13 year old boys do not view Sexting as child porn, and when you were a teen neither did you

For the high crime of sharing a semi-nude photo of a friend’s girlfriend, six teenagers from Falmouth, Massachusetts, are waiting to hear if they’ll face child pornography charges that could follow them for the rest of their lives. Before they decide to demonstrate their hard-line bona fides, local officials may want to do a little snooping at home. A recent survey found that one in five teens are doing just what those unlucky teens were caught at — and the sons and daughters of ambitious prosecutors aren’t excluded.

Thirteen-year-old Ben Hunt has become the face of the latest “sexting” scandal, since his father, Brian, has taken the lead in apologizing for the incident while calling for a sensible response. Ben and five of his friends were caught sharing a photo among their cell phones of one of the boy’s girlfriends raising her shirt and flashing a breast.

After they were nabbed by officials at the Lawrence School, Principal Paul Fay went to the modern default response, calling police instead of parents. Local officials are now sitting on the matter pending a hearing at the Falmouth District Court where the teens will discover whether their minor lack of discretion will result in felony criminal charges that could land the kids on the sex-offender registry.

You don’t want to overreact if your kids are engaging in this. These types of (sexual) urges are not perverse.

The only local official who seems to have a sense of proportion is Dr. Shannon Scarry, the medical director for behavioral health services at Cape Cod Healthcare, who told the Cape Cod Times, “You don’t want to overreact if your kids are engaging in this. These types of (sexual) urges are not perverse. They are all the same age. It’s different than if it was an 18-year-old with pictures of a 12-year-old. That’s a felony that is going to follow them. It was impulsive, not well thought out, immature behavior, and they should be punished, but this is really an opportunity for a moral lesson.”

Proper punishment, it would seem, would involve the offended girl breaking up with her jerk of a boyfriend, with a round of groundings and cell phone confiscation all around for the rest of the teens, courtesy of their parents.

Instead, the police and courts are involved.

If it seems to you that horror stories like this surface every couple of weeks, you’re right — they do. There’s good reason for that. “Sexting” — sharing nude and semi-nude images via ever-prevalent technical means — is a popular form of flirting among the young set. A recent survey (PDF) published by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com found that 20% of all teens “have sent/posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves.”

Don’t expect them to grow out of it. The numbers go up as they get older, with 33% of those 20 to 26 sharing risque snapshots with their friends.

Ben Hunt and his buddies deserve whatever punishments their parents decide to dish out in an effort to knock a little judgment into their heads.

And local officials? They deserve a reality check. Sexting is going on closer to home than they think.

This article is from a February 17, 2009 story by – you may access the original article here

After downing a pint of Guinness in the airport terminal…you won’t find this Irish humor too funny

It has finally happened.  An airline executive has pondered a great way to make extra income, charge passengers to use the plane potty.  Irish carrier Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told the BBC that the idea had come up in discussions on how to generate income.   The rational is that most passengers have money on them when they travel, however the decision would not affect those passengers that choose not to use the plane’s toilet.

Whaaaa?  You have the option “not” to use the toilet?  Check out the article for yourself.  Maybe it’s something you declare when being screened at the security gate.

Do you wish to use the toilet?  Yes or No

Will you be drinking heavily while flying with us? Yes or No

Did you eat Mexican food in the last hour?  Yes or No

Do you have first class tickets or will you be sitting in the blue water suite?  Yes or No

Personally, I’d stick my tush out the window but that air pressure issue might come into play.

A spoonful of sugar to help that medicine go down for Turd Blossom

Turn around is not fair play for Turd Blossom. In a recent Wall Street Journal opine, Karl Rove dissected the Presidential Address from Tuesday night and turned and twisted many of the topic points to fit his point. Ok, we say…that’s our Turd Blossom, what else would we expect?

Except he’s complaining that Obama and his speechwriters/policy makers are twisting and turning the facts and representing them in false senses, in order to make a point.

So I ask, is he pissed becasue someone took a page from his playbook? Does he not see the irony in this opinion piece? Or do you think this is his super-duper-double-twist to make it look like Obama is massaging the message when actually HE (Rove) is doing the manipulation, but you just can’t see it he’s masking it with a complaint about inaccuracies?

Hehe, I think its funny Turd Blossom is bitter.

No my State will NOT take the $3.8billion from the federal government

Just to really prove my point, we’re only going to take $3.7billion.

Suck on that Democrats.

Careless “Friend and Photo” control could be the biggest privacy threat for avid Facebook users

This is the second in what might become a small series of Facebook related blogs.  My first was an earlier satirical rant of the 25 Random Things List.  Recently, the Facebook gods responded to their users concerns with a general statement concerning content archiving policies and how much of this information they are disclosing to the user base.  This came in the midst of a user backlash where thousands deleted their accounts out of protest to the statements made by the company.

The skinny- it’s complicated and your privacy is not high on the priority list, nothing on the web is people.   In fact- the code behind Facebook is a complicated weave of spaghetti containing your content, photos, submissions, and any other items you submit for public viewing.  What does this mean?  It means your personal information is woven into a unregulated and uncontrolled virtual desert open to anyone – and FB can keep all your personal shit after you leave the party.

