jasonxctf

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 8, 2010 -> 07:06 PM) It certainly was the main issue brought up by their opposition in campaigns. didnt some major out of state group, dump hundreds of thousands of dollars and voter drives into just the judicial races to knock them out?

i'll be interested in seeing how the GOP nomination process goes in the next 12-18 months. If this riff between the moderates and tea party continues to grow, they may shoot themselves in the foot (aka- Alaska, Delaware, Nevada senate races) If the 2008 schedule is still in place, it would go like this. 1. Iowa 2. Wyoming 3. New Hampshire 4. Michigan 5. Nevada 6. South Carolina 7. Louisana 8. Hawaii 9. Florida 10. Maine I could easily see the Tea Party favorite winning #1/2, losing 3/4 and then grabbing the nomination after nailing 5/6/7.

thought this would be a fun thread idea. I'll start... Lucky Man from the Verve

QUOTE (KipWellsFan @ Nov 5, 2010 -> 03:33 AM) <!--quoteo(post=2281398:date=Nov 4, 2010 -> 04:39 PM:name=Chisoxfn)-->QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 04:39 PM) <!--quotec-->So we are now trusting the government to spend efficiently? Interesting concept? Regardless of the cost, it still begs the question why are we having so many more people their. And I don't believe for one minute this 4.5 million number either. That is way too small of a number and taking the rupee exchange rate as some of you are doing is actually hypocritical since you were the same people discounting the fact that he could not possible know that information. Not to mention Balta's blurb about the airforce spending 75M alone per trip during the Clinton admin. Maybe we just look at it as this is going to be the most people traveling on any one international voyage and I would be curious what the need is for that many people. Could be very valid reasons and to an extent I'm sure we'll find out when we see all the various appearances Barack makes. I just wonder what the need is to have all these other people. Are you really surprised that Democrats and sane people get upset when the rightwing punditocracy smears Obama over some crap all Presidents do? This is the video of Obama's motorcade in Canada. Now put them in a more dangerous country, that's a lot farther away. Just relax everyone. I'm sure the cost is so completely insignificant in the larger picture... I mean everyone's gotta do belt tightening but this debate is a lot of bollocks. i also see a lot of local, Canadian vehicles in there too. along with the press pool clearly at the back of the line.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/....mov.cnn?hpt=C2

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 4, 2010 -> 05:36 PM) Do the ends always justify the means? Seriously, you'd be ok with spending 200 billion on India? You know that the country is STILL losing jobs right? not sure if i'm misreading your comment or not, but each month of 2010 has had private sector job growth.

by the way, as for the next 2, 4 and 8 years... 2 years= Obama wins re-election in a very close, and nasty race. He's helped in part by a 3rd party GOP splitoff after the party nominates a Moderate (Romney) and the tea party nominates their own candidate who gathers 10-15% of the vote nationwide. 44-40-14-2% results nationwide. Meanwhile, the Republicans keep the house (losing 15 seats) and pick up 2 more seats the senate. They knock off democrats (McCaskill, Tester, NE Open (after Nelson decides to not seek re-election), and Conrad) The Democrats pick off Scott Brown and John Ensign. New Senate is a 51-49 split. Bottom line, this country is a near 50/50 division. House lead of 224-211 for Republicans 4 years= Two houses moving in 2 different directions. Nationally, the country is swing back to the Democrats They take back the house by picking off 20 seats to take a 231-204 advantage. The economy is rocking. DOW hits 17,000. However the mathematics of the Senate, moves the house back to the Republicans. They pick off 4 senate seats. (Begich, Landrieu, Baucus and Johnson). Senate is now 51-49 Republican. Say hello to Speaker Van Hollen and Majority Leader McConnell. 6 years= All hell breaks lose.

call me crazy, but i'm really tired of hearing about the founding fathers and "what they believed in." And why we need to stick with this set point of view that is nearly 250 years old. Times have changed, the world has changed. Why do we have to be so rigid with their beliefs? I'm not saying that they don't deserve all of the credit for the initial formalization of the country, i'm just saying that we don't need to try and turn them into god's. They were just the Barack Obama's, George Bush's, Harry Reid's and Mitch McConnell's of their day.

