I'm posting this article from the U.S. News Weekly because I think as many folks as possible should read and know what the National Rifle Association is up to regarding the 2012 presidential election. They certainly have a right to their opinion but so do the rest of us! AlG
U.S.NEWS WEEKLY | June 24, 2011
Washington Whispers
By Paul Bedard
NRA Boss: Obama’s Gone
(The gun lobby plans to go after President Obama like it did in helping defeat then Vice President Al Gore)
The National Rifle Association has a rich history that goes back to shortly after the Civil War, when in 1871 Union veterans created it to train city-slicker troops who couldn’t hit the side of a barn with their musket shots. But as the 4 million-strong group readies its fight to oust President Obama in 2012, it has to go back only 11 years for a battle plan. That’s when the Second Amendment advocates mounted their biggest political effort ever to defeat then Vice President Al Gore by targeting key pro-gun Democratic states he needed to beat George W. Bush, like Arkansas.
“We actually knocked out a presidential candidate,” says new NRA President David Keene. He tells Whispers that 2012 might be an even more critical year for the NRA. That’s because the president, if re-elected, might have a chance to appoint more left-leaning Supreme Court justices who could undo Second Amendment protections and allow more gun control. “Our major goal is to defeat Obama because if he’s reelected, he’s going to attempt to change the Supreme Court. All he needs is one vote and he will rewrite the Second Amendment,” says Keene. “The threat,” he says, “in many ways is more severe than in 2000.” One reason: Obama, who slapped gun owners in his campaign, has gone quiet on gun issues as president, making it harder to rally NRA members. That was until gun foe Sarah Brady revealed in April that Obama told her he was working on the issue “under the radar.”
Keene reveals that the NRA plans to mobilize its troops with the hopes of taking away three to five states Obama won in 2008. Keene and Wayne LaPierre, the gun group’s executive vice president, plan a massive education campaign that he says will warn members about an Obama second term. He also says the NRA is seeking to register the up to 25 million gun owners not signed up to vote. He figures getting 5 million to 10 million to the polls would change the election’s outcome. “We know how they’ll vote,” he says. Keene also wants to add more women and younger shooters to the roster and to corral traditionally conservative home-school families. “I’m trying to make sure that there will be just as many people involved in the shooting sports next generation as this,” he says.
Formerly head of the American Conservative Union, Keene says he timed his NRA presidency to coincide with Obama’s re-election. He credits LaPierre for getting him involved, especially now to help with election messaging. “This is a moment of extreme danger,” he says. But, the longtime hunter adds, it’s still a fun job. “I love it.”
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Is ‘Made in America’ Making a Comeback? The global economic climate might be ripe for a manufacturing renaissance.
The United States is enjoying a resurgence in manufacturing not seen since the 1970s, when the country shifted to a primarily service-based economy. Strong growth in machinery exports and auto sales are leading the rally in the chronically weak manufacturing sector, a trend President Obama said must continue in order to buoy the country’s depressed job market and lackluster economic expansion.
The president has crafted an ambitious plan to double exports over the next five years to jump-start the economy and energize job growth. “We are in a tough fight to get past the crippling recession,” Obama told Northern Virginia Community College students last week. “Before this recession, manufacturing had weakened. The answer is not to turn back. That’s how we’re going to win the fight.”
Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show durable-goods manufacturing—which includes products such as automobiles and heavy-construction machinery—led the economic recovery in seven of the eight regions BEA tracks, with significant gains in Indiana, Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.
Experts say a multitude of interrelated factors point to a longer-term “renaissance” in manufacturing — primarily increasing demand in rapidly growing emerging economies such as China and Brazil. “If you look at the industries that have been growing—machinery, for instance—they’re taking advantage of opportunities overseas,” says Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers. “They see Brazil, China, India as major areas [in which] to grow.”
Multinational manufacturing companies based in the United States, such as Boeing and Caterpillar, have already seen the benefits of an uptick in demand abroad. Primarily thanks to increased demand and higher prices for commodities, Caterpillar’s exports surged to $13.4 billion in 2010, a 30 percent jump from the previous year. The company, which specializes in mining and construction equipment, also recorded its all-time best profits in the first quarter of 2011. “If the price of copper is above a certain threshold, those mining companies that are in the copper business are more likely to invest in increasing capacity to mine more, [which] creates demand for our products,” says Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan.
The rising middle class in developing nations also feeds into the relatively positive outlook for manufacturing. Aside from greater demand for the raw materials and components needed to produce consumer products like microwaves and cellphones, increased investment in roads and housing benefits companies like Caterpillar. “A big part of it is the commodity demand, but as this mass urbanization takes place and these developing countries see a rising tide in the standard of living, there’s also more investment in infrastructure and construction work,” Dugan says.
After decades of lagging the global manufacturing industry, the domestic sector will continue to bounce back, experts say, mainly because global economic shifts have increased the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. Two decades of tough competition from export-based economies like China has forced domestic manufacturers to cut costs and improve productivity. These adaptations have allowed companies to cull more “profit per job,” effectively easing cost pressures.
A weaker U.S. dollar has also helped the manufacturing renaissance gain traction. A stronger currency generally makes U.S. exports more expensive abroad, which has historically crippled demand for American products. But that trend has reversed as the dollar has fallen against other major currencies.
The changing fortune of the industry will likely be gradual. For those keeping close tabs on sagging
employment numbers and weakening GDP gains, the outlook for manufacturing might be an unexpected source of salvation for the U.S. economy in the coming years.
