Latest H1N1 ( Swine Flu ) Stats

As of May 6th, 2009, 41 states have been hit with this flu. Out of those states 641 cases have been confirmed in lab tests, and 2 deaths have occurred.
The CDC expects that there will be more cases and hospitalizations due to this flu, meaning that there will be more deaths in all likely-hood.
Internationally, 2099 infections have been reported from 23 countries.
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Obama's Approval Ratings

It would seem that President Obama's approval ratings are holding steady, but, I think that he is suffering among some of the Democrats. We all know that he is among Republicans.
37% of voters approve of his role as President so far as his performance goes. 30% do not like the way that he is running things. I am one of those.
77% of the liberal voters think that Obama is doing a wonderful job, while only 15% of the conservative group think so. In fact, as should be expected, 54% of the conservatives actually disapprove of Obama's performance. I am shocked!

Overall, 57% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance so far while 43% disapprove. The President’s overall approval rating has stayed between 54% and 58% every day since April 1 and every day but one for the past two months.

You can view the polling results at rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
i'll certainly be glad when I get this link crap fixed!! This shit pisses me off! Have a great day everyone!

Republicans And Bankers

Thomas Frank at the Wall Street Journal said it best so I chose a few of his words as the quote of the day.

Thomas Frank:

Incentives work, all right. Just look at the way our bankers come back to bonuses, finding in every occasion a good opportunity to cut themselves a slice of largess. Their determination is unrelenting, monomaniacal. It's like Republicans returning to tax cuts, the universal solution to every problem.

UAW Dumping Stock

It is about time that the United Auto Workers take a little action against the automobile manufacturers and dumping some of their stock is a decent move.
As my link software is not working at this time, I have to type out the source URL for you. That would be: http://www.dollarsandsense.org/blog/2009/05/uaw-plans-to-dump-chrysler-stock.html
I hate having to post links in that way. Really, I do!

Dollars & Sense
It appears that the worker takeover of what remains of industrial America will be short lived. The other day the Senate shot down the possibility of bankruptcy judges being able to alter the terms of first mortgages, citing the "sanctity of contracts." Considering that the big worry here is how to finance the commitments to retired workers, it will be interesting how much concern these same Senators for the contracts of auto workers.

From the wires:

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - The United Auto Workers union has no intention of keeping its 55 percent stake in the new Chrysler and will sell the shares to fund a trust that will take over retiree health care costs next year, the union's president said Monday.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference in suburban Detroit, Ron Gettelfinger said the trust, called a voluntary employees beneficiary association (VEBA), will struggle at first. It is starting with $1.5 billion from an existing company health care trust, and will get $300 million from the company next year. The total retiree health care obligation is $10.9 billion for about 82,000 retirees, as well as current workers who eventually will retire.

While he said he is confident in the trust's funding, Gettelfinger warned that the VEBA may need to make additional cuts. Benefits such as dental and vision coverage already have been cut.

"The VEBA will be on life support initially," he said. "We took a lot of risks here."

Although the trust has a seat on Chrysler's new board, it essentially has no voting rights because it must vote with a majority of independent directors, he said. Retirees have the right to object to the VEBA settlement in bankruptcy court.

The union endorsed a deal for Fiat to run Chrysler and potentially take a controlling stake because it was the best option, Gettelfinger said.

"Of all of the alternatives that were out there in front of us, clearly this is head-and-shoulders above anything else," he added.

Gettelfinger said that critics who think the union is getting a better deal than Chrysler's secured debtholders are wrong because the UAW is taking a big risk with Chrysler stock funding the trust. The stock is worthless today, he noted.

"Let's be honest, it's zero today. The equity is going to be stressed," Gettelfinger said. "This isn't about finance, it's about people that expected health care benefits for life."

Gettelfinger said the union made concessions in 2007 and this year that have helped the company, although he would not place a specific number on how much the concessions are worth.

"It is billions and billions of dollars in relief to the corporation from the standpoint of cash flow," Gettelfinger said.

Some of Chrysler's secured creditors, however, are objecting to the deal in bankruptcy court and the UAW's larger ownership stake.

After the automaker and Treasury couldn't come to an agreement with certain debtholders, Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday and is trying to emerge in 30 to 60 days as a stronger company that could eventually end up majority owned by Italy's Fiat Group SpA.

Internet Problems...

... are still on-going with me. It seems that most of my software will not run right, if at all, and my verizon Wireless broadband seems to be the main culprit. Not to sure yet, but having the Net come and go at its own choosing is getting rather annoying.
Hopefully, I'll get the bullshit sorted out soon so that I can get back to sounding off about our President and the rest of government.
I hope that the Swine Flu is not bothering you or any of your loved ones. There are now some 400+ cases with two deaths thus far. Be safe people!