John Glenn Passed Away!

Famed astronaut and former U.S. Senator John Glenn passed away.

Sad news to report. The legendary astronaut and former Democratic senator from Ohio, John Glenn passed away. Around that time, he was hospitalized at the Ohio State University James Cancer Center. A specific cause of death wasn't revealed but at the time of his death, the family confirmed he was in dire straits.

Buzz Aldrin is suffering from declining health issues as well. He was in Antarctica when he was getting ill and had to return back to the United States. He was told of the news while in the hospital.

President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump were notified of the passing.

Obama said that "with John's passing, our nation has lost an icon."

"When John Glenn blasted off from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas rocket in 1962, he lifted the hopes of a nation," Obama said in a statement. "And when his Friendship 7 spacecraft splashed down a few hours later, the first American to orbit the Earth reminded us that with courage and a spirit of discovery there’s no limit to the heights we can reach together."

Trump said in a tweet that the nation had lost "a great pioneer of air and space in John Glenn. He was a hero and inspired generations of future explorers."

Ohio governor John Kasich, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) were notified as well.

Glenn was the last survivor of the Mercury 7. He was selected in 1959 as NASA's first groups of astronauts. He became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20th, 1962.

He was born on July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio to Clara and John H. Glenn, Sr. The family moved to New Concord when he was young. His father was involved in the business of plumbing. He didn't want to get into the business, he wanted to be an engineer.

He went to Muskingum College to study there. He dropped out to join the Navy. He was influenced to join after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In World War II, John flew 59 combat missions in the South Pacific as Marine aviator. He flew a further 90 combat missions during the Korean War. He survived skirts with enemy fire and lived to tell about it.

Around that time, he met his love Annie and she always had his back. They would have two children and live in Columbus, Ohio.

Glenn was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974. Served from 1975 until 1999. He lost his first bid for the Senate from Ohio in 1970, after abandoning a race in 1964 because of a head injury suffered in a fall.

Glenn was briefly considered as a running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in 1980. But a ponderous address at the Democratic National Convention – people walked out – caused Carter to remark that Glenn was "the most boring man I ever met."

Glenn sought the Democratic presidential nomination himself in 1984 but was quickly eliminated by eventual nominee Walter Mondale, Carter's vice president. His failure was all the more stinging because he had been touted as an early front-runner.

In the Senate, Glenn was respected as a thoughtful moderate with expertise in defense and foreign policy. But his career's luster was dulled by a Senate investigation of the "Keating Five" – five senators suspected of doing favors for campaign contributor Charles Keating Jr. The panel eventually found Glenn did nothing improper or illegal.

He took a leading role in seeking to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, especially to Pakistan. He was the author of a law that forced the United States to impose sanctions on India and Pakistan in 1998 after both countries conducted nuclear tests.

He also was a staunch advocate of a strong military and took a keen interest in strategic issues. He retired from the Senate in 1999.

Thirty-six years after his maiden space voyage, Glenn became America's first geriatric astronaut on Oct. 29, 1998. He was 77 years old when he blasted off as a mission specialist aboard the shuttle Discovery. He saw it as a blow to stereotyping of the elderly.

"Maybe prior to this flight, we were looked at as old geezers who ought to get out of the way," Glenn said after his nine-day shuttle mission. "Just because you’re up in years some doesn't mean you don't have hopes and dreams and aspirations just as much as younger people do."

Recently the city of Columbus renamed its airport John Glenn Metro Columbus International Airport.

The former was Port Columbus.

The skies are the limit for a legend. He will be sorely missed. Godspeed John Glenn.

Golden Harvest!

On his way out, he will leave unemployment rate at the lowest.

President Barack Obama's final two months are here. The first African American president leaves the White House on January 20th, 2017. On his way out, he may leave his predecessor with the lowest unemployment rate in American history.

The job numbers for October are out. It nets 161,000 jobs, 73-months of job growth. It's amazing.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 161,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. August and September data was revised to show 44,000 more jobs created than previously reported.

The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.9 percent, in part as people dropped out the labor force.

The closely watched employment report was published four days before the Nov. 8 presidential election. It came on the heels of data last week showing an acceleration in economic growth in the third quarter. But economists see little impact from the report on an increasingly bitter and divisive campaign.

“There is so much noise out there right now, everyone is screaming from the rooftops. I just don’t know that any particular data point is going to have a great bearing on the election, in and of itself,” said Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Though the U.S. central bank is expected to increase borrowing costs next month, that decision will likely depend on the outcome of Tuesday’s election. The tight race between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump has rattled financial markets.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing by 175,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate falling one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.9 percent.

The Fed on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged but said its monetary policy-setting committee “judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has continued to strengthen.” It lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate last December for the first time in nearly a decade.

“The election could still derail the Fed’s plans, particularly if a very close result led to one or both candidates contesting it via the courts,” said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.

TREND HAS SLOWED

The trend in employment growth has slowed as the labor market nears full employment and the economy’s recovery from the 2007-09 recession shows signs of aging.

Employment growth so far this year has averaged 181,000 jobs per month, down from an average gain of 229,000 per month in 2015. Still, the monthly job gains are more than enough to absorb new entrants into the labor market.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with growth in the work-age population.

The prospects of an interest rate hike next month were also bolstered by a solid rise in wages. Average hourly earnings increased 10 cents or 0.4 percent in October after advancing 0.3 percent in September.

The lift from a calendar quirk pushed the year-on-year increase to 2.8 percent, the biggest gain since June 2009, from 2.6 percent in September. The Fed on Wednesday struck a fairly upbeat note on inflation, saying price pressures had “increased somewhat since earlier this year.”

Despite the labor market nearing full employment, wage growth has been moderate. Economists blame this on a low labor force participation rate.

The participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, fell 0.1 percentage point to 62.8 percent last month, not too far from multi-decade lows, in part reflecting demographic changes.

The solid payrolls gain accompanied by the surge in wages could support consumer spending heading into the holiday season, and in turn keep the economy on a relatively higher growth path.

While the household survey showed a increase in the number of people saying they could not get to work because of bad weather, the department said it was difficult to assess the impact of Hurricane Matthew on job growth last month. The storm lashed the east coast of the country last month, causing extensive flooding. The average workweek held steady at 34.4 hours.

Manufacturing employment fell 9,000 last month, falling for a third straight month. Construction payrolls increased 11,000, rising for a second straight month.

