News from THE DELANEY CO.

DEFICIT SPENDING - The federal budget deficit is projected to remain above $1.4 trillion through next year as a result of the current recession, the White House announced on July 23^rd. Main reason for the rising deficit: declining tax revenue. The news is sure to fire up Republicans, who accuse President Obama of overspending. The White House, in turn, says the problem is due largely to the recession it inherited, as well as George W. Bush's tax cuts. Outgoing budget director Peter Orszag stated that although the economy remains weaker than we would like and the unemployment rate remains higher than we would like, that's better than the "outright economic collapse" the administration faced when it arrived in January 2009. Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors said the new figures reflect slightly faster economic growth this year and slightly slower growth in 2011. She projected that unemployment would drop to 9% next year and 8.1% in 2012. Inflation, she said, should rise from 0.7% now to 1.5% in 2012. But the accumulated national debt goes up no matter what. It's currently $13.2 trillion and projected to top $15 trillion by the end of 2011 and $25 trillion by the end of 2020. Get ready, taxpayers of all income levels. We are currently the only solution!

ARE YOU SLEEPING? - Not getting enough sleep? Getting too much? You may be increasing your chances of cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the August 1 edition of the scientific journal SLEEP. Analyzing data from more than 30,000 adults, the study determined that seven hours of sleep is the optimal amount for heart health. Those who slept five total hours per day (including naps) had more than twice the risk of suffering from angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke than those who slept a total of seven hours each day. And those who slept nine hours or more each day also had an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease--they were one and a half times more susceptible, according to the report. They also discovered an "elevated but less dramatic risk" of cardiovascular health issues in those who slept for either six or eight hours each day, according to the press release.

WEB BEHAVIOR - People are spending less time checking their e-mail, reading news and going to traditional online portals, but are spending a heck of a lot more time on Facebook and Twitter. According to the latest numbers from Nielsen Internet research, in June, online users are now spending 23% of their Internet time on social networking sites. That's an increase of seven percentage points over this time last year. It was the single biggest jump for any of Nielsen's online categories, which include time checking e-mail, using Web portals, and playing games. The numbers make it clear that people are spending more time on Facebook than any other website, even Google. Even though users may visit Google more times in a given day, the amount of time they spend there is minimal compared to the dozens of minutes, or even hours, spent on one social networking session. The race continues between social and traditional Web use, and there's no slowing down that the former is becoming the new trend.

BLOGO CIRCUS - CHICAGO - Since his arrest in late 2008, Rod Blagojevich, the indicted former governor of Illinois, has proclaimed his innocence in a published memoir, on couches beside numerous talk show hosts and to just about any random well-wisher who approached him on the street. But two weeks ago, at his long-anticipated federal corruption trial here, Mr. Blagojevich chose silence. In fact, the defense of Mr. Blagojevich, who is charged with crimes including trying to sell an appointment to the United States Senate seat once held by President Obama, ended before it began: his lawyers, who had pledged to jurors in their opening statement that Mr. Blagojevich would testify before them, chose not to call him - or anyone. A long list of national political leaders had received subpoenas including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senators Harry Reid and Dick Durbin. But none were called, ending, at least for the moment, any chance of new details coming to light about conversations that might have taken place about filling the seat. Leaving the courthouse, Mr. Blagojevich's lawyers said that they had been split over whether he should testify, but that they had ultimately concluded that prosecutors had failed to prove the charges against him - and so no further testimony was needed. The jury is still out.

WINDOWS OR MAC? - Investigators in Mississippi say two men wrapped blocks of wood in duct tape and bubble wrap, attached Toshiba labels and tried to pass them off as laptops. Hinds County authorities charged the men with trademark infringement and selling goods with counterfeit labels. WLBT-TV in Jackson reports the men were caught last Thursday when they tried to sell the fake laptops to an off-duty state trooper. Hinds County Sheriff's Lt. Jeffery Scott says authorities also found binders filled with paper being passed off as computers. So far, no one has admitted to buying the fakes. But our rep hasn't answered his emails this week. J

INSURANCE HIKES - Non-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans stockpiled billions of dollars during the past decade, yet continued to hit consumers with double-digit premium increases, Consumers Union found in an analysis of 10 of the plans' finances. Insurers must keep surplus money to ensure they can pay policyholders' medical bills if unexpected market conditions develop. Yet seven of the plans examined held more than three times the amount regulators consider the minimum needed to do that, according to a report being released today by the non-profit consumer group. "Consumers are struggling to afford health coverage," said report author Sondra Roberto. "Those funds could be used in some cases to mitigate these rate increases." The report calls on state insurance regulators to scrutinize surpluses when considering rate increases and set maximum limits for surpluses. In most states, it said, regulators focus only on ensuring companies have minimum surpluses to be financially sound.

CHEERS!!! - You think a bottle of beer for $765 is tough? Wait till you see how it is packaged!!

According to Scottish firm BrewDog, "The End of History" is the "strongest (55% alcohol), most expensive and most shocking beer in the world." Just 12 bottles were made and the company has already sold out. They will be shipped out to buyers in the United States, Canada, Italy, Denmark, Scotland and England next week. The dead animals which were used to create the beers' unusual appearance were four squirrels, seven weasels and a hare. All were roadkill, James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, said defensively.

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