"It's All Good, Right?"

After GDP 'beat' yesterday in all its statistical instability, today was a disastrous data daya for the Fed's "everything is awesome" meme...

Mortgage Applications -4.3%
Durable Goods Ex-Transports MISS -0.9% vs +0.5% Exp
Initial Jobless Claims MISS 313k vs 288k Exp
Personal Income MISS +0.2% vs +0.4% Exp
Personal Spending MISS +0.2% vs +0.3% Exp
Chicago PMI MISS 60.8 vs 63.0 Exp
UMich Confidence MISS 88.8 vs 90.0 Exp
Pending Home Sale MISS -1.1% vs +0.5% Exp
New Home Sales MISS +0.7% vs +0.8% Exp

As The Burning Platform's Jim Quinn explains,

it really isn’t hard to connect the dots and see the real economy in the real world, outside Wall Street, is a disaster and getting worse by the hour. Below are a bunch of dots that have been issued in the last 24 hours. Here are the facts...

Real disposable income has risen at a 1.8% annual rate over the last four months. Meanwhile, real consumer spending has increased at a 2.4% annual rate over the last four months. I thought all those jobs Obama talks about should result in wages. Why is disposable personal income so pitiful if the unemployment rate is really 5.9%? And of course, these figures are based upon a fake inflation rate of less than 2%. We all know it is 5% or higher.

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Obama Lectures America About the Justified Anger Towards Law Enforcement in Minority Communities

Tuesday at Copernicus Community Center in Chicago, IL, President Barack Obama addressed the riots and protests going on throughout the country in reaction to the grand jury announcement that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson will not face charges for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by justifying the anger as, "It's rooted in reality, " but condemning the violence as non-productive.

Partial transcript as follows:

A grand jury made a decision yesterday that upset a lot of people. And as I said last night, the frustrations that we have seen, are not just about a particular incident. They have deep roots in many communities of color, who have a sense that our laws are not always being enforced uniformly or fairly. That may not be true everywhere. And it's certainly not true for the vast majority of law enforcement officials, but that's an impression that folks have and it's not just made up. It's rooted in reality.

Now as I said last night, there are productive ways of responding. And expressing those frustrations and there are destructive ways of responding. Burning buildings, torching cars, destroying property, putting people at risk, that's destructive and there's no excuse for it. Those are criminal acts. People should be prosecuted if they engage in criminal ablgs. But what we also saw, although it doesn't get as much attention in the media, was people gathering in overwhelmingly peaceful protests, here in Chicago, in New York, in Los Angeles, other cities. We have scene young people who are organizing and people beginning to have real conversations about how do we change the situation so that there's more trust between law enforcement and some of these communities. And those are are necessary conversations to have.
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13 Facts About Ferguson the Media Will Never Tell You

According to protesters who erupted in violence after a grand jury declined to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., this was the case of a white policeman shooting an unarmed black teenager with his hands in the air in a community plagued by racial tension.

That's an account promoted by many in the mainstream media as well. But here are several facts about the case that are harder to find:

1. Surveillance video showed that shortly before the confrontation, 18-year-old Brown stole cigarillos from a convenience store and shoved a clerk who tried to stop him.

2. The autopsy report showed that Brown had marijuana in his system when he died.

3. Officer Wilson, driving to the call of a medical emergency, first encountered Brown walking in the middle of a street and told Brown and his friend to walk on the sidewalk. Brown responded with an expletive.

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MO Lt. Gov: Officials Must Explain 'Under Oath' Why National Guard Stood By as Ferguson Burned

Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican, is demanding that the state’s Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon offer a public explanation as to why he told the National Guard which he had previously mobilized to stand down in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday night as the city burned in riots.

On Fox News on Tuesday morning, Kinder told anchor Martha MacCallum that Nixon kept the National Guard away as Ferguson burned—and questioned whether he did so in coordination with top officials from President Barack Obama’s administration. At a Tuesday press conference in response to a question from Breitbart News’ Kerry Picket, Nixon said that Kinder’s questions were “false and absurd” and that “politics has nothing to do with what anyone up here is doing.”