Whatever, whenever, or with whomever you send a photo, a wall post, a message, or an event – all that information gets stored on FB servers and can be retained for a long period of time.  The reason- the FB gods have designed the site to allow a deactivated person to easily come back and reactivate their account.   This being said- all content you submitted can magically “reappear” to make the process easier on you.  The rational is that communicated information is always “there”.   If you email me and five minutes later cancel your email account, does that email you sent me suddenly disappear?  No.   FB management has designed the site in the same fashion and for some reason it pissed a lot of people off – funny considering everything on the internet operates under the same logic.

There are two main blunders that users make.  The first mistake is compiling too many Friends without organizational control of who they are, how you know them, and what their relationship to you is.  The other mistake being poor security control over Photos and Tags.   As an experiment, a college professor once asked his students to stand up in front of the class, plug in their laptops, and show everyone their profile on the overhead.  Not one person volunteered for the request.  The thought of a FB profile being exposed in a room full of people invoked thoughts of embarrassment, vulnerability, and shame.

The professor had intentionally created a startling reality for his students.  They regarded their profile as private even though essentially millions of users, application developers, advertisers, search engine tracking software, and potential employers can see it everyday.

Back to the Friends and Photos thing.   Okay, so you’ve added some people who now have access to view your profile and you’re pretty cool with the results.  You do so some talking, share some photos, post some wall comments, update status to declare your current state of mind or relationships, or whatever.  What is often overlooked is the information trail that is created.   As your Friend’s list gets bigger, so does the audit trail of data, so does the list of people who can see it, which in most cases is cool, typically you add stuff because you want people to see it, no biggie.

However, as the Friend list grows, so does the accessibility to content that you might want to keep to yourself.   In fact, I actually know of people in the workplace who have unintentionally alienated themselves from co-workers because of the status comments they habitually post to their FB page.   Comments like “I’m tired of work” “Why am I here?” or “I can’t believe my manager just asked me to do something”.   As innocent as it seems to the poster, the internet has a sneaky way of delivering it’s own interpretation of content to the on looker.   You know that sarcastic email you sent to your best friend only to have them get pissed off?  It’s a common occurrence in the virtual world, FB included.   Apparently, these people forgot that they carelessly added half their office to their Friends list.  The same goes for Photos- photos that you personally would never post, but can you control how someone else Tags you in one of their photos?  Ahhh Haaaa – now that is where you’ll get in trouble.

There are Friend and Photo Tag security features that most users do not use very efficiently, or they just don’t know about them.   The basis behind these controls is to better categorize your Friends and place controls on who can see what, same thing for photos and who can see those you’re tagged in.

Nick O’Neill is a contributor to the website AllFacebook.com and is considered an expert on the proper and safe ways to use the site.  These are strategies that he offers users to better secure your environment:

1. Use Your Friend Lists

I can’t tell you how many people are not aware of their friend lists. For those not aware of what friend lists are, Facebook describes them as a feature which allows “you to create private groupings of friends based on your personal preferences. For example, you can create a Friend List for your friends that meet for weekly book club meetings. You can create Friend Lists for all of your organizational needs, allowing you to quickly view friends by type and send messages to your lists.”

There are a few very important things to remember about friend lists:

• You can add each friend to more than one friend group
• Friend groups should be used like “tags” as used elsewhere around the web
• Friend Lists can have specific privacy policies applied to them

A typical setup for groups would be “Friends”, “Family”, and “Professional”. These three groups can then be used to apply different privacy policies. For example, you may want your friends to see photos from the party you were at last night, but you don’t want your family or professional contacts to see those photos. Using friend lists is also extremely useful for organizing your friends if you have a lot of them. For instance I have about 20 friend lists and I categorize people by city (New York, San Francisco, D.C., Tel Aviv, etc), where I met them (conferences, past co-workers, through this blog), and my relationship with them (professional, family, social, etc)

2. Remove Yourself From Facebook Search Results:

Now that you’ve decided that you would like to remove yourself from Facebook’s search results, here’s how to do it:

1. Visit your search privacy settings page
   
2. Under “Search Visibility” select “Only Friends” (Remember, doing so will remove you from Facebook search results, so make sure you want to be removed totally. Otherwise, you can select another group, such as “My Networks and Friends” which I believe is the default.)
3. Click “Save Changes”

3. Avoid the Infamous Photo/Video Tag Mistake

At the least, a tagged photo/video can result in personal embarrassment. So how do you prevent the infamous tagged photo or video from showing up in all of your friends news feeds? It’s pretty simple. First visit you profile privacy page and modify the setting next to “Photos Tagged of You”. Select the option which says “Customize…” and a box like the one pictured below will pop up.

Select the option “Only Me” and then “None of My Networks” if you would like to keep all tagged photos private. If you’d like to make tagged photos visible to certain users you can choose to add them in the box under the “Some Friends” option. In the box that displays after you select “Some Friends” you can type either individual friends or friend lists.

