http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeuBB_mOFIA
ACLU wants to tear down a veteran's memorial in the Mojave desert. What is this world coming to. One idiot says he MAY visit the desert and it MAY offend him. Next they will be saying you can't post on Face Book because it MAY offend someone who may or may not be your friend.
Click the header to follow the youtube video.
Please take a minute to watch the video.
It should make every American angry! It is so absurd!
If you feel the same way as I do you can go to www.donttearmedown.com an sign the petition!.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The 10-year-old who helped Apollo 11, 40 years later
By Rachel Rodriguez
CNN
(CNN) -- On July 23, 1969, as Apollo 11 hurtled back towards Earth, there was a problem -- a problem only a kid could solve.
At age 10, Greg Force reaches his arm into a tiny hole to fix an antenna crucial to Apollo 11.
1 of 5 It sounds like something out of a movie, but that's what it came down to as Apollo 11 sped back towards Earth after landing on the moon in 1969.
It was around 10:00 at night on July 23, and 10-year-old Greg Force was at home with his mom and three brothers. His father, Charles Force, was at work. Charles Force was the director of the NASA tracking station in Guam, where the family was living.
The Guam tracking station was to play a critical role in the return of Apollo 11 to Earth. A powerful antenna there connected NASA communications with Apollo 11, and the antenna was the only way for NASA to make its last communications with the astronauts before splashdown. But at the last minute on that night, a bearing in the antenna failed, rendering it nearly useless.
To properly replace the bearing would have required dismantling the entire antenna, and there was simply no time. So Charles Force thought of a creative solution: If he could get more grease around the failed bearing, it would probably be fine. The only problem was, nobody at the station had an arm small enough to actually reach in through the two-and-a-half inch opening and pack grease around the bearing.
And that's when Greg was called in to save the day. Charles Force sent someone out to his home to pick up Greg. Once at the tracking station, Greg reached into the tiny hole and packed grease around the failed bearing. It worked, and the station was able to successfully complete its communications role in the mission. Apollo 11 splashed down safely the next day.
At the time, Greg didn't think what he was doing was a big deal, and 40 years later, he's still modest about his role in the mission.
"That's all I did, was put my hand in and put grease on it," he says. If he hadn't been there, NASA would not have been able to make its last communications with the mission before splashdown, but Greg says "it wasn't life or death, [from] my understanding."
"My dad explained to me why it was important," he says, "but it kind of caught me by surprise afterwards, all the attention." iReport.com: Read Greg's firsthand account
That attention came from the media and even the astronauts themselves. Greg's small but important part in Apollo 11 was a story told by news outlets around the world. He even got a nice thank-you note from Neil Armstrong, whom he met when Armstrong went on a tour of NASA stations with the other astronauts to thank the staff after the mission. "To Greg," reads the note, which Armstrong wrote on a newspaper clipping of Greg's story, "with thanks for your help on Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong."
Perhaps not surprisingly, like many other kids who grew up during the Apollo era, Greg dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He says he remembers visiting his dad's office to listen to astronauts communicating with NASA officials on the ground.
"We could sit and listen to the actual communication with the astronauts as it was happening, and it was hard to understand, but I loved to do that," he says. "On Guam we didn't have good television coverage, so I think I listened to the [moon] landing on the radio. To me it was a huge thing."
Greg pursued his dreams of space exploration all the way through college, where he majored in physics. Unfortunately, he was unable to pass the vision test for the space program because of his colorblindness, but even that couldn't squelch his interest. Greg went on to get his pilot's license, and even though his career now as a gymnastics school owner isn't exactly space-related, he says that "ever since then, I've followed the space program."
And as a lover of space exploration, Greg hopes to see more missions to the moon.
"I think it would be an important step as far as going further, like to Mars," he says. "I would love to see us go back to the moon."
But for now, on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, he can remember the small but crucial role he played in bringing Apollo 11 home safely.
"It kind of caught me by surprise," he says, "but I'm real proud to have been even a little tiny part of it." iReport.com: See more photos of Greg with his father and Armstrong.
CNN
(CNN) -- On July 23, 1969, as Apollo 11 hurtled back towards Earth, there was a problem -- a problem only a kid could solve.
At age 10, Greg Force reaches his arm into a tiny hole to fix an antenna crucial to Apollo 11.
