The Bain Report 6-29-2009

State Lawmakers & Staffers Receive Exceedingly Generous Taxpayer-Paid Benefits

But state lawmakers aren't the only ones enjoying generous paid vacations this year. State government employees and legislative staffers will also likely be spending much more time at the beach than you will.

MTA Update - "Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, HAD to get away..."

Worst of the Economic Recession yet to come

The deleveraging of the credit markets is not nearly over. That is particularly true in sectors like commercial real estate, the value of which has been inflated in most large economies as business expansion caused a need for more office space and manufacturing facilities. Both of these type of real estate are underutilized and the loans that helped their expansion are, in many cases, in jeopardy.

IMF chief warns worst of downturn not yet over | Reuters

$350 billion in TARP funds are missing in the Grand Theft Nation

Well, when you pump a few trillion into the economy, you should get something. But one thing we're not getting is accountability. Already, over 1/3 of a trillion of the bailout money is being declared "missing in action." And the official responsible considers it a joke.

We don't know where it went

Proud To Be American? You Should Be Ashamed

We have seen the largest looting operation in history perpetrated against The American People. Americans have sat on their butts through all of this, allowed their 401ks and IRAs to be trashed, their supposed "home values" to be pumped and then destroyed, and their hopes, dreams, employment and house have all vanished into the ether of fraud. When this came to light Congress supported by The Fed's intentional draining of liquidity to create an immediate "crisis", they got a $700 billion bailout bill passed - one that you, your children and grandchildren, will have to pay for.

Proud To Be American? You Should Be Ashamed - The Market Ticker

Debate to Legalize Pot Gains Momentum

Doing so, they contend to an ever-more-receptive audience, could weaken the Mexican cartels now profiting from U.S. pot sales, save billions in law enforcement costs, and generate billions more in tax revenue from one of the nation's biggest cash crops.

Debate to Legalize Pot Gains Momentum - AOL Money & Finance

Judge orders Muslim Woman to remove her Veil while Testifying

State Gives Judges Discretion In Requiring Testifiers To Show Their Faces

(CBS/AP) The Michigan Supreme Court voted Wednesday to give judges authority over how witnesses dress in court after a Muslim woman refused to remove her veil while testifying in a small claims case.

Mich.: Witnesses May Have To Remove Veil - CBS News

Home Prices Could Fall for 5 Years

NEW YORK (June 19) - A "distressingly slow" U.S. housing recovery, with inflation-adjusted home values expected to decline over the next five years, makes it unlikely that housing wealth will drive consumer spending in the next decade, a Reuters/University of Michigan survey found.

Home Prices Could Fall for 5 Years - AOL Money & Finance

A Proposal to Rescue Michigan

Detroit Free Press editorial: By Leon Drolet

Michigan’s government class – school, state and local government employees – is proving far more immune to our state’s economic decline than private sector citizens. In fact, recent statistics demonstrate that most government employees are prospering compared to Michigan’s long-suffering private sector workers.

A proposal to rescue Michigan | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Breezes across Michigan, may be stilling, study finds

There has been a jump in the number of low- or no-wind days in the Midwest, said the study's lead author, Sara Pryor, an atmospheric scientist at Indiana University.

Breezes across Michigan, may be stilling, study finds | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Jobless Rate to Top 10 Percent in '09

There are already several states struggling with double-digit unemployment rates, but the government is forecasting that the nationwide rate, already at a staggering 9.4 percent, will reach 10 percent over the next few months.

Jobless Rate to Top 10 Percent in '09 - AOL Money & Finance

Roubini Sees Market Correction Ahead

New York University economics professor Nouriel Roubini is again predicting a double-dip, W-shaped recession, with oil possibly climbing to $100 a barrel, long-term interest rates rising, big budget deficits and unemployment likely reaching 11 percent as the primary culprits.

Roubini sees a 'significant market correction' ahead

Goldman Sachs to Pay Record Bonuses

Due to an apparent lack of competition and a surge in revenues at Goldman Sachs, the word on Wall Street is that bankers at the firm may be set to pocket record bonuses. DailyFinance explains.

Goldman Sachs having record year, will pay record bonuses

Are Sky-High Oil and Gas Prices Ahead?

The U.S. is still recovering from the effects of $147.27 per barrel oil surge of 2008: a second run at $100-oil would be like a left hook from former heavyweight boxing champ 'Smokin' Joe Frasier: a devastating blow. Are we destined to experienced another, prolonged period of $100 oil, or even worse? Here are two competing arguments.

Are sky-high oil prices ahead?

States' Income Tax Revenue Drops $28.8B

State personal income tax collections dropped 26 percent nationwide through the first four months of this year compared with a year ago, putting many states' already-shaky budgets into deeper trouble. With all Michigan's job loses, high unemployment, less revenue coming in can you say TAX HIKE? Here we go again!