Retail sector employment surprising fell 1,100 jobs, despite expectations of a jump in early holiday season hiring.

Professional and business services payrolls rose 43,000.

Temporary-help jobs, a harbinger for future hiring, increased 6,400. Government employment rose by 19,000 jobs.

Candy Corn!

Victory lap. 

As we enter the final weeks of the U.S. presidential election, the September's job report release makes strives. The month gave us 156,000 jobs. It also ticked the unemployment rate to 5 percent. It's starting to cool off again.

Once again, the jobs report becomes a partisan event. The conservatives will always deny the economy is improving. They will calculate the half truths about the 95 million Americans aren't working.

Americans are losing their homes to the wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and the looming Hurricane Matthew. Gun violence is the number one threat in the United States. Service jobs are stressing the working class. Wage theft and lots of Americans being overworked is an issue that conservatives ignore.

The reasons to why conservatives ignore the real reasons for 95 million people not working.

1. BIRTH

2. DEATH

3. RETIREMENT

4. FIRED OUT THE CANNON (LAID OFF/FIRED FROM JOB)

5. QUITTING A JOB FOR A NEW JOB

6. UNDER 16 (NOT OF WORKING AGE)

7. STAY AT HOME PARENT

8. DISABLED

9. COLLEGE STUDENT STUDYING 

10. IN THE IRON COLLEGE (PRISON)

Okay, if you're seriously believing that 95 million people aren't working (just because), then you're a Donald Trump and Mike Pence supporter. If you choose to not factor the obvious reasons as mentioned above, you're obviously a listener of agitators like that old fart Rush Limbaugh, Sean "Softball" Hannity and readers of that internet creeper Matt Drudge.

Yes, people are searching for the "right" job. There are plenty of jobs out there. Some are willing and some are giving up. It's a part of real world.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected employers to add 175,000 jobs last month.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the economy needs to create less than 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with population growth.Average monthly job gains have been about 180,000 this year, which Yellen has described as “unsustainable.”

The unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a percentage point to 5.0 percent last month, though the increase was driven by Americans rejoining the labor force.

Friday’s employment report will be the last before the Fed’s Nov. 1-2 policy meeting. Investors see almost no chance of a rate increase at that meeting given how close it is to the Nov. 8 presidential election.

Yellen said last month that the Fed will likely raise rates once this year, but prices on fed funds futures suggest just above even odds the hike will come at the Fed’s last policy meeting for the year in December.

Hourly wages for private sector workers rose 2.6 percent in September from the same month a year earlier, in line with economists’ expectations. The annual growth rate has shown signs of accelerating over the last year although it remains slower than before the 2007-2009 recession.

Three Fed policymakers voted for a hike last month when the Fed kept rates steady. However, Friday’s data could boost the case of Fed policymakers who have vocally defended a go-slow approach to rate increases.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused the Fed of playing politics by holding rates low, a charge Yellen and other Fed policymakers have denied.

Trump has also made reversing job losses at U.S. factories a central campaign promise. Manufacturing employment fell by 13,000 jobs in September and the sector has shed jobs in three of the last five months.

At the same time, the job market on balance continues to firm, even if at a slower pace, which could be an asset for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who has argued that President Barack Obama, also a Democrat, has helped the economy.

The Fed lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate at the end of last year for the first time in nearly a decade, but has held it steady so far this year amid concerns over persistently low inflation.

Obama: Congress Just Allowed The World To Sue America!

President Barack Obama address CNN's Jake Tapper in a town hall with the military.

Now the families of the 9/11 victims could sue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for damages.

This decision came at the whims of Congress and they were pushing it through without thinking about the repercussions. Now this law could backfire. Many other countries that had been hurt by the United States would sue for damages.

The president first veto ever to be overridden by the Congress in the nearly 8 years of his presidency.

President Barack Obama done a town hall on CNN this week. He had this sit down with Jake Tapper on Wednesday. He was not too happy about the Congress overriding his veto of the 9/11 Saudi Bill.

The Congress overwhelmingly overridden the veto in a bipartisan vote.

"It's an example of why sometimes you have to do what's hard. And, frankly, I wish Congress here had done what's hard," said the president.

"If you're perceived as voting against 9/11 families right before an election, not surprisingly, that's a hard vote for people to take. But it would have been the right thing to do... And it was, you know, basically a 'political vote'."

The president cited his defense team. He said that Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter's concerns as a reason to why he vetoed the bill.

The president said that Saudi Arabia could retaliate against the United States.

The president also addressed the issues in the United States from police brutality, Black Lives Matter and the phrase "radical Islam". He praised Colin Kaepernick for standing up for his beliefs in the face of great scrutiny.

Obama also blasted Congress for pushing bills at the final hour and then heading home for vacations.

Congress passed a stop gap measure that funds the government until December. The Congress also passed Zika funding and a proposals to helping the city of Flint. The Flint water crisis was left off the table and it forced Democrats to filibuster the bill in the senate. The Democrats managed to get some of the funding for Flint into the bill.

The Congress now has to figure out what could happen if a member of the Armed Forces commit an act of war against innocent victims.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) the Majority Whip of the Senate sponsored this bill and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY, Majority Leader) supported it. He managed to get the Democrats onboard. The only member of Congress to reject this was Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the outgoing minority leader of the senate.

Terrorist Killed A Man Over Coffee!

Terrorist kills a man inside a Starbucks.

The folks at Newser are mentioning a tragic gun crime inside a Starbucks. It's even happening inside a restaurant that many people find comfort in.

Las Vegas Metro Police arrested a terrorist who entered Starbucks armed with a semi-automatic firearm. The reason for the attack, he didn't get his order right.

A Starbucks customer described terrified people dropping to the floor and sobbing after a gunman parked his car and entered the Las Vegas store, shooting a man inside.

Customer Medin Gebrezgier told police and a television reporter that he saw the gunman, identified Monday by police as Pedro Jose Garcia, fire twice into the ceiling before shooting a man in the chest.

Garcia entered the store after his payment card was declined at the drive-thru window, police said.

"Terror, it was just terror. We were afraid," Gebrezgier told KVVU-TV. He described people crying and hitting the floor when shots were fired a little before 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

"We didn't know what was going to happen next. I had no idea what to do," he said. "I heard about this stuff on TV and movies, but it was all the way real."

The terrorist is 34 years old. He was jailed pending a court appearance on murder, robbery, burglary and weapon charges following his arrest at the Starbucks in a commercial center several miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.