Hope some of these tasty treats will make you a more intelligent FB user.

Class Act: Bravo Coach Rohlman and Darius McNeal; My condolences to Johntel Franklin

In this period of suffering and frustration for millions at the shenanigans on Wall Street and the pain in the economy, it is nice to see a story like this:

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=914609

February 18, 2009

Amid the grieving, a rare act of sportsmanship

Associated Press

Brief profile of the charmed American autoworker

Producing and assembling cars in this country can be a very lucrative profession.  Many insiders have blamed the union system for the fallout of the Domestic auto-industry.  The economic fallout is beginning to hit autoworkers, but it won’t affect them like it hits those in other industries.    The UAW has set up a golden platter of benefits and protections for the members of its union.  I’m glad we have these men and women in the factories to make our cars.  It’s a physical job…but these aren’t neurosurgeons.

Here are some tasty morsels to chomp on next time you hear another news story about the auto crisis:

1)  Unionized members make an average of $24-30 an hour (you do the math).   Not too shabby.

2)  In GM’s case: The combined “legacy” benefits (pensions, insurance, retiree benefits, etc) equates to nearly $70 an hour.  Not an actual rate, but an overall analyst driven calculation of what “total”  labor and current retiree benefits is costing GM.  Workers are not getting paid $70 an hour as some stories suggest.

3)  In the early 1980’s, the UAW created a program called “job banking” which pays at least 90% of a laid off autoworkers salary until the union can find them a new position elsewhere.   The job banking practice was implemented as a way for autoworkers to “absorb the punch” when automated, robotic technology was introduced on the assembly line.   The terms and conditions vary by automaker, because each labor contract is different.  GM factory workers who get laid off start out at “sub pay,” in which they receive unemployment benefits, and GM pays the difference, up to most of their salary, for 48 weeks.  After that, laid-off employees go into the jobs bank, which averages almost $62,000 a year — plus benefits, without reporting to work.  In the meantime, the company tries to find them jobs elsewhere.  That sucks!

4)  In 2005, nearly 12,000 autoworkers were drawing a full salary without ever setting foot in an auto plant.  Most simply had to show up at a local union hall and hang out.

5)  Over the last 15 years, nearly 83,000 autoworkers have lost their manufacturing job, however, 91,000 new positions were created in other states.

6)  Delphi, the parts wing of GM, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999 because UAW would not agree to a wage cut.

Interesting information and compelling reasons why these men and women so cherish their jobs.   With the onset of the government bailout, many of these perks are changing or going away.   Late last year, the GM job bank program was suspended (actually the UAW allowed it to be suspended, hmm) due in part to the auto crisis.  The union provides a very secure blanket of protection over its workers and gives them tremendous incentive not to leave.  In the same light, the UAW is doing a horrible disservice for this population of workers.  This is all they have ever known considering most autoworkers never leave the industry and retire with healthy pensions.  Sadly, this causes a career black hole that provides an illusion that every other American worker has these same benefits and freedom of labor expression.  Autoworkers will become lost in a corporate world that does not look out for them.  They have skills on the assembly line- but where will those skills be transferred?  Many of them will find good work in certain trades or other manufacturing capacities, but nothing with the same “bling bling” of the auto assembly line.  With the reality of the disappearing job bank system- this will be a shocker for many leaving the union.  To a degree, the auto worker has become easy pickings for ridicule and scorn.   The general public has become aware of how well they are paid and the security of employment they are offered – and to a degree – are jealous.

Despite a loss in members, the UAW is still a $2 billion dollar organization with approx. 550, 000 due paying members.  They have some nice assets too.

The Black Lake Country Club and Reuther Center is a $33 million dollar golf course and retreat owned and operated by the UAW.   The course itself is $6 million dollars.   The UAW is losing money on this forested beauty every year as more members leave the union.   I truly hope our bailout funds keep this course afloat, being a golfer, I’d love to play it someday… but not for $33 million bucks.

Pretty isn’t it?  I heard they’re hiring part time caddies with benefits and life time pension.

I should have been an autoworker.

Note to all hackers – just don’t mess with the street lights

Nothing like seeing not so disgruntled computer geeks at work!  This construction sign in Austin, TX was infiltrated by system hackers and they subsequently personalized the warning.

I like this stuff…

A very basic breakdown of stimulus plan – part deux

No one is going to lead their local economics club in a lecture about the stimulus after reading this breakdown, but in the spirit of bar talk it will at least make you sound like you know what you are talking about.  So read it, yawn, read it and yawn.  I believe it is a two yawn breakdown, but for fast readers it may only be a one.

Here you go -

Taxes:

The recovery package has tax breaks for families that send a child to college, purchase a new car, buy a first home or make the ones they own more energy efficient.

Millions of workers can expect to see about $13 extra in their weekly paychecks, starting around June, from a new $400 tax credit to be doled out through the rest of the year. Couples would get up to $800. In 2010, the credit would be about $7.70 a week, if it is spread over the entire year.