Kinder, in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News early on Tuesday evening after the Nixon presser, said that Nixon owes the people of Missouri and specifically Ferguson an explanation as to why he held back the National Guard from stopping the looting, rioting, and burning of businesses and terrorizing of people.

“All I did was ask the question, and he says it’s false. Well, okay, then explain yourself, governor,” Kinder said. “Explain why you gave the order that I supported a week ago to mobilize the guard, to declare a state of emergency, and then at the critical moment you’re nowhere to be found by the mayor of Ferguson who’s desperately calling me in the wee hours of this morning, desperately calling the Speaker of the Missouri House and the floor leader of the Missouri House, Tim Jones and John Diehl, and asking for somebody in state government to stand up and give him some help. All executive power and all command of the Missouri National Guard rests with the Missouri chief executive so none of us could do anything as Ferguson burned. So this mayor made this desperate call as he was watching from his back porch as his city burned.”

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Senior Democratic senator says his party screwed up by pushing Obamacare in 2009 because only '5 per cent' of the population appreciated it

The Senate Democrats' top message man said Tuesday that his party erred five years ago by putting the Obamacare law ahead of economic priorities.

At a Washington news conference, New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer conceded that the vast majority of Americans were relatively happy with their employer-provided health insurance in 2009.

The health care overhaul's message, Schumer explained, was aimed at about 5 per cent of the electorate: those who lacked insurance and who voted.

'To aim a huge change in mandate at such a small percentage of the electorate made no political sense,' he said.

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Pa. scandals include "customary" Turnpike bribery + lewd emails: By Ray Wallace

"I followed the custom when I 

 should have followed the law,"

Former Pa. Turnpike Commission

Chairman Mitchell Rubin

told the court while pleading guilty to one count of commercial bribery. He will serve 2 years of probation, do 100 hours of community service, and pay a fine of $2,500. Prosecutors withdrew nine other counts against him. Mr. Rubin is quoted in “Ex-Turnpike Chairman Mitchell Rubin pleads guilty, gets probation in corruption case,” by Matt Miller, at this November 13, 2014 Harrisburg, Pa. Patriot-News site:

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/11/ex-turnpike_chairman_mitchell.html

Former Pa. Turnpike CEO Joseph Brimmeier (L)

and former Pa. Turnpike COO George Hatalowich (R) 

     Although charges were announced last year with great fanfare in an alleged “pay to play” scandal involving secret gifts of cash, travel and entertainment, and campaign contributions, the case against numerous former Pennsylvania Turnpike officials ended quietly Thursday with plea deals and no jail time....

     Former Pennsylvania Turnpike CEO Joseph Brimmeier and former COO George Hatalowich were sentenced Thursday to 60 months of probation, a fine of $2,500 and 250 hours of community service. The state is not requesting restitution in either case....

     Last year, prosecutors charged numerous former turnpike officials, a contractor and former state senator with being involved in what they alleged was a wide-ranging bid-rigging scheme. Defense attorneys for several of the men charged, however, said the state couldn’t prove a “quid pro quo,” that gifts or contributions were given for specific contracts or favors.

     -- From “Two former Pa. Turnpike Officials plead guilty to conflict of interest,” by Kate Giammarise, at this November 21, 2014 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette site:

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2014/11/20/Two-former-Pennsylvania-Turnpike-officials-plead-guilty-to-conflict-of-interest/stories/201411200359

__________ 

    An internal investigation by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission found as many as a dozen employees were sending or receiving sexually explicit emails on the agency's system, officials told the Tribune-Review....

     Sixty-one attorney general's employees were disciplined two weeks ago. Some transmitted sexually explicit emails as late as this summer, the office said. Of those, six were fired, two resigned and 11 were suspended. Others received reprimands or were ordered to take sexual harassment classes.

