Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News Service: In the "yesteryears" we used the term "the domino effect"to illustrate the spreading of communism. Cartoonist William Warren has now used dominoes in his latest political cartoon (below) to depict the coming collapse of the American economy.
Is there anyone "who cares" at the White House or in the Senate Democrat leadership and is also willing to stop or to help mitigate the coming economic collapse of America? Mr. Obama, we do not need anymore campaign rhetoric! The progressive liberals and even a few anarchist from odd political variations may be looking favorably toward the collapse of our country, but the rest of America is not.
Many House Republican have demonstrated their concern. They came to Washington with a clear understanding that they have no promise of returning for another term. They also understand that time is running out for certain problems to be resolved. They know they might be "out on the street" with their follow Americans if the economy collapses. Also, rumors are spreading of fear of a potential dictatorship operating out of the White House in the future if an economic collapse were to occur.
Yesterday, the ARRA News Service posted about 103 House Republicans supporting the the House Republican Study Committee's "Cut, Cap, and Balance” response to the debt limit and the bigger debt crisis that’s just over the horizon. It’s a simple, three-part plan:
- Cut spending to slash the deficit in half next year (requiring about $380 billion in spending cuts according to CBO)
- Cap spending so it aligns with average revenues (ratcheting quickly down to 18% of GDP from current 24%).
- Send a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to the states for ratification (with high hurdle for tax hikes and 18% of GDP spending cap).
[Snip - Remainder of Article]
By William Warren: "Today my cartoon looks at the debt crisis which is spreading from Europe to the U.S."
Tags: European Central Bank, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Political Cartoons, Portugal, Spain, U.S. Debt Crisis, William Warren, the economy, collapse of America, Anthony Weiner, US House, US Senate, White House, Cut, Cap, Balance, Bill Smith
Yes, indeed. The crew over at First Arkansas News is working on a new project -- a Lum and Abner comic strip.
Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.
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Guest post from: Constance Rodgers
I am excited to begin my career as a freelance journalist but there are a bunch of things I need to do before I really get myself off the ground. I’ve got the writing chops but I need to get a www.domainnames.com purchased so I can get a website up there. Without a site I can point potential clients to in order to show off my work, I may as well be going door to door! My friend Jennifer is going to help me design the site but I’ve got to make sure to do it very professionally so I’ll earn some credibility. It doesn’t help my case that I’m so young so I want my online presence to really show my work for what it is. I hope I’ll soon gain notoriety for my work but in the meantime, I’ve got to get my name out there and this is the best way I know how. Soon I’ll be beating editors off with a stick but until then, it’s all about marketing myself!
Thank goodness for competition, huh?
What does a company do when it's market share is falling due to intense competition from other organizations with a ton of good ideas? If you're Mozilla, you come up with a new browser in an attempt to retain your user base, make gains on the dominant Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, keep your competition at bay and attract more users.
So, Firefox 4 is out there and it's a pretty solid browser. Want to read a full review of it? Just click here.
It appears 2011 will be a banner year for the mortgage interest deduction -- it could either be scaled back, cut out or retained (thus ensuring it will burrow further into the tax code, of course).
The facts are, quite simply, these. The government is broke after bailing out every group under the sun over the past couple of years. Last year, the feds decided it might be good to cut back a bit on spending. It appears 2011 will be the day (or, rather, year) of reckoning.
In this climate, then, it's no surprise that the federal government is taking a hard look at the mortgage interest deduction as something to eliminate in an attempt to raise some revenue. It's also not a surprise that money-flinging interest groups such as the National Association of Realtors are throwing a fit about suggestions to touch the deduction at all. And the general public? Polls show they want to keep the deduction.
First Arkansas News has launched a series taking a hard look at the deduction. You'll find the first part of tat series here and the second part will show up, well, when it shows up, you know?
Tags: Obama, Talking, both sides, AF Branco, political cartoon To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
| Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) "Failed Leadership" |
Today, April 6th, Representative Rick Crawford, now joined even more US Representatives have in another letter addressed Senator Reid's "reckless, partisan strategy of shutting down the government."
Crawford writes in the second letter to Senator Harry Reid, "With all due respect, if you do not plan to fulfill your responsibilities as Senate Majority Leader, perhaps it is time to step aside." The letter goes on the state, "Mr. Reid, it is time to stop denying the dire straits of our nation's fiscal health. "It is time to pass a bill."
[Full Story with the two letters and the list or Representatives who signed the letters.]
Tags: US Congress, letters, Rick Crawford, Arkansas, Senator, Harry Reid, time to resign,
Who is more fiscally responsible: Charlie Sheen or Washington? Duh! Charlie the Warlock. Washington spends $30 million, the same as Charlie’s salary, in less than five minutes. Now that’s a fastball… At least Charlie knew not to spend more than Two and a Half Men was paying him.
Washington's habit of spending far more than it takes in has driven the country into debt. And our economic situation is projected to only get worse.
The solution is clear, but not easy: spending cuts. History shows that reducing government spending leads to sustained economic growth. And that's something (even Charlie Sheen) can get behind.
With the help of Charlie (sort of), our latest video explains that after years of spending far more than we take in, Washington has driven us deep into the red. And there’s only one viable solution. Check out the video below and then sign up to be one of the first to receive our latest products!
Excerpt:
Charlie Sheen (impersonator): “Yeah, well, being a ‘rockstar from Mars’ is expensive. Duh. But I still brought in more than I spent. WINNING. You can’t say the same for Washington. LOSING.”
Here are a few facts:Last year, Washington brought in 2.3 trillion in taxes, and spent it all, plus a lot more. One and a half times to be exact. Losing!We need solutions NOW and Public Notice’s latest video shows what we already know to do. Cut Spending!
