Click here to view this media We posted a piece last week that alerted everybody what the televangelists and GOP were doing to our aviation safety and jobs because they want to ultimately go union-busting against the workers. Tea Party Crazy Dominated GOP Threaten Aviation Safety While Engaging In Union Busting Now that their plan is taking effect, we’re already seeing the odious results of the endeavor. Daily Kos: As anticipated , the Federal Aviation Administration’s operating authority expired at midnight Friday and the agency partially shut down. While air traffic controllers are still on the job and air travel continues more or less normally, nearly 4,000 other FAA employees are currently furloughed without pay . Additionally, nearly 87,000 construction jobs are affected as FAA-funded airport construction projects are forced to shut down. This includes projects from $10,000 to tens of millions of dollars, scattered across the country. All of which is probably fine with House Republicans, since the whole purpose of this exercise was to make things more difficult for workers, anyway. By trying to make union representation elections operate by undemocratic rules, they put people out of work instead—maybe that’s a job well done in their eyes. The FAA is also unable to collect taxes on airline tickets bought, depriving the government of $200 million a week in revenue. But the great little coda to this story is that consumers aren’t seeing savings : [I]nstead of passing along the savings, the airlines are pocketing the money while customers pay the same amount as before. American, United, Continental, Delta, US Airways, Southwest, AirTran and JetBlue all raised fares, although details sometimes differed. Most of the increases were around 7.5 percent. It’s like the Republican dream: Not only is the government not collecting revenue, that same revenue is going straight to corporations, for no reason. Why would they ever agree to end this shutdown? The AFL-CIO sent out an email urging people to take action: Last weekend, House Republican leaders proved just how far they are willing to go to achieve their ideological goals. At 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning, they shut down the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As if bringing America to the brink of default hasn’t done enough damage already. Are they out of their minds? Because of the extreme ideological agenda of House Republicans and their political game-playing, 4,000 workers were furloughed over the weekend and more than 90,000 jobs across the country are on the line—including 1,026 in DC.(1) Meanwhile, the government is out $200 million a week in airline ticket fees that normally fund our aviation infrastructure. That loss now will be added to the national debt. Tell your members of Congress the FAA needs to get up and running immediately. Republican House leaders’ hostage-taking needs to stop. And if you’ve been following the media, whenever a TV pundit asks a GOP politician about the FAA shutdown, they just lie in their responses. I really don’t expect many hosts or anchors to have much of a grasp on the story, but some basic knowledge wouldn’t be a bad idea to counter the spin. Laura catches the WaPo of doing Karl Rove’s handiwork for the GOP.
Continue reading …On Tuesday's NBC Today, correspondent Kristen Welker portrayed President Obama as the great compromiser while reporting on his Monday night address on the debt ceiling: “…the President still pushed for a balanced approach , cut spending and raise tax revenue….With time running out, the President called for compromise.” In contrast, Welker depicted House Speaker John Boehner as stubborn and unwilling to deal: “Boehner seemed to reject all talk of compromise , backing a House GOP plan….Earlier, the President did endorse a plan put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid….But Boehner said that's not the answer.” Welker touted how Obama called on the American people to do his bidding: “Monday night the President urged viewers to call Congress to push for his approach before it's too late.” Concluding her report, Welker lamented: “Despite the fact that the President has been calling for this balanced approach with spending cuts and new tax revenues, neither the House nor Senate plan includes new revenues.” She never suggested that Obama's insistence on tax hikes was stubborn or out of touch. Immediately following the President's address on Monday, Meet the Press host David Gregory actually claimed that Obama was doing Boehner a favor by attacking House Republicans. Here is a full transcript of the July 26 segment: 7:00AM TEASE ANN CURRY: Good morning. War of words. President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner clash in dueling prime time speeches over the cause and cure of the nation's debt crisis. BARACK OBAMA: This is no way to run the greatest country on Earth. JOHN BOEHNER: And the sad truth is that the President wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today. CURRY: Which side will blink first? With the deadline now just one week away. 7:01AM TEASE MATT LAUER: And boy, it was interesting to watch these two speeches in prime time last night. The President went first and delivered a tough message at the White House. He warned Americans of an impending economic crisis if Congress fails to pass a comprehensive budget deal in only seven days. And, of course, he pointed a finger of blame directly at the Republicans. CURRY: That's right. And the President described what's happening in Washington as a, quote, 'partisan three-ring circus.' But House Speaker Boehner fired right back, saying even when a deal appears within reach, the President, he said, would not take yes for an answer. So we've got the latest in a live report from Washington coming up just ahead. 7:02AM SEGMENT CURRY: We begin this morning with the debt showdown in Washington. NBC's Kristen Welker is at the White House with more. Kristen, good morning. KRISTEN WELKER: Good morning to you, Ann. Well, with that deadline looming, there's really a heightened sense of urgency to get something done here at the White House and on Capitol Hill. This after a night of political theater in which both sides still seem as far apart as ever. