Hybrid Automaker In Northeast Pennsylvania Inquiries have been made about a hybrid automaker locating in Northeast Pennsylvania, perhaps in the Scranton and Wilkes Barre area. If it happens it could mean 1000 jobs at start up and 4000 jobs to follow. Why not? The transportation infrastructure is ideal.  There are three ocean going ports in reasonably close proximity with Baltimore, which already has a huge automobile shipping presence, Philadelphia, and New York.  There are two inland water ports with Pittsburgh on the river system, and Erie or Cleveland on the Lakes.  There are several interstate highway alternatives and a well established rail system. Several top of the line engineering colleges are in close proximity with Drexel, Lehigh, Bucknell, Penn State, and a few more. The regi... 08/23/2010

  The latest intell coming from the UK indicates Al Qaeda has developed another plan to blow up airplanes.  This technique is virtually undetectable and cannot be uncovered during security screening. Women suicide bombers are having breast augmentation which includes a powerful explosive in the implant.  The lethal explosive is known as PETN.  It is inserted into plastic shapes during the surgery before the breast is sewn up.  It has also been revealed that male suicide bombers are having the same type of implants placed in their buttocks. Experts say as little as 5 oz of this explosive could blow a significant hole in the skin of a plane causing it to crash. The enemy is becoming more resourceful and our defenses are insufficient to deal with them. What is the solution?  Our full body ... 03/24/2010

  Last year in February President Obama staged one of his stimulus speeches at a large Caterpillar plant in the Midwest.  He used his appearance to sell economic stimulus and tote his upcoming health care initiative.  President Obama stated that Caterpillar agreed the stimulus would allow them to hire back some of the 22,000 employees that had been laid off.  It turned out later that Mr. Obama miss spoke.  CEO Jim Owens corrected the President and further clarified that Caterpillar would probably have to lay off more employees before they could rehire.  This seems to be a common theme with this President.  He tells you exactly what you want to hear to support his initiatives.  Not the truth.  Since that speech Obama has appealed to employees of Caterpillar and other corporate giants to ... 03/21/2010

Looks like GM will not try to regain control of its financing arm GMAC.  GM is planning to launch an initial public offering later this year.  Having control over financing would make GM look more attractive to investors.  Taking over GMAC would hold lots of complications for GM.  GMAC is surviving on the 17 billion bailout from American taxpayers.  They also gained the ability to turn themselves into a bank holding company as part of the bailout. The mortgage arm of GMAC suffered 8.3 billion in loses just last year.  They are in the process of restructuring but have no clear plan to repay taxpayers. Last year GMAC took over financing for Chrysler products.  They also finance fleet leases.  Their lease business has dropped to 2% from a market share of 20%.  The pullout from the lease bu... 03/17/2010

  Recently we have heard of a number of arrests involving homegrown terrorists. This trend seems to have exploded over night. After doing some research it was revealed that other arrests have taken place around the country without much fanfare. Probably many more exist that have not been reported or have been played down in the media.                   HOMEGROWN TERRORISTS OF NOTE: In July 2009 7 men were arrested in North Carolina for conspiring to commit a terrorist attack. Daniel Boyd a Muslim convert, and his co-conspirators were accused of planning a Jihad attack.  PBS Article Colleen Larose better known as Jihad Jane. She was involved in a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who published cartoons of Mohammad.  News Article February 23, 2010 Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty to terrori... 03/14/2010

Why Use a REALTOR®? All real estate licensees are not the same. Only real estate licensees who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® are properly called REALTORS®. They proudly display the REALTOR "®" logo on the business card or other marketing and sales literature. REALTORS® are committed to treat all parties to a transaction honestly. REALTORS® subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain a higher level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling real estate. An independent survey reports that 84% of home buyers would use the same REALTOR® again. Real estate transactions involve one of the biggest financial investments most people experience in their lifetime. Transactions today usually exceed $100,000. If you had a $100,000 income tax proble... 03/10/2010

  Obama has nominated another controversial judge to the Court of Appeals. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny was nominated February 24th.  A letter from his home-state prosecutor was received denouncing his qualifications for the postion and lableing him a "judicial loose canon". In 2005 Judge Chatigny received notoriety for his role in trying to block the execution of convicted rapist and murderer Michael Ross known as the Roadside Stangler.  Chatigny threatened to go after Ross's attornies law license during the proceedings. In 2001 Chatigny ruled against sex offenders registries created under Megan's law. The Obama administration rated Judge Chatigny to be first rate legal and faithful public servant. Full Story     03/10/2010

