Sunday, December 18, 2011

Lions rally to stun Raiders 28-27

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) stiff-arms Oakland Raiders cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke (23) as defensive back Matt Giordano (27) approaches during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) stiff-arms Oakland Raiders cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke (23) as defensive back Matt Giordano (27) approaches during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Beyscores on a 43-yard reception during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) talks to teammates on the sidelines before an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(AP) ? Ndamukong Suh provided the perfect exclamation point to the Detroit Lions' thrilling comeback in his return from a two-game suspension.

Matthew Stafford threw a 6-yard TD pass to Calvin Johnson with 39 seconds remaining to cap a 98-yard scoring drive and Suh blocked a 65-yard field goal attempt by Sebastian Janikowski to seal the Lions' 28-27 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

The Raiders (7-7) appeared in control of the game when Aaron Curry returned a fumble 6 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-14 with 7:47 remaining.

But Stafford engineered two long scoring drives in the final minutes to give the Lions (9-5) their first lead of the game and Suh ended it when he got his hand on Janikowski's field goal attempt.

Suh threw his helmet and ran down the field in celebration, providing a loud finish to an otherwise quiet day for the defensive tackle in his first game back since serving a suspension for stepping on the right arm of Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith during a loss on Thanksgiving.

Until that point, the day belonged to Stafford and Johnson, who helped give the Lions a stunning victory and hand the Raiders (7-7) a crushing third straight loss to damage their playoff aspirations.

Stafford completed 29 of 52 passes for four touchdowns. He completed nine for 214 yards to Johnson, including a 21-yarder and a 48-yarder on the winning drive that started at the Detroit 2 with 2:14 to play and the Lions out of timeouts.

They also connected on a 51-yard scoring play in the first quarter but they had to sweat out the closing seconds as Carson Palmer got the Raiders to the Detroit 47 with 4 seconds to play.

Janikowski, who tied the record with a 63-yarder in the season opener at Denver, couldn't get the ball past the line as Suh blocked it to end the game.

Palmer finished 32 for 40 for 367 yards and a touchdown to Darrius Heyward-Bey, who had eight catches for a career-high 155 yards.

But Palmer also slightly overthrew Chaz Schilens on a third-down pass just before the two-minute warning after Stafford's TD pass to Titus Young cut Oakland's lead to 27-21.

That gave Detroit one last chance and Stafford and Johnson delivered. Stafford started the drive with an 8-yard completion to Nate Burleson on third-and-2 and then Johnson made an acrobatic 21-yard catch on the sideline. Johnson then beat the Raiders deep for the 48-yarder and drew a pass interference penalty from Stanford Routt at the 6 to set up the touchdown.

The game was tight for most of the second half until the Raiders scored 10 points in a 25-second span in the fourth quarter to take a 27-14 lead. Janikowski kicked his second field goal of the game, a 51-yarder, for the first points of the second half to make it 20-14.

Three plays later, Stafford dropped back to pass deep in his territory and was stripped by Tommy Kelly on a sack. Curry scooped up the ball at the 6 and rambled his way into the end zone for the score.

But the Raiders couldn't hold it and missed a chance to tie Denver for the AFC West lead and the New York Jets and Cincinnati for the lead for the final AFC wild-card spot.

The Raiders, who came into the game as the most penalized team in the NFL, were the beneficiary of undisciplined play. The Lions committed two horse collar penalties and an illegal contact foul, setting up Louis Murphy's 12-yard reverse for a score.

Then both teams took advantage of big pass plays and poor defense for three long scores in the half, with Johnson beating safeties Tyvon Branch and Mike Mitchell for a 51-yard TD catch for the Lions late in the first quarter.

Heyward-Bey then scored on a 43-yard pass play for Oakland, breaking a tackle by Chris Houston. Nate Burleson answered with his 39-yard catch from Stafford with help from a missed tackle by Lito Sheppard.

