FACT CHECK: Obama pushes plans that flopped before

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Listen in back are Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner, right. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Listen in back are Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner, right. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

(AP) ? It was a wish list, not a to-do list.

President Barack Obama laid out an array of plans in his State of the Union speech as if his hands weren't so tied by political realities. There can be little more than wishful thinking behind his call to end oil industry subsidies ? something he could not get through a Democratic Congress, much less today's divided Congress, much less in this election year.

And there was more recycling, in an even more forbidding climate than when the ideas were new: He pushed for an immigration overhaul that he couldn't get past Democrats, permanent college tuition tax credits that he asked for a year ago, and familiar discouragements for companies that move overseas.

A look at Obama's rhetoric Tuesday night and how it fits with the facts and political circumstances:

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OBAMA: "We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That's long enough. It's time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that's rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that's never been more promising."

THE FACTS: This is at least Obama's third run at stripping subsidies from the oil industry. Back when fellow Democrats formed the House and Senate majorities, he sought $36.5 billion in tax increases on oil and gas companies over the next decade, but Congress largely ignored the request. He called again to end such tax breaks in last year's State of the Union speech. And he's now doing it again, despite facing a wall of opposition from Republicans who want to spur domestic oil and gas production and oppose tax increases generally.

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OBAMA: "Our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a government program."

THE FACTS: That's only half true. About half of the more than 30 million uninsured Americans expected to gain coverage through the health care law will be enrolled in a government program. Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, will be expanded starting in 2014 to cover childless adults living near the poverty line.

The other half will be enrolled in private health plans through new state-based insurance markets. But many of them will be receiving federal subsidies to make their premiums more affordable. And that's a government program, too.

Starting in 2014 most Americans will be required to carry health coverage, either through an employer, by buying their own plan, or through a government program.

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OBAMA, asking Congress to pay for construction projects: "Take the money we're no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home."

THE FACTS: The idea of taking war "savings" to pay for other programs is budgetary sleight of hand. For one thing, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been largely financed through borrowing, so stopping the wars doesn't create a pool of ready cash, just less debt. And the savings appear to be based at least in part on inflated war spending estimates for future years.

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OBAMA: "Through the power of our diplomacy a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran's nuclear program now stands as one."

THE FACTS: The world is still divided over how to deal with Iran's disputed nuclear program, and even over whether the nuclear program is a problem at all.

It is true that the U.S., Europe and other nations have agreed to apply the strictest economic sanctions yet on Iran later this year. But the global sanctions net has holes, because some of Iran's large oil trading partners won't go along. China, a major purchaser of Iran's crude, isn't part of the new sanctions and, together with Russia, stopped the United Nations from applying similarly tough penalties.

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OBAMA: "Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last - an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values."

THE FACTS: Economists do see manufacturing growth as a necessary component of any U.S. recovery. U.S. manufacturing output climbed 0.9 percent in December, the biggest gain since December 2010. Yet Obama's apparent vision of a nation once again propelled by manufacturing ? a vision shared by many Republicans ? may already have slipped into the past.

Over generations, the economy has become ever more driven by services; not since 1975 has the U.S. had a surplus in merchandise trade, which covers trade in goods, including manufactured and farm goods. About 90 percent of American workers are employed in the service sector, a profound shift in the nature of the workforce over many decades.

The overall trade deficit through the first 11 months of 2011 ran at an annual rate of nearly $600 billion, up almost 12 percent from the year before.

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OBAMA: "The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home."

THE FACTS: Obama is more sanguine about progress in Afghanistan than his own intelligence apparatus. The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan warns that the Taliban will grow stronger, using fledgling talks with the U.S. to gain credibility and stall until U.S. troops leave, while continuing to fight for more territory. The classified assessment, described to The Associated Press by officials who have seen it, says the Afghan government hasn't been able to establish credibility with its people, and predicts the Taliban and warlords will largely control the countryside.

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OBAMA: "On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories."

THE FACTS: He left out some key details. The bailout of General Motors and Chrysler began under Republican President George W. Bush. Obama picked up the ball, earmarked more money, and finished the job. But Ford never asked for a federal bailout and never got one.

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OBAMA: "We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there's no reason why Congress shouldn't at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation."

THE FACTS: With this statement, Obama was renewing a call he made last year to require 80 percent of the nation's electricity to come from clean energy sources by 2035, including nuclear, natural gas and so-called clean coal. He did not put that percentage in his speech but White House background papers show that it remains his goal.

