News Factoids for February & March 2012

Barack Obama began his campaign for re-election with a video about his accomplishments in the first three years: "Five years ago, we started a movement for change ..." [4:32] on Youtube

Arizona's Republican-led Legislature has written H.C.R. 2065 to put a referendum on the ballot to lower the state's minumum wage from $7.65 per hour and pay teens and young adults as little as $4.65 per hour.

The value of the minimum wage has gone up 21 percent since 1990; the cost of living has increased 67 percent since 1990. ~~ Economic Policy Institute, July 2011

Here's exactly why the price of gasoline has gone up, per Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida: "Congress deregulated oil traders in December 2000."

For further detail, click on this blog's short report on the subject "Root Cause of High Gas prices" posted on February 25th

Toward the end of February, many polls were showing President Obama getting re-elected by as many as ten or fifteen points. Lots of new messes might show up during this election year, especially since the Republican fascists have no scruples whatsoever, but I am predicting (right here and for the record) that Barack Obama will get his second term in office by a landslide of 60-40.

"Television journalism's most pathological mutation, Fox News, propagandizes for the Republican right as faithfully, slickly, and humorlessly as Russian state television does for Vladimir Putin." ~~ Hendrick Herzberg

At the beginning of March, Bank of America pulled the ATM machines from local Valero gas stations, which leaves only one official Bank of America ATM in Los Lunas (12 miles away from me) to serve the 70,000 residents of Valencia County. The next closest Bank of America branch is 30 miles from me in Albuquerque's South Valley. (Good thing that I already began moving banking matters to the local U.S. Bank branch last year.)

The dainty 'Mormon fritillary' butterflies are dying off in Colorado's Rockies because earlier snowmelts are killing off the wild flowers that they feed on.
~~ per LiveScience

“The Republican Party is the 'special olympics' for politicians.” ~~ G.E. Nordell

I finally saw Oscar-nominated "The Tree of Life" at the local library. Terrence Malick is the greatest living director of cinema in America. The only guys who come close are Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, but their narrative styles are nothing like the absolute poetry of Malick's innovative masterpiece.

Copyright 2012 by G.E. Nordell, all rights reserved