The Raiders took a 17-14 lead into the break when Janikowski kicked a 46-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-18-FBN-Lions-Raiders/id-238ab4192f15497bba0a97fdf9dad3e3

brandon lloyd brandon lloyd publishers clearing house scare tactics stacy keibler stacy keibler dancing with the stars season 13 cast

Disappointment on 220th Anniversary of Bill of Rights (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Undoubtedly, the original American patriots would more than cringe at passage of the National Defense Authorization Act by the Senate and by the House of Representatives this week. As it is, present-day civil rights groups are up in arms about the statutes within the NDAA that allow for the indefinite detention of American citizens by the military.

I agree with the civil rights advocates -- and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

In a case of patriotic irony, the Senate voted 86 to 13 today in passage of the NDAA; today being the official anniversary of the passage of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights, which constitute the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, guarantee due process of law to citizens, something the statutes within the NDAA threaten.

Even with the passage of the NDAA by the two bodies of Congress, I was feeling safe because President Obama had promised to veto the legislation. Today, White House press secretary Jay Carney revealed that Obama no longer intends to veto the measure. It turns out the statutes relating to indefinite detention of U.S. civilians weren't the statutes President Obama opposed; his interest lay in measures that he and his senior advisers felt limited presidential power in regards to counter-terrorism measures.

According to the Huffington Post Mueller of the FBI stated his concerns with the lack of clarity in the statutes. My concern, mirrored by legislators such as Mark Udall, Dianne Feinstein and Patrick Leahy, is that although the intent of the statute seems to be terrorists connected directly with al-Qaida or similar groups, the wording is open to interpretation. Present or future presidents may interpret the statutes more liberally, using the ability to indefinitely detain Americans who oppose governmental actions or activities -- even groups such as the present Occupy movement.

Smack dab in the middle of the baby boomer generation , L.L. Woodard is a proud resident of "The Red Man" state. With what he hopes is an everyman's view of life's concerns both in his state and throughout the nation, Woodard presents facts and opinions based on common-sense solutions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111216/pl_ac/10689339_disappointment_on_220th_anniversary_of_bill_of_rights

new orleans jazz fest dwight howard louis ck michelle duggar heisman cp3 jeff probst

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Capitol Hill talks yield $1T spending measure (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Republicans yielded on policy affecting communist Cuba and Democrats gave way on new energy standards for light bulbs to seal an agreement Thursday evening on a massive $1 trillion-plus year-end spending package in time avert a possible government shutdown this weekend.

Under pressure from White House veto threats, House Republicans agreed to drop restrictions on people who visit and send money to relatives in Cuba, while Democrats conceded defeat on a GOP demand to delay energy efficiency standards that critics argued could effectively ban inexpensive incandescent light bulbs. In late stage talks, Democrats also agreed to ban the District of Columbia's government from funding abortions.

These policy issues held up a final agreement on the must-do spending measure for most of the day. It came barely a day after Republicans said they planned to push the 1,200-plus-page legislation through the House with only GOP votes, which seemed like a bluff considering tea party opposition to the measure.

The measure funds 10 Cabinet agencies, awarding a slight increase to the Pentagon and veterans' programs while trimming most other domestic agencies. It drops most policy provisions sought by GOP conservatives.

Thursday's legislation implements the details of cost caps set under the August debt and budget accord between Republicans and President Barack Obama and adds to earlier agency savings enacted in April. It pays for programs ranging from border security to flood control to combating AIDS and famine in Africa.

The measure has bipartisan backing but is likely to encounter resistance from conservative tea party lawmakers seeking far more significant cuts to government agencies.

Days after saying that the measure was wrapped up, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., acknowledged that talks had been reopened, as power lawmakers quarreled over the Cuba provisions and other unresolved issues.

The bill chips away at the Pentagon budget, foreign aid and environmental spending but boosts funding for veterans programs. The Securities and Exchange Commission, responsible for enforcing new regulations under last year's financial overhaul, won a 10 percent budget increase, even as the tax-collecting IRS absorbs more than a 3 percent cut to its budget.

