There are a number of things going on, but they are all about skimming money. On the refined products the refineries are manipulating gasoline prices with tons of excuses. At he same time the crude oil prices are also being manipulated. Not so very long ago (1990's) the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) highly regulated the trading of commodity futures by limiting those who could trade in the market to either producers or users of the commodities they were buying and selling together with a small number of speculators who were capable of taking heavy losses. The reason that any speculators were allowed in the market was to provide additional liquidity. Today, nearly anyone who has adequate financing can buy and sell commodities. What we have now in commodity trading is increased volatility. The increased volatility is exactly the opposite of what the commodity exchanges were originally set up to do which was to add stability to the market so that both buyers and sellers would be able to run their business in a less risky environment. In today's world the name of the game is to make money for the speculators by churning the market with high volatility at the expense of buyers and sellers who actually produce and use the products. Part of the Wall Street gambling casino. That is one of the main reasons that we are seeing continuous daily fluctuations in the price of gasoline and airline tickets and even airline bankruptcies. All part of deregulation.
Ms. Marsh, being in my seventies I can understand you feelings. If there is one thing that us humans can count on it's change. Whatever you think of the social changes occurring in the world, you and I are not going to stop it from happening. What upsets me most is that you are passing your hatred onto your children. They will have to live in a world quite different from what we remember. Help them to see the good in people. Teach them tolerance and love. Make it easier for them to accept the inevitable. It's estimated that 10-15% of humans are homosexual. That fact alone should tell you something. Scientists are discovering that homosexuality among animals in the wild probably are around the same percentage. If you have access to Dish Network I would suggest that you watch Gay USA with Andy Hum and Ann Northrup. Here you will learn that homosexuality is not all about sex, but rather about people like you and me who only want to live a loving life with their families. Help your children to accept others for who they are and not who you think they should be.
Not so fast. Marriage rights are protected by the Constitution in the "equal protection" clause.
Just as the state laws banning interracial marriage were struck down by the US Supreme Court, so will DOMA and all of the state laws banning same-sex marriage.
While states may pass laws regarding marriage there are limitations. They cannot be discriminatory and they may not apply to couples residing in state who were legally married in another state.
It seems states that ban same-sex marriage are violating both constitutional limits since they are discriminatory and do not recognize other states marriage laws.
Sometimes I think that if we had judicial review we could reduce a lot of this nonsense and stop governments at all levels from enforcing unconstitutional laws.
In Canada, for example, their Supreme Court ruled laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional and also ruled all laws restricting abortions as unconstitutional. Early judicial review would put an end to our constant bickering. In Canada same-sex marriage and abortion are settled law and are dead issues politically. Even the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada are resigned to the settled law of the land.
Rather than making any personal remarks about Mr. Andrew Morriss I point you to his writings on other subjects at http://perc.org/articles/author/4064 . His articles at PERC The Property and Environment Research Center will tell you more about the professor than anything I can say.
In all due respect, you have failed to show how a proposed Financial Transaction Tax of .07% on financial transactions would affect investors. That's a multiplier of .0007 x the amount of the transaction. If a retire bought and resold his entire retirement portfolio of let's say $1 million that would be $1 million x .0007 for the sale and another $1 million x .0007 for re-buying their position for a total of $1400.
The real effect of this tax would be on speculators skimming millions of dollars in commodity trading. It would have the effect of reducing the speculation and actually reduce the cost of commodities.
Real investors who actually hold equities for long term would pay very little more.
Volatility in the market would be reduced as well. It is a win win proposal.
38 countries are already using this tax system including the major financial centers with no ill effects.
What I have noticed is a wild reaction to the tax by right-wing think tanks making the same ridiculous accusation as you are. Most well known economists are in favor of the tax.
I have yet to find any of the opponents of the tax showing the math.
Young people have always done stupid things and probably always will no mater what parents do. There are many parents with more than one child who have both "perfect" children and delinquents as well. Young parents always seem to think that they are in control. When you get to my age you realize that this is just naive.
Oh my! It appears from this article that Iraq history begins from the point at which the person arrived there. Iraq is one of the oldest areas of civilization in the world. It has a long history.
After WW I, the British divided up the area into a number of "countries" whose borders were determined in an effort to divide and conquer.
Iraq was created by the British. The borders with surrounding countries were drawn to divide the Curds placing them in three different nations: Iraq, Turkey and Iran. The Curds sided with Iran during the Iran/Iraq war. When Iraq defended itself against Iran and the Curds the US was supporting Iraq and Saddam Hussein. By 2003, the US revised history and accused Saddam of killing his own people (the Curds) during the war with Iran.
Saddam Hussein enjoyed US support. Strangely, it was not until Iraq started selling its publicly owned oil in Euros rather than Dollars that he became such a bad man in US eyes. Saddam ruled with a heavy hand to make Iraq a secular state. Our own experience in Iraq should be a lesson on how difficult it is to maintain peace in a country of radical religious forces. The idea that Saddam supported Al-Qaeda, a militant religious force, is ridiculous.
In effect what we accomplished was the destruction of one of the most progressive Islamic states in the Middle East and one with the most freedom for women.