Despite witness accounts that the terrorist was unable to make a purchase, a motive for the shooting remained unclear, police Officer Larry Hadfield said. The victim wasn't identified as a coffee shop employee.

"They're investigating whether there was any connection between the terrorist and the victim," said Hadfield, a department spokesman.

The name of the 41-year-old man who was pronounced dead at a hospital wasn't immediately made public by the Clark County coroner.

More than a dozen people were in the store at the time of the shooting, police Lt. Dan McGrath said.

Starbucks employee Tenaya Zimmerman jumped out the drive-thru window when shots were fired, her mother, Kim Plank, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Las Vegas Starbucks was the scene of a fatal shooting.

A message left Monday by The Associated Press at a telephone number associated with Gebrezgier wasn't immediately returned. A call to a number associated with Plank went to an incorrect number. No number was immediately found for Zimmerman.

McGrath said the terrorist tried to blend in and elude police at the scene by calling 911 and describing someone else as the shooter. He was arrested after witnesses identified him to officers arriving to what police initially thought was a hostage situation.

Parts of the shopping center were evacuated for about two hours while a bomb squad examined a backpack in the Starbucks that the terrorist allegedly said contained a bomb.

Hadfield said there was no device, but police said a .22-caliber handgun was found in the coffee shop.

The terrorist served time in federal and Nevada iron colleges for convictions on stolen vehicle, battery, attempted theft, drug and weapon charges, according to court and prison records that showed he was released from federal custody last November.

It wasn't immediately clear if the terrorist had an attorney ahead of his initial court appearance.

Trump Wants Billionaire Agitator Peter Thiel On The Supreme Court!

Conservative billionaire could be a nominee for the Supreme Court if Donald Trump wins.

The guy who helped Hulk Hogan take down Gawker Media is a topper for a Donald Trump Supreme Court nominee. Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal is spreading the gospel of being a nominee for the highest court in the land.

Thiel, an openly gay Republican will be a disgrace to the rights of people who speak out against oppression.

Word on the street, that if Trump wins the presidency, that will be the first thing he will do to get the ball rolling with the conservatives. Of course, Thiel who is a billionaire is a libertarian/conservative who opposes LGBT rights. He is strongly against ambush journalism but is willing to fund organizations that attack politicians.

Trump had proposed 11 judges who could fill the void if any of the current eight justices would retire or die in office.

Its been seven months since President Barack Obama made his decision to pick Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia for the court. Republicans vow to not pick a nominee until the next president is sworn in. That hasn't inspired Democrats to action. That was swept under the radar for the Republican debates and primaries.

Republicans are gambling with power. Cause if the Republicans take control of the White House and Congress, Democrats and their progressive allies will spark an all out war against them.

They will do the Republican like they've done Obama. They will grandstand, delay, stall and vote "NO" on everything. They will question the legitimacy of the president and the cycle will continue until the next election.

Fall Semester!

15 million jobs created so far under the nearly 8 years of Barack Obama's presidency.

So the jobs report is out for the month. For the month of August the jobs that were netted were 151,000. It gave the country over 1 million jobs so far.

The unemployment rate will stay at 4.9%. It fell below 5% earlier this year for the first time since 2008.

Wage growth slowed a bit after showing signs of momentum in previous months. Wages continue to stall and this is the reasons to why the U.S. economy recovery has not been felt by vast pockets of the population.

America's economic growth has averaged about 1% in the first half of this year. However, experts are hoping that growth will pick up in the second half.

The August job numbers are critical for the Federal Reserve, whose leaders hinted that they could use it as a guide in potentially raising the key interest rate.

When the conservative agitators say that 95 million Americans aren't working, I think about the actual reasons to why people aren't working.

For one thing, if you're not looking at the news lately, you're not noticing the wildfires, hurricane, floods, and tornadoes. You hear about the countless victims of gun violence. You hear about companies cutting

I think about the wildfires in Oregon, California, Wyoming, and Texas. I think about the floods in Louisiana. I think about the hurricanes hitting Florida and Hawaii. I think about the countless lives lost to gun violence in the United States. I think about the disastrous tornadoes tearing up the Midwest. I think about the lack of funding for roads and bridges.

The reasons to why conservatives ignore the real reasons for 95 million people not working.

1. BIRTH

2. DEATH

3. RETIREMENT

4. FIRED OUT THE CANNON (LAID OFF/FIRED FROM JOB)

5. QUITTING A JOB FOR A NEW JOB

6. UNDER 16 (NOT OF WORKING AGE)

7. STAY AT HOME PARENT

8. DISABLED

9. COLLEGE STUDENT STUDYING 

10. IN THE IRON COLLEGE (PRISON)

Okay, if you're seriously believing that 95 million people aren't working (just because), then you're a Donald Trump and Mike Pence supporter. If you choose to not factor the obvious reasons as mentioned above, you're obviously a listener of agitators like that old fart Rush Limbaugh, Sean "Softball" Hannity and readers of internet creeper Matt Drudge.

Dems: No Bill, No Break!

Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) returned to his protesting roots. He staged a sit-in inside the House of Representatives chamber after House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) decided to call for a recess instead of a floor vote. It's becoming a trending issue.

Call the Congress on (202) 224-3121 to demand the House of Representatives do their jobs and pass bipartisan measures to stop gun violence.

Tell them that they need to get things done. Enough of the prayers and silence.

Gotta give up to the Democratic Party. They finally got a spine. They are staging sit-in in the House of Representatives today. They are getting tired of Republicans and their constant inaction on gun violence.

In the wake of the Orlando massacre, Democrats call upon a bill that bans people on the controversial "NO FLY LIST" to have no access to firearms. The Republicans objected to this notion because they believe that the bill would include conservative groups on this list.

Republicans rather waste time chasing after Hillary Clinton's emails than focus on actual issues. They rather waste $9.4 million on Benghazi than a bill that deals with the reasons contributing to gun violence.

By the way, concern trolls: The Democrats mentioned gun violence in every community. It's just not in Orlando, but Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit and many urban centers. The lawmakers have expressed outrage at Republicans for ignoring the concerns of families who want gun control.

They believe that the National Rifle Association and the acolytes of the conservative media will try to distort the message. They are running a sit in on Periscope.

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) started this sit-in around late morning and it's being recorded on social media through Periscope.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) are running it through Periscope and it's been streamed live on CSPAN.

