorrow.

Thanks to The Goat for sharing this video.




YOSEMITE IN A DAY from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.

Document revision history, in-cell dropdown, and more new features in Google Apps

Over the last few weeks, we launched some exciting new updates that make it even easier for business users to create and collaborate on to Google Sites, Google documents, and Google spreadsheets.

• In Google documents, we launched a new revision history interface which lets you easily see what changes have been made to a document. Changes are color-coded based on each collaborator, so it’s clear who did what. You can click on a time stamp in the right column to see what changes were made at a given time, or use the arrow keys to quickly scan through many revisions. To learn more about revisions history, see the Google Docs blog.

• We’ve also made it easier to anticipate the changes other real-time co-editors are about to make in Google documents. Text that another editor is selecting is highlighted, so you’ll know if someone may be about to delete or drag that block of text.

• In addition we’ve recently added six new web fonts in Google documents: Droid Serif, Droid Sans, Calibri, Cambria, Corsiva, and Consolas. These web fonts are stored in the cloud rather than on your particular computer, so you aren’t limited to the set of common fonts that most people have installed on their computers.

• In Google Spreadsheets, we’ve improved the import function with more options for your imported data. For example, when importing a .csv file, you can create a whole new spreadsheet, append data to the current sheet, add a new sheet to your existing spreadsheet or even replace your entire spreadsheet with the data you’re uploading. We also added a preview pane so you can see how the imported data will look in your spreadsheet.

• Google spreadsheets also now has in-cell dropdown and data validation. This makes it easy to constrain the values of an individual cell to a specific range or list, reducing unnecessary typing and data entry errors. For example, if you are planning a business trip, you can limit the options in the travel destination column to only allow a certain set of city names.

• You can create dropdown options in individual cells through the data validation tool, which lets you pull data from a range of cells in your sheet or by creating a custom list. For more information on data validation and in-cell dropdowns in Google spreadsheets, head to the Google Docs blog.

• Lastly, Google spreadsheets now offers new printing options including selection printing, which lets you print a highlighted area in your spreadsheet, and the option to not print the cell gridlines if you want to save on ink.

• Organizing your site’s hierarchy of pages is an important part of using Google Sites. To make it faster and easier to change the structure of your site, now you can drag and drop pages to change the hierarchy.

As with all updates in Google Apps, users get access to new features each time they open their browsers, and improvements roll out to customers with no need for administrators to manage patches or install software. Stay tuned for more updates to Google Docs and Google Sites.

Posted by Ronald Ho, Google Docs Product Manager

Four Climbers Missing On Dhaulagiri

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that three Japanese climbers, along with their Nepalese guide, have gone missing this week on Dhaulagiri. Search and rescue operations are underway, although authorities fear that they may have been caught in an avalanche on the mountain.

The four climbers, who have been missing since Tuesday, include the following:  Osamu Tanabe, 49, Toshio Yamamoto, 36, and Daisuke Honda, 32, all from Tokyo. Their Sherpa guide is Pasang Gyelu. Two other members of the team have been found and rescued.

The 26,790-foot tall Dhaulagiri is located in north central Nepal and is the 7th tallest mountain in the world.  The mountain has a distinct profile, and it's name, which means "white mountain," seems fitting, as its slopes are often clad in deep snows.

Rescue efforts are on going at this time, and SAR teams are holding out hope that they may yet find survivors amongst the snow.

Bad News For Dems Across The Board

The news if full of ominous news for Democrats heading into the final stretch before midterm elections.

Headlines with teasers listed below.

NYT- Many Big Donors to Democrats Cut Support

Many wealthy Democratic patrons, who in the past have played major roles financing outside groups to help elect the party’s candidates, are largely sitting out these crucial midterm elections.

Cleveland.com- Republicans have requested more absentee ballots than Democrats in Ohio's three largest counties

A higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in Ohio's three largest counties have asked for absentee ballots this year -- an ominous sign for the party hoping to repel GOP forces on Election Day.

Roughly three out of 10 registered Ohio voters live in Franklin, Hamilton and Cuyahoga counties.

With early voting under way this week, Republican voters in Franklin and Hamilton counties have requested more absentee ballots than their Democratic counterparts -- hard evidence of a much different environment than 2008 when an avalanche of Democratic absentee ballot requests dwarfed Republican requests in both counties.

WSJ- McDonald's May Drop Health Plan (because of Obamacare)

McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.

HotLine On Call- Democrats Aren't Staging A Comeback

Democratic strategists have recently started experiencing a new feeling of optimism. There are indications, they say, that the party is showing the smallest signs of a turnaround, and that rumors of their electoral demise have been premature.

But instead of a comeback, Democrats are only experiencing the benefits of a base that is finally engaging. That base will help some Democratic candidates, but in total, the party still faces serious rehabilitation work with independent voters. The party's major problems are most evident in three prominent races that are slowly, but inexorably, sliding toward Republicans.

WSJ- Loyalty to Obama Costs Democrats

In their contrasting fates lie broader lessons for the coming midterms: Live by the president and you could die by the president. Democrats who have been thorns in the president's side are doing well in some of the toughest districts for their party, from Alabama to the steel belt of western Pennsylvania. But swing-district Democrats who have voted with the president in Congress are struggling, even if they're now asserting their independence.

