Nemo me impune lacessit

No one provokes me with impunity

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No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Article 1, Section 9, Constitution of the United States

If this is the law of the land...why in a republic (little r) and as republicans, do we allow mere POLITICIANS to the right to use a "title of office" for the rest of their lives as if it were de facto a patent of nobility. Because, as republicans, this should NOT be the case...just saying...

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

State of the Union: By The Numbers

From the Daily Caller web site...
What IS the state of the union?

Listed below are facts and figures that have changed over the past year.

Unemployment rate
2008: 7.6%
2009: 10%

Total number of people unemployed
2008: 11,400,000
2009: 15,267,000

Number of federal employees
2008: 1,900,000
2009: 2,229,000

Average federal employee salary
2008: $71,206
2009: $74,403

U.S. Median Income for a four person family
2008: $67,019
2009: $70,354

Total value of U.S. GDP
2008: $14.33 trillion
2009: $14.57 trillion

US Dollar vs. Chinese Yuan
2008 avg.: $0.15 to 1 Yuan
2009 avg.: $0.15 to 1 Yuan

US Dollar vs. Euro
2008 avg.: $1.35 to 1 euro
2009 avg.: $1.46 to 1 euro

Average spending per registered lobbyist
2008: $58,230.00
2009: $63,226.00

Cost of a barrel of oil
2008: $44.60
2009: $79.36

Average price for a gallon of gas
2008: $1.840
2009: $2.695

Guns sold in the U.S., ammo sold
2008: 12,709,023, 7-10 billion rounds
2009: 14,033,824, 12 billion rounds

Number of public-sector union members
2008: 7,832,000
2009: 7,900,000

Number of private-sector union members
2008: 8,265,000
2009: 7,431,000

Number of failed banks bailed out by FDIC
2008: 25
2009: 140

Total number of corporate bankruptcies
2008: 138
2009: 207

Number of personal bankruptcies
2008: 1,074,225
2009: 1,402,816

Average home price
2008: $292,600
2009: $268,733

Federal hate crime cases prosecuted by the Justice Dept.
2008: 23
2009: 25 (second highest ever, after 2001)

Divorce Rate
2008: 3.5 divorces per 1000 people
2009: 3.4 divorces per 1000 people

Number of movies watched, Total ticket sales
2008: 1,370,000,000 (tickets sold); 9,850,000,000 (revenue)
2009: 1,460,000,000 (tickets sold); 10,490,000,000 (revenue)

Visits to the White House
Total Visits by Banking and Finance C.E.O.’s: 31
Total Visits by Labor Union Bosses: 29
Total Visits by Energy C.E.O.’s: 15

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