The junk food media have ignored the cries from Democrats.

The Republicans have control of the floor and they cut off the cameras and started their umpteenth recess.

#NOFLYNOBUY is becoming a hashtag as well as #NOBILLNOBREAK.

Will the theatrics work?

You Got Bern'd!

Bernie Sanders is in this race. He pledges a contested convention. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is done. I hate to say this, but the presidential quest is over for the Vermont senator. I've supported him and voted for him in the Ohio primary. But it wasn't enough for him to beat his opponent former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

His campaign is laying off staffers after the bruising California defeat. Hillary Clinton managed to seal the deal in California in a blowout. Conservatives were hoping that the Democrats will fight all the way to Philadelphia. Many in the junk food media and liberal agitators are calling for Bernie Sanders to stop and get behind the presumptive nominee.

The senator vows to stay in this race all the way to the Democratic Convention.

The Politico wrote a damning story about the senator's final days at a candidate. After the Ohio and Florida loss, Sanders was upset with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Brown endorsed Clinton and helped her win the state overwhelmingly. Sanders also took pride in the attacks against Clinton.

His plans to go after her for the Clinton foundation and emails were on the table but he chose to stay focused on the issues.

The Nevada Democratic Convention was also a blow to his campaign. When his supporters started to threaten superdelegates and the chairwoman of the state, many Democrats believed that his campaign was going off the rails.

Now we're experience deja vu with Democrats again. Like the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton battle, conservatives are seething for defecting. Bernies4Trump, BernieorBust, HillNO and other organizations are forming as I speak. The groups are Republican front groups.

Cause if you support Bernie Sanders and then turn to supporting Donald Trump, you're not a progressive. You're not a supporter of the Democrats. You're a troll who wants to rile up Democrats.

Republicans do have a mess on them. I mean they have a presumptive nominee who is more damaging than Clinton.

Republicans also have another issue on them. They're trying to stop the damage Donald Trump inflicted on himself. His politically divisive rhetoric has rattled Republicans and their donors.

Now the talk about a contested Republican Convention is being floated around again. Many Republicans are avoiding Cleveland because Trump's influence could inflict harm on their reelection campaign.

Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) was handed a bitter defeat after losing to Rep. George Holdings (R-NC) in a redistricting primary battle. Ellmers was under the radar for her alleged affair with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). It didn't help that Ellmers wasn't around much in her district. Even Trump's endorsement of her fell flat. An even more conservative lawmaker defeated her in a bitter primary.

Junebugs!

Unemployment rate down but it's not good news to the cynical agitators.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 perecent. The job market is looking healthy but...there's a catch. The Department of Labor said that 38,000 jobs were added for the month of May.

Criticism is being passed around yet again. This shows the weakest job growth in five years.

The unemployment rate being down is positive, but it comes with a price. People are dropping out the labor force after deciding to give up on their search for a job. The labor force participation rate fell 0.2 percent in May to 62.6 percent, erasing some of the gains that it had made.

That means in other words, over 30 million people have given up on looking for a job.

The Huffington Post reports that figure badly missed the expected increase of about 160,000 jobs.

Already Donald Trump seized on the report in his usual fashion.

Terrible jobs report just reported. Only 38,000 jobs added. Bombshell!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2016

The economic jobs report affects the stock market. It will probably take a hit.

Conservative agitators will seize upon the report as an example of their word vomit of lies and deception. The lie of 94 million people not working will be played again.

The Verizon strike also played a role in the dismal job market.

The Verizon employee strike was on for six weeks. The workers were demanding better pay and working conditions. That caused a negative impact on the job gains.

CNN reports that health care, hotels and government jobs were the only jobs added in May.

Mining, oil and gas jobs fell.

The weak May jobs report may very well take the rate hike off the table.

Janet Yellen was tempted to raise the interest rate but now it's going to be held back due to the unemployment numbers.

Conservative Outrage Over Obama Giving Unemployed Workers Overtime Pay!

Job approval is on the rise.

Looks like President Barack Obama bitch slapped the unproductive Congress again.

And it seems like the Republicans and conservatives are having another temper tantrum over this.

The president signed an executive order today signaling that effective December 1, 2016, any worker who is making less than $47,000 a year in wage earnings will be eligible for overtime pay. only 7% of the working force gets overtime pay. Most Americans agree with this idea. Salaried workers will be eligible for overtime.

Cue the conservative outrage.

The unproductive Congress didn't pass any legislation that would help the middle class. The minimum wage hasn't been risen in ten years. If the Congress would have passed legislation that would adjust the cost of living to match the wages earned, things would be better for the working class.

The Republicans sit on their high horses complaining about the economy being in the tank. They complain that the working class isn't working under Obama. And in the same breathe, they don't want to pass any laws to make life better for the middle class.

The Department of Labor is finalizing a rule to update overtime protections so they can help millions more Americans.  The final rule, which takes effect on December 1, 2016, doubles the salary threshold—from $23,660 to $47,476 per year—under which most salaried workers are guaranteed overtime (hourly workers are generally guaranteed overtime pay regardless of their earnings level).  Additionally, this new level will be automatically updated every three years to ensure that workers continue to earn the pay they deserve.

Increasing overtime protections is another step in the President’s effort to grow and strengthen the middle class by raising Americans’ wages.  This extra income will not only mean a better life for American families impacted by overtime protections, but will boost our economy across the board as these families spend their hard-earned wages.

This new rule takes into account input from 270,000 public comments and extensive outreach meetings with employers, business associations, small businesses, workers, worker advocates, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and state and local government representatives.  It will:

Raise the salary threshold from $23,660 to $47,476 a year, or from $455 to $913 a week.  This doubles the current salary threshold while being responsive to public comments regarding regional variations in income by setting the salary threshold at the 40th percentile of full-time salaried workers in the lowest income Census region (currently the South).  Tying the salary threshold to the lowest-wage region of the country has strong historical precedent in previous rulemakings.

Raise Americans’ wages by an estimated $12 billion over the next 10 years, with an average increase of $1.2 billion annually.  At the same time, employers retain considerable flexibility in how they comply with the new rule, such as increasing salaries to at least the new threshold to keep positions that are primarily executive, administrative, or professional exempt from overtime pay; paying overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 in a week; or reducing overtime hours.