NYT- Obama, in Iowa, Hears Barbed Questions in a Subdued Backyard

President Obama returned Wednesday to Iowa, the state that put him on the presidential map, this time fighting to keep his Democratic Party in power and confronting skeptical voters who challenged him on policies from tax cuts to health care.

Continuing his tour of American backyards, Mr. Obama received a reception that was polite and friendly, but also pointed, when he visited Sandy Clubb, the athletic director at Drake University, and her husband, Jeff, a middle school social studies teacher, in the upscale, leafy Beaverdale neighborhood here.

About 70 people awaited him in the backyard, where Mr. Obama got an earful. One woman told him that her 24-year-old son had “campaigned furiously for you and was very inspired by your message of hope,” but is now out of college and struggling to find a job.

Just a sample of the type of headlines today.

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Romney, Palin Favored For 2012 Presidential Run

Gallup reports:

Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin lead other potential candidates in Republicans' preferences for the party's 2012 presidential nomination. Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul also receive more than 5% support from Republicans nationwide.

Botom Line according to Gallup:

Generally speaking, the better-known candidates tend to fare best in early tests of support for presidential nominations. That helps explain why 2008 presidential candidates Romney and Huckabee, 2008 vice presidential nominee Palin, and former House Speaker Gingrich currently generate more support for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination than those who have not previously run for national office or held a high position in national government, such as Tim Pawlenty or Haley Barbour.

HEAR THAT?

That is the sound of heads exploding across the country.

Heh.

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Gravity Always Wins At The Red Bull Rampage

Ahh... gravity. She's a harsh mistress in many of the active sports that we all enjoy. Take for example mountain biking and the Red Bull Rampage which is set to go down tomorrow. It's a free riding competition that takes place near Zion National Park, outside of Virgin, Utah, on some of the really great trails in that area. Many of those trails are not for the faint of heart however, as the video below shows. It's a collection of some of the more spectacular crashes from past events that will leave you cringing.

Thanks to The Adventure Life for another great video. Lots of fun. Mostly because I'm not one of these guys.

Barack Obama- They Don't Know Him, They Regret Believing In Him

Piece at Newser points out how disliked Barack Obama is becoming and asks "What Do We Do With Barack Obama? "

How did everybody get it so wrong is a question many people seem to be asking themselves—not least of all these people slinking out of the White House.

It is not just that he has turned out to be something different. In fact, reasonably, he isn’t that different. The more powerful sense of remorse or at least sheepishness may come from people now asking themselves how and why they came to think of him as different than he was. More confounding, they may not really now be able to remember just who exactly they thought he was.

So to refocus the story: Some mass misperception put Barack Obama in the White House and now nobody knows what to do with him.

Can there be a more awkward situation?

Well said.. buyer's remorse is setting in big and no one likes to admit they got something so wrong...especially when they warned beforehand and instead let themselves be bought in by pretty words and empty promises.

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The more you know: switching to Gmail like a pro

Every day, tens of thousands of people switch from Microsoft Outlook® and other client-based software to Google Apps. To make the transition as smooth as possible, we thought we’d share some tips on using Gmail.

Embrace conversations
Emails rarely come just one at a time; they’re usually part of a larger exchange. Gmail helps you manage messages more efficiently by grouping related emails into conversations. Conversations are a collection of messages with the same subject line and other similarities. When you click to read a conversation, you'll see all of the back-and-forth email responses that happen over the course of the entire email conversation.

This makes it easier to follow the full context of a conversation, and keeps your inbox less cluttered and more organized. If you prefer a more traditional view of your Inbox, you can always turn off Conversation view so that all emails arrive individually.


Forget delete, and archive your way to “Inbox Zero”
The average corporate inbox is only 300MB, which means too many people are forced to spend way too much time managing their inbox -- deciding which email to keep, and deleting the rest. With 25GB of storage, you probably won’t ever need to delete an email again because of storage limitations. And if you thrive on clearing your inbox, simply archive your emails to clear the clutter. They’re still fully searchable in an instant!

Search to sort
You may be accustomed to sorting email to find saved messages, which is a pretty limited way to find information because you usually know what you’re looking for. Gmail uses the power of search to help you quickly find what you want. You can even use advanced search operators to search by sender, date, attachment or a variety of other attributes. Try it and you'll find some of the qualities that Google.com is known for: great accuracy and really fast search results. Search is particularly more effective than sorting when you’re looking through multiple gigabytes of email!


Labels instead of folders
While you won't find folders in Gmail, labels give you even more flexibility to organize your email. You can’t put an email into multiple folders, but you can apply multiple labels to the same message, which makes it easy to manage information that may fall into more than one category.


By clicking on a label, you can view a chronological list of all conversations that have been tagged with that label. And you can even organize labels hierarchically, using the “Nested Labels” lab. (Your administrator needs to have enabled Labs for you to access them.)

Work offline
These days you’re probably almost always connected to the Internet. But in those increasingly rare moments when you’re not, you can still access Gmail. When you’re offline, you can work in your browser to compose messages, search, organize mail, and do all of the things you're used to doing while accessing your email online. Any messages you send while offline will be placed in your outbox and automatically sent the next time Gmail detects a connection. To enable offline Gmail, go to the ‘offline’ tab in Settings, select ‘Enable’ and then save changes.

New features
As a web application, Gmail can be updated and improved without the trouble of purchasing, downloading and installing updates. This means Gmail will continually offer new functionality to help you be even more productive, like Priority Inbox, integrated voice and video chat, and labs such as Apps Search and Desktop Notifications. To stay current on new features, we encourage you to subscribe to our RSS feed for updates to the Google Apps suite.

