Washington’s Hollywood East: “Lights, Cameras, No Action”

As the 2010 Academy Awards draw near, along with the culmination of the Hollywood awards season, I think it appropriate to take a bit of time to acknowledge some the many compelling performances that have been provided by the political stars of Hollywood East.  After all, the marvelous scripts and stagecraft that our political leadership has produced and performed within the last year have been unquestionably dazzling!

The big names strolling the red carpets of Hollywood East have spawned a frenzy of excitement among their faithful fans.  Names such as Eric Cantor, Michelle Bachman, John McCain, John Boehner and the incomparable Sarah Palin.  Palin became a media diva for her remarkable portrayal of a political “Norma Rae”.  She stars as an unprepared small town girl who rose to compete (unsuccessfully) for the Vice Presidency of the United States.  A historic and jaw dropping portrayal to be sure!

To compete with these stars, for some of the most coveted national political spotlight were the likes of legends Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emmanuel, President Obama and the dramatic icon Harry Reid, whose performance in the recent release of the political “Jimmy The Greek Story” was fabulous!  It was a tale about an old man who suddenly finds that he has lost touch with the sensitivities and realities of modern culture.  The performance nonetheless was mind-boggling and emotionally compelling.  This is only a small sampling of the many names in Hollywood East, who have warmed our hearts with their sincere performances while incredibly, failing to deliver any blockbuster hits (significant legislation).

Certainly the epic movie “How About Healthcare” should win Best Movie of the year honors.  It has many stories within a story,  a political “Groundhog’s Day” with an all star cast.  It kept me on the edge of my seat!

Additionally, Sarah Palin may well deserve the Best Actress award for her second performance as an author or a credible national public figure.  She’s certainly shown some versatility this year!  John McCain deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award, for his ability to stay in congress for a lifetime, without actually being required to achieve anything.  Nancy Pelosi just deserves an award for being cute.  She has a cute way of saying cute things.  She’s the Hollywood East version of Sandra Bullock with no talent or capacity to do anything, that I can discern, except attract negative attention.  Maybe we’ll give her the Best Supporting Actress award, for her role as the President’s least effective number one fan.

Then there is the President himself.  He deserves an award for something also.  Let’s see, maybe Best Actor?  The President is the Hollywood East version of Denzel Washington.  His performances are magnificent and most everybody at Capitol City Pictures likes him.  All this, in spite of the fact that he is miserably failing to effectively lead politically, or affect any significant change.  But if entertainment is all you want, the President is unquestionably the best Hollywood East has to offer.  Why? He certainly continues to act as if he really thinks he can get something significant done!  We’re all actors in this I suppose.

Half of us act as if we really believe that the President can change Washington.  Then there are huge numbers of Americans who act as if they believe he is a socialist or that he was not born in this country and is hell bent on destroying it.  But more than that, we act is if there is some significant measure of reality attached to the performances we see from the stars of Hollywood East and their media groupies.  All the while, we know in our heart of hearts, that we are not being served truthfully or sincerely by any of them.

What do they give us?  They give poor people encouragement to live on the strength of their religion and faith.  They give the same poor people substantial measures of racist red meat to keep them distracted.  They give poor people a chilling fear of  “upcoming and inevitable” terror attacks, when governmental greed, dysfunction and neglect kill far more Americans, and is more worthy of our suspicion and fear.  While we busy ourselves fighting, cowering or praying, they make every opportunity available for a ruthless Corporate America to rape us on virtually every front.

Why would our political leadership use and manipulate us so callously?  Corporate America controls their futures and keeps them, their affluent friends and families,  in very comfortable lifestyles.  That’s why they have been selling America “the people” out!  The most amazing aspect of all of this is that most Americans act as if they don’t even know this is happening.  Bravo!!!  You guys, “the American public,” are fantastic actors! My hat is off to your skill!

L.A. Walker

Recession & the Family: Women Now a Majority in American Workplaces

Of important milestones that women, and arguably feminists, have achieved, now women have surpassed 50 percent of the nation’s employment due to the recession. Behind the scenes, some are giving women a big ol’ sanctimonious pat on the back, as if the nation can forever profit at the expense of others. Yet, the “success” of women hasn’t come without a great cost even as it saves Corporate America billions of dollars in payroll bottom-line…at least, that is the assumption I make based on statistics and the latest from the mainstream media.