Extend overtime protections to 4.2 million additional workers who are not currently eligible for overtime under federal law.  Others who may already be eligible for overtime will also benefit as the higher salary threshold will serve as a useful bright line test for workers—and their employers—to understand whether they are eligible for overtime.  The number of workers in each state who will benefit from the rule can be found HERE.

Update the salary threshold every three years.  The updates will ensure the threshold is maintained at the 40th percentile of full-time salaried workers in the lowest income region of the country.  Based on projections of wage growth, the threshold is expected to rise to more than $51,000 with the first update on January 1, 2020.

Raise the “highly compensated employee” threshold – from $100,000 to $134,004 – above which only a minimal showing is needed to demonstrate an employee is not eligible for overtime.  This upper threshold was designed to ease the burden on employers in identifying overtime eligible employees since it is more likely that workers earning above this high salary level perform the types of job duties that would exempt them from overtime requirements.

Respond to employers’ concerns by making no changes to the “duties test” and allowing bonuses and incentive payments to count toward up to 10 percent of the new salary level.  Workers earning more than the salary threshold are still subject to the duties test to determine eligibility for overtime.  In their comments to the proposed rule, employers argued that changing the duties test would be difficult and costly to implement, and the final rule leaves the existing duties test in place.  Additionally, for the first time, employers will be able to count bonuses and commissions toward as much as 10 percent of the salary threshold.

It seems like Republicans rather see you work your ass off for little or no overtime pay. It seems like Donald Trump will probably speak out against it. It's likely Bernie Sanders will not mention this huge news to his trolls. It seems like Hillary Clinton will credit her husband for allowing Obama to come up with this idea.

Again, the Congress is unproductive. The three candidates running for president are too polarizing.

The opinions of most lawmakers is extremely low.

Conservatives are getting outraged over the most trivial things.

Who Wants To Be The President Of A Do-Nothing Congress?

No one wants them. 

The most nastiest election year ever. This is the most unproductive Congress ever!

Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are very bad. If one of them becomes the 45th President of the United States, they will have the most unproductive Congress ever.

The presidential candidates are extremely negative. The American public isn't inspired to vote for these guys. Bernie Sanders finally got his share of negative exposure. His supporters acted a fool at the Nevada Democratic convention, and he didn't condemn the ignorance. The public is starting to turn on Sanders.

Trump is the frontrunner in negativity. Clinton follows closely behind and Sanders is gaining on her.

The Republican controlled Congress is extremely bad. They have stall the nomination of Merrick Garland, they wasted over $7 million investigating Benghazi and now calling Facebook to face harsh criticism

And yet, no media coverage of President Barack Obama's rising job approval ratings. At present time, the president is enjoying 56% job approval in his final year.

Besides who wants to be the president of a do nothing Congress?

The Trolls Are "Bern'n" Bridges With The Dems!

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is still in the race and Democrats are getting frustrated with his supporters.

Democrats are starting to get annoyed with the supporters of Bernie Sanders. They seriously believe that Sanders is starting to act like a "sore loser" and the party is getting behind Hillary Clinton.

The supporters believe that the system is rigged and they threatened to vote against Clinton if she becomes the nominee. The line has been crossed! There's a huge rift within the Democratic Party.

We're seeing a same folks who once trolled failed Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul now troll the Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The so-called Bernie Bros. are the newest version of trolls underneath the bandwidth bridge.

While it looks like Sanders may pull off a win in Oregon and Kentucky, party leaders are starting to get concerned that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will to the convention weaken by the onslaught of the Bernie Bros.

Sanders who is an independent U.S. Senator from Vermont. He caucuses with the Democrats on crucial policies that help the middle class. He made it top priority to focus on helping the middle class and stopping the greed of is popular among the young and well educated.

Well almost well educated.

On Saturday, the supporters of Sanders went batshit crazy over the delegates being handed to Clinton.

Some of the Sanders delegates weren't registered on time and the rules were to have it done before closing date. Of course, the memo was ignored and the supporters were none to happy about it.

Roberta Lange, the Democratic chairwoman for the Nevada Democratic Party was getting hit with death threats and sexist voicemails.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the Minority Leader in the Senate said that Sanders's needs to control his crew. Reid also condemned Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) for being the "Ted Cruz of the left". Reid said that he rather see Grayson lose badly and leave the House for good. Reid said that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Grayson are unaccomplished lawmakers who run their mouths than pass legislation.

Bernie supporters are trolling the Democrats.

Grayson who is facing ethics investigation is a longshot for the nomination for the open seat being vacated by failed presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL) is the most suitable choice for the Democrats and Grayson promised to stop the coronation.

There are real concerns about the party platform and the superdelegates. Some believe that the superdelegates gives Clinton a leg up. It's also not helpful that some of the Sanders supporters are getting their advice from AM agitators (i.e. liberal and conservative shitkickers).

Bill Press, Thom Hartmann, that old fart Rush Limbaugh and even that annoying conservative agitator Softball Hannity are causing the rift between the Democrats.

I got so annoyed listening to the left agitators Press and Hartmann spin the hypothetical bullshit about how Sanders could beat Trump in a matchup. Sanders is not recognized by most Americans. Sanders has proposals that wouldn't even make it through a stubborn and lackluster Congress.

To make this clear for everyone here, Clinton and Sanders aren't strong candidates. They could  be defeated by Trump. Trump has dirty politicos like Roger Stone who could distract the public with baseless allegations and stupid hearsay. The message about improving the lives of Americans will be wasted on the fear of socialism and the 2012 Benghazi tragedy.

Donald Trump isn't a strong candidate either. He's too goddamn polarizing. He's negative and he is an embarrassment to the country. His rhetoric could hurt relations with allies.

The ignorance of voters and a tad bit of racial angst is driving the controversial billionaire into the spotlight. Barack Obama's presence in the White House is a driving factor to Republicans pushing forth this hostility and Trump's candidacy. Trump is being covered in  4:1 ratio. Sanders gets 2:1 ratio of coverage and Clinton gets 2.4:1 ratio of media coverage.

I've even got tired of liberal agitator Stephanie Miller defending Clinton and constantly name dropping Donald Trump in every sentence. She is starting to be as annoying as Softball Hannity with the word vomit of names.

Not one of the liberal agitators focused on the lackluster Congress, the president's push to getting Merrick Garland appointed to the Supreme Court and the economy. All I heard from these agitators on AM is "TRUMP", "CLINTON" and "MEDIA".

Sanders and his campaign team said that the behavior is inappropriate but the frustration is legitimate.

