Month: September 2012

Congress' Approval Poised to Be Lowest in an Election Year

Thirteen percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, the lowest Gallup has measured this late in an election year. The prior lows were 18% in 1992, 2008, and 2010.

Congressional Approval Ratings in Election Years

In election years in which congressional approval has been low in the months leading up to Election Day, there has generally been higher turnover of seats in Congress. Another factor that may promote higher turnover in this year's congressional elections is the redistricting of all 435 seats after the 2010 census. In 1992, a year in which Congress was unpopular and incumbents seeking re-election were running in newly redrawn districts, more than 100 new members of Congress were elected. That compares with 53 new members after the 2002 elections, the last elections that followed redistricting, but a time when Congress was much more popular.

Congress has never had very high approval ratings at this point in an election year; only twice since 1974 were they over 50% -- in 1998, during the economic boom, and in 2002, during the rally in support for public officials after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The historical average approval rating for Congress is 33%.

Given the recent trend, it is unlikely that Congress' approval rating will get much higher in Gallup's October reading, the final one before the elections. Though Congress' approval rating today is slightly better than in August, Gallup has measured larger increases since then in President Obama's approval rating and Americans'satisfaction with the way things are going.

Less than 20% of Americans have approved of Congress each month since June 2011, including record-low 10% readings in February and August.

2011-2012 Trend: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?

One reason Congress' ratings may be depressed is the split party control of the institution, with Republicans holding a majority in the House of Representatives and Democrats having a majority in the Senate. Currently, 16% of Democrats, 12% of independents, and 10% of Republicans approve of the job Congress is doing.

If one party controlled both houses of Congress, that party's rank-and-file supporters would likely look more favorably on Congress, and push its overall ratings higher. This was the case for the prior Congress, which, although unpopular, was looked more highly upon by Democrats than Republicans given Democratic control of the institution from 2009-2010.

Congress’ Approval Poised to Be Lowest in an Election Year

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Dalai Lama Tells His Facebook Friends That 'Religion Is No Longer Adequate'

On Monday, His Holiness the Dalai Lama took to Facebook to tell his four million friends that "religion is no longer adequate."

dalai lama

The Tibetan religious leader was quoting from a book he published last year, entitled "Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World," in which he argues that religion by itself may no longer provide a satisfactory solution to the ills of the world.

"Any religion-based answer to the problem of our neglect of inner values can never be universal, and so will be inadequate. What we need today is an approach to ethics which makes no recourse to religion and can be equally acceptable to those with faith and those without: a secular ethics," he wrote.

In a review of the Dalai Lama's work, however, the Los Angeles Times notes the 77-year-old Buddhist monk was by no means "denouncing faith," but rather highlighting the need for a universally shared ethos that is rooted in compassion and is relevant in this modern age:

A metaphor the Dalai Lama likes to use goes like this: The difference between ethics and religion is like the difference between water and tea. Ethics without religious content is water, a critical requirement for health and survival. Ethics grounded in religion is tea, a nutritious and aromatic blend of water, tea leaves, spices, sugar and, in Tibet, a pinch of salt.

"But however the tea is prepared, the primary ingredient is always water," he says. "While we can live without tea, we can't live without water. Likewise, we are born free of religion, but we are not born free of the need for compassion."

 

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, the Dalai Lama has long been a vocal advocate for compassion, religious tolerance and the need to bring together science and spirituality in the face of modern suffering.

 

In his 2005 book, "The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality," he wrote:

The great benefit of science is that it can contribute tremendously to the alleviation of suffering at the physical level, but it is only through the cultivation of the qualities of the human heart and the transformation of our attitudes that we can begin to address and overcome our mental suffering... We need both, since the alleviation of suffering must take place at both the physical and the psychological levels.

Dalai Lama Tells His Facebook Friends That ‘Religion Is No Longer Adequate’

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Scooter runs on 100% Hydroxy

A new milestone has been reached in the Hydroxy field. Using an 8 plate, 7 Cell, Bob Boyce style, Hydroxy generator; Jake Wall (screename Jakerwall), an Idaho Biology and Agriculture Engineering grad student, has succeeded in idling and accelerating a 2002 Honda Metropolitan, 49 cc. ~4HP Internal Combustion Engine scooter, on 100 % Hydroxy alone.

Jake would like to do the road tests on a Honda Rukus that has the same engine but would be better for mounting the cells and batteries. "I think that two cells and two deep cycle batteries, along with a PWM (Pulse Width Modulator) that could be controlled by the throttle position sensor would allow you to drive the scooter," the young engineer said in an email interview.

He gets excited thinking that after the initial road tests were done, modifying the scooter's charging system for the load, and using a resonance system to reduce the electrical input required to make the needed volume of gas, would give you a "self-sustaining water scooter", presuming the system is somehow harnessing energy from nature. 

He estimates that the scooter takes about 1.5 liters/minute of Hydroxy to idle the engine and his current test system maxes out at about 5 liters/minute. He reasons that approximately 10 liters/minute would provide enough flow rate for "all driving conditions". Mr. Wall writes, "I bet it would even run better than gasoline."