We have strengthened the power of repressive states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Dear NilesOhio. Please name just one single event when any god has intervened in any human event. Just one! It's never happened. With such a nonexistent record, how long must we follow various mythologies? It would seem that taking responsibility for our actions would be more productive. If we continue to believe in a better life after this one, we will not have our hearts in making life here and now better.
Our duty is to make this a better place for the poorest among us. This was the teaching of Christ, Gandhi, King and others. Suggested reading: A Theory of Justice by John Rawls.
What rubbish. Using human tragedy to sell seats in his church is shameful.
In case no one has noticed, people of faith as well as nonbelievers have been dying in auto accidents since its invention. A just god who is all powerful who intentionally would allow or cause such tragedy is not one that I would want to associate with.
I have read the posts here and I am amazed at the numbers of people that are blaming working people just like themselves when they should be blaming those who purposely are wrecking our economy. Wall Street banksters have robbed and are continuing to rob our country.
The $700 billion bailout was just the beginning. Some of the top firms have been given a slush fund by the Feds of another $200 billion. This is in addition to $20 trillion set aside in U.S. government-backed securities in case the banks lose again at their casinos. At the same time they are borrowing at the Fed's discount window at near zero percent interest. They are using this money to bid up the price of commodities just like they did in 2008. The poor and middle-class are bearing the extra cost of food and gasoline. Economists tell me that their speculation is adding at leaste 60% to the cost of commodities.
Then they have the nerve to lobby Congress to prevent the general economy to be helped. No money to provide jobs. No money for Social Security. No money for healthcare. It's all about the national deficit that they helped create.
There will always be a high national deficit when there is high unemployment and a weak economy. The only way to get the deficit down is to spend massive amounts of federal investment in infrastructure to create jobs. Cutting spending will only increase the deficit. The math is quite clear. This is not like your family budget.. this is macroeconomics 101.
Look at Europe. The countries with the highest GDP are the ones who have spent the most to recover. They are now benefiting. The countries that actually reduced spending are suffering the greatest losses.
The ups and downs of gas prices
There are a number of things going on, but they are all about skimming money. On the refined products the refineries are manipulating gasoline prices with tons of excuses. At he same time the crude oil prices are also being manipulated. Not so very long ago (1990's) the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) highly regulated the trading of commodity futures by limiting those who could trade in the market to either producers or users of the commodities they were buying and selling together with a small number of speculators who were capable of taking heavy losses. The reason that any speculators were allowed in the market was to provide additional liquidity. Today, nearly anyone who has adequate financing can buy and sell commodities. What we have now in commodity trading is increased volatility. The increased volatility is exactly the opposite of what the commodity exchanges were originally set up to do which was to add stability to the market so that both buyers and sellers would be able to run their business in a less risky environment. In today's world the name of the game is to make money for the speculators by churning the market with high volatility at the expense of buyers and sellers who actually produce and use the products. Part of the Wall Street gambling casino. That is one of the main reasons that we are seeing continuous daily fluctuations in the price of gasoline and airline tickets and even airline bankruptcies. All part of deregulation.
May 3, 2013 at 2:18 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Parade sends mixed message
Ms. Marsh, being in my seventies I can understand you feelings. If there is one thing that us humans can count on it's change. Whatever you think of the social changes occurring in the world, you and I are not going to stop it from happening. What upsets me most is that you are passing your hatred onto your children. They will have to live in a world quite different from what we remember. Help them to see the good in people. Teach them tolerance and love. Make it easier for them to accept the inevitable. It's estimated that 10-15% of humans are homosexual. That fact alone should tell you something. Scientists are discovering that homosexuality among animals in the wild probably are around the same percentage. If you have access to Dish Network I would suggest that you watch Gay USA with Andy Hum and Ann Northrup. Here you will learn that homosexuality is not all about sex, but rather about people like you and me who only want to live a loving life with their families. Help your children to accept others for who they are and not who you think they should be.
March 21, 2013 at 4:51 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Congress has no role in marriage
Not so fast. Marriage rights are protected by the Constitution in the "equal protection" clause.
Just as the state laws banning interracial marriage were struck down by the US Supreme Court, so will DOMA and all of the state laws banning same-sex marriage.
While states may pass laws regarding marriage there are limitations. They cannot be discriminatory and they may not apply to couples residing in state who were legally married in another state.
It seems states that ban same-sex marriage are violating both constitutional limits since they are discriminatory and do not recognize other states marriage laws.
Sometimes I think that if we had judicial review we could reduce a lot of this nonsense and stop governments at all levels from enforcing unconstitutional laws.
In Canada, for example, their Supreme Court ruled laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional and also ruled all laws restricting abortions as unconstitutional. Early judicial review would put an end to our constant bickering. In Canada same-sex marriage and abortion are settled law and are dead issues politically. Even the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada are resigned to the settled law of the land.
March 21, 2013 at 4:03 a.m. permalink suggest removal
New tax will hurt retirees
Rather than making any personal remarks about Mr. Andrew Morriss I point you to his writings on other subjects at http://perc.org/articles/author/4064 . His articles at PERC The Property and Environment Research Center will tell you more about the professor than anything I can say.
