Urban News Blog

U.S. Forces Rescue Two Hostages From Somali Pirates

2012-01-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

Reading today about how the U.S. Forces pulled of a Rescue of Two Hostages From Somali Pirates, I could not help but feel a small sense of pride. The Seal team travled some 8.000 miles, then under the cover of darkness parachuted down to carry out their mission, It required dozens of members of the Navy Seals, and orders from the president, to rescue an American and Danish aid worker held by pirates in Somali for over 3 months. All of this was unfolding at the same time that President Obama was set to deliver the State of the Union address.
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Good work US Seals!
The military has clearly been serving our interests at home and around the world with a series of successful missions, each worthy of a film script.

It's a mistake to give all of the credit to President Obama, but as Commander in Chief, clearly he deserves some praise. In part because I have no doubt that those dedicated to making him a one-term-president, would blame him for any military mishaps. If memory serves me correctly, those on the "Right" placed the responsibility for the helicopter crash, during the attempted hostage rescue, squarely on the back of President Carter.

Bin Laden, Kadafi, now this daring rescue; all go to show the world the US Military is the best in the world, and we have a President with the judgment and skill to know how to best use their talents.

Bain Capital Private Equity

2012-01-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

Six months ago, who would have thought that Mitt Romney would have his time at

Bain Capital viewed as a negative in the Republican Primaries .

Yes, we recognized that the Democrats would raise questions about his track-record of taking over companies, dismantling them, selling off the assets while pocketing tens of millions for him self. But to see the charge raised by his fellow Conservatives, is a bit surprising.

As an interesting side note, in a few months, the biggest movie of the year will show up at over 6,000 screens. That film the Dark Knight Rises, is the third of the 3 Batman films down by Nolan. It is also a film that features the super villain "Bane".

This can give a whole new meaning to "I work for Bane."

I'm not sure, but I find it difficult to believe that my son was the only person to connect the two.

Latest trends in electric cars.

2011-12-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

With the social unrest in the Middle-East, and speculators driving the price of oil to record highs; it is easy to see why so many consumers are searching for more fuel efficient autos.
"Greener" cars have had a select group of followers, but in the past two years we have seen a far greater, and more diverce group of buyers show an interest. Electric autos are not just for the " Flower-Children," no today we see people being driven by a far more practical set of concerns.

This short film reveals some of the latest innovation, most are, or will shortly be available in showrooms across America.

Is Romney the "Anti-Romney" candidate

2011-12-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

This is one interesting election cycle.

President Obama is faced with an under performing economy, that has most Americans believing that we are on the "Wrong-Track." Yes, most people recognize that the bad economy was a "Gift" left to him by the prior administration, but after 3 years there is a feeling that the Obama administration has fallen short of expectations. There is a saying in politics, "People vote their pocketbooks," well with the middle class buying power falling, the European debt disaster at a tipping point; there is a great deal of fear and desperation. Those sentiments don't typically work well for an incumbent. On the plus-side, the people seem to like him personally, and do give him some points for catching Bin Laden, and Muammar el-Qaddafi

That said, the Republicans should be in a very strong position, and would be if they had amassed a more main-stream group of candidates.

For nearly a year, Mitt Romney has been seen as the front-runner for the nomination. During that time various candidates have risen up to take the spot as "The Anti-Romney Candidate" but each have fallen nearly as quickly as they rose. The newest flavor of the month is Newt Gingrich. All candidates have some past; there are points of pride but often also flaws. The bright-lights focused upon a candidate tend to uncover even carefully hidden mistakes, and questionable choices. the media focus has set it's sights on the new front-runner- Let's see what Skeletons Newt has in his closet. The fact that he was forced to resign the House, pay over $300,000 in fines in the face of ethics charges, had cheated on TWO wife's (one while under going cancer treatment), got paid $1,600,000.00 by Freddy-Mac, then called out anyone that supported them; strikes me as some real problems. But if not Newt, than who will be the Anti-Romney candidate?

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Cain: For weeks he was at the top of the polls; but beyond the closet, Cain's Skeletons, Are all over the house, in his trunk, in various hotels. It is difficult to see his campaign lasting a few more days, let alone becoming the nominee.

Perry: We looked in Perry's closet and found few Skeletons, but found the whole closet EMPTY. In fact he could not remember where his 3 closets were.

Bachman, they searched, and search, but found the whole closet filled with nothing but crazy ideas.

Paul: Has an isolationist and anti drug-law platform, that scares many on the "Right" and social policy agenda that terrifies the "Left"

Romney: In has closet they found his battery-pack and owners manual. (Robot 135-R). Maybe Romney is the "Anti-Romney" candidate; after all, he seems to be against everything he was for last year. It is clear that the republican base, does not care for him, despite polling that shows he's the candidate most likely to beat Obama.

The President has a tough fight before him. The fact that the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6 percent in November, and that.the country added 120,000 jobs, is clearly some good news for Obama's ability to convince the public that we are on the right-track. At the same time, problems in Europe loom-large and there is a serious question where our economy will be in coming months. As of today, the president's strongest selling point is the weakness of his challengers.

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Go to Church or go to Jail.

2011-11-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

In the news today is a story about an Alabama town that has started an alternative sentencing program that would give non-violent offenders a new choice:
Go to jail, or go to church.

"Starting next week, the program will allow a city judge to sentence misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine, or go to church every Sunday for a year. Offenders who select church can pick the place of worship but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender's case will be dismissed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/offenders-in-ala-town-can_n_977687.html

“This is a simply offensive idea, that both violated the "Separation of Church and State", while denigrating Christianity.

We need to begin with the basic truth that "America is a Secular nation, populated by predominantly by Christians".

To force non-Christians to go to church violates their right to freedom of religion. Remember America was founded in large part by Christians fleeing a Christian country, on the basis of religious persecution NO AMERICAN SHOULD BE FORCED to attend church.

I am amazed that all Christians are not deeply offended by the idea of going to church being use as a "Punishment" Going to services should be a JOY, not a form of discipline. This is an insult to all of those attending services out of true belief.

Our founding fathers designed a form of government that kept the Church and the state separate, not to punish religion but to protect it from government.”

Einstein continues to stand the test of time

2011-09-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

In a week where there was a suggestion coming out of CERN that perhaps a Neutrino partial violated Einstein's E=MC2 equation by traveling faster than the speed of light; a new study of Galaxy Clusters Back Up Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
Every time someone tells me that Evolution is "Just a theory" I'm tempted to suggest that since gravity is also"Just a theory" maybe they would like to step off the top of a 40 story building. Funny, but I have yet to find any takers, it seems that gravity in something we can all agree on. Yet while we can all nod our heads in agreement over the fact that gravity exists, actually explaining how it works becomes a bit trickier. Albert Einstein’s Theory of general relativity describes how the mass of an object warps the space and time that surrounds it around it, the greater the mass, the greater the gravitational pull and the more intense the effect on Time/Space.

In 1905 when Einstien first published his Theory of general relativity, physicists marveled at the beautiful simplicity of the final E=MC2, the math made sense (to the few at the time that were able to comprehend it's ramifications) but testing the equations proved to be allusive. We had not yet invented a Super particle accelerators, no Cern, no Hubble, no real way to test the validity of his theory. Over the years we have been able to confirm that General relativity works on the scale of the solar system, but proving it held true on cosmic scales, while logical, had not been proven - but now a group of astrophysicists in Denmark have done just that.

One of the basic tenets of General Relativity is that light is influenced by gravity and will loose energy as it escapes a gravitational field. The stronger the gravitational field, the greater the amount of energy will be lost as the light escapes. The same way that a rocket will need more power to reach escape velocity Earth than from the Moon. As you increase the gravity, you increase the power needed to escape it's influence. The work led by Radek Wojtak of the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, was devised to test this central prediction of general relativity. Their method was to recognize that photons emitted from the center of a massive object containing thousands of galaxies, should reveal that they lost more energy than those photons that came from the edge of the galaxy cluster because gravity is strongest in the center.

So how do you test to see how much energy was lost by the proton's coming from various locations within a galaxy cluster, you measure the wavelength. The test is connected to the observations made by Hubble when he looked at the light spectrum of stars and recognized that their light was shifted towards the "Red" side of the spectrum. "Gravitational Redshifting demonstrates that light is moving away from the observer. It was this realization that lead to the knowledge that our universe is expanding. The team at the Niels Bohr Institute knew that the greater the energy loss, the greater the degree that the light waves should show a shift towards the red. What Radek Wojtak and his team found was a that the degree to which the light was redshifted was in direct proportion to the distance from the center of the cluster, just as the theory of general relativity predicted .

David Spergel, an astrophysicist at Princeton University, compliments Wojtak and his colleagues on “cleverly combining” a large cluster data set to detect a “subtle effect.” Spergel says, “This is another victory for Einstein. … This cluster test suggests that we do live in a strange universe with dark matter and dark energy, but one in which Einstein’s theory of gravity is valid on large scales.”

Well if I have to venture a guess, I would say that Cern most-likely miscalculated and that Einstein's E=MC2 equation will continue to stand the test of time.

Based on information in an article By Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, ScienceNOW

Texas Board of Ed. fails to Evolve

2011-07-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Eleven years into the 21st Century and still seem to be debating that which was settled science in the 19th Century- Evolution.

The Texas State Board of Education will meet this week to debate on the teaching evolution in the public schools. This marks the first time the Texas Board of Ed. will meet since Gov. Rick Perry had appointed Barbara Cargill chairwoman earlier this month. Ms. Cargill is a "Social Conservative" that has repeatedly expressed her displeasure with the theory of Evolution being taught in the classroom.Cargill,is considered to be one of the most conservative board members, and dismisses the theory of evolution and has voted to require that the theory's "Weaknesses" be taught in classrooms. Her reputation of the well establish science explaining the "Origin of Species" is to the very "Extreme Right" of the political spectrum, by going beyond just demanding equal time for "Intelligent Design." No, Ms Cargill actually wants the public schools to work to disprove, or attempt to poke holes in the theory of evolution.

Texas Governor Perry, has reached out to the social conservatives,as he considers a run for president in 2012. He clearly is playing to his base as he is well aware that in 2009 they adopted new standards that encourage public schools to scrutinize "all sides" of scientific theory. At first hearing, to many, the idea of the schools presenting "All Sides" and then let the kids decide, might sound OK, perhaps even progressive; but imagine that same "Logic" being applied to all areas of study. Some people deny that the Holocaust ever occurred. That T-Rex and man lived at the same time, that the Grand Canyon was formed in just a few hundred years or that the Sun revolves around the Earth.

Here is a scary statistic - The US students ranked 29th,in Science behind countries like Croatia, the Czech Republic. Yes the same country that holds the largest number of Nobel Prizes in science, that put men on the moon, now ranks behind Croatia. America can not win the battle of what country can produce "Happy Meal Toys" at the lowest cost.Countries like China, and Vietnam are filled with dirt-poor people willing to work for $3 dollars a day. If America is going to create jobs and maintain our power and standard of living, we are going to need to be the best educated in the world. Texas Governor Perry and Barbara Cargill are taking the nation in the opposite direction.

To those that say "Evolution is JUST a Theory" I have a suggestion. I will draw a big "X" on the sidewalk and have you stand in the center of that "X"; and then I will go up to the top of a 20 story building and wait 5 minutes before I drop a piano off the roof directly above that big "X". During those 5 minutes you can lecture me about how Gravity is "Just a Theory". The simple truth is science better understands Evolution then it does gravity.

When Conservatives talk about fiscal matters, I listen and will often find points of agreement. But groups try to force their ideology off as science, I will voice my concern that they are preventing our children, and nation from reaching it's full potential.

Water for Elephants, and Animal Defenders

2011-05-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Circulating around the Internet are emails linking you to emails explaining why they believe that you should boycott the new film Water for Elephants.

The Email claims to show a Video released by "Animal Defenders International" the shows Tai, the elephant in the new film Water for Elephants, being beaten and electric-shocked during training.

I must say that I can not approve of any mistreatment of animals and a few of the actions of the trainers I viewed seem disturbing. It is relevant to remember the video is a "Snippet" of 6 years old video filmed in 2005 by Animal Defenders International at the Have Trunk Will Travel facility in Southern California. I assume the group was there for far longer than the 3 minutes of film the spliced together. I also assume they only used those clips that supported their position. There is no question that there are business this mistreat animals, those business should be closed down, but we need to look for acts of cruelty, not just animals not being used. Keep inmind imiages can be confusing. A crop striking my thigh with enough force to cause me great pain. The same level of force strikingly a full grown Elephant might not even get his attention.

The Movie was very well crafted, and the acting was wonderful. I saw the "Clip" of the training done by the group that owns the elephant; and sure a studio should think twice about using that company; but there is NO indication that any of the actors or director had any knowledge of the training techniques. If the animal was mistreated then Boycott "Have Truck will Travel" but not the film. The film sends a POSITIVE message about the treatment of animals.

Film makers have a thousand things on their plate at once. It's not just the Elephant that has to "Hit his mark", it could be up to a hundred actors, Sound crew, Focus-Pullers, lighting, costumes, all have to come together, and do so before you "Loose the light."

Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson had a great online chemistry, and Christoph Waltz never fails to keep you glued to the screen. I can understand why people care about animals being treated in a humane way; I share their concerns: but don't focus you anger at a cast and crew that never engaged in any improper treatment of animals.

Osama bin Laden is Dead

2011-05-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

“The world is safer. It is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden,” he said at the White House. “Today we are reminded that as a nation, there's nothing we can't do when we put our shoulders to the wheel, when we work together. And we remember the sense of unity that defines us as Americans.”

President Obama
In the Wizard of Oz, when the wicked witch is killed, we are happy to see the guards and the evil flying monkeys, rather than take revenge, they welcome the witches demise.
I'm not holding my breath, but wouldn't it be nice if the remaining al-Qaida followers suddenly burst in to singing "Ding Dong Bin Laden's Dead."

Well, Hope springs eternal !

The Secret of Area 51 Revealed

2011-04-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Maybe some people's minds were changed by Loretta J. Fuddy, the director of health at the State of Hawaii, releasing "two certified copies of Obama's original certificate of live birth.". Especially after the Republican Governor had already stated that she had seen the original bound in the official book, and the hospital and Hawaii papers stated that they only printed birth announcements when submitted by the hospital.

But there are still some questions that remain:

1. How do we know there were not Two Barack Hussein Obama II born on the same day, each with a "White" Mother named Ann Stanley and an "African" father named Barack Hussein Obama; one born in Hawaii and the other born in Kenya?

2. How do we know that three years ago, Barack Obama did not hire a team of co-conspirators to break into the office where the birth records are kept locked away; pass through security, break into the safe, take apart the bound book, then insert a "Fake Page" into the collection on the right day with the correct sequential number; then rebind the book, relock the safe and make a clean getaway?

3. What about the Moon Landing, no one has "Proven" that it actually took place; where was Neil Armstrong on the day Obama was born? Could this be just one more cover-up that he's involved in perpetrating against the American people?

4. How do we know the government is not secretly "Creating more Barack Obama's" deep inside Area 51? Yes that's it..... A secret Islamic Army of aliens have been being cloned ever since a ship landed at Roswell from their home planet of "Koran." Thank God for Donald Trump, our last great line of defense against the Alien's plan to destroy our planet and make it their own.

France's new ban on Islamic face veils

2011-04-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

I've been to France several times, it's a beautiful country. I don't want to "Bash France"; but they have done a dismal job of handling their immigration. I understand they are a high-wage country with a slightly aging population; so I understand why many French companies would welcome cheep foreign labor. Immigration is a good thing, but any country has to follow two rules.

1. Let people into your country at a rate equal to your ability to absorb those new arrivals.

2. Have a clear path that brings them not just into the country; but into your society.

France did neither!

They opened flood gates at a rate greater than the economy's ability to absorb them, and more important while they let these Muslims in to France they never welcomed them in to the fabric of French couture.

The first rule of security is to draw a line; to delineate between "Inside the circle" and "Outside the circle". There was a reason that castles were built with motes, high-walls and drawbridges; it is far easier to fight a force that is "Out-side your walls" then to wage battle once they have gained access.While it was clearly not the intent of France, or other EU countries to create a Ghetto of disgruntled immigrants; that has been the result of their policies. Now many of these countries a facing the difficult question of what to do with a sizable population that rejects some of the basic tenets of which your country are based, and have flourished.

France for one, reacted by enacting laws to designed to keep Muslims from showing their faith, and trying to curtail their prominence. So I find little surprise that "France's new ban on Islamic face veils was met with a burst of defiance Monday". I don't fault countries for wanting to "Draw a line" to maintain the secular pluralistic culture on which they were built. My problem with these new laws is that I believe them to be Ass-Backward; rather that try to stop people from practicing their faith, prohibit them from forcing their faith on anyone else.

Let them build a Masque, open a restaurant that does not sell alcohol, but then also strictly defend a Christian's right to open a wine bar that specializes in pork chops in the very next store front. Don't let the disgruntled immigrants use Freedom and Democracy against larger society, instead send a clear message that says "We welcome you into our country, but we demand you honor the rights and freedoms of all of our citizens. Ok France I understand why you feel the need to "Draw the line", your just drawing it in the wrong place.

Time to Pass the Budget

2011-04-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

As the nation is brought to the brink of a shutdown, some things are clear.

1. The Federal debt is spiraling out of control.

2. This debt is hampering the long-term success of America.

3. Even if the Republicans get the full cuts they wanted, we will still see our debt rise.

4. The Democrats have agreed to about 70% of all of the cuts that the Republicans asked for.

5. There is no way to balance the budget with out draconian cuts to basic government services, including Medicare and Social Security, unless they also address the revenue side.

6. Obama brokered a deal between the House and Senate bills, The numbers have been worked out.

The looming government shutdown is NOT about the budget; not about numbers that one could mark down on ledger paper, or enter into an Excel file.The Shutdown is over abortion and the EPA.

With over 800,000 people set to stop receiving paychecks, and ten of millions left without the services they depend on, the American government closing its doors is not an event that will serve us well. As Americans fight $4.00 gas prices, falling home prices, rising healthcare costs; we should not be held hostage by the far right's plan to end abortion. What ever your position is on that "Hot-Button" issue; clearly this is not the bill to address the matter. Keep in mind, the Hyde amendment already bans any federal money to be use to fund abortion. This last-minute rider sets to refund any woman's health service provider that, in addition to it's principle functions, also offers abortion services, even though NO government money goes to pay for that abortion. This bill will make it harder for many millions of woman to get checked for Cervical cancer, STDs, Rape counseling and birth control pills, (despite that fact that the birth control will reduce the number of abortions).

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer says "Democrats have compromised enough on the 2011 budget, and it’s time for the Republicans to give on social policies they want included in the spending package".

“It’s going to take some willingness on the other side to give a little bit,” Hoyer said. “We have given 70 percent towards the dollars that they wanted to reduce and they have not given an inch on the policies that they want included".

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is the other target of the "Right". It would seem in a year that saw the BP oil spill and the unfolding nuclear disaster in Japan; the American people would welcome an agency that is there to help keep us safe. This is clear proof that the Koch brothers got what they paid for when they invested in the Tea Party.

When asked, Governor Daniels of Indiana said: ‘Look, make an agreement on numbers, let’s get that stabilized first — leave the social issues to other bills.’ That’s what we ought to do,” “The fact is that shutting down the government is a bad policy .

It is clear that the average American does not want to see the United States put out a "Closed" sign out on the door. By all accounts the two sides have reached a compromise on the budget, it is time for them to pass it and get back to work.

The Easiest Way To Clean Your Brushes

2011-03-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

SB0152, “Mandatory Arbitration” will raise car Insurance Rates in Illinois

2011-03-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

At a time when the “Middle-Class Worker” is watching their small-slice of the American pie shrink, as their expenses go up and their wages go down. I’m confident that when Sen. William R. Haine introduced SB0152, it was done with the best of intentions, and the sincere belief that “Mandatory Arbitration” will benefit the people of Illinois. I am not questioning his motivation, but I do question the wisdom of a bill that will put people out of work, and increase insurance costs on those least able to afford them....

» Read "SB0152, “Mandatory Arbitration” will raise car Insurance Rates in Illinois"...

List of Illinois Senators

2011-03-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the List of Illinois Senators that play a role in the vote on SB1052 bill.

Sen. John Cullerton

President, Illinois Senate

327 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-3242

Sen. Don Harmon

President Pro Tempore

329 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-3242

Sen. Bill Brady

Assistant Republican Leader

105 A Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-0116

Sen. Matt Murphy

Republican Caucus Chair

309 C Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-7818

Sen. Christine Radogno

Republican Leader

309 A Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-7818

Sen. Dale Righter

Deputy Republican Leader

309 D Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-7818

Sen. William Haine

121 C Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-5340

Sen. David Leuchtefeld

Assistant Republican Leader

103 B Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-4079

Sen. Dave Syverson

Assistant Republican Leader

M 103 D Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-9586

Sen. John O. Jones

Assistant Republican Leader

309 H Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-4885

Sen. Pamela Althoff

Republican Caucus Whip

M103 C Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-9586

Sen. Susan Garrett

Majority Caucus Whip

129 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

(217) 782-2331

Sen. Kimberly Lightford

Assistant Majority Leader

323 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 558-2068

Sen. Antonio Muñoz

Assistant Majority Leader

323 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 558-1042

Sen. James Clayborne Jr.

Senate Majority Leader

329 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 558-6013

Sen. Donne Trotter

Majority Caucus Chair

Sen. Donne Trotter

Majority Caucus Chair

627 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-8201

Sen. Carol Pankau

Minority Caucus Whip

105 K Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 557-3908

Sen. Maggie Crotty

Assistant Majority Leader

123 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 558-6006

Sen. Mattie Hunter

Majority Caucus Whip

615 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 558-6006

Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg

Assistant Majority Leader

218 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-0715

Sen. John Sullivan

Assistant Majority Leader

417 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 558-0168

Sen. Ira Silverstein

Majority Caucus Whip

121 A Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-5340

Sen. Terry Link

Majority Caucus Whip

321 Capitol Building

Springfield IL 62706

Fax No. (217) 782-4450

Natanie Portman VS Mike Huckabee

2011-03-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

The room was quite as the list of names for "best Actress" were ticked-off. there was much applauds, and little surprise when the Academy Awards announced That Natalie Portman took the stage. The surprise came a day latter when, Mike Huckabee slammed actress Natalie Portman on a radio show for glamorizing out-of-wedlock pregnancy at the Academy Awards and sending an irresponsible message to women.