The $1,000 child tax credit would be extended to more low-income families that don’t make enough money to pay income taxes, and poor families with three or more children will get an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit.

Middle-income and wealthy taxpayers will be spared from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was designed 40 years ago to make sure wealthy taxpayers pay at least some tax, but was never indexed for inflation. Congress fixes it each year, usually in the fall.

First-time homebuyers who purchase their homes before Dec. 1 would be eligible for an $8,000 tax credit, and people who buy new cars before the end of the year can write off the sales taxes.

Homeowners who add energy-efficient windows, furnaces and air conditioners can get a tax credit to cover 30 percent of the costs, up to a total of $1,500. College students — or their parents — are eligible for tax credits of up to $2,500 to help pay tuition and related expenses in 2009 and 2010.

Those receiving unemployment benefits this year wouldn’t pay any federal income taxes on the first $2,400 they receive.

___

Health insurance:

Many workers who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs will find it cheaper to keep that coverage while they look for work.

Right now, most people working for medium and large employers can continue their coverage for 18 months under the COBRA program when they lose their job. It’s expensive, often over $1,000 a month, because they pay the share of premiums once covered by their employer as well as their own share from the old group plan.

Under the stimulus package, the government will pick up 65 percent of the total cost of that premium for the first nine months.

Lawmakers initially proposed to help workers from small companies, too, who don’t generally qualify for COBRA coverage. But that fell through. The idea was to have Washington pay to extend Medicaid to them.

COBRA applies to group plans at companies employing at least 20 people. The subsidies will be offered to those who lost their jobs from Sept. 1 to the end of this year.

Those who were put out of work after September but didn’t elect to have COBRA coverage at the time will have 60 days to sign up.

The plan offers $87 billion to help states administer Medicaid. That could slow or reverse some of the steps states have taken to cut the program.

___

Infrastructure:

Highways repaved for the first time in decades. Century-old waterlines dug up and replaced with new pipes. Aging bridges, stressed under the weight of today’s SUVs, reinforced with fresh steel and concrete.

But the $90 billion is a mere down payment on what’s needed to repair and improve the country’s physical backbone. And not all economists agree it’s an effective way to add jobs in the long term, or stimulate the economy.

___

Energy:

Homeowners looking to save energy, makers of solar panels and wind turbines and companies hoping to bring the electric grid into the computer age all stand to reap major benefits.

The package contains more than $42 billion in energy-related investments from tax credits to homeowners to loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and direct government grants for makers of wind turbines and next-generation batteries.

There’s a 30 percent tax credit of up to $1,500 for the purchase of a highly efficient residential air conditioners, heat pumps or furnaces. The credit also can be used by homeowners to replace leaky windows or put more insulation into the attic. About $300 million would go for rebates to get people to buy efficient appliances.

The package includes $20 billion aimed at “green” jobs to make wind turbines, solar panels and improve energy efficiency in schools and federal buildings. It includes $6 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects as well as tax breaks or direct grants covering 30 percent of wind and solar energy investments. Another $5 billion is marked to help low-income homeowners make energy improvements.

About $11 billion goes to modernize and expand the nation’s electric power grid and $2 billion to spur research into batteries for future electric cars.

___

Schools:

A main goal of education spending in the stimulus bill is to help keep teachers on the job.

Nearly 600,000 jobs in elementary and secondary schools could be eliminated by state budget cuts over the next three years, according to a study released this past week by the University of Washington. Fewer teachers means higher class sizes, something that districts are scrambling to prevent.

The stimulus sets up a $54 billion fund to help prevent or restore state budget cuts, of which $39 billion must go toward kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education. In addition, about $8 billion of the fund could be used for other priorities, including modernization and renovation of schools and colleges, though how much is unclear, because Congress decided not to specify a dollar figure.

The Education Department will distribute the money as quickly as it can over the next couple of years.

And it adds $25 billion extra to No Child Left Behind and special education programs, which help pay teacher salaries, among other things.

This money may go out much more slowly; states have five years to spend the dollars, and they have a history of spending them slowly. In fact, states don’t spend all the money; they return nearly $100 million to the federal treasury every year.

The stimulus bill also includes more than $4 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start early education programs and for child care programs.

___

National debt:

One thing about the president’s $790 billion stimulus package is certain: It will jack up the federal debt.

Whether or not it succeeds in producing jobs and taming the recession, tomorrow’s taxpayers will end up footing the bill.

Forecasters expect the 2009 deficit — for the budget year that began last Oct 1 — to hit $1.6 trillion including new stimulus and bank-bailout spending. That’s about three times last year’s shortfall.

The torrents of red ink are being fed by rising federal spending and falling tax revenues from hard-hit businesses and individuals.

The national debt — the sum of all annual budget deficits — stands at $10.7 trillion. Or about $36,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S.

Interest payments alone on the national debt will near $500 billion this year. It’s already the fourth-largest federal expenditure, after Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security and defense.