This national employment benchmark comes at men’s expense to be certain, but there is clearly a larger loser, the American family. During this “man-cession,” if a family is whole and complete, women are more often the breadwinners in a classic role reversal when compared to the Beaver Cleaver days. If a family has already been “castrated” from male influence, the remaining family of kids is now firmly on the back burner to fend for themselves while mom works her heart out. You cannot assume a nine-to-five scenario either. The jobs that are left are not necessarily the “plum picks,” but all kinds of shift work including part-time employment in an attempt to get by, as well as classic underemployment that now plagues America. Women are not the winners, but the losers, and the family along with it.

Last month, women held 50.3 percent of the nation’s “nonfarm” payroll jobs in seasonally unadjusted data, up from less than 33 percent in 1964. The loss of jobs held by men during the recession has finally tipped the scales of employment at a great cost to all. This isn’t to say that many women haven’t become unemployed during this recession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women have lost 3.9 million jobs while men have lost 7.4 million. Due to the number of seasonal jobs, men are likely to reclaim their status once again in the labor market, even though the trend toward women will likely continue.

Fractured families are faring far worse. Not only are women forced to work harder, more often for less, but men are more and more unable to make a supportable living, even to pay their child support. After all, if you can’t keep a roof over your head, how can you hope to pay child support? For the first time ever, untold numbers of men in fractured families, are held victim to the oppressive Bradley Amendment and a dramatic or total loss of income.

The nation has fallen victim to a system that demands fiscal perfection for “noncustodial parents,” which more often than not, happens to be men. This means that men must work under the system if they can hope to make enough to keep themselves off the streets. Others live perilously, under great stress, hoping to sustain themselves for another day, often on unemployment while barely making rent. The other option is living with friends or in the car for those that have worn out their welcome. Clearly, the recession and the banker-types that created the recession from unbounded hubris, have put America in a state of decline, not unlike that of a third-world nation. The big loser isn’t just men, but all families that don’t belong to the Wall Street or government “elite.” The larger problem remains: an unsustainable economy and mounting debt. The hubris and greed are proving to be the nations’ undoing in more ways than one.

Tea Party Sarah in Nashville

With the recent “for profit” tea party event held in Nashville, a large enthusiastic crowd cheered as Sarah Palin cheered the cause of small government and fiscal responsibility. Republicans and Democrats alike have been mortified by the public uprising of independent politics that is unhappy with the current plight of the nation. Sarah Palin is cheering the cause as she proclaims that she remains open to the Presidential Race next term. Now that unlimited corporate underwriting is possible vis-à-vis the Supreme Court, Sarah Palin just needs corporate cash, larger corporate supporters and a growing crowd to make it all happen.

The World of Unemployment and the Discouraged Worker

At the sound of the new jobless statistics today, many are greatly encouraged. Because of the miracle of seasonal adjustments, the national unemployment rate now stands at 9.7%. Even though the national rate declined, 20,000 jobs were lost where forecasts estimated a growth of 15,000 jobs. While the official message is clearly designed for optimism, some caution is still in the wings, not only because the economy lost more jobs, but because there remains a darker reality behinds the scenes even as the national job trend improves on the surface.

The real figures without seasonal adjustment show a cruel reality. The Labor of Bureau Statistics admitted 16.1 million classically unemployed Americans for January compared to 14.7 million from the month before. With the miracle of seasonal adjustment, January had 14.8 million Americans unemployed compared to 15.3 million in December. In essence, the unadjusted statistical unemployment rate was 9.7% in December and is now 10.6%. To the government, a massaged unemployment rate looks much better. That is what the media is using.