Yes this is the same Natalie Portman that put her movie career on hold for years while she got a degree from Harvard. In 1999, she was cast in a leading role in Star Wars Episode I, at the same time she had recently enrolled at Harvard University to study psychology. As if graduating for an Ivy League college was not enough of a challenge She completed her bachelor's degree while she was working on the Star Wars films. This is the same young woman that skipped the premiere of her film The Phantom Menace so she could study for her high school final exams. (Does anyone truly believe that Bristol Palin would have made that choice?)

When asked by the New York Post about her putting School first she said "I don't care if [college] ruins my career," "I'd rather be smart than a movie star."

Natalie Portman (Natalie Hershlag) did graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. degree in psychology and for a time was a research assistant to Alan Dershowitz.

Portman, with a history of charitable giving, just donated $50 million dollars to Hadassah Hospital.

On December 27, 2010, Portman confirmed to the press that she and her boyfriend, Millepied are engaged and expecting a child, this summer.
Mike Huckabee former governor and would be presidential candidate went on "The Michael Medved Show" and basted Ms/ Portman for being a poor role-model for woman.

"You know, Michael, one of the things that's troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, 'Hey look, you know, we're having children, we're not married, but we're having these children, and they're doing just fine,'" Huckabee said. "But there aren't really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie."

Rather than look at her and see an accomplished woman, with a long history of making responsible decisions, who took graduate courses at Hebrew University, and speaks 6 languages; he just played to the “Bash Hollywood Values” crowd, in an attempt to prove that he is further to the “Right” then any other Republican challenger.

But Huckabee said marriage should have come first and admonished the actress for glamorizing single motherhood.
"Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of-children wedlock,"

Ignoring the fact that A record 41 percent of American children were born to single mothers in 2008, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
This was he same day, Huckabee continued to feed the "Proven false" Birther Conspiracy by saying on another radio show that President Obama has a different view of the West, "having grown up in Kenya."

I know so many smart, competent, rational Republicans. People that have graduated from top universities, who have built successful careers, and helped make America strong and prosperous. It is time for that silent majority to take back their party. We need leaders that are smart enough; and yes, logical enough to actually to a serious look at our nation's challenges and work across the isle for the common good.

The president was born and raised in the United States. Area 51 is a place the government tests new planes, not a place hiding UFOs and "Little green men", the Earth is more than 9,000 years old.

We need leaders that stop catering to the lunatic fringe on the left or the right, and realize we have great strengths, yet we are also facing some very real problems. These problems were the result of decisions make by both Democrats and Republicans. and it is going to take both groups; working together to come-up with answerers to fix our economy, and keep America strong. That which divides us- makes us weaker.

Ms. Portman, strikes me as a strong role model for young women.

Cops fatally shoot panhandler, Officer shot in back.

2011-02-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2011|By Becky Schlikerman and Jeremy Gorner, Tribune reporters
Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune
Photo by Larry Lubell

A panhandler was fatally shot near a busy River North intersection Wednesday afternoon when he opened fire on two Chicago police officers, wounding one of them in the back, police said.

Witnesses said the chaotic scene at Chicago Avenue and Wells Street unfolded in broad daylight in an area amid nightclubs, upscale restaurants, art galleries and the Moody Bible Institute.

Police said the two Near North District officers had taken the panhandler into custody about 4 p.m. after he had become combative, yet despite being handcuffed, the man was able to pull out a gun in the unmarked police car and shoot one officer in the back.

The officers scurried from the vehicle as it continued to roll down the street and fired their weapons, killing the panhandler, police said.

The unmarked police car, a Crown Victoria, came to rest partly on a sidewalk on Wells, butting against a light pole with the rear window shot out. Spent bullet shells were strewn on the street behind it.

A weapon used by the panhandler was found at the scene, police said. The man, whose identity has not been released by officials, had numerous arrests for petty offenses, according to a law-enforcement source.

The wounded officer, 44, a 16-year veteran, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He is expected to recover, police said. The other officer, 60, a 37-year-old veteran, was treated for minor cuts to one hand at Northwestern.

"This is a clear understanding of the uncertainty and the danger that the officers face every day," police Superintendent Jody Weis told reporters outside the hospital's emergency room. "There's probably nothing more routine than this type of investigation, and look what we have today — an officer has been shot. But he's going to be fine."

The Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates shootings involving Chicago police officers, was looking into Wednesday's incident, said its spokesman, Mark Smith.

Larry Lubell said he was sitting at the desk at Urban insurance when he heard loud popping sounds. He figured that a car must be backfiring but realized it was far more serious when numerous police cars suddenly converged on the area.

Lubell said he's never felt unsafe in the area, especially during the daytime.

"I see homeless people around here asking for a quarter, but no one seems to bother you if you give it to them," he said.

April Rohn, 35, a clerk at a shop near the shooting was shocked.

"Things like this don't happen around here," she said. But "it's a big city."

Death by Texting

2011-02-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

You turn NASCAR on TV, it's exciting to watch, but you can't help be realize that danger is chasing those drivers at 200 miles per hour. A single moments distraction can end the life of even the most skilled racer. It's danger is recognised by all watching. Yet so often when any of us step behind the wheel, we commonly underestimate how a single lapse of attention, can also result in death and life-changing injuries.

Most of us feel naked leaving the house without our cell phones. We are talking, reading our email, and sending text messages from home, the trail, restaurants, and yes even from our cars. The danger of Texting while driving, claimed it’s latest victim; this time a your girl. This case is particularly troublesome because it was her own father who’s texting led to her death. Jonathan Harp of Lima, pleaded guilty to attempted vehicular homicide in the accident that took the life of one of his children and left his
7 year old daughter in critical care.

AP Photo/Jim Cole

By his own admission, Mr. Harp was going 55 miles an hour while writing a text, the distraction resulted in him crashing into the back of a truck. If found guilty he may go to prison for a year; though, as a father myself, I can’t imagine any punishment greater than knowing your carelessness led to the death of your own child. I wonder if you are already “Living in Hell”, you care about being moved to a prison.

MAD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) has done a great job drawing attention to Drunk Driving. It is clear that driving while intoxicated is irresponsible, dangerous and illegal; it is time to recognize Texting while driving as an even greater distraction. There is a "Moral" component at work her. If you see a person siting in the park with a cellphone writing a text; we do not have contempt for them as we would if they were in that smae park drunk. We have to recornize that there is nothing wrong with useing our electronic devices, as long as it's not while opporating a 5,000 lbs machine down the raod. While Seven states and the District of Columbia have banned “Driving while texting,” it has failed to seriously limit people from continuing what statistics show is reckless behavior. A new survey found that 26% of drivers admit to Texting while driving. With a son a year away from driving, I find it additionally frightening that nearly 60% of drivers between ages 16 to 19 admitted on the survey to doing so. For those under 25, texting is the principle way they communicate; actually using a cell phone to TALK, is only done after several texts back and forth.

We need to raise awareness, before more parents need to bury their child.

.

Cutting off funds for Planned Parenthood

2011-02-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

The Middle-East is in turmoil as tens of thousands of people take to the streets. In Bahrain protests have been met with "Strong-Arm-tactics" leaving several dead which has only escalated the anti-government demonstrations. Violence was spreading at today's funeral processions in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen. Upheaval and uncertainty follows in the wake of revolts in Tunisia and Egypt. America is dependent on Oil, and we have troups fighting two wars from the reagion.

While America has stopped the horrific job losses of two years ago, With unemployment holding at 9 percent and millions out of work we are far from the "Healthy job market." Small business are struggling to stay open, while many big businesses are hording cash.

There is not a state that is not in a financial mess, many cutting back on critical services, at a time when they are desperately needed. Our cities are in debt, teacher layoffs are causing class sizes to spike. Health care costs are skyrocketing at more than twice the rate of inflation leaving more and more people without access to quality care.

Oh yea, the nation is going to run out of money and have to default on loans unless congress passes a new debt-ceiling.

So with all that on the table what did congress do today?

Rather than address any of the pressing issues listed above, they instead turned to the ideological topic of abortion. Yes, the House of Representatives voted 240-185 in favor of Rep. Mike Pence’s amendment cutting off funds for Planned Parenthood.

I understand the desire to "Throw Red-Meat" to the Tea Party; but with the government days away from shutting down, while our solders are in harms-way, why not focus on solving the very real problems that we face, rather than Abortion and National Public Radio?

Groupon declines $6 Billion dollar offer from Google.

2010-12-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

Crain's Chicago has confirmed that the negotiations between Groupon and Google have collapsed. It appears the members of Groupon's board was reportedly divided over selling the idea of selling out to to Google. Their oppositions were not based on some “Moral principle,” or a CEO who’s great grand father started the business 100 years ago and can't imagine this company ever leaving their family’s control. No this was based on the simple belief that $6,000,000.00 is not enough money for a company that was started “A WHOLE TWO YEARS AGO.”
It turns out that many of the board members representing some the more-recent investors, are convinced that Groupon will be worth more next year. Word on the street is that Groupon might instead decide to pursue an (IPO) initial public offering next year.

Andrew Mason, Groupon CEO and founder, declined to comment on the news.
Mr. Mason echoed the same words that spokespeople for Google have been repeating all week, "I won't comment on speculation or rumors about the business."

OK. I’m not privy to the financial records of Groupon, I can't say weather $6 Billion dollars is the right price, or is it $7 Billion that is required to “Do the deal”; all I can think of is “How in the hell is a 2 year old company that sells coupons worth $6 Billion dollars?”

What strange economic times we live in today. I can’t find anybody that can explain the business- model behind Twitter, a company that I can’t find any evidence every collected any money for it’s services; yet I'm told by financial experts is worth $10 to $12 Billion dollars. Today you can get a steel mill, that once employed 3,000 people, free with a purchase of a “Happy Meal,” but Linked-in is worth billions.

Andrew Mason, I’m sure you will get the Billions you seek, and I'm jealous of staggering return on investments that will be reaped by those that had the wisdom to recognize that this two year old, Chicago company would find it’s self in a position to turn down multi-billion dollar offers. The Web continues to amaze.

2011 Porsche Speedster

2010-10-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should be filled with an over whelming sense of envy, but I would rather take some comfort in knowing that at least some people in this economy are in a position tobe out shopping for high-priced sports cars.

Maybe it's because I expect that there will always be a long list of people able to purchase toys beyond my reach. .

The new 911 Speedster not only offers a unique design, but also the latest technology. With its Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB), Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) and flat-6 engine with Powerkit developing 408 hp, it makes every street a street of dreams.

2010 marks the 75th anniversary of the Jaguar name and 75 years of looking forward, creating and building cars that represent technical innovation, design leadership and sporting success. The exclusive, limited edition of XKR175 is an unmistakable celebration of Jaguar’s 75th anniversary. Utterly unique and desirable, the XKR175 is powered by a supercharged V8 with 510hp and 461 lb.-ft. of torque — a powerful engine that increases top speeds to an awe-inspiring 174 mph.

Available in one spectacular color combination, Ultimate Black exterior with Warm Charcoal interior, the XKR175 features an aerodynamic pack with a front splitter and a large rear spoiler, as well as a body-colored rear diffuser and side sill extensions. Dramatic red brake calipers and 20” Kasuga 10-spoke alloy wheels add the finishing touches to the exterior of this ultimate XK.

In the end it is far more upsetting to think that our economy still is at a point when even the RICH cant afford to buy toys, because if they can't; what chance do the rest of us have?

Professor Wichman addresses the Muslim Student Association

2010-10-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/wichman.asp

Professor Wichman E-mail

Claim: A Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim students to leave the country.

Status: True.

You can read the letter Professor Wichman sent to the Muslim Student's Association.

The e-mail was in response to the announced student protest of the Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist.

The group had complained the cartoons were 'hate speech.' As you can imagine, people are lining up on both sides, below is my take.

The Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist, were offensive, and I have no problem with the Muslim Student's Association decision to protest. They have every right to complain, and Muslims have the right to demand the cartoonist apologize, and the cartoonist should feel free to tell them “Screw You,” this is my belief and in a free society I can express it, if you don’t like it you can draw your own cartoon.”

Professor Wichman is entitled to his opinion. The examples of intolerance and barbaric behavior, he listed are well documented.

Professor Wichman could and should organize a march of his own.

I do have a problem with him attacking a student union. The students might be misguided, and I fully agree that there are far more pressing moral issues in the Islamic world then a pen and ink drawing, but there is no evidence that “THEY” were guilty of any of the horrors he outlined. Teachers should not go after Students. A school should not defend teachers starting fights with students. A school should, and must, defend a teacher right to hold and express his views.

Had Professor Wichman wrote his views in a blog, published an article or posted a video on YouTube, Great! The school should stand by it’s teacher’s right to express himself, as they also defend the students ability to hold their beliefs. Students pay tuition, the sort of pay his salary. I understand and agree with many of his points, but not the way he handled the situation. I respect a teachers opinion against Gay marriage, but I do not approve of a teacher writing a nasty note to the Gay student’s association.

We need a more uniform code of ethics, one that guarantees Muslim Americans the same rights, and at the same time holds them equally accountable. Muslims should be able to build a Masque where ever they want (Basic zoning laws apply). Muslims must be free to practice their faith. If the choose not to eat pork, fine, just as it is fine for a person to open a “Rib-Shack” and serve “Pulled-Pork.” There is talk about “Drawing a Line,” OK, here is where I draw the line. America should give all people the freedom to follow their faith, but we should have zero tolerance for anyone trying to force their faith on to others.

BP Lobbied for release of Lockerbie Bomber

2010-08-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

I understand BP is in the business of finding, Drilling for, then selling oil. I do recognize that there are some inherent dangers surrounding the Oil and Gas industries. I wish I could say that we were at a point where we no longer depended on the use of fossil fuels- the sad truth is the World is still addicted to oil.Stick a solar panel on your SUV and see if your able to drive your children to school. More and more it is becoming clear that the "Easy-to-get-to-oil" has been accounted for, resulting in the need to pull fossil fuels out of ever more challenging locations. So with that in mind I will cut British Petroleum a bit of slack at having the occasional accident.

The question is, with the well know dangers and hazards associated with Deep-Water- drilling did BP take "Reasonable Precautions" and have a workable plan to deal with the after-math of the inevitable spill? The simple answer is NO.

Not only did BP not have a plausible plan of action, they demonstrated that their upper-management was filled with Tone-Def, Yacht owners. With Millions of gallons of oil washing into some of our country's most delicate wet-lands; you would think it would be gars to do anything to further damage your company's reputation- WELL THINK AGAIN........

BP confirmed today that it had lobbied the British government in late 2007 for release of the Lockerbie Bomber. For those handful of people that have forgotten; The terrorist attack on Pan Am's Flight 103 took place on Wednesday 21 December 1988. The plane was on flying from London to New York when it was destroyed by an on-board bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members plus 11 more people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland, in total 270 innocent lives were lost.
I understand that at times it can be difficult for large corporations to take political stands on various issues; but being on the "OPPOSIT-SIDE of a mass-murdering-Terrorist should be a rather easy public relations move.

The British Petroleum said it had "Voiced concerns that the slow pace of negotiations risked impeding an offshore drilling deal with Moammar Gadhafi's Libya. Just when I thought BP corporate image could not get any worse; I find that they have dug a Public Relations hole deeper than any off-shore well. And by the way- no "Relief - Well" is going to help cap this disaster.

Chicago Air Show Parking

2010-08-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

OK, I think Parking prices are getting a bit insane.

Much of it stems from the City of Chicago selling-off their rights to street parking to a private company. Once these "Parking Boxes" began popping up all over Chicago- rates began to take-off.

Each time we think prices cant get any higher -

are proven wrong.

Student Car Insurance

2010-07-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

If you are a student in need of car insurance, you probably already have enough on your plate trying to provide a complete, “unified, and consistent description of the fundamental structure of our universe”, or writing a term paper on the long term consequences of the Civil War. As a student, your time is precious, and the last thing you feel like doing is filling out 16 separate Car Insurance applications searching for the lowest insurance rate. But the price you will pay for car insurance will change greatly from one insurance company to the next. That is why Urban Auto Insurance offers insurance Quotes from sixteen different Insurance companies. At Urban Auto Insurance, we will search to find you the lowest rates.

Urban Auto Insurance has 50 years experience finding car insurance for college students. Our Online “Comparative Rater” saves you the time of filling out 16 separate applications.

BP Lobbied for release of the Lockerbie Bomber

2010-07-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

Transformers in Chicago

2010-07-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, and far from Chicago, the planet of Cybertron, was home to a war between the "Autobots" and the Decepticons over control of a talisman called "Allspark." In an attempt to protect "Allspark" from falling into the hands Megatron, leader of the Decepticons; Optimus Prime (leader of the Autobots) hid it here on earth.

From what I can gather the movie has something to do with all these giant transforming robots waging some kind of explosive battle here on Earth, while every male in the audience focused on Megan Fox.

Well, it appears that the battle has come to the "Chicago Loop."

This past weekend, most of the streets of heart of Chicago's financial district had been taken-over by these robots, or at least by DreamWorks SKG. Streets were littered with what looked like massive pieces of falling debris, massive gapping holes, burnt abandoned cars, in other-words- it looked more like the West-Side of Chicago.

In answer to your question; as an Insurance Agent specializing in Car Insurance; Acts of War are not covered under your Auto Insurance policy - while never tested court, I assume that includes war brought to Earth from an other planet.

I'm not sure what plot turns were used to bring the war to the streets of Chicago, but I am sure that the Chicago's budget will benefit from the large checks the movie studio is witting. In fact, I think Mayor Daley would be well advised to steal this "Allspark" Talisman, keep it hidden forcing the battle to continue along with the seven figure checks from DreamWorks.

Mad As Hell

2010-07-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

With The War in Afghanistan raging since October 7, 2001, and the Iraq War, ongoing from March 20, 2003, It is easy to understand American's ever increasing feeling we are stuck in an ever deepening and costly quagmire.

While the Bank closings and collapse of the "Sub-Prime" markets never brought us to the depths of the "Depression," there is a sense that the "New-Normal" is dreary at best. Yes, we have improved greatly from the numbers at the end of the Bush administration when we were loosing 400,000 - 750,000 jobs per month- in fact we have seen jobs growth. What we have not seen is any truly bright light at the end of the tunnel.

As a result of years of deregulation, we now wake up each morning to hear about another 50,000 plus barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf, destroying some of American's most delicate wet-lands.

Our Local Governments are broke, Schools are being forced to increase class sizes to 35 despite clear data showing the negative effect such changes will have on our students.Roads have potholes large enough to swallow a dog and many of our bridges seem held up by rust and duck tape.

It is with this in mind that a new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that 57% of Americans state they have "just some" or no confidence in President Obama ability to make the right decisions for America. Before the opposition "Licks it's chops," they better read that 73 percent had just some or no confidence in congressional Republicans to make the right decisions for the country..

We are Mad as Hell- But we don't have the slightest idea WHO to be mad at!

Fiscal conservatives are angry at what they see as an exploding deficit for which they will lay blame at Obama's feet, while the smartest of them recognize that the previous Republican showed a complete lake of fiscal discipline. Liberals who invested an allegiance in Obama that one often reserves for saints; have found him unable to bring forth the Utopian dreams his cadency promised. And the "Tea-Bag- People" seem somehow irate to find that we are no longer living in the 19th century.

The hard to face truth is that America faces some difficult challenges. While common sense tells us that our greatest hope of setting our country back on tracks is for Democrats and Republicans to work together for a common good; the current political climate makes such self-sacrifice beyond hope.

A time to come together

2010-06-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have many friends and colleagues, for whom I have great respect, that opposed various pieces of legislation to come out of this Congress, based on a number of valid complaints. The problem I have is with those that demonized both the bills and its supporters, and often based on false assumptions.

It is this “Demonizing” of the opposition, the attitude that those on the other side are not just wrong, but are Evil, that is frightening and dangerous. America is at it’s best when it can stand as a monument to reason and tolerance. To quote from a T-Shirt * “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend your right to say it to my death”

It is this concept that has helped make America great, that has prevented our nation from collapsing into the downward spiral of politically generated division, hatred and violence that one finds in other countries. It is not an accident that in America, neighbors can find them selves on opposite side of any number of issues, yet still remain close friends. This “tolerance” is the direct result of responsible politicians, writers, talk-show hosts, and citizens in general each doing their part to “Turn-down” the rhetoric and actively discourage hate-filled rants, designed to drive a wedge between us.

I must confess that I am frightened by the rising tide of extremism coming from the fringe “Right Wing.” Clearly they do not represent the “Center” or even the “Center- Right” of America; but they do have just enough of a “Populist message” to attract the attention of many Center Right Republicans, and to force the conversation away from civility, and towards an absolute Good VS Evil rhetoric.

No one should act surprised that after 16 months of extreme groups portraying President Obama as the “Anti-Christ”, or a least a “Kenya-born, anti-white socialist” that many would fear him and his administration. It is upsetting to read about Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell's decission to commemorate the Confederacy without any mention of slavery The U.S. has always had it’s fair share on nuts railing on about how the government “Faked the moon landing”, has little-green-men stashed away under-ground at area 51, or that Fluoride in our water is a communist plot. What is particularly upsetting is, how at this time, mainstream Republicans are using these fringe groups as a way of throwing “Red-Meat” to their base. I will not even suggest that Democrats are above such tactics; I am only pointing out the inherent danger of giving any legitimacy to radical- armed-to-the-teeth groups. The

Michigan Militia group Hutarre is a clear example of on of these groups that all American should fear.

