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Get-Out-The-Vote

10/18/2010 Nativegrl77

A few hundred votes…

That’s what will separate the winner from the loser in dozens of House races on Election Day.

It’s pretty simple: Whichever party can stay on the air with hard hitting ads and has the superior ground game to get their voters to the polls is the party that will win. And, we need to make sure it’s us.

My friends at the DCCC have the most sophisticated turnout models and Get-Out-The-Vote operation I’ve ever seen. And, the plans for their air campaign are second to none. But in order to execute this plan, they’ve got to hit this $300,000 goal by tomorrow night’s Two Weeks Out deadline.

Contribute $5, $10 or more before Midnight Tomorrow. This deadline is so important that a group of committed Democrats will match every dollar you give with one of their own.

I’m looking at the polls every day. And Democratic strategists are literally making decisions where to spend money on an hourly basis. The margin of victory in many races is going to be minuscule, just like in 2008, when Democrats won 16 races by 5% of the vote or less — including one by 727 votes.

There’s a real danger the massive amount of corporate money pouring into the elections in these last weeks can tip some of these close races in favor of many of the 129 tea party wing nuts running in House races.

If they manage to get themselves elected, they’re going to try and take us back to the bad old days when Wall Street, Big Oil and Big Insurance companies were calling the shots in Congress.

Contribute $5, $10 or more before Midnight Tomorrow. This deadline is so important that a group of committed Democrats will match every dollar you give with one of their own.

In these final days, these shadowy Republican front groups are throwing everything they’ve got at our candidates. They’re literally trying to buy this election right out from under the American people.

Well, I’m not about to stand by and watch that happen. And, I need you to stand with me and rush your contribution to support our Democratic candidates right now. Contribute Now.

James Carville

P.S. I guarantee you every single vote is going to count in this election. Don’t risk waking up the day after the election with any regrets about not having done more. Help House Democrats turn out the vote. Contribute before Midnight Tomorrow. This deadline is so important that a group of committed Democrats will match every dollar you give with one of their own.

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Kilmeade addresses comments, claims he “misspoke”

10/18/2010 Nativegrl77

Kilmeade “misspoke” about “all terrorists” being “Muslims” — twice

http://mediamatters.org/research/201010180007

After repeatedly claiming that “[n]ot all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims,” Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade “clarif[ied]” his comment and claimed that he “misspoke.” In fact, Kilmeade not only made the claim at least twice in a single day, but he also questioned whether “moderate Muslims” need to prove “you’re not one of them,” which is in line with his history of bigoted and anti-Muslim statements.

Kilmeade repeatedly falsely claimed “all terrorists are Muslims”

Kilmeade: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” On the October 15 edition of Fox News‘ Fox & Friends, Kilmeade defended Bill O’Reilly’s comments on the October 14 edition of ABC’s The View by claiming the show’s hosts “were outraged that somebody was saying there’s a reason — there was a certain group of people that attacked us on 9-11. It wasn’t just one person. It was one religion. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.”

Later during his radio show, Kilmeade asserted that it’s a “fact” that “every terrorist is a Muslim.” On the October 15 edition of Fox News Radio’s Kilmeade & Friends, Kilmeade stated: “Not every Muslim is an extremist, a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. You can’t avoid that fact.” From Kilmeade & Friends:

KILMEADE: Muslim extremists, Al Qaeda, blew up those buildings — blew up the Khobar Towers, blew up the [U.S.S.] Cole, blew up the embassies, tried to blow up Times Square, tried to blow up the plane. The shoe bomber, the Times Square bomber, the underwear bomber — they have one thing in common. They are all extremists, and they are all Muslims.

Not every Muslim is an extremist, a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim. You can’t avoid that fact. And that is ridiculous that we got to keep defining this — the people that equate Timothy McVeigh with the Al Qaeda terrorist organization, which is growing and a threat that exists.

Kilmeade also asked if Americans “have a right to look at moderate Muslims and say, ‘Show me you’re not one of them.’ ” On the October 15 edition of Kilmeade & Friends, Kilmeade said: “From what we’ve seen from the Khobar Towers to the Cole bombing to the embassy bombings to the Times Square, the shoe bomber, do you think Americans have a right to look at moderate Muslims and say, ‘Show me you’re not one of them.’ ”

Fox News VP says Kilmeade would “clarify” his comments on Monday. On October 15, The Huffington Post reported that Bill Shine, Fox News’ senior vice president of programming, said that Kilmeade would “clarify” his comments on Monday. From The Huffington Post:

Fox News SVP of Programming Bill Shine says Kilmeade will address the comments on Monday.

