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Disability numbers on the rise by Jared Hunt Daily Mail Capitol Reporter Advertiser CHARLESTON, W.Va.--The percentage of West Virginians receiving Social Security Disability benefits ranks highest in the nation, according to data from the Social Security Administration. In an August report, the agency said 91,273 people - 5.02 percent of the state's population - are considered disabled workers. Following West Virginia in the rankings were Arkansas, at 4.44 percent; Kentucky, 4.41 percent; Alabama, 4.34 percent; and Mississippi, 4.11 percent. Another 14,835 West Virginians were listed as dependent spouses or children of those on disability, bringing total beneficiaries to 106,108. The...

Turks show support for AKP policies, including distancing Ankara from Israel and clipping the wings of the generally secular, pro-Israel army. The day after Turkish voters approved a sweeping package of constitutional reforms and gave Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a huge victory, the widespread feeling in Jerusalem was that while this was very much an internal, domestic issue, it will have an impact on Turkish-Israeli relations. Erdogan, who pushed through this packet of 26 constitutional amendments, and for whom this project was as important as the healthcare reform was for US President Barack Obama, must as a result of...

Steve did a post earlier this week about the rise in insurance premiums that consumers are now seeing. The insurance companies have said that anywhere from 1% to 9% of those increases are the direct result of Obamacare mandates, with the rest of any increases attributable to rising health care costs. Yesterday, the Obama administration struck back.

JUVFONNA, Norway (Reuters) – Climate change is exposing reindeer hunting gear used by the Vikings' ancestors faster than archaeologists can collect it from ice thawing in northern Europe's highest mountains. "It's like a time machine...the ice has not been this small for many, many centuries," said Lars Piloe, a Danish scientist heading a team of "snow patch archaeologists" on newly bare ground 1,850 meters (6,070 ft) above sea level in mid-Norway. Specialized hunting sticks, bows and arrows and even a 3,400-year-old leather shoe have been among finds since 2006 from a melt in the Jotunheimen mountains, the home of the...

This could confirm what many suspected all along - the corporate heads at General Electric (NYSE:GE) would try to use their media holdings to portray President Barack Obama and his administration in a positive light in order to gain a corporate advantage. That's how former CNBC reporter and current Fox Business Network senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino explains it in his forthcoming book, "Bought and Paid For: The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street." According to Gasparino, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt had "helped his company feast off of the subsidies of Obamanomics," including the green energy initiatives and health...

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A new Fox News poll shows Republican Meg Whitman leading Democrat Jerry Brown by 6 percentage points in California's gubernatorial race, while the conservative news network's poll had Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer leading her Republican challenger, Carly Fiorina, by 2 percentage points. An interesting tidbit: Just 42 percent of Californians approve of Boxer's job performance, according to the Fox poll, while 50 percent disapprove. Still, Boxer drew 46 percent of the vote in her head-to-head match-up in Fiorina. That means that a small but significant number of California's don't like the job Boxer is doing but feel they'd rather have...

NASA satellites provide infrared images to forecasters that show temperature, and today's imagery of powerful Hurricane Igor showed the storm's perfect form and the warm ocean waters around it that are keeping it fueled. NASA's infrared data also revealed a huge difference of 170 degrees between the cold cloud tops in Hurricane Igor and the warm sea surface temperatures powering it below. When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Igor on Sept. 14 at 14:47 UTC (10:47 a.m. EDT) the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured icy cold cloud top temperatures in the strong thunderstorms that surround Igor's well-defined eye. Those...

[snip] The chapter on aid (the charities at work in Africa) is a must-read section in itself. Mills says that the bleeding hearts who surge into the continent under various auspices undermine the self-confidence of sovereign states to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. On this topic, Mills (usually measured and courteous) allows himself a caustic tongue. Mills also discusses South Africa’s resistance to globalisation and generally Africa’s eagerness to attend the myriad international events to which its leaders are invited, instead of submitting strategic and detailed execution plans at these events. “Africa has the biggest voting bloc in the...

Translator’s Note: In February, 1848, the July Monarchy of Louis Philippe was overthrown, and the Second French Republic established. The new republic believed that the unemployment problem which was plaguing Paris could be solved by setting up government work-projects, guaranteeing employment at a certain wage rate for all who desired it. On September 12th, the Constituent Assembly debated the continuance of this arrangement and Tocqueville rose to speak against it. In the course of his speech he entered onto the subject of socialism, which he considered the logical consequence of recognizing the “right to work,” and devoted most of his...