1 of 5 It sounds like something out of a movie, but that's what it came down to as Apollo 11 sped back towards Earth after landing on the moon in 1969.
It was around 10:00 at night on July 23, and 10-year-old Greg Force was at home with his mom and three brothers. His father, Charles Force, was at work. Charles Force was the director of the NASA tracking station in Guam, where the family was living.
The Guam tracking station was to play a critical role in the return of Apollo 11 to Earth. A powerful antenna there connected NASA communications with Apollo 11, and the antenna was the only way for NASA to make its last communications with the astronauts before splashdown. But at the last minute on that night, a bearing in the antenna failed, rendering it nearly useless.
To properly replace the bearing would have required dismantling the entire antenna, and there was simply no time. So Charles Force thought of a creative solution: If he could get more grease around the failed bearing, it would probably be fine. The only problem was, nobody at the station had an arm small enough to actually reach in through the two-and-a-half inch opening and pack grease around the bearing.
And that's when Greg was called in to save the day. Charles Force sent someone out to his home to pick up Greg. Once at the tracking station, Greg reached into the tiny hole and packed grease around the failed bearing. It worked, and the station was able to successfully complete its communications role in the mission. Apollo 11 splashed down safely the next day.
At the time, Greg didn't think what he was doing was a big deal, and 40 years later, he's still modest about his role in the mission.
"That's all I did, was put my hand in and put grease on it," he says. If he hadn't been there, NASA would not have been able to make its last communications with the mission before splashdown, but Greg says "it wasn't life or death, [from] my understanding."
"My dad explained to me why it was important," he says, "but it kind of caught me by surprise afterwards, all the attention." iReport.com: Read Greg's firsthand account
That attention came from the media and even the astronauts themselves. Greg's small but important part in Apollo 11 was a story told by news outlets around the world. He even got a nice thank-you note from Neil Armstrong, whom he met when Armstrong went on a tour of NASA stations with the other astronauts to thank the staff after the mission. "To Greg," reads the note, which Armstrong wrote on a newspaper clipping of Greg's story, "with thanks for your help on Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong."
Perhaps not surprisingly, like many other kids who grew up during the Apollo era, Greg dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He says he remembers visiting his dad's office to listen to astronauts communicating with NASA officials on the ground.
"We could sit and listen to the actual communication with the astronauts as it was happening, and it was hard to understand, but I loved to do that," he says. "On Guam we didn't have good television coverage, so I think I listened to the [moon] landing on the radio. To me it was a huge thing."
Greg pursued his dreams of space exploration all the way through college, where he majored in physics. Unfortunately, he was unable to pass the vision test for the space program because of his colorblindness, but even that couldn't squelch his interest. Greg went on to get his pilot's license, and even though his career now as a gymnastics school owner isn't exactly space-related, he says that "ever since then, I've followed the space program."
And as a lover of space exploration, Greg hopes to see more missions to the moon.
"I think it would be an important step as far as going further, like to Mars," he says. "I would love to see us go back to the moon."
But for now, on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, he can remember the small but crucial role he played in bringing Apollo 11 home safely.
"It kind of caught me by surprise," he says, "but I'm real proud to have been even a little tiny part of it." iReport.com: See more photos of Greg with his father and Armstrong.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Best Places To Live
CNN has listed the best places to live. Is your city included.
And the winners are...
Yes, strong local economies still exist. These small towns have 'em - plus great schools, affordable homes, low crime, and much more. More
1. Louisville, CO
2. Chanhassen, MN
3. Papillion, NE
4. Middleton, WI
5. Milton, MA
• See the top 1006. Warren, NJ
7. Keller, TX
8. Peachtree City, GA
9. Lake St. Louis, MO
10. Mukilteo, WA
6-figure towns
Holmdel, N.J., residents pull in more than $159,000 a year. Which other places have high incomes? CNNMoney's Best Places database of 1,800-plus U.S. cities includes towns with populations 8,500 to 50,000 with satisfactory education and crime scores, where income is below 200% of the state median, and that are no more than 95% white – as well as cities with populations 90,000 and up.
And the winners are...