By Meg Handley
Meg Handley is a reporter at U.S. News & World Report. Contact: http://www.usnews.com/
The president has crafted an ambitious plan to double exports over the next five years to jump-start the economy and energize job growth. “We are in a tough fight to get past the crippling recession,” Obama told Northern Virginia Community College students last week. “Before this recession, manufacturing had weakened. The answer is not to turn back. That’s how we’re going to win the fight.”
Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show durable-goods manufacturing—which includes products such as automobiles and heavy-construction machinery—led the economic recovery in seven of the eight regions BEA tracks, with significant gains in Indiana, Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.
Experts say a multitude of interrelated factors point to a longer-term “renaissance” in manufacturing — primarily increasing demand in rapidly growing emerging economies such as China and Brazil. “If you look at the industries that have been growing—machinery, for instance—they’re taking advantage of opportunities overseas,” says Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers. “They see Brazil, China, India as major areas [in which] to grow.”
Multinational manufacturing companies based in the United States, such as Boeing and Caterpillar, have already seen the benefits of an uptick in demand abroad. Primarily thanks to increased demand and higher prices for commodities, Caterpillar’s exports surged to $13.4 billion in 2010, a 30 percent jump from the previous year. The company, which specializes in mining and construction equipment, also recorded its all-time best profits in the first quarter of 2011. “If the price of copper is above a certain threshold, those mining companies that are in the copper business are more likely to invest in increasing capacity to mine more, [which] creates demand for our products,” says Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan.
The rising middle class in developing nations also feeds into the relatively positive outlook for manufacturing. Aside from greater demand for the raw materials and components needed to produce consumer products like microwaves and cellphones, increased investment in roads and housing benefits companies like Caterpillar. “A big part of it is the commodity demand, but as this mass urbanization takes place and these developing countries see a rising tide in the standard of living, there’s also more investment in infrastructure and construction work,” Dugan says.
After decades of lagging the global manufacturing industry, the domestic sector will continue to bounce back, experts say, mainly because global economic shifts have increased the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. Two decades of tough competition from export-based economies like China has forced domestic manufacturers to cut costs and improve productivity. These adaptations have allowed companies to cull more “profit per job,” effectively easing cost pressures.
A weaker U.S. dollar has also helped the manufacturing renaissance gain traction. A stronger currency generally makes U.S. exports more expensive abroad, which has historically crippled demand for American products. But that trend has reversed as the dollar has fallen against other major currencies.
The changing fortune of the industry will likely be gradual. For those keeping close tabs on sagging
employment numbers and weakening GDP gains, the outlook for manufacturing might be an unexpected source of salvation for the U.S. economy in the coming years.
By Meg Handley
Meg Handley is a reporter at U.S. News & World Report. Contact: http://www.usnews.com/
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
The current state of MEDICINE in the world and US
Vaccine deal could save lives of 4 million children
For the first time ever in many of the world's poorest countries, the rotavirus vaccine, among others, will be made available to children under an agreement between several drug companies and the GAVI alliance -- which over the next five years aims to vaccinate 50 million children, potentially saving up to 4 million lives. "This tremendous milestone means that we'll be able to save the lives of millions of children regardless of how poor they are," writes Melinda Gates, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a GAVI partner. The Huffington Post (6/6)
Tweak to malaria vaccine could boost effectiveness
New cancer treatments are unaffordable for many in U.S.
Cancer patients in the U.S. increasingly are unable to afford new advances in treatment, and are even abandoning medical care altogether as costs continue to spiral over the country's second-leading cause of death. "We're thrilled with what we consider to be breakthroughs and wonderful new therapies ... yet the barriers for some patients to get them is insurmountable. It is an indictment of how we take care of patients in the United States," says a pediatric oncologist. AlertNet/Reuters (6/6)
Monday, June 06, 2011
TAXES
You'd have to be a moron to suggest that people want to pay taxes - and that is what many politicians count on - "No new taxes!" I say "HOGWASH!"
We do have to pay for the services all of our various governments provide including our roads, highways, bridges, etc.; our safety, including police and military, our health such as the FDA, Medicare, Medicade, NIH, etc. It is government which provides our law and order, protects and/or provides for out disaster care, fights our wildfires, mitigates flooding and tornado disasters to say nothing of hurricanes. It is the government who provides the energy we need for our standard of living through its grid policies, pipeline permissions, mining controls (and safety) - and on, and on and on!
As a matter of fact, private industry is HIRED by the government to provide those services which would never EVER be provided by private industry on its own - simply because very little that government does for the people is profitable without being subsidized by government! Private industry operates exclusively on the profit principle -- if it isn't profitable it isn't worth doing!
And what is the government? The government is you and I. We do have to pay our way in this life.
We do have to pay for the services all of our various governments provide including our roads, highways, bridges, etc.; our safety, including police and military, our health such as the FDA, Medicare, Medicade, NIH, etc. It is government which provides our law and order, protects and/or provides for out disaster care, fights our wildfires, mitigates flooding and tornado disasters to say nothing of hurricanes. It is the government who provides the energy we need for our standard of living through its grid policies, pipeline permissions, mining controls (and safety) - and on, and on and on!
As a matter of fact, private industry is HIRED by the government to provide those services which would never EVER be provided by private industry on its own - simply because very little that government does for the people is profitable without being subsidized by government! Private industry operates exclusively on the profit principle -- if it isn't profitable it isn't worth doing!
And what is the government? The government is you and I. We do have to pay our way in this life.
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