I deleted the original blog in a fit of pique. So here it is, reinstated.
FYI I'm the hot babe on the first row, 15th from the left.
It occurred to me that this site is filled with families. And while we related bloggers, don't always agree with each other ,we sure as heck aren't going to stand still for them being dragged over the coals by someone else.
So, in the interest of clarity and to help new bloggers navigate the murky waters of Bakersfield.com's Webblog I propose a chart. One that's similar to a workplace organizational chart so we can avoid the pitfalls of being tag teamed by irate family members and old friends.
I'll start.
Family Members, Catherine Baker, Smurfette
Old Friends: Nancy11, Random, Roy Tullis, Witters,
Agree to Disagree Friends: Sioux, BNR, Vanity Fair, JJames,
Wouldn't Agree For All The Tea in China: Sam Heath, Maggie, InfoWar
There are many others but this is a start.
Do you have something to say?
By MIKE JENNER, Californian executive editor | Friday, Mar 20 2009 5:14 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Mar 20 2009 5:14 PM
We believe it’s important to provide a variety of community perspectives on our news pages.
That’s why for the past four years, Marylee Shrider has written a column for us that offers a conservative perspective on local issues. And it’s why we had Leonel Martinez write a regular column with a Latino perspective.
As we publish Marylee’s last column, we’ve decided to give our readers a chance to help replace her column — and Leonel’s.
We’re going to let readers who live and work in The Californian’s circulation area compete for the chance to write a regular column.
If you are articulate, informed and like to express yourself, you’re welcome to participate.
Here’s what we’re looking for: Opinion pieces that focus on local issues, events and people and clear, cogent writing. And obviously, we’re looking for people with conservative views or a Latino perspective.
To be considered, readers must submit a sample column of no more than 600 words on a local issue. Sample columns that don’t meet these two criteria will be disqualified immediately.
The sample column must be accompanied by five possible column ideas, each summarized in no more than a paragraph. We also must receive a brief bio that includes a summary of the aspiring columnist’s age, gender, ethnicity and any political or business affiliations. The bio should include a paragraph describing why the candidate would be a good choice. Please include contact information including phone numbers.
While we don’t want to arbitrarily dismiss those who don’t own computers, all this information must be sent to us electronically.
Submissions must be e-mailed to mfuller@bakersfiield.com and received before Monday, April 6.
Columnists selected will earn a platform for their voices — and an honorarium of $100 per published column.
We intend to introduce our new community columnists by the end of April.
To your keyboards!
I was born into a poor family. I guess you'd call me lucky because getting out of that poverty was the best lesson in survival I'll ever get.
I'm not afraid of poverty. I don't like it, but it doesn't scare me.
That why I was so appalled at the tone of near panic I read in the letters to the editor in today's Bakersfield Californian. All I could think of was "What's going on here? What's wrong with you people? You need to put the newspaper down and go have a long look in the mirror. Then, tell me what you see there. You see an American for Pete's sake, so start acting like one".
"You've got the blood of pioneers and immigrants in your veins. They overcame burdens you can't even imagine in order to come to America and make a better life for themselves and their families. And you think you have it tough"?
I'm going to give you my advice even though you didn't ask for it or necessarily want it. So here goes.
First of all, quit looking for someone to blame. It only adds to the general discontent and fear that everyone already feels. It's great that we strive to find out how we got in this fix, but that information is only useful in teaching us how to make sure it never happens again. Most importantly, remember that you're an American first and a Republican or Democrat second. Put the best interests of America before the best interests of your political party.
Take a reality check and be honest about your spending. Is it time to shuck the nonsense in your life and get back to the basics, food and shelter? The bottom line is, if you've got a roof over your head and enough to eat, you're doing OK.
If you've been laid off, quit thinking about what was or might have been. Think about what "is". Get up and out the door and start looking for another job. Be willing to work for less or outside of your normal field.
Let the kids know what's going on. You don't have to give them all the grim details of foreclosures, bailouts and bonuses but let them know what's happened and how they're an important part of the recovery process. Children are very perceptive and probably already know that life in America is different. They'll feel a lot less anxiety if they know a little of what's going on and what they can do to help.
Educate yourself. Don't assume ANYTHING. Don't agree to any contract that you don't understand or feel uncomfortable about. That goes for mortgages, credit cards rates, or estimates on home improvement costs. Leave your cash and debit and credit cards at home and start paying for everything with a check. Believe me, you'll think twice about buying something if you know that you'll be paying for it now instead of later.