Popular education initiatives for special-needs children and disadvantaged schools were basically frozen and Obama's cherished "Race to the Top" initiative, which provides grants to better-performing schools, would absorb more than a 20 percent cut. The maximum Pell grant for low-income college students would remain at $5,550, but only after major cost-cutting moves that would limit the number of semesters the grants may be received and make income eligibility standards more strict.

Environmentalists scored clear wins in stopping virtually every significant GOP initiative to roll back Environmental Protection Agency rules. Most importantly, industry forces seeking to block new greenhouse gas and clean air rules, as well as a new clean water regulation opposed by mountaintop removal mining interests, were denied. But Republicans succeeded in blocking new energy efficiency standards for light bulbs and won delays to a new Labor Department rule requiring a reduction of coal dust responsible for black lung disease.

Drafted behind closed doors, the proposed bill would provide $115 billion for overseas security operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but give the Pentagon just a 1 percent boost in annual spending not directly related to the wars, though creative accounting such as mixing war funds with the core Defense Department budget is allowing billions of dollars more into Pentagon coffers.

The Environmental Protection Agency's budget would be cut by 3.5 percent. Foreign aid spending would drop and House lawmakers would absorb a 6 percent cut to their office budgets.

And with tensions plain in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, counterinsurgency aid for Pakistan would be cut to $850 million from Obama's $1.1 billion request. All told, $11.2 billion in emergency foreign aid funding would be provided for counterterrorism, humanitarian aid and training of Iraqi security forces, among other anti-terror activities.

The measure generally consists of relatively small adjustments to thousands of individual programs. Agencies like the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement will get a boost within the Homeland Security Department, while GOP defense hawks won additional funding to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. The troubled, over-budget, next-generation F-35 fighter plane program would be largely protected.

Social conservatives won a ban on government-funded abortions in Washington, D.C., and restored a longstanding ban on funding for needle exchange programs used to prevent the spread of HIV. But efforts to take away federal funding for Planned Parenthood failed, as expected.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_spending

amy schumer amy schumer ascii art ascii art andrew mason once in a blue moon gwar guitarist

WikiLeaks suspect's trial near super-secure NSA

FILE - This Sept. 19, 2007, file photo, shows the National Security Agency building at Fort Meade, Md., during a visit by President Bush. The military intelligence complex an hour outside Washington where the WikiLeaks case goes to court this week is known as a cloak-and-dagger sanctum off-limits to the rest of the world. That reputation is only partly true. In many ways, Maryland?s Fort Meade is an ordinary Army post, albeit one with a 5,000-acre complex and a golf course. It?s also home to the super secure compound of the code-breaking National Security Agency. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)

FILE - This Sept. 19, 2007, file photo, shows the National Security Agency building at Fort Meade, Md., during a visit by President Bush. The military intelligence complex an hour outside Washington where the WikiLeaks case goes to court this week is known as a cloak-and-dagger sanctum off-limits to the rest of the world. That reputation is only partly true. In many ways, Maryland?s Fort Meade is an ordinary Army post, albeit one with a 5,000-acre complex and a golf course. It?s also home to the super secure compound of the code-breaking National Security Agency. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)

FILE - This undated file photo obtained by The Associated Press shows Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private suspected of being the source of some of the unauthorized classified information disclosed on the WikiLeaks website. Manning's admission that he gave classified information to WikiLeaks came with a rationale that has made him a hero to peace and anti-secrecy activists worldwide: ?I want people to see the truth.? But Manning also is seen by many as a traitor. Both portraits will be presented during a military hearing Friday to determine whether Manning will be court-martialed on charges that could bring life imprisonment. (AP Photo, File)

(AP) ? The military intelligence complex an hour outside Washington where the WikiLeaks case goes to court this week is known as a cloak-and-dagger sanctum off-limits to the public ? a reputation that's only party true.

Maryland's Fort Meade is, for the most part, an ordinary Army post, its 5,000-acres mostly made up of neat rows of army barracks and homes, a PX, and a golf course.

Only one small part of the base houses the super-secure compound of the code-breaking National Security Agency.