We hope you enjoy the experience we offer -- we believe that ultimately, a fully-searchable, delete-nothing inbox makes for happy, productive people. But if you’re still not quite ready to use Gmail’s web interface, you can keep using Outlook or other clients of your choice. For more tips, check out our detailed transition documentation, and let us know what else we can do to make your move to Gmail easier in the comments below.

Posted by Rajen Sheth, Google Apps Product Manager

Senate Pro Forma Sessions Set Up To Stop Obama From Making Recess Appointments

Via The Hill:

Senate Democrats struck a deal Wednesday night with Republicans to keep President Obama from making recess appointments while Congress is out of town campaigning for the midterm elections.

Democratic leaders have agreed to schedule pro-forma sessions of the Senate every week over the next six weeks, a move that will prevent Obama from making emergency appointments, according to Senate sources briefed on the talks.

Read the rest.

I guess the mouse will not being playing while the cats are away this time.

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Nearly 30,000 McDonald's Works Could Face Losing Health Coverage Due To Obamacare

More unintended consequences of Obamacare are being reported by the Wall Street Journal who obtained information on a memo that McDonald's sent out to Federal officials.

Trade groups representing restaurants and retailers say low-wage employers might halt their coverage if the government doesn't loosen a requirement for "mini-med" plans, which offer limited benefits to some 1.4 million Americans.

The requirement concerns the percentage of premiums that must be spent on benefits.

While many restaurants don't offer health coverage, McDonald's provides mini-med plans for workers at 10,500 U.S. locations, most of them franchised. A single worker can pay $14 a week for a plan that caps annual benefits at $2,000, or about $32 a week to get coverage up to $10,000 a year.

Last week, a senior McDonald's official informed the Department of Health and Human Services that the restaurant chain's insurer won't meet a 2011 requirement to spend at least 80% to 85% of its premium revenue on medical care.

[...]

McDonald's, in a memo to federal officials, said "it would be economically prohibitive for our carrier to continue offering" the mini-med plan unless it got an exemption from the requirement to spend 80% to 85% of premiums on benefits. Officials said McDonald's would probably have to hit the 85% figure, which applies to larger group plans. Its insurer, BCS Insurance Group of Oak Brook Terrace, Ill., declined to comment.

More about the memo:

"Having to drop our current mini-med offering would represent a huge disruption to our 29,500 participants," said McDonald's memo, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. "It would deny our people this current benefit that positively impacts their lives and protects their health—and would leave many without an affordable, comparably designed alternative until 2014."

McDonalds isn't the only corporation that will be affected by this very same issue either.

Insurers say dozens of other employers could find themselves in the same situation as McDonald's. Aetna Inc., one of the largest sellers of mini-med plans, provides the plans to Home Depot Inc., Disney Worldwide Services, CVS Caremark Corp., Staples Inc. and Blockbuster Inc., among others, according to an Aetna client list obtained by the Journal. Aetna also covers AmeriCorps teaching-program sponsors, who are required by law to make health coverage available.

Aetna declined to comment; it has previously indicated that the requirement could hurt its limited benefit plans.

Read the entire piece, then H/T to The Right Scoop, see the video below where this is being discussed and word is McDonalds is denying employees are going to lose health insurance but do not deny sending the memo WSJ obtained to federal officials.



My guess is they are trying to avoid a massive panic by their employees that take advantage of their mini-med plans while they try to get government officials to provide waivers from Obamacare law.


Read about other unintended consequences of Obamacare in the related posts section, here.

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AABE President Discusses Renewable Energy Stardard

American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) President Frank Stewart discussed in a National Journal article some key flaws with the current Renewable Energy Standard (RES) proposals before Congress, and offered some suggestions for improving them. These improvements included:

Change the RES to a CES, or Clean Energy Standard, including clean coal and nuclear power, thereby strengthening our national energy capacity and encouraging more rapid development.

Develop a clean, safe, and timely way to develop America’s shale gas resources to promote energy security, stability, and reliability.

Finally, legislation ought to consider strengthening federal investment is research, development and deployment of technologies to improve energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings and in industrial processes.

According to Stewart:

Frank Stewart

"America needs all types of energy, from oil and gas to solar and wind. In addition, we need to be able to manage these multiple, dispersed and variable generating capabilities with speed, accuracy and reliability. Our nation needs a healthy economy and a healthy environment. We need policies that encourage innovation, that promote fairness, that improve security and that lay the foundation for the future. America needs a CES, not a RES."

Open Government Licence enables re-use of information

The National Archives
30 September 2010

The National Archives is today launching a new Open Government Licence, which makes it faster and easier than ever before to re-use public sector information.

The UK Open Government Licence is a key element of the Government's commitment to greater transparency. It provides a single set of terms and conditions for anyone wishing to use or license government information and removes some of the existing barriers to re-use.

Developers and entrepreneurs wishing to use government data to create new websites and applications will no longer need to register or formally apply for permission to re-use the data. The new licence is interoperable with other internationally recognised licensing models, such as Creative Commons.

Bringing information to life

Commenting on the launch of the new licence, Lord McNally, Minister for The National Archives and Public Sector Information, said: 'The National Archives isn't simply a repository of our nation's history, its task is to bring information to life, make it accessible and enable its re-use. This innovative licence gives everyone the opportunity to create products and services which benefit society.'

