Obama announces initiatives for middle class – Tax Breaks

I wanted to share this with you guys and hope it helps some of you.  We all need to take advantage of new tax breaks and try to maximize our income tax $.  So, read on and enjoy!

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Monday offered help for people struggling to pay bills and care for their families, appealing to a middle-class he says has been “under assault for a long time.”

In a partial preview of a State of the Union address that aims to answer voter angst about the economy and reconnect with the public, Obama outlined the series of proposals from the White House. The product of a middle class task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden, the proposals will also be included in Obama’s budget request due to be submitted to Congress next week.

Among the initiatives: a doubling of the child care tax credit for families earning under $85,000; a $1.6 billion increase in federal funding for child care programs and a program to cap student loan payments at 10 percent of income above “a basic living allowance.”

His initiatives also include expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and increasing aid for families taking care of elderly relatives. That program would also require many employers to provide the option of a workplace-based retirement savings plan.

Obama is seeking to offer some attractive options to taxpayers, mindful of the painful implications of the loss of a traditionally Democratic Senate seat in Massachusetts to Republican Scott Brown. White House advisers see Wednesday’s State of the Union speech as a key opportunity for Obama to recalibrate his message and reset his presidency after that stinging setback, which took away the Democrats’ 60-vote supermajority in the Senate and put his main domestic agenda item, a health care overhaul, in doubt.

Obama and fellow Democrats are trying to regroup to stem more losses of congressional, gubernatorial and legislative seats in this fall’s midterm elections. Obama’s poll numbers are also off — primarily because of the slow economic recovery and double-digit unemployment.

“Too many Americans have known their own painful recessions long before any economists declared that there was a recession,” Obama said in remarks to the task force, gathered around a horseshoe-shaped table.

The president said that creating new jobs and reducing unemployment is the “single-most important thing we can do to rebuild the middle class.” “I won’t rest until we’re doing just that,” he said.

But, Obama said, “We also need to reverse the overall erosion in middle-class security, so that when this economy does come back, working Americans are free to pursue their dreams again.”

The White House says the new proposals are aimed at just that — the “sandwich generation” that is now struggling to care for both children and parents. The theme fits into the planned economic message of Obama’s prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday, which promises to provide a sharper focus on jobs and is likely to cover financial regulations, energy, education, immigration and a push to change the political tone in Washington.

Under the president’s proposals, families making under $85,000 a year would see their child care tax credit nearly doubled. Families making under $115,000 would also see at least some increase in their tax credit as well. Obama will also call for the allocation of $100 million to assist families caring for aging relatives by providing help with transportation, adult day care and in-home aids.

The initiatives also focus on savings, requiring employers that don’t offer work-based retirement plans to enroll their employees in a direct deposit retirement account, unless the employee opts out. The cost to employers would be offset by new tax credits, and the administration says the smallest firms would be exempt.

Obama will also call for caps on some student loans, limiting a borrower’s payments to 10 percent of his or her income, and forgiving all remaining debt after 10 years of payment for those in public service work — and 20 years for all others.

Source: Click Here!

Stop Child Abuse! – The Peter Connelly Story

I saw a video today that literally brought a tear to my eye.  A child is like an animal and is defenseless against abuse.  They can not call ‘911′ or yell out for help…They can only suffer and hope someone comes to their aid.  This child was tortured and and neglected! How is it possible to do such a thing to a child.  Does it make those sick fuckers feel powerful?  Does it make them feel like their God?  How can people like that sleep at night and go through out their day feeling OK with themselves.  I would love to torture that fucker for what he did.  I would do everything he did to that little kid right back at him. How could the mother let this happen? HOW COULD SHE FUCKING LET HIM CUT OFF HIS FINGER! I hope they both die a horrible and painful death.  This was so horrible I bet not even the Devil could stomach to watch this video.

Please spread the word of this video so child abuse awareness can spread.  Also, just like children,  animals need our help too.  If you notice any kind of abuse please call the proper authorities.  Abuse should not be allowed to go on…Please fight abuse no matter what kind it is (Women, men, animals, children, etc.)

Please watch the video and spread the word:  http://media.causes.com/590344?p_id=41784731

U.S.A. Rubbing off onto South Korea!

The United States is starting to rub off some of it’s ‘No shit taking’ power to other countries.  South Korea said something that earned my respect.  South Korea has an army on stand-by and will attack North Korea if they try anything.  “South Korea’s defense chief called Wednesday for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea if there is a clear indication the country is preparing a nuclear attack.” YEAH BITCHES!!  THE UNITED STATES IS TAKEN OVER THIS WORLD!  South Korea is becoming just like the U.S. and this tells me SK will be on our side no matter what.  Check out the article below!

Video of  “NKorea calls for peace talks, end to sanctions” at the bottom of the article.

Youtube page up!!