Federal prosecutors who have been watching the Hutarre group for months, say they uncovered the militia members plan to kill a police officer, then days later when hundreds of law enforcement officers came to resulting funeral, they planed to set off homemade bombs killing as many additional officers as possible. It appears their idea was to create some kind of war between the government and the militia groups. A federal prosecutor on Thursday asked U.S. District Magistrate Judge Donald Scheer to lock up eight members of the Hutaree Christian militia group Calling them a “dark hearted” group with evil intentions. During a raid on Wednesday at the home of one of the Hutarre members, agents found 16 long guns, six gas masks, thousands of rounds of ammunition and a barbed-wire plaque that read “Remember Waco.” The irony is that I think we all need to “Remember Waco” and the Oklahoma City bombing as clear examples of the destruction that comes out of extremism, and the role that each American, on the left or right plays in keeping this a country where we can disagree without turning the volume so loud; that we spur on violence. Our politicians need to speak out against hate and violence, must do more than just condemn bricks being thrown threw windows of those in the opposition party, they must take an active role in reducing the rhetoric that leads to such actions.

Palestinian Madness

2010-05-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

I was raised in a home where rational thought was seen as a good thing. Taught to recognize the thousand shades of gray, taught to respect opinions different than my own, and of course taught to condemn the slaughter of the innocent.

As a product of a world of "Sanity" it is difficult for me to truly understand the rationality of madness.

Andrea Stone, AOL News, Senior Washington Correspondent; wrote about the controversy surrounding Palestinian's recent choices for the naming of prominent locations. Clearly one would not expect the Palestinians to name a street after Jerry Seinfield, or a school Einstein High School; I would even expect them to select some names that would never find their way to a building in any U.S. city; but I was surprised by the following list of names.

The Dalal Mughrabi Girls' High School, named for a 19-year-old woman who carried out the deadliest terrorist attack in Israeli history.

Yihyeh Ayyash Street, the address of the future Palestinian presidential compound, named for the terrorist dubbed the "engineer" for a series of bombings that includes a bus attack in Tel Aviv that killed 20 people.

The new Fathi Shaqaqi Gymnasium in Gaza, inaugurated two weeks ago in honor of the founder of Islamic Jihad, which has carried out more than 1,000 attacks that have killed and wounded more than 1,000 people.

I fully realize that life for the average Palestinian is hard and devoid of most of the opportunities we take for granted. I also understand that Israel has produced individuals that have killed innocents. There us a major difference; when Allen Goodman, in 1982 went on a shooting rampage on the Temple Mount, Israeli police called him "Deranged," arrested him and after being found guilty sentenced him to life imprisonment. What Israel did not do was name a school after him.

Imagine for a moment if we in America decided to name a park after John Wayne Gacy, or a hospital after Charles Manson. Is there not a Palestinian soccer star, or musician worthy of "Naming rights"?

I would love to believe that there will come a day when the sane, yet silent majority of Palestinians will toss aside these terrorists, and work to build a better life for their own people.

Larry Lubell

Political extremism is “Bad for America”

2010-04-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

We have just come through a long and divisive fight over “Health Care”; one, which ended with not a single Republican crossing, party lines. As I wrote in “Health Care in America; ‘The US health care system now equals about 17% of the US economy, With that in mind, there is little reason to wonder why so many people feel so passionately about any possible changes.”
There is always a fear of the unknown, and Americans are right to be exceptionally cautious about ever giving more power to the federal government. When Jefferson, Adams, Paine, Madison, and others joined forces to pen the Constitution of the United States, they stated clearly that the resulting government must be one of “Limited Powers.” It was those very limitations, more than anything else that distinguished our government from any that had come before. It was Jefferson that wrote
"the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,"
Aside from the philosophical concerns, there are also practical reasons to question the government’s ability to run the U.S. health care system. While it is sort of hard to argue that the government is filled with people that are more corrupt or greedy than those in the private sector; one can make the case that government corruption can become more entrenched and difficult to remove. While, Social Security and Medicare have turned-out to be such popular programs, that there is not a single member of Congress that would “Stand on the floor” and suggest ending them; it is true that these entitlements are eating up an ever large piece of the pie. This leads me to conclude that there were real and rational reasons for intelligent people to object to the health reform bill. The problem I have is with those that demonized both the bill and its supporters, and often based on false assumptions.
It is this “Demonizing” of the opposition, the attitude that those on the other side are not just wrong, but are Evil, that is frightening and dangerous. America is at it’s best when it can stand as a monument to reason and tolerance. To quote from a T-Shirt * “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend your right to say it to my death”
It is this concept that has helped make America great, that has prevented our nation from collapsing into the downward spiral of politically generated division, hatred and violence that one finds in other countries. It is not an accident that in America, neighbors can find them selves on opposite side of any number of issues, yet still remain close friends. This “tolerance” is the direct result of responsible politicians, writers, talk-show hosts, and citizens in general each doing their part to “Turn-down” the rhetoric and actively discourage hate-filled rants, designed to drive a wedge between us.

I must confess that I am frightened by the rising tide of extremism coming from the fringe “Right Wing.” Clearly they do not represent the “Center” or even the “Center- Right” of America; but they do have just enough of a “Populist message” to attract the attention of many Center Right Republicans, and to force the conversation away from civility, and towards an absolute Good VS Evil rhetoric.
No one should act surprised that after 16 months of extreme groups portraying President Obama as the “Anti-Christ”, or a least a “Kenya-born, anti-white socialist” that many would fear him and his administration. The U.S. has always had it’s fair share on nuts railing on about how the government “Faked the moon landing”, has little-green-men stashed away under-ground at area 51, or that Fluoride in our water is a communist plot. What is particularly upsetting is, how at this time, mainstream Republicans are using these fringe groups as a way of throwing “Red-Meat” to their base. I will not even suggest that Democrats are above such tactics; I am only pointing out the inherent danger of giving any legitimacy to radical- armed-to-the-teeth groups. The Michigan Militia group Hutarre is a clear example of on of these groups that all American should fear.
Federal prosecutors who have been watching the Hutarre group for months, say they uncovered the militia members plan to kill a police officer, then days later when hundreds of law enforcement officers came to resulting funeral, they planed to set off homemade bombs killing as many additional officers as possible. It appears their idea was to create some kind of war between the government and the militia groups.
A federal prosecutor on Thursday asked U.S. District Magistrate Judge Donald Scheer to lock up eight members of the Hutaree Christian militia group Calling them a “dark hearted” group with evil intentions.
During a raid on Wednesday at the home of one of the Hutarre members, agents found 16 long guns, six gas masks, thousands of rounds of ammunition and a barbed-wire plaque that read “Remember Waco.”The irony is that I think we all need to “Remember Waco” and the Oklahoma City bombing as clear examples of the destruction that comes out of extremism, and the role that each American, on the left or right plays in keeping this a country where we can disagree without turning the volume so loud; that we spur on violence. Our politicians need to speak out against hate and violence, must do more than just condemn bricks being thrown threw windows of those in the opposition party, they must take an active role in reducing the rhetoric that leads to such actions.

"Selective enrollment high schools" in Chicago

2010-03-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

Sarah Karp in her article titled "Analysis of selective schools data shows poorer students have tougher time gaining admission"; she addressed the issue of creating a system that does not close-the-doors to all but the most advantaged.

In September of 2009, a federal judge lifted the desegregation consent decree that had, among other things, allowed the Chicago Public Schools to base acceptances to their "Selective enrollment high schools" based on race. Under the "Consent decree" admission could be based on a formula of 30% white, 30% Black 30% Hispanic and 10% Asian. The basis for the "Consent decree" was to address the fact that the Chicago school system was deeply divided along racial grounds, and that this separation was working against minorities. For years the CPS faced complaints from "High-scoring" whites and Asian students, stating that they were deigned spots at "Walter Payton School","Northside Prep" and other top "Selective enrollment high schools" based on a "Racial quota". At the same time some in the minority community were complaining that too many of these coveted spots were going to affluent students that had the advantage of having an expensive private school education.

With the desegregation decree gone, the CPS quickly tried to create some system that was in compliance with the law, yet held out a greater number of spots for those students coming from schools in disadvantaged areas of Chicago.
With very limited time to craft a new system; CPS instituted an admissions policy based on 40 percent of the students to be admitted based strictly on the combined composite scores comprised of 7th Grade standardized test scores, grades and the selective enrollment entrance exam. Each of the three parts carry a maximum of 300 points. The maximum composite score this year was 900. That left 60 percent of the spots to be divided equally between four socio-economic tiers of students. the idea would be that children coming from disadvantaged areas of Chicago, would be competing only against other students in the same tier.

This resulted in a flawed system being replaced with an untested system. This experiment not only removed a "Racial quota", it also eliminated the common practice of balancing classes between boys and girls. The truth was, no one really knew how the numbers would differ from years past. The only thing that everyone could agree upon was that there were going to be "cries of unfairness" coming from all sides.
To no one's surprise, in the aftermath of the acceptance process, complaints were flying from all quarters. The fact that these results arrive at the same time that the CPS has announced massive budget cuts; has only amplified the rhetoric. In response to the growing cries from some minority groups, superintendent Huberman announced that he was adding 25 seats to the freshman classes at Whitney Young, Jones, Walter Payton and Northside Prep and reserving them exclusively for students from the city’s 87 worst performing elementary schools.

There is no question that students coming from privileged backgrounds, have a huge leg-up. These students have access to resources, often including having college-educated parents that place an enormous importance on their child's education. Fairness and compassion demands that society takes steps to bring these poor school, up to a basic standard the guarantees all children a shot at a bright future. It is unacceptable to just "Write-off" the kids as unimportant, but the idea of placing 100 students into positions, at the four most academically challenging schools, that they did not earn nor are they prepared to attend, is folly.

The truth is that there were students that did NOT get in to these schools, despite the fact that they had over 860 Points
It makes no sense to take children that scored under 700, while depriving straight "A" students spots.
In truth, many of these "NEW 100" did not even take the initiative to "Opt-in" to the process.

The CPS created a set of rules, 20,000 + plus students competed for spots in selective schools based on those rules; it is unfair to alter the criteria after the fact. This does an injustice those students that worked so hard but fell a few points short of their goal.

The CPS will not use the words, but the fact is the lion's share of the these 100 students will be African-American. That realization will most greatly impact those African-American that had won spots at these schools by simply out-scoring the vast percentage of applicants. I fear that these impressively qualified minority students will not be respected for their accomplishments, but instead be perceived as only there because of this last-minute political pressure.

It is clear that the CPS does not believe that these "100 Students" will be equipped to compete at these elite schools - it is for that reason they are planing on spending an additional $10,000.00 each student per year to help them deal with the rigorous classes.
I empathize with the motives, but by putting students into a spot they did not earn, nor are prepared for, is unfair to them as well as the students at these schools. It seems better to take the top 400 students from the city’s 87 worst performing elementary schools and put them together into one high school along with the $1,000,000.00 additional funding, instantly creating another selective enrollment school. The resulting high school will then be filled with those children that have demonstrated academic aptitude deserving recognition, yet short of the requirements of the "Top Schools"

Corporate Jets to Congress

2010-01-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

Years back, I took a tour of Glessner House/ museum on Prairie Avenue, in Chicago. The house, designed for Glessner, one of the founders of International Harvester, had etchings showing his factory with smoke stack pouring out black smoke. If he were CEO today, he would never fill his study with pictures showing-off the large amount of waste-product his company was generating; but back in 1886, it was a status-symbol.
Times Change.........

JONATHAN BERR wrote about how he thought that
Wall Street Has Many Things to Be Sorry About -- Just Not Corporate Jets

[However, amenities aside, there is a sound business reason for big-shot executives to use corporate jets. Oftentimes, it's the most practical way for CEOs to get from one place to another. The aviation system used by most of the public is not always a suitable alternative for these fliers. It can't get them to the places they need to be in a timely manner. As a taxpayer, I would rather have Dimon and Moynihan show up at an important hearing than be stuck at an airport somewhere.]

Yes, I get the idea that CEOs of major corporations expect lavish perks, I understand the concept that if a corporation want's to compete for the "Best talent" they are going to have to compete against other companies willing to provide the perks. I even understand the argument that if you divide the CEO's seven-figure salary by the 50 hours they work per week, the saving in time more than offsets the cost of the chartered flight. What is being missed is the symbolism.

People are hurting. The economy, while improved from the dooms-day predictions" of a year ago; still has America facing 10% unemployment, and many small business in a "Life VS Death struggle" to survive. People understand the massive burden placed on our nation's future, our children's future, based on the mountain of debt we carry personally, and the government carries on our behalf. The American taxpayer, the American consumer remembers the unprecedented $750 Billion dollars of infusion capital the Bush Administration asked for and received and how that money was handed out to our largest banks and financial institutions.

O.K., If that is what it took to stabilize our economy; then so be it; but if your company was the precipitant of some of that money; DON"T SHOW UP TO CONGRESS IN A FRIGGIN PRIVATE JET.

On “Hannity’s America,” called-out Al Gore for flying on a private jet, while lecturing to all the world about the dangers of Global Climate

"In short, flying in a private jet does more than four times the carbon emission damage to the environment than flying a regular commercial jet. So if you were worried about your quote-unquote "carbon footprint" on the environment, and if you are concerned about carbon neutrality, the last thing that you should be doing is flying on private jets. Sit in coach, you might save a polar bear".
As I wrote in an earlier piece, If you are going to Congress, crying about how you are running out of money- don't go there in a private jet!
I understand compared to the scale of the problem, that Gore's flights have no impact, or that the cost of the private jets had no impact on the financial meltdown. Based on the large salaries these executives are making, it is not unreasonable to expect them to have the savvy to understand that showing up to congress in your Gulf Stream Jet; is like pulling up to work in a new Ferrari on the same day your laying-off 20% of your company’s work force. It is not enough just to make the case that corporations can justify giving their powerful wealthy executives enormous perks, or that they can construct the math in a way to prove the savings in time might justify the expense.

Larry Lubell
Urban News

Help the Earthquake Victims in Haiti

2010-01-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

An overnight 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti- has the pontential to leave more than one hundred thousand people dead- and an untold number of families homeless.
We can all remember back to the death, destruction and general horror that was Katrina. A death-toll so large that it stretched our ability to truly comprehend. Years have passed, yet New Orleans is still wearing the visible scars, and any sense of normalcy, can still be years away.

It is with that in mind, that we read about the devastation that occurred today of the island nation of Haiti. it is truly impossible to grasp what it means to hear of Hundreds of thousands are feared dead in the wake of the 7.0 -magnitude earthquake. Haiti, already the poorest nation in the hemisphere, has few resources to even begin the long task ahead.

Click below for a list of licks to help.
http://www.urbaninsuranceagency.com/insurance-articles/544/help-the-earthquake-victims-in-haiti.html
Together, we can make a difference.

When in doubt- Don't Panic

2010-01-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

The simple truth is nothing causes panic quicker than being presented with figures that you can't trust.

This is particularly true in challenging financial times and additionally relevant following on the heals of the "Popping of the Housing bubble." We are going through a time when we are all paying closer attention to "The numbers" that companies are posting. We, as a whole, are additionally skeptical of the figures corporations are reporting, and are automatically "Shaving-off" a percentage of the "Good- news" while listening closely to an hint of a possible down-turn.

In this "New-World-Order, none of us want to get caught in the next "Bubble" or invest with the next Madoff. This has heightened our sense that "No News = Bad News." When faced with a company that is seen as holding-back on information, more than ever we will assume the worst. As a result, a company that might be reluctant to admit small financial losses; concerned the information will lower their stock price, will instead be met by a weary public that fears the "Real-Numbers" are far worse.

Insurers’ providing inadequate financial reporting trying to down-play a 10% drop, could hurt them-selves more by stirring uncertainty about their financial condition; and stoke fear that they are the next AIG.

Rating companies, reinsurance companies, investors and the public at large, are smart enough to expect a company to face challenges, especially in difficult times. What is most important in creating confidence, is to convince the public that your figures are solid, real and that you understand, and are willing to do what it takes to return to profitability. If the market can't trust the numbers your reporting, or there is a reporting vacuum, your company will the impact caused by the resulting panic.

Car insurance is mandated!

2009-11-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

As Health care bills bounce from the House to the Senate, understandingly people and groups are concerned how these changes might impact their lives. Such concern is well founded. But it is necessary that there be more light and less heat. It was for that reason that I responded to the below comment.

November 9, 2009 by Jason
Another fantastic straw man from the shameless promoters of universal health care. Here is the premise: It is not unreasonable to have a health care mandate, since it is good for everyone and is no different from auto insurance [which is mandated with penalties for non-compliance].
1. Auto insurance that is mandated by the [state] government(s) is to protect other people, not you. You are required to carry liability insurance to cover damages to other personnel or property, not yourself. Lenders however, require insurance levels, which protect their investment – the car. If you do not want to carry collision insurance for repairs, you buy your car outright and are the only owner. You can also choose the level of coverage, for example towing, rental reimbursement, and roadside assistance.
2. If you do not drive a car, you are not required to carry insurance. Urban dwellers, children, and the elderly who do not drive automobiles are not required to carry automobile insurance of any kind.
3. Most importantly, a health insurance mandate instituted by the federal government is unconstitutional. Auto insurance requirements are at the state level and such decisions are reserved by the state according to the Constitution of the United States. The 10th Amendment of the US Constitution states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

You bring up three very interesting points.
First you are correct, the state does not demand that you buy Physical Damage insurance to cover a loss to your own car, the state just demands that you have coverage for the damage you might do to someone’s person or property.
Secondly you are again correct when you state If you do not drive a car, you are not required to carry insurance. I could point out that if you are an Owner/non-driver, you will need car insurance- but for the most part you are correct.
Your third point that a health insurance mandate instituted by the federal government is unconstitutional, falls under the heading “Unsettled-Law”.The federal Government does pass laws that are national is scope. The simple truth is if a health insurance mandate instituted by the federal government was clearly unconstitutional, we would not see so many people fighting so hard to stop the bill.

Unique Insurance Rating

2009-11-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS: Analysts Public Relations
Bob Podolski Jim Peavy
(908) 439-2200, ext. 5731 (908) 439-2200, ext. 5644
bob.podolski@ambest.com james.peavy@ambest.com
Joseph Burtone Rachelle Morrow
(908) 439-2200, ext. 5125 (908) 439-2200, ext. 5378
joseph.burtone@ambest.com rachelle.morrow@ambest.com

A.M. Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of

Unique Insurance Company

OLDWICK, N.J., Nov. 2, 2009—A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “bb+” from “bb” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of B (Fair) of Unique Insurance Company (Unique) (Chicago, IL). The outlook for both ratings is stable.
The upgrading of Unique’s ICR reflects its consistently favorable operating results and surplus growth. The company’s FSR recognizes its elevated expense and underwriting leverage ratios and concentration of risk in Illinois, writing non-standard automobile insurance. The outlook is based on the long-term consistency of Unique’s operating results.

For Best’s Credit Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings.
The principal methodologies used in determining these ratings, including any additional methodologies and factors that may have been considered, can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.
Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Obama wins Nobel, or How to drive Conservatives Crazy!

2009-10-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

I woke up a bit late this morning, in part due to the dark gloomy weather. In my mad dash to get to work, my wife said she heard that the President just won the Nobel Peace Prize. I told her she must of heard the story wrong, maybe he was honoring the person that won the prize. Throughout the day at work, I was too busy to read the news; and did not give her comment a second thought. That was until after 5:00 when I did check several online new sites; and what do you know- She was right.

President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today. The best explanation for the justification seems to be connected to build momentum behind his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms. His overtures to the Muslim world, and his willingness to stress cooperation over the past administrations "With us or Against us" concept. Clearly the prize is, as is often the case, a tool for the Nobel committee to advance an agenda that they view as serving the cause of peace. Where as an Academy Award is given for achievement, this prize, seems to be about rewarding the president for the "Path and Tone" he had decided to take. This award is in part to help give the president the political capital to continue down a course they view as being consistent with creating a safer world.

I have always take pride in the fact that Americans have won more of these prizes than any other country. I love to read about each fellow US citizen that wins a prize in Chemistry, physics, literature and yes the Peace prize. I cheer them them on the same way I do each member of the US Olympic team. I have to believe it is natural, and yes patriotic to be happy that one of our-own won; that said, I'm not surprised that Conservatives must be up-set by the news.
True to my expectations; the comments from the "Right" have been swift and harsh.

There are comments that fall into the category best summed up by Michael Steele.
"What has President Obama actually accomplished?" said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Then there are the "Over the top" and Yes Racist comments such as: Erick Erickson, writing on the conservative RedState.com, suggested Obama won in part because he is black.
"I did not realize the Nobel Peace Prize had an affirmative action quota for it, but that is the only thing I can think of for this news," Erickson wrote. "There is no way Barack Obama earned it in the nominations period."
Rush Limbaugh called it a "greater embarrassment" than losing the Olympics. "This fully exposes the illusion that is Barack Obama," Limbaugh told POLITICO.
Fox news seemed prepared to devote the majority of their space to explaining why the president, OUR PRESIDENT, should not be honored around the world.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chastised the GOP's Steele for his remarks, and noted that conservative activists had cheered when Obama failed last week to bring the 2016 Olympic Games to Chicago.
"I find it very very disappointing for the chairman of the Republican Party — after the cheers that went out when America lost the Olympics — to now be attacking our president, everyone's president in our country, at a time when he is being recognized on the world stage," Stabenow said.
Look, I'm not sure that I can point to a list of concrete things that OBama has done to justify wining the Nobel Prize, that said, I'm glad that I find my-self again living in a country that the majority of the world seems to believe is on the right path .

BBB gives Urban Insurance A+ Rating

2009-08-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

Notice of BBB Accreditation:

We at Urban Insurance Agency, take great pride in the quality of service that we provide to our customers.

We understand that there are a vast number of companies in the marketplace competing for your insurance business. While there are a few "Shady Operators" out there; the vast number of companies and agents are honest and offer a legitimate product. It is that belief that pushes us at Urban to consistantly strive for "Total Customer- Satisfaction."

Urban Insurance Agency as well as U. I. Payment Plan both fall under the BBB Accredited business Program.

This means it supports BBB's services to the public and meets our BBB Accreditation standards.