The licence covers a broad range of public sector information, including Crown Copyright, databases and source codes and can be used across the entire public sector.  It is published today in a machine-readable format on the Information management section of The National Archives website.

To support the UK Open Government Licence, The National Archives has developed the UK Government Licensing Framework which sets out the Government's overall policy on licensing and the re-use of public sector information.

See also:
http://data.gov.uk/blog/new-open-government-license

Death Valley Round II: Todd Headed Home, Death Valley Wins Again

Rough new from Todd Carmichael's home team this morning as the explorer has been forced to call it quits on his second attempt to trek solo across Death Valley. This time it was continued equipment failure that brought the expedition down.

According to the latest dispatch from his site, Todd has covered more than 80 miles on his journey, enduring 110ºF days, while dragging nearly 500 pounds worth of gear, water, and other supplies behind him in his specially designed cart. That cart, which he refers to a "the Pig," was suppose to be his lifeline for getting across the desert, but it was also his biggest cause for frustration. Apparently, Todd has exhausted his supply of spare tires, and all of the ones that he's been carrying with him are now beyond repair. Without good tires, the Pig goes nowhere.

This was Todd's second attempt to cross Death Vally solo and unassisted. Last year he was forced to abandon the expedition due to problems with the cart and the incredibly rugged conditions. This year, he returned with a renewed enthusiasm and a redesigned Pig that he hoped would endure the hardships of the journey better, unfortunately that wasn't the case.

This morning's dispatch says that Todd is disappointed that he once again won't be able to reach the finish line, but that he is already planning ahead for next year. It sounds like Death Valley hasn't heard the last of Todd Carmichael. We'll look forward to Round III next year.

Alberto Contador Fails Drug Test, Blames Bad Meat

The big story of the day today from the world of cycling is that three time Tour de France champ Alberto Contador has tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol and has been provisionally suspended from the sport, pending an investigation. The positive test came on July 21st, while riding in the Tour.

The positive test came about when a lab in Germany detected what they say is "very small concentration" of clenbuterol in Contador's urine. In fact, it was such a small amount that it was 400 times less than the anti-doping laboratories must be able to detect in their tests. However, the substance is banned outright, and any amount is grounds for immediate action.

For his part, Contador says that the failed test is the result of food contamination from meat that was brought into France from his home country of Spain at the request of the team chef. That chef apparently complained about the quality of the meat that was available in France for preparing meals, and had a friend deliver what he felt was a higher quality product to his kitchen. Contador claims that that meat caused food poisoning that caused the trace amounts of the banned substance to show up in his system. He also says that the UCI, the governing body over international cycling, admitted as much to him when he was informed of the failed test on August 24th.

According to the AP story that I linked to above, Contador's A and B samples both tested positive for clenbuterol. The article also says that the substance has been around for nearly 30 years, and that there are no indications that you can inadvertently take it. The drug is commonly used to help those who suffer with breathing disorders, such as asthma, and it is banned from cycling to prevent someone from using it to gain an advantage in oxygen intake.

At this time there is no indication that Contador will be stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title. He finished just ahead of Andy Schleck in the race, but there will be an in depth investigation of the events before any decision is made in regards to taking away the title or suspending him from the sport.

Just what cycling needed. A drug controversy surrounding it's biggest star.

Reid Hates Coal

And pretty much everything, probably himself.
Harry Reid embarrases himself again. (no, he didn't pee in his pants, I'm sure it's coming though)


But what the hay? We are getting used to it.


http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Harry_Reid.htm

Jump on this link and find out just where they stand, I was a bit concerned about O'Donnell, not much, just a bit.

In Liberty, and having fun leading to November,
Skeez

Students explore immigration issue

Students are becoming more aware of immigration issues and had to go through a checkpoint similar to what AZ SB1070 could turn into. Let's hope this is as close as they will ever get to this happening. - - Donna Poisl

By Garrett Gianneschi, Campus Correspondent

Students walking down Fairfield Way were exposed to a mock immigration checkpoint outside the Student Union in an effort to raise awareness about illegal immigrants in the U.S., according to Dan D'Ademo, a 5th-semester business management major.

Volunteers of the ResLife -sponsored event would ask passersby their mock "checkpoint" questions like "Excuse me sir, are you an illegal immigrant?" or "Do you have your immigration papers?" said D'Ademo.

"We hope they [students] become more aware of the laws set against illegal immigrants and form an opinion, whether it is positive or negative," said D'Ademo.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

The mega payoff of increased immigration is lost on the pols

An excellent article, one I completely agree with. - - Donna Poisl

By Ezra Klein, Washington Post Staff Writer

I have a plan that will raise wages, lower prices, increase the nation's stock of scientists and engineers, and maybe even create the next Google. Better yet, this plan won't cost the government a dime. In fact, it'll save money. A lot of money. But few politicians are going to want to touch it.

Here's the plan: More immigration. A pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants. And a recognition that immigration policy is economic policy and needs to be thought of as such.

See what I meant about politicians not liking it?
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

The San Diego melting pot

This editorial tells about the city of San Diego and shows the mix that many cities have now also. Just like 100 years ago in the older Eastern cities but the nationalities have changed. - - Donna Poisl

BY UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD

The statistic, part of a quiet trend, is startling only because of where it comes from: Escondido, the local city struggling most with ethnic change, empowerment and assimilation.