But this Congress has yet to introduce a bill to make that goal a reality, and while legislation may be introduced this year, it is unlikely to become law with a Republican-controlled House that loathes mandates.

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OBAMA: "Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households."

THE FACTS: It's true that a minority of millionaires pay a lower tax rate than some lower-income people. On average, though, wealthy people pay taxes at a much higher rate than middle-income taxpayers.

Obama's claim comes from a Congressional Research Service report that compared federal taxes paid by people making less than $100,000 with those paid by people making more than $1 million. About 10 percent of families with incomes under $100,000 paid more than 26.5 percent in federal income, payroll and corporate taxes. And about a quarter of millionaire taxpayers paid a rate lower than that.

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OBAMA: "We can't bring back every job that's left our shores.... Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed."

FACT CHECK: Many of the jobs U.S. companies have created overseas won't return because they were never in the United States in the first place.

As Obama said in his speech, U.S. workers have become more productive and labor costs have fallen.

But there are powerful forces pushing the other way: Many of the overseas jobs in U.S. companies weren't transferred from the U.S. They were created in fast-growing markets in Latin America, Asia and elsewhere to serve customers in those markets. Companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index now earn more than half of their revenue from overseas.

That has fueled more job creation abroad. U.S. multinationals cut more than 800,000 jobs in the United States from 2000 to 2009, according the Commerce Department. They added 2.9 million overseas in the same period.

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OBAMA: "Anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned doesn't know what they're talking about ... That's not how people feel from Tokyo to Berlin; from Cape Town to Rio; where opinions of America are higher than they've been in years."

THE FACTS: Obama left out Arab and Muslim nations, where popular opinion of the U.S. appears to have gone downhill or remained unchanged after the spring 2011 reformist uprisings in the Middle East. A Pew Research Center survey in May found that in predominantly Muslim countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan, views of the U.S. were worse than a year earlier. In Pakistan, a major recipient of U.S. foreign aid that went unmentioned in Obama's speech, just 11 percent of respondents said they held a positive view of the United States.

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Associated Press writers Tom Raum, Anne Gearan, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Martin Crutsinger, Jim Drinkard, Dina Cappiello, Erica Werner, Andrew Taylor, Christopher S. Rugaber and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-25-US-State-of-Union-Fact-Check/id-7e14143245054ff6906a6d431fbc2f76

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How the major stock indexes fared on Tuesday (AP)

The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 index both ended lower Tuesday on concerns that a deal to cut Greece's national debt and stave off a financial crisis might fall through. A number of lower-than-expected corporate earnings also sent the major indexes down. The Nasdaq composite finished slightly higher after wavering all day.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33.07 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,678.75.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1.35 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,314.65.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 2.47 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,786.64.

For the week:

The Dow is down 44.73, or 0.4 percent.

The S&P 500 is down 0.73 points, or 0.06 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 0.06 points, or less than 0.01 percent.

For the year to date:

The Dow is up 458.19, or 3.8 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 57.05 points, or 4.5 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 181.49 points, or 7 percent.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wall_street_box

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Tax returns, business dealings fuel Fla. campaign (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. ? Mitt Romney's tax returns and Newt Gingrich's business dealings are likely to remain at center stage of the increasingly contentious Republican presidential primary campaign in Florida.

Romney predicted during a sometimes heated debate that his 2010 tax returns and an early report on his taxes for last year will generate chatter but not any surprises.

"You'll see my income, how much taxes I've paid, how much I've paid to charity," he said on the debate stage Monday night. "Will it be an article? Yeah. But is it entirely legal and fair? Absolutely. I'm proud of the fact that I pay a lot of taxes."

Romney earned $21.7 million income in 2010, most of it from his investments, according to records his campaign released within hours of the debate's conclusion. He donated a combined $3 million to charitable causes and the Mormon Church and paid about $3 million in federal income taxes for an effective tax rate of about 14 percent, the records showed.

For 2011, he'll pay about $3.2 million with an effective tax rate of about 15.4 percent, the campaign said.

The tax records may silence Gingrich and others who argued that Republican voters should know the details of Romney's wealth before they select their presidential nominee and not after, as Romney had wanted. But a new line of criticism rising from the records was expected to be leveled at the former front-runner, who keeps some of his personal fortune in investments in the Cayman Islands, where many international investors shelter their income from American taxes.