BBB Rating for Urban Insurance Agency/U. I. Payment Plan

Based on BBB files, Urban Insurance Agency/U. I. Payment Plan has a BBB Rating of A+.

Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings

How Good Is Our Health Care?

2009-08-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Health Care in America

by Larry Lubell
The US health care system now equals about 17% of the US economy. With that in mind, there is little reason to wonder why so many people feel so passionately about any possible changes.
It appears that the greatest single factor in whether one does, or does not support attempts to change legislation; is whether or not you currently have insurance. The key explanation is that people in the US are for the most part happy with the level of care they receive, creating a chiasm between the “Have’s and the Have not’s.”

This leads to those who are happy with the status quo speaking about the upper-end care available at the finest collection of hospitals in the world. While those “Outside of the system” find themselves waiting in long lines at the E. R. and a times having to make the choice between buying food or paying for meds.
Our system does have it’s strengths; in fact one could easily point to aspects our current structure that single it out as the finest in the world. Clearly there are reasons that people travel to the US for certain procedures, even from countries where, as a citizen of that country, they could receive that care for free. This is particularly true of those who have the financial resources necessary to travel to, and pay for private care in the US. I assume if Mick Jagger wanted dental work done, he would have it done here in America. More>>>

Continue reading Here

Best Of Chicago Award 2009

2009-07-27T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that Low Cost Auto Insurance has been selected for the 2009 Best of Chicago Award in the Auto Insurance category by the US Commerce Association.

In recognition of your achievement, a 2009 Best of Chicago Award has been designed for display at your place of business.
Each year, the US Commerce Association (USCA) identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Ford turns in a Profit?

2009-07-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

by Larry Lubell
Just when we were all ready to “Write-Off the entire US Auto Industry, Ford Motor Co, posts a profit.
Granted, the margin was small and was a product of a one-time gain of $3.4 billion conected to Ford’s debt restructuring.
Ford’s restructuring was accomplished by way of Reducing its U.S. hourly workforce by about 1,000, in a deal with the U.A.W. Ford also was able to reduce it’s debt obligations by $10.1 billion; which equates to a savings of nearly $500 million / year in interest payments alone.
.“While the business environment remained extremely challenging around the world, we made significant progress on our transformation plan,” Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
Ford’s executive vice president and CFO, Lewis Booth, stated, “Ford delivered a very solid quarter, and our transformation plan remains well on track,” “We strengthened our balance sheet, reduced cash outflows and improved our year-over-year financial results despite sharply lower industry volumes.”
While this might not be time to “Pull out the Champaign,” clearly the results represent a major improvement over last year’s reported loss of $8.7 billion. It points to the very real possibility, that if or when, car sales rebound even to average levels; Ford as well as GM and Chrysler, all appear to have a real shot of returning to profitability. It is quite unlikely that US producers will ever regain the dominance in the American market they once took for granted; they might just have a sustainable future.
This is good news, because of the large number of jobs that are dependant of the the US auto industry. From Manufacturing to design, car Insurance, and repair shops just to stratch the service.

Tags: ford, GM

Palin in 2012

2009-07-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

No one political party has ownership of the ideas necessary to move this nation forward.While I am not a Republican, I certainly have family and friends that are proud members of the GOP. Truth be told, many of them are people for whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration. Even while disagreeing, I can clearly recognize that a great deal of thought, research and reasoning went into the formation of their ideas. So much so, that after hearing the quality of their arguments, I will, at times, find myself re questioning some of my own conclusions.

It is no secret that the Republican party counts among it's members a share of the nation's best and brightest minds. It was with that knowledge that I was so shocked when Sarah Palin was selected to be McCaine's running mate.
The first question that came to mind was "Is this is the Best and Brightest star that the GOP can find?"

It wasn't that I felt she was evil or had any bad intent, I just did not understand how can anyone could make the case that she was ready to "Step in" to the job of leader of the free world.The entire state of Alaska has less than one twelfth the population of the Chicago Metro area. She had never met with any world leaders, possessed zero foreign affairs experience, zero Washington experience. Her resume was devoid of any of the usual, expected list of prior government positions that typically accompany one seeking to be a "Heartbeat away" from the presidency. That said, I can understand that there are people that have demonstrated they have achieved the necessary "Skill-Set" through an alternative set of challenges and responsibilities. However we discovered Sarah Palin had never ran a major company, had no experience in international business or been a General in the armed forces.

She had been mayor of a town smaller than the population of many condo building associations, and a newly elected first term Governor. Upon those experiences many deemed her ready to be VP and after the election, ready to run for President of the United States in 2012. But now, by her own stunning admission, she was not even prepared to continue in her job as Governor do Alaska.

Addressing the media from the town of Dillingham, in the "Folksiest costume" contained in her closest (fishing waders) , Palin stated .
"I'm not going to take the comfortable path. I'm going to take the right path for the state," she said of her resignation, which she spun as a matter of progressing in an unconventional way.
"That caught people off guard. ... It's out of the box and unconventional. That's what we are as Alaskans and certainly how I am as a public servant."

This media blitz came out of her need to explain why quitting her job with two weeks notice was not an example of "Quitting" but instead was a "Selfless act" for the good of the people of Alaska.
Sarah Palin says she's not a quitter, she's a fighter, but then added that, politically speaking, "if I die, I die. So be it."

Ok. I understand that she and her administration has been paralyzed by fending off lawsuits. I'm sure that the criticism she has faced has been difficult. I understand that she has an opportunity to "Cash-in" on her fame. I even understand that with a special-needs-child, it might even be a responsible action; so as to put aside the funds that can provide for a better quality of life for that child. Just don't tell me that she is truly ready to be president in 2012.

Larry Lubell

NJ Man Pleads Guilty to 15th DUI

2009-07-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Back when Paris Hilton was spending her few days in jail as a result of her DUI conviction, I remember the out-cry from many that she was getting such a "Light sentence" based on the fact that she was famous.
Few people believed me when I tried to explain, that unfortunately her sentence was not particularly light and in fact that a Non- celebrity would almost never serve a single day under the same situations.

Well a few days ago a resident East Rutherford ,Shaun Campbell went before a judge and stated he been drinking "quite a bit" of beer when he crashed his SUV head-on into a pickup driven by a man and carrying his 4-year-old daughter. Fortunately neither of them were not seriously hurt, but that is owed to a good bit of luck. Campbell's blood-alcohol level was .288 percent, more than triple the state's legal limit. This would be an outrageous crime to require strict punishment, but this was not his "First Offence" in fact it was not his third Offence- Campbell's license has been suspended 78 times in 22 years . If you do the math that means his licence was suspended nearly every three months. This is his 15th DUI Conviction.

I think this clearly shows that this person should be behind bars, and also put the idea that Paris Hilton got off "Light" into real context.

Larry Lubell Can be contacted @ Larry@UrbanInsuranceAgency.comUrbanBlogStart Your Insurance Today Call 1-800-680-0707 for a Free quote or Click www.urbaninsuranceagency.com/quote.php

4th of July is on the 4th

2009-07-02T09:39:00.001-07:00

United States Legal Federal Holidays
Complete List of Federal Legal Holidays in 2009

NRS 236.015 Legal holidays; closing of state, county and city offices, courts, and public schools
The following days are declared to be legal holidays for state,
County and city governmental offices

• January 1, 2009 (thursday): New Year's Day [Jan. 1 every year]

• January 19, 2009 (monday): Martin Luther King Day [3rd monday in Jan]

• January 20, 2009 (tuesday): Inauguration Day [every 4th year]

• February 16, 2009 (monday): Presidents Day (observed) [3rd monday in Feb] note: Presidents Day is also Washington's Birthday (observed)

• May 25, 2009 (monday): Memorial Day (observed) [last monday in May]

• July 4, 2009 (saturday): Independence Day [July 4th every year]

• September 7, 2009 (monday): Labor Day [1st monday in Sept]

• October 12, 2009 (monday): Columbus Day (observed) [2nd monday in Oct]

• November 11, 2009 (wednesday): Veterans' Day [Nov. 11 every year]

• November 26, 2009 (thursday): Thanksgiving Day [4th thursday in Nov]

• December 25, 2009 (friday): Christmas Day [Dec. 25 every year]

Stanford's walk in the Woods turns out to be an extramarital affair.

2009-06-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

For the past week people have been searching for Gov. Mark Sanford who went missing the day before Father's day. His wife said she did not know where he was; but that she was not concerned. While that might seem to me to be a strange response coming from his wife and mother to his four children; she stated that he told her that "He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids". Maybe I'm just one of those "Family Value" guys; but I have a problen with a man that needs to "Get away" from his kinds on father's day.

In the mean time, the people of South Carolina were left without any way of reaching their Governor, and no idea of where he had gone. His staff put forth the explanation that he was " hiking the Appalachian Trail all alone". Here again it struck me as odd that upon hearing this his wife didn't mention that her husband did not take any of his camping gear.

By this morning, the story had changed to he had thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail but at the last minute changed his mind and went to Buenos Aires. When asked why, he stated "I wanted to do something exotic."

Well, it turns out "something exotic." is code for an extramarital affair.
"The bottom line is this: I've been unfaithful to my wife," he said. "I've developed a relationship with a dear dear friend from Argentina."Sanford used a nationally televised new conference to apologize to his wife, his four boys, as well as the people of South Carolina. He also said he regretted leaving his family and staff to spin tales to cover for his absence. Presidential aspirations aside; Stanford has left a trail of lies, and moral lapses that will make it difficult just to hold his position as governor.
Durring a news conference earlier today, fellow Republican South Carolina state Sen. John Knotts said "All we've had is lies, lies, lies," .There have been "cover ups where the governor is and where the governor is not," "I don't have a problem with the governor taking some time off," Knotts said. "But the people in South Carolina need to know that somebody is at the helm, not just a staffer."
This leaves Stanford with people questioning both his competence as well as his morals. I'm pretty sure his political career could survive either of these two complaints; It seems difficult to picture his ability to simultaneously fend off both charges.

Will GM bankruptcy increase car Insurance costs

2009-06-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Not at Urban Insurance.

We have consulted with many of the Insurance companies where we write auto Insurance, and we are happy to report, that as of today, none of them have issued any plans to increase the cost of insurance on any of the GM cars. Two of the companies did state that they were aware of several large insurance companies that we “Considering” a rate increase on GM cars, but to the best of their knowledge, none had done so yet.

In trying to assess the likelihood of insurance companies raising rates on GM cars, there are two examples to look at for clues, The end of Oldsmobile and the demise of Yugo. While each nameplate has vanished, the effects were very different. This was true for resale value as well as insurance costs.

The Yugo was brought into America in 1985 as a cheep, fuel efficient car. 141,511 Yugos were sold in the US from 1985 to 1991. 1991 saw not just the end of the Yugo imported into the US. But thend of the country of Yugoslavia . After years of conflict on June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia declared independence effectively dismantling the country. In very quick order auto insurance company's either placed large surcharges Yugos, or refused to insure them. The problem was parts. The shortage of parts caused the resale value of the cars to plummet with such a low value owners found them selves “Upside-down on payments, every accident had disproportionately high parts cost resulting in even small accident being declared a total loss.

Oldsmobile by contrast had a 107-year history during which it produced 35.2 million cars. The same year the Yugo was introduced into the US. Oldsmobile hit an all-time high of 1,066,122 car sold that year. Oldsmobile owners also had the ability to get their cars fixed at any other GM dealership in part because so many of the parts, and even paint colors were shared with other GM cars. Stating The complexity of the GM bankruptcy, the “American Insurance Association” says it is hard to predict insurance rates for GM products. They have stated that a shortage of replacement parts could push up insurance prices since parts are one of the largest costs of their repair costs. “Consumers may be better off if their insurer allows the use of non-manufacturer parts for repair work after a crash. A number already do, although sometimes just for older vehicles”.

Urban Insurance will keep you informed on any upcoming changes in the industry, and fight to provide you with the lowest cost on your car insurance.

800-680-0707

______________________________________________________

GM and America's Future

2009-06-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

It was a little more than 10 years ago when walking down the street from my home in Chicago, that I saw a woman was opening a small "Wash your Own Dog" business. While I wished her well, I was concerned that the business would not last 3 months. I never could have guessed that her micro business would out last General Motors.

For many decades GM stood for all that was right with the American economy. http://urbaninsuranceagency.com/insurance-articles/241/too-big-to-fail%3f.html It was a shining symbol of the power of America and our dominance in the world. The problem with being a symbol; is when times change; you quickly find yourself represented as all that is wrong, and how far we have slid.

We can not compete by having the lowest priced work force. America will not benefit from a "Race to the Bottom";but gone are the days when we can kid ourselves in to thinking that we in some way above the global economy, or that we can survive just selling to each other, the goods other countries have produced.We need to actuality make something. We also need to understand the world markets, and produce cars that global market wants to buy.

I do believe GM will come out of bankruptcy and has a real chance of returning to profitability (albeit, a smaller company)

Iraq Torture Photos

2009-05-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

A friend sent my an Email yesterday titled "Iraq Torture Photos." When I hoped the email, rather that find pictures of our troops engaged in the torture of suspected terrorists, it showed U.S. Troops involved in innocent play with Iraq's civilians and or helping rebuild the nation.

My response to him was- Yes, I agree / This IS AMERICA.

We are the most Moral, Charitable nation is the history of the world.

Every time there is news of a famine, or a deadly flood anywhere in the world, it is America that is first to offer aid and support. No nation has ever been a greater cause of good, a stronger voice for the oppressed, than America.

The U.S. Armed Forces have consistently been asked, and volunteered to come to the aid of those in need.

A nation working to help find peace in the middle-East,Northern Ireland , came to the aid of Kuwait .

Time and time again we have proven ourselves to be the "Great Moral Compass" of the world.

Yes this America!

________________________________________________________________________________________
Unfortunately this is Bush's AMERICA

How many years will children in the Muslim world see these pictures and think this is America?

The damage caused by us loosing our "Moral Authority" is a greater threat than any information we might have gained by lowering our standards.

Let America return to what president Reagan called "The shining city on the hill". Let us return to the spirit of greatness, that moral center, that makes so many of us so proud to be Americans.

Larry Lubell

Car insurance fraud on the rise

2009-05-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

It is so secret that desperate people do desperate things.

Just as foreclosures on homes are are rising, an increasing number of Americans are also finding them self saddled with loan payments on luxury cars they can no longer afford. As a result of years of “Easy loans” and “Too good to pass up offers” many people bought expensive autos with little or no money down.

In a slow economy with a glut of new and used cars that dealers are having a difficult time selling, the value of these luxury cars have fallen off dramatically. The result of this decline in values means for many the amount they owe on the car is greater than the auto’s value. This leaves many people with cars they can not afford to own, but also can’t afford to sell . The real force that often pushes people over-the-edge is when their car experiences a break-down requiring an expensive repair. This can result in a person finding them selves witha car that has a resale value thousands of dollars less than the remaining finance balance, and now they need to lay-out $2,500 for a major repair.

The problem is particularly acute in Las Vegas, where sharp declines in tourism and construction have left thousands of workers unemployed, broke, and desperate. But cities like Chicago, and all over Illinois are also experiencing the same problems.

As I said before, Desperate situations often result in desperate acts. There are some that see no way out of their delima other than to report their auto as stolen hoping that their insurance company will pay the loss and in turn; releive them of the burden of the car. Authorities report a growing number of cars are being dumped in the Great Lakes, and being found burned along roadsides .
A word of warning if you’re considering carrying out any such plan……. Don’t.

Insurance companies are getting much better at discovering these kinds of scams. First your company is likely to check for evidence that could “Raise red flags”. Facts like, have you recently lost your job, is the value of the car low relative to the amount financed, are you behind on your payments. More often when they recover the car (Perhaps stripped and a total loss) they can determine if the car was last driven with a key, and if there was prior damage and or mechanical problems.

The chance that you’ll get away with such a SCAM is far less than it was in years past. Insurance companies “Cracking-down” on these kinds of crimes, have help bring down car insurance costs. More and more insurance companies are taking a very hard line; meaning ,if you get caught you will probably end up being prosecuted criminally, not just having your claim denied.

Larry Lubell

If you have a question, please contact us at 1-800-680-0707
http://www.ubraninsuranceagency.com/

Can you see the bottom from here?

2009-03-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

For the past year there has been an unending avalanche of ever increasingly bad economic news.
While at first, the disaster seemed to effect those living in, or those holding the paper on homes with "Sub-Prime" loans. Quickly, we found out that the problem was far larger than first thought, and as home prices fell, even those loans that should have had sufficient equity, became "Up-side-down" by falling prices.

We also had a rude awakening when we found that AIG and other institutions that should have been free of any exposure; had engaged in risky investments using "Sub-Prime" loans, hoping for double digit returns, rather than the safer, albeit lower return, products that insurance companies have traditionally used to build their portfolio. In some cases these "Higher returns" were allowing companies to cover up the fact that they were loosing money on the sale of their products.

So, with all of the "Bad News" that we have been inundated for the past year; it is wonderful to finally get some good news.The Dow which have plummeted to 6,469, has actually worked it's way back to 7,839 ( 22% gain). Sales of new homes posted an unexpected gain of 4.7 % in February,

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that orders for durable goods (manufactured products expected to last at least three years) increased 3.4 percent last month, Which was a surprise to economists that expected a 2 % fall .This was the first advance after a record six straight months of declines and the strongest single month gain in 14 months.

"The worst of the drop in (home) sales is over but a sustained recovery, still less price stability, is a way off still," Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients.

Let's not kid our selves into thinking that the "Tough- Times" are over; or even that things in many sectors will not get worse before they begin to get better. But just maybe, this is a sign that at least the rate we are falling is beginning to slow. So let's hold out some hope that we are at least approaching the bottom, and that some positive economic news will be in our future.

Banks in danger of closing

2009-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

Name .................Last Price .....52 Week Low......... 52 Week High
Wells Fargo .....................12.81 ......................8.81 ..................................44.69
JPMorgan Chase ...............20.94 .....................17.70................................ 50.63
Citigroup ..........................2.57 .......................1.61 .................................27.35
BANK OF America .............4.75 .......................2.53.................................. 43.46

Samantha Ronson

2009-01-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

Can someone please explain to me why this person is even remotely famous?

Gaza in Flames

2009-01-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

After ten days of the latest bloodshed, Gaza seems to be a land where all Hope has vanished.
The unending cycle of violence stems from Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist and commitment to destroy the Jewish state. Since Hamas won control of the Palestinian Authority parliament in elections in 2006, they have ratcheted up the level of attacks against Israel, in large part through the use of short range missiles. Hamas had fired 30 rockets at Israel by Tuesday afternoon, the Israeli military said. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida has warned Israel that the militants will continue rocket attacks "for many months" and vowed to strike deeper into Israeli territory. True to their threat, a Hamas rocket landed in the town of Gadera, Israel, about 23 miles north of the Gaza border. Yesterday, a rocket hit a kindergarten in the Israeli city of Ashdod, about 16 miles north of Gaza.

In response to being shelled from Gaza, Israel launched first an air offensive, then as a last resort, followed with sending troupes into the territories. Hamas understands they do not have the equipment to stand toe to toe against the high-tech weaponry of Israel: so instead they look for opportunities to inflict damage, wait for a response; then point to their dead and demand that the world stop Israel. While Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization, by Israel, the United States and the EU; they understand that the Palestinians are seen as the underdogs, and that pressure will be brought down on to Israel. Hamas recognizes that the more horrific the images, the greater the force placed on Israel to pull back. It is for that reason that Hamas intentionally places woman and children in the center of the armed conflict. Place rocket launchers inside a school and fire at the Israelis, if they don't fire back you win, if they do fire back you win. It's a great strategy, as long as you don't care about the deaths of your own children.

Yet again today we saw the same plan used , a spokesman for the Israeli military today said Hamas militants positioned in a school, had fired mortar shells at Israeli forces, prompting return fire.Palestinian sources said 44 were killed in the attack.

U.N. Relief and Works Agency Director John Ging said most of the casualties were outside the school in the Jabalya refugee camp.

"It's a very built-up area, so of course it was entirely inevitable that if artillery shells landed in that area there would be a high number of casualties," he said at a U.N. briefing from Gaza City. A short time later, another artillery shell struck inside a second U.N. school in Jabalya, but Ging said the boys' prep school was empty at the time

Israel continued airstrikes targeting the homes of people linked to Hamas, An overnight airstrike hit the Jabalya home of Imad Siam, one of the leaders of Hamas' military wing according to Hamas security sources. Israel claimed Tuesday to have killed 130 Hamas fighters since beginning a ground offensive at dusk Saturday. An Israeli soldier was killed Tuesday morning in northern Gaza City, the Israeli military said, bringing to six the number of Israeli forces who have died in Gaza since Israel launched its ground incursion.

.Arab foreign ministers met at the United Nations to work up a U.N. draft resolution calling for Israel to stop its offensive in Gaza and for Hamas, which rules the territory, to cease firing rockets at the Jewish state. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to present a resolution drafted by the Arab League to the U.N. Security Council. The resolution will call for Israel to stop its offensive in Gaza and for Hamas to cease firing rockets at the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Israel wanted a "full solution" to the conflict, not just a cease-fire that allowed Hamas to fortify itself, Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, stated that any cease-fire in the Gaza conflict will require "clear and definitive action" to halt the smuggling of weapons and money into the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.

"If there is strong action on that front, so that Israel feels it has achieved something -- namely the end of the smuggling of weapons and finance to Hamas -- then I think it is possible to resolve this reasonably quickly," Blair told CNN.

"If that doesn't happen, if we're not in that position, then obviously it's going to go on."

The true tragedy is that it is the most innocent, that often pay the highest price. The threat of Hamas rockets in the south of Israel is taken so seriously that almost all the schools within rocket range of Gaza have locked their gates and told children not to come to school. According to the Israeli government, 300,000 students are affected.

Children accounted for one-third of the casualties at Gaza's main hospital, and now Hamas and their media are making them the face of the attacks.

"When the Jews bomb us when we are asleep, [Hassanin] says 'We get scared,' " a translator says.