Escondido, by the latest estimates, is 46 percent Hispanic and 44 percent white. Coming Census figures may put Hispanics in the majority.

A changing blend of ethnicities and cultures is old news in the South County. But North County, too, is taking on more of a salsa flavor. Vista is 44 percent Hispanic, Oceanside 35 percent. In East County, sprinkle some tahini paste in El Cajon proper (26 percent Hispanic and possibly 15 to 20 percent Iraqi Chaldean).
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

US Government to Fund Citizenship Classes for Immigrants

More than 70 groups have received funding from the government to assist immigrants become citizens. The money is helping to fund the classes to teach English and history and government. - - Donna Poisl

by Elizabeth Lee

Illegal immigration often is the subject of heated debate in the United States. What gets less attention is legal immigration, and how newcomers become citizens. It is not easy. They have to pay a fee, learn English and acquire a working knowledge of American history and government. Many end up knowing more about their new country than a lot of native-born U.S. citizens.

This year, the U.S. government is providing financial support for more than 70 organizations across the country to offer classes to help immigrants attain citizenship.
Click on the headline above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.

Ten Economic Facts about Immigration

Download this report, very interesting information about immigrants and immigration in this country.

Click on the headline to download it.

Iran sanctions: BHO administration says the right thing but...

THIS just in over the BBC:

29 September 2010 Last updated at 14:59 ET

US imposes sanctions on Iranian officials for 'abuses'

US President Barack Obama has ordered for the first time sanctions against senior Iranian officials for "sustained and severe violations of human rights".

The eight men include the head of the Revolutionary Guards, a former interior minister and the prosecutor general.

The treasury department said they would face a travel ban and asset freeze.

The alleged abuses include the killings and beatings of anti-government protesters after the disputed presidential election in June 2009.

Millions of Iranians defied official warnings and participated in mass rallies that drew the largest crowds since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The authorities launched a brutal crackdown, during which opposition and human rights groups accused the security forces of extra-judicial killings, rapes and torture. Thousands were held without charge.

Over the subsequent six months, at least 40 protesters were killed, although the opposition says more than 70 died. At least two people have been executed for related offences, and dozens imprisoned.

[...]

In a statement, the White House said: "As the president noted in his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly, human rights are a matter of moral and pragmatic necessity for the United States."

"The United States will always stand with those in Iran who aspire to have their voices heard. We will be a voice for those aspirations that are universal, and we continue to call upon the Iranian government to respect the rights of its people."

All of those named in the US sanctions list served in Iran's military, law enforcement and justice system around the time of the 2009 protests:...

There follows a list of those named in the sanctions, and a video clip of Secretary of State Clinton.

Check it out on the BBC here.

This declaration follows on the most recent symbol of disapproval of Iran, when the US and other nations walked out of the UN as the Iranian despot did his usual anti-Israel, anti-all- things-not-Iranian screed this past week.

My two questions are this: 1) what took you so long? and 2) what is the US actually going to do?



You KNOW I have more to say here.

Joints Center Hosting Smart Grid Forum

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is inviting the public to a Technology Policy Forum co-sponsored by the Media and Technology Institute and the Commission to Engage African Americans on Climate Change:

THE SMART GRID PROMISE: IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND ENHANCING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL AMERICANS

Join them as the U.S. Department of Energy releases their new report concerning the future of the nation’s Smart Grid technology. Smart Grid technology is an example of energy and broadband technology coming together to solve a major infrastructure challenge. Leaders from the policy, industry and advocacy arenas will respond to the new report, and engage in a dialogue about the potential of Smart Grid technology to improve our nation’s energy system, and enhance the quality of life for all Americans.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2010 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

CAPITAL HILTON, Federal B Room, 1001 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC

Keynote Remarks: Scott Blake Harris, Esq., General Counsel, U.S. Department of Energy

Opening Remarks: Ralph B. Everett, Esq., President and CEO, Joint Center

Panelists:

Jeff Brueggeman, Esq., Vice President, Public Policy, AT&T
Calvin Butler, Esq., Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Exelon Corporation
Charles Davidson, Esq., Director of the Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute, NY Law School
Dean Garfield, Esq., President and CEO, Information Technology Industry Council
Betsy Mullins, Senior Vice President, Policy and Political Affairs, TechNet
Bret Perkins, Senior Director, Public Policy, Comcast
Larry Plumb, Ph.D., Executive Director, Emerging Issues and Technology Policy, Verizon

RSVP at smartgridRSVP@jointcenter.org by October 1, 2010. For questions or press inquiries, please contact Betty Anne Williams at (202) 789-3505.

Adventure Racing World Championships Begin This Weekend!

The Adventure Racing World Championships are set to get underway this weekend at the Bimbache Extrem in Spain. The race officially gets underway on Sunday, Oct. 3rd and will run until next Friday, October 8th. 53 of the best teams in the world, including the newly renamed Team Nike, who now race under the Team Blackwater moniker, will be competing to be crowned world champs.

The international teams are expected to begin arriving tomorrow, and over the next two days they'll have some free time and mandatory gear and skills checks to contend with. Then on Sunday, the race gets underway at 8AM from the Avila city center, where the teams will begin their trekking, biking, paddling and navigating adventure.

