Post Scripts

Posted by Jack

25 July 08 0945 a.m. PST: The following is condensed from MarketWatch and is minutes old — European financial stocks were in retreat after a profit warning from Munich Re and a prediction from Citigroup that the British economy was about to enter a recession. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 0.2% to 281.76 as a short-lived rally in the financial sector sputtered. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.2% to 5,352.60, while the German DAX 30 dipped 0.1% to 6,436.71. The French CAC 40 gained 0.7% to 4,377.18. Banks finished broadly lower after Citigroup slashed earnings estimates throughout the British banking sector by more than 40%.

Posted by Tina

Since this measure passed in 1978 with overwhelming support it has been blamed for every state funding problem under the sun including a collapsed Bridge in the 1988 Bay Area earthquake and a lousy coroner in the OJ Simpson trial in LA. But school funding, police and fire, the prison system, and healthcare are the biggest sticks used by politicians and big government progressives as they attempt to beat the taxpayer into guilty acquiescence over
Continue reading “<strong>PROP 13</strong>” »

Posted by Jack

24 July 0835 a.m.: Just in…. Adding to pressure on stocks and the dollar, the National Association of Realtors said resales of U.S. single-family homes and condos fell 2.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million, the lowest level in 10 years. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected sales to fall to 4.95 million. Other data from the government showed a large rise in first-time jobless claims, which jumped 34,000 to 406,000 in the week ended July 19.

Thursday’s currency trading looks like a contest of which currency has the worst economic fundamentals, as the euro, sterling and kiwi are all falling against the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen due to fresh evidence of deteriorating economic data.

Shares of Washington Mutual Inc. were among the hardest hit of bank stocks, with shares of the nation’s largest thrift recently down 15.1%. The Seattle-based company, which late Tuesday reported a loss of $3.33 billion, is now down 32% so far this week. Bank of America was down over 5% by mid-day trading.

Shares of home builders fell in the wake of the data, with shares of Pulte Homes Inc. down after the builder reported a quarterly loss of $158.4 million.

Automakers took a big hit today with slumping sales and more layoffs expected. GM wad off over 7% and Ford was down over 13%! These are monumental swings in value and a clear indication of worse to come.

Posted by Jack

You wouldn’t want to be driving in a new city without a map would you? Well, having a career management plan is exactly like having your map so you can move from what you are doing today to what you want to be doing tomorrow. A good career management plan helps you navigate your job or career change more effectively.

Continue reading “Planning For the Future” »

Posted by Jack

States are all running into financial trouble:
States are being forced to slash spending and cut jobs in order to close a projected $40 billion shortfall in the current fiscal year. That gap, more than triple the size of the previous year’s, is the result of broad economic weakness at the state and local levels that could cause pain throughout this year and into 2010, a report found.

The democrats answer…we must raise taxes and block oil drilling!

Continue reading “ECONOMIC NEWS – STATES FALTERING” »

Posted by Jack

Thinking of making a career move, thinking of going back to college? Better make the right choice to make sure it’s worth your investment in time and money. College costs a lot these days and if the investment in your education pays low dividends then you may want to reconsider your career field. Here are the top 20 career fields with a BA degree from “Payscales” Special Report:

1. Chemical Engineering
Average Starting Salary:$61,800.00

2. Computer Engineering
Average Starting Salary:$60,500.00

3. Electrical Engineering
Average Starting Salary:$59,900.00

4. Computer Science
Average Starting Salary:$54,200.00

5. Civil Engineering
Average Starting Salary:$52,600.00

6. Economics
Average Starting Salary:$48,100.00

7. Finance
Average Starting Salary:$46,900.00

8. Accounting
Average Starting Salary:$44,600.00

Continue reading “LOOKING FOR A GOOD CAREER?” »

Posted by Tina

While conservatives complain of media bias, successfully demonstrating that bias often proves difficult. The giving of cash, however, offers solid and significant evidence of political leanings and affiliations and that’s what the following article does. The messenger of such news is often labeled a whiner but, when William Tate at the American Thinker backs the claim with research that causes such a label to lose much of it’s weight. The article breaks out various categories of giving within the industry and includes links to sources. I hope youll be pleased that you bothered to read: Big Media Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is, by William Tate American Thinker.

