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This is two days old, so many might have seen it
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.Other examples of Not Reading beneath the fold http://yankeephilip.blogspot.com/2009/03/read-it-first-on-healthcare-bill.html
http://yankeephilip.blogspot.com/2009/02/read-bill.html.

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.Nothing Beneath the fold And here is the rest of it.

Sorry Mr.Gates, but you better get your act together. You might get knocked out of the top 10 richest, if people start losing confidence in Microsoft. And here is the rest of it.

I am guessing that I had some bad code on my blog. If anyone is looking for posts for this week prior to today, I deleted them. I don't know if that will work,but I am hoping. I am not a computer expert. . And here is the rest of it.

According to the NY Post,Under a new Senate proposal, Congress would raise the federal excise tax on beer by 145 percent to more than $3 a case.
Uncle Sam also would snatch an additional $7 on a case of wine -- a staggering increase of 233 percent and an additional 20 percent on hard liquor sales.
"Buzz-kill doesn't even begin to describe this invasion," said a GOP congressional aide.
Not content just sticking it to alcohol drinkers, the lawmakers also proposed slapping new taxes on soda.


Well he doesn't say BEER TAX
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AP reports........
President Barack Obama forcefully defended his plans to close the Guantanamo detention camp Thursday and said some of the terror suspects held there would be brought to top-security prisons in the United States despite fierce opposition in Congress.
He spoke one day after the Senate voted resoundingly to deny him money to close the prison, (if I don't get my way, I am taking my ball and going home) and he decried "fear-mongering" that he said had led to such opposition. (Yeah, there is NO NEED to fear terrorists trying to free their comrades)
He insisted the transfer would not endanger Americans and promised to work with lawmakers to develop a system for holding detainees who can't be tried and can't be turned loose from the Navy-run prison in Cuba.
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I seem to be having a problem. I get a note now and then that says "Internet Explorer cannot open Yankeephilip.blogspot.com..." Any ideas? . And here is the rest of it.

The pretty 1/2 of Spark it Up writes..........
"How Would You Fix the Economy?"
The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?"

I think this guy nailed it!
Dear Mr. President: Please find below my suggestion for fixing America's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use thefollowing plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan: There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.
Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement withthe following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings -Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...

Very good piece, funny, but obviously not serious. Lets do the math
40,000,000 people
x1,000,000 dollars
-------------
40,000,000,000,000 dollars.
That's a little more expensive than Stimulus.
I don't think our credit # is good enough for that loan.
And do we want to get a greater national debt?

But how about instead ,we free up a lot of cash?
Let's make Pensions, Social Security, savings interest, etc, tax free?
Lower the capital gains tax to 10-15%
Eliminate penalties from tapping IRA's,401K's, 457H's,etc.
I have a bunch. I would have paid off mortgage, so instead of losing a ton in the market, I would have saved paying interest for long time. Others would buy that car. Others would buy that RV and start retirement early and open up those jobs. It might not be $1,000,000 each, but it is a lot of money that would flood the market place.
And yes I know there are drawbacks.
"Who will support these people after they blow their savings?"
"How will we fund this program and that program?"
yadda,yadda,yadda.
Feel free to tell me why I am wrong.
Nothing beneath the fold.
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For the past two days, the Energy and Commerce Committee has been marking up the Waxman-Markey “Cap-and-Trade” bill. It will impose a huge, new cost on all energy (estimated at $4,300 per family each year) and destroy millions of American jobs.

Last night, Republicans put forward a straightforward amendment to require that utility bills indicate the increased cost of electricity that will result from this legislation. The Democrat majority on the Committee rejected this commonsense measure. That’s right: they actually voted against disclosing these costs to consumers on their utility bills!

Today, in another partisan vote, the Democrats have added an amendment to essentially require every new and existing home sold in America to be inspected and labeled as to its energy efficiency.
In addition, on a party-line vote, the Majority has included a mandated study on requiring all products sold in the United States, down to potato chips, to be labeled as to their CO2 “content,” showing how much CO2 is emitted in the manufacturing of each product.
Reprinted from Redstate And here is the rest of it.