Will County officials have reported no major problems at polling places, but there was one good-sized misinterpretation. Chuck Pelkie, a spokesman for the Will County States Attorney's Office, said an anonymous caller complained about a sign outside the New Lenox Fire Department polling site which read "It's time for change." "Apparently, the caller thought there were some political overtones to that," Pelkie said. The truth was that the fire department had placed the sign there -- to remind people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/02/h...s_n_777640.html

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Nov 2, 2010 -> 06:24 PM) I agree completely. While Democrats were complacent, all of the huge predictions for Republicans may cause a few more Democrats to show up. I'm wondering what people's take is on this. (and i guess we'll find out for sure in approx 6-8 hours) Turnout has been reported as higher than expected. Is this a cause of.. 1) There's a lot more angry people out there than originally expected. Watch out cause here they come. 2) All of these polls and chat about "likely voters" vs "registered voters" may be off track. 3) The talk about an "enthusiasm gap" may be untrue. My personal thought is a combination of 2/3. I would think that those who fall into Category #1, would have voted in the Primaries, where turnout was normal.

Senate 53-47 Democrats House 223-212 Republicans

http://fieldingbible.com/complete-votetally.asp

Paraphrasing writer Mark Twain, the reports of the U.S. manufacturing sector's death are greatly exaggerated. The nation's factory sector unexpectedly expanded at a faster pace in October, as the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index jumped to 56.9 from 54.4 in September. It was a broad-based gain, as three of four key components -- new orders, production, and employment -- rose. October's ISM report marked the 15th consecutive month manufacturing activity expanded and the highest index level since May. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion; under 50, a contraction. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the manufacturing index to rise to 54.5 in October from a revised 54.4 in September. The index was at 56.3 in August, 55.5 in July, and 56.2 in June. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion; under 50, a contraction. See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/976ziB

Are you kidding me? http://www.foodinsurance.com/

http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-bill-brady...,0,469334.story

i'll be the first to admit that I know zero about FlexSpending. But thinking out loud, if this is correct, isn't the reduction of this credit virtually worthless? Say you spend $40 per month (which is a ton) on over the counter medicine that isnt covered. Your after deduction federal tax rate is say 18%, Again this is after the standard deduction, child tax credits, mortgage deduction, property tax deduction, donations, student loan deduction, etc. That all-in-rate that say a program like Turbotax shows you at the end. $40 x .18= $7.20 per month.

I've got a 3rd generation iPod Shuffle. I'm trying to connect it to the 30pin iPod adapter that just came with my new car. Does anyone know of a shuffle-30pin adapter?

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 03:54 PM) Quinn/Gianoulius I wonder how much 3rd party candidates will take in the Governor's race. I have a gut feeling that 44-45% will be enough to win it. Shoot last time, Whitney got 10% of the vote with Blago/Topenka. I could easily see this going 44% Brady-42% Quinn-11% Whitney-3% Other I think Alexi takes the Senate race by 3%. forgot, I'm also voting for Foster in the 14th.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 25, 2010 -> 12:56 PM) Brady's winning on SoxTalk? Quinn doesn't stand a chance. "Other" is taking him down.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Oct 22, 2010 -> 06:21 PM) Democratic Byrd ad against Bush was very classy. who was the war paralyzed senator from GA, that was getting nailed with attack ads calling him un-American?

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Oct 22, 2010 -> 03:51 PM) This irritates me when politicians from both sides of the aisle spent ridiculous amounts of personal money for a campaign. Its obviously not for the return on investment with the salary that they are going to get in public office. The usual answer is how they are going to help people. Well 119 million dollars to the right charity will help people a whole hell of a lot more than any politiican will ever accomplish in office. No matter what they claim. sorry.. my numbers were wrong. California GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman spent almost $23 million in the first 16 days of October, bringing her total to $163 millionaccording to a campaign finance disclosure filed Thursday. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/...l#ixzz136droq5d

After watching TV from 5-8PM last night, I'm convinced that we are going to get out of this recession due to the extreme amount of $ being spent by politicians and political groups. This election is like a national stimulus project. (buying tv ads, printing buttons/posters/signs, mailing post cards, temporay office space, etc) I wonder what the grand total being spent on this election is, nationwide. Shoot Meg Whitman spent $119 million of her own money in CA alone.