It took over 200 years, and every president from George Washington through Bill Clinton, to rack up a $ 6-trillion debt. But Washington politicians have more than doubled that in just 10 years. Losing!
Our current debt of more than 14 trillion means every American household is on the hook for $130,000. Losing!
We pay almost $1 trillion, every year, on interest payments alone. Losing!
After World War II, the U.S. government cut spending from 44 percent of the economy to 11 percent.
If Charlie Sheen can figure out how to turn a dire situation around, there just might be hope for Washington.
Tags: Bankrupting America, Charlie Sheen, data visualization, debt, deficit, Government Overspending, Government Spending, new video, video, who is more responsible, Who's more responsible: Charlie Sheen or Washington?, winning Via ARRA News Service.
Well, here's some more great news for the housing industry -- CoreLogic says the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has overstated its national sales numbers by as much as 20 percent.
Ruh-roh, Scooby. That's a scary accusation if it proves to be true, considering how often the NAR's report is used by economists, analysts, journalists, etc. It's also scary when you realize that the number of months in supply is directly tied to sales -- lower sales could mean more months in supply than we thought, meaning it will take longer to get housing inventory thinned out than we previously believed.
Click here to read about this whole mess.
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It was in the courtroom of Judge Bruce Anderson, Bradley County District judge, in Warren, Arkansas that the first two cases of that county were tried, two remarkably similar cases with inexplicably different results.
Read Full Story
Before the reputations of more Arkansans are damaged, before more jobs are placed at risk, before more family financial resources are consumed, and before any further enforcement of the animal cruelty laws are enforced, more education on the law is necessary for law enforcement, prosecutors and, of course, judges! Legislators are encouraged to re-evaluate their former efforts and reaffirm or even improve the “safeguards” placed in effect to protect property owners against frivolous lawsuits and charges when protecting their properties, persons and livestock from the threat of roaming dogs belonging to or abandoned by irresponsible pet owners.
At the end of June, I went out and bought my first full-sized pickup truck -- a Dodge Ram 1500 SLT with a crew cab.
I was wowed by the semi-truck styling of the thing, that mango tango paint job, the car-like comfort of the ride and a stout V-8 under the hood.
The fuel economy is terrible and parking the thing can be a nightmare, but I just had to buy the truck. Now that I've had it a few months, the time is right to review it.
Hey, the 2011 Rams are virtually unchanged, so people looking at one of those might want to know what someone thinks about a 2010 model after a few months. Am I still glad I shelled out $32,000 for a gas-guzzling pickup truck? Click here and find out.
Yes, the crew over at First Arkansas News has started something new -- old time radio (OTR) serials.
Yes, we're talking about those multi-episodic story arcs that kept people coming back week after week, month after month and year after year to hear what happened next.
That's some fine entertainment, kids featuring the likes of Lum and Abner, Superman, Flash Gordon and Little Orphan Annie. Want to head over and listen to some episodes?
Sure you do! Just click here and you'll be on your way to old time radio heaven.
Tags: Bob Parks, commentary, Black History Month, history, blacks, democrats, republicans To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". H/T ARRA News Service.
The economy is a mess and we're seeing all levels of government taking action to get people working again.
Here in Arkansas, one area of concern has to be with contractors who hire illegal immigrants (we've seen a lot of bills written around the nation that appear to be in direct response to the "they took our jobs!" mantra that's common these days). The Arkansas Legislature is due to take up H.B. 1013, which is sponsored by State Rep. Jim Nickels (D-Sherwood). That bill, simply put, would punish contractors who knowingly hire people who are not authorized to work in the United States.
What is interesting is the broad appeal that this bill will likely attract. Why? It addresses an issue embraced by both conservatives and liberals (to an extent) and the bill has already drawn the support of union leaders here in the Natural State.
Want to read more about H.B. 1013 and what the unions are doing to support it? Sure you do! Just click here...
Yes, it's the Atari Lynx -- the portable gaming system that was ahead of its time but was absolutely stomped into oblivion by the Nintendo Game Boy.
The Lynx had a lot of advantages over the Game Boy -- color graphics, better sound and a groovy innovation or two that should have made it a contender in the market. However, it also had wretched battery life and lacked the marketing dollars, third-party support and the franchises that Nintendo enjoyed. Still, the Lynx was a fine little system and I still play mine quite a bit.
Interested in an overview of the Lynx? Sure you are! Click here to read all about it.
While the latest housing news out of northwest Arkansas might not be great, it sure looks good compared to the dismal sales reports up there -- and from around the nation -- over the past few months.
Union Pacific Corporation owns one of America's leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers and provides Americans with a fuel-efficient, environmentally responsible and safe mode of freight transportation. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad emphasizes excellent customer service and offers competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways. Union Pacific connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major gateways to Mexico, making it North America's premier rail franchise.
Union Pacific's Steam Program
No other railroad in this country has retained its steam locomotives and historical rail car fleet like Union Pacific. The preservation of this equipment speaks to the high value Union Pacific places on its heritage and its role in America's history. Our two steam locomotives have run thousands of miles as UP ambassadors of goodwill:- The Challenger No. 3985 was designed by Union Pacific and built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company, and is the only operating engine of its class in the world today – the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive.
- The No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad, and was delivered in 1944. No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska from 1957 to 1959, then was saved from being scrapped in 1960. No. 844 celebrated its 50th anniversary of Special Train Service in 2010.
After the departure of former Arkansas Realtors Association (ARA) Chief Executive Officer Andy Schaus in September, the search has been on for a new CEO.
The ARA ran a search for a few months and the new hire, Mark Marchand, started at the organization on Monday.
Oddly, the ARA didn't make that information public. However, First Arkansas News confirmed that Marchand was, indeed, at the ARA and you can read the full story by clicking here. Yes, that's a First Arkansas News exclusive story, so check it out.