Yet that juxtaposition still provides the greatest irony: Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of one of the largest intelligence heists in U.S. history, will stand trial in a military courtroom on the same post as the intelligence agency charged with covertly collecting and cracking secrets.

Manning's case, a cause celebre for anti-secrecy activists, hackers and even human rights groups, is subject to unprecedented security restrictions.

The military says Fort Meade was chosen for the Manning hearing not because of its secure location but because the garrison's Magistrate Court has the largest military courtroom in the Washington area. It's where you would go to argue your case if military police pulled you over for breaking the 15 to 35 mph speed limit.

Like any Army post, Fort Meade does have security. If you're on the entry list at the garrison's front gate, you can drive in unescorted after a routine check of your vehicle.

NSA is located on a separate, far-harder-to-enter compound, contiguous with the main base. Entry requires the highest of clearances or the most diligent of escorts, and NSA's own elite detail provides security. The compound is equipped with various electronic means to ward off an attack by hackers.

The compound's experts include cryptologists, computer hackers and "siginters," the signals intelligence experts who can track a conversation inside an Iranian nuclear scientist's office from the vibrations of the windows.

Yet despite their focus on cracking secrets, the agency itself is hardly hidden. NSA's main complex is visible from a major highway, and features a U-shaped building with a couple of 1980s-style glass office blocks attached, surrounded on all sides by a parking lot and a chain-link fence.

You can study the buildings at your leisure, in photos posted to the NSA's own online photo gallery. And you can test your own code-breaking skills at the agency's National Cryptologic Museum, open to the public just outside the NSA compound. After punching a code or two into a genuine World War II German Enigma code-making machine, you can pick up a "No Such Agency" T-shirt at the gift shop.

The throngs of reporters covering the Manning trial probably won't have time to see any of that. They'll be busy following the case against a defendant alleged to be so devious and creative that he came up with a way to spirit away hundreds of thousands of classified files, armed only with guile, a low-level clearance and a Lady Gaga CD.

The prosecution can only hope that their arguments, or the evidence, will reveal the secrets of how, and why, so much classified information ended up online, for all the world to read.

Even the NSA's experts might want to know that.

___

AP Intelligence Writer Dozier can be followed on Twitter (at)kimberlydozier.

Online: http://www.nsa.gov

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-15-WikiLeaks-Fort%20Meade/id-7d7a604dc3b44fd0b615c218aaf20f20

drew brees drew brees city of ember city of ember virgin diaries kevin smith kevin smith

Friday, December 16, 2011

Chris Paul trade: Can the Clippers become LA's team?

Chris Paul, the coveted free agent point guard, could turn the lowly Clippers into a serious NBA contender. The addition of Chris Paul to the team is attracting other marquee players.

Everybody?s talking basketball in Los Angeles, but for perhaps the first time ever, it?s not about the Lakers.

Skip to next paragraph

That?s because the lowly Clippers, the perennial stepchild of the city?s basketball scene, have locked up a trade for Chris Paul, the most highly coveted free agent point guard of the NBA offseason.

Paul wasn?t a bargain: The Clippers acquired him, along with two second-round draft picks, from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for guard Eric Gordon, forward Al-Fariq Aminu, and Minnesota?s 2012 unprotected first-round draft pick.

But by most accounts, it was worth it. NBA experts are already predicting that Paul?s addition to the Clippers will catapult the franchise, which has been embarrassingly inept for most of its existence, into a title contender with ticket sales to compete with its local rival.

The change would be welcome: Throughout their 40-year history, the Clippers have been the NBA?s resident joke. The franchise has only had six winning seasons in its entire existence, and only two since moving to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984. The oldest NBA team never to have appeared in the league finals, the Clippers haven?t made it past the first round of playoffs since 1976, when they were the Buffalo Braves. To make matters worse, they share the Staples Center with the Lakers, a franchise that boasts 16 NBA titles, 16 Hall of Famers, and a fan base littered with A-list celebrities.