I finally added the youtube page up and will be posting a lot of videos on there soon so keep watching the channel for new vids! I started the channel off by showing my sister’s two cats…The cats were crying so I decided to video tape them but when I got near the door they stoped so I just filmed them being them. Anyways, here is the page to my youtube page and I hope to see a lot of you subscribing and adding me as a friend

http://www.youtube.com/user/romesblog

US Soldier Throws Puppy Off Cliff!

This is just disgusting!  What kind of person does such a thing…I mean how the hell do you throw an innocent puppy off a fucking cliff!  What the fuck is wrong with this world!?  Is this what gives people like that a kick?  How about I throw your ass off a cliff?  WOULD YOU FUCKING LIKE THAT!?!?

Video: Click Here!

Soldiers’ Cost 1 Million Each To Deploy!

I found this information and thought iId share it with you. Check out the breakdown below:

Operations
$473,371 – The biggest expense, transporting soldiers and equipment to, and around, Afghanistan.

Worn-Out Gear
$120,339 – When units leave, their damaged stuff gets a complete overhaul or is replaced altogether.

Protective Materials
$114,956 – Armor and equipment, including 1,080 “Mine-resistend, ambush protected behicles.”

Training Afghans
$109,747 – Providing Afghan National Security Forces with infrastructure and arms.

Intelligence
$55,275 – Includes airborne sensors and surveillance of high-value targets.

Construction
$38,212 – Flexible funds for small-scale civil and humanitarian projects and miscellaneous building costs.

Coalition Support
$27,574 – Reimbursement for operational and logistical support by cooperating nations.

Research
$11,287 – Development of technology to combat IEDs (improvised explosive devices).

Training Pakistanis
$10,294 – Financial support for Pakistani Security Forces to secure borders and fight insurgents.

Source: Click Here!

22 years in, Navy destroyer breaks record

The U.S.A. is a beast!!!  We are making ships that can take a beaten and destroy any and everything in their path!  Check out the article below to see what I am talking about.

BATH, Maine – Cruising through the darkness in rough seas, the USS Ross encountered a rogue wave that smashed into the destroyer’s bow, sending a shudder along the entire ship that knocked sleeping crew out of their bunks and damaged the sonar housing.

As alarms sounded, sleepy sailors scrambled to shore up the leak.

“We cracked the hull and kept on going like it was nothing,” retired sailor Jonathan Staeblein, of Hagerstown, Md., recalled. In fact, the 510-foot destroyer was never out of service for repairs during any deployment in the three years he served aboard as an electronic warfare technician.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers such as the USS Ross and USS Cole, which survived a terrorist suicide bombing in Yemen, have proven to be durable workhorses in the U.S. Navy.

Over the 22 years since construction of the first one began at Bath Iron Works, the ship has steamed into the record book: The destroyer’s production run has outlasted every other battleship, cruiser, destroyer and frigate in U.S. Navy history. The only warship in production for longer was the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, said Norman Polmar, a naval historian, author and analyst.

Thanks to a decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Arleigh Burke destroyer production will continue for at least a few more years. The defense budget signed by President Barack Obama in December includes money for the first of at least three more ships. There’s talk of many more being built.

At Bath Iron Works, along the banks of the Kennebec River, there are three of the ships in various stages of production.

“They’re fast and they move. And they’re a lot of fun to drive,” said Lt. Cmdr. Robert J. Brooks, executive officer of USS Wayne E. Meyer, a Bath-built destroyer commissioned in October.

Retired Rear Adm. Michael K. Mahon, the Navy’s former deputy director of surface warfare, said the ships run no risk of being outdated any time soon.

“It’s the envy of the world,” said Mahon. “Every surface warship officer in every navy in the world would love to command an Arleigh Burke.”

The original warship was conceived during the Cold War, when Bath Iron Works was abuzz with shipbuilders pounding, grinding, welding, plumbing and wiring ships at a furious pace to meet President Ronald Reagan’s audacious goal of a 600-ship Navy. Shipbuilders toiled long hours working elbow-to-elbow in a haze created by welders inside steel hull segments that were sweltering in the summer and cold in the winter.

The number of Bath shipbuilders peaked at 12,000 by the time the USS Arleigh Burke was commissioned on July 4, 1991.

Some Bath shipbuilders have spent virtually their entire careers doing nothing by making Arleigh Burke destroyers.

Gil Rines, a welder, joined Bath Iron Works as construction was beginning on the first ship. Since then, he has raised two children and become a grandfather. The shipyard changed hands and is now owned by General Dynamics. The number of shipbuilders has dropped to 5,500.

But one thing remained a constant: The shipyard kept churning out Arleigh Burke destroyers, more than 30 of them. The same ships are also built at Northrop Grumman’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., which has churned out more than 20.

“It’s a great ship. That’s why the Navy stuck with it,” said Rines, a third-generation shipbuilder.

The 9,500-ton ships can easily top 30 knots while simultaneously waging war with enemy ships, submarines, missiles and aircraft. Their combat system, called Aegis, uses powerful computers and a phased-array radar to track more than 100 targets — the exact number is classified.

They’re also the only surface warships in the Navy’s arsenal that can be sealed off to withstand a biological, chemical and nuclear attack.