March 19, 2013 at 6:01 p.m. permalink suggest removal
New tax will hurt retirees
In all due respect, you have failed to show how a proposed Financial Transaction Tax of .07% on financial transactions would affect investors. That's a multiplier of .0007 x the amount of the transaction. If a retire bought and resold his entire retirement portfolio of let's say $1 million that would be $1 million x .0007 for the sale and another $1 million x .0007 for re-buying their position for a total of $1400.
The real effect of this tax would be on speculators skimming millions of dollars in commodity trading. It would have the effect of reducing the speculation and actually reduce the cost of commodities.
Real investors who actually hold equities for long term would pay very little more.
Volatility in the market would be reduced as well. It is a win win proposal.
38 countries are already using this tax system including the major financial centers with no ill effects.
What I have noticed is a wild reaction to the tax by right-wing think tanks making the same ridiculous accusation as you are. Most well known economists are in favor of the tax.
I have yet to find any of the opponents of the tax showing the math.
March 19, 2013 at 5:42 p.m. permalink suggest removal
Pastor: Death of 6 teens is ‘love wake up call’ from God
Young people have always done stupid things and probably always will no mater what parents do. There are many parents with more than one child who have both "perfect" children and delinquents as well. Young parents always seem to think that they are in control. When you get to my age you realize that this is just naive.
March 19, 2013 at 3:52 p.m. permalink suggest removal
Time will tell if Iraqi people pick up the freedom ball
Oh my! It appears from this article that Iraq history begins from the point at which the person arrived there. Iraq is one of the oldest areas of civilization in the world. It has a long history.
After WW I, the British divided up the area into a number of "countries" whose borders were determined in an effort to divide and conquer.
Iraq was created by the British. The borders with surrounding countries were drawn to divide the Curds placing them in three different nations: Iraq, Turkey and Iran. The Curds sided with Iran during the Iran/Iraq war. When Iraq defended itself against Iran and the Curds the US was supporting Iraq and Saddam Hussein. By 2003, the US revised history and accused Saddam of killing his own people (the Curds) during the war with Iran.
Saddam Hussein enjoyed US support. Strangely, it was not until Iraq started selling its publicly owned oil in Euros rather than Dollars that he became such a bad man in US eyes. Saddam ruled with a heavy hand to make Iraq a secular state. Our own experience in Iraq should be a lesson on how difficult it is to maintain peace in a country of radical religious forces. The idea that Saddam supported Al-Qaeda, a militant religious force, is ridiculous.
In effect what we accomplished was the destruction of one of the most progressive Islamic states in the Middle East and one with the most freedom for women.
We have strengthened the power of repressive states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
March 19, 2013 at 12:03 p.m. permalink suggest removal
Pastor: Death of 6 teens is ‘love wake up call’ from God
Dear NilesOhio. Please name just one single event when any god has intervened in any human event. Just one! It's never happened. With such a nonexistent record, how long must we follow various mythologies? It would seem that taking responsibility for our actions would be more productive. If we continue to believe in a better life after this one, we will not have our hearts in making life here and now better.
Our duty is to make this a better place for the poorest among us. This was the teaching of Christ, Gandhi, King and others. Suggested reading: A Theory of Justice by John Rawls.
March 19, 2013 at 10:46 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Pastor: Death of 6 teens is ‘love wake up call’ from God
What rubbish. Using human tragedy to sell seats in his church is shameful.
In case no one has noticed, people of faith as well as nonbelievers have been dying in auto accidents since its invention. A just god who is all powerful who intentionally would allow or cause such tragedy is not one that I would want to associate with.
March 19, 2013 at 9:15 a.m. permalink suggest removal
In defense of teachers
I have read the posts here and I am amazed at the numbers of people that are blaming working people just like themselves when they should be blaming those who purposely are wrecking our economy. Wall Street banksters have robbed and are continuing to rob our country.
The $700 billion bailout was just the beginning. Some of the top firms have been given a slush fund by the Feds of another $200 billion. This is in addition to $20 trillion set aside in U.S. government-backed securities in case the banks lose again at their casinos. At the same time they are borrowing at the Fed's discount window at near zero percent interest. They are using this money to bid up the price of commodities just like they did in 2008. The poor and middle-class are bearing the extra cost of food and gasoline. Economists tell me that their speculation is adding at leaste 60% to the cost of commodities.
Then they have the nerve to lobby Congress to prevent the general economy to be helped. No money to provide jobs. No money for Social Security. No money for healthcare. It's all about the national deficit that they helped create.
There will always be a high national deficit when there is high unemployment and a weak economy. The only way to get the deficit down is to spend massive amounts of federal investment in infrastructure to create jobs. Cutting spending will only increase the deficit. The math is quite clear. This is not like your family budget.. this is macroeconomics 101.
Look at Europe. The countries with the highest GDP are the ones who have spent the most to recover. They are now benefiting. The countries that actually reduced spending are suffering the greatest losses.
May 27, 2011 at 1:45 a.m. permalink suggest removal