In Monday's debate, Gingrich faced harsh questions about his own financial dealings. While comfortable as the aggressor in previous encounters with Romney and their rivals, he found himself battered by Romney's criticism as the pair clashed repeatedly in sometimes personal terms.

"You've been walking around the state saying things that are untrue," Gingrich told Romney.

After Gingrich's overwhelming victory in South Carolina last Saturday, Romney can ill afford to lose Florida's Jan. 31 primary, and he showcased a new aggression from the opening moments in the debate. He said Gingrich had "resigned in disgrace" from Congress after four years as speaker and then had spent the next 15 years "working as an influence peddler."

In particular, he referred to the contract Gingrich's consulting firm had with Freddie Mac, a government-backed mortgage giant that Romney said "did a lot of bad for a lot of people and you were working there."

Romney also said Gingrich had lobbied lawmakers to approve legislation creating a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare.

"I have never, ever gone and done any lobbying," Gingrich retorted emphatically, adding that his firm had hired an expert to explain to employees "the bright line between what you can do as a citizen and what you do as a lobbyist."

Romney counterpunched, referring to the $300,000 that Gingrich's consulting firm received in 2006 from Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage giant.

And when Gingrich sought to turn the tables by inquiring about the private equity firm that Romney founded, the former Massachusetts governor replied: "We didn't do any work with the government. ... I wasn't a lobbyist."

Romney will briefly turn his attention Tuesday morning to President Barack Obama, offering a "pre-buttal" to the president's State of the Union address before shifting to Gingrich's work for the federal mortgage giant at a campaign event focused on Florida's housing problems.

Gingrich has a busy day on the campaign trail planned as well, with rallies set for St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Naples.

Rep. Ron Paul, who's bypassing Florida in favor of smaller, less expensive states, returned to Texas after Monday's debate. But Rick Santorum will appeal to the tea party to help revive his candidacy, appearing at two tea party events.

Santorum and Paul were reduced to supporting roles Monday night. Santorum jumped at the chance to criticize both Romney and Gingrich for having supported the big federal bailouts of Wall Street in 2008. He also said both men had abandoned conservative principles by supporting elements of "cap and trade" legislation to curb pollution emissions from industrial sites.

"When push came to shove, they were pushed," he said.

Paul sidestepped when moderator Brian Williams of NBC asked if he would run as a third-party candidate in the fall if he doesn't win the nomination. "I have no intention," he said, but he didn't rule it out.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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iPhone, iPad app rewards being a couch potato (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Want to earn stuff by watching TV? A free app for that is set to debut Wednesday.

When you tap the screen, Viggle's software for iPhones and iPads listens to what's on, recognizes what you're watching and gives you credit at roughly two points per minute. It even works for shows you've saved on a digital video recorder.

Rack up 7,500 points, and you'll be rewarded with a $5 gift card from retailers such as Burger King, Starbucks, Apple's iTunes, Best Buy and CVS, which you can redeem directly from your device.

With some back-of-the-napkin math, you can figure that it would take three weeks of watching TV every night for three hours to earn enough for a latte at Starbucks.

But the company plans to offer bonus points for checking into certain shows such as "American Idol" and 1,500 points for signing up. You can also get extra points for watching an ad on your device. The beta version awarded 100 points for watching a 15-second ad from Verizon Wireless.

"Viggle is the first loyalty program for TV," said Chris Stephenson, president of the company behind Viggle, Function (X) Inc. "We're basically allowing people to get rewards for doing something they're doing already and that they love to do."

The idea behind Viggle is that by giving people an added reason to watch TV, the size of the audience will increase, thereby allowing makers of shows to earn more money from advertisers. Advertisers such as Burger King, Pepsi and Gatorade have also agreed to pay to have point-hungry users watch their ads on a mobile device.

In exchange, users earn points, which Viggle converts into real value by buying gift cards at a slight discount from retailers.

If the company gets the point-count economy right, it can end up making more money from advertisers and networks than it gives away in rewards.

The app will also give the company valuable insight into who is watching what, as redeeming rewards requires putting in your age, gender, email address and ZIP code.

"It really shows what social TV is going to evolve into," said Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst at research firm Gartner. "For folks behind the scenes, this is a great way of seeing who really is watching."

The company hopes that user activity will grow by word of mouth, especially by offering a 200-point bonus to people who successfully get their friends to try out the service.

The app makes its debut in Apple Inc.'s app store on Wednesday. Versions for Android devices and computers are in the works.