Yesterday it was announced that the state of Virginia is the first state to adopt the Honor and Remember Flag.  The flag will be the official remembrance flag flown proudly throughout the state. We are all familiar with the POW flag from the VietNam era.  While we honor our nations heroes on Memorial Day, we have not adopted a symbol to represent their service and sacrifice.   The Honor and Remember flag grew from a grass roots effort of one military family whose son was killed in Iraq.   The flag is designed to honor those who served in all US wars. The movement to have this flag adopted as a national symbol started more than a year ago.  Virginia is the first state to pass legislation. There is currently a house bill H.R. 1034 to make this flag our national symbol of service.    Pleas... 03/04/2010

  The FAA is investigating employees at the JFK air traffic control tower.  It would appear that employees allowed a school age child to make transmissions, which included instructions to pilots.  While the child was under adult supervision at the time,  the incident is a highly serious infraction of protocol.  The lives and safety of airline passengers and crews could have been seriously compromised.  The tapes indicate the pilots knew it was a farce and were amused at the time it occurred.  The Federal Government was not. Safety is no laughing matter.  The transmissions appear to have been innocuous.  Nevertheless, a child in the tower is a distraction, not just for the employee coaching the child, but for all other controllers.  A traffic controller is under incredible pressure to mo... 03/03/2010

  In a recent interview Democratic political strategist and pollster Doug Schoen predicts huge losses by Democrats in November. He is predicting as many as 50 Congressional seats could be lost.  He is also of the opinion the Senate may fall back under Republican control. Schoen was an advisor to President Bill Clinton in 1996.  He is now a Fox News contributor and anaylist.  Schoen points to Obama's falling popularity numbers and his steadfast push to pass health care reform, which the public has clearly said they do not want.Obama continues to shoot himself in the foot by failing to deliver a bi-partisan effort on any legistlation.The Obama bill announced Monday - according to Gibbs - is a starting point and can be added to by Republicans.  Oh, I did not hear portions could be deleted ... 02/23/2010

  The recent Toyota recall for accelerator problems is massive.  Some owners are not sure if their cars are included or not.  In the past recalls have occurred in many cars and models.  A recall is usually only good for one repair.  In other words if the problem re-appears the car company generally will not fix it again. Several Chevrolet recalls come to mind.  Our Chevy Silverado truck had a recall for a "hard" or sticking gas pedal.  It was fixed by Chevy only to return a couple of years later.  The second malfunction is not covered. The Toyota recall is very scary.  Most drivers will panic if the accelerator becomes stuck and they cannot slow down the car.  Please review these steps and memorize them.  Discuss them with every driver in your household especially young or inexperienced... 02/22/2010

  Some exciting news has been reported concerning breast cancer survival. A study from 1976 to 2006 tracked the use of aspirin verses breast cancer deaths. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35426947/ns/health-cancer/ The findings suggest that taking an aspirin 2-5 days a week significantly lowers the chance of recurrence and death.  Taking aspirin 6-7 days a week did not reach the same levels of protection. "Two to five aspirins per week equaled a 60 percent reduced risk of their cancer spreading and a 71 percent lower risk of breast cancer death. Six to seven aspirins a week lowered the risk of spread by 43 percent and the risk of breast cancer death by 64 percent". In an article on the cancer.org website it clarified the findings to say aspirin appeared to be effective in hormone sensitive ... 02/20/2010

  No wonder some states are nearing bankruptcy.  In the case of California they offer a retirement program to their State workers called a 3 for 50 plan. For each year you work you are guaranteed 3% of your annual income for each year of service when you retire.  You can begin to draw retirement at age 50.  Hypothetically, if you are 20 when you take a state job and work for 30 years, you can retire at 90% of your salary at age 50.  Additionally you can leave your career and start a new one while receiving 90% of your salary. Not only does the employee collect monthly benefits, they also have the proceeds from their retirement account, including contributions made by their employer. In most instances Cadillac health care policies are also included. This type of lavish retirement is not ... 02/19/2010

