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<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity <BR>is like a man standing in a bucket <BR>and trying to lift himself up by the handle. <BR><i>- Winston Churchill</i><!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR> <BR>Is Obama standing in said proverbial bucket???
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<b><font color="0000ff"><center><font size="+2">Numb and number: Is trillion the new billion?</font></center></font></b> <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/02/04/trillion.dollars/index.html?eref=rss_topstories" target=_top>http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/02/04/trillion.doll ars/index.html?eref=rss_topstories</a> <BR> <BR><blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>A billion is a thousand million, and a trillion is a thousand billion. <BR> <BR>To provide some perspective on just how big a trillion dollars is, think about it like this: A trillion dollars is the number 1 followed by 12 zeroes. Or you can think of it this way: One trillion $1 bills stacked one on top of the other would reach nearly 68,000 miles (about 109,400 kilometers) into the sky, or about a third of the way from the Earth to the moon. <BR> <BR>... <BR> <BR>"To put a trillion dollars in context, if you spend a million dollars every day since Jesus was born, you still wouldn't have spent a trillion," McConnell said. <BR> <BR>... <BR> <BR>"A million seconds is about 11½ days. A billion seconds is about 32 years, and a trillion seconds is 32,000 years," Paulos said. "People tend to lump them together, perhaps because they rhyme, but if you think of it in terms of a jail sentence, do you want to go to jail for 11½ days or 32 years or maybe 32,000 years? So, they're vastly different, and people generally don't really have a real visceral grasp of the differences among them." <BR> <BR>...<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
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Billion is thousand millions roughly speaking only in the English-speaking countries <BR> <BR>"Milliard is a French-derived word meaning the number 1,000,000,000 (109; one thousand million; SI prefix giga). It is not used in American English and is rare in other forms of English. When South Africa adopted the metric system in 1971, "milliard" was recommended by the Metrication Board, but has often been ignored in practice. During the 20th century, the short scale "billion" superseded 'thousand million' to become the normal term in most of the English-speaking world. <BR>"Milliard", or a version thereof, is common to many languages other than English, where a "billion" often refers to a thousand "milliard" - 1,000,000,000,000. <BR>In financial markets, yard (derived from milliard) is still often used instead of "billion" in order to avoid ambiguity between "million" and "billion"." <BR> <BR>Source: <BR><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milliard" target=_top>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milliard</a>
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Earmarks, so what? Can tell in advance how money will be spent, so what? WOW!!!! We won't be accountable if it is spent wrong??? So what??? What of oversight responsibility: <BR> <BR>Earmark-Free Stimulus Bill Lacks Spending Direction <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100304449" target=_top>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=100304449</a> <BR> <BR><blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>... <BR> <BR>U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, helped write the bill and says he doesn't like being asked about earmarks. <BR> <BR>"We simply made a decision, which took about three seconds, not to have earmarks in the bill," he says. "And with all due respect, that's the least important question facing us on putting together this package." <BR> <BR>Leaving out the earmarks does mean Congress will have less control over how the money is spent. But, Obey says, "So what? This is an emergency. We've got to simply find a way to get this done as fast as possible and as well as possible, and that's what we're doing." <BR> <BR>That doesn't mean Congress will be responsible if the money is spent badly, he says. <BR> <BR>"The person who spends the money badly will be responsible. We are simply trying to build as many protections in as possible," Obey says. "We have more oversight built into this package than any package in the history of man. If money is spent badly, we want to know about it so we can hold accountable the people who made that choice. And guess what? Regardless of what we do, there will be some stupid decisions made." <BR> <BR>How To Avoid Disappointment? <BR> <BR>As it stands now, says David Walker, a former U.S. comptroller general, the bill appears to have no mechanism for directing spending. It's left up to those state and local officials, who may or may not have the ideas or the means to spend it appropriately. And that will lead to "a series of disappointments that it's too late to do anything about," Walker says. <BR> <BR>The bill does make it possible for lawmakers and the public to track the money — but only after it's spent. And that, he says, will lead to bad surprises. <BR> <BR>Take, for example, the giant bank bailout known as TARP. That spending has gone all wrong, Walker says. Though the inspector general and the Government Accountability Office are keeping track of the billions spent there, "they're basically reporting on what didn't happen," he says. <BR> <BR>"Well, it's a little bit late," he says. "And so the question is, what are you going to do on a prospective basis? I mean, you can't change history. What are you going to do on a prospective basis to minimize the possibility of being disappointed again?" <BR> <BR><!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>
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Obama ratchets up the rhetoric on stimulus plan <BR> <BR><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-ratchets-up-the-apf-14284923.html" target=_top>http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-ratchets-up-th e-apf-14284923.html</a> <BR> <BR>You've got the votes, quit your whining and "own it" is what I would say to Obama. Not much analysis, though, the cost per job saved or created is something like 300,000 plus dollars per job, WOW.