The company has put in some safeguards. You must watch a show at least 10 minutes to earn bonus points. And you can't watch the same ad over and over again to earn more points; there's a one-ad-view-per-person rule.

Function (X) is owned and led by entertainment entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman, who once owned a big stake in "American Idol" owner CKx Inc. That gives the company deep and broad connections in the entertainment business.

Function (X) has brought in $100 million in investment capital, and its stock trades on the Pink Sheets, a platform that allows people to buy shares but doesn't require the company release its financial results. Function (X) currently has a market value of about $1 billion.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_rewards_for_watching_tv

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Video: Oversight Committee Members on Housing, Post Office & Con...

Discussing the U.S. Post Office's insolvency and refusal to reorganize, banks admitting to unethical conduct in predatory lending practices which may hold them accountable for the wave of foreclosures, and the appointment of the new consumer watchdog...

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46113482/

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Minn. bear delivers at least 2 cubs on Internet (AP)

ELY, Minn. ? A 3-year-old bear in Minnesota has given birth to two cubs before an Internet audience.

Lynn Rogers of the Wildlife Research Institute, affiliated with North American Bear Center, said in a news release that Jewel gave birth in a den near Ely to the first cub at 7:22 a.m. Sunday, and a second at 8:40.

It's not the first time Rogers and his colleagues have monitored hibernating pregnant black bears.

In 2010, they recorded the birth of a bear named Hope in 2010. A Hunter killed Hope last year.

Jewel is the younger sister of Hope's mother, Lily.

Lily also gave birth last year to two cubs named Faith and Jason.

___

Online:

North American Bear Center: http://www.bear.org

___

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_us/us_internet_bear_sister

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RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10

After months upon months of investor backlash, RIM's making some significant changes. And by "significant," we mean the co-chief executives (and founders) are out. As of tomorrow, both Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis will be stepping away from the top posts, enabling "a little-known company insider" to take over, according to The Wall Street Journal. Purportedly, this is all part of "a board and management shuffle," with COO Thorsten Heins (seen above) to step into what many expect to be an impossible role to thrive in. The Globe and Mail asserts that he'll be immediately seeking a Chief Marketing Officer to polish up the company's severely damaged brand, and he "will not rule out licensing RIM's new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other handset manufacturers." In an interview with the outlet, he stated that he'll be executing "flawlessly" and with vigor -- not unexpected, but still, bold words.

Startlingly, Heins also asserted that he's "confident" in the existing lineup of BlackBerry handsets and the software update recently made available for the PlayBook; call us crazy, but he'd be wise to just spout out reality and make clear that RIM's existing lineup is nowhere near competitive in the grand scheme of things. As for Mike and Jim? The former will become "vice-chair of the board with special duties to examine innovation," with the latter becoming a traditional director. In an interesting move, outgoing co-CEO Lazaridis stated the following: "I think it's that unwillingness to sacrifice our long-term value for short-term gain. That's why we didn't choose Android. That's why we decided to build the future on QNX." So wait, RIM had the chance to choose Android... and didn't? No time like the present to reach back and shake things up, Mr. Thorsten.

Continue reading RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10

RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Peter Rojas (Twitter)  |  sourceThe Wall Street Journal (1), (2), The Globe and Mail, RIM  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/rim-ceo-quits/

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Jerry Ashton: Hip Hop: Time to Occupy It

"Hip Hop was stolen from us just like the economy was stolen from Americans by Wall Street," declares famed hip-hop photographer, 'Brother Ernie' Paniccioli.

And, he finds this to be grand theft at its worst. "As close as I can determine, hip hop earns between $250-500 billion a year. This includes ticket sales, hip hop clothing and merchandise, books, magazines and record sales as well as hip hop themed movies, DVD's etc. There is no 'trickle-down.' It all goes to the 1 percent at the top."

Any man who reveres David Lynch, John Coltrane, Richie Havens, The Dalai Lama, Public Enemy and Lee "Scratch" Perry and has done books on Punk, Hip Hop and Collage, is a member of The Universal Zulu Nation and a honorary member of The Black Panther Party is respected as a free thinker, if not a rebel.

Appropriately, he has gathered together a significant number of people who agree with him -- enough to make this movement and his Facebook page "Occupy Hip Hop Ernie Paniccioli," a must-visit site for music activists.

Relentless in his scorn, Ernie sees most of present-day hip hop and rap as being "the voice of the colonizer and the exploiter -- to make people who love hip hop into subservient consumers."

