Wednesday Open Thread 02-25-15

Submitted by Cordelia Lear on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 7:42am

Good morning 99percenters!

Beehives at airports are a growing trend. Who’d a thunk it?

It turns out to be a refreshing piece of news in a time when we hear so much about environmental destruction.

For nearly a decade, scientists have been alarmed by steep drops in honeybee populations. Annual losses of around 30 percent, on average, have been attributed to colony collapse disorder and other pressures, including diseases, pesticides, extreme weather and habitat loss. The toll appeared to ease slightly last year, though researchers cautioned that one year hardly indicated a trend.

Fast forward to the land surrounding airports that can not be developed for safety reasons. It’s green space with no real purpose except for providing visual clearance near runways. Until now. Several large airports around the globe, including Chicago’s O’Hare and Montreal’s Mirabel, are now home to multiple hives. Each hive houses about 70,000 bees.

…the latest in what is becoming a common undertaking — keeping beehives on airport green space. For airports, beehives can be an easy way to flaunt green credentials while putting space to work in fields that legally cannot be built on. And bees are endearing in a way carbon credits, cardboard recycling and composting are not.

And by the way, are you curious as to how much honey one bee will produce in a life time? It’s an eighth of a teaspoon.

This is an open thread. Tell us what’s on your mind today.

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Submitted by MarilynW on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 9:44am
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WhiteBlossomsWEB-2.jpg

Thanks for the good news about the bees. Airports do take up a lot of land. Vancouver's airport is on what was formerly called Bird Island by First Nations so you can image there have been some conflicts. I should send the Airport authority a note about keeping bees.

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To thine own self be true.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:13pm
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not to say Agathena--forgive me if I slip up from time to time.)

Wink

Mollie

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Submitted by civil wingnut on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 11:30am

http://www.businessinsider.com/emma-thompson-and-her-husband-refuse-to-p...

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Submitted by joe shikspack on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 1:53pm
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i'd be delighted to see that idea catch on and maybe even "cross the pond."

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Submitted by Tammany Tiger on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 4:24pm
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She's smart, funny, and talented.

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Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 1:34pm

I did a google search today for caucus99percent and I came up with 3 sites linking to us. The first was from Adam Smith's Lost Legacy linking to Tammany Tiger's diary “This Week in Stupid: The Germ-Laden Invisible Hand”
http://adamsmithslostlegacy.blogspot.com/2015/02/loony-tunes-no-108.html

TheMomCat linked to us from Voices on the Square and also Docudharma:
http://www.voicesonthesquare.com/articles/2015/02/11/breakfast-club-charade

And a mention at 4plebs.org linking to MarilynW's It's now anti-semitism in Canada to protest Israel's actions.
https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/41502860/

Which brings up something I've been thinking about, SEO, search engine optimization, we haven't done it yet and it would bring more eyes to the site, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Any thoughts on this?

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Submitted by Big Al on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 2:59pm
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Personally I find it harder to motivate myself to write if nobody is going to read it.

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Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:13pm

that's a big plus. The minuses are it will attract spammers and we're already bombarded by them. It only took 3 days for the spammers to find this site after we went live, but I guess that's all part of the game. if you take a look at the memberlist and notice the big discrepancies between the UIDs, that's why, it's from deleting spam accounts. The other draw back is it may attract undesirables, but that's going to happen anyway.

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Submitted by Big Al on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:30pm
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Didn't think of that stuff.

Well, I don't have to do the cleanup of the spam so it's easy for me to say.
So you're right, put that in the "pro" column.

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Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:42pm

is more valid than worrying about spammers, it makes sense to do SEO, bring more eyes and more registrations, spammers and trolls be damned. I'm leaning towards doing it. Any other thoughts on this anyone?

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Submitted by Big Al on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:31pm
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spamming a site like this? Or do they just do it for kicks?

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Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:36pm

search engine optimization. The more they get there name and product plastered around the web the higher up they go in the search engine results. If they can get near the top of the list, that's big money. Another reason spammers register at sites like this is to see if the site admin is dumb enough to expose the members email addresses so they can harvest them.

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Submitted by gulfgal98 on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:11pm
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Does this mean we will be bombarded by rock crushers? Blum 3

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:20pm

I used to think that Kos was fudging his membership numbers to make the site more advertising viable, now I'm sure it's because the spammers really are out of hand.

Breakin' rocks in the hot sun...

