Help The Middle ClassNews and Information For The Heart Of America

CAREER DIRECTION: Blue Collar Jobs in Demand for 2010 (AOL/Payscale)

Ready for a career change but dread getting another desk job? Then how about trying your hand at, well, working with your hands?

“There is a blue collar renaissance going on right now,” says Joe Lamacchia, author of Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-in-One-Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside of the Cubicle. “These are necessary jobs and they’re not going to go anywhere. Our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. We want to turn …

East Coast Is Hit by ‘Potentially Epic Snowstorm’ (New York Times)

One of the largest winter storms the Mid-Atlantic region has seen in decades swept into Washington and Baltimore on Friday, grounding flights, closing schools and government offices, and sending residents racing to stock up on groceries and rock salt before the snow accumulated to what are expected to be record-setting depths.

“Tonight into Saturday morning will be about as dangerous as winter weather can get around here,” said Christopher Strong of the …

Federal Housing Administration Has Mounting Finanicial Woes. A Crush Of Foreclosures Is Possible (Washington Post)

The share of borrowers who are falling seriously behind on loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration jumped by more than a third in the past year, foreshadowing a crush of foreclosures that could further buffet an agency vital to the housing market’s recovery.

About 9.1 percent of FHA borrowers had missed at least three payments as of December, up from 6.5 percent a year ago, the agency’s figures show.

Although the FHA’s default rate has …

The White House Says Blame ‘Dubya’ For Budget Woes (Salon)

The underlying message as the Obama administration rolled out its proposed budget Monday may have sounded familiar to anyone listening to last year’s budget announcement — or, for that matter, to the State of the Union speech or the president’s visit to House Republicans last week. That message, in a nutshell: Sure, the government is borrowing a lot of money. But don’t blame us — blame George W. Bush.

“The fact is, 10 years ago, we had a budget surplus of more than $200 billion, with projected surpluses …

AND NOW THE GOOD NEWS! GDP Expands at 5.7% Rate (Wall Street Journal)

The U.S. economy surged at the end of 2009, a bigger-than-expected gain driven more by slower inventory liquidation than by consumer spending.  Gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 5.7% annual rate October through December, the Commerce Department said Friday in its first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast 4.8% GDP growth during the fall.  GDP has gone up two straight quarters, rising 2.2% in the third quarter after a year of contraction. In all of 2009, GDP fell 2.4%, the biggest …

ADDICTIONS: Why Do Losers Keep Gambling? (MSNBC)

Betting on the Super Bowl, roulette, or even online poker can be thrilling, and with the advent of online gambling, it’s easier than ever before. Yet winning and losing can have unexpected effects on the brain that keep people coming back for more, scientists are finding.

Gamblers sink an increasing sum of money into their efforts to win. Over the last 20 years legalized betting has grown tremendously; it’s now a $100 billion industry. More than 65 percent of Americans gamble, according to Gallup’s annual Lifestyle Poll conducted …

Obama Believes Health Care Overhaul May Die On Hill (Yahoo! News)

WASHINGTON – No, maybe he can’t. President Barack Obama, who insisted he would succeed where other presidents had failed to fix the nation’s health care system, now concedes the effort may die in Congress.

The president’s newly conflicting signals could frustrate Democratic lawmakers who are hungry for guidance from the White House as they try to salvage the effort to extend coverage …

NEW STUDY: Healthy Adults Need Less Sleep As They Age (AFP)

Healthy older adults need less sleep than their younger counterparts and, even with less sleep under their nightcaps, are less likely to feel tired during the day, a study published Monday showed.

The time spent actually sleeping out of eight hours in bed declined progressively and significantly with age, the study published in SLEEP, the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, said.

Older adults, aged 66-83, slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults (40-55 years), who slept 23 minutes less …

Democrats Put Health Care On The ‘Back Burner’ (AP/Baynews9.com)

Democrats retreated Tuesday from a quick push to pass President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, lacking a workable strategy to salvage the sweeping legislation that has consumed Congress for more than a year.

“There is no rush,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after a meeting of Senate Democrats. His comments came as two centrists said they would oppose the plan Democratic leaders were considering to reconcile differences between the House and Senate bills and put comprehensive legislation on Obama’s desk.

A week after the loss of a …

11 Foods Your Dentist Doesn’t Want You To Eat! (Yahoo! Health)

A fully grown male deer.  The carbon body of a 2007 Shelby Mustang Funny Car.  Tom Cruise. And all the sugar and other sweeteners you, the average American, will eat this year. What do they all have in common?  They all weigh approximately 140 pounds. Life is sweet, all right—so sweet that each of us will eat the sugar equivalent of 3,628 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

FOR CONTINUATION OF THIS ARTICLE, CLICK THIS LINK FOR YAHOO!: 11 Foods Your Dentist Wouldn’t Touch on Yahoo! Health.