But this season, roles may be reversed. Paul, a sixth season player who has established himself as one of the best point guards the league has ever seen, will be joining up with Blake Griffin, the power forward who was a first overall draft pick for the Clippers in 2009. In his first season, Griffin was a human highlight reel, averaging 22.5 points per game, winning the league?s Slam Dunk Contest, and becoming the first man unanimously voted Rookie of the Year in over two decades. Griffin alone made the Clippers worth watching. But Griffin and Paul, along with guard Chauncey Billups, forward Caron Butler, and center DeAndre Jordan, will lay the groundwork for them to become championship contenders. Adding to the intrigue is that the Lakers nearly had Paul: Last week, NBA commissioner David Stern blocked a deal that would have sent him there, saying that the agreement was unfair to the small-market Hornets.

In rounding out their roster, the Clippers have a better chance of making Blake Griffin a permanent Clipper and attracting even more marquee players to the organization. That?s great news for the team, in terms of both basketball and business.? As of this morning, season ticket packages for the Clippers were sold out, and CNBC is reported that the average price for an individual ticket has risen from $268.32 to $303.88 since 7:45 this morning. That?s a $35.56 increase in a matter of hours.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/jekCMT55WhI/Chris-Paul-trade-Can-the-Clippers-become-LA-s-team

rich rodriguez rich rodriguez the muppet movie the muppet movie mars rover mars rover trent richardson

Obesity Less Harmful to Self-Esteem in Black Women: Study (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Dec. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Obese black women have a better weight-related quality of life than white women with the same weight, according to a new U.S. study.

The researchers found that black women are more likely to be concerned about possible physical limitations caused by overweight and obesity, rather than the potential psychological consequences.

In the study, investigators analyzed data collected between 2000 and 2010 from 172 black and 171 white obese women. The women filled out a questionnaire that examined five quality-of-life areas: physical function, self-esteem, sexual life, public distress and work.

Among all the women, quality-of-life fell as body mass index (BMI) rose. BMI is a measurement of overweight and obesity. However, at similar BMIs, black women consistently had higher quality-of-life scores than white women and self-esteem was particularly high among black women, according to Tiffany Cox, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues.

The study authors noted that black women are typically more accepting of larger body sizes, which may explain why their quality of life is less affected by weight.

The study was released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life.

"The implications of this relationship between weight and quality of life in black women remain unclear. While the highest quality of life is desirable as an indicator of overall well-being, black women's perception of experiencing a high quality of life despite having a high BMI may also dampen motivation for attempting weight loss. Additional research is needed to understand the potentially bidirectional relationship between weight and quality of life in black women," Cox commented in a journal news release.

In the United States, about 80 percent of black women over the age of 20 are overweight or obese, according to background information in the news release.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about overweight and obesity.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weightloss/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111213/hl_hsn/obesitylessharmfultoselfesteeminblackwomenstudy

j edgar hoover jonathan papelbon jonathan papelbon trisomy 13 veterans barbados resorts the call

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Obama rolls out new 2012 theme (Daily Caller)

The White House is highlighting a new theme for the 2012 election this week by holding a meeting with university leaders on Monday, giving a speech in Kansas on Tuesday and by lobbying to win a high-stakes Senate vote on Thursday.

President Barack Obama?s Kansas speech will show ?his vision of an America where everyone engages in fair play, does their fair share and gets a fair shot,? Josh Earnest, Obama?s principal deputy press secretary, said in a Sunday press briefing.

The new slogan sidelines older themes, including ?we can?t wait? and ?pass this bill,? but it allows Obama to portray himself on the campaign trail as the progressive solution to the current economic paralysis.

The speech is to be delivered in Osawatomie, Kansas, because ?just over one hundred years ago, President Teddy Roosevelt came to Osawatomie, Kansas and called for a New Nationalism, where everyone gets a fair chance, a square deal, and an equal opportunity to succeed,? said a Sunday White House press statement.

On Monday, the president will meet with university presidents to push for curbs on education costs.

University costs have risen dramatically over the last 20 years, and graduates owe more than $1 trillion in student loans. Many graduates lack either a job or a skill needed to pay back the loans, which can?t be discharged via bankruptcy.

