In 2007 when the Border Patrol was expanded they were not able to meet their quota. In an effort to get the number of recruits they needed, they started an aggressive recruitment program,but they also lowered their standards including relaxing the training and eliminating a required polygraph test. In addition, they went from 11,000 to 21,000 in 5 years years.The result is an entire force of border patrol officers who are inexperienced in a job that places them in critical decision making positions with no guidelines or supervision.

Since May,2010 there has been 8 deaths from extreme use of force against unarmed or noncombative migrants.

Right wing Israeli and U.S. neocon pundits/think tanks have been promulgating the theory for some time now that the uninformed in the U.S. keep adhering to the faulty reasoning that there exist moderate Muslims and we only need to address the radical terrorist faction of Islam. 

Rather they say the basis of the Muslim faith itself is the culprit. Muslims want to wipe out every Christian and Jew. Muslim believers can not exist with other faiths. Further,they state that the Koran teaches Muslims they must kill all nonbelievers of Islam. These anti-Muslim groups says that we must declare war on anyone who is a Muslim.

 Getting members of the military to understand this is a necessary first step. 

And hence - this article. Look what has been uncovered.

 Several Supreme Court justices on Wednesday voiced support for Arizona's effort to crack down on illegal immigration, appearing to reject Obama administration arguments that the federal government has sole responsibility for dealing with people who illegally enter the United States.

The conservative justices who hold a majority on the court suggested by their questions and comments that states would have significant latitude to adopt laws that discourage illegal immigrants from moving to and staying in the United States.

The Houston City Council voted this week to require prior permission before any citizen may distribute food to five or more people on public property, but local activists are preparing to fight back — and hard.

While the ordinance passed Wednesday night by an 11-6 vote was drastically stripped down from the version supported by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, activists say they’re going to challenge it in court and attempt to gather 20,000 signatures over the next month, which should be enough to trigger a city-wide vote on the ordinance in November.

It turns public property into private property,” Chris Carmona, a civil rights attorney in Houston and volunteer with the charitable group Noah’s Kitchen, told Raw Story on Friday. “We already have trespassing laws on the books. We have loitering laws. We have littering laws. But to take public property and turn it private… That’s our local government’s recent mood. That’s our biggest concern.”

Sometimes living in the "middle" really sucks, especially when that middle is one of a political nature.  I catch grief from both "sides" on a daily basis for my opinions and beliefs and get a little tired of toeing the line.  Is it just me, or are folks more polarized than anytime in history?  I wonder if those living way left or way right really understand that independents may decide who will be the next president?

Here are some recent attacks... errr, I mean comments addressed to me:

Only a Leftist coward would write something so lacking in fact! All worthwhile polls have the race a dead heat. What is your problem? Can't read the truth? Typical MSNBC Leftist rhetoric!

Okay, you got me… I am a leftist coward who cannot read the truth.

Young brats like you amaze me with your ignorance and brainwashed attitudes. Democrats are ripping us off and telling YOU that Republicans are to blame.

Oh, not just a leftist coward who cannot read the truth, but I am an ignorant, brainwashed leftist coward.  Yep, that's me!

"your just racist... another GOP NEOCON RACIST!!!"

What a minute!!!  I thought I was an ignorant, brainwashed leftist coward… not just another GOP NECON RACIST!  This is getting confusing!

 I have no idea what you are talking about. I suspect you have no idea what you are talking about either... typical libertarian mind set!

It's making more sense now… I don't know what I'm talking about, I'm not really a leftist nor a GOP NECON RACIST, but I am just plagued with the typical libertarian mind set… that's really, really good.

The title of your seed is very inflammatory. It is very offensive to Christians!

Well f_cK!!!  I can't make everybody happy!!!

Of course you can, the GOP/TP Demented, says they are people. So if you flog perfume you are a female Corporation, abort and be damned. Ron Paul opinion is that female Corporations, have no rights.

Oh… of course I can, because I am one the the GOP/TP Demented… WTF is guy talking about?  

I'm sick and tired of you bleeding heart LIBITARDS!!!  Get real!!!

Ugh!!!  I'm sick and tired too… of the name calling, of the bias, of the intolerance!!!  :/

This is the 2nd worst article I have ever read since coming to newsvine.  I may be new here, but I'm not stupid. My IQ is above 150... still cannot think of anything to say.

You know… my IQ is well below 150 and I can think of lot's of things to say… just not today! :)

A interesting opinion piece by Robert Chanate of the Kiowa Nation.