With just days to go, I caught this interesting article posted at both Adventure World Magazine and on the Untamed Adventure website. The article asks where the tops American teams are in this year's race, as there seems to be very few actually competing in the ARWC. The article postulates some reasons as to why this is the case, with some excellent insights as to where all the American teams have gone and why they aren't competing well on an international level. Really interesting stuff, and it's a shame that we don't see more American teams taking part in this great event.

Of course, it's not like American's haven't done well in the sport. For years Nike was the dominant team in the world, but for a variety of reasons that hasn't been the case the past two or three years. It'll be interesting to see how well they do in this event though, as they really haven't taken on big international competition in awhile. And lets face it, the sport has been growing more abroad than here in the States, also for a variety of reasons. I think it's safe to say that the best teams in the world now reside in Europe and Oceania.

Regardless, it should be a fun event to watch. Let's hope they provide us with good updates and tracking so fans can follow along with the race.

Majority Distrusts Media and Plurality Says Media Is Too Liberal

Gallup:

For the fourth straight year, the majority of Americans say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. The 57% who now say this is a record high by one percentage point.

[...]

Nearly half of Americans (48%) say the media are too liberal, tying the high end of the narrow 44% to 48% range recorded over the past decade. One-third say the media are just about right while 15% say they are too conservative.

Those findings explain this sentence from Gallup perfectly:

Democrats and liberals remain far more likely than other political and ideological groups to trust the media and to perceive no bias.

Despite John Kerry's claim that voters are too uninformed, it seems Americans are watching, noticing and calling the media out on their liberal bias, hence distrusting them to report the news accurately and see them nmore as Democratic cheerleaders.

Sounds pretty informed to me.

NeighborWorks Homeownership Efforts Get a Boost from $15 Million in CDFI Funds

Efforts to increase sustainable homeownership got a boost recently when 25 members of the NeighborWorks network received nearly $15 million as part of grants made by the U.S. Treasury department’s Community Development Financial Institution program.

Combined with grants from NeighborWorks America, local governments, foundations and the private sector, these NeighborWorks organizations and others affiliates in the network plan to continue making sustainable, affordable homeownership available in communities across the U.S.

Roy Nash, president and CEO of NeighborWorks Waco said, “CDFI funds are a major tool in our work to safely increase homeownership in our market. Being able to help homeowners secure a low-cost, fixed-rate mortgage and a home that is right for their needs is part of what these grants do and do very successfully.”

In addition to the twenty five grant recipients in this latest round of financing, there are 47 additional NeighborWorks organizations with certified CDFI operations. NeighborWorks organizations use these recent CDFI grants and prior grants to foster sustainable housing in a variety of ways, including:

• providing down payment assistance to qualified first-time homebuyers who have successfully completed homeownership education classes
• underwriting the cost of homeownership education classes
• providing capital to support the construction and project management of affordable homes for sale.

Learn more, including the names and location of the award recipients.

Republican Daniel Webster now holds a 7-point lead over Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson

Via Sunshine News:

In one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the nation, Republican Daniel Webster now holds a 7-point lead over Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson in Central Florida's 8th Congressional District, according to a new Sunshine State News Poll.

Webster, a former state senator, leads the freshman congressman 43-36 in the survey of 559 likely voters conducted Sept. 25-27. TEA ("Taxed Enough Already") Party candidate Peg Dunmire drew 6 percent and NPA hopeful George Metcalfe garnered 3 percent, while 9 percent remained undecided (2 percent cited "other" and 1 percent refused to state).

Digging deeper, the numbers look even worse for Grayson as 51 percent of respondents said they had an unfavorable view of the Orlando-area congressman.

"Grayson has real problems here," said Jim Lee, president of Voter Survey Service, which conducted the poll for Sunshine State News.

"He’s even more unpopular than the president, which is not surprising given how controversial he has been with his rhetoric, overall style and TV ads."

H/T to Hot Air for pointing out how Contessa Brewer from SNBC nails Grayson to the wall over one of those misleading attack ads.

Video Below:



The real problem for Grayson is that, according to Open Congress, Grayson has voted along party-line (Democrat) 98 percent of the time and abstains 2 percent, and Democrats are facing a very toxic atmosphere going into the November midterms.

Perhaps avoidance of that very fact is why he has been trying to distract voters using ads like his Talinban Dan ad, despite FactCheck.org finding it was misleading and distorting the actual facts.

Rep. Grayson Lowers the Bar

The Florida Democrat manipulates video to make his opponent seem to urge wives to 'submit' to husbands. He didn't.

Summary

We thought Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida reached a low point when he falsely accused his opponent of being a draft dodger during the Vietnam War, and of not loving his country. But now Grayson has lowered the bar even further. He’s using edited video to make his rival appear to be saying the opposite of what he really said.

In a new ad, Grayson accuses his Republican opponent Daniel Webster of being a religious fanatic and dubs him "Taliban Dan." But to make his case, Grayson manipulates a video clip to make it appear Webster was commanding wives to submit to their husbands, quoting a passage in the Bible. Four times, the ad shows Webster saying wives should submit to their husbands. In fact, Webster was cautioning husbands to avoid taking that passage as their own. The unedited quote is: "Don’t pick the ones [Bible verses] that say, ‘She should submit to me.’ "

Often acts of desperation without thinking them through end up in disaster and Grayson may just learn that lesson too late.

