What’s interesting in the news today?
Open thread, what have ya’ got?
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Here’s a good story.
From TheNYTimes
“Doctors announced on Sunday that a baby had been cured of an H.I.V. infection for the first time, a startling development that could change how infected newborns are treated and sharply reduce the number of children living with the virus that causes AIDS.
The baby, born in rural Mississippi, was treated aggressively with antiretroviral drugs starting around 30 hours after birth, something that is not usually done. If further study shows this works in other babies, it will almost certainly be recommended globally. The United Nations estimates that 330,000 babies were newly infected in 2011, the most recent year for which there is data, and that more than three million children globally are living with H.I.V.
If the report is confirmed, the child born in Mississippi would be only the second well-documented case of a cure in the world. That could give a lift to research aimed at a cure, something that only a few years ago was thought to be virtually impossible, though some experts said the findings in the baby would probably not be relevant to adults.”
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Here’s an amusing piece on the gift that just keeps giving. Joe Biden. 🙂
And the video at the end, like all things Joe, is quite amusing.
“Lots of people like Joe Biden. He’s the zany uncle, the benign bumbler who shows up at Thanksgiving dinner and takes over the mealtime conversation with confusing stories, most of them very familiar and not all of them off-color.
Joe is from Delaware, a place that’s famous for absolutely nothing and arouses no feelings whatsoever. Joe likes to ride the choo-choo trains. He talks a lot, which can be good in politics. He often talks before thinking about the words coming out of his mouth, which can not be good in politics. (Scroll down for humorous video that illustrates this.)
Obama keeps the harmless guy around because, in comparison, Biden makes the president look smooth and smart. As long as no one gets to thinking, “God Almighty, that garrulous goof is one heartbeat away from becoming commander-in-chief.”
Hey, guys, what does this red button do?”
🙄
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What?! I’m :shock:ed
From FoxNews
“The White House retreated from its doomsday predictions Sunday about the impact of the $85 billion in federal spending cuts that have kicked in — as Republican leaders appeared at least satisfied about delivering on their promise to limit government spending and hold down taxes.
Gene Sperling, the White House’s top economic adviser, repeatedly said the cuts will not hurt as much on “Day One” as they will over the long haul.
“Nobody ever suggested that this … was going to have all its impact in the first few days,” he told “NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It is a slow grind.”
His remarks are in contrast to weeks of President Obama and his Cabinet warning that the cuts will result in furloughs or pay cuts for middle-class wage-earners such as teachers, Capitol Hill janitors and air traffic controllers, which they said could cause 90-minutes delays at major U.S. airports.”
OK, not really.
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So it’s not a big deal? Or is it?
Brandon Smith takes a look at govt. programs that should be cut but won’t be, over at Alt-Market.com
“Washington is laying on the malaise pretty thick lately over automatic budget cuts set to take effect in March, with admonitions and partisan attacks galore. Of course, those of us who are educated in the finer points of our corrupt puppet government are well aware that the public debate between Democrats and Republicans amounts to nothing more than a farcical battle of Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots with only one set of hands behind the controls. The reality is, their decisions are scripted, their votes are purchased, and they knew months ago exactly how America’s fiscal cliff situation would progress. The drama that now ensues on the hill is meant for OUR benefit and distraction, and no one else. ”
“Let’s put all of this into perspective; America’s current annual deficits have exceeded $1 trillion for the past four years. Our official national debt has expanded nearly $7 trillion in the span of five years. Through QE3 (QE infinity), the Federal Reserve is now pumping over $85 billion (that we know about) per month into our financial system. And in March, the federal government is being asked to cut $85 billion over a span of six months?
It sure seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the massive expenditures already taking place. Yet, these moderate cuts are being heralded as a sign of fiscal apocalypse by the White House and others. Why? Because America has reached the point at which any disruption in government liquidity will damage our recovery fantasy, and the establishment is acclimating us to the coming crisis so that we don’t immediately take up our torches and pitchforks. The lie is so tenuous, that the fiat must forever flow, or the illusion crumbles. Not only must spending continue unabated, it must also EXPAND with each passing year in order to handle the growing liabilities of entitlements and interest payments on capital already borrowed. Even the smallest of cuts could indeed send our economy into a tailspin (with a little help from the Federal Reserve and reduced currency creation), because that’s exactly how desperate our circumstances are. ”
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Wandering Views 