     "There should be a full review of every agency," said Harrisburg activist Gene Stilp. He believes that could be done by the state Inspector General, since it involves the use of state equipment and email systems.

     -- From “Turnpike employees disciplined over sexually explicit emails,” by Brad Bumsted, at this November 24, 2014 Pittsburgh, Pa. Tribune-Review site:

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/7233068-74/emails-employees-agency#axzz3KA30WOj5

Obama ‘potentially’ hip deep in IRS scandal

2,500 new documents ID'd in White House-IRS taxpayer harassment cases

In a shocking revelation, the Treasury Inspector General has identified some 2,500 documents that “potentially” show taxpayer information held by the Internal Revenue Service being shared with President Obama’s White House.

The discovery was revealed to the group Cause of Action, which has sued for access to any of the documents. It charges that the IRS and White House have harassed taxpayers.

In an email from the Justice Department’s tax office, an official revealed the high number of documents, suggesting that the White House was hip deep in probes of taxpayers, likely including conservatives and Tea Party groups associated with the IRS scandal.

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THE MONITORED OFFICE: DYSTOPIAN FUTURE WORKPLACE OR EFFICIENT BUSINESS OF TOMORROW?

Biometrics and wearables are making their way into the workplace as employers modernise access control and time-keeping. But with no legal framework in place, does this trend benefit businesses or violate employees’ rights?

The pressures facing businesses today are enormous. The economic crisis, competition in the marketplace and the continued rise of the data-driven culture mean employees are expected to work smarter and faster than ever before.

Against this backdrop, it is little wonder that technology that promises to help people do just that is generating excitement in boardrooms across the world. From Coca Cola to Apple and hundreds of companies in between, biometric and wearable technology is being explored to make businesses run quicker, safer and in a more cost effective way.

Early adopters suggest these types of technology are having a positive impact on performance but critics warn that a surveillance culture can lead to stress, sickness absence and higher staff turnover. So where should the line be drawn? And what can you do if you don’t fancy working in an office where Big Brother is watching you at all times?

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Ferguson Riots, Immigration Reform Framing Coming Civil War Around Race

Establishment attempting to direct spirit of nation into a destructive revolution

Media focus on racial division diverting anger away from tyrannical government

Chaos has engulfed Ferguson, Missouri as the mainstream media is directing national attention to divisive racial issues at a time of rising tyranny in America.

Sensational revelations about government corruption are becoming a regular occurrence under the Obama administration. Ordinary Americans are being targeted while known terrorists are escorted through security. Kidnappers, rapists, and murderers are being released from prison; an action sanctioned by the President of the United States. The BATF allows guns to find their way to Mexican drug lords, while the federal government is fighting to disarm American citizens. Mega-banks launder billions of dollars worth of drug money.

Amidst this flurry of rampant corruption, Obamacare architect Johnathan Gruber admitted on video that “lack of transparency” was crucial in passing Obamacare and fool “stupid American voters” into accepting it.

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Was Murdered Ferguson Man a Grand Jury Witness?

Questions are swirling over the unexplained murder of DeAndre Joshua, found dead in his car on Tuesday morning, with some speculating that the 20-year-old may have been the victim of a retribution killing for testifying in front of the grand jury in the Michael Brown shooting case.

Joshua was found dead inside a parked car near Ferguson’s Canfield Green Apartments around 9 a.m. Tuesday, just two blocks from where Brown was gunned down by Officer Darren Wilson.

According to one resident, four individuals were overheard discussing plans to kill somebody on Monday night.

The New York Daily News reports that Joshua’s family is, “positive his death is tied to the demonstrations over a grand jury’s decision not to indict Michael Brown’s killer.”

Joshua was described as a “good kid” who was not into drugs and had a steady job.