Old Newt is getting pretty thin skinned. ''Get over it Newt''...

CoH applies. Off topic, derailing, personal attacks will be deleted without warning.

Fallin is exaggerating the jobs statistics and the lack of permitting.  There have been more oil rigs pop up in Oklahoma over the last year than have in many years. 

How is the project going to speed up when TransCanada has not applied yet?  Why aren't US oil companies funding this project?

In light of recent events, I thought a look at a former soldier who exemplifies what is the best in our military would be instructive. I think you will find his story is representative of the majority of our soldiers.

This is from the first chapter in his book,titled,"George Bush Had Better Be F*cking Right".

In 1998, during his senior year at Amherst College, Paul Rieckhoff joined the Army.

He said,"I loved my country. I had been afforded tremendous opportunities in this country and I wanted to give something back. In a democracy, the military should be representative of the population. Just because I didn't have to go didn't mean I shouldn't go."

Rieckhoff wanted to test himself.

"Real leadership is motivating others under tremendous adversity. True leaders are forged by leading men in combat."

On Sept. 11,2001 - Rieckhoff was living and working in New York City.

He volunteered for days,working in "the pit" at the site of the Twin Towers.

Then he volunteered to go to Iraq.

In March,2003, the United States launched the first air strike of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In April,2003, Paul Rieckhoff and the rest of his National Guard Unit were heading to Kuwait.

In countless memoirs I have read of soldiers, whether in our current wars,World War 2, or the American Revolution, I have found the same themes. The young men wanted to "test" themselves. They believed in our country and wanted to give something back. They felt  service, whether active duty or as citizen soldiers, was the way to accomplish that.

 Two episodes from his book:

He mentions that his headphones, like every piece of equipment issued to his Platoon, was old and held together by twenty-mile-an-hour-tape (green Army duct tape). I have gathered that this was predominate among National Guard units, but that this same situation existed throughout the military going overseas,at least at the beginning of the Iraqi war.

He also mentions something I had never heard of before - "meat tags". A tattooed copy of your Army dog tag on your torso, just below your armpit.He says this is a way to identify your body if that is all that remains if your are blown apart.

Do you want to know what a true representation of our armed services is? Read "Chasing Ghosts". I would also like to recommend a few other books,"Generation Kill" by Evan Wright and it's companion book,"One Bullet Away" by Nathaniel Fick, "The Heart and the Fist" by Eric Greitens and finally,"The Good Soldier".The few men we have read about in the headlines lately do not represent the majority of our military. The men in these books represent the core character of our soldiers. Read one of them to get a truer picture than you can in the headlines.

Editor's note: Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem are the Co-Founders of the Women's Media Center.

(CNN) -- Ironically, the misogyny Rush Limbaugh spewed for three days over Sandra Fluke was not much worse than his regular broadcast of sexist, racist and homophobic hate speech:

--Women cabinet members are "Sex-retaries."

--"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies."

--The National Organization for Women is "a bunch of whores to liberalism."

--[Said to an African American female caller]: "Take that bone out of your nose and call me back."

These are just a few samples from the arsenal of degrading language Limbaugh deploys on women, people of color, lesbians and gays, immigrants, the disabled, the elderly, Muslims, Jews, veterans, environmentalists and so forth.

An attorney says that Georgetown law School student Sandra Fluke could “definitely” sue Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh for slander because she does not fit the legal definition of a public figure. On his radio show last week, Limbaugh called Fluke a “slut,” a “prostitute” and demanded that she publish “sex tapes” online in exchange for access to contraception coverage through her private insurance policy.

Five American Indians were arrested after blocking trucks carring Keystone pipeline equiptment that were trying to cross the Pine Ridge Reservation.

CoH will apply. Personel attacks, derailing, off topic will be deleted without warning.

America is in no danger of invasion by any foreign power; no nation would dare to attempt it. But America is in great danger of falling under the control of a relentless force that is threatening it from within. This nation is currently under siege by a powerful entity that has already severely damaged our economy and now has its sights on the dismantling of our democracy.

That relentless force is Corporatism, typically defined as "a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups such as agricultural, business, ethnic or labor on the basis of common interests." That was a description of Corporatism when it existed in a relatively benign state.

That definition has now been updated to: "an association of giant corporations, the wealthiest and most influential Americans, and a large sector of our government." The common goal of these closely connected elements is the control and domination of this nation's agenda and direction.   Let's refer to the leaders of Corporatism as corporatists.

