This is Your State! This is Your Educational System! This is Your Constitution!

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We need your help. We are asking every freedom loving Alaskan to call into the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting scheduled for this Monday, March 18, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. Senate Joint Resolution 9 (SJR9) will have its SECOND hearing at this time. SJR9 will allow the people, YOU, to have an opportunity to weigh in on YOUR constitution. If SJR9 is passed out of committee as well as the Finance Committee, it will go to the Senate floor for a 2/3 vote. The House has a companion resolution and if it passes there with a 2/3 vote as well, this will appear on the 2014 ballot for a vote by YOU the people to see if YOU wish to change the constitutional language in the education section. There are some associated with special interest groups who do not want you to have the ability to weigh in your constitution. To me, this is unacceptable.

This is YOUR state!
This is YOUR educational system!
This is YOUR constitution!

It does not belong to the teacher’s union. It does not belong to those who fear you -the people. It does not belong to those who are afraid that parents might have more options in how to educate their children. This is about freedom. Freedom to decide. Freedom to choose. Freedom to vote on YOUR constitution. If we allow those who wish to own our constitution, our educational system, and most importantly, our children—if we allow them to prevail, we capitulate our rights and responsilities as free people and free Alaskans to special interests.

This is not about supporting one religion over another, or using public funds to directly fund church or private schools – SJR9 DOES NOT DO ANY OF THIS. Those in opposition of your right to vote on your constitution want to portray it in this manner to scare people from exercising the fundamental right to weigh in on your constitution. Please don’t let them win.

I need your help. I have sponsored this resolution on behalf of those who want to enhance our public educational system, to continue current practices that serve thousands of Alaskans, for those who wish to have more of a say in how one educates one’s children, and for those who believe in freedom of choice.

There are many steps in this process. We need you there supporting us throughout. Please call in to the committee meeting today (Monday, March 18, 2013) at 1:30 p.m. Please tell the committee that you want an opportunity to vote on your constitution. Tell them to LET THE PEOPLE VOTE!

If we win, we move closer to enshrining more freedom for all Alaskans.

Pope Francis Appears For First Angelus

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Photo Credit: Telegraph.co.uk

“Thank you for your welcome, and for your prayers,” the first pope from Latin America said from a window of the papal apartment high above the square. “Pray for me,” he added.

Dozens of flags from Francis’s native Argentina were waving in the crowd as the former cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio recited the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer, the first of his papacy.

The occasion has traditionally been a moment to comment on international issues, but Francis instead used the occasion to emphasise his Italian roots.

The former Buenos Aires archbishop, whose father emigrated from Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region, said he chose to name himself after St Francis of Assisi because of his “spiritual ties with this land”. Earlier the pontiff was treated like a rock star on a visit to a parish church. Around 1,000 people thronged a narrow passageway outside the Church of Saint Anna, his local parish church just inside the Vatican gates, as he arrived for mass.

In dramatic contrast with the reserved style of his predecessors, he walked along a hastily constructed barrier reaching deep into the crowd, shaking hands, laughing and joking.

Read more from this story HERE.

Controversial Cyprus Proposal Brings Euro Crisis Back Into Focus

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Photo Credit: Images_of_Money

A controversial bailout proposal and bank depositor levy for Cyprus brought the euro-zone’s debt crisis back into focus Monday, causing bond yields to leap, the euro to initially sink against the dollar and Europe’s bank shares to plunge.

News over the weekend spooked the market, after a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout for Cyprus included an unpopular levy on all deposits in the island’s banks.

If the proposal is passed by parliament–Cypriot lawmakers are expected to vote today–this would mark the first time such a strategy has been implemented during the five-year euro-zone crisis.

The European currency was initially hit hard, falling to a three-month low of $1.2882 and the yen resumed its role as a safe-haven asset as it strengthened against the dollar. However the euro started to pare losses one hour into the European session as did other areas of the financial spectrum.

Italian and Spanish bond yields at first climbed sharply and then eased; by 0900 GMT Italy’s 10-year government bond yield was 0.08 percentage points higher at 4.68% and Spain’s bond yielded 5.03% up by 0.13 percentage points, its highest level in 10 days. The Cypriot bailout deal could put the spotlight on Spain’s bond auction, due later in the week.

Read more from this story HERE.

Deutsche Bank: Only Jesus Can Save The Eurozone

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Deutsche Bank‘s global head of FX strategy, Bilal Hafeez, recently gave a speech at the annual Deutsche Bank Mittelstand (small and medium-sized enterprises) FX conference in Hamburg, Germany.

The bank’s research department transcribed Hafeez’s speech and sent it out to clients in a note.

The speech focuses on the euro area’s economic woes and the need for the currency bloc to move forward with further integration in order to be economically successful.

Hafeez opens the speech with a reflection on parenting and a child’s years as a “terrible teen.” Then, he makes an interesting comparison to the euro area, complete with a religious allegory.

Hafeez said the euro area needs a role model that people across Europe can respect. “I can only think of one figure that is respected by most Europeans and has never sinned, Jesus!” said Hafeez.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: Sarah Palin Brings a ‘Big Gulp’ Cup on Stage at CPAC

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In a comical twist, Governor Sarah Palin brought a “Big Gulp” cup with her on stage at CPAC yesterday.

After taking a sip she stated, “Oh Bloomberg’s not around, our Big Gulp is safe.”

“Shoot, it’s just pop! With low-cal ice cubes in it. I hope that’s okay.”

Apparently the crowd at CPAC thought it was, as they roared their approval.