This will affect us all directly for years, as well as our children and possibly grandchildren, in higher taxes and probably reduced government services. It will also force continued government borrowing, increasingly from China, Japan, Britain, Saudi Arabia and other foreign creditors.

___

Environment:

The package includes $9.2 billion for environmental projects at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The money would be used to shutter abandoned mines on public lands, to help local governments protect drinking water supplies, and to erect energy-efficient visitor centers at wildlife refuges and national parks.

The Interior Department estimates that its portion of the work would generate about 100,000 jobs over the next two years.

Yet the plan will only make a dent in the backlog of cleanups facing the EPA and the long list of chores at the country’s national parks, refuges and other public lands. It would be more like a down payment.

When it comes to national parks, the plan sets aside $735 million for road repairs and maintenance. But that’s a fraction of the $9 billion worth of work waiting for funding.

At EPA, the payout is $7.2 billion. The bulk of the money will help local communities and states repair and improve drinking water systems and fund projects that protect bays, rivers and other waterways used as sources of drinking water.

The rest of EPA’s cut — $800 million — will be used to clean up leaky gasoline storage tanks and the nation’s hazardous waste sites.

___

Police:

The stimulus bill includes plenty of green for those wearing blue.

The compromise bill doles out more than $3.7 billion for police programs, much of which is set aside for hiring new officers.

The law allocates $2 billion for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, a program that has funded drug task forces and things such as prisoner rehabilitation and after-school programs.

An additional $1 billion is set aside to hire local police under the Community Oriented Policing Services program. The program, known as COPS grants, paid the salaries of many local police officers and was a “modest contributor” to the decline in crime in the 1990s, according to a 2005 government oversight report.

Both programs had all been eliminated during the Bush administration.

The bill also includes $225 million for general criminal justice grants for things such as youth mentoring programs, $225 million for Indian tribe law enforcement, $125 million for police in rural areas, $100 million for victims of crimes, $50 million to fight Internet crimes against children and $40 million in grants for law enforcement along the Mexican border.

___

Higher Education:

The maximum Pell Grant, which helps the lowest-income students attend college, would increase from $4,731 currently to $5,350 starting July 1 and $5,550 in 2010-2011. That would cover three-quarters of the average cost of a four-year college. An extra 800,000 students, or about 7 million, would now get Pell funding.

The stimulus also increases the tuition tax credit to $2,500 and makes it 40 percent refundable, so families who don’t earn enough to pay income tax could still get up to $1,000 in extra tuition help.

Computer expenses will now be an allowable expense for 529 college savings plans.

The final package cut $6 billion the House wanted to spend to kick-start building projects on college campuses. But parts of the $54 billion state stabilization fund — with $39 billion set aside for education — can be used for modernizing facilities.

There’s also an estimated $15 billion for scientific research, much of which will go to universities. Funding for the National Institutes of Health includes $1.5 billion set aside for university research facilities.

Altogether, the package spends an estimated $32 billion on higher education.

___

The Poor:

More than 37 million Americans live in poverty, and the vast majority of them are in line for extra help under the giant stimulus package. Millions more could be kept from slipping into poverty by the economic lifeline.

People who get food stamps — 30 million and growing — will get more. People drawing unemployment checks — nearly 5 million and growing — would get an extra $25, and keep those checks coming longer. People who get Supplemental Security Income — 7 million poor Americans who are elderly, blind or disabled — would get one-time extra payments of $250.

Many low-income Americans also are likely to benefit from a trifecta of tax credits: expansions to the existing Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and a new refundable tax credit for workers. Taken together, the three credits are expected to keep more than 2 million Americans from falling into poverty, including more than 800,000 children, according to the private Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The package also includes a $3 billion emergency fund to provide temporary assistance to needy families. In addition, cash-strapped states will get an infusion of $87 billion for Medicaid, the government health program for poor people, and that should help them avoid cutting off benefits to the needy.

