My heart bleeds borsht. KHADAFY REPORTED DEAD www.nydailynews.com

After migrating to the USA, I found that one of the most frustrating aspects of being born on the island of Trinidad (the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago), was coming to terms with the reality that there is a misplaced arrogance afflicting  too many nationals and ex-patriots. Many people from Trinidad and Tobago (TNT) walk around with the foolish notion that they are oh so much smarter than the average person in the international arena. Fact is this: the reverse might be closer to the truth.

More bad news for Ed Towns; more good news for NY.  Minus One Challenger For Towns (And Jeffries) www.capitaltonight.com 

The Romans were a warrior race who always believed that their actions were just and that it was the other side that was being unreasonable or provocative of the might of the empire.  Sound familiar?  Just look at the Iraq War or even the Mexican War that U.S. Grant himself called an “unnecessary war.”

A year or two ago, the State of Illinois increased its state income tax rate by 60%. It was the right thing to do. Today, Governor Cuomo is refusing to keep a New York State income tax surcharge. That is also the right thing to do. Why the difference? The overall state and local tax burden in Illinois had long been below the national average, unsustainably low given that state’s services and other obligations. New York’s state and local tax burden is the highest in the country, except (in some years) for Alaska and Wyoming where most of the taxes are on mineral extraction and not residents or other businesses. Illinois’ top state income tax rate was increased from 3 percent to 5 percent. The New York State rate is nearly 7 percent without the surcharge – 10 percent in New York City where a local income tax is added, and is 9 percent with the surcharge – or more than 12 percent in New York City.

Throughout the country, public services are being devastated by soaring pension costs caused by two factors – inadequate past funding by taxpayers, and retroactive pension enhancements for public employees. In Illinois, taxpayers deserve the majority of the blame: in many years taxpayers put in zero, and there isn’t nearly enough money even to pay the pensions public employees were promised when hired, even without pension spiking and any of the retroactive deals. In contrast, the public employee unions and their retroactive pension deals may be more to blame in New York City than anyplace else in the country, with the United Federation of Teachers the most guilty of all (based on the difference between what was promised when workers where hired and what they took later).

Barney Frank says everything I've been saying about OWS, but better. He was even harsher on the Maddow Show.

The late Steve Jobs was a Syrian American and he exemplifies what the Arab mind can unleash when free to do so a hope that brings infinite possibilities with the Arab Spring.

Relative to its impressive historical development, capitalism is presently in a crisis: no doubt. Truth be told, it has been in crisis for decades; but you wouldn’t know this if mainstream media has been your exclusive information-delivery system all this time.