From USA TODAY: The keepers of the Internet have become acutely concerned about the Web’s core trustworthiness. Hackers cracked three companies that work with the most popular Web browsers to ensure the authenticity of Web pages where consumers type in sensitive information, such as account logons, credit card numbers and personal data.
Month: September 2011
Coroners want secrets to be taken to the grave
From the INQUIRER Editorial: While the facts surrounding a suspicious or violent death rarely are pleasant, hiding them from public view – as a renewed legislative push in Harrisburg by Pennsylvania coroners would do – will not alter that fact.
Lawmakers seek to push Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson aside
PATRIOT-NEWS: Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson said she would have a seat at the decision-making table if the state were to take over the city.
She learned just before the state House approved an amendment to takeover legislation on Tuesday that wouldn’t be the case.
Survey: Health insurance costs surge in 2011
From USA TODAY: As Congress works to decrease the federal deficit by cutting health care programs such as Medicare, policy experts say health providers will have to find money elsewhere, which could force insurance premiums higher for most Americans. That comes on top of a 9% increase in annual premiums to cover a family of […]
Florida’s climate comes to the North East
This has been a summer of record rainfall and high humidity. The result is that moisture problems in the form of mildew (mold) are popping up unexpectedly in homes, apartments and hotels. Those who hang up items to dry will have noticed how long it takes these days. There is a certain point when high humidity […]
The Truth about Class War in America
NATION OF CHANGE: [President] Obama’s modest proposal for tax increases on the rich does not begin a class war. On the contrary, it is a small, modest effort to reduce the other side’s class war victories… … the tax rates on the richest Americans fell from 91 percent in the 1950s and 1960s, and […]
Saving the rich and losing the economy
IT’S OUR ECONOMY: …In China as of 2008, total hourly labor cost was $1.36, and India’s is within a few cents of this amount. Thus, a corporation that moves 1,000 jobs to China saves saves $32,000 every hour in labor cost.These savings translate into higher stock prices and executive compensation, not in lower prices for […]
US inflation expectations lowest for a year
FINANCIAL TIMES: Market expectations for US inflation have dropped to their lowest level in a year and are now below the Federal Reserve’s unofficial target, as investors respond to the central bank’s latest attempt to stimulate the economy. The expected rate of inflation over the next 30 years, as measured by the difference between Treasury […]
A toast to ending the LCB
TIMES-HERALD Editorial: … The grand experiment of using vending machines in supermarkets and other stores was supposed to be one more step in the LCB’s metamorphosis into a more customer-friendly entity. It turned out to be anything but, instead providing one more argument in favor of the state getting out of the booze business altogether…. […]
(NEVERMIND): Senate Turns To Plan B After Voting Down First Funding Bill
HUFF POST: …“Eric Cantor, a Republican from Virginia, started this fight when he said we cannot fund the 2011 disasters without an offset,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) on the Senate floor Monday. Then the offsets turned out to be a non-issue when FEMA announced it would not run out of money early this week, […]
Coffee Drinking Linked to Less Depression in Women
NEW YORK TIMES: Morning pick-me-up? For many women, the mood-elevating effects of a cup of coffee may be more than fleeting. A new study shows that women who regularly drink coffee — the fully caffeinated kind — have a 20 percent lower risk of depression than nondrinkers. Decaf, soft drinks, chocolate, tea and other sources […]
Obama Healthcare Law Cleared for US Supreme Court
From NEWSMAX: The Obama administration Monday cleared the way for the Supreme Court to decide in its 2011-12 term the president’s signature healthcare law that requires Americans to buy insurance or face a penalty.
Madness
So…are you suggesting that the best way for this country to find sound fiscal footing is for the government to spend, spend, spend??? I’m reminded of the closing line in the classic movie ‘Bridge over the River Kwai’………………… “Madness”!!!!!!
Will Major League Baseball toss out tobacco?
USA TODAY: ….Throughout Major League Baseball, tobacco spit mixes with the shells of sunflower seeds and bubblegum wrappers on dugout floors. On paper if not in practice, smokeless tobacco has been banned by the minor leagues and by the NCAA, a reflection of the rising concern about oral cancer and other illnesses linked to tobacco. […]