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each of us owes over 35,000$...our part of the US debt... <BR> <BR>how do you propose to pay up? <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/" target=_top>http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/</a>
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
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If you factor in the entitlements we owe about $200,000 each. Every baby and every 100 year old person. <BR> <BR>We have been discussing moving to New Zealand. The 4 of us would be rid of $800,000 of debt.
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Acting Freddie Mac CFO found dead <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.wtopnews.com/?sid=1657033&nid=25" target=_top>http://www.wtopnews.com/?sid=1657033&nid=25</a> <BR> <BR>Stimulus Package didn't help this guy who saw the hopelessness of what the people like Pelosi, Reid and others created on their watch over the last two years and back into Clinton's error. As I remember Bush with a W, early in his first term wanted increased regulating on the company this guy was running, eh????
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<font color="0000ff">Stimulus Package didn't help this guy who saw the hopelessness of what the people like Pelosi, Reid and others created on their watch over the last two years and back into Clinton's error.</font> <BR> <BR>Are you just making up stupid, disrespectful speculations or have they released a suicide note?
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What do you think this CFO knew to off himself by hanging. Sheeeeeeesh!!! You need a suicide note when it's called in over the phone, OMG, Neal. You make up more about the Pastagarians and Zostarians. You need a picture painted??? You expect us to swallow an aweful lot on your say so, no notes, no sources. Sheeeeeeeeeesh!!!!!
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<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>There was no indication what drove 41-year-old Kellermann, who was married and had a young daughter, to kill himself.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE53L2IB20090422" target=_top>http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE53L2 IB20090422</a> <BR> <BR> <BR>I had a good friend that killed himself on his 40th birthday. He was regional director of a national financial services company. Lived in a big home that he had recently built. Had a wife and two children, one of which was in my son's class at school. The financial services firm HAD been having some problems. <BR> <BR>There was a lot of Bob-type speculation about why he had committed suicide. Turns out the REAL reason was some morbid event in his past that had nothing whatsoever to do with his job. Seems that his father had also committed suicide on HIS 40th birthday. <BR> <BR>Your jumping to conclusions is similar to the genocidal maniacs of the Bible. They see water run off of a flat table, but accumulate in a depression on the ground. They speculate that the earth is flat with a ring of mountains around the edge holding up the dome which in turn supports the obvious ocean in the sky. I mean, after all, rain comes from the sky, the sky is blue, must be an ocean of water right? <BR> <BR>Better to wait for the facts instead of listening to meaningless assertions made up by somebody that is completely clueless to the reality of the event or object.
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The piece speaks for itself. I don't believe the earth is built that way, and bringing it up so often it must really bother you that people in that day believe that was how it was. SO WHAT!!! You want Moses to next talk about Quantum Physics? What's with you Pastafarians, your minds get locked up or stuck on the Pasta all around you. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by Bob_2 on April 23, 2009)
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I will say this, probably someone you don't care for, Michael Savage, debated on his show tonight whether it was a suicide or a homicide. Having a security guard outside his house for a few days before his death, raises some eyebrows, and the fact that there was no note, made Savage, very suspicious, when a guy had everything going for him. But he argued both sides, because to Savage, he could see both sides, because to him the story is strange, and I admit that. But from my stand point the paper article speaks for itself. Until proven otherwise, by a detective, the article is what it is, and the locals, right now are considering it a suicide, for whatever reason.
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<font color="0000ff">the locals, right now are considering it a suicide</font> <BR> <BR>The problem was your jumping to conclusions about the reason for the suicide, i.e., he was troubled by what he knew about Freddie Mac blah blah blah. <BR> <BR>Uncalled for and completely speculative.