Apple iPad Tablet. Is It Worth The Hype? (The Washington Post)

For months, the same questions have been bouncing around the computing industry: What will the Apple tablet do? Will it redefine the laptop? Can it reinvent the publishing industry? Could it even — gasp — save print media?

On Wednesday morning, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs made his latest bid for gadget immortality. A crowd of journalists, analysts and invited guests packed an auditorium here to see the thin, bespectacled Apple co-founder unveil the iPad, an 8-by-10-inch, wireless-enabled slab of metal, plastic and glass.

The iPad, due to …

Bloggers Left and Right Agree to Hate Health Care Reform (TIME)

In the snarkier precincts of the left-wing blogosphere, mainstream journalists like me are often called villagers. The reference, so far as I can tell, has to do with isolation: we live in this little village on the Potomac — actually, I don’t, but no matter — constantly intermingling over hors d’oeuvres, deciding who is “serious” (a term of derision in the blogosphere) and who is not, regurgitating spin spoon-fed by our sources or conjuring a witless conventional wisdom that has nothing to do with reality as it …

Word and Office Banned For Sale Starting January 11th After Microsoft Loses Appeal

Word and Office Banned For Sale Starting January 11th After Microsoft Loses Appeal

via Word and Office Banned For Sale Starting January 11th After Microsoft Loses Appeal.

Viruses Hit Facebook & Twitter Taking Over People’s Accounts (New York Times)

It used to be that computer viruses attacked only your hard drive. Now they attack your dignity.

Malicious programs are rampaging through Web sites like Facebook andTwitter, spreading themselves by taking over people’s accounts and sending out messages to all of their friends and followers. The result is that people are inadvertently telling their co-workers and loved ones how to raise their I.Q.’s or make money instantly, or urging them …

Facebook Accused Of Pushing Members To Share Personal Info (Telegraph)

The changes, which were announced last week and are now rolling out across the site, asks users to review their privacy settings, and adjust them to ensure they are only sharing personal information, videos and photos with the people they want.

But privacy campaigners say this “transition tool” is “nudging” Facebook’s 350 million users towards creating more open profiles, with details and information that can be viewed by anyone.

“Facebook is nudging the settings toward the ‘disclose everything’ position,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the …

CAREER DIRECTION: Blue Collar Jobs in Demand for 2010 (AOL/Payscale)

Ready for a career change but dread getting another desk job? Then how about trying your hand at, well, working with your hands?

“There is a blue collar renaissance going on right now,” says Joe Lamacchia, author of Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-in-One-Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside of the Cubicle. “These are necessary jobs and they’re not going to go anywhere. Our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. We want to turn …

HOME BUYING: The Best Foreclosure Bargins In America (CNBC)

The turmoil in the US housing market has been punctuated with a wave of residential foreclosures. With sellers looking to offload foreclosed properties, often at a loss, the discounted prices have been identified as potentially profitable investments by speculators betting on a housing rebound. But across the country, where are the best opportunities?

According to analysis recently compiled by real estate website Zillow.com , some cities around the US offer significantly better prices for foreclosed homes than others. By comparing the median price of a foreclosed …

ADDICTIONS: Why Do Losers Keep Gambling? (MSNBC)

Betting on the Super Bowl, roulette, or even online poker can be thrilling, and with the advent of online gambling, it’s easier than ever before. Yet winning and losing can have unexpected effects on the brain that keep people coming back for more, scientists are finding.

Gamblers sink an increasing sum of money into their efforts to win. Over the last 20 years legalized betting has grown tremendously; it’s now a $100 billion industry. More than 65 percent of Americans gamble, according to Gallup’s annual Lifestyle Poll conducted …

GETTING IN SHAPE: The 20 Worst Sandwiches In America (Men’s Health)

Simple, satisfying, and portable as a BlackBerry, the sandwich has been a mainstay in the American diet for years. Though always the most popular lunch food, sandwiches are also the number one dinnertime dish. More than one out of nine dinners consumed at homes include a sandwich, according to a market research company, NPD group’s, 21st Annual Report on Eating Patterns

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JOB REPORT: Cities Where Jobs & Income Are On The Up! (Forbes)

Professional success often requires some degree of sacrifice. Surprisingly, one of those sacrifices might include moving to the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. Living in Delaware County is, in some ways, a smarter career move than packing up and heading for Wall Street or Silicon Valley.

With three-year income growth of 11% between 2007 and 2009, Delaware County is one of 10 places Forbes found best for professionals to get ahead. The fastest-growing county in the state, it has benefited from both a diverse mix of jobs that has …

Studies Reveal Why Kids Get Bullied and Rejected (Yahoo! News)

Kids who get bullied and snubbed by peers may be more likely to have problems in other parts of their lives, past studies have shown. And now researchers have found at least three factors in a child’s behavior that can lead to social rejection.

The factors involve a child’s inability to pick up on and respond to nonverbal cues from their pals.

In the United States, 10 to 13 percent of school-age kids experience some form of rejection by their peers. In addition to causing mental health problems, bullying …