A State Council think-tank in China has warned Washington that the US will come off worst in a trade war if it imposes sanctions against Beijing over the two nations' currency spat. Ding Yifan, a policy guru at the Development Research Centre, said China could respond by selling holdings of US debt, estimated at over $1.5 trillion (£963bn). This would trigger a rise in US interest rates. His comments at a forum in Beijing follow a string of remarks by Chinese officials questioning US credit-worthiness and the reliability of the dollar. China's authorities seem split over how to respond to...

With the war against global terrorism having had been fought, the results being the freeing of the nation of Afghanistan from the Taliban, came the freeing of its women. With that having happened, women in that country now are running for seats in the Afghan Parliament. A quarter of the seats that are reserved for female members of the Afghan Parliament. There are even billboards showing women candidates who state their positions. Plus what would be called in the USA “meet and greet” sessions, going on in the courtyards of mosques. Talking about the issues that concerned them as citizens...

A new campaign ad portrays Nancy Pelosi as the iconic baddie from "The Wizard of Oz." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a new starring role as the Wicked Witch of the West. John Dennis, her Republican opponent, has posted a web-only "Wizard of Oz" parody straight out of central casting. Dennis plays the hero. An actress portraying Pelosi stars as the witch. We, the taxpayers are Dorothy, the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. After riding in on her private jet, a cackling Pelosi starts demanding tax dollars. Dennis, armed with a bucket of water, saves the day. The...

headline Glenn Beck TV thread September 13th 2010 Welcome to the GLENN BECK television thread...Stand. Never give up. Never give in. We are another day closer to the 2010 elections. All Beckerheads, infidels, sick twisted freaks, ilks and lurkers are welcome and are encouraged to participate in the thread.

“You know, half the people in this place could be prosecuted.” Oliver Stone, the film director, was sitting across from me over a late lunch in the Grill Room of the Four Seasons restaurant in Midtown Manhattan last week. [SNIP] If one man epitomizes the populist view of Wall Street and corporate America, it is Mr. Stone, whose new film, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” opens next week. It is the sequel to his hit movie “Wall Street” in 1987. The original tapped into the zeitgeist of the moment — “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good,” as...

Dear friend, Will you join us on 10-2-10: On October 2nd, SEIU will join coalition partners for an historic march in Washington, D.C. for jobs, justice and immigraiton reform. Sign-up to join us for what promises to be an amazing day of action. SEIU will join coalition partners under the banner of "One Nation, Working Together," in a march in Washington, D.C. for jobs, justice and immigration reform. The event promises to be historic and that's why our union wants to make it easy for members across the country to join us. We'll provide the transportation from most metropolitan areas...

Ever since the announcement that Sun TV was going to become a version of Fox News North, commentators have had a field day. “Fox News North” is an outsider’s term, usually meant disparagingly, though the revised channel could do a lot worse than emulate the most successful TV channel in America — and these days the fairest and most trusted. Those who malign Fox News the most, are people who watch it the least. If you are a TV news and opinion junkie, no network other than Fox News is worth watching. I guess that tells you a lot about...

Just when you thought this wretched shill couldn't insult your intelligence any more... Spinning the sad historical reality of his stillborn Senate run in Pennsylvania, MSNBC's Comrade Chris actually asked guests on the intellectually-decrepit Hardball show Monday (yeah, it's still on) if "guys like me and Beau Biden" were "smart not to run this year"... while dismissing the Obama-fueled explosion of issue-specific anti-incumbent sentiment as "very emotional" (= simplistic serfs who can't grasp the complexities of what we're trying to do for/to them) Matthews was 'smart' not to run... because he knew the rest of us are stupid ingrates Meanwhile...

FORTUNE -- While most secular market indicators -- hemlines, sports, the weather -- matter little to big investors, the correlation between midterm elections and rising stock prices is practically gospel. "The charts are eye popping," says Deutsche Bank chief U.S. equities strategist Binky Chadha, who points out that the S&P 500 has produced gains in 18 out of the last 19 midterm election cycles. "It really is an anomaly," he says. The S&P has returned an average of 13% in the six months after midterm elections, Chadha says, and 17% over the next twelve months, which is vastly better than...

<p>The French Senate has voted overwhelmingly for a bill banning the burqa-style Islamic veil everywhere from post offices to streets, in a final step toward a making it law.</p> <p>The Senate voted 246 to 1 Tuesday in favor of the bill, which has already passed in the lower chamber, the National Assembly.</p>