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: One Week to Go; President & Boehner Take Debt Duel to Nation] BARACK OBAMA: Tonight I want to talk about the debate we've been having in Washington- WELKER: For only the seventh time in his presidency, Mr. Obama delivered a prime time speech, painting a dire picture of what will happen if Congress doesn't raise the nation's debt ceiling by next week. OBAMA: Interest rates would skyrocket on credit cards, on mortgages and on car loans, which amounts to a huge tax hike on the American people. WELKER: Despite weeks of partisan wrangling, the President still pushed for a balanced approach, cut spending and raise tax revenue. OBAMA: The only reason this balanced approach isn't on its way to becoming law right now is because a significant number of Republicans in Congress are insisting on a different approach, a cuts-only approach, an approach that doesn't ask the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to contribute anything at all. WELKER: With time running out, the President called for compromise. JOHN BOEHNER: I'm John Boehner. WELKER: But just two minutes after the President spoke, House Speaker John Boehner gave his side. BOEHNER: The sad truth is that the President wanted a blank check six months ago and he wants a blank check today. This is just not going to happen. WELKER: Boehner seemed to reject all talk of compromise, backing a House GOP plan that's a two-step approach. First, slash spending by $1.2 trillion and raise the debt limit, then revisit the issue next year before the 2012 election. BOEHNER: Obviously I expect that bill can and will pass the Senate and be sent to the President for his signature. And if the President signs it, the crisis atmosphere that he has created will simply disappear. WELKER: Earlier, the President did endorse a plan put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, which would raise the debt limit to 2013, after the election. It calls for $2.7 trillion in spending cuts. But Boehner said that's not the answer. BOEHNER: The solution to this crisis is not complicated. If you're spending more money than you're taking in, you need to spend less of it. WELKER: Monday night the President urged viewers to call Congress to push for his approach before it's too late. OBAMA: If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of Congress know. BOEHNER: This debate isn't about President Obama and House Republicans, it isn't about Congress and the White House. It's about what's standing between the American people and the future we seek for ourselves and our families. OBAMA: It's a dangerous game that we've never played before, and we can't afford to play it now. BOEHNER: In Washington, more spending and more debt is business as usual. Well, I've got news for Washington, those days are over. WELKER: Now, looks like Speaker Boehner's plan will be voted on first, likely as early as tomorrow. One more interesting note, despite the fact that the President has been calling for this balanced approach with spending cuts and new tax revenues, neither the House nor Senate plan includes new revenues. Ann. CURRY: Alright, Kristen Welker this morning, thank you.
Continue reading …Christian Vanneque has big plans for his latest wine purchase—which happens to be the priciest ever. The former sommelier has just dropped $117,000 on a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem from 1811—the so-called “comet year,” which legend has it produced superior wine thanks to the appearance of a…
Continue reading …Are Happy Meals soon to become Healthy Meals? Well, at least healthi er : McDonald’s, under pressure from nutrition advocates, will add a serving of fruit or vegetables to all of the children’s meals, the LA Times reports. But the French fries will still be included, albeit in a smaller serving…
Continue reading …Thought Google had a mountain-sized stack of your up close and personal online habits? Think again, because the omnipresent search king’s all-seeing eyes are nothing compared to the Chinese government , which recently enacted stricter regulations to identify free WiFi users. The government-issued monitoring software will cost the cafes and restaurants it targets $3,100, putting small business owners in a sticky situation — pay up, or shut down the free surfing. An informal survey conducted by the New York Times found not one owner willing to bow to the Republic’s pressure, citing the out-of-pocket cost and low number of actual users. It’s possible the move to clamp down on anonymous browsing was spurred by recent youth-embraced, social networking -backed uprisings, like the one in Cairo earlier this year. Seems a loophole in China’s net management policy allows “laptop- and iPad-owning colleges students and expatriates” — the very same group behind recent revolts — to go online undetected. It remains to be seen if the Communist Party will make this new measure widespread, or just restrict it to central Beijing. For their sake, we echo one owner’s hope that “official fervor [will]… soon die down.” Chinese government to track users of free WiFi, small businesses react with service cutoffs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …When it comes to the economy, the public is getting increasingly fed up with pretty much everyone in Washington. Roughly equal numbers blame President Obama and the Republicans for the state of the economy, according to a new Washington Post poll. And though Obama scores slightly higher than Republicans when…
Continue reading …US President Obama speech debt Full News Video Nikkei seen rangebound; Obama speech on debt woes eyed Obama, Boehner debt speech Watch Full Video Here um_zee says: @ SpeakerBoehner #DEM # GOP debt ceiling raised 17x under St. Ronald Reagan, 7x under GW Bush; but now stand on principle, playing politics
Continue reading …Discovery News reports that scientists in Hong Kong have ruled out the possibility of time travel by proving that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Which is funny, because “faster than the speed of light” is exactly how quickly our dreams were just crushed. According to Discovery: “The possibility of time travel
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