States' Income Tax Revenue Drops $28.8B - AOL Money & Finance

Poll: 71% say Michigan heading in wrong direction

LANSING -- Seventy-one percent of Michigan voters polled say the state is on the wrong track, while they're about evenly split on the nation's direction.

Poll: 71% say Michigan headed in wrong direction - Michigan News, Updates, Photos & Video | Detroit, Lansing - MLive.com

Monroe touted as a Tourist Destination

Monroe County might soon be featured in a state or national tourism spotlight and area residents might be a part of it. While I appreciate Monroe and my community, I found it far fetched to think of it as a tourist attraction! Maybe after the Wind Mills go up people will flock to see them!

MonroeNews.com - The Monroe Evening News, Monroe, MI

Deer Rescuer Threatened With Criminal Charges

After being rescued, Sunny the fawn faces euthanasia, while Sunny's rescuer is threatened with jail time. Just another example of to much Government Regulation and intrusion into the life's of American Citizens! What if the Deer crosses the State Line on it's own who will the Government fine and jail?

Doe! Deer Rescuer Threatened With Criminal Charges - Paw Nation

CitiGroup Planning Controversial Pay Hikes

Despite government bailouts and public outrage over exorbitant bonuses, it looks like compensation on Wall Street is headed north once again. The latest company rumored to be raising base pay is Citigroup, which according to sources, will boost the salaries of key staff by 50 percent.

Citigroup plans controversial raises

Insurers Oppose Government Run Plan

It's not just the Insurers that should oppose this Government Plan but the Citizens of this Country as well! The insurance industry is warning that a proposed government insurance plan would dismantle the employer coverage Americans have relied on for a half century and overtake the system.

Insurers Oppose Government Run Plan - AOL Money & Finance

US May Drop UBS Tax Evasion Case

Different Rules and Laws for the Elitist, if it's the common citizens like us, well, you get the idea! Both the Swiss government and UBS have mounted a fierce lobbying campaign to persuade the U.S. to drop the case.

U.S. Justice Department may settle UBS tax evasion case

Movies - Suggested Viewing:

A Crude Awakening (2006)

Produced by award-winning filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, this documentary examines the world's dependency on oil and the impending chaos that's sure to follow when the resource is depleted. Straight from the headlines, this hot-button topic may represent the world's most dire crisis. Through expert interviews, the film spells out in startling detail the challenge we all face and underscores our desperate need for alternative energy.

John Adams(2008) NR
Paul Giamatti stars in this sweeping Emmy and Golden Globe winner for Best Miniseries that chronicles the astonishing life of founding father John Adams: revolutionary leader, America's first ambassador to England, the first vice president and the second president. The iconic cast of characters includes Abigail Adams (Laura Linney), George Washington (David Morse), Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), Benjamin Franklin (Tom Wilkinson) and many more.

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media(1993) NR
Funny and provocative, this 1992 documentary explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist. Chomsky illustrates how the media tacitly manipulates public opinion to further the agendas of the powerful. A compelling examination of the suppression of news about the U.S.-supported Indonesian invasion and subjugation of East Timor brings home the point.

Why We Fight (2005)
Filmed during the Iraq War, this documentary dissects America's military machine with a keen eye to answering the question: Why does America engage in war? Through personal stories of soldiers, government officials, scholars, journalists and innocent victims, the film examines the political and economic interests and ideological factors, past and present, behind American militarism. Winner of the 2005 Sundance Grand Jury Award.

Books - Suggested Reading:

The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry

The conflict started with a long-simmering dispute over a narrow wedge of land called the Toledo Strip. Early maps were famously imprecise, adding to the uncertainty of the true boundary between the states. When Ohio claimed to the mouth of the Maumee River, land that according to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 fell in the territory of Michigan, the "Toledo War" began.

Liberal Fascism

What really distinguished fascists from other mainstream movements of the time were proud, "principled" -- as they saw it -- violence and authoritarianism. Fascists took their model of governance from their experience as soldiers and officers in World War I. They believed that disciplined violence, military comradeship and obedience to leaders could solve society's problems.

The Creature from Jekyll Island

The secret meeting on Jekyll Island in Georgia at which the Federal Reserve was conceived and the birth of the banking cartel to protect it’s members from competition was formed. The strategy of how to convince Congress and

the public that this cartel was an agency of the United States Government for which it is not!

Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto

In Liberty and Tyranny Mark doesn't talk so much about Right versus Left, or Republican versus Democrat, as he does about the free individual in contrast to the state - which will always be as constrictive as it might be benevolent. If you believe, as I and many conservatives and libertarians do, that we find ourselves at a potential pivot point in American History, Mark's book offers up a frame of reference, a language, solid arguments and a manifesto to inform and empower a forward path.

Amazon.com: Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto: Mark R. Levin: Books

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Conservative Caucus of Monroe County Michigan

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