They defend some of the tactics and said that if things don't change expect more. They warned that they'll run this Philadelphia. Sanders needs 85% of the delegates to clinch the nomination.

Don't worry folks! It's not over for the #NeverTrump people. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) isn't supporting Trump. The Republicans are willing to accept Trump as the nominee (as long as he's capable of beating Clinton).

Mass Shooting In Suburban DC! Suspect Caught! Who Gets The Blame?

Another senseless mass shooting in the country and the junk food media covers it.

As expected, another mass shooting will grab the nation's attention. There were shootings at a Maryland mall, a grocery store and a school within a 24 hour period. The terrorist was a part of the federal witness protection unit. That means he's a federal vice officer.

President Barack Obama, Maryland governor Larry Hogan and Washington, DC mayor Muriel Bowser will be notified and express condolences to the families lost in these senseless tragedies.

Eulalio Tordil, a former federal officer cause a few days of terrorism in suburban Washington, DC.

He was placed in the freezer after allegations of spousal and child abuse surfaced. The terrorist struck up a conservation with a woman before he pulled out a semi-automatic firearm. He would shoot her a point blank range and then attack the people who came to the aid of the woman. One of the men who rushed to the aid was killed.

The first victim of this tragedy was the terrorist's wife.

There was a shooting a local high school where four people were injured by the violent acts of this terrorist.

The first victim of this mass shooting was his wife Gladys. That piece of paper drove Tordil crazy.

Gladys served him with a restraining order after she called the law on him after he assaulted her.

Montgomery County police believe that he is also behind two additional deadly shootings on Friday in Montgomery County. One man died and two other victims were treated after a shooting at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, and a woman was killed at a Giant grocery store in Aspen Hill.

In Thursday’s incident, a bystander, another parent who tried to intervene, was also shot, but he is expected to survive, the Prince George’s County Police Department said in a press release. His name was not released.

Thursday’s shooting happened at about 4:30 p.m. at High Point High School in Beltsville, according to police. No students were injured and it was not an active shooter situation, police said.

The terrorist worked for the feds.

Mind you this terrorist is of Asian American descent and is a federal police officer.

Cue the conservative outrage. Who are they going to blame for this situation? Since it's not a White person, automatically he's a liberal. He comes from the metro Washington, DC area, a strong Democratic area. He is a federal worker. The conservatives complain that the government is huge and the Republicans want to shrink government. He's Asian, so I am assuring that racial arsonist Colin Flaherty will waste no time trying to make the case about Black on whatever violence.

Conservatives will say that "if I was there...." or "the state laws hurt arming citizens in tragedies" excuse.

Here's a poll for you.

The mass shooting in Maryland. The suspect was caught. Who actually takes the blame in this senseless tragedy?

Barack Obama

#BlackLivesMatter

Muslims

Liberals

Conservatives

Congress

NRA

The Junk Food Media

The Shooter

Do Quizzes

World News Today send our condolences to the families of the victims lost in these senseless tragedies. Unfortunately Congress refuses to pass regulations to curb gun violence. The 114th session of Congress controlled by Republicans is inept. The most unproductive Congress ever in American history is more concerned about winning the presidency and control of the upcoming 115th Congress.

Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will debate these issues and offer little to no suggestions to curb the rise in American gun violence.

The terrorist was taken in custody without incident. The terrorist will face federal charges and state charges. Federal charges could carry the GAS. State charges could land him in the iron college for LIFE. The terrorist is innocent until proven guilty.

Also noticed that he was taken in without incident. Think of the Black, Muslim or Hispanic mass shooters. They would be gunned down within a bat of an eyelash.

About 46.3 people a day are injured or killed by gun violence and no one but the victims seems to care. I mean how many more people will have to be buried?

Why is it easier to get a firearm but not a voter registration?

Why is it easier to purchase multiple firearms but you can't smoke weed in a public venue?

Showdown!

The choice to the Supreme Court is Merrick Garland. If confirmed, the Court could swing in progressives favor. Republicans vow to fight until January 20, 2017.

It's rare that a president gets an opportunity to more than two justices to the Supreme Court. Since 1989, most of the presidents had an opportunity to nominate two to the Court.

Ronald Reagan was the last president to have nominated three to the Court. Of those three were Sandra Day O'Conner who retired in 2005. Antonin Scalia who recently passed away in 2016. Anthony Kennedy, currently the longest serving justice in the Court.

Picking justices for the Supreme Court is controversial. Given the partisan rancor by the Republicans in the current 114th Congress, a simple replacement to the Court is going to be a "showdown".

President Barack Obama has nominated Merrick Garland as his choice for the Supreme Court. Expect the Republican controlled senate to fight with the nomination.

Garland is a centrist candidate who the president decided to pick on. He felt that this choice is the most capable of getting through the Senate.

This choice also signals the end of the conservative lean on the court. With the sudden death of Scalia, Republicans fear that their party is collapsing.

Donald Trump, a brokered convention, the infighting between Republicans in Congress shows the signs of the Republican Party's incapability to lead the nation. Democrats are cautiously hoping that the civil war will split the party.

Obama is not playing games with Republicans.

Inept Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has already signaled that he's not willing to take the matter up until the next president comes forth. That right there is the example of partisanship which is driving Congress to low job approvals.

At 11am, the president will address the nation.

Merrick Brian Galand is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, he is 63 years old and a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School.

He is married to his wife Lynn (nee Rosenman). He is a father of two daughters. He is Jewish.

Garland was seen on the shortlist of many qualified judges. Sir Srinivasan and Paul J. Watford were on the short list but faced a difficult path given the partisan rancor in the Senate.

Before Elena Kagan was appointed a justice of the Court, Garland was seen on the short list as well.

Republicans better confirm a nominee to the Supreme Court. Their plan will backfire if they refuse Obama's choice to the court.

Obama warned that if he doesn't get a nomination confirmed, the next president will suffer. Cause I bet you if the Republicans block a nominee to the Supreme Court, the next president (if its a Republican) will face the same obstruction from Democrats.

Insurgent Lawmaker Wants To Flaunt Her Ignorance In Washington!

Boob running for Congress. Michele Fiore, a controversial Republican assemblywoman running in a swing district.

The junk food media is watching a hotly contested Republican primary contest in the state of Nevada.

They're watching the race unfold between a rational conservative Republican and an insurgent who once stood in adamant support of White extremist Cliven Bundy.