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<font color="0000ff">probably someone you don't care for, Michael Savage</font> <BR> <BR>I have read <i><b>The Enemy Within</b>: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Churches, Schools, and Military</i>. Have you read any of his books or do you just listen to his show? <BR> <BR>I thought so. Right, you don't read books. <BR> <BR>I think he's an over the top jew that needs to pipe down a bit but he has a lot of good points. Bob, I was a card-carrying member of the GOP for 30 years. I have abandoned them because they are now reduced to being a religious party as McCain's Campaign Manager said last week. <BR> <BR>Its being run by wackjobs with Confederate Flags on the jackets, a Bible in one hand and a rifle in the other. <BR> <BR>They are not even in the conversation right now except among themselves which is a small minority of less than 30% of the US population. <BR> <BR>You are DREAMING about being counted among them but you need to go get your citizenship first.
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Neal, my position on the death of this guy, is about as accurate as your speculation using your friend's death, which are totally unrelated other than they are two suicides. Now after all the ridicule you are the compassionate one. Yeah, that's believable.
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BTW, I have seen more consistently cruel statement exit your keyboard here than anything close to what you are jibing me about above. Like your last post, may be true, compassionate????
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<font color="0000ff">Now after all the ridicule you are the compassionate one.</font> <BR> <BR>It has nothing to do with compassion. <BR> <BR>It has everything to do with making wild speculations without any evidence.
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Check out USA Today on the story today. What do they say the police are calling it <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-04-23-freddie-mac-cfo-autopsy_N.htm" target=_top>http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009 -04-23-freddie-mac-cfo-autopsy_N.htm</a> <BR> <BR>AP: Freddie Mac CFO told to take time off; autopsy suggests suicide <BR> <BR><blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>Kellermann worked for the company for 16 years and was promoted last September when the government seized the mortgage company and ousted its top two executives. He oversaw a staff of about 500 at Freddie Mac's McLean, Va., headquarters and was working on the company's first-quarter financial report, due by the end of May. <BR> <BR>Co-workers were not the only ones who had noticed the strain placed on Kellermann by his job duties. Several neighbors said Kellermann had lost weight in recent months, and some had even advised him to quit, but Kellermann responded that he wanted to help the company through its difficulties. <BR> <BR><!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR> <BR>Wild speculations??? <BR> <BR> <BR>We report you decide as Fox News says.
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<font color="0000ff">Wild speculations??? </font> <BR> <BR>We'll see in a year or two when all the investigative reporters are done. <BR> <BR>I have many sources of info which are outside the mainstream public press. They are telling me its about a 60% probability he was murdered. I'll wait for the conclusion, not jump on the obvious.
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From the police spokeswoman: <BR> <BR>There were other people in the house. <BR> <BR>There was a gun. <BR> <BR>There was a gunshot wound.<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>Reston, VA (AHN) - Police are not speculating on the cause of death of Freddie Mac's acting head, David Kellermann, at this point and will leave it up to the medical examiner, Fairfax County Police Public Information Officer Lucy Caldwell told AHN Media. <BR> <BR>Kellermann, 41, was found by Fairfax County Police after being called to his home in Hunter Mill estates in the Reston, VA area Wednesday morning. <BR> <BR>However, there were "no signs of foul play. It's under investigation. Police were called at 4:49 a.m.," Fairfax County Police Public Information Officer Lucy Caldwell told AHN Media in a telephone interview. <BR> <BR>Asked if the death was a suicide, Caldwell said they were leaving that determination up to the county medical examiner. She wasn't sure if the body had been removed yet or not when AHN spoke to her at 8:30 a.m. <BR> <BR>"We were just called to respond to an unattended death and it's under investigation," Caldwell said. <BR> <BR>Although Caldwell told AHN that police have not yet released the identity of the person who called them, <font color="ff0000"><font size="+1">she did confirm to AHN that there were other people present in the house at the time of the death and that there <b>was a gun and a gunshot wound</b></font></font>.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR><a href="http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7014883629" target=_top>http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7014883629</a> <BR> <BR>As my sources were telling me....
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Hanging is an aweful way to go, he could have shot himeself, also. For them to say they saw no form of foul play, means that the gun very well could have been used by the guy as part of his hanging so he wouldn't suffer or fail in his attempt. But you like to take your one source and ignore others. So be it. <BR> <BR>60 % chance of murder and the police have been speculating suicide, come on Neal. You are more cynical about the Bible on less info than that. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh!!!
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What are your slime pond tender friends saying or got that the rest of don't have?
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<font color="0000ff">What are your slime pond tender friends saying or got that the rest of don't have?</font> <BR> <BR>I've already given you as big a hint as I am going to.
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Then TTTHTFAL.
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