Author: susie

Even for Buffalo

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

This is a helluva lotta snow:

The snow is still falling with more than 5 feet already on the ground, and some areas south of the city are expected to get a year’s worth of snow — almost 6 feet — in just three days. Temperatures in all 50 states fell to freezing or below overnight.

The national snowfall record for a 24-hour period is 76 inches, set in Silver Lake, Colo., in 1921. Some Buffalo suburbs approached that amount on Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported. It’s possibly the highest 24-hour snow in a populated area.

The cold spread across most of the eastern half of the U.S. on Wednesday morning; record cold was reported in New York City, Washington, D.C., and as far south as Jacksonville, Fla.

Hey Ricky

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

http://youtu.be/6ZlLQLFq_H4

Get the popcorn, kids!

A state district judge refused to throw out the criminal charges against Gov. Rick Perry, ruling Tuesday that special prosecutor Michael McCrum had been properly appointed to the case.

Perry’s legal team argued that the charges must be voided because special prosecutor Michael McCrum did not properly take his oath of office when he began working on the governor’s case, negating every act performed over the past 15 months — including the indictment accusing Perry of abusing the powers of his office.

Senior District Judge Bert Richardson disagreed.

“This court concludes that Mr. McCrum’s authority was not voided by the procedural irregularities in how and when the oath of office … was administered,” Richardson’s order said.

Oh here we go

~ susie

In other words, “we’ll cut your taxes now so we can kill Medicare and Social Security later.” And some voters will fall for it:

The group of policy analysts and writers known as reform conservatives talks about something called libertarian populism. Some elected officials have also nodded in this direction. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida recently spoke, in decidedly un-Republican language, about “the rising struggles of our working-class families.”

A new Republican economic approach could still revolve around cutting taxes, but the cuts would no longer be focused on the affluent. “I would expect to see a marriage of sorts between shrinking government and helping the middle class,” said Michael R. Strain of the American Enterprise Institute. Specifically, several conservatives, including Conn Carroll ofTownhall.com and Timothy P. Carney of The Washington Examiner, have called for a cut in the payroll tax, which helps pay for Medicare and Social Security. Though it receives less attention, 63 percent of taxpayers pay more in payroll taxes than income taxes.

Me and my c-pap

~ susie ~ 5 Comments

mycpap

The medical supplier dropped off my c-pap machine yesterday, and last night was my first night using it away outside of a sleep lab.

And I have to say, it didn’t suck.

It took some getting used to, but when I woke up today, I didn’t have a headache and I felt — not incredible, but noticeably less sucky than usual. And as the morning wore on, I started to feel pretty good. I put a load in the dishwasher and didn’t feel like I was going to pass out after! And there’s hardly any swelling in my feet today.

I think I’m going to like this thing.

Obama seems to have found a backbone

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Who’s a thunk it?

Washington (CNN) — A defiant Barack Obama dives into what could be a defining period of his presidency this week, after repeatedly enraging Republicans from afar during his Asia tour.

Obama faces showdowns with the GOP over immigration, the Keystone XL pipeline and his drive for a nuclear deal with Iran, all of which have huge consequences for his political legacy.

Far from being chastened by the Republican capture of the Senate, Obama is setting out to prove he is no lame duck and can still set the agenda.

But the GOP insists the mid-terms gave them a share of power in Washington, and believe Obama risks usurping his authority and even the constitution with his bold new strategy.

Obama chose a highly symbolic setting to set the tone for two final White House years in which he will face a unified Republican Congress.

Side-by-side in Myanmar with the world’s most famous dissident, Obama refused to bow to what Republicans regard as the capital’s new political “reality.”
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