today’s news and information gleanings from here and there! 

• Today’s Weather! 
• Today in History!
• Traffic Cam Rts. 30 & 441
• The Official Time! – Population Clock (U.S. and World)

Quote for today…“Can’t stand lobbyists. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and Motion Picture Assoc have spent way way more money on this than the tech companies. I’m glad the internet has responded and I hope they stop the bill.” – Former Upstater, Washington Post blog commenter

• “Lancaster County’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases include the county incinerator, two landfills, a natural gas pipeline compressor station and three industries. But all those sources combined are dwarfed by the 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that PPL’s coal-fired Brunner Island power plant released into the air just across the Susquehanna River during 2010.” – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• According to the IRS tax code example , “Mr. and Mrs. Brown are filing a joint return. Their Tax Table taxable income on Form 1040, line 43, is $25,300. First, they find the $25,300–25,350 taxable income line. Next, they find the column for married filing jointly and read down the column. The amount shown where the taxable income line and filing status column meet is $2,949.” Their effective tax rate is 11.6%. Many times over millionaire and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney announced that his tax rate is “closer to 15 percent than anything else” while his 2010 earnings included nearly $375,000 from speck-making and who knows how much from dividends and other earnings. Is this a great system or what?

• LEGAL NOTICE published in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era, January 18, 2012 – “A meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee of the Columbia Borough School District will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at the District Administration Center. The public is invited to attend any committee meetings. Laura E. Cowburn, Board Secretary
• “Dennis E. Ishman, 24, of Columbia, Shawna E. Greer, 29, of Conestoga, and Clifford J. Barton, 38, of Mountville, have been charged with criminal mischief, conspiracy — criminal mischief, theft from vehicle, conspiracy — theft from vehicle and criminal trespassing.” – WGAL.com
• Letter to the editors in today’s Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era – “I don’t think Rick Santo­rum has to worry about cam­paign funds. I think he sank his boat when he outlined what he would do about Social Security. He lost my vote and I dare say the vote of the majority of senior citizens. Barbara J. Germer, Manor Township
• Washington Post editorial says Paterno abdicated leadership
• Columnist from the same Washington Post writes, “10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free.”
• “Why We’ve Censored Wired.com” – Wired.com