Thanksgiving facts and resources: “In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims, early settlers of Plymouth Colony, held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest, an event many regard as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. Historians have also recorded ceremonies of thanks among other groups of European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Virginia in 1619. The legacy of thanks and the feast have survived the centuries, as the event became a national holiday in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt clarified that Thanksgiving should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month to encourage earlier holiday shopping, never on the occasional fifth Thursday.”
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Daily Archives: November 23, 2010
FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile – Third Quarter 2010
FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile, Third Quarter 2010: “Resilient revenues and improving asset quality remained a positive combination for insured institution earnings in the third quarter. Net income for the 7,760 insured commercial banks and savings institutions reporting quarterly financial results totaled $14.5 billion, a considerable improvement over the $2 billion reported a year ago. Third… Continue Reading
Majority of Americans Now Oppose Body Scanners and TSA Pat Downs
EPIC: “A new poll by Zogby International finds that 61% of Americans polled between Nov. 19 and Nov. 22 oppose the use of full body scans and TSA pat downs. Of those polled, 52% believe the enhanced security measures will not prevent terrorist activity, almost half (48%) say it is a violation of privacy rights,… Continue Reading
BEA: Personal Income and Outlays, October 2010
Full release and tables: “Personal income increased $57.6 billion, or 0.5 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $48.3 billion, or 0.4 percent, in October, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $44.0 billion, or 0.4 percent. In September, personal income decreased $2.8 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, DPI… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve – Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee November 23, 2010
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, Released November 23, 2010 “Private businesses continued to increase their demand for labor only modestly. In September, private nonfarm payroll employment remained on a gradual uptrend, and the average workweek of all private-sector employees was unchanged for a third month. In addition, the number of individuals working part… Continue Reading
Citizens Group Still Seeking Public Records from DOJ
News release: “Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder expressing concern over the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) failure to abide by President Obama’s commitment to government transparency and accountability. Despite policy directives from President Barack Obama and Attorney General Holder mandating a presumption of openness… Continue Reading
BEA – Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – Q3 2010
Full release and tables: “Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2010, (that is, from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the “second” estimate… Continue Reading
UK Guardian: Health risks of shipping pollution have been 'underestimated'
One giant container ship can emit almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50m cars, study finds “Britain and other European governments have been accused of underestimating the health risks from shipping pollution following research which shows that one giant container ship can emit almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing… Continue Reading
DHS OIG Audit – TSA's Management of Its Screening Workforce Training Program Can Be Improved
Transportation Security Administrations Management of Its Screening Workforce Training Program Can Be Improved, October 2010 “TSA is most visible at more than 450 domestic airports where approximately 43,000 Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) perform security screening procedures… TSA can improve its management of the TSO training program by developing and documenting standard processes. The agency does… Continue Reading