His cell of eight 316 Stainless plates was configured as a "sealed series cell using spacers from Ed Holdgate". Mr. Holdgate is a machinist who has been working very closely with Bob Boyce the current Guru of Hydroxy and forum owner of the famousHydroxy Yahoo!Group. Jake uses about 16 Volts at 50 Amps (800 Watts) to rev the engine for 30 seconds or so. Idling only requires 14 Volts at 25 Amps (350 Watts). This is verified by readings visible on the various videos he has posted to YouTube. 

These posted numbers for input leave the knowledgeable mechanic or hobbyist scratching their heads wondering from where the rest of the energy might be expected to come. A four horse power gasoline engine isn't supposed to run normally on the total 1600 Watts that would be required to double the current flow of Hydroxy into that system. 

One must consider that the "brute force" Boyce unit being used, is known to produce 2 times Faraday electrolysis output of Hydroxy. And this Hydroxy is estimated to be 6 times more powerful than gasoline. So that might allow one to expect to produce 12 times the Wattage input, leaving plenty of room for the doubling of performance Mr. Wall is expecting, 4 HP, or 3000 Watts worth of work. All of this is being done with a 17-19% efficient Internal Combustion Engine; can the reader imagine what will happen when someone couples Hydroxy up to a 30-70% efficient mechanical engine, like a Tesla Turbine or Stirling Engine?

Mr. Jake Wall admits that he will need some external funding to get to the next testing phase. Let us hope someone with a little extra money laying around grasps the importance of the work he is doing and steps up to the plate.

Scooter runs on 100% Hydroxy

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Fed Undertakes QE3 With $40 Billion in MBS Purchases Each Month

The Federal Reserve said it will expand its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $40 billion of mortgage debt a month in a third round of quantitative easing as it seeks to boost growth and reduce unemployment.

 
Ben Bernanke

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke during a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill. Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

`Full-On' Fed QE3 Toward Year End, LeBas Says
 
2:00

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, talks about the Federal Reserve's decision to expand its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $40 billion of mortgage debt a month. He speaks with Julie Hyman on Bloomberg Television's "Lunch Money." (Source: Bloomberg)

Rupkey Says Fed's MBS-Purchase Plan `Too Tentative'
 
2:46

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, talks about the Federal Reserve's decision to expand its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $40 billion of mortgage debt a month. (Source: Bloomberg)

Fed Buys $40B MBS Monthly, Zero-Rate Policy to 2015
 
1:45

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Mike McKee reports that the Federal Reserve said it will expand its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $40 billion of mortgage debt a month in a third round of quantitative easing as it seeks to boost growth and reduce unemployment. The FOMC also said it would likely hold the federal funds rate near zero “at least through mid-2015.” He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Lunch Money."

Auth: Fed Decision Is Mildly Positive
 
1:01

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Federated Investors Steve Auth reacts to the Federal Reserve decision to expand its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $40 billion of mortgage debt a month. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Lunch Money." (Source: Bloomberg)

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“If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the committee will continue its purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases and employ its other policy tools as appropriate,” the Federal Open Market Committee said today in a statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Washington.

The FOMC said it would probably hold the federal funds ratenear zero “at least through mid-2015.” Since January, the Fed had said the rate was likely to stay low at least through late 2014. The Fed said “a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after the economic recovery strengthens.”

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is enlarging his supply of unconventional tools to attack unemployment stuck above 8 percent since February 2009, a situation he has called a “grave concern.” The decision risks provoking a renewed backlash from Republicans, including presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who say Bernanke’s policies threaten to ignite inflation while doing little to spur the economy.

Stocks soared after the statement. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 1.2 percent to 1,454.41 at 1:56 p.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.79 percent from as low as 1.71 percent.

Fed Undertakes QE3 With $40 Billion in MBS Purchases Each Month

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House approves another five years of warrantless wiretapping

The House of Representatives easily passed legislation on Wednesday to re-authorize the FISA Amendments Act, the 2008 law that allows the federal government to intercept the international communications of Americans with minimal judicial oversight. The vote was 301 to 118.

"I think that the government needs to comply with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution all the time," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) in a floor speech opposing the bill. "We can be safe while still complying with the Constitution of the United States."

But House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, (R-TX) disagreed. "Foreign terrorists continue to search for new ways to attack America," he said before the vote. "Foreign nations continue to spy on America, to plot cyber attacks, and attempt to steal sensitive information from our military and private-sector industries."

But not all Republicans supported the legislation. One opponent was Rep. Tom McClintonck (R-CA). "We're told, don't worry, the law requires that any irrelevant information collected in this manner be disregarded," McClintock said. "But here's the problem: the enforcement of this provision is itself shrouded in secrecy, making the potential for abuse substantial and any remedy unlikely."

The American Civil Liberties Union also blasted the legislation.

"Yet again, the House has rubberstamped a law so broad and vague that, despite its passage four years ago, we still have little idea how the government is using it,” said Michelle Richardson, ACLU legislative counsel. "It is at the very heart of the Fourth Amendment that Americans and their communications are fiercely protected from government intrusion."

House approves another five years of warrantless wiretapping

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