“DeAndre Joshua, 20, fits the social profile of an eye-witness who gave a police/FBI statement and testified before the Grand Jury in the Mike Brown shooting case,” writes the Conservative Treehouse blog. “He was an employed black male, with no history of drug use or illicit behavior. He was also a friend of Dorian Johnson who is currently under protection.”

A Facebook post by Johnson, who was with Michael Brown at the time of the shooting, appears to confirm that the two knew each other.

The blog also claims that many witnesses who gave testimony to the grand jury which confirmed Officer Wilson’s version of events “were threatened by the local Canfield Greens community.”

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Shocker: Black Caucus Denounces Ferguson Grand Jury

Slap in the face of our judicial system

Congressional Black Caucus denounces Ferguson grand jury

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday called the grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson a “slap in the face” for those seeking justice for the death of Michael Brown.

“The Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown is a miscarriage of justice,” CBC Chair Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) said in a statement released after the decision was announced late Monday evening in Missouri. “It is a slap in the face to Americans nationwide who continue to hope and believe that justice will prevail.”

And never mind that her statement is a slap in the face of our judicial system and the 12 courageous jurors (9 white, three black) who decided unanimously after hearing all the evidence that there were no grounds for any charges against Officer Wilson.

“This decision seems to underscore an unwritten rule that Black [sic] lives hold no value; that you may kill Black [sic] men in this country without consequences or repercussions,” Fudge’s statement continued.

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Thanksgiving Greetings from Bay Area Center for Independent Living

The Staff of Bay Area Center for Independent Living wish you a

Happy Thanksgiving.

Bay Area Center for Independent Living will be closed on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28 in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Our office will reopen on Monday, December 1 at 8:00 a.m.

Shakespeare First Folio discovered in French library

A Shakespeare First Folio has been discovered in a library in a small French town where it lay undiscovered for two centuries.

It is only the second known copy in France of a publication that is seen as one of the most valuable books in the English language and which can sell for millions on the rare occasions a copy comes up for auction.

The librarian in the northern town of Saint-Omer, near Calais, said he came across the book in September when he was selecting books for an upcoming exhibition on historic links between the local region and England.

“It was sitting on a shelf alongside other books by English authors,” Rémy Cordonnier, who runs the library’s rare books collection, told the Telegraph.

It was missing the frontispiece and the portrait of Shakespeare that are the hallmark of the around 800 copies of the First Folio, which set down 18 plays for the first time, that were originally printed in 1623, seven years after the playwright's death.

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Turkey Humor

The Plague of Grubers

Jonathan Gruber, MIT economist and paid architect of Obamacare, has shocked and disgusted many Americans. In 2013, he explained to a University of Pennsylvania audience: “This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure (the Congressional Budget Office) did not score the mandate as taxes. If CBO scored the mandate as taxes, the bill dies.” He added that the “lack of transparency is a huge political advantage.” Most insulting were his previous statements that “the American voter is too stupid to understand” and his boast of Obamacare’s “exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter.”

We recall that back in 2010, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi infamously said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” That comment was just as insightful as her response to a CNSNews.com reporter who asked, “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?” Unable to respond intelligently, Speaker Pelosi gave her best political response: “Are you serious? Are you serious?” When asked recently about Gruber, Pelosi said: “I don’t know who he is. He didn’t help write our bill.” She was quickly caught in a lie because during the 2009 health care debate, she mentioned Gruber’s analysis at a news conference.

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My eyes are up here!

Bill Clinton caught 'not paying attention' in selfie with attractive brunette

Bill Clinton was apparently not paying attention.

The former president was snapped seemingly giving a brunette woman in a low-cut shirt a look of admiration - as she posed for a selfie next to him, in a photo that appeared on Reddit.

The mystery woman wore a dark, deep-cut v-neck top at the time the photo was taken and Clinton was caught in looking her direction.