Not sure. But it looks like the Bright Start program started in 2007. Shoot he was elected in Nov 2006. Found some more info... that ad looks to be even more misleading than I thought. Bright Start As Illinois Treasurer, Giannoulias is responsible for overseeing the Illinois' Bright Start college saving program. Bright Start provides parents with the opportunity to invest in a tax-free account to save for their children's college education. Enrollees are eligible for several state tax benefits and can invest in various stock and bond options.[24] Before Giannoulias took office, SavingForCollege.com ranked Bright Start 47th out of 48 in the nation.[25] Giannoulias helped reform the program,[26] and Bright Start went from being one of the worst programs in the country to one of the best. Morningstar called the transformation “a Cinderella story.”[27]In 2008, one of the twenty-one funds in Bright Start, Core Plus, began experiencing excessive losses and eventually lost 38% of its value. In the same year, the overall Bright Start program’s benchmark grew by 5.4%.[28] Within the Illinois Bright Start program, 2.5% of investors had invested their entire portfolios in Core Plus and suffered a 38% loss; others experienced smaller losses.[28] As the Associated Press reported, "It turns out the Oppenheimer team handling Core Plus — a team the company has now fired — was putting money into risky, complicated investments that tanked in 2008 amid the general financial meltdown."[25] In 2009, Oregon,[29] Nebraska,[30] New Mexico,[31] Texas,[31] Maine[31] and Illinois[31] all investigated OppenheimerFunds’ handling of the their college savings programs for impermissible investments and misconduct. Oppenheimer was selected to lead the program by Giannoulias' predecessor, former Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, in December 2006, a month before Giannoulias took office.[32] After the credit markets collapsed in the fall, new contributions into the fund were halted on December 4, 2008.[25] In January 2009, the treasurer’s office announced that no further contributions would be made to the Core Plus fund and that the state would be investigating the losses.[33] According to the Associated Press, Illinois was the first state to take action.[25] In January 2009, at the request of Giannoulias, the Illinois Attorney General initiated its own probe of OppenheimerFunds, issuing subpoenas on the company.[28] At the time, the losses attributable to OppenheimerFunds' impermissible investments were estimated to be "in excess of $85 million."[28] Despite the problem associated with OppenheimerFunds' handling of Core Plus, Bright Start remains a highly-regarded 529 college savings program. In April 2009, Consumer Reports studied college savings programs across the country “to see how well they performed during last year’s stock-market plunge.”[34] Consumer Reports “found five that are worthy of an A,” and ranked Bright Start as one of the top five college savings programs in the nation.[34] In April 2009, Money Magazine selected Bright Start as one the “best low-risk 529 plans.”[35] In December 2009, Kiplinger's selected Bright Start as one of the best state 529 plans in the country, choosing it as the best plan for “low fees.”[36] Morningstar, Inc., which had previously ranked Bright Start in its top 5 in 2008, has acknowledged the issues relating to Core Plus but, citing Illinois’ swift action in dealing with the issue, reported in 2009 that “the plan still holds plenty of appeal.”[37] In December 2009, the Illinois Attorney General's Office and the Office of the State Treasurer announced that Illinois had reached a settlement with OppenheimerFunds.[38] Eligible accountholders who lost money in Core Plus would receive $77 million from OppenheimerFunds. As the scope of the settlement was expanded during negotiations with OppenheimerFunds to include more accountholders, the total loss addressed by the settlement is $150 million.[39] The payout from this settlement brings the losses for the 2.5% of Bright Start investors who were fully invested in Core Plus down to 17%.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Oct 21, 2010 -> 04:58 PM) Call this a partisan comment, but I'm a bit annoyed by the attack line used against Alexei for Senate. He lost $150 million in the College Savings Fund. If you look closely at the reference date for that comment, its from January 2009. Right after the DOW took a huge tumble. Anyone else want to tell me what other funds didn't lose money from 2007-2009. Probably every single one of them. I just don't know why Alexei doesn't post a response showing that the fund has regained all (if not more than all) of it's losses in the past 14 months as the DOW has moved up 40%. in fact, check it out. It looks like these funds have only been around since 2007. https://www.brightstartsavings.com/OFI529/A...fo.do?term=long