When you add in those discouraged workers that are no longer looking for employment and obviously no longer on unemployment benefits, the trend is far more dismal. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them, part of what the statistics call marginally attached. January showed the largest month-to-month increase in discouraged workers since the Federal Reserve officially admitted the recession. Many have been forced into underemployment, which projects an admitted unemployment rate of 18%. This does not count previously unemployed Americans, which drop off the chart altogether in government details. The government statistics admitted that more than 6.3 million Americans have been unemployed at 6 months and 3 weeks. This does not include the numbers of unemployed at other lengths of unemployment along the way. Numbers older than 27 weeks are not publicly tracked. Despite “unemployment extensions”, the unemployed are continuing to drop off the charts, which means that actual unemployment is much higher, as high as 25% . Who is to say?

Seasonal adjustments to the unemployment rate is a great tool for showing trends, but is not what the average American should stake his life on. The unadjusted rate is more indicative of worker suffering, but still doesn’t include the plight of the underemployed that are scraping by at Wal-Mart, Dollar General and such places. These official statistics do not indicate those that have already lost homes, electricity, phones or those living with strangers, even those on the streets. After 27 weeks, the unemployed are no longer officially considered as unemployed, which ultimately improves the unemployment rate by “attrition.” This skews all the statistics that the nation has come to depend on as a monitor of economic health. Technically, the official “classical” unemployment rate is little more than a media tool. In bad times like these, the statistics become more like wishful thinking. Remember that percentages and averages can easily be misconstrued as truth when they are nothing of the sort. Still, the nation does need some solid good news and this is about as good as it gets right now.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

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USDA Declares that American Consumers Don’t Care About Genetic Modified Crops

Most consumers don’t consider alfalfa when drinking organic milk and eating organic foodstuffs. Organic alfalfa is a cornerstone of organic farming, both as animal feed and a nitrogen-fixing soil enhancer for organic farming. The sanctity of the organic food supply is in danger according to those in the organic and natural food industry.

Organic Standards require that livestock feed for animals used for meat, milk, eggs, and other animal products is 100 percent organic.  Protecting organic alfalfa, the main source of feed for the organic dairy industry, is crucial to the health of that important sector of U.S. agriculture. You don’t have to be a “greenie” to understand the safety and nutrition of the nation’s food supply.

In 2006, the Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for an illegal approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa. USDA neglected to conduct an environmental impact statement before deregulating the crop.  An environmental impact statement is a detailed analysis of the potential significant impacts of a federal decision.

The federal courts banned genetically-engineered alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impact, which was recently released in December 2009. The USDA intends to give Monsanto full authority to profit without protections for farmers, the organic industry, consumers or the environment. Why? The USDA claims that there is no evidence that consumers care about genetically-engineered contamination of organic products.

A 60-day comment period is now open through February 16, 2010.  Since a genetically-engineered crop has never been analyzed before, this decision is likely to have a major impact on the future including the legality of altering the food supply because of what we know as legal precedence.

Submit comments via the Center for Food Safety Action Center.  To write an original response, you can also submit your comments directly to the USDA or write:

Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8
4700 River Road Unit 118
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238

In your letter comments, you can let the USDA know that you care about genetically engineered contamination of organic crops and food. Americans have a right to eat and enjoy the benefits of organic food.

Other writing points:

Tell USDA that you will reject genetically-engineered and contaminated alfalfa and alfalfa-derived foods

If genetically-engineered alfalfa is deregulated, widespread contamination of non-GM and organic alfalfa is inevitable.

Organic alfalfa is a critical component for organic farming and feed.

Remind USDA it’s their job to protect Organic farmers, a safe organic industry and consumer interests.

Request that the USDA should extend the comment period.

You still have time to make a difference for the health of millions of Americans that care. The American population has a right to decent food, including organic standards that promote health and good nutrition.

To explore comments on this article, visit this link.

Terror on the Increase: More Threats and Invasion

U.S. intelligence chiefs warned that an attempted al Qaeda attack against the United States is highly likely in the next three to six months. Despite the sober assessment from the nation’s top intelligence chiefs in their annual threat briefing, it can be reasoned that another attempt does not necessarily mean there will be another successful attack.

On Good Morning America, former counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke stated: “We shouldn’t panic here… CIA directors always say this once a year in an annual threat briefing and they always predict there’s going to be another attempt.”

Regarding the cyber world, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair warned House members of “malicious cyberactivity” by terrorists. He reasoned that the attacks could disable financial systems across the country.