“Brian was talking about the events on ‘The View’ yesterday and was referring to the radical extremists who killed Americans on 9/11,” Shine told the Huffington Post. “Obviously, not all terrorists are Muslim and Brian will clarify this point on television and radio on Monday.”

Kilmeade addresses comments, claims he “misspoke”

Kilmeade: “I’m sorry about that, if I offended … or hurt anybody’s feelings. But that’s it.” On the October 18 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade stated:

KILMEADE: Meanwhile, on the show on Friday, I was talking about Bill O’Reilly’s appearance on The View, and I said this: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” Well, I misspoke. I don’t believe all terrorists are Muslims. I’m sorry about that, if I offended or — offended or hurt anybody’s feelings. But that’s it. Now let’s go over to Stuart.

Kilmeade did not address the fact that he made the claim both on Fox & Friends and on his radio show, in which he stated it was simply a “fact” that “every terrorist is a Muslim.”

Kilmeade has a history of offensive and inflammatory comments regarding Islam and Muslims

Kilmeade: Muslims “have to understand” being profiled because of “the war that was declared on us.” On the November 10, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade told Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham: “You get a chance to talk to a lot of Islamic experts, Muslim experts, and people who understand the Quran, and I asked him one time, off camera, I said, ‘How do you feel about the extra scrutiny, clearly, you’re getting at the airports?’ And he said, ‘I’m all for it, because I want to get home to my family, too.’ And that’s really got to be the attitude. So, if you’re Islamic, or you’re Muslim and you’re in the military, you have to understand … and that’s just the fact right now in the war that was declared on us.”

Kilmeade asks if “it’s time for the military to have special debriefings” of Muslims, because “I’ve got to know the guy next to me is not going to want to kill me.” Following the shooting at Fort Hood, Kilmeade asked on the November 6, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends: “Do you think it’s time for the military to have special debriefings of Muslim Army civilians, officers, anybody enlisted, because if I’m going to be deployed in a foxhole, if I’m going to be sticking in an outpost, I’ve got to know the guy next to me is not going to want to kill me.” Guest host Peter Johnson Jr. asked Fox News legal analyst Geraldo Rivera, “You won’t countenance special screenings for Muslim officers, will you? … Will you countenance that?”

Kilmeade: “[I]f you’re a 20- to 30-year-old Islamic male, even if you have no evil intentions, expect to be delayed. We have to profile.” On the January 4, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said: “[N]inety percent of these terrorists are men, Islamic men, between 20 and 30. Why are we pretending that all of us should get equal training [sic]? Shouldn’t we just tell — if you’re a 20- to 30-year-old Islamic male, even if you have no evil intentions, expect to be delayed. We have to — we have to profile.”

Kilmeade reacts to Bloomberg’s Park51 support with anti-Muslim rant. On the August 25 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade played video of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s statement that “Islam did not attack the World Trade Center, Al Qaeda did. To implicate all of Islam for the actions of a few who twisted a great religion is unfair and un-American.” Kilmeade responded:

KILMEADE: That’s one way of looking at it, you could say just for a few. Those few have us bogged down really in two wars, one of which, I guess, is concluding. And then we have those few people in Yemen and those few people in Somalia and those few people that blew up in Madrid, and those few people that — those bus bombings in London. Besides those few, I don’t really see the problem.

Kilmeade asks if “Islamic community” is “gloating” by building Islamic community center near Ground Zero. On the May 26 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said: “Six-hundred feet from where World Tower One – World Trade Center One stood. Is this gloating on the part of the Islamic community?”

Kilmeade calls Islamic cultural center plans “an outrage” and accuses Muslims of “taunting” 9-11 victims. On the May 25 edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said, “Let’s talk about what’s happening downtown, because this is an outrage and it gets worse,” referencing Park51. Kilmeade later claimed: “This is taunting. This is an absolute insult, especially to those 9-11 families. … And now across the street you’re going to have an Islamic learning center? If at the very least, it shows a crassness and callousness to the U.S.”

Kilmeade was also forced to apologize following statement that Swedes have “pure genes” because they don’t marry “other ethnics”

Kilmeade: Americans don’t have “pure genes” like Swedes because “we keep marrying other species and other ethnics.” On the July 8, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, while discussing a study on the relationship between marriage an Alzheimer’s, Kilmeade opined that “we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and … the Swedes have pure genes, because they marry other Swedes. Because that’s the rule.”