Help your neighbor. Do you know anyone who can use your help? Maybe they need transportation to the market or doctor. Ask if they can use the extra produce from your vegetable garden or fruit trees. Offer them your old TV or other working appliances before you sell them or send them off to the Goodwill. Give them a shoulder to cry on.
Most of all, don't expect anyone to bail you out. Grow up and take care of yourself. I'll give you one of the two best pieces of advice I ever received. I got it almost 35 years ago and it changed my life.
"If you want a helping hand, look at the end of your own arm first".
Gosh I feel better now that I've got that off of my chest. :-)
You could be seized and arrested for crimes against humanity.
There's a very real chance that former president Bush could be detained and arrested by a foreign country once he sets foot on their soil.
According to a report by Jeremy Klaszus in NEWS, Vancouver lawyer Gail Davidson says Canada should deny him entry because "he was credibly accused” of supporting torture in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay and Cuba while serving as POTUS.
Jeremy Klaszus says the federal government is facing pressure from activists and human rights lawyers to bar the former U.S. president from the country or prosecute him for war crimes and crimes against humanity once he steps on Canadian soil.
Bush is scheduled to speak at the Telus Convention Centre March 17. Lawyer Gail Davidson says that Canada has a legal obligation to deny him entry under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The law says foreign nationals who have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity, including torture, are “inadmissible” to Canada.
”The test isn’t whether the person’s been convicted, but whether there’s reasonable grounds to think that they have been involved,” says Davidson.
As much as I'd like to see the truth behind President Bush's war on terror come to light, I'm not sure America is ready for this kind or degree of trauma.
An asteroid (inside circle) passed within 38,000 miles of Earth on Monday.
Asteroid 2009 DD45 on Monday passed within 38,000 miles of Earth, less than twice the height of the geostationary satellites we depend on for communications, according to Robert McNaught of the Australian National University.
McNaught, who watches for asteroids with his telescope 250 miles northwest of Sydney, Australia, discovered the approaching rock last week.
"It's not something to worry about, but something to be aware of," he said.
While a direct hit on Earth could be a devastating natural disaster, McNaught said keeping track of asteroids can make a hit "potentially preventable."
"If discovered in advance and with enough lead time, there is the possibility of pushing it off course, if you have decades of advance warning," McNaught said. "If you have only a few days, you can evacuate the area of impact, but there's not a great deal [else] you can do."
In either case, he said, a global catastrophe as depicted in Hollywood movies such as "Deep Impact" is "very, very unlikely."
The 2009 DD45 asteroid circles the sun every 18 months, but its path will not threaten this planet at least for the next century, he said.
The number of "potentially harmful asteroids" discovered each year has grown dramatically over the past decade as "systematic programs" to scan the skies have been put in place, McNaught said. Nearly 100 new ones have been found in each of the past several years, he said.
Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow
By JESSE DRUCKER The Wall Street Journal
July 2008
In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades, and possibly the highest since 1929, according to Internal Revenue Service data.
Meanwhile, the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years. The group's share of the tax burden has risen, though not as quickly as its share of income.
The figures are from the IRS's income-statistics division and were posted on the agency's Web site last week. The 2006 data are the most recent available.
According to the figures, the richest 1% reported 22% of the nation's total adjusted gross income in 2006. That is up from 21.2% a year earlier, and is the highest in the 19 years that the IRS has kept strictly comparable figures. The 1988 level was 15.2%. Earlier IRS data show the last year the share of income belonging to the top 1% was at such a high level as it was in 2006 was in 1929, but changes in measuring income make a precise comparison difficult.
The average tax rate in 2006 for the top 1%, based on adjusted gross income, was 22.8%, down slightly from 2005 and the fifth straight year of declines. The average tax rate of this group was 28.9% in 1996, and was 24% in 1988.
As the wealthiest Americans' share of income has risen, so has their share of the income-tax burden. The group paid 39.9% of all income taxes in 2006, compared with 27.6% in 1988. In the most recently reported five years, however, the share of income reported by the very wealthy has risen faster than the group's share of income taxes.
The IRS data look only at so-called adjusted gross income, which is reported on tax returns, and focus only on income taxes. A report by the Congressional Budget Office late last year, which used wider definitions of both income and taxes, found similar trends.
Well, he'd look a little like Ugly Bat Cat.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/...
![[Charts]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-AR503_TAXRAT_20080722194829.gif)