Prune Juice Media

President and Mrs. Obama are pictured with their daughters Malia (2nd from left) and Sasha. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

The First Family shared their official 2011 Christmas photo this week.

Awww … how nice! I love positive family images.

The Obama’s daughters are really growing up during their time in the White House. Seems like yesterday they were much younger.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Obama Family!

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The Queen of News Media, Barbara Walters, has released her list of the Most Fascinating People of 2011.

Former GOP presidential candidate, Herman Cain, has earned a spot on the list this year for obvious reasons. In addition to being the only African-American candidate other than President Obama in the 2012 contest, Cain is a Republican .. and a fiesty one at that.

Cain sat down for a few minutes with Walters. They touched on some highlights of his failed bid, his aspirations moving forward, and even a taste of his “talent.”

If he is ever given the opportunity, Cain says he wants to be Secretary of Defense. He claims he wants to help “rebuild” our military. Walters was shocked at that because she thought he’d  go after a Treasury position. I also think she had the general WTF face just at the thought of him being in any public position now.

Cain is still claiming that all those women and allegations are false. He thinks it’s just a plot to take him down. ::sigh:: He also said that he thinks Democrats did not want to see another accomplished black man take on President Obama in the election. He really needs to look closer to home at the GOP that stabbed him in the back. He is the least of the president’s worries.

Finally, at the request of Walters, Herman Cain sang for the camera. He’s not a Luther Vandross, I tell ya’ that! Watch for yourself.

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There is not a damn thing getting done in this building right about now. It's stalled progress everywhere you look!

It’s official. Almost every elected official in Washington, D.C. has forgotten the reason they were sent to Congress.

The government is facing it’s third shutdown threat of 2011. This is the definition of insanity, which means doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.

Funding for the federal government is set to run out on Friday night. The White House is pushing to get a continuing resolution passed. That is essentially a short-term measure that will carry the feds over the hump for a few weeks until they get the real funding passed.

The reason that the piggy bank is about to dry up is because Congress has yet to pass the payroll tax cut extension for next year. As leverage to get what they want on the extension, the government funding bill has been held up too.

It’s a really sad game of finger-pointing and blame-shifting.

Let’s see if I can explain in plain English how we got here:

• There are two bills that Congress needs to pass. One is the payroll tax cut extension for 2012. The other is the bill that funds the federal government.
• The payroll tax cut extension passed the House this week with Republican support. But, they threw in items like mandatory drug-testing for recipients of unemployment benefits, cuts to social programs, etc., to the bill. The GOP also wants to rush construction on the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Democrats, including those in the White House, don’t like that.
• The House GOP have toyed with the idea of slapping together funding for the government and leaving town for the holiday break. This would leave it in Democratic hands in the Senate where they would almost be forced to pass it. It has been rumored that this is an option because the Dems won’t pass their version of the payroll tax cut extension.
• Funding for the federal government runs out on Friday night. It’s the job of Congress to make sure it stays open. No word yet on how that will happen.

This is YOUR government (not) at work people! Please open your eyes and take notes ahead of this 2012 election. I’m sorry, but it’s unacceptable.

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What do you think of the gridlock in Washington? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

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If you don’t pay your bills, there is a small chance that after skirting your lender for awhile you may go to jail.

Debtors prisons have been illegal in the United States since 1833. However, new-age debt collection thuggery is allowing creditors to get creative when trying to wring money out of you.

In many cases, they will attempt to collect on a debt for a long time. Eventually, they will sue you. If you don’t appear in court, then of course, a warrant is issued for your arrest. That’s where the whole “indirect comeback” is in serving time for debt. It’s not the actual debt that lands you in the slammer, but rather a failure to respond to the court summons.

The practice is backhanded, of course. But what’s even crazier is that some states still allow debt collection companies to harass debtors at this level. Judges don’t know how to fairly protect people in court (i.e., what practices are legal or not, etc.). In some jurisdictions, though, they are allowed to seek your arrest specifically for outstanding debt. The trend is that some states are doing whatever they want, despite federal mandates.

And these aren’t five and six-figure payouts the debt collection companies are always going for. Some of the bills, according to an NPR article, are under $1,000. In some cases, the bail money goes toward the debt.

Ain’t this some sh*t?!

This is why I’m trying to get myself on the path to completely debt-free living. Having unknown warrants out for your arrest over an outstanding medical bill is NOT a good look ever! These collection companies have one goal in mind only and that is to MAKE MONEY!

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Man, people can be so out of touch. I couldn’t dream this stuff up sometimes if I tried.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) recently let his feelings be known about minimum wage workers at a campaign event. Referring to hard work, a Republican “staple,” Johnson said:

“.. [W]hen you’re a good worker you don’t stay at minimum wage for long. Trust me on that.”

Well, I don’t “trust” him.

There are a lot of great, hard workers out here being shafted by their employers just because low wages are the “new black.” Income doesn’t necessarily determine how “hard” someone works. In this age of high unemployment and people forgoing raises for years, low-wage workers are not making the kind of come-up they used to.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not throwing rocks at hard work. I believe in it. There is a lot to be said for paying your dues and out-working your competition. It will not always be reflected in your salary, though. Believe that.

In his story, Johnson explained that he once worked for minimum wage at $1.45/hour at about 15 years old. Obviously, that was a few centuries ago. By the time he got to college, he says he worked about 96 hours per week AND took a full course load. (I need to see some receipts on this).

When questioned further, he admitted that he was living with his parents at the time to save on expenses. College was also much cheaper then versus now.

In short, Johnson cannot relate to people making minimum wage. Inflation on goods and services now makes salaries at the 2011 wage floor nearly impossible to survive on. I guess workers in that bracket need to be better workers to get out of it, huh? ::deep sigh::

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Thanks to Crooks & Liars for the heads-up on the story!

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