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Conventional Wisdom

Where the Democrats should convene in 2016

The Democrats have scratched Birmingham, Ala., off their list of potential convention cities, and that’s probably a good thing: The last time the Democrats put on a big to-do in Birmingham, their supremo was a guy called Bull Connor and there were fire hoses involved. Birmingham has mellowed out a great deal since then, but, still, not a part of Democratic history that they’re going to want to remind people about. Phoenix got cut, too, though the local Greyhound station would make an excellent place to talk about the merits of President Obama’s amnesty diktat. That leaves three finalists to host JackassFest 2016: New York City, Philadelphia, and Columbus, Ohio. One of these things is not like the others . . .

I’ve argued for years that political parties should hold their conventions in the city that best represents their policies. For Republicans, that would probably be somewhere in the Houston suburbs, or possibly San Diego, one of the few big U.S. cities where Republican mayors are not extinct. Or maybe Indian Wells, Calif., a gated citadel full of older white people fond of golf and low capital-gains taxes. The Libertarian party should hold its convention at the Boot Track Café in Loving County, Texas, the least populated place in the United States; the café is closed at the moment, but I am sure that they would open it up to give the Libertarian party a place where its members — both of them — can be lonely together.

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**Update** Troopers Conducting Death Investigation into Missing Elderly Millsboro Woman

Millsboro-The Delaware State Police have cancelled a Gold Alert issued for a missing Millsboro woman after she was located deceased in the tributary waters of Rehoboth Bay.

Mary "Lorraine" Lappa was the focus of a Gold Alert that was issued Wednesday evening after a neighbor reported her missing.  The investigation revealed Ms. Lappa was supposed to leave her house Wednesday in order to travel to New Castle County to spend Thanksgiving with relatives.  When the neighbors went to Ms. Lappa's residence around 5:00 p.m. Wednesday to turn some lights on, they found her purse with her car keys and cell phone still inside the house as well as the car still in the driveway, but Ms. Lappa was nowhere to be found.  Out of concern for her welfare, the neighbors contacted the relatives in the Wilmington area and found out she was overdue and immediately notified state police.

Troopers assigned to the Criminal Investigations Unit, K9 Division, and Aviation Unit (Trooper 2), as well as members of the Indian River Fire Company combed the area through the evening hours and again this morning, but were unsuccessful in locating Ms. Lappa.  A reverse 9-1-1 call was placed around 10:30 a.m. to residents in the surrounding area of her address and information was updated on the Delaware State Police Newsroom Facebook page alerting viewers to be on the lookout for Ms. Lappa.

Around 11:40 a.m. this morning, a resident of the area assisting in the search, located a body off the shore of the tributary waters near the development.  Members of the Indian River Fire Company were contacted and recovered the female who was identified as Ms. Lappa.  Ms. Lappa was removed from the scene by the Medical Examiner at the Division of Forensic Science and the investigation is on-going by criminal investigators.  No foul play is suspected.

Released: 112714 1425

###

**Original Release**

Powellville Breakfast

Nothing Has Changed - And That's The Problem

Playing monetary games has done nothing to eliminate moral hazard.

If we step back and look at the past six years since the global financial meltdown of 2008, we see that in terms of financial and political power, nothing has changed--and that's the problem. If nothing has changed structurally, then none of the problems that caused the meltdown have truly been addressed.

All that's changed is the vast expansion of monetary games has masked the dysfunctional reality that the same old vested interests that had a death-grip on wealth and power in 2008 have tightened their death-grip in the past six years.

Here's the problem facing every nation and trading bloc:

1. Vested interests institutionalized moral hazard, separating their gains from the consequences of taking risks. This is also known as privatized gains, socialized losses: vested interests reaped the gains from risky speculative bets, but then passed the staggering losses onto the central banks and taxpayers while keeping the gains.

2. The vested interests control the machinery of governance, so there is no way the central state will force the vested interests to absorb the losses that are rightfully theirs. Instead of de-institutionalizing moral hazard, governments have spewed thousands of pages of complicated regulations, in effect, grudgingly nudging the barn door half-closed after the horses of systemic risk galloped away in 2008.

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