The Good Morning America expert agreed: “Every day, major corporations in this country lose their intellectual property, their corporate secrets, without even knowing it, to successful Chinese hacks. This is the real big threat because it takes away our economic advantage.”

Apparently, recent insights into the world of terrorism have been made through Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. With the cooperation of his family in Nigeria, much useful information has been obtained. While much of the information provided to the media is subject to some debate, the threat against a modern way of life continues, including the electronic financial system that most have come to depend on. Now that news is out and the opponent possibly compromised, there is little doubt that terrorists will consider changing and modifying existing plans where they can, assuming that the FBI is correct in verifying their information. Could this increase the danger?

What are your thought? Solutions?

Obama Admin Job Projections

Politics: State of the Union – No Jobs No Justice

The President will speak to the nation in the annual State of the Union address this Wednesday, having completed his first year in office. All I can imagine is that the President will most probably be very relieved when that speech is over.

The pressing topics of public interest: the economy and jobs, war, health care, along with terrorism versus the war on terror are all big problems politically and realistically. But you see, in Washington they see things from a political perspective which is very problematic for you and I (a/k/a Joe and Jane Q. Public).

Politically, it’s perfectly okay to keep saying, “We saved the country from another Great Depression.” That may well be a true statement for we will never really know. Joe Q. Public has lost his job, his home and is now actually living in the Great Depression!

Politically, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been justified. Some are now appeased by the prospect of the wars drawing to an organized conclusion in 18 months. But to Jane Q. Public, who has lost a friend or family member in the fighting, there is no clear or discernable victory to be celebrated. More needless deaths continue to be laid at our feet.

As far as health care is concerned in the political, most anything could be passed as a health care reform bill and viewed as a positive. Changes to Social Security and Medicare may initially pass through the House and Senate as a modest health care bill. This reform may someday morph into a robust achievement in health care. To those of you with no health care today, the reality of this fact may be the cause of significant suffering in your lives for years to come. Politically, it’s great to keep talking about who did and did not keep the country safe. Still, it is Joe Q. Public who remains at risk. I’m relying on memory here, but since 911, how many politicians have been victims in terror attacks? Uh huh . . . I thought so.

One of the major problems here is that both the Washington elite and the mainstream media are all drinking the same Kool-Aid. The politicians live pretty well in Washington and so do their “big time” media groupies. They are embedded in the “who’s who” of the nation’s capitol while breathing the same rarified air. They are constantly wined, dined and pampered because they are part of this nation’s political machine. This political machine also has a grand social scene that doesn’t compare even to Hollywood.

Whether you want a vote in the House or the Senate, an article published, radio or TV time to push your position or money for your next campaign, the apparatus is in place. All of the temptations and influences required to tempt and sway votes are in place. Washington is not about Joe and Jane Q. Public. Washington is exclusively about power, influence, money while keeping your seat warm and surviving as many terms in the lush life as possible. That’s it . . . That’s all there is.

Our leadership in Washington is so concerned with staying in their veritable paradise that they have no interest in risking their lifestyles or understanding ours! They exist in a different social sub-set of elitism and privilege that is intoxicating and all consuming. So there is no longer any point trying to figure out why the Obama Administration is struggling. More importantly, they don’t even know they are struggling.

Yep, I think the President is drinking the Kool-Aid too. They hear us saying that things are bad, but from where they sit, the concept and definition of bad does not register or compute. That is the only plausible explanation, for by now the President would have done something daring. He would have done something that made a bold statement of executive leadership and without regard for political ramifications.

This dismal economic situation was not caused by the President, but the President is stuck with it. Now he has a decision to make. He has got to stop playing politics and cut ties with big business or the people are going to cut ties with him.

I, like most people in this country (if the polls are to be believed), really like the President (I really do!). I hope that he may soon find a reason or motivation to re-calibrate himself both politically and morally. My concerns with the President began early on. I believe he damaged his personal credibility and that of his administration when he failed to spearhead investigations into the many scandals that plagued the Bush Administration. He intentionally took the moral low road! I believe he did this for political reasons, thinking that this might form the basis for a cooperative relationship with his Republican rivals going forward. He was wrong! So now, he has made himself appear to be culpable in covering up potential wrongdoing . Secondly, even more importantly, he ended up looking like a chump or a fool. Why? The Republicans have resisted him at historic levels on virtually every initiative he has put forth.