Yes, strong local economies still exist. These small towns have 'em - plus great schools, affordable homes, low crime, and much more. More
1. Louisville, CO
2. Chanhassen, MN
3. Papillion, NE
4. Middleton, WI
5. Milton, MA
• See the top 1006. Warren, NJ
7. Keller, TX
8. Peachtree City, GA
9. Lake St. Louis, MO
10. Mukilteo, WA
6-figure towns
Holmdel, N.J., residents pull in more than $159,000 a year. Which other places have high incomes? CNNMoney's Best Places database of 1,800-plus U.S. cities includes towns with populations 8,500 to 50,000 with satisfactory education and crime scores, where income is below 200% of the state median, and that are no more than 95% white – as well as cities with populations 90,000 and up.
JPMorgan Chase earns $2.7 billion
By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Banking giant easily surpassed Wall Street's estimates for the second quarter, as investment banking performance offset consumer-related credit losses
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JPMorgan Chase once again proved that it has been one of the better-run banks during the financial crisis after reporting quarterly results that blew past Wall Street estimates.
Buoyed by a solid performance in its investment banking division, the company said Thursday that profits in the second quarter rose 36% from a year ago to $2.7 billion, or 28 cents a share.
That profit came despite a $1.1 billion one-time reduction to earnings tied to the company's decision to repay $25 billion in government money received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
JPMorgan Chase chairman and chief executive officer Jamie Dimon said in a statement that he was "pleased" by the results, even as the company's latest numbers were weighed down by higher credit costs, particularly in the company's consumer lending and credit card businesses.
0:00 /4:39Goldman's compensation gamble
The company set aside more money during the quarter to cover bad home equity, mortgage and student loans, helping to prompt a loss of $955 million in its consumer lending business. But Dimon maintained in his statement that the firm, as a result, was well poised to absorb future loan losses.
Profitability declined modestly in other areas as well, including the company's asset management arm.
But those areas of weakness were offset by the performance of JPMorgan Chase's investment banking division, which reported a profit of nearly $1.5 billion, up from $394 million a year ago.
Fees in the JPMorgan's equity underwriting business, for example, soared to a record $1.1 billion, after a number of top financial firms, including itself, issued stock as part of an effort to repay TARP funds.
Few analysts, however, were expecting the quarter to turn out so well for the bank. Consensus estimates were for the company to book a profit of $280 million, or just 4 cents a share.
Some bearish analysts even suspected that the firm might swing to a loss in the quarter, given its significant exposure to the American consumer.
Thursday's results, however, will certainly add to the ongoing debate on Wall Street as to whether the worst is indeed over for the nation's banks and if a recovery is already well underway.
On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) delivered blowout second-quarter results, reporting a profit of $3.44 billion that handily beat analysts' estimates.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) shares gained modestly in pre-market trading Thursday.
Banking giant easily surpassed Wall Street's estimates for the second quarter, as investment banking performance offset consumer-related credit losses
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JPMorgan Chase once again proved that it has been one of the better-run banks during the financial crisis after reporting quarterly results that blew past Wall Street estimates.
Buoyed by a solid performance in its investment banking division, the company said Thursday that profits in the second quarter rose 36% from a year ago to $2.7 billion, or 28 cents a share.
That profit came despite a $1.1 billion one-time reduction to earnings tied to the company's decision to repay $25 billion in government money received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
JPMorgan Chase chairman and chief executive officer Jamie Dimon said in a statement that he was "pleased" by the results, even as the company's latest numbers were weighed down by higher credit costs, particularly in the company's consumer lending and credit card businesses.
0:00 /4:39Goldman's compensation gamble
The company set aside more money during the quarter to cover bad home equity, mortgage and student loans, helping to prompt a loss of $955 million in its consumer lending business. But Dimon maintained in his statement that the firm, as a result, was well poised to absorb future loan losses.
Profitability declined modestly in other areas as well, including the company's asset management arm.
But those areas of weakness were offset by the performance of JPMorgan Chase's investment banking division, which reported a profit of nearly $1.5 billion, up from $394 million a year ago.
Fees in the JPMorgan's equity underwriting business, for example, soared to a record $1.1 billion, after a number of top financial firms, including itself, issued stock as part of an effort to repay TARP funds.
Few analysts, however, were expecting the quarter to turn out so well for the bank. Consensus estimates were for the company to book a profit of $280 million, or just 4 cents a share.
Some bearish analysts even suspected that the firm might swing to a loss in the quarter, given its significant exposure to the American consumer.