  Today a private individual Joseph Andrew Stack took his small plane and crashed it into a building housing the IRS in Austin Texas. Prior to the crash this man set his home on fire as well.  His act was evidently the result of his despair and inability to deal with his life and the hell IRS was putting him through. He posted his manifesto on line trying to convey his frustration with government and the situation in this country.  A man who like many of us had been adversely impacted by the down turn in our country. Such an act of desperation shows how unglued this man became when trying to deal with what he saw as a hopeless and unfair situation.  One has to wonder how many other people are equally frustrated, who might resort to some uncivil acts, fueled by the financial destruction ... 02/18/2010

  I'm sure the name Sami al-Arian rings a bell with you.  After the attacks of 9/11 Bill O'Reilly was one of the first to bring to light his involvement with and ties to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.  Sami al-Arian was a professor at a college in south Florida.  He pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).  The media uncovered this Professors suspicious activities, not our government. Our government did not carry out a witch hunt.  This man confessed! While a Yale Law School student, Rashad Hussain was an editor of the Yale Law Journal from 2003-2005.  A reporter Shereen Kandi wrote about Rashad's sympathetic feelings and remarks concerning Sami al-Arian.  Sympathizers dub al-Arian to be an innocent victim caught up in the post 9/11 law enforcement.  Musl... 02/17/2010

Home heating bills are crazy! Propane went up 50 cents in a month (in between my own fill-ups) and the costs will probably continue until warmer weather arrives.  It's supply and demand and it's happening everywhere.  Now is the time to pull harder on the end of your belt, don't buy the soda, or the candy, or popcorn, or anything else you buy over and above what you need so you can pay those high heating bills!  That's right, begin suffering so you can line other's pockets with your hard-earned cash! NOT!!! Why pay the heating bills when you can save money by having a thermal survey performed on your home?  Find your local infrared specialist and "see" where you're losing your heat!  For more information on what infrared can see, go to my web site and have a FREE look.  Unlike the utili... 02/15/2010

  President Obama likes to bow when he meets other dignitaries.  He bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia.  Recently he bowed to the Mayor of Tampa. When President Obama traveled to Japan last year he bowed deeply to the Emperor and his wife. Many critics attempted to point out that in Japanese culture this gesture was indicative of deep sorrow and apology.  Liberals defended his action by saying it was only respectful. Why would a President of the United States bow to anyone?  Why would he express through his body language sorrow or apology? For those who attempted to tell the rest of us it was simply a sign of respect - Here is a lesson in BOWING 101 from the President of Toyota.  The President of Toyota appeared on TV to explain is companies plans to deal with the millions of cars caught... 02/10/2010

Have you met child prodigy Jonathan Krohn?  I saw this young man a few months ago on Fox News.  He is truly incredible. This 14 yr old Conservative has debated Democrat Dr. Lamont Hill on Fox News and held his own.  He is also the author of a top selling book.  Jonathan is a regular contributor on Fox News. You might be interested in hearing his predictions for the 2012 Presidential race. Watch this video clip and enjoy Jonathan Krohn on Fox & Friends - A Fox News Contributor in Waiting?       _____________________________________ 02/09/2010

  This has to be the most unusual winter I have ever seen.  My sister lives in Scranton, Pa where we practice real estate.  Usually she gets some horrendous storms and snow accumulation.  Without fail every time I go up there it snows.  Grrrr.  This year they are well below their annual average. In my part of Virginia, near Fredericksburg, we usually see one snow fall, maybe two per season.  Typically it snows one day and melts the next.  Our accumulation is hardly worth mentioning. This year Mother Nature must really be on drugs.  As of early last week the Washington DC area was already up on their annual snow count by 2/3.  This past weekend another huge snow rolled in and some parts of Washington got between 28 - 40".  My sister got zero. We have so much snow that strip centers and s... 02/08/2010

It was just announced that John Murtha (D Pa) died today.  You may know that he was one of the most controversial Congressmen in Washington. He was responsible for those 3 Seals being Court Marshaled over the BlackWater capture. He has been filmed ignoring votes in Congress and passing laws without majority vote.  He has made the list of the top 10 most corrupt politicians in Washington year after year. Numerous Democrats have indicated they would not seek re-election.  Now this strongly held seat in the Johnston area of Pa will be added to those up for grabs.   ___________________________________ 02/08/2010