Nevada State Assemblywoman Michele Fiore is by far one of the most divisive politicos in Nevada.

The lawmaker is considered a gadfly to fellow Republicans in Nevada. She uses her beauty, her breasts and her bullets to sway Republicans to vote for her. She is a lifelong member of the NRA and a beauty model for the gun magazines.

She was born in New York City. A proud Brooklyn native, Fiore moved from the cold nights of New York to the hot and steamy desert city of Las Vegas in 1993.

Fiore is embracing a spot in the House of Representatives. She said that she will give up her relatively safe Republican-held District 4 for the swing district currently held by a Republican. This election could determine if the impact of the insurgency in districts that swing for reliable politicos.

The 45-year old Fiore is campaigning for the 3rd Congressional District. The district covers Henderson and Boulder City, these areas are located within suburban Las Vegas.

Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV) is giving up his seat to run for the competitive Senate seat given up by the Minority Leader, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).

Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) are inspiring more extremism within the Republican Party.

Fiore has decided to run for Congress because she's inspired by the Ted Cruz presidential campaign.

Well her rhetoric managed to get some attention. The Republican primary debate was contentious at best between Fiore and a Republican rival. Many spotters are hoping to expose the insurgent for being inept and not ready for primetime.

Raw Story and Crooks & Liars have put this now viral video online. It shows Fiore going into a combative repose against Annette Teijeiro.

Footage from the six-person debate shows Fiore looking intently at Teijeiro as she drops a load on her.

"I know you’ve been around the country, but there are problems here in Nevada. And you know what? We can’t solve problems by going and shooting people in the head."

Fiore with her family holding firearms. Her grandson is holding firearm.

The remark was a reference to Fiore’s statement last December that, rather than barring Syrian refugees from entering the state, she would rather travel to Paris and “put a piece of brass in their ocular cavity and end their miserable life.”

The video, which was originally posted by Teijeiro, shows Fiore standing up and grabbing another microphone before telling her, “Your time is up.”

As the assemblywoman says that, a bell begins ringing — presumably to signal the end of Teijeiro’s turn. Fiore then adds, “You wanna have a debate with me? You wanna have a fight with me? The bell is ringing. Put your mic down.”

The two candidates had another contentious exchange later on, when Fiore said of Teijeiro, “This chick can’t run on her own merits, so the only thing she does is attack all of us.”

“I’m not a chick, I’m actually a medical doctor,” Teijeiro replied. “I’m an anaesthesiologist.”

Special thanks to Raw Story. Fiore has been a political gadfly for some years now. Since she's been elected to the Nevada Assembly she's done nothing since she's been elected. Many people should see that this "boob" shouldn't win on the merits of flaunting her breast and firearms.

Fiore is obsessed with talking shit and popping off shit. She might as well ask Dana Loesch for a job at the struggling Blaze Network. She'll fit right in with these wack-a-doodles.

Dana flaunts her breast and bullets too!

March Maddness!

Still rocking!

Once again, the country's unemployment is currently at 4.9 percent. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that 242,000 jobs for the month of February. The unemployment rate hold steady.

With a great job number, the hour wages actually declined.

But the number of long-term unemployed hasn't budged, and neither has the number of part-time workers who would prefer to work full-time.

Employment gains occurred in health care and social assistance, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and private educational services. Job losses continued in mining.

In February, the unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 7.8 million, was unchanged. Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 0.6 percentage point and 831,000, respectively.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.5 percent), adult women (4.5 percent), teenagers (15.6 percent), Whites (4.3 percent), Blacks (8.8 percent), Asians (3.8 percent), and Hispanics (5.4 percent) showed little or no change in February.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 2.2 million in February and has shown little movement since June. In February, these individuals accounted for 27.7 percent of the unemployed.

Here comes the ney sayers! The so-called 94 million Americans not working. Of course, ignoring the obvious and the reasons to why.

Now if you're saying that the stay at home parent, the full-time college student, the disabled, the incarcerated, those under 15 years old, those who just retired and those who passed away, I guess that's you're 94 million not working.

The fact-checkers continue to remind conservatives that their assessment of the unemployment is wrong. It wouldn't matter, conservatives and Republicans are two feet in the manure.

Conservatives are boneheads. Of course, they're pitch is to cut government jobs. Ted Cruz would eliminate the IRS, meaning putting government workers on the street. Donald Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education and Common Core. Once again, making students lack even more education, force religious theories upon non-religious students, and keep them in poorly funded schools.

They want to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency which controls the water, air and soil. Seeing we're experience a crisis in Flint water supply, eliminating the EPA could make it harder to detect deadly chemicals and lead in the water.

They all want to repeal Obamacare. If they eliminate the healthcare law, then millions of newly registered and those with pre-determined conditions could lose their insurance. Their insurance rates will skyrocket and people will avoid hospitals. The Zika virus, Ebola, and the HIV virus are going to rise and we're going to have a pandemic.

President Barack Obama took the job rate from 10,9 to 4.8 in his years in office, Regardless of what his critics say, he's done a pretty damn good job getting Americans back to work. No thanks to the Republicans.

Democrats Warn McConnell That SCOTUS Delay Will Backfire!

Obama might pick a Republican who might become the U.S. Supreme Court justice. It might destroy the party if they reject their own.

President Barack Obama and the Democratic members of the U.S. Senate say that it will happen and it will happen quickly.

The death of Antonin Scalia has become a political football for the partisans. The president has a constitutional duty to appoint a nominee a person to replace a justice to the Supreme Court.

President Barack Obama has a rare opportunity to get a third pick to the Court. Ronald Reagan was the last president to have an opportunity to nominee three to the Court.

Conservatives are fearing that the pick could sway the court.

Republican governor Brian Sandoval is the front runner in the SOTUS nomination.

The senate's Republicans including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are hoping that they can delay or refuse to accept any nominee to the Supreme Court. They vow to have another president pick a justice.

They're willing to shut down the government again. But the pressure is on. The party is facing intense scrutiny over this.

In their last stand, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have pledge to not support Obama's pick to the Supreme Court regardless of qualifications.

The delay of the Supreme Court nomination could screw up cases.

One in particular is the Supreme Court's hearing on five residents of the U.S. territory of American Samoa. They are fighting the U.S. government over citizenship.

The residents born in American Samoa are not U.S. Citizens. They are U.S. nationals and they can't get federal aid or veteran's assistance. They have to buy a U.S. passport with the status of national on it. They are saying that if they're born on U.S. territory the deserve automatic American citizenship.

