Why I Switched To Firefox

Once again, people who use Internet Explorer are getting hacked--this time, it's so bad some companies are telling people to switch browsers until the security breach has been fixed--despite Microsoft's protestations.

Over the years, I feel as though I have spent an inordinate amount of time and money getting rid of viruses and spyware on my computer--and almost every time, the problem has been linked to some security flaw in IE.

I finally got fed up with Internet Explorer about two weeks ago--despite the fact that I had a firewall and antivirus software installed on my computer, my machine still ended up getting infected with a nasty bug that included a keylogger and a number of "downloaders" that I could not seem to get rid of no matter what anti-spyware or antivirus software I tried--I finally ended up having to spend an entire day manually removing the malicious software and editing my registry in order to finally get some relief...and that's when I installed Firefox. I will probably never go back to IE.

It's not that I feel Microsoft is producing a shoddy product--it's just that since Internet Explorer is the most popular browser, it's the one that is most profitable for hackers to target.

I'm no computer expert, so I don't have an answer to all the technical problems associated with spyware and viruses--but I do feel government should pass laws that require greater privacy protections for internet users--and people in general.

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Hilarious! The Mean Kitty Song

Now, if we could just get this guy to do a video about throwing shoes at Bush!

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Iraqi Journalist Chucks Shoes At Bush

During a press conference Sunday in Baghdad, an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at President Bush, which the lame duck narrowly avoided being clobbered by:

The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi television station, stood up about 12 feet from Mr. Bush and shouted in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” He then threw a shoe at Mr. Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it.

As stunned security agents and guards, officials and journalists watched, Mr. Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” That shoe also narrowly missed Mr. Bush as Prime Minister Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president’s face to help shield him.

Security agents then jumped the poor guy, beat the snot out of him, and dragged him out of the room as Bush looked on calmly. His employer called upon the Iraqi government to release him in the name of democracy and freedom of speech. In the Mideast, showing someone the bottom of your foot is considerd the lowest of insults, comparable to our practice of telling someone to "f*** themselves. "



By this morning, Muntader al-Zaidi was already being hailed as a hero, as thousands of protesters gathered in Iraq throwing shoes and groups around the world have worked to secure his release. Across the Mideast, his insult is being praised as a proper send-off for Bush.

Bush has done more to destroy our relations with the rest of the world than any president in history--not to mention all the damage he has done at home. He is truly going to be remembered as the worst president in history.

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Grandma's Porcupine Meatballs

Here's an old recipe from the Depression era my grandmother used to make--it's best served with mashed potatoes and some kind of green vegetable.

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup rice
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup ketchup

Combine hamburger, egg, rice, and, onion. Form into meatballs and place in the bottom of a large kettle or deep frying pan. Combine ketchup with enough water to cover the meatballs and simmer on low heat until the meatballs are done and the liquid is thickened.

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Bush Attempting To Undermine Obama Administration

Talk about sour grapes...

President Bush is spending his last days in office pushing through an unprecedented number of "midnight regulations" by exploiting a loophole in the law which allows him to put regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations--which have the same force as laws passed by Congress. Most of these regulations primarily benefit industries and constituent groups that supported him during his two terms as President. It could take the Obama administration months or even years to overturn some of these rules, especially if the companies and special interest groups that will benefit decide to sue.

Here's a run-down on some of the regulations from The Guardian:

Bush's midnight regulations will:

• Make it easier for coal companies to dump waste from strip-mining into valleys and streams.

• Ease the building of coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks.

• Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.

• Open up millions of acres to mining for oil shale.

• Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

• Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for 11 consecutive hours.

No doubt, Bush and his right-wing allies are furious with the American people for rejecting their fascist, theocratic vision for the nation's future--and this is a last ditch attempt at exacting a measure of revenge. Can't these guys give it a rest? They have already damaged this country so badly that we could well spend decades recovering--if we ever do.

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Upcoming Fed Vote Could Remake Credit Card Regulations

The Fed will vote Thursday on a proposal which will ban practices such as retroactively raising interest rates and not giving consumers a reasonable amount of time to make payments. It represents the biggest overhaul of the credit card industry to occur in decades.

Among the many provisions is a ban on raising interest rates on existing balances unless the customer was 30 days or more late in paying the minimum. Other circumstances in which a rate change would be allowed would be if the card had a variable rate or a promotional rate that was set to expire. Banks would also not be able to treat a payment as late if the customer had not been given a fair amount of time to make that payment.

The proposal would also dictate how credit card companies should apply customers' payments that exceed the minimum required each month. When different annual percentage rates apply to different balances on the same card, banks would be prohibited from applying the entire amount to the balance with the lowest rate. Many card issuers do that so that debts with the highest interest rates linger the longest, thereby costing the consumer more.

Of course, the credit card industry has lobbied against these changes, and claim that if they are implemented, they will have to jack up everybody's interest rates, not just those who get behind--an obvious attempt to punish consumers for daring to question their usurious practices.

While the measure, as written, won't ban all of the deceptive and dishonest practices of the credit card industry, at least it's a start.