Rep. Alan Grayson was standing in the middle of Disney World when it hit him: What Americans really need is a week of paid vacation.
So on Thursday, the Florida Democrat will introduce the Paid Vacation Act — legislation that would be the first to make paid vacation time a requirement under federal law.

According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, 28 million Americans — or about a quarter of the work force — don’t get any paid vacation. The center says that a lack of vacation causes stress and workplace burnout and that those evil twins cost the economy more than $300 billion each year. See the story here
The idea is that more vacation time = less sick time. And Happier,more productive workers.

YEA RIGHT CONGRESSMAN, We need a federal law for that. We need Washington to really really micromanage companies. Because we know they are sooooooooo good at it. The Social ecurity system is a model for the world. So is Walter Reed. We need the federal government running everything.
Those idiot bosses of companies never ever weighed the pros and cons of their employment strategy. The workers who said Yes to working with no paid vacation need to be protected from themselves. The Congressman must live in Disneyworld
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Local legislators renewed their opposition Wednesday to a potentially permanent expansion of unemployment benefits that could net the state $125 million in federal stimulus funds.

Del. Chris Saxman said if there were no federal stings attached, he would have supported the plan. However, he said in the long-run it would hurt small businesses that could be faced with the burden of higher fees. Additionally, he said the move could discourage businesses from hiring part-time employees that would cost more if they were let go.

"Employees are not going to hire those part-time employees, and they will say 'we'll do it some other way,'" Saxman said. "(They'll say) we don't want to incur that risk."