To illustrate what these corporatists are up to, let's take the 2008 recession and its aftermath and examine the underlying causative factors. It is generally accepted that this recession was largely caused by the collapse of the housing sector. Further, that the blame for the collapse is to be shared by homeowners who took on loans that they could not cover and mortgage lenders who were guilty of approving mortgages for buyers who were known to be unqualified.

But that reasoning doesn't go deep enough and the causative factors are much more extensive. Yes, the housing collapse was a large contributing factor and mortgage borrowers and lenders must share blame. But we also know that behind the façade that is presented by the mainstream media, Corporatism played a major role. The Wall Street manipulators were allowed to break or bend laws because the Congress had eliminated or watered down regulations and laws governing the financial sector.   That was Corporatism in action and it worked beautifully for its members -- but not the people.

So now they are going to put Oklahoma's aquifers and environment at risk.  This news report says nothing about the Native American Indian tribes position on this.  The pipeline will run through South Central Oklahoma where alot of the rivers, streams, and lakes are. 

In the technical era we are in it almost seems as if the laws of economics have been repealed. When you make mass produced computer hardware [and especially if you make software]  there is practically no limit on how much supply can be made available . That is why the laws of supply and demand don't seem to exist in parts of our present economy . The setting of prices is far more consumer driven in these industries . But does this mean that these laws have been "repealed" and have no further value ?

The answer is found in the definition of the discipline of economics . Economics is the study of the distribution of scarce goods and services . The key word is scarce . If what you are producing can be made in nearly unlimited quantities with only minor marginal cost increases then applying the laws of supply and demand is a very different process . But , if the product you're producing is limited by availability you must fall back on the old ways of determining prices . We may be in the computer era but petroleum is not subject to that type of voodoo price manipulation . The supply curve for petroleum is a well defined upward line of quantity with price , in other words , old fashioned economics .

But there is one more wrinkle in old style economics which applies to petroleum prices . If supply becomes restricted then it can no longer expand to meet increased demand . That situation is referred to as inelastic supply and it shows distinct patterns in the supply curve . Such things rarely ever happen with computer software pricing .

How do our partisan politicians deal with oil prices ? Sometimes they play the blame game . For example I have witnessed those on the left claim that it is greedy capitalist speculators who are causing sudden spikes in petroleum prices . They don't explain why the volatility has changed though . If their speculating could cause price changes now why wasn't it causing those problems in the past ? And why am I so confident that it was not speculators who were causing this price volatility ? Because they don't need to make large price changes to make a killing in the market .

For example :
There have been some speculators charged with manipulating petroleum prices and making huge profits when they did  .
Here is an article from last year about that subject .
http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/24/markets/oil_price_speculation/index.htm
But if you read it carefully , you will see the following revealing excerpt :
" The price of crude during the months of the alleged misdeeds changed very little, generally staying within a $10 range but the traders made their money off the daily fluctuations. Crude traded at $99 a barrel Jan. 2, 2008, and ended March 2008 at $101 a barrel. "

There it is . It is possible to make small manipulations in the price and still make large profits . That's what these speculators did . But they did NOT drive large changes in the price . And that is the point . It is not possible to create long trends in the price by manipulations unless you are someone who controls a major amount of supply [like OPEC] . The most that can be done by speculators is to day trade on small changes . But that has no effect on longer trends and larger price changes . One more thing : These were no ordinary speculators . They were able to manipulate the price because some of this cooperating group were in the energy business . They knew the details of how to buy petroleum and how to dispose of it .

That seems to have eliminated speculators as the cause of the large volatility in oil prices but what does cause it ? For the right side of politics they seem to believe in the miracle of high office intervention . For example in the following link :
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x604629
there is an indication that G.W. Bush used his influence with the Saudis to get more oil into the system and thereby get the price to drop . Did that work ? It may have appeared to but the sudden drop in prices was more about a decrease in demand from the US driving public . [Most of the oil used in the US goes towards transportation fuel .] It is possible that approach did work in the past . But the bad news is it will not work anymore . And it did not work in 2008 . What makes me so sure of that ?

Here is a summary of an important commentary article recently published in the  journal Nature .
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120126223609.htm
The conclusions it makes are unambiguous and not just a little scary . Here's one of them :
[[
the economic pain of a flattening oil supply will trump the environment as a reason to curb the use of fossil fuels.