A budget breakdown of the February 2009 stimulus plan

The Stimulus Plan: A Detailed List of Spending

by Michael Grabell and Christopher Weaver, ProPublica – February 13, 2009

Program	Funding
Accountability	$323,500,000
Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General	$22,500,000
Department of Commerce – Office of Inspector General	$10,000,000
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Office of Inspector General	$6,000,000
Department of Justice – Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
NASA – Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Defense Department – Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Department of Energy – Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Department of the Treasury – Inspector General for Tax Administration	$7,000,000
General Services Administration – Office of Inspector General	$7,000,000
Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board	$84,000,000
Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General	$10,000,000
Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General	$5,000,000
Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Inspector General	$20,000,000
Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General	$6,000,000
Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General related to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology	$17,000,000
Department of Education – Office of Inspector General	$14,000,000
Corporation for National and Community Service – Office of Inspector General	$1,000,000
Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Government Accountability Office salaries and expenses	$25,000,000
Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General	$1,000,000
State Department – Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General	$20,000,000
Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General	$15,000,000
Aid to People Affected by Economic Downturn	$36,910,807,000
Rural Housing Service insurance fund program account – direct loans and unsubsidized guaranteed loans	$11,672,000,000
Rural community facilities program account	$130,000,000
Special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC)	$500,000,000
School lunch programs for schools in which at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced price meals	$100,000,000
Food bank commodity assistance program	$150,000,000
Temporary increase in benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps)	$19,900,000,000
Food distribution program on Indian reservations	$5,000,000
Agricultural disaster assistance transition – Federal Crop Insurance Act
Farm operating loans	$173,367,000
Direct farm operating loans	$20,440,000
IRS health insurance tax credit administration	$80,000,000
Emergency food and shelter	$100,000,000
Bureau of Indian Affairs job training and housing improvement programs	$40,000,000
Indian guaranteed loan program	$10,000,000
Community service employment for older Americans	$120,000,000
Extra funding for state unemployment insurance	$150,000,000
State re-employment services for the jobless	$250,000,000
Child care assistance for low-income families	$1,651,227,000
Child care assistance for low-income families through state programs	$255,186,000
Child care assistance for low-income families to improve infant and toddler care	$93,587,000
Community Service Block Grant Program	$1,000,000,000
Social Security Act funding	50,000,000
Social Security Administration processing of disability and retirement workloads	$460,000,000
Aid to State and Local Governments	$58,355,000,000
State administrative expenses to carry out increase in food stamp program	$295,000,000
Economic development assistance programs	$150,000,000
Violence against women prevention and prosecution programs	$225,000,000
Office of Justice Programs state and local law enforcement assistance (Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants)	$2,000,000,000
State and local law enforcement assistance grants to improve criminal justice systems, assist crime victims and mentor youth	$225,000,000
Southern border and high-intensity drug trafficking areas	$30,000,000
ATF Project Gunrunner	$10,000,000
State and local law enforcement assistance to Indian tribes	$225,000,000
Crime victim assistance	$100,000,000
Rural drug crime program	$125,000,000
Internet crimes against children initiatives	$50,000,000
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants	$1,000,000,000
Justice Department salaries and expenses for administration of police grant programs	$10,000,000
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund for financial assistance, training and outreach to Native American, Hawaiian and Alaskan native communities	$100,000,000
Local and state fire station upgrades and construction	$210,000,000
Disaster assistance direct loans may exceed $5,000,000 and may be equal to not more than 50% of local government annual budget if the government lost 25% or more in tax revenues
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to avoid cutbacks and layoffs (82% must be used for education while 18% may be used for public safety and other government services. The latter part may be used for repairs and modernization of K-12 schools and college and university buildings.)	$53,600,000,000
Business	$870,000,000
Rural Business – Cooperative Service: rural business program account	$150,000,000
Small Business Administration salaries and expenses, microloan program and improvements to technology systems	$69,000,000
Surety bond guarantees revolving fund	$15,000,000
Small business loans	$636,000,000
Education	$48,420,000,000
State grants for adult job training	$500,000,000
State grants for youth job training and summer employment opportunities	$1,200,000,000
Dislocated worker job training	$1,250,000,000
YouthBuild program for high school dropouts who re-enroll in other schools	$50,000,000
Job training in emerging industries	$250,000,000
Job training in the renewable energy field	$500,000,000
Head Start programs	$1,000,000,000
Early Head Start program expansion	$1,100,000,000
Education for the disadvantaged – elementary and secondary education	10,000,000,000
Education for the disadvantaged – school improvement grants	$3,000,000,000
Education impact aid	$100,000,000
School improvement programs	$650,000,000
Innovation and improvement of elementary and secondary schools	$200,000,000
Special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act	$12,200,000,000
Pell grants for higher education	$15,840,000,000
Institute of Education data systems	$245,000,000
Institute of Education state data coordinators	$5,000,000
Dislocated worker assistance national reserve	$200,000,000
School improvement grants awarded based on the number of homeless students identified in a state	$70,000,000
Student aid administrative costs	$60,000,000
Energy	$41,400,000,000
Energy efficiency and conservation block grants	$3,200,000,000