Once again Joe and Jane Q. Public were screwed by political gridlock. We did not even get the satisfaction of knowing that the “Bush Administration from Hell” might be held even minimally or symbolically accountable. President Obama chose politics, while asking us to trust him and just suck it up. All this, along with the economy, the wars, unemployment, blah, blah, blah.  Now comes the public realization that the President can’t make it better because he does not know how to make it better or doesn’t have the influence. My slogan for summing up his legacy at this point is: “No Jobs, No Justice”.

The President has to do something bold to take some of the financial pressure off of struggling middle class America. He did not deliver health care relief as promised. He has not give middle class America adequate protection from mortgage foreclosure. He has not given them any significant tax relief. He has not held anyone accountable for economic horrors that were perpetrated against millions of hardworking Americans.

I totally get that the Lilly Ledbetter Act guarantees equal pay for women, a good thing. Bravo! But what about doing something about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. How hard could that be when you’re Commander in Chief?

It’s great to sign an Executive Order to close Guantanamo Bay. That decision has no weight when you don’t have the political wherewithal to make it happen because the opposition rhetoric is causing a political panic. It’s great that legislation to reign in Wall Street is being considered. Unless the fraud and conspiracies are appropriately dealt with, the blood sucker culture on Wall Street will only continue.

I could go on and on, but the point is that there is not much good news where the State of the Union is concerned. There is no energy independence, no green jobs and no change I can believe in. Even worse, there is no indication that these things may be forthcoming.

In truth, the President’s political future is bright. This must be what our President is thinking. I really do get it politically. By the time the 2012 elections start rolling around, the wars (by design) will be winding down. Guantanamo Bay will be closed. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will have been struck down. Same sex marriage will have been upheld by the Supreme Court, I would guess. If any measure of a health care bill is in place, the first four years will have been a very significant success unless you’re Joe or Jane Q. Public.

Why? The economy and unemployment are unlikely to recover significantly (certainly not fully) by then. This is not a truth that anyone wants to tell us. Yes, in 2-3 years the President may have much to tout during his re-election campaign. For while the nation starves and struggles, he will be very lucky if he succeeds in a bid for re-election.

Joe and Jane Q. Public are not counting political points . . . they are counting pennies. That, my friends, is the only thing the American people are talking about because that is . . . the state of the union.

Leon A. Walker

Banks: “Overreaction” Will Destroy the Banking System

It’s President Obama’s fault say the banks. The nation, even the globe is about to experience a ‘nuclear attack’ on the investment banking community. In the words of Representative Judy Biggert, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, the Obama administration proposal to limit the trading activities of Wall Street banks is an overreaction that could make it harder for people to get auto loans and home mortgages. The Obama administration plan would prevent banks from owning and investing in hedge funds while disallowing proprietary trading. Fear is in the wings.

According to fear mongers, the Presidential spotlight on investment banking suggests that overregulation that would likely slow the pace of economic recovery in the U.S.

“If firms are unable to buy and sell assets, where will liquidity come from in the future?”…”How will auto loans and home mortgages be financed?” – Judy Biggert speaking the Security Traders Association of Chicago

Decades ago, it was enough for banks to make interest on loans while reloaning that same money to others over and over. This is called the fractional reserve. Bankers keep only a fraction of cash and ‘highly liquid asset’ in reserve. They lend out the remainder over and over, while maintaining the simultaneous obligation to redeem all these deposits upon demand. For decades, bankers have gone far beyond even this money making scheme.

Now the financial powers that be are involved in an endless leveraged gambling game of paper investment, selling short and long, in order to make money, which is quickly becoming worthless as the dollar continues to devalue over time. This great paper investment and bundling of securities is what has supported the great heights of the investment community resulting in the complete meltdown of the economy in the ‘Great Recession of 2008.’

The administration aims to more closely align banks’ interests with those of its customers while reducing the risk that major institutions pose to the broader financial system. Even so, President Obama prescribed that any move to limit proprietary trading activities in banking must not go so far as to discourage lending. Those involved in the financial power industry are skeptical, suggesting that regulation will result in ‘nuclear fallout’ for the securities industry.