"Given our fossil-fuel dependent economies, this is more urgent and has a shorter time frame than global climate change," says James W. Murray, UW professor of oceanography, who wrote the Nature commentary with David King, director of Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

The "tipping point" for oil supply appears to have occurred around 2005, says Murray, who compared world crude oil production with world prices going back to 1998. Before 2005, supply of regular crude oil was elastic and increased in response to price increases. Since then, production appears to have hit a wall at 75 million barrels per day in spite of price increases of 15 percent each year.

"As a result, prices swing wildly in response to small changes in demand," the co-authors wrote. "Others have remarked on this step change in the economies of oil around the year 2005, but the point needs to be lodged more firmly in the minds of policy makers."
]]

The rest of their explanation has to do with the details of the supply of oil and the problems with the recent discoveries as well as the economics  involved . If you are at all interested in this subject read the link . To conclude the graph which summarizes their work is at the top of the page . Those who understand scatterplots will find it compelling and hard to ignore . It shows a clear case of "inelastic supply" in the petroleum industry .
http://images.sciencedaily.com/2012/01/120126223609-large.jpg

 © 2012 . All rights reserved .

The U.S. Postal Service announced plans on Thursday to close or consolidate 223 mail processing centers and eliminate up to 35,000 jobs as part of its strategy to cut costs by reducing its network of facilities.

The Postal Service has been losing billions of dollars each year as email chips away at mail volumes and as it faces massive annual payments to the federal government.

Yesterday I received a letter from our Department of Health outlining what I should and should not do when discussing a woman’s options when considering an abortion after 20 weeks.  Among them was providing information regarding the possibility that the fetus may experience pain during the procedure.  Hmmm?

Anyway, I do not perform abortions where I practice medicine (emergency department), but I have assisted in “completing” an “incomplete” miscarriage from time to time.  Typically it just involves removing blood clots and what usually appears to be the products of conception from the cervical os... not much to see or talk about.

I read over the letter several times and another thing that was interesting was that it required that the physician provide the father with the same information as the mother, which included status of the fetus (i.e. size, heartbeat, developmental stage and so on), details of the procedure, potential consequences and alternatives.  Another hmmmm?

I find it interesting on Newsvine when reading heated debates about pro-choice, pro-life, women’s rights and abortion, that there are those who would wish some to just shut up and accept being stupid.  It comes from both side you know.  But what stands out in my mind at least, is what I’ve read from my fellow pro-choicers.  I’ve included some examples below for you to read for yourself.

And if you are pro-choice I believe you will agree that the examples below reflect either a certain intolerance or a laziness on the part of those who wrote them.  Is this what we want when we are attempting to get someone to accept our viewpoint?  Will the other side simply just go away with these types of responses?  I do not believe they will.

Here are some of the posts I’ve been writing about.

1) “Stay out of my uterus!” 

Weakest argument for pro-choice out there... tops the list.  So, let’s say I’m pro-life (anti-choice) and I believe abortion is murder.  Telling me to stay out of a the “vicinity” of the crime scene is pure hog wash.

2) “When you grow a uterus then you can have an opinion?” 

 Well, according to the Department of Health, I should have more than an opinion, actually it is my responsibility to be educated about abortion and to educate those considering one... including the father and he doesn’t have a uterus.

Telling a man abortion is none of his business or he doesn’t have a right to an opinion on the matter is the same as telling him he is not human.  Goes back to staying out of the crime scene, or murder is a private matter.  Guys who are pro-life could give a flip whether or not women consider the uterus sacred ground.  For them, it’s like saying the Catholic Church is off limits to the police searching for pedophiles.  It’s just a very weak argument.

3) The fetus is: “just a clump of cells!”

                         “a parasite!”

                         “a tapeworm!” (my favorite!) /sarc

Okay, you have to admit these are all pretty pathetic when describing something that will eventually (if left alone) become a human.  I do not know when life begins, maybe at the first breath or sometime around 23 or 24 weeks when most authorities consider the fetus to be viable, but to call what’s growing before that time a parasite or a tapeworm is just downright degrading.  Reducing the growing “human” to these things will win absolutely no arguments... I promise.

4) “When God quits causing miscarriages I’ll stop having abortions!”

 Really... so maybe this person should go out and kill a bunch of people after a natural disaster because… NEWSFLASH!!! -> God caused (or did not prevent) that too!  When lighting strikes a house and sets it on fire, does that give me a free pass to start setting houses on fire?  It's just more silly reasoning and laziness.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the arguments for pro-choice that I’ve read here on Newsvine.  There are many great arguments out there, but these seem more like support for being pro-stupid... and maybe that’s just me, you know, pro-stupid!  I don’t know.