However, leaks from industry insiders say the president will not try to cut fees by increasing competition. He is also not expected to threaten cuts to federal education subsidies, which have have driven up costs.

Instead, White House officials are expected to promise more federal subsidies for the education industry.

?Our administration has committed to a policy agenda to advance college access, affordability, and attainment, by increasing student financial aid and enhancing transparency around college affordability information,? according to an administration invitation sent to the university presidents. The invitation?s text was revealed in the industry newspaper, the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Senate vote on Thursday will decide whether Richard Corday, a Democratic lawyer from Ohio, will be confirmed as the first head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The agency was established in July 2010. Democrats say it is the regulatory cure to the regulations that had helped create the housing bubble that burst in 2007 and which helped cause the 2008 meltdown on Wall Street.

Cordray needs to be confirmed to ensure there?s level regulatory field between banks and various non-banks, such as pay-day lenders, debt-collectors and mortgage firms, said Brian Deese, the deputy director of the National Economic Council.

Roughly one-in-seven adults ?are interacting with debt collectors at any given point of time? [and] without a directer, the CFPB does not have the capacity to provide full supervision,? Deese said Sunday.

Corday is opposed by many GOP senators. They fear the White House will use the agency to extend federal control over the financial sector, just as it is trying to extend federal control over other sectors, such as auto-manufacturing, energy, health care, mining and agriculture.

Cordray is also opposed because he volunteered his Ohio office to aid three Democratic-affiliated civil servants who snooped through confidential state databases in 2008. They were looking for damaging information about Joe Wurzelbacher, nicknamed ?Joe the Plumber,? who challenged Obama during a campaign-trail event in Ohio in 2008.

To win Senate approval for Cordray, the administration is planning a media blitz against senators from seven states. The blitz will feature more than 30 state attorney generals, a presentation by Democratic mayors, a series of presidential interviews with local TV stations and the Tuesday speech, said Deese.

?It is clear the effort we?re putting forward reflects the priority that President Obama places? on Cordray?s appointment, said Earnest.

The Kansas speech is also intended to shape the public?s view of the president?s bid for re-election.

?He?ll lay out the choice we face between a country in which too few do well while too many struggle to get by, and one where we?re all in it together ? where everyone engages in fair play, everyone does their fair share, and everyone gets a fair shot,? said the Sunday statement.

The new theme will also help Obama push for increased taxes.?By giving the speech in Kansas, it portrays the president in the middle of the country, far from his strongest funders and his progressive supporters in California and New York.

The location will also distance him from growing public disgust at ?crony capitalism,? which is exemplified by Washington?s support for the green-tech industry and Wall Street.

Numerous green-tech companies, such as the now-bankrupt Solyndra, have received large grants and loans from government, even though they?re creating few new jobs, and are often converting some of the donations into donors to Obama and his political allies.

Similarly, Wall Street has profited from its deals with Obama?s government. For example, big banks have made billions of dollars in interest revenue by by lending federal money to their customers, and by handling welfare checks for millions of new unemployed people. Other Wall Street firms have made profits by arranging loans taken out by city and state governments.

?The largest banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, earned $34 billion in profit in the first half of the year, nearly matching what they earned in the same period in 2007 and more than in the same period of any other year,? according to a Nov. 6 survey by the Washington Post. ?Securities firms ? the trading arms of big banks and hundreds of other independent firms ? have ? generated at least $83?billion in profit during the past 2 1/2 years, compared with $77?billion during the entire Bush administration,? said the Post?s article.

Obama rolls out new 2012 theme

Newt's frown and Santorum's clenched jaw: Communications advice for the GOP candidates

Will the govt confront domestic Islamists? [VIDEO]

Democrats' embryonic stem cell strategy hits scientific wall

Ron Paul blasts Donald Trump: 'I didn't know that he had an ability to ... anoint people'

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20111204/pl_dailycaller/obamarollsoutnew2012theme

rock and roll hall of fame roy orbison d day words with friends words with friends new planet new planet