Hassanin is one boy from Gaza being interviewed by an anchor on Hamas TV about the attacks.

When we will grow up, we will bomb them back," said Hassanin on Hamas TV

The children have seen terrible images of tragedy: their friends injured or killed and bloodied bodies in the streets.They are images Hassanin says he will never forget. He'll keep them stored away until he's old enough to do something about it.It's a sentiment psychiatrists in Gaza say could be responsible a frightening future -- that the violence children are witnessing will sow the seeds for future violence.

Gaby Schrieber, an Israeli psychiatrist at Barzilai Hospital, says Israeli children get excellent help and structured support -- something he fears children in Gaza won't be receiving.

And if they don't get the support they need or hope for a better future, Schrieber worries what will happen to them.
"Where is hope for them, and how can they structure their future in their minds?" Schrieber said. "They can become extremists."

After ten days of the latest bloodshed, .

So the unending cycle of violence continues to plunge Gaza deeper into a hell where all Hope has vanished

Illinois's New State Motto

2008-12-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

Illinois

Where our Governors make your licenses plates.

Riots in Athens?

2008-12-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

The headlines for ATHENS are terrifying tales of masked youths and looters running wild through the streets. The violence, triggered by the police shooting of a teenager, has now entered it's fourth night. Media outlets have reported that the violence has escalated to the point it threatens to topple the Greek Government.

Shortly after reading reports and watching clips on-line I received this letter from a woman visiting Athens. Her report puts a different perspective on the extent of the riots.

From: Carole Heiman Kezios
[mailto:carole@athenspenthouses.com]
Subject: Those "riots" in Athens ....

I don’t know if you have seen the news reports about what is happening in Athens – but I thought I would send you this update and my take on things in case you have been watching the news – for those of my friends who have been involved in political campaigns and the like, the way stories get “altered” by the press, the way reporting gets distorted, accounts twisted and exaggerated and / or minimized won’t be anything new to you:
We arrived back in Athens on Sunday afternoon, learning about the “riots” from Yannis, the driver who often picks up our guests and usually meets us when we arrive at the airport as well.
Yannis told us that earlier in the day and the night before there had been chaos around the Polytechnio (The Technical University of Athens) over the fatal shooting by a police officer of a 15 year old boy. He did not know at that time the details surrounding the shooting, but he did know that there were groups of teens burning things, smashing windows and in general causing mayhem in this particular area, as well as in an area a Ministry building around Panormou (neither of which are near our neighborhood). Since we had returned to Athens for my mother in law’s funeral, we left Athens early Monday morning to go to Tripolis. We traveled through the city and traffic (and everything else) seemed pretty normal (there was the usual morning traffic, a bit of a jam on the highway, nothing out of the ordinary).

Protests and demonstrations are a familiar part of Greek life, we are used to them, people staying in hotels or working around Syntagma Square (the Square across from the Greek Parliament building) are used to them, and the Athens police force has “moveable” precincts, which they frequently deploy to close off streets as marches move through the city. I’ve witnessed many over the years, and though I’ve found them annoying if I was in a hurry, I’ve always sort of admired the way they are here: In the US demonstrators are often given a “square” area to march in circles. In Greece the people take to the streets, marching from one part of the city to a particular government building depending on what they are protesting. To me it is the ultimate in democracy – lovely to me since I witness this in the birthplace of democracy. (Some of our guests have even taken their kids to see them, to illustrate democracy in action!) I also find them somewhat entertaining, as Greeks, being the passionate people they are, lovers of drama and exaggeration, will latch on to a government proposal or recently passed piece of legislation, and ultimately someone will have a beef with is, opening up the excuse for either a protest march or a strike or both. I’ve often wondered if they just planned these strikes and demonstrations to accumulate extra vacation time or days off, since these “events” are so well scheduled, planned far in advance, and often coupled with a holiday or even a long weekend. So it was with these thoughts that we took Yannis’ report somewhat with a grain of salt.

But, while in Tripolis on Monday we finally had the chance to watch the news. What we saw left us shocked, and honestly a little bit scared. Every channel showed clips of fires burning, reports of rioters roaming the streets, starting fires and destroying everything on their route, from the Polytechnio campus on the north, down through Omonia Square (a popular centrally located square) and to Syntagma Square. We flipped stations and saw the same scene: fires, fires and more fires – Athens is burning the announcers kept saying. But as we continued to watch, we noticed the same clips running over and over and over again on different stations. And in these clips we would see only a handful of people on the streets, followed by interviews where we learned the police were commanded to have no interactions, no confrontations, no involvement at all, with the “rioters”. After the funeral we had a chance to speak with some of Basil’s relatives who had also driven in from Athens. I asked several of them why the police did not stop these people, and the answer was the same from them all: In the 70’s Greece had a military junta, and during this time the students took over the Polytechnio to protest the military junta, and the government brought in tanks and troops to overcome them, killing 24 people in the process. It is a very sad time in Greece’s history, and most politicians are very sensitive to ordering police crackdowns when youth are involved in protests and demonstrations, for fear of looking like the military junta in 1973. And thus, police were ordered to avoid any confrontations.

We heard conflicting reports as to whether the boy who had been shot and killed was participating in a protest demonstration in which students were throwing rocks at the police who were there to keep them in line, or that he was merely a passerby, in the wrong place at the wrong time. One policeman fired 3 shots, two in the air and one straight ahead – and this boy was struck, apparently by one of the upward fired bullets on its way back down, perhaps. No one seems to know for sure if the shots were aimed at the boy or if he was caught in the crossfire (as I’ve said, there are conflicting reports) – but the policeman was arrested and jailed, as it is not the custom to use real bullets ever during demonstrations (they do use a lot of tear gas and also rubber bullets, perhaps water hoses as well, but never anything that could result in death, for the reasons I listed above).

Late Monday night we returned to Athens, and on Tuesday we again watched the television coverage and read news reports. Hotels evacuated on Syntagma Square, the metro was being shut down, “the city braces for a night worse than any so far” said the newscaster reporting on the funeral of the boy who was killed. The funeral would be at 3 pm, in a southern suburb, and by 4 pm they were reporting that while the funeral was peaceful, in Syntagma protesters tried to “storm the Parliament building” and elsewhere more fires were burning.

We also had a chance to speak with guests in our Beta penthouse – a family with 2 toddlers – they reported walking through Syntagma without anyone bothering them on Monday early in the day, while another guest reported taking the trolley through Syntagma on Monday afternoon, there were some broken windows and burned garbage cans, but nothing that she thought looked like the remains of what she had seen on television the night before.

By this time we decided we needed to get an idea of what was going on, so around 5 PM we set out for the historical center, Plaka and Thissio and then we drove around Omonia Square and through Syntagma Square, down Vasilis Sophias street, with its elegant mansions and museums and through the “Rigillis” area, where the diplomats live and which borders our neighborhood along with the Old Olympic Stadium before we returned home. The streets in the historical center were quiet, many stores and restaurants were closed, but those that were open did have some people eating or drinking coffee, but other than how quiet it was, nothing in this area seemed out of the ordinary, and we didn’t see any damage or destruction. In Thissio, we visited our newly arrived guest at the Heritage House, and again, the streets were quiet, but we saw nothing that could have been attributed to fires, riots or protests. We had dinner at one of our favorite Thissio favorites, giant plates piled with lamb chops, and then wandered back along the Ancient Agora to our favorite dessert place, climbed up to the glass enclosed rooftop of Chocolate Café for coffee, loukoumades and to survey the area from this vantage point. Things looked normal from here – we saw no fires or smoke, there were certainly fewer people below on Apostolou Pavlou, but in general, things seemed normal.

Now for us the real test was to drive through Omonia, Kolonaki and Syntagma – when we reached the intersection where the choice had to be made, a right turn would send us right into the two squares, a left turn would take us in a circle around the historical center, up Sygrou and completely avoid the two “riot zones”. Since I was the only “non Greek” in the car, the Greek obsession with drama won out: we turned right and headed past Gazi (quiet, nothing looked damaged from the street we could see) and into Omonia. As we got about 2 blocks from the square two fire trucks pulled in front of us, lights flashing. There was a collective deep breath, as we could no longer turn around to avoid the Square. The trucks turned into a parking lot a block down, and began hosing down a dilapidated Neo-Classical building that was smoking from the top.

As we continued we saw the streets littered with papers, and the remains of several garbage dumpsters, two or three burned “kiosks”, the corner newsstands which supply Athenians with newspapers, magazine, cigarettes and candy. In the square itself, as in the restaurants and souvlaki stands around the square, people milled about, ate or drank coffee. No one seemed to be “en masse” and it was basically quiet. On the far side of the square we saw one building with the ground floor burned out. From Omonia we drove down Stadiou street, a commercial street with lots of retail, which the news had been reporting to be “devastated and completely destroyed”. Other than the previously mentioned building on the far side of the square, we found no burned buildings, a couple of storefronts had metal covering the windows – we don’t know if this was preventative or a Greek style board up service, although there was no sign of fire on the walls surrounding the windows.

From Stadiou we headed to Akadamias, on the way we saw the remains of a torched BMW. There was one block where 3 storefronts in a row were burned, and 2 blocks before we arrived at Syntagma, across from the University, a corner storefront had been gutted by fire.

In Syntagma Square the 3 luxury hotels, the Grand Bretagne, the King George and the Plaza were all boarded up – they seemed closed to the public and we had heard that all guests had been evacuated. The Square itself was basically quiet, though there were some tourists watching the changing of the guard, some younger people wandering around, some papers littered the street corner and there were the remains of burned garbage cans in front of the Parliament building. The banks lining one side of the Square all had broken windows. We also saw a burned out Eurobank, but now we can’t recall if that was on Syntagma or near Omonia.

Our drive around the square was pretty uneventful. McDonald’s appeared to have applied protective plastic to their windows, as did some of the other stores that appeared unharmed.

So, while the whole country is certainly in mourning over the death of the 15 year old boy, I would say that the media coverage has been greatly exaggerated. Having just returned from the historical center, Syntagma and Omonia squares, I would say that there’s no danger violence or “riots” will impact your stay in Athens. Although I cannot figure out what is behind this, there was a lot of talk on morning TV and radio that the left would like to force new elections, and that in some way they “encouraged” the disappointment in young people which lead to the demonstrations which lead to the shooting which lead to the mayhem. These commentators also said that those in the left who did this certainly never imagined it would go so far. I have another take on things, and though I’m no political commentator, I’ve lived here long enough to have an opinion about it: In reality there were not the “mass riots” described in the news – there were groups of a 6 – 10 angry people, perhaps a couple hundred in all, roaming around Athens, intent on causing destruction. These people have always existed, but the police in the past have been able to control them. The circumstances of the shooting and the order not to get into confrontations meant the police could not act as they would normally have, and things got out of hand, not only on the streets, but in the press as well, until we expected to find the entire central area burned down when we returned to Athens, only to find some pockets of random destruction. (Which I am not saying makes it ok – but really, it was nothing like the 5 of us imagined it would be – and our guests who are here now reported the same thing. Watching the news one would think the world had ended for Athens!)

Unfortunately the mass media in Greece, in its overzealous attempt to make headlines and increase their viewership by creating drama, has made the situation seem far worse than it really is. I’m pretty certain that just as last week’s sensationalized media

2008-12-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

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Rod Blagojevich Arrested

2008-12-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

Sure, any state can have a corrupt governor, But it seems as if Illinois is poised to go for a new record by having two former governors in prison at the same time.

Today, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announced that Illinois's current seated top executive was being arrested on charges that he was actively engaged in trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. Federal prosecutor Fitzgerald, described the actions of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich as a "corruption crime spree." This announcement follows months of a steady drip of information and indictments making today's statement almost anticlimactic. For most people following the daily headlines across the Chicago papers, it was clear where the investigation was heading.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald made it clear at today's news conference, that there were "no allegations" Obama was aware of any alleged scheming.

It was also Fitzgerald who was heading the case against the former Governor George Ryan that led to his arrest and incarceration. At that time he called Ryan's sabotaging of investigations into bribes in exchange for commercial licenses "a low-water mark for public service." Which brings to mind the phrase " How Low Can You Go"!

Do you notice any pattern?

Otto Kerner
Dan Walker
George Ryan
Rod Blagojevich

Jim Kirsch

2008-12-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

12/08/2008

With our nation in a deep recession, suburbs coast to coast are experiencing the same fiscal pressures that impacting Big cities and small towns alike. As more people loose there jobs, the need for "Social Services" increase, while the tax base decreases. This reality places elected officials in the position of needing to make very difficult choices, and with a very small room for error.

A city must balance the immediate needs of it's citizens while not selling out the long term goals and values that keep current, as well as attract new residents to call that city home.

It is for that reason that UrbanNewsBlog.com endorses Jim Kirsch for the Highland Park City Council.

Jim Kirsch in his role as Chairman of the “Finance Committee” was a driving force in Maintaining Highland Park's AAA bond rating. Jim worked closely with local businesses searching for ways to help keep them, and their jobs in Highland Park. These actions helped to build, and grow the sales tax base. As a result of the fiscal responsibility, and restraint shown by Jim Kirsch, Highland Park enters these trying economic times on solid ground.

We are also happy to hear that Mr. Kirsch continues to push for providing affordable housing for retired residents of Highland Park who want to remain in our community but cannot afford the tremendous tax increases.

In a resent interview Councilman Kirsch stated " As a life-long resident of Highland Park, It upsets me to hear of seniors that after decades of being a critical part of our town's success, find them- selves unable to afford to remain"

It is Jim Kirsch's balance between practicality and compassion that makes him such an obvious choice for reelection.

Urban News Blog

Too Big To Fail?

2008-12-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

KEN THOMAS wrote about U.S.. automakers drawing fresh skepticism from lawmakers Thursday, over their pleas for an expanded $34 billion rescue package they say they need to survive.. Congressional analysts said one bailout plan under consideration would fall short of what the car-makers want.

I know opposition to the bailout is strong by many in congress, But the truth is we have no choice !
Yes it will cost us a lot of money to bail out Detroit's Big Three auto makers, but less than it will cost not to, and loose those jobs.
If those 1,000,000 jobs disappear, the tax payers end up with a $10 Billion bill for Unemployment insurance. The US government gets stuck with paying all of the pensions- and another $20 Billion.Then you have the loss of income tax, state taxes, sales tax, I did not do that math but at would clearly again come in at billions of dollars.

America will end up with maybe 2,000,000 more people without medical insurance, the government will again have to step in and pick-up those costs. Just because a family finds it's self with out insurance, does not mean they will not end up in a hospital receiving expensive medical care. Unable to pay for insurance or the resulting bills, the states and the federal government will need to address those bills; shot of that help; hospitals all across Michigan, Indiana and Illinois will be forced to close.

Not only does the auto industry directly and indirectly account for more than 2,000,000 US. jobs, but those jobs are disproportionately concentrated in Midwestern states. Detroit's economy, already in deep recession, will find it's self in a "Death spiral". Illinois and Indiana each have close ties to the auto industry and will see greatly increased unemployment. While home values have taken a hit coast to coast, concentrated job loss will result in drastic drops in home prices in those areas. How many banks will fail because ex GM workers will not be able to pay their mortgages? Does Congress turn down the big three, only to then bail out the banks that got stuck with the mortgages that the auto workers could no longer pay.

GM is not too big to fail - it is just too big for it to be in our interest to let it fail.

www.urbaninsuranceagency.com

Pirates Riding the Seas in 2008

2008-12-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

Larry Lubell
Close your eyes as someone mentions pirates, and your likely to have your head filled with images of gallant, swashbuckling men with a parrot on their shoulder and a cutlass in hand. The "Bad-boys" of the sea, in a Robin Hood meets Keith Richard hybrid. Our image has forever been shaped by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, as well as by Disney, Fairbanks and Halloween costumes.

Time creates legends, mixing one part truth, with two parts fantasy, then laying levels of artistic license. The end product, an icon "Blackbeard" might embrace, although one he is unlikely to recognize. A metamorphosis from a murderous bands of thugs terrorizing the seas, raping woman, setting ships ablaze; to a capped-toothed Johnny Depp and his waif super-model girlfriend/hostage. The classic era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1560's with the period from 1700 until the 1730s as the zenith of the pirates reign. We no longer see events through the eyes of the Spanish or Portuguese Empires protecting their ships and the wealth the they carried.

Today the news is filled with stories of a new batch of Pirates, yet we don't see them through the fog of time. These bands we view with the pain of 9/11 clear and fresh. When one of their leaders known only as Boyah, issued a statement to the press, the world listened; but did not like what it heard.

"The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate leader, . "Who can stop them? Americans and British all put together cannot do anything."

Boyah said that the piracy began when large foreign fishing trawlers depleted local fish stocks, and fuel prices soared making difficult traditional coastal fishing unprofitable. At first their attacks were against the trawlers, but soon the trawler's crews began fighting back with heavy artillery. The fishermen in their smaller boats were no match; so the sought out "Softer Targets"

"We went into the deep ocean and hijacked the unarmed cargo ships," Boyah said.

Far from isolated insistences, the past year has seen the number of attacks has increase both in number as well as scale. The International Maritime Bureau recognizes more than 90 pirate attacks off the East Africa coast thus far in 2008.
When attacks are successful, The pirates take there captured ships into Somali waters, where the crew, ships and cargo are held until a ransom demand is met. In the past weeks the ante has been raised again with the capture of a Saudi supertanker carrying more than $100 million of crude oil, and a cargo-ship loaded with Russian-built tanks. Moses Wetangula, Kenya's foreign minister put the ransoms paid at more than $150 million.

The reality is the pirates realize the hijackings have been profitable, and the world has been unsuccessful in stopping the attacks. Until recently,many of the shippers looked at these attacks as just a part of the cost of doing business; there seems to have been a turn in the way nations are perceiving the threat. It appears the very level of success of the Somali bands might bring about their undoing. The very scale of their criminal acts have brought world powers to the brink of deploying armies to address the growing threat. If the Somali fisherman pirates were foiled by armed crews of trawlers, one must assume that jet fighters and nuclear subs can have similar success.

Who knows, maybe in a hundred years Boyah and his followers names will be spoken of along-side famous Caribbean pirates like Edward Teach or "Blackbeard" or Henry Morgan. Maybe the Disneyland that's part of a future space station, will create a ride in their honor, but in 2008 they are a bunch of criminals that need to be stopped.

Larry Lubell
www.UrbanNewsBlog.com

Loch Ness Monster Found

2008-11-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

At the opening of the 21st century, we find mankind living in a great age of science. Even in the “Reddest- area” of the “Reddest State”, people look to meteorologists to tell them the path of the hurricane. We expect scientists to make accurate predictions, rather than burn them at the stake, as a witch. If we see a flying car, we are more likely to call a stockbroker to try to “Get in on the ground floor of a hot new product” than to call an exorcist assuming the car is possessed. This leads me to the question,” Why are There are some Conspiracy theories that refuse to die. Be it the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, UFO’s,Kennedy Lone Gunman Theory,or the Templar Knights.

It was CNN in Scotland that yesterday aired video of what Nessie watchers say is possible footage of the supposed mythical creature beneath Scotland»s most mysterious lake.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this jet black thing, about 45 feet long, moving fairly fast in the water," said Gordon Holmes, the 55-year-old a lab technician from Shipley, Yorkshire, who took the video Saturday.

No matter how many studies are done,without finding any evidence for a 45 foot Mesozoic reptile, who’s demise, evidence shows, was at the K-T extinction, at the end of the Cretaceous Period – there will always be those that will believe it’s is hiding at the bottom off the Loch.
The Loch Ness monster is back - and there's video. A man has captured him.

I have been to Loch Ness,I must say it is a place that certainly deserves a visit. My wife and I toured the "Museum" and visitor center; stocking up on all sorts of gift items. We also rented a Land Rover Defender and went "Off-road-driving", It is difficult to explain just how green and tranquil the landscape appeared. The Loch is deep and often has a sort of silvery-glow, the product of reflections of a cloud-filled sky. The fact that every store, restaurant or tavern is stocked to the rafters with Scotch, is a part of the culture, and just perhaps, a factor in the number of sightings.

I would LOVE to find out that Nessie is real, but I tend to be one of those people that find the likelihood of a PLESIOSAUR Alive and well and living in Scotland a bit on the remote side.

Yet the sightings keep occurring.

Larry Lubell

A Third Clinton Term?

2008-11-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will quit her Senate seat and accept the Secretary of State position, according to press reports. She will join Eric Holder, the former deputy attorney general under her husband, now in his new Position of Attorney general.

Obama seems to be going through bill Clinton's old Rolodex, searching for a cabinet. In part he is pulling people that were a part of the Clinton administration, but he is also going beyond, and reaching out to assemble a team of smart people that will follow his lead and start solving problems.
If you come downstairs in your home and you see a water pipe has broken, and your basement is filling up with water - Just off the water! It's not about ideology, or proving a point- It's about taking logical steps to address a problem. Shut off the water, get what ever you can off the floor and onto higher ground, call your insurance agent to report the claim, start cleaning up the mess.

It is that same approach that we need towards the problems our country faces (and there are many) I'm glad to see that Obama is not afraid to surround himself with strong, smart, talented people.

A little PR advice for the Big 3

2008-11-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

I don't work for a Public Relations firm, I do not send press releases all day long; but I still feel qualified to give the CEO's at Ford, GM and Chrysler a small piece of advice.

If you are going to Congress, crying about how you are running out of money- don't go there in a private jet!
I've got an idea; drive there. After all, you work for companies that make cars!
Wouldn't this be an opportunity to show off your new lines of fuel-efficient autos. I know in the scale of the problem is such that even if the top management of these companies agreed to work for minimum wage, the savings would be inconsequential; but it would change peoples perceptions, and perhaps their willingness to help.

Larry Lubell http://.www.urbannewsblog.com

Help for Detroit's big 3 ?

