Treat yourself to our world . . .
January 26th, 2012These are photos of really extraordinary places or events and very interesting.
Take a few minutes to look at these…enjoy.
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There is No Reality Only Perceptions — We are in Trouble
January 21st, 2012
Voters seek own spin
THEY TUNE OUT NEWS AT ODDS WITH THEIR VIEWS
By Marc Fisher Washington Post
LAURENS, S.C. – Once upon a time – oh, about two presidential elections ago – Dianne Belsom would get up in the morning and read the paper, taking in news stories about candidates and campaigns. Some stuff she agreed with, some she didn’t.
This morning, Belsom wakes in her splendidly restored pink Victorian on Main Street in this rural South Carolina town, makes coffee and settles in at her desktop to fire up Face-book. There on her news feed are more than 100 stories that some of her 460 friends have posted since Belsom went to bed eight hours ago. Read the rest of this entry »
These 2 stories should have appeared together in the news
January 12th, 2012Number of millionaires in state surged last year
The number of Californians reporting incomes of more than $1 million increased sharply last year, as did their share of the income stream, a new report from the Franchise Tax Board reveals.
There were 10,000 taxpayers in the million-dollar income club during the 2009 tax year – just one-third of 1 percent of all returns – but that number jumped 27 percent to more than 13,000 for 2010, based on tax returns filed in 2011.
The millionaires reported adjusted gross incomes of $22.4 billion in 2009, an average of $2.2 million each. In 2010, the total jumped 30.2 percent to $29.1 billion, with the average remaining virtually unchanged.
Those increases were by far the largest of any income group, the FTB said, while that group’s share of all adjusted gross income increased from 3.7 percent in 2009 to 4.5 percent in 2010, and its share of taxes jumped from 9.5 percent to 11 percent.
– Dan Walters, Bee Capitol Bureau
And then I found this . . . Read the rest of this entry »
Good teachers have lifelong impact
January 9th, 2012By Annie Lowrey New York Times
WASHINGTON – Elementary- and middle-school teachers who help raise their students’ standardized-test scores seem to have a wide-ranging, lasting positive effect on those students’ lives beyond academics, including lower teenage-pregnancy rates and greater college matriculation and adult earnings, according to a new study that tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years. Read the rest of this entry »
Tell Me Again, What’s the Difference Between the Parties . . .
December 27th, 2011Members of Congress wealthier
GAP BALLOONS BETWEEN THEM, CONSTITUENTS
By Peter Whoriskey Washington Post
But standing in the dining room, still in his work clothes, he said he felt voters deserved a better choice. Three years later, he won. Read the rest of this entry » |
Quit Strangling Your Pet
December 27th, 2011By Gina Spadafori
(Sacramento Bee, Dec. 27, 2011)
It’s a New Year’s tradition around my home, one that has outlived three generations of pets but still works to help ensure the safety of the animals I live with now.
No, not resolutions, although I make those, too – vowing, among other things, to exercise the dogs more, take more time for their training and do more for animals who are not as lucky as mine are. Read the rest of this entry »
5 trends driving the future of work
December 19th, 2011Summary: From legions of independent consultants to cities dotted with coworking facilities, the future of work is virtual, online and global.
Some great tips for making life easier. Great Timing!
December 19th, 2011Some of these are too clever and very useful. Enjoy…Click Here
Top 1 percent: How much do they earn?
November 30th, 2011By Kay Bell • Bankrate.com Highlights
To make the top 1 percent, a household must have AGI of $343,927 or more. The top 1 percent contributed about 37 percent of the taxes paid in 2009. Roughly 44 percent of New York City residents made the top 1 percent in 2007. It’s usually considered impolite to ask how much money someone makes, but that question is at the forefront of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Protesters announce they are among the 99 percent of income earners who aren’t getting the financial and tax benefits the top 1 percent receives. So just how much do you have to earn to be part of the elite 1 percent? That depends on whose figures you use. Based on 2009 tax year filing data, the Internal Revenue Service says an adjusted gross income, or AGI, of $343,927 or more will put you in the top 1 percent of taxpayers. How much must you make to be in the top 50 percent of U.S. earners? Source: IRS, Statistics of Income Division, July 2011 The income thresholds are for the amount of AGI on a return, not per taxpayer. Read the rest of this entry »
Cupcakes may be addictive, just like cocaine.
November 7th, 2011HEALTH
Soda, fatty foods may spur addiction
STUDIES SHOW CHANGES IN BRAIN
By Robert Langreth and Duane D. Stanford Bloomberg News
Cupcakes may be addictive, just like cocaine.
A growing body of medical research at leading universities and government laboratories suggests that processed foods and sugary drinks made by the likes of PepsiCo Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc. aren’t simply unhealthy. They can hijack the brain in ways that resemble addictions to cocaine, nicotine and other drugs.
“The data is so overwhelming the field has to accept it,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “We are finding tremendous overlap between drugs in the brain and food in the brain.” Read the rest of this entry »