The fact remains that the securities industry IS the problem. The House Financial Services Committee seems to have their bread buttered on both sides, fully compromised by banking and financial interests. They have argued that President Obama’s legislation would ‘inflict a new tax on transactions,’ which in turn would reduce liquidity in U.S. market and shift business overseas. Clearly, bankers see themselves as fully in control since their practices range the globe.

Bankers and compromised politicians also suggest that the U.S. government has profited greatly from banking and investing over the few decades. A transaction tax has also been proposed by Democrats DeFazio and Harkin. This ‘new tax’ is an attempt to recoup taxpayer money spent on rescuing the financial system from its’ own lack of financial literacy and its’ total ineptitude.

“Bureaucrats in Washington don’t necessarily know what’s best for our markets and market participants… They’re not the ones who maintain our markets through times of turmoil.” Bankers and investment sycophants still continue to ply their own interests while decrying an attempt to reign in their greed and monetary avarice.

Yes, even your auto loans have been bundled and repackaged as securities fodder for a system that expects to profiteer from every consumer and commercial transaction in spades. It would seem that many Republicans and the House Financial Services Committee are bent on keeping the financial system, a house of cards for greedy banking and investing, exactly the same. They are resisting regulation on any level. Even the mainstream media recognizes the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. The problem is that this kind of banking is not the real economy, but a system that has been built to profit from the runaway credit scam that has been proffered on the American people.

Bankers Blame Consumers for Recession

International bankers and investors are trying to put the word out that they aren’t responsible for the Great Recession of 2008 or a financial downturn. Instead, they are blaming consumers and consumer debt for the latest downturn in the global economy.

According to bankers, it wasn’t investment banks borrowing wildly that caused the crash. It wasn’t corporations running up debt instead of issuing new stock shares that caused the crisis. It wasn’t the federal government that nearly plunged the economy into oblivion.

This is not a surprise. The international banking community and Wall Street has been looking for a way to deflect the blame of the global economic crisis for quite some time. Now they think they have found the way to pin the blame on someone else, the consumer. The average American household increased the amount of debt as a share of household income by a third.

Considering that the “McKinsey Global Institute” is directly tied into the international banking scene, international attorneys and multinationals firms like Deloitte, as well as the Swiss Banking Community, the statistics and conclusions of their report can hardly be trusted. As a former insider, I can safely say that this is the case. What does “McKinsey” say?

In a report prepared by “McKinsey Global Institute,” most of the crisis lay squarely at the feet of middle-class consumers: Americans, Britons, Canadians. They simply bought more house than they could afford.

According to McKinsey, the crisis won’t last for just a year or two. McKinsey’s researchers say that deleveraging or reducing debt goes on for six to seven years in the aftermath of a financial crisis.

McKinsey suggested there’s more trouble ahead. “The bursting of the great credit bubble is not over yet.”

Still pending are a juggernaut of triggered adjustable-rate mortgages for residential consumers and staggering amounts of debt due for commercial real estate. The report found that $1.3 trillion of U.S. commercial real estate loans will come due in the next four years. Refinancing all that debt will be a challenge after the 2008 meltdown. Bankers are still involved  in the practice of bundling such loans into marketable securities for sale on Wall Street for investors. This points to another major downturn in the economy, if not the global economy.

“Households account for the largest share of total debt in the United States, Canada and Switzerland,” concluded McKinsey. From 2000 to 2008, U.S. household debt had grown $6.8 trillion. Financial institution debt rose $3.9 trillion. Government debt was up $4 trillion.”

McKinsey seems to be right about one thing. The credit crisis and the crisis in banking is not over yet. The recovery is not going to be quick. The problem is the source of the information as the international banking community attempts to wash the collective hands of rich bankers and investors everywhere.

President Obama’s Performance Poll: Participate Now

This is the same poll as the one that appears as the A.T.&T./Yahoo official poll. The main problem is that there is no voting limitation on the original poll. How messed up is that unless you are a firm adherent to the honor system? This poll on this page allows one vote per visitor. Enjoy!

original poll here.