Saxman also called on the chamber to either support or oppose the unemployment benefit plan in order to give legislators a better understanding of what the will of local businesses is on the subject.
See the full Newsleader story here
Nothing Beneath the fold
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NOOOOO, I am serious.
The Roanoke Times reports........
The earthquake that hit the Roanoke Valley early this morning was a magnitude 3.0, the U.S. Geological Survey is now reporting, and the epicenter was 3 miles from Roanoke.Immediately after the quake, which was recorded at 4:08 a.m., the USGS originally said that it had registered at 2.6 on the Richter scale and that the epicenter was about 4 miles west-southwest of Roanoke, near the Cave Spring area. Later, the USGS reported that the quake was a 2.8.
See related post over at Cavalcade
. On February 21, 1774, a strong earthquake was felt over much of Virginia and southward into North Carolina. Many houses were moved considerably off their foundations at Petersburg and Blandford (intensity MM VII). The shock was described as "severe" at Richmond and "small" at Fredericksburg. However, it "terrified the inhabitants greatly." The total felt area covered about 150,000 square kilometers.
The three great earthquakes near New Madrid, Missouri, in 1811 - 1812 (December 11, January 23, and February 7) were felt strongly in Virginia. Reports from Norfolk and Richmond newspapers describe the effects in detail.
An earthquake, apparently centered in southwestern Virginia, on March 9, 1828, was reported felt over an area of about 565,000 square kilometers, from Pennsylvania to South Carolina and the Atlantic Coastal Plain to Ohio. Very few accounts of the shock were available from places in Virginia; it was reported that doors and windows rattled (MM V). President John Quincy Adams felt this tremor in Washington D.C., and provided a graphic account in his diary. He compared the sensation to the heaving of a ship at sea.
The August 27, 1833, earthquake covered a broad felt area from Norfolk to Lexington and from Baltimore, Maryland, to Raleigh, North Carolina - about 135,000 square kilometers. Two miners were killed in the panic the shock caused at Brown's Coal Pits, near Dover Mills, about 30 kilometers from Richmond. At Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, and Norfold, windows rattled violently, loose objects shook, and walls of buildings were visibly agitated (MM V).
Another moderately strong, widely felt shock occurred on April 29, 1852. At Buckingham and Wytheville, chimneys were damaged (MM VI). The felt area extended to Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and also included many points in North Carolina - approximately 420,000 square kilometers. This pattern was repeated on August 31, 1861. The epicenter was probably in extreme southwestern Virginia or western North Carolina. At Wilkesboro, North Carolina, bricks were shaken from chimneys (MM VI). The lack of Virginia reports may perhaps be ascribed to the fact that the Civil War was under way and there was rather heavy fighting in Virginia at the time. This shock affected about 775,000 square kilometers and was felt along the Atlantic coast from Washington, D.C., to Charleston, South Carolina, and westward to Cincinnati, Louisville, and Gallatin, Tennessee, and southwestward to Columbus, Georgia.
A series of shocks in quick succession disturbed the eastern two-thirds of Virginia and a portion of North Carolina on December 22, 1875. At Manakin, many chimneys were broken and shingles on one store were shaken off (MM VII). Damage to chimneys was reported from other places in Goochland and Powhatan Counties. At Richmond, the shock, which was accompanied by a rumbling noise, was severe and lasted from 20 to 30 seconds; plaster fell and several panes of window glass broke. There was general alarm in all parts of the city; many people ran out of their houses in fright. The total felt area was about 130,000 square kilometers.
The largest earthquake to originate in Virginia is historic times occurred on May 31, 1897. The epicenter was in Giles County, where on May 3, an earlier tremor at Pulaski, Radford, and Roanoke had caused damage (MM VI). Loud rumblings were heard in the epicentral region at various times between May 3 and 31. The shock on the latter date was felt from Georgia to Pennsylvania and from the Atlantic Coast westward to Indiana and Kentucky, an area covering about 725,000 square kilometers. It was especially strong at Pearisburg, where the walls of old brick houses were cracked and bricks were thrown from chimney tops. Springs were muddied and a few earth fissures appeared (MM VIII). Chimneys were shaken down at Bedford City, Houston, Pulaski, Radford, and Roanoke. Chimneys were also broken at Raleigh, North Carolina, Bristol and Knoxville, Tennessee, and Bluefied, West Virginia. Minor tremors continued in the epicentral region from time to time until June 6; other disturbances felt on June 28, September 3, and October 21 were probably aftershocks. On February 5, 1898, the residents of Pulaski reported additional chimney damage (MM VI). People rushed into the streets at Pulsaki and East Radford.
An earthquake on February 11, 1907, caused minor damage at Arvonia, Ashby, and Buckingham. At Arvonia, many people became terrified and ran from their houses (MM VI); although no damage was reported from Columbia, many ran from their homes. The felt area was small, approximately 14,500 square kilometers. Other shocks of lesser intensity occurred in the same area on August 23, 1908, and May 8, 1910.
The Shenadoah Valley region was strongly shaken by an earthquake on April 9, 1918. It was called the "most severe earthquake ever experienced" at Luray. Although little damage resulted, people in many places over the northern valley region were greatly alarmed and rushed from their houses (MM VI). Broken windows were reported at Washington, D.C. The tremor was noticed by President Wilson and his family at the White House; the President's secretary called a newspaper office to learn the cause of the terrifying noise. The felt area extended over 155,000 square kilometers, including parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Another shock on September 5, 1919, was felt in the same general region, although the total affected area was much smaller. It was strongest in the Blue Ridge Mountains south of Front Royal. At Arco, plaster fell and some chimneys were damaged (MM VI). Springs and streams were muddied in the epicentral area.
On December 26, 1929, a moderate shock at Charlottesville shook bricks from a few chineys (MM VI). It was reported felt in various parts of Albemarle County. A number of newspaper accounts gave the date of this earthquake as December 25. Giles County was strongly shaken again on April 23, 1959. At Eggleston and Pembroke, several chimneys were damaged, plaster cracked, and pictures fell from walls (MM VI). A wide area (about 7,500 square kilometers) of southwestern Virginia felt the tremor; a few places in West Virginia also reported the shock. .

icag

Charlottesville leaders are frustrated with the lack of federal stimulus money arriving.
To date, the city has received about $1 million in direct stimulus money, which is primarily intended for transit.

"We can use an infusion of these federal dollars to run with to create jobs or retain jobs, to rebuild our infrastructure, and the reality is that it's just not going to come as fast as a lot of us had thought," Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris said. See the Flying Lizards beneath the fold
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