Thursday's results, however, will certainly add to the ongoing debate on Wall Street as to whether the worst is indeed over for the nation's banks and if a recovery is already well underway.
On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) delivered blowout second-quarter results, reporting a profit of $3.44 billion that handily beat analysts' estimates.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) shares gained modestly in pre-market trading Thursday.
Jobless claims at 6-month low
By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com contributing writer
Last Updated: July 16, 2009: 9:02 AM
There were 522,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended July 11, down 47,000 to from a revised-up 569,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said. The number of claims was the lowest since the 488,000 claims reported in the week ended Jan. 3, a week that included the New Year holiday.
The number was much less than the consensus estimate of 553,000 from economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 584,500, down 22,500 from the previous week's revised average of 607,000.
Continuing claims: The government said 6,273,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended July 4, the most recent data available. The week included the Independence Day holiday.
That's down 642,000 from the preceding week's revised 6,915,000 claims.
The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell to 6,666,750, down 110,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,777,000.
State-by-state data: A total of seven states reported initial claims fell by more than 1,000 in the week ended July 4, the most recent data available.
New Jersey's claims fell the most, by 5,030 -- which a state-supplied comment attributed to the shorter workweek, as well as fewer layoffs in the transportation, warehousing, trade, and service industries.
Conversely, nine states reported claims increased by more than 1,000. Michigan reported the most new claims, at 12,144.
First Published: July 16, 2009: 8:38 AM ET
Last Updated: July 16, 2009: 9:02 AM
There were 522,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended July 11, down 47,000 to from a revised-up 569,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said. The number of claims was the lowest since the 488,000 claims reported in the week ended Jan. 3, a week that included the New Year holiday.
The number was much less than the consensus estimate of 553,000 from economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 584,500, down 22,500 from the previous week's revised average of 607,000.
Continuing claims: The government said 6,273,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended July 4, the most recent data available. The week included the Independence Day holiday.
That's down 642,000 from the preceding week's revised 6,915,000 claims.
The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell to 6,666,750, down 110,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,777,000.
State-by-state data: A total of seven states reported initial claims fell by more than 1,000 in the week ended July 4, the most recent data available.
New Jersey's claims fell the most, by 5,030 -- which a state-supplied comment attributed to the shorter workweek, as well as fewer layoffs in the transportation, warehousing, trade, and service industries.
Conversely, nine states reported claims increased by more than 1,000. Michigan reported the most new claims, at 12,144.
First Published: July 16, 2009: 8:38 AM ET
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Michael Jackson: A look back at his life
A star since the age of 12 when The Jackson Five registered four No. 1 hits in 1970, Michael Jackson parlayed his remarkable singing and dancing talents into mega-stardom, the likes of which few entertainers have ever known.
Please click on the header "Michael Jackson: A look back at his life" or go to http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-06-25-michael-jackson-timeline_N.htm and comment on this timeline.
Please click on the header "Michael Jackson: A look back at his life" or go to http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-06-25-michael-jackson-timeline_N.htm and comment on this timeline.
Michael Jackson: HIStory of superstar's unreleased songs
By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
Since Michael Jackson's unexpected death, fans and industry insiders have been wondering what unreleased music the pop icon may have left behind.
Reports that he was collaborating on a comeback album with leading hip-hop and R&B artists emerged as early as 2006. He had worked on songs with will.i.am, and Ne-Yo had offered material for consideration.
MEMORIAL PLANS: Grammys' Ehrlich tells how it all came together
Akon— whose sweetly lyrical Hold My Hand, featuring Jackson on vocals, was leaked last year — says he and Jackson were working on additional songs. Jackson was intent on crafting an album with "positive messages that would bring people together, upbeat songs as well as ballads," Akon says.
"And his voice was incredible — it had not changed."
Since Michael Jackson's unexpected death, fans and industry insiders have been wondering what unreleased music the pop icon may have left behind.
Reports that he was collaborating on a comeback album with leading hip-hop and R&B artists emerged as early as 2006. He had worked on songs with will.i.am, and Ne-Yo had offered material for consideration.
MEMORIAL PLANS: Grammys' Ehrlich tells how it all came together
Akon— whose sweetly lyrical Hold My Hand, featuring Jackson on vocals, was leaked last year — says he and Jackson were working on additional songs. Jackson was intent on crafting an album with "positive messages that would bring people together, upbeat songs as well as ballads," Akon says.