Opinions and comments welcome and NV CoH will be appreciated. :)

(DISCLAIMER: I love writing articles about farting, sex, movies, bogus protest signs and so on… but, this was just an "itch" I had to "scratch.")

On August 31, Toddlers and Tiaras featured a 4-year old wearing fake breasts and butt enhancements, dressed as Dolly Parton.  "It was an outfit that was made for me when I used to compete in pageants," said Lindsay Jackson during the episode. "When she wears the fake boobs and fake butt, it's an added bonus and it's really funny...they all of a sudden realize she is Dolly...we tend to score really well with it."  Facing viewer outrage TLC pulled the show's Facebook page, but that didn't stop the show from featuring a 3-year-old dressed as Julia Roberts's Vivian Ward, a prostitute, in Pretty Woman.

Farting, farts, toots, floating air biscuits, cutting cheese, breaking wind, barking spiders, rumpty rump and so it is... the expulsion of gastrointestinal gas from the anus.  Guys (and some girls) think it is all fun and games, but don’t you think there should be some rules, you know, regarding where and when?

I’ve been thinking, especially after my last “explosion” coupled with the reaction (and evil eye) from the wife, should there be a guide, such as the “rules of engagement” for those who enjoy farting as much as I do?  I think so! :)

So, after much consideration and reflection on my own experiences, I present to those interested with what I consider to be a decent set of guidelines for when to and when not to “break one loose.”  I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.  Be warned though, some of the material is a bit graphic.

FARTING: rules of engagement:

1)  ALONE: always allowed and appropriate, provides a cheap (free) source of entertainment and for some, including me, enjoyment of the... errr, smell of their own farts.  That is if you are not ill or recently ate somewhere your GI tract is not used to (like the time I ate at a delicious Pakistani restaurant and my ass reeked of stink for days!)

2)  FIRST DATE: really bad idea, unless of course you have no intention of going out with that person (or any of her friends) ever again!

3)  SECOND DATE: still a really bad idea!

4)  THIRD DATE: time to set a precedence, she has to know you are a man... and men, well, you know, fart... a lot!!! :)

5)  AT WORK: depends... are you in an office by yourself or waiting tables?  Drop them all day long if by yourself and if in public, well... if the tips are bad then maybe you should cork it!  Never recommended during job interviews.

6)  AT YOUR IN-LAWS: my in-laws fart more than me, so who cares... in fact it’s a good thing.  But, if you’re married to a princess (or prince) then maybe their folks do not want to smell your ass!

7)  AT A WEDDING: no, unless your the one getting married (unless it was arranged).  If the marriage was not arranged then I sure hope you guys have passed the stage of “oh, was that me?” (translation: “yes, my ass stinks, hope you like it!").  Anyway, it’s your wedding, you paid for it... do what you want.

8)  AT THE MOVIES: movies are expensive, and if it’s one you (and everybody else) have been waiting for, then no one wants to miss a single scene.  Also, no one wants to smell your ass.  I usually go way to the back, near the exit door to drop bombs.  I’m so polite!  /sarc! :)

9)  AT A FUNERAL: not sure, but just make sure you are next to the corpse... no one will question where the smell is coming from, I promise. 

10)  DURING SEX: ahhh, my favorite.  So, your getting ready to get some and well, your feeling some pressure... to fart.  It may kill the mood during foreplay, unless you guys are both freaks.  If your partner is going down on you, DO NOT FART… it will definitely kill the mood, no matter how twisted you guys are.  During sex... not sure, I’ve had mixed “reviews” on this.  After sex... for sure!  A man is at the core of his existence after an orgasm, and my “core” is ESPN and video games.  If an explosion from my ass can reduce “pillow talk” to mere seconds, then I’m all about it!  ;-)

Also, I would not consider farting a public display of affection… just in case you are wondering.

If anyone has any more “rules” of engagement with regards to farting, then please list them in your comments.  I hope you enjoyed the article and hope no one was offended.

Peace!  :)

In the 80's it was Dire Straits and "I want my MTV."  Now is it "Get my SSI?"  I was driving down the interstate the other day and saw the billboard with the law firm advertising and promising SSI disabilty benifits to those who had been denied.  Their motto or slogan was "Get My SSI!"

I work and take care of patients in the emergency department.  The other day I was taking care of a healthy looking 23-year old female with "chronic" low back.  This was by her account, she had never seen a doctor before, she had no history of back pain, cancer, scoliois or anything else that would cause "chronic" low back pain.  Anyway, my exam was normal, her xrays and lab were normal and when I explained the results to her, she simply said, "that's okay, my lawyer said I'll still get my SSI."  WTF?!?!

