Eyewitness videos capture the eerie scene as fierce storms tear through towns across the Southeast.
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
Fastest-growing U.S. cities
Healthy job markets and affordable housing are helping to send populations soaring in these locations.
Also: 
TSA: Gun OK, Knife Not OK
Techdirt posted an article about the TSA: We've Trained The TSA To Search For Liquid Instead Of Bombs. It's just another security theater example. But somebody posted a comment that might be the best example of TSA absurdity yet:
As a federal agent, I'm authorized to fly armed, so on one trip, I was clearing through security, the airport cop had checked my ID and paperwork and approved me to pass through the checkpoint, but the TSA guy stopped me and said he needed to inspect my carry-on.
I asked why, seeing as how I'd already identified myself as carrying a loaded handgun, what could possibly be in my carry on that would make me a threat, and out of hundreds of flights, I've never had to be inspected before.
He claimed it was just procedure. (If that's true, it's a procedure that has never been followed before, to my knowledge.) But not wanting to create a hassle for myself, I said fine and let him look through it.
Well, he came up with my Leatherman knife (basically a fancy Swiss Army knife) and said that I couldn't bring it on the plane because knives are prohibited items.
I looked at him like he was insane and said, "Let me get this straight, you're letting me carry a loaded handgun onto the plane, but not a pocket knife? In what conceivable world does that make sense?"
He responded that per FAA rules, I was authorized as a federal agent to carry the gun on board but the rules don't mention knives except as a general prohibition for everyone.
Not wanting to lose a $30 knife, I asked to see his supervisor, figuring this was some low-level zombie unable to exercise basic common sense. But no, the supervisor said the same thing!
Democrats eye repugican town-hall rage
repugican Paul Ryan's budget plan is dead, but it's very much alive as an election issue.
Also: Repugican Party
Here they are at a recent 'strategy' meeting.
And here they thought nobody was watching!
And here they thought nobody was watching!
Blacks don't work as hard as whites
Well, that is what this Okie repugican says ...
From ThinkProgress:
From ThinkProgress:
Sally Kern, retard-Oklahoma City, said minorities earn less than white people because they don’t work as hard and have less initiative.Ironic that she trots out that argument since it's one of the reasons repugican lawmakers aren't interested in real health care reform: They've already got their cushy government-sponsored socialist health care reform, so why lift a finger for anyone else?
“We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”
Kern said women earn less than men because “they tend to spend more time at home with their families.”
Wal-Mart CEO says his shoppers are running out of money
Oil prices are hammering the public and of course, the dollar is being destroyed on the global market these days which will make the problem worse. Is it asking for too much to have our political leadership implement policies that help the middle class as opposed to the continuing strategy that helps Wall Street?
CNNMoney:
CNNMoney:
"We're seeing core consumers under a lot of pressure," Duke said at an event in New York. "There's no doubt that rising fuel prices are having an impact."
Wal-Mart shoppers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, typically shop in bulk at the beginning of the month when their paychecks come in.
Lately, they're "running out of money" at a faster clip, he said.
"Purchases are really dropping off by the end of the month even more than last year," Duke said. "This end-of-month [purchases] cycle is growing to be a concern.
Just 35 million have joined the middle class in Brazil recently
The US economy is obviously quite different but there's something exciting about adding so many people in such a brief period of time. After decades of going up and down, Brazil has been on a roll for a number of years and it looks like it will continue. The middle class has grown because politicians decided to make it a priority. Sure there are problems, but this growth is impressive.
Maybe someone in Washington might think about this issue one day and turn the tide of a shrinking middle class. For starters, leading Democrats need to stop the pathetic joke of praising the likes of Ronald Reagan and others who have exacerbated the problem that started in the 1970s.
CNBC:
Maybe someone in Washington might think about this issue one day and turn the tide of a shrinking middle class. For starters, leading Democrats need to stop the pathetic joke of praising the likes of Ronald Reagan and others who have exacerbated the problem that started in the 1970s.
CNBC:
As the developed world struggles, Brazil grows faster, on the strength of its export economy, but also rising domestic demand. Its middle class continues to expand — and spend. An estimated 35 million people joined the middle class between 2003 to 2009, and 20 million more are expected to be included by 2014. Unemployment is at a relatively low 6.5 percent.
The Brazil story is not without its problems — inflation is running at more than 6.4 percent, near the top of its central bank's target range, its currency is arguably overvalued and real estate has seen outsized gains that seem unsustainable.
Brazil has taken steps to curb hot capital inflows, and it is trying to cool consumer credit growth from about 20 percent annually, to about 12 percent, by raising taxes on credit. The hyper-inflation of the 1990s is not such a distant memory, and the central bank is battling inflation with rate hikes and a current interest rate of 12 percent.
Retirement planning goofs
The vast majority of people don’t even know how much money they'll need to live on.
Also: Degrees for stable careers
These five can lead to work in growth fields such as health care and computer science.
Also: 
Why we lap up bottled water
Americans spend $21 billion a year on the stuff, and one analyst says that makes no sense.
Also: WHO warns of enormous burden of chronic disease
Natural spring allergy cures
Eating locally produced honey may make you less sensitive to allergens in your area.
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