Weatherization Assistance Program (increases maximum income level and maximum assistance)	$5,000,000,000
State energy program	$3,100,000,000
Advanced batteries manufacturing, including lithium ion batteries, hybrid electrical systems, component manufacturers and software designers	$2,000,000,000
Modernize electricity grid	$4,400,000,000
Electricity grid worker training	$100,000,000
Fossil energy research and development	$3,400,000,000
Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund	$390,000,000
Department of Energy science programs	$1,600,000,000
Advanced Research Projects Agency	$400,000,000
Innovative technology loan guarantee program	$6,000,000,000
Western Area Power Administration construction and maintenance	$10,000,000
Bonneville Power Administration borrowing authority	$3,250,000,000
Western Area Power Administration borrowing authority	$3,250,000,000
Leading edge biofuel projects	$500,000,000
Federal building conversion to “high-performance green buildings”	$4,500,000,000
Energy efficiency federal vehicle fleet procurement	$300,000,000
Health Care	$18,830,000,000
Indian Health Service information technology and telehealth services	$85,000,000
Indian health facilities	$415,000,000
Grants for public health centers	$500,000,000
Construction, renovation, equipment and information technology for health centers	$1,500,000,000
National Health Service Corps funding	$75,000,000
Addressing health professions workforce shortage	$425,000,000
National Institutes of Health grants and contracts to renovate non-federal research facilities	$1,000,000,000
National Institute of Health grants and contracts for shared resources and equipment for grantees	$300,000,000
National Institutes of Health fund to support scientific research	$7,400,000,000
National Institutes of Health Common Fund	$800,000,000
National Institutes of Health renovations of high-priority buildings at the Bethesda, Md., campus, and at other locations	$500,000,000
Comparative effectiveness research	$300,000,000
Comparative effectiveness research by the National Institutes of Health	400,000,000
Comparative effectiveness research by the Department of Health and Human Services	$400,000,000
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology	$1,680,000,000
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s regional or subnational efforts	$300,000,000
Department of Commerce health care information enterprise integration activities related to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology	$20,000,000
Department of Health and Human Services computer and information technology security	$50,000,000
Department of Health and Human Services Prevention and Wellness Fund	$1,000,000,000
Prevention and Wellness Fund immunization program	$300,000,000
Prevention and Wellness Fund evidence-based clinical and community-based prevention strategies	$650,000,000
Prevention and Wellness Fund reduction in incidence of health-care-associated infections	$50,000,000
Rehabilitation services and disability research	540,000,000
State grants for rehabilitation services and disability research	$18,200,000
Rehabilitation services in independent living centers	$87,500,000
Rehabilitation services for older blind individuals	$34,300,000
Other	$2,147,000,000
Census Bureau programs	$1,000,000,000
Digital-to-analog television converter box program	$650,000,000
President shall establish arbitration panel under FEMA public assistance program to expedite recovery efforts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Requirement that Department of Homeland Security uniforms be manufactured and sewn together by U.S. fabric and apparel companies
National Endowment for the Arts grants	$50,000,000
Department of Labor salaries and expenses	$80,000,000
Additional awards to existing AmeriCorps grantees	$83,000,000
AmeriCorps program salaries and expenses	$5,200,000
AmeriCorps program administrative costs of expansion	$800,000
National security trust appropriation	$40,000,000
Social Security Administration health information technology research	$40,000,000
Filipino World War II veterans compensation	$198,000,000
Science and Technology	$13,142,000,000
Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses to maintain and modernize the information technology system	$50,000,000
Distance learning, telemedicine and broadband program	$2,500,000,000
National Telecommunications and Information Administration – broadband technology opportunities program	$4,690,000,000
National Institute of Standards and Technology scientific and technical research and services	$220,000,000
National Institute of Standards and Technology construction of research facilities	$360,000,000
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operations, research and facilities	$230,000,000
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration procurement, acquisition and construction	$600,000,000
NASA science	$400,000,000
NASA aeronautics	$150,000,000
NASA exploration	$400,000,000
NASA cross agency support	$50,000,000
National Science Foundation research and related activities	$2,500,000,000
National Science Foundation education and human resources	$100,000,000
National Science Foundation major research equipment and facilities construction	$400,000,000
National Science Foundation – Office of Inspector General	$2,000,000
Veterans Affairs for hiring and training of claims processors	$150,000,000
Veterans Affairs information technology systems	$50,000,000
State Department technology security upgrades	$252,000,000
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) technology	$38,000,000
Transportation and Infrastructure	$98,325,000,000
Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments	$24,000,000
Agricultural Research Service buildings and facilities	$176,000,000
Natural Resources Conservation Service watershed and flood prevention programs	$290,000,000
Watershed rehabilitation program	$50,000,000
Rural Utilities Service water and waste disposal program account	$1,380,000,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army	$1,474,525,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Navy	$657,051,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Marine Corps	$113,865,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air Force	$1,095,959,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army Reserve	$98,269,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Navy	$55,083,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Marine Corps Reserve	$39,909,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air Force Reserve	$13,187,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army National Guard	$266,304,000
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air National Guard	$25,848,000
Army research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Navy research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Air Force research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Defense-wide research development, test and evaluation	$75,000,000