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Submitted by gulfgal98 on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:06pm
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We need people to come here and read, and hopefully write too. Along with a few others here, I have linked this site to my sig line at dkos with the words "come visit us at caucus99percent."

It is cool that we are being linked to outside sites. :::applauds those who write diaries:::

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 6:29pm
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all in all, I am more concerned with the 'quality' of a discussion than the numbers of commenters (not to say that you aren't also, Al).

The truth is, in the past, I tolerated a lot about 'certain' blogs because of the Eyes.

Eventually, though, as several of the blogs became more and more an extension of the Dem Party, I found myself engaging in so much self-censoring in order to avoid getting banned, that I was literally wasting my time.

Now, I have never had a problem with anyone having factual/policy/technical differences, so long as the discussion can be kept to an adult level of discussion, and not evolve into the usual food fights which often include: hysteria, ad hominem attacks, and just downright off-the-charts ridiculous discourse--sometimes verging on gibberish.

So, whatever Everyone decides, I'll certainly do my very best to adapt. Generally speaking, the more, the merrier--it is more interesting, not less, to have various viewpoints.

I'm just grateful to have a "Lifeboat" of 99 Percenters.

Wink

Thanks to all of you! (CSTS, JTC, CL)

Mollie

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Submitted by Roger Fox on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 4:18pm
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Even if we have to paste the url in.

Isnt that a bit more targeted? Since we're tweeting to more like minded Individuals and groups.....

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FDR 9-23-33, "If we cannot do this one way, we will do it another way. But do it we will.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 6:54pm
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accounts than we have fingers, LOL!

And there is a reason for that--it is to target the audience and interests/topics.

In some Twitter accounts, we almost exclusively use hashtags, and actually avoid traditional Followers so that we can attempt to control who likely receives the information.

IOW, I don't want to send a less than flattering Tweet about a politician, and inadvertently send it directly to them. Not to say that the object of a Tweet won't see it, eventually.

Anyhoo, if the national reporters that I listen to on XM know anything, "Twitter" is the communications medium to use if you WANT the political Powers to Be to get your message. Almost all politicians' staff/offices are very much attuned to it.

Facebook--not so much (regarding Washington insiders). Better for reaching 'the American People.'

Mollie

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Submitted by MarilynW on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:37pm
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I think it means it allows someone to tap into your tags and then get to your diary. I don't mind it for diaries. I don't agree to it on Flickr or Zenpholio. I don't even tag my photos. I know photos we put on line are open to anyone to take but why make it easy for them.

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To thine own self be true.

Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 1:38pm

I pulled this from the front page diaries section and put it here be because this is probably a better spot for it.

Are Conspiracy Theorists Nuts?

Conspiracy Theorists USED TO Be Accepted As Normal

Democracy and free market capitalism were founded on conspiracy theories.

The Magna Carta, the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and other  founding Western documents were based on conspiracy theories. Greek democracy and free market capitalism were also based on conspiracy theories.

But those were the bad old days …Things have now changed.

The CIA Coined the Term Conspiracy Theorist In 1967

That all changed in the 1960s.

Specifically, in April 1967, the CIA wrote a dispatch which coined the term “conspiracy theories” … and recommended methods for discrediting such theories.  The dispatch was marked “psych” –  short for “psychological operations” or disinformation –  and “CS” for the CIA’s “Clandestine Services” unit.

Because we all know throughout all of history no one has ever, ever, EVER, conspired. Right?

Napoleon XIV: 'They're coming to take me away'

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Submitted by Big Al on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:07pm
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it couldn't be more obvious why the term CT is being used and who it benefits. It's laughable and frustrating for me to see
people use that as an excuse not to discuss or debate issues and it tells me something about the person behind it.

Btw, have you ever heard the TRUE story of the Jonestown Massacre?

Smile

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Submitted by gulfgal98 on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:07pm
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Perhaps instead of being nuts, conspiracy theorists are simply ahead of their time. Wink

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

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Submitted by MarilynW on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:41pm
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it means Kos is bored with the subject.

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Submitted by gulfgal98 on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 7:15pm
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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by Cordelia Lear on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:08pm
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I rarely eat fast food but if I did Burger King would off my list. If you’re the spokesman for a product what you say and do reflects on that product. Bo Dietl parked himself in the gutter with this whopper.