Contrary to several predictions, Governor Palin did not announce a campaign for US Senate but instead entertained CPAC participants with a series of humorous one liners.

Watch video here:

Judge: Feds Can’t Make Domino’s Founder Offer Birth Control

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

A federal judge has blocked the Obama administration from requiring Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan to provide mandatory contraception coverage to his employees under the federal health care law.

The devout Roman Catholic says he considers contraception “gravely immoral” practice. His lawsuit also lists as a plaintiff his Domino’s Farms, an office park outside Ann Arbor.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law against Monaghan and Domino’s Farms.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Will Use Nixon-Era Law to Fight Climate Change

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Photo Credit: Daniel Acker

President Barack Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they should consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways.

The result could be significant delays for natural gas- export facilities, ports for coal sales to Asia, and even new forest roads, industry lobbyists warn.

“It’s got us very freaked out,” said Ross Eisenberg, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, a Washington-based group that represents 11,000 companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Southern Co. (SO) The standards, which constitute guidance for agencies and not new regulations, are set to be issued in the coming weeks, according to lawyers briefed by administration officials.

In taking the step, Obama would be fulfilling a vow to act alone in the face of a Republican-run House of Representatives unwilling to pass measures limiting greenhouse gases. He’d expand the scope of a Nixon-era law that was first intended to force agencies to assess the effect of projects on air, water and soil pollution.

“If Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will,” Obama said last month during his State of the Union address. He pledged executive actions “to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.”

Read more from this story HERE.

House Packed For Breitbart’s Controversial ‘CPAC Uninvited’ Panel

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Photo Credit: Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart frequently spoke and wrote of the need for an American dialog including voices beyond those approved by the mainstream media and the political establishment. Therefore, in his honor, the Breitbart News Network put on a panel called “The Uninvited” to feature topics and speakers otherwise absent from the CPAC agenda.

Breitbart News CEO Larry Solov and Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon compiled an ambitious slate of foreign policy experts and activists, as well as a discussion of the cronyism that has turned our nation’s capital into a boomtown.

Despite the fact that the event was pieced together just days before CPAC commenced, the ballroom was packed and the audience was enthusiastic. Panelist Pamela Geller was greeted with standing ovations just for entering the room.

Iowa Congressman Steve King kicked the session off with a few remarks before Breitbart Editor-at-Large Larry O’Connor introduced former Attorney General Michael Mukasey. The former DOJ head charged that the FBI actively removed references to Islam in documents relating to the Nidal Hasan shooting at Fort Hood in November of 2009. The Obama DOD labeled the murder spree “workplace violence” instead of terrorism, despite that fact that Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar” before he opened fire. Mukasey said that this is an example of the U.S. government redefining Islam in a politically palatable way at the expense of the truth.

Mukasey went on to make the case that, if left unchecked, the rise of global Islam would become the 21st century equivalent to fascism or communism. The former Bush AG warned of a “civilizational jihad” in which the Islamists attempt to destroy the entire Western world as we know it and enforce Sharia law. “They want a world without infidels,” Mukasey told the crowd. “The want a world without us.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Companies Are Putting Sensors On Employees To Track Their Every Move

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Photo Credit: joelabell

The idea of having employees walk around with electronic sensors to track their every move is unsettling. There are privacy and legal issues, and who wants to feel like they are just a cog in a system?

But data companies say that the resulting reams of information will improve life for companies and employees.

Sociometric Solutions has created tracking devices for Bank of America, Steelcase, and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., and is in talks with General Motors. It was started by a team of Ph.D students from MIT who decided to study the chemistry behind what makes certain workspaces like Google great at building teams. They came up with sensors placed in employee identification badges that gather real-time information to help companies measure productivity. The sensors identify a person’s tone of voice, movement and even their posture when communicating with others.

“Google really cares about creating a community because the social conversations — the ones at the water cooler, coffee maker — those are the ones that have the biggest impact,” says Ben Waber, president of Sociometrics and one of the company’s founders. “In the U.S., there’s this notion that your most productive time is when you’re sitting at your desk staring at the computer,” and that’s not necessarily true.

The sensors are intended to measure when and how employees are truly productive. While individual information is collected, it’s anonymized to provide metadata and hedge against privacy concerns. The information is then used to suggest how employees, and the company as a whole, can work more efficiently.

Read more from this story HERE.

Inflation Highest In More Than Three Years

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Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.7% in February for the largest gain since June 2009. Gasoline prices rose 9.1%, also making the largest jump since June 2009, and accounted for almost three-fourths of February’s gain in the consumer price index. The broader price category for energy increased 5.4%.

Despite the CPI’s large jump in February, longer-term trends remain within the Federal Reserve’s target. The overall CPI and the core reading, which excludes volatile energy and food categories, increased 2% over the 12 months that ended in February. Economists expect that today’s data should continue to support the Fed’s accommodative policy stance.

Looking forward, analysts expect monthly inflation to moderate as some of February’s surge in gasoline prices is reversed this month. In the most recent weekly data, average per-gallon gas prices across the U.S. fell five cents to $3.71.

“Overall, despite the sharp rise in headline prices and some modest firming in core consumer inflation pressures, the overall backdrop for consumer prices remains favorable, providing further breathing room for the Fed,” wrote Millan Mulraine, a macro strategist at TD Securities, in a research note.

Prices for food rose 0.1% in February. The core CPI rose 0.2%. Read RetireMentors: From ammunition to zucchini, prices are up.

Read more from this story HERE.