Kilmeade later apologized for those comments. On the July 20, 2009, edition of Fox & Friends, Kilmeade apologized for his remarks, saying he had “made comments that were offensive to many people. That was not my intention, and looking back at those comments I realize they were inappropriate. For that I sincerely apologize.”

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• Bankrate.com -Debt merry-go-round & Shopping for a home equity loan

10/18/2010 Nativegrl77

Jumping off the debt merry-go-round

Dear Debt Adviser,

Jumping off the debt merry-go-round By Steve Bucci

I have around $15,000 in credit card debt from college. I’m approximately five to six years from my last use of these two cards, which have since been charged off. Assuming the seven-year point rolls around, what are my steps to ensuring these charges don’t follow me?

I understand the immorality of not paying a debt, but I haven’t been able to save enough to really make a substantial effort in paying it off. I fear I will get caught in a never-ending, $100-a-month payoff plan.

— Kyle

Dear Kyle,
It sounds like you need some help with your savings plan. My guess is that if you haven’t been able to save enough in five or six years to pay off your credit cards, then I’ll bet you haven’t been able to save very much at all. So, let me tackle your savings issue first, and then I’ll get to your very correct fear of a long-term, dysfunctional relationship with the collections process.

Saving money is not optional. If you want to be successful today, you can’t just save what’s left over at the end of each pay cycle. You need to have a plan to spend, a plan to save, and you need to do the saving before you spend. Low savings will force you to use credit, and in your case getting new credit may be problematic every time you hit a bump in life. A car accident, mechanical repair, illness, leaky pipe … you name it. Without savings, how do you handle it? Not well. Especially as you get older and accumulate more bumps in the road of life.

My suggestion is to immediately begin to put away a set amount each pay period based on a spending plan that includes savings. Every time you get a raise, promotion, tax refund or birthday gift of money, I want you to put half in the emergency savings fund and keep half for current expenses. Saving money that you don’t have yet is my favorite way of accumulating six months of expenses in an emergency account.

Now, on to your debt situation: The seven-year period you are referring to is the time frame for reporting your credit card accounts on your credit report. Negative information generally must be removed after seven years. But you still owe the money.

Collections businesses are big in the United States. There is a large and active market in uncollected debt that is sold and resold as the debt ages to increasingly aggressive buyers. So you can expect to hear from debt collectors for a very long time after the seven-year reporting period is over.

Another time frame you will want to be familiar with is the statute of limitations, or SOL, for collecting debt in your state. However, if your debt is beyond the SOL in your state, collectors can still call you and mail you in an attempt to collect what is owed. You can tell them you know about the statute in your state and you have no intention of paying. However, they can just resell your debt to the next collector.

As I see it, you have several choices. You can wait for the statute of limitations to run out and ignore the phone calls and collection attempts from the collectors, you can deal with the collectors on your own or through an attorney, you can file bankruptcy or you can work out a way to pay what you owe.

For complete closure on this part of your financial life, I suggest saving as much money as possible for the next six to 12 months and then contacting the creditors to explore a settlement for the amount you have saved. Be sure to get any settlement agreement in writing before you make a payment. Should you be contacted by collection companies regarding the accounts that were settled, you will need to simply forward them a copy of the settlement agreement. Whatever you do, start saving seriously and you won’t have to fear collectors ever again.

Get weekly advice on slashing debt and debt consolidation tips. Subscribe to Credit Card News.

Ask the adviser

To ask a question of the Debt Adviser, go to the “Ask the Experts” page, and select “Debt” as the topic. Read more Debt Adviser columns and more stories about debt management.

Bankrate’s content, including the guidance of its advice-and-expert columns and this website, is intended only to assist you with financial decisions. The content is broad in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Bankrate recommends that you seek the advice of advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before making any final decisions or implementing any financial strategy. Please remember that your use of this website is governed by Bankrate’s Terms of Use.

Tips on shopping for a home equity loan

By Donna Fuscaldo • Bankrate.com

Plummeting home values and tougher lending standards make getting a home equity loan tougher than in the past. But it isn’t a lost cause if you improve your credit score and shop around cautiously.

Qualifying for a home equity loan and getting the best rate depend on several factors, including your home’s current value and your credit score. The better your credit score, the better your chance of getting a home equity loan.

To improve your credit score, avoid making late payments, pay off your credit cards and be patient. The longer you can prove you are a responsible borrower, the more faith the lender will have in you.

Don’t forget to check periodically to make sure everything on your credit report is accurate. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to dispute any inaccuracies on your credit report.