Tuaua v. United States is going to be a major court case. If it goes in the favor of Lene Tuaua, then it may advocate U.S. citizenship and could open up presidential voting rights to those living in the U.S. territories.

The junk food media is reporting that the president is vetting Nevada's Republican governor Brian Sandoval. This may cause a rift within the party. For one thing, Sandoval is a Republican, he's a well liked governor and he's a Hispanic. If the Republicans oppose one of their own, then they may end up costing their chances in the presidential election.

Dems Got A Long Fight Ahead!

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will likely continue to be the Majority Leader of the Senate. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) will retire as the Minority Leader putting his seat in a competitive race.

Again, I don't care for the Republicans and Democrats. They both suck. They both are out for their own. They don't understand the plight of the American people. They are invested in the special interest groups and elites that continue to pour money into their races. They will play partisan games and continue grandstanding for the sake of their federal perks.

Here's my outlook for the U.S. Senate elections. The Republicans have 54 members currently serving. They have to lose 5 seats to fall back into the minority. Some of the seats are in states that President Barack Obama carried in the 2012 election.

With the pending fight in the nomination of a Supreme Court justice, most Republicans stand firm in opposing a choice to replace Antonin Scalia. Some of the Republicans are polling somewhat well to somewhat bad in their respective states. They know the risk of being inept in their home states. 

Republicans will have to protect Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois and New Hampshire. These seats are considered TOSS UP. These seats are competitive but it could also put risk on usually safe seats such as Arizona, Indiana, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. This would be a challenge for Republicans.

With the job approval of Congress at record lows, it's not easy for Republicans to bring up the failures of Obama when they're the ones also in power. But don't think it's an easy road for the Democrats. It's going to be a tough fight for Democrats to win back the trust of the American people.

Democrats have to fight for seats in states like Nevada, Colorado and Maryland. I conclude these states as TOSS UP. It's likely going to be a hard road for the Dems to recapture the Senate. 

Depending on who becomes the nominee, I have pegged the candidates and how I believe that Republicans will continue to hold on to the majority of the senate. The odds are 52 - 48.

Alaska - Lisa Murkowski (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Hawaii - Brian Schantz (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Washington - Patty Murray (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Oregon - Ron Wyden (RUNNING) (LIKELY DEMOCRAT)

California - Barbara Boxer (RETIRING) (LIKELY DEMOCRAT)

Colorado - Michael Bennet (RUNNING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: REPUBLICAN)

Idaho - Mike Crapo (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Nevada - Harry Reid (RETIRING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: REPUBLICAN)

Utah - Mike Lee (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Arizona - John McCain (RUNNING) (LEANS REPUBLICAN)

North Dakota - Jim Hoeven (RUNNING) (LIKELY REPUBLICAN)

South Dakota - John Thune (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Kansas - Jerry Moran (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Oklahoma - James Lankford (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Iowa - Chuck Grassley (RUNNING) (LIKELY REPUBLICAN)

Missouri - Roy Blunt (RUNNING) (LIKELY REPUBLICAN)
Arkansas - John Boozman (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Louisiana - David Vitter (RETIRING) (LEANS REPUBLICAN)

Wisconsin - Ron Johnson (RUNNING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: DEMOCRAT)

Illinois - Mark Kirk (RUNNING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: DEMOCRAT)

Indiana - Dan Coates (RETIRING) (LIKELY REPUBLICAN)

Kentucky - Rand Paul (RUNNING) (LIKELY REPUBLICAN)

Ohio - Rob Portman (RUNNING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: PORTMAN)

Alabama - Richard Shelby (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Georgia - Johnny Isakson (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Florida - Marco Rubio (RETIRING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: REPUBLICAN)

North Carolina - Richard Burr (RUNNING) (LEANS REPUBLICAN)

South Carolina - Tim Scott (RUNNING) (SAFE)

New Hampshire - Kelly Ayotte (RUNNING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: AYOTTE)

Vermont - Patrick Leahy (RUNNING) (SAFE)

New York -  Chuck Schumer (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Pennsylvania - Pat Toomey (RUNNING) (LEANS REPUBLICAN)

Connecticut - Richard Blumenthal (RUNNING) (SAFE)

Maryland - Barbara Mikulski (RETIRING) (TOSS UP) (ODDS: DEMOCRAT)

Cold Hearts!

Win for the Obamas. They will do the Superbowl interview on Sunday.

In the month of January, the U.S. job market added 151,000 jobs, bringing the unemployment rate to 4.9% for the first time since February 2008 before the recession hit.

President Barack Obama has brought the economy back to the normal and yet he gets no credit from his Republican and conservative opposition. Of course, the ridiculous talking point of XX million Americans not working will once again come up in discussion.

They ignored the obvious factors to why such factors exist. They can't figure out that for ever 35 seconds there's birth and death. For every 50 seconds there's a person either getting hired, quitting their job or getting fired from a job. There's a lot of students attending full time college and high school. Some people declare their retirement. Some people were arrested for criminal acts.

It's a part of life that some conservatives fail to realize. That if 1/3 of the United States isn't working, how come the job rate is so freaking low. That means over 95% of Americans are actively working or in the search of finding jobs.

Jobs aplenty.

 U.S. employment gains slowed more than expected in January as the boost to hiring from unseasonably mild weather faded, but surging wages and an unemployment rate at an eight-year low suggested the labor market recovery remains firm.

Data for November and December was revised to show 2,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast employment increasing by 190,000 and the jobless rate steady at 5 percent.

Also taking the sting from the softer payrolls number, employers increased hours for workers. Manufacturing, which has been undermined by a strong dollar and weak global demand, added the most jobs since August 2013.

The sharp step-down in job gains from the fourth quarter's brisk clip largely reflected payback after the warmest temperatures in years bolstered hiring in weather-sensitive sectors like construction. January employment also lost the lift from the hiring of couriers and messengers, which was buoyed in November and December by strong online holiday sales.

But coming in the wake of an abrupt slowdown in economic growth in the fourth quarter and a sharp stock market sell-off, the closely watched employment report could add to concerns the U.S. economic outlook was deteriorating.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has said the economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with growth in the working age population.

Against the backdrop of tightening financial market conditions, the deceleration in employment growth could further undercut the case for a Fed interest rate hike in March. The U.S. central bank raised its short-term interest rate in December for the first time in nearly a decade.