The latest improvements are software upgrades and SM-3 missiles that allow the Aegis system to be used for ballistic missile defense. An Aegis-equipped cruiser built by Bath Iron Works shot down a failed satellite in 2008. Several Aegis destroyers and cruisers are now equipped with the upgraded system.

The Navy originally envisioned building 29 of the ships, but has since extended the line to 62 ships through 2011. With the continued production, there will be at least three more, keeping shipbuilders in Maine and Mississippi busy while the Navy decides whether to build more Burkes, or to build something else.

The Navy’s decision is partly budget-driven. Burkes are less costly to build than the next-generation stealth destroyer, which the Navy and defense contractors spent 10 years designing.

Burkes currently cost about $1.2 billion apiece; the stealthy, and much larger, DDG-1000 Zumwalt will cost more than double that. In the end, the Navy decided to truncate production to just three Zumwalts.

Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, gives credit to the Navy for scaling back the costly Zumwalts and focusing on the tried-and-true Burkes.

The DDG-51 Arleigh Burke, he said, is now in a rare class of military systems that’s so durable and versatile that it continues for generations, like the C-130 Hercules cargo transport, an airplane that first went into production in 1957.

“The fact that the Navy can’t come up with something better than the DDG-51 isn’t necessarily bad news,” he said. “It may be commentary on how good the DDG-51 is.

Source: Click Here!

Arcade is up!!!

The arcade has a user system so please register on it as I was not able to attach the user databases together.  The arcade has 500 free games and is free to sign up for…Once the arcade has some good traffic coming in I will add more games, but for now that is all I can do.

http://www.romesblog.net/arcade/

Americans Are Info-Junkies

This caught my eye when I was browsing some news articles…Our brain consumes 34 GB of data during the day and that is only our free time! It is awesome how our brains can consume so much information. I did a little calculation of a person at age 8 to 80 and this is how much data on average we take in: 905.93TB in 73 years!  Awesome right?! Check out the article below.

Americans are known for gorging on food, but we’re also gluttons of another sort: A new study finds that the average American consumes more than 34 gigabytes of video, music and words a day-and that’s only on our free time.

One byte of information is equivalent to one letter of text. One gigabyte is equal to roughly 8 minutes of high definition video. Thirty-four gigabytes of data would fit on about 7 DVD disks or 1.5 Blu-ray disks.

A mix of old and new media contribute to our daily information diet, the study finds, including TV, radio, books, the Internet, movies, text messages and video games.

The study, carried out by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, looked at only the amount of information U.S. residents consumed in their homes and outside the home for non-work-related reasons. Work-related information consumption was not measured.

The study entitled “How Much Information?” was recently conducted by the Global Information Industry Center at the University of California, San Diego.

Zettabytes of consumption

The study found that the average American spent about 12 hours digesting 34 gigabytes of information daily in 2008. “Information” was defined as “flows of data delivered to people.”

“Considering that on average we work for almost three hours a day [at home] and sleep for seven, this means that three quarters of our waking time in the home is receiving information, much of it electronic,” the authors write.

Yearly, the American info habit consumes 3.6 zettabytes, or 3.6 billion trillion bytes.

To put that in perspective, if 3.6 zettabytes of text were printed in books and stacked tightly across the continental United States and Alaska, it would create a pile 7-feet high (2 meters).

The study also found that Americans “consumed” about 100,000 words per day. However, this figure also includes words that we hear on a daily basis, not just words that we read.

Traditional media dominates

Surprisingly, the study found that Americans spend most of their information consumption time – about 60 percent- watching TV or listening to the radio.

“In other words, traditional media still dominated U.S. households in 2008 … despite the widespread belief that the seemingly ubiquitous computer now dominates modern life,” the authors write.

In terms of sheer bytes, computer and video games took up the lion’s share of data consumed. About 55 percent of the annual bytes Americans consumed were from computers and video games, the study found.

This is largely due to the powerful graphics chips used in some PC’s and gaming consoles, which can deliver up to 100 megabits per second, or eight times that of high definition TV.

Source: Click Here!

Gold PS3 is gold, costs five grand

Anyone who buys this is an idiot!  Why would you buy a gold PS3?  It doesn’t make any sense what so ever…I don’t know, I guess the rich have nothing else to spend their money on these days. What they should do is give me some money so I can advertise the blog! 

What do you get the gamer who has everything?

Answer: this 24-karat gold-plated Playstation 3, which comes complete with two matching controllers and a one-year warranty.

You might want to consider a second mortgage first, though: pricing starts at (yes, starts at) $4999. And we thought the PS3 was expensive when it launched at $500.

If that doesn’t quite do it for you, the same supplier also offers a mighty snazzy gold-and-black Blackberry Tour 9630, starting at a mere $899. There’s that worrying “starts at” again. The menu also includes platinum-plated iMacs — no home’s complete without one — and promises a jewel-encrusted limited-edition PS3 will be on sale in a few weeks.

Source: Click Here!