Of course she had multiple tattoos, body piercings and reeked of Marlboro Reds, and spent the majority of my history taking and exam on her cell phone.  Yes I am judging her... by her presentation, chief complaint, and her comments regarding SSI disabilty benifits and the fact that she jumped up from the exam table and walked without difficulty out of the ER on high heels.  People with serious back pain don't jump... and walking on high heels would be torture.

Over the years spent in the emergency department I have see some ridiculous... sometimes just downright pathetic reasons for people to be on disability.  Don't get me wrong, if you deserve it and need it, then fine... you should have that kind of support.  It's the characters that abuse the system that I'm talking about.

I have included below my top 10 list of the top offenders and, in my opinion, the biggest losers abusing the system.  These were former patients I saw, interviewed and examined in my emergency department.  Enjoy! :)

TOP 10 LOSERS (in my book) on disability:

1) 21-year old male, never had a job, on no medications, spent most of his time smoking marijuana and playing video games, was not getting counseling, did not have a doctor and was on disability for being depressed.

2) 25-year old female, obese without history of thyroid problems, cholesterol problems, digestion or GI problems, no history of diabetes, eating a bag of chips in the exam room and in the ER to get her oxycontin refilled... on disability for being overweight.  On no medications except oxycontin (for her feet?).

3) 49-year old male, smoker (2 packs a day for 32 years), with history of a "heart attack" in the past (normal coronary angiogram 1 month ago), on no meds, takes no aspirin, still smokes 2 packs a day and on disability for a "bad" heart.

4) 30-year old female, diabetic on insulin (and it works, no hospital admissions, no problems, no complications), no other medical problems and no other meds, on disability for being a diabetic.

5) 29-year old female with history of anxiety, takes xanax and abuses narcotics... has been arrested for selling her prescriptions, on disabilty for her "nerves."  She also has 4 kids in DHS custody. 

6) 28-year old male, has history of kidney stones and no other medical problems, on no meds, has no doctor and has not had a kidney stone in over 6 years (in fact, after some checking I found out he had only 2 stones in the past), on disability for... you guessed it, kidney stones!

7) 32-year old female with history of pelvic inflamatory disease (PID - you get it from having sex without protection and you get an STD - sexually transmitted disease), she had multpile visits to the ER and community clinic for PID and STD's, but still kept getting them again... I wonder why?  She had previous CT's and ultrasounds that were normal.  Anyway, she was on disability for chronic "pelvic" pain.

8) 24-year old male with psoriasis... wait a minute, isn't that just a rash?  I believe it is not painful, just a little uncomfortable... anyway, this guy was on disability for his "rash."

9) 54-year old female with emphysema, you know, the chronic lung disorder characterized by wheezing and caused by being a long-time smoker.  Well, she still smoked... a lot, and was on disability for "lung" problems.

Drum roll please...

10) 28-year old male with history of... well, nothing.  No previous medical record, no history of surgeries, no history of trauma, no mental health history, no medications, no doctor, and also... no clue as to why he was on disability.  When I asked him why he was on disability he just shrugged his ahoulders and said, "I don't know?  My momma got me on disability when I wuz a kid."  WTF?  Sheeeesh!!!

So, where's my SSI?  I have back pain, I get depressed, I have a history of addiction, I have stress in my life, I've paid into social security for over 25 years... I want my SSI!!! 

(DISCLAIMER: I do not support cuts to entitlement programs, period.  I do support finding ways to reduce and eliminate the fraud and abuse of a system intended to help those in need.  Whether you are a doctor, a lawyer or a patient… if you are abusing the system, you should be brought to justice.)

How can the state break treaties made between Native American Tribal leaders and the government of the United States of America?  Where is their authority?

A Muslim businessman in Canada became a terror suspect for telling his sales staff in a text message to “blow away” the competition at a New York City trade show, a religious association said Friday.

Moroccan-born Saad Allami, who works as a telecommunications company sales manager, was arrested three days after he sent the message in January 2011 and detained while police searched his home, said the Muslim Council of Montreal.

Platte City law enforcement officials said a number of vehicle fires, including one with an unidentified male body, plagued the city early Friday morning.

The first fire was reported at 5:25 a.m. in the 1800 block of Wilkerson Drive. Another vehicle fire was discovered at 6:50 a.m. at 2128 Catie Lane.