Defense Department medical facilities repair and modernization including energy efficiency	$400,000,000
Corps of Engineers investigations	$25,000,000
Corps of Engineers construction	$2,000,000,000
Corps of Engineers – Mississippi River and tributaries	$375,000,000
Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance	$2,075,000,000
Corps of Engineers regulatory program	$25,000,000
Corps of Engineers formerly utilized sites remedial action program	$100,000,000
Bureau of Reclamation water and related resources, including inspection of canals in urbanized areas	$900,000,000
Central Utah Project water programs	$50,000,000
California Bay-Delta restoration	$50,000,000
Non-Defense environmental cleanup	$483,000,000
Defense environmental cleanup	$5,127,000,000
Federal buildings and courthouses	$750,000,000
Border stations and land ports of entry	$300,000,000
Department of Homeland Security headquarters consolidation	$200,000,000
Customs and Border Protection non-intrusive inspection systems	$100,000,000
Customs and Border Protection tactical communications equipment and radios	$60,000,000
Border security fencing, infrastructure and technology	$100,000,000
Land border ports of entry construction	$420,000,000
Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactical communications equipment and radios	$20,000,000
Transportation Security Administration checked baggage and checkpoint explosives detection machines	$1,000,000,000
Coast Guard shore facilities and aids to navigation facilities	$98,000,000
Coast Guard alteration of bridges	$142,000,000
FEMA public transportation and railroad security	$150,000,000
FEMA port security grants	$150,000,000
Bureau of Land Management maintenance and restoration of facilities, trails, lands, abandoned mines and wells	$125,000,000
Bureau of Land Management construction of roads, bridges, trails and facilities, including energy efficient retrofits	$180,000,000
Wildland fire management and hazardous fuels reduction	$15,000,000
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintenance and construction on wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries and for habitat restoration	$165,000,000
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service roads, bridges and facilities, including energy efficient retrofits	$115,000,000
National Park Service facilities and trails	$146,000,000
Historically black colleges and universities preservation	$15,000,000
National Park Service road construction, cleanup of abandoned mines on parkland and other infrastructure	$589,000,000
U.S. Geological Survey facilities and equipment, including stream gages, seismic and volcano monitoring systems and national map activities	$140,000,000
Bureau of Indian Affairs construction of roads, schools and detention centers	$450,000,000
Superfund site cleanup	$600,000,000
Leaking underground storage tank cleanup	$200,000,000
Clean water state revolving fund grants	$4,000,000,000
Safe drinking water capitalization grants	$2,000,000,000
Brownfields projects	$100,000,000
Diesel emission reduction grants and loans	$300,000,000
Forest Service road, bridge and trail maintenance; watershed restoration; facilities improvement; remediation of abandoned mines; and support costs	$650,000,000
Wildfire mitigation	$500,000,000
Smithsonian Institution repairs	$25,000,000
Construction, renovation and acquisition of Job Corps Centers	$250,000,000
Social Security Administration’s National Computer Center replacement	$500,000,000
Military construction, Army – child development centers and warrior transition complexes	$180,000,000
Military construction, Navy and Marine Corps – child development centers and warrior transition complexes	$280,000,000
Military construction, Air Force – child development centers and warrior transition complexes	$180,000,000
Military hospital construction and energy conservation investments	$1,450,000,000
Military construction, Army National Guard	$50,000,000
Military construction, Air National Guard	$50,000,000
Family housing construction, Army	$34,507,000
Family housing operation and maintenance, Army	$3,932,000
Family housing construction, Air Force	$80,100,000
Family housing operation and maintenance, Air Force	$16,461,000
Temporary expansion of military homeowner assistance program to respond to mortgage foreclosure and credit crisis, including acquisition of property at or near military bases that have been ordered closed.	$555,000,000
Veterans Affairs hospital maintenance	$1,000,000,000
National Cemetery Administration for monument and memorial repairs	$50,000,000
State extended care facilities, such as nursing homes	$150,000,000
State Department diplomatic and consular programs for domestic passport and training facilities	$90,000,000
International Boundary and Water Commission – Rio Grande levee repairs	$220,000,000
Additional capital investments in surface transportation including highways, bridges, and road repairs	$1,298,500,000
Administrative costs for additional capital investments in surface transportation	$200,000,000
Capital investments in surface transportation grants to be awarded by other administration	$1,500,000
Federal Aviation Administration infrastructure	$200,000,000
Grants-in-aid for airports	$1,100,000,000
Highway infrastructure investment	$26,725,000,000
Highway infrastructure investment in Puerto Rico	$105,000,000
Highway infrastructure funds distributed by states	$60,000,000
Highway infrastructure funds for the Indian Reservation Roads program	$550,000,000
Highway infrastructure funds for surface transportation technology training	$20,000,000
Highway infrastructure to fund oversight and management of projects	$40,000,000
High speed rail capital assistance	$8,000,000,000
National Railroad passenger corporation capital grants	$850,000,000
National Railroad passenger corporation capital grants for security	$450,000,000
Federal Transit Administration capital assistance	$6,800,000,000
Public transportation discretionary grants	$100,000,000
Fixed guideway infrastructure investment	$750,000,000
Capital investment grants	$750,000,000
Shipyard grants	$100,000,000
Public housing capital improvements	$3,000,000,000
Public housing renovations and energy conservation investments	$1,000,000,000
Native American housing block grants	$510,000,000
Community development funding	$1,000,000,000
Emergency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes	$2,000,000,000
Additional capital investments in low-income housing tax credit projects	$2,250,000,000
Homelessness prevention and re-housing	$1,500,000,000
Assistance to owners of properties receiving section 8 assistance	$2,000,000,000
Grants and loans for green investment in section 8 properties	$250,000,000
Lead hazard reduction	$100,000,000

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