The New York Times’ refusal to publish John McCain’s rebuttal to Barack Obama’s Iraq Op-Ed may be the most glaring example of liberal media bias this journalist has ever seen, but true proof of widespread media bias requires one to follow an old journalism maxim: Follow the money. ** Even the Associated Press–no bastion of conservatism — has considered, at least superficially, the media’s favoritism for Barack Obama. It’s time to re-visit media bias. ** An analysis of federal election records shows that the amount of money journalists contributed so far this election cycle favors Democrats by a 15:1 margin over Republicans, with $225,563 going to Democrats, only $16,298 to Republicans. ** And while the money totals pale in comparison to the $9 million+ that just one union’s PACs have spent to get Barack Obama elected, they are more substantial than the amount that Obama has criticized John McCain for receiving from lobbyists: 96 lobbyists have contributed $95,850 to McCain, while Obama — who says he won’t take money from PACs or federal lobbyists — has received $16,223 from 29 lobbyists.

Please consider this obvious bias as you watch and listen to political reports during this electionchoose to be truly informed and do vote wisely.

Posted by Tina

I guess I shouldnt be jumping up and down pointing my finger so much but when the storys finally makin headlines, whats a girl to do? It seems the head honchos over at Fannie and Fred’s have not only been giving in to BIG temptation but have also been under all kinds of pressure from another BIG player:

Freddie, Fannie Funded Jesse Jacksons Pet Projects CNSNews

(CNSNews.com) – Mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have come under fire for making contributions to programs headed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson at a time when their own survival is at stake. ** The NLPC (National Legal and Policy Center) says the management teams of both companies made sizeable contributions to the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund Annual Conference, Jacksons main fundraising event of the year. The conference took place June 28 through July 2 in Chicago. ** According to the conference programFreddie Mac, as a Platinum Sponsor, paid $150,000. Fannie Mae paid $100,000 to be listed as a Diamond Sponsor. ** The NLPC noted that the contributions came at a time when the value of the companies shares had declined by approximately 85 percent.
Continue reading “<strong>Jesse Jackson Gets a Boost from Fannie and Fred</strong>” »

Posted by Tina
By now we all know that several bigwig stars of the MSM have traveled with Barack Obama to cover the grand tour but apparently they arent getting the access they had counted on. NewsBusters reports on comments made to Chris Mathews during a Hardball segment:

Andrea on Obama Trip: ‘What Some Would Call Fake Interviews’, by Mark Finkelstein NewsBusters

Andrea Mitchell might be a doyenne of the liberal media, but she has her reporter’s pride and principles, both of which have been trampled by the way the Obama campaign has managed the media during the candidate’s current trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. Mitchell let loose on this evening’s Hardball, speaking of “fake interviews” and indicating we don’t know the truth of the trip because we don’t know what was edited out of the video that’s been released. *** MITCHELL: Let me just say something about the message management. He didn’t have reporters with him, he didn’t have a press pool, he didn’t do a press conference while he was on the ground in either Afghanistan or Iraq. What you’re seeing is not reporters brought in. You’re seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questions by the military, and what some would call fake interviews, because they’re not interviews from a journalist. So, there’s a real press issue here. Politically it’s smart as can be. But we’ve not seen a presidential candidate do this, in my recollection, ever before. (emphasis per NewsBusters)

by Jack Lee

As a departure from our norm I wanted to bring you this brief summary of the Battle of the Somme. It has to be one of greatest testiments human fallability of all time. As you read the tragic mistakes made by trusted leaders contrast that against today’s high expectation of surgical warfare fought without error and a bare minimum of friendly casualties. Try to imagine the reporting and the impact on our society a battle like Somme would have today.

The year was 1916; WWI had stalled into trench warfare where the combatants were often within yelling distance of each. Near the Somme River in the north of France two massive armies gathered along a stretch of land about 12 miles wide. Both sides dug rows of zig zag trenches and deep underground fortifications. Between the trenches was no man’s land. It was devoid of trees, pock marked with shell holes and laced with an exaggerated form of barbed wire with sharp 1 inch spikes designed not injure but to snag just long enough for the opposing machine gunner to cut the trapped soldier in half.

The ancient tactics of cavalry charges and human waves used to overwhelm the enemy were about to become the monumental blunders of aging generals, still fighting the last war as old generals so often do.

The British plan called for an artillery barrage completely off the scale of anything previously experienced in war, 1.7 million shells were fired into the concentrated German lines. After this Hellish shelling it was assumed the German’s would be virtually obliterated and resistance would be light. Then the combined forces of British and French could merely walk across the open area to occupy the enemy trenches.

What was not expected or factored into the plan was the fact that many of the artillery shells would not explode., As many as 1 in 3 failed, not because of sabotage, but because they were poorly assembled. On the British home front inexperienced workers, mostly women without adequate instruction, assembled the shells improperly. There was also a serious shortage of high explosive shells that could effectively tear apart the soldier stopping barbed wire directly in front of the German trenches, but the plan was taking on a momentum that could not be stopped for such minor events like artillery shells being mostly the wrong type for the mission. They were shrapnel
Continue reading “THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME” »