In Ernie's mind, what originated as a "voice for the voiceless" has become just one more way for Wall Street to extract money from people's pockets. "It is a war for the hearts and mind of our children," and he and his adherents are intent in promoting non-violent direct action and he is rallying them to "identify, unite and take action."

"It was first necessary to identify and target that which is wrong in commercialized rap and hip hop and how it is hurting us," Ernie says. (As example, the top 10 rap songs of 2009 were those that glorified the top 10 killers of black people: drugs, alcohol, unprotected sex, etc.)

"If you trace all of these things... follow the money... it all goes down to a certain small clique of criminal-minded people. It is organized, and it is criminal -- it is organized crime. And, we in the community are seriously considering a RICO action against this out-of-balance and out-of-control media."

Pride, courage, consciousness and clarity have been co-opted by people touting pimps and "hoes." "Hip hop was never pure, but it was organic. Today, this stuff is created in a lab by a mad scientist. Throw in a certain amount of profanity, the N-word, 'hate women' lyrics, violence and machismo, and you have a hit."

Ernie doesn't want to see the Occupy Hip Hop movement to become the music police, but a force to bring about a level music field in which everyone has a chance to be heard. Essentially, he feels the community is being subjected to the tyrannical equivalent of the musical 1 percent.

"How come we don't hear the music of the 99 percent?

We're trying to expand the vocabulary, and rap is an oral tradition. What once was used to bring people together now serves to separate them. Hip hop has always been here -- always a native vibe, a spiritual force that came from the people."

Ernie understands the power of social media in this struggle against mainstream media and leverages it in his Internet presence. "The FCC is asleep at the wheel, which is why we need to have our voices heard," Ernie declares. "Media has done all that they can do to suppress dissent and have their way.

This "dumbing down" is not accidental -- the dumbed-down masses are easier to control (and sell to), and we are sick of it."

Ernie goes into significant detail at Manifesto.com and his piece "So Much Things to Say" as well as his poem "Thank You" on YouTube as a self-described "Big Red Alarm Clock."

"You will better understand how to hold Hip Hop... that force that evolved from the outcry concerning the decimation of the inner city... what we have termed the the urban blight."

"Today's blight is the music that attempts to pass for hip hop and rap," Ernie growls.
(You can check out Ernie's Facebook Page here).

?

Follow Jerry Ashton on Twitter: www.twitter.com/WrittenOffUSA

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-ashton/hip-hop-time-to-occupy-it_b_1220881.html

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Obama Administration: U.S. Oil Production Highest Since 2003 (ContributorNetwork)

According to a news release posted at the U.S. Department of Energy's website and that of the White House, domestic energy production is the highest it has been since 2003 and the Obama Administration has been active in other energy policies. Here are the details by the numbers.

90,000: More barrels each day of crude oil were produced in the U.S. in 2011 than in 2010.

7.4: Percent that natural gas production grew in the U.S. in 2011 -- the largest year-over-year volumetric increase ever reported.

45: Percent net oil imports in 2011 was the lowest percentage of oil imports to the U.S. since 1995.

338 million: Dollars in total bids from the December oil and gas lease sale held in the Gulf of Mexico. The sale was the first held since the oil spill.

54.5: Miles per gallon fuel standards will be required for model 2017 to 2025 passenger vehicles, the Obama administration announced in January. The administration expects that this increased vehicle performance will save Americans $1.7 trillion over the life of the program.

2.2 million: Fewer barrels of oil a day will be consumed in the U.S. by 2025 due to the fuel economy standards, the administration says, saving 12 billion barrels total over the life of the program.

$90 billion: The Recovery Act invested in clean energy.

40: Clean energy projects have received funding by the Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program.

20: Percent increase in Bureau of Land Management onshore oil and gas lease sales revenue in 2011 over 2010, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

256 million: Dollars from the 32 onshore oil and gas lease sales that took place in 2011, offering 1,755 parcels of land over 4.4 million acres. Of those offerings, the DOI reported, 1,296 parcels were sold.

36: Percent BLM oil and gas leases in 2011 were protested -- a decrease from the 47 percent that were protested in 2009.

32: Additional oil and gas lease sales on public lands will be held in 2012, the DOI reported, offering "thousands of parcels in California, Colorado, the Eastern States, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120122/pl_ac/10866277_obama_administration_us_oil_production_highest_since2003

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