"And his voice was incredible — it had not changed."
Billboard reported last week that Jackson had been at work on both a new pop album, his first since 2001's Invincible, and an instrumental album of classical music.
Veteran engineer and producer Bruce Swedien, a longtime Jackson and Quincy Jones colleague who worked on Off the Wall and Thriller, says he and Jackson had "experimented" with classical music but had "a bunch of things in the works" in more of a pop vein. "There were pieces of music that I think would have been wonderful."
Swedien, whose book In the Studio With Michael Jackson arrives July 27, describes one unreleased song, Don't Be Messin' Around, as "a medium-tempo piece, with Jackson playing piano. And he does it well."
Others point to older recordings. Tommy Mottola, formerly head of Sony Music, Jackson's record company, says the singer accumulated a lot of material that never left the studio. And Queen guitarist Brian May revealed on his website after the superstar's death that he and Freddie Mercury had recorded tracks at Jackson's home.
Sony says Jackson had been in talks for eight months about a 30th anniversary edition of Off theWall that would pair him with other stars, as with the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller. The label says it has no plans to unveil new or repackaged songs.
That hasn't discouraged speculation.
"Of course they're going to put stuff out," says veteran music critic J.D. Considine, who writes for The Globe and Mail in Toronto. "I would be extraordinarily surprised if we didn't have some kind of elaborate box set in time for Christmas."
Former Spin and Vibe editor Alan Light would advise anyone seeking to represent Jackson's work, particularly the unreleased music, "to be careful what context it's presented in." When rapper Notorious B.I.G. died, "songs were rebuilt and reconstructed around scraps. You can do that, but Michael Jackson was a perfectionist.
"I'd argue it wouldn't serve his memory or his creative legacy to just dump stuff out there."
But Mottola says that while Sony "packaged and repackaged his albums for years, there are still true gems in the unreleased material."
The tough part, most agree, will be finding the right people to curate that material. "Sony would be wise to work with people who really know the music, like some of the producers who worked on it originally," Mottola says. "And it would be good to work with (Jackson's) family as well, to keep everything running smoothly."
For his part, Akon plans to "let the family decide" what to do with his and Jackson's most recent efforts: "They knew him better than anybody."
Veteran engineer and producer Bruce Swedien, a longtime Jackson and Quincy Jones colleague who worked on Off the Wall and Thriller, says he and Jackson had "experimented" with classical music but had "a bunch of things in the works" in more of a pop vein. "There were pieces of music that I think would have been wonderful."
Swedien, whose book In the Studio With Michael Jackson arrives July 27, describes one unreleased song, Don't Be Messin' Around, as "a medium-tempo piece, with Jackson playing piano. And he does it well."
Others point to older recordings. Tommy Mottola, formerly head of Sony Music, Jackson's record company, says the singer accumulated a lot of material that never left the studio. And Queen guitarist Brian May revealed on his website after the superstar's death that he and Freddie Mercury had recorded tracks at Jackson's home.
Sony says Jackson had been in talks for eight months about a 30th anniversary edition of Off theWall that would pair him with other stars, as with the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller. The label says it has no plans to unveil new or repackaged songs.
That hasn't discouraged speculation.
"Of course they're going to put stuff out," says veteran music critic J.D. Considine, who writes for The Globe and Mail in Toronto. "I would be extraordinarily surprised if we didn't have some kind of elaborate box set in time for Christmas."
Former Spin and Vibe editor Alan Light would advise anyone seeking to represent Jackson's work, particularly the unreleased music, "to be careful what context it's presented in." When rapper Notorious B.I.G. died, "songs were rebuilt and reconstructed around scraps. You can do that, but Michael Jackson was a perfectionist.
"I'd argue it wouldn't serve his memory or his creative legacy to just dump stuff out there."
But Mottola says that while Sony "packaged and repackaged his albums for years, there are still true gems in the unreleased material."
The tough part, most agree, will be finding the right people to curate that material. "Sony would be wise to work with people who really know the music, like some of the producers who worked on it originally," Mottola says. "And it would be good to work with (Jackson's) family as well, to keep everything running smoothly."
For his part, Akon plans to "let the family decide" what to do with his and Jackson's most recent efforts: "They knew him better than anybody."
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