Then minutes later and just a few blocks away, an unidentified male body was discovered in a truck at 7:04 a.m., near 2113 Wilkerson Drive. Police said the vehicle was not owned by the unidentified male and the truck had been set on fire.

State-owned PetroChina said it has agreed to take a 20 percent stake in a Canadian shale gas project owned by Royal Dutch Shell, China’s latest acquisition of North American natural resources.

PetroChina, the listed unit of China’s largest oil producer, has signed a deal to buy a share of land and assets in Groundbirch, British Columbia, according to a company statement provided to AFP on Friday.

Two American women kidnapped by gunmen in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Friday were released into army custody a few hours later, security sources said.

The gunmen in the isolated desert region had apparently been seeking a ransom, but the security sources declined to discuss the terms of the release.

Northwest Missouri’s hard-to-figure winter continued Monday with record-breaking temperatures and golfers hitting the links in droves.

It was one obvious sign that illustrated the vast difference between the region’s past two winters and a season that has failed to produce more than a few whimpers of frostiness. A whole host of statistics back up the welcome transformation, officials said.

A young woman in Milwaukee called the cops when someone threw a brick through her window. One of the cops who came to help raped her.

Her revulsion in the aftermath was so visceral that she vomited as she ran outside. The cop’s partner had become concerned when he did not immediately see Cates and called for back-up. Other cops began arriving and saw a woman screaming incoherently about being raped.

Cates appeared and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around. Her swinging feet may or may not have struck the partner. She was handcuffed and taken in, told at the stationhouse that she was being charged with assaulting a police officer.

On Sunday, the cross will be loaded onto a truck bed and will lead the way from the old hospital to the site of a new facility during a dual demolition-groundbreaking ceremony. Demolition of the old hospital building -- a reminder of the tragedy -- will begin, and ground will be broken for a new building as Joplin moves forward.

"It's hard to say goodbye to the building that has been St. John's since 1968," said Gary Pulsipher, president of St. John's Mercy, in a statement. The hospital has occupied three different sites in Joplin since 1896.

Gang-related deaths typically aren’t the product of fights over drugs — as many assume — but rather result from grudges between rival gangs that erupt into violence, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gang homicides nearly always involve guns, usually occur in public places and the victims tend to be under the age of 19, the agency reported on Thursday in a study that examined 2003-2008 data from Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, California; Oklahoma City; and Newark, New Jersey.

Hacktivists affiliated with the “Anonymous” movement took credit for crashing the websites of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Universal Music Group on Thursday after the FBI shut down one of the most popular file sharing websites, MegaUpload.com.

The group later took credit for crashing the site of the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. They also briefly knocked the U.S Copyright Office site offline and gained internal access to the Utah Chiefs Of Police Association site.

“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person” ~ Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney is an American journalist. After college, he was drafted into the Army and in 1943 was the first American journalist to visit the German concentration camps. In 1949, he joined CBS as a writer for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, then moved on to The Garry Moore Show. In 1972, he began working for 60 Minutes, hosting the now-famous commentary segment, "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney."

Fifty people have been held over one of the largest fraud cases investigated by US immigration officials, involving alleged Puerto Rican identity theft.

The accused conspired to sell the identities of thousands of Puerto Ricans to illegal immigrants, US authorities say.

Legal documents were allegedly sold for as much as $2,500 (£1,631) per person.

Hundreds of birth certificates, Social Security numbers and driver's licences were bought since 2009, officials say.

Stuck in a financial pothole, Missouri's highway department has been selling equipment and eliminating employees to scrounge up enough money to repair its roads. Unless it also changes state law, it could lose tens of millions of federal highway dollars as a penalty for not adopting new safety requirements for commercial truck drivers.

Though Missouri's financial predicament may be extreme, it is far from unique. Approximately one-third of states have indicated they may not meet a Jan. 30 deadline for their drivers' license offices to require interstate truck drivers to provide proof from a medical professional that they are healthy enough to drive, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

States that fail to comply with the federal mandate could lose 5 percent of their highway funds — about $30 million in Missouri's case. If they remain out of compliance for a second year, that penalty doubles. But noncompliant states could receive a grace period; as long as they submit a plan to obey the mandate, federal officials have indicated they may not start deducting money until 2014.

The federal agency declined to provide a list of the states in jeopardy of missing the deadline. But Missouri's plight was confirmed by state officials and documents obtained by The Associated Press through an open-records request. Officials in several other states, including Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma, also confirmed to the AP that they will not be able to fully implement the federal requirement by the deadline.