Republicans are lucky this year, with the majority of Americans disapproving of Obama's job performance, Pelosi and Reid holding the highest unpopularity ratings of all congressional leaders and congress holding it's lowest favorability ranking, all Republicans have to do is point to Democratic incumbents actual votes and allow the connection to Obama's agenda and Reid and Pelosi to speak for itself.

Democrats cannot use their recently passed legislation as a platform to campaign on, because the majority of Americans opposed most of it before it passed and still do, so they have no other choice than to attack, lie and distort on things that have nothing to do with the actual issues.




.

Alaska-Yukon Expedition: How The Journey Changed The Man

It's been several weeks since Andrew Skurka finished up his Alaska-Yukon Expedition that saw him covering more than 4700 miles of remote backcountry over the course of six months in the field. The trek was just another major adventure for a guy who has become the poster child for long distance hiking, but that doesn't mean that Andrew didn't learn a few things along the way.

Andrew has continued his debrief of the expedition over at the National Geographic Adventure Blog, posting a story yesterday on just how the journey changed him. Specifically, he names three ways that he feels that he has changed, both as a long distance hiker and as a person, because of this hike. Those include  learning to use finesse over force when traveling through the backcountry, applying environmental knowledge to help make his journey easier and safer, and perhaps most importantly, he learned about humility.

Skurka goes into more detail of each point in his article, giving more insights and examples, as to how those three changes impacted the journey and how they'll aid him in his future endeavors as well. It's quite an interesting read, especially coming from a guy who has spent a lot of time in the wilderness.

Threaded email or not, now it’s your users’ choice in Gmail

We didn’t build Gmail to work like all the other email options out there. We launched with a full gigabyte of storage per person (now 25 GB for business users), lightning fast search, labels instead of folders, and newer improvements like Priority Inbox to help you cope better with lots of information. While most Gmail users find that these features save lots of time, naturally there are people who want to keep using email in more familiar ways. That’s why we launched alternatives like Microsoft Outlook® synchronization, native BlackBerry® integration and IMAP support. More choice helps people move to the cloud more quickly.

Conversation view is perhaps Gmail’s most hotly debated feature. Threading enthusiasts say they spend less mental energy drawing connections between related messages and that their inboxes are much less cluttered. On the other hand, email traditionalists like many former Outlook users think conversation view just complicates something that has worked for years. Russ Midford, Senior Information Systems Engineer at Sanmina-SCI, sums it up well. “I personally prefer threaded conversations, but as an administrator who still needs to support some long-time Outlook users on Gmail, the unthreaded option is like gold.”

We really hoped everyone would learn to love conversation view, but we came to realize that it’s just not right for some people. So today we’re introducing another valuable choice. Users who prefer a traditional inbox can toggle off conversation view to see email as individual messages in chronological order. Some actions commonly associated with unthreaded email can be accomplished with searches in Gmail, so check out our tips on advanced search operators.

Over the next few days, we’ll be rolling out conversation view settings to users in organizations with the “Enable pre-release features” option selected in the Google Apps control panel, and to individuals using Gmail.

Whichever side of the debate you’re on, we hope we’re continuously making Gmail more useful to you. For more information about migrating from common legacy solutions to Google Apps, see our resource pages for Microsoft® Exchange and Lotus Notes®, or contact our sales team.

Join the Google Apps team for a demonstration of this feature, a recap of recent Gmail innovations, and tools to help your school or business switch to Google Apps:
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
10 a.m. PDT / 1 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. GMT
On-demand webinar

Posted by Dong Chen, Software Engineer

If James Bond Rode A Bike, It Would Look Like This...

Yesterday I wrote a post about a bike that weighed just six pounds and cost $45,000. This is NOT that bike. Today we have a video of a bike that you would probably find in James Bond's garage, as it comes complete with an ejector seat and flame thrower, and is capable of pedaling through nearly any terrain.

In fact, the bike is actually called the BOND Bike, with BOND standing for Built of Notorious Deterrents. According to the Daily Mail, it was actually put together by an insurance company in the U.K. who surveyed their customers to find out what they least liked about cycling. Their responses, which included potholes, traffic, and thieves, helped to inspire the design, which is at least good for a laugh.

Gear Box: First Ascent Hangfire Hoodie

When Eddie Bauer launched their First Ascent line a year and a half ago, their intention was to get back to their roots and offer well designed, and technically advanced, equipment for the hardcore outdoor crowd. By most accounts, the new gear, which was designed with the help of some top climbers and mountain guides, has been very well received, earning high marks for being comfortable, warm, and well made.

Up until recently however, I hadn't had a chance to test out any of the First Ascent gear for myself. The local Eddie Bauer stores don't stock the line at all, and it has been a challenge to actually see the gear first hand. That changed a few weeks back when I finally got my hands on a Hangfire Hoodie, which serves as insulation in First Ascent layering system.

The first thing that struck me about the Hangfire was the quality of the design and construction. Before I even put the jacket on, I could tell that it was well made, with two-way stretch fleece that is soft to the touch and comfortable to wear. The inclusion of three zip pockets, two for your hands and one on the breast, was a nice touch too.

Eyeballing the Hangfire I thought that it looked like it was a bit on the small size, but when I pulled it on, I found it comfortable to wear, while still being quite form fitting. That's an excellent quality in an insulation layer, which will slip over a base layer for warmth, but can remain useful under a shell as well. The form fitting design takes away bulk and doesn't restrict motion either, with the stretchy fleece allowing for plenty of latitude when climbing, hiking, or even paddling.