2008-11-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

Executives of Detroit's Big Three automakers marched over to Washington to plead for a $25 billion bridge loan from Congress. This was a long way fro the days when GM was the worlds largest company, and the saying went- "What is good for GM, is what's good for the nation. Today they came- hat-in-hand; with smell of blood in the water, sharks were swimming in tight circles- but showed little interest in biting. It was as if they knew this meal would leave a bad taste in their mouths. Yet there was Rick Wagoner, and his counter parts at Ford and Chrysler; desperate to save their once-proud companies from collapse.

"Our industry ... needs a bridge to span the financial chasm that has opened up before us," General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner read to Senate Banking Committee from a prepared test.

He explained how the "Dark- days" that the US Car Industry finds it's self, not the fault of management, but is the product of the convergence of factors, most beyond their control. All three explained that the combination of first $140 dollar oil killed demand for their "Hottest" and most profitable products. Just as the cost of fuel started to drop, setting up conditions for renewed interest in SUVs, the deepening global financial crisis, turned consumers into scared squirrels, stocking away nuts for a coming winter.

House and Senate Democrats unveiled competing plans, everyone recognizing the seriousness of the situation, however lawmakers from both parties and the Bush administration showed extreme reluctance to start funneling $25 billion in support, especially with-out demanding tough conditions be a part of any rescue. It seem clear that Congress was looking for assurances that they were not "Throwing good money after bad". Republicans and the Bush administration don't want to dip into the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout program to come up with the $25 billion, If any help is given they want the industry to use the $25 billions that had previously been committed for the purpose of retooling. Many in the Democratic party, have expressed concern that if the original funds, designed to help the US Auto industry shift to produce more high-mileage and Hybrid cars, are used as a bridge loan, that we are "Stalling the problem- not solving it".

Ilene Lubell, an advertising executive stated " It's hard, I'm watching dealers I represent, that are doing everything right, but it's like they are being asked to swim up-stream with a boat anchor wrapped around their legs."

Many on the hill made it clear that their sympathy for the industry was tepid at best. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, the current Banking Committee Chairman, told Wagoner and his fellow leaders at Ford and Chrysler that the industry was "seeking treatment for wounds that were largely self-inflicted." At the same time he realized that "Hundreds of thousands would lose their jobs if the companies were allowed to collapse".

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., made it clear he felt that the current financial crisis "is not the only reason why the domestic auto industry is in trouble."
He brought up, what was clearly the 800 lbs gorilla in the room; that much of the problem lies with the "costly labor agreements" caused by The Big 3 allowing the unions to get too powerful, plus the high cost to fund pensions, that put the U.S. automakers at a disadvantage with their foreign competitors.

Wagoner said that despite some public perceptions that General Motors was not keeping pace with the times and technological changes, "We've moved aggressively in recent years to position GM for long-term success. And we were well on the road to turning our North American business around."

"What exposes us to failure now is the global financial crisis, which has severely restricted credit availability and reduced industry sales to the lowest per-capita level since World War II."

Failure of the auto industry "would be catastrophic," he said, resulting in three million jobs lost within the first year and "economic devastation (that) would far exceed the government support that our industry needs to weather the current crisis."

Auto industry facts:*3 million jobs lost in the first year*U.S. personal income reduced by 150.7 billion*Government tax loss over 3 years 156 billion*The level of economic devastation far exceeds the 25 billion of government support the US Auto industry is asking from Congress.
.
Paulson, testifying on the House side, defended the administration's handling of the massive $700 billion bailout for the financial industry and said it should remain off-limits for Detroit, no matter how badly the automakers need help.

In an e-mail marked "urgent" and sent to owners of GM vehicles, Troy A. Clarke, president of GM North America, pleaded with them to e-mail their representatives in the House and Senate in support of a "bridge loan" for the industry - and ask their friends and family to do the same. http://gmfactsandfiction.com/

"Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid," Clarke said in the message.
But the prospect now of millions of unemployed workers is not pretty.
Congressional leaders were working behind the scenes in reach a compromise, but the new rescue plan,opposed by President Bush, appears stalled on Capitol Hill,
"My sense is that nothing's going to happen this week," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said at the opening of the hearing

With a $2,000./ vehicle legacy cost, it is difficult to call this a level playing field, something needs to be done to keep America's manufacturing industries viable.

Larry Lubell

Urban News Blog

The Republican Party is Dead

2008-11-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

by Larry Lubell

It is true that the GOP took a beating the other night. Despite two years of concerted effort to paint Obama as the personification of evil; some sort of "Left-wing radical, socialist,elitist, Muslim that attends a Christian church run by a nutty minister", the American people rejected the scare tactics and gave him a mandate to lead.. The simple truth is the electorate got to know Barack Obama, and man they saw, they information they got from trusted sources, just did not jive with the fear mongering being spewed from much of Talk radio and Fox.
The GOP lost seats in the House, the Senate as well as the White House, that said; anyone that thinks the Republican Party is Dead is a fool!
After each election, there are no shortage of "Talking Heads" telling us how the party that lost is somehow been thrown onto the garbage heap of history. I have a clear memory of being told The Democratic party was dead or dying after Reagan won, only to be told that the Republican party days were numbered after Clinton won the presidency. I did not believe any of that nonsense then, nor do I find it credible now. That is not to say that the Republicans are in a "Comfortable position" at the moment. Yes they will need to reexamine some strategies, positions and players going forward; but they are very far from Dead.
"I feel like Republicans dodged a bullet last night,' said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who said the climate now looked strikingly similar to the early days of the Clinton administration.
"After that election, Democrats held 57 Senate and 258 House seats," Ayres said. "Two years later, we took both houses back."
Barack Obama not only won a clear mandate Tuesday night, but he won with a coalition that dramatically altered the Electoral College map.This rethinking of "Red and Blue states" creates opportunities for Democrats after a long period of electoral victories for Republicans .While it is folly for the Democrats to write them off, to be sure, the "Right" has some serious problems to overcome. Their three clearest problems are the loss of Latino voters, young voters and lack of a strong "Bullpen" of candidates.
The power of the Latino vote is ever increasing in the US. Exit polling suggests that approximately 10 million Latino voters went to the polls this election. That represents an increase of nearly two million more voters or an increase near 24% over 2004.Obama's success among Latino voters in general, and young Latino's in particular, has many Republican strategists troubled over their party's long-term health.
"As the U.S. Latino population surges, we are seeing increases in registration and voter turnout due to increased naturalization numbers by Latino immigrants beginning in the 1990s and Latino youth coming of voting age" said Harry Pachon, Ph.D., President of TRPI.
"We've got to get a handle on these voters before they turn completely. They have become increasingly the key to a number of critical swing states."said one leading GOP strategist close to the McCain campaign, in response to Obama's 67 percent to 31 percent edge over McCain among Latino voters. Event the Florida Cuban-American population, typically seen as dependable block of Republican votes in the critical swing state, turned and supported Obama. It is going to be very difficult for any party to be a major national player without Hispanic support.
Eighteen year olds won the right to vote in time for the presidential election of 1972. Ever since, some pundits and politicians have declared each election cycle that this is going to be the year the youth vote flexes it's muscle; yet seldom is that the case. this year, however, the youth vote was a factor. One of the things worth noting is not just the vote totals, but the enthusiasm, and the numbers willing to not just vote, but to do the heavy lifting of working the polls and the get out the vote drive. The Democrats are in possession of a priceless list of dedicated "True-Believer's" email addresses. The Conservative movement is increasingly seen as a group of Middle-aged -white suburban voters, overwhelmingly dominated by men. This "Base" holds less and less appeal with 18-30 voters.
Part of the success of the Rove machine, was the ability to tarnish each young promising up and coming democrat, while maintaining their own stable of well known contenders. Today they seem to be short of viable candidates. Governor Schwarzenegger, is ineligible due to being a naturalized citizen, and is too liberal to appeal to the conservative base. Sarah Palin has proved she has a populist and liked by the conservative base, but has largely been cast as the scapegoat by the McCain campaign, and a joke by much of the center. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney might have the clearest path to the nomination is 2012, in part due to his massive personal wealth, but he has never really gathered much excitement. Gingrich also seems to have plans for a higher profile again, and perhaps seeking the nomination next time around. But he has been a polarizing figure in a country that seems to be looking for compromise.
If Obama, and the Democrats interpret the Mandate from this election to be " The nation wants to go back to the days of "Big Government" and or that the nation want's to adapt a "Liberal agenda" next election, the voters will toss the democrats out on their asses. The electorate was just sick a tired of Bush, the whole Karl Rove ideology, and world of divisive politics. That said, there is no indication that they want to switch "Right- Wing dogma for "Left-wing" dogma- they just want a government that puts solving the problems of real people over any sort of ideological agenda. After year of Americans wanting a divided government, the people now are looking for a government that actually gets things done, and puts the people needs first. If an Obama administration does that, the people will give them their support, if they put their agenda ahead of the people's; they will give the Republicans another shot.

Obama, and the day America Changed

2008-11-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

By Larry Lubell
Some events really do change the world. Often we don't recognize their gravity till years later. Last night history was made, and I do believe most people watching understood they were witnessing a critical turning point in American history.

America is the greatest country earth has yet to produce, not because our history is not filled with mistakes; but because we learn from, and correct those mistakes. We don't burn "Witches" any longer, and collectively we have come to view our westward expansion in the context of the horrors perpetrated against the indigenous population. Truth is, the list of errors, missteps and injustices that are part of our nations history is long, and often, painful to admit. Large segments of our society turned a blind eye to the suffering and mistreatment that made up the daily lives of other Americans. But of all of those evils, slavery stands out as the darkest chapter in our nations history.

Even before we were a nation we were already deep in to the horrors of slavery. In 1663 the Maryland legislature enacted a law that stated " all Negroes and other slaves within the province, and all Negroes and other slaves to be thereafter imported into the province, should serve during life; and all children born of any Negro should be slaves, as their fathers were, for the term of their lives."
There were approximately 645,000 black African shipped to what is now the United States and by the time of the 1860 Census, The slave population in the United States had grown to over four million. It is hard to imagine the nightmare of being kidnapped form your home, brought around the world to be sold, then forced to work 14 hour days or to be whipped and tortured at the whim of a man whose position was determined by the color of his skin. It was not unusual for enslaved black women to be raped by their "owners", or for children to be sold and permanently separated from their families.

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 was a turning point for our nation. Lincoln explained his disgust towards slavery, and justification for emancipation by declaring
"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong"!
But the end to slavery, while a step, was followed by the Jim Crow laws that legalized segregation between blacks and whites. In 1896 in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that separate facilities for whites and blacks were constitutional, resulting in generations of African American Americans growing up in an America who's laws designated that they should be forced into separate schools, required by law to sit in the back of the bus, or a few segregated tables at the lunch counter. It was not till 58 years later that Thurgood Marshall took the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans. and gto the Supreme Court to declare separate facilities by race to be unconstitutional.

While the official laws of this nation slowly started to turn, often the unofficial practices moved at a slower pace. Groups like the KKK, terrorized, and killed blacks in an attempt to keep them from obtaining justice or equality.In fact, between 1880 and 1951, the Tuskegee Institute recorded 3,437 lynchings of African-Americans. It was into this reality that Martin Luther King was born, and it was this world that he sought to, and succeeded in changing.The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 finally ended the legal sanctions, but the gap in opportunity, and discrimination still continued. Time, and the work of so many people have brought our country closer to King's dream, yet some of the legacies still remain.

It was into that present day America that last night Obama stepped on to a stage in Chicago, with his wife and his two young daughters and before a crowd of 125,000 thanked all America for making him The president-elect. As the cameras paned out across the tens of thousands of faces, Kings "Dream" seemed in part realized. The sea of faces really did look like America. And I have to say as a "White American" it made me proud.

America is a great place, because we have learned from,our past, and while still flawed we took another important step at building a more perfect union.

Larry Lubell
Urban News Blog

Can you "Trust" the polls?

2008-10-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

Larry Lubell

With the election just a few days away, polls show Senator Barack Obama has a built considerable lead over John McCain, but just how reliable are those figures.

The Bradley effect is named after former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, an African-American who ran for California governor in 1982. All of the California news papers had Bradley out in front of his Republican George Deukmejian.

On the day of the election, Exit polls confirmed Bradley wide lead; But Bradley and his supporters were surprised to find were wrong. After the contest pundits declared he lost due to "White voters" telling the pollsters "Sure I'll vote for a "Black man" but when they got behind the curtain, they just could not pull the lever.

ill CNN's senior political analyst,Schneider, said that if there is racism in this year's election, it's probably already showing up in the polls. And CNN's polling director,Keating Holland, pointed out another important fact
"We've never had a black presidential candidate as a major nominee, so the polls don't have any history at all when it comes to national elections," he said.

I think this is a very difference contest, not just because maybe we "Grew-up" a bit in the last 15 years, but also because these to candidates are polar opposites.
I have a number of close friends that I can say with total confidence:
1. Will not vote for Obama
2. Are not even slightly racist.

McCain and Obama have very different agendas and plan on setting distinct paths towards their vision.Anyone that would not want to vote for Obama do to race, could easily list a number of very credible reasons for casting their vote for McCain. This greatly reduces the "Need" for one to lie.

AVERAGE: Obama 50, McCain 43. (Obama +7%)

Method......................Latest Poll Per State
Obama...........................362
McCain..........................166
Poll of Polls
Obama...........................347
McCain...........................166
Rasmussen Reports
Obama...........................344
McCain...........................194
Quinnipiac
Obama...........................269
McCaine.........................128

There is however a very different factor effecting the reliability of the numbers. More and more people are dropping their "Landlines". When faced with the cost of both holding onto traditional phones plugged into a wall jack, as well as their cell phones; many choose just the cell. Fourteen percent of Americans now do not have landline phones and Pollsters normally don't call cell phones

Scott Keeter, who conducted a study for the Pew Research Center,says non-landline users are like others in their young demographic on political matters, but may differ on other issues

They are most likely to be under 30, unmarried, renters, making less than $30,000 a year, and are slightly more likely to be black or Hispanic, says Keeter.

"The fact that they are very different is the potential problem for polling," Keeter says.
Pollsters have learned. a lot from the small number of cell users they have been able to reach.. "It suggests that if there are enough of them, and you are missing them in your landline surveys, then your polls will have a bias because of that."

"It's not just cell phones, it is also VOIP" (Voice over Internet Provider), said Alan Craine, a telecommunications executive.. Vonage, Skype and all of the other I. P. based connections are often invisible to pollsters, you also have the "Do not Call List" out there today.

Telecommunications are forever changing said Mr. Craine.

With the election just over two weeks away, poll numbers showing Obama leading over John McCain, can switch quickly. Events change, candidates make mistakes, skeletons pop-up, and they are not always just Halloween decorations. All of this leaves us questioning, just how reliable are these figures.

This Stock Market is making me Nauseous

2008-10-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

Wall Street had one of it's best days ever, the Dow Jones industrials we sent soaring almost 900 points. That would be fantastic if it was not coming after week of disaster and investors did not have the feeling that the market could turn on them in an instant.

52-Week Low 10/10/08 7,882.51
52-Week High 10/31/07 13,962.53

Range = 6,080.02

A range of over 6,000 points one year is insane.

Which makes me ask this question, can you tell the difference between

This .................. . or .......... . This

McCain, I expected more from you

2008-10-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Larry Lubell

John McCain has a long history of serving America, In October 1967 he was shot down, badly injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. there he remained a prisoner of war until 1973. He was subjected to unimaginable torture yet re refused to say or do those things that could have ended his suffering. To this day he still carries the scars of those days. He left the military and moved into politics being elected to the house in 1982, then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 where he still serves today.

John McCain has a long history of being a "Right of center" senator, yet he also has a record of working across party aisles with Republicans and Democrats alike to reform campaign finance system and Immigration .
While he was well known for having a temper, there was a feeling that he was a fair and decent guy, that could rise above partisanship and "put the country first"

It is with that in mind that I express my disappointment over the direction and tone that his campaign has taken. Rather that a discussion between two intelligent, informed candidates with different views on the direction forward; McCain has allowed his campaign managers, Running mate, and crowds to lower the race to base name calling and hate speech.

Activists at McCain / Palin rallies talk openly about Obama being linked to terrorists, or being a terrorist, claiming he has ties to Islam, and that he has some kind of "Secret evil agenda". Followers have been sending viral emails that have worked their way around the Internet for over a year now. To McCain's credit, in the early days of the campaign, he made several statements separating himself from those comments. But As he falls in the polls he has stopped making such corrections, and now seems to be encouraging such inaccurate statements, while keeping just enough distance.

"Terrorist!”
At a New Mexico rally, "Terrorist” screamed a follower. At a later rally when againMcCain called out to the crowd “Who is the real Barack Obama? a woman yelled "He's a damn liar!” "Get him. He's bad for our country."
"Obama Osama!" one woman called out at another rally. And it is not just a few in the crowd, twice this week, hand selected local officials have warmed up the crowd with cries of “Barack Hussein Obama.

A McCain aide said they tell individuals speaking before every event not to do so. “Sometimes people just do what they want,” explained the aide.
But that raises the question, If you can't control your supporters, how can you control the nation.

John Weaver, McCain’s former top strategist, said top Republicans have a responsibility to temper this behavior.
“People need to understand, for moral reasons and the protection of our civil society, the differences with Senator Obama are ideological, based on clear differences on policy and a lack of experience compared to Senator McCain,” Weaver said. “And from a purely practical political vantage point, please find me a swing voter, an undecided independent, or a torn female voter that finds an angry mob mentality attractive.”

“Senator Obama is a classic liberal with an outdated economic agenda. We should take that agenda on in a robust manner. As a party we should not and must not stand by as the small amount of haters in our society question whether he is as American as the rest of us. Shame on them and shame on us if we allow this to take hold.”

In Florida, Sarah Palin attacked Obama as someone who "pals around" with terrorists, ( based on an exaggerated account of Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers, a 1960's radical turned college professor) As she spoke their relationship, the crowd booed and one man shouted, "Kill him!"
Palin also repeats "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America. We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism."

I do believe that John McCain loves America, and as a member of government, as a person paid by the people he has an obligation to speak out against that kind of hate speech. It lowers him, it lowers respect in our country, and it is dangerous. It is this kind of "rhetoric that leads to some nut picking up a gun.

I know he wants to win, and I am sure he believes that he is the better candidate. Of course he has no obligation to sing Obama's praises, but he does have a moral obligation to set the record straight, and to take his supporters to task if people are behaving in an offensive and dangerous manner. Ultimately, it reflects badly of McCain, and frankly I have come to expect McCain to exhibit a higher level of discourse.

The rich get richer!

2008-10-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

With the stock market in free-fall Banks around the world poised for collapse, and our elected officials talking about a trying to avoid a worldwide depression: I just received an email from Bentley telling me about their new, more deluxe version of the Arnage.

I'm not sure what is wrong with their marketing team that they believe that I might be a possible customer, but it is fun to pretend.

They begin by telling me how the auto is very exclusive. and that they will limit the edition to just 150 cars worldwide. This is truly good to know, otherwise I would expect to see one of these $275,000 cars parked in every driveway.
"Through a combination of commitment and timeless tradition, the Arnage Final Series is destined to become a true British classic".

"The sumptuously crafted interior of the Arnage Final Series features a waistrail with inset chrome strip and recessed Bentley marque badges, a leather steering wheel that has taken more than 15 hours of hand stitching, along with a burr walnut cocktail cabinet and veneered picnic tables."
When I read the car comes with a "Burr walnut veneered picnic tables", I can't help but find it difficult to picture the passengers actually making their own lunch. I find the image of the "Staff" preparing this "Picnic". Perhaps, the very thought that I would object to someone eating in my new $275,000 car, proves I can't afford to own one of these automotive works of art.

Of course I am not surprised by the fact the car sips gas at a rate of 9.8mpg Urban, clearly, the cost of petrol is beneath concern. That said I am a bit surprised by some of the options that do not come as standard equipment. For example the Silk Curtains to Rear Compartment will set you back an additional $9,490. And what's the use of having the curtain with out having a need for privacy, like maybe when you use the Entertainment Combination system that can be added for just $34,290.

Max. Speed 179mph / 288km/h
Acceleration 0 - 60mph 5.2 seconds
Acceleration 0 - 100km/h 5.5 seconds
Acceleration 0 - 100mph 12.1 seconds

The thing about buying a car like this is that you are buying into a "Lifestyle"
So how can you just skip over the matching luggage (sold separately)
For example this bag can be yours for just $2,500.

Well with all of the forclosures, Pink slips and general hard times that we find ourselves in today, it is nice to know that there will always be those that have a different set of problems; like should I buy the car in black or silver.
Larry Lubell

Four Confess in Hanging of Obama Effigy

2008-10-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Larry Lubell
UrbanNewsBlog

Just to make sure, I checked my calendar, and confirmed that yes we are indeed in the year 2008, not 1908.

I would love to tell myself that America has moved away from overt racism and the vial hate that flows from those that hold such views. That now questions of "Class" have replaced hard-core racism.

I have been following the story that a effigy of Barack Obama was found hanging from a tree on the campus of George Fox Christian university University in Oregon. Today the Christian university said it has punished four students who confessed to hanging a likeness of Obama from the tree.

This kind of incident could be written off as the outrageous acts of a hand full of extremists. That would be upsetting, but easy to discount as statistical anomalies; the more unnerving part is the response of many of the readers of the article who left comments demonstrating that after reading the piece, they came- away with the idea that the four students were somehow the victims. With a choice of words I can picture coming only from people wearing a "White Hoods"; one of the comments included:

Stevie D
Too bad they didn't get the real Obama and all his stupid liberal views. Take his racist wife too.

SurpriseOctober
How did they know it was an "Obama effigy"? Did it have a tape recorder attached that droned on and on and on about "Hope" and "Change"?

It is clear, that while much of "Main stream" America has moved away from this type of overt racism, there are still those that refuse to abandon their vial hate-filled views. Instead of an overly optimistic conclusion that we Americans have left this garbage in our past, I need to take some solace in the fact that at least the center has moved. With Obama, the likely next president of the United States; this story show simultaneously how far America has come; as well as how much further we still have to travel.

UrbanNewsBlog
Urban Insurance Agency

Congress Fails to act - Heaven Help Us !