"It's hard enough to keep our roads in good condition, and this is going to make it more difficult," said Missouri state Rep. Eric Burlison, a Republican who unsuccessfully sought to bring Missouri in line with the federal requirements.

The federal government already requires interstate truck drivers to get a medical OK from a doctor. Drivers currently carry around their medical certification cards in case stopped by a police officer or inspector. Under the federal requirement that kicks in Jan. 30, truck drivers are to begin submitting their medical approval forms to state licensing offices, which are to enter the information in a nationwide database that also tracks things such as invalid licenses and driving violations.

"Its whole purpose is just to make sure that the drivers on the road are safe," said Claire O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

Adding truckers' medical status to the database was supposed to relieve them of the duty to carry medical cards. But because some states have been slow to implement the requirement, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plans to continue the card-carrying requirement until Jan. 30, 2014.

Some states have had trouble meeting the technological standards needed submit truckers' medical certifications into the nationwide database. Colorado, for example, plans to require truck drivers to submit the medical forms to the licensing bureau beginning Jan. 30 but doesn't expect to be able to enter the information into the database until mid-summer, said Mark Couch, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Revenue. The Kansas Department of Revenue said it could be a few months after the deadline before its computers are capable of meeting the federal requirement.

"We already have information up on our website explaining the information they're going to need to bring in, we just don't have a date to begin processing," said Jeannine Koranda, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Other states still must change their laws to comply with the federal requirement.

Oklahoma, for example, needs to amend its law to disqualify truck drivers who fail to provide medical certificates to the state. But a wide-ranging bill that included the necessary changes was derailed this past year in the Oklahoma Senate. And the Legislature does not reconvene until early February, just after the federal deadline.

Oklahoma could lose nearly $20 million if it's not in compliance with the new requirement, said Mike Patterson, deputy director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

"We're concerned, yes, but we have all the confidence that the Department of Public Safety will be able to get all the proper certifications in place, as they have in the past, to secure the federal funding," Patterson said.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed a bill that would have complied with the federal licensing requirements, because he objected to an unrelated provision that could have allowed more electronic billboards along state highways. Emails between the Missouri governor's office and the state highway department show Nixon's staff knew of Jan. 30 deadline and had been told by department personnel that a waiver was unlikely.

In August, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent Missouri a letter saying states in violation of the medical certification requirements for truck drivers as of Feb. 1 will have to submit a plan demonstrating "an earnest intent to gain full compliance" on an acceptable timeline or else federal funds could be withheld beginning Oct. 1, 2014.

Yet legislators failed to rally the two-thirds majority needed to override Nixon's veto during a September session. And Nixon didn't include the commercial driver's license requirements on the agenda for an autumn special session. The Missouri Department of Transportation says legislation needed to comply with the federal mandate will be one of its top goals for a legislative session that starts Jan. 4.

It's important not only to avoid a financial hit but to protect the traveling public, said department director Kevin Keith.

If some states get their federal highway funding docked, it won't be the first time they have been penalized for not complying with federal highway safety standards.

Records from the U.S. Department of Transportation show 15 states didn't comply with the federal government's minimum penalties for drunken driving in 2011, and 11 states failed to follow federal guidelines to prohibit open-containers of alcohol in vehicles. As a result, those states had more than $350 million transferred from their road construction funds to highway safety efforts.

Missouri, which had about $40 million transferred, was one of just four states — along with Alaska, Louisiana and Wyoming — that were out of compliance with both requirements.

Missouri state Sen. Bill Stouffer, a Republican who is chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, complained "it's not fair and it's not right" that the federal government keeps chipping away at road construction funding with financially linked mandates. Although tougher open-container laws have repeatedly been filibustered in Missouri, the changes needed to comply with federal standards on drunken driving sentences and commercial driver's licenses have not been controversial. They just haven't been enacted.

"It's not a reluctance to get it fixed," Stouffer said. "It's just been on a bigger bill that failed. It's been the victim of the process."

___

Associated Press writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

Today is Bill of Rights Day. So it’s an appropriate time to consider the state of our constitutional safeguards.

Let’s consider each amendment in turn.

According to a confidential Canadian government memo, shipments of “bomb-grade” uranium are being moved secretly from Canada into the United States. The memo was obtained through an “Access to Information Act” filed by the CBC or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Documents show that one shipment of nuclear material has been moved to the United States as part of a deal signed by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Obama Administration last year. The amount of nuclear material slated to be hauled from a site in Chalk River, Ontario to locations within the U.S. is the equivalent of “several Hiroshima-sized bombs” according the CBC report