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Meet The Senate Morons

Salon has an article on some of the GOP Senators opposed to the auto bail-out bill that is worth a read--according to the article, they are putting their states' interests above those of the nation as a whole. All of them have foreign car manufacturers in their states, who provide them with major campaign cash.

Are they really so stupid they think killing the US auto industry will help boost sales of foreign cars made in their home states? Are they so dense that they can't understand what a massive impact the loss of 3 million jobs could have on the overall economy--and that fewer good paying jobs means fewer dollars available to buy cars of any kind?

I have a feeling these guys may have just hung themselves. It is doubtful Democrats or union supporters across the country will ever let them live it down.

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UAW Workers Confront Shelby--Good For Them!

Via a diary posted on Daily Kos:

UAW workers took a little trip to Senator Shelby's office to talk to him about the auto bail-out plan--and confronted his staffers about the fact that he is willing to screw the American auto worker. (Shelby was conveniently out of his office...) Check out this video:



The rest of us could learn a lesson from the UAW workers who paid Shelby's office a visit--we need to start making our elected officials listen to us, even if it means staging sit-ins in their offices, massive public protests, strikes and boycotts--otherwise, the criminals who have nearly bankrupted us--along with their right-wing co-conspirators, will continue to run roughshod over us.

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Even Cats Like Obama

I've always heard it said that animals and little kids can tell whether a person is good or evil...this kitty can't seem to get enough of Barack Obama.

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Union Busting Rethugs Blame UAW For Defeat Of Bailout Legislation

First of all, get one thing straight--the Republican senators who refused to pass a bailout measure for the auto industry had no intention of reaching a compromise with the UAW. They wanted the negotiations to fail. They want to see US automakers go out of business. They want to see labor unions come to an end.

Nothing would please them more than seeing American workers stripped of their right to at least a minimum wage and reasonably safe working conditions. Apparently, the amount of wealth they have helped transfer out of the hands of the working class and into the hands of the top 1% isn't enough--they will settle for nothing less than the reduction of US workers to the slave status enjoyed by sweatshop workers in places like China and Pakistan. To many of the very rich, the "commoners" are nothing but "production units" whose sole useful purpose is to generate ever greater wealth for the already obscenely wealthy.

For decades, the labor unions--in spite of the problems they have had--have often been at the forefront of the battle to protect workers--union and nonunion alike--from the heartless greed and lack of respect for human rights displayed the elites. Destroying the unions would constitute a major victory on their part--and the UAW is one of the most powerful unions around. Taking them down would make it much easier to kill all the rest...

The problem for us is that the top 1% have already managed to purchase the legislative process--which is why the financial industry got a $700 billion dollar bailout with no strings attached--but the country's workers and homeowners were told to screw themselves. Until we demand that Congress serve the interests of the many instead of the greedy inclinations of a few, we can expect America's downward spiral to continue.

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Bottom Of The Barrel Tuna Casserole

Here's something really cheap you can make if you are in such bad shape you are digging change out of the couch in order to come up with grocery money:

1 box dry mac & cheese (the cheap store brand stuff you can buy for 50 cents a box), prepared
1 can store brand tuna

Just mix the can of tuna in with the mac & cheese--you can eat it just like this, or if you want, you can doctor it up by adding a can of cream of mushroom soup; some drained, canned veggies; a little chopped onions or some mushrooms. You can top it with dry bread crumbs or more cheese.

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White House To Step In And Help Auto Industry

Wow--for once, George Bush is stepping up to the plate and doing something right for a change:

After refusing for weeks to tap the $700 billion financial rescue fund, the administration suggested it would dip into the fund to at least permit the companies to continue their operations until the new Congress and new administration arrive next month.

“Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry,” said Brookly McLaughlin, a Treasury spokeswoman.

Of course, self interest is at the heart of their decision, as Dick Cheney warned Republicans that they would be "remembered as the party of Herbert Hoover if the auto industry fails." Too bad George and Dick weren't concerned a little sooner...like 8 years ago.

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More Crookedness From Drug Makers

According to an article in the NYT, Wyeth paid ghostwriters to produce medical journal articles favorable to Prempro, a hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women--despite the fact that the drug was found to raise the risk of breast cancer.

It is truly sad that we, the ordinary citizens in this country, really have no way of knowing whether or not the drugs prescribed to us by our doctors are safe or if they even work--the profit motive seems to trump every other concern within the drug research field.

I think Congress should enact stricter controls on the ways drug companies can market pharmaceuticals--to both doctors and the public at large.

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Sarah Palin's Church Burns

Oh, great, just what we need--something that will give right-wing nutjobs fodder for conspiracy theories for the next twenty years:

A "suspicious" fire devastated the church attended by Alaska Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Friday night in her hometown of Wasilla, the church's minister said.

--snip--

The newspaper said Palin released a statement after the fire in which she said she stopped by the church Saturday morning and offered an apology to the assistant pastor "if the incident is in any way connected to the undeserved negative attention the church has received since she became a vice presidential candidate."(emphasis mine)

The right-wing religious wackos will interpret her statement as laying the blame for the fire on Democrats. Expect them to start crowing about the way they are "under attack" and are "being persecuted" by those evil liberals--even if the fire turns out to be due to some mundane cause or if it was caused by some stupid kids messing around.

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