While on the topic of a possible Homeland Security shutdown, Fox News contributor Bo Dietl repeatedly called Pelosi a “ferret” and complained she hasn’t done enough to avoid a shutdown.

“Where is that little ferret there, uh, Pelosi?” Dietl asked, while the other co-hosts had a variety of responses.

“Ferret! Pelosi!” Dietl said.

“Did they let her out of her cage yet?” he asked. “I haven’t seen her anywhere.”

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"Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." --Paul Wellstone

Submitted by Big Al on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 3:34pm
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consider them boycotted.

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Submitted by Roger Fox on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 4:12pm
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Used to be used for fracking waste water injection wells. Well, don't be surprised... this led to earthquakes. To the point where a pilot landing an airliner noticed the runway rippling and aborted his landing.

Please bring on the beehives.

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Submitted by Cordelia Lear on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 4:18pm
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but one that can do a lot of good.

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"Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." --Paul Wellstone

Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:30pm

having some issues with ajax errors with filling in the tag fields when publishing diaries so we've disabled the tags for now until the problem can be isolated. So if you notice the tag field gone, that's why.

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Submitted by Big Al on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:35pm
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last night.

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Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:40pm

a major upgrade of the site software a couple of days ago, now i have to troubleshoot the changes it's made to the system. I mulled it around to just pass up the update, but it was touted as a very important "security update" so i went ahead and did it. That's why some things have changed around here, I have to work out some bugs.

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Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 5:49pm

y'all know, our RSS news feed aggregator is set to update every hour, it scans the sites that have been inputted into it and shows the resulting new content. The update happens around the top of the hour, every hour, so if the site lags a bit at that time, that's why. We're considering changing the update schedule to every 2 hours because of that.

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 8:19pm
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finally realized that either the image library, or my own MG allocation, has reached its limit (if I'm understanding the messages).

So, I tried to delete one of the photos that I've previously uploaded. (I have two photos of the corner desk, and am only going to use the smaller photo--so I'd be glad to delete the larger photo.)

[IOW, both are in the image archive, but only one is needed.]

How do I delete one of my images, so that I can use that space for another photo?

No matter what I click on, or right click on, I do not see the "delete" function (and surely there is one, somewhere).

Thanks!

Mollie

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Submitted by JtC on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 8:25pm

I raised the quota, didn't realize it was so low.

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 8:42pm
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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 9:28pm
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Grand Bargain -- 3rd Thumbnail Photo.png

from Robert Borosage yesterday that referenced a House Ways and Means Committee sub-committee hearing today on SSDI.

Noticed that I didn't hear it on C-Span radio, earlier.

Anyhoo, went to C-Span Video Library to find the video of it--didn't find one.

Just now, found a link to it a the W&M official website--the video is a "Library Of Congress" USTREAM Video.

And here's the "Disclaimer" that comes with it:

hswm00Committee on Ways and Means

Use restriction: No portion of any recording may be used for a political purpose; no portion of a recording may be disseminated with commercial sponsorship except as part of a bona fide news program or public affairs documentary; no portion of a recording may be used in any commercial advertisement; and any redistribution must be subject to this same notice.

[My bold face.]

Needless to say, it was my intention to clip and/or post videos and clips on this topic--from the various Committees.

Also, the Democratic Party Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Social Security Sub-Committee is neolilberal and deficit hawk, California's "so-called liberal" Representative Javier Becerra.

(So "liberal" that he was appointed not only to Bowles-Simspon's Fiscal Commission, but also to serve on the Super Committee in 2011.)

From Becerra's official website, he presents videos and historical text about Social Security.

He then ends with these 'strong words' of encouragement /snark:

The Social Security trust fund retains $2.7 trillion in assets, which can pay current benefit levels until 2033 (SSA).

While minor adjustments must be made to Social Security from time to time, the program remains the most durable and indispensible government program in American history.

Rep. Becerra is committed to protecting Social Security and strengthening it for future generations.

[My bold face.]

I'd say that Everyone had better get ready for a reaming!

Mollie

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Submitted by Cordelia Lear on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 9:54pm
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Right.

I'll never forget when Nancy Pelosi said with a straight face that CPI chaining would strengthen Social Security.

Strenghten the federal purse and large corporations and give seniors the shaft. Notice all the strengtheners don't need to depend on a SS check to make ends meet.

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Thu, 02/26/2015 - 6:38am
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I'm still listening to this hearing, but the tone of it is quite disturbing.

