Current Events-Babylonian debt limit

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/13/debt-limit-suspension-expiration-deadline/70282290/

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told Congress on Friday that he'll once again have to take measures to keep the federal government under the legal debt limit after a suspension of the limit expires Sunday.

The Treasury Department explained its measures in a five-page document sent to Congress with Lew's letter. In it, the department specifically ruled out other alternatives — like selling off government assets to stay under the debt limit.

"Selling the nation's gold to meet payment obligations would undercut confidence in the United States both here and abroad, and would be extremely destabilizing to the world financial system," the Treasury Department said. Also ruled out: Selling the remainder of Treasury stock in institutions bailed out during the financial crisis, or selling its portfolio of student loans.

IF the nation has any gold...lol...

The Treasury Department may have more room to maneuver this time compared to previous debt limit crises. The Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, a pension fund for federal employees, will receive $46 billion on June 30 when an investment matures. Treasury will take that money to pay for current expenses, essentially borrowing from the federal pension plan.

In essence, the govt is borrowing from the govt to pay govt debt? Did I get that right?? What happens when they start taking the stash from Social Security and other federal pools?

Bo-Transparency...or the lack thereof

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/10/10/cpj-report-on-obama-press/2960607/

Despite President Obama's promises of transparency, the White House blocks routine information for reporters, seeks aggressive prosecution of classified information leakers and uses its own media channels to shape its messaging, according to a scathing new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Simple question. WHY?

Current Events-The second beast....maybe the first?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/12/pope-francis-anniversary/70196760/

VATICAN CITY — In his two years as pope, Francis has forged his own course in style, words and philosophy. The question is whether he can prod the world's largest, most tradition-bound bureaucracy to follow his iconoclastic lead and make permanent changes.

This week, he responded to terrorist threats by saying he would not mind if he was assassinated, though he asked God to make it painless because "I'm a real wimp."

"Weeks into Francis' papacy, it was already clear he was cast from a different mold," said Alistair Sear, a priest and church historian. "At that point, I thought it would take at least a couple of years before most of the changes started to stick. Now we are at that point."

The popularity of the first pope from South America has grown, particularly among U.S. Catholics, 90% of whom rated him favorably in a Pew Research Center survey this month. That's up from 84% in March 2013 and comparable to ratings John Paul II received in the '80s and '90s.

In September, Francis plans to visit Washington, New York City and Philadelphia and will become the first pope to address Congress. Last year, he played a key role in the U.S.-Cuban deal to renew diplomatic relations after more than 50 years, urging both nations to resolve their differences and open a fresh dialogue.

Current Events-International security

http://www.infowars.com/10000-troops-to-continue-guarding-france-streets-after-attacks/

France plans to keep 10,000 troops on the streets across the country following the recent terrorist attacks that claimed 17 lives and shocked the nation in January.

This begs the question....will the US put troops on its streets if another terrorist attack were to take place? And would that lead to Martial Law?

Current Events-Babylonian economy

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/03/11/stress-tests-part-2-banks-federal-reserve-bac/70150998/

The heart of the U.S. financial system got a seal of approval from the Federal Reserve Wednesday, prompting major U.S. banks to unleash a flood of dividend increases and more than $23 billion in stock buybacks on their shareholders.

In the second phase of the Fed's so-called stress tests, 29 out of 31 top lenders got the thumbs up to spend their cash on shareholders.

Within minutes of the release of the results of the tests, at least nine major banks either increased their quarterly dividends, announced new stock repurchase plans — or both

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/03/11/banks-return-capital-investors/70168646/

Banks got the go-ahead to shovel money at investors again Wednesday — and they're jumping at it — reshaping the way investors will perceive the long cash-restrained sector.

Now that all the banks have gotten a clean bill of health from government stress tests, most are cleared to hand more to investors in the form of higher dividends and big share buybacks. Banks are wasting no time funneling money back to investors — making their shares look relatively more attractive again.

To put it in layman's terms...BANKS. ARE. GIVING. MONEY. AWAY! LOL!

An excerpt from this same article....just a few lines down....

The merits, or problems, of stock buybacks aren't what matters, now. It's that banks are again cleared to return money to shareholders, and their health is allowing some to make big moves, says Erik Oja of S&P Capital IQ.

Yea, I mean, after all, this is normal. Banks give money away all the time. That's how they make money. They give money away. LOL!

Current Events-Bo's security

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/11/obama-secret-service-drunk-allegations-incident/70174346/

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is investigating two Secret Service agents over allegations they drove a government car into White House security barricades after drinking at a nearby party last week.

Bo's security is a serious issue yet his bodyguards are slumbering....The picture in this article also suggests an unmanned drone was found on the grounds of the white house on January 26, 2015. And that's news to me. Also, apparently there are drones flying over DC as part of "secret govt testing" intended to interfere with rogue drones which would suggest there are secret and not-so-secret drones flying around DC. ALL NEWS TO ME....

Do you care about things like the outcome of a football game Lord?

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201501/russell-wilson-disagrees-aaron-rodgers-says-god-does-care-about-football?utm_source=Taboola&utm_medium=usatodaydemo&utm_term=video&utm_campaign=Video

Aaron Rodgers is pretty confident that God doesn't care which team wins a football game.

Russell Wilson's response: Oh yes, he definitely does.

I think we have to remember that God is our creator and thus worthy of praise and glory. Also, we have to remember, that one of his awesome attributes is the fact he is everywhere at all times, he is omni-present. That makes his "intervention" a possibility.

With that being said, whether or not God cares about trivial matters is secondary to whether or not we give Him the glory for our successes...as well as our failures.

Current Events-Anti-Americanism

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russias-anti-us-sentiment-now-is-even-worse-than-it-was-in-soviet-union/2015/03/08/b7d534c4-c357-11e4-a188-8e4971d37a8d_story.html?tid=hybrid_linearcol_1_na

The Russians want to hand deliver this to Bo...as anti-american sentiment grows worldwide.

Current Events-Bo's a goof

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/08/obama-negotiations-iran-nuclear-program/24605915/

"If we cannot verify that they are not going to obtain a nuclear weapon— that there's a breakout period so that even if they cheated we would be able to have enough time to take action — if we don't have that kind of deal, then we're not going to take it," the president said in an interview onCBS' Face the Nation.

This guy is super bright. That's it. If he ran for a third term, he'd have my support.