Keep trying

Don’t just assume that because one bank turned you down, you’re out of luck. Try several banks. Many community banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations also have cash and want to lend.

When looking for a home equity loan, be mindful of high-cost lenders or what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. calls “predatory lenders.” If the offer is unsolicited or seems too good to be true, chances are it’s not true.

Before signing a home equity loan, contact multiple lenders and rely on recommendations from family and friends. Comparison shopping is one of the best methods of protecting yourself when shopping for a home equity loan.

Create a news alert for “home equity”

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Meet John Raese

10/18/2010 Nativegrl77

John Raese On The Issues: Space Lasers And Slashing The Federal Government

October 18, 2010

Just a few months ago, nobody would have believed that it would be possible, and maybe even likely, for West Virginia to

send a Republican Senator to Washington for the first time in 52 years.But in this turbulent political climate, nothing is for certain, not even the candidacy of a popular Democratic Governor battling against John Raese, a wealthy businessman and perpetual candidate who rec

ently proudly proclaimed that minimum wage laws should be repealed.

And so, in the highly anti-Obama but pro-Democratic state, recent polls showed Gov. Joe Manchin trailing by a slim margin behind the Tea Party-backed Republican, who told CNN’s Dana Bash this month that the conservative movement was “a little bit left of me.”

With the potential now arising that West Virginia voters could be sending Raese to the Senate in November, HuffPost has done a little digging into Raese’s positions — some of which may seem familiar from other Tea Party candidates — and has catalogued the most surprising:

Get HuffPost Politics On Twitter , Facebook , and Google Buzz !

Know something we don’t? E-m

ail us at huffpolitics@huffingtonpost.com

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Three Days to Stop CEOs from Stealing Shareholder Votes

10/18/2010 Nativegrl77

The recently passed Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act gives shareholders—including workers’ pension funds—the chance to vote on CEO pay. But Big Business front groups are putting together devious loopholes, and we only have three days to stop them.

Take Action: Don’t let Big Banks and Wall Street brokers stamp out “say on CEO pay.”

Starting in 2011, shareholders will be able to vote on CEO pay packages. This is great news because:

1. Even if you don’t have any sort of pension, or own any stock, the bottom line is the new Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will help rein in CEO pay if it’s allowed to work. That’s a good thing for working people and the whole economy.

2. Pension funds hold TRILLIONS of dollars in assets belonging to people who are currently working, as well as retirees. So starting in 2011, there’s a chance to use the collective power of working peoples’ pension money to rein in out-of-control CEO pay that goes against the interests of shareholders.

But the new law is already in danger. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and other Big Business groups are lobbying hard for devious schemes to gut the new law’s “say on CEO pay” provisions, and we only have three days to stop them. They want the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to give corporations more control over the proxy voting system—which is how most shareholders would cast votes on CEO pay.

You can help stop their proposals by sending a public comment to the SEC. But hurry! The deadline to submit your comment is Wednesday, Oct. 20.

Tell the SEC: Shareholders should vote on CEO pay—not Big Banks and Wall Street brokers. (If you add your own words and personalize your comment, even a little, it will make a much bigger impact.)

If Big Business wins on CEO pay, the rest of us lose. The Chamber wants to give Big Banks and Wall Street brokers power to vote on behalf of shareholders—knowing they’ll almost always vote to rubber-stamp excessive CEO pay. And the Business Roundtable wants to weaken investor privacy protections so corporations can send shareholders junk mail soliciting votes in favor of…whatever votes management wants.

Send your public comment to the SEC: Don’t let Big Banks and Wall Street brokers rubber-stamp CEO pay.

Groups representing Big Business are hoping to sneak through these seemingly “technical” changes while nobody’s paying attention. But the fact is, these proposals will undermine the voting rights of shareholders in corporate elections—and because shareholder voting rights will rein in CEO pay, that’s a big deal for everyone who cares about working people in America.

We need your help to make sure the voices of working families are heard in this debate, loud and clear. Can you help? Personalize and submit a public comment now. It only takes a moment.

Thanks for making sure working people keep their say on CEO pay.

Sincerely,

Manny Herrmann, Online Mobilization Manager
AFL-CIO

P.S. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is already trying to buy our elections with gobs of money from secret donors. Don’t let the Chamber undermine our new rights to rein in excessive CEO pay, too. Tell the SEC to put the interests of shareholders—including working families and the pension funds that hold our retirement dollars—before the interests of corporate executives who are trying to suck the rest of us dry.