As you might expect on a hoodie, the hood is an integral and important part of the overall package, and First Ascent has done a good job of integrating it in the Hangfire. The hood has a soft lining that fits snugly against your head when pulled into place, and zippered up, helping to protect from the elements, but it is also made of the same stretch fleece, which means it can also easily stretch over a helmet when the need arises. The hood is also warm and breathable, which makes it very functional as well.

The Hangfire is another piece of gear that is very functional in the backcountry, with all the touches you'd expect from First Ascent. It works well as an insulating layer or as a stand alone jacket, and can even repel light rain if the need arises. But the look and design of the hoodie is great too, which means it will look good kicking around town too. You might even get a compliment or two about how nice it looks.

At an MSRP of $99, the Hangfire represents a nice value to. It's an excellent jacket that I would have  expected to pay more for, offering high quality, a nice fit, and good integration into a layering system. The Hangfire is a great introduction to the First Ascent line and it has definitely made a good first impression on their gear. Can't wait to try out some more!

(Of note, the Hangfire is also currently on sale in the First Ascent store for just $79, so it is an even bigger bargain. Definitely worth grabbing at that price!)

The GOP Has Not Harnessed The Tea Party- The Tea Has Harnessed The GOP

We hear the expression "Take Our Country Back" often, but in regards to the Tea Party that expression should be "Take Our Party Back"' because that is exactly what they have done for conservative Republicans.

In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, the findings show a pattern emerging:

In the survey, 71% of Republicans described themselves as tea-party supporters, saying they had a favorable image of the movement or hoped tea- party candidates would do well in the Nov. 2 elections.

[....]

The poll found that tea-party supporters make up one-third of the voters most likely to cast ballots in November's midterm elections. This showed the movement "isn't a small little segment, but it is a huge part of what's driving 2010," Mr. Hart said.

(Peter Hart is a Democratic pollster)

The generic congressional figures, according to this poll, are 46 percent for Republicans and 43 percent for Democrats.

The enthusiasm gap is what is being considered the game changer and while African-Americans and Hispanics are a little more involved now than before, the Republicans still hold a large enthusiasm lead with two-thirds of the GOP voters saying they are intensely interested in the election, compared with about half of Democrats.

Seven in 10 adults felt the country remains in recession. And among people who said the recession had a major impact on them and their family, more said they preferred a GOP-controlled Congress to a Democratic-run Congress. One in four adults thought the economy would get worse over the next 12 months. Of that group, two-thirds were people with an affinity for the tea-party movement.

While not all Republicans or conservatives are Tea Party members or supporters, most Tea Party members are either moderately conservative or conservative in nature, no matter their party affiliation.

Further findings in the poll show:

*** 73 percent of respondents disapprove of the job Congress is doing with only 20 percent approving.

*** 59 percent of respondents think the country is on the wrong track with only 32 percent believing the country is heading in the right direction.

The Tea Party has forced the GOP to embrace fiscal responsibility once again and if given control of the House and/or the Senate in the 2010 midterm elections, the Tea Party and those that support and agree with the founding principles of the Tea Party, will hold the GOP accountable for continuing to embrace fiscal responsibility.

Maybe Barack Obama is destructive for America

Barack Obama is again claiming that Fox News is destructive for America. Talk about the pot calling the kettle African-American.

http://www.tygrrrrexpress.com/2010/09/maybe-barack-obama-is-destructive-for-america/

Flying from Phoenix to Oakland. Speaking during the day at the Citizens for Constitutional Liberty Rally in ...Sacramento and then in the evening to the San Mateo Tea Party. Taking a midnight flight from Oakland to DC.

eric aka the Tygrrrr Express

Moderate Arab-Americans still hopeful

Ghaith Al-Omari, advocacy director for the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP)--an organization that strongly supports a negotiated two-state solution--concluded his Sept. 27th appearance on the PBS Newshour as follows:

.... I simply cannot imagine either side coming to the U.S. president, to President Obama, and saying, here, we're handing you a failure in this process one month into the process. It's unthinkable, inconceivable at the moment.

And, as I said, I believe that the strategic interests of both the Palestinians and the Israelis can only be fulfilled through a negotiated process. They might position and posture and do brinkmanship, but, ultimately, you know, there is no other option in the long term but to negotiate.  

Al-Omari's colleague at the ATFP, Hussein Ibish, outlines a possible way for Israel and the Palestinians to finesse the settlements issue for now: 

.... The settlement issue is crucial because with every significant expansion of the Israeli presence in the Occupied Territories, the borders of a Palestinian state become more difficult to draw.... 

... all sensible parties, including Israeli parties, must recognize that ... Israel cannot be allowed to continue to reshape the strategic landscape while negotiations are proceeding.

This suggests the usefulness of an informal understanding, enforced by the US, that Israel can build modestly in “consensus areas” generally understood to be the likely subject of a land swap between Israel and a new Palestinian state. However, Israel must not engage in significant new land expropriation in the West Bank, incursions into Palestinian neighborhoods of occupied East Jerusalem, or building in the “E-1 corridor” that would cut Jerusalem off from the West Bank.

Not only would such an understanding resolve, for a limited period of time, the strategic problems posed by continued settlement activity, it could and should buy time for negotiators to focus on fixing the borders of a Palestinian state, which would defuse the issue over a much longer term. ...

You can read this entire article by Ibish at the Now Lebanon website.