I've been suspect of the major push to reclassify painkillers (the past couple years). And I figured that at least some of the rationale was to cut down on RX expenses for both federal and state government healthcare programs, especially now that coverage has been expanded to more Americans.

But after listening to the language being used in the SSDI hearing, I have to say, I'm wondering if the SSDI program might end up being mostly open to individuals who are extremely ill, or near the end of life.

We know that the number of CDRs (Continuing Disability Reviews) have increased quite substantially under PBO--resulting in tens of thousands of former SSDI beneficiaries being taken off the rolls.

Now, I would imagine that some beneficiaries had legitimately healed/progressed, whatever, to warrant this. And I have absolutely no problem with individuals who don't legitimately meet the medical standard, no longer receiving benefits.

OTOH, some beneficiaries who've been removed still have the same illnesses/conditions. However, they are now deemed able to work--ostensibly, due to medical progress, including, but not limited to, new medications, more advanced employer accommodations, etc.

The hearing begins with the very first (Republican) lawmaker stating that "reforming" SSDI is for the good of the American People--it's not a financial issue, it is a "quality of life" issue.

IOW, it sounds as though they think that they can get away with throwing folks off the SSDI rolls, while telling them that it is for their good. That they are simply trying to improve 'their quality of life.'

Rep Black has no shame!

Black has a net worth between $16 million and $74 million and may be the richest new member of the House of Representatives. The Center for Responsive Politics estimates that her net worth in 2009 was $49 million.

National Journal Homepage, Diane Black’s Embarrassment of Riches

http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/tennessee-congresswoman-may-be-the-...

Black also brought up the need to rewrite the SSDI laws so as to keep beneficiaries in the work place, never even allowing them on the SSDI rolls.

IOW, her suggestions is to come up with a menu of 'early interventions.' This would include various accommodations such as child care.

(Could this be one reason "why," all of a sudden, some lawmakers seem to be striking an uncharacteristic "we're all in this together" attitude, when it comes to providing universal child care/Pre-K? Even ultra right-winger Mike Lee from Utah has started singing this song.)

BTW, Rep Black was an Emergency Room RN.

Unfortunately, due to Black's medical background, I suppose that it is possible that her opinions will be given more weight than they deserve.

Black is a "No Labeler." (And a Tea Party darling, because she's been clever enough to manipulate them into supporting her.)

This "plan" also makes a lot of sense, in regard to the newly found concern over what have been considered routine, and even rather mild pain killers. (Which have now been reclassified.)

I'm pushed, so I hope this makes sense.

It seems to me pretty clever to attack painkillers as a real problem, and steer people into pain management programs, if you're planning steer millions of them back into the workforce.

After all, heavily sedated individuals shouldn't drive, much less work (at some jobs) while taking needed pain medication.

Gonna have company for next 12-14 days, but I'll try to write up an outline of this hearing after they leave.

###########

One last point: One of PBO's first appointments, before he even took the oath of office, was to establish a brand new position--United States Chief Performance Officer. His first nominee had to pull her nomination due to nanny/tax problems (or some such).

So, he appointed Jeffrey Zients to that office. He has since served in this Administration in numerous capacities.

"Zients is widely credited with salvaging HealthCare.gov, and has come to be referred to as "Mr. Fix-It" within the Obama Administration.[2][3]"

Jeffrey Zients, Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Zients

(Now I know why Sirius XM Radio is so corporate/No Labels-ridden, after having read Zient's Wki bio.)

And there's this excerpt:

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed him [Zients] to the new position of United States Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget in the federal government of the United States.[19] According to Obama, his assignment was to help “streamline processes, cut costs, and find best practices throughout" the U.S. government.[19] Zients replaced Nancy Killefer who withdrew from her nomination to this position in February 2009 to avoid controversy about her personal income taxes.[20] His nomination was approved by the full Senate after a hearing on June 10, 2009, by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee who voted unanimously to approve him.[21][22]

Sorry this is disjointed. Hope to pick back up on this topic in a couple of weeks.

Mollie

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Submitted by Cordelia Lear on Thu, 02/26/2015 - 2:01pm
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that they want to do away with SSDI. Why else would they have blocked the transfer from the general SS fund? All an effort to make it look as if "here's another wasteful program that is unsustainable." They have no damn clue how people outside thier own DC bubble exist.

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