2008-09-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

by Larry Lubell

The House of Representatives, on a 228-205 vote, failed to pass the $700 Billion dollar bill seen by many as our last, best hope at rescuing the financial industry.

Over the weekend, it seemed as if our Law makers would have a moment of clarity. where they put the good of the nation over the easiest campaign slogan to sell. That they would actually "Lead" rather than take a poll; sadly that was not the case.
Too many lawmakers apparently refused to go along with the unpopular legislation with elections just five weeks away.

The compromised plan, which is designed to stabilize U.S. credit markets by freeing up some badly needed capital working and attempting to put a bottom to the crises; needed 218 votes for passage. But it came up 13 votes short. The final vote was 228 to 205 against with about 60% of Democrats voted for the measure, but less than a third of the Republicans backing it.

"We're all worried about losing our jobs," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote.

"Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it — not me. "
"We're in this moment, and if we fail to do the right thing, Heaven help us," Ryan added.

After news that the deal had been done; Investors who had been counting on the rescue plan sent the Dow Jones plummeting 700 points as it became clear the measure failed to get the necessary Republican support,

"Our time has run out," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. "We're going make a decision. There are no other choices, no other alternatives."

Barney Frank, D-Mass.warned: "Today is the decision day. If we defeat this bill today, it will be a very bad day for the financial sector of the American economy and the people who will feel the pain are not the top bankers and top corporate executives but average Americans."

This crisis has been hitting the African Americans and Hispanic communities particularly hard. It was often these communities that were targeted by many of the predatory loan companies that caused many of the financial problems working through the market today. People were "UP-Sold" into homes that they could not afford, sometimes at inflated prices. The real estate brokers working with Mortgage brokers, would bend rules, find "Loop-Holes" often with a "Wink and a Nod" from banks that knew they could package these loans up and sell them in a game of "Hot Potato". Take your cut, but just don't get stuck holding the hot potato.

In 1990, Nationwide, 73 percent of whites owned homes, while that number was just 46 percent of African Americans and Hispanics. There was a push, in large part by African American lawmakers, to increase home ownership in minority areas. This was seen as a way out of being a part of the "Working poor". It was also seen as a way to stabilize an area and reduce crime. Fannie Mae was seen as a way to help get loans to those that needed them. But as is often the case, an attempt to help those in need, was seen by some as a license to steal.

There were TV shows promising riches by following others success "Buying then Flipping" homes. We were all sold on the idea that we could by a home, slap on a coat of paint, plant a few flowers, then burn a scented candle furring the open house- and in two weeks clear a $20,000 profit. Suddenly we were all Donald Trump.

All common sense legislation, and reasonable regulation was dismantled. Congress appointed the foxes to guard to henhouse, and then we trusted their monthly count of the number and health of the chickens. Each person whose job it was to check the health of the hens, just passed the responsibility down the line. Wall Street was the place stuck holding the hot potato; therefore, it is there that many will list as the "Personification of evil."

This disaster was caused by greed from the bottom up, and a complete brake-down of any "Adults" standing in the way of what were obviously bad deals.
1. Loans with no money down.
2. People that did not qualify for the loans without short-term temporary interest only ARMS.
3. Stated Income loans (A loan that encouraged lying)
4. Inflated home prices, and loans to large areas filled with new track homes where very few had any equity, and even a small fall in values would lead to collapsing prices.

JIm Cramer had been pushing hard for this bail-out plan, that he called the "Invest in America Plan." He was outraged at the inability for the Lawmakers to get this done.

"We needed it. Without it, the stock market will now reflect a series of assumptions":
1. Worldwide economic collapse;

2. A depression that is a sequel equal to the Great Depression;

3. Many, many more bank collapses than we have had already; and

4. Much more unemployment and many, many foreclosures.

"I don't want to bury the punchline, but when you add these worst-case prices together you get Dow Jones 8378, which, reluctantly, I admit is where we are going if everything fails with the plan and the economies here and worldwide are left to their own devices."

When we see the Dow Fall 770 points in one day, falling to 10,365 and falling nearly 4,000 points from yearly highs we are clearly at the point of crisis.
"On this day congress had a moment do the right thing, and they failed, Heaven help us

$700,000,000,000.00

2008-09-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

While President Bush urges lawmakers of his own party in the House to back a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu, one of the nation's largest banks.

Washington Mutual Inc. overnight imploded under the weight of its enormous volume of bad mortgages, the FDIC then sold the assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion
Banks and brokerage houses are falling and merging so fast they look like Gladiators having a bad run of luck against a Colosseum full of hungry lions. It is clear that the whole mortgage industry
is simply in water over it's head and they no longer have the strength to tread water.

The idea that the "Market place" will be able to sort this out by it's self has been abandon by all but a small percentage of the true anti regulation die-hard's. To the vast majority, it is clear that the
federal government has to step in and shore up the banking system. The problem is that some of these anti regulation true believers lawmakers, in the house, have rejected Bush's $700 billion bank bailout and have stalled any
deal coming forward.

While I have a difficult time with the idea of fixing the problem by handing money over to the same people that messed it up in the first place. And I fully understand that it is a grave mistake to expect the U.S. Government to micro manage
the economy. I agree that it is the private sector that creates wealth, jobs and expands the economy. But just as the Democratic party has given up on the discredited idea that the government can solve all of our problems; it is time for the right wing of the Republican party to abandon the notion that deregulation is the silver bullet to all of our problems. An intelligent view of how we got to this current mess, demonstrates that both the public and private both have a role to play.

Larry Lubell

McCain / Obama Debate Cancelled ?

2008-09-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today, John McCain announced he'll suspend his campaign to return to Washington in order to focus on the economic crisis. McCain's campaign also stated that it wanted to push-back Friday's debate with Barack Obama, to an unspecified later date.

I applauded the wisdom of the McCain camp to cancel the first day of their convention; as a result of a category 4 hurricane hitting Texas. Clearly they did not want to be seen as having a "Party", wearing funny hats, and throwing "Red-meat" to the crowd while a split screen showed people's home being washed-away.

Political ploy or not, I like the idea that McCain is going back to Washington to do his job as a Senator at this crises point in our nations economy.I do have a problem with delaying Friday's debate with Obama.

At a time when the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, is asking for a $700. billion financial bailout, to save America from the worst financial disaster since the Depression, I think we need to hear what Obama and McCain plan to do to correct the mess one of them will inherit. A debate is not a party, a time for merriment, it is a time to hear both candidates stand up before us to explain and defend their ideas. A chance for us to decide who's strategy seems to ring most true, and whom do we trust to transport us from where we are now, to safer ground.

We need to here both men explain why they think the system collapsed, what they did while in government to help prevent the disaster; and most important what specific legislation they will seek to in act in response.

Albert Einstein said " No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it." It seems like the same people that brought America to the point of apocalypse, now want a blank check to fix the problems they caused.

I for one, would like to hear both men face each other directly, not through campaign mud slinging, let them both make the case why their the one to put things right.

Larry Lubell

Insurance Information Page: 24 Hour Car Info Help

2008-09-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

Insurance Information Page: 24 Hour Car Info Help

CERN - Scientific breakthrough or "End of the World".

2008-09-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday September 10th, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) will commission its Large Hadron Collider. The LHC website describes the facility this way.
The LHC, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, measuring 27 kilometres in circumference, will bring advances in our knowledge of matter and the Universe. The LHC will accelerate minute particles and collide them at the centre of four large detectors, ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb. The LHC is an exceptional scientific tool employing state-of-the-art technology to further fundamental science. It comprises over 1800 superconducting magnet assemblies, for example, and is maintained at a temperature of -271.3°C, just 1.9 degrees above absolute zero. The four experiments that will study the particle collisions are technological triumphs in themselves, the largest of them as tall as a five-storey building.
While some of the worlds greatest physicists have been working for years hand in hand with engineers and scientists from dozens of different disciplines, There are a group of running around, doing their best "Chicken- Little" impersonation screaming "The sky is falling" In fact, scientists behind the world's biggest-ever scientific experiment have received death threats from critics who claim it could cause the end of the world.

Prof Hawking said the £4.4bn machine, in which scientists are about to recreate conditions just after the Big Bang, is "vital if the human race is not to stultify and eventually die out."
And he sought to ease fears that the machine could have apocalyptic effects. "The world will not come to an end when the LHC turns on," Prof Hawking said, adding: "The LHC is absolutely safe."
Scientists at the CERN research centre in Switzerland are aiming to use the machine to gain a better understanding of the birth and structure of the universe, and to fill gaps in our knowledge of physics.

Legal bid to stop CERN atom smasher from `destroying the world`
Hawking, who made his name in the study of Black Holes, sought to assure the public of the particle accelerator safety stated "
"Collisions releasing greater energy occur millions of times a day in the earth's atmosphere and nothing terrible happens. The world will not come to an end when the LHC turns on."
"If the LHC were to produce little black holes, I don't think there is any doubt I would get a Nobel Prize, if they showed the properties I predict.
"However I think the probability that the LHC has enough energy to produce little black holes is less than 1 per cent - so I'm not holding my breath."
Prof Hawking made clear that the LHC project is one of the most important in the history of scientific endeavor. Asked to choose between it and the space program, he said: "That is like asking which of my children I would choose to sacrifice.
"Both the LHC and the Space program are vital if the human race is not to stultify and eventually die out. Together they cost less than one tenth of a per cent of world GDP. If the human race can not afford this, then it doesn't deserve the epithet 'human'."

Youtube/ the #1 place for news (or Rumors)

2008-09-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

You do you trust for news and facts?
How can you tell if what you are seeing, reading or hearing is true, or even where it's coming from.

Here are a few to watch and decide for your self.

YouTube - McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare
Who's Trig's Mother?
Bristol Palin, Sarah Palins Out of Control Teen
KTVA, Local CBS Affiliate, Reports On Palin Trooper-Gate Sca
Sen. Barack Obama's Full Speech to the DNC
Barack Obama, Islam, Terrorists & Terrorism Obama is a Terrorist!
Old Man McCain Going Senile Before the Cameras
John McCain -- War Hero

Couture Wars

2008-09-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

The "Right" bashes "Popular couture every chance they get, but they sure like to use the songs that couture creates.

John McCain's camp again finds it's self trying to defend the use of copyrighted material against the wishes of the creators and performers that brought the music to life.
This is not the first time the McCain team has had this problem, several months back, his campaign received a Cease and Desist from John Mellencamp demanding that they stop using his tunes "Our Country" and "Pink Houses.and again when In August, when Jackson Browne was outraged to find that Ohio Republicans used his song "Running on Empty" in an attack ad against Obama.

It raises two questions:
1. Why do members of the "Right" produce so little music worth listening to.
2. Were they as careful vetting the songs as they were their VP pick.

"I feel completely F#ck@d over," the band's Nancy Wilson told EW on Thursday night after their song was played following McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. According to TMZ -- which broke the scandal, the band has filed a cease and desist order.

Palin has the nick name "Barracuda: so it is easy to see why playing the song had a certain degree of logic. The song was used as a theme for Governor Palin Wednesday night after her speech. The Band "Heart" acted swiftly by issuing a statement asking the campaign to stop use their of copyrighted material music..
"We hope our wishes will be honored," the band said in a written statement.

After three separate artists, and their legal representatives issued formal complaints, you would think the McCain camp would respect both the will of the artists or at least the law- No such luck. After the close of McCain's speech Thursday night, what song came through the PA system? You guessed it ... "Barracuda."

After the speech, Nancy and her sister Ann issued the following statement to EW:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."
.
A legal representative of Browne stated "In light of Jackson Browne's lifelong commitment to Democratic ideals and political candidates, the misappropriation of Jackson Browne's endorsement is entirely reprehensible,"

Van Halen was also upset to find that Their song "Right Now" was used against their wishes at a rally announcing Palin as McCain's running mate.

If people were prosecuted for "Uploading" songs from Napster, how could the legal minds behind the convention not understand better than to "Steal"copyrighted intellectual property, and play it on a world stage.
Is this a question of F*ck Y@u, we will do what ever we want, or an example of carelessness Either way it raises questions about the campaign.

Bristol Palin's "Shotgun-Wedding"

2008-09-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Todd Palin have released the following statement in conjunction with the McCain campaign:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned.
We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.
"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

All parents know that despite our best wishes, and most carefully crafted plans, often life throws you a curve. I am sure that watching their daughter, drop out of school, give up, or put on hold any plan of college; because she got pregnant, was not the film they played in their heads. But as a family they made choices based on their beliefs, values and priorities- and I respect their choices.
What upsets me is Sarah Palin unwillingness to let others have the power to make these tough choices according to their own belief set.

My wife and I discussed the "What if" question of Down Syndrome when she was pregnant, We did not have to face that heart-wrenching choice, but if we did- our decision would have been not to carry to term. If faced with our 17 year old child informing us that she was with child, we would not encourage her to get married; but instead to have an abortion or give the child up for adoption. If I had a 17 year old son that told us how he got his friend pregnant, I would not encourage him to marry the girl. Of course I would not tolerate him just "Walking-away"- but I could not in good conscience let him give up his dreams. He would be selling himself short, and living a life filled with regret, and what ifs that would tear him apart and result in him being an unhappy husband and father, which would make both the mother and child's lives both miserable.

But, maybe I'm wrong?
The point is, while I respect her right to follow her Beliefs and values; she wants to make it illegal for me to follow mine. That is what I object to - that is what gets me angry.

Sure I think we should respect the privacy of candidate's children; however
When you force others to follow your will, People have the right to call you on it.
during Sarah Palin's 2006 gubernatorial race, Palin again stated that she is against abortion unless a doctor determined that a mother's life would end due to the pregnancy. That even in the case of her own daughter being the victim of rape, she would still oppose the right to an abortion. These views are well outside the mainstream. I am sorry to say this, but, I cant help but feel that the impending marriage of her daughter,is less a tale of "Star-Crossed-Lovers" and more an example of old fashion "Shotgun-Wedding".
But that might be popular not just with Anti-Abortion crowd, but the NRA as well.

Larry Lubell

McCain VS Gustav

2008-08-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

The Republicans are all set to begin their convention in St Paul. The halls are decked out the, airline tickets are paid for, hotel rooms are booked.
John McCain has selected Palin, The speeches have been written, the music selected. Nothing stands in their way except a possible category 3 Hurricane named Gustav.

“The Republicans can't seem to get a break when it comes to August and when it comes to the weather,” said Karl Rove, a FOX News analyst. “I know this is being thought a lot about in Washington and at the White House and discussed and I suspect they will monitor it carefully and figure out what to do.”
The Bush administration's slowness in getting life saving supplies to the victims of the Katrina catastrophe, subjected the president to widespread criticism for a lack of concern and incompetency.

As leading officials in New Orleans, announced possible evacuation plans ,The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it expects a "huge number" of Gulf Coast residents will be told to leave the region this weekend Many of these residents of the gulf coast have already began leaving the city. desperate not to miss their chance.
The image of a lavish Republican Party underway as a damaging storm strikes the Gulf Coast could serve as a painful reminder of the criticism the Bush White House suffered for its handling of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated coastal communities and New Orleans three years ago this weekend.
Gustav hit the heartland of Cuba's cigar industry Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph. The national Hurricane center projects the storm to intensify and shows Louisiana as the most likely point of landfall.
as it shrieked toward on a track to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, three years after Hurricane Katrina.As of Saturday am, the potential path still spans several hundred miles, but forecasters said there is a better-than-even chance that New Orleans will get slammed by at least tropical-storm-force winds and possibly take a direct hit.

"As we learned from Katrina, the death toll has a lot to do with the speed with which help can be delivered to those suffering"

Both the president and Vice President Dick Cheney are slated to speak on the opening night - though Bush is scheduled to fly on to the Camp David presidential retreat that night.
The Post notes. "A new major storm along the Gulf Coast would renew memories of one of the low points of the Bush administration, while pulling public attention away from McCain's formal coronation as the GOP presidential nominee.
Clearly this storm can be viewed through the eyes of Karl Rove, and the attitude of "How dare this storm effect our party"; but it could also be used as a means of separating a Mccain Administration from the incompetency and perceived indifference to the suffering and deaths of nearly 2,000 people.

Larry Lubell

Sarah Palin.... You Have Got To Be Kidding?

2008-08-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is the Best and Brightest star that the the GOP can find?
I'm sure she's a fine person, but how can anyone say that she is ready to "Step in" to the job of leader of the free world.
The entire state of Alaska has less than one twelfth the population of the Chicago Metro area. She has never met with world leaders, has zero foreign affairs experience, zero Washington experience. She has never ran a company, has no experience in international business.

I respect that other people have views different than my own on the critical issues facing our country. Many of my closest fiends are proud members of the GOP. (Truth be told, many of them would be far better choices than Sarah Palin)

Thanks to Wikipedia, we can learn some interesting biographical information on the presumptive number two:
1. In 1984, Palin was runner-up in the Ms. Alaska beauty pageant.
2. In an earlier pageant, Sarah played the flute and won "Miss Congeniality."
3. She has tried marijuana, but says she didn't like it.
4. She's a lifelong member of the NRA.
5. She eats moose burgers.
6. Her husband works for BP (the oil company).
7. She wants to drill in ANWAR.
8. She's "strongly pro-life."
9. Doesn't want the gays to marry, but likes them just the same.
10. People like her.
11. She is female.
12. She's 43 years old--28 years younger than McCain, 3 years younger than Obama.
13, She's a champion of ethics reform.
14. Her administration is under investigation. Accused of trying to get a former brother-in-law fired from his law enforcement gig.

Urban Insurance Awarded Honors

2008-08-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

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Olympic Games in Chicago?

2008-08-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

How close is Chicago to getting the 2016 Olympics?

Urban Insurance Agency is based in Chicago and we would find it quite exciting to see the eyes of the world focused on Chicago. The additional attention will help bring more tourists as well as additional investment. Chicago would likely obtain an improved mass transit system and other basic infrastructure upgrades.
Below is a copy of a petition that seems to be working it's way across the internet.

Right now, the eyes of the world are on the Olympic Games in Beijing, China. But eight years from now, the world could be watching Chicago -- one of the last 4 cities still in the running to host the 2016 Olympics. So as we celebrate the Olympic spirit and watch athletes from around the world compete in Beijing, please join me in helping to bring the Games back to the U.S.A. and ensuring the Olympic flame burns brightly over the city of Chicago in 2016.

Chicago's beautiful parks, spectacular lakefront, top-notch sports venues, and wonderful people make it a world-class city that has what it takes to host the 2016 Olympics. That's why I've signed an online petition, spear headed by Senator Dick Durbin, to show the International Olympic the support for hosting the games here in Chicago is strong and enthusiastic -- and that thousands of people from all across America are speaking out.
Please join me by signing the petition as well!
http://www.PickChicago2016.com
Thank you for helping to make Chicago's dream of hosting the 2016 Games a reality!

John Edwards is Toast!

2008-08-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

John Edwards made a large sum of money as a PI lawyer.
His looks and perfect amount of southern twang, helped his rapid rise to senator then to vice presidential hopeful in 2004 and a leading presidential candidate in 2008. In fact there were many that felt Edwards was on the "Short List" of running mates for Obama.

Today any hopes he might have of "Higher Public office" ended in a fiery crash after he admitted he lied repeatedly about the affair with Rielle Hunter. He went on to deny fathering her child.

That kind of Revelation has leveled many a politician but when you add the fact that he was cheating on his wife between her bouts with inoperable cancer, I can't see any way back into the good graces of the American People.
I think it is time for him to just "Go away" for a while, then find another line of work.

Larry Lubell

That is one big Hole!

2008-07-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

Scale of Chicago Spire In case any of you were thinking that hole in the ground looked like a big foundation (which is in actuality ONLY the core foundation), check out this composite from the past two weeks of work at the site. They're excavating the tops of the double 12-foot caissons that will be under each leg of the building in order to tie them together into "supercaissons." Look at the size of this thing's overall footprint now ...http://www.thechicagospire.com/

Jack in the Box in Chicago

2008-07-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when ordering your fast food involved talking to the "Jack in the Box"?

In this country, where each day, independent businesses loose ground to chains and franchises, it is surprising when you find a regional fast food franchise. While I hate the idea of dining in an up-scale seafood restaurant only to find they have 60 of them around the country each indistinguishable from the next. I'm upset when I find myself a thousand miles from home, exploring that city's "Hot" shopping district, and find that it has the same list of stores I can find in a 15 minute walk from my home.

But Fast Food franchises are exempt from my scorn. Just as I expect each city will carry the network's feeds, and my cell phone will work, my expectation is that the streets will be filled with a uniform list of fast-food joints. The fact is that simply is not true. Sure McDonald's and Burger King spots will be found, I think P.E.T.A. even found a method to franchise protesters to Stand in front of KFC restaurants, but In & Out burgers, are not to be found in Chicago.

Truth be told, I don't care about In & Out Burgers, comming from Chicago, the only thing I know about them is the Paris Hilton eat there one of the nights she got caught driving drunk. But Jack in the Box is a different story.

I grew up with "Jack in the Box" There were so many late nights, in a car filled too-full with friends, spent speaking to "Jack". Jack was my friend, he fed me those wonderful tacos. He got me hooked, I looked forward to those golden-brown, deep-fried, tasty treats. Then all at once, they were gone. Jack fled west of of the Mississippi, leaving me and so many like me, stranded, left with a craving we were unable to fill.

The other day, after a disappointing Y12 Epee contest, I brought my son over to a Jack in the Box, two blocks from the San Jose Convention Center, desperate to bring some happiness to an otherwise "Dark day". I put in my order for 6 tasty tacos, and from the first bite I was transported back to a happy memory-filled time of youth and grease, it was wonderful! O.K., I would have traded the taco for my son bringing home a medal, but that was not a choice offered.

Yes the tacos were just as I remembered them to be. Each time I find my self in a town that is lucky enough to still have Jack in the Box, I make a point of eating as many of these tacos as I can stuff down my throat. Jack never lets me down; though I am still mad at him for moving away.

Larry Lubell

Lebanon gives Hezbollah Veto Power

2008-07-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

If Hezbollah has veto power over the Lebanese government, then aren't they the true power in the country?

So we have a Terrorist group in control of another country in the Mid-East.
From the inception of Hezbollah the elimination of the State of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's primary goals.
"If they go from Shebaa, we won't stop fighting them. ... Our goal is to liberate the 1948 borders of Palestine, ... The Jews who survive this war of liberation can go back to Germany or wherever they came from.
Hezbollah is a force behind the Palestinians suicide bomber's and scud missiles landing in Israel. The once beautiful Lebanon has been torn apart by years of war.

Afghanistan has seen its stability fall from increased Taliban power.

We have been unable to capture Osama bin Laden and destroy al-Qaeda. Over the past 5 years, their power has once again grown.

Iran's Ahmadinejad, who has stated his desire to wipe Israel off the map, is now warning it's enemies, that "Our finger will always be on the trigger and our missiles will always be ready to launch.“
With The price of gas in 2008 toping over $4.75 / gallon, and the world teetering on the sharp edge of a world recession, we are unable to challenge Ahmadinejad, and his threat to close the Strait of Hormuz

For some reason I'm not feeling all that "Safe" yet

Exxon's profits are not big enough

2008-06-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

File this under ironic.

At he very time we are all struggling trying out how to pay for gas, The Supreme court just cut Exxon's damages from the Valdez spill one tenth of what the jury decided.

Justice David Souter wrote for the court that punitive damages may not exceed what the company already paid to compensate victims for economic losses, about $500 million compensation. The Exxon Valdez case involves reckless action that was "profitless" for the company and that has already resulted in substantial recovery for substantial injury, Souter wrote. A penalty should be "reasonably predictable" in its severity, he added.
Exxon asked the high court to reject the punitive damages judgment, saying it already has spent $3.4 billion in response to the accident that fouled 1,200 miles of Alaska coastline. A jury decided Exxon should pay $5 billion in punitive damages.
A federal appeals court cut that verdict in half in 1994. This come at the same time Exxon has generated the largest profits of any company in history. The punitive damage award is extremely large, but in fairness, it is less than half of the last quarters profit.

First-quarter profits at Exxon Mobil Corp. were $10.9 billion. The company's 2007 profit was $40.6 billion.

I'm glad to see our government is still handing out favors for big oil.

Stonehenge Mystery

2008-06-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Stonehenge, the most famous of all of the remaining neolithic stone circles was built over a five hundred year period. Walking around the sarsen stones it is easy to understand why this place still amazes and generates such mystery.

Read Full Story

Summer

2008-06-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

http://urbaninsuranceagency.com/blog.php?content=displayPost&id=21

A Fair Tax Code

2008-06-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

Rich people pay the lions share of the taxes in the US. They don't just pay the most money, they pay the largest percentage of their income.

Then again they have a lot more money.

This could then lead to the question, Which is a Better Measure of financial Inequality: Wealth or Income?
In fact the real difference in wealth is not seen by comparing the yearly income of the to top 10% and the bottom 10%- its when you compare the "NET WORTH" of those two groups. The net worth difference is more than `10 times as great as the income difference.The bottom 60% of households possess only 4% of the nation's wealth while it earns 26.8% of all income. This means that the rich pay a larger percentage of their income then the bottom half, but they pay a smaller percentage of their wealth. It is this reality that in large part is responsible for why the "Rich keep getting richer"

If we put aside income and focus on the distribution of wealth,the research points to two quite different views of the amount of inequality in American society.
"Ultimately, we are interested in the question of relative standards of living and economic well-being. We need to examine trends in the distribution of wealth, which, more fundamentally than earnings or income, represents a measure of the ability of households to consume."
Alan Greenspan, Former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank

It it easy to see why any question regarding the "Fairness" of any tax plan, is colored by the discussion of Wealth vs Income. Based on income, it is easy to make the point that the wealthiest Americans don't just pay the most money,they pay the largest percentage of their income, often while using the least amount of government services. Switch the discussion to talk about net wealth and the lower half see a system that favors the rich and one in which they are forever "Loosing ground". As property values increase, those who own property see their net wealth rise, where as those that do not, see the dream of home ownership get pulled further out of their reach.

From my own perspective, we have seen the foolishness of communism. The Soviet Union proved that if you try to eliminate the rich, you will not be able to distribute their wealth among the poor to make everyone "Middle-class", you just make everyone poor. Take away the incentive to achieve a higher standard of living, and you kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. The fact is, we need rich people.

For a country to prosper financially it needs the following:

1. A stable government.
2. A population that believes they have a vested interest in the country's success.
3. Insurance companies to protect both commercial as well as personal assets.
4. An educated work force.
5. Leaders that realize that it's the private sector that creates wealth and
Policies that provide conditions for that private sector to thrive.
6. Intellectual Property rights must be honored.
7. Taxes have to be enough to pay for the expectations of the citizens including
the infrastructure to be competitive in the global market- but low enough the
the majority of money is the control of the private sector.

Sure it helps if the country has a large amount of national resources, however Israel has created a standard of living dramatically higher than Saudi Arabia, and did so with out oil.
In fact there are many other conditions that can help or hurt the chances of any country's economy, but the seven above are critical.

So we need a tax system that levels the playing field enough to provide for a basic standard so even the poorest can maintain a reasonable standard of living, and feel vested in America; yet keeps enough wealth in the hands of the wealthy so as to provide conditions for the private sector to thrive and grow.
The truth is it can be very difficult to get that balance right.

Larry Lubell
www.UrbanInsuranceAgency.com

UrbanBlog: The price of gas in 2008

2008-06-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

UrbanBlog: The price of gas in 2008
http://www.uspirg.org/action/transportation/petition?id4=ES

The price of gas in 2008

2008-06-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Let's do the Math!

The five largest U.S. oil companies earned $36 billion during the first three months of this year. This is after last year's figures set an all-time record.
Even if we assume that the next months will see the big 5 earning somewhat lower profits, they should still break $120 Billion dollars profit in 2008.

"Americans are furious about what's going on," declared Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and want Congress to do something about oil company profits and "an orgy of speculation" on oil markets.

The cost of energy not only impacts consumers when they fill their tanks, but is a driving force in the price of everything we buy. Congress is getting the message that Americans are "Mad as Hell" and expect their government to do something.In response to the growing rage and falling economy, the Democrats on the hill have pushed legislation to tax the "Windfall profits of the oil industry." The law would boost taxes paid by the large oil companies, or allow them to instead invest the money in new clean energy development.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has acknowledged that Americans are hurting from the high energy costs but strongly opposes the Democrats' response and has ridiculed those who "think we can tax our way out of this problem.""Republicans by and large believe that the solution to this problem, in part, is to increase domestic production," McConnell said.
A GOP energy plan, rejected by the Senate last month, calls for opening a coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil development and to allow states to opt out of the national moratorium that has been in effect for a quarter century against oil and gas drilling in more than 80 percent of the country's coastal waters.

The question is, how big are the profits compared to the increased costs we are all paying.

Here is how the basic math works......

Let's say that the combined profits for the big 5 are $120 Billion.

There are 126 Million households in the United States
$120,000,000,000 : 126,000,000 = $952 Dollars/ household in 2008 will go to profit for the Big 5 Oil Companies.

Average Annual Miles per Household = 11,100
The Average Fuel Economy = 22 miles per gallon
11,100 miles : 22 = 504 gallons of get used/ household

Now, let's take 504 gallons and divide that by the $952 Dollars profit/ household in 2008
and we see that about $1.88 of the cost/ gallon we pay at the pump goes straight into the pockets of 5 Oil Companies.

Take a cost of $4.00 at the pump, subtract the windfall profits, and gas is $2.12/ gal.

How do you like that math?

Larry Lubell
www.urbanInsuranceAgency.com

http://www.defra.gov.uk/
U.S. Department of Energy’s Transportation Energy Data Handbookhttp://www-cta.ornl.gov/
U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Residential Energy Consumption Surveyhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/contents.html
Your Car Travel
AssumptionsEmissions per Gallon of Gasoline = 0.0089 tons of CO2Average Annual Miles per Household = 11,100Per Capita Miles Driven in 2004 = 9,941Average Vehicle Trip = 10 milesAverage Fuel Economy = 22 miles per gallon

Top 10 Best Selling cars

2008-06-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Best Selling Cars of 2008

1. Toyota Camry: 31,601
2. Honda Accord: 23,957
3. Nissan Altima: 21,635
4. Honda Civic: 20,993
5. Toyota Corolla: 20,736
6. Chevrolet Impala: 17,544
7. Chevrolet Cobalt: 17,310
8. Chevrolet Malibu: 14,105
9. Pontiac G6: 13,942
10. Ford Focus: 11,600

Car Insurance Info Page

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Obama wins Nomination?

2008-06-03T12:57:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama becomes the first black candidate ever to lead a major party into a fall campaign for the White House. This declaration is, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates won by, and Super Delegates declared for Obama.

"I am a bit surprised to hear this report ahead of tonight numbers, but I expected us to go over after the primaries tonight" Said a Obama Supporter.

BREAKING NEWS

Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Hillary Rodham Clinton has told congressional colleagues she would be open to becoming Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee, saying she would consider it if it would help Democrats win the White House.

Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez stated she believed the best way for Obama to win over key voting blocs, including Hispanics, would be for him to choose Clinton as his running mate."

For the past few months many Democrats torn between Clinton and Obama; have floated the idea of a "Dream Ticket" as a way of healing the party and filling all niches of traditional Democratic voter.

It is clear that Barack needs Hillary's support, but it is not clear that he is helped by having her on the ticket. She comes with a lot of baggage, and after 20 years of either a Clinton or a Bush in the Oval Office, Hillary might not fit neatly with Bbama's mantra of "Change."

Say what you will, it is difficult to argue that this has been a boring process.
Larry Lubell / UrbanBlog
http://www.urbaninsuranceagency.com

http://urbannewsblog.blogspot.com

Johnny Depp in Chicago

2008-06-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

Living in Chicago it is very easy to declare your self the be above the whole "Hollywood / LA" celebrity conscience scene; the same way one might proudly state they don't have time for television, instead they read.

But I have to admit, that I have made several visits to the few blocks around the Biograph Theater now doubling as the set for the new Dillinger movie staring Johnny Depp. Sure I tell myself that it is the history that intrigues me and not the stars, but once there, I find that I too am hoping to catch a glimpse of someone "Famous."

That said, the coolest part of watching them turn a street in my neighborhood back 74 years, is how little they had to do to make the transformation. Replace the Range Rovers, Toyota's and Volvo's, with cars from the thirty's. Switch out the clothes in the windows, replace a few signs and viola, it's 1934.

Christian Bale Melvin Purvis
Johnny Depp John Dillinger
Channing Tatum Pretty Boy Floyd
Emilie de Ravin Anna Patzke

John Herbert Dillinger was born on June 22, 1903, in the Oak Hill section of Indianapolis, a middle-class residential neighborhood. Frequently in trouble, he quit school and got a job in a machine shop in Indianapolis.

A break with his father and trouble with the law (auto theft) led him to enlist in the Navy. There he soon got into trouble and deserted his ship when it docked in Boston. Returning to Mooresville, he married 16-year-old Beryl Hovius in 1924. A dazzling dream of bright lights and excitement led the newlyweds to Indianapolis. Dillinger had no luck finding work in the city and joined the town pool shark, Ed Singleton, in his search for easy money. In their first attempt, they tried to rob a Mooresville grocer, but were quickly apprehended. Singleton pleaded not guilty, stood trial, and was sentenced to two years. Dillinger, following his father's advice, confessed, was convicted of assault and battery with intent to rob, and conspiracy to commit a felony, and received joint sentences of 2 to 14 years and 10 to 20 years in the Indiana State Prison. Stunned by the harsh sentence, Dillinger became a tortured, bitter man in prison.

His period of infamy began on May 10, 1933, when he was paroled from prison after serving 8 1/2 years of his sentence. Almost immediately, Dillinger robbed a bank in Bluffton, Ohio.

Meanwhile, Dillinger and his gang pulled several bank robberies. They also plundered the police arsenals at Auburn, Indiana, and Peru, Indiana, stealing several machine guns, rifles, and revolvers, a quantity of ammunition, and several bulletproof vests. On December 14, John Hamilton, a Dillinger gang member, shot and killed a police detective in Chicago. A month later, the Dillinger gang killed a police officer during the robbery of the First National Bank of East Chicago, Indiana. Then they made their way to Florida and, subsequently, to Tucson, Arizona. There on January 23, 1934, a fire broke out in the hotel where Clark and Makley were hiding under assumed names. Firemen recognized the men from their photographs, and local police arrested them, as well as Dillinger and Harry Pierpont. They also seized 3 Thompson submachine guns, 2 Winchester rifles mounted as machine guns, 5 bulletproof vests, and more than $25,000 in cash, part of it from the East Chicago robbery.
Dillinger was sequestered at the county jail in Crown Point, Indiana, to await trial for the murder of the East Chicago police officer. Authorities boasted that the jail was "escape proof." But on March 3, 1934, Dillinger cowed the guards with what he claimed later was a wooden gun he had whittled. He forced them to open the door to his cell, then grabbed two machine guns, locked up the guards and several trustees, and fled.
It was then that Dillinger made the mistake that would cost him his life. He stole the sheriff's car and drove across the Indiana-Illinois line, heading for Chicago. By doing that, he violated the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, which made it a Federal offense to transport a stolen motor vehicle across a state line.

Then on March 30, 1934, an Agent talked to the manager of the Lincoln Court Apartments in St In Chicago, Dillinger joined his girlfriend, Evelyn Frechette. They proceeded to St. Paul, where Dillinger teamed up with Homer Van Meter, Lester ("Baby Face Nelson") Gillis, Eddie Green, and Tommy Carroll, among others. The gang's business prospered as they continued robbing banks of large amounts of money.
. Paul, who reported two suspicious tenants, Mr. and Mrs. Hellman, who acted nervous and refused to admit the apartment caretaker. The FBI began a surveillance of the Hellman's apartment. The next day, an Agent and a police officer knocked on the door of the apartment. Evelyn Frechette opened the door, but quickly slammed it shut. The Agent called for reinforcements to surround the building.

Dillinger and Evelyn Frechette fled to Mooresville, Indiana, where they stayed with his father and half-brother until his wound healed. Then Frechette went to Chicago to visit a friend--and was arrested by the FBI. She was taken to St. Paul for trial on a charge of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive. She was convicted, fined $1,000, and sentenced to two years in prison. Bessie Skinner, Eddie Green's girlfriend, got 15 months on the same charge.
In Washington, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover assigned Special Agent Samuel A. Cowley to head the FBI's investigative efforts against Dillinger. Cowley set up headquarters in Chicago, where he and Melvin Purvis, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office, planned their strategy. A squad of Agents under Cowley worked with East Chicago policemen in tracking down all tips and rumors.
Late in the afternoon of Saturday, July 21, 1934, the madam of a brothel in Gary, Indiana, contacted one of the police officers with information. This woman called herself Anna Sage, however, her real name was Ana Cumpanas, and she had entered the United States from her native Rumania in 1914. Because of the nature of her profession, she was considered an undesirable alien by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and deportation proceedings had been started. Anna was willing to sell the FBI some information about Dillinger for a cash reward, plus the FBI's help in preventing her deportation.
At a meeting with Anna, Cowley and Purvis were cautious. They promised her the reward if her information led to Dillinger's capture, but said all they could do was call her cooperation to the attention of the Department of Labor, which at that time handled deportation matters. Satisfied, Anna told the Agents that a girlfriend of hers, Polly Hamilton, had visited her establishment with Dillinger. Anna had recognized Dillinger from a newspaper photograph.
Anna told the Agents that she, Polly Hamilton, and Dillinger probably would be going to the movies the following evening at either the Biograph or the Marbro Theaters. She said that she would notify them when the theater was chosen. She also said that she would wear a red dress so that they could identify her.
Special Agent in Charge Melvin Purvis
On Sunday, July 22, Cowley ordered all Agents of the Chicago office to stand by for urgent duty. Anna Sage called that evening to confirm the plans, but she still did not know which theater they would attend. Therefore, Agents and policemen were sent to both theaters. At 8:30 p.m., Anna Sage, John Dillinger, and Polly Hamilton strolled into the Biograph Theater to see Clark Gable in "Manhattan Melodrama." Purvis phoned Cowley, who shifted the other men from the Marbro to the Biograph.
At 10:30 p.m., Dillinger, with his two female companions on either side, walked out of the theater and turned to his left. As they walked past the doorway in which Purvis was standing, Purvis lit a cigar as a signal for the other men to close in. Dillinger quickly realized what was happening and acted by instinct. He grabbed a pistol from his right trouser pocket as he ran toward the alley. Five shots were fired from the guns of three FBI Agents. Three of the shots hit Dillinger and he fell face down on the pavement. At 10:50 p.m. on July 22, 1934, John Dillinger was pronounced dead in a little room in the Alexian Brothers Hospital.

Byte Out of History story: The Fall of John Dillinger and the Rise of the FBI

List of Countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol

2008-05-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Below is the list of Countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol
Germany
Greece
Finland
France
Australia
Fiji
Antigua and Barbuda
Tuvalu
Maldives
Turkmenistan
Trinidad and Tobago
Panama
Bahamas
Georgia
Federated States of Micronesia
Jamaica
Cyprus
Paraguay
Mexico
Guatemala
Uzbekistan
Nicaragua
Bolivia
Palau
Mongolia
Ecuador
El Salvador
Honduras
Barbados
Equatorial Guinea
Lesotho
Guinea
Kiribati
Azerbaijan
Samoa
Uruguay
Romania
Mauritius
Gambia
Vanuatu
Senegal
Nauru
Argentina
Burundi
Bangladesh
Malawi
Malta
Czech Republic
Colombia
Morocco
Dominican Republic
Benin
Djibouti
Uganda
Mali
Papua New Guinea
Cuba
Iceland
Norway
European Union
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
Slovakia
Japan
Latvia
Seychelles
South Africa
Slovenia
Grenada
Costa Rica
Bulgaria
Hungary
Cambodia
Brazil
Bhutan
Chile
India
Tanzania
Cameroon
Thailand
China
Sri Lanka
Malaysia
Peru
Vietnam
Estonia
Liberia
South Korea
Poland
Canada
New Zealand
Lithuania
Jordan
Tunisia
Laos
Solomon Islands
Moldova
Armenia
Kyrgyzstan
Ghana
Switzerland
Guyana
Botswana
Marshall Islands
Burma
Saint Lucia
Namibia
Madagascar
Belize
Philippines
Israel
Ukraine
Togo
Rwanda
Yemen
Niger
Sudan
Russia
Republic of Macedonia
Indonesia
Liechtenstein
Nigeria
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Pakistan
Qatar
Egypt
Mozambique
Oman
Dominica
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Algeria
Venezuela
Kenya
Kuwait
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Burkina Faso
Albania
Ethiopia
North Korea
Haiti
Mauritania
Eritrea
Iran
Belarus
Nepal
Guinea-Bissau
Swaziland
Syria
Bahrain
Cape Verde
Monaco
Singapore
Zambia
Libya
Suriname
Sierra Leone
Lebanon
Gabon
Congo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Angola
Montenegro
Serbia
Tonga
Central African Republic
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Comoros

The following countries have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol
Or have not yet expressed a position.

1 Afghanistan
2 Andorra
3 Brunei
4 Chad
5 Iraq
6 Palestinian Authority
7 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
8 San Marino
9 São Tomé and Príncipe
10 Somalia
11 Republic of China (Taiwan)
12 Tajikistan
13 Timor-Leste
14 Turkey
15 Vatican City
16 Zimbabwe

To date the only nation to state it's intention NOT to ratify Kyoto

1. United States

400 Kids going back to Sect

2008-05-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

The Texas appellate Court Says Sect Kids Unlawfully Taken and should be returned to there parents.
I have a problem with any state coming in and taking children away from their families. The idea of the state removing 400 children at one time, is unprecedented and more than a bit concerning. Removing a child from their home; the only home they have ever known, is an action to be avoided unless there is compelling evidence that the household poses a very real danger to that child. The fact that this Sect has some "Uncommon" religious practices does not justify taking kids away form their parents.

The question is, does forcing 13 and 14 year old girls to be the third or forth wife of a middle-aged man constitute a dangerous and or unacceptable home. Protective Services officials in Texas asserted that the members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints forced young girls into marriage and sex often to much older men who already had one or more wife. That these young girls would quickly become pregnant binding them to the sect even further. The boys were brought up to see the girls as future potential property, and become adult perpetrators.
The difficulty for the State stems in large part because the original phone call that brought them into the ranch was not actually from a member of the church and had lied during that call. Also Only about 30 of the 440 children seized are teenage girls, since forced sex of minor girls was the justification for the removal of the kids; most of the 440 were not allegedly subjected to those actions and the State failed to show a compelling reason for their removal.
The state needed to be a bit more selective in who it removed from the homes. Clearly, the state has a valid concern about these young people's safety. While we must grant our churches a wide latitude in following their beliefs and practices; but the has to be some reasonable limits and protections especially when it concerns children.

Larry Lubell

100,000 dead in Myanmar Cyclone

2008-05-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Myanmar's foreign minister says the death toll from the cyclone could reach 100,000.

Think back for a moment to that horrible day in September, when hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Center, or the devastation brought by Katrina. Their Combined death toll could end up being one 25 th the that of the Myanmar cyclone.

While the winds and water surge are acts of nature, the crisis has been made worse by the actions of the repressive government in Myanmar, and their unwillingness to reach out to the world for help. Barbara Bush spoke out trying to get that government to except the aid and help we have offered.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian country, formerly known as Burma, Saturday morning packing winds of up to 120 mph. Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, was particularly hard hit. The cyclone blew roofs off hospitals and schools and cut electricity in a large area of the country.

As we learned from Katrina, the death toll has a lot to do with the speed with which help can be delivered to those suffering. My heart goes out to